THE PROPHETS DEALINGS WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: PART 1

(15 September 2005)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In our ongoing endeavour to try and shed light on yahud, we will take a look at the ayaat of Allah, the nifaaq of these jews, and then, well take a look at ourselves. In one of the many ayaat in the book of Allah that cannot be approached by any fallacy or mistake from any direction- it is the abundant truth, and it is the distilled truth- Allah Subhanah says: And when a scripture or a Holy book comes to these yahud (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 89) Before this ayah was revealed, yahud would predict the advent of this last Prophet of Allah to the kaafirs, but when the Quran and the Prophet were no longer predictions, but rather, now they were facts, as the Prophet (the person) and the Quran (the holy scripture) was there, at that moment, they denied it, they said: This is not the Prophet and this is not the book. thus, Allahs curse and condemnation is on these kaafirs. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 89) Let us try to get a feel for this ayah All the Muslims should know that the concentration of yahud in the Arabian Peninsula was in AlMedinah. There were three blocks of yahud in Al-Medinah. But not many Muslims have thought out when did they come there? Since when were they in Al-Medinah? There is some information that indicates that theyve been there since Dawud (alaih salaam). We know that the first Islamic state was established by Dawud- in the Holy Land, in what can be described as the far-fetched suburb of that Islamic state. Then, theres another opinion that says that yahud always tried to make their presence on a certain route from where Makkah and Al-Medinah are nowadays, all the way up to the Holy Land, including what is called today Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon etc. anticipating that they are Gods chosen people, and if Allah is selecting Prophets, it is going to be in this area, and they are going to be privileged by this selection. They considered all other Prophets who were not from their clan and did not agree with their racism to be outside of the history of God and revelation. Hence, their presence coincides with their anticipation of Allahs last Prophet, and they tell people all around: We are waiting for this last Prophet. This last Prophet is going to be one of us, and he is going to be an enemy of you- the pagans, the mushriks and the kaafirs.

And then, finally, Allah chooses his Last Prophet, and that was Muhamed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). At this moment, the yahudi psychology begins to spin- why? Because it appears to them that Muhamed is not one of them- he has to be from Bani Israel, and Muhamed (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) is not from Bani Israel. To this spinning psychology, Allah says: And when a divine book is revealed, that confirms what they have- the Quran is not in contradiction with the Torah or the Zabur or the Injeel, it endorses the Torah and the Zabur and the Injeel and the rest of the scriptures that Allah has given mankind(Surah Al-Baqarah verse 89) When this book (which they knew to be the book of Allah) was revealed and it came to them, they said: No! We dont believe in it, we dont endorse it, we dont accept it, we deny it. Its not Allahs book. Now, think about this psychology in two incidents... The one incident relates to a scholar of yahud in Al-Medinah when he became a Muslim. His name before he became a Muslim was Al-Husayn ibn Salaam. He knew the psychology of yahud because he was one of them. When he heard the Quran, and when he studied who this person in Makkah was, upon the Prophets arrival in Al-Medinah, he went to see the Prophet, he spoke to him for a short while, thereafter, he stated the Shahadah and became a Muslim- and he asked the Prophet: Please keep my Islam confidential, and have the rabbis, the ahbaar, the learned elders of yahud in Al-Medinah come to you, and ask them about me. Dont tell them that Im a Muslim, but when they come to you, just ask them about my character. And, after that, tell them that I have become a Muslim, and see how they will react. Sure enough, within a few weeks, a delegation of jews in Al-Medinah came to the Prophet, and as is usual with them, they begin to ask questions and make comment, and then, the Prophet (alaih salaam) said to them: What is your opinion about Al-Husayn ibn Salaam? And they said: He is one of the best of us. He is a learned scholar who comes from a learned family. Hes a son of some of the best of us. And, they spoke in terms that glorified this rabbi or learned scholar of yahud. After they professed to this, The Prophet (alaih salaam) told them: He has become a Muslim. And immediately at that session and at that moment, they began to curse and defame the same person who a few minutes earlier they were praising. This is something that will not appear in main-stream history.

Why? Because it scores and it shows the hatred that yahud had for Islam, the Quran and the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam.) Another testimony to this yahudi psychology comes from another one of them- a lady who used to be a jewess, a yahudiyah, and from the cream of the crop of yahud. Her father was Huyay ibn Akhtab, one of the leaders of Bani Nadhir, and a very well known personality in Al-Medinah. She said this about her father and her uncle after she became a Muslimah and married the Prophet (alaih salaam). She professes or confesses to the following I was loved very much by my father and my uncle. Whenever they would approach and I would be playing with my siblings- my brothers and sisters and my relatives- they would come to me in particular to the exclusion of the rest. That shows how much affection they had for me. Remember, she was not a Muslimah at that time, but she recalls exactly what happened. When the Prophet came as an exiled person from Makkah to Al-Medinah, before he entered Al-Medinah, he stayed at a place called Quba' and several yahud went to see him there. Imagine, they could not wait for him to enter Al-Medinah, so they went to meet him at the outskirts of Al-Medinah. She says: My father (Huyay) and my uncle (Abu Yasir) led the group of yahud who went to see the Prophet, and they stayed with him for a long portion of the day, and they came back very late. And this is what I heard them say to each other. When they approached home, My uncle asked my father: Is it him- is it the Prophet? Is it the Apostle and the Messenger that we have been reading about in our scripture? And then, my father says: Yes, its him by Allah. Then, my uncle asks my father: Do you recognise him? Can you vouch for him, that he is truly the Prophet that we have read about in our scriptures? And my father says: Yes, indeed. Remember, this is a young lady listening to what her yahudi father and uncle are saying regarding the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And then, my uncle asks my father: What do you find in yourself, or how do you feel about him? And my father answers my uncle, and he says It is animosity as long as I live- Wallah!

What does this tell you and me? These are yahud who went to meet the Prophet and who had reason to believe that this is the Prophet. They spoke to him at length, then they dismissed themselves and they came back home, and they divulged their inner thoughts. They acknowledged, they knew, they realised, they recognised that he is the Prophet of Allah, and because of that, they hated him. Were speaking about yahud, the same block of people who hate because they know, they dont hate because they are ignorant- and this is the problem we have with many Muslims who think that the animosity against Muslims and Islam is because of the ignorance on the other side. But when it comes to yahud, Allah is telling us, and Hes making it an eternal and public fact- the animosity and hatred generated by yahud against the Prophet, Muslims and the Quran is because they know what the Quran is, they know who the Prophet is, and they know who Muslims are. Theres a segment of these scripturalists who desire that you who are committed to Allah renounce that commitment and become deniers of that commitment. Why? It is the envy in their psyche after they realised and recognised the Haqq. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 109) So its not a matter of ignorance. Empty-headed Muslims:- know your enemy; your enemy doesnt hate you because your enemy is ignorant, he hates you because he knows exactly who you are. These are a couple of testimonies from the Prophets life that come from within the pool of yahud. Al-Husayn ibn Salaam was called Abdullah ibn Salaam, and Safiyyah bint Huyay ibn Akhtab also comes from within yahud, and this is what they had to say about the yahudi internal thoughts concerning the Muslims. Nowadays, if you listen to what they print and broadcast they want us to believe that they are against hate, while in-fact they are the conveyors and the generators of hate. They couldnt take it- this lad from Arabia who is not one of them is favoured by Allah with scripture, this is something they have to hate, and they have to stroke the ambers of hatred in other people against the Prophet. This is what they have been doing since those initial days and they continue to do now. What are some of their plots and their subterfuge against Muslims? We defy any Muslim, to right now as you listen to these words to mobilise your memory to answer the question: Do you know the name of any yahudi/jew from the time and age of the Prophet who became a nominal Muslim, a munafiq Muslim, a hostile Muslim, or a trouble-making Muslim? Ask yourself, do you know anyone? And more that 99% of you will have not even one name in your memory. This is how effective they have been in cleansing the chapters of history and purging the Muslim mind of those names that were actively trying to cause havoc, instability, trouble, friction, feuds and wars among the Muslims in the days of the Prophet. This is a double prone comment- in the first instance, it says that yahud have been working hard to clean their polluted image, and when not even a Muslim can recall who they were when they were in positions of hostility to the Prophet, it shows, they have gone a long way in disturbing the Muslim mind. On the other hand (the comment is ours), why have we permitted ourselves to forget the worst enemies of the Prophet in his day. The Prophet may have enemies now, he may have had

enemies generations and centuries ago, but the fact is, he had flesh and blood enemies in his time, in his city and in his neighbourhood yet we dont even know who they are today. If we were to give you some names, you probably have not heard of them, yet there are ayaat in the Quran that speak about these yahudi trouble makers in the time of the Prophet. (Maybe its better not to mention names until a follow up khutbah, so that you will think or read or look or investigate or research or do something). Some of them became Muslim, not because they were convinced of Islam, but because they wanted to undermine Islam from within. At the time when the Prophet's camel was lost or it was not where it was supposed to be, word got around to see where it is and bring it to the Prophets domicile, and then one of these yahudis (who is this yahudi, none of us know!) comes and says: I would have second thoughts, or I think about such a person who says that he is receiving word from the heaven, but he doesnt know where his camel is! Remember, he was a yahudi, who claimed to be a Muslim, but this is what he said. Thats why the ayaat in the Quran exposes such people: You can detect them by the way they present their ideas. The selection of words that they use to express what they have on their mind exposes them. (Surah Muhammad verse 29) Now, this may be a wiss-waass, a thought that is a spill over from shaytaan into the Muslim mindit could be, but true Muslims dont express such thoughts if shaytaan tried to circulate such an idea in their mind, but this yahudi came out and expressed it. Obviously, this is a way from inside- if a yahudi or an avowed enemy of Islam says something like this, its easily dismissed, but when its a nominal Muslim who says something like that, its going to do its damage inside the Muslim house-and thats what yahud were trying to do. They havent given up, theyre still doing it. Theres another collection of yahud, from Bani Nadhir who said that they are Muslim at the time of the Prophet. They are Muslim by name, by word and by appearance, but thats all they have. In order for them to de-stabilise the internal Muslim house, this is how far they go. This is yet another area of war-fare. If people hate Islam, it doesnt mean that theyre only going to drop a bomb at Muslims, there are other ways of trying to damage Islamic morale, confidence, commitment and momentum. The behaviour and the plan of these yahud necessitated eternal words from Allah to capture that moment of trouble-making among the Muslims and to display it for the rest of the Muslims until the end of time. O people of Scripture Why do you camouflage what is false with truth, and then, why do you conceal what has been revealed to you, while youre knowledgeable of it, and then theres a segment of you These are the ones (yahud) who became Muslim, and then, under the garb of Islam, they come to the other committed Muslims and they say why cant we believe or accept what Muhamed is saying in the day and spread kufr at night. (Surah Ahl-Imraan verse 71-72)

Isnt this a real good description of what a liberal mentality is? These yahud had enough courage to suggest to the Muslims: Its alright- you can be Muslims at one time and you can be of another conviction at another time. It doesnt matter and it doesnt harm. But this is done for a purpose: So that these Muslims are budged away from their commitment to Allah and their imaan, and they return to their pre-imaani state. (Surah Ahl-Imraan verse 72) Isnt this what is happening nowadays? But Muslims are not educated enough, they dont have the theoretical knowledge to begin with, and then they are way behind in their experiences. Today- we have people who may have originally been yahud- let us give you an example of this. There is free-masonry- the allegiance to the masonic order takes preference over all other allegiances, and there are people who go to the Masjid, and to the Hajj, and who recite the Quran, but their allegiance is to the establishment of the Temple of Solomon on the ruins of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, because that is the higher purpose of free-masonry. They are among us, and they tell us: Why cant we do this, and why cant we do that? And, they have their thoughts about the Prophet if he has done this or if he has done that. Yasser Arafat, the person who was supposed to be representing the Palestinian people. We all know how close or central it is to the rest of the Muslims in the world, its not a nationalist issue and its not a patriotic issue- this is an Islamic issue first and last. He was polished and presented by the powers that be to be the representative of the Palestinian people and the Muslims of AlQuds, the Holy Land and the issue of Al-Isra and Al-Miraaj. When we take a closer look at the make up of this person, theres no doubt that on his mothers side, he comes from a Muslim lineage, because his mothers grand-father was the mufti of Jerusalem. But on his fathers side, no-one is sure! The best information that is given about his father, is that his father moved from Morocco and settled in the jewish neighbourhood of Cairo. We know that theres a big jewish community in Morocco, but why would a Moroccan of unknown ancestry (go and look at the origin of Arafat on his fathers side- youll probably not be able to come up with information, because this information is left on a personal level- people who know him personally who know this about him) settle in the yahudi section of Cairo, if youre not a yahudi yourself from Morocco? Why do you come more than a 1000 miles, and then settle in the yahudi section of a city, if youre not a yahudi yourself? And then, one of the closest lieutenants to Arafat said: Yes, his fathers side is a yahudi side. Do the rulers in Arabia and the other countries of the Middle-east, do they owe their allegiance to Allah, or do they owe there allegiance to shaytaan? Only with the accurate and precise information that comes from Allahs book will we be able to move forward and build the Islamic reality of tomorrow.

THE PROPHETS DEALINGS WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: PART 2

(22 September 2005)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In stating the obvious and saying what many individuals lack the courage to say, we continue to shed light on yahuds tricks, their psychology and their attempts at undermining the Islamic fact of life. We will take another example which (by the way) is not very popular- its not common knowledge, not many Muslims recall these events that occurred between the Prophet and the learned elders of Bani Israel. We want to quote for the record so that this information doesnt seep out of the Muslim mind because this information does not circulate and it is deliberately buried in a few books that are endangered because there is a system at work now that wants to obliterate all information that make yahud look unfavourably. You can understand this yahudi system wanting to get rid of this information, but can you understand why Muslims dont have this information that belongs to us, our history, the first generation of Muslims and to the Prophet? When the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) arrived in Al-Medinah, he settled there and the first Islamic reality was established there. The information that is thrown into the public from the mouth-pieces of yahud want to discredit Muslim Ulema and clergy-men from the other religions in the world, but when it comes to the rabbis- this is a subject thats off limits- but it shouldnt be off limits to Muslims, especially when these types came to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa ahlihi wa sallam). On one occasion, two rabbis, (try to remember these facts and establish a body of knowledge about yahud and how they treated the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)). One of these rabbis by the name of Rafi ibn Huraymala, from the Qaynuqa faction of yahud in AlMedinah- this is not any yahudi, hes a prominent yahudi of status, influence and command within the community of yahud in Al-Medinah, and another rabbi by the name of Wahab ibn Zayd from Bani Quraida, another faction of yahud in Al-Medinah came to the Prophet. Who says yahud are not factionalised? Some inexperienced Muslims want to give the impression that these jews are united- they are not! Its our weakness that makes them appear as if they are strong and united. They are weak and disunited when we are functioning up to par with our Islam. Look at these names, they have Muslim names. Zayd, Wahab, Rafi, Numaan, Uthman- these were names among the other names that the jews had in the time of the Prophet, but since that time when they developed animosity with the Prophet, the Quran and Islam, you dont find any yahudis by the name of Zayd, or Numaan, or Uthman nowadays. Maybe this should say something to those who are sensitive about the name Uthman for example- if he served yahuds interest, they would have

preserved that name, but he didn't serve their interests so they didn't preserve that name. (But this is not the issue of going into this subject). (Try to picture this meeting,) These two rabbis came to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and they said to him: If only you could bring down for us/present us with a holy book that is coming down from heaven so that we may read it together, and if you could cause rivers to gush out of these deserts, we will approve of you, endorse you and follow you. Imagine that! This is the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and listen to what they are asking! They wanted to see a holy book coming down from the sky and they wanted to see water bursting out of the Earth. If they could see that, then they will agree with the Prophet, follow him and work from there. What do you say to people like this? First of all, take a moment to think of this psychology that would come to the Prophet and begin imposing demands upon him: two jewish rabbis from the learned elders of the Children of Israel come to the Prophet of Allah and demand You want us to believe, Ok, well believe, but then they tell him what he has to do as a condition for them to follow, as a condition for their conviction. Well, what is the Quran? Isnt the Quran a revelation, a scripture, a holy book that is revealed from the heavens? They knew that a person in the primitive nomadic life of Makkah and Al-Medinah couldn't come with such information that is present in the Quran? But they wanted something to meet their physical standards. They didnt want to try and deal with the Quran mentally, because they cant! They didnt want to try and deal with the Quran emotionally, because they cant! So they tried to bring these types of demands to the Prophet and did Allah leave this occasion un-observed and without an answer? Theres an ayah that is recited in the Quran until the day in which the Earth will end that addresses the psychology that yahud brought to the Prophet and this is the ingredients and the context under which it was revealed- Allah was watching this human episode and He revealed words that we recite until the end of eternity. Remember, the jews present themselves as people of knowledge, scholars and intellectuals- even up till this day, they try to make the word jew, synonymous with big heads, big thoughts, big ideas. Allah slapped that mentality in the face and He said to them: And those (rabbis) who lack or dont have knowledge and who are ignorant said to the Prophet if only Allah speaks to us. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 118) This is how Allah reproduced this caption of Muslim history for us to ponder. Imagine this human psychology- demanding that God speak to them- how arrogant! and not just a jew hobo around the corner, high class jews in the form of rabbis say: If only Allah speaks to us or if Allah could present us with ayahs. As if they hadnt been presented. Imagine what's going through the Prophets mind and heart, knowing the hundreds and thousands of ayahs that were presented to them. They wanted Allah to speak to them when this experience already took place in the time of Moosa- now, they want it to recur in the time of Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And Allah addressed, spoke to or verbalised Himself to Moosa. (Surah An-Nisa verse 164)

Now this materialistic nature of Bani Israel wants a miracle that they can experience with there senses. And this to the public would make sense. Arabia is a barren land- theres no water aroundso they asked something that can go down very well with the public. We need water around here, and if hes a Prophet and if we want to become Muslims, why dont we put together a package? You do us a favour and well do you a favour- you want us to become Muslims- OK, we want this- this for that- do you see this commercialism? Even in Islam they wanted to introduce it to the Prophet. They wanted to commercialise with him about Islam- everyone needs water, they could do a lot, make money, have agricultural produce, the market could flourishand then these jews will say to us"Hey, see what we did for you. You didnt even know how to speak to your Prophet- this is the way you should interact with him, get some advantages, benefits or material gain from him. Allah was watching and witnessing all this unfold, and He said: It is exactly what was said by their predecessors ( to Moosa when they were in Sinai, another desert north of Arabia and they wanted water). (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 118) As a consequence to that request in Sinai, Allah said to Moosa: Strike that rock with your staf, out of which twelve springs of water came gushing through. Each of the factions of the Israelis knew their source of water, and Allah said to them, enjoy it, drink of it and eat of the produce that comes from it but dont go around in the lands causing chaos, trouble, problems, instability and all these things that you are used to doing. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 60) Here they are, repeating the same scenario to the last Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and Allah registered this event for the Muslim mind to be aware of and carry this information with itnot to be empty like it is now. Where are the Muslim minds who can recall the details of this incident that is registered in the Quran for all Muslims to read until the end of time? In the last sentence of this ayah, Allah says: We have expressed, clarified or verse118) .then what? explained these ayaat for people (Surah Al-Baqarah

Allah could have said for people who know. Is it a matter of not having knowledge? No! Not having knowledge is part of it, but Allah says We have expressed these ayaat for people who are endowed with certainty. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 118) A certainty that comes from having knowledge- the knowledge that produces experience which breeds this certainty. And here, we have a chain reaction amongst Muslims in which there is no knowledge of these facts and there is a systematic assault on these facts by the establishments of yahud in Muslim lands. They are working on educational programmes to weed out books that speak about the Jews and the problems of the jewish mentality and psychology. We have these live events coming to us courtesy of the lifetime of our Prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) but Muslims dont want to understand these ayaat. When Allah works through the human medium, we are required to do our share in obeying Him- we will encounter hardships, hard times,

opposition, imprisonment, exile, military attacks. Etc. and out of all this encountering, Allahs ayaat will come through to bolster our certainty, raise our conscience and hone in our experiences (not by being the lazy type of Muslim that goes to a Masjid to be put asleep, which happens day in and day out, week after week, generation after generation). Yahud dont stop here. On another occasion, another rabbi, also from Bani Quraida comes to the Prophet of Allah, and he asks him, (listen to this question), When shall this world come to an end? What do they want the Prophet to do, give them a precise calculation? Or tell them in such and such years, 9340 years for example the world will come to an end? They know from their scriptures and previous experiences that this is a fact that is concealed from man. Another ayah in the Quran that came to speak to this intrigue and subterfuge of jewish rabbis. The response in this ayah to this question, The knowledge of this final hour of human existence, human life or the final day belongs to Allah, He will not publish it until it arrives. When it occurs, it will take you by surprise. (Surah Al-Araf verse 187) But even if he did give them a calculation, knowing their psychology, they would ask him What type of years are you talking about, lunar years or solar years? And even if you give them the lunar years, they will throw in calculations and questions to try to somehow discredit the answer of Prophets. Now, this psychology that is willing to take on Prophets- if they were willing to take on Moosa, Isa and Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa salllam) and if they were killing Prophets, imagine what they would do to the rest of the people? Who are you and who am I? If they were in a mental and verbal war with Prophets, sure they can kill off the Goyim, (the non-jews), because deep down inside their scholarly books, we are like animals, we come from an animal extraction. They try to give a bad image to Muslim scholars, but when a jewish rabbi tries to have sex with a teenager on a night flight across the Pacific to Califonia, and he is caught in the act and taken to court, this doesnt circulate, because the person is a rabbi. If he was a pastor or a priest, if he was a sheikh or an imam, the whole world would know about it. Rabbis, no!!! Youre not supposed to speak about them. Why? Especially, when they are justifying all the problems in the world. . Its a shame that only a few Muslims can take on these jewish rabbis who are standing behind the governmental structure, the economies and the establishments in the world. They topple governments and collapse economies, yet theres only a few Muslims who can see through this faade and point to the source of danger to Muslims and mankind. Racism is a problem in the rabbis head, because the way he reads scripture is a racist interpretation of scripture. The jews- Bani Israelbecome chosen people and the rest are sub-humans, so its easy for them to dehumanise us, demonise us and then set into court policies to kill, murder and homicide us because they have the moral justification. On the level of rabbis, they say its haraam for them to deal in usury among themselves, (forget about businessman, theyll kill each other for a buck, for money), were speaking about the scholars of Bani Israel. A jew cannot interact commercially with another jew

on the basis of usury, but it is halaal for them to suck the rest of the world dry. Famine throughout the world, starvation, malnutrition, the promotion of abortion, euthanasia- kill, kill, kill for more money- that is their philosophy and they want to get away with it by draining the Muslim mind of the initial information that exposed them in the presence of our beloved Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). Would you say that they have been relatively successful? Were going to disperse from Jumah prayers and go back to our own communities and acquaintances, ask them what they know of these details, these gimmicks, the lies, the tricks and the fast ones that they wanted to pull over the Prophet, that culminated in their attempt to assassinate him, which Insha-Allah, in the course of these khutbahs we will get to. Were going to build this case against the yahudi rabbis and those who follow them, especially those Muslims who are acting as a justification by putting out fatwas and learned opinions that protect this cancer in the history of mankind and this malignancy in our lives and in our times. Those who are opposed to Allah from the Children of Bani Israel have been cursed and condemned by Dawood(David) and Isa ibn Mariam,(Jesus the son of Mary). (Why?) because of their deliberate disobedience of Allah- a disobedience that is manifested by them in that (among themselves), they were never systematically opposed to a munkar that they commit. (Surah Al-Maidah verse 78-79) Look at the munkars that they are committing now, of all the states of the world- torture is legal in Israel. There is no public jewish opinion against torture of Palestinians, or Arabs, or Muslims! And when a few jewish consciences around take issue with that, the rest of the jewry tells them Hush, be quiet, and they follow. Brothers and sisters, there shouldnt be any Muslim who is suspended in his mind about the intrigues and conspiracies. We use the word conspiracies and they are not going to scare us away from this word because they are conspiratorial. Brothers and sisters- open your eyes to the fact that there is an undeclared war against the Muslims of our age, generation and times. In the United States, Muslims are hauled off and put behind bars for no crime, felony, misdemeanour or for nothing wrong that they have done. This goes hand in hand with the Russians who opened up a war front against the Muslims in their ancestral homelands, in Dagestan, Chechnya, Aghushtia, in the Caucuses area. Why bring helicopter gun-ships, bombers, fighter aircrafts and drop lethal weapons and kill Muslims? And then, the FBI has to go into action and dispatch some of its team to Russia to hunt down, (this is what they call Muslim freedom fighters), terrorists. The FBI is in action now with its Russian counterparts, arresting Muslims in Moscow, St. Petersburg and all around Russia for interrogation just because of the way they look. They come to them during the night, without any prior permission, they knock the doors and they take families to jail- Why? And after all this, they want us to make believe that this is a world of democracy and fairness. A couple of years ago, there was a Palestinian Muslim behind bars in the United States. It took finances, efforts and connections by the largest so-called organisation in the Middle East to have King Hussein (who is gone to his maker) agree to have him go back to Jordan. And then, upon returning to Jordan with a couple of colleagues of his from the Islamic Republic of Iran, his

colleagues were arrested at the airport and thrown into a prison with criminals, drug addicts and thieves. And then, this person who was in prison was told, "Youre not permitted into Jordan, go somewhere else." Where do Muslims go? This is a Palestinian Muslim brother whos homeland has been stolen, and the United States with all its democracy, liberty and justice for all cant tolerate a Muslim walking the streets and travelling its lands, and they want us to believe theres no jewish manoeuvre concerning all this. We have to be crazy to think there is no jewish hand in all of this. Whilst they are stabbing Muslims in the back, they are also going to potential Muslims in the United States- the African-American community- and they want to build bridges with them and send some of them to the kibbutz, (the collective farms they have in Occupied Palestine). They want to lodge them there and make them think that these Palestinians are enemies when they are their present and future brothers and sisters. Theres a social current in the United States that wants to make jews and blacks feel that they are in the same boat, that they are the victims of racism. How can the jews be the victims of racism when they are the generators of racism. This cannot be! No mind that understands yahud can accept that they have ever been victims of racism. Holocaust in Germany!? The Fuehrer of Germany discovered that they had been wreaking havoc on the economy of his country and he wanted to get rid of them. There was no holocaust of six million people, there was savagery, and in war there is savagery, but that pales with the psychology of yahud. When they found someone who was treating them like they wanted to treat everyone else, they labelled him as a demon of humanity, but no-one is supposed to label them the Shayateen of Ins and Al-Jinn and the Shayateen of the past, present and the future. Muslims- wake up to what they are cooking all around- it smells. Wake up and realise that we only have Allah out of all of this. Dont think that you can enter into some type of arrangement with an enemy of Muslims to take the pressure off other Muslims. Theyre not nave, theyre not dumb, dont act as if you are nave and dumb yourself. Have the integrity and Izzah that Allah has given you by the Taqwa in yourself- fear Allah, dont fear these. We are here for a few years, and then we are on our way, keep Allah and His Power Presence in your minds and then, dont care of what happens after that, because all the other things are reactions to the power of Allah. Place yourself in Allahs company and feel free and content.

THE PROPHETS DEALINGS WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: PART 3

(29 September 2005)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims With Allahs presence, we will continue to look at yahuds behaviour with the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). We realise from previous examples, how irritating, aggressive and insulting these jewish scholars were with Allahs Last Prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him). Now, we take a further look at some of these encounters in which they came up to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and acted with a frontery, arrogance and mis-behaviour. These facts are not registered in yahuds history because it is something not to be proud of. Brothers and sisters, you have access to a flood of information, but can you find in all of this information any recounting by yahud of those formative days of Islam in Al-Medinah when these yahudi scholars were coming to the Prophet of Allah and asking him what amounts to insulting questions? Youll not find that around, and for good reason- they have enough brains to try to dismiss this infomation from record forever, but we dont have any good reason for trying to dismiss this information from record. This is something that we should bring back to our public thoughts and to our common conscience so that we know who we are dealing with when we say yahud or the jews or the rabbis. To follow up on these encounters that are regrettably no longer present in the Muslim mind- they are buried in pages that are threatened with obscurity and deletion forever- To show you the intriguing behaviour of yahud, on one of these occasions, a collection of scholars go to the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alahi wa sallam) and they ask him: O Muhamed- Everything in creation has been created by Allah, but who created Allah? We used to think that this question was posed by atheists. In the past generion or two, this type of question used to circulate in communist circles. People who did not commit to Allah used to try to present committed Muslims or people who believed in a Supreme Being with this question. At the time, before investigating what was deep down in the bowels of history, we thought this was a development of the contemporary mind. We werent aware that actually this is a historical question, and certainly, we were not aware that at one time, the rabbis came to the Prophet with that exact question, and at that time, these rabbis were not supposed to be atheists. The Prophet (alaih salaam) knew that the type of individuals who were presenting this question were supposed to have a book- scripture- which was supposed to teach them better, they were supposed to know better than to ask such a question, so then, Allah inspired him to give them an answer- the ayaat

that were previously revealed in Makkah and pertaining to which the Prophet (alaih salaam) said: This surah is equivalent to one-third of the Quran- Allah instructed His Prophet to answer them with these four ayaat from the Quran: Say (O Prophet of Allah): It is He, Allah, the Singular, the Unique. The Independant the Indefatigueable. Who has not given physical birth and Who has not received physical birth; And Who is not matched by anything or anyone, and is not similar to anything or anyone. (Surah Ikhlaas) What is lost by you and I (the average Muslim), is the knowledge that Allah instructed His Prophet to recite these ayaat to these yahud when they were asking: Who created Allah? When you recite this surah- there is a component that is lacking in your relationship with the Prophet, and that is, the average Muslim, is not aware that when you recite this surah, you are responding to the intriguing behaviour and character of yahud that wasnt limited only to that encounter with the Prophet but that also poses the question today. They try to undermine the relationship a committed Muslim has with Allah by trying to place doubt in your mind. They tried to place doubt in the Prophets mind and they continue to try to place that same doubt in the minds of the followers of the Prophet today and into the future, as long as they are yahud and as long as we are committed Muslims. You would think that they have enough common sense to terminate this discussion with the Prophet and leave. No! They followed up and they asked him: Would you give us an idea of how Allah is? What are His features- His hands, His arms, His legs etc. They know from the Torah that Allah doesnt have any legs or arms or any of these features that belong to intelligent life that we are accustomed to as human beings, but they wanted to trap the Prophet into giving them some type of answer that would indicate that Allah is similar in any sense of the word to some or part of what He created. In that way, the Prophet would be contradicting the ayaat that he just recited in front of them, so Allah revealed an answer to these types of yahudi charactersancient and present- who know from reading and studying the Torah, that Allah has no human or physical features? Allah says answering this type of mentality: They did not assess Allah His rightful assesment. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67) When you think of Allah, you give Him Hes due- in your thoughts and emotions. They havent given Him His due in their thoughts nor in their emotions And, the whole world is His contraction on the day of resurrection. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67) Qabdatuhu- in the normal sense of language is fist. its the contraction of the hand. But Allah did not express any hand contraction, He said contraction, because that would give-in to trying to give Allah physical qualities. Within the range of human thinking, this would mean some type of human quality is parted to Allah. So Allah says:

And the skies, the cosmos, the galaxies- all of these are folded in His right. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67) Allah didnt say right hand. Were not falling in traps of these jewish rabbis- not conceptually, politically nor in any other sense of the word. Exalted and Extolled is He, away from whatever character or features they want to tag onto Him. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67) These yahudi rabbis who came to the Prophet did not give up, they came back to him. (Maybe you can familiarise yourself with some of their names) This group that came comprised of Salaam ibn Mashkam, Aziz ibn Abu Aziz, Bahri ibn Amr, Mahmoud ibn Sayhaan- (they dont use the name Mahmoud any longer. Their hatred for the Prophet since that time has had them avoid using any derivative name that can be associated with the Prophet. Hence, no Mahmoud, Ahmed, Haamid, Hamid, Hammad, Hammud, Muhamed- none of names, but at that time, one of these rabbis who came to the Prophet was Mahmoud ibn Sayhaan. They came to him, and they said (once again, they call him Muhamed): O Muhamed- You claim that, that which you are receiving from Allah to be the Haqq- the truth. But we find that it does not mesh in with the serialising ot the Torah or it is not organised or sequenced the same way the Torah is sequenced. And what did the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) say to them? Listen to what the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) said to them- im paraphrasing here, but he said something which in the structure of the arabic language are emphatic re-inforcement the truth of their knowledge of what Allah is revealing to the Prophet- this is a vow in the most solidly constructed grammatical way of pronouncing an emphasis in language. By Allah, you know that this revealed scripture is the truth from Allah. And, you indeed find the news of the Quran written or registered in the Torah. Where is it? Anyone has access to the old Testament, the Bible or the Torah. Does anyone find a clear statement indicating that the Quran is Allahs scripture to mankind, which was foretold in the Torah? Its obliterated and gone- it doesnt exist today. And for this reason, and for this type of questioning, Allah says in surat Al-Israa: Say (O Prophet, and you Muslims in the footsteps of the Prophet to anyone posing these types of questions): If all humanity, and all the jinn- these are the intelligent forms of lifewere to combine and put their efforts together, and re-inforce their thoughts and place all their brain-power in support of each other, they will not be able to reproduce or to replicate anything similar to the Quran. (Surah Al-Isra verse 88)

They dont give up, when the ayaat of the Quran are responding solidly to their intrigue, insults, and their mis-behaviour in the company of the Prophet (sallalhu alaihi wa sallam). At one time, in their own meeting, they said: Lets go to Muhamed, and lets try to lure him away from his Deen, because hes only human. Human nature has its weaknesses, so now, theyre going to try to work on the weaknesses of human nature in the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). So, they came to the Prophet with something in their mind, and listen, because this trap that they tried to place in front of the Prophet, is the same one that they are using nowadays. After sitting in the presence of the Prophet, these rabbis and scholars of yahud said to him: You know that we are the elite, the cream of the crop or the upper crust of yahudi society, and they will not dis-obey us. Once we make our decision they follow us. But, among us, theres a dispute, and there are other yahud who have taken issue with us. We want you to be our arbitor and we want you to judge this dispute among us. And, if your judgement or decision is in favour of us, we will follow you, and you will have the rest of yahud following you. Theres a human nature here, that wants people to become Muslim. And ofcourse, there are among the lower classes of yahud, people who dont know the dynamics that are at work. So, if theres a way to win them over to Islam, then that would be fine. Besides, there will be other noble jews that will become Muslim. Just like in our time and our day, there are jews or yahud at the highest levels who are communicating with nominal or cultural Muslims on the highest level to reconcile, and to endorse their point of view in what may be contention in the yahudi body of people in the world. Do you think yahud dont have their differences? They do! Do you think they are united? They are not! They want some type of Islamic support for their point of view. The poitical games that they are playing in our times, they tried to play this same political game on the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And Allah revealed ayaat in surat Al-Maaidah that would put an end to any type of yahudi, or otherwise, who would try to gain recognition, prestige and status, by having Muslims involved in their internal affairs, there-by giving credibility to some of them against others. Yet, we have Muslims in our time and day falling for this game- as if they dont read the Quran, and they probably havent dwelled on this incident in the seerah, thats if theyve ever read about it at all. Thats why, from time to time you hear them come and say: This israeli administration is better than that israeli administration, or this israeli prime minister or official is better than that israeli prime minister or official. The Prophet didnt get involved on inch within the yahudi territory of affairs. Why? Because he was listening to Allah when Allah was guiding him. Unlike the Muslims of today, who dont listen to Allah when Allah is trying to guide them. They made this offer to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)- Ok, come and arbitrate our differences and give us the upper-hand in this arbitration. Thats precluding all due process. They want to reach a

final judgement with the Prophet without the Prophet even looking into the details of what the nature of this dispute in the internal yahudi rank is. And Allah said: And, you should judge between them in accordance with the standards that Allah has revealed to you, and be guarded, be cautious, that you are lured away by them from that which We are revealing to you. And then, from here on, if they dont accept, and if they turn away from this method of arbitration, you should know that Allah wants to inflict upon them damage with their mistakes and their sins. And, there are many people who are degenerate, and who cant live up to the standards of Quranic arbitration and scriptural arbitration and Prophetic arbitration. Do they want a judgement that comes from the days or the times or the attitude of jahilliyah, where personal or self-interests would dictate the judgement or the solution? This is not what Allah teaches to people who entertain the certainty of Allah. (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 49-50) This trickery and this gimmickery comes from people who dont entertain the certainty of Allah. Its not that they dont know that Allah is present, they know it, but from these conversations, dialogues and encounters that the rabbis and the scholars of yahud had with the Prophet, the fact comes out at the end that they dont entertain the certainty of Allah in the depths of their thoughts and in the depths of their emotions. On yet another occasion, they come up to the Prophet with their brainy characters, and they ask him: Dont you claim to be following Ibrahim, and you believe in this Torah? By saying that, they wanted to draw recognition to themselves, that they are authentic and legitimate, while the Prophet and the Quran are saying youre not authentic, and youre not legitimate. They ask the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam): Ok, before you, who are the Prophets that you believe in? and he said: We hold in recognition, respect and in achknowledgement Ibrahim and Ismaeel and Ishaaq and Al-Asbaat, and that which was vouchsafed to Musa and to Isa, and to all the Prophets. We dont discriminat among any of them. And, they say to him: But we dont believe in Isa. This particular incident shows you how Muslims are not up to par when the jews have an argument against Jesus, and when they use foul language against Jesus whilst we look to Jesus with all respect and dignity that is due to the rest of Allahs Prophet. Theres no Muslim working on this area to expose the true character of these yahudi rabbis who have taken scripture out of its meaning and given it its talmudic deviation. Theres No Muslim to follow and expose the talmudic deviation of these yahud who claim to uphold the Torah, the old testament or the bible but who dont live in accordance with the principles, tenets, teachings and standards of the old Testament and the Bible. Say: O people of scripture, you have no basis at all, until you adhere to, observe, and live by the standards of the Bible and the Gospel and that which has been vouched-safe unto you from your Sustainer and that which has been revealed to you (O

Committed Muslims), will cause many of them to exacerbate in hostilities, aggression and kufr. (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 68) This is a fact that we see all around us. Why do you think they are hostile to Muslims? Because they know in their closed meetings and in their elitist minds that what Allah has given us is the truth- the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and they know, what they have is a diversion from this truth which pales when it compares to the Quran and to the Prophet. In the few minutes that we have left, this speaker will try to bring to your attention what happens to Muslims when they dont develop their minds to think. These incidents, and these events that we are recalling from the Prophets life, when the rabbis came up to him is not made public information. Imams and khateebs- if they know about this, are not permitted to say this in public. So what happens to the Muslim public mind?- it begins to shrink to such a degree that it is no longer capable of thinking about whats happening to the larger Muslim body around. You see- Brothers and sisters- a few years ago, there was this hue and cry about the Muslims in Kosova. So, international, multi-national, trans-national, and all types of forces go in and, they had this smoke-screen of a war against Milosevic. We all know, and we all are familiar with the information that came our way to formulate our thoughts and to undermine our understanding of the Quran and the Prophet in this context. And, we had some Muslims actually praise the kuffaar and the mushrikin and the munafiqin for their stand in Kosova. Subsequently, in front of your own eyes, what happened in Temur, in Indonesia? Theres an area there with a majority population that is not Muslim that was given the right to vote for the way it wanted to conduct itself politically. Eighty percent of those voted to break-away from the Central government of Jakarta and the Muslims of Indonesia and the rest of the world were put on notice- If you dont accept this, we will send in the forces to have Temur break-away from Jakarta. This should not strain anyones memory. Can anyone of these Muslims who were making favourable remarks about the United Nations, and the United States and NATO, and all of these forces in Kosova stand up today and say Why do we have double standards? Why dont you do in Indonesia what you did in Kosova? Or, if you want to be consistent with yourself, why dont you permit the Muslims in Kosova to do what the Christians in East-Temur did? But, because the political thinking of the Muslims has shrunk so much, they cant even see what happened in Kosova as opposed to what happened in Temur and Indonesia and that part of the Muslim world. Brothers and sisters- this is what happenswhen Muslims cannot think with the political mind about the days and the times of the Prophet, we will be unable to think with the political mind that is required about the days and the times of ours here and now. Take a look at what is happening to the Muslims of Chechenya and what is the international public saying: This is an internal Russian affair! Why wasnt East Temur an internal Indonesian affair? This is what happens to the Muslim mind- and what do you expect when you go to Masjids that are under occupation. We long for the time when our Masjids will be free, when our minds are permitted to be free, so that our lands can become free. No-ones going to come up to you and say You have a license for free thought, you are required to think freely and do what is required thereof.

THE PROPHETS DEALINGS WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: PART 4

(7 October 2005)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Muslims who are on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim In a continuation of our expose of yahud and the positions, interactions and communications they had with Allahs most beloved (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), we will continue to highlight these incidents that should radiate with significant meanings to those who consider the Prophet their prototype and leader, and from whose experience we learn in order to avoid repeating the mistakes that unfortunately many are condemned to repeating over and over again. The reason we highlight these chapters of our history is because yahud have not distanced themselves from that behaviour with our Prophet. Has anyone heard yahud come to a Muslim and say: Yahud of those days are not the yahud of today? You dont hear that, because they consider themselves an extension of that attitude and behaviour. For that reason, we want that attitude and that behaviour to become public knowledge and we will continue to highlight what they want to sweep under the carpet of history. In their days in Al-Medinah, when Muslims had an authority and a government, some of these yahud became true Muslims. The sad state of the contemporary Muslim mind is that we cannot recall even a few names of these yahud who became sincere and honest Muslims. You ask yourself, Is it public knowledge? Who do you know from yahud who committed themselves to Allah and the Prophet? This shows you how much control they have on our thoughts when we cannot even recall from our own history those yahud who devoted themselves to Allah and the Prophet. Heres a few names that I hope will not slip through the cracks of Muslim memoryAbdullah ibn Salaam, Falaba ibn Saya, Usayd ibn Saya and Asad ibn Umair. You have a circle of acquaintances and Muslims that youre associated with, ask them; Please tell me, have you heard of a person in the days of the Prophet whose name is Asad ibn Umair? Hell say: I dont know, whos that? This is how pathetic our minds are and this is how much damage has been done to contemporary thoughts of Muslims. Allah revealed ayaat in the Quran that we read and we recite concerning these individuals who came out of yahudi racism, nationalism, tribalism and ethnocentrism and committed themselves to Allah and His Prophet. But what did the rest of yahud in Al-Medinah say? They said: Only the worst people among us follow Muhammed. If they were from the privileged among us, they wouldnt have changed their religion and gone with another religion.

Just like yahud have a grip on the media today, at that time they also had a similar grip on what was said in public in Al-Medinah. So, they had information circulating in the public that these yahud who became Muslim are bad people and are not worthy of any consideration or respect. When this becomes an idea that is repeated in public, then you have other yahudis who are thinking about becoming Muslims who no longer want to become Muslims. You also have Arabians- the mushriks of Al-Medinah, who are not Muslims yet- but who are thinking of becoming Muslims but who would think twice before becoming Muslim because of the poisonous ideas that were spewed out by these yahud. This is how they work on trying to cripple Allahs message, His scripture and his Prophet.

From here, once again, we go to the rabbis- the segment of society that no-one wants to speak about. These learned elders of Bani Israel went up to the Prophet on one occasion and said to him: We are going to ask you about four things, and if you can give us the answer to these four things, we will believe in you, endorse what you have to say and follow you. And, they give their word of honour and trust to the Prophet that if he was able to answer their four questions, they would become followers, believers and disciples of Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And then, to emphasise what they are saying, the Prophet asked them: If you were to receive true answers to your questions, will you indeed- as a matter of trust and word of honour- believe in Allah and this message of Islam? And they said: Yes, we will. So he said: Go ahead, ask your questions. Remember, the reason we are presenting these facts is because theres a deliberate class of infomation managers who want to delete this information from the records of history and make believe that it doesnt exist. Their first question, they said to him: Tell us, why does a child who is born of the mother resemble the father? Now, this may seem like an awkward question and you must understand the mentality of the time- the concept at the time was that the father was the fertiliser- he has the nutufah- so why do we have children resembling the mother? This is not in the books and is a way of having you understand the question that they are posing to Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). In other words, its like saying that if youre planting a plant in the ground, it doesnt make sense to have the plant looking like the earth. Just like the earth is a container for a plant and when that plant grows it doesnt resemble the earth, similarly, the women is nothing but a container, but here, you have a human being that is implanted in the mother and when it is born, it resembles the mother. They asked the Prophet: Why is this so? And he said to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. Should you know- the mans fertilisation is white and re-enforced and the nutufah of a women is yellow and in a sense vulnerable. And at the time of fertilisation, there is a type

of tug between that which is white and re-enforced, and that which is yellow and vulnerable, and one may overcome the other- and whichever does so, the new-born resembles it. And they said to him: Yes, by Allah, that is the answer. Of course, this can be investigated in terms of genes or chromosomes and the other information that we have today, but the fact of the matter is they endorsed the truth of the Prophet.

And then, the rabbis went on to the second question. Listen to this- theyre asking the Prophet: How is your sleep? And then once again he says to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. You claim that I am not a Prophet, but a Prophets eyes sleep yet his heart remains conscious or does not sleep, and such is my sleep ie. my eyes are closed or my eyes go to sleep, but my heart is not closed and my heart does not go to sleep. This also can be understood further in the light of the analysis of sleep- the rapid eye movements, the different stages of sleep viz. the deep sleep and otherwise. This is not the time to go into these details, but when they listened to the Prophet answering them, they said: Yes, by Allah. And then they went to their third question, and they asked him: What did Israel prohibit to himself? And then once again the Prophet of Allah says to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. The favourite food of Israel was the dairy and the meat of livestock/cattle, and he suffered an ailment, so he took it upon himself to say to Allah that if he recovers from this ailment, he will not consume any dairy or meat of any livestock/cattle. And they said: This is correct.

The rabbis who were questioning the Prophet then said We have the final question that we want to ask you. Who is Ar-Ruh in the Quran and in the Torah? There is reference to something called Ar-Ruh, can you tell us what is Ar-Ruh? And then once again he says to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. This Ruh that you ask about is Jibreel. An then they said: Yes, but Jibreel is our enemy. He is harsh and he communicates bloodshed.

They knew that the Prophet was saying the truth, so they said Yes. But they had an issue with Jibreel (alaih salaam), and for this reason these learned jews harboured an enmity with Jibreel (alaih salaam) saying: Hes our enemy. Theyve made Prophets of Allah enemies, theyve made Angels enemies, and theyve made Allah an enemy. And Allah revealed ayaat in the Quran that we read but little do we place it into context: Whoever is an enemy of Allah, His Angels, His Apostles and the Arch-angel Gabriel and Michael, then Allah is the enemy of the kaafirs . And, We have revealed to you ayaat of evidence and only the degenerate, only the faasiqs claim that these are lies. (Surah AlBaqarah verse 97-99) Allah didnt say that He is the enemy of the rabbis, because the rabbis by these expressions they are kaafirs. Remember- when they came to the Prophet, they said: If you answer these four questions we will believe, submit, and follow. But they lied- the rabbis lied, per the Quran and how the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) demonstrated this to us. Since that time, we havent had any rabbis or any jewish infomation saying: Wait a minute, we have nothing to do with that. The jews and the rabbis of those days had their own positions and we have our own positions today! No!- the rabbis of today have become an extension of the rabbis of those days. Every time they say they want to give you their word of honour, they break that word of honour, and most of them are not committed to Allah. And when a Prophet came to them from Allah, authenticating and endorsing the scripture from Allah that they had within their own possession, a proportion of these scripturalists threw Allahs scripture behind them, and then they presented themselves as if they know nothing about it. (Surah AlBaqarah verse 100-101) This is yet another living example from the time of the Prophet for us to think about- they want to throw all of this infomation behind everyones back- as if nothing happened, and as if they have no knowledge about all of this. You can understand them doing this, but can you understand the Muslims doing this? We have become like yahud, we have no knowledge of this, we act and behave as if none of this ever happened. This is one demonstration of how these yahud express their animosity to the Prophet and Muslims. Remember the make-up of Al-Medinah- when the Prophet went to it- there was a polarisation between the Aws and the Khazraj, and the jews of Al-Medinah were taking advantage of this. Bani Qaynuqa allied itself with the Khazraj, and Banu Quraida and Banu Nadhir allied itself with Al-Aws. The last battle between Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj before Islam came to Al-Medinah and before the Prophet established an Islamic reality in Al-Medinah was called Yawm Buath, and yahud were on both sides. In this battle, Banu Qaynuqa and Khazraj lost, and yahud (like they always do), they take advantage of rivals and they want to be on all sides. Youll see this in the United States, in Europe, among the Arabs and all over the world. In all of their history, they want to be on both sides so that they never lose- they can always shift to the winning side. So,

when this serious conflict between the Arabians finally happened, they would always come up with some loot. The tribal nature of that society did not permit some tribes to take advantage of the others when the others lost, but that wasnt the case with yahud- if their enemies lost, they would loot, steal and possess whatever comes their way. In todays world, the heads of the jewish israeli government get questioned because they loot whatever comes their way. Their bad habits never die- from the rabbis to the prime-ministers of israel; from the time of the Prophet to our time, their nature is still alive and vicious and kicking. After the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) came to Al-Medinah and Islam was nurtured, some yahud and some scripturalists recognised the authenticity of the Prophet and Allahs word. They came to the side of the Prophet and supported this new Islamic state in Al-Medinah. After that, yahud began to work on a certain category of people in Al-Medinah- these were the munafiqun, and even some of them concealed their kufr and said We are Muslim. Muslims should be aware of these dynamics of life which occurred then and whenever we have the same dynamics at work, they will re-occur. This is a fact- when Islam becomes the reality of the day and it organisers our life, we will see yahud and nasara becoming true dedicated, honest, devout and sincere Muslims- probably not many of them, but some of them- as happened then will happen now. But then, you will see another dynamic at work, and in their enmity towards Islam, they will fork out on two fronts. They will nurture a munafiq segment in the Islamic reality, and some of them will claim to be Muslim while in-fact they are not. This was demonstrated at the time when yahud were expelled from Al-Andulus. They came to the Ottoman State and many of them claimed to be Muslim, and they climbed the ladder of the Islamic government, until finally they took over and they demolished the system of Islam altogether in Istanbul- and they are known as the dhunma. This is what they do, and this is why Allah referred to the munafiq segment of society and said when they were in Al-Medinah: When they meet the committed Muslims they say "We believe", and when they are alone with their devils, (the jews of Al-Medinah), they say "We are certainly with you, we were only jesting."(Surah Al-Baqarah verse 14) When Banu Qaynuqa lost the first confrontation with the Islamic authority in Al-Medinah, they instigated Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salul to go to the Prophet of Allah and to use his influence so that the Prophet will probably be lenient against the treacherous Bani Qaynuqa of Al-Medinah. And ibn Salul went to the Prophet and he spoke to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and Bani Qaynuqa were expelled from Al-Medinah- they went to Shaam and to Adhruat where they perished later on. We realised that when all three factions of yahud viz. Qaynuqa, Nadhir and Quraida lost their foot-hold in Al-Medinah and were no longer in Al-Medinah, the munafiqs no longer had the influence that they had. Today, not many muslims can see the same thing happening in our time and in front of our own eyes. Theres a contingent of munafiqs that rely on the israeli zionist jewish nation state- and when Muslims have the upper-hand somewhere, these munafiqs have secret meetings with the zionist israeli jewish officials. The problem is, we dont read the Quran as if its a vital, contemporary, now and here book that speaks about the facts

and the realities of the world that we are in. Its not a book to put a baby to sleep, its the book that stimulates our commitment. The rabbis lied to the Prophet of Allah, and we ask our Muslim scholars when are they going to face the public and have the courage to say We want to take issue with the rabbis of today who havent taken issue with the rabbis that were trying to fool the Prophet and who declared their animosity to God and to scripture. As long as the jewish rabbis of today have not taken issue with this, they are in the category of the jewish rabbis in the time of Isa (Jesus) and the time of Muhamed. Far from the Muslims being able to diagnose the condition that we are in, and to accurately and appropriately point to the zionist jewish cancer that is not only the enemy of Allah but also the enemy of mankind we can't even see that this cancer is on the offensive. It is trying to organise meetings, conferences and inter-faith sessions to bring Muslim clergy-men on a par with yahudi rabbis, to say: We are actually all the sons and followers of Abraham- there is no serious difference among us. They are organising these locally, regionally, nationally and internationally within religious temples and within international, political and diplomatic departments and institutes. Remember- 25years ago, they used to tell us religion and politics dont mix, much has happened since. Now, even the United Nations plans conferences to which it invites religious scholars and clergy-man from around the world- jews, christians, Muslims, hindus and others who will either become hypocritical because they know the truth but they dont want to express it, or act as agents to communicate to the rest of the Muslim public that Look, we can all get along. How are we supposed to get along with people who are responsible for the blood that is flowing in the Ummah? If we had enough knowledge and infomation, we will find that there is a yahudi hand behind the assault on Muslims in Chechenya. If we had enough knowledge and information, we would know that there is a yahudi hand playing in Indonesia. If we had enough knowledge and information, we would know that yahud are busy trying to dis-member and dis-figure this body of ours and at the same time, they want to meet with us and say, We are your bosom buddies, we are your friends, we are close to you, look at how much we have in common. They want to smile in the faces of our Ulema and they want to stab and kill and massacre our children and our women at a distance. In the meantime, we continue to read the Quran without meaning and to evoke the name of the Prophet without a context. We are called upon to understand what we are reading and to sympathise with the Prophet in these positions- not as some holy man, but as someone who belonged to a real world and who rabbis were accusing of lying- a Prophet who faced the rabbis. If you sympathise with the Prophet, you also face the rabbis- the evil of yahud all around- or else your salawaat on the Prophet and your evoking the Prophets name is next to meaningless- go out and gain a meaning in existence, live what Allah has to say, and learn and study what the Prophet means to you.

THE PROPHETS DEALINGS WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: PART 5

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims With Allahs help and with the confidence and reliability in our relationship with Him, we will continue to shed light on the nature, the facts and the impact that the jews had and still have whenever Islam is more than rituals. We will take a sample to add to the others of how they behaved towards the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). If they had the temurity, the guts and the gall to behave the way they did with our Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), then obviously they can behave worse than that, in a more confrontational way and with less guilt and qualms with us than they did with him. There was a noble (as they would call him) yahudi by the name of Shaas ibn Qais who was known to the yahudi and Muslim community. Even though he was an elderly person, his age was no barrier to his feelings and destructive thoughts. This prominent figure in the yahudi community of Al-Medinah saw how the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) brought together avowed enemies- Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were something like irreconcileable enemies, it was impossible to bring them together, much less to mould them into one society and unite them against outside threats. Shaas ibn Qais was so disturbed and irritated when the Prophet brought Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj together, have their hearts meet, then marginalise all the tension, conflicts and animosity that they had in previous times, that he told one of the younger yahudis in that yahudi community: Why dont you go and attend the meetings between Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj? Something that didnt happen before- Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were meeting on the battle-field- not at brotherly sessions, so these yahud were upset because they used to thrive and live off the animosity and hatred between Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj. Now, there was no longer any hatred, so they felt disturbed by this. So he sent one of the younger individuals to attend these friendly and brotherly meetings and he instructed him" When you are with them and as the occasion presents itself, try to interject into their discussions some of their previous history. True to these instructions, this younger yahudi goes and sits with the discussants from Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj who were no longer at odds with each other because the Prophet and the word of Allah melted and eliminated the hatred that was there. As is familiar with yahud, they wait for the appropriate moment and then they begin to speak- this yahudi is tuned into the sensitivities of what makes both sides tick and he waited for the appropriate slant of the discussion and then interjected a sensitive issue between the two sides- day in their history called yawm Buath. Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were new comers to Islam and they carried with them weaknesses, vulnerabilities and issues that can re-surface and have their previous character

conquer their Islamic character- and this is what yahud tried to stir in this meeting by reminding them of Yawm Buath- a day in which the Aws scored a victory against Al-Khazraj. Two individuals from both camps who were weak in their Islamic character picked up on these yahudi words and they began to exchange verbal vollies and harsh statements against each other. What was previously Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj before they became Muslims right now seemed like it was going to split the Muslim community again in Al-Medinah. The word immediately went to the Prophet who immediately tried to remedy this cleavage that yahud with their inside knowledge of our psychology were trying to create. If you pay close attention, this is why on certain occasions these yahud want to know what makes a Muslim tick, and whats the sensitive issue that will stir your bad feelings towards another Muslim. For you to understand the tension that was there- after the younger yahudi instigated this hatred among them, both the Aws and the Khazraj agreed to meet at a certain place in Al-Medinah and they called their members to carry arms- meaning this is a war-cry. The Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) came to a people who were characterised by not getting together, and yahud as we stated previously took sides. Theyre not squarely with one faction, youll find them all over, because they dont want to lose. Someone is going to win and they will ride that tide of success in their own financial way. The same thing characterised them in Al-Medinah, they were not all with Al-Aws or all with AlKhazraj- just like theyre not all with the democrats or all with the republicans, they try to find an internal position with all of them. In that way, theyll know and understand what will upset this faction as opposed to that faction. And you can rest assured that they are trying their best to make inroads among the Muslims to see what will stir the feelings of hatred against other Muslims. This is true regarding the broad Islamic movement, and it is true regarding local affairs of Muslims. We hear now, that there are two trends in Islamic Iran- and they are trying to figure out what will polarise the feelings of each trend and stir it to the degree that each side will try to defeat the other side by the use of arms. So, when Al-Aws and Al-Khazrajs pre-Islamic disposition kicked in and their jahili character overwhelmed their Islamic character, the Prophet came to them and said: How do you do this when I am still in your presence. I remind you of Allah who has brought you this privlege of Islam by which you have relinquished your jahili tendencies and by which your hearts have been brought together. And when they listened to the Prophet, they understood and figured out how all of this began- it took the Prophet to raise their attention and trace what happened in their conversation and to figure out that it was a yahudi young man who came to them and began reminding them of their days of hostilities. And for this, Allah revealed eternal instructions, if only Muslims could listen to Allah when He speaks. Many times Muslims speak about unity. How many times have you and I heard the ayaat from Surah-Ahl-Imran? I think every Muslim has heard: WA TASIMU BI HAB LILAHI JAMI AW WA LA TAFARRAKU (Al-Quran : Surah Ahl-Imran 3:103) Every Muslim has heard this ayah, but very few Muslims, if any at all, know that this ayah was generated by Allah in response to this yahudi plan to split the new Muslim society in Al-

Medinah along jahili lines, with Al-Aws on one side and Al-Khazraj on the other side. When this ayah is mentioned, how many Muslims know the yahudi mind and name who instigated another younger yahudi to go to these Muslim get-togethers and remind them of their pre-Islamic history? Not many! Why?! Because this area in which the Muslim mind needs information is starved of the necessary information. It is sad to say that the Muslims read what Allah has to say, but cannot understand the issues in life that the words they are reading are speaking about. Yahud dont give up, because when they see Muslims getting together, they agitate. On another occasion, when the Islamic affair in Al-Medinah was consolidated after the first military encounter with the mushriks of Makkah proved that the Muslims now were a power to be reckoned with, a yahudi says, and he refers to Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj by a name that not even Muslim scholars are familiar with- does any Muslim know that Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj were called Banu Qayla? You can go up to Muslim scholars, and ask them, Respected scholar, who are Banu Qayla?- and 99% of the time, youre not going to have an answer. Thats how thoroughly Muslims have become detached and torn-away from vital infomation in our construction as Muslims in the world. This yahudi says at the consolidation of Islam after the military encounter in Badr, Refering to Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj- when the elites of the descendants of Bani Qayla meet and agree, we (yahud) no longer have any status in AlMedinah. They know that when Muslims come together, they no longer have the type of status they had before, so something has to be done about this. There were two public figures in Al-Medinah from yahud. At that time, poets were public figures, they are like the propagandists that we have in contemporary society- strategists, commentators, analysts, politicians, spokespersons for the government- all of these were combined in that public image of these poets in Al-Medinah at the time. Then they began to express their hostility to Islam from these positions. One of them was called (this is also for your memory- youre a Muslim) Abu Asq. This is how the word comes to us from our history- Abu Asq began producing poetry that was slanderous and defamatory to the Prophet and to the Muslims. In our time, they would use the Freedom of Speech issue and say Well- theres freedom of speech. Yes, theres freedom of speech, but not when youre in a position that combines a strategist with a commentator, with an analyst, with a politician, and to speak in such terms against the Prophet of Allah and the Islamic State in Al-Medinah. And then, these words began to circulate. There was a Muslim by the name of Saalim ibn Umair who said, Ive had enough and he went to this yahudi and he killed him. You would expect people who are living among other people to respect the society that they are in- these yahud dont even show any respect for the society that they are in. They speak foul against the Prophet when the majority of people around revere the Prophet, they love the Prophet and they would give their lives to the Prophet- How dare you say such things! And then, there was another yahudi person in Al-Medinah who some Muslims may have heard of- Kaab ibn Ashraf- who was also in one of these positions. (Remember- yahud in Al-Medinah had an agreement with the Prophet and the Islamic government which spelt out their civil,

religious and political rights), after the mushriks lost at Badr, this person went beyond those rights. He left Al-Medinah and joined the mushriks in Makkah. There were no yahudis in Makkah, but this persons hatred for Islam made him leave Al-Medinah and speak very highly of the mushriks of Makkah, and he turned his poisonous words against the Prophet, Muslims and against Muslim women in Al-Medinah, and then, he had the courage to come back from Makkah to Al-Medinah. Imagine- he did all of this to the Muslims and then he took it for granted that the Muslims are going to be so merciful and theyre going to tolerate the damage that is coming from him. But the Prophet said: Who can help me against ibn Ashraf? That was a polite way of saying that ibn Ashraf who has violated our agreement with the jewish community in AlMedinah has incurred the ultimate penalty which is capital punishment. And a Muslim by the name of Muhamed ibn Muslimah stood up and said: I will- Ya Rasulallah- O Prophet of Allah, its my responsibility- Ill take him on. And then there were others who joined him, and they went to this yahudi one night and said, We want to speak to you and they began talking until the atmosphere was relaxed and they killed that yahudi. Should Muslims be ashamed of killing a yahudi in that position? Remember, if yahud/ the jews have a point in their history with the Prophet and with the Muslims of those days, why dont they bring this issue up? Have you ever bothered to read what yahud says about those years, that generation and that time? From reading their encyclopedias and history works, you would think they didnt have contact with the Prophet because theres nothing to speak about. If they wanted to speak the truth they would condemn themselves- so its better for them not to speak about that time and era. But are we to think that yahud in the hundreds if not the thousands who lived in Al-Medinah and the Arabian Peninsula had no contact with the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)? And then, when we look a little closer, we find out that it was a contact of hatred, defamation and of lampooning the Prophet and the Muslims. But the Muslims were not going to put up with this. They could tolerate a sentence or a statement or two, but for yahud to try to stir public opinion- they werent going to tolerate that. The Muslims didnt put up with it, and they killed ibn Ashraf, just like they killed his forerunner. Were the Muslims apologetic for this? No- why should they be? We have their equivalent in our time, but where is the Muslim will and determination to eliminate these types? When thirteen spies were caught in their act in the Islamic Republic of Iran, voices from all over the world were being heard to try to intercede on behalf of the thirteen yahudis. There were also non-yahudis- there were Muslims who were involved in this syndicate of spies in the Islamic Land. No-one speaks about them- why was all the attention and care concentrated on the thirteen yahudis? What were they upto? Why doesnt anyone want to speak about it from the Muslim side? Why did the news go concealed? Muslims should have nothing to be ashamed of or apologetic about- this is our history with them. We should either identify them through the words of Allah and their behaviour with the Prophet or the way they act now and today. Look at the guts these yahud have. A few years ago, they came out with a full page in the newspaper against $400million that the United States government wanted to give the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat to act as their guards- theyre not satisfied with that. Yet the Muslims dont have the courage to come out with the figures and the facts of the tens of

billions of dollars that are going to the yahudi establishment in Occupied Palestine through the channels of the United States government. In these ads, yahud tell us that they have 40million american christians who share their opinion and their thoughts. How can yahud- who conspired to kill (in the christian world of things) the son of God have 40million supporters, and the Muslims who consider Jesus the son of Mary to be Ar-Rusul and the Messiah himself dont even have a measely 100 000 americans on our side? Whats happened to the Muslim mind, that its not even able to identify those who are the bitter, the historical and the contemporary enemies of As-Salaat and As-Salaam on the Prophet? Have the words become meaningless or so traditional that this tradition and this custom blocks our vision and our understanding of who yahud were then, and who yahud are now. This is not the end of it, they did not give up on trying to frustrate the Prophet and that early expression of Islam and they are not willing to give up frustrating the Islamic movement and the Islamic state now. Have you ever seen the american side and the yahudi side on television? You can understand the yahudi side have jews representing it, but the american side- Dennis Ross, Martin Indick and Madeline Albright- yahud are representing the american side. Yahud represent israel, and yahud represent the United States of America- now do you understand why Allah combines them and says Ya Ahlul kitaab? Say: (this is for you to say- whats wrong that Muslims can no longer say what Allah is telling them to say) O people of scripture- you who say you are jews and christians- why do you claim that Allahs words are lies and you defy him and you oppose him while Allah bears witness to everything that you are doing? Say: O people of scripture- why do you try to sabotage Allahs cause? Why do you try to subvert the pace of those who are heading towards Allah? And while you are doing that, you seek to take these servants of Allah astray. And Allah is not oblivious of what you are doing. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 98-99) And then after saying this to them, Allah turns the ayaat to us : O you who are committed to Allah, (whether it was the Aws and Khazraj in the first generation of Muslims or whether it is whatever thought line there is now), if you obey a segment of these people who were given scripture, you will denounce your imaan. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 100) Listen to Allah- even though you may be praying, fasting or going to Hajj, you have denounced your imaan by becoming dependant on them and obeying them. They will have you revert to a state of kufr and none of these cultural mechanics are going to disguise your reality. But how do you revert to kufr, and these ayaat of Allah are demonstrated to you and in your midst is the Prophet? (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 101) This is not only a verbal tilawah, its a practical tilawah. Yahud are demonstrating their kufr today as they did in the presence of the Prophet and the Prophet is the only personality that lives in our conscience. The fact of the matter is that the ayaat of Allah are not demonstrated in our lives because the only faculty we have to bring the ayaat of Allah to life is our thought and our

thinking and when we fail to think, Allahs ayaat fail to have a tilawah or a demonstration on us in practical life. When we have this reality that we all share, and when we have all the forces in the world taking joy in what is happening to us, it is unconscionable in this atmosphere of crisis to have our Masjids in our lands and in our communities (on Fridays in particular) behaving as though nothing is happening. You go to the majority of these places, and they dont want to speak about Muslims in conditions of duress. What would the Prophet of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say if hundreds of thousands of Muslims became the canon fodder of the militaries of the world? Would he say dont bring up this issue? Would he say we need a lobby inside of Persia or inside the Roman Empire? Would he say our diplomats are attending to this affair? How do Muslims today act contrary to the sunnah and the out-spoken words of the Prophet that tell us all that we are a brotherhood and that we should care for each other? If you go to these Masjids that are under occupation, you dont get a sense of caring for or thinking of the Muslims on that level. They want to bury you in cultural and traditional issues, and give it a veneer of Islam by quoting a convenient hadith or ayah out of context. That is why we languish and we linger from one catastrophe to the next. Have the courage to go into the Masjid and say what Allah says with the context that it belongs to and with the relevance of our day and time. When that happens, we are on our way to fulfilment and actualisation of what we are supposed to be. And because of those who have taken the lead in areas around the world where Muslim blood is flowing, that day is coming and as for yahud and the enemies of Islamthey can stew in their soup of hatred, defamation and malignment of these sincere souls of Allah.

THE PROPHETS DEALINGS WITH THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL PART 6

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Maasharal Mumineen In our ongoing attempt to bridge the details of Allahs Prophets life with the details of our life, we look at a chapter that is relevant to our times and the mechanations there-in. After the battle of Uhud, the second major military encounter between the Muslims and the mushriks, the yahudi media began to put out poisonous propaganda. The Prophet and the committed Muslims did not score a conclusive military victory at Uhud, they came out of Uhud scathed, because the instructions that were given by Allahs Prophet to some of those who were in commanding positions were not fulfilled. And then, yahud began to say (which, if brought into the language of our times would mean), Muhammed is after power. This is not a Prophet. There werent such Prophets who endured such humiliation. Muhammed has been damaged in his physical body and he has been damaged in the crowd around him. Remember, these words are coming from jewish sources in Al-Medinah. In the first instance, the first thing that would come to our mind, living in the type of information that circulates around us is Freedom of Expression. They say Muslims dont tolerate objecting views, criticism and their opponents expressing their opinion. In this instance, which is a case setting example for the rest of the Muslims for the rest of time, these yahudis were not taken to task for what they said, even though some committed Muslims came to the Prophet and said: Listen to what these yahudis are saying, let us take out their leaders. The Prophet said If its just a matter of expressing their internal thoughts, let them come out with their internal thoughts. Its more poisonous for society at large if they internalise these thoughts. Besides, they begin to define who they really are. And, there was no immediate forceful or physical action taken against them because of the statements or irritating comments, as much as they would irritate everyone who is dear to the Prophet and who the Prophet is dear to them. So, the Muslims listened to what these yahud had to say. (By this time, one of the factions of yahud- Banu Qaynuqa- were already told to leave Al-Medinah, not because of what they said, but primarily because of what they did or wanted to do.) Then, as Allah would have it, weeks and months would go by, and then, a Muslim accidentally killed a kaafir as he was leaving a massacre. So, he comes to the Prophet and explains what happened. Now, because of the conditions that was written in the contract that defined social relations in Al-Medinah, the Prophet had to pay diyah or blood-money, because an opponent was killed accidentally. Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) had to go to yahud to defray this financial obligation. According to the contract of Al-Medinah, that yahud signed with Allahs Prophet, yahud had to participate in this financial responsibility. So, Allahs Prophet along with prominent sahabah go to Banu Nadhir who were outside Al-Medinah and he explains exactly what happened and he reminds them that they are financially responsible the same way the Muslims are because a member of Medinah ended another persons life. Before we go on to the further details, we ask ourselves- were the Muslims (meaning the Aws and the Khazraj), capable of paying this diyah themselves? And the most obvious answer to that is: Yes, the Muslims were capable of paying

that diyah if they wanted to, and if they did not want yahud to bear their responsibilities. But, (after listening to what yahud were saying), the Muslims wanted them to prove their metal. If they signed on the dotted line and they said they were going to honour the particulars of that agreement, this is the time and this is the occasion to do it. It wasnt that the Muslims were in need of finances, but they were in need of placing yahud where they belonged. So, Allahs Prophet went to Banu Nadhir, and they said after listening to him, You have come to us and we will be as forthcoming as we can be, but give us a few minutes to discuss this issue, and they left him and his company and went into seclusion to deliberate on what to do. Then, some of them said This is the best oppurtunity we have. Now he is within our territory, he is on our grounds, he is in our area and now is the time to eliminate him. (Imagine what they just told him a few minutes before that and what they are saying in secret among themselves.) Then, one of them volunteered. He said, I will go and do this myself. As they were reaching a decision to kill Allahs Prophet, (these are the types who are re-incarnated today in the Israeli zionist figures and images), as they were plotting and planning to shed the blood of Allahs last Prophet, Allah revealed to His Prophet what is going on behind yahudi curtains and closed doors. Immediately, Allahs Prophet leaves and he hastens back to Al-Medinah. And then, they come out more or less to implement what was in their mind and they found that he was gone. The Prophet of Allah went and met with the rest of the Muslims who joined him, and he expresses what Allah has revealed to him and then he sends word to Banu Nadhir You have an ultimatum of 10 days, no more, to live in Al-Medinah, after which you will have to leave. And they send back word to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), and they tell him, But were not going to leave, were staying here. So Allahs Prophet despatches a force to lay seige over this yahudi area on the outskirts of Al-Medinah. And now, yahud were relying on their nifaaq connection, Ibn Salul, who was their Muslim on the inside. Outwardly, overtly, apparently, he was a Muslim who was praying in the front rows when Allahs Prophet was leading the prayers, but he was the type who would go to his masters- yahud- and try to relay to them inside information of what the Muslims are thinking, and what the Prophet himself was deliberating on. So, they waited for days, and for a week, and it was almost two weeks now, and their munafiq connection did not deliver, hence they decided to surrender. And Allahs Prophet told them, Now, you may only take whatever you can on the backs of your domesticated animals and leave. You cant take any weapons and you cant take any wealth with you. These were given after these yahudis left to the Muhajireen. Ansaar did not get anything out of this, except for an individual or two who were in social need. These are the facts that scream out at us from reading the particulars of the Prophets time, and if we say and : In the Messenger of Allah we have a perfect model (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 21) If we confess that in the Messenger of Allah there is an example to follow, a perfect one, then how come some of us nowadays behave otherwise? Some of us think There has to be strategic peace with yahud or with Israel. (this was the pre-dominant thought in the past fifteen years, not to speak about previous years). Thats what the rulers in Islamic lands have been telling us, and this filtered down through religious establishments who churned out fatwas saying that Muslims should enter into an accommodation with yahud. Meaning that we will be able to do what Allahs Prophet was unable to do?!- Astaghfirullah wa A'udhubillah. And some of us profess to love the Prophet so much, and that Allahs Prophet is so dear to us- and when we ask them, If thats the case, can you tell me who was that yahudi who volunteered in that session of Banu Nadhir to kill Allahs Prophet?- theres a deafening silence! because those who claim to

love Allahs Prophet dont even know the yahudis name who wanted to kill him. And, its not only this piece of information, when we take a look at the details of the seerah, there are many other pieces of information that says My mind is aloof from the Prophet, even though my heart says that I am with the Prophet. If someone comes to you and says Who is Lee Harvey Oswald? The average persons going to say He was the person who it is said killed the president of the United States- John Kennedy? People know who either actually or it was made by the media to be the assassin of the president of the United States. Almost anyone will recognise that name, but if you were given a multiple choice of a few names and you were asked, Of these, names, which one was the one who wanted to kill Allahs Prophet? In 99,99% of the cases, Muslims are going to scratch their heads and wonder who is this person? What is his name? The problem is not in the fact that an individual or a few have forgotten the name of a potential criminal, and criminal is not the word because if you want to kill one of Allahs Prophets, thats as if you are on a vicious and bloody course of bloodshed against Allah himself, yet few of us have it in our mind to remember the name of a yahudi who wanted to kill Allahs Prophet. What has happened to this ummah, that it doesnt use the head that Allah has put on its body? And we are left drifting in directions. Remember, throughout the past fifteen years, the rulers were speaking about a peace process between these killers of Prophets, virtuous people and killers of committed Muslims. And because the political wind keeps shifting in a different direction each time theres a new administration in Washington, the word peace process will go away and they will concoct new words and the Muslims in the absence of the Quran and Allahs Prophet will drift yet again in yet another wrong direction and they will try to filter that down to us through the mimbars and the masjids as if they were self evident facts when they are self evident baatils. And we go from one occasion to the next behaving in such a manner, oblivious of our historical continuity, it means, (let us confess at this moment), they managed to break our mental relationship with the Prophet, his seerah, his sunnah, his time, his decisions and his policies- we no longer have a mental connection to it. These yahudis, who thought that they were well fortified, that their defences could not be penetrated and that they were in a superior military position, Allah says regarding that type of calculation: It is He who has caused the deniars of truth from Ahlal Kitaab, (in this instance yahud), to leave and be expelled from their fortifications. At the first geathering, little did you think that they wuld be expelled and they thought that they were secure from Allah but Allah came to them from a direction which was not within their calculations and He threw terror in their hearts. They ruined their own homes with their own hands and the hands of the committed Muslims. (Surah Al-Hashr verse 2) At the first occasion of their assembly, they did not think that they would be doing that. They thought they were well guarded and well protected. They thought that their munafiq connection was going to work. They thought that their military might was going to work. But Allah approached them from a direction un-beknowned to them and He terrorised them. They were terrorised. It seems like when Muslims have this connection to Allah, it generates terror in the hearts of the enemies. Instead of the enemies being afraid, some of the Muslims are afraid of this terror that is generated in the hearts of the enemies?! Do you think this is a historical ayah, speaking about the jewish community in Al-Medinah over fourteen centuries ago? Do you think it is not applicable to the current jewish community in the Holy Land? Some of the committed Muslims who are breaking new grounds are causing late coming Muslims to think again and

reconsider. Take notice of this, those of you who have an insight and a foresight for these types of issues. (Surah Al-Hashr verse 2) But we ask, are Muslims today able to bring the flavour of Allahs Prophets struggle into our times? In the months when the intifada in the occupied territories was gaining momentum, suddenly, the rulers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan hysterically began to contact the Palestinian Authority to try to place pressure on it to diffuse the intifada. They had meetings and summits. You dont have to stretch your memory to a thousand-and-four-hundred years ago, were just asking you to stretch it a few years. The summiteers, yahuds internal connections, the munafiqs decided to give the Palestinians some crumbs- $1billion. This is considered crumbs$1billion- and after the summit, how much did the Palestinians receive? $228million- thats about a quarter of what they decided to give these people. And when Muslims were beginning to track towards Mecca to perform the Hajj, the self-styled guardian of the Haramain says, From their own pocket, they want to sponsor a thousand Palestinian pilgrims to come to Mecca and AlMedinah to perform their Hajj. This is supposed to be a generosity, Muslims are supposed to be thankful. Oh, thank you!! Guardian of the two Holy Harams in Mecca and Al-Medinah. We appreciate your generosity!! And when they go to Mecca and Al-Medinah, they have to be numb, they cant speak about these issues- but then their Israeli connection sealed off the occupied land. This is the internal enemy of the Muslims whose hand is with the external enemy of the Muslims. Both these hands together want to muffle our voices, cloud our ideas and dissipate our determination so that we get nowhere and we have another Hajj in another year which is directionless and without purpose- the way it was meant to be by the clan that rules there. Stay alert in the coming months and see how the Saudi surrogates of the kaafirs and the mushriks will manage, once again to have Muslims with all the true and sincere motivations and intentions cattled in and cattled out. As if we are sheepish human beings and there is a Saudi shepherd in charge of this Muslim flock that goes pointlessly and aimlessly from one place and one station to the other, performing what is supposed to be meaningful, not meaningless, Hajj rituals. For those who need to be brought back to the gravity of the Quran and to the motivation of the Prophet, when this faction of yahud in Al-Medinah proved its treason and were expelled, some of them went to geographical Syria and some of them went to Khaybar. Being that the Muslims in the coming few months will be on their way to the Arabian Peninsula- to Mecca and Al-Medinah, how many Muslims, (you can ask those who have already gone to the Hajj), will be able to know the area of Al-Medinah where Banu Nahir used to live? Ask! And if the answer comes your way in the negative and they tell you, Its been a long time, Al-Medinah has expanded, and theres no longer any signs or any indications or any ruins of the yahudi presence in Al-Medinah. Does that mean we should not know where they were? Or, is there a subtle hand at work, trying to protect them? Besides, if Muslims are going to Mecca and Al-Medinah, why cant they insist on also going to Khaybar? Is it wrong for a Muslim to go to a place where the Prophets generation defeated yahud? Or, is there a religious establishment there, that is going to come to your face and tell you, This is a bida. Why is it a bida to feel that Allah has honoured and glorified that generation of Muslims that was committed to Him? And, if that was a bida, then why were the Muslims at other times permitted to go to Khaybar? Why didnt we hear this from other Islamic administrations of that land? Why are we hearing it now? Is it because they dont want to generate an Islamic current that is opposed to the cancer in the Middle-East? They dont want you and I to

gain a military momentum from going to the Hajj and from identifying our common enemies whilst our common enemies are planning war.

THE UPHOLDER OF JUSTICE

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims whose responsibilities are defined by Allah and whose direction is outlined by Allah. Allah speaks to us closely, carefully and intimately, and the times that we are going through make it more necessary for us to dwell on His guiding words. In a world that has been polluted with every idea that is counter to the purpose of our presence and creation, He says as He said hundreds of years ago: Allah proffers evidence or Allah testifies to the fact that there is no Divinity or no Deity besides Him, and so do the Angels and so do those who are endowed with knowledge, that

He is the upholder of justice or equity. There is no deity save Him, the Impregnable the Truly Wise. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 18) These words were not meant only for rhythmic and melodic voices. They were meant for the human mind and the practical world. What is outstanding about this ayah, besides the theological or theoretical fact that there is only one Divine Being? What is pertinent to this theoretical or theological fact (which is undisputed) is the fact that He in His capacity as the one Godly Authority is the Upholder of Justice- or else its just a theoretical issue. The point of contention between those who place rivals with Allah is its practical extension to the real world and life that we are in wherein those who think or claim that there are other deities besides Allah go off on a tangent of rationalizing injustice in the world. But to us, our belief and our commitment and our devotion to Allah means that He is a Just God who wants to see to it that justice is done in mans life- there should not be other Demi-Gods or Pseudo-Divinities that get away with rationalizing injustice in human life. But, we have a real world that has an argument with this. They say If you want to believe in God, we dont care what type of God you believe in, if its one God or a million Gods, you have the freedom to believe any type of God you want to, but dont let the effects of your belief in that one God become a social reality in the world. But equity and justice are precisely a social reality in this world, hence, Allahs presence has to be a social reality in this world, or else the Quran is a book for recitations with beautiful voices, but with empty minds and vacant hearts because no one wants to pursue the characteristic of Allah being the Upholder of justice, and that is why the ayah that follows addresses any type of questions that may arise in this regard Certainly, the deen that is recognized by Allah is mans self-yielding to Allah. (Surah AhlImran verse 19) This is what Islam is. Its not one of these proper-nouns like Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Hinduism and these other proper-nouns around. Islam is that simple relationship of becoming the underling of Allah- that is our status in this world, we surrender ourselves voluntarily and willingly to the power, will, determination and wisdom of Allah. What does that mean? Does that mean in-activity, or neutrality, or indifference? No, to the contrary, it means activity, involvement, action, movement, sacrifices, jihad and ultimately giving ones life for Allah. This is what Allah is going to accept from human beings- their surrender, their ceding themselves, their resignation to Allah. But what happens to the larger world around? The next sentence in the Quran has to be mentally processed and digested by all Muslims, especially now, in our days where there are many Muslims who think the only thing AlYahud and An-Nasara need to know is the truth and then they will be guided. You know, theres an immediate circle around Muslims in this world- those who say that they are followers of earlier scripture, Al-Yahud and An-Nasara, who also lay claim, and for that matter, a monopolistic claim on Allah.

The only reason for these so-called people of scripture, the only reason for their divergent views, their disputes, their discrepancies and their differences is that they were presented with knowledge and because of a penchant for transgression and aggression among them (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 19) Well, the truth has come to them, it was presented to them by Musa, Isa and Muhammad (peace be on them all)- it was presented to them by Allahs Prophets and Messengers, but what happened? Were they guided? Listen to that and think about it in the world today in which we have these so-called Muslim daees around thinking that it is the ignorance of Islam that is generating the hostility against the Muslims. Thats what they think, and theyre convinced of that! But wheres Allah? Dont they listen to Allah and what He is saying? The reason that these people who say that they cling on to scripture are divided is because Allah has given them knowledge of the truth and because of a penchant for transgression and aggression among them. Are these daees going to remedy all of this by presenting a hocus-pocus image of Islam? That doesnt mean that we shouldnt have to present them with these facts! Its an absolute must! We have to present them with these facts, but to anticipate that presenting them with these facts is going to solve their tendencies for hostility and animosity and belligerency towards us is wrong by the words of this ayah. You can look at these differences that theyve had all along in their history- every time Allah presents them with the truth, they turn around and make issues of dispute, warfare and bloodshed because of it. Look at- before this Quran was revealed- when they were given the Injeel. When Isa, (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) came to these people, they turned around and made a mockery out of the issue. They said that there is no one God there are three Gods; and on the other side, Yahud- the other part of Ahl-Kitaab said there is one God, but He is our God and not the God of the rest of the peoples. When Allah presents them with these facts, they want to claim Allah, monopolize His words and then they want to ride rough-shot over those who dont agree with their fallacies, lies and fabrications. You see, in the previous ayah, it was a difference among them because on their internal proclivity to hostilities and aggression, dissension, dispute, division, hostilities and aggression- all of this becomes that kufr and that denial of Allahs presence in human affairs- this is the seeding of secularism in todays world, where they rip Allah away from human societies, lively affairs and vital issues and they say Hes up there in Heaven, Hes not down here on Earth. This is a major practical difference between those who have gone off on satanic tendencies and tangents and those who remain committed to Allah on Siraat-il-Mustaqim. Were not going to run away from this statement, were not going to make excuses for it and were not going to turn apologetic because of it, because Allah is present in mans affairs on Earth and this is a major divide between us who affirm Allah and those who negate Him. And yeah, we expect them to come around with their loud mouths taking issue with the words of Allah and those who are committed to Allah and His words, if we go this length and distance in affirming Allahs presence in human affairs. When you look at some of the areas of the United States that are burning- is this untimely? At a time when that government declares war against Islam in the world- this is not a war against terrorism, this is a war against Islamic self-determination. Let them mind their own business and leave

Muslim lands and territories and let us settle these issues ourselves. But they dont want to do that, because they have regimes, client rulers and traitors at their service- they dont want to give that up, and we have Allah in this world and we dont want to give him up, and the twain shall not meet. If they come to you (O Prophet of Allah), (and to us by extension because we are on his path, in his direction and with him all the way), and they want to argue this issue to death, or dispute this issue or if they want to turn quarrelsome with you concerning this issue- Allahs upholding justice in the affairs of man- then say to them, I have surrendered my whole lively orientation to Allah. I have surrendered my whole life to Him, and so did those who are with me. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) The Muslims at the time of Allahs Prophet in Arabia fourteen-hundred years ago and the Muslims today, wherever they are in the world who are in the company of Allah and following his Prophet- We have to make a statement here to those who were vouchsafed revelation before us and to those who are un-educated about this whole affair. We should say to them, this is what self-surrender is all about. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) Look at the affairs of the Muslims today who place their confidence in Allah and take their lives to the front-line- these are the ones who characterize the meanings of justice in Allahs book and who stand up for the fact that Allah upholds justice in mans affairs. Or else, hows that going to be? Is Allah personally going to come down to earth, sit on a throne somewhere and then dispense justice via departments and regulatory systems around the world? Is that the way justice is going to be done? Or are we responsible for this feature of Allah so that justice is done with our own hands? We ask them, Are you willing to self-surrender or yield to Allah? If they self-surrender themselves to Allah, then they are on a direction of guidance. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) Where do you see that? Look around you, who are these people who are surrendering their policies, their minds, their best plans, their military orders, their economic projects? Theyre seeping throughout all the areas of the world, are they doing this because they are subservient or sub-ordinate to Allah, or because they are on a war path with Allah? If they turn the other way, you continue to present this issue and these facts to them (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) not only verbally, but in your actions which count more, and Allah has a watchful eye on what they are doing. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) Dont they see it? The United States is being battered by un-usual weather, areas around that country are burning. Are these natural developments dislocated from the social developments? Or do they go together? We say in our commitment and knowledge and presence with Allah that they

go together. They should understand that none of this would be happening on this scale if we were these Uncle Tom Muslims or the royal Saudi-type of Muslims going to the Masjid and saying virtually nothing from the Mimbar. What do they say when we have wars in the offing against Muslims dedicated to Allah? But Allah is Watchful over all that they are doing. Listen to Allah, and then, He says And those who deny Allahs ayaat, those who are objecting to Allahs power manifestations in human affairs, then Allah is quick to reckon with them. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 19) How do they object to Allahs Power presence in this world? Allahs ayaat is His embedded presence in human affairs. How do they take issue with that? They secularize life, they demean God, they separate church from state, they do everything that theyve been doing to try to have the regular you and me believe that God is up there in Heaven somewhere, un-involved with what is going on in this world. Indeed, those who kill Prophets. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 21) Theres a segment of human society that can rationalize killing Allahs Prophets. Is this something new to you? Dont you know that Allah dispatched Prophets, Messengers and Apostles to mankind aforetime and they were killed by real people in this world? These killers of Prophetshave they gone away? If you are listening to those who are indoctrinated by the dead-heads in Saudi Arabia, you would think theyve gone away? Do you want this demonstrated to you? The foreign ministers of these turn-coats in Muslim lands come to the White House, one of them even attired in the clothes of the first generation and the Prophet and his family- these people who are controlling Makkah and Al-Medinah seek justice at the Pharoahs court, and we have some Muslims who honor them, who want to pray with them and who want to receive their permission to go to Makkah and Al-Medinah to go for Hajj or for Umrah; and some people consider themselves fortunate enough if they become their guests to go to Makkah and al-Medinah. Whos the Muslim of principle and conscience who can say to them NO! We question whether Hajj is valid within your type of administration that is not subservient to Allah as the Upholder of Justice but is subservient to the enemy of Allah who is shedding Muslim blood and with whom you have a session and ask for justice for other Muslims in the Holy Land. Theres no-one around whos left to say it? Who are these people who were killing Prophets? And, theres no justification or grounds for killing Prophets. They are Yahud. Why dont our respected Muslim scholars have the mental strength and the emotional fortitude to step up and say this is what the ayah means. Yahud are the ones who are responsible for killing Allahs Prophets. And these same deniers of Allahs Power presence in human life also kill people who are focused and centered on justice- who reinforce, demand and order that justice become the central feature in human life. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 21)

This irritates them so much. Have you seen them going around and killing a person who offered one-million rakat in one month. Never has it happened! Because if these rakat and sajdaat and prayers are meaningless, then they will finance this type of understanding of Islam. But if anyone wants to take a closer look at what Allah is saying and relate it to the central issue of justice, which Allah says in abbreviating Prophetic history Certainly, We have sent our Messengers with evidence and We have vouchsafed unto them, we have revealed to them the book and the criterion so that people have justice as their point of gravity in life and as their central issue in their societies. (Surah Al-Hadid verse 25) Why has this central issue been deleted from the presentations of Islam from almost all the Mimbars around? Because the spokespersons for Islam have become the court-clergy of the Kaafirs and the Tawagheet! Whats the problem with the militaries around the world that are taking issue with committed Muslims around the world? The higher ranks of their echelon are so infuriated and so upset that theres a new generation of Muslims that is willing to place the vital meanings of Allahs words in the real life of todays human beings- that upsets them so much that they declare war against terrorism. Legally they dont declare the war and practically they dont define it. If they were going by their own laws and regulations, theyd go to congress and say According to the law of the United States, we want to declare war against these Muslims. But they didnt do that, they violated the laws of their own land, and then they go around and they want look for Muslims who are violating the laws. What laws!? We challenge them, if they wanted to take a survey of the most law abiding religious community in the United States or in the West, it would be the Muslims. They dont want us to think about Allahs words and if we do, we would demand that justice be done. They dont want that because we are the last hope that humanity has, theres no other piece of ideology or philosophy that has the potential of bringing back world-wide justice into our lives except this book of Allah that they want to smother, suffocate and choke to death in our minds. They do this by occupying Allahs Masaajid and they think they can get away with it- NO! We believe Allah is with us, Hes not a remote deity billions of light years away, beyond the cosmos, (we dont believe that), we believe He is in the thick and thin of this conspiratorial scheming of theirs. Give them the Glad tidings of a tormenting punishment. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 21) Brothers and Sisters, dont let these words escape you. There are people in this world who are justice centered, who are pursued just like the Prophets were pursued, they are wanted dead or alive, these are not nameless individuals, these are not Muslims without families, these are not human beings unlike yourself and me, these are real blood and flesh Muslims who are centered and focused around justice. These kaafirs, It is they who have inflated deeds in this world and in the one to come, but these inflated deeds are diseased. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 22)

They think the more inflated acts they put out, the more progress they are making- NO- it is a disease that is going to spell the end of their empire and of their aggression and neither in this world nor in the world to come will they have anyone to support them, (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 22) because Allah is here and He is there, He is in this life and He is in the one anticipated. The deficiency in todays routine or the cultural Muslims is that many of us dont factor in the presence of Allah into what we are doing. Some of us want quick results, and we want to achieve these quick results by going to Allahs enemies. This is what is practically happening in many parts of the world. But, we are not left to our own instincts in trying to figure out how to have justice done. There is Allah and there is His Prophet, and we have demonstrated in our past how we can make justice a fact of life. If this book of Allah is abandoned by whom-ever, then the results are going to be bitter. Dont think that by reaching some accommodation with the enemies of Allah, you are going to get somewhere? Youre not! If anyone prefers to isolate themselves from the sacrificing and the jihadi line of Islam, it is their choice and we will meet in front of Allah in the world to come. Let us remind you, A reminder has its effect upon those who are committed to Allah (Surah Az-Zaariyat verse 55) Let us remind you, If you retreat from this responsibility, if you give your backs to this trust from Allah, He will replace you with another people who will not duplicate your behavior, your attitude and your policies. (Surah Muhammad verse 38)

Corruption
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters whose Allegiance is to Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims One often wonders, what its going to take to have Muslims wake up to Allahs guidance. It almost seems as though the more Allah tries to teach us, the more averse we are to learning. This khutbah is presented in an effort to align our thoughts, expectations and desires to the Will of Allah. Recently, weve seen a few high profile legal wrangles involving Muslims. The reactions, commentaries, analysis etc. regarding these cases have varied widely; some have been completely off the mark and others slightly off the mark. The question a believer should ask is whether these

reactions, analysis, etc. were based on Islamic principles. One of the most apparent features of virtually all of these commentaries, analysis and reactions was the impregnation of what supposed to be an Islamic approach to these issues with traces of Jahilliyah and Kufr. Almost all of these statements carried within them the stench of Nationalism. One such statement anonymously distributed purporting to represent CONCERNED Muslims bore the following: MUSLIMS, LETS SUPPORT OUR LEADER! A thief in the name of ISMAIL AYOB, has deceived, swindled and betrayed our leader, the Honourable Nelson Mandela and disgraced the respected name of the Ummah. We call upon all Muslims and Muslim Organisations, The Muslim Youth Movement, Islamic Council of South Africa, the Ulema Council of South Africa, The Jamiatul Ulema of South Africa, The Memon Association, the World Memon Foundation to ostracise this arrogant larcenist. We the concerned Muslims of South Africa call upon: 1. All the Muslims, the Ulema to refrain from greeting or inviting the bandit Ismail Ayob the white collar fraud, double dealing charlatan. 2. We also call upon Abdul Sattar Dada, Dr Razaak Moti of the World Memon Foundation to expel this impostor. The Muslims must deal with these Iblisi forces amongst us. Excommunicate Ismail Ayob, his wife and family... CONCERNED MUSLIMS OF SOUTH AFRICA. There were also other such statements with a similar call and opinion, but the gist of the message was the same. Theres no condoning this type of behaviour, viz. theft, fraud, corruption and other such crimesmake no mistake about that. Let it further be said, that we are not standing in a position to defend nor condone the acts of Ismail Ayob, Schabir Shaik etc. Rather, this is an attempt to broaden the horizons of our minds and relieve ourselves of some of the garbage we knowingly or unknowingly carry within our psyche. Does anyone bother anymore when it comes to Islamic priorities? Does anyone know which of these are the kabaair ie. Which of these two is the major sin? Is the greater sin theft, fraud, corruption or is it to have ones allegiance to the kuffaar? Does anyone raise their thought to this level? It is because of this failure that gaps have opened up, resulting in the condition that we (Muslims) find ourselves in today. Remember, these nationalistic statements were being circulated from what is supposed to be Islamic mouth-pieces and from within Masaajid! Allah Exalted and Supreme says to us in numerous ayaat in the Quran to have Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims as our allies and our authority, to whom our allegiance is due. In one ayah Allah says: And those who have as their authority or allies- Allah, His Messenger and those who are committed, then indeed, Allahs Hizb(party) are triumphant (Surah Al-Maidah verse 56) In another ayah, Allah speaks to you and to me saying:

Committed Muslims shall not have the kaafirs as their authority, allies and those they reciprocate allegiance with, to the exclusion of the other committed Muslims (Surah Ahl Imraan verse 28) In another ayah, and these are only samples of the many ayaat that drive home this point. Oh you who are divinely secure in your commitment to Allah, dont take or designate My enemy, (Allah is speaking) and your enemy as authorities and allies and sources of allegiance. You present yourselves to them cheerfully, you greet them with cheers, while they are kaafirs in the Haqq that has been presented to you by Allah (Surah Mumtahanah verse 1).

Allahs Prophet (sallahau alaihi wa sallam) says: Whoever dies without an allegiance that he pays to Allah and His Prophet and the committed Muslims dies a death from the days of Jahiliyyah or on a branch of hypocrisy. In another hadith, he says: Whoever lives, fights and dies in the name of nationalism is not from amongst my Ummah! Now, you take these ayaat and these hadiths from the Prophet and use them as a measuring stick for this incident. In this statement, a call is being made to Muslims- MUSLIMS, LETS SUPPORT OUR LEADER and our leader, the Honourable Nelson Mandela This is kufr and rebellion against Allah from within the Masaajid itself! Does anyone care to take issue with this type of sin. And then these despicable nationalistic Muslims want to speak about those despicables who have disgraced the respected name of the Ummah. The kettle calling the pot black! So what is all of this, if it is not disgraceful- Imagine, someone is saying to us with our eyes and ears open- we are Muslims, but our leader is a kaafir. So lets all support his Kufr. All of this is happening because we are comfortable Muslims who go the Masjid to do some rituals, we go to the masjid to justify our conscience and then, its back to the dunya. Ugh-Who cares about Allegiance? Whats this Allegiance all about? Isnt that the general trend amongst the Muslims? And then, the saga doesnt end there. These despicable nationalistic Muslims call on their guardians, their sponsors and members of their social clubs: We call upon all Muslims and Muslim Organisations, The Muslim Youth Movement, Islamic Council of South Africa, the Ulema Council of South Africa, The Jamiatul Ulema of South Africa, The Memon Association, the World Memon Foundation to ostracise this arrogant larcenist. We the concerned Muslims of South Africa call upon: 1. All the Muslims, the Ulema to refrain from greeting or inviting the bandit Ismail Ayob the white collar fraud, double dealing charlatan. 2. We also call upon Abdul Sattar Dada, Dr Razaak Moti of the World Memon Foundation to expel this impostor. The Muslims must deal with these Iblisi forces amongst us. Excommunicate Ismail Ayob, his wife and family...They call on those who perpetuate this jahili mindset to echo their sentiments, and some

of these Muslim Organisations and Ulema Councils obey the call. Why? Cant they see the element of Jahiliyah in it?! Oh No, theyve been trained to tow the line, to ensure the status quo prevails. All these Muslim Organisations and Ulema Councils need the blessing of their masters- The kaafirs in the government- so they condition my mind and your mind to accept that the corruption, theft and fraud is more serious than the kufr perpetuated through their allegiance to the mushriks and the kaafirs! Now, (away from the facts of these cases), when Abu Jahl wanted to perpetuate the status quo which Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was challenging, Abu Jahl said to his sons, divorce the daughters of Muhammed. Have him and his family ostracised. Does this ring a bell? Theres no similarity between Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and the types of criminals in question, but there certainly is a similarity in the attitude of those who want to perpetuate the status quo and those who want to follow Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) in order to change it. And then we can project this issue to a global level- dont we have Muslim Organisations and governments and Kings and Princes etc. who ostracise and banish the followers of Muhammed (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) when these humble servants of Allah want to replace the Mushrik systems which are in their midst with an Islamic one? If these Muslim Organisations and Ulema Councils were sincere in their approach and consistent in their behaviour, then they would extend their range of activity and take on the corrupt family of Ahl-Saud who rules in the Hejaz, in Makkah and Al-Medinah. Theres really no difference between these petty thieves here and those Grand thieves in Makkah and AlMedinah, who steal the resources of the ummah and siphon off huge benefits for themselves, whilst in the process they give financial and military power to the enemies of the committed Muslims ie. the Zionist Israeli Jews and the Imperialist Christians. Imagine, the wealth of King Fahd is estimated at around $400 billion, the kings nephew who happens to be the Ambassador to the US, his wealth is estimated at around $20billion. What are they doing with this vast accumulation of wealth? And DARE any of these Muslim Organisations and Ulema Councils say a word. No- theyd prefer to remain in the good books of these rulers because they still need to beg for a visa to go to Hajj or Umrah or because they need some crumbs or worse still, they feel elated when they get invited as Guests of the King. As an after thought, Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) says A Committed Muslim is one who fore-sees events and is fine-tuned into them. Let us not forget, that our leader, the Honourable Nelson Mandela revoked martyr Sheikh Ahmed Yassins visa at the eleventh hour, yet war criminals who are spilling Muslim blood were welcomed here with open arms and kisses on both cheeks. With this government resurrecting past military co-operation agreements with the Zionist Israeli Jews which will see more innocent Muslim blood being spilled, courtesy of the complicity of this government, it is long overdue that Muslims begin to take notice of these developments and pay serious attention there-to. With all

this adverse media publicity focused on the Muslims, these trials have added to the negative image that Muslims are carrying. Could these be the first steps towards defaming, degrading and vilifying Muslims here? First steps which will gradually lead to xenophobia, hate crimes and eventually ethnocide. With the South African government and the Zionist Israeli Jews , who are up to no good, standing shoulder to shoulder, dont take your eye off the power pulse. This should not stretch anyones memory- the Muslims in Bosnia were totally integrated into the system, they were eating the filthy pig, drinking wine and doing all sorts of things not becoming of Muslims, and even with this level of tolerance and integration those Muslims had to be wiped out. It is time to wake up, before it is too late- these types of developments require counter-developments by the Muslims themselves.

EVERY PROPHET HAD ENEMIES

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters whose loyalty and trust belong to Allah Allah says in an ayah that should be contemplated in the world that we are in. Although this ayah speaks about Allahs Prophets, by extension it also speaks about those who are in the footsteps and direction of His Prophets. It is in such a manner that We (meaning Allah) has rendered to every Prophet an enemy who comes from criminals, and suffice it to have Allah as a guide and a support. (Surah AlFurqan verse 31) From time to time, we meet people who say: You (Muslims) speak too much about enemies. Why cant you have a peaceful attitude? Why cant you express love to everyone? Why do you always harp on this issue of enemies? Whoever comes to us with this type of understanding

has not read the Quran. Whether it is a Muslim or whether it is not a Muslim, they are not familiar with what Allah is saying. The course of this struggling dawah is in such a direction, that it is unavoidable to have opponents. If we speak the truth and explain Allahs message that in itself generates opposition, hostility and enemies. If there were people who were capable of not having enemies, they would have been Allahs Prophets. Prophets were human beings that Allah chose by Himself, in other words, they were the cream of the crop of humanity, and could they manage not to have opponents? Did they live their life trying to speak Allahs words without opposition? It didnt happen! Can anyone bring us one example of any Prophet who was successful in not having opponents? Never! So listen to what Allah is saying and dont listen to distractions and people who come to us with words that on the surface sound very appealing but when we measure them to the facts and real life, these words are irrelevant. And if it happens that we have Muslims who dont understand opponents in life, then these individuals are lacking the correct information of what is happening in real life. It is within the view of this ayah that we take a look at a chapter in the Seerah of Allahs final Prophet- who had enemies. Does anyone deny that Muhamed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) had enemies? If this was a guru style, a meditation type, a strictly spiritual endeavour that has nothing to do with real life, then the Prophet would have been successful at avoiding enemies who wanted to kill him. Some Muslims complain just by thinking that they have enemies. Theyre not under the pressure of these enemies, theyre not threatened, nor excommunicated, nor abandoned by their societies, theyre not the target of the establishment, but they complain, Why is Islam like this? Maybe it is the right for Muslims to complain, but definitely its not their right to complain about this particular issue. If youre a Muslim, this is the way things happen. But if you choose to step out of Islam, then yes, you can go and have that wishful world of yours in which you think there are no enemies. When he established Islamic authority and power in Medinah, he gave the jews of Medinah the right to have their independent civic character, freedom of expression, conscience, religion, assembly and speech. Can any yahudi tell us that the way we run our Islamic life, we deny freedoms to others, if Allahs Prophet is our centre-piece of concern? But these jews demonstrated that they were not willing to honour their word with him. When they entered into the contract of Medinah and they signed for their civil equality with the Muslims, they had to honour some rights and some duties. But their 1st faction- Banu Qaynuqa did not- and the result of that was Leave! If you want to undermine this heavenly authority on earth, you can go where theres no heavenly authority and make trouble in that area, but not in Medinah. Then, the 2 nd faction of yahud, Banu Nadhir went on the offensive whilst Muslims were extending a hand of equality and understanding to those who did not belong to their belief and strategy. They turned around and wanted to kill the Prophet. Once again, they violated their endorsement of the document of Medinah, which they signed and agreed to with the Prophet. Then, there was one remaining faction of yahud in Medinah that up until the 6th year honoured its word with the Prophet. No-one

harmed them, they lived freely, with equality, equal rights etc. But then, they were contacted. What happened?

There was a grand scheme to put together a grand alliance of forces in Arabia to thwart this Islamic Authority. When the Prophet was in Mecca, the Meccan establishment understood that Muhamed for thirteen years managed to survive because of their divisions, so they said Enough of this, we are going to unite and spill his blood among all our tribes. So, they chose a representative from all the factions in Mecca to go in one dark night and swipe the Prophet (sallalahu alaih wa sallam). This local thinking in Mecca became a regional thinking in Medinah. The power centres and the factions of Arabia understood that an Islamic authority thrives in Medinah because of the divisions and differences among the tribes in Arabia. So, they said we have to close ranks now. And who was instigating this drive against the Prophet and the committed Muslims in Medinah? It was yahud in Khaybar. They were the ones who were going around to the different factions, tribes and power centres in Arabia, and telling them Now is the time to come together and unite, to finish off this expression of Islam within its extended dimensions in Medinah. There was a central yahudi figure who was co-ordinating all of this. Huyay ibn Akhtab was going around from place to place and from leader to leader and telling them Now is the time. He had another task, he had to go to Banu Quraida, who was still in Medinah and say, This is the time to join this force against this new state in Medinah. Banu Quraida resisted to begin with. They said, We have seen nothing concerning Muhamed that would have us dishonour our agreement with him. He has dealt with us fairly. Remember, the Prophet expelled two other factions from Medinah, yet, this lingering faction was telling its coreligionist We havent seen any injustice from this person. So, they had to be talked into it(read closely, Islamic history), they had to be talked and convinced to join these allied forces in Arabia against Allahs Prophet. And finally, they did. After they proved their worth and demonstrated who they really were, justice had to be done, because they were committing high treason. After about three weeks, with Allahs help, the allied forces that were brought together by yahudi politicians and diplomats could not win their encounter and their battle of the trench and the allies, so they retreated. And what happened when they retreated? Banu Quraida stood exposed! They thought that all these forces that were mustered and moulded together was going to score a victory. When we speak about these forces, who are we speaking about? We are speaking about It is in such a manner that we have rendered to each Prophet enemies of criminals, and suffice Allah as a guide and a source of support. As the allied forces were leaving Medinah and going back to Mecca and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, immediately Allahs Prophet said to the committed Muslims who had just spent three long weeks of exposure and hardship:

Whoever listens and obeys should not pray Al-Asr except in Bani Quraida. Many faqihs quote this hadith to indicate that there is tolerance of understanding the Prophet in different ways, but it is taken out of this larger context in which it belongs. (Something has to be explained here), Banu Quraida were located in the Southern suburbs of Medinah, and you had to go a little distance to get to them. They were not in the middle or downtown Medinah, like Banu Qaynuqa. At that time, when the events were still fresh and the failing alliance was retreating, the Prophet said Immediately to Bani Quraida. Let us bypass the limited fiqhi indication of the hadith and go on to the hostility of Banu Quraida to the Prophet. What were their internal thoughts? They were saying, What are we going to do now? These forces that came, and who we thought were going to carry the day and defeat this Islamic state in Medinah were themselves defeated and we made the mistake of joining them against Muhamed. These are our options: We convert and become Muslims, thats option number 1. And they argued and said thats not an option because we are not going to abandon our Torah and our understanding of the Torah. So, they go to option number 2. What we can do is, we can kill our children and our women and take a final stand against Muhamed and his troops. If we lose, theres nothing to regret because all of us are gone. But, if we win, there are many other women and children out there. (Listen to this yahudi thinking, their internal thoughts.) Then they said, No, how can we do this, we cant kill some of our own?! How can anyone kill his own family? Were not going to do that! So, they went to the 3rd option. This is a Saturday, and our opponents know that we honour the Sabbath and we are not going to launch a military attack against them. So, well take advantage of that, and launch the military attack against them during the Sabbath. Then they said, No, were not going to violate our Sabbath. So, they wound up discrediting the three options that they discussed. The question here is, (before we go on to the consequences), How many Muslims can pluck out that yahudi thinking in Medinah at that time and bring it to our time, and say this is what yahud are considering when they want to take on the followers of the Prophet? They will think about converting, societal suicide, and violating the Sabbath. Does anyone raise their ideas to this level when dealing with yahud today? Obviously, they are expressing hostility to committed Muslims, and they go about doing that with sharp words and with smiles on their faces. They are sending their officials inside Muslim countries who are opening up in a diplomatic sense. Many things are happening in the absence of our thoughts of how they behave and how they operate. If we fail to think about how they interacted with our Prophet, obviously were going to fail to think about how theyre going to interact with us! Yet, we choose to dismiss the sunnah and the seerah of the Prophet when we dont think about these issues at this level. People who hear khutbahs will hear in these khutbahs: O Allah destroy our enemies. Allahs going to destroy them, and were sitting back, not even wanting to think of how our Prophet obeyed Allah in bringing about the result that we want through only words out of our mouth!? Thats not the way the world works! Thats not the way Allah works! We need to do some home work and some thinking and then we need to get our direction straight and move in that direction?

What was the consequence of this hostility that was expressed to the Prophet? A hostlity no-one wants to speak about. But before that, when the plans was being hatched, the Prophet was on the offensive, he sent a delegation of five individuals from Al-Ansaar to one of the yahudi chiefs in Khaybar, because all of these plots and plans were concocted in Khaybar. The Prophet wasnt just waiting for the forces to come to beseige the Muslims. He told five to go and target a specific leader of yahud, and when one of them went into the dwelling of this yahudi and killed him, he came out and said: Qatalahullah. Look at this understanding, he struck this yahudi instigator and plotter and enemy of Allah and the Prophet with his sword, and when he came back to the Muslims, he said: Allah killed that yahudi, not him. This is the understanding that comes from living, not just from speaking and watching, but from being involved. What was the consequence of this hostility that was expressed to the Prophet? The Prophet sent a leader of Al-Ansaar who was fatally injured in the battle of Al-Khandaq and he said Go and judge them. And he said, The men six hundred to seven hundred should be eliminated because they committed high treason, as for the children and women, let them leave. If this is a chapter of Muslim history, why dont Muslims know these details, especially at times like these, when this same enemy is expressing itself and killing innocent people, because these innocent people may one day in the near future be expressing what Allahs Prophet expressed in Medinah. When they are strategizing to kill innocent Muslims, innocent Muslims dont even have the mental force to think out this psychology that has been at work, and still is at work. If these imams and khateebs avoid this issue because they think they have to apologise about something, let them tell us what is there to apologise for. This is not an apologetic position. This is something every Muslim should be proud of in the innocent sense of the word. And on the other hand, if yahud think they were massacred in Medinah, why dont they come out and tell us they were massacred in Medinah? But they dont even approach this issue. Why? Because it is going to have us think, and they dont want us to think, hence they deal with it through silence and indifference. Their silence and indifference is parallel to the silence and indifference of their co-parts in the Masaajid. In the meantime, we are the objects of their hostility. Remember, when someone comes to you saying Why do you always speak about enemies and adversaries and hostile powers and animosities?, say to them, We are not the ones who are responsible for this hostility or animosity if we are diagnosing it, go to the people who are expressing it. Dont come to us because we are shedding light on it, go to them because they are generating it. Among the Muslims, there are individuals and social trends that want us to increase our feelings of unease among ourselves instead of turning the attention on our irritators who have taken to the gun to express themselves against us. Weve mentioned previously that there will be more instability in Muslim lands, between Muslims and other peoples in the world. The reason for that is to have all the Muslims occupied away from the plans to take over Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and the adjunct to that will be their confiscation of Mecca and Medinah, and nuetralising Mecca and Medinah from being the hub of Islamic agreement and corresponding efforts. We have seen in the

past months the instabilities that have been instigated in different parts of the Muslim world. They are going to have all the Muslims drawn into their particularities of race, nationality, ethnic origin, geography or any other particulars, so that we will be consumed by it. And when the day comes, and they put their hand, that is full of Muslim blood, on Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, you will say I would like to help, but I have more problems to tend to in my immediate surroundings. This is done, because theyve taken away our common thinking and sentimental attractions towards each other.

WARFARE ON ANOTHER FRONT

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims of patience and endurance If it wasnt for Allahs meaningful words, we would probably be confused about the state of the world today. We begin by thanking Allah plentifully for having us anchored because we find a meaning to where we are and this meaning is extracted from Allahs disclosed words to us. One of the areas that is confusing to those who are estranged from the Quran but is not so to those who are solidly based in the Quran is the obvious acts, policies and skewed information that places people just because they belong to the Quran as targets in this world. It is more than obvious that just because you and I and others have access to Allahs meanings, we have almost automatically become terrorists and everything that that word has conjured up in the minds of those who dont like the justice of Islam to become the fact of life. They know that once the Muslims surmount one issue, from there-on the process is on its way to fruition. This one issue is the one that

speaks about the conditions and the responses that are necessary to these conditions. In the life and the world that we share today, who can deny the fact that there are wars, battles, skirmishes, low intensity and high intensity military operations against- not anyone- but against those who are potentially in a position to finally bring back a semblance and a standard of justice to human life? This is what qualifies us to be labelled in derogatory and defamatory terms. The image makers are apt to have us withdrawn from these conditions and these facts. It is not a burning issue inside the Muslim congregation that multiple wars are being fought in our lands. If we dont make it a burning issue in our collective-selves, how can it become a public issue outside our collective-selves? The kaafirs are not interested in highlighting the areas of the world where they have unleashed their forces against those who have understood that the one thing left to be done is repelling and reversing acts of aggression, occupation and exploitation that have been imposed upon us by external enemies who collaborate with internal ones. What is to be done? You cant speak this issue away! You cant dream it out of existence and you cant fantasise that it will go by doing nothing! Whilst we look at the undeniable bloody affairs inside our societies, now they are implementing a new type of warfare. Amassed military power can affectively combat lesser military powers but now, they are onto a new type of warfare- a low intensity war against those who qualify to absorb the meanings of Allah into their active lives. This is not only a military war against Muslims on the frontlines of self-determination in different areas of the world, but it is also a war against the concepts and the ideas that are ingrained in our Holy Book. Now, they have to recruit not only military personnel, but scholarly personnel to turn on the concepts and the ideas that germinate from this Holy Scripture. Did Allah leave us orphans in this world? You would think that a caring God would advise His servants and subjects precisely at times of war, bloodshed and challenges. What does Allah say? These are going to be (if they are not already) the targets of the mental and intellectual assaults on the meanings of the Quran. These are ayaat- how are they going to deal with these ayaat? Listen What is it with you that once you are told to mobilise for the cause of Allah, on the path to Allah you all of a sudden become dead weight on earth? Are you satisfied with this life in exclusion to the coming life? But the pleasures of this life compared with the coming life is trivial, is petty. If you dont mobilise, Allah will put you through excruciating torment and then He will replace you, He will transfer the responsibilities that He has given you to those who will not act the way you are acting, and you are not going to damage or harm Allah. (Surah Taubah verse 38 to 40) Now listen, if these meanings come alive in Islamic Social life, which is the victim of hegemonic policies that exclude any semblance of justice being done in our hearts and heartlands and they begin to re-capture Islamic imagination, then they will roll back this incursion into our domain. They dont want us to catch onto this fact. And you are ordered by Allah

And combat Al- Mushrikin in an all out sense the same way they are combating you in an all out sense. (Surah Taubah verse 36) We cant be partial about this. We cant be distracted from this. We cant be divided because of this. Previously, these kaafirs and mushriks were going to these meanings in the Quran and saying Allahs only and final scripture that has been preserved is an anti-Semitic Book. Whats anti-Semitic about the Quran? Can they tell us or explain to us what is anti-Semitic about the Quran? The Prophet (alaih salaam) himself was a Semite. The first Islamic Generation and the first Islamic Society and the first Islamic State was a Semitic one. The language in which revelation and scripture has been preserved until eternity is a Semitic one. Now, at the pace things are developing theyre going to come and tell us that the Quran is a military manual or a recruiting book of Muslims to go and fight against their oppressors, the tyrants, the dictators, the exploiters in their midst. They will look at these ayaat, just like the ayaat that we quoted and say Look, what did we tell you! And then, they will dig a little deeper and they will open some books of hadith and they will come across such common information that should be common knowledge amongst us and they will see in one incident, at the battle of Uhud, that there were two individuals who were fifteen years old who were recruited by the Prophet to go to war at Uhud. Theyre going to say Look at this Islam, its taking children to war. And then, they will look further, and they will find that during the battle of Al-Khandaq, there is yet another fifteen year old that participated at the frontline of skirmishes against the enemies of Islam and they will say Look how barbaric Islam is. And, they will read on, and they will find that there was a lady by the name of Umm Talha who during the military affair of Hunayn, (that was when the Muslims were impressed with their numbers), had a dagger with her. And then, one of the persons around the Prophet came to him and he said Look, this lady is carrying a dagger. Remember, these were in days of war, just like the days that we have today, these are days of war. And then, the Prophet asked her about it. She said Yes, I do have a dagger. What are you going to use it for? he asked. For protection, what if Im attacked?! And the Prophet (alaih salaam) smiled. Theyre going to take these and say Look at the Prophet that they have! Why? Whats wrong? They dont want people to protect themselves? They cant see a Muslim who is armed to protect him/herself, their family and their homeland? They would rather see Muslims being torn and shredded to pieces by the Israeli or Indian or any other military. But is that what you want to see and is that when Islam becomes acceptable? This is what we will begin to notice more and more as the weeks and the years go by. They want us to become defenceless Muslims. We cant catch on to the fact that we have to become armed, we have to protect ourselves and we give this right to everyone else who has been at the receiving end of exploitation and military warfare. How come they want to have their arms? They give the Israeli Zionist Jews all the arms in the world, and when they use it, they look the other way and finally, they come to us and say But you are the terrorists! They are beginning to realise that they have an Islamic Problem; they dont have an Islamic problem, they have a mental problem, because they cant see us for what we are. Were

not camel jockeys as they used to say we were many years ago. Were not oil rich Arab shaikhs coming from the Arabian Peninsula as they would like to generalise and have all Muslims appear to be, and were not terrorists. This has become the fad of our time; it has become the currency of the media to label Muslims of integrity and self-determination as terrorists. We are not terrorists and we are not going to spend most of our time trying to respond to all their accusations, because theres no end to them. And we take you back to the only Holy text that survives mans attempts at destroying Allahs communication, to the Quran itself. Allah says: And muster whatever you can, including steeds of war to strike terror into the hearts of Allahs enemies and your enemies, and others who you dont know. Allah knows them. (Surah Anfal verse 60) What are they going to do with this ayah? They want to demilitarise the Muslims, they want to take away our right to defend ourselves. This is another order from Allah. This is our Holy Book. Wheres their conscience, when they are accusing the Muslims of these horrific acts. Isnt it in the Israeli Zionist Jewish national interests to have what they themselves call clash of civilization erupting between peace loving/justice seeking Muslims of self-determination and the body of interests that theyve spread around the world with their exploitative decisions and policies. They feed on our short memory. In the mid 1950s something happened in Cairo called The Levon Affair. These Zionist Israeli Jews blew up the American Cultural Centre and another building belonging to the Americans in Cairo and they wanted the whole world to believe that these were anti-American Muslims in Egypt who were disturbing the relations between that country and the United States. Then, after a while, it became known that these were Israeli agent provocateurs who were working of behalf of the Mossad to stir trouble between the United States and the Muslims. Not only did this not live on in the active memory of the Muslims today, but the Israeli Zionist media managed to bury it in the general and public mind at large. In 1967, the Israeli Zionist attacked an American ship in the Mediterranean, the USS Liberty, and they killed 34 American servicemen and injured 172 other American servicemen, and this also fell off the radar of everyones memory. These Israelis attacked the Americans and there wasnt even as much as a formal inquiry and investigation by congress to what the Israelis did. So, they have a record of trying to play spoiler among people. Couldnt they have been behind what was done in New York to whip up this hysteria against Islamic self-determination in the world and call it terrorism? The Israelis have been combating innocent civilians and they are the most insecure society on planet earth. Now, the Imperialist from around the world want to copy-cat the Israelis? Do they want to make their societies the most insecure on earth? If they continue to turn against innocent human beings they will follow suit. Are they satisfied with the growing antiAmericanism and anti-westernism in the world because they are at the service of Tel-Aviv and Israel? Is that the future that theyre looking for? Do they want to antagonise and become the enemy of two billion Muslims in the world for the sake of criminals headed by Ariel Sharon in Tel-Aviv by pointing fingers of accusations against the Quran? The wars to shed innocent

Muslim blood around the world are a fact that can no longer be ignored and Allahs instructions also are a fact that no longer can be ignored. These ayaat should sink deeper and deeper into our psyches, minds, souls and hearts so that we can reverse the setbacks that we have been experiencing, there-by substantiating the Prophets hadith Nations will converge upon you as beasts converge upon a piece of meat. Those who were with him asked: Whats the problem? Is it because theres only a few of us? He said: No, there are many of you Look how accurately this statement describes the facts of life around us. Nations are converging from all directions. Is there any defence that we have? They come in at will, they leave at will, they establish military bases everywhere, they fly over our skies, they roam in our territories as they wish- as if they are hungry for what we have, just like the beasts of the jungle are hungry for a piece of meat that is thrown in their midst. But youre just like the foam that floats on the currents of the water. Theres a lot of foam but theres no weight to you, youre not a substantial presence in the world, and Allah will extract the aura that you have from the hearts of your enemies and He will throw Alwahn into your hearts. They asked: What is this wahn O Messenger of Allah? Wahn was something alien to them- strange. What is this wahn? they asked. They didnt know anything like it, which means their calibre, personality and character was not the calibre, personality and character of what we have today. He said Attachment and love for this world and despising and disliking death. This was not the course of the Muslims who were educated, nurtured and cultivated by Allahs Prophet. They did not know this, meaning they were in one direction and we are in the opposite direction. They were moving towards Allah, expediting the process of that and we are moving away from Allah, expediting the process of humiliation and occupation. In another hadith, the Prophet says: Or, Allah will impose on you a humiliation that will not be suspended until you come back to your deen. Anyone who is living these military issues that are coming our way and the divine instructions that are coming our way has no choice but to understand that we have to muster and prepare all the means that are available for the rights that belong to us, that are given to us by our Creator and our Maker.

AL-QUDS DAY 2005

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Sisters and brothers, committed Muslims Allahs guiding and nourishing words tell us the following: And when an Apostle or a Messenger comes to them from Allah verifying what they have, a proportion of those who have been given scripture discard Allahs scripture and throw it behind their back as if they know nothing about it. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 101) This ayah speaks volumes about the attitude, policies, behaviour and decisions of those who are presented with a Prophet from Allah. Even though this ayah came to describe a particular incident, it is equally applicable to analogous incidents. The Quran is not a book that is frozen in time and only meant to speak about events, issues and affairs that happened fourteen-hundred and some years ago, in addition to that, it analyses, penetrates, exposes and sheds light on equivalent issues and affairs that re-develop and recur in the lives of the generations of committed Muslims until the end of time and until Allah inherits the affairs of this world. This ayah details for us the frame of mind and how a contingent of scripturalists (those who received the Torah and the Injeel), were reacting. Allahs words and His Prophet put these types of people in a reactive mode.

This is something you dont see very frequently. They are always aggressive, they always claim to have the initiative, they are always breaking new grounds, almost as if the rest of us are behindthis is when we dont have the initiative, are not at the frontlines and when we are not the vanguards. But Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) placed us at the cutting edge of events and so they now began to react. When a Messenger, comes to them from Allah authenticating what they have, what do they do? How do they behave? They try to place this whole scripture behind them, as if nothing is happening- theres no book and theres no Messenger- they go into a mode of denial. They want to believe and they want everyone else to believe that Muhamed doesnt exist and this book that he claims is being revealed by God has no basis of truth to it. For those of you who dont know, (and many of us are blank on these issues), during the first eighteen months in Al-Medinah, when the Prophet established Islamic order and authority in Al-Medinah, yahud were keeping a low profile. They were not publicly placing themselves in an active position of hostility to this newly founded authority and order, (eighteen months- mark that in your mind), because everyone wants to delete the type of information that we can begin to make sense of, provided we know how to relate it to our facts and our worldly affairs. After the first battle the Muslims engaged in at Badr, yahud began to make themselves known. During these eighteen months, Allah was revealing ayaat to the Muslims to have them raise their guard against these types of in-house potential enemies, because they were located inside Al-Medinah. When Allahs Prophet came to Al-Medinah, three very significant things happened, among the many other things that are also important. These three very significant developments were: 1 For the first time, the Muslims had a Masjid. During thirteen years of Islam and publicising Allahs words, the Muslims didnt have a Masjid. This is unlike the way we think today- if we are a few people in a distant place, with no power, and we have no clout nor authority, everyone wants to build a Masjid. When the Prophet was in Mecca, there were very dedicated Muslims around him, and (in the language on the commoner), they went through hell, yet there was no Masjid. Why? Because Muslims didnt have power, they didnt have authority. If you dont have power and you dont have authority, you dont need a Masjid- this is what the Prophet told us throughout thirteen years in Mecca. That didnt mean the Muslims were not meeting- they were meeting- in Dar Al-Arkam, but it wasnt a Masjid. They had what we may call sessions of learning, but they didnt have a Masjid. When the Prophet went to Al-Medinah, he built the first Masjid, his Masjid- Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi, and many Masjids thereafter, but this only happened when the Muslims were in command or in-charge. 2 The second thing that happened was the Prophet, along with the other power factions in Al-Medinah, noteably the jews, entered into an agreement. 3 The third remarkable thing that happened was the affiliation of Al-Muhajireen and AlAnsaar- the brotherhood between those who were dislocated from Mecca and those that became the supporters of the Prophet in Al-Medinah, known as Al-Muhajireen and Al-Ansaar respectively. The jews entered into an agreement between them and the Prophet. This agreement guaranteed them their rights and their civic equality. But when they saw the Muslims defeat the mushriks at

Badr, they began to express words and statements to the effect that they will no longer honour what they signed themselves to. So Allah in more than 80 ayaat of the first surah that was revealed in Medinah, began to raise the Muslim consciousness concerning these yahud or rather those that overtly said that they were Muslims, those who verbalised Islam- do you think we dont have these types of individuals in our world today?- Do you think you dont find Muslims who come and say with their mouths that they are Muslims, but in fact, what they conceal in the depths of their minds and hearts is an opposition to the Prophet, the Quran, Allah and the committed Muslims? The status quo clergy-men want us to think that these types of people dont exist any longer, as if these ayaat in the Quran was meant for a few people who would say something and contradict their verbiage with what they do. When these people have private meetings with their shayateen- who are these shayateen- these are the jews of Al-Medinah. This is not what a few, (one or two individuals) are saying, this is what a body of tafseer and those who studied and researched these events said. When these verbal Muslims are secluded with their shayateen, (with these zionist israeli type of jews), ie. in private, they say but we are with you. We are not serious when you see us with the Muslims, meaning with the Prophet, and the Islamic social order in Al-Medinahwere not really part of that. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 14) When did these munafiqs find company with the jews of Al-Medinah? They found company with them after the mushriks were defeated at Badr. This is when the whole issue began to surface and it could no longer be concealed. Allah was bringing it to the attention of the combatant Muslims whose combat itself was exposing these types of elemants. That doesnt mean that within these yahud there were not individuals here and there who were ready to listen to what Allah had to say. Abdullah ibn Salaam Al-Qaynaqai was one of them. He was a learned scholar of yahud and after seeing and knowing the truth, he joined the Muslims. In the defeatist mind of todays Muslims, they want to reverse the realities of that time and make us believe that the majority of yahud in the world today are the equivalent of Abdullah ibn Salaam Al-Qaynaqae. As if the bad apples among yahud are a very few, and the majority of them want peace with the Muslims. The fact of the matter is- anyone who is willing to be convinced with this type of propaganda and publicity is either ignorant of the history of yahud or he knows the truth, but for some vested interest and for some selfish gain in this world, he doesnt want to follow these facts to their obvious conclusion. In todays world, we have rulers, decision-makers, something called the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptian, the Saudi or the Jordanian government- arent these the types that on the surface present us with an Islamic image? Dont they pray in the Masjid, and fast during Ramadaan and do the other rituals that are required of a Muslim? Dont they have closed/private/secluded/confidential/secret meetings with these israeli zionist jews of today? What do they say to them in these meetings? For how many years have they been having these meetings, and what do they discuss? You would ask- all of these years, weve been listening to a summit here and a summit there, bi-lateral and multi-lateral conferences and meetings- what have they been talking about for these past thirty, forty, fifty years? Havent they been beating a dead horse for all this time?! And in the interim, we are supposed to believe and think that something called the Palestinian Authority or the Jordanian or the Egyptian or the Saudi or the rest are not saying We are with with these israeli zionist jewish thieves of our possession, in the form of an

illegitimate and illegal state. Remember, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was not at war with yahud, he was at war with the establishment of Mecca, but as he pursued this war with the decision-makers of Mecca, yahud began to surface. He entered into an agreement with them in Al-Medinah, which they could not honour because of their historical and cumulative hostility to Allah and the Prophets. When the Prophet began to realise the amount of animosity they had, he called them to a meeting in the market of Qaynuqa in Al-Medinah. Banu Qaynuqa was the only faction living inside Al-Medinah, they werent in the suburbs as we would say today. Banu Quraida and Banu Nadhir were in the suburbs of Al-Medinah. Banu Qaynuqa were in (what we call) downtown Medinah. So, he told all of these yahud of Al-Medinah to come to a meeting in the market of Banu Qaynuqa inside AlMedinah and they came. The Prophet said to them: From the scripture you have and from the covenant you took with Allah, you know that I am the Messenger of Allah. Come to terms with this fact or else look at what happened to the mushriks in Badr. How did they respond to that? One of the leaders of yahud by the name of Kaab ibn Ashraf stood up, (not in front of the Prophet, but in front of the rest of the jews in Al-Medinah), and he said: If the mushriks of Mecca were to wind-up the same way the mushriks at Badr wound up, meaning to be defeated and eliminated, then the earths interior is preferable to us than the earths surfacemeaning were better off being dead than alive. These are supposed to be people of the book. If Muslims have a scripture, theres supposed to be some affinity here, but it was precisely because Muslims have guidance from Allah that generated this type of behaviour and this type of statement from one of the jewish leaders in Al-Medinah. Have the jews changed their skin? Have they gone through a transformation of fourteen-hundred years now to accommodate themselves with the Muslims of today? Theres nothing whatsoever that indicates it. Besides, what did the Prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) do when a jewish leader came out with a statement like that? Not only did he express his and his communities point of view regarding the Islamic State in Al-Medinah, but he also went to Mecca. Obviously, he wasnt going to drink coffee and tea. He was going for more sinister and more aggressive purposes- the Muslims have tasted victory and yahud in Al-Medinah could no longer see the Muslims on a course of victory into the future, so something had to be done. They had to consolidate with the mushriks of Mecca. Do you think when the israeli zionist yahudis are defeated today, they are not working with the mushriks to pre-empt an Islamic course of victory into the future? Are they not meeting with their counterparts in todays world? Was the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) the type of Gandhi personality who would say we dont want to follow up with this enemy of Allah? No! He brought together some Muslims- this is our history, and we are in the Islamic sense of the word proud of our history- and he said to them: Who can take care of Kaab ibn Ashraf- the loud mouth against the Muslims, a person who has a criminal, if not a genocidal policy within his sights? While all of this was happening the yahudi community of Al-Medinah was suggesting to the Prophet that he go to Al-Quds. Imagine these jews that say today: Jerusalem is their eternal and undivided capital,- in order to take the sail out of the state of the Prophet, they were saying to him: Well, all the Prophets of God were the Prophets of Jerusalem, why dont you re-locate to Jerusalem?. Thats what they suggested to the Muslims who were building their power-base in Al-Medinah when the Prophets leadership was uncontested. And, to pre-empt this type of mischief from these trouble-makers in Al-Medinah, Allah instructed His Prophet and the community of Muslims, finally, to orient themselves in their salaah towards Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca which was still under what we would call occupation- it was still under the control of

the mushriks. As this propaganda was coming out of yahudi quarters in Al-Medinah, Kaab ibn Ashraf was busy cobbling together a military effort from Mecca against the Muslims in AlMedinah. The Prophet was not in suspense, he brought together some Muslims and said: This person has to be dealt with. And what were the Muslims doing? Were they telling the Prophet, No- Allah is Merciful, Allah will take care of it, we shouldnt be doing anything. The only thing we should be doing is going to the Masjid and praying extra prayers during the night or fasting extra days during the week? They didnt say that to the Prophet. They volunteered and said, If this has to be done, lets do it. So they thought of a plan whereby they would lure this potential yahudi war criminal to a time and place where they would end his life. The initiative was in the hands of the committed Muslims- these were the vanguard of Islamic destiny. And they did, first they spoke to him, then they agreed upon a time, and then these four or five Muslims were able to lure him one night and take corrective action against him, before he was able to execute his war policy against the Muslims. In our time and age, theres an Ariel Sharon a war criminal who is long overdue for Prophetic justice- why dont we have Muslims who are capable of taking the initiative into their own hands? Remember, this is a person who was previously speaking about bombing (and if need be) with nuclear weapons. This is a yahudi war criminal who massacred Muslims in Qibya, Egypt, Lebanon and who was responsible for Sabra and Shatila, but where are the Muslims who are able to resuscitate the spirit and the objectives that were alive in the days of Allahs Prophet? When someone needed to be taken care of, Muslims took care of them. Today, there are the same equivalents of these yahud who have to be taken care of, but if you think for a moment about the propaganda from the mimbar itself, you would be convinced that these yahudis have vanished, but they didnt vanish. When we speak about Kaab ibn Ashraf, why dont the jews speak about this same person? Were not speaking about some fictional character or a fictitious personality, this was a real war-criminal who the Muslims were able to bring divine justice to, on earthly terms. Why dont they speak about him? Why do they bury him deep down, inside their own studies? They have encyclopedias, they have the media in their control in todays world, why dont they speak about his type? We understand why they dont speak about him, because what type of point or idea are they going to express when they speak about him? We understand why they are hush-hush, but we cant understand why Muslims dont speak about such characters! -especially at times like these. This is the time to speak about them and to remind ourselves where these yahud and their leaders were, how they wanted to take on our Prophet, the same way they want to take us on today. Why are we silent about it? Is there anything to hide? Is there anything to be low-key about? Is there any reason to keep a low profile about these issues and subjects? Theres nothing that warrants it, so how come we have our speakers and preachers silent about these issues? When the Prophet of Allah spoke to the Muslims about the jews in AlMedinah, he told them to meet at Baqiyya-Al-Gharqat. Why cant the Muslims when they go to the umrah and the Hajj go to Baqiyya-Al-Gharqat where the Prophet assembled the Muslims of his time to speak to them about the jews of Al-Medinah? Why cant the Muslims step out of this silent mode and go to Adhruaat in the Northern parts of the Arabian peninsula, to see where Banu Qaynuqa settled after having been forced out of Al-Medinah due to their treachery of the agreement they signed onto with Allahs Prophet? Why cant the Muslims go to Khaybar? Why is Khaybar off limits!? When Muslims go to the Hajj and the Umrah, why dont we hear that they have also gone to where yahud had been defeated at Khaybar? Why cant this be done? Because you are going to have those who are going to

protect yahud and tell you this is a bida, so you cant go to Baqiyya-Al-Gharqat, Adhruaat and Khaybar. A bida-what?! Is it a bida for us to remember where Muslims were victorious? And howcome this claim of being a bida serves the interest of the israelis today? These religious figures who are willing to serve the israelis today should be put on notice, that everytime they pronounce the word bida, they are serving their masters in Tel-Aviv- in Occupied Palestine. When the Muslims were successful in having their Islamic domain in Al-Medinah, they were sovereign, free and independent. No-one was dictating to them, they werent inferior to the degree of saying we need our lobby in Byzantium and Persia. Today, we have a sovereign, independent and free area for the Muslims- weve had it for twenty-six years. Throughout these years, do you think these yahudis are absent minded? Do you think they are not thinking about war crimes? Do you think they have not met with Meccan establishment of our times and our days? Do you think people are not going to the Islamic Republic nowadays and saying to them with smiles on their faces that we are also committed Muslims and then, they dont turn around and have their confidential meetings with yahud, and say No! We are not serious when we are with the Muslims. Do you think they do not have their contingent of munafiqun inside todays sovereign, independent and free Islamic State? Do you think they are un-aware of the Islamic resistance in Southern Lebanon, Palestines and across the world and how it is related to the Islamic State in Iran? We are not living in a vacuum- they are aware of our internal thoughts. These people throughout history changed their religion- if it served them to become christians, these yahudis became christians and if it served them to become Muslims, they became Muslims. Yahud penetrated the last political expression of Islam and they destroyed it altogether in what is today Turkey. Do you think they are not entertaining those ideas if it serves their interests and purposes to become Muslims? But we say to them, Even if all the jews in Occupied Palestine were to feel one day that they cannot bear the pressure of the Islamic jaugernaut any longer and for convenience sake they say to us We have become Muslims, even if they say and even if they mean that they have become Muslims, they still have no right to occupy and take away the belongings, property and the homeland of other Muslims. So they still have no way out, except to leave and to give back the possessions and property that they stole to its original owners. Theyre not going to fool us even if they say that they have become Muslims. They know that the pressure is coming and they know from where the pressure is originating. And we have twenty-six years to celebrate for the increase and the turning on of this pressure from its sources. Soon, we will have another Khaybar to celebrate and soon we will have another liberation coming our way (Insha-Allah). In the mean-time, whilst working towards that day, we rely utterly and totally on Allah to deliver us from their conspiracies and from their criminal thoughts- and our lives are dispensable for Allah.

YAHUD- THE ETERNAL ENEMY OF ALLAH, HIS PROPHET AND THE COMMITTED MUSLIMS
(18 May 2001)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims.... As we speak, there is (what appears to be) a beginning of an escalation of warfare in and around the Holy Lands. In the course of the past seven or eight months, there were clashes and individual acts of retaliation, but as the news of the past seven to eight hours indicate, the enemies of Allah, the objectors to the Prophets and the persecutors of committed Muslims, namely the Israeli zionists are using their military arsenal to try to pulverize Islamic determination.

Earlier, in the occupied lands of 1948, a committed Muslim (in an act that he is permitted by Allah to do, in order to defend his people, their rights and the future generations), took some explosives and as he was on his way to detonate these explosives, he realized that he had become a suspect by these zionist Israeli yahudi forces and before he reached his objective, he dis-charged the load of explosives that he had and in the process, (reports say) six zionist Israelis were killed and there were others who were injured. Not only does he and other committed Muslims like him have to contend and put up with the avowed adversaries but they also have to put up with the internal enemies that they have. In the past weeks, we had the highest religious figure in Saudi Arabia saying that these types of operations could be considered suicide. We know that suicide is not permitted in Islam, so what this religious figure is saying is that Palestinians who want to resist their occupiers, tormentors and butchers cannot do so in such a way. Listen- he said may be considered an act of suicide. What does he mean may be considered an act of suicide? (Explain yourself.) But these statements go a long way and a long distance in trying to distance the rest of the Muslims from those who are on a path that satisfies Allah. Allah says Permission has been given by Allah for those who have been offended, oppressed and subjected to tyranny, mis-rule and injustice- Allah has given them permission- to fight because they are the victims of warfare, and certainly Allah is able to provide them with triumph (Surah Al-Hajj verse 39) Alhamdulillah- Allah has placed His and our enemies in a mode of reacting. After the 8th or 9th Muslim decided to fulfill Allahs words, in the past few months, we have as a reaction to that. After night has fallen in the occupied lands, the yahudi Israeli zionists had their F16s, (these are the latest version of combat and fighting aircraft), bombing two Palestinian population centers in the occupied territoriesNablus and Ramalla.

Ben Gurion said that the best explanation of the Torah is the Israeli armed forces. Take that statement of three or four decades ago and place it in the context of what is happening today. Have we heard any jewish scholars come out and denounce Ben Gurion for what he said? Have we heard anyone else who tries to defend the contemporary zionist Israeli relationship with religion in the context of what their armed forces are doing? In Jewish religious literature, the Messiah is referred to as being the King of Israel. But weve had these zionist Israeli jews of our generation giving this religious designation (that is supposed to be only applied to the coming Messiah) to the war criminal that rules today. In the aftermath of the 1973 Israeli military operations against the Egyptians, in which Ariel Sharon was involved, he was showered with the title of The King of Israel. That wasnt the only time that we were exposed to that. Recently, after he was elected as the Prime Minister of this military and political animosity to Allah, once again they floated this title to public attention, and they told us, This is The King of Israel. What type of mindset are we looking at (in) these people who are bombing innocent human beings in the middle of the night? Remember, whenever an oppressed and overwhelmed Muslim wants to address the injustice that befalls him, they say How do you take this type of action against innocent civilians? Whos an innocent

civilian in the Israeli zionist jewish forged state of Israel? They have blurred the line between a civilian and a military person. Why cant they behave like other societies, and have a fixed definition for who a civilian person is and a fixed definition for who a military person is, and not change civilian and military costumes and uniforms from week-to-week and month-to-month and then walk around in the lands with Uzi machine guns on their shoulders and with pistols to their sides and call themselves civilians? Who are these personnel right now who are dropping bombs on innocent Palestinians, innocent Arabs and innocent Muslims? These are the ones who in a few months from now are going to be wearing civilian clothes. Then, what happens to our civilians? Why is it that they get bombed and killed? Youve heard of it- in the last 10 days, they killed a baby that wasnt even four months old. There was a playing field in Gaza where youth were kicking ball, exercising or displaying a form of sport, (this happened recently)- after these yahudi zionist jews became nervous, they opened fire on these innocent children, wounding them. Are these not civilians? What were they doing? How did they become a military target? Why doesnt any Muslim have the courage to proceed with this argument into forbidden territory? Now, you will have some Muslims only in atmospherics of war remembering Allah. Before now, Allah was imprisoned in the Masjid, now they want to bring Allah outside of the Masjid, and they want to begin to quote ayaat from the Quran that deal, speak and detail the issue of jihad. Why now, when its too late; when you are on the receiving end (and) when your blood is flowing?! Now is the time you want to quote ayaat and hadiths about qitaal and about jihad?! Where were these Saudis and the Saudi type of preachers) in the past months and years? The Saudis are the equivalents of those who come from Israel, because they have poisoned the Muslim mind. Look at them, look at this person right there, putting his hand on the microphone- are you afraid of something Mr if we are exercising our freedom of expression?! Its enough that these Saudis and Saudi type of preachers put us outside our Masjid- have some brains and some hearts! But your payroll goes inside doesnt it? The Saudis are banking and paying you so that you can have the type of Muslims who waste two hours during every Friday. Muslims dont come to Jumah prayers, they come to a Jumah lullaby. The effect of the Saudis is not only in this Masjid, its around the world and the country. They have set-up shop in this city; they have lobbies and diplomats, and when something like this is happening, they say Go and demonstrate outside the White House. If you want to blow steam, go and blow it in La Fayette Park- in front of the White House. Thats what were supposed to do, were supposed to be reactive Muslims! Now, that the zionists are raising the Ante against us and spilling our blood in the Occupied Lands, the Arab officials know that some Muslims cant live with this, so their has to be some mechanism in which these Muslims can release their emotions- so they say take them in front of the White House, (they) dont bring them in front of the Islamic Center to expose these criminals on the Mimbar. We dont speak out of emotions, we speak out of experience, and it aches our heart to see how Muslims have been brainwashed from these Masjids throughout all of these years, making it possible for the yahudi zionist Israelis to drop bombs and use their fighter aircrafts against innocent people who are going to die because these Saudi type of preachers have set the stage for it. These people who say that they are the custodians of the two Harams in the Arabian Peninsula have been practicing their tyranny here for 19 years to stifle your ideas and brains. They want us to be brain dead, and then, when its too late, they say:

Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands, humiliate them and make you victorius (Surah At-Taubah verse 14) and theyll quote hadiths from the Prophet. Why couldnt they quote these ayaat and hadiths in the past years when our enemies were preparing for these days? This enemy of Allah is nervous. Theres a gate in South Lebanon, on the borders between Lebanon and Palestine, and since almost a year ago, Muslims and even non-Muslims who are opposed to zionist Israel would go to that place called Bawwabat Fatima, and throw rocks and stones across the border at the Israeli military post. Now, the troops that are at that post are jittery, so they fired back at a couple of Muslims inside Lebanon, injuring them, just because they are throwing some stones across the border. Where did they get all this courage to do what they are doing to the Muslims today if it wasnt for the connivance of these types who occupy and nationalize the house of Allah?! You speak about nationalism and racism- where is this rooted? It is rooted in the psychology of those who call themselves The Children of Israel. They dont consider God to be the God of all people. It is the God of Israel; it is the God of the Children of Israel- in other words, they have nationalized God. Then, on the other hand, their reading of scripture has deified them- as if these yahudis are little Gods on Earth- you cant speak against them, and you have to be careful not to quote the Quran and the Prophet, if the Quran and the Prophet are speaking about Bani Israel. They deified themselves, and they nationalized God- this is the root of the racism and nationalism that is preponderant in our world, part of which has infested those who present themselves as the protectors of the Harams in Makkah and Al-Medinah. They are protecting Makkah and Al-Medinah as much as the zionist Israeli jews are protecting Al-Quds! Do you think they havent done their homework? They have entered into every Muslim organization and they are misleading them now. What should be our comment on those Muslims who should know better, but who are afraid to mention the Islamic Centre in Washington DC? Why are you afraid to mention the Islamic Centre in Washington DC? Has it become the country club of the Saudis? Is it because it brings many issues together, or because you want to continue to have these Saudis write your budgets in the United States, Europe and other Muslim parts of the world? We say and we remind ourselves, We are advised to mutually and in an institutional way remind ourselves of truth and of perseverance with it (Surah Al-Asr verse 3) Now, the motto has become, we should remind ourselves of nifaq- how to be hypocritical of these issues and how to break bread with Al-kaafir in Ramadhan. These Arab officials go to the White House and the state department and they are honored to have the Pharaoh of the land invite them over. They feel they have accomplished something. These are Muslims, but are they committed to Allah? Beyond the surface, what goes on? When these officials from the Embassies around go to the Islamic Centre, what are their governments doing? Take an example of the past few months, and these are only examples The government of Turkey, (theres its embassy right there), where tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating in the past few months. No-one is supposed to be paying attention to that. The media is not supposed to be speaking about that; the media is supposed to be concentrating more on Islamic Iran because they want to destabilize that country; as if that country has the problems that exist in its neighboring one- Turkey. About $50 billion in-debt; the devaluation of its currency; the crashing of its stock market; and then its banning of Muslim women going to high schools, colleges and universities if they are going to dawn the hijab- wheres freedom of Expression that they speak about? If Muslim

women want to wear the hijab, they should be able to do that. Then, Turkey recently, in the past month, takes this law from Turkey into Cyprus and imposes on Muslims in Cyprus, not to come to school with an Islamic feature. If youre a man- you have to shave your beard; and if youre a woman- you should take your scarf off. These are the ones who want to see you blow your steam in front of the White House. Also, in the past month, the government in Morocco was trying to block computer access within Morocco to the computer site of the Islamic Party called Al Adl wal Ihsaan. Whats wrong? People now cant use the internet to access the computer site of Al Adl wal Ihsaan in there own country and in their own homes? But they dont want you to identify the problem at its source. They want you to go and blow your stack in front of the White House- (even though), theres no doubt, and we will never ever distract or detract from the hub of evil, which is the White House. The Prophet had a seerah in Makkah and Al-Medinah. Was the Prophet ignorant of the forces of evil in Rome and Persia at the time? There was a program- a sytematic way of building this Islam, of constructing this imaan. But the Saudi type of preachers choose for us to constrict the Prophet into our bedrooms and bathrooms- into our private life. They want to expel him from our thoughts about how to systematically assimilate into his character and bring it alive in our time and area. These people are trying to use Allah, Wa nastagh firullah, the Quran and Islam to score politically. This behavior is strange, it is alien to anyone who is molded by Allah and His Prophet. If you are made up of the Quran and the Sunnah, you dont try to use Allah and His Prophet for some type of political advantage, to score politically or to gain a certain interest. The Muslims will display maturity on that day when they are able to see that the occupation of Allahs Masjid is just as offensive as the occupation of Holy territories (and( the nationalization of a Masjid is just as criminal as the nationalization of Palestine. We are not in Palestine- we are thousands of miles away- but there is a small token of Palestine here, yet people want to look the other way. They know they cant deal with this issue which is here, and they know they can get away with their responsibility there, because they are thousands of miles away, so once again, they are looking for a route out of perseverance and an escape way out of shouldering their duties. This is not a time to pile ayaat and hadiths about jihad, (which you will be hearing about more in the coming weeks), on the Muslims because they are reacting to conditions that were in the making in the past years, and we were speaking about them in the past years. Oh Allah, bear witness, Allahumma hal ballaght; Allahumma fash hadd Brothers and sisters on As-Seerat Al-Mustaqim; Brothers and sisters on our way to Allah, Let me remind or inform you those of you who do not know: around 20 years ago, some Muslims from this area sat down and spoke with the Saudi Ambassador at that time, (not the current one), his predecessor. The gist or the bottom line of that conversation was the Ambassadors reply, and this is not related by one person to the next, this khateeb of yours heard it with his own ears. The Saudi Ambassador says, (and granted this was 20 years ago), I refuse to acknowledge that there is an Islamic community in Washington DC. Of course, by now, they have come to realize that there is an Islamic Community in Washington DC and they have to take charge of this community. So, they have come a long way in trying to do that. We try to go to speak about these issues in certain Masjids, and we are told in a very round-

about, indirect, convoluted zigzagging way that we are not wanted in these particular Masjids. Why? Because ultimately, they either want someone who endorses the Saudi line of activity or in the worst case scenario, someone who does not object to the Saudi line of activity. If you meet these two criteria, you are welcome; they will open the doors widely for you, but if you have enough understanding of Allah and Allahs Prophet to speak the truth about these issues, strictly within the reference of the Quran and the Sunnah, then you are an undesirable person. Every Muslim who listens to these words should understand that it is your personal responsibility to step out of this line of disaster that sanctions defeat. Do the Saudi brains (or non-brains) who have managed to take the Quran and the Sunnah away from our heads, minds and brains think we find comfort in this? If our body could speak, it would complain night and day. The comfort we have is that our souls and minds are locked on Allah and His Prophet, and let the body suffer until the end that Allah has for us- this is equally said for those who are here, and for those who are thousands of miles away.

FOLLOWERS OF ALLAHS PROPHET (S)ARE WE?!

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem.... One of those issues that have eroded many nations before us, and has its representation in the people around us, has been the issue of numbers. Theres not many people who agree with a certain position; there are not many supporters around to move on a certain plan of action and this places the average person in a frame of mind and in a psychology that should not be there if we are living in the presence of Allah. Today, there are inimical forces that are at work and they have a lot of numbers on their side- they dont have Allah on their side but they have a lot of numbers on their side. We say that we are behaving and moving while the Prophet is our prototype- he taught us; explained things to us; showed us the way and did basically the same things we are required to do- so we are supposed to move in that direction.

Let us begin with the Prophet in Makkah. How many supporters did he have? The establishment, the elites, the powers that be, the religious hierarchy, the average person- everyone was against him. He began with virtually no one on his side. We ask a person who wants to be fair to himself and accurate with his relationship to Allahs Prophet: if you were in the Makkah of that time were you going to be a supporter of Allahs Prophet when they are not actually many people around him; he doesnt have any clout in his society and he is not an influential figure who can make major decisions that have their affect on the Makkan society? If all of that is the case, and understanding todays mentality that is predominant among the Muslims, you will find very few Muslims of today who would be supporters of Allahs Prophet when he was beginning and when virtually the whole world was against him. So let us be careful when we say we are following the Sunnah and the Seerah of Muhammad. Let us be careful when we say that because some of us may say it and we may be lying. Then, there was a heavy dose of persecution that accompanied his 13 years in Makkah and the committed few who were with him. If this type of persecution was to come our way are we willing to stand firm on our principle, even though we see well numerically speaking there is not many of us, but numerically speaking there is a multitude of others who are against us?- a similar condition that we have today. Those who live a principled Islam are outnumbered when we measure them to the numbers of those who are living against Islam- (whether it\s) in the name of Islam or in the name of Kufr- theres many of them. In todays world, theres not only social pressure and the media that is placing lies and fabrications about us in the public eye, add to that there is also military pressure- this is a fact of life we have today. Would Allahs Prophet the crumbling under military pressure? It took that fortified psychology in Makkah, in those 13 long, arduous years of struggle and jihad, to pave the way for the military years that were going to come after that, that were going to extract from every committed Muslim every last amount of patience that was available- which should bring us up to where we are today. Muslims today- look at the numbers around- huge numbers of people who say they want to take on this Islam and also to add a lethal challenge to all of this, they want to do so in a military sense. What does Allah say to us when it comes to these military issues? Does He want us to step aside and have all of the counter forces take over everywhere they want to or should we stand on principle? If we are challenged socially, psychologically, mentally, educationally or in whatever respect- we stand on principle. If we are challenged militarily, politically, ideologically, financially, we stand on principle. Allah in this regard says Certainly Allah has purchased from the committed Muslims their lives and their wealth in exchange for Jannah (Surah At-Taubah verse 111) This is where we are. When you give yourself or your wherewithal to Allah, thats what you get in exchange- you are getting Al-Jannah. Youre not getting a position, a green card, a Kafir citizenshipyoure not getting any of these things. When you are giving for Allah, He is giving you Al-Jannah. At a higher level of responsibility that means they fight for the cause and on the way to Allah and in the process they kill and they are killed (Surah At-Taubah verse 111)

Muslims of principle should have no qualms or questions about this issue. You will see how other Muslims behave. They hide behind excuses; they run away with lame justifications; they try to ignore the issue and when they are presented with it some of them just bow down with a defeated reality. This is unknown for those who are enlisted in the Quran and in the Prophet for Allah- unknown. Let us look at this fact of life when it was presented to us. Some of us say OK- present your evidence; how did this work itself out in real life? When Allahs Prophet was at Uhud, the most turbulent time in Allahs Prophet life and the most dangerous moments in his struggle, and there were these Muslims who were around who pledged to fight but when they saw that the Mushriks were gaining the upper hand, they began to leave. The Prophet was at that critical and most life threatening moment in his life time and he had- listen to this brothers and sisters, those of us who say we are with Allah and His Prophet; we should think a little more before we say that- when he was in that death defying moment, he had only seven. Remember, this is an army that began with several hundred. The Munafiqs peeled off on the way there; those who were assigned their permanent positions also got distracted by the spoils of war and the Mushriks made their assault physically on the position of Allahs Prophet and who was there? Seven from the Ansaar and two from the Muhaajireen- thats all there were. The Prophet of Allah, to encourage those who began to lose heart and momentum said who is going to defend us for having Al-Jannah? and another narrative says who is going to fight for us and he will be my companion in Al-Jannah? They fought one after the other- these individuals around him- sacrificing their lives. They knew the odds were tremendous and Allah wanted them to move to this brink of life and death; and the willingness and determination of Allahs Prophet took the committed Muslims to that brink. Bring this reality inside the minds and to the attention of todays Muslims- where would they be if these details were reproduced for them today?! Some of them would argue wait a minute- we have to increase our military outputs. We have to develop a military industrial infrastructure; we have to have some type of military parity with the enemy; and on and on and on. Theyre not saying this as a matter of principle, they are saying this because they want to run away from their duty and abandon their principle. if there are twenty of you they will overcome 200 and if there is 100 of you they will vanquish 1,000 from Alladheena kafaru, because these kafirs are not in practical contact with reality, they dont understand these dynamics (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 65) The kafirs dont understand them and we understand that, but if Muslims dont understand these dynamics- this is something that is difficult for us to understand when we have been through this process before! This is nothing new. It is like history repeating itself. Today, when Muslims are face with those who have the numbers and the military industrial complex- they have it all- and the committed Muslims barely have anything, how are we behaving? This is how we are behaving. The governments and regimes that we are saddled with are busy trying to defuse the revolutionary impulse in the Muslims. They want to dispatch their Islamic scholars to argue against these meanings of the Quran and Sunnah. Do you want another example?! Al-Muata. This was a war that took place in the month of Jumada in the 8th year of the Hijra. Allahs Prophet sent an emissary to the Roman ruler in the North of the Arabian Peninsula, in the area of the Holy land- what is known today as The Levant- Palestine, Jordan, Syria and these areas. This emissary or representative of Allahs Prophet by the name of Harith ibn Umair Al Asdi (radi Allahu anhu) went. He communicated this Islam- you see, this is dawah. People who speak about dawah- what do they talk about?! Have Muslims go to dawah in the less conspicuous areas. You know-

go to some corner somewhere and whisper some words about Islam. Do we have these types of dawah programs that can think about sending emissaries to rulers of the world? No! We dont have any, because they are not meant to discuss or enter into that area. This is not the Sunnah of Allahs Prophet. He sent a person who represented him to the ruler of a superpower in the North of Arabia and on his way back, the messenger of Allahs Messenger was killed. Al Haarith Al Asdi was killed. This is the 1 st time a messenger of Allahs Prophet was killed. It happened later on, (but) this was the 1st incident of that sort. What are the Muslims going to do? Look- the Romans are a superpower; just like the United States in a superpower of todays world- what are you going to do? Are you are going to take on this superpower? Even though the Muslims had made progress in striving the Arabia Peninsula which was one issue, but to think about fighting and doing war against a major power in the world at that time is tantamount to thinking about a military suicidal operation. Did the Prophet of Allah think about doing such a thing? Yes. He put together a force of 3,000 Muslim warriors. As far as the Muslims were concerned, this was the 1st time they could put together such a force on a military expedition into new territories. The Prophet of Allah said that three persons should command this force the first one is Zaid ibn Haaritha and if he were to be killed it would be Jaafar ibn Abi Taalib and if he were to fall in this battle then it will be Abdullah ibn Rawaha. Allahs Prophet was inspired and he told this force and its leaders that the enemy is going to target the military command, meaning you three who are going to assume the banners. The commanders in those days were the ones who carried the banners, were fighting in the front and organizing the rest of the force. That was an indirect way of telling them you probably are going to get killed. When this Muslim force- remember, were talking about numbers; the whole Shaytaani termite that is working in todays Muslim minds is that well, we need numbers; theyre not very much concerned with principle; theyre not very much concerned with Allah. What they are concerned with is the physical and material possessions that they have. Compare that to what we are talking about. This is supposed to be a precedent. This is supposed to show us how to behave in such circumstances. They go out to an area which is roughly today what is called Jordan and all of a sudden they estimate the counter/kafir force- they see 100,000 Romans and they look again and they see 100,000 of the locals who were from that general area, who were predominantly Christian Arabians at the time. Thats 200,000. The Muslims look at themselves and say look, were only 3,000 here and look at what we have out there? We have a force of 200,000 and its not only 200,000 of a force thats equivalent to us in our military procurements, they have more then what we have by far- theres no comparison. What do you do? What does an average human being do? What do you think you would do if you were in that condition? Your human nature and their human nature responds in the same way. (You would) say wait a minute, here, we should send a message to Allahs Prophet and advise him of this discrepancy at the battle front. Thats what they said, and almost all of them agreed on doing so and one of them stepped up and said wait a minute here. You are trying to avoid what we were sent to encounter. Allahs Prophet put us on this mission and we know that we are on our way to Allah, so what are you trying to do here? Are you trying to avoid your responsibilities? When he spoke forcefully like that, it dawned upon them- Allahs Prophet gave them this assignment and they should do Allahs will in this circumstance. They arranged themselves and the two armies met. What happened after they met? The Mushriks, the all out anti-Islamic force saw the commitment, sacrifices, motivation, high morale and the discipline of these committed Muslims and that threw them on the psychologically defensive side of warfare. They had to defend themselves against a fierce force that shows not one moment of retreat. How did the Muslims show this resolve and this concrete military movement? The 1st commander, Zaid ibn Haaritha (radi Allahu anhu), took his position and fought

valiantly until he lost his life. This was in front of tens of thousands of warriors who could see this happen. Then the 2nd commander, Jaafar ibn Taalib (radi Allahu anhu), who had experienced two Hijras and who the Prophet sent as a message to those who were around, in this growing Islamic society, that he is not unwilling to send even some of his blood to participate in what is called today an istishhaadi operation. He fought until he lost his 1st arm and then he fought until he lost his 2nd arm and then he fought until he lost his life. Then Abdullah ibn Rawaha (radi Allahu anhu)- exactly as what the Prophet instructed them to do- assumed command of this military force. He also fought until he became a shaheed. Then what did the Muslims do? The three commanders who Allahs Prophet assigned are now gone- in front of them. They spontaneously gave the banner to just to one of them- an average person. This person, in just a few moments ago said I cant take it, I am not fit for this position. In those dangerous, life threatening moments of warfare common sense prevailed- Khaalid ibn Waleed (radi Allahu anhu) who had a career of military experience was spontaneously given it by the Muslims. Hey, this is a military commander; true he fought against Muslims for all this time and now the Islamic leadership is gone, he has the experience give it to him- which they did. Then, he began to put his military experience onto the battlefield. He rearranged the right flank and the left flank. He gave the enemy the impression that the Muslims were receiving reinforcements- new troops were coming in. This incoherent force of 200,000 began to crack. Some of them began to leave the war fronts. When 3,000 Muslims faced off against 200,000 Mushriks, what was the final casualty numbers of the Muslims? 12 and there were hundreds if not thousands of these Mushriks who were killed there. It wasnt a total victory for the Muslims but it wasnt a defeat neither. Whether it was an issue of defeat or victory was not going through the minds of those Muslims who were following the course of Allah? These dynamics are part of real life when Allah is part of our real life. There is no thirst, no exhaustion and no hunger that we are inflicted with; we do not go into new territories, we do not inflict harm, casualties and damage on the enemy except that Allah will register all of this as our good deeds. (Surah At-Taubah verse 120) This is the motivation that was part of the psychology that Allahs Prophet brought into existence. It is said- in this encounter- that because of the fierce warfare that the commanders showed the enemies, they ruined seven or eight or nine of their own swords. This armed military expeditionary force of the Muslims returned to Al-Madinah. In terms of the Israeli mindset- remember, this same scenario presented itself to the followers of Musa (alaih salaam). There they were. They looked around (and said) theres only a few of us. We cant; its impossible to come out of this war as winners. They said we are not going to fight. In todays world, when we bring to bare the same mindsets that calculates the same details, we have Muslims today who will tell you, you know, this is impossible. We cannot put up with these forces that have come together against us. This is not the way Allahs Prophet behaved and it is not the way those who were with him behaved. There were times, intervals, interventions and those moments in those days of the failure of human nature- that existed. There were individuals around who could not carry their assignment to the end. The Muslim rank and file was perforated with Munafiqeen- that was a fact of life. The enemies had more firing or striking power than the Muslims- that is a fact of life- but because the Muslims were Muslims of principle, that did not deter these committed Muslims from their responsibilities and assignments. You have an ayah in the encounter of two opposite warring camps. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13)

You have an ayah, what does an ayah mean? It means you have a demonstration of Allahs Presence in humans doing His will- thats an ayah. There is two armies facing off a military front. One of them is fighting for Allah and the other denying Allah. They see them twice their numbers with their own eyes. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13) Today, this fact is at work- were not talking history only. Today, the superpower of our time is at war against this grain of Allahs Prophet demonstrated in those who are willing to go the nine yards fi sabilillah. What do these people who are watching see? They see the forces that are against them are twice their numbers.(Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13) (Take a) look at what they are saying in the past week, month, year or decade. Their voices are coming through loud and clear. They tell us- this is not a quote from any Muslim, this is from their mouths- there hasnt been a time when the United States has been hated in the world as it is today. There hasnt, been in the history of this country, as much hostility towards the United States as there is in the world today. This is not because some people have the numbers. They have jumah prayers and they have thousands coming to these jumah prayers. What are they dwelling on? None of these issues. The privilege of this fact coming to life belongs to those who are on the war path of Allah and His Prophet- whether they are the shaheeds of the past 20 or 30 years or the shaheeds in the making of today and tomorrow. (It is) courtesy of them that we have these ayaat coming to light. and how many times did it happen that those who are numerically less scored a victory against those who were numerically more, by Allahs permission, and indeed Allah is with those who are patient with Him in these types of circumstances (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 249)

Masharal mumineen The cacophony of politics, the deliberate misleading information of the media and the rest of the structure that we are located in mentally and psychologically is meant specifically to dislocate us from Allah and His Prophet. Almost everything that is being said is calculated and calibrated to place a distance between us and our Allah-given responsibilities. The prime exemplification of this is demonstrated by those who rule Makkah and Al-Madinah. Brothers and sisters- the whole 23 years of the Prophets divine mission on earth was to free Makkah and Al-Madinah- which he did successfully. We spent our whole life times for centuries not paying attention to the Prophets life time accomplishment. If Makkah and Al-Madinah are repossessed by Mushriks and Kafirs, it becomes our primary duty to liberate it from them. All of this history, around which we try to formulate our lives is centered on the fact that Makkah is ours. What do we do when Makkah is no longer ours as is the case nowadays? That un-Islamic, non-Islamic and anti-Islamic Saudi Arabia is a disgrace not only to the Muslims but to humanity. Last week (some of you are not aware and many are not aware) they put a Sri Lankan woman in the public square and they chop off her head. We dont know the details of this type of barbaric action by people who do not qualify to do such things. They say that there are rings of smugglers inside of Arabia and it turns out that these smugglers are oppressed people. Invariably they come from India, or Pakistan sub-continent, Sri Lanka or from African countries. These are the ones who deserve this type of harsh penalty and the princes, the royalty and the kings of that land are not involved in mega

crimes? (Are) you just smart or powerful enough to apply selective justice on those poor African and Asians who cant have lawyers or legal experts to defend them and who cant have a fair trial, but if you have some European or American who has blue eyes, is blonde and fair skinned, then you have their governments intervening; when was the last time anyone of you heard of these who are boot-legging inside of Arabia and smuggling drugs inside the holy lands have their heads was chopped off in the public square?! This is the travesty called Saudi Arabia. Now, we have some mouths for foul purposes who are trying to criticize some of their own. Will the day come when Fahd or Abdullah will appear in a world court as war criminals?! They were behind financing these bloody wars- civil, external, territorial, religious and ethnic- in the past three decades in that area of the world. These are war criminals, but those souls and individuals who have a Muslim shell but have a Munafiq or Kafir heart dont have the courage and morale to see things in this light and to cast their visions in this range because they read the Quran with sleepy minds and they recite the Quran with dull hearts.

HOSTAGE TAKING IN ISLAM- PART 1

(9 July 2004)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem.... With Allahs help, we will continue to bring out the information that has been buried by our ignorance or excluded by the establishments and the powers that be- information that is pertinent to our condition today. With all of the events that are happening in the world around, there is a selective, deliberate and thought out process to exclude and omit vital information that pertains to Allah and His Prophet and that serves as an answer to some of the questions that are being raised in the context of our time. As we said previously, one of the issues that is avoided and omitted is the issue of what is called taking hostages. You see, Muslims are supposed to feel guilty if they take a couple of people into their care, deny them their freedom and put them in a position of captivity; but these who are taking countries and continents hostages are supposed to get away with it feeling as if they are serving civilization ends.

What information have we in this regard that comes to us from the time of Allahs Prophet that will serve to guide us in our time today? In the Messenger of Allah you have a perfect prototype for those of you who are seeking Allah and the final day and for those who are ever conscious of Allah (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 21) In the time of Allahs Prophet, in the year of Al-Hudaibiyah, just before the signing of that treaty, the Muslims were anxious to perform Al-Umrah. We know that the Muslims were in Al-Madinah. Makkah was in a state of war against the Islamic power presence in Al-Madinah and the Muslims wanted to go to Makkah to perform Al-Umrah but the Mushriks of Makkah made it clear to them that you will not be welcomed here- we will not accept you. It is said that the Prophet himself wanted to go for this Umrah to Makkah but they were told in no uncertain terms that if you come we will use force against you. The Muslims at this point or time were preparing for this Al-Hudaibiyah seize fire and if they were anxious to go for Al-Umrah in Makkah and the Mushriks of Makkah were expressing their willingness to sign a seize fire but expressing their opposition for the Muslims coming to Al-Umrah, this caused a sense of anxiety and uneasiness among the Muslims in Al-Madinah. So what happens when this was the circumstance of the time? There were some Muslims who captured- the words in the books of history, Seerah and Sunnah- adadan min kuffaril haram, which means a number of kaafirs belonging to the Haram of Makkah. What does this mean? We dont want to borrow words from CNN, the opponents of ours and the enemies of Allah i.e. taking hostage. This wasnt an issue of taking hostages; this was an issue of an on going war between the Mushriks of Makkah and the Muslims of Al-Madinah and in this context Remember. Al-Haram, even in those days was accessible to everyone and the Mushriks who were running Makkah were violating their own standards, history and their own position of being the maintainers or custodians of the Haram of Makkah. They were offending all of this and pointing and fingering out the Muslims of Madinah telling them you cannot come to Al-Umrah in Makkah. If the Muslims were not political, they would have been aloof and mindless of this, but when the Muslims felt what this meant they went and they seized a number of individuals belonging to Makkah and to that Haram i.e. they denied them their freedoms and they brought them to the Prophet of Allah. Unlike todays Muslims, when we have similar policies today in Makkah and Al-Madinah by the inheritors by those Mushrik forces in Makkah at the time of Allahs Prophet, who today have gone even further- these Mushrik parallels who control Makkah and Al-Madinah today are not only at war with those who want Makkah and Al-Madinah free, but they are coming and telling the tens of thousands of Mushriks who are there you have the right to bear arms. Nearly anyone who comes from the United States or Europe who is not a Muslim is free to roam around in the Arabian Peninsula and in addition to all of that, they are now free to carry guns, pistols and maybe even machine guns, while a Muslim is not free to do that. You tell us, as you visualize this history of Allahs Prophet and the Mushriks of that time with taking a look at what is happening in todays world, are the custodians of this Haram, (that Royal family), on the side of the Mushriks or the Muslims? When the Muslims who felt the political moment and the military challenge at that time took individuals into captivity and brought them to Allahs Prophet, (feeling that they were denied access to Al-Haram in Makkah), the Prophet did not rebuke them. He did not tell them oh, what you are doing is wrong! You did not do the right thing! None of that. He said, in affect, that we are on the verge of signing a seize fire between Al-Madinah and Makkah, known as AlHudaibiyah and they should be returned to Makkah because this will interfere with what we are in the process of doing- that was all, in other words Allahs Prophet acknowledged the way the Muslims feel, unlike today. No one (from those) who are supposed to be speaking in the position of Allahs

Prophet and explaining the Quran and the Sunnah comes out and acknowledge the way the Muslims feel today. Where do you find that around? To the contrary, they are quick to defend the kafirs and the Mushriks against these struggling Muslims everywhere. There is a general and universal state of Islamic agitation in this world, where are these speakers of the ayaat and habits to acknowledge this fact? (Thats number one). (Number two) After Al-Hudaibiyah was signed, and now there is what is called an official state of non belligerency between Al-Madinah with the leadership of Allahs Prophet and the committed Muslim and Makkah with the leadership of the well known Mushriks and kafirs. After Al-Hudaibiyah took place there was a type of exchange or intermingling between the Muslims and the Mushriks, knowing that none of them can launch hostilities against the other. They began to come more frequently face to face with each other. This was one of the consequences of signing this Hudaibiyah seize fire agreement. As this was the case, a committed Muslim from the rank of Allahs Prophet- whose name is Salama ibn Al-Aqwaa (radi Allahu anhu)- found a tree and he cleared the area of that tree from the thorns and shrubs that were around and wanted to rest there. As he did that, there were four Mushriks who came to him and they began to defame, speak ill and bad mouth Allahs Prophet. Once again, these were not Muslims who were only concerned with praying and fasting, they were keenly tuned in to the political moments of the timethese people were bad mouthing Allahs Prophet, he knew there was a seize fire between Al-Madinah and Makkah so he did not resort to fighting against them. He just went to another position, he found another place nearby and went there. Then these Mushriks came and took his place and then a little time later someone, came and shouted Oh Muhajireen, we need your help- ibn Zunain (radi Allahu anhu) a Muslim was killed. As historically significant and as politically relevant in todays world as this piece of information is, our self proclaimed spokespersons dont want to mention this issue. So what happens? Upon hearing this, Salama ibn Al-Aqwaa immediately took his sword and (went) where these four Mushriks were under the tree and collected their arms and then he said now if you say or do anything your heads deserve my sword. They were disarmed and at his mercy, so he took them to Allahs Prophet. These were captives and these were Muslims who were living the details of their day. They were not drowning in this artificial spiritualism that is around today. They were not intoxicated by an official Islam and they were not dislocated by disingenuous words from the Mimbar. On his way to the Prophet of Allah with four Mushrik captives, his uncle Aamir (radi Allahu anhu) (as it were) had 70 Mushriks under custody and was taking them to Allahs Prophet. Remember, we are speaking in the time of Al-Hudaibiyah- what happened? Were the Muslims reckless? Why were they doing something like this? They were not acting as if they were mechanical humans who dont hear whats going on and dont respond to a murder of the moment- NO. These were flesh and blood Muslims and they knew how to deal with aggression. So, when they took these captives to Allahs Prophet and the question is why did they do that? This is supposed to be a generation that honors the leadership of Allahs Prophet and that knows that the agreement of Al-Hudaibiyah is in progress, so why did they do something like that? The question is not why did they did something like that, the question is why did the Mushriks do something like killing a Muslim at a time when they are not supposed to be doing something like that? (Thats the question.) Why did they did kill ibn Zunain, a Muslim? It shows you who begins to break their word and dishonor their agreements; its not the Muslims when theres an Islamic leadership and decision making body. So the Mushriks and kafirs were the ones who were not living up to the terms of Al-Hudaibiyah and the Muslims were not sinking in a false religiosity withdrawn from the currents of life. They were out there, in real life, and because they were out there, in real life, one of them was killed; and because they were out there, in real life, they took captives from the hostile forces.

In todays world, Muslims are not out in real life. They have this incarcerated in a phoney Islam supervised by those who are occupying the Harams and extending their tentacles to the rest of the world. When this issue came to Allahs Prophet, knowing that this was done after signing the agreement of AlHudaibiyah, he let them loose and he didnt tell Salama and his uncle Aamir what you did was wrong. This is a fact that has to be emblazoned on the memory and in the heart of every Muslim. When you react to injustice with the pulse of justice, you cant be blamed. Allahs Prophet didnt blame them for what they did. He understood what they did and he also understood that there is an agreement between two states that go beyond the individual impulses of justice, represented by a couple of persons, so he released them. 74 prisoners of war (probably) or captives were released. The reasoning for that could be one of two things. The 1st one is that these individuals who were taken captives by committed Muslims were not personally responsible for violating and breaking the terms of Al-Hudaibiyah. These were not the ones who killed ibn Zunain, even though they belonged to the same Mushrik structure, but they were not personally culpable- thats one explanation. The other explanation is that this could have potentially led to the undoing of the agreement of Al-Hudaibiyah at that early time- in the 1 st months after it was signed and it wasnt in the larger Islamic interest (as it were) to do that in that time. These are the types of facts that we need now. These are the issues that we have to be looking at when we have opponents and aggressive adversaries throwing all types of accusations against us. In another event from the time of Allahs Prophet- we know these historical precedents are binding on usdont we say that we are committed to the book of Allah and the character of Allahs Prophet- what he said and what he did. These are incidents and definitions that we need to take from his life and place in our life today. In another incident, Allahs Prophet sent a person from his circle to the king of Bahrainthe kings name is Mundhir ibn Sawa- to tell him this is what Islam is about. Remember, when Allahs Prophet saw an opportunity to present Islam to whomever he would do it. If the opportunity presents itself, seize it. Where are todays followers of Allahs Prophet who can see an opportunity in speaking to a king or a president about Islam? Most of the dawa works in our world today is down played, reduced and diminished to speak to the average citizens of the time. Theres no program that Muslims have that they can send people who know how to interact and exchange ideas with rulers. For those who have these types of programs, why dont we have dawa programs to speak the language of the rulers and present Islam to them in that level? You see, this is another area that many Muslims do not want to think about because its going to throw a monkey ranch in the grand scheme that comes to them from that enemy of Allah called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Allahs Prophet sent his emissary who spoke to that king about Islam and that king responded favorably. The emissary was on his way back and he reached a certain area- because if you think about Al-Madinah and Bahrain, theres almost the expanse of the Arabian Peninsula that you have to cross to get from one point to the next- on this journey there was The People of Al-Yamama. There was a person by the name of ibn Uthama who came to this emissary and wanted to kill him, but one of his relatives said no- let him go; and this relative became a Muslim. The emissary came back to Allahs Prophet and when Allahs prophet knew these details he said who is it? Who can capture this person who showed animosity to my emissary? There was a person by the name of Muhammed ibn Maslama (radi Allahu anhu) who volunteered to do that and he did it. He captured this person and brought him to Al-Madinah. This person was captured the key word over here is captured and it was done with the authorization of Allahs Prophet. This person was something like a prisoner of war (and was) put in the Masjid of Allahs Prophet, not in some prison or some distant place far away from society- in the Masjid.. Imagine something like that happening today- Muslims (who are) now the subjects and victims of all types of warfare, knowing who

to capture and taking that person to the Masjid An-Nabawi in Al-Madinah. Imagine what obstacles they are going to run into? Imagine what the reaction would be by those who are ruling in Arabia today to something like that is considered a Sunnah from the Seerah of Allahs Prophet? With these facts staring us in the face, they come and tell you but no- these people in Arabia are considered from those who aqaamu as-saalah. Remember- when the question from those around the Prophet was should we oppose our leaders using the force of arms? He said no- as long as they are responsible for having salaah the standard, the ceiling or the under current of society- that is what aqaamu-as-salaah means. That is where salaah belongs; it doesnt belong incarcerated in a Masjid. Here, we find once again when we want to measure these rulers over there by that standard they fail and flunk because they are excluded from this description; they are no longer responsible for standardizing as-salaah in society and in the world and this demonstrates that. What if we know who is responsible for the shedding of innocent Muslim blood through this phony warfare against us and we get hold of him, take him and place him in the Masjid of Allahs Prophet- do you think these people who are ruling in Arabia will condone, agree, sanction or endorse anything like that? The obvious and frank answer is NO! Allahs Prophet comes to this person whos in this Masjid, literally tied down to one of the pillars of the Masjid and he asks him how are you? What do you want? What can we do for you? Very courteous words, and this person says to Allahs Prophet if you were to kill youre going to kill a person with blood solidarity and if you are going to amnesty a person you are going to amnesty a thankful person. Allahs Prophet says to him a 2nd and a 3rd time and the person answers him exactly the same way. Then, after the Prophet of Allah leaves and after this person being witness to the character, behavior and conduct of committed Muslims in the Masjid, he asks someone to release him; he wants to go and bath himself and he comes back and he says ashadu an la ilaha illalah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammedan abduhu wa Rasuluh.This was not introducing a Muslim to Islam via patting on someones shoulder or genuflecting on your knees in front of someone trying to convince them of the validity of Allah and His Prophet- as is the case with some of the characters who are submerged into todays definitions of dawa. This person became a committed Muslim because he was a captive and was exposed to the real character of committed Muslims. Then what happens after that? As the time goes by, after some years there was an imposter Prophet who appears from Al-Yamamah. Remember, this guy, the captive who became a Muslim is from AlYamamah. He goes to his people and he talks to them (about) how phony Musailama Al-Kadhaab from Al-Yamama is. One of his own people exposes one of his own in front of thousands who are deceived and fooled by Musailama Al-Kadhaab. This captive, who was in the Masjid of Rasulillah and before that wanted to kill the emissary of Rasulillah goes to his own people in Al-Yamama and he convinces 3,000 of them to abandon Musailama the imposter Prophet. He reads to them the beginnings of Surah Al-Ghafir and he says compare that (with) what is Musailamah saying to you? And he quotes what is supposed to be an ayah- what Musailama said he has come to these people with. The ayah speaks about a frogOh frog, say what you want to say youre not harming the water and youre not decreasing it. Thats the rough translation of one of these forged and fabricated words of this lying imposter fake and forged personality that claimed that it was a Prophet. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- if we were to draw a parallel between the way Muslims understood and interacted with the Quran and the Prophet at that time with the way some these Muslims are claiming to interact with Allah and His Prophet in our time, we would see two different types of people. Never; never has our humble speaker who is speaking to you come across any statement or word from Allahs Prophet that would exclude military, political and ideological statements and understanding of the real world around; (yet) this has become the official and consistent program of those who are responsible for Islam in our time and they still make this

broad statement that they are the custodians of the two Harams, Humaat Al-Haramain Ash-Sharifain. The rulers there are at war in the land of Allahs Prophet, the Quran and the birth place of Islam. Why arent these Masaajids around the world buzzing with the truth about these enemies of Allah; the descendents of these Mushriks in the Arabian Peninsula in the time of Muhammad. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- at a golden age of Islam when Allahs Prophets behavior and his decisions were policy and precedence for the Muslims; when we take a clear and unbiased look- not influenced by the petrol dollar(this is another area) It is quiet ironic to see that there is a person who can put out a film, a documentary 9/11 and try to speak his conscience. Remember, this is not a person who has the Quran and the Prophet in his visual range; this is a person who is trying to understand the world in his own terms with his common sense and whatever information that he has and he can see through the structure of lies that have been worked into our Islam and with the privilege of the Quran and the Prophet, many of us cannot see this. What has happened? What has gone wrong with our relationship to Allah and His Prophet? Brothers and sisters, Masharal Mumineen It is a daunting task when we think of how much and how far the enemies of Allah have made in roads. Not only have they placed their militaries over our lands (but) they placed their scholars over our conscience; they positioned their ideas in our minds- thats how much they have penetrated into us. When we think about changing, reversing and adjusting all of this and if we think about all of this in the absence of Allah we just give up; theres no longer any hope or expectation that anything can be done; but to the contrary, if we think about the tremendous generational historical, educational, cultural, philosophical and even the civilizational in-roads, channels and excesses that Allahs enemies have done to us and more with Allah, then all of this that we see around dwarfs into insignificance. Look around, the Masaajid in this area here- this is supposed to be a land that is singing about freedom, liberty and justice- who controls all of these Masaajids? And, they almost control them in a hypnotic way; they dont control them by a stick! No one from the security or the law enforcement agencies around come into these Masaajids yielding their clubs and guns and say this is the way you should run this place, this is what you should say and this what you are not allowed to say- thats not the way they do it. They can more easily do this by going to Arabia and controlling Islam from there. When it is controlled from there, and the trail of money leads all the way into the Islamic Centers around the world, those who are at the end of this trail know exactly what to say and what not to say. For those of us who dont have the creativity to think about the mass expropriation of Islam in the world on the five continents of the planet think about it just in Washington DC; think about how they control what the khutbah is going to be about. At times like this people who ascend the Mimbar are not allowed to speak about qitaal and jihad. These details of Allahs Prophets Seerah that we just mentioned and have been mentioning in the numerous khutbahs before are not permitted. There are thousands of Muslims coming to some of these Masaajids, what are these Muslims doing? By their presence there and by not taking issue with the tangents that these khateebs are on or by these khateebs being silent about the facts, the thousands of Muslims who attend these jumahs just by their attendance are endorsing this process; they become part of this process; and because we are part of this process look at what is happening in todays world? Does anyone any longer have any doubts or questions about why are we in the position that we, Muslims, are in, in todays world, when we agree to the expropriation of our Masaajid and when we agree to have people speak to us from the Mimbar on Fridays every week in a consistent manner about issues that do not

relate to Allah, His Prophet, the facts and reality around us (and) we are satisfied by being relocated on Fridays in the land of fantasies? What do they do? Do they tickle your imagination? Look at what is being said! If the Masaajid of the world were alive with these facts; updating the Sunnah; placing the ayaat and the hadiths in the real world of today- we have a real world of wars, common lets speak about them. Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of people? Are you afraid of governments? Are you afraid of matter? Are you are afraid of the physical world? Are you afraid of some harm that comes to your body? you fear them and Allah deserves to be feared before and after them (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 37) and they try to scare you- you the committed Muslim- by those who are inferior to Allah (Surah Az-Zumar verse 36) At the end of the day, (you think about it), you are fearing what? Whatever it is, it is inferior to Allah.

HOSTAGE TAKING IN ISLAM- PART 2

(1 October 2004)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuhal Muminun.... With Allahs provision and tawfiq, we will continue to bind our mind, relocate our thoughts, bolster our commitment and reinforce our motivation by taking a practical look at what Allah tells us in the definition of todays real world. Muslims, (you and I) on a daily basis, are under occupation; the victims of invasion and the (so-called) collateral of military plans and we complain to Allah that there are only a few Muslims who are inspired enough to live the magnitude of these life and death issues even though they may be few now and increasing into the future. As much as we want to explain and detail the areas that are off limits to those who purport to speak for Muslims today, we will not be able to give this matter its due in a khutbah,

lecture or a presentation here and there from time to time. This whole issue remains in the hands of Allah and we are satisfied with the will of Allah if we blend into it. Once that happens, this innuendo, propaganda and misinformation will not affect us at all provided we are centered in the will of Allah and not overcome by our tendencies, expediencies and opportunism. With reliance upon Allah and confidence in Him, we look and proceed on these issues with all the senses it does not behoove a Prophet to have captives until military operations reach an advanced stage. You desire or want the stuff of this world and Allah wants al-akhirah. And Allah is immune and Allah is wise (Surah An-Anfaal verse 67) We are confronting ourselves when we understand the meaning of this ayah, before we confront our enemy. Our psychology today- now (and) here, wherever we may be- still has not matured enough to practically carry the meanings of this ayah to their logical conclusion. In the 1st instance, Muslims do not want to blend the Quran with the facts of life. One of the facts of life is that we understand the features and facets of this aggression and wars in the revealed script, but we do not want or we deliberately choose not to understand what Allah is telling us. We omit speaking, discussing, deliberating and explaining these clear, obvious and present ayaat. This is a fact of life. We want to deal 1st and foremost with our own selves. We take these ayaat and the least we can do is present their meanings and how they impacted, molded, defined and directed the lives of those who were listening when Allah was speaking. We have no excuse. There have been people who have preceded us. They assimilated these meanings into their minds, character, social and material lives. They bear witness against us, who refuse to do so. This issue that the typical Muslim belonging to the conventional establishment of Islam (we can use that expression) that is sanctioned by Allah and after all of this they want to come out looking as if they are the number one Muslims in the world. To supplement what was said in the last khutbah, prisoners of war (as they are called today) is a fact. War itself is an undesirable and a nasty activity. Left to ourselves, we have a dis-taste for it fighting is assigned to you the while you dislike it (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 216) This is contrary to our public image out there. Remember- were trigger happy, blood thirsty and terrorists- this is what comes out of the contrarian to Islam. This is how they want us to think of ourselves and to certain extent it has been working with some people. If that indicates anything, it indicates how these people are withdrawn from Allah. Whats another sample from that prototype generation around Allahs Prophet? Whats another example of how this issue of prisoners of war worked out? This is an ayah? What does this mean in practical terms? We relate its general meanings- which is meant for our faculty of thought, its not meant to tantalize our emotions, its not meant to stimulate a temporary high in our psychology, it is meant to be understood and from there to be translated into reality. This is the course of the Quran for which Muslims have been absent from for some time. What does this mean in practical terms? You may ask brother- can you give us another example of how this issue of prisoners-of-war

worked itself out when these ayaat were fresh to the mind of those 1st recipients of this Quran? We capture a scene from Badr, the 1st military engagement of the Muslims. What happened during that time? As stated previously and stated again, the Muslims took 70 odd prisoners of war from that military affair called Badr. During the details of this war when the two opposing camps met, one of the leaders of the Mushrikeen who was participating in this war against the committed Muslims was Umayyah ibn Khalaf. We mentioned the name, but does it ring a bell in anyones mind? We can only say Allah knows better- but generally speaking because the Muslims do not dwell on this type of information, it doesnt ring a bell. You hear the name Umayyah ibn Khalaf and in a very general sense, he is in the class of Abi Jahl, Abi Lahab, Abi Sufyan and the rest of these decision makers in Makkah who expressed their hostility to Islamthats probably, in the best of conditions, as much information as we will be able to put together from the conventional mind that we share. But now, theres a particular detail that we are concerned with here and that is that Bilal (radi Allahu anhu), one of the Muslim mustadaf , one of the 1st to become Muslim in Makkah had a background with Umayyah ibn Khalaf- something he could not forget. It was this person who was torturing and persecuting Bilal ibn Rabaa. He was the slave master who would put a chunk of rock on the chest of Bilal who was laid out on the burning Arabian sand. This was the back ground to those moments when both of them- Bilal and Umayyah- would meet at Badr. What else is there to this? What do you think happened here? They are at the warfront and they have this background. ibn Khalaf- this Umayyah guythis enemy of the Muslims who at the time was called Ras al-Kufr. In our time no one wants to use the word kufr. We have been invaded mentally by all types of the kind that wishes us all ill (and) who have made us reserved. No one wants to use that word now. Its a word expressed multiple and any times in the Quran and we run away from it. At that time they saw that enemy of Allah and they called him ras al-kufr with no apologies. Compare the psychology of today with the psychology of those days! Today, they come up to you and say youve got to be out of your mind!- trying to find the equivalent of Umayyah ibn Khalaf in todays world and then having the courage to say you are ras al-kufr, the head of Kufr?! Those are the facts of life then and there is a fact of life now. They saw this person, ras al-kufr and they called him exactly that. Sometimes, when people are going to die or are in mortal danger they try to find protection. Umayyah ibn Khalaf went to a Muslim at the warfront who used to be his old, close friend- this Muslim is Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf (radi Allahu anhu)- and he said I need your protection. He saw the details of the war were not going as expected, the Mushriks are going to be rooted in this war, (so) he goes to Abdur-Rahman and says take me in protect me, and ibn Awf tries to protect this person, this ras al-kufr. Remember- these are personalities around Allahs Prophet. Bilal is a person around Allahs Prophet and Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf is a person around Allahs Prophet. One of them wanted to protect ras al-kufr and the other one wanted to kill ras al-kufr. Bilal said- this a statement that they dont want to mention to you because they dont want the Muslim mind to grow to this area (as) we will begin to think about these when we have these nasty life and death threats inside our territories, countries and homelands. (Judging from) the words that come out of these types of Massaged of today theyd can say Bilal must have been a fanatic or some type of extremist- thats what

they would say. He wasnt! He was doing his responsibilities to the best of his knowledge and capacity and he went after him. It didnt matter to Bilal whether ibn Awf was trying to protect this avowed enemy of Allah and His Prophet. He and those who were with Bilal- there were a few with him- went directly with their swords and their swords were lunged into this enemy of Allah and that was the end of him. He wasnt hard to get anyway, he was a sizeable person- many times, these Mushriks and kaffirs have a lot of volume. We dont have any trace of comments or analysis that tell us what happened there and then was some kind of extremism, fanaticism, radicalism or the rest of these ideas that are seeping inside the Muslim mind (and) coming from the manaabir. This direct accessible implementation of Allahs directives are available, but what do you do and say when the Masaajid are under occupation?! There are other instances. Are we speaking about just limited expressions of what it means in the unraveling details of warfare- to look at prisoners of war and captives? We have another example for those who would say this brother is talking of one or two examples. In the aftermath of alKhandaq, one of the most decisive military campaigns in which the Islamic social order came under siege by the coalition of the willing in the Arabian Peninsula, Al-Ahzab. What happened? Theres a lot of details pertaining to this campaign, but what we are concerned with here is the prisoners of war that resulted from this military affair. Who were the prisoners of war here? They were Banu Quraida, the last yahudi stronghold in Al-Madinah. Were not talking about an individual or two, we are talking about hundreds of individuals who committed high treason. There is no crime that is more serious than the crime that they were guilty of. They had signed on to an agreement with Allahs Prophet to protect and militarily defend Al-Madinah, and when the time came to prove whether they were true to their word, they proved that they were liars to their word and they took the side of the mushriks. Allah says, focusing our minds on this particular treachery and the result of it, when Banu Quraida saw that they were on the losing side in this military confrontation they took to their stronghold. They lived in an area which could be considered todays relative terms- a suburb of Yathrib, Al-Madinah. A scholar or brother can only relate what he has confidence in from these books of history, Seerah, Sunnah and Maghaazi, etc. Jibril (alaih salaam) says it appears like you have put down your arms- meaning it seems like to you the battle is over. He said yes. He said, as far as the angels are concerned, the battle is not over- go to Bani Quraida. Allahs Prophet told the Muslims whoever is hearing, listening and obeying should pray only after arriving at Bani Quraida- meaning after going this distance to Bani Quraida. We have some brothers in their own religious-historicaltraditional shell who were thinking like this years ago and now theyve gone out on a tangent- as if the world is moving around in a peaceful direction. The world is moving in a war-like direction as far as we are concerned. Anyone want to take issue with? Cant you open your eyes and see whats happening all around? We dont come to this khutbah to repeat for you what youve heard during the week. We take for granted that you already have this information and we can tighten it up with the Quran and the Prophet. The type of Muslims today, that runaway from reality- Oh brother, (if) you want to be a very good

Muslim, go out on these tablighi or camp activities or the sissie-like programs that predominate all around us today. Were not talking about wimps around the Prophet, we are talking about warriors around the Prophet. What was going on inside Bani Quraidas mind- the collective mind of yahud? Allah takes us on the offensive- mentally- with these details. They discussed amongst themselves. They knew they have committed high treason; all of them are guilty of it. They stabbed the Islamic leadership and Prophet and community in the back because they took the side of the Mushriks and when the Muslims were busy repelling the siege at Al-Khandaq, these yahud inside Yathrib attacked the Prophets residence when he was at the war front- this is an act of war. No one speaks about these details- Oh brother- this is history; we dont want to bring this thing up. There are inter-faith conferences. (interfaith conferences) that amount to what?! (Inter-faith conferences) on a bridge over our blood?! Wherere you living? Inside their mind, these yahud were thinking we have these options. Look, we have these options. If they say that they have become Muslims, they will ransom their lives and their future and become free and dodge all the consequences of what they have done. But they couldnt agree on that. No we are not going to do that. The other option was we will stand and we will fight like men and die like men. They discussed that option and they said they are not going to do that- because they are cowards; they want protection from behind strongholds. Look at today- when they feel that they are on the wrong or losing side of a war, they begin to erect this wall- a 450 mile long wall. But whos living in the meanings of the Quran and the meanings of our time? Very few! No- we are not going to fight and die like them. So what are you going to do? Another option is let us attack these Muslims outside of this area on our sabath because Muslim public opinion think that we dont do war on the sabath and we can deceive them by attacking them when they think we are not going to attack them. They discussed this option and they still declined to do it. The only thing left for them was to try to rely on their connections inside the Muslim society. They had friends, associates, colleagues, neighbors and acquaintances who became Muslims (and) now they want to rely on them so that they can lead their good offices (as it were) and convince the Prophet that he not apply to them the judgment of Allah and the judgment of heaven upon traitors and betrayers. They opted for this and one of their close allies, before Islam who was injured very seriously by this Khandaq military confrontation went to them. There was an exchange of ideas and words and finally one of the closest friends that they had said that the men in this camp are traitors and they should be dealt with as traitors, which means capital punishment- execution. So, they surrendered and for a brief while, they were prisoners of war to be rightfully eliminated because there cannot be a military crime more serious then what they did and they deserved the consequences. Who are the Muslims of today who can carry this history and these decisions of Allah and His Prophet with pride and confidence? They want us to smother in a superficial image of Allahs Prophet- Oh, hes merciful, how can he do something like that?! Some Muslims even question these details- No, this cannot be. If Allahs Prophet went to war, hes not going to bear the responsibilities and consequences of war?! That doesnt make sense! You go to war to do what? To hand out roses or to kill the enemy?! It is reported also in some books that Allahs Prophet addressed them when they were under siege at Bani Quraida and he said the

paternity of apes. These are harsh words, but at a time of war harsh words themselves are mild. Who is the imam and khateeb whos going to say this to the Muslim public? Allahs Prophet says- listen when Muslims speak about ghazwah Bani Quraida, they speak about some Muslims may delay their salaah of Asr. The Prophet said whoever is hearing, listening and obeying should pray only after arriving at Bani Quraida and Muslims went there and they were delayed until Isha. They didnt pray Al-Asr until Al-Isha. Imagine what type of crime that would be in todays world of understanding Islam?! They would tell the Prophet how can that be? These are the type of people who are detached from reality. We should reposition ourselves in the frame of mind that Allahs Prophet was in. Besides all of this, he said I am the Prophet of mercy and I am the Prophet of a military epic.

Brothers and sisters committed Muslims We remind ourselves of our humble effort and our limited sacrifice on our way to Allah. Many times among Muslims, theres a heated argument that takes place- are we where we are todaywith all the problems that we have; all the set backs that we suffer and with all the debilitation that is obvious- because of what the Mushriks, the external enemy, the kaafirs are doing to us or we are where we are today because of what we have done to our own selves? Sometimes the discussion becomes so heated and acrimonious that no one is willing to consider what the other is saying. We thank Allah that He has given us the answer to this. (Take) a look at ourselvesbeing here every Friday- is this because of what our avowed enemies wanted for us or is this because of what we have done to ourselves? Anyone who has been living with their common sense can see that it is a combination of these factors. Muslims have been out here in the street for over 21 years and neither the Mushrik nor the Muslim wants to take a principled approach to this issue. This is what happens when you cling to al-haqq. Everyone wants to look the other way- as if nothing is happening here. That everyone includes those who say that they are Muslims, who pray as they are Muslims and those who are silently behind the screens, agitating and manipulating with all the means available to them. Whats wrong? Muslims cant speak about your brothers and sisters in Islam who have been out in the streets for a generation now?! Whats wrong? Something is wrong with you. You cant look at human beings who are holding fast to Allah, the principle, the truth, the haqq and the justice that comes from being with Allah? Whats wrong with you?! And you- who are out there who have nothing to do with Islam accept hating it- you cant look at it?! Look at what you have done and contributed to? You say that you want democracy and elections?! We have 21 solid years of putting to the lies the words that come out of your mouths. Then, they want to play this on an international scale. They say we want democracy to take hold in Iraq, the Middle East and in the Muslim world and they cant tolerate democracy a few blocks away! So they dont deal with this issue. People from the press and media- youve seen them around- they come from time to time with their cameras and reporters all around this place, but we dont see an word or a picture in public to say and express the truth. (Do) you see where the inside meets the outside?

We have made it evident to you (Surah Aal-Imran verse 118)

DAWUD (AS)- DRAWING THE RIGHT LESSONS

(10 June 2005)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims of a binding Covenant with Allah There are many ayaat in the Quraan that speak about Dawud (alaih salaam), his lineage, the Scripture he was given, that he was endowed with knowledge, that he was forever conscious of Allah and engaging in Dhikr, that he was the Khalif of the first Islamic State, etc. Surah Anaam verse 84; Surah Nisaa verse 163; Surah Israa verse 55;Surah Ambiyah verse 78-79; Surah An-Naml verse 15-16; Surah Saba verse 10; Surah Saad verse 17-30 However, these aspects of Dawud, (alaih salaams) life are well and commonly known, which is why I would like to focus on two areas which have slipped out and are no longer common knowledge to most Muslims. The 1st being the confrontation with the super-power and the 2 nd being his relationship with the Children of Israel. And they (the committed Muslims of that time) vanquished Goliaths armies by Allahs leave. And Dawud killed Goliath. And Allah bestowed upon Dawud a Kingdom and Knowledge, as much as He willed, and had it not been the act of war (Jihad and Qital) by some (The Army of Allah) against others (Satans forces), the entire earth would have been corrupted. But Allah is the Lord of Kindness to His creation. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 251)

After all the problems that Bani Israel gave Musa (alaih salaam) and after all the objections to Allahs commands and His Prophets commands to take up an armed struggle, sometime thereafter, they eventually made it to the battlefield. In passing, let me just mention that all the excuses that Bani Israel made to circumvent their military duty- todays Muslims are making the same excuses. Now, this epic (just like many other epics in human, Prophetic history) describes the confrontation between: those few who commit themselves to Allah and those who oppose Allah; those who have barely any power and those who have over-whelming power; those who have inferior arms and armaments and those who have up-to-date military technology. One of the critical lessons demonstrated in this epic is that Muslims have always been against the odds; from the day that Muhammad (saw) left the security of the peaceful and tranquil cave, and throughout hid struggle, he was always against the odds. The Seerah of Muhammed (sallalahu alaih wa sallam ) bears evidence to support the fact that the Prophet (sallalahu alaih wa sallam) and the Muslims who stood with him almost always found themselves in the position of being inferior in terms of military gadgets. This does not mean that we must deliberately disarm ourselves. We must do the best that we can to muster as much means as possible, but be conscious of the reality that even after doing our best at mustering whatever we can we will find ourselves having less than our enemies have. It is after finding ourselves in this position, that Allahs assistance to those who commit to him becomes the determining factor. Allah is always responding to people who are involved in the affairs and the challenges of real life and not merely wearing a garb of piety. There are no precedents to indicate that being detached from events and then making a dua will yield the desired results. Remember, even on the eve before the battle of Badr, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was on the battle-field, he was not lying in bed in Medinah and soliciting Allahs help. And then, Dawud killed Goliath. Here again, we encounter a fact that todays Muslims want to run away from. Many Muslims are living in dreamland and propagating utopian ideas, such as, the solution to the aggression against this Ummah is not a military one. Here, in this instance, we have a confrontation between two forces in which there is a distortion in the balance of power. This forces the Muslims to be the Dawuds of the day who are up against the Goliaths of the day, ie. The US-led and US-Backed Coalition of Terrors forced imposition of aggression upon Muslims around the world. It is under these circumstances that Allah captured for eternity this military epic of Dawud (as) and this Dua: O Our Sustainer, bestow upon us steadfastness and patience during adversity and grant us firmness against these kaafirs. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 260) What needs to be explained here is the misunderstanding that many Muslims have with regards to the terms steadfastness and patience in adversity. These are not passive qualities in the sense

that when we are afflicted by injustice and oppression, we now sit back and wait for it to pass. No! This passive waiting and passive turning the other cheek mentality towards such circumstances, is not patience but cowardly laziness. On the contrary, sabr is an active quality that motivates and energises one into actively changing these circumstances by taking the forces of Shaytaan head on, and not turning our backs on this obligation. To practice patience is to persistently resist without changing course until Allah brings about the outcome He desires however long that may take. I now want to move on to the second aspect, ie. Dawud (alaih salaam)s relationship with the Children of Israel. Allah says: Condemned are the deniers of truth from amongst the Children of Israel, they have been condemned by the tongue of Dawud and Isa (alaihis salaam) because of their disobedience and their aggression. They never sought council in opposing that aggression, vile acts indeed is what they commit. (Surah Al- Maaidah verse 78-79) Allah teaches us about the nature of Bani Israel. Their disobedience and aggression earned the discontent of Allah and Allahs Prophets, of whom two are mentioned here by name. But, the ayah didnt stop here; it went on to say that they never opposed each other in that aggression. You see, they never opposed such aggression in an institutionalised manner. This is not a fact that is cornered in a moment of history that is now irrelevant. Firstly, not only is the description of the Children of Israel applicable, but it is also an accurate description of these people today. We all witness the atrocities and in-humane treatment and aggression that is happening in the world, generally, and particularly in Occupied Palestine. In the instance of the atrocities in the world, we have Zionist Israeli Jews pulling the strings from behind the scenes, and in the case of Occupied Palestine, they are directly involved. And whilst there are individual Jews who protest these atrocities here and there, there is still no institutionalised and concrete opposition to these acts of aggression. Secondly, as far as we (Muslims) are concerned- remember, if we are guilty of repeating this attitude that we are warned about, ie. Committing acts of disobedience and aggression and/or being indifferent to these acts, then according to the Justice of Allah, we will attract and are deserving of the same type of condemnation, and it wont matter whether we call ourselves by different labels or names. Remember, for those of us who still havent solidified our understanding of some of our responsibilities, amongst others, Allah states Let there arise from within this Ummah a group that enforces the Maruf (that which is good and moral and virtuous and decent) and that annihilates the Munkar (that which is bad, evil, immoral and indecent)- such are the successful. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 105) You are the best of Ummahs that has been evolved for the benefit of mankind on account of your enforcing the Maruf (that which is good and moral and virtuous and decent) and

annihilating the Munkar (that which is bad, evil, immoral and indecent) and committing yourselves to Allah. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 110) Thus we have rendered you a pivotal/central/middle Ummah, an Ummah that stands as witness over mankind whilst Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) is a witness over this Ummah. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 143) This Ummah has been designated as pivotal, ie. The Ummah around which all of mankind revolves. If we are up-to our responsibilities and hence fulfilling our role, then all the activities of mankind will revolve around the activities of this Ummah. Conversely, the less we are up-to our responsibilities and hence neglecting our role and obligations, then all the activities of mankind will not revolve around the activities of this Ummah. It is these divine words that give us our direction in life. It is as a result of neglecting these that we find ourselves on the fringes of society having virtually no impact and that we find mankind rapidly approaching the abyss of destruction. As a cautionary, it has to be stated, that to have the required impact and to achieve the desired outcome, it does not mean that we adopt the kaafir means to justify the Islamic ends, such as integration into the structures of kufr and Shirk- you would well know that there are many Muslims, nationalistic and otherwise, who favour this approach and who dont want to rock the boat - meaning take on the Taghuti structures.

THE ESSENCE OR THE MEANINGS OF THE 5 PILLARS PART 1

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of the Islamic way Allah speaks to us through the Quran, a book that cannot be approached by any fault from any direction, hence, a book in which there is no doubt. In this book, Allah told us Behold, you have in Allahs messenger (peace be upon him), a prototype, someone whom you can adopt as your role model, But, for whom? For those who are intent on wanting Allah and the final day, and In whose conscience Allah is embedded. (Surah Ahzab verse 21) Since we are in the reference of the Quran, these guiding words from Allah are directed to us. There is no space for indifference here. If we claim to be Muslims in the footsteps of Allahs messenger (peace be upon him), it is binding on us that we endorse his character as well as his will and determination, and not just his cosmetic features. The issues, I in a humble way want to explain is the essence or the meanings of the five pillars of Islam

When we state our article of faith: ASH HADU AN LA ILAHA ILLALAH WA ASH HADU ANNA MUHAMMEDAN ABDUHU WA RASULUH The practical meaning of that is that we have liberated our mind and our conscience (in theory at least) from those powers that want to enslave the mind and pollute the conscience. The muslims article of faith begins with a denial. The word la which is the first word uttered by any muslim as a break with the prevailing anti-Islamic condition and circumstances. It is not a theoretical vote of no confidence in an anti/un-islamic status quo, it is a word that follows the attitude and intention to destroy mans will in an anti/un-islamic status quo and replace it with Allahs will. But these days, people interpret La Ilaha Illalah as an automatic and in some cases a free ticket to AlJannah just by verbalising it, and it doesnt matter what happens after that. Allah says: Do people figure that they will be left at ease if they say We believe, and they will not be tested? Lo, we tested those before you, so that We may know those who are sincerely committed from those who are phoney. (Surah Al-Ankabut verse 2-3) Imaan is not a matter of lip-service or a wishy-washy mentality, it is that which settles in the heart and then, it is verified by work and labour and deeds. When we make this statement, we attempt to break-away from the structures of kufr and shirk as manifested in the form of the UN, Governmental Structures, NATO, The World Bank, The International Monetary Fund, etc. Make no mistake brothers and sisters, the mushriks and kaafirs from the time of Allahs Prophet are still around. The only things that have changed are the names and the faces. Todays mushriks are not only those who say Allah has a son, or those who are simply pagans. Todays, mushriks are sitting in the corridors of power and they are claiming sovereignty over Allahs earth and legislating all sorts of things which makes the halaal- haraam and the haraam- halaal. Others want to solicit the help of the kaafir to have a piece of Allahs will legislated. Not only is the drive to have what has become known as Muslim Personal Law against the Seerah of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), but by going to solicit the help of the kaafir it goes into the sphere of committing shirk. Allah says, And praise be to Allah who did not beget a son, And who has no rival or partner in the sphere of sovereignty or dominion, And who is not so weak so as to solicit assistance, And magnify your Lord (Surah Isra verse 111) In other ayaat. Allah says: And the decision is for Allah only (Surah Anam verse 57) and And Allah has no rival or competitor in regards to legislating or Allah is the sole legislator. (Surah Kahf verse 26) This should be a clarion call to all Muslims to ensure that they do not contradict their verbalisation of the shahadah by furthering the usurpation of Allahs attributes of being Sovereign and being the sole legislator.

When Allah orders us to perform salaah, He doesnt say to us pray. You read the Quran, we all read the Quran, has anyone seen a direct order from Allah saying to us pray- Sallu? In the overwhelming majority of ayaat about salaah, He says: AQI MUS SALAAH Make your salaah tangible, construct it. Practical, thats what our salaah is supposed to be. But today, Salaah has become a habit that doesnt carry with it an obvious standard of life- we say one thing in our salaah, and we come out and life strikes us with the opposite direction because the standard of life is not the salaah. Proclaim what has been revealed and Establish Salaah, verily salaah is a barrier against committing the fahsha ie. Great sins and the munkar, shirk, dhulm etc. and have Allah embedded in your conscience is greater in preventing the fahsha and the munkar. (Surah Ankabut verse 45) In the Quran, Allah says: Condemnation on those who offer their salaah, but are neglectful of its time and who are seen praying, but are neglectful of the duties that come with this salaah. (Surah Maun verses 3 to 6) In Egypt, if Mubarak makes salaah at the Azhar, its front page news, but theyll not report the maasacres of the government on the mujahidin who are fighting for Allahs word to be supreme. The cameras are ever rolling with the presence of the Saudi Royals in the Haramain, yet you have starving populations in close proximity to this oil rich land- in Africa and South east and Central Asia. In a hadith, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) says, Whoevers salaah does not prevent him from the fahsha, evil acts such as immorality, oppression etc., that salaah only drives him further away from Allah Or in another rendition of the hadith Whoevers salaah does not prevent him from the fahsha, evil acts such as immorality, oppression etc., he has no salaah. Further, if we were to look at the life of Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Sallul, who was the chief of the hypocrites in Medinah, he was a person who used to read Fajr salaah in the front saff behind Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). But that did not disguise his reality. His reality was that he was a hypocrite because he verbalised his commitment to Allah and His Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) but his agenda was to the construction of kufr. Another incident occurred during the time of Allahs representative on Earth- Khalif Umar (radiallahu anhu), when a person came to him and requested to further the case of another person for a certain post. So, Umar (radiallahu anhu), who understood this deen, because he was a close student and companion of Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) asked him three questions: 1. Have you dealt with this person?

2. 3.

Have you travelled with this person? Have you lived with this person?

This person replied no on each occasion, To which Umar (radiallahu anhu) said to him, youve probably just seen this person go in and out of the masjid, but you dont know him. When Allah tells us to give of what we have, He makes sure that this becomes an institution in life. But Zakaah has been reduced to individual acts of charity. Theres no Iqamah of salaah, and no Ita of zakaah. Yeh, there are persons who pray and there are persons who spend of what they have, but these are individuals, and we no longer have the Iqamah and we no longer have the Ita. An incident in the time of Abu Bakr (radiallahu anhu) comes to mind, when people during his reign as Khalifa- as Allahs representative on Earth, refused to pay the zakaah. He waged war on them, not withstanding that they were praying, fasting, verbalising their shahaadah etc. Why? Because he knew that their act of not paying the zakaah to the Islamic state was an act of treachery against Allah, which would undermine Islamic rule. He therefore forced them to subdue themselves to Allah. When Allah tells us to observe the month of Ramadaan, He wants us to gain the pre-requisite of Taqwa, which is not some evasive spiritual quality. It is a practical behaviour that is supposed to be noticed and detected by everyone that is around. Yet, Ramadaan comes and goes, and theres no trace of Taqwa around. Has anyone observed that Ramadaan has anchored a consciousness of Allahs power, and a behaviour that conforms to Allahs power? O You, who are committed to Allah, fasting has been declared a mandatory service upon you as it has been on those before you so that you may take heed of Allah, so that your awareness of Allah will become a barrier to the punishment and the penalty of Allah (Surah Baqara verse183) In another ayah, Allah says See to it that justice is done even if it be a person who is related to you. (Surah An'am verse 152) In yet another ayah Allahs words Let not bad feelings towards a people make you regress from justice, or let not these bad feelings superimpose themselves on you to the detriment of justice. Do; maintain justice because it is a forthcoming of taqwa, because it is near to taqwa, because it is the closest in proximity to taqwa. (Surah Maida verse 8) In another ayah Allah speaks about His communication with man via His Apostles and Messengers saying We have commissioned our emissaries with clear evidence and along with that we have fortified them with scripture and criteria (and then what)

so that equity becomes norm of life among people. (Surah Al-Hadid verse 25) But these meanings do not belong on pages; they belong in peoples lives. If you take the way life is conducted around us, do you see any semblance of justice in it? We can point to many violations of justice- we can point to moral violations of justice, there are social violations of justice, there are also economic injustices that we may refer to. And, everyone speaks about peace, stability and prosperity. Well dont we want justice? Why is this word avoided? Sometimes it is slipped in, but it doesnt figure centrally in their statements. Now, the kaafir media is distorting reality and we even have some Muslims who want to silence other Muslims from shedding light on the truth that the whole world is crying out for, by abusing the power they think they have. Why? But to whom do these speak? Yes, administer justice because it is in close proximity to taqwa. It catches our attention that in another ayah in the same surah Allah says: Fighting has been made a mandatory service upon you (Surah Baqara verse 216) The same choice of words was used: Fighting has been made a mandatory service upon you and fasting has been declared a mandatory service upon you Both of these have been made compulsory or as an obligation upon you. In the second instance, for what reason, fasting has been placed as a mandatory, a fardh upon you, so that you may gain this taqwa. This taqwa that was referred to in the earlier ayah as being the most in close proximity to justice. That quality of Taqwa, that stands as a barrier between anyone whose observing this fast and whatever shaytaan has to offer of indulgence, attractions, pitfalls and what the carnal desires of man always gravitate towards. Allahs guiding words: Ramadaan is the month in which the Quran was caused to descend as a matter of guidance and as a criteria. Those of you who are present in this month should fast it, those who are ill or travelling should make up by an equivalent amount of days later on. Allah wills ease for you and does not will to burden you. (Surah Baqara verse 185) These sequence of ayaat on fasting have the potential of developing a crystallised human being in our behaviour, our feelings and our thoughts. There are people who are fasting today in the physical sense of the word, they withhold consumption of food, liquids and the partaking of sex during the daylight hours. That is the outward manifestation of the fast, but there is a significant expression of fasting, and that is that our internal thoughts and feelings are moulded to conform to the standards of Allah. The Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) to this effect said Whoever does not abstain from false statements, and false actions during any time of fasting, then Allah has no need for this person to abstain from food and from drink. So, it is the parting in our feelings, our hearts, deep down inside of our mind and our psychology with false expressions, whether they are verbal, or whether they are physical. If we dont part with these false expressions then Allah doesnt mind if we are parting from the food and the water that

is available to us. This is the area that has to be worked on during Ramadaan, so that everything any Muslim says and does will not reflect any tendency towards whatever is false, untrue, artificial and not substantial. Now, take this criteria and look at the multitudes of people that are fasting in this month. Probably the overwhelming majority of us fast at least in the outward physical sense. But are we doing it in the prescribed sense, not in the mechanical qualifications of fasting, but in the more intrinsic meanings of fasting. Are we meeting that qualification and that standard? During Ramadaan, when we are abstaining from a couple of meals a day, we should notice that there are people in this world who dont have any meals during the course of the year. To them, if they happen to be Muslims, Ramadaan in the physical sense is no challenge at all, because, most of the time they find themselves denied of the food and the nutrients that to many of us are available. What is the meaning of fasting as far as Muslims who are stashed? Ramadaan comes and goes, and we dont see a very significant amount of resources given to these people who are in need. So those of us who embarked on this regimental course of Ramadaan and then do not gain a sense of proximity to justice, we havent gained very much from our fasting. The purpose of this is taqwa, the common ground between fasting and doing justice and not some type of physical torture and then some type of ingestinal indulgence at the end of the day. If Ramadaan didnt bring about an awareness and a consciousness of these facts, then it was a mechanical and a physical Ramadaan. What is intended of Ramadaan is not a mechanical and a physical Ramadaan, even though obviously abstainance from food and drink is part of the process, but that is not all of the process and that is not the objective of fasting. Allah Exalted and Almighty says: And if my subjects and servants question you concerning me, I indeed am near to them, I respond to those who solicit me, so they should call upon me, so that they may reach a level of maturity and understanding. (Surah Baqara verse 186) This ayah in the context of the Quran has been placed almost in the dead centre between the ayaat which speak about fasting. In the middle of this discourse on Ramadaan, and fasting, Allah presents us with this particular ayah, where-in He is saying If my servants query you concerning me, then I am near to them. How many moments in life does a person contemplate the idea that Where is God? If there is a God, he would have responded to me! If there was a God, he would have shown more compassion to us! If there was a God, he would have acted in a more forthcoming manner! These are questions that cross the minds of individuals, whether they are Muslim or whether they are not Muslims. If we take a look at the individual position of a Muslim or whether we take a look at the broad existence of 1,6billion Muslims in the world, whatever condition we are looking at, sometimes the question knocks on our minds, Why are we left up to this plight or this predicament? Why doesnt Allah come to help us when we are encountering hard times as an individual, as a family, as a community, as a society, as a congregation, as a collective presence in this world? There are many times when this question entertains our feelings. Look at the plight of the Muslims in the Balkans, in the Caucuses, in North Africa, in the Nile valley, in the Middle East, in Central Asia. Its only a thinking mind that will pose the question If we are so obedient to Allah, then why isnt Allah here? And Allah responds to this question, not when our stomach is full, Allah doesnt respond to this question when we are

the object of class materialism, Allah responds to this question when we are ready to receive his response, and Allah knew that if we were observing Ramadaan correctly we would be ready for his answer. For those who persist in posing this type of question when they look at the condition of the Muslim, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) explained when Allah is responding, when He is nearby and when He is at a close proximity. You will indeed make the maruf the legal order in life, and you will indeed make the munkar illegitimate and illegal in life, or, you will call upon Allah and He will not respond to you. Now, do you understand why at times we wonder where is Allah. Do we want Allah to respond without us doing our bit to get Him involved? And, for those that are involved, the response of Allah doesnt necessarily mean a detectable response, or something that we will immediately notice with our senses. If we say that we want the oppressive powers to expire, how do you think that is going to happen? Is it going to come about in an action similar to Moosa, when Pharoah was trailing him and the sea parted and then Pharoah and his administration drowned? Or is the response going to be that Allah will approach these types of dictators in His own way and in proportion to our involvement? We are sure and we are confident that Allah is responding to the Muslims within depressed conditions. Hes not responding to some idle Muslim who is withdrawn from reality, who is isolated from other Muslims, and who is cut-off from current events, much less those who claim to be Muslim but who are involved on the other side of the issue, and who are participating in trying to undermine this growing and vital and vibrating reality that emerges from those committed Muslims who are steeped in Ramadaan, schooled in Ramadaan, and dedicated to this course of Ramadaan, and who listen to Allah. So we understand from this, that our brothers and sisters who observed the month of Ramadaan where there is pressure placed upon them and who are living in the mountains where there is snow and where physical conditions are life threatening, and not only that, where there is a military regime at work against them- they were fasting Ramadaan, and they experienced FA INNI QARIB. Our complementation of theirs is that we stand in a position that will represent their cause, that is on cause to Allah FI SABI LILLAH. With this, we make this connection between us and the rest of those whose future by Allahs promise is theirs. Allah has promised those who are committed to Him and who do As-Salihaat, ie who do his will on Earth. (Surah Nur verse 55) If you are in that position, you receive Allahs promise. What is His will? And what is His promise? His will is : Lo, I am about to place on earth my deputy. (SurahBaqara verse 30) Allah didnt say Inni Jaal ilun fil ardi musalliyaat or muzakkun or Hajji. Simply because, being Allahs deputy incorporates these along with other obligations- obligations which people conveniently neglect. In another ayah, Allah says:

Allah created mankind and jinn only so that they may conform or adapt or agree to Me. (Surah Zariyat verse 66) The word word yabud for the word worship is so meaningless, it takes away the active component and almost automatically triggers the elemant of ritualism. The closest we can come to the word yabud is we conform or we agree or we adapt to Allah. Which is why, even when we walk and eat, if we conform to Allah, it is considered ibaadah. We can worship Allah for a few minutes a day in the masjid, and then we can come out and adapt and conform and agree to everything else, and then we think were included in the ayah and we will receive Allahs promise. His Promise is: He will have you become the heirs, the inheritors of this World. (Surah Nur verse 55) This is not a local issue, neither a self-centred issue, this is a universal issue. Allahs promise is inheritance of World affairs. This is quite an ambition from where some people are to where this statement is taking them. In another ayah on Ramadaan following this ayah, a couple of ayahs beneath it Through this, cultivation of Taqwa, Allah makes clear to mankind His ayaat, ie. His traces of involvement in human affairs. (Surah Baqara verse 187) It is a sad comment, that Ramadaan would have come and those that are making decisions for the Muslims will not have gained the privilege of fasting this month of Ramadaan. We ask Allah (SWT) to offer us that privilege by extending ourselves to those in the human condition around us. If, we cannot in any physical sense do so, at least in our thoughts and in our minds. The Prophet of Allah (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) says Fasting is a protection, is a protective layer for this human being. Is that the case when these decision makers are fasting, and when they make decisions impacting the lives of Muslims? Have they been fasting? How can anyone be fasting, if there is an administration that tells some Muslims they cannot have access to something that belongs to this ummah, like a Masjid or a media resource etc. with no shari basis. Is this the meaning of Taqwa? But this is only a small presentation of the large scale policies and decisions that impact the lives of many other Muslims in this world. Remember, when Allah started speaking about Ramadaan he addressed Alladhina Aamanu, and now, He is saying that through Alladhina Aamanu, His ayaat ie. Traces of his Power presence is made known to mankind. If Ramadaan comes and goes and there is no manifestation of Allahs power presence in human affairs, then Ramadaan was, once again, a physical and mechanical Ramadaan.

THE ESSENCE OR THE MEANINGS OF THE 5 PILLARS PART2

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of the Islamic way... Little do the Muslims who go to the Hajj know that this obligation has become an empty shell that has been drained from its quint-essential meanings. Allah Jalla Jalaluh did not impose on us rituals that have no meaning to our responsibilities in life. Every ritual that we perform is meaningful and relevant and practical within our responsibilities on earth. The Hajj is a matter of months. (Surah Al-Baqara verse 197) Now, just like they serve us fast food, theyre giving us fast rituals. Youre supposed to go to the Hajj and perform what is supposed to be a matter of months in a few weeks. Therefore, we are not able to bring into full fruition the meanings that are supposed to dwell in our souls and penetrate the core of our feelings in the Hajj. Allah says concerning the Kaba Al-Bayt Al-Haram, Allah has rendered Al-Kaba, the Holy sanctuary Qiyaaman for people. (Surah Al-Maida 100) Wheres the lost meaning here? The lost meaning here is that the Kaba is no longer a place for people to make statements on a worldwide scale. Has anyone heard of Muslims who go to Mecca and Al-Medinah nowadays and have a statement to make to the world? You dont hear about it, because it doesnt exist! Theres no statement coming out of Mecca to the world. The Hajj has become aimless!

Listen, (Brothers and sisters), Allahs Prophet says: A Muslim is a brother to the other Muslim. or in another hadith, A committed Muslim is a brother to the other committed Muslim. Brotherhood has a meaning. When you are someones brother, you understand him well and he understands you well. There are no barriers between you and him. Where else can Muslims express this brotherhood? Does this exist in the Hajj, where it is supposed to exist? Visually, everyone becomes equal, they take off clothes, because when you put on the different clothes, you make a statement. Some people see through the clothes that you wear- the status you come from or the inferiority you suffer from or the class that you belong to or your national origin or how clean or otherwise you may be. All of that visually comes down when one puts on the ihraam. Everyone is supposed to be equal to facilitate the process of communication. But, what do you do when you put on this ihraam and theres no process of communication? Whats the ihraam for? You want to bring down all stereotypes, all pre-conceptions, all the pollution that is in the world that interrupts the process of communication between you and the other Muslim beside you. But no-one is allowed to communicate. Hajj has become an activity once a year in which Muslims are forbidden to communicate. How can we express ourselves? Try congregating in the Haram and discussing the affairs of Muslims, and see what the guards will do to you? If Allah is saying: Indeed, this ummah of yours is one ummah. (Surah Al-Muminun:52) Would you know that by going to the Hajj? Would you feel that this is one ummah by going to the Hajj? How can we become one ummah, when a few of us cannot communicate and consolidate our hearts at that basic level and at that central position in Mecca and Al-Medinah? If we are not allowed to do so, then how do we say that this is one united ummah? You have Muslims coming from the bleeding part of the ummah to the Hajj. Do you think theres not hundreds and a few thousand Muslims who make it to the Hajj from places like Chechenya, the Balkans, Palestine, Kashmir, parts of Asia and Africa, etc. who are suffering and are oppressed, discriminated and prejudiced? Its in our body, and we call ourselves brothers?! In Mecca and Al-Medinah, Muslims are supposed to express a sense of globalisation. Right now, who is defining globalisation? Who is telling Muslims and non-Muslims where this world is going as barriers are coming down and people are coming closer together? But on whose terms are they coming together? On the terms of Shaytaan, on the terms of big money and business, on the terms of trans-national capital and profit, not on our terms of humanity, brotherhood, equality and justice! It was and still is a revolution against the social and class discrimination- at a time when the Quraishi feelings of superiority was at their peak and when Quraish in the days of Hajj use to stand at Muzdalifa and then proceed from there while the rest of the pilgrims used to stand at Arafat, and proceed from there. The revolutionary defiance and directives were revealed as Muhammed (alaih salaam) who belonged to the Quraishi citizenry stood with the rest of non Quraishis at Arafat, and with the Quran addressing Quraish

Then pass on at a quick pace from the place where it is usual for the multitude so to do (Surah Al-Baqara verse 199) The Quraishi pomp and pride could not accept or see a Quraishi daughter or sister married to an average Arab or commoner. Then comes the Prophet who was from the best stock in Quraish and adjoins his cousin Zainab bin Jahash in marriage to the socially inferior Mawla Zaid. Today, Quraish reincarnated as the royal family of Saudi Arabia performs its Tawaaf, after vacating the premises of the Kaaba of the other Muslims. Today the daughters and sisters of Saudi Quraish are not wedded to the other Muslims, although they may be on occasions be married off conveniently. Allah says: And when the call to Hajj is made, people will come on foot and by means of transportation, from every corner of the earth (Surah Hajj verse 27) But, the Saudi government imposes on Muslims its permission for Muslims to go to the Hajj. Where did all of this come from? Do you need anyones permission to perform your salaah? Do you need anyones permission to fast during Ramadaan? Do you need anyones permission to say Ash hadu Allah ilaha illalah wa ash hadu anna muhamedur rasulullah? Do you need anyones permission to pay your zakaah? (Not yet) Then, how do we need someones permission to go to the Hajj? The kaafirs who have an american passport go freely to almost all the European countries they dont need a visa. Some of them just wave you by at the airport, they dont even want to look at your passport. But its not enough to be a Muslim to be waved by to go to the Hajj. Why do we need someone to stare us in the eye and hassle us and then insult us during this period when we are there? We are not going to the palace of the King! We are not going to the homes of the princes! We are going to Allahs sanctuary. They are the first people to use the word bida, and no-one dares to use that word back at them. Small minor issues become such a bida in their eyes, that the majority of the Muslims in the world are kaafirs. This is what they sayprivately- No wonder the Muslims are where they are, because all of them are kaafirs. And who do they mean by all of them? They mean the small guys, you and me- we are the kaafirs, and thats why we have all these problems. But our problems are not from the small guy who toils in the field all day or who begins his day at dawn and ends after Isha, to bring home food for his family- the problem is not there. The problem is with the rulers who have taken away the livelihood of these people and then signed contracts of allegiance and dependancy with the mushrikeen- these truly are the kaafirs. Allah says during this annual Hajj assembly, Allah and His Prophet are annulling, they are cancelling all allegiance and dependancy relationships that the Muslims have with the mushriks. Allah is saying that there should be a dis-avowal, we should dissolve the relationships with the mushriks. (Surah Al-Bara verse 1) Oh no, please dont bring that to the Hajj, thats what theyll tell you. Dont bring this ayah and this surah to Hajj. Not just that, they will tell also their clergymen: Dont dwell on these ayaat throughout the year in the Masjids. You see, they prepared their empty Hajj in the previous eleven months. When Muslim minds are not trained on the meanings of these ayaat, we will go to

Hajj thinking that by obeying the Saudi guides who tell us where to go and when to go, we are fulfilling our obligations, but theres no Bara. The Prophet instructed two of his companions, Abu Bakr and Ali, to declare publicly in the Hajj, this Islamic annulment of dependancy and allegiance relationships with all the mushriks. And proclaim to the people on the Great day of Hajj that Allah and His Messenger are annulling and are are free from all allegiances and dependency relationships with the mushriks. So if you repent, it will be better for you, but if you are averse then know that you cannot escape Allah. So give tidings to the kaafirs of an excrutiating punishment. (Surah AlBara verse 3) Imagine Muslims going with this message and declaring it publicly in the Hajj. With the stifled Hajj that theyve made it, a measely three-million people go to the Hajj out of 1,6 billion muslims in the world. And then they dont declare that Muslims should annul their relationships of allegiance and dependancy with the mushriks. This is the meaning that is now absent from these annual ceremonies. They take away from the Hajj what they want, they deflate the number of people who go to the Hajj, and they do this within an international system that helps them. The Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) is reported to have said whilst in a state of sakraat ie. Passing on from this Earthly presence Expel the Mushriks from the Arabian Peninsula Now, this information is slightly out dated, it dates back to before the invasion of Afghanistan. From time to time, information leaks out, and they tell us there are three-hundred-thousand Europeans and Americans in the Arabian Peninsula. What are three-hundred-thousand Europeans and Americans doing in the Arabian Peninsula? These rulers have bases that the mushriks are using to drop bombs on the Muslims. They are mushriks, they dont belong in the land of Muhamed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And this is one of the demands of Usama bin Laden, may Allah be pleased with him, that all these mushriks must be expelled. So, who is on the Sunnah of Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)? And theyre not going to fool the muslims by moving these troops to Kuwait and these other areas, because these artificial boundaries were demarcated by them. For the Muslims, Kuwait etc. falls into the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallams) description of Jazeeratil Arab. The kiswa that they put around the Kaba. They embroider it with gold threads, do you know how much that piece of cloth costs? $4,5 million! Imagine spending $4,5 million dollars on a piece of cloth on the Kaba and there are hungry Muslims who come up to that Kaba, and they dont know whether they are going to survive the endemics of hunger in their countries. This is Hajj?! This is taqwa. These people should be responsible for Mecca and Al-Medinah?! I would like to shed light on some of the policies from Allah, which strip people who are hiding behind rituals, there-by exposing their true reality. These kings, presidents, rulers, governors, princes and decision-makers make broad and far and wide reaching claims that they are from Alladhina aamanu. But Allah is telling them: Dont place yourselves in positions of a relationship with the political and the ideological expressions of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara. (Surah Maida verse 51) And it is as if they are doing exactly the opposite. But the remainder of this ayah which did not work itself into Muslim brains and which did not seep into Muslim hearts,

is beginning to be understood Whoever it is from among you that places himself in that type of receiving or dependant relationship on the politics of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara is one of them and is no longer part of this ummah. (Surah Maida verse 51) These are the words of the Quran- he becomes part of the whole political system of kufr. Allah does not leave these types alone- Whoever belongs to you, but then aligns themselves with political and ideological yahudism and nasarism, it doesnt matter who he is, it doesnt matter if hes praying night and day until there are holes in his musallah, if he is going to Hajj and Umrah every year, if hes fasting days on end, if hes making tawaaf of the Kaba and sajdah in the Haram, it doesnt matter how much hes outwardly behaviour appears to be Islamic, he has left, he is no longer part of the Muslim crowd. These Saudi rulers that have occupied Makkah and Al-Medinah are equally as criminal as those who have occupied al-Quds. They want to make believe, that if Bani Israel put on the same type of clothes as Fahd and Sultan and Nayef and the rest, and then they begin to pray five times in the Masjid, that we should welcome them as brothers? We should go up to them and say Hey, brother, and shake their hands and kiss them on both cheeks! Insha-Allah, I will conclude with one more illustration. There is a defining moment in the lives of social orders. That defining moment is when there is a call to military duty, which is the core definition of our commitment and devotion to Allah. This has been a historical fact- its nothing new. Allah has presented us with this test of our subservience and obedience to Him. He says to us in Surah Maida, the gist of the meaning of these ayaat is the following: Musa (alaih salaam) speaks to the committed muslims around him and he says to them That Allah has designated this Holy Land for them, and they are ordered to go into this Holy Land as liberators - which is a military task. This is not a ritualistic requirement, this is not a private responsibility. This obligation needs these committed muslims (who are the people of Musa) to make a life and death attempt at liberating this Holy Land. And, their response was No, we are not going to do that. And, we cant say that logic was not on their side, because they explained their position. They said, There is an awesome military power that dwells in the Holy Land, in what was called Palestine. So, we look at ourselves and we dont have very much military power compared to the military power that occupies that land, so were not going to fight. And they repeat that, Musa- if you want to do this type of fighting, you and your Sustainer, you and your Lord can go, but you can count us out. This is the lithmus test of our commitment to Allah- historically, thousands of years ago, hundreds of years ago, today and into the future. What happened to people who failed? They said we dont want to fight. And so Allah didnt describe them any longer as Muminin, He described them as Al Qawm Al-Fasiqin.- a degenerate people. Musa said I can only vouch for myself and for my brother, therefore separate us from

degenerate people. Now, these may have been people who were fasting exactly like Allah told them to fast. We have no verifiable information that says that these people were lax in their ibaadaat. They may have been praying nights on end and fulfilling their personal responsibility, but when it came to this lithmus test, they failed. And Allah no longer described them as Muminin or as Muslimin- He said by the words of His Prophet Musa that they are Qawmin Fasiqin and by His own words:This land is prohibited to them for a period of forty years, in which they will roam the earth, Grieve not for people who are degenerate. (Surah Maidah verses 20 to 26) What qualified them to be de-generate? It was their un-willingness, their reluctance, their objection to carry their commitment to the battlefield. O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah, whats the matter with you? Why is that when you are asked to mobilise for Jihad you become dead weight on earth? Are you satisfied with the enjoyment of this life to the exclusion of the hereafter? But the enjoyment of this life is nothing compared to that of the here-after. If you do not mobilise for Allahs cause, He will inflict upon you an excrutiating punishment and He will substitute you with another people, and you're not going to damage Him for He is able to do all things. (Surah Taubah verses 38 to 39) We ask that Allah guides us to understand that the five pillars are not so limited and restricted as they are being made out to be and that we realise sooner rather than later that there is a duty attached to them. We ask Allah, (whose mercy is abundant, and whose knowledge is infinite), to accept from those who try their best to do their duty. We ask Allah, (whose wisdom is infinite, and whose power is present), to check the excesses and to punish the evil of these individuals who have cut the Muslims off from each other and sent their poisonous propagandists around the Muslim world to abort our determination to live and to die for Allah. Our compensation for not being in those front line positions is that we should stand in a supporting position of those until Allah who hears us and who is near us grants us the privilege of sharing with them this type of front line position.

CHRISTMAS AND PASSOVER

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Sisters and brothers, committed Muslims This week is a week of religious meanings and significance to the Jews and the Christians because of their celebrations concerning Passover and Easter. And for more than one reason not only are we dwelling in their midst, but also because they are incharge of some of the decisions that affect us in our own homes and in our own lands- they are a significant number of people in sensitive positions in the land of the Prophet. So not only because we live here, in a country that calls itself predominantly Judaic and Christian, but also because the Jews and the Christians have found their ways into our own social set-up. And, the combination of our virtual insignificance here, and their overwhelming significance there, has resulted in where we are today. It has come down to Muslim life being almost worthless. Insha-Allah we will understand that in their worldly measures we are on par with the others whose lives (in their opinion) were worthless- but they were Allahs Prophets. Concerning this holy week in the symbolic or token Christian-Judaic influence, we take a look at Allahs words. When Allah speaks about the Jews concerning Jesus the son of Mary, He says in Surah An-Nisa: Due to their kufr, or with their kufr (Surah An-Nisa verse 156-157) (Remember, these are people who in the undeveloped mind are presented as Ahlul Kitaab, but

Allah wants you to understand that there is no blank approval of Yahud and Nasara and even those who may say that they are Muslims because of a name or a couple of words.) Can people who have scripture generate kufr? The words of Allah are obvious, YES, WA BI KUFRIHIM And with their calumny, with their malicious and accusitory words towards the virgin Mary (Surah An-Nisa verse 156-157) What are these accusations that come from these foul mouths of Yahud towards a servant of Allah? They say that she committed adultery. Wanastaghfirullah. Allah says, (listen to what Allah says, and then you can compare that with what comes your way from speakers who want to drown out what Allah says: And their boasting that they killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, Allahs Messenger (Surah An-Nisa verse 156-157) This Quranic ayah becomes problematic in the infomational construct that we have because theres no-one coming in public and saying that they killed Jesus. When was the last time you heard someone belonging to the Judaic context come out and say Yes, we were responsible for killing Jesus? And the Quran says they stated it they said we killed the Messaih, Jesus, Gods Prophet. Allah comments on what Yahud says He says they did not kill him, they did not crucify him, but they were made to think or believe it. (Surah An-Nisa verse 156-157) In other words, it appeared to them that they killed him. Now people/Muslims listen. There are humans who not only very clearly make these types of statements, but then are able to take these statements from public circulation, where they dont brag anymore that they did such a thing, but inside their own social order they continue to brew with hatred and scorn against those who follow these messengers of Allah. They may not say it in public, so you are going to have to do some work. And if you do some work and look into Yahudi literature, you will find that they said in their Talmudic literature: Yes it was a Rabbinacle council that properly passed the death sentence on Jesus, because he was an idolatrist and he was enticing the Jews to idolatry, and that has been incorporated into their religious character. If a Yahudi passes by a Christian cemetary or one belonging to the Gentiles, then, (if he has a religious character, were not talking about the atheist Yahud or the liberal Yahud, we are talking about Yahud who are steeped in the Talmudic teachings), they are required to curse and condemn those who are buried in a Christian cemetary. Should this strike a Muslim as being strange if you are reading the Quran and if Allah is telling you that they boasted of being responsible for killing Jesus? In other literatures- they have what is called Tolodat Yashua, which means The History of Jesus, they say that Jesus is an illegitimate son, born of fornication. If they have whatever it takes of malice and evil to generate this type of approach to one of Allahs messengers besides their own approach to many other messengers of Allah,- did they not

say that Ismail, the son of Ibrahim is illegitimate also- a bastard? If we wanted to roll out their language and begin to say that Ismail and Isa (May Allahs peace and blessings be upon them) are bastards, then they are not only taking on some Palestinians in the occupied land, they are taking on Allah because they virtually created an air of animosity between them and Allahs Prophets. A Rabbi, (not a secondary Rabbi), a prominent Rabbi says in his religious address on an occasion of passover that the Arabs are cursed and they should be annihiliated- an obvious call for genocide. Should it be an awkward statement to Muslim ears, or should this statement authenticate what Allah tells us concerning them? Certainly, if they consider Allahs Prophets bastards, what are they going to consider you and me? If they were willing to kill Prophets of Allah, are they not willing to kill you and me? They have been so skillful at manipulating the facts and the truth, that now you find them in a cosy position concerning those who say they are followers of Jesus. You would think they are in a buddy-buddy relationship. But, in these Talmudic teachings, they say that if a Christian was to open a bottle of wine, that bottle of wine cannot be consumed by a Yahudi, you have to throw it away. If they pass in front of a Church or a Crucifix, they are required to spit three times. With all this religious teachings and with all this bloody history, both sides have made up, and now it seems like they found common courseit seems like the crucifixion habit runs deep in their psyche and smoothly in their veins. Now, they want to crucify populations. They want to kill off millions of people. This same Rabbi who made these statements pertaining to the nature of the Palestinians or the Arabs or the Muslims was a Rabbi from Iraq. According to Yahudi sources, (were not taking this infomation from some Muslim who has a grudge against Yahud, its taken from their own sources), a while back, there was a fuss in Yahudi circles. Why? Because this same Rabbi called for a press conference and he told the journalists, the correspondents and the writers who were coming to this press conference, you may ask questions about such and such but you are not to ask questions about such and such topics. The cameras were there, the media was there, it was a full house of journalists and the press conference began, and there were questions and he would answer. Then, one of the journalists stood up and asked a question that he was not supposed to ask according to the rules, conditions and terms of this press conference that this Rabbi dictated to them. After the press conference was over, all the wrath of the Israeli Zionist Yahudi establishment was manifested against this journalist because he asked a question that he was not supposed to ask. And he went home and he realised he no longer has any career, but he has responsibilities and a family. What is he going to do? His friends and colleagues began to call him and tell him What did you do? Didnt you know you were not supposed to ask the Rabbi to answer such a question? You are doomed. And then, they told him the only way you can atone for what you did is to go to ask the Rabbi for forgiveness. So, the journalist (hes a Yahudi, this is a Yahudi society, this is an Israeli state, this is a Zionist set-up, theres no Muslims or Christians around), contacts the Rabbi (with these genocidal instincts, scorn and hatred) and says Rabbi, I want to apologise for what I said. I made a mistake. Please accept my apologies. Then, the Rabbi says, If you want to apologise, you dont apologise on your terms, you apologise on my terms. So, the journalist asks, What are your terms Rabbi? Im willing to apologise anyway you want me to. The Rabbi

tells him, We will return to the same setting, in the presence of the same people, and the journalist who were there, and we will have the cameras rolling, and then, with the cameras rolling in the presence of all those who were there, you will come to me and apologise. He saysYes Rabbi, I will do that. So, the journalist were called back and the cameras were brought back and then this journalist goes to the rabbi and says I apologise (Rabbi) for what I did and for what I said, will you accept my apologies? And the Rabbi extended his hand and he said Show your respect by kissing my hand. And the journalist, in his mind theres nothing else to do- if thats the only thing between him and his future- kissing a hand is something that has to be done. He took the Rabbis hand and he kissed it, with the cameras rolling, with everyone else who was there initially watching. And then, the Rabbi took his hand after it was kissed and slapped that journalist on the face and said Now your apology is accepted.And the journalists and everyone else returned or left. Think for a moment- if this was a Muslim religious figure or scholar who did the same thing. You probably would have had this news item circulating the globe, with commentaries, analysis, talk shows, rapotage and all sorts of people dealing with this issue. But never have we heard a Muslim personality with a religious schooling behave at this level of things. But when someone who is a jew, with a religious status, behaves like this??? Did you hear about it? Was it carried in the media? The only way we heard about it was because it was one of them who expressed it on a personal level. Thats how this information was obtained or else you cant dig this type of thing out of the media and they continue with these instincts of aggression and hostility. Sharon, the war criminal, the butcher of Beirut, the military person in Unit 101 that began the sequence of massacres against the Palestinians in the late 1940s and early 1950s- thats how steeped his psychology is in spilling innocent blood- comes out in whats supposed to be a religious atmosphere and he says yes, he is willing to recognise a Palestinian state but only on forty-two percent of the West Bank and provided that these Palestinians are unarmed. Its the Israelis who speak about security!!! As if they are vulnerable. As if they are weak. They are very anxious and very concerned about securing their towns and their lands, and now, the conditions they place on out-numbered and out-gunned innocent human beings is- you cant carry arms to protect yourselves. As if theres an arsenal and a stockpile of weapons on the West bank. The virtual arms that they have are stones that they pick up from the ground and from the streets. The next thing theyll probably think of is, if this was possible, theyll take the stones out of the West Bank, as security obsessed as they are. And he is received in Washington DC as a head of state. Instead of being wanted in a war crimes tribunal, they offer him this respect and they offer this type of Israeli nation state some type of legitimacy. Where do they place this legitimacy in any religious scroll or religious document? Where has it become legitimate to kill innocent people? Also, in the past, Sharon, this war criminal was saying to the Zionist Israeli forces that they should find a way for these Yahud to go into the Haram As-Sharif- Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa. These are only the opening shots. Now, prepare yourselves, our third Haram will no longer be for us. Now, they want to steal that, with all that theyve taken, they still havent had enough.

For those of you who are not familiar with the internal thoughts of these Yahud- during the past couple of thousand years, because of carrots and because of sticks coming their way, Yahud modified their language concerning Christians and Muslims. But recently, in the past fifty-six years, theyve begun to resuscitate their original diatribes and their original malicious and accusatory statements against Muslims and Christians. Now, they have state of the art technology and they have weapons of mass destruction and dare anyone approach them with any legal or moral argument about having weapons of mass destruction in the holy land. The United Nations and other powers in the world send their teams around and they pick on Muslim territories. They see to it that we cant acquire even for strictly civil and technological purposes- nuclear power. They send their teams to hound us out wherever they think Muslims are thinking of having their own laboratories and their own scientists. One Muslim scientist in Pakistan, who set- up the nuclear program was thinking about leaving his country to another Muslim land, and then his own government says: no, you stay here, youre not even allowed to go to that other Muslim land. In the meantime, Muslims on this occasion in the Masjids and the Islamic centres around are skating through this week as if none of these variables are at work. In the meantime, when these minds with this type of history are procuring their potentials and putting their thoughts together on a war path against innocent people and Jesus said to turn the other cheek. They disavow Jesus, and they go out in the world with their military power rumbling from one corner of the world to the next. These are Christians, people who can be related to Christ, but the churches and the synagogues and now the Masjids, they all tow the line- they are not free spirirts, and free minds, and free souls any longer in the pulpits and in the mimbars of these synangogues and churches and even these mosques. And the Islamic, the sound, and healthy and forward looking and moving Islamic position has to be smothered at its sources, the source is the Masjid, the source is Allahs retreat, the source is in your heart, the source is in your mind. But what do we do when we have these types that we are speaking about on the outside occupying our root positions on the inside? What do you do when this is the case, except to address yourself to Allah and to work His will. If theres anything to be learnt from Isa (alayhis salaatu wa salaam) who authenticates what Allahs last Prophet (May Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoevers salaah does not with-hold him, or deter him from moral and institutionalised evil, this type of salaah only increases the distance between him and Allah. For the status quo and the institutionalised clergy, this is blasphemy. But Allahs will has to be done with the hands of His servants. We cant just say a dua- like today, the Khateeb in Makkah says a dua against these oppressors and he leaves it in general terms. Allahs not going to send missiles down on these oppressors, we are responsible for sending these missiles. We need Allahs help in constructing, building, developing aiming and launching these missiles. Do you want Allah to do these things for you and you want to bury your reality behind close doors or behind a dense heart? It is a sad moment when those who are supposed to be Muslims who raise there level of Islam to a fervent commitment with Allah are remissed in this regard. It is a painful confession to look at

ourselves and see how our religious institutions have been fossilised- its a fossil, a huge one, and you can add to that the millions around the world in which there is no spirit, and there is no mind, and no connection between a spirit and a mind. We leave these Masjids every week, only to set ourselves up for the wars that come our way. How many more wars should we endure to have our hearts open up to Allah, and have our minds absorb the words of Allah? We still have a chance because these words are still here, no-one has buried them, changed them nor fouled them. Lo! We reveal the reminder, and Lo! Verily we are its Guardians. (Surah Hajr verse 9) Falsehood cannot come at it from before it or behind it. (Surah As-Sajdah verse 42) The oppurtunity is here, but it is your response that is required. Allah does not change the social status (that we are talking about) unless we change the psychological status that we harbour. Surah Ra'd verse 11) How many more rivers of blood has to flow until we wake up and realise that our salvation was in our hands and our redemption was in our presence.

ISLAMIC VITALITY
(28 June 1996)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims whose commitment to Allah remains an unflinching one... Recently, not only did we see how vulnerable the enemies of Allah are but we also watched how lacking in courage they are when it comes to explaining the events in the Arabian Peninsula. A bomb explosion went off in the Arabian Peninsula and as a result of that there were about 20 Americans in uniform who were killed, about 100 who were seriously wounded and a few hundred others who were minorly wounded. When the Muslims place their confidence in Allah, they do so not to react to the variables and the engineered conditions that are the responsibility of man. There are times when the enemies of the Muslims- the Mushriks and their yahudi masters- want to intimidate the Muslims to do things. We are aware of that as it was a characteristic of history and as it continues to be an element and an integral component of the policies of intimidation. Before this explosion that is reminiscent of the explosion in Oklahoma no one was speaking about elaborate security measures concerning the presence of foreign troops in the land of revelation- Makkah and Al Medina. Remember, Allah speaks about the area of revelation, the habitat of Islam and the reception area of Al Wahy as a city and environment of security. By the fig and the olive and the Mount of Sinai and this country of security (Surah At Tin verse 1-4)

The presence of the Mushriks and yahud as military personnel and businessmen, (the harbingers of corruption to follow), are a violation of the security of that area. Allah has described that area as being one of security and safety and Allah will always have those of His servants who will work His will wherever that maybe and especially in this case, when it comes to Makkah, Al Medinah and Al Quds and all the adjacent areas. The American and foreign non-Islamic presence in the Arabian Peninsula is the responsibility of the ruling family in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian government is a government that is in violation of the principles of Islam. When Allah outlines a governance for the Muslims, he explains that it is a governance of Shura and the family rulers of the Arabian Peninsula are not rulers who apply the Islamic principle of Shura. And, their decision making is an affair of consultation among them- and them means the Muslim peoples, populace or population (Surah Ash Shura verse 38) Do these 6,000 or 7,000 princes apply this concept and principle of Shura and have the other Muslims involved in making the critical, important and destiny decisions pertaining to Makkah and Al Medinah? The flat answer to that is an unequivocal NO! Besides, they rule as a dynasty. They have a name, its a family called the Saud family. Its just like having a family here called the Smith family. Everyone that is born in that huge proportion of the Arabian Peninsula officially- is called a Saudi; the same way in the time of slavery they call a slave by using the name of the slave-master. If the slave was owned by a Dickenson, then the slave would gain the slave-masters last name- he would become a Dickenson, Smith or Roberts. In the political sense- this is a political slavery of the people because they are called now Saudis, like you call them the Smithsonians, Roberts or Dickinsons. Where do we find this in the book of Allah or in the Sunnah of Allahs Messenger? The rulers want us to believe, (let them deceive themselves and superficial public opinion that they have manipulated for so long), that the opposition to them is a tiny opposition. Thats their words, Theres a tiny opposition to the rulers, (the 6,000 or 7,000 princes in Arabia. But when that tiny opposition acts, it acts with dynamite, if it is tiny. Let us assume for the moment that it is tiny, but is it only confined to the Arabian Peninsula? Youve listened to the past four days of comments, commentaries, analysis, different sort of talks and presentations about the American and foreign presence in Saudi Arabia- never has anyone in this administration, (as far as we can tell), brought up the issue that the Saudi Arabian government is not a democratic government. They dont even want to judge the Saudi government by their own yardstick or concepts. Why is it when they speak about Saudi Arabia and the governments in the Arabian Peninsula and in the Gulf they dont use the discourse of the political language that they use everywhere else in the world? (They speak about) a pro-democracy movement in ChinaOh! So when they speak about China, they remember democracy! They speak about a pro-democracy movement in Burma When they speak about Burma, they remember democracy! They speak about democracy in the Far-East and Latin America, but when it comes to the Muslim countries in particular, now that this explosion occurred in Al Khubar, outside of Dhahran, why they dont want to speak about democracy in Saudi Arabia? Are they afraid to give the people the right to decide who their governors and rulers are going to be? If theyre afraid, what are they afraid of? If theyre saying that the opposition in Saudi Arabia is an opposition of a minority or a tiny opposition then what are they afraid of? If it is tiny, then open the floodgates or fling the doors of democracy open to the people of the Arabian Peninsula and let them elect their representatives; and if those representatives

that they elect happen to be these princes and this ruling family then after that according to their principles and concepts they should accept them- but not before that. Why are they there? Remember, when this explosion 1st occurred- you see, this is the way the Quran and Allah cautions us of how these that are in denial of Allah present information to us and how they try to manipulate numbers to their own advantage- they said that the number (this was the 1 st night of the explosion) of military personnel in Saudi Arabia is 2,800; then it turns out after a couple of days that they could not sustain that lie- it was an obvious lie that could not be supported; (when they lie, they have to lie in proportions to support their misrepresentation of reality), but they couldnt do this, it was so obvious- 2,700 or 2,800 American military personnel in Saudi Arabia- Whos going to buy that? The Americans and the Muslims know this is a lie so they cant sustain this lie so they told us that the air-force personnel in Saudi Arabia was 2,800. Then, when they were pushed even more, (information now is available, its not a classified issue), it turns up that 2,700 or 2,800 American air-force personnel were in Al Khubar alone. Even though its the second largest American military base of flight operations (beside the one in Turkey), it has that many air-force personnel- not speaking of the army, marines and the navy. What are these doing in the Muslim Holy Land? How would christians feel if Muslim military personnel were in or around the Vatican and above that on the flimsy excuse of protecting or offering security to the Vatican? This is what they tell us in broad day-light and want us to believe! Have you noticed that the Saudi Ambassador has not appeared in the media after all of this? We havent seen him on television, on CNN and we havent listened to him on radio programmes. What happened? Is he afraid to face the public? We guess he lied too much in the past 10 or 15 years and he doesnt have the same power to lie any longer so now he has a secretary of his who is speaking on his behalf and telling the public that Saudi Arabia is a fundamentalist state. (Yes- these are his words.) Well, why didnt we hear American officials take issue with this Saudi official? America with zionist supervision is taking up the mantle of war against the fundamentalists, Islamic radicals and terrorists, so why didnt they address this person on their own television networks, who is saying to them with their eyes and ears open, that Saudi Arabia is a fundamentalist state. They had no problems with that; no one rebuked him or brought him to task for what he said. Why? Because they and we know its not true, but theres an ignorant public opinion in-between that is confused in all of this. At least one of their experts had the intellectual honesty to come out and state that their chickens are coming home to roost. Saudi Arabia has been involved in financing fundamentalists around the world and in promoting Islamic fundamentalism in different areas of the world. Now these same fundamentalist are giving the Saudi Government a taste of what theyve been giving others so the ruling slave master family of Saudi Arabia, now sees itself on the side yahud and the Mushriks, in opposition to the Muslims. Right now, the kings health is failing- hes suffering from dementia, he cant remember what happened yesterday, hes ideas are inconsistent, many times his physical health fails him and he cant appear on certain occasions and theyre afraid- whos going to run the kingdom after him? He has a half brother who from time to time voices some type of sympathies with the Palestinians or Arabs or Muslims and who, (by the way), is married to a person from Syria who belongs (according to their own words) to a heretical sect of Islam- from the Alawi denomination in Syria. They never brought that up! Why did they begin to bring it up now? There was a war for eight years that was financed and sponsored by Saudi money- they never said the kings brother is married to a heretic but then they pointed a finger at 60million people in a neighbouring country and said those 60 million people are heretics. Why? Is it because theyre

not married to the same kings and princes from the same rotten family? If we had to equate the Alawis in Syria to the Shiis in Iran, (theres no equation and resemblance), but to show you how zigzag, crooked, dubious and devious the Saudi mentality is. What do you want? You want to believe that the opposition to the Saudis is a limited opposition? You fool yourself at your own expense! You will pay the price for your follies if you think that the opposition to the Saudi government is a limited opposition. This operation needed inside information and those who executed the operation had inside information; this operation needed the skills to put together an explosion of that range and magnitude and you still want to believe and have others believe that the opposition to the Saudi government is a limited opposition. Why didnt these Saudis in the course of the past few days, when they had hundreds wounded and tens who were killed speak about the Muslims in their thousands who are behind bars in Saudi Arabia? They didnt want to enlarge the scope of the peoples thoughts and to get a sense of what is really happening inside of that country? Why is the United States administration subverting its own ideals- Freedom to elect, Freedom of Representation, Freedom of Expression, religious freedom, journalistic freedom, Freedom of Assembly- all of these are violated in their most favoured nation state of Saudi Arabia but theyre silent about it. Why? Do they hate Islam more? What else? How else do they want us to think? Its because Islam is there; Islam is not in China so they speak about their ideals applied there very liberally; when it comes to a Muslim country their ideals run away and they begin to speak about their interests. Their interests are more important than the principles of freedom, selfdetermination free and fair elections!! Is that what they want to say to us and to the rest of the world? A command from Allah to his Prophet Consult with them in these decisions of destiny (Surah Aal Imran verse 159) This is Allah speaking to his most beloved Messenger and Apostle and it came in the form of a command. What do you think Allah would say to a person like Fahd whos not an Apostle, Messenger, Prophet and whos nowhere near the ranks of the righteous people? What would Allah say to him when hes making decisions pertaining to the affairs and destiny of the Muslims? Yet, he chooses to disregard Allah- as if Allah doesnt exist. Its not only him- its his guarantors here, in Washington, the European Capitals, the different capitals in the Arab countries- they all close ranks to make believe that God does not exist. But Allah presents himself to them from quarters unbeknown to them. They didnt expect to be shocked like this with an explosion in Al Khubar, in Ad Dhahran, in Saudi Arabia, in the Arabian Peninsula, The Persian Gulf area. Elaborate measures of security- now, the Saudi Arabians and the American administration are beginning to sound like the Israeli Government- obsession with security; How can we improve security? They want to build walls. They closed off the area in front of the White House; this White House area is not in the Persian Gulf or in the Arabian Peninsula! What happened to access to the government? What happened to the concept of an open government and an open society? This society is gradually becoming like a communist society. People dont feel this latent transition that is taking place in this society. They are going to wake up 10 or 12 or 15 years from now and say What happened to the land of Freedom and Liberty, when we have all these restrictions?

When we look at the momentum and measures being taken by the Muslims we find out that it is not the Muslims themselves that are opposed to this systematic form of dictatorship, despotism and tyranny- it is the presence of Allah in this life and world who is against it- that is why they are so terrified by this Islam. Do you know how ominous this is? When there is opposition to interference in other countries around the world (and) when people in the four corners of the Earth find out what has happened to an intruding military foreign presence of Americans where they dont belong? They will entertain the same ideas so not only are the Americans going to have to beef up security in the Arabian Peninsula, they are going to have to beef up security wherever they are in the world- they are caught; they are trapped by their own policies- this is how Allah lures them into self destruction (Surah At Tariq verse17) and, in another ayah, Allah says: We will bait them from an area or a direction that they are not aware of (Surah Al Araaf verse 182) They are building protection physically but becoming vulnerable in every other sense of the word. They can throw walls around themselves, reinforce it with concrete, steel barriers and all the latest material technology available to them- is that going to protect them? If Muslims wanted to play foul we can pick on American civilians in Muslim lands who are walking safely in the streets of Cairo, Amman, Jerusalem, Riyadh and Jeddah, but the American and all the rest who are non-Muslims in those areas feel as secure as the other people. These people died in uniform whilst on Muslim Holy Lands where they need not be! Let not the United States government in its blind obedience to the Israeli government provoke Muslims into actions that are not necessary. And dictate to them, that my revenge is a revenge of steel (Surah Al Araaf verse 183) The revenge of Allah will come to those who are in violation of the principles of justice and the values and ideals of peace in the world. The United States government has no business protecting the Israeli government when the Israeli government in wrong, (dead wrong for that matter). If the Israeli government is going to lead the government of the United States into a show all or show down with the Muslims, the Muslims are not going to run away from this showdown. So far, the exchanges have been strictly in military terms, let us not begin to act against civilians at the instigation of the zionist-Israeli-jews. Americans wake up! before you are led to the abyss by the fanatics of zionism who are instigating racial polarisation in this country. Churches are burning on both sides- you hear about black churches burning but you dont hear about the white churches that are burning and you dont hear about the Zionist-jews that are behind all of this. They want to polarise this society into a racist society that will kill because of the colour of the skin. They are at work here and they are at work half the world across the globe. Open your eyes before it is too late. Servants of Allah; Subjects of the Highest authority; Conformers unto the Creator of all We, (Muslims) dont take it lightly when jews of the zionist persuasion begin to target us because we demand our inalienable rights as human beings on equal par with other human beings (and) who share the same rights as all other human beings of the world. We brace ourselves for this coming chapter in which the zionist-Israeli-jews are beginning to verbalise their intentions of war-like hostilities towards us. The

age of deception is part of the past and the American public should take stock of this- the finances of the United States belong in the United States and not in Israel. By their own accounts, not only is the system failing academically but it is crumbling physically. A report that they had out last week said that the structures of their schools need $110billion to bring them back to appropriate levels- this is only talking about schools and educational institutions in the United States. They need $110billion here and then the Israelis steal away from their treasury and budget, tens of billions of dollars in the span of a couple of years to build up their military and get them involved in hostilities against other peoples. The Treasury Department a couple of miles away was on fire a couple of nights ago. With all the information, modernity and up-to-date thinking, do you think that was co-incidental? And, of all the sections in the Treasury Department, the area where they had kept their international files, (as they tell us), was the most damaged in that fire. Now, they have investigations, congress meetings and sessions because files that the FBI had went to the White House when it shouldnt have gone there- exposing the backgrounds of people who shouldnt have been exposed; add to that their predicament in the Middle East; the failure of their Middle East peace process; the character of the 1st lady in the White House; the racist feelings just below the surface; and the many other failures that are in the making and they choose to antagonise the Muslims- the only peace lovers in the world who just want justice to be done. Reconsider and rethink yourselves before it is too late; remember, there is a God- The God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammed (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon them and theirs). He will not let you get away with criminal activities. The United States administration is planning in the coming two or three months to deport Muslims from this country- (those who have F and H visas and some who have green cards)- do they want to recruit them to the course? Think well; think twice before you embark on activities that violate the standards of justice. Dont victimise innocent people. In the meantime we will continue to fulfil our obligations to our Maker and Creator and let the politicians look for security in false corners of the earth. If they cant find security in themselves there will be no other force or power in the world that can give them security. This is a Khutbah that was presented by Imam Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 28 June 1996 from the sidewalk on Embassy Road in Washington DC. The Imam previously read the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and they irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

THE CENTRALITY OF JUSTICE

(19 January 1996)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Concerned Muslims Allahs words- by which the validity of creation, the prosperity of life and the vitality of existence are in handSee to it that justice is done even if it be a person who is related to you (Surah Al Anaam verse 152) In another ayah Allahs words Let not bad feelings towards a people make you regress from justice, or let not these bad feelings superimpose themselves on you to the detriment of justice. Do; maintain justice because it is a forthcoming of taqwa; it is near to taqwa; it is the closest in proximity to taqwa (Surah Al Maaidah verse 8) Justice is a pivotal concept for which human history has unfolded the way it has. In another ayah Allah speaks about His communication with man via His Apostles and Messengers saying

We have commissioned our emissaries with clear evidence and along with that we have fortified them with scripture and criteria (Surah Al Hadeed verse 25) Then what? so that equity becomes norm of life among people (Surah Al Hadeed verse 25) These are meanings that may seem in the abstract to some people. But they do not belong on pages; they belong in people lives. If you take the way life is conducted around us, do you see any semblance of justice in it? We can point to many violations of justice. We can point to moral violations of justice; there are plenty- you know and hear about them, they are happening day after day. Prostitution, homosexuality, and many other perversions impact society- an injustice to the person involved as well as to those that are involved with him or her. There are also economic injustices that we may refer to- the dislocation and the mal-distribution of wealth is an obvious economic injustice that looks people in the eye, but they want to look the other way. No one wants to tell you that theres injustice when it comes to the poor people in society. You have snowstorms and then you have homeless people in an affluent society. Wheres the element of justice? And then when they turn to their political statements they say they want peace, stability and prosperity. Well- dont they want justice? Why dont they tell us in their political statements that they also want justice? Why is this word avoided? Many times they may slip it in, they may from time to time use it, but it doesnt figure centrally in their statements. Why? Because they and we along with them know that they have placed themselves in the current, opposite to the flow of history. Take a look at what has happened, this week. Justice becomes a word that is used is particular when it comes and legal system- thats when you hear the word justice. Was justice done? Was it a travesty of justice? When it comes to the legal system here, (we have cut through the many injustices that wrap around this legal system), what do we find out? Besides being concerned with twisting, breaking and creating laws against Muslims inside this country and thousands of miles away, (they are also responsible for the legal system within which we live) They put their legal system to work in New York City against innocent Muslims and say that these Muslims, 11 of them, a highly respectable clergyman included, were planning for some type of acts of urban terrorism in the United States. Look how smart they are when it comes to words- urban terrorism in the United States. A clergyman- a man of the cloth, a man of understanding of scripture becomes a person who is plotting urban terrorism in the United States. Then, we wonder, if they are really involved in terrorism, why doesnt the administration show the public the details of this case? Why do they sneak it in and out of their news report? Thats exactly what they did. The day before yesterday, the news pertaining to this trial was a short and brief announcement of the sentencing against these Muslims in New York City. The judge that presided over that court was a Jewish Zionist judge. Imagine if there was a Muslim judge- something you dont find in the United States, which is another area to think about- why arent there any Muslims who have become judges in the United States? If this is a land of equal access, equal opportunity, equal this and equal that? You have a Jewish Zionist judge presiding over an affair that concerns Muslims. This from the beginning is foul play. You dont or you need not know more than that to know that they have a gimmick and a trick up their sleeve. The Zionist Jewish judge presides over this and then he sentences the religious scholar to life in prison or behind bars. Their own rabbis, (yeh these jews), kill innocent Muslims- (Levenger is one of their rabbis on Muslim lands who shoots, kills and spills the blood of innocent Muslims and the Zionist Jewish judges give him six months in jail! Then,

when he comes out what type of statement does he make? He says he wasnt privileged to kill an Arab. This rabbi who carries a machine gun on his shoulder and a pistol at his waist and robs lands that do not belong to him opens fire at will and kills whomever he wants to kill gets away with six months behind bars and then he is set free. Then he makes a statement that he didnt even kill anyone! He wished he had the privilege of killing some one. He was asked: Do you feel remorse or sorry for killing someone, and he says he even feels sorry when a fly or a mosquito is killed too. These are the kinds of statements from these kinds of people within this type of justice system that extends from the courts in the United States to the courts in so-called Israel. This is the way they mete out their detailed justice, when it comes to victims who are Muslims. This is the type of justice system we are dealing with. The blind cleric cannot even go from one house or area to the next without some serious assistance from someone, and then they say that he has to spend the rest of his time behind bars. And his comment to that is He is honoured to be put behind bars like the rest of the Muslims who have been honoured by being placed behind bars in previous ages and today. We cant forget that there are thousands of thousands of Muslims behind bars because of their SHAHADAH: LA ILAHA ILLALLA MUHAMMEDUR RASULULA. In a society like this, where they brag about justice being done, we have witnessed the day before yesterday a travesty of this justice; a violation of moral principles and an inflaming of what is supposed to be religious tolerance in a pluralistic and what is called a multi-cultural society. Whats his crime, whats this persons crime? He makes statements against the policies of the United States! If the United States administration wants to take people to court and then to prison for making statements against their own policies, then they would have to take millions of Americans and place them behind bars, because they also disagree with those policies. That is not an excuse and that is not grounds to place a person behind bars. At the same time, look at the legal system when it comes to the White House. They are beginning to show us how nasty and crooked their behaviour is. The Senators who are having these hearings on White-Water and Travel-Gate and the rest of these scandals that have been brewing inside this administration were for three or four years looking for certain documents and, then, all of a sudden these papers have been placed on some desk somewhere in the White House, in the Oval Office or one of the rooms there. Where do these papers come from? No one knows. Was there a fairy bunny coming around placing papers in certain areas and making them disappear from certain areas?! Then, at this time, the cameras fall in love with the 1 st lady. The cameras, behind which we have Zionist Jews, (like weve been saying for a long time), fall in love with Hillary Clinton and they have her on this public broadcasting station, on this TV program, in this appearance with this commitment and the rest to try and explain to the public her energies. Behind the scenes, (this is where many people cannot detect what is going on), just like when the cameras fell in love with a boogieman who we spoke about previously, they fall in love with the 1 st lady. Whats the reason? To place pressure on the occupants of the highest order in this land, because there are more serious things happening in this world than a small affair called Travel-Gate and White-Water. This may be a big affair when it comes to the President and his immediate circle but when it comes to world affairs, this is a marginal issue. At times when negotiations are almost at their peak in a Middle East peace process, and the Syrians and Israelis are coming to the United States to try to hammer out the details of this so-called peace agreement, all of the pressure falls on the Executive. Why? Because there are things that have to be done, and this is the appropriate

time to do these things, hence we have this scenario. Bonny Frank doesnt look that bad when he is compared to the 1st lady with all the scandal right now that is beginning to surface to the public. This is their justice system- they cant do justice in their neighbourhood, their families or their inner cities. Look at the potholes! We are going to go from here back to our own residence, offices or wherever- how many potholes are we going to have to struggle through to get back? Yet, when the budget is an issue that cant be agreed on because they dont want to face up to the fact that they have to take money from those who have plenty of it and give it to those that have barely any of it, (that fact they want to circumvent and manoeuvre but they dont want to face head on) Thats their problem and they want to continue to throw money overseas when they need it here. The same thing theyre doing with justice. They need justice here, but they think they can dole it out to those foreigners. The money that they are sending overseas, why dont they use it here? They need it here! (Take a) look how vulnerable theyve become- due to the weather and the icing of the roads, the Federal operation, (all the way from the Federal works to Local works), were literally frozen in the course of these last couple of weeks. Then, they had another reminder in the States in the MidWest. What does it take for people to wake up? Let not bad feelings towards a people make you regress from justice, or let not these bad feelings superimpose themselves on you to the detriment of justice. Do; maintain justice because it is a forthcoming of taqwa; it is near to taqwa; it is the closest in proximity to taqwa (Surah Al Maaidah verse 8) But to whom do these speak? Yes, administer justice because it is in close proximity to taqwa. Now, they want to disperse Muslims to their maximum-security prisons throughout the country. This is another way in which Allah is working his will. What could be a better way to introduce Islam to those who have been victimised by the same people and system? We know in the back of their minds this is a problem; theyre not comfortable with this, but what can they do with these individuals, this is the only option left to them. This is how small this world has become. They dont want Muslim activists to be in their own lands so the Muslims find themselves in other areas of the world; then they try to incriminate them in these other areas of the world and then Islam is entering through their own society and prison system to those who will know how to work against them in the future. They are planting the seed of Islam in their own society, through their own legal system and they do not know what they are doing- thats exactly what is happening to them. They are destroying their houses, dwellings and structures with their own hands and with the hands of the Mumin, so take heed those of you who are Mumin (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) You- who are committed to Allah- fasting has been declared a mandatory service upon you as it has been on those before you so that you may take heed of Allah, so that your awareness of Allah will become a barrier to the punishment and the penalty of Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 183) It catches our attention that in another ayah in the same Surah, Allah says: QUTIBA ALAYKUMUL KITAL ( Surah Al Baqarah verse 216) The same choice of words was used:

QUTIBA ALAYKUMUL KITAL (Surah Al Baqarah verse 216) and QUTIBA ALAYKUMUS SIYAAM (Surah Al Baqarah verse 183) Both of these have been made compulsory or as an obligation upon you. In the 2nd instance- for what reason? Fasting has been placed as a mandatory- a fardh- upon you, so that you may gain this taqwa (Surah Al Baqarah verse 183) this taqwa that was referred to in the earlier ayah as being the most in close proximity to justice (Surah Al Maaidah verse 9) So those of you who embark on this regimental course of Ramadhan and then do not gain a sense of proximity to justice- you havent gained very much from your fasting. The purpose of this is taqwa- the common ground between fasting and doing justice- unlike those who interpret fasting as some type of physical torture and then some type of ingestinal indulgence at the end of the day, (unfortunately we live in such a world). Just a couple of months ago, these Saudis across the street, who are in dictatorial control of the Masjid brought in hostesses, women, from Morocco to their yacht anchored outside Jeddah to have what they call innocent fun. These are people right now who say, that they are somehow responsible for the two Holy shrines of Islam. Then, they will come to the different communities around and tell them when Ramadhan begins and ends, when there is no inkling of piety in them before, during or after Ramadhan. Like every year, they are going to confuse the Muslims. Theyll tell them that Ramadhan begins on a certain day, when in fact it almost always begins one day after they say it begins; and then they will tell the Muslims that Ramadhan ends on a certain day and almost always Ramadhan ends on the day after the one they declare to be the end of Ramadhan. Once again, we enter into this cycle of confusion because of this corrupt family that claims with aggression, zulman and lies, butane, that it is the keepers of the two Holy shrines. We have something to be thankful for this Ramadhan and that is that King Fahd, the evil of all evil, is no longer in charge (at least)- he never was in-charge if every one knew the facts, but he is no longer even nominally in charge- of that corrupt system. This Ramadhan, we have to attend to another of his corrupt family who continue to wage their war against the Muslims. The following day after this explosion they had in Riyadh, the Head of their Intelligence went to Egypt and asked for intelligence, security, police and assistance to come and help them out. Have you realised that you havent seen the bodies of those victims? Usually they show bodies of servicemen coming from overseas, but this time we saw no bodies. Why? Because they want to continue to practice their kufr and cover up, even in front of their own compatriots, citizens and constituency. Let them deceive themselves; let them die in this illusion that they have been entertaining- time is catching up with them. We are thankful to Allah that he has given us a season and a month like Ramadhan, which we will be approaching this coming week (and) which with Allahs assistance and supervision we will observe as best as we can to meet the conditions of taqwa that are required in this Holy month.
This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 19th January 1996 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually

irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

THE INTRINSIC MEANINGS OF RAMADHAN

(26 January 1996)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims of Patience and faith; Muslims of commitment and endurance.... Allahs guiding words: Ramadhan is the month in which the Quran was caused to descend as a matter of guidance and as a criteria. Those of you who are present in this month should fast it, those who are ill or travelling should make up by an equivalent amount of days later on. Allah wills ease for you and does not will to burden you (Surah Al Baqarah verse 185) These sequence of ayaat on fasting have the potential of developing a crystallised human being in his behaviour, feelings and thoughts. There are people who are fasting, (today), in the physical sense of the word; they withhold consumption of food, liquids and the partaking of sex during the daylight hours. That is not what is required of fasting; that is the outward manifestation of the fast, but there is a significant expression of fasting, and that is that your internal thoughts and internal feelings are moulded to conform to the standards that are expected of you by Allah our creator. The Prophet of Allah to this effect said whoever does not abstain from false statements, and false actions, of course during this month of fasting, or during any time of fasting, then Allah has no need for this person to abstain from food and from drink, from nutrients and from physical nourishment. So, it is the parting in your feelings, hearts- deep down inside of your mind and psychology- with false expressions, whether they are verbal or physical. If you dont part with these false expressions then Allah doesnt mind if you are parting from the food and water that is available to you. This is the area that has to be worked on during this month so that everything you or any Muslim says and does will not reflect any tendency towards whatever is false, untrue, artificial and not substantial.

Now, you take this criteria and look at the multitudes of people that are fasting in this month. There are many of them- probably the overwhelming majority of Muslims do their fasting at least in the outward physical sense; but are they doing it in the prescribed sense, not in the mechanical qualifications of fasting, but in the more intrinsic meanings of fasting? Are they meeting that qualification and standard? That quality of Taqwa that stands as a barrier between anyone whos observing this fast and whatever shaytaan has to offer of indulgence, attractions, pitfalls and what the carnal desires of man always gravitate towards, (those are the offerings of shaytaan). During this month, when we are abstaining from a couple of meals a day, we should notice that there are people in this world who dont have any meals during the course of the year. To them, if they happen to be Muslims, Ramadhan in the physical sense is no challenge at all because, most of the time they find themselves denied of the food and nutrients that to many of us are available. What is the meaning of fasting as far as these Muslims who have plenty? There are many Muslims around the world who are stashed with the cash, the budgets and the have-it-all to make the needy peoples life more comfortable, but do they do that? Ramadhan will come and go and we dont see a very significant amount of resources given to these people who are in need. You know- its many times easy for a person to criticise at a distance. We have a distance of hundreds of years in the past, but we take a look at the people who were around the Prophet, who learnt from him. One example of the people close to the Prophet, (the problem with mentioning a name is it develops in certain minds a backlash and erects a barrier to understanding the lesson that is intended), so suffice it to say that when this person who was close to the Prophet, (who use to come to him almost on as daily basis), became the ruler and governor of the Muslims, he would see to it that he himself would go around to see the condition of his own people, his own brothers and sisters and the families around. That challenges almost all of the rulers we know nowadays, especially those who claim that they are fasting during the month of Ramadhan. How many of them go into the depressed, economically lacking and the financially deprived neighbourhoods of their own lands and see to it that these families are eating enough and do they have enough to support themselves? After the Prophet passed away, when this close person to the Prophet became governor, he went to the residential areas, the depressed part of Makkah to see are there any people in need. On one such occasion, he came across a family- the family didnt recognise who this person was. They thought this person is coming to look and see what is happening inside this household. He asked the wife of the family who was attending to some water, what are you doing? She says to him that she is boiling some water. He said obviously youre preparing food, what are you going to serve to your children? At that moment, the woman was silent. What was she going to say? She was boiling water to see to it that her children would go to sleep!! How many rulers in Muslim lands go to these families and see to it that they get their food. That was a person that came from the school of Ramadhan and the proximity of the Prophet. Now rulers get detached- theres some money and some power around and they forget about the human condition. When another such person who was close to the Prophet, who understood the meanings of Ramadhan, became the ruler after the Prophet, he said the only reason there are people who have empty stomachs is because there are other people whose stomachs are full. These are not words that are said by some philosopher somewhere, these are words that were uttered by people who had power, status and privileges (as it were) in this life, but they could see through all

of this. They had more than that- they had a channel that was open to the normal individual. They werent living somewhere in ivory towers; they were not disconnected and discommunicated from their own peoples and from the human race. Now, we have a person around Makkah- a person who is called officially Khadim Al Haramain Ash sharifain- the up-keeper or upholder of the two noble sanctuaries. This person who is plagued with diabetes, strokes, cardio-vascular problems, old age and a loss of memory- what kind of statements is he making that concerns the Muslims? Has anyone ever heard him talk or in a speech? Why? If he is the protector of the two Holy Shrines in Makkah and Al Medinah, at least it behoves the Muslims to have access to what this person says. But no one can remember anything he says because he barely makes any public statements or appearances. Now that he is no longer involved in the day-to-day decision making and is confined to some health quarter, they tell you, (now theyre beginning to talk because his sort of on his way out), in the years that have passed, when he was responsible for those day-today decisions- remember we have people in Muslim lands, just across the Red Sea from the Arabian Peninsula who dont find a decent/square meal, (as it were), to eat- this person, in his spare time used to spend hours in seclusion; he used to be to himself in a room, closed. He closes the room and what is he doing? Is he involved in some sujood to Allah or in some rakat that he has to offer his Sustainer? No! Is he involved in consulting concerning the affairs of the plight of the Muslims in this world? No! Is he involved in caring for his own subjects? No! So what is he doing? Hours everyday or every other day he spends in a locked room, doing what! These are there own words- hes playing the Nintendo. Compare this type of ruler who calls himself the custodian of Makkah and Al Medina with those who were the close up-bring of the Prophet himself and the statements they made and the care they displayed- the genuine care; theres wasnt done for show; show of what! When there was a year of famine that affected the Muslim condition after the Prophet, that was called the year of famine. No one found anything to have or eat; during that year the application of the hadd had to be suspended because some people were possessing other things to survive. When living was at the survival level in that year of famine what did the ruler of the Muslims at that time do? Go off to Monte Carlo?! Spend his time in casinos?! Abandon his own people to spend the days of Ramadhan thousands of miles away in a non-Muslim land?! No! For six months, this leader of the Muslims used to consume oil- olive oil or whatever oil it was, with pieces of bread. Compare that type of personality and character with the characters we have today, going into and then out of Ramadhan. In a few weeks well be out of Ramadhan, Ramadhan will no longer exist. What were these rulers doing in Ramadhan? They spend $70Billion on a war- the 2nd Persian-Gulf war, not to count the 1st one. Now they are facing liquidity- they used to have liquid assets- look where they put the Muslim wealth, outside of Muslim lands- is beginning to add out. They use to have a program, (if you are aware of it), on the radio there use to be an Arabic language program, a link up with the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, wheres that program now? We will now encounter the 1st year in which there are no programs in this area concerning Ramadhan. What happened to all those finances, where did they go? If Ramadhan doesnt bring about an awareness and consciousness of these facts, then it was a mechanical and physical Ramadhan; what is intended of Ramadhan is not a mechanical and physical Ramadhan, even though obviously abstinence from food and drink is part of the process- but that is not all of the process and that is not the objective of fasting. Hear that, LA ALLAKUM TATTAKUN, and in another ayah following this ayah, a couple of ayahs beneath it

In that manner Allah makes evident His involvement in human affairs so that they may guard against His penalty (Surah Al Baqarah verse 187) It is a sad comment, or (be-it an) alas, it is the truth that Ramadhan will have come and those that are making decisions for the Muslims will not have gained the privilege of fasting this month of Ramadhan. We ask Allah to offer us that privilege by extending ourselves to those in the human condition around us; if, we cannot in any physical sense do so, at least in our thoughts and minds. The Prophet of Allah says fasting is a protection or a protective layer for this human being. Is that the case when these people are fasting and when they make decisions impacting the lives of Muslims as they have been doing throughout the past 13 years or so? Have they been fasting? Forget about us in our individual sense- assume this condition is thousands of miles away, i.e. somewhere in Hong Kong theres a Masjid and the administration in that Masjid tells some Muslims they cannot go into the Masjid; and then they are fasting Ramadhan and are supposed to have Taqwa. Is this the meaning of Taqwa? This is only a small presentation of the large scale policies and decisions that they make that impact the lives of many other Muslims in this world. Muslims This month of Ramadhan takes us to other areas of the world where we have other Muslims that are fasting- Muslims who are our brothers and sisters in Chechenya, Bosnia etc. The number of Muslims just in this past year, since last Ramadhan until this Ramadhan that are reported to have been killed in Chechenya is between 35,000 and 50,000. Right now, medical sources, (remember, these are non-Muslim sources), in this past week are saying there are probably 300 mass graves in Bosnia; they are talking about a mass grave that has around 7,000 in the area of Srebrenica. This is the condition of Muslims, (its) as if when we go from one Ramadhan to the next Ramadhan (and) we have a certain government in the world that delights in taking out the blood of the Muslims- in spilling their blood and killing them. Weve been through chapters of this in Lebanon, Afghanistan, the Gulf war, Chechenya, Palestine- it seems as these people who are opposed to Islam look for the month of Ramadhan and then administer the harshest policies to the scale of genocide against the Muslims during this month. Are they more aware of this Ramadhan than the Muslims are we begin to ask? During this month of Ramadhan we intensify our connection and relationship with Allah. If we feel cold, (some of us actually and obviously do feel cold; this is a winter day, we are out here exposed to the elements and theres no heating); we are forced to pray in the street; other Muslims are forced to pray in the mountains with ammunition beside them to defend themselves and to take arms during this month. What we are doing here is a breeze compared to what they are doing in Algeria, the Caucuses, Lebanon and in other areas of the Muslim world. Look around- are these people really fasting? Wheres their conscience? If they are fasting, what type of mind tells them have these Muslims pray in the street and have those Muslims killed in the cities (and to) pursue them with fire arms and the restriction of liberties and freedom if they happen to be in lands and in countries that guarantee certain liberties and certain freedoms. This is the condition that the Muslims are maturing through today; this is a season in which we are thankful to Allah. No longer are our enemies working from behind the scenes, they have exposed themselves. The month of Ramadhan gives us an insight to what they are planning against the Muslims; the month of Ramadhan also gives us access to Allah who overwhelms such plans. You think if they tape and record what Muslims are doing, Allahs not taping and recording what they are doing. It is

not our strength that is going to manifest its-self, it is the strength of Allah that is going to manifest itself. Compared to them we are no match, but they compared to Allah are no match (Surah An Naml verse 37)
This khutbah was presented on the occasion of jumah by Imam Muhamed Asi on the 26 th January 1996 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and they irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

THE INTRINSIC MEANINGS OF RAMADHAN PART2

(2 February 1996)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims of commitment and faith.... During this month of Ramadhan, Allah Exalted and Almighty says: And if my subjects and servants question you concerning me, I indeed am near to them, I respond to those who solicit me, so they should call upon me, so that they may reach a level of maturity and understanding (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) This ayah, in the context of the Quran, has been placed almost in the dead centre between the ayaat which speak about fasting, which begin with KUTIBA ALAIKUMUS SIYAAM (Surah Al Baqarah verse 183) and which end with WA LA TA KULU AMWALAKUM BAYNAKUM BIL BAATIL WA TUD LU BIHA ILLAL HUKKAAM LI TA KULU FARIKAM MIN AMWALANAAS BIL ITHMI WA ANTUM TA LAMUN (Surah Al Baqarah verse 188) In the middle of this discourse on Ramadhan, fasting or denial, Allah presents us with this particular ayah saying If my servants query you concerning me, then I am near to them. The 1st observation concerning the positioning of this ayah is that Allah wanted to tell us while we are fasting that He is close to us. How many moments in life does a person contemplate Where is God? If there is a God, He would have responded to me! If there was a God, He would have shown more compassion to us! If there was a God, He would have acted in a more forthcoming manner! These are questions that cross the minds of individuals or human beings- whether they are Muslim or not Muslims. But Allah who created us and knows how we respond and react presented us with this fact while we are fasting; at a time when we purge our body of its physical toxins, our mind of its mental toxins and our soul of its spiritual toxins- when we do so we feel more intimate with Allah and Allah knows that this feeling will touch base with us during this month of Ramadhan and that is why he said to us And if my subjects and servants question you concerning me, I indeed am near to them (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) If we take a look at the individual position of a Muslim, (whatever condition you are in, in your personal life), or whether we take a look at the broad existence of 1,3billion Muslims in the world- whatever condition we are looking at sometimes the question knocks on our minds, Why are we left up to this plight or predicament? Why doesnt Allah come to help us when we are encountering hard times as an individual, a family, community, society, congregation or as a collective presence in this world? There are many times when this question entertains our feelings- (take a) look at the plight of the Muslims in such areas as the Balkans, the Caucuses, North Africa, the Nile Valley, the Middle East, Central Asia etc. Its only a thinking mind that will pose the question If we are so obedient to Allah, then why isnt Allah here? Allah responds to this question not when your stomach is full; Allah doesnt respond to this

question when you are the object of class materialism, Allah responds to this question when you are ready to receive his response; and Allah knew that if you were observing Ramadhan correctly then you would be ready for his answer. For those who persist in posing this type of question when they look at the condition of the Muslims, Allah is responding I am nearby, I am at a close proximity. Allah says in another ayah We are closer to this human individual, than his jugular vein (Surah Qaf verse 16) This is a fact that because of the conditions and circumstances around seems like a remote one; but in this month of Ramadhan, Allah wants you and I to understand that He is nearby. I will respond to any daee once he calls upon me; anyone who approaches me with a sincere demand or an honest request, then I will be there to respond to that request and demand (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) That response doesnt necessarily mean a detectable response or something that you will immediately notice with your senses because Allahs not a human being. If we say on this occasion and during these days that we want those oppressive powers to expire, (this can be expressed in many languages and phrases) but when we request from Allah that that be the case, how do you think that is going to happen? Is it going to come about in an action similar to Moosa when Pharoah was trailing him and the sea parted and Pharoah and his administration drowned? Or is the response going to be that Allah will approach these types of dictators in His own way? Take a look with the insight and the penetrating qualities of Ramadhan at these that are engineering the catastrophes (at least what on the surface of it appears to be catastrophes) against the Muslims in this world. What is happening to them? One immediate issue that anyone can notice is that if they have a change in climate, they are experiencing difficulty coping with it. For the 1st time in the past month the United States Federal government shut down. Where has this happened before? For the 1st time in history the United States government was and has been involved in atrocities against the Muslims in this world- so theres a 1st time this and a 1st time that- and Muslims approach Allah with their requests and with their demands. This should be an incentive for us to call upon Allah- this will not cause us to abandon our cause, rather it will solidify us on our path towards Allah. Through this process and in this manner we gain our mature existence in this world. We will no longer react to immediate events. The total information is in the possession of Allah, its not in the possession of some intelligence agency or an overarching of intelligence agencies- they have a partial amount of information, the overall pool of information is in the possession of Allah and if He wills He will take them on at His appointed time and location, but in that process we continue in our dedication and devotion to Allah. As for these surface appearances such as genocide in the Balkans (and) a brutal Russian military to which the government in this country is playing absent- as if the whole issue doesnt exist to them, but the whole issue exists to Allah, and He is more knowledgeable of the intricacies of these affairs- far beyond the information that they surface with from time to time. During this month of Ramadhan, as we are involved in this process of denial with moderation, we are sure and confident that Allah is responding to the Muslims within these types of conditions. Hes not responding to some idle Muslim who is withdrawn from reality, isolated from other Muslims and who is cut-off from current events, much less those who claim to be Muslim but who are involved on the other side of the issue and who are participating in trying to undermine this growing, vital

and vibrating reality that emerges from those committed Muslims who are steeped, schooled and dedicated to this course of Ramadhan, and who listen to Allah when He says to them And if my subjects and servants question you concerning me, I indeed am near to them, I respond to those who solicit me, so they should call upon me, so that they may reach a level of maturity and understanding (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) The call and the questions that Allah is looking for are those that come from the oppressed quarters of humanity and the oppressed quarters of the Islamic condition- the pains, cries and appeals that emerge and are voiced from within that condition- that is where Allah is to be located. For those who are observing this month of Ramadhan where there is pressure placed upon them, (we may be here- theres a few inches of snow around), but there are brothers of ours living in mountains where there are more than just a few inches of snow around, the air is frigid, physical conditions are life threatening and not only that, there is a military regime that is at work against them- they are fasting in this month of Ramadhan, and they read this same ayah. Our complementation of theirs, (the least that we can afford), is to stand in a position that will represent their cause, that will be on the cause to Allah FI SABIL LILLAH- with this, we make this connection between us and the rest of those whose future by Allahs promise is theirs. Allah has promised those who are committed and who work His will that He will render them the inheritors of this Earth (Surah An Nur verse 55) Part of this deputy position in this world is to experience these types of times. Our compensation for not being in those front line positions is that Allah Who hears us and Who is near us, will grant us the privilege of sharing with them this type of front line position when Allah decrees and writes it as our destiny in the future years to come in our lives. During the course of this month, (as a matter of advice), we are encouraged to try as much as we can to trim our inclinations and discipline our desires. During the course of the year, we may develop a type of attraction to something, in most cases Allah wanted us to take the urge for having food at a certain rate and try to work that down during this month. It does not need to be done in any radical sense, it can be done gradually, but that is required to integrate into the divine reality and the meanings that unfold during this month. Another explanation for the ayah. And so, the descending of the Quran or the assimilation of its meaning is a component of this month of Ramadhan (Surah Al Baqarah verse 185) Once we observe the restraining order of Allah from indulging in our appetite, by denying our desires their full extent, we open up a new avenue into understanding Allahs meanings and words so that after we spend these weeks we have a better understanding of how Allah is involved in our efforts and in the world around- we are no longer living within a phobia of existence, we live in a cosmic order of unlimited extensions in which Allah is the primary caretaker. This huda and the bayyinaat, (i.e. the evidence of this huda) will go undetected if you dont make a sincere effort in trimming your desires, not eliminating them, to gain an insight into the meanings of Allahs words in your life and in existence around you.
This khutbah was presented on the occasion of jumah by Imam Muhamed Asi on the 2 nd February 1996 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and they irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes

family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

THE WORLD OF KUFR IN UNISON

(23 February 1996)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims... As the days and years go by, our certainty and assurance of Allahs promise and His words increase. In the varying ayaat of the Quran reference is made to those who are opposed to the presence of Allah in reality- these types are to be found almost everywhere. In the verses of the Quran, Allah (Whose wisdom is overwhelming and Whose Will is overpowering), on several occasions highlights the confusion of those who have made their lives an arena of activity opposed to Gods presence. We were standing here 13 years ago- in those circumstances, the world was another place; there has been many changes that have occurred since that time. In that world of 13 years ago there was a superpower in what they conveniently described as a superpower world; there was a Soviet Union and a United States. In the climate of that world there were tendencies to believe that there was some type of genuine clash of ideologies and policies between one or the other. That is not in reference to the Prophets words when he says the world view of kufr is but one world view. It doesnt matter if its a so-called United States or a so-called Soviet Union- theres nothing uniting the Soviets and theres no union in these States in fact. Then, throughout the cause of these years one of these so-called superpowers has expired, it no longer exists. In the course of these years, the Muslims have not lost momentum, the Muslims have gained momentum. And these that are described by kufr- opposition to God- spend their energies and time trying to undermine you (Surah Al Anfaal verse 30) These words are from Allah to the Prophet, and hence from Allah of all times and places to followers of the Prophet in all times and places. These kafirs expend their resources to undermine you, to liquidate you (Surah Al Anfaal verse 30) This fact is not one that is cornered in the Arabian Peninsula 1,400 years ago; this fact speaks to reality today. Whether they had a bipolar world in which you had a Shaytaan with two heads or a world with one so-called super power, a Shaytaan with one head, it is still at work against the Muslims. Recently, just yesterday, the International Monetary Fund, (these are the self-styled bosses of the world), agreed to finance Russia with $10Billion. This is not done is absence of facts on the ground. The facts on the ground are that the Russian government is in an active mode of killing Muslims. This war in Chechnya is not a limited venture or what they would like to call a civil war to bury its significance- this is a war against the Muslims. As these years have been

accumulating we notice that as the Muslims throughout these years have been increasing their momentum the kafirs seem to be diminishing their momentum, (with all the noise that they have aside, they make a lot of noise about many issues, but these are high decibels that mean nothing). They thought that some unpredictable event took place in the Middle East almost two decades ago would have no repercussions and they can contain it with their agents in the area, with the stronghold they have on the resources of the Muslims and with the generations that they have brainwashed because of the media that is at their disposal- they thought that with all of this and many other gadgets in their arsenal they would be able to stifle the military-political-ideologicalphilosophical world view expression of Islam. Here we are counting 13 years15 years17 years and they have not been able to do that. Remember how the kaafirs plotted against you, to keep bonded or slay you or expel you out of your home (Surah Al Anfaal verse 30) You see- Allahs speaking about a fact that accompanied them; as long as they are dead serious against Allah then this will remain their character. They will work behind the scenes to try to expunge Islam and everyone that represents this Islam; or exile or throw it in some distant land or some unknown corner of the world or cover it up with silence (to) make it seem like an alien ideasomething people when they are exposed to (it will) think what is this!; or they will try to fossilise this Islam by absorbing it into the status quo- domesticated Islam or domesticated Muslims. Islam itself, by virtue of it being Allahs communication to mankind cannot be domesticated. Its those human beings who are entrusted with this responsibility, who become domesticated or little puppies that follow in the footsteps of their master. They plot and plan (Surah Al Anfaal verse 30) Such is the characterisation of this event- they squeeze their brains, harness their natural resources and husband their potentials. $10Billion by the International Monetary Fund to the Russians who are killing the Muslims- couldnt they find another time? Couldnt they at least find a cease-fire? If they had some decency in them, (they think, see, watch and observe whats going on,) theyd say- wait a minute! these Muslims are alive and well today. Why should we be giving the Russians $10Billion when the Russians are killing Muslims who are seeking self-determination? Thats all they want. You see, the selection of words is part of the war effort. They dont call them freedom fighters- have you ever heard anyone referring to the Chechnyans in the media around as freedom fighters or wanting self-determination? No! They are more often than not referred to as separatist- this word applies to many areas of the Muslim land and people. They plot and plan (Surah Al Anfaal verse 30) One day before Eid the Egyptian government sends its security forces into different areas in Southern Egypt and they open fire on innocent Muslims, mowing them down- the last day of Ramadhan. Is this a government that was observing the month of Ramadhan and that knows what

Ramadhan means? Do you hear about this in this media? We guess those who write the news have turned sick in their bellies by contravening the facts! They lied about the Muslims 100 years ago, 1,000 years ago, one generation ago, last year, yesterday- they continue lying about Muslims. Theyll have to take a break from lying about Muslims. Their break doesnt mean they are going to tell the truth about Muslims, theyre going to remain silent. That constitutes their break. That is their haidas when it comes to the Muslims- well remain silent. Kill them in Algeria, Egypt, Africa and in the Middle-East and well maintain a modicum of silence. They plot and plan (Surah Al Anfaal verse 30) What else are they investing all that they have against this Islam? You can take a look at many areas and you will find the apt description of the Quran applicable. They outline these types of intrigues against this word of Allah- thats all it is, simple! This is the word of Allah. Its not your word, its not the other persons word, its not my word- these are the words of Allah. If We were to cause this Quran to come down, its meanings to be revealed and communicated to (what can be more harsh than) a mountain, you would find this mountain to be in a state or condition of utter resignation to Allah because of the awe inspired by Allah (Surah Al Hashr verse 29) And here we are- you would think in the course of these 13 years, that at least around us we would have some Muslims who are waking up to the facts. Its a shame to find that when some of these Muslims go to Jumah prayers, they go there because theres a meal that is to be served or because they want to break for a couple of hours from their daily routine or job or to satisfy some type of traditional lag that exists in them- they are in the habit of doing that because their father took them to the Masjid when they were young and so it became habitual to go to the Masjid on Friday. But then, with all of these forces around, it is a shame that they are not in touch with these vital facts that affect their own lives. Look at, (for a moment), a comparison of the degree at which Muslims function around us and the degree at which non-Muslims function around us. When it comes to deciding who is going to be the President of this country, you find some Muslims stepping into the political process and some Muslims remaining outside of it. That in itself indicates that there is a confusion. What should be done? What should we do? This confusion is not a feature of a person who is connected and related to the Quran- theres no issue for confusion here. Then, you take a look and compare this ambivalent attitude with those who are looking for some type of solution to the problem around. Youve probably heard, (if nothing else in the past week), the issue of job insecurity. People feel theres no job security around so they are concentrating their thoughts on whom to elect provided that person speaks to them about job security. This is what happens to human beings when they are reduced to laboratory animals. A Pavlov Ian response! Im going to give my vote to he who secures for me a job. What happened to the larger world and existence around? Its not only your job that matters even though that has become a very important element in your life because you have been converted into the materialism and the materialistic life that you lead. What happens to the larger existence around?

Dont you begin to think for a moment why are we witnessing changes in the climate around? These are not perchance- fires in Texas 100 degrees; floods on the West Coast, snowfalls in the North and North East and these other natural phenomena around. Cant you see in these a signal from God to you or you want to make believe that nothing is happening and the only thing that matters and counts in this world is whether you have or dont have a job and the rest of the Universe can come crashing in and it doesnt matter and it doesnt bother you. Some of their military brass are beginning to think about their F14s- three of them have come down crashing just in the past two or three weeks. You look at these and you want to dismiss them and you dont want to integrate these whole issues together and look at the problematic existence you have- not on a personal level, it goes beyond that; not on a community level, it supersedes that; not on a national level, it breaks out of that- this has become a worldly issue- a global and a universal issue. You want God back into your life? The argument is bounced back and forth do you build a wall around the United States to protect these jobs or you dont? How do you treat other human beings? Do you accept them as equals or you dont? The issue of race, as much as no one wants to speak about it and everyone wants to conceal it is alive and kicking. Dive deep down inside of yourself and see if you can accept the other human being because of the way God created him or you cant? If you cant, begin to ask yourself serious questions. A person who doesnt belong to the establishment and who calls for a million man march in Washington DC goes to other countries and then they describe him as cavorting with dictators. Well! what are they doing? The State Department in the administration- what do they call their interactions with such dictators as Mubarak, Fahd, King Hussein and the other kings and Presidents, none of them have been elected by their own people? That description is more apt to apply to them than to anyone else- Cavorting with dictators! We are not in a position to promote any one personality or say whether what he was doing was right or wrong- but they should look at themselves- heal thyself before you begin to try to remedy some one else. They are financing these dictators, training their security agencies and apparatus to torture their own people, denying the people freedom and then they speak about cavorting with dictators- fancy words to disguise an ugly fact and to deflect from their own reality. Besides, we can see beyond this. Now, you are trying to hide yourself behind an artificial antagonism, the same way you hid yourself behind the century old artificial antagonism between East and West. Why? Are you disturbed that people are enquiring about Islam and you want to control this Islamic growth in this country so, you want to fixate and exercise the attention of the public in an area where you can control so you create this artificial conflict so that you can bring in the free Muslims around into your own cage? No! Muslims had enough of your cages and incarcerations- mental and physical. These Muslims who have come to Islam in this land are not going to be suckered into an artificial conflict that you have in store for them in the coming year or two or whenever. Your veneer of protection is becoming very thin. The Muslims and the common sense people can see through it. We remember in the course of these past 13 years the

way you used to refer to Muslims. Now, we watch and listen to the way you refer to yourselves. In the meantime we have no gripes and no qualms with individuals who are seeking the truth. Throughout these years we and Muslims every-where who are sincere and dedicated to Islam have been pointing our fingers at those who are pulling the strings from behind the scenes and victimising many people in the process. With Allah assistance and help we will continue to do so relying utterly and totally upon Allah who sees and knows each action and move that you take even though we ourselves may not be privy to it. And Allahs decision shall surmount theirs, but many people do not understand this (Surah Yusuf verse 21) Muslims whose reference is the Quran and the Prophet; Muslims who live the meanings of the Quran and the model of the Prophet in todays world We are in this country as citizens and legal aliens. As the weeks and months approach we have a cycle that recurs every four years i.e. the elections that will take place for the highest office here, (that happens to be by their own measures) the highest office in the world. We will listen to what they have to say. One of the most interesting features to have emerged in the past few weeks is that the establishment has found itself disconnected from the people. They are no longer in touch with the sentiments, expectations, hopes and fears of the normal MR.YOU and I. In the campaign addresses or political speeches that are given it is beginning to appear that the powers behind the powers are nervous at the way some broad sections of the American public (whether they are in the Mid-West or East, the Bible belt of the South or West) are beginning to express themselves along unconventional lines. Whats disturbing to these powers behind the powers if christians want to be christians? Why should they be disturbed about that? Are they doing something wrong? They use their fancy words to disguise themselves once again, (not for the last time), social conservatives, they tell us, and economic conservatives. These have become their convenient words to hide the facts. It has nothing to do with social conservatives and economic conservatives but it has to do with implementing what is right, decent and acceptablethe concept of the maruf that has been maligned and tortured in the minds for generations is just re-emerging- thats all it is; dont hide behind the social conservative and the economic conservative- it has nothing to do with that. People are beginning to look around and point at the sources of their problems; they are beginning to see beyond what the media has to say; they dont have to focus on events in Muslim lands, they can look at issues in their own backyards- thats all they have to do and thats what they are doing and the establishment, the government is very uneasy about all of this. They will, with all the resources and powers they have obviously try to channel the outcome to their advantage- that is to be expected, but what is also to be expected is that Allah is going to be in control of the outcome whatever it is and the repercussions of that outcome, whatever they are. Follow very closely in the coming weeks and months what is to be expressed in public. The Zionist-jews in this country- who are the powers behind the powers- are planning about divulging their own agenda and contract for America- well probably be hearing more about this in the weeks and months to come. They want to counter the other contract for

America. Whats wrong? Is their media running out of gas? Do they have no more spark plugs in their engines and now they want to revert to the level of the people who they finally discovered are no longer taking for granted what is being said in their major networks and mouthpieces? And Allah is also plotting and planning (Surah Al Anfaal verse 30) Even though there was a time, just years ago, when they (these kaafirs) said God is dead. Now, they are going to wake up to the overwhelming reality and fact that God is alive. We have seen in these few years a world of change and what we have seen is only the opening shop; it is only the introduction to a new world that belongs to Allah and not to their rapacious greed and capitalistic decisions- a world that is God-centred, God-motivated and God-oriented. They dont like to hear this. They would prefer to go on crushing the under class and maximising their profits, but Gods preference is something else. They make believe they dont hear, but when Allah speaks everyone listens.
This is a Khutbah that was presented by Imam Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 23 February 1996 from the sidewalk on Embassy Road in Washington DC.

THE REALITY OF OUR UMMAH

(7 June 1996)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers of faith and Imaan; Committed Muslims who live by Allahs words, with His instructions, according to His guidance and in fulfilment of His word and promise Allah says- and His words are the truth And remember your condition, a few in this world, having no power, being oppressed, (thats your condition theres not many of you, you dont really have that much power, and above all of that you are oppressed in the land); you fear that at any time you will be overcome or overwhelmed by the people or the forces of these adversaries around, He, (meaning Allah) gave you refuge; and He supported you with His victory; and He provided you of His sustenance or His wholesome provision; so that you nay be thankful (Surah Al Anfaal verse 26) This ayah or fact of life expressed in the words of Allah reflects the reality of the Muslims committed to Allah everywhere. It has become necessary for Allah to remind us (an expression of mercy) because we always tend to forget and go out on tangents with our thoughts and with our emotions. He brings us back to the fact of life.

Remember, bear in mind, be aware of your condition when you were a few in number (Surah Al Anfaal verse 26) When you take a close look at the Muslims of motivation and propulsion in the context of todays world, this ayah is most descriptive. Compare the numbers of the motivated and active Muslims with the numbers of their adversaries- theres no comparison in number. So the word of Allah is the descriptive truth. Then, the other description- the condition of Muslims in todays world is that of istada, they are the receivers of tyranny, they are the receivers of injustice, they are the receivers of oppression. (Its an) undeniable fact. As much as the public eye wants to look the other way, the focus of this matter is the truth of it; and the truth is, look at the Muslim condition! Remember this. Allah says, bear in your mind, drill it into your memory, you are QALIL and you are MUSTADAFUNA FIL ARD. Do you need illustrations of this! (Take a) look at the Muslims- because they are the victims; (take a) look at their condition- it is our condition, it doesnt belong to anyone else, its your condition personally. They bear the atrocity of ethnocide and genocide almost everywhere you look- the examples have become redundant. How many times do we have to repeat these examples? You know them, where ever the Muslims are. Our 1st concern as Muslims is the common denominator we all share- it is as if we have no land. Have you ever thought about this common feeling among Muslims? As if they belong to no land; they dont have a country- whether they are official refugees or camouflaged refugees, they dont belong. Being that this is a common and extended condition of us, (Muslims), in todays world, Allah says FA A WA KUM- Come subjects, following this feeling of being a few and being overwhelmed, Allah provides you with shelter. He has sheltered you; He has made you belong to a land. Now, where did all of this all begin? When did the Muslims actually begin to feel that they are countryless and homeless? It began with the disappearance of Islamic authority. There was no longer an Islamic government in this world so the Muslims who were the citizens of this government began to feel that they dont really belong to a land. Then, they began to feel that they dont belong to themselves! Then, this feeling was lodged deep inside of our psyche with the occupation of the 1st Qibla, and the 3rd haram- this is when the whole condition was sought to be cemented among the Muslims. The Jews, with their exclusivist ideology, racist politics and elitist economics came and stole the land that Allah has blessed. They stole, just like thieves! This is when this feeling of alienation took root inside all the Muslim peoples in the world, regardless of whether they had phoney nation states or phoney governments; whether they were temporary deceived by that, the fact of the matter is, at the grass roots level, from that time on, popular Muslims felt that they were dislocated in the world. What has been the outcome of this occupation? Look at how these unrepresentative governments behave. In the summer of 1967, after a further occupation of Muslim territory and regions by the

usurpers of zionism, these Arab official Heads of State met in Khartoum, Sudan. After deliberations and yelling at each other and to each other, they came up with what they called THE THREE NOs.

NO NEGOTIAINS; NO COMPROMISE and NO PEACE WITH ISRAEL. It took only two decades after that and they were doing all three: they were negotiating, compromising and reaching a so-called peace with the zionists. In the course of those two decades, we saw Sadat go to Jerusalem, capitulating, like a political slave. He gave in! He caved in to the zionist enemy! You would think those that are moved by Islam would be absent? They werent absent. Sadat gained some legs to his body subsequent to that act of betrayal and treasonhe went and visited occupied Jerusalem and occupied Al Quds and then he is followed by the King of Jordan. You (would) think the King of Jordan may have learnt a lesson or two from his grandfather and his ancestors who betrayed them. One betrayal after another, one generation after the other, but still he doesnt learn. How many times did the British give promises to his grandfather (the Sherif of Makkah as his title was) and then they stabbed him in the back? Why? Because the zionist interest doesnt permit the co-electing of people in the area. Now, he is telling us (just yesterday) that he received assurances from the American governmentthat rings hollow. Their grandfathers received the same assurances from the same quarters. Where are they today? What happened to the peoples that they represent? Still under the yoke of imperialism and zionism with no end in sight!!! What do they do? You see our memory is a short memory. Unfortunately we have a short memory. Just a few years ago, three years ago, (not even that), the religious scholars in the family Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued fatwa (religious edict) saying that peace with the Israelis is permissible and as usual, they quoted the Quran out of context and said: And if they (meaning the enemies) opt for peace, then your choice should be the choice of peace (Surah Al Anfaal verse 61) This is taking the Muslims for granted. Imagine if we were to understand and interpret this ayah like the so-called establishmentarian religious scholars in the Arabian Peninsula- the enemies would know that anytime they wanted to sign what they would say is a peace, the Muslims would trail because theres this ayah in the Quran that imposes on them to trail whenever there are gestures for peace. But it is not that simple. Muslims are not going to be fooled that easily, even though ibn Baaz and his establishment issued so-called fatwas for peace. Take a look at yahud, the enemies of Allah. Ibn Baaz and his religious establishment know very well that yahud are the enemies of Allah. Strongest among men in enmity to the committed will thou find the Jews and Mushriks (Surah Al Maaidah verse 82)

And the many other ayaat in the Quran that speak about the animosity expressed by yahud from time immemorial up until this moment and up until the final day. Now, if they are short sighted (and) cant read or understand the Quran, let them take a look at what Israel is doing. Two Ambassadors here, in Washington DC, the Qatari and Omani Ambassador go to a religious jewish congregation here, in Washington, and make statements conciliatory and promising that they will pursue this so-called peace process to the end and the Israelis, set up a commercial office in Oman just a couple of weeks ago. Why? Because they want us to believe that these zionist Jews have peace on their minds. Thats a lie. They dont have peace on their minds. Look at what they are doing Zionist Israel refuses to sign a nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Nuclear powers in the world are signatory to this treaty, whats wrong with this state, that it doesnt sign a treaty like that to prove to the others that it has peace for intention? What type of interpretation and understanding are we supposed to have when a state that has hundreds of nuclear bombs and nuclear warheads refuses to sign a nuclear non-proliferation agreement? Thats not a state that has peace on its mind, to the contrary, if it is talking peace through its mouthpieces, journals, newspapers, radio, television etc. but in fact it is working night and day on developing its war industry, what are you going to believe? Are you going to believe what they are saying through their media, or what their generals, diplomats and politicians are doing on the ground? They enter into some type of strategic military co-operation agreement with the United States. Is this a state that is looking for peace (we ask you) or is this a state that is looking for war?! It enters into a military agreement with Turkey- a total, partial (or somewhere in-between) military contract with the Turkish government. What does it want with Turkey? If this is a state that wants peace in the area, why is it entering into these types of multi-lateral and bilateral military agreements with super powers, regional powers and non-powers? It has entered also into some type of military agreement with Jordan, to refurbish their planes or service some of their F16s that is going to be offered to that state. Why? If we are looking at a new chapter for peace in the region and if Jerusalem is the city of peace, why are they making it the city of war? They go with this media silence and they close the occupied territory- the West Bank and Gazafor months. You dont hear about it. See how in control of the minds they have become. People are starving there because they re-deploy their military all over the place. Re-deploying your military is a sign that you want peace, or is it a strong signal that you want war? What do they do? They elect a belligerent government and leader. Last week, those who want war with the Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians won in the elections. What are you (Arab rulers) going to say? What do you have to say to that? One of them stepped up and said Well, theres a lot of bravado expressed in election campaigns. Theres not a lot of bravado expressed in their elections for the 1st time. They have the extremists and terrorists in their parliament- the ones who want war. Yesterday they shot an innocent Palestinian- an innocent person with his family, having no criminal record, not belonging to any organisation. Some trigger happy zionist jew opens fire and kills an innocent person; the day before they did the same. Is this an indication that they want peace or is it an indication that they want war? Lets not

be fooled by what they are saying? These Arab governments met along with the others at Sharm Al Sheik- to do what? They tell us to construct peace. What they were doing there was declaring war against Islamic awareness. Boris Yeltsin who was at that summit meeting said of the Chechens in front of the representatives from the Arabian Peninsula, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, the President of Egypt, and the rest of the gang, (these are his words), They are criminals, terrorists and thieves. Not one of them spoke in defence of these oppressed people. What do you think? Will a condition like this (that has been continuing for these years), have the sustainability to continue for years to come? No! Because Allahs words are the truth. You feel vulnerable! Dont we feel vulnerable! Dont these people in Palestine, Chechenya, the Balkans, Kashmir and all around feel vulnerable! These Arab governments call Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad terrorists; they never referred to the terrorists in Southern Sudan- Mujahidin Al Khalq- as terrorists. Why? They have exposed themselves. Those who are truly fighting for their rights and justice have become in the vocabulary of Arab officialdom terrorists, but the true terrorists, the Israelis, especially, who kill individually and wholesale have become right now the progressors, the model and a civilised segment of mankind. Out of all of this, Allah is going to offer shelter, to the Muslims; and He will offer them the support of His victory; and He will provide for them out of His wholesome provision; So that you may be grateful (Surah Al Anfaal verse 26) This is where thanks are due, in this context- understanding this issue within these dimensions. The Arab governments are not going to be able to get away with this, neither the Egyptian nor the Jordanian, nor the rest. Some of those signatories who signed on those three NOs in Khartoum back in 1967 are still alive: King Hussein of Jordan, King Hassan of Morocco, The families in the Arabian Peninsula, their brothers Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc. were the ones who signed on these three no's and right now they do a reversal- a 180 degree about turn on all of that, and they want to take the Muslims for granted. No! We are sustained by Allah. If Allah comes to your support, you shall have no one to vanquish you (Surah Al Baqarah verse 160) Dont despair, dont feel aggrieved, when you are superior if you are committed to Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 139) This commitment has become a fact of life, whether the jews, Muslims or Christians want to see it or not- it is a fact of life that will live and live on. To get an understanding of the information industry around, take a look at one incident and compare it with another. In the past several days or so, (last week), there was a murder and a suicide in a synagogue in the United States. Did many people hear about this? Ask yourself- did you hear about it? Did the people around you hear about it? A husband goes into a synagogue in West Fort Connecticut, Temple Israel and he shoots his wife to death and he turns the gun against himself and he commits suicide- he shoots his own self to death. Within the dynamics of what is happening in the world, this issue went basically and generally unnoticed by the public. No ado, no fanfare, no publicity, no cameras, nothing- hush hush. KILLING IN A SYNAGOGUE;

MURDER IN A SYNAGOGUE; SUICIDE IN A SYNAGOGUE. Imagine if this were to happen in a Masjid. Not only would you and I hear about it, the world would hear about it. They would flash it via satellite around the globe and everyone who has access to cable, satellite or television, would watch how the Muslims are blood thirsty and murderers, but when its a jewtheyre exempt from that. They dont want to show that. If they kill innocent people in the Holy Land, of course they going to kill their own selves in their synagogue. Think about it for a moment. The psychology that bears arms in normal life in Palestine- theyre not a society like this, where civilians are civilians and the military are in their base far away from the public eye. No! The militarys in the street all over; they carry arms, have pistols, sub-machine guns and machine guns in the public areas and if they suspect a Palestinian they open fire and kill him as if they kill some type of rodent or insect. Were not surprised that they brought their murderous attitude into their own House of Worship, but the dangerous element in all of this is how they manipulate the public mind. If they want to focus it on something, they will focus it; and if they want to un-focus it off of something, they will do that also and we are here, subject of this manipulation. They wont be able to get away with this. They look around- theyre very conscious of their security. Security has become a key word in their lives- security-security- theyre obsessed with security. Why? Because theyve done much harm to human beings. Theyre stripping Americans of their citizenship- people that they tell us were in Nazi War camps in Europe, Lithuania, Poland or in other areas. They have an office in the justice department that goes around the country to try to look for these octogenarians- theyre 80 years old or above that, (and) they want to take away their citizenship. They know the people who committed so-called crimes against them; how many of us know these criminals who are committing crimes against us today? There are generals, officers and enlisted personnel in the zionist usurpationist forces in Palestine who are killing innocent Muslims- do we know their names? Ask yourselves! They come here, to Washington and the United States on vacationdo we know who they are? Where they are? If we dont, why? If they know our names, we should know their names? If they want to take action against us, we should be able to take reciprocal action against them. Yes! We share a common dictum AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH etc. We play by the same divine rules and if that is the case, theyre not going to get away with it. Theyre nervous, because of whats happening in Turkey; theyre afraid some Muslims may become the decision-makers in Turkey and thats going to spoil their game. Theyre beginning to put out feelers and condition the public mind that they were right in bombing the nuclear plant in Iraq back in 1981. What they are doing is they are setting the stage to bomb other places in neighbouring countries, Iran, Sudan and where ever they feel a threat. This is how strategically they are thinking and how reactive- especially these people inside that Masjid, who come to sleep for a couple of hours, instead of becoming aware of the Islamic issues- are. The Zionist-Israeli-Jews, deserve to feel unsecure because of their own acts. Then they ask why did a bomb go off just a couple of days ago in Poland- they took that offensively; and why are they closing down Zionist-jewish officers in Russia- they took that offensively. Look at what you are

doing and have done to mankind and humanity and then you wont be surprised. We are the pioneers of exposing zionist aggression, hostilities and war mongering- it is part of our faith.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 7 th June 1996 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

THE END RESULT OF RELIANCE ON AHL AL KITAABAND AL MUSHRIKEEN

(14 June 1996)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims of Divine devotion... The words of the Quran are the facts of life. The words of the Quran read as follows You will be put to a trying test in regards to your wealth/resources and yourselves/lives (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) The facts of life reverberate with these meanings. You will be put to a trying test when you are dealing with or sorting out your financial affairs and when you plot for your personal selves, (to be more specific). You are being put to a trying test with regards to your economics and your psychological make up. What is specific about the economics of the Muslims?

You will be put to a trying test in regards to your wealth or resources (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) You have a cash flow in certain areas of the Muslims and that has become a trying test because, (number 1), the allocation of these resources have been bungled. They no longer are the possession of the Muslims; they have become the possession of those who are thoroughly against the Muslims! and yourselves or lives (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) The words of the Quran are explaining for us human behavior. Not only are the resources plundered and misappropriated, but they also have an impact, (far away from their circulation), on the psychology of the Muslims and to bring disaster upon our heads. A Muslim who lives in the neighborhood begins to think that those who have the money can begin to call the shots, so the normal traditional Muslim takes for granted the administration of Islamic resources; the Masjid is no longer relevant to Islamic norms and standards, the Masjid is subject, (among other places such as the Hajj, Makkah, Al Medinah and Al Quds i.e. the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Haram), to the clout of those who have money! Then, the trial is one of self. If a Muslim is an Arab, he wants to run away from the fact because it is his ethnic or linguistic group that is primarily responsible for being thieves when it comes to Islamic resources! He doesnt want to face that fact and if you present him with that fact, he wants to turn the other way or he becomes belligerent and wants to argue for the baatil against the Haqq! If you step out of the Arab context, it becomes the Muslim circle- if theres a nonMuslim who is criticizing a baatil that Muslims are responsible for, then Muslims become critical of this just because criticism is coming from a non-Muslim. Your Imaan is being put to trial and being verified on account of your wealth and on account of who you are. and youre certainly going to listen to those who were given scripture beforehand and to the Mushriks and that will bring upon you a lot of damage (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) (Cant) you see? The same psychology and mentality that was responsible for the vulnerabilities of fiqh hundreds of years ago in our own schools of thought still exists today? In our own schools of thought, the mentality hundreds of years ago, the attitude was to listen to what the Jews or People of Scripture have to say about certain things- lets go and ask them, they have previous experience and received revelation before us from God. That attitude exists todaylets go ask them, they have prior experience. So, they rush to these forces of Ahl Al Kitaab and the Mushriks! (Take) a look at them? They come to Washington like its a pilgrimage they have to perform. Makkah and Al Medinah to them is something historical and irrelevant! Hajj doesnt mean anything. Their Hajj is here! This is their Makkah and Medinah! This is their 1st, 2nd and 3rd Haram and this is their 1st and 2nd Qiblah! They come here so frequently that the news no longer reports it! What are they going to report? One day the Foreign Minister of one country arrives in the United States; two days later another

Minister of whatever ministry arrives; a few days after that a king or President arrives; and a few days after that another Prince or another official arrives they dont report this any longer! Why? Because they dont want to help you to understand the Quran! They dont want to contribute to your knowledge, so they withhold information. Allah says youre going to give them your listening ear (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) What do you think theyre coming and doing here, in Washington? Theyre listening to what they have to say! About what? About Islamic affairs! A couple of weeks ago, they had the whole world intelligence community assembled in this city and what were they discussing? Islamic affairs. They cant mind their own business! Why dont they discuss their own affairs? And who are they passing on the advice to? Such characters who belong to the ruling family in Saudi Arabia. These are the ones who are paying for all of this; they have to foot the bill and they are the ones who are responsible for the policies that are made. They dont have the integrity to make decisions back home, so they have to come half-way across the planet to listen and receive their decisions here. Why do they do this? Notice that they dont go to China and Japan for advice, they come here- why? Because this has some type of scriptural designation; theres something about them- they are Ahl Al Kitaab they tell us. When they want to argue this issue, they fall upon a religious argument, Oh- these are Ahl Al Kitaab; these are Jews and Christians; and true Jews and true Christians know that these are not Jews neither Christians, but still, people who lag behind want to convince themselves. So, when you listen to them, how does that translate into facts and reality? and youre certainly going to listen to those who were given scripture beforehand and to the Mushriks and that will bring upon you a lot of damage (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) Look, the Israeli military psychopaths launched a mini-war in the Middle East and not one Arab Head of State, King, Prince, Emir or President had the courage to stand up and say to the United States that sponsors the Israelis When they refer to Muslims in South Lebanon they say the Iranian backed Hizbullah look how weak Muslims are! We cant even think boldly. Why dont they say the American backed Israelis? Tit-for-tat! But no! Not one Arab media from Egypt to Saudi Arabia to Morocco to Iraq etc. has the courage to stand up and say the truth i.e. these people have the right to defend themselves. What are they doing by amassing all of these arms? (Havent) you heard of the Saudi Ministers coming here, to the United States and signing contracts worth billions of dollars- where are these planes and armed forces? Not in sight! So what are they going to use them for? From time to time they make noises about a couple of islands in the Persian Gulf and a couple of islands in the Red Sea, and at that time they want to show us their muscles. Whats the United States doing with 10,000 marines and sailors in the Persian Gulf? (Theyve) 80 tactical warplanes stationed there and floating on the water. With all of this money that these in the Arabian Peninsular bought weapons with, they dont even scramble one plane into the area. Thats all it needs, one plane and they mean business. They dont do that! Extensive damage is done because they listen to Alladhina Utul

Kitaab and Alladhina Ashraku; no ones listening to the Quran! These rulers know nothing about the Quran! Whos listening to the Quran? Bandar ibn Abdul Aziz?! The Princes in Saudi Arabia?! Are these the ones who are listening to the Quran? Do they relate to the Prophet? Do they have a God to begin with?! No! Who are their little deities and divinities? They are here, in the government administration; these are the ones who dictate and these are their higher authority. and that will bring upon you a lot of damage (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) Extensive damage is done because of this. Take a look at the damage! The psychological damage! The rulers in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East are not psychologically intact! They cant stand up to the aggression in a moral sense. They say Wellif that is what the Israelis are doing, we should even establish more contact with the Israelis and they exchange their political exchanges with the enemy of Allah. Yasser Arafat comes along in these circumstances and conditions and he says he a nulls the PLO covenant. Couldnt he pick a better time? As Muslim blood flows, he finds it within himself to take a public position, (because he represents the Palestinians) and say the Palestinians are no longer convinced that Israel should cease to exist. No- he comes along and puts an assembly of like minded people and they sign on to capitulation while their Israeli masters are bombing their brethren in surrounding areas. If the person had some decency in him, hed postpone a decision like that to a better time, but the psychological damage has been so profound that they dont even know any longer how to do things. And not only the psychological damage, but take a look also at the physical damage- they destroy any Arab country they want and get away with it. They destroyed Kuwait and it has never recovered! They are destroying Iraq and it will take generations for it to recover. They have been bleeding Lebanon for a couple of decades and only Allah knows how long its going to take to rebuild that country. (Thats) the physical damage! The economic damage- hundreds of billions of dollars spent on Western military industrial complex. Yeh- give them hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure the unemployment rate does not drop over here but our unemployment can go up to 75% as it is in Occupied Palestine, the West Bank and Gazza (where) three our of four people are unemployed and here, if the rate goes above 5%- one in 20- then they should be concerned. (They will) send in more money and sign more contracts. This is the damage that is being done! (Do) you see the damage that is being inflicted upon us? Then they come and they say dont speak about these issues in the Masjid. Well- where were going to speak about these issues? They want to be silent about these issues- for how long? Theres a war against the Muslims in this world and they tell us No! No! dont speak about this is in Jumah prayers. May Allah forbid that they tell us dont mention this in the Hajj because they say this is politics. they utter nothing but lies. (Surah Al Kahf verse 5) The Prophets statements are politics! The Prophet says if you go to sleep and your next door neighbor is hungry, then youre not a committed Muslim. We assume that this is a

political statement because he was speaking about economic equality. The ayah in the Quran speaks about the baraah from the Mushriks during this season of the Hajj- they want to tell us this is politics. We no longer can speak or write about the Jews/Al Yahud in the Quran- why? Because they signed some agreements with the Zionist/Israeli/Jews. Because they signed these agreements were no longer supposed to speak about these ayaat in the Quran that speak about these Zionist/Israeli/Jews. Not only are we not allowed to think or speak correctly, now they want to chain the Quran itself- thats an impossible task; they will not be able to do that! The meanings of the Quran will live and they will live on. As extensive as the damage that they are inflicting on us is, we will rebound stronger and more determined with the will-power that is required to turn around this sorrow state of affairs. The Saudis are disturbed- they have persons that are opposing them in England and they close the BBC television service; they shut it down. 30 odd employees now have to go back homewhy? Because they express some type of opinion that is critical of Saudi Arabia. Whats wrong with these rulers and this tribe in Saudi Arabia? If they are doing things right, why are they afraid of the word of truth? Why are they locking people out? If theyre doing things right, we would assume that theres nothing to worry about, but obviously there are many things to worry about from their perspective. Their days are numbered and the Hajj itself will be reinvigorated once these rulers cease to exist as rulers in that sacred land. We thank Allah from the depths of our hearts because these agents Alladhina Utul Kitaab and Alladhina Ashraku sense that they are running out of time; we sense that when Allah is involved, time is on the side of the righteous and the committed. Brothers in Islam, Servants of Allah What happened when Zionist/Israeli/Jews killed innocent people? Nothing much! Have you heard the Security Council scramble to sit down and draft a firm resolution against this type of aggression? No! Imagine if was the other way around for the moment- the Hizbullahis lob some rockets and kill over 100 civilians; youd probably hear the Security Council, the United Nations, NATO, the big powers, regional powers, the Arab League and everyone else going into action against innocent human beings who are standing up for their God-given rights; but because the Israeli/Zionist/Jews are doing it, everyone wants to look the other way. You would ask whats wrong with the world that it cannot stand up to the aggression of Jews who are Zionist and Israeli! What happened to a world that no longer has the moral courage to tell a Jew that you are wrong because youre a Zionist and an Israeli! What happened to Jews themselves who are renowned for being critical?! They are deaf, dumb and blind to their own crimes against humanity! We know that Allah is here; God is not absent and somewhere above cloud nine having no relationship to the affairs of this world; He sees and knows better than everyone the agony, despair and grief of children, babies, infants and women who are victim of an Israeli killing machine. What happens when you give power to a historical underclass of people who begin to use this power to massacre and slaughter populations-we guess they would not have any qualms, (if they could get away

with this), of thinking nuclear if they can think of killing civilians and getting away with it like this. If they can treat African Jews from Ethiopia and spill their blood because its no good for blood transfusion; if they could snatch the children of Yemeni Jews who came a few decades ago to Occupied Palestine, they had their babies snatched from their families and adopted by Ashkanazi Jews- if they do this to their own, what do you think they would do to others?! We are talking about a people that is void of any religious content and then they fashion themselves as Gods chosen people- thats the irony and sarcasm of it all. They have in fact in the public and in the media, through their propaganda and rumors, presented themselves to the world as Gods chosen people when in fact God does not dwell in them and if there is a relationship to them, it certainly is not a friendly one with these types of atrocities and carnages that humanity and mankind have been witnessing from season to season, year to year and generation to generation. They turn blood thirstier and bloodier as the years go by. As far as we are concerned, this life was given to us by Allah and this life is fashioned by us to return to Allah whichever way He decrees that to be, we accept that. Little do these Zionist/Israeli/Jews know that they are recruiting to the course of Islam; they are not bombing our determination, they are consolidating our determination. Now, the Israeli psychopaths are asking themselves what went wrong? We thought we were going to turn the Lebanese people against the Islamic Resistance" and they only promoted the Islamic Resistance to the Lebanese people- Muslims and Christians alike and exposed their own agents i.e. the officials in the Arab governments all around who are watching with deadly silence the carnage as it unfolds. Then, the Americans who back the Israelis right or wrong want to place themselves as peacemakers?! 900 to 1,000 brave warriors in Southern Lebanon have done in the past few weeks what all other Arab armies combined could not do for the past few generations. Its not only that the Arabs have no power to stand up to the Israeli aggression, its a matter of moral courage. If they cant speak the truth in the Masjid and if they will not permit the words of Allah to ring in the Haram and the Hajj- ayaat from the Quran and hadiths from the Prophet- then they are defeated before it comes to the warfront; its an internal defeata defeat that runs in every ruling vein and artery of Arab officialdom. Beneath all of this, a new generation of Muslims in the area and thousands of miles away from the area; it is born with all the circumstances and powers cast against it- it is being born and like everything, at birth there is pain and agony and such is the case with the Islamic reality as it is being born today with pain and agony. It shall grow and reverse this tide of humiliation that has accompanied us for many many years now.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 14 June 1996 from the sidewalk on Embassy Road in Washington DC. The Imam previously read the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and they irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced

out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

THE POODLES IN THE ARAB CAPITALS

(21 June 1996)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims of faith and divine responsibilities; Muslims who understand Allahs words and acts... It is during these times that we recall the bounties and sponsorship of Allah to His obeying subjects and servants in the course of the events in which we are located. If we take a look at the Muslim condition in todays world- there are two ways to simplify things or look at it. You can look at it with the materialistic mind and physical calculations and the image of the Muslims would appear to be dismal. You see what is and has been happening in the course of the last couple of decades and even further. The descriptions and images have been reproduced via many channels too numerous to count but the result is that Muslim blood is flowing- this to a physicalmaterial mind is pathetic- look at these Muslims, their plight, condition and circumstances! Theres another way of looking at the Islamic condition in the world around and that is to look at it through the vision of Allahs words and the unflinching will of His subjects on earth. We look at this condition through the course of the last couple of decades or more and we realise that the Muslims have not been diminishing and their determination has not been eroded.

We take stock of the fact that their organisations are taking on the illegitimate and illegal governments that have been imposed upon them. When we take a further scrutinising observation of this condition we find that it is not attributable to the Muslims, (those that have been the strugglers of Allahs course- more to the point), it is attributable to the presence of Allah among them. Within this scenario, let us take the eternal conflagration that is in the making between the Muslims on the one side and the Israeli-zionist-jews on the other side. We dont find that these mortal enemies of the Muslims have gained any peace or security during these years in which the Muslims have been victimised by policies that can be traced to the Israeli-zionist interest- policies that have their way of being implemented in our own lives and countries regardless of how and what we think of the implementers. No one bothers to ask Muslims What do you think about the government that you have? because it is expected of Muslims to accept and acquiesce to any type of imposed governments upon them. These governments that are going to meet, (beginning tomorrow), to try to come up with some type of public image so that they can survive during the new chapter that is in its 1 st phases as of last month when the government was elected by fanatical jews to begin a process of aggression against the Muslims in addition to the series of aggressions that we have witnessed, whether it was the recent past or distant past. These governors, kings and presidents, (we say this without any apologies and malice- we state this as a fact) whos Heads of State are going to assemble in Cairo tomorrow are hypocrites par excellence. They dont serve their own people; they serve their sponsors and masters in the west. How can we, for a moment think that they are sincere in their opposition to the expansionist-zionist-settler-murderous policies when at the same time these zionist are avowed enemies of Allah and the Muslims by the words of the Quran? You will find those most intense in hostility to Alladhina amanu those who are Jews and those who are Mushriks (Surah Al Maaidah verse 85) What are these poodles in the Arab capitals doing when they assemble in a place like Cairo except to whitewash forthcoming policies of attrition against innocent people in their millions using their military, (at this time), not against the avowed enemy of Allah but against the servants of Allah. Their armed forces are either in or ready to go into action against those Islamic Organisations and Islamic Movements in their own countries- notice Algeria; observe Egypt; look at what may be happening in Turkey; not to mention such other places as Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Iraq, etc. etc. and the Gulf states- Bahrain nowadays. Where are their militaries? What are their militaries for? Militaries are to repel external threats to the sovereignty and independence of such states. Why are these militaries fighting their own people? Were talking about issues of morality and conscience- where is their conscience and morality- (we ask)? They convene in a summit meeting like that- its the convocation of hypocrites who have come together to try to fool the rest of the people. The rest of the people are not going to be fooled. The Islamic momentum is growing at a pace that it has become immune from their deceptions, tactics, propaganda and ploys- we are not going to be deceived by their charades and parades; the time

and age of deception is behind us. They are calling this The summit of all summits because it is the make-or-break of this Arab officialdom in the eyes of a growing consciousness of the people extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They cant fool us any longer. They think that because a new government was elected in a land that was stolen from the Muslims and that they call themselves to a general meeting it is worthy of our attention! Why didnt they call this summit when the government of those same political and military thieves i.e. the Zionist-Israeli-jews were butchering and massacring Muslims in a neighbouring country? Just a couple of months ago, in Lebanon, there was a massacre in the process- an all out military campaign against freedom fighters, just several hundred of them in Southern Lebanon and they were watching; that did not merit a conference at a summit level? They just received information about the killing of Muslims by the Zionist-Israeli-jews and when the Zionist-Israeli-jews have hundreds of thousands of Palestinians locked up in their villages and towns for months now- virtually dying because theres no food; the husbands and fathers cannot go out to bring back bread to their families- that is not worthy of a summit meeting? Millions of Muslims in Palestine, Lebanon and other areas may be killed and they just watch- they dont call for a summit meeting. What made these rulers call for a summit meeting? A change in government from hypocrites to fanatics; they could deal with hypocrites but they cant deal with fanatics so they want to call a summit meeting to give them a justification in front of their own people to deal with the new government that was elected last month. What do they want to do now that the Zionist-Israeli-jews are not willing any longer to play hypocritical-verbal games with them? If they hate them, they tell them We hate you; if they dont want to shake hands with Yasser Arafat or meet with Yasser Arafat they say We dont want to shake hands with Yasser Arafat or meet with him; we dont even want to even meet with you. War statements are beginning to get louder and louder from Tel Aviv and the occupied lands- what are these rulers going to do? Are they going to enter into a war against the Palestinians, Lebanese, Jordanians and the rest of the peoples in the area? For whom are they doing that? To whom, is the advantage going to be scored if they do that? If these Arab rulers feel confused, as they should feel, because on one side the hard core fanatical zionist rulers in Tel Aviv are not giving them any leeway to approach their own masses and on the other side they are involved in killing their own citizens (and) if they want a way out of this- its easy, but only if they had the fear of Allah in themselves? They would have the Muslim peoples in the area take charge of their own destiny; theyd tell their military in Algeria no longer to shoot and kill Muslims just because they are Muslims- the act of pointing machine guns and dynamiting buildings in North Africa because Muslims are in them in itself is a defence of their zionist interlocutors from North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf. It is reported that there are five governments in the Gulf that do not want to participate or at least represent themselves on the highest level in this Cairo summit. The only one that is willing to go there is the Supremo or the Emir of Bahrain. Why? Because he needs endorsement and support to kill his own people. That, once again, like the case in Algeria is another line of defence for the Zionist-Israeli-jewish enemy.

Not many people may know this, but the United Arab Emirates government right now is trying to test its will. Last month, a United States naval paddy officer shot a citizen of the United Arab Emirates- (there was) some traffic incident, they get out, theres an exchange of words and the American kills the Emirate. The government of the United Arab Emirates wants to take the American sailor to court (and) the American government is telling the Emirate No! You send him back to the United States, we will prosecute him according to our own laws? Yeh- we can see how much these laws mean when they kill others who dont belong to their own race and get away with it. This has become a test of wills and you know who is going to win in this test of wills because the bottom line is that the security of the ruling family in the United Arab Emirates depends upon whatever the United States offers it as far as a security umbrella is concerned. These are the kinds of tin-pot dictatorial administrations that litter the scenes in the Middle East. Now, they have the media covering the meeting of the Heads of State in Cairo. These types of hypocrites are in the abyss section of the fire of jahannum (Surah An Nisa verse 145) How can these rulers speak to their people? They dont want to speak to their people. Do you find officials from these countries mixing with their own people? Do they bother themselves to come to Jumah prayers? Look around- its probably a low level official who has been given orders to come and pray in the Masjid in Washington DC because it happens to be on Embassy Road and they need some numbers inside the Masjid so they tell their officials Go and pray at the Masjidsomething they never used to do before they forced other Muslims out of the Masjid. You can use the same analogy being applicable to them everywhere. Why? Because they sense that the Muslims are more aware than they were 15 or 20 years ago. A Muslim ought to ask if he sees someone around, Well what are you doing? We saw this just a few years ago during the time of the intifada when one of their own employees that they brought inside the Masjid and told him dont speak about the civic affairs of Muslims; but during the high-tide of the intifada he couldnt be silent- he had to speak about it and then he was dismissed and gone forever. The issue is Muslims are no longer in the back seat of these affairs- this is another way of looking at the progress of the Muslims. If you support Allah, Allah will support you and He will stabilise your position (Surah Al Hujurat verse 7) And this is the stability of the Islamic position in the world. Recently, (we are told), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (the FBI) is going to open an office in Tel Aviv becoming around the 20th office it has outside the United States. Since when was the Federal Bureau of Investigations in charge of world security (as it were)? We thought that its jurisdiction was in the United States, but no, now it is planting itself around the world (and) recently speaking about opening an office in occupied Muslim lands. It shows you how far the

United States government will go to appease and serve their financial Zionist-jewish masters. They dont want to say it- (theyre) comfortable people, but many Americans know this but they will not be able to speak out loud; so what happens is they internalise the problem and it breaks out in what is called anti-semitism or hate crimes. The jews in this country are concerned if Black churches are fire bombed, torched or put to fire, (to the order of about 40 in the last yearand-a-half), theyre looking at themselves- they may be the next ones to have their synagogues burnt down. But not many people know that the synagogues unlike the black churches in this country are plugged into a security system. Yes, the system takes care of the synagogues more than it takes care of the churches. Why? Is the government more jewish than it is christian? Whats their problem in the government? They cant defend their own faith or are they so beholden to the jewish-zionist capital that they dare not disturb the religious activities of the jews and they have 2nd thoughts about the burning of the co-religionists who belong to their own faith? Why? Is it because they are blacks and the others are jews and it is racially more important to identify with white jews and religiously less significant to identify with black christians? Its going on in this administration and government. The jews are afraid- once again we encounter this element of fear. Imagine how powerful they are- at least in the physical interpretation of things? They managed to put Muslims out of their central Mosque in Washington DC through the Anti-Defamation League and the rest of the fraternities and organisations that they are in and that they manipulate and use for their own ends; we are here, (it) doesnt seem like were afraid of anything; we are expressing ourselves and there they are, seems like theyre very scared. Last week a denomination of christians in this country, the Baptist Church says that they are going to proselytize among the jews- now, the jews are scared! Scared of what? If you had faith, reason, religious conviction and logic, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid that some Baptist may knock on your door and tell you Believe in Christ and youll be saved; or, are you afraid that if it begins with the Baptists, its going to catch on among other christian religious denominations in this country and then you are going to become the target for a public dialogue? Notice that jews- neither their rabbis nor politicians- want to be encountered on religious themes in public, (nor in private for that matter). We havent heard of a public dialogue in this country between jews and Muslims or between jews and christians. Why? Whether we are Muslims or Christians, we have nothing to hide! We want to communicate the word of God to the public; but why is it that the jews, in particular dont want to speak about religion? Now, theyre afraid that 15,8million subscribing Baptists who pay their dues each year will come to them and say Except Jesus as your Messaih. The guilt that is growing in the jewish psyche is so serious that they may wander into adventurous areas either in the Holy Land or here in this country or anywhere in-between to refocus attention off of them and as much as they want to protect themselves in the public eye they will not be able to do so. The jews, especially those who have developed their Judaism around zionism and the Israeli illegal nation state are going to come under closer scrutiny not only from the Muslims but also from those who are not Muslims but who have come under their influence.

The jews are disturbed that a political leader in France is going to accept someone they say is Pro-Nazi- a collaborator with the Viche Regime, an octogenarian. They watch these issues; they want to gage how much knowledge and awareness is out there when it comes to their hand that is in at least every major issue that has or may have a potential impact on what has become their religion- the nation state of Israel- that has become their religion. Now, inside this country they want to identify with blacks. If you listen closely to what they have been saying recently, they want to sympathise with blacks because of the burning of these black churches. They dont care for blacks. Have you ever seen jews living in black neighbourhoods anywhere in this land? We defy anyone to bring us a few homes of jews that are in predominantly black neighbourhoods anywhere in this land or anywhere in the world. So do they sympathise with blacks? Reading the newspapers is one thing, reading reality is something else. When you read and listen to their media, you would think that their hearts are torn; that they have bleeding hearts for the black communities in this country, but the fact and reality is that they are bleeding the black communities in this country dry. But, they see a backlash- a race war in the making. You have to be blind not to see a race war in the making. Regrettably, unfortunately, with all sorrow, we express the truth of the matter. Where are the jews going to be when it happens? They need protection so they try to gain any type of protection they can get; and if it is to hide behind a substantial black minority in this country, they will do that; if it means they go in front of the cameras and verbalise some supportive statement concerning this issue, they will do that; when it comes to real life, its business as usual- they will kill, rob and steal these oppressed segments of society and they could care less about it. Then, finally, they want people to make believe nothing is happening. It cant be! People will not make believe nothing is happening. Condemned are the deniers of Bani Israel because of their disobedience and aggression. They never sought council in opposing that aggression, vile acts indeed is what they commit (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78-79) Brothers in Islam, Servants of Allah These critical times need critical thinking. Times in which many quarters are in offensive positions against us we cannot afford to be in defensive positions against them. Offences repel offences. Can you imagine at a time like this, when the condition of the Muslims is what it is, (we thank Allah that it is what it is because it takes this magnitude of events to mobilise the Muslims, to be proportionate to the magnitude of the challenge itself), be these conditions as they are, still, over the airwaves, when probably there are policies that are being thought out to draw Muslims into wars among themselves- the Israeli presence in Turkey is a bad omen for the Muslims; the Israeli presence in the Arabian Peninsula is a turn for the worse, (at least in the immediate sense), for the Muslims. Theyre talking about placing the Turkish and Syrian militaries on alert, (there have been territorial disputes ever since European colonialism left the area), when they drew geographical boundaries to invite territorial tension between one artificial nation state and the

next for the past 50 odd years. But now, it is beginning to look like a low-level war; skirmishes are beginning to break out. The military Turkish Generals signed military agreements with the Israelis only a couple of months ago, (about three months ago), and now we are beginning to see the tension flare up among the Muslims. They think offensively. At that time, they were planning for this tension and potential war. They were not waiting for the Islamic Party in Turkey to come to power; they were trying to pre-empt that Islamic Organisation in Turkey from entering into the corridors of power- this is how they act and strategize. We cant afford to sit back, watch these events in the best of conditions and then, after they occur analyse what happened. The magnitude of these developments requires a magnitude of counter developments by the Muslims themselves. The Muslim condition is synonymous with the African-American condition. They plan the tension- they are planning a race war and unfortunately the African-American community is going to react to it when it occurs, unless, with Allahs grace, they see and work the will of Allah as presented to them by the Quran, the Prophet and Islam- and this is within Allahs calculation. What will happen 1st is a matter of a marathon between those who are advocates of Islam and those who are hostile to Islam; they know this to be the case in the United States, the Middle East and around the world; it is time that Muslims themselves begin to know that this is the case and that this is the magnitude of the issue.
This is a Khutbah that was presented by Imam Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 21 June 1996 from the sidewalk on Embassy Road in Washington DC. The Imam previously read the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and they irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

RAMADHAN
(01 January 1999)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen As we progress in our disciplinary obedience to Allah during this month of Ramadhan, we encounter the meanings of an ayah that Allah presented us with in the month/season/context/climate of Ramadhan. Allah says, (and He wants us to listen as we observe this fast), And if My subjects were to ask you (meaning the Prophet) about Me (Allah), then, I am near to them or close by to them or within reach; I will reply to a person who calls upon Me provided he does so, so that they may call or beseech Me and so that they may be committed to Me and in this manner they may reach maturity (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) This is an ayah that you and I have heard before, but let us take a closer look at its meanings. And if My servants and subjects were to ask you about Me, then, I am in close proximity (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186)

When do people or subjects of Allah begin to ask or question or enquire about Allah? Most of the times, they do so when they are or feel that they are either weak or powerless or that they need Him. It is out of being powerless or of being in need of Him that people begin to ask where is God; where is Allah? Remember, at the beginning of the month of Ramadhan and at the beginning of these ayaat said that we observe these fasts so that we may be conscious of His power. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 183) But, there are people whose pulse is still a worldly pulse, and they measure the issue of power through physical instruments; if you have wealth or a military (along the lines of modern militaries) or power- in their minds, you have power; so, more than likely any serious questions about Allah will not come from them, and if it does come from them it is trivial. The Prophet of Allah was addressed to respond to those who have serious questions and those who come to him and honestly, faithfully and truthfully ask but where is Allah or why does Allah not respond? Many times, this question comes to people who are sincere. Allah has dignified this question, because He says it comes from His ibaad or subjects. You and I have personal questions- we have difficulties and challenges in our lives and during these moments of difficulties and challenges, we pose the same question. We ask but where is Allah? The response to that is certainly I am there or near or present (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) We also have those who ask this question when they look at the condition of the Muslims in the world. If you watch, listen and understand the tragedies that are spread throughout the Muslim domain, then you will certainly have the urge to ask this question. Now, even though we may feel cold in this Jumah prayer, there are other Muslims in the hundreds of thousands, (this is not a statement of hyperbole or exaggeration), who are in feets of snow and in bitter cold and who may not even have food to eat and in this month on Ramadhan, we are apt to ask but why is this happening? There have been some reports saying that nuclear/atomic devices/instruments are leaking nuclear matter in some Muslim areas of Central Asia. This is an act of man- Muslims are put in such conditions because of deliberate decisions by man, and most of the time when you and I ask but where is Allah we forget to remind ourselves that Allah says that He is near us and He will respond (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) provided that we do His will. Allahs Prophet qualifies and explains to us how this response is due; when we ask but where is Allah? we should immediately remember how Allahs Prophet treated this issue or question. (He says) you will indeed make the maruf the legal order of life and you will make the munkar illegitimate and illegal in life or you will call upon Allah and He will not respond to you. ! Allah says And if My servants ask you about Me I am in close proximity (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186)

But, we have attitudes of Muslims that say wa idha saalaka ibaadi anni fa innahu baeed. They will not come out and express this because they will say this is blasphemy! What are you saying? The ayah of the Quran is clear. But what the ayah says is one thing and what their attitudes and behavior says is another thing, (its) the opposite of what the ayah says. In this month of Ramadhan, we should cancel this opposite; our behavior reflects what we announce and if we say Allah is close that means He truly is; and if we say Allah will respond or reply to our dua that means that we will work to make it possible for Allah to respond to us. But, there is a more intriguing and fundamental question to this, and that is that why is it that when this ayah is mentioned, no one immediately thinks about al maruf and al munkar? Why do they skip Al Maruf and Al Munkar and want Allah to interfere and set things straight when they are not doing their part in setting things straight? The month of Ramadhan is motivational in the sense that it wants you involved in the process of setting things straight. Al maruf is Al maruf and it should be supreme in mans life and al munkar is al munkar and it should be obliterated as much as we can out of our lives. But who is doing that and who is speaking about that and then trying to mould Islamic minds and psychologies so that when they think about Allah, they think about Al maruf and al munkar- and al munkar is prevalent all around! How do you, Muslims, want Allah to be on your side when you dont want to be concerned with al maruf and al munkar?! That is why- because some individuals are not concerned with al maruf and al munkar. Do you hear from the pulpit or mimbar of these types of Islamic Centers and Masjids people pointing out to al maruf and al munkar? No! They want to cage Ramadhan and they want people to feel as if Ramadhan is an act of some type of spiritual refinement that is unrelated to the facts and reality of the world around, when Ramadhan is not (about some type of spiritual refinement); that is why in the month of Ramadhan we had Badr- a war. Muslims had a war in the month of Ramadhan! They had battles that took place in Ramadhan; Ramadhan is not a shahr haram! Four months of the year are sanctified months- the sanctity of human life is highlighted during these months, and Ramadhan is not one of them. Rajab, Dhu Al Qadah, Dhu Al Hijjah and Al Muharram- why isnt Ramadhan one of them? According to the mechanical religion that exists is Masjids, Ramadhan should be one of them, but the facts of the Quran, the Prophet and life deny this psychology and mentality. Remember, once again, we revert to this ayah. In this course, with this meaning and within this context, they are ordered to respond to Me and they are ordered to be committed to Me (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) And, commitment is not a matter of verbalization and words; commitment is a matter of work and deeds. Imaan is not a matter of lip service and a wishy-washy mentality, it is that which settles in the heart and then it is verified by work, labor and deeds. This is the meaning that Ramadhan has to gain among the multitudes of Muslims so that they may understand the significance of Allahs response to them. If you see that Allah is within close proximity and

when you think of Allah in light of the ayaat and the ahadith that give a practical and workable meaning to the lives that we all share, then you are fasting Ramadhan. Muslims of As Siraat Al Mustaqeem It does us no harm to identify where we are and how grossly misrepresented we have become; this is a lapse of responsibility on the part of the Muslim collectivity in the world. If the collectivity of Muslims in this world were doing their job the way Allah commanded them to, we would not be misrepresented; but, we have a confidence in Allah that overcomes this lapse in responsibility and we should never fail to mention that we do have committed Muslims in this world who die for Allah, who speak for Allah and who are willing to do the will of Allah- never lose sight of the fact that we, Muslims, even though we dont have the means to match the loudmouths and the media who are lampooning and defaming Muslims, (before-and-after that and above-and-beyond that), we do have Allah. We know we have Allah in this month of Ramadhan. If we think for a moment that we dont have Allah, then we have no advantage or benefits to our fasting. As we speak, tens-of-thousands if not hundreds-of-thousands of Muslims of the world are on the frontlines where Allah is near and where Allah responds. If there are Embassies that are closing and people who feel that they are threatened, it is because of these grand schemes against a revival and a resumption of Islam in its wholesome integral whole- the way we and Allah wants Islam to be. They can take away from us some land for sometime, but they will not be able to take away some of our land for all the time; they may be able to inflict casualties on us, but those who you think are casualties are honored by Allah- they are the shuhadaa of Islam. They may be able to misrepresent the masses of Muslims by imposing on them autocrats and dictators, but that is only for a while. We havent lost sight and reality of being with Allah and of Allah being with us and this month of Ramadhan comes back every year to reinforce this dedication and relationship with Allah. If they think that some of their nationals are going to be in danger when they go to Muslim lands, (they must) adjust their policies and reevaluate their strategies and reconsider their decisions because Ramadhan is here this year, next year, the year thereafter and the generation and century thereafter. We are not going to go away. In the meantime, the Zionist/Israeli/Jewish malignancy that they are feeding with their budgets and military equipment will be effaced from planet Earth when the time comes and they should detect that from the developments in Southern Lebanon, the West Bank and in the other areas around. If they cant see that, they are blind; and if they are blind, (they should) blame themselves because they are intoxicated by powers that no longer behooves or should belong to them. At the end of the day, the power of Allah, through the agency of Muslims humans on Earth will prove this to them. (They should just) look for themselves to see the misery that they have brought about and the need for the divinity and authority of Allah. In the meantime, we continue in this month to observe this fact and to remind ourselves of our frontline.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on the 1 st January 1999 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

EID AL FITR
(18 January 1999)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen As we graduate from the season and school of Ramadhan with our spirits high and our morale towering- as obedient, faithful, committed and conscientious servants of Allah- we say to the world, the conditions and circumstances that we are in Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Allah is greater than the powers that come to bear on our passing lives. We realize and acknowledge that we are here for a time period and onwards we go to Allah who is greater than all the powers that are at this time and moment spilling Muslim blood. The word, commitment, feeling, heart, motivation, labor and determination of Allahu Akbar shall prevail in the Balkans, Palestine, North Africa, Central Asia and we shall overcome when we realize Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Dont be deluded, deceived and distracted by the lesser/inferior powers; dont be taken on a course of dhalal and ghiwayah by those who are amplifying worldly

and material powers. Amplify Allah with a heart that is full of Allah and a mind that is set on Allah and a thought that is concentrated on Allah; for if you are with Him, He is with you. Even in moments when we realize and know that the material and physical power around us overwhelms what we have in the physical and material sense, our recourse and rebound is to Allah and none other than Allah. As far as these governments and establishments are concerned, in due time that the mujahidun at the forefronts and warfronts of Islam and kalimah Al Islam shall prove that Allah is Akbar and this superpower- the United States with its military muscles and punch is going no where and will not be able to subdue, overcome or overwhelm the power of Allah. If those in the United States government, (and many indicators are that they are beyond listening to these words), think that they are protected by the sophisticated weapons that they have- their sophistication is nothing compared to the weapons that Allah has Allahu approaches them from an angle that they have not taken into consideration and then He throws ar rub into their hearts (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) This is the psychological condition that they are in! And it is the 1st indicator of their defeat and our triumph and we say, (concluding this month of Ramadhan), with reliance upon Allah Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Let them see us isolated and exposed and let them calculate that we dont have what they have and let their calculations and assessments take them astray and let the course unto Allah take us, (with His guidance), into His presence. As for the multitudes of those who call themselves Muslims (but) who have yet to prove and verify their Iman, we pray to Allah on this day that they can expedite and accelerate this process because tomorrow is the tomorrow of challenge and confrontations. We cannot dream and wish our enemies away when they are causing our blood to flow in different parts of the world! If you want to act as an ostrich and make believe that nothing is happening, we pray to Allah that your time of playing ostrich is very limited and confined and that you live up to the realities of Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Allah is not greater in theory only but Allah is also greater in reality and practice; and Allah can only be greater in reality and practice by your adherence to His words and commands and by your assimilation into the words of the Quran and the Sunnah and by your adopting the character of a committed Muslim (i.e.) the character that can say the truth and does not fear the consequences. We say Allah is greater than the combined military forces of the Mushrikeen, Kaafireen and Munafiqeen; we say and we mean that Allah is greater than the confrontation that they have brewing for us in North Africa, the Middle East and the Islamic heartland and homelands- we say to them with a determination that will take us all the way to the frontlines Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Our brothers who are on the frontlines have our commitment to this brotherhood. A Muslim to another Muslim is like a consolidated structure- each part of that structure reinforces the other part and we reinforce the other parts of our Islamic body with our thoughts, contemplations, words, deeds and expressions- we are with our brothers and we will not for one moment lose sight of those who are sweating and bleeding on the frontlines in the

heartland of Islam in the First Qiblah. There will come a day when Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar will reverberate from Al Quds to Al Medinah to Makkah and these Harams will be liberated from the Mushrikeen, Kaafireen and Munafiqeen and on that day, (and only on that day), will we enjoy the full meaning of Eid and glory to Allah. Limitless in His glory is He who transported His subject by night from the Inviolable Masjid [at Makkah] to the remote Masjid [at al-Quds] - the environs of which We have blessed - so that We might show him some of Our involvement [in human affairs]: for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-seeing' (Surah Isra verse 1) An area that cries out to every Muslim in the world- prove that Allah is Akbar!? It is our solemn pledge to materialize and actualize by deed, labor and work that Allah is Akbar with lives, souls, possessions, families and loved ones. We dont forget the people in Palestine; we dont forget the children in the streets of Al Khalil, Nablus and Al Quds; we are not absent minded of the Muslim women, men and children in Kashmir, Kosovo, etc. Just two days ago, they massacred Muslims in Kosovo and they say they had a peace and a security arrangement in the Balkans and then they massacre us. These are our enemies- open up your minds brothers and sisters in Islam; this is as if it were a gift and a present on this Eid. And, sincerely and dearly, it is a gift and a present because we will rebound and for every soul that has died unjustly, another soul will die in retribution. Our commands and orders are obeyed obediently as we subject and submit ourselves to Allah who is greater than all that they have- including their intelligence services and militaries. Allah knows their confidential secrets and their ballistic missiles and He also knows that once we are committed to Him, we shall emerge triumphantly and victoriously. Come home Muslims! Come to Allah! Part with the false powers of this world and come back to Allah! Knock-out of our brotherly relationships those who have poisoned this brotherhood of Islam i.e. those who are on the seats of power and care less about our plight! Come home to Allah and mean what you say when you say Allahu Akbar; dont repeat words that are meaningless; say Allahu Akbar so that it strikes fear in the hearts of the enemies of Allah. In this character and direction, on this day, we say Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Dont think that triumph is going to come from Washington or Europe; dont think that you are going to gain the upper-hand because you have a friendly relationship with an adulterer in the White House or with an administration and a government that is spewing hate amongst its members. No! You will gain the upper hand when you are with Allah, committed to the course of Allah and walking hand-in-hand with Allah. O Allah! We ask You to show us what is right as being exactly what is right and grant/gift us with the power and determination to follow through on what is right and truthful on this haqq; and show us falsehood and falsity as what it is, i.e. falsehood and falsity and gift us with the determination, will-power and labor to avoid this falsehood; and do not make these two issues confused in our minds nor in our hearts; and grant us the blessings of leading the Muttaqeen.

O Allah! It is by/through/with you that we try/attempt and maneuver/move and wage our campaigns of confrontation and we confront our enemies at the front. O Allah! Do not forsake us in our commitment to You- even if it takes a lifetime- for we are onto You in this life in the company of the Prophets, the righteous, the martyrs and those who you have favored. O Allah! Accept from us our fasting in this month of Ramadhan, and more than that, accept from us the coming year for which Ramadhan will serve as an inspiration and motivation. O Allah! Lift the burden off our brothers, the feeble and the oppressed, in their own lands where they are alienated and subjected to brutal, harsh, merciless militaries. O Allah! We bypass the physical powers of this world and we connect to you. Weve done so during Ramadhan and you have our word that we will do so in the coming year. O Allah! Grant us and those who preceded us on this siraat al mustaqeem Your bounty, mercy, grace and acceptance. Kullu Aamin wa antum bi khayr. May this Eid be a blessed one and we all hope and pray that we can visit each other, speak to each other and open this channel of brotherhood with each other and consolidate and understand each other better and in the same direction, we ask Allah to immunize us against those who want these relationships to weaken; strengthen these relationships on this day and in the days to come.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr on 18 January 1999 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

AL QUDS DAY
(15-01-1999)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen On this last Jumah in the month of Ramadhan- after having devoted our time, dedication, thoughts, hearts and feelings to Allah- that has been designated for the First Qiblah as the Prophet of Allah is the Imam of the two Qiblahs i.e. Imam Al Qiblatain to Al Quds and then to Makkah; Al Masjid Al Aqsa and then Al Masjid Al Haram. In this month, as a few days are left in it, we focus and concentrate our attention and minds on the fact that we have been the victims of those who came into the Holy Land and stole it from its legitimate owners and then they used the instruments of what they call international legality to say that they have a legitimate, legal, religious and historical right to dispossess other people and in the process to commit over half-acentury of crimes against Muslims and humanity.

And We have decreed that the Children of Israel will be involved in committing acts of destabilization on a global scale twice in human history... (Surah Al Isra verse 4) If there is a 2nd time, it is the time period in which we are living in, in which these Israelis with their Zionist ideology and with the Jewish interpretation of Zionist ideology that has them in our time and age committing global crimes. How many times, (preceding this Jumah), have we presented information and shed light on the nature of these characters? An act that they try to rebut by calling anti-Semitism. This is not anti-Semitic; it is anti-Zionist, anti-Israeli and antiJewish as far as Judaism is subjected to Israel and Zionism. Muslims should have no questions and qualms about stating this fact. We are not apologetics or inferiors dont be feint hearted or depressed while you are superior if/while you are Mumins. (Surah Aal Imran verse 139) In the course of the past week, this Israeli killing machine has been at it in a successive manner day-after-day, sending in their warplanes to South Lebanon to strike and bomb positions of those who are superior when they are committed to Allah. Why? Because they acknowledge the Day of Quds and they want to go on the offensive this year against the Muslims Islamic Resistance, particularly in South Lebanon when we have others who have still to wake up to the fact that the Israelis are not invincible! They are not the almighty and the all powerful! It is Allah who is invincible, Almighty and the superpower! At times, because of the magnitude of the crimes of the Israeli/Zionist/Jews, committed Muslims say for how long are we going to speak about these types of people? Exposing their heinous crime makes a person after a time, (in a sense), fed up with their evil character, bloody policies, vicious intentions and anti-Semitic attitude. We are the only people in the world who qualify to say to these Israeli/Zionist/Jews that you are the epitome and embodiment of anti-Semitism. But as we mentioned before, these are clever, smart and wickedly shrewd people! In the United States, they stand for integration; they are the champions of de-segregation, the heroes of the civil rights movement, the advocates of equal opportunities, the promoters of equality between the genders and they stand for the poor man, laborer, worker and the peasant in all the guild and organization in this country- they are in the Democratic Party supporting the rights of those who are oppressedthis is how they present themselves here; at the same time, these same people go to the Holy Land in Palestine and the area of Al Quds, and the same attitude and people who are here saying that we want equal rights in the United States, we dont want discrimination or prejudice among those who are white and black or Latinos/Hispanics etc. go to our land and they practice discrimination and racism as it is not practiced anywhere else in the world. These same people who stand for gender equality in this lane go over there and they discriminate against those who are of the weaker gender i.e. women. They say over here that they are pro-labor and they go to the Holy Land and they are anti-labor i.e. making a living off the people in the field and the factories. What is haram over here in the United States is halal over there, in the Holy Land and in the process they have deceived many people, especially those people who are mustadafs i.e. powerless here. (If) you go to the

average person in this land, the average person will tell you NO! the bulk of the Jews are supportive of the course of the oppressed, powerless, disenfranchised or whatever other word they want to use. This is the type of enemy wants us to identify. Your Quran has no value if you cannot identify this enemy as he is presented in the Quran! They go into South Lebanon and they begin to steal the top soil and dirt of other peoples lands! Have you ever heard of such theft in your life? 20 to 30 Israelis bring in their trucks and begin to take the top soil out of Southern Lebanon, into Occupied Palestine to use there. Its not enough that theyre stealing our water resources, sanctuaries and Holy places in Al Quds and our lands, properties and possessions, now they grow across international lines and steal other peoples top soil- does anyone present this as an Israeli policy condoned by the Israeli public?! Their habit is not limited to the little area that they are in- even the UN sanctions that are imposed on Iraq that are related to the cancerous presence of Israeli/Zionism in the Holy Land are in the service of these types of Yahud. These policies are killing an infant every nine minutes! A baby is killed every nine minutes, not because of an act of nature or average or normal death, but because of specified written instructions (which are) supervised by the government of the United States to have an infant killed every nine minutes. This is an act of war for the sake of these Israeli/Jews returning to Zion!

A few Ramadhans ago we went from sanctions to shrines- one of these Israeli/Zionist/Jews, (whos an American)- an area that is till unknown to us Goyim/Gentiles. We dare anyone who is listening to tell us how many Americans are Israeli citizens? Its one of their well kept secrets! Probably, if we knew how many Americans were Israeli citizens, we would know that the United States is part of Israel and part of this atrocious war against Islam and the Muslims. This American physician and doctor enters a Masjid and opens fire, (of all times of the day), at Fajr during the month of Ramadhan. In this month, he opens fire and kills tens of Muslims while they are in ar ruku and sujud and then he is honored with having a shrine! His grave has become a shrine that is visited by religious/orthodox Jews or whatever they may call themselves. Recently, the Supreme Court in Israel says that that shrine should continue to exist! (This is) against the will of open minded individuals who say it should not be there. What type of evil are we looking at? Theres 125,000 acres in the West Bank that has been officially designated as, (what is called), survey lane- that means land that cannot be owned or appropriated by Palestinians or Israelis; this was up until a couple of months ago and they changed that. They now call them state lands in which Israelis can come and build their settlements which they are doing at an advanced pace. They bring in their arms, electrical generators and colonists and they say they have a settlement. The land/area does not belong to them and this is taking place while the world watches on. These are the Israelis and these are some of the policies that we are talking about. In

this so-called wide plantation talks in October, the failing King of Jordan, after having met with his masters in Washington, (and even though he is under the duress of chemotherapy), he comes to facilitate this crime against Muslims, and then orders go out to his administration in Jordan saying it is against the law to have any member of HAMAS speak to the media. Now, no representative of HAMAS can go and speak to the media because of this official directive that came from the ailing King. These are only a string of policies that seek to Judaise Al Quds. The United States has agreed, (this is supposed to be taking place within a year or so), to move its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Al Quds. Theres nothing new here- anything the Israeli/Zionists dictate to this government, this government follows suit. Is there anyone around that is protesting? Who is taking this issue to the public and making it clear to them that we- the Muslims of the world- will not agree for Al Quds, Jerusalem to also be added to the stolen land, properties and territories of 1947, 1958, 1967, 1973 and the rest of these grabs of land and acts of grand larceny that have been given an air of legitimacy by crooks and thieves who hide behind suits and civility. Once again, the Israeli government and the Clinton administration is busy trying to think of a way to spring a spy who has set an espionage record in the history of the United States. This person, Jonathan J Polard, (for whom) theres a committee now- The Wiskeking Bronsman, the so-called human rights activist Weisel and that lawyer of all time Dershowitz have a committee- thats working on springing Polard from prison. The Clinton administration is trying to do what it can to have this person go from the United States to Israel. The amount of classified information and documents that this person stole is enough to fill a room that is 10 feet by ten feet by six feet; all of this is classified, secret and confidential information that have to do with security of the United States. The Israelis are wreaking havoc inside this country and around the world and no one, (it seems0, has the courage to tell them that your corruption and mischief are global and universal in rage like the Quran says! We cant expect justice to be done by going to those who support these Israelis! What do you think- that if the Jews at the State Department see Muslims demonstrating, they are going to be impressed? Do you think that the lobbies and political action committees that are mushrooming here-and-there are going to be impressed by this?! Do you think that they will listen to what you have to say or they will go on with their murderous policy and vicious military spilling Muslim blood across the world?! And, any Muslim who dares expose this fallacy and farce automatically becomes a terrorist. Committed Muslims- in this month of Ramadhan and at this time of a heightened sense of Allah, we should realize that our task is to obey and conform to Allah. If we are able to do that, we will dislodge this Zionist cancerous presence that is in our midst. The Crusades were in the Holy Land, but theyre gone now and there will come a time when the Muslims will say the Zionists were in the Holy Land and they are gone now! That day is approaching and our hearts, dua, moral and material support goes to those who have identified these enemies of mankind and humanity and are giving their lives to counter this injustice relying only on Allah and the guidance that He has given us that we should, at least, be able to detect during this month of Ramadhan. Sisters and brothers- Muslims of devotion and commitment

As we should all be aware, these individuals who are intoxicated with physical and material power in the government of the United States- the Federal government of the United States- and the other administrations that agree with it for/in the service of Zionist Israel are virtually conducting a new type of warfare against the committed Muslims in the world. Last night, on national television, they tried to present us with a piece of misinformation concerning Muslims who have the mind, morale, heart and determination to point at the enemies of Islam. They present this piece of information for about an hour, trying to incriminate sincere Muslims who know that Islam is more that the American or Saudi Islam of prostrating and bending down during prayers. Every moment of out lives is a form of Islam to Allah! When we eat, walk, spend out of our pockets, ear whatever we earn and when we identify our enemy and then confront our enemies, we are also in a state of Islam. We are not criminals or terrorists for that, as much as they want to convince the world that that is the case. Now, they are obsessed with two areas in the world- they want as much inside information about the particulars inside Iraq and Algeria. These are the two places which they are keeping a close eye on. Why? Because these two areas are nominated to become the future building bloc of a future independent, authentic and revolutionary Islam that relies upon Allah and refigures the world as the Kingdom of Allah. They dont want that to happen and it is our dream come true that it will happen- if not in our lifetime, then in the future to come. (Take a) look and see for yourselves- last night, ice that was on the trees brought down power-lines and around 750,000 people at one time in the Capital of the United States had no power, (these are their words), meaning they had no electricity in their businesses, homes and dwellings! Is this co-incidental? Not only did it affect this Washington area; it stretched and went up to the East Coast, Philadelphia and Massachusetts with record snows in areas. These are signs, hints and signals, but if you havent been fasting Ramadhan, you havent gained the insight to pick up what is happening there as coordinated with whats happening here. For a 2nd time in the history of this country, the President is on trial- something that is only the beginning of a trial of this whole system! Its not enough for us to have a President that is on trial, the whole system should be put on trial and the court should be that of the Heavenly presence and the judge in that court is Allah. If you cant see in your fating of Ramadhan these dimensions and this range of things, go back into the Quran and yourself and then open up to the facts- the facts for which we are responsible for. You were given an amanah- what type of amanah do you have if Islam is only a matter of Eid and Jumah prayers or Fajr and Isha prayers? (Do) you think (that) the cosmos, world, mountains and Earth stepped back from carrying this amanah because it was a matter of just praying in a Masjid or a physical act of abstaining from food and water in Ramadhan? The amanah is more than that and we hope this month of Ramadhan has taken you a step forward to understanding the responsibilities of this amanah. This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 15 January 1999 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control

the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

TAQWA
(22 January 1999)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen We have just ended, (this week), a month long fast and we pray and beseech Allah to accept the days and nights of devotion, contemplation, obedience and resistance to our cardinal desires and worldly inclinations. Before we enter into a new year of whatever involvements, commitments, activities and responsibilities that we have, let us remember the lesson of Ramadhan so that you may have the taqwa that is required of you. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 183) At taqwa is to realize in your moments and days of work and achievements that the power of Allah is superior to all other powers so you need the wiqayah i.e. protection from the consequences of disobeying and disinclining away from Allah. The 1st thing that you, I and

every other Muslim should observe in solidifying this required taqwa is in what we say and express. O you who are divinely committed to Allah be on your guard against Allah, protect yourself against Allah (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) We are supposed to have reached a level of sensitivity in the month of Ramadhan so that we may have the presence in us even as we speak. and say that which is substantiated. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) Every Muslim in whatever avenue of life he or she is in is required- as a quality of a month long fast of Ramadhan- at least to protect themselves from Allah in what they say. The problem that we have with simpleton Muslims and in general with Allahs trust to us is that we are not capable of expressing Allahs truth. This may seem very fundamental or basic, but it has been institutionalized and has become a tradition that even those who are supposed to represent and express the facts and truth of scripture and revelation are not able to do so. It is easy for a Muslim to come out and claim that he is covered by the Quran and Sunnah and then label accusatory notes against clergymen and people of the cloth who are not Muslims and he claims that the Quran and the Prophet substantiate what he says. It is very rare to find those whose protection against Allah takes that all the way- with facts and the truth of the matter- to express it against whomever it may be, especially if that whomever belong to their cloth, religion, Qiblah and Kabah- this becomes an impossible. The Children of Israel were condemned specifically because they were not able to identify with scripture against scion; with revelation against relatives; with Prophets of Allah against enemies of these Prophets. The same is equally applicable to those who claim that they are the upholders of the Quran and the Sunnah and then they fail to miserably to state the facts of the Quran and the Sunnah. Why? You should now have clear thoughts; this is the time that your ideas should be straight on this matter. Why is it that a certain Sheikh, a particular Imam or some preacher from the pulpit is not able to address the words of the Quran and the Prophet as they address the real issues of the world around? Why? (If we take), a closer look, we will find that they are in the orbit of an interest that is related somehow to themselves- it could be a power/financial/national/sectarian/racial interest and then, they too become disabled/incapable of expressing the truth when the world is crying out for that truth. When Allah says of the Israelis that were entrusted with scripture but could not uphold the responsibilities there-of Condemned are those who have rejected Allah and the truth- of Bani Israel (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78) Why? that is because of their disobedience and their aggression. They did not institutionalize (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78-79)

Which is a collective effort; its not one person speaking in one corner of the world or an isolated voice in the community or a faint sound in the wilderness- it is an institutionalization of an objection to al munkar. They were not interested in that; you could not get them interested in that! They were not able to express the will of Allah. Were not speaking about implementing the will of Allah here, that comes later; the 1st step is to express the will of Allah and what do you expect of those who claim, say or brag that they are Muslims, but likewise are unable to express the will of Allah?! Were supposed to have gained taqwa- a protection of Allah- in this month of Ramadhan that has just passed by, the least we can do is place that taqwa in the statements that we make and in standing for Allahs word and will in this world. Why is it that Islam and the Quran has shrunk into personal affairs/affects- you have a toilet, bedroom and kitchen Islam! Thats how it has been reduced because those who are supposed to express this Islam are incapable of expressing a social, ideological and military Islam. Why? What happened? Throughout all of these years, this is the legacy that we have inherited and this is the weakness that we have grown up with. By Allah- was the Prophet a man who was centered around the miswak, sleeping on the right or left side, going into the Masjid with your right foot and leaving with the left foot- was this the central issue of the Quran, Islam and the ahadith. If the Prophet was here among us today, would he be advocating the personal hygiene of Muslims when if he looks around in this world, he sees that there are Muslims and powerless people who are killed and are dying because of deliberate manmade and man thought-of policies? Millions of people in this world are the victims of political, social and military policies that engineer premature death for hundreds of millions of people in the world and the Prophet is going to be absent minded about this and hes going to tell you as long as you use your miswak, pray on your right side and use your right and left foot in the correct position you are safe!? This is a malignment of the character and the personality of the Prophet of Allah! If that was the case, why did we have scores of military operations that were supervised and the Prophet himself participated in them? Because there are larger issues here. (Take a) look at this world and society- are not racism an issue in the society we live in? Racism is at the bottom thoughts of employers, educational institutions, admissions into hospitals and promotions. What do we do? Do we say that our Islam is so weak and incapable of dealing with this fact or should we begin to open our eyes to the facts of life and address these facts from the perspective and the reference of Allahs words and the Prophets words? If we are not going to express Allahs word and Allahs will then who do we expect to do that? If you dont express Allahs words then who is going to express Allahs words? The world around us is in need of the amaanah that Allah has given us; we are in need of it; every living creature every living being is in need of it and we have to begin to communicate it with its unadulterated meanings. Those who communicate Allahs messages and fear Him and fear none other except Him (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 39)

What do you fear? If you are on Allahs side and you are His subject and servant then what do you fear? The worse that can happen is they bring their physical power to bare against you and then you are in the company of Allah- you are in the company of Allah now before the physical power comes to bear and after days/weeks/months of the use of physical power against you, you are closer to Allah than you are here; so what is it that any Muslim has to hide? Theres nothing to hide. These who understand the meaning of scripture but are practically opposed to them have dispossessed us of the Quran and we say this because if you go to an average Muslim and you ask the average Muslim about the pertinent meanings of the Quran, he will be incapable of relating the meanings within the context that they belong in; that is being disposed of the Quran. This average Muslim may read, recite, vocalize and verbalize the Quran but does he understand the relevant and the contextual meanings of the Quran? And if they dont, they are dispossessed of the Quran. This dispossession did not take place in a short period of time, we are talking about centuries until we have wandering Muslim; he asks what direction does Allah, the Quran and His Prophet offer me in issues that are practical in human life today; Racism is one issue; poverty is another issue; gainful activity is another issue; addiction is another issue and these issues are real, but how does the Quran and the Prophet address these issues? Now that we are emerging from the month of Ramadhan it befits you to begin to muster the courage and integrity of thought and mind to respond to these issues without playing politics with them. Our politics is the truth. it is by the truth and the fact that we have brought this Quran and it is by the truth and haqq and fact that it did descend. Take a closer look at the affairs of this world with the words of Allah on your mind and in your heart and begin to look at whats happening. These issues should not be away from the Muslim mind and heart. The largest economy in Latin America is crushing or on the verge of collapse and they try to present this day-to-day issue in a jargon/language that will alienate the normal individual. Why? Obviously they dont want the normal you and I to understand the way they accumulate their hundreds of billions of dollars and as they do that they render hundreds of millions of people homeless, powerless, hungry, starving and on the brink of death and disaster. In their mind- God forbid that Muslim are able to see the predators at work in Latin America, the Muslim hemisphere of the world or in Russia. There was a Soviet Union 10 years ago and what is left of that evil empire is an accumulation of death. The Soviet Union owes whom 155 billion dollars? This is the area that our minds should begin to think about. They remain anonymous; they dont want to tell us who they are. To whom do these countries owe this debt? Latin America owes hundreds and billions of dollars in debt! Asia, Africa, Europe and even the United States owe thousands of billions of dollars in debt- but to whom? The success that theyve had up until now it is not public knowledge (as to) who they are, and if somebody begins to point to the Zionist/Israeli/Jews in the world then they will deal with him in one of two ways In an accusatory manner with accusation and malignment as they did to Hitler. This person wasnt a Muslim, but he discovered something evil in his country and now, (in the public mind), he is the

incarnation of evil- thats one way of treating those who discover some facts. The other way, (which is preponderantly used against Muslims), is they deal with us with indifference because if they are going to address us, then theres going to be a point/counter point and the public is going to watch; they dont want that to happen so they say the best way to deal with it is to ignore it. Theyve been ignoring Islam in their public discourse as much as they could. Last month, (almost a month to the day), when they were bombing in Iraq, they didnt tell you a million people demonstrated in Casablanca and in Rabat against these US and British bombing of a Muslim country; they didnt tell you 300,000 Muslims went to the streets of Damascus in front of the US Embassy. They made you feel and think as if nothing much happened- a little protest here-and-there and it was all over. Now, they have their diplomatic missions and embassies on high alert. Just a few days ago, they discovered something might happen to their diplomatic mission in India and they probably discovered a few other places that they dont want you and I to know about and this is the area they want of limits to our thoughts and minds. It is time, (as we leave the month of Ramadhan), to bring these issues within the range of our thoughts and mind. Those who have a protection of Allah and state substantive and accurate statements have almost become an endangered species; only few are capable and willing to do, so we ask and beseech Allah to have this Ramadhan increase the quality and the quantity of those who are willing to express Allahs word and Allahs will. We, the Muslims, qualify to do that; those who are not Muslims need the assistance of Allahs impeccable scripture and impeccable Prophet. (During) this last week sometime, a well known Christian Minister made a statement that the Anti-Christ may be a Jew who may be living now on earth in this age and generation and then the Anti Defamation League the ADL of Nebrith- Abe Foxman, (that watchdog of the Yahudi interest), comes out and he says these are statements that are anti Semitic or just about anti Semitic. And of course, (as has been the case in the past), we will find them in due time apologizing, (if that apology hasnt been pronounced yet, it is forthcoming); but if we Muslims identify the truth, we express it with no apologies because we rely on the inevitable and impeccable truth of the matter and we know this Israeli forgery of a political entity on stolen lands belonging to the Muslims is the launching pad for the anti Christ- No apologies said and no apologies forthcoming! Brothers and sisters committed Muslims It is not a comfortable position to be in to realize that there is a flow- rather there is a barrage and flood- of information that goes one way and that leads to Jahannam, which is the mainstream information around and then you and I are put in a position to express the word of truth that in most of the cases run against this barrage/deluge of misinformation and disinformation. This is not an easy task and the more a person is withdrawn from Allah the more cumbersome it becomes (and) the more pressure comes to bear, but if you are in the presence of Allah, you state the truth; whether there is a million people listening or three individuals listening does not matter because you are not stating this for individuals you are stating it for Allah and the record. We are living in a time where the abundance of information will cause a normal

person to be confused because there is no timeless and placeless anchor to hold on to, but the Quran and the Prophet are these timeless and placeless anchors for us to hold on to so that there is no longer any confusion and so that our position in this world is stabilized (and) we dont waiver this or that way. But, you see how people react to things. If there was an attack on the Muslim lands in the Middle East this week, we would have seen at least another 100 individuals around here. Why? Because they are instinctly reacting to affairs and events; the Quran, Allah and the Prophet require Muslims who go beyond instincts and use their mind to understand, analyze and break through the misinformation around- thats the least that can be done. We are not only on one front, we are on multiple fronts. What is it? If a person wants to go to al umra, (this is another front in which the truth has to be stated). There are Muslims, who contacted this speaker and said brother we applied to go to al umrah after Ramadhan but we were told by the Saudi government that no! You cannot come to al umrah now; you cannot apply for a visa to go to Al Umrah except after the Hajj and (that too) almost a month after the Hajj because they have to clear the place. Clear it of what? Muslims from around the world are filthy and they place their garbage in Makkah and Al Medinah and the Saudi government has to clean up after Muslims! Where do they come with this bida? But they institutionalize it; they have enough misinformation around to protect themselves and who are the Imams around who are speaking against this travesty of justice? Ramadhan should at least raise your intellectual integrity, thoughts and feelings to a level of expressing the truth. How weak we are when the truth is on our side and how strong the Yahudis are, (as an example of things), when they have no truth on their side. Ramadhan is a season for recharging with Allahs reality (and) with Allahs support.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 22 January 1999 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

TWENTY YEARS OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION

(05 February 1999)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha An Naas; Brothers and sisters- Muslims of a divine attachment and worldly responsibility This week marks 20 years since the humble but triumphant, the meek but victorious return of Al Imam Al Khomeini (may Allah accept him with mercy, peace and salutations). Of these ten daysfive of which have lapsed and five of which are left- are of historical significance because we, the Muslims, who were only some Organizations, groups and associations before this week 20 years ago became, (after this week twenty years ago), a Government, an authority, a faith and a base for the diffusion of Allahs order into the world. When we take a look at these 20 years in

quick review, we realize the many advantages, benefits and rewards that have come due in the course of these two decades. For the 1st time in contemporary history, the forces of kufr, shirk and dhulm were decisively defeated because of the unrelenting and uncompromising line of the Imam. No longer do we only entertain Islamic ideas and Islamic ideals, but beyond that we were privy to Islamic action and Islamic activity that defined for us friend from foe. And we have rendered out of them leaders who guide in conformity with Our Authority when they persevered, displayed fortitude or when their determination showed no relapse or reversal as they were confident and certain of our involvement in human affairs. (Surah As Sajdah verse 24) In the demonstration of the divine will (and) in the implementation of human decision, this was the ayah that describes a leadership that all Muslims should refer to and be proud of regardless of what may appear to our human observation and to the naked eye. When the Imam returned to his homeland he didnt achieve or score a victory overnight; he didnt surrender to the armed forces around in the previous years, decades and generations that he lived, witnessed and was involved in. Had he given up, we wouldnt have had what we have todayneither the Muslims who are from Iran proper nor the other Muslims who are from outside of Iran proper. Before the success of this revolution, we spoke of Kafirs, Mushriks, dhaalims, Munafiqs, Mumins, committed Muslims, Mujahideen and Shuhaada- but we only spoke. This milestone achievement in the course of our lifetime showed us who the blood and bone, flesh and nerve kafirs are and who the flesh and blood Mumins are when they are committed to Allahnot on paper or in the books of fiqh or in history chapters, (but) in real life. We began to find definition in the world around us because of the struggle that demanded perseverance and that was lead by a qualified and undisputable Imam. What has happened ever since is a continuation; nothing has broken ever since; nothing has discontinued. The struggle still goes on for those who are committed to Allah and have the necessary ingredient of patience. What do you want? (Do) you want a change in the world to happen overnight without the strategic patience that is required? It doesnt happen that way. Even the Prophets of Allah (sallalahu alayhim wa sallam) were not honored with triumph and victory as they would have desired it. They also felt from time to time frustrated. The ayah in the Quran says there comes a time when even the Prophets of Allah lose hope (Surah Yusuf verse 110) You are permitted to lose hope but you are not permitted to lose patience, but we do have those individuals who have lost hope and patience and this is the way Allahs message works. Dont expect to enter into this honorable caravan of Prophets, Apostles, righteous people and leaders just because you utter a few words. Do people consider or think that they are left to utter or vocalize or say with their tongues the Shahadah the article of faith (Surah Al Ankabut verse 2)

Is this the extent of it? You just say ash hadu an laa Ilaha illalah wa ash hadu anna Muhammedan Rasulullah with your tongue and it ends there? Are you going to be left just to pronounce that you are a Mumin? and in the meantime you think that just by saying that you are not going to be exposed to a test or verification or trial of who you really are or if you are true in what you say or if you are playing some kind of psychological game with Allah or yourself? Certainly we have tried, tested and verified those who have preceded them (Surah Al Ankabut verse 2-3) For what reason? so that Allah will surely know those who are true (Surah Al Ankabut verse 3) Meaning what they said is verified by what they do. Theres no schizophrenia between what you say with your tongue and what you do with your hand. and He may know those who are not true to what they are saying. (Surah Al Ankabut verse 3) Now, doesnt Allah know who we are? Doesnt Allah know your internal thoughts (and) who you really are i.e. whether you are true to your Shahadah or a forgery to your faith? He knows. Then why is it that when He knows He is saying so that indeed Allah will know those who are true to Him? In a refined meaning of this ayah (it means) so that Allahs proportion in you stands to attest against the powers that want you violate Allah. Theres a part of Allah in us and this part of Allah wants us to verify that we are true to Allah against all the forces against us . And we breathed into Adam of our Ruh (Surah Al Hijr verse 29) It is this part of us that needs to verify or authenticate our Shahada, commitment, trust and loyalty. This revolution of 20 years ago was a massive authentication of this divine reality in human efforts and endeavors. (Remember- were speaking about Muslims in a particular part of the world), after they took that stand, they began to see who the true opponents of Allah are. There was a real war that continued for eight bloody years. This war had blood sacrifices, tears (and) dislocation of population and this war was not limited to one warfront; it extended from one place to another where ever there is a Muslim who stands up and says Our Sustainer is the sustainer of the heavens and earth (Surah Fussilaat verse 30) Munafiqs and Kafirs could no longer hide behind propaganda (and) disinformation, they were exposed. After eight years of this war, when the true enemies of Allah proved that they were true enemies of Allah, now were supposed to believe that theres some good in the rulers in Baghdad i.e. the government in Iraq?! After all the lies that it has been responsible for, killing, displacing, injuring (and) maiming, how can a Muslim mind express any validity to enemies who have established their credentials as enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims?

Yet we see, still, those Muslims who are swept by public misinformation and want to attribute some type of redeeming quality to that regime. To complicate things even more, Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar here in Washington is claiming to be working to unseat the butcher in Baghdad. (Theres) 97 million dollars allocated to seven opposition groups in Baghdad belonging to Iraq and we have a public mind that is confused and thats the way this public mind is supposed to be; but not if it is in the shade of the Quran and the Prophet- theres no confusion about it. This Islamic revolution, (that is celebrating 20 years), also has an internal component that wants to sidetrack the cause of the Imam and establish diplomatic relations that will hurt in the years to come with those who have also proven in the course of these past 20 years that they are irreconcilable with the Quran or Islam. In due time, the fortitude of the committed Muslims will also have these types surface. There is a silent majority in the Islamic base in Iran and a loud minority that spills over to the rest of the world with all its connections trying once again to wish away this Islamic revolution; we have seen them trying to switch from year-to-year and occasion-to-occasion. When a President is elected they come along and spread their wish all around. They say, (this is their words), there are youth and intellectuals in Iran who are fed up with this revolution. Weve heard that before, were hearing it now and we will hear it in the future- let these people come out of their shells and speak their mind so that the patient Muslims can look at them and verify who they are. There are people who think that there is a serious polarization or difference between the President of that State and the Leader/Rahbar of that State. Dont think this is to the disadvantage or detriment of the Committed Muslims, it is to their advantage because in this way many individuals will come out of their hiding places, holes, dark corners and closets; this will be another added advantage to the merit of this revolution in time to come. dont consider this to be to your detriment, consider this to be to your advantage (Surah Aal Imran verse 179) If the leadership is not confident of itself, it wouldve not opened up the atmospherics, (as is the case now), for people to express whats on their minds; they can express whats on their mind. There is no more active warfront peculiar to that state. Emergency laws can be relaxed and let us concentrate on the internal front; from time to time some house cleaning has to be done. Some of the effects of this have reached Washington. A week or two ago, (at one of the Universities here in Washington- Harvard University), they had a program on the persecution of the Bahai minority in Iran. Take a look at what they are concerned with? Theres a Muslim majority in the world who, (if you listen to them), is persecution free- no one is persecuting Muslims in this world?! Theyre in good shape; their rights are maintained, they enjoy human rights, political rights (and) freedom; theres nothing to worry about when it comes to Muslims. Who does the people of the world have to worry about? A Bahai minority in Iran? Let them come out and express themselves; let them say whats on their mind and let us know who is involved in these efforts.

They are concerned about an Islamic State acquiring advanced weapons systems; theyre not concerned about Israel having weapons of mass destruction- all types of lethal weapons and delivery systems are in Israel. Theyre not concerned about that, (but) they are concerned about an Islamic State developing a military capability and having a long range missile. Doesnt that tell you theres something real about this State? Then, today- in the news- they tell us that Western intelligence has uncovered a plot financed and coordinated by the Islamic Republic of Iran to have Palestinian Muslims bomb different areas in Occupied Palestine meaning suicide bombs preceding the Yahud Israeli elections in May. We dont know the validity of the information that they had and as on many occasions when the information is pertinent to the Islamic Republic of Iran they turn out in the majority of the case to be hoax; but theres nothing in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of His Prophet that says Muslims should not be concerned/work/assist other Muslims. Where is this in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of the Prophet? So why is it that when Muslims from Iran show or express a hand of assistance to Muslims in Palestine then this becomes an explosive issue? Doesnt this also say to you, (and we should be thinking in terms and in the mind and fashion of the Quran and Sunnah), that Islamic solidarity/unison/common destiny is the wave of the future. Unfortunately, this Islamic revolution and Islamic event that we speak about, there are other Muslims who still dont dare to speak about it. Imagine, after 20 years and the upsand-downs that weve seen?! This Islamic revolution was maligned, cursed and bad mouthed by governments today who are praising it and seeking closer relationships with it. Then, there are some Muslims who take their signals from these governments. If the Saudi government is on good terms with this Islamic affair then they want to be on good terms with it; if the Saudi government is against it they either come out and express their hostility towards it or remain silent- we have seen this and this is to the merit, quality and character of this Islamic revolution up until now. It has not only managed to survive a military war, but also an economic, social, psychological and propaganda war- a war on all other fronts. The government in Iraq survived a military war but now it cannot survive a peace; but the Islamic order next door to the East has survived the war and now its surviving what they call peace, but what is war in every sense of the word except at the military front. Yes- there are politicians and diplomats who want to capitalize and the blood of the Shuhada. This speaker has gone to the military camps during the height of that war and has seen these combatants and Shuhada. When Allah says to us Dont consider them to be dead rather they are alive in the presence of their Sustainer being provided with sustenance (Surah Aal-Imran verse 169) Dont forget this for one moment- they have managed to expose with their blood and lives for us who live after them; as if they are saying to us (take a) look, we have shown you who the real enemy and real Munafiqs are, but we have to leave; and they left and now you cant see the real opponents, the real foe (and) those who are trying to play tricks on you? Why cant people use the word Mustadaf i.e. the oppressed people anymore? Has anyone heard this word lately? Has

anyone heard of the Mustakbirs lately? Has anyone heard of Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar lately? In those words and in that terms? On this occasion, the least we can say is that we remain truthful and honest to the line of the Imam. (We say that we are in the line of the Imam), but we no longer use the words that he used to use?! Ask yourself- you are the best judge of your own self- what has happened? We submit that there is a class of politicians who are maneuvering in their own state of agreement, mutual talk, financial arrangement, (and) political discussions- these are clowns, but what does this have to do with the Muslim blood that is flowing? The Imam is in good company because the number of Muslim and Mustad'af Shaheeds in this world is increasing and they are joining the company of An Nabiyeen, As Siddiqeen, Ash Shuhada and the Imams. This affair is not a sectarian one, even though the sectarians now feel that they can breathe fresh air; this is not a nationalistic one, even though nationalists are seeking out- this is an Islamic affair and Allah will give it to those who will honor their word, promise and pledge with Him. and if you withdraw from this pledge and retreat from this responsibility, Allah will substitute in your place others who will not behave in such a manner (Surah Muhammed verse 38) Remember Allahs words have patience, persevere and show fortitude for the eventual outcome belongs to the Muttaqees (Surah Al Araf verse 128)

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims whose determination and will power is reinforced by trivial human affairs, as threatening as they may seem to be. Dont lose sight of Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar and the undeclared war against those whose words are Our lord and sustainer is Allah (Surah Fussilaat verse 30) Should anyone become a criminal for saying Our lord and sustainer is Allah? According to the perverts in the White House with all the Yahudi systems and personell around him, Muslims who say Our lord and sustainer is Allah are not only criminals but also terrorists. What do they think? If they spill all the ink that they have on all the paper that is available to them saying these types of words, its going to distract us from our responsibility, divine attachment and ultimate destiny? Those of us who are told by the propaganda that is around that many people endorse tell us the forces against us are awesome (Surah Aal Imran verse 173) In other words this is what they are trying to tell you and me- where you think you are going with this Islam of yours? Cant you see the other Muslims and what we are doing to them around

the world? (Take a) look at them in Algeria- youve been watching them for eight years, where have they gone? Its one massacre to the next; one blood bath to the other. (Take a) look at the Muslims in the Balkans- if it wasnt for their United Nation and NATO forces they would have been massacred. (Take a) look at the Muslims in Palestine, (this Arafat, the traitor of Palestine, who attended a prayer service here yesterday or the day before and whos protected by the Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad and whose political flipside, the King in Jordan is on a deathbed now). (Take a) look at what is happening to the Muslims- HAMAS, Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad- who are opposing us, were busy building prisons for these Muslims. (Take a) look at the Muslims in Kashmir and how they are slaughtered from military orgy to military orgy. (Take a) look at your economic condition- poverty, starvation, dislocation, malnutrition, ignorance- where do you think you are going with this Islam they tell us. (Take a) look at all these forces can you Muslims in your right mind stand up to the United States, Europe, China, India and the rest of the world? And if you cant then you have to obey these leaders, listen to them, take orders from them and adopt their ways. But before all of that, this is what they tell us you have to fear them (Surah Aal Imran verse 173) this increase their commitment to Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 173) When they come and tell us that they are building our commitment to Allah; they are cementing our commitment with Allah. We are not retreating. No one counts the Shuhada in the world today; not even the Islamic State in Iran where some politicians are playing diplomacy have time to count the Shuhada in this world on a yearly basis. We want to know how many Shaheeds we have. But we can say with certainty, even though we dont have exact numbers, that this years Shaheeds are more than last years and the year before and next years Shaheed are going to be more than this year and the last year. And we say in these conditions Allah is enough for us. (Surah Aal Imran verse 173) We dont need your military technology to rely on you in our weapons system. We need to rely upon Allah and we need the strength that comes from Allah- and who can be better trusted than Allah in such a condition. Committed brothers and sisters in Islam- mark our words- the Committed Muslims in this world are in the sight of Allah and what they are doing is soliciting the help and performance of Allah. We have a direction and we know where we are going. There are issues that need to be worked out and a psychology that still needs to crystallize, but generally speaking Muslims today are not what they were 20 years ago. There is a fermentation of this Iman in the Ummah and there is a gradual militarization of this Ummah that seeks to knock on the doors of paradise with the spells of the enemies of these committed Muslims. We have no reservations about where we are going and inshaAllah we are no longer bound by their definitions and by their carrots and sticks. We are the servants and subjects

committed, (as we are), to Allah- come what may. The 1st Islamic manifestation of this was 20 years ago this week and to follow will be other manifestations as we reconsolidate, recast and reconstitute the affairs of this Ummah for the salvation not only of this Ummah alone but of mankind. This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 5 February 1999 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

UNITY
(02 April 1999)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen, Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims The Prophet of Allah says whoever wakes up and begins his day and is not concerned with the affairs of the Muslims is not a Muslim or is not one of them. The Prophet is instructive in this hadith- if you and I are to consider ourselves Muslims, we are to ingrain, in our habitual selves, the concern for our larger selves; you dont belong to your body alone- you belong to a larger reality of Muslims around you. But, there is a serious violation of this hadith in real life. It is easy for a khateeb or speaker to quote to you a hadith of the Prophet, (and on different occasions there are different speakers who will abundantly and profusely quote for you hadiths of the

Prophet and ayaat of the Quran), but our responsibility i.e. the trust that we all carry is not a simple verbal responsibility and trust; it is a behavior, a state of mind, acts and actions in the realm of the physical world that we are in. The Prophet on one hand says whoever launches into his day without a concern for the affairs of his fellow Muslims is not a Muslim; how many Muslims do we have who begin their day with their thoughts, minds and concerns focused on the affairs of the Muslims? Not many of them! But why? We are intelligent beings of Allah and we are responsible for pursuing an answer because this is a Prophetic instruction to live by, yet it is not a fact of our livelihood. Why is it that Muslims wake up and ignore the affairs of other Muslims? This is what you will encounter in establishmentarian Masajid where the concern for other Muslims is not ingrained into your thought process. The standard has become the opposite of what the Prophet said. (Its) as if to be a good and sincere Muslim in our world you have to dismiss the affairs of other Muslims and not be concerned with them. The way the Masjid functions today and the way so-called Muslim scholars communicate nowadays is as if the Prophet was saying whoever begins his day without being concerned with the affairs of his fellow Muslims is a Muslim; this has become the criteria of being a good Muslim. They tell you dont poke your nose into other Muslims affairs. Why should you bothered and concerned. This is the mainstream thinking that find its nurturing in the Masjid; they have turned the statement of the Prophet upside down- topsy-turvy. This is not the only statement or instruction from the Prophet that they are guilty of reversing, Allahs Prophet said a Mumeen to another Mumeen is like a building each part of that building reinforces the other part. In real life that is how the Prophet described our relationship to each other; we are supportive of each other by the Prophets statement. We reinforce the positions of each other by the Prophets words, but what do we have? Its easy to say a few words but its not that easy to discover what we have, in fact and on the ground. Are Muslims reinforcing each other? You can take this reinforcement at any level- a personal, family, community, societal or international level- are Muslims reinforcing and supportive of each other? The harsh answer to that is no! We have managed to reverse the Prophets statement, and after that we also cover it up with our verbiage. Theres enough words that we have to cover up the wayward attitudes and behaviors that we have. This week, the lesson comes home on a grand scale. If we are concerned with the affairs of the Muslims, (as we should be per the Prophets statement and the ayaat of the Quran And this is your Ummah- a united or one Ummah- and I am your Sustainer so conform unto Me (Surah Al Ambiya verse 92) Or And this is your Ummah- a united or one Ummah- and I am your Sustainer so guard yourselves from My retribution Allah is saying we are one Ummah, but we are saying we are 50 to 60 Ummahs in the world! Does anyone realize that they are lying when they say these words? Were not lying by what we

say through our mouths, because it is the truth- these are words from Allah, and He does not liebut out attitudes and behavior is lying. We are not one Ummah! Sentimentally, if we want to run to our imagination, then yes, we are one Ummah, and we can wax eloquent on this one Ummah concept, but the hard facts of life tell you unequivocally that you are not one Ummah, you are umam; you are nations and you are divided. A few years ago, a war was in process against the Muslims in Bosnia and hearts and minds that are detached from the Quran think and move sheepishly- just like sheep. We are told that there was a war in progress against Muslims in Bosnia and we had Muslims repeat these words i.e. that there is a war of genocidal proportions against the Muslims in Bosnia. We tried to raise the level of understanding at the time and say there is a war against the Muslims in the Balkans and we had difficulties with conditioned minds; but this is one voice once a week- there umpteen if not hundreds of voices thousands of times a week from all directions that contradict the facts. We said at the time Muslims- take stock and notice of becoming targets of genocide in all the Balkan area and therefore, we said years ago, (these were our words), military efforts should be streamlined to Albania where there is a concentration of Muslims who are capable of at least defending the sanctity of Muslim life in that precarious and dangerous part of the world. Now, (only two or three years later), we find that it is not only Bosnia, (but) Kosova is in the news. But, what does it help when every week, Muslims are institutionalized to part concern with the other Muslims in the world. When they come to the Masjid, its only after the fact that they begin to speak about the bloodshed on Earth. In the past weeks, no one from the Mimbar was concerned with the future of Muslims in the Balkans. If you told them there is a potential genocide in the making in areas outside of Bosnia, they would dismiss this and say you are too political. Now, just this week, word has gone out to the Masjids in America to speak about Kosova today; after 700,000 Muslims, (at least), have become refugees with no where to go in the world, displaced, hungry, dying and exposed to the elements, finally they wake up and say to the Muslim crowd that comes to Friday congregation speak about Kosova today. You are several years behind! Today, you should speak about wars in Central Asia that are in the making; we dont want to wait three or four years until it is too late to speak about Muslim bloodshed in yet another area of the world. We dont want to be reactive and behind times; we should be proactive and ahead of times! But, we cant be like that if we dont factor into our thoughts and minds- on a daily basis- the concerns, issues and affairs of other Muslims in the world. Only 30 years ago, there was only one or two Jumahs in the Washington DC area, now we have at least 40 to 50 Jumahs and 25 to 30 Masjids and Islamic Centers in this area, but the question is should we be concerned with numbers or should we be concerned with the essence of the issues that are addressed to us by Allah? It is a shame to state the fact that Muslims are unable to protect their own- this is a fact! The sooner we state, face and publicize it and the sooner it becomes mainstream information, the sooner we will overcome the catastrophes that are coming our way. If we were to take ourselves back to the time when Islam was a dynamic force in the world and some Muslims on the fringes of this Islamic hemisphere of the world were in danger; and then, imagine non-Muslim governments, (whether they are Persian or Roman, at that

time), coming in too save Muslims- this was unheard of, un-spoken of, un-thought of and unbelievable. This is the scenario that is presented to us today. They even have the audacity to claim that they are concerned for the Muslims on a humanitarian basis; as if they havent shed enough Muslim blood in the past generation or strangulated enough Muslim societies and peoples in the world. (Because), we havent activated and thought along these lines, they have a vacuum of Muslim ignorance in the public mind, and they step into that vacuum and say we are saving your brothers and sisters because on a humanitarian basis we are concerned for them. This is what happens when we are not concerned for our own- they manage to fabricate statements like that and present them to a simplistic public and make mileage of it. Action is in Kosova, but keep your eyes on Turkey. Dont be misled by some type of humanitarian pulses, when they send in their planes to do intensive bombings in Muslim lands. The rulers in Turkey have enacted a strategic agreement in which Israel and Turkey share military and strategic concerns and the Freemasons who are in charge of Turkeys military and political establishments feel threatened from their own people. The Muslim people in Turkey are gradually taking on or resuming an Islamic character and this is a frightening prospect for those who rule Turkey, because those who rule Turkey have placed their future in the Israeli/Zionist/Yahudi basket. The rulers of Turkey are the kinsfolk of the Muslims in the Balkans; those who are ruling Turkey are not the Muslims from Asia, they are the Muslims from Europe and now, their relatives are being slaughtered. The Muslims in Turkey are watching while those who are ruling them have their relatives slaughtered and displaced on a grand scale. Obviously, this is a threat to the rulers of Turkey more than it is a threat to the rank and file Muslims in the Balkans. It is true- almost 1million in Kosova have been affected by the schemes and plans of the past years and the general condition of the Muslims in the Balkans is unpredictable, but they have no care for Muslims; their record shows this. But all the care they have is for the protection of Zionist Israel and because Turkey is a strategic companion of Zionist Israel, they have to protect the Turkish military and political establishment so they move in their forces so that what is happening to the Muslims in the Balkans is not dramatized to the Muslims in Turkey who will have what it takes to reformulate the type of government that they want and that they deserve. In the meantime, instead of that government showing its military prowess against the Serbs- the butchers in Belgrade- they turn their military forces against the poor Kurds. You probably havent seen, (because they dont what that shown to the public here), but in the past couple of weeks there has been a military affront to the Kurdish people in Turkey- abusing young men, women in hijab being kicked around by so-called security forces in Turkey! Does this blend in with the Prophets description of us? Does this meet the standards of the Quran? Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are fierce and ferocious and firm with the kaafirs and compassionate amongst each other. (Surah Al-Fath verse 28) Not only have our real configuration in the world manage to reverse the of the Prophets hadith, it managed also to reverse Allahs words. If we are committed to Allah, we are courteous and compassionate among ourselves and we sympathize with each other; and we are strong, harsh

and tough with our opponents i.e. those who deny Allah. This is what the ayah says when it talks about us. But how do we talk about ourselves? How is our behavioral language describe us? In this instance, we are strong, tough and harsh against our ownselves. How do you define the Turkish military razing to the ground thousands of Kurdish villages, hamlets and towns? As Allah would calculate it to be, (its) at the same time that there is a military force abusing- with genocidal proclivities the Muslim presence in South Eastern Europe. Youve heard this hadith before, the Prophet said the equivalent or example of the committed Muslims as far as their care, compassion and relationship with each other is like a physical body; if this physical body has a pain in one area of it or has an organ in it complain, then the rest of the body will respond- the immune system and other systems in our body will respond too try to alleviate the cause of pain and discomfort in this body. Today, the body of the Muslims in the world is complaining, wheres the response? If there is not a response, dont think that you have educated yourself and discovered Muslims are not responding the way they are supposed to, to meet the standards of the Quran and the Prophet, pursue that question even more and ask yourself why havent we responded the way we are supposed to or expected to respond?! This question will have many answers, but there is a significant answer to this in the fact that our minds have been alienated from the meanings- not the words; all of us are familiar with the words- of the Quran and the Sunnah and besides that, we have also been alienated from the intentions of our opponents and adversaries around. This is the bulk answer as to why we are in the position that we are in today. When we begin to activate our minds and thoughts with the meanings of the Quran and the Prophets hadiths, then we have placed ourselves in the right direction. There is no lack of good intentions; (if) you go around, (were not talking about criminal or evil Muslims you will find that), the majority of this body of people are good at heart and sincere deep down inside, but their minds are (deactivated); (with the deactivation of) the distinguishing character in us i.e. our ability to think, rationalize, understand and make sense nothing else would have any value. The Quran would be valueless! Is the Quran of any value to animals and things? It is addressing a particular essence, proportion and part of us and we should respond by activating our common sense approach to Allahs words i.e. the words of Scripture and Apostle. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims As has been stated in the few Jumahs before, there are some brothers- Muslims- who are as they prefer to say about themselves, in an intermediary role to try to bring to a conclusion this travesty of justice that is represented on Massachusetts Avenue 54 times a year for the past 16 years. They tell us that there is something like a serious intention by those people (who have been occupying the Islamic Center for all of these years), of ending this weekly affair of Massachusetts Avenue. As we have and continue to say, this is a simple affair- that is a Masjid and we are Muslims and there is no power on Earth that has the right, (much less to use force against them), in banning them from entering the Masjid as has been the case for over 16 years now. If they want to reconsider that position, disarm the Masjid, and behave like Muslims

behave to each other i.e. if they want to move from a state of hostility towards committed Muslims, reconcile the hearts and act and behave like responsible brothers- something that we have been adamant about and want to reciprocate with any Muslims who opens his mind and heart- then the issue will begin to solve itself; but, as long as there is no gesture of good intention and this is not good intention when you have people inside the Masjid telling other Muslims you cannot come into the Masjid. Is this a manifestation of good intention? If theres anyone who has to prove their good intention, its these people who have initiated this travesty for over 16 years. Whoever wants to walk-this-walk between those who are inside, (in a virtual mental state of siege), and us who are outside, (and have been open for all of these years), are welcome. We have never turned anyone down or said we have anything to hide; we have been speaking to the public for over 16 years now. We are not as weak as to be unable to speak to them- call us at anytime and any place and we are ready to solve this issue brothers and sisters, especially those brothers and sisters who have been coming here on more or less a weekly basis. Matters concerning Muslims are matters of shura, consultation, feedback, advice and counsel. You are obliged to express whatever you have on your heart and mind- its your responsibility to do so. But, before-and-after all of this, (which just may be a flurry or someones imagination), Allah is present. We are not doing this for some personal gain or worldly advantage- were 16 years closer to Allah than we were when this whole incident occurred. We are no closer to giving up, we are closer to insisting on al haqq al shari or the right of ash shariah. Before this began, during it and now, (whether we are towards a conclusion or another phase of it), we continue to place our confidence and reliance on Allah. This body will one day wither away, but never will our connection and relationship to Allah wither away.

O Allah- show us what is right as being right and offer us the determination to follow through on it; and show us that which is wrong as being wrong (in our own senses, calculations and strategies and offer us the determination to avoid and steer clear of it and place us in positions to be leaders of al muttaqis. This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on the 2nd April 1999 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

KOSOVA
(23 April 1999)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyaha An Naas It is Allah who says and describes in precise detail those who are trying to disguise the fact that Allah is pronouncing in these ayaat. Theres a smoke screen and a flood of disinformation behind which these Gods on earth, (as their role defines them), are trying to camouflage what they are doing- their role, strategy, politics and objectives in the world that we all share and belong to. Remember, Allah is going to hold us responsible for this world that we share and belong to. Hes not going to hold you and I responsible for the nine months of formation or

gestation when we were in the wombs of our mothers and Hes not going to hold us responsible for the world when we are in the grave; this is the time of responsibility for which we will stand in front of Allah on the Day of Judgment and He will pose questions to us. Some of the most significant questions are going to be our behavior, attitude, what we did in this life when He is providing us with such enlightening information. Allah speaks to us about a type of People who have adopted Gods who are inferior to Allah and are less than Him (Surah verse) But for what reason? Why do people place their confidence and loyalties in individuals or systems that are less than Allah? Allah did not leave this question for you and I to speculate about; He helped us with the answer. and they adopted besides or below Allah deities, or gods or deities for an anticipation or desire of victory. (Surah verse) Many times, the traditional Muslim thoughts would have it that people place their confidence in superiors or higher authorities because they want to show devotion or dedication to them. Allah here is saying that this is not the purpose for which these types have adapted to or adopted other self styled higher authorities that reach the level of veneration to become Gods. If you encounter these types of people and say why have you adopted such deities and authorities that are inferior to Allah they say nastaghfirullah! They even have Islamic vocabulary to cover up their act with; and if you wish to enter into a debate with them, they will counter your argument with ayaat from the Quran and ahadith from the Prophet that are out of context or misunderstood. The ayah is very clear for the reason why these types have adopted higher authorities that have been raised to the levels of venerations as if they themselves are Gods. for the reason of triumph (Surah verse) They want to be victorious. Now, this ayah speaks about who? Who would place their confidence and reliabilities in higher authorities from which they seek to be militarily successful, triumphant and victorious? These are real human beings, rulers, dictators, autocrats, authoritarians, kings and Presidents. Dont you see the meanings of this ayah? In the world around, we have King Fahd, President Mubarak, King Hassan, President Saddam Hussein- King this and President that- who have adopted and designated worldly powers and raised them to the stature or station of deities so that they may secure their triumph over their enemies. These worldly authorities and divinities (i.e.) the United States, Europeans, NATO, (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization that now has 90 members and is still growing in numbers), to which our decision makers, politicians and diplomats in Muslim lands go to for military and political cover and support- Allah says They will not be able to give them the victory that they seek (Surah verse)

And they seek this victory against who? They seek it against their own Muslim population. rather these rulers over us become the sentries, guards, soldiers and troops that are mobilized by their superior authorities. (Surah verse) i.e. by the powers here in Washington and there in Europe. We dont say this in a vacuum; we say this because it is most apt to a tragedy that is unfolding in front of our own eyes. Well over 1,000,000 Muslims out of around 2,000,000- at least 1,200,000 just in the past 40 days or so no longer have a home, and a homeland and what do these quislings or these inferior rulers do? The Organization of Islamic Conference tries to muster its resources and what does it do? It sends these helpless people blankets, canned food, tents, clothing and a little medicine. This is not what they need! This is not what Muslims need! Muslims dont need tears; Muslims need arms. If theres any good to come out of these inferiors who are on the seats of power in 50-odd forgery nation states, they would flood these areas with arms. Besides, if they had independent will power, whats wrong with saying to those who are expelling Muslims if you force ,000,000 Muslims out of their homes and lands and if we are not able to put up a force to combat this evil and genocide then we will tell 1,000,000 Christians to leave Muslim lands? We will not rape, kill or be the savages that they are, but we will try to have justice done and let us see how they react to the type of injustice that they have inflicted on us. We havent heard one diplomat or politician saying for every Muslim who is denied his home and motherland, we will deny a Christian in the Islamic world a home and a motherland. If they take this into an exchange of population then have the Muslims who are living in the Christian part of the world move en masse to the Muslim part of the world and have the Christians who are living in the Muslim part of the world move en masse back to the Christian part of the world. Why cant we have these polished politicians and dubious diplomats express the courage to fight fire with fire! Muslims will not have much to lose. Lets say the Muslims leave Europe and United States- what types of positions are we relinquishing? We are the Middle, lower/middle and lower class of society; we are objects and subjects of discrimination, oppression, racism and ethnicism and they continue to call it ethnic cleansing. They send their bombers to selectively drop a few bombs here and there; this is no where near the carpet bombing that took place in Iraq and then the same people advocate what Slobodan Milosevic is doing by saying it is ethnic cleansing. There is legitimacy to this policy by calling it ethnic cleansing. Whos against cleansing, and so you clean your kitchen, neighborhood and now you clean your country because a certain ethnic group pollutes that country (and) is foul in that society. The irony of all of this is that Muslims themselves use the same word. In the Arabic language, they describe a genocide or a whole sale massacre against Muslims as at tatheer al irqi. At tatheer is a word taken from the word tahara; and irqi is the word for ethnic; so there is an ethnic tahara that describes the policies of Milosevic! Then, they want us to believe that when they use these words and when they are trying to make the Muslims believe that they are the champions of the Muslims now in the Balkans, they cant even use the word Kosova thats the word Muslims use to refer to their own land. They use the word out of the Serbian dictionary and lexicon and they insist on

calling in Kosovo and we have simpleton Muslims who believe that there is some good to what is happening there. Its very simple- because Muslims here are mentally vulnerable and the Ash Shaytaan is complex, (we are not dealing with a simple, naive or ignorant Shaytaan; were dealing with an evil, shrewd, thinking, devious and deceptive Shaytaan and this Shaytaan has taken his toll on the Muslims in the United States. Statements are made from Masjids, (of all places), to praise the position of the United States and NATO! What have they done? 1,200,000 Muslims now have nowhere to go in the world; they dont even speak about bringing them to a comfortable area in the world- place them in Guam, Guantanamo Bay or the odd ends of the world, but dont take them back home where they belong, (and) for that, Muslims have words of accolades to say to this Shaytaan. This Shaytaan has been coming to them in the past years and generations and says look, the United States, its Constitution and Laws is compatible with Islam and we even have some Muslim leaders here in the United States who say but the constitution is an Islamic document; so this Shaytaan comes to the simple Muslim and says that the United States is compatible with Islam and the Muslim is lulled in gradually and after a few years, the Muslim begins to think yes- the Laws, Constitution, the Articles and regulations there-in are Islamic and now the time is approaching when they will come and tell their inferiors that Islam is not compatible with the United States; this is the chapter that is still to be written and this is how Ash Shaytaan draws them in. First, the United States is compatible with Islam and the Muslims feel a false sense of security and integration, but then after that the sludge hammer comes and they are told but Islam is not compatible with the United States and this is done when they prove their military prowesswhen they activate their bombers and their fighters in the air, on land and sea. Dont be grieved by what they say (Surah verse) Theres a lot of this that is being said all around; the propaganda is in high gear. Even some of our brothers are now reconsidering the statement Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar they are also being lured into the trap of Ash Shaytaan. and they think deep down inside that they are perfecting their deen or they are out maneuvering this Shaytaan (Surah verse) Come on brothers and sisters- let us understand what Allah is telling us and relate it to the world that is impacting us. This grand alliance that the Muslim Heads of State have their confidence in to protect them is here in Washington today; and they will be here for a few days and much of what that they will speak about concerns us, even if they dont go public with it. What have we to say? It is pathetic (and) shameful to see Muslim politicians reacting to the Shaytaani policies in action against us. (Take a) look at the Israelis. The Israelis have admitted- we are told around 100 Muslims from Kosova- and they also want to present themselves as humanitarians as if they care for the Muslims! But where are our esteemed politicians who would tell us what type of relationship exists between Belgrade and Tel Aviv? As if that is an area not to be considered by us. No! We want to know. The same type of good relationship that they try to present between

them and us, they are also presenting between them and our enemies and we have some Muslims who really think that there is some good coming out of these humanitarian gestures. Allah says They are our renowned enemies.. (Surah Al Maaidah verse 82) How can they be our friends? How can they laugh from here to the slaughter fields of Kosova? They can do so because we are empty minded in our Masjid and Mimbars on Fridays, holidays, religious occasions and ceremonies. We remain empty minded so they come along and we are deceived for a moment and we react; we dont want to react any longer, we want to initiate action and we can only do so when we understand what Allah is saying to us. Ponder Allahs words dont feel depressed by what they say (Surah verse) You will listen to radio, television, commentators and opinions; you will read and you will watch. dont be depressed by all of this (Surah verse) Allah says that He knows their secrets and He knows their publicity (Surah verse) And if He knows it and we are attached to Him, we become part of His will in this world (and) theres nothing to fear and grieve about. All of these tricks, shenanigans and ploys will come back to haunt their instigators in Washington and elsewhere.

Brothers and sisters This coming week we observe the occasion of the 10th of Muharram. This occasion, (like many other Islamic occasions of celebrations), is gripped by traditions and suffocated by customs. We mention this from year-to-year and we dont say this about this occasion alone, we say it about other Islamic occasions and Ramadhan, Hajj, Umrah and Aashura and people are not critical, yet some may be- people may listen with their minds yet some of them refuse except to listen to it with their emotions. This commemoration of the dislocation of the legitimacy and authority should be identified by any Muslim, but after over 1,400 years or so, it still cant be identified by any Muslim! Why? Whats the reason for that? The reason for it is because the occasion is locked up in an emotional prison or emotional ice boxthats where this occasion is. Come the 10th of Muharram there are some Muslims who are in an emotional oven and there are other Muslims who are in an emotional freezer. This issue has to come into life; it has to be taken out of the deep freeze and it has to be taken out of the burning oven and it can only be accomplished once we look at it with our mindsthis is what is required or else we just add on another year of traditions, habits and

customs to the many other years of traditions, habits and customs. Muslims make a big fuss about ranting against Yazid on this day; mind you its the historical Yazid but now there are vicious current active treacherous Yazids, (not one of two (but) 50- odd Yazids and growing; where is the mind that can tap into the richness of Aashura and Karbala to deal with these Yazids? By the force of traditions, customs and habits you will find yourself in a traditional context on that day and these Yazids look at this and say these are harmful individuals and if they could finance the type of commemoration or the lack there of, they would do that because they have nothing to worry about; its people blowing their steam, (so) let them blow their steam behind the closed doors of a Masjid or a Husseinia. Theyre not bothered by it because they know theres no plan that comes out of it. (Theres) a climax of emotions on that day and then its business as usual with Yazid himself in all of the days of the year after that. We can only communicate the truth (and) what happens from there on is your responsibility- is our responsibility. As a reminder, one of these Yazidi administrations wants to speak about ending this issue at the Islamic Center and they have had go-betweens. We have reminded you at this Jumah in the past weeks that you should express yourself on this issue even though there is reason to believe that some who we consider to be some of us are dealing with this issue with the Yazidi administration that has nationalized the Masjid, Makkah, Al Medinah and countless Masajid around the world; these people who are speaking to Yazid are going to be celebrating Aashura and because of the force of tradition you will consider them part of you and you will consider yourselves part of them. You, (brothers who have been coming here consistently and you care about Islamic rights, not about politics and diplomacy), from this Mimbar to this day of Jumah you are addressed to participate in the affairs of the Muslims.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jumah on 23 April 2009 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

THE UNDERLYING MEANINGS OF THE RITUALS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims Little do the Muslims who have gone to Makkah and Al Medinah to fulfil their obligation of the Hajj know that this obligation has become an empty shell that has been drained from its quantessential meanings. Allah did not impose on us rituals that have no meaning to our responsibilities in life. Every ritual that we perform is meaningful, relevant and practical within the responsibilities we have on earth.

When we state our article of faith, ash hadu an la ilaha illalah wa ash hadu anna Muhammedar rasulallah- the practical meaning of that is that we have liberated our mind and conscience (in theory at least) from those powers that want to enslave the mind and pollute the conscience. When Allah orders us to perform salaah; He doesnt say to us pray. You read the Quran, we all read the Quran, has anyone seen a direct order from Allah saying to us pray- Sallu? In the overwhelming majority of ayaat about Salaah, He says AQI MUS SALAAH Make your salaah tangible, construct it. Practical- thats what our salaah is supposed to be. When Allah tells us to give of what we have, He makes sure that this becomes an institution in life. When He tells us to observe the month of Ramadhan, He wants us to gain the pre-requisite of taqwa, which is not some evasive spiritual quality. It is a practical behaviour that is noticed and detected by everyone that is around. But just as La Ilaha Illalah has become an automatic and in some cases a free ticket to Al Jannah just by verbalising it; and it doesnt matter what happens after that We can verbalise the words and secure Al Jannah for ourselves; and just as Salaah has become a habit that doesnt carry with it an obvious standard of life- we say one thing in our salaah, and we come out and life strikes us with the opposite direction of what were saying, because the standard of life around is not the salaah. Zakaah has been reduced to individual acts of charity. Theres no Iqamah of salaah, and no Ita of zakaah. Yeh- there are persons who pray and persons who spend of what they have, but these are individuals, and we no longer have the Iqamah and the Ita; and just like Ramadhan comes and goes, and theres no trace of taqwa around Has anyone observed that Ramadhan has anchored a consciousness and a behaviour that conforms to Allahs power? And likewise has gone the Hajj. People go and come from the Hajj. It has been reduced almost to meaningless movements and motions. All Muslims there during these times are going multiple times around the Kabah. Allah says concerning Al Bayt Al Haram, Allah has rendered Al-Kabah, the Holy sanctuary Qiyaaman for people (Surah Al Maaidah verse 100) Wheres the lost meaning here? The lost meaning here is that the Kabah is no longer a place for people to make their practical statements on a worldwide scale. Has anyone heard of Muslims who go to Makkah and Al Medinah nowadays and have a statement to make to the world? You dont hear about it, because it doesnt exist! Theres no statement coming out of Makkah to the world. People who go to the Hajj havent taken a position as they are supposed to have

taken. They havent been moved and motivated for Allah in the Hajj. The Hajj has become aimless! Is there something that the Muslims agree upon in the Hajj!? Listen, (Brothers and sisters), Allah Prophet says A Muslim (or in another hadith), a committed Muslim is a brother to the other Muslim or committed Muslim. Brotherhood has a meaning. When you are someones brother, you understand him well and he understands you well. There are no barriers between you and him. Where else can Muslims express this brotherhood, where all barriers come down, and you can see through the impositions of life? Does this exist in the Hajj, where it is supposed to exist? Visually, everyone becomes equal- they take off clothes, because when you put on the different clothes, you make a statement. Some people see through the clothes that you wear- what type of status you come from, the type of inferiority you suffer from, the type of class that you belong to, your national origin and how clean or otherwise you may be- all of that visually comes down when one puts on the ihraam. Everyone is supposed to be equal to facilitate the process of communication. But, what do you do when you put on this ihraam and theres no process of communication going on? Whats the ihraam for? You might as well not put on your ihraam. Can you imagine someone going to the Hajj and he says Im not going to put on my ihraam? Everyone will look at him and say Whats wrong with you? This is required. You have to put on something that is not sewn, the fabric you wear has to be white, it has to be two pieces, one of them covering your upper body and the other your lower body. OK, all Muslims do that, but what do they do after that? Nothing! Why do you put on this ihraam? Because here, you want to bring down all stereotypes, all pre-conceptions (and) all the pollution that is in the world that interrupts the process of communication between you and the other Muslim beside you. But no-one is allowed to communicate. Hajj has become an activity once a year in which Muslims are forbidden to communicate. How can we express ourselves? If Allah is saying: Indeed, this Ummah of yours is one Ummah (Surah Al Muminoon verse 52) Would you know that by going to the Hajj? Would you feel that this is one Ummah by going to the Hajj? How can we become one Ummah, when a few of us cannot communicate and consolidate our hearts at that basic level and at that central position in Makkah and Al Medinah? If we are not allowed to do so, then how do we say that this is one united Ummah? In Makkah and Al Medinah, Muslims are supposed to express a sense of globalisation. That doesnt come from Muslims! Right now, who is defining globalisation? Who is telling Muslims and non-Muslims where this world is going as barriers are coming down and people are coming closer together? But on whose terms are they coming together? On the terms of Shaytaan, big money, business, trans-national capital and profit- not on our terms of humanity, brotherhood, equality and justice! Theres no message of globalisation that the Muslims carry with them to Makkah. Just like they serve us fast food (youre supposed to go and eat in a matter of five, 10 or 15 minutes, and its over), now, theyre giving us fast rituals. Youre supposed to go to the Hajj and

perform what is supposed to be a matter of three months in three weeks. Therefore, we are not able to bring into full fruition the meanings that are supposed to dwell in our souls and penetrate the core of our feelings in the Hajj. Theyre not giving us the three months to go to the Hajj. Then, the Saudi government imposes on Muslims its permission for you, us and the rest of the Muslims to go to the Hajj. Where did all of this come from? Do we need the permission of any worldly presence, be it governments, individuals, corporations, powers, whatever? Do you need anyones permission to perform your salaah; fast during Ramadhan; say Ash hadu Allah ilaha illalah wa ash hadu anna Muhamedur Rasulullah; or pay your zakaah? (Not yet) Then, how do we need someones permission to go to the Hajj? Where did this come from? Has anyone questioned this? Has anyone thought about this? Look I a going to perform Hajj for Allah, who says I need someones permission to do that? Why cant there be Muslims who go there without a visa? Has anyone tried that? Americans and Europeans go freely. If you have an American passport, you go freely to almost all the European countries- you dont need a visa. Some of them just wave you by at the airport, they dont even want to look at your passport, and these are kuffaar. Theres a process of communication facilitating movement. But its not enough to be a Muslim to be waved by to go to the Hajj?! Why do we need someone to stare us in the eye, hassle and then insult us during this period when we are there? Where did all of this come from? We are not going to the residence of King Fahd! We are not going to the homes of the princes! We are going to Allahs sanctuary or residence (as it were); what do they have to do with this? They are the 1st people to use the word bida and no-one dares to use that word back at them. Small minor issues become such a bida in their eyes that the majority of the rest of the Muslims in the world are kaafirs. This is what they say, privately, in their own closed sessions, Yeh- no wonder the Muslims are where they are, because all of them are kaafirs. Who do they mean by all of them? They mean the small guys- you and me- we are the kaafirs, and thats why we have all these problems. When we want to look them in the eye and say, our problems are not from the small guy who toils in the field all day or the Muslim who begins his day at dawn and ends after Isha to bring home food for his family- the problem is with the rulers who have taken away the livelihood of these people and then they signed contracts of allegiance and dependency with the Mushrikeen- these truly are the kaafirs. But they dont want us to look in that direction, because were going to see that the emperor has no clothes; were going to see the Saudis as Allah created them. Allah says during this annual Hajj assembly, Allah and His Prophet are annulling and cancelling all allegiance and dependency relationships that the Muslims have with the Mushriks; Allah is saying that there should be a dis-avowal, we should dissolve the relationships with the Mushriks (Surah At Taubah verse 1) Oh no, please dont bring that to the Hajj, thats what theyll tell you. Dont bring this ayah and this Surah to Hajj. Not just that, they will tell also their court clergymen: Dont dwell on

these ayaat throughout the year in the Masjids. You see, they prepared their empty Hajj in the previous 11 months. When Muslim minds are not trained on the meanings of these ayaat, they will go to Hajj thinking that by obeying the Saudi guides who tell us where and when to go, we are fulfilling our obligations, but theres no Barah. The Prophet instructed two of his companions, Abu Bakr and Ali, to declare publicly in the Hajj, this Islamic annulment of dependency and allegiance relationships with all the Mushriks. Imagine Muslims going with this message and declaring it publicly in the Hajj. With the stifled Hajj that theyve made it, a measly two-million people go to the Hajj out of 1,4billion people in the world. Dont tell us this is not a choked Hajj?! Dont tell us this is not a pre-arranged Hajj?! Then, even with these measly couple of million, they dont declare that Muslims should annul their relationships of allegiance and dependency with the Mushriks. Dare any Muslim to go to the Hajj and declare this. Thats what Hajj needs; this is the meaning that is absent from these annual ceremonies. The official Saudi divines, (we dont use this in the Shari meaning of the word), we use this, because theyre trying to play God over the Muslims by telling them what they can and cannot say, even if it runs contrary to the Prophet. They are doing it, and they are getting away with it. They are telling Allahs Prophet We dont want to say what you told us to say in the Hajj. If someone else said something like that, they would raise their world-wide network of Islamic daees, Institutions and Islamic Centres, and say People saying such things are kaafirs. But when it comes from them this is not an expression of kufr. They take issue with Allahs Prophet; disobey Allahs Prophet and want to contravene the orders of Allah, and then they want to get away with the title of the custodians of the two Holy Harams. Thats what they are doing! They take away from the Hajj what they want, they deflate the number of people who go to the Hajj, and they do this within an international system that helps them. They take away, and de-vitalise your mind from the necessary information that you should have before and when you embark on this Hajj. Then, we have a crippled season of Hajj. Its alright if we use sharp words, because our body bleeds, and they dont want us to see our own body bleeding, so that we can take remedial measures; they dont want that to happen, they want us to look the other way. At this time, they want us to think that nothing is happening to the Muslims. You have Muslims coming from the bleeding part of the Ummah to the Hajj- do you think theres not hundreds and a few thousand Muslims who made it to the Hajj from places like Chechenya, the Balkans, Palestine, Kashmir, parts of Asia and Africa; minority Muslim communities around the world, etc. who are suffering, oppressed, discriminated, prejudiced- you name it; its in our body, and we call ourselves brothers?! Be careful with this word if you come up to a person who agrees or is responsible for de-meaning the Hajj before you say Oh, my brother, especially if they belong to the ruling classes or are protective of the ruling classes, even if they have their amamas and abaas on. These are not people who are there for the course of Allah and therefore we have this type of Hajj. The kiswa that they put around the Kabah- they embroider it with gold treads, do you know how much that piece of cloth costs? $4,5million! Imagine them, spending $4,5million on a piece of

cloth on the Kabah are there are hungry Muslims who come up to that Kabah and they dont know whether they are going to survive the endemics of hunger in their countries. This is Hajj?! These people should be responsible for Makkah and Al Medinah?! They are equally as criminal as those who have occupied Al Quds. They wanna make believe, that if Bani Israeel put on the same type of clothes as Fahd, Sultan, Naif and the rest of these brothers and then begin to pray five times in the Masjid that we should welcome them as brothers? We should go up to them and say Hey, brother, shake their hands and kiss them on both cheeks. Cant we see through all of this?! We are supposed to go like this from year to year? From time to time, information leaks out- they tell us there are 300,000 Europeans and Americans in the Arabian Peninsula. What are 300,000 Europeans and Americans doing in the Arabian Peninsula? Then, why do they have that number as a guarded secret? If what they are doing is right, let us know- tell us you have 300,000 Mushriks in uniform or related to Mushriks in uniform doing their job in the land of the Prophet. Why do you keep this information from us? These are not ayaat from the Quran- these are facts. Why do you hide these facts from the Muslim public? You have bases that the Mushriks are using to drop bombs on the Muslims- what are those bases doing there? Or, you have a relationship of allegiance and dependency, with whom? (The word roars at them from the Quran,). They are Mushriks! They dont belong in the land of Muhammed, but, you dont want the Muslim mind to discover and link these facts and issues together. You want us to come to Hajj every year to perform meaningless movements and motions, and then you want us to think that we have gained the title of Haaj when we come back home.

We ask Allah, (whose mercy is abundant and whose knowledge is infinite), to accept from those who try their best to do their duty i.e. the toiling Muslim who leaves the livelihood of his family and tries his/her best to satisfy their obligation by going to Al Ard Al Haram, Al Bayt Al Haram, and in the same breath, we ask Allah, (whose wisdom is infinite and whose power is present), to check the excesses and to punish the evil of these individuals who have cut the Muslims off from each other and sent their poisonous propagandists around the Muslim world to abort the determination to live and to die for Allah. Their day is approaching, and Allah sees and registers very well every minute item they are involved in. The Prophet of Allah says whoever performs the Hajj, (of course, performing the Hajj was on his terms, not the Saudi terms), and then returns home does so with all his sins and errors being erased or cancelled. Committed Muslims Regrettably, the trouble making of these officials who have possessed Makkah and Al Medinah goes beyond Makkah and Al Medinah. They have been (for many years) telling Muslims when the lunar months begin and end; on what day this Eid is and on what day that Eid is; and now,

they reinforce their mistakes and lies and they come and say that the 10 th of Dhul Hajj- the day of Eid Al Adha is going to be this coming Monday the 5th of March. Those who have been taking notice of the beginning and ending of these lunar months have realised that the 1st of Dhul Hijjah was on the 25th of February. That makes Monday the 9th of Dhul Hijja and not the 10th. In actual fact, standing on Arafat should be on Monday and Tuesday should be Eid Al Adha. But the damage is done when they control the crowds in Makkah. We dont have freedom of expression among ourselves. There cant be a number of informed Muslims who can go around and tell the people in the Hajj, Dont stand on mount Arafat on Sunday, it is the 8 th. None of that so far is occurring, so when they want us to stand on Arafat, we obediently stand on mount Arafat, thereby setting into motion the following day as the day of Eid. The effects have reached this part of the world. But some of the Muslims are beginning to catch on and realise that they cant believe what the Saudis are telling them, so they are going to celebrate Eid Al Adha on Tuesday, which is the correct day. This Islamic Centre, is going to celebrate, (as they say), their Eid on Monday. We will be out here on Monday, knowing that it is the wrong day but as a matter of opposing the wrong that they are doing and trying to bring the facts. We are not in Makkah, if we were in Makkah wed tell all these hujjaj The right day for Yawm Arafat and the right day for Eid Al Adha. We hope and we pray- but we work (before hoping and praying) to see that these institutionalised errors by the Saudis are no longer binding on any Muslim. We hope that day will be sooner rather than later, and we place our confidence and reliance in Allah.

DISTRACTIVE ELEMANTS IN THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT

(23 March 2001)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims- those whose only superior is Allah; and whose only source of guidance, inspiration and motivation is Allah We try, (we are only passing through this world with what we hope to be, along with the best on intentions, the best of acts), to build our confidence in Allah by realising Allahs presence and His care for us- we are not alone; this is a process that is in the hands of Allah. But as we are in this

position, we find that there are interferences in this process. As much as we would like not to pay much attention to these interferences, interjections or impositions and as much as we hope that the Muslims are as mature as not to get involved in these distractions, but unfortunately, at times that is precisely what happens. In the past few weeks, there have been Muslims and non-Muslims, (we are not concerned very much with the non-Muslims, because they are not in the reference of the Quran and the Sunnah, we are concerned with ourselves in this regard), who have become confused. Why have we become so confused when an issue that interferes in our Islamic maturity has occupied centre stage in the past few weeks? The issue is that of the figures of the Buddha in Afghanistan that are carved into mountains. One of them, they say, is 53 meters high, and the other one is 35 or so meters high- because of this, we had a flare up of interests in what was to be done to these two carved out figures in mountains in an area called Bamiyaan in Afghanistan, because the rulers of Afghanistan had their discussions and they decided after these discussions to go ahead, (we dont know on what basis yet; no intelligible answer or Shari basis has been given for why they rationalised for themselves to go ahead), and do what they did. Finally, after an uproar of a week or so, they brought in their military artillery and blasted these stony images in the mountain. We all are accountable to Allahs words and the words of the Prophet. I dont think, (whether you agree or disagree with this issue), you can exempt yourself from Allahs guidance in His impeccable book. So, this is where we return to, to see the arguments they used to try to justify for themselves what they are doing. Let us take the ayaat in the Quran and a hadith as a sample of ahadith that will give us the ideas or thoughts that are at work regarding this issue. The best that we know, (and Allah knows best), is these rulers in Afghanistan, (who are not steeped in the affairs of this world (number one), and, (number two), they are not steeped in Quranic and Prophetic knowledge. What is their education when it comes to the Quran and the Sunnah? Has anyone of us heard them speak about issues of the Quran and the Sunnah? Why have they taken this position to distance themselves from the rest of the Muslims, who would wish them well if they are bound by the Quran and the Sunnah); in all likelihood relied on a few hadiths, one of them says This happens to be a consensus hadith, hadithun muttafaqun alaih what does this hadith say: Those who make or manufacture these images are put to adhaab, pain and suffering on the day of resurrection; they are told bring to life what you have created. Theres another hadith or two along these lines, but the meanings are synonymous and this is what they probably relied upon to go ahead and create all of this uproar that will have negative repercussions on Muslims elsewhere. Notice that they could not present ayaat from the Quran that would substantiate or become evidence for their position- theres no ayah in the Quran that will tell them to do what they did, so they relied on this hadith and a couple of others and went ahead and did what they did and in the process, we had Muslims arguing for and against- But where is the Quranic statement on this issue.

Now, let us try to see what Allah says pertaining to this issue. In Surat Saba, when Allah speaks about Sulaiman (alaih salaam), He says that Al-Jinn, the unseen intelligent beings These Jinn make or manufacture for Sulaiman (alaih salaam) what he wants, of niches or sanctuaries or altars and statues (Surah As-Saba verse 13) They are doing this for one of Allahs Prophets. How can there be an argument against the art of drawing or sculpture when it is mentioned in the Quran? Why is this conveniently dismissed from the Muslim mind when dealing with this issue? A closer look at this issue reveals to us that in the 1st generation of Muslims, the people who received the Quran, being Ummiyeen or nonscripturalists, some of them relied to some extent on the Talmudic or yahudi mind, which confused an idol with a statue- that confusion came due to their particular jewish history, When Moosa left them, they sculptured, or put together a figure of a golden calf, and then they transformed what was a figure of art to become a deity to be worshipped (Surah Al Araaf verse 148) So, in order for them not to make the same mistake again, they generalised and said statues and idols all go together; they are forbidden. This leaked into the Islamic context, and Muslims carry without them knowing this yahudi mind inside of them with the particulars of this yahudi history, even though the Quran wants us to be free of this, to distinguish and not be simple. Another ayah in the Quran says, (the issue has to do in the theological mind with creation) We know that figures, statues, idols, whatever they are, they cant create; human beings cant create; creation is a function of Allah, but when you are involved in art, you are not creating; no-one is claiming to be creating; you are expressing a talent and a skill that Allah has given you. If you do that, it doesnt mean that you are manufacturing idols. Let us take this mind of literal understanding of Allahs words, and go to Surah Aal Imran, when Allah says of Isa ibn Maryam (alaih salaam), He has been sent as a Rasul, as a Messenger to Bani Israel. Isa is saying: I have come to you, the Children of Israel, with an ayah, meaning, with a presentation of Allahs presence in human affairs. And then he says I will create for you from clay a bird, and then I will exhale into it, and it becomes a bird, by Allahs leave, permission or license, (meaning- Im not doing this)(Surah Aal Imran verse 49) Now, lets transform the Taliban mind, (as it were), to read this ayah, they will say Astaghfirullah, this is kufr. How can a human being, even if he is a Prophet create something? The ayah, to the literalist mind indicates that a human being, Isa, is involved in the act of creation. And Allah says: MA MIN KHALIQIN ILLA HU. This is the area that we find todays Muslims debating back-and-forth, not being able to understand the words in context. Of course, if you want to take these two words you begin to think just like the Taliban mindset. But you have to take it in context.

I have come to you with an ayah from Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 49) What is this ayah? I have become the will of Allah for His creation of life in the figure of a bird that I will do. I just blow into it, and it becomes a living bird by Allahs permission (Surah Aal Imran verse 49) What do we say, Isa is a Mushrik, or Isa is involved in making figurines? Obviously, when you mould clay into a figure of a bird, then you are guilty of the crime that is described by those who are blasting figurines out of a mountain. Havent they read these ayaat from the Quran? (Its) as if these ayaat dont exist- neither in Surah As Saba concerning Prophet Sulaiman, nor in Surah Aal Imran concerning Prophet Isa! But if they are not educated by the Quran and if they are not informed by these guiding words of Allah, how about us? Why should we be arguing this issue? Do we also choose not to listen and understand what Allah is telling us? This can become like a disease, and it can spread in the Muslim body, and it only does so when we withdraw ourselves from understanding what Allah is telling us. Allah did not express these words because they are above our minds, or we are incapable of understanding them. He chose these words, ayaat and Surahs precisely for the capacity of our minds and our mental range. unto to you from Allah has come light (Surah Al Maaidah verse 15) But, if you dont read it or if you read it and dont want to understand it, then trouble-makers like these will come and justify these types of actions when they pluck out a hadith- what do we say about the hadith that they mention to us? This is a hadith that is mutaffaq alaih; but what do you do with a hadith that is mutaffaq alaih and it slams into the meanings of the Quran; it doesnt mesh or blend; it is not compatible, it does not fit into the context of the Quran? What do you do with a hadith like that- and this is a prime example of that? You say, we accept what Allah says in His book, because theres no question about Allahs words in the Quran and when a hadith doesnt fit in, we place it on the side and we go on understanding what Allah wants us to understand and the ahadith that fit into the context of Allahs scripture. Then, the ayaat that were used by some Muslim scholars to try to persuade or convince these Taliban figures to desist from what they were about to do- they brought an ayah from Surah Anaam Dont bad mouth those deities or idols or false Gods who they invoke besides Allah (Surah Al Anaam verse 108) They could be Buddhists, followers of Confucius, Hindus, whatever- Allah has instructed us not to bad mouth these figures, idols, deities, whatever or whoever they maybe

Because if you do that, they will in turn come around and bad-mouth Allah as an expression of their ignorance (Surah Al Anaam verse 108) This is not the approach. If we want to convince people that idol-worshipping and the images that they say are some representation of divinity or God, we convince them on the merits of the issue. Bad words dont get anyone anywhere. Will a bad word penetrate the mind of a person whos a potential listener? Even if you have all the truth on your side, and you use harsh or injuring words, youve turned the persons mind off and youve turned his emotions on. Whats going to be accomplished by doing that? What will be accomplished by this act? Due to an act like this, arent the Muslims to expect what we begin to hear happening in areas of the world where there are followers of the Buddhist religion, or in India? Yesterday, they go to a Masjid, thats hundreds of years old and then they begin to burn pages of the Quran and they begin to throw lahmal khanzir, pork meat inside the Masjid, when at the same time Muslim students are studying, reading or memorising the Quran. Does that surprise anyone- when this is the type of approach that we are seeing with our own eyes?! And we ourselves are incapable of trying to answer a simple question- whether this is right or wrong?! Afghanistan became a Muslim land during the 1st and 2nd generations after the Prophet- thats a very long time ago. Were speaking about 1,350 years, (at least) that Islam has been in Afghanistan. In the minds of these people, those were the best generations of Muslims; so, the best generations of Muslims came to that land and saw all of this; they spread around the world and saw many other examples of this- statues, figurines, idols and what not; the Prophet went to Umrah in the 9th year of the Hijrah and idols were all over the Kabah- he didnt say Im not going to perform the Umrah because there are idols around here, (and those were in every sense of the word idols). He performed his Umrah. The Muslims were reticent; they were objecting to go to the Umrah when Makkah, Al Haram and the Kabah was full of idols. The two places of As Safa and Al Marwa, where pilgrims go and jog between to relive the ideas and emotions of Hajra when she was about to lose her child to famine and thirst, during that time before Makkah was liberated in the 10th year of the Hijrah- in all of those years, because the Muslims were reformulated and re-programmed by the Quran- they were no longer the jahili individuals they used to be- they said No! We dont want to go and run between these two places when theres an idol up on As-Safa and an idol up on Al-Marwa. We cant do that; our psychology will not permit us to do that. OK- if we assume and give the benefit of the doubt to these who are blasting rocks in a mountain and say that they are so sensitive and have been reborn and reprogrammed by Islam, (which in our mind is somewhat questionable), but lets go the whole nine yards and say (thats the case)- they are equivalent to the Sahaba of Rasulillah and they dont want these idols around. The Quran said, (these are ayaat that we recite until the end of time), to this type of personality and psychology that is to be expected; this ayah was revealed before Makkah was liberated and the idols were crushed- when there were idols on As Safa and Al Marwa. Allah says to these types,

As-Safa and Al-Marwa are rituals belonging to Allah, are symbols belonging to Allah. For whoever goes to the sanctuary- Al-Bayt Al-Haram, the Kabah- for purposes of Hajj or Umrah, there is no violation of conscience and principle to jog between these two places, even though those two idols are still there on these two places. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 158) How do you fit that into the mentality of today, that is doing what it is doing? You cant find for it any Quranic or Shari explanation, except for relying on a couple of hadiths that cannot properly fit into the context of the Quran and the ayaat that we mentioned in Surah Al Baqarah, Aal Imran and Surah As Saba. Where do they get all of this from and why are Muslims confused? An issue like this should never confuse anyone who wants to understand what Allah is telling us. We hope that this type of affair does not intrude once again into the progress of the forward looking Muslims that are in the making. We, (in a sense), were forced to address this issue because of the back-and-forth opinions that have been expressed- none of them strictly and solidly grounded in the Quran and the Sunnah. Muslims who confess your conformity to Allah, and who ask assistance from Allah. Our presence in this world cannot be fragmented into concentrating on single issues. We fail in our obligation to Allah if we dont consider ourselves from one ocean to the other, regardless of our mother tongues, our denominations, i.e. our languages, ethnic origins, and races- that doesnt factor in; view the larger picture. When Muslims flare up in the world, in the Balkans, where there is a potential war in the making along the lines that we viewed in the past several years in both Bosnia and Kosova; now you can add to that Macedonia; also, we have a heightened state of hostilities against us in the Indian sub-continent; not to mention the agitations in the far-eastern lands of Muslims, in Indonesia and Malaysia and you can add also to that the plight of the Muslims in Chechenya in Central Asia. What do they want to do? When you begin to take a look at the larger picture wars dont happen as a natural event, its not like an earthquake. Wars are done because people are planning- there are minds, departments, organisations, agencies, strategists- many people go into thinking out where a war should be, what those results should be and the course of it all. These wars are thought out. Why do they have the capacity to plan these wars? Then, we are on the receiving end of them, (and) reacting to them as if we dont have the capability to step outside of this reactive mode and pre-empt with our thoughts guided by Allahs Nur to see what they are planning for us? Were not going to be able to do that if we are going to be spending our time trying to debate such an issue as has happened in Afghanistan in the past week or 10 days- this will never happen. (Do) you see why we are on the defensive!? Because we dont have people who come to the Masjid or to Makkah to give meaning and feeling to this Islam of ours. Were not a cube of ice in Makkah neither in the Masjid- we have a mind and emotions; why cant we exchange our thoughts and feelings? No! You cant do that! If they blast away at these, who knows where it will all end. They distract us into these types of details and as we turn to argue among ourselves, they are busy chopping off our limbs at the extremities, as you can very well see if you wish to look around. Open your eyes and see what is happening to us!

AL-MUHARRAM: BURDENED BY IGNORANCE

(30 March 2001)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Bearers of Allahs trust.... Allah Most Exalted and Supreme says to us in a number of ayaat in the Quran to have Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims as our allies and authority to whom our allegiance is due. In one ayah Allah says:

And those who have as their authority or their allies or as their reciprocal counter parts of allegiance Allah, His Messenger and those who are committed, then indeed, Allahs Hizb (party) are triumphant (Surah Al-Maidah verse 56) In another ayah, Allah speaks to you saying: Committed Muslims shall not have the kafirs as their authority, their allies and those they reciprocate allegiance with or pay allegiance to, to the exclusion of the other committed Muslims (Surah Aal Imran verse 28) In another ayah, and these are only samples of the many ayaat that drive home this point. O you who are divinely secure in your commitment to Allah, dont take or designate My enemy, (Allah is speaking) and your enemy as authorities and allies and sources of allegiance, you present yourselves to them cheerfully, you greet them with cheers, while they are kafirs in the Haqq that has been presented to you by Allah (Surah Al-Mumtahana verse 1) For those who are willing to exhaust this issue to the end, there are many other ayaat in the Quran that speak about the issue of authority, alliance and allegiance in the life of committed Muslims, but in this context, at this time we would like to carefully delve into what is to some Muslims an issue that almost automatically triggers many centuries of traditions, stereotypes and inaccuracies- what we mean by this is the broad Muslim population. This week is the 1st week of the month of Muharram, the 1st month of the Muslim calendar. A very significant and very important event happened during this time a little less than 1,400 years ago, but the way Muslims have been treating this issue, they have been mutually defeating their own purposes.

Let us- to begin with- say that for good reason, some Muslims decide to emotionally play up this issue in almost a total absence of the mind. Let us say that this is done in the context of those Muslims who almost speak without end about the mind, but when it comes to this particular issue, this mind is absent and the concentration of emotions and feelings are present. Then, there are other Muslims, who in their own way of understanding things, maybe they will say for good reason also, they prefer to place this whole issue out of sight and they dont want to speak about it at all. Their excuses are, if we speak about this issue, it is going to generate dissention, disunity, bad feelings and what they will finally refer to as a fitnah. This has been going on for almost 14 centuries, but where has this whole issue remained? It has remained locked in the traditions that have grown out of these two approaches. With all humility, the two approaches are off course, neither one is right, because the details of this event can speak for themselves. All that is to be done is to present them and Muslims (whatever background they come from) should be aware of them and they should see with the light in their hearts and minds that almost all the problems that have come our way as Muslims from those years up until this

very day can be attributed to Muslims- as people- being on one level and in one direction and those who are making decisions for them- their rulers- being at another level and almost in an opposite direction. If, throughout 1,400 years of experience, hindsight and time to think and rethink- not to emotionalise and re-emotionalise, or not to be neutral and passive- what happened, why should the issue of authority be outside the boundaries of our common thoughts?- thats the 1st issue that needs to be addressed with a determined mind. Why do they speak about many issues, but when it comes to the issue of authority, no-one wants to speak about it in a rational sense? They either want to be silent or emotionalise about it. This is not a time to be silent or emotionalising, this is a time to look at this issue with its merits. When we are speaking about this issue, we are speaking about how Al-Imam Al-Husein (radiallahu anhu) did not negotiate away the subject of authority in the context of his allegiance to Allah. How come everyone else happens to do that and everyone is giving an excuse? When we objectively and rationally open up the books on this issue, the 1 st thing we are going to find is conflicting information. As is the case with all other conflicting information, how do you deal with it? You put it in the context of the Quran and Sunnah- what Allah and His Prophet says, and with that yardstick, you measure what may be right and wrong. After you do that, you will realise that he was among the 1st of Allahs and His Prophet's Ummah to take issue with those who began to usurp power. He didnt do this as a politician, an opportunist or at the expense of his moral character- the way politicians behave nowadays. He did this with principle and conviction, and not by triggering the emotions of people around him. He did this when he wanted those who realised the truth with their mind and heart to proceed along this line. Why has it become, nowadays, difficult for some Muslims, especially those who are in positions to speak in public, (our respected Ulema, Scholars, shuyukh, Aimmah, khateebs, Hujatul Islam, Ayatullahs, Qadhis, Muftis and all of the rest), and challenging for them to break out of tradition and deal with this issue with its credits and merits. This issue is not as weak and defensive as to illicit some tears once a year. You designate 10 days or two weeks every year to pour out your emotions and flood the issue with your tears, and then what happened about what really took place? If Allah is saying to us in His Holy words that our authority and network of allegiance should be Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims- you put this issue of confronting the 1 st governmental deviation in Islamic history within Allahs words. Allahs Prophet says, governance shall be on the model of the Prophet for a time period; after that, governance among the Muslims shall turn into a Monarchy; then, after that will be a period in which Muslims will govern themselves or will be governed by a form of dictatorship; and then, after that the governance and decision making among Muslims will revert to a model similar to the Prophetic model. If Allahs Prophet is saying this, we ask all the Muslims who agree to this hadith, (which they will not dispute nor disagree with), OK, let us take a look when did this begin.

We have had 1,400 years, when was the 1st period of Islamic Governance modelled to coincide with the Prophetic model? The Prophet of Allah says, this model will continue for as long as Allah wills it to continue. We dont ask anyones emotions- lets put emotions aside; we dont ask people who as of yet are still not stimulated to these facts, who, in other words, want to put these ayaat and hadiths of the Prophet on the side, because they dont want to cause a fitnah or because a legitimate ruler is not here, you shall wait for him until the end of time- we dont speak to these two attitudes that want to nullify the Quran and the Prophets hadiths when we speak about this issue. We speak to Muslims who are willing to use the brains, mind and the rational ability that Allah has endowed us with. We ask, if Allah is saying and giving us these ayaat to read, recite, understand and make sense of, and if the Prophet is further breaking down these ayaat and explaining them to us in a hadith, Tell us, did the Prophetic model extend for 1,400 years? If we still have the Prophetic model that rules today, then instead of having one Imam, leader, authority or highest office in the Muslim Ummah, how come we have 50 of them today- and they keep increasing? The more we run away from observing this fact, the more they keep increasing. If it was terminated some time in the past 1,400 years, when was the Prophetic model terminated? When did it come to an end and a monarchy took over after that? We ask in the absence of indifference and emotionalism, in other words, in the absence of the traditions of Sunnis and Shiis. We ask for your mind and heart to answer- when did the Prophetic model end? The best answer we can give to this- from what we know is- with the usurpation of power by Muawiyah and Yazid. Now, whoever for some reason cannot see this fact either doesnt want to open his mind, or they are because of traditions prejudiced against it. Why cant this become common information among Muslims?

Allahs Prophet says whoever dies without an allegiance that he pays (of course, an allegiance is in the context of the Quran and the Sunnah) to Allah and His Prophet and the committed Muslims We commonly identify Allah and His Messenger, but we cant identify the committed Muslims, viz. those who havent lost sight of Muslims having a head, a leadership and a direction. Why are we having millions of Muslims dying and the issue of leadership, if it comes up- like it did a few months ago- it comes up in the American context- Go out and vote. For whom? Muslims are not telling you go out and vote for your Muslim leader or Imam, they are telling you and some of these Islamic organisations and associations, Go out and vote for Bush who now is in the White House. It doesnt bother them at all, that Muslims should not vote for an Imam or give a baiah to an Imam!? They can explain that away. Some of them will tell you Oh, wait a minute, if we begin to talk about this issue, we are inviting trouble because we will generate a fitnah, and others will tell you No, no, no, no, no. If you come and speak about this issue, you are preempting the facts of life, because there cannot be an Imam in the absence of the 12 th Imam. You cant have a leader. Both of these are off the mark. Allah did not give us this

responsibility of Islam to be afraid of some so-called fitnah, and Allah did not give us this responsibility of Islam to put it on hold until the end of time. What does Islam become without this central issue? The rituals and mechanics that we have been speaking about for so long! Little do unthinking and non-thinking Muslims realise, that throughout all of these khutbahs we have been speaking particularly about this issue, but because some of us dont think if we dont hear the word Ashura and Karbala, they say Oh brother Muhammed, you know there was this week this very significant issue that happened. Why cant you mention in the khutbah 1,000 times the word Ashura and Karbala? They cant understand the feeding themes, developments and the relevant issues that we have been speaking about for the past year which ties directly into this affair. This is what would have happened to me, if on this day we were not going to (Audhubillah, we ask Allahs refuge for using the word me, but rather a person in this position), if he doesnt mention this issue in the emotional or direct sense- no-one can put one and one together and say Brother Muhammed is actually speaking about this issue. What has happened to us? We cant even put one and one together! We have people now, who have voted for their leader- what was it? December-January-February-March, about four months ago, and this week, you will see them shedding crocodile tears on Imam Al-Husein. They have voted for Yazid and they will go and cry for Al-Imam Al-Husein. Its too big for them, they have egos. Tell them come with the few Muslims who are praying in the street- who in a humble, brotherly and (maybe) in a remote sense can wish and hope that they are on this path of Shahaadah and sacrifice. Oh no, how do you do that- they tell you- this has lost its utility. Some of these people who voted for Bush say that we Muslims who are praying in the street- this whole affair has lost its utility. What was its utility? Are we using Jumuah prayers? Are we using our relationship with Allah for our own purposes? Why were you coming here to begin with? Was there some interest that you wanted to serve by faking your relationship with Allah or is this a matter of principle? The same people who massacred innocent Muslims at Karbala are the same people who threw Muslims out of the Masjid in Washington DC- are you fooled by names and location? How much do you understand of Karbala and Ashura? You cant see these people- the kings and presidents in the area of the world which Allah has blessed by having His Prophets and Scripture concentrated there? They met, and what did they do? Today, we have a re-enactment of blood and bare hands that are opposed to tanks and the militaries of the enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims. If you cant see Yazid because between you and him there is a distance of time, a pollution of information and a weakness of mind, cant you see Sharon today? Sharon is Yazid to the power 10 or 100 and he is being protected by the normal average Yazids in the Arab countries! We have Palestinian children who are throwing stones at the powers that are- Allahs enemies and the enemies of the committed Muslims and the Prophet. What did they do? They gave lip service. Do you think 1,400 years ago there was no lip service to the Prophets family? They probably gave lip service on one hand, and then they swung their swords with the other hand. Thats what theyre doing today. They give lip service to Islamic courses; to the course of these unarmed women, children and people in Palestine, but what do they do in fact? They come

to the United States government and say We cant oppose you. Then, they leak words, because they have connections with their own people in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and all over the place saying Look, we cant oppose the United States. As much as we want to sympathise and support the Palestinians, but we cant oppose the United States. By saying that, they are opposing Allah! They can oppose Allah and they can oppose the outnumbered and out-gunned Palestinians, but they cant oppose the United States, and by extension the Israeli government. Why cant they? Whats wrong with them? Havent you seen? Allah has produced for you proof and evidence that the Israelis are not invincible. The Israelis are not some type of super power. Brothers and sistersyou should see these Israeli settlers- In the past couple of days, and especially today- in Al-Khalil, one Palestinian sniper went beyond throwing stones. He had a rifle, and he began to take aimremember, Al-Khalil, Hebron is a city of 150,000 Muslims and there are 400 yahudi settlers downtown- in the middle of this city. Imagine how brave they are- 400 of them living in a crowd of 150,000 Muslims?! Why? Because they know that they have Yazids on the outside that are protecting them. Of course, they dont call them Yazid! But theyre confident that king so-and-so, and president so-and-so will not take issue with them; so who are they left to face off with Ah these poor Palestinians. Who are these poor Palestinians throwing stones anyway, we have rifles, all sorts of bullets and ammunition to use against them. Then, this one sniper, one Palestinian takes his rifle and begins to shoot at them and then what happens? They go to the couple of cameras that are there, and they dont want them to register this scene because they are afraid, even when they have soldiers among them. The settlers tell the soldiers You are Nazis; go back to where you came from, you cant even defend us. All of this for what?- one sniper, one Palestinian who has a rifle to shoot at them. Imagine if we are determined to carry arms, will we still have this type of problem? Can we carry arms, if we have the mental difficulty at defining who is with us and who is against us with this type of information coming from these types of Masjids? They want us to continue to be confused so that we are not able to identify the personality that has stolen authority in our time and day. They dont care if you define a historical figure 1,400 years ago. OK, you know who Yazid is, so what!? Muslims know who the Pharoah is, so what!? Muslims know who Abu Lahab is, so what!? But if you want to move that knowledge into this day and this time, then youre a problem. Thats when they want to use their international system against us and employ for this purpose the turbans, amamas and abaas in these Masjids, so that as this issue comes and goes, some of the Sunnis will make believe that this whole issue didnt exist. Yes, theyll make believe that one of the most significant events in Islamic history didnt exist; they wont speak about it; while the others will concentrate on what happened 1,400 ago and forget about the world that we are in, making it possible for them to go and vote for the Yazid and the Pharoah of our time- not only that, they will go and ask other Muslims to vote for them. We dont know who is more to blame, because not only was Imam Al-Husein a victim of the usurpers of power in his time, but Karbala and Ashura have also become the victim of mindless or emotional Muslims. We need mindful Muslims to set the record straight- only common sense

will tell you that and hopefully this example will demonstrate the point, If Al-Imam Al-Husein took a valiant stand and heroic position during this week and this time and we, (those who call themselves Sunnis, we wish we could outgrow these labels), put this whole issue in the deep freeze and the others who call themselves Shiis put the issue in the oven, and theres no communication- there cannot be any communication if we cannot bring this issue to the normal temperature of communication. If you want to take something out of the freezer, you cant throw it into the oven, and if you want to take something out of the oven, you cant put it immediately into the freezer, its going to be damaged. You have to cool the subject that is being put in the oven, and you have to thaw the subject that is being put in the freezer. We cannot see a simple fact?! We can see the simple fact in the kitchen when we have something that is on the stove, or freezer. You know that you dont take it immediately from one place and put it in the other, but we cant see this when it comes to a subject or a theme like this?! We all fail because we dont use our mind to understand Allah and His Prophet. Committed Muslims If someone was to say to you that we have enemies who dont think in terms of fairness and justice; they are vicious, malicious and have no 2nd thought about spilling innocent Muslim blood. What do you do with an enemy like this, who need no historical reference? We dont need to go to books of history to dig up the characters who live with us now and here. A war criminal comes to Washington, if you were to listen to what the officials of this administration say, (those who got Muslim votes- remember, we are told that 70-to-75% of the Muslims voted for this president), and they go to AIPAC and yahudi conferences and make statements. Theres also word beneath the grapevine that this war criminal went with a OK, meaning the United States will endorse military activity by the Israeli zionist state against Muslims in Lebanon. This is the type of information that is beginning to leak, and we ask these people who have been busying themselves and misleading the Muslims by what they call their Muslim lobby here in the United States, what benefit has come out of their lobbying or will come out of it? What have they done? What are they doing or what will they do when a war like that flares up? If we trace and trail them, we know it is so, because they are incapable of sorting out their own internal affairs- theyre not able to say, really- theres no distinction between Sharon, Bush and Fahd for that matter. Come-on, be courageous enough to add Fahd to the list. You have the Quran and the Prophet, if you think of what Allah and His Prophet is telling you, you can add all of these other illegal usurping rulers to the list. How many more of us have to be killed? How much more bloodshed, mayhem and wars have to be imposed on us for us to see the truth? If you have 1,400 years of gobbled information, look at the facts that are around us today.

KHAYBAR: A FORGOTTEN DIMENSION OF THE SEERAH

(27 April 2001)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Bearers of Imaan, Allahs covenant and the responsibility there-of.... It takes some effort to bring our thoughts and much more than that, our expectations and desires to meet the standard of Allah. We have to admit, (this process has to begin), that there is a collective failure to understand what Allah is telling us as we live through the changing circumstances and shifting conditions of our collective

lives, (not our individual life). It is because of this failure that gaps have opened up, resulting in the deteriorating condition that Muslims find themselves in today- in our generation and time. It is not a matter of happenstance or an issue of random choice that we have a bleeding body in this world, which we continue to speak about on occasions away from the Quran and Sunnah as they are meant to be expressed in our practical and worldly endeavours. It becomes no surprise to look and see how others have their minds concentrated on the issues that we have abandoned and are thinking through the problems that we refuse to consider; who employ their minds and use their thinking capabilities to reach the status that they are in today and in the process cause us to be (with the combination of our own failures and their own successes) where we are today. Statements are magnified in the public concerning Muslims. Muslims according to some of these statements are dehumanised, in preparation for Muslims to be eliminated through strategic plans and acts of aggression and war. Why have we become subjects of these strategies and military plans? Why have we become the victims, when theres nothing to be victim about, if we cared to fortify ourselves with the vital information that comes our way from Allah and His Prophet, and make this information relevant to the burning issues around us? In the Quran, Allah has spoken to us, and He said (which is something no Muslim in theory denies) Behold! You have in Allah's messenger a prototype, someone that you can adopt as your role model (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 21) But for whom? For those who are intent on wanting Allah and the final day; and those for whom Allah is embedded in their conscience (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 21) We quote this ayah, (this is probably the hundredth time, if not the hundredth time after the thousandth time or after the hundred thousandth time) that weve heard this meaning from the Quran, but how many of us has cared to live Allahs Prophets behaviour, his pattern of decisions and how many of us spent enough time thinking of what it would mean for the Prophet to be alive in our set of circumstances and conditions and how he would respond to them? The central issue that we should be concerned with is repositioning Allahs Prophet in our world here. Obviously, we cannot do that by resurrecting him because he has passed on, but he has left for us his impeccable decisions that deal with human nature that repeats its self from time to time, century to century and age to age. If Allah is telling us and if the real events of the world around us are explaining Allahs words, what type of rationale remains for someone, especially for hundreds of millions of us to side-track or side-step all of these signals coming our way from the

source of revelation and reality, place ourselves in the margins and behave as if we lack all of these indicators that are coming our way? We have today, a real world. We have politicians who are either Mushrik or Yahud, who find no time of respite, as they are almost obsessed with seeing to it that we do not emerge with the character of Allahs Prophet in our contemporary time. Let us try to live in the context of Allahs Prophet and in the context of our times simultaneously to realise and detect what is otherwise the subject of elimination from our minds and from our lives. We know that Yahud had a presence in Al-Medinah. We covered the details of their presence in Al-Medinah and how Allahs Prophet gave them a measure of autonomy under the aegis of an Islamic leadership represented by himself. How did they behave? Within only a span of six years, they proved their treachery to Allahs Prophet and Allah, himself. What was the result of that? They no longer were able to enjoy any degree of autonomy under Islamic rule. Let us take ourselves for a moment out of the Medinah of Muhammed and place ourselves in the condition of Muslims today. We have Yahud who not only are enjoying a degree of autonomy but they are also flaunting their independence and instigating acts of aggression against those who say they are the followers of the Prophet. We know in the course of the 23 years of the Muhammedi struggle throughout Makkah and Al-Medinah, the Prophet was intent and focused on having an Islamic order that would negate the other orders in the Arabian Peninsula, so, the 1st to oppose him were the Mushriks of Makkah and the 2nd to oppose him were Yahud of Al-Medinah. (Ya Muhammed)- You will find those most intense in hostility to those who are committed Al-Yahud and the Mushriks (Surah Al-Maidah verse 85) We travel from 1,400 years ago in the Makkah and Medinian Arabia of those times, to the here and now that we are in. Do we still have expressions of this opposition and antagonism to those that represent the spirit and decisions of Allahs Prophet, not who represent Allahs Prophet with the Thawb they have on or with their cosmetic features, but who represent his determination and willpower? Cometoday, where are these Mushriks? Where are these Yahud? Have they vanished? Have they disappeared? If we were to take the standard thoughts that come out of lazy Khutbahs in the Masjids and lazy heads who dont care to focus on these issues, they have. (Remember, Muslim blood is flowing). We are supposed to be enjoying an air of freedom, but we still have minds of slavery who cant address themselves to these issues when they are supposed to be reading the Quran and the Sunnah.

When Allahs Prophet was successful in denying Yahud their autonomy in AlMedinah under Islamic rules and regulations, they left. Where did they go? Did they go to China? Or did they go to Europe? No! They went, (in the expression of todays language) they sought of went around the block. They went to Khaybar- where they tried to regroup. Now, you come to the average Muslim, who has been shaped, reshaped and unshaped by the sleepy words that come his way from the Mimbar of the Masajid today, and you ask him/her, Can you tell us where Khaybar is?; and, the smartest of them will give you a vague reference to Northern Arabia; and, you ask them a little further, how far is Khaybar from Al-Medinah, and they will begin to scratch their heads! Why? Because their heads are empty! Theres no information coming their way. Where else (you ask them), did Yahud dwell in the Arabian Peninsula, and they will tell you, We only know Khaybar. (You see), this is how Yahud made their comeback. They drained the information from our head. Little do Muslims concentrate on the fact that Yahud had their economic, social, political and military presence besides Khaybar in Fadaq; besides Fadaq in Tayma; besides Tayma in Waadil Qura. This is not irrelevant because we have intensified behind the scenes communications, meetings, deliberations and discussions when children are throwing stones against the Zionist Israeli Jewish military that occupies Palestinian, Arab and Islamic lands. We have these diplomats and politicians who are banking on our ignorance of our own history to try and settle this Arab-Israeli conflict as they call it. What do you expect when the average and normal Muslim is not equipped with accurate and precise information coming from the reference of the Quran and Sunnah? They will come along and tell you, now is the time to sign on the dotted line.

They begin to instigate some religious scholars- one heated argument that has been in the public recently is about what they call suicide missions or operations. Those who have capitulated to the ignorance and misinformation call Muslims who want to regain their rights through military means, even if that means ultimately giving up ones own life for it a suicide operation. Muslims call it Amaliya Istishadiyah- a Martyrdom seeking operation. Then, they flare this issue in front of us saying we cannot as Muslims go out and oppose our enemy by giving our lives to Allah and they take advantage of the absence of the necessary and relevant information to build an argument as such. When you are suicidal, you are desperate and you are hopeless. Muslims are not desperate and they are not hopeless. When they embark on these operations, they do so with more hope and renewed vigour as they enter into a life that is better than this one. When Allahs Prophet saw, (here we go back to that time period), that Yahud were regrouping in Khaybar, that the grand alliance that placed a seige on Al-Medinah was

concocted in Khaybar, and that the remaining Jewish faction in Al-Medinah, Bani Quraida betrayed their word with him was traced back to Khaybar; he said, now is the time to take on Khaybar- this was only six years, almost seven years into being in Al-Medinah. But, Khaybar was busy trying to make a last military stance against the committed Muslims of Al-Medinah. The Prophet brought a force, (check your information, this should be common knowledge to every Muslim), especially nowadays when we have the regeneration of Yahud in our time. They went into a lull of 1,400 years and now they are roaring back into existence and we dont have this information. You ask the average Muslim if they know of the military campaign of Khaybar. How many Muslims as opposed to how many Yahudis were there? The answer will be in most of the cases a blank stare in the air. There were 10,000 Yahudis in Khaybar and Khaybar was well fortified and well armed and there were 1,400 Muslims. Not that the Muslims didnt have any numbers at this time- they had more than that, but Allahs Prophet wanted the most dedicated. Out of the most dedicated, he put together a force of 1,400 and he himself went with them to Khaybar. Khaybar was a very agricultural type of area and it was very well fortified. Does anyone care to go into the details of the Prophets military decisions, his military plan and his strategy to take over Khaybar? They dont want to mention Khaybar to begin with, much less the details that are involved in this. The Muslims having 200 horses- 1,400 Muslims with only 200 horses and Yahud having the manpower and also trying to build a military alliance with some other Mushrik factions in the area; how the Prophet went to these other Mushrik factions and made them believe that hes going to attack them, but he didnt and the war began. How long did Khaybar last? Three weeks- and the military campaign was over. What happened here? Yahud lost their political, economic and military presence in Arabia for good. There remained individuals here and there, but they didnt have an autonomous presence in the Peninsula. Remember- you may have heard this hadith plucked out of context, but it was in this context and point of developments of the affairs between Muslims and the Yahud that the Prophet said there cannot be two deens, that co-exist in the Peninsula- deen here, was after autonomy was abolished and after others from Al-Yahud and An-Nasara maintained their individual religious character. Allahs Prophet didnt go around in the Peninsula telling every Yahudi and Nasrani: Leave! You have to leave, because there cannot be two religions in Al-Jazeera, in the Peninsula. When the Prophet died, according to some sources of information, he was indebt to a Yahudi, a Jew, from whom he borrowed a shield. Some of these Yahud, even before the Prophet passed away, as individuals returned to Al-Medinah. No one told them as individuals, you cannot return to Al-Medinah; but, when you have this political, military, economic and social information absent from your mind, some one can come across and say There cannot be two religions in Arabia and they justify because of this hadith of the Prophet that they have taken out of context, their policies telling Christians and Jews you cannot have your temple, churches or synagogues in

Arabia. When did that happen? Where did they get this information from? But this is the fall-out and this is the damage that is done when we dont look at these developments in their political and military dimensions. When the Prophet approached Khaybar, he said Allah is greater. You take that statement from that context with those dynamics and place it in todays world, who are the Muslims who when they approach this Yahudi power of today say ALLAHU AKBAR and then KHARIBAT KHAYBAR- Khaybar is disintegrating, Khaybar will be destroyed, for if we approach a crowd that has been warned by us, the results shall be ruinous for them- a Prophetic statement that should by now be a clarion call among the Muslims of today. In the three weeks that Allahs Prophet launched this military campaign against the Yahud of Khaybar, some of these Yahud felt that they were loosing this campaign, so they left and came to the Prophet and they began to tell him some of the secrets of the society inside of Khaybar. You think that this will not happen again? Has human nature changed? If Muslims can drive their military campaign into high gear against the Zionist Israelis of today, they will begin to fall apart; they will begin to repeat their same character again. The Muslims ended the autonomous presence of Yahud in the Arabian Peninsula when Khaybar succumbed. 10,000 could not defeat 1,400 hardcore committed Muslims. The Prophet went on to Fadaq, another Yahudi social concentration in Arabia, and they immediately surrendered without any resistance; then, he went from there to Ummil Qura, another Yahudi concentration of people- they put up a resistance and they were defeated; then, the Prophet sent letters of communication to the rest of Yahud. Some of them (were) living in what is today close to the Gulf of Aqaba, where the Red Sea meets the Sinai- an area in which there is a sliver of land that belongs to Saudi Arabia, but is controlled, administered and occupied by the Israelis, but no one says that Saudi Arabia is a front line state. You always hear Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, because Israel occupies some of their lands, but no one comes out to tell us technically speaking, Israel also occupies a small area of land that technically belongs to Saudi Arabia. Not only does Saudi Arabia take this information out from public circulation because they dont want anyone to mention this in the Masajid and Islamic Centres where they have the final word, they also dont want to appear in public as if they have a confrontational position against the Israelis. Allahs Prophet sent letters of communication to these Yahudi communities aroundthere was no abuse to be done to Yahud or to anyone else because of the belief or creed, that they choose, but when they want that belief to express itself in the political, military and economic sense, they will not have the right to do that because of their behaviour with Muslims. Are there any Muslims who are willing to follow this history up? Yahud hounded the church for 2,000 years, and today it continues. The Yahudi mouthpieces continue to try to extract apologies from the Christians because of their peculiar history. Are there any Muslims in this world who are willing to take these

Islamic facts into the Yahudi realm and tell them this information in its vital meanings and in its practical implications in this world? And thanks to the brainless Masajid, we continue to go from one week, one month and one year to the next- in the meantime, you think Yahud who tasted defeat in Arabia have lost sense of this? These forces that were defeated in 23 years of the Prophets lifelong struggle- immediately when Allahs Prophet past away, his wife said at that moment The Arabs have denounced their faith, the forces of Al-Yahud and Nasara are peeking once again with their heads; and (nifaq) hypocrisy has shown itself, and the Muslims have become like a herd of sheep in a rainy night. That was immediately after those 23 years of the success of the Prophet that we had those forces expressing themselves the way they did and the way they were characterised in the words of the Prophets wife. Now, you can add to those 23 years 1,400 years, and if at that time, nifaq/hypocrisy was shining, today its shine and glitter blinds those who even attempt to look at it; and if the Yahudi and Nasrani forces were peeking with their heads at events at those times, today they are up in the skies, in the altitudes, with satellites; and if some of these Arabs renounced Islam- HURUB ARRIDDA, wars of denunciation of Islam were in effect, you add to those wars the force of 1,400 years, and combine all of them together to see that now, we are more than sheep in a rainy night. Can we afford to ignore the meanings of these issues and put ourselves at a distance from them? Not any longer. Those who are giving their lives and blood are opening a new vista and a new horizon for the Muslims, and those who are lagging behind in these types of nationalised, confiscated and usurped Masjids will one day follow. It may be one day too late for some of them, but we know from the commitment of Muslims, that, that day is arriving.

Brothers and sisters- Muslims of responsibilities and commitment We say this with all humility and gratitude to Allah- we have the beginning of what was supposed to take place many years ago, and that is the identification of Yahud in the occupied Holy Land. But what we also have is the internal Mushriks who are working hand in hand with these Yahud. Some of us are sincere and dedicated to face off against these Yahud and to show them that the spirit and sacrifices of Allahs Prophet are still alive in our characters today. But there should be extra caution regarding those who may be able to stab us in the back. The Sunnah, experience and common sense tell us they work hand in hand. We may be able to neutralise some of these Mushriks, but we will never be able to have them on our side, or else we will succeed where the Prophet failed. You tell us, was the Prophet able to have the Mushriks on his side when he took on Yahud? Dont develop another gap in the coming five or 10 years which we will regret in the years and maybe generations after

that. Unless, theres a change of heart and these Mushrik forces turn over the affairs to Muslims of faith and Muslims of Allah, the best we can hope for is neutralising them and in the process, not losing sight of our central and deadly enemy. We fear- this is a word from brother to brother, that some of us will be disoriented in the coming years, because we fail to gage and assess these issues through the hundreds of years of experience that we have, and the focus that Allah has given us in His Holy words and in His Holy Prophet. Because of that, we have these two issuesthe issue of Israel and the issue of Iraq, that are played up to have us self defeat ourselves when we havent worked these issues out in our minds the way Allahs Prophet would have done had he been here. This Khutbah was delivered by Imam Asi on the occasion of Jumah on the 27th of April 2001 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington DC. The Imam previously led the daily and Jumah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and they irritated and threatened the MiddleEast Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, hes family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

FOLLOWERS OF ALLAHS PROPHET (S)- ARE WE?!

(16-07-2004)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem.... One of those issues that have eroded many nations before us, and has its representation in the people around us, has been the issue of numbers. Theres not many people who agree with a

certain position; there are not many supporters around to move on a certain plan of action and this places the average person in a frame of mind and in a psychology that should not be there if we are living in the presence of Allah. Today, there are inimical forces that are at work and they have a lot of numbers on their side- they dont have Allah on their side but they have a lot of numbers on their side. We say that we are behaving and moving while the Prophet is our prototype- he taught us; explained things to us; showed us the way and did basically the same things we are required to do- so we are supposed to move in that direction. Let us begin with the Prophet in Makkah. How many supporters did he have? The establishment, the elites, the powers that be, the religious hierarchy, the average person- everyone was against him. He began with virtually no one on his side. We ask a person who wants to be fair to himself and accurate with his relationship to Allahs Prophet: if you were in the Makkah of that time were you going to be a supporter of Allahs Prophet when they are not actually many people around him; he doesnt have any clout in his society and he is not an influential figure who can make major decisions that have their affect on the Makkan society? If all of that is the case, and understanding todays mentality that is predominant among the Muslims, you will find very few Muslims of today who would be supporters of Allahs Prophet when he was beginning and when virtually the whole world was against him. So let us be careful when we say we are following the Sunnah and the Seerah of Muhammad. Let us be careful when we say that because some of us may say it and we may be lying. Then, there was a heavy dose of persecution that accompanied his 13 years in Makkah and the committed few who were with him. If this type of persecution was to come our way are we willing to stand firm on our principle, even though we see well numerically speaking there is not many of us, but numerically speaking there is a multitude of others who are against us?- a similar condition that we have today. Those who live a principled Islam are outnumbered when we measure them to the numbers of those who are living against Islam(whether it\s) in the name of Islam or in the name of Kufr- theres many of them. In todays world, theres not only social pressure and the media that is placing lies and fabrications about us in the public eye, add to that there is also military pressure- this is a fact of life we have today. Would Allahs Prophet the crumbling under military pressure? It took that fortified psychology in Makkah, in those 13 long, arduous years of struggle and jihad, to pave the way for the military years that were going to come after that, that were going to extract from every committed Muslim every last amount of patience that was available- which should bring us up to where we are today. Muslims today- look at the numbers around- huge numbers of people who say they want to take on this Islam and also to add a lethal challenge to all of this, they want to do so in a military sense. What does Allah say to us when it comes to these military issues? Does He want us to step aside and have all of the counter forces take over everywhere they want to or should we stand on principle? If we are challenged socially, psychologically, mentally, educationally or in whatever respect- we stand on principle.

If we are challenged militarily, politically, ideologically, financially, we stand on principle. Allah in this regard says Certainly Allah has purchased from the committed Muslims their lives and their wealth in exchange for Jannah (Surah At-Taubah verse 111) This is where we are. When you give yourself or your wherewithal to Allah, thats what you get in exchange- you are getting Al-Jannah. Youre not getting a position, a green card, a Kafir citizenship- youre not getting any of these things. When you are giving for Allah, He is giving you Al-Jannah. At a higher level of responsibility that means they fight for the cause and on the way to Allah and in the process they kill and they are killed (Surah At-Taubah verse 111) Muslims of principle should have no qualms or questions about this issue. You will see how other Muslims behave. They hide behind excuses; they run away with lame justifications; they try to ignore the issue and when they are presented with it some of them just bow down with a defeated reality. This is unknown for those who are enlisted in the Quran and in the Prophet for Allah- unknown. Let us look at this fact of life when it was presented to us. Some of us say OKpresent your evidence; how did this work itself out in real life? When Allahs Prophet was at Uhud, the most turbulent time in Allahs Prophet life and the most dangerous moments in his struggle, and there were these Muslims who were around who pledged to fight but when they saw that the Mushriks were gaining the upper hand, they began to leave. The Prophet was at that critical and most life threatening moment in his life time and he had- listen to this brothers and sisters, those of us who say we are with Allah and His Prophet; we should think a little more before we say that- when he was in that death defying moment, he had only seven. Remember, this is an army that began with several hundred. The Munafiqs peeled off on the way there; those who were assigned their permanent positions also got distracted by the spoils of war and the Mushriks made their assault physically on the position of Allahs Prophet and who was there? Seven from the Ansaar and two from the Muhaajireen- thats all there were. The Prophet of Allah, to encourage those who began to lose heart and momentum said who is going to defend us for having Al-Jannah? and another narrative says who is going to fight for us and he will be my companion in Al-Jannah? They fought one after the other- these individuals around himsacrificing their lives. They knew the odds were tremendous and Allah wanted them to move to this brink of life and death; and the willingness and determination of Allahs Prophet took the committed Muslims to that brink. Bring this reality inside the minds and to the attention of todays Muslims- where would they be if these details were reproduced for them today?! Some of them would argue wait a minute- we have to increase our military outputs. We have to develop a military industrial infrastructure; we have to have some type of military parity with the enemy; and on and on and on. Theyre not saying this as a matter of principle, they are saying this because they want to run away from their duty and abandon their principle.

if there are twenty of you they will overcome 200 and if there is 100 of you they will vanquish 1,000 from Alladheena kafaru, because these kafirs are not in practical contact with reality, they dont understand these dynamics (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 65) The kafirs dont understand them and we understand that, but if Muslims dont understand these dynamics- this is something that is difficult for us to understand when we have been through this process before! This is nothing new. It is like history repeating itself. Today, when Muslims are face with those who have the numbers and the military industrial complex- they have it all- and the committed Muslims barely have anything, how are we behaving? This is how we are behaving. The governments and regimes that we are saddled with are busy trying to defuse the revolutionary impulse in the Muslims. They want to dispatch their Islamic scholars to argue against these meanings of the Quran and Sunnah. Do you want another example?! Al-Muata. This was a war that took place in the month of Jumada in the 8th year of the Hijra. Allahs Prophet sent an emissary to the Roman ruler in the North of the Arabian Peninsula, in the area of the Holy land- what is known today as The Levant- Palestine, Jordan, Syria and these areas. This emissary or representative of Allahs Prophet by the name of Harith ibn Umair Al Asdi (radi Allahu anhu) went. He communicated this Islam- you see, this is dawah. People who speak about dawah- what do they talk about?! Have Muslims go to dawah in the less conspicuous areas. You know- go to some corner somewhere and whisper some words about Islam. Do we have these types of dawah programs that can think about sending emissaries to rulers of the world? No! We dont have any, because they are not meant to discuss or enter into that area. This is not the Sunnah of Allahs Prophet. He sent a person who represented him to the ruler of a superpower in the North of Arabia and on his way back, the messenger of Allahs Messenger was killed. Al Haarith Al Asdi was killed. This is the 1st time a messenger of Allahs Prophet was killed. It happened later on, (but) this was the 1st incident of that sort. What are the Muslims going to do? Look- the Romans are a superpower; just like the United States in a superpower of todays world- what are you going to do? Are you are going to take on this superpower? Even though the Muslims had made progress in striving the Arabia Peninsula which was one issue, but to think about fighting and doing war against a major power in the world at that time is tantamount to thinking about a military suicidal operation. Did the Prophet of Allah think about doing such a thing? Yes. He put together a force of 3,000 Muslim warriors. As far as the Muslims were concerned, this was the 1st time they could put together such a force on a military expedition into new territories. The Prophet of Allah said that three persons should command this force the first one is Zaid ibn Haaritha and if he were to be killed it would be Jaafar ibn Abi Taalib and if he were to fall in this battle then it will be Abdullah ibn Rawaha. Allahs Prophet was inspired and he told this force and its leaders that the enemy is going to target the military command, meaning you three who are going to assume the banners. The commanders in those days were the ones who carried the banners, were fighting in the front and organizing the rest of the force. That was an indirect way of telling them you probably are going to get killed. When

this Muslim force- remember, were talking about numbers; the whole Shaytaani termite that is working in todays Muslim minds is that well, we need numbers; theyre not very much concerned with principle; theyre not very much concerned with Allah. What they are concerned with is the physical and material possessions that they have. Compare that to what we are talking about. This is supposed to be a precedent. This is supposed to show us how to behave in such circumstances. They go out to an area which is roughly today what is called Jordan and all of a sudden they estimate the counter/kafir force- they see 100,000 Romans and they look again and they see 100,000 of the locals who were from that general area, who were predominantly Christian Arabians at the time. Thats 200,000. The Muslims look at themselves and say look, were only 3,000 here and look at what we have out there? We have a force of 200,000 and its not only 200,000 of a force thats equivalent to us in our military procurements, they have more then what we have by far- theres no comparison. What do you do? What does an average human being do? What do you think you would do if you were in that condition? Your human nature and their human nature responds in the same way. (You would) say wait a minute, here, we should send a message to Allahs Prophet and advise him of this discrepancy at the battle front. Thats what they said, and almost all of them agreed on doing so and one of them stepped up and said wait a minute here. You are trying to avoid what we were sent to encounter. Allahs Prophet put us on this mission and we know that we are on our way to Allah, so what are you trying to do here? Are you trying to avoid your responsibilities? When he spoke forcefully like that, it dawned upon them- Allahs Prophet gave them this assignment and they should do Allahs will in this circumstance. They arranged themselves and the two armies met. What happened after they met? The Mushriks, the all out anti-Islamic force saw the commitment, sacrifices, motivation, high morale and the discipline of these committed Muslims and that threw them on the psychologically defensive side of warfare. They had to defend themselves against a fierce force that shows not one moment of retreat. How did the Muslims show this resolve and this concrete military movement? The 1 st commander, Zaid ibn Haaritha (radi Allahu anhu), took his position and fought valiantly until he lost his life. This was in front of tens of thousands of warriors who could see this happen. Then the 2 nd commander, Jaafar ibn Taalib (radi Allahu anhu), who had experienced two Hijras and who the Prophet sent as a message to those who were around, in this growing Islamic society, that he is not unwilling to send even some of his blood to participate in what is called today an istishhaadi operation. He fought until he lost his 1st arm and then he fought until he lost his 2nd arm and then he fought until he lost his life. Then Abdullah ibn Rawaha (radi Allahu anhu)- exactly as what the Prophet instructed them to do- assumed command of this military force. He also fought until he became a shaheed. Then what did the Muslims do? The three commanders who Allahs Prophet assigned are now gone- in front of them. They spontaneously gave the banner to just to one of them- an average person. This person, in just a few moments ago said I cant take it, I am not fit for this position. In those dangerous, life threatening moments of warfare common sense prevailedKhaalid ibn Waleed (radi Allahu anhu) who had a career of military experience was spontaneously given it by the Muslims. Hey, this is a military commander; true he fought against Muslims for all this time and now the Islamic leadership is gone, he has the experience

give it to him- which they did. Then, he began to put his military experience onto the battlefield. He rearranged the right flank and the left flank. He gave the enemy the impression that the Muslims were receiving reinforcements- new troops were coming in. This incoherent force of 200,000 began to crack. Some of them began to leave the war fronts. When 3,000 Muslims faced off against 200,000 Mushriks, what was the final casualty numbers of the Muslims? 12 and there were hundreds if not thousands of these Mushriks who were killed there. It wasnt a total victory for the Muslims but it wasnt a defeat neither. Whether it was an issue of defeat or victory was not going through the minds of those Muslims who were following the course of Allah? These dynamics are part of real life when Allah is part of our real life. There is no thirst, no exhaustion and no hunger that we are inflicted with; we do not go into new territories, we do not inflict harm, casualties and damage on the enemy except that Allah will register all of this as our good deeds. (Surah At-Taubah verse 120) This is the motivation that was part of the psychology that Allahs Prophet brought into existence. It is said- in this encounter- that because of the fierce warfare that the commanders showed the enemies, they ruined seven or eight or nine of their own swords. This armed military expeditionary force of the Muslims returned to Al-Madinah. In terms of the Israeli mindsetremember, this same scenario presented itself to the followers of Musa (alaih salaam). There they were. They looked around (and said) theres only a few of us. We cant; its impossible to come out of this war as winners. They said we are not going to fight. In todays world, when we bring to bare the same mindsets that calculates the same details, we have Muslims today who will tell you, you know, this is impossible. We cannot put up with these forces that have come together against us. This is not the way Allahs Prophet behaved and it is not the way those who were with him behaved. There were times, intervals, interventions and those moments in those days of the failure of human nature- that existed. There were individuals around who could not carry their assignment to the end. The Muslim rank and file was perforated with Munafiqeen- that was a fact of life. The enemies had more firing or striking power than the Muslims- that is a fact of life- but because the Muslims were Muslims of principle, that did not deter these committed Muslims from their responsibilities and assignments. You have an ayah in the encounter of two opposite warring camps. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13) You have an ayah, what does an ayah mean? It means you have a demonstration of Allahs Presence in humans doing His will- thats an ayah. There is two armies facing off a military front. One of them is fighting for Allah and the other denying Allah. They see them twice their numbers with their own eyes. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13)

Today, this fact is at work- were not talking history only. Today, the superpower of our time is at war against this grain of Allahs Prophet demonstrated in those who are willing to go the nine yards fi sabilillah. What do these people who are watching see? They see the forces that are against them are twice their numbers.(Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13) (Take a) look at what they are saying in the past week, month, year or decade. Their voices are coming through loud and clear. They tell us- this is not a quote from any Muslim, this is from their mouths- there hasnt been a time when the United States has been hated in the world as it is today. There hasnt, been in the history of this country, as much hostility towards the United States as there is in the world today. This is not because some people have the numbers. They have jumah prayers and they have thousands coming to these jumah prayers. What are they dwelling on? None of these issues. The privilege of this fact coming to life belongs to those who are on the war path of Allah and His Prophet- whether they are the shaheeds of the past 20 or 30 years or the shaheeds in the making of today and tomorrow. (It is) courtesy of them that we have these ayaat coming to light. and how many times did it happen that those who are numerically less scored a victory against those who were numerically more, by Allahs permission, and indeed Allah is with those who are patient with Him in these types of circumstances (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 249) Masharal mumineen The cacophony of politics, the deliberate misleading information of the media and the rest of the structure that we are located in mentally and psychologically is meant specifically to dislocate us from Allah and His Prophet. Almost everything that is being said is calculated and calibrated to place a distance between us and our Allah-given responsibilities. The prime exemplification of this is demonstrated by those who rule Makkah and Al-Madinah. Brothers and sisters- the whole 23 years of the Prophets divine mission on earth was to free Makkah and AlMadinah- which he did successfully. We spent our whole life times for centuries not paying attention to the Prophets life time accomplishment. If Makkah and Al-Madinah are repossessed by Mushriks and Kafirs, it becomes our primary duty to liberate it from them. All of this history, around which we try to formulate our lives is centered on the fact that Makkah is ours. What do we do when Makkah is no longer ours as is the case nowadays? That un-Islamic, non-Islamic and anti-Islamic Saudi Arabia is a disgrace not only to the Muslims but to humanity. Last week (some of you are not aware and many are not aware) they put a Sri Lankan woman in the public square and they chop off her head. We dont know the details of this type of barbaric action by people who do not qualify to do such things. They say that there are rings of smugglers inside of Arabia and it turns out that these smugglers are oppressed people. Invariably they come from India, or Pakistan sub-continent, Sri Lanka or from African countries. These are the ones who deserve this type of harsh penalty and the princes, the royalty and the kings of that land are not involved in mega crimes? (Are) you just smart or powerful

enough to apply selective justice on those poor African and Asians who cant have lawyers or legal experts to defend them and who cant have a fair trial, but if you have some European or American who has blue eyes, is blonde and fair skinned, then you have their governments intervening; when was the last time anyone of you heard of these who are boot-legging inside of Arabia and smuggling drugs inside the holy lands have their heads was chopped off in the public square?! This is the travesty called Saudi Arabia. Now, we have some mouths for foul purposes who are trying to criticize some of their own. Will the day come when Fahd or Abdullah will appear in a world court as war criminals?! They were behind financing these bloody wars- civil, external, territorial, religious and ethnic- in the past three decades in that area of the world. These are war criminals, but those souls and individuals who have a Muslim shell but have a Munafiq or Kafir heart dont have the courage and morale to see things in this light and to cast their visions in this range because they read the Quran with sleepy minds and they recite the Quran with dull hearts.

RESPONDING TO AGGRESSION
(8 October 2004)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuhal Muminun; Committed Muslims.... We continue to take a closer look at the light, information, direction and guidance that has come to us from Allah. We said and reiterate- at times like this our mind, understanding, thoughts and analysis should be in the realm of reality, the presence of Allah and in the assimilation of His Prophet. It is only some one who is running away from reality who will try to avoid what Allah is

telling us within the circumstances that we are in. Allah did not mean for His words of wisdom to become academic, hypothetical and abstract. He meant for them to become a life into the affairs of our life. If we are living a world that has brought its military might and exhausted its intellectual capacity to subvert this relationship with Allah (aforementioned), we declare, in the company of Allah, that we will not abandon Him in these conditions. He says to us, in these circumstances of lodged hostilities against us- the order is from His divine source to our finite presence in this world. And prepare for these enemies(Surah Al-Anfaal verse 60) (Does the word enemy need definition in todays world? Obviously a person, government or establishment that is beginning to construct military bases inside Muslim countries- what type of definition do these intruders have? Not only that, they put their ideas into a killing mode and they mow down, night and day, in urban and rural areas, innocent Muslims who are living in their own homes and who are tending to their own business who at the end of the day are trying to make ends meet. You have helicopter gun-ships, tanks, hav-tracks and the full force of military of aggression intruding into your life- what do you? What do you have in this life? Where do you go from here? Do you surrender to aggression and invasion or do you try to tune in to what Allah is saying and behave accordingly, wherever that may take us? Our choice is to listen and understand what Allah is telling us. In these circumstances He is saying and prepare against these types of enemies whatever is within your range of the means of power and force (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 60) Does anyone have any problems with this? Does this pose any mental or psychological difficulties for anyone? Forget about the description of Muslims for a moment- any human being or society that becomes a victim of aggression, invasion, occupation and usurpation has the right to fight back, to defend itself and to protect its family, its life and its society. If this is the case with all human beings- you can go to the charter of United Nations, The Geneva Convention or any other form of International Law or legality, you will find this right guaranteed to all inhabitants of the planet- why should Muslims be an exception if we are invaded, occupied and displaced? If militaries, armies and forces are in our territories and homelands, we dont have a right to defend ourselves?! Where did this come from? Where is this explained or rationalized from a divine or secular source? Where do we find this? It doesnt exist. by mustering and bringing together or by procuring all the means of power, force and whichever advance proportion of that is possible, we strike terror in the hearts of our enemies and Allahs enemies (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 60) By the understanding of the ayah, you will cause Allahs enemies and your enemies to live in a state of fear and insecurity; and besides these pronounced enemies of Allah and the committed Muslims, there are others

who we even dont know- that will be affected by this state of fear. (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 60) because fear is the characteristic of the guilty. We are not guilty- how can anyone be guilty when we are fighting in our own homes and homelands to defend ourselves? How can anyone be guilty about that? But theres another party that is invading, occupying and shedding innocent blood and lives- they are guilty; and because they are guilty they live in a state of fear only if we act on the orders of Allah. They dont fear if we are not acting. If were passive, indifferent, withdrawn or if we run away or surrender theres no reason for fear. No one is going to fear- not the imperialist not the Zionists and not any of these categories of hostility to Allah- they dont fear. They begin to fear when we listen to what Allah is telling us. If Allah is telling us we fight back, we fight back; and if thats going to mean that they are going to live in terror and become insecure, thats the consequences of us obeying Allah. Some of us may ask if we are expected to obey Allah and we find that some of us are in a religious disobedience to Allah- thats how we disobey Allah, we disobey Him religiously because we hide behind traditions, rituals and mechanical devotions- thats where were hiding; and thats how we are disobeying Allah; we contravene Allahs higher order by sticking to His lower order- if the expression is permissible There is a way to victory. This is one of the internal question marks in everyones mind. If we are Muslims and if Allah is the Sustainer and the Provider of victory then why are not Muslims victorious? Theres a simple answer to that. Sometimes, simplifying these issues will make it more motivational as we can ponder the idea. Just like there are mechanical, physical and material laws, there are also psychological, social and behavioral laws. If someone throws a weight into the air, that weight is not going to be suspended in the air, its going to come down. There are physical laws that govern such things. The same thing in the social realm applies to Muslims. If we are not preparing for victory, we cannot expect a victory. Allah says regarding these issues- this is Allahs social law- a Sunnah is a social law this is Allahs social law and you are not going to find a substitute for Allahs social law (Surah Fatir verse 43) Did anyone expect to think about this ayah or these ayaat more then in the context of Allahs Prophet and the committed Muslims around him? Can there be any other better expressions of these meanings? Obviously not! Where do we detect these meanings in the life and struggle of Allahs Prophet and those with him? We take ourselves to the military confrontation at Uhud. Allahs Prophet categorically and clearly gave orders to those who were with him. He placed them in certain military positions and said to them dont leave these positions. If you see that we, meaning the Muslims, are victorious over the Mushriks you remain where you are; and if you see that the Mushriks are becoming victorious over us, you still remain where you are. Dont come to help us even if it appears like we are losing this military confrontation. What happened? It became a history for us to look at these social laws. When these individuals saw the Muslims were winning, they left their positions. What was the outcome of that? An immediate

military reversal for the Prophet and the Muslims with him. Allah wants to teach us. Hes not going to change a social law, even if the Prophet and those who are giving their lives and spilling their blood are there- social laws are not going to change. So, the Muslims did not score a victory at Uhud because they did not observe this social law. When you have a leadership telling you to do something and you obey the orders for a limited time; and then, when you see things your own way and you part from these orders what happened? The Muslims were on the defensive at Uhud. They could not secure the victory that they wanted. This is not a disputable issue. It is not one of these issues where we have one version of history telling us one thing and another version of history telling us another thing; or one mujtahad declaring one thing only to be opposed by another. No! Everyone is in agreement on what happened on that day- the 15 th of Shawwaal, a Saturday in the 3rd year of the Hijra. Everyone agrees on this matter. What did the Muslims in virtual retreat to Al-Madinah do the following day? Did they sit down and say lets go to the drawing board and try to figure out what happened? No! Allahs Prophet said were going to pursue these Mushriks. Why? Because he was actively conscious of the social laws that were at work- something that our current preachers dare not speak about- How dare Muslims elevate their understanding of Islam to include social laws?! Islam is supposed to be just praying, fasting and these individual, almost selfish obedience of Allah. To expand Islam to understand Allahs social laws?! Oh no. Muslims are not permitted to do that. There are governments, institutions, educational systems, budgets and Islamic organizations and associations that make it impossible for Muslims to make the leap from an abstract Islam to a practical Islam. The Prophet of Allah said we are going to pursue these Mushriks because he was aware of the social law that was at work- (i.e.) if these Mushriks felt that the Muslims were being defeated the next time around they will attack the Muslims at home. It seems like no one has learnt this lesson and as if no one read about Uhud and what happened there. We dont live in a social vacuum, but if theres an empty space and theres some power or force thats going to move in a direction that will fill in that vacuum with hostilities and bloodshed- a fact that we are observing everyday in this world with our eyes, but we dont have an assimilation into the character and the consciousness of Allahs Prophet to bring these events into the context of the Quran and the Sunnah. The following day, Sunday, after Uhud, the Prophet said all of those individuals who participated in Uhud- some of them were injured, maimed, psychologically traumatized because of the details of Uhud (and) the rumor that Allahs Prophet was killed and the rest of these issues; it was one of the most bleeding moments in Islamic history- we are going to put on our military gear and we are going to pursue these Mushriks and he did and those who were with him did exactly that. They went to an area called Hamra Al-Asad which is at a distance of eight stretches South of Al-Madinah. This is another area in which we, Muslims, live in two different worlds. To explain what a stretch or mayl means, were going to have to translate that into our measurement of distances nowadays. You dont come to a Muslim and tell them I have gone for eight stretches. What does that mean? Another indicator of where we are in relationship with Allah and His ProphetA mayl is 4,000 arm lengths or dhiraaa. For those who went into the effort of trying technically and precisely to work this out, a stretch turns out to be roughly 1,848 meters. If we calculate and multiply that by eight, we understand the distance that

Hamra Al-Asad is from Al-Madinah, which is a considerable distance when you come out bleeding and less then victorious in a battle the previous day. They go out Hamra Al-Asad and what are the dynamics that are taking place? What is the social law that is at work here? The Mushriks, Abu Sufyan, who was the commander-in-chief, (so to speak), the decision maker in this war at Uhud what was he thinking? This information came out later- he was thinking of going back to Al-Madinah itself and fighting the Muslims and finishing them off within that one week after Uhud. This is what happened. When people are on a course of victory, they want more. But, does this lesson from Uhud live in our minds today when we see the enemies of Allah and His Prophet on a winning streak? Dont we know that if they take one country they are going to take the next? If they occupied one territory they want to go to another? If they have the oil fields of the Arabian Peninsula, they want the oil fields of the Caspian Sea? Obviously these types of thoughts dont germinate because the people in the Masaajid and on the Manaabir dont stimulate them and thats why the general condition of the Muslims in todays world is where it is right now. When Abu Sufyan was saying to this Mushrik force that managed to give the taste of defeat to Muhammad and his companions we are going to go back to Al-Madinah and we are going to finish them off- these were the internal thoughts, this was the behavioral law that was at work- one of the Mushrik spiesRemember, we previously said Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) killed Umayyah ibn Khalaf, one other high ranking figure in the Mushrik camp, his son Safwaan came to Abu Sufyan because he had information that the Muslims left Al-Madinah and they are on the war-path to do a follow up battle with the Mushriks. Imagine the conditions the Muslims were in- exhausted, physically bleeding, injured and bruised (physically and literally so), the Prophets tooth was broken, his jaw suffered a concussion, his face was bleeding, he fell- he was physically injured and here he is- because he understood the social law that was at work. He and the committed and fatigued Muslims with him were on a warpath against the Mushriks to this area called Hamra Al-Asad. When these Mushriks realized wait a minute, this may not be a winning streak after all- these Muslims have re-grouped, theyre coming and they want to do war with us; lets get the H-E-L-L out of here and lets go back to Makkah- which they did. They left. They did not leave with that euphoric feeling that they had scored a conclusive victory against the battling Muslims. Wheres this? When we take these elements and bring them to todays world? When theres an attack, an assault and an invasion of Islamic territory, how do the Muslims behave? When the Muslims feel that they have not scored a decisive victory, the same feeling that was shared by Allahs Prophet and the struggling Muslims that were with him, what do they do? Did they say oh well surrender? We want to go to the United Nations. We want to sign some agreements with this invading and occupying enemy. Does this behavior of today fit the character and mode of behavior of Allahs Prophet and those with him in those days? Then, regardless of this we want to impress on ourselves that we remain committed, obedient, pious God-fearing Muslims when all of this is taking place. We have stepped out of Allahs Prophets behavior; abandoned his consciousness and marginalized the social laws that are expressed to us in the Quran and then we go and pray and next week we are going to begin to fast Ramadhan and

we think of ourselves as Muslims on top of the world. This is a failure of character and a contradiction of the Quran and the Prophet. Allah says dont be faint hearted and dont grieve while you are in the higher position if you are truly committed to Allah (Surah Aal-Imran verse 139) The operative word here is if you are truly committed to Allah. Our decision makers and leaders are not truly committed to Allah. (Do) they pray? Yes; (do) they fast Ramadhan? Yes; (do) they go to the Hajj and the Umrah? Yes, but are they truly committed to Allah? No, because they want their victory not to come from Allah but to come from their bilateral arrangements with the enemies of Allah- with the Zionists in Tel Aviv and the Imperialists in Washington. if you suffer from an infliction(Surah Aal-Imran verse 140) There are casualties, people dying, families who have no bread-winners, widows and orphans because of this war that we are looking at from week-to-week- all of that exists. these people who are launching this aggression against us, they also are inflicted with these types of sufferings (Surah Aal Imran verse 140) They have casualties, those who come out of this war handicapped, lost a limb, an eye, orphans and widows, but theres a distinction that we have that they dont have. Allah says the difference between you and them is that you expect something from Allah which they do not expect (Surah An-Nisa verse 104) Do they factor in God in what they are doing? They dont; we do. So our minds and hearts are attached to Allah and theres are not. This is what tips the balances eventually in favor of those who are committed to Allah in a practical sense. Yesterday there were three explosions in some resort area in the Egyptian Sinai and you have all this information that perked out that wasnt there before. At least, the initial report said that 30 people were killed and 23 of them are confirmed to be Israelis and the other 6 or 7 are Egyptian and then there were about 150 who were wounded and evacuated. The Israeli occupiers sent in their means of transportation to evacuate those who have been injured by these explosions to their hospitals and clinics. Then, Sharon, the war criminal that governs that holy territory said that he is willing to bring back from the Egyptian Sinai 15,000 Israelis who are there. We didnt know that. It took three explosions to bring out the fact- (this is their confession- there may be more, we dont know), but at least they confessed to the presence of 15000 yahudis on Muslim soil at the same time in the past month (or so) there has been a mini-war by the Israeli armed forces against the Palestinian in Gaza in particular, not to mention the other areas in the West Bank. In a mind that lives the meanings of the Quran and the behavior of Allahs Prophet, how can 15,000 of these occupiers, invaders and war criminals be living peacefully among Muslims? We say- with a measure of sarcasm and a pinch of irony- that you Muslims, especially those who are drawing

their livelihood from the Saudi Arabian government and who are bending backwards to satisfy Allahs enemies that we are peaceful people- you dont need to do that. Actions speak louder then words- we are so peaceful that foreigners came in and robbed us of the Holy Land- this is how peaceful we are; we are so peaceful that you come into our petroleum rich areas and you virtually steal our resources; we are so peaceful that our imposed governments have taken away from our educational system all references to yahud that are in the Quran- meaning if you have a high school or a college curriculum, all reference from the Quran about yahud has to be omitted. We cant include it in our lesson time. This is how peaceful we are. If you support Allah, He will support you, give you victory and stabilize your position (Surah Muhammed verse 7) Brothers and sisters who feel a movement towards Allah Allah says to us to conform to him. We repeat numerous times everyday Guide us to the straight avenue When we ask Allah for a guidance to our movement- you see, this sentence that we repeat in Surat Al-Faatiha tells us that we are in a movement. Theres a siraat, an avenue and we want to move to Allah in a straightforward manner. Were not static; were not asking for some kind of jelly guidance up there a pie-in-the-sky somewhere; by this, we confess to ourselves that we are practical; we are on earth and we are moving. Next week, as is the case every year the Muslims will be fasting either a week from today, on Friday, or the day after that, on Saturday. We have in a meek way, commented numerously about this discrepancy about the beginning and the ending of the lunar month every year. We will withhold further comment on that, but we will say that this month of Ramadhan is specifically designated to build our will power so that you may magnify Allah for the guidance he has privileged you with so that you may be thankful (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 185) and so that you may become conscience of Allahs power presence in this world (Surah AlBaqarah verse 183) Our will power and Allahs power presence is what Ramadhan is all about. Anyone who is observing a month long fast and who is not concentrating on Allahs power and on His servants will power is only experiencing a material and physical fast. We want to approach this month and have a head start on it with the full knowledge that we will be entering it with two things on our minds- Allahs Power and our will power.

RAMADHAN- ITS PURPOSE AND AIMS

(5 November 2006)
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims.... At the beginning of the month of Ramadhan it is only appropriate to go directly to Allahs words to express and refresh our minds and hearts concerning this once in a year exercise. Allah, whose words tolerate no doubt, are the following (and) even though there are following ayaat and instructions we will make do with this amount. These life sustaining ayaat tell us the following Oh you who are secured in your commitment to Allah (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 183)

This expression- Ya ayyuhalladhina Aamanu- is repeated probably over 100 times in the Quran. When Allah addresses us with these words, He expects us to fulfill the assignment that follows. There are other forms of address in the Quran; Allah says Ya Ayyunah Naas, Ya Ayyuhalladhina utul kitaab, Ya Bani Adam, but here and in the similar ayaat in the Quran, what is to follow is a policy or an assignment- something that requires a collective effort and an organized and disciplined method and approach. As-siyaam is not just a personal responsibility; as-siyaam is a social responsibility. Allah takes us into the socialization of the coming order, instruction or in this case an institution and this is something that has escaped the average Muslim when he reads the Quran. Little does he notice that after Allah says Ya ayyuhalladhina Aamanu, then the following statement or sentence has to do with organizing the Islamic social reality. Allah says fasting has become your assignment (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 183) He didnt say kutiba alayka as-siyaam- as an individual. (This is where we live today), fasting has become an individual obligation; it no longer is pertaining to Ya ayyuhalladhina Aamanu and kutiba alaykum as-siyaam- no longer is Ramadhan within this definition; it has receded, retreated and lost its social dimensions to become what it is today- an individual responsibility; this is the way we approach and exercise our fast, which is not the way that is meant by the meanings of this ayaat. as was the assignment of those who came before (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 183) Pause a moment here- Muslims who are listening to this Quran have inherited an assignment that had it not been for this Quran the whole assignment would have been warped. There were nations and people of scripture before this Quran who also were tasked with fasting- wheres that fast now? (Take a) look at people of previous revelation and prior scripture- how do they fast? What does fasting mean to them? The concept or idea of fasting has become mutilated in those who have shared the responsibilities of scripture before this Quran. If some people fast, they fast 24hours one day in a year; is this a social institution? To other people it means you abstain from meat for one day a week or 40days a year; is this fasting? So, it falls on us to move this responsibility into future generations and to re-institutionalize it within its social dimensions. It is a matter of humble pride that it falls on us- the students of the Prophet and the disciples of the Quran- to fulfill this act of as-siyaam, but what is it about? Why do we fast? Why are we given this month of fasting? La allakum tattakum. Once again, we encounter the socialization of the fast- theres a plural here. Ya ayyuhalladhina Aamanu is a number of people; kutiba alaykum is a plural and then, fasting has been assigned to us for the purpose of La allakum tattakum- once again, we are looking at a congregation or a congress of people. All reference in this ayah is to people in their multitude and masses. There is not one word in this ayah that refers to an individual or one person. Ramadhan, fasting or abstaining from food, water nourishment and the desires of the self is meant for society not for an individual or individuals. The objective when we fast is

so that you may be on guard against Allah. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 183) This is at-taqwa. One of the ways of explaining at-taqwa is there is a sense of avoiding in our civic life the breaking of the law. Why? Because there is a consequence of penalties and punishment. Anyone who breaks the law is going to run into the legal system, the verdict and whatever else comes out of that- a sentence to jail, community service, death penalty, whatever the case maybe. This feeling of trying to avoid breaking the law is (in the linguistic sense) attaqwa. Everyone in himself has a sense, feeling or a consciousness of if at all possible, we are not going to run against the law. It is this meaning that Allah is referring to when He places the word La allakum tattakum in this ayah He does not want us to run afoul of Him- this is what is meant by fasting. This cannot be accomplished if we are fasting only as individuals. It can be achieved when this collective fast becomes a social institution- something that has been absent from Islamic public life for centuries. We have been reduced to something like the fasting of the ego. It has become so private and so personal that even when it comes to explain the objective of fasting in society and the social order around feels strange to our ears. It shouldnt be because it is saturated in these ayaat. Once again- think, focus and concentrate on the particulars in this ayah. The multiple repetition of the plural in this ayah leaves a thinking person no choice but to begin to think about Ramadhan in its social scope, depth and in its social inclusiveness. If this is the case and if this is our understanding of the ayah, then why do we have Ramadhan coming and going (in previous years, this year and if things continue at this pace, in the coming year) but when we are fasting during the month of Ramadhan this fast doesnt have a social impact? Maybe one of the hadiths of Allahs blessed Prophet will explain a little more about this. Muhammad- Rasoulillah said whoever does not part with the expression and actualization of fraud, then Allah has no interest in him parting with him parting with his food and water. What does this mean? This is in reference to our fast- we know alphabetically that fasting means you dont eat, drink and have conjugal relationships if you are married during the day. Allahs Prophet is telling us Allah has no need for us abstaining from food, water and our desires if we are not abstaining from fraudulent expressions and acts. So, if people are fasting, why are they at the same time part of a larger fraud in this world? You (can take a) look at the politics, economics, education, entertainment, socialization- almost everything that is going on in our own society- Ramadhan is social, we understand that from the very 1st ayah in Surat Al-Baqarah, but, (we ask ourselves), who are the Muslims who are withdrawing from the social, political and economic fraud that has become the fiber and the fabric of the society that we are in? Who are the Muslims who by parting with their food, water and desires are at the same time parting from this pronounced fraud around us? Theres an answer to this. They are on the lesser side- numerically. Theres not many people doing this. What brings them to Ramadhan is the force of tradition, and then the way they observe Ramadhan is also a matter of culture and tradition, therefore we have no social Ramadhan; because we dont see around 2billion Muslims in this world making a serious attempt as they withdraw from food and water also withdrawing from the corruption and the fraudulent policies all around them. Theres plenty of them; theres no lack of this. What

happened? Theres a dysfunction of the fasting that we are observing. It doesnt take its social range. Did someone make up this hadith? No! It is there for all to listen and refer to, but why do we have the average Muslim incapable of absorbing this understanding of the fast? Words of frankness sometimes hurt- because there is no confidence in Allah. Muslims today they look around and they see wow, theres a big military force flexing its muscles; dispatching its armada and striking with its aircraft-so what if that is the case- is not Allah more Powerful, Forceful and Potent than what you are looking at? If you dont withdraw from this fraudulent impression that has seeped deep down inside the recesses of your feelings and heart, then what does it mean to be fasting? Who do we expect to take the initiative to say we no longer are part of this global fraud. Whos going to do that? King so-and-so in Arabia or President so-and-so in Africa?! Are they fasting according to the standard and meanings of these ayaat and the hadith of Rasulillah?! Ramadhan would have an impact on the world if one-third of humanity, the Muslims of the human race, were observing a social fast. Where is this taqwa? Is there a heightened sense of not running afoul of Allah? Is there a sharp sense that developed through our fasting not to break the laws of Allah? (You can) compare your own internal self and our internal social self- make that connection and make that leap. Allah never meant for you to be incarcerated within your own individual self; He also wants you to think about your social self- something that is never is expressed and radiated from these Manaabir under occupation. Think of the average Muhammad, Uthman and Ali and the rest of these Muslims and compare the way they compare breaking the law of man with breaking the law of Allah- where is at-taqwa in this comparison? They are more afraid of breaking the secular law than they are of breaking the Islamic and the scriptural law! Where is at-taqwa? Where is Ramadhan? Where is as-siyaam? Siyaam is a matter of discipline. It takes discipline, organization and patience to observe these vital meanings in our social self, not in our personal self. Take a look at our social psychology, where is at-taqwa there in? You can extend that and take a look at our rulers- are they fasting the month of Ramadhan and fulfilling the meanings of these ayaat? The straight answer to that is no! Allahs Prophet furthermore states you may have a person who is fasting but gets nothing out of his fast except hunger and thirst. Thats a physical fast and Allah doesnt want us to be only physical or material human beings, He wants us to extend that so that we realize that we are accountable to Him- and only to Him. Is this what Ramadhan is? Are these the types of meanings that begin to take hold during these days and weeks of siyaam? One of the companions of Allahs Prophet said for everything there is a zakaah, for every privilege, bounty or provision that Allah has given you, you give out of it as a form of purifying and elaborating what Allah has given you. If He has given you money, you give out of that money so the money that you have left will grow and prosper in a method of halaal; if Allah has given you time, you share this time with others who are in need of it. Allah has given us a body and the zakaah of this body is to fast

THE PHAROAH OF OUR TIMES

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims who fear Allah Allahs guiding words (about which there is no doubt) are so telling of our time. Even though the names may be different, the roles are the same. In the following ayah, Allah is underscoring and emphasizing the fact that The pharoah and his assistant and his troops were wrong and aggressive (Surah Qassas verse 8). Why is Allah telling us about a fact when we are separated from that reality? Allah guides us in order that we can soak our minds with the correct information and not be emotionally involved with such a ruler. Strangely, even though Allah offers us this information, we are incapable of processing this information within our time.

Notice, Allah brought to our attention a ruler who in terms of power was 2 nd to none in this world. There were no rulers, kings, emperors or autocrats at that time that could compete with this ruler. Do we have a parallel ruler in our time? This is where our thinking kicks in. Many times, Allah says that He has presented His words of wisdom to people who think; for people who reason; for those who have core thoughts. Are we supposed to understand that this ayah is frozen in the age of the pharoah? Or, are we supposed to understand that it is an expose of all those who have the qualities of the pharaoh? And, this is where the gap is, because we dont find Muslims who are willing to read and understand what Allah is saying in terms of the realities of our own lives. If Allah is saying the pharoah and his assistant and his troops were wrong and aggressive, then, He is also saying that everyone with the description, qualities, policies and strategies of the pharoah qualify for being condemned. If theres any time in which we are required to understand the meanings of this ayah, now is the time, because of what is being done to us. What did this 2nd to none ruler in the world do to his people? Remember, his people were not local people, he was a world figure. That pharaoh figure had an elevated status not in a country or a region, but in the known world of that time. Do we have a person that fills the vacancy of the pharoah? If we dont think, we dont have anyone, but if we begin to think, then we will realise who the contemporary pharoahs are. The pharaoh had an elevated status in the world, and then, he rendered the occupants of earth divided segments of people (Surah Al-Qassas verse 4). Does this ring a bell? If you think, it rings a bell, but if you dont think, you wont get it? Take a look at todays world, theyve taken every divisive factor and used it against the human family to divide it. Is there division in the world along the lines of race? Is there division in the world along the lines of national origin or ethnicity? Take the issue of sects or religions as a matter of division in the human crowd. Take the issue of gender- if youre a man or a woman, you have to feel that you are not belonging to the other gender, or theres some type of tension between you and the other gender. Take the issue of Class- if you have a certain amount of wealth or if lack a certain amount of wealth, then thats supposed to also generate division, tension and friction. If you think, youre able to see the division in this world along these lines, but if you are not thinking, youll just pass by this whole affair as if it doesnt even exist. Then, this pharoah (of old and new) takes a look at human society and finds that there are elements that are weak. If these segments or populations of the world are weak, then he takes advantage of them, he oppresses them, he steals their resources (Surah Al-Qassas verse 4). If you are thinking of what Allah is telling you, your attention will go to areas in the world where this is happening. Arent there wars in Africa, Latin America, Asia etc., where there are populations that are oppressed? They want the diamonds, the petroleum, the natural resources, etc. and to get that, they have to kill. If they have to institutionalise tyranny- they do that! But how come they can do it, and they can get away with it? He gets away, simply because we fail

to make this a collective point of attention among us. There should be a Masjid public opinion that germinates in the Masjid- and if 2billion people become that public opinion, then, the pharoah will not be able to get away with what he tried to get away with then, or what he is trying to get away with now. For those of us who are slow at catching up with what Allah has to say. The strategy and policies that were at work then continue to be at work now. They kill the sons of people- the pharoah did that at that time in the case of the Children of Israel. Do we see similar policies today? Is there a policy of YUDHABIHU ABNA AHUM WA YASTAH YI NISA AHUM? If you dont think, youll say it doesnt exist, but if you think, then you can take an illustration of that. Take what is happening in Iraq? Isnt that a good example of YUDHABIHU ABNA AHUM WA YASTAH YI NISA AHUM? Wars for the past 25 years! Doesnt the killing of the men and the children- the males of that society- through warfare, economic sanctions, forced dislocations etc. exemplify this ayah? This is the nature of human corruption, chaos, mischief and trouble making. (Surah AlQassas verse 4) And then, when it comes to Muslims, who may want to look and understand these realities, theres a barrier between our affinity with Al-Quran on 1 hand and the facts that are highlighted in the Quran on the other hand. How does pharoah deal with us? Were supposed to be committed Muslims who have a degree of knowledge ahead of others- what does the pharoah do? How does he affect us? The pharoah penetrated our minds to a degree that he is taking us lightly. (Surah AzZukhruf verse 54) He knows that we dont take the Quran seriously, so he disregards us. Its present in front of usthousands of people listen to senseless khutbahs rather than to khutbahs that make sense. Look at how the pharoah has taken people lightly. His people are no longer limited to 1 nation, globalisation is in the process, so now, the pharoah is taking lightly the popular opinion of the world, (because he is not only the pharoah of the known world, but the pharoah of the entire world). Take a look at how obedient people are to the minor pharaohs. If the pharoah says that Islam is a matter of fanaticism and terror, then those who are supposed to belong to the Quran follow the pharoah. The mistake is to follow the pharoah in his policies and strategies, especially now, when we Muslims are not living in a time of comfort where we can finesse our Islam and concentrate on issues of brushing our teeth or wearing an abaah. Can anyone who is living in this world deny what is happening to the Muslims? Its almost like every week theres a new place in the world where bombs are being dropped on us. The Prophet of Allah said as he stood on the day of Arafaat in hajj (this is one of the hadiths that the status-quo clergy men want to sweep beneath the carpet) O people! Which day is this? He then said-This is a day of sanctity. He said- Which place is this?

He then replied-This is a place of sanctity. He asked- Which month is this? He then answered-This is a month of sanctity. He then said- O people- know that your lives and your possessions and your honour are as sanctimonious, they have as much sanctity as this day in this place in this month. This is the sanctity of Muslim blood and Muslim lives. Oh yeah?! So what are these bombs and weapons and war-fronts that are shedding and spilling Muslim blood around the world saying to Allahs Prophet. He says Muslim life has sanctity to it but the mushriks and kaafirs are saying No! Theres no sanctity to it. And we can prove it because Muslim blood flows. Let those who are present communicate this information to those who are absent. If there was a physical absence at that time, theres a mental absence at this time, because to bring this hadith into the context of our world today, were going to be forced to look at the major pharoahs and the minor pharoahs. Were going to begin to focus on the presidents and the kings who are making decisions that affect our lives. They dont want us to do that, so they as a matter of convenience marginalise this type of hadith. This is not a matter of picking on presidents and kings, it is a matter of exposing them as a function and a responsibility directly from the Quran and Allahs Prophet. But the pharoah enjoys the Muslim ignorance that we display. Besides, he has a network of status quo Muslim scholars who only express his line of thought. Theres been a globalisation of this network that reverberates with ignorance from Saudi Arabia to Washington, which has cost the Muslims hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives. Can anyone deny it?! So whats the description of people who are vulnerable to the sliding hand of the pharoah? We set ourselves up for qualifying for QAWMAN FASIKIN. (Surah Az-Zukhruf verse 54) Does it bother anyone to say the truth? All the developments around us are a pressure on us to think of what Allah is instructing us to do. Allah doesnt want us to go and fall asleep during the jumah khutbah once a week, nor to listen to nonsense, even though millions of Muslims are doing that every week. That is the force and the effect of traditions- when jumah has become a tradition and is no longer an institution that is able to generate and mould public opinion. Even though we have all of these catastrophes and calamities surrounding us, it is a shame that we still have pathetic khutbahs and indifferent and passive people who come to the Masaajid, and then cant wait for the moment to be released back into their dunya. (This ayah is in the context of Jumah prayers), And if they see, or sense a business opportunity or a time of leisure, they will part immediately from you (O Prophet of Allah) and leave you in your affairs alone to struggle with them. Say to them, what Allah has is better than the commercial activity that you are engaged in. (Surah Al-Jumah verse 11)

Commercialism has penetrated so deeply, that even Muslim scholars are speaking about the fiqh of being practical and reasonable. That is another way of saying we have to tow the line of the economic interests in the world and not be against the status-quo. Do you see how the pharoah has penetrated and come down on us in the political language and in the religious discourse of our Masaajid and amongst our khateebs and preachers who are supposed to know better? Where is this sanctity that the Prophet spoke about in his final Hajj? The Prophet is saying Muslim life is expensive. But, the kuffaar and the mushriks are saying Muslim life is cheap! Where are you in all of this? Have you ever given it a thought? Hear what the Prophet is saying and see what the kaafirs are doing, and in-between, see how the status-quo scholars are giving legitimacy to the condition that we are in? Granted- there are old people for whom it may be too late to have this Quran touch bases with them, but theres the young and there are the restless who qualify to know these meanings, and not to know them in a passive sense, but to know them as a matter of responsibility and duty. As an example- look at the Muslims in this area, -Masha-Allah- numbers are growing exponentially, but does anyone of these status quo scholars say to them how to think about Islam? No! Thats been taken care of in a more complex way. There are indirect ways of penetrating the Muslim mind and psyche to render us where we are today? An opportunity like Jumah, where the Muslims can express their determination just passes by, and rather than take the opportunity, Muslims are comfortably listening or even falling asleep through a khutbah. Is this what Allah wants? But this is the effect that seeps down from the pharoahs office, and makes its presence known in the Masaajid. And then, after experiencing this, not knowing it, Allah says: And we want to favour those who have been without power in the world. (Surah Al-Qassas verse 8) Allah wants us, but it seems like all indications are that we do not want Him. Brothers and Sisters Know that when the Muslims felt the responsibility of Islam, there was only one power that they felt accountable to, and that was the power of Allah. The wider issues of worldly and earthly powers did not factor into their behaviour, tactics and strategy. They didnt care how much any other force in the world had accumulated power, because they knew that power is the sole possession of Allah. They did not go about saying we have to win roman or mushrik or kaafir public opinion to our course. What happened to todays Muslims? Why is it that they brought into the Muslims relationship with Allah worldly and earthly power figures? What happened to Allah in all of this? Is Allah just a secular God? Or just a deity that we remember once a week, or 30 minutes in our salaah during the day?! Is that our relationship with Allah? And if it is, dont be surprised that we are where we are today? There should be a new Muslim, a new Islamic fibre, a new Islamic will that only deals with Allah? Isnt this the character of Allahs Prophet? When Moosa found that the forces of the world were going against him, he said Oh Allah, but it is only a fitnah/trial from you. (Surah Araf verse 155)

This is a statement of intense meanings. When the Last Prophet of Allah found himself in conditions similar to Moosas, he said O Allah, I complain to you. What happened to our leaders when we find ourselves in these types of conditions? They hop around the world, because they find divinities and deities and authorities in the capitals and in the palaces and in the mansions. And then, either you are part of the problem or you are part of the solution- theres no area in-between. And because the mainstream of todays Masaajid goers are part of the problem, you can understand why we have what is happening to us. And all of this is said only for the purpose of stimulating us.

Islam and Revolution (Part 1 of 3)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims who seek to live and to die for Allah Before I begin this subject, I would like to refer to the state of nature of man before Islam and Revolution gained their modern day connotations. In the generations of Nuh, Ibrahim, Moosa, (may Allahs eternal peace be upon them) etc., there was a serious difference between the content in of (for e.g.) Moosas message and the pattern of life within which he lived. The nature of this difference was a life and death issue. If Moosa insisted on pursuing his line of revelationary thought and methodology until its end, he and those that followed him could not escape the inevitable encounter with the established power of the day. This generalisation is applicable to the other prophets and emissaries who were commissioned by Allah. At that time there was no

Islam as we (the victims of the media) understand it today. By the media I mean books, newspapers, television, movies, orientalists, professors, teachers, etc. that have robbed Islam of its quant-essential qualities and equated its meaning with a deviant slant toward Wahabism, Shism, Sunnism, Sufism, Black Africanism, etc. This is not to say that the above notions are correct or incorrect- some may be totally right or wrong and some may be partially right or wrong. The issue I want to refer to is the displacement of the Quranic meanings of Islam which encompassed a period of struggle beginning from the first days of Adam (alaih salaam). This is on one hand. On the other hand the word revolution has suffered from the same quarters. Due to the desires and interests of the media kingpins, the word revolution wobbles between radical change on one end and disruption and lawlessness on the other end. As was the case with the medias connotations or suggestions concerning Islam, the same applies to revolution. We cannot find in the Qur'an a justification for these media connotations. Hence, we will deliberately avoid such general media implications as chaos, anarchy, pandemonium etc. However, the intention, will, purpose and ambition of the word revolution are to be found in the divine writ according to their unadulterated meanings and implications. Here, in passing, we may detect the virtue of those who preserved the meanings of the Quran and kept them alive viz. the Mujahideen. To the awakening but still immature Muslim, revolution was synonymous with Atheism, Marxism, Socialism, Nationalism, Muammar Gaddafi, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Fidel Castro, etc. But amongst committed Muslims, the word revolution is associated with Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), Ahl Bait, Sahaba, Hassan al Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Ruhullah Khomeini, Mohamed Asi, Usama bin Laden, etc. Here, we are talking about the sons of the general Islamic Movement. At this juncture, I cannot but recall what Malik ibn Nabi had cautioned against ie. the stigmatising of revolution in the Muslim mind. He was afraid of what is now the policy of some decision-makers who call themselves Muslim, viz. those liberals who subscribe to the notion of negating the status quo via the modern translation of revolution. These liberals are subjecting their postulates not to Quran and Sunnah but to the postulates of the counter civilisation. As an example, the word colonialism was translated by these pseudo-Muslims as Istimar. If we search for this word in the Quran, we would find it to have a positive meaning. It is He (meaning Allah) who has produced you from the earth and settled you there-in (Surah Hud verse 61) Therefore, the action of colonialism which is tyranny, humiliation and injustice does not blend in with the aromatic sense of Istimar as rendered in the Quran. This matter of manipulating words and jargon to alienate the revolutionary spirit is yet another field that is wide open for those sincere and committed Muslims who can readily recognise the discrepancy between the revolutionary language of the Quran and the phraseology of the establishment.

Since our medium of communication is English and for a lack of a better word but at the same time devoid of its connotations, I will use the word revolution and its derivatives to explain the idea of

realistic rejection, practical objection and defiance of Taghut and Jahiliyya plus the constructive alternative (Islam) that cannot co-exist with its opposite.

The Muslims article of faith begins with a denial. The word la indicates a break from the prevailing anti-Islamic condition and circumstances. It is not a theoretical vote of no confidence, rather, it is a word that follows, not precedes the attitude and intention to destroy the overall structure of Taghut, as well as Taghut itself. Whoever rejects Taghut, i.e. A totalitarian government that is intoxicated with the excessive concentration of excessive power and believes in Allah is on firm grounds (Surah AlBaqarah verse 256) It was this determination to abolish the material manifestation of Taghut in its political, economic, military, cultural, social, psychological etc. forms that highlights the discourses and instructions of the Quran and Sunnah. War was waged against this resolute determination throughout history. Moosa was not on the Pharoanic establishments wanted list because he was a person with an alternative set of tenets. He was wanted by the King of Egypt because the laws he had were the only system sanctioned by Allah. Ibrahim was not a transcendental guru, hopping from one land to another to win over spiritual weaklings. He wasnt thrown into the execution chamber of the day because he wanted the people to be pious and righteous citizens of the powers that be. He was to be incinerated because he was a threat to the national security of Nimrud. As did all the emissaries of Allah, Ibrahim carried within him the unyielding determination to topple the Taghut. This uncompromising, revolutionary and daring spirit motivated and oriented all the prophets. It was this divine revolutionary drive that forced them into execution chambers, exile, political refuge, poverty, excommunication, banishment, alienation, prison, ridicule, assassination attempts, a crucifixion bid, etc. In todays political and intelligence climate, where do we find the monks, gurus, evangelists, popes, cardinals, priests and rabbis on the wanted lists of their respective governments? Where do we find qadis, mullahs, muftis, shaikhs, dervishes, etc. on the wanted list of their respective governments? You will not! Simply because they do not have the revolutionary impetus of Nuh, Ibrahim, Moosa, Isa and Muhammed (as). Let me now demonstrate some revolutionary decisions by the beloved Messenger and let us see whether we have the revolutionary manhood to follow the Sunnah and Seerah of the last prophetic model. There can be no doubt that among the first political decisions taken by the Prophet was to organise his followers into what is today called a party. This massing of members was never a

political leverage which the Prophet used to gain power, popularity or privilege. The rejection of the establishment was an all out, hardcore and confident one, which did not break down into negotiations or accommodations half way through the struggle. On the contrary, the more the leadership of Muhammeds revolutionary purity persisted in its opposition and relentless struggle to seize the power and legitimacy from the forces of shirk and Taghut, the more these kaafir leaders tried to persuade the Islamic leadership to negotiate, compromise and accommodate. Their desire is that you should accommodate and compromise so they would accommodate and compromise (Surah Al-Qalam verse 9) The clashes led by Quraish against the Islamic political and military emergence was natural because Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was intent on popularising the divine doctrinal belief, and he was for all practical purposes declaring a war against the Quraishi establishment. The belief expounded by Muhammed was by its very nature the anti-thesis of a multi-power; multi-master and multi-divine Mecca. The war initiated by the Prophet was a revolt against the value system and its legal system simultaneously. The revolutionary spirit did not spare the royalty and the majesty of Quraish. This revolutionary commitment denigrated Quraishs futuristic vision, it vilified their lords and repudiated their cheap life. The revolutionary language of the Quran is unmistakable. It frankly and as a revolutionary guide is assails them by saying: Verily you kaafirs and the false gods that you worship besides Allah are but fuel for Hell; to it will you surely come (Surah Al-Ambiya verse 98) Then the revolutionary spirit in the Quran goes on to fiercely assail usury which was the oppressive money generating mechanism of the Quraishi power structure: That which you lay out for increase through the property of other people will have no increase with Allah (Surah Ar-Rum verse 39) The revolutionary justice in the following ayaat threaten those mercantile elements: Condemnation to those who deal in fraud; Those who when they have to receive from men exact full measure; But when they have to give by measure or weight to men give less than due (Al Mutaffifeen verse 1-3) Was it prudent for the divine script to antagonise the financial typhoons, the multi-national merchants and the religious establishment within the Quraishi power structure all at once? Our present day liberals who are enjoying the claim that they are the true Muslims and thus causing a spurious commotion in the Muslim rank and file are the same ones who are attacking other Muslims because they are following this policy of the beloved Messenger. The consequence of these divine revolutionary guidelines was an increase in the persecution of Muslims. The revolutionary students and companions of Muhammad were tortured, but they did not leave their torture chambers convinced that the only way to power is by joining the Quraishi power structure and changing it from within. They did not depart their torture sessions and incarceration cells convinced that they had to align themselves with the devil to undermine the aristocracy of Quraish. Instead, they graduated from their torture chambers with a fervent revolutionary conviction that Allah will deliver them either to worldly power or heavenly peace, and this is represented by the statement of Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)

Endure with patience Oh family of Yasir, verily your promise is Jannah Quraish instigated policies of boycotts and embargoes, it activated its mouth-pieces and media against the revolutionary impulse of the emissary and his deen but Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) continued to criticise them and he continued his struggle to undermine the prevailing Meccan order. He made no bones about it. Remember, he was one individual, unarmed, unassisted and unsupported by any secular power. O You (Muhammed) who is enshrouded; arise and deliver the warning; and Magnify your Lord ; and keep your garments free from stain; and shun all abominations; nor expect in giving any increase for thy self; but for your Lords cause be patient and be constant (Surah Mudatthir verse 1-7) Indeed the obedient revolutionary follows the orders of the only sovereignty in mans life and he calls for an assembly of people- who are anxious to hear what the truthful has to say. At 40, they knew him only to be honest and sincere. After they assemble, he asks them Have you ever known me to make a false statement, their answer was no, they never heard him lie to them. Then he asks them What if I had to tell you that there was an impending enemy beyond this mount, would you believe me? They said, yes they would. So he in the best of revolutionary candidness communicated to them the message of Allah, that he is appointed by Allah as a Messenger and that they should denounce the power and lordship over everyone and everything and ascribe these attributes to Allah. Upon catching the intent of this revolutionary statement, Abu Lahab the Prophets uncle viciously reacted as anyone with an invested interest in the status quo would. Abu Lahab said to his nephew: May you perish O Muhammed for this! Did you only summon us here for this? Now if we were to think that the Quran is passive, neutral, apologetic or in any sense a nonrevolutionary text, then a statement such as Abu Lahabs would not invoke an eternal divine reply. But subsequent to that Abu Lahabi statement, the Quran responded in its revolutionary tone: Perish the hands of the father of flame, perish he; He will not profit from all his wealth and all his gains; Soon will he be burnt in a fire of blazing flame; his wife shall carry the crackling wood as fuel; a twisted rope of palm leaf fibre will be around her own neck (111) What is significant beside the fact that the dignity of the Prophet and Islam did not go unnoticed by divine attention is the second sentence. This sentence cuts down the Abu Lahabs to their size. The money and possessions of this capitalist will be of no value and comfort. Certainly, Abu Lahab could have been denounced for his harsh words, shirk and kufr, but the Qurans revolutionary cadence marches to the core of the issue, in this case, the wealth and affluence of this capitalist. The original khutbah was delivered in 1984 by Imam Asi, the elected Imam of Muslims in Washington DC.

Islam and Revolution (Part 2 of 3)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims who follow a divine order Let us take another revolutionary example from the Prophet (alaih salaam)s Sunnah. The decision-makers of Quraish pleaded with his uncle to talk some sense into his nephews head on behalf of the Quraishi power hierarchy. His uncle approaches the Prophet with these propositions: If it an issue of position and status that you want, the chiefs of Quraish are willing to elevate you to the most luxurious and comfortable status that you wish; If it is an issue of being in-charge of the whole Meccan order, they will appoint you as its supreme leader; If it is a matter of you being possessed by uncontrollable powers and spirits, then Quraish is willing to provide you with the best physicians there are.

The first two proposals are a dream come true. Any of the conformist Islamists and their superiors from the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia would jump at the opportunity of the Islamic end justifying the kaafir means. But was this the Sunnah of our political leader par excellence. Was he a fanatic not to accept an Islamisation process in Mecca, whereby he and a negotiated few of his partisans could join Quraish and then gradually change the kaafir system into a Muslim one? Was he politically nave not to accept the highest office in the Meccan Republic, or was he reacting to years and years of persecution, torture and malignment that he could not objectively decide. All of these accusations are thrown at the revolutionary Muslims who are struggling to implement the policies of this Prophet (alaih salaam). In those circumstances, and under those conditions, what were the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)s clarion reply for our Muslims to hear throughout the ages and years? By Allah, O my uncle, if they were to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand on condition that I abandon this business, I would still not leave it until Allah makes it victorious or I die doing it This prophetic statement has to be the epitome of revolutionary immunity for the manoeuvre of containment and vacillation. But containment and vacillation are the order of the day for the grand Quraish of today. Whatever happened to the Sunnah of these Sunnah-less leaders? Or should the Sunnah dare not have a political much less revolutionary meaning? It was this firm Prophetic revolutionary will that was liberated from all forms of fears. It did not fear the fortunes or misfortunes of the future and an uncertain tomorrow. No harm could afflict them except by Allahs permission (Surah Al-Baqarah verse102) If Allah most gracious should intend some adversity for me, of no use whatsoever will be their intercession (Surah Yasin verse 23) Say: Do you then take as protectors other than Allah; such who have no power to benefit or harm themselves? (Surah Ar-Rad verse16) Say: Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us (Surah Taubah verse 51) And many other ayahs in the Quran which free the mind of any reservations as far as any costbenefit approach is concerned, and add to this the divine instructions which liberate the psychopolitical desire of potential deprivation and a consequent relapse into poverty and need. The thing that you adapt to, serve and worship besides Allah has no power to give you sustenance (Surah Al-Ankabut verse 17) Say: Who gives you sustenance from the heavens and the earth, Say it is Allah (Surah Saba verse 24) Truly such will be our provision to you, it will never fail (Surah Saad verse54) And finally, the Qurans revolutionary force conquers death itself. A Muslim does not fear dying. This is not to imply that a Muslim is obsessed with killing and being killed. Rather, a Muslim welcomes death when it becomes an act of worship and devotion. The quiescent attitude of government sponsored Islam dreads death. This inactive and secularly supported Islam flees in the face of these death challenging verses from the Quran:

Verily it is We that give life and death and to Us is the final goal (Surah Qaaf verse 43) And verily it is Us who gives life and who gives death. It is Us who remain inheritors after all else passes away (Surah Al-Hijr verse 23) It is We who gave you life, will cause you to die, and will again give you life (Surah Al-Hajj verse 66) It is Allah who grants laughter and tears, and it is Allah who grants death and life (Surah Najm verse 43-44) We have decreed death to be your common lot, and We are not to be frustrated (Surah AlWaqiah verse 60)

It can only be a revolutionary mood in the dear book that erodes all elements and factors of fear. Thus the stage is set for the military assault against the forces of shirk and kufr. Only after being equipped with this revolutionary fervour can Muslims be ready for the military campaigns awaiting them. It was upon this revolutionary foundation that ayaat such as the following were revealed: Muster your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the hearts of Allahs enemies and your enemies (Surah Al-Anfal verse 60) Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure (Surah As-Saff verse 4) But if the kaafirs turn renegade or return to enmity, seize them and slay them wherever you find them (Surah An-Nisa verse 89) Fight the Mushriks and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame and help you to victory over them (Surah Taubah verse 14) Fight those who dont believe in Allah or in the last day nor hold as forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Prophet (Surah Taubah verse 29) And fight the Mushriks in an all out manner the way they fight you in an all out manner (Surah Taubah verse 36) You will find people who desire security from you and their own folk. Whenever they are tempted to hostility, they are plunged there-in. But, if there is hostility, they are plunged there-in. If they dont withdraw from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain themselves against you. Then seize them and kill them wherever you find them (Surah An-Nisa verse 91) Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 190) And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and Deen is for Allah (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 193) The divine revolutionary was ordered by Allah to arouse the Mumin to do combat. O Apostle, arouse the believers to the fight (Surah Al-Anfal verse 65)

Those who compromise their revolutionary and military momentum during combat are warned and threatened. This is their ultimatum O you who are committed to Allah, when you meet the kaafirs in battle positions, never turn your backs to them. If any of you turns your back on this enemy, and it is not as part of a strategy of war or a retreat to join another battalion of your own, then you draw on yourself the wrath of Allah and your abode is hell an evil refuge indeed (Surah Al-Anfal verse 15-16) These ayahs and many more in the Quran are enough to shatter the static, dormant. in-active, dull figure image that todays moderates want to make Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). This revolutionary example for all Muslims participated in 27 military battles and expeditions. Let us take a glimpse of this revolutionary model on the day of Uhud. The Prophets tooth was broken on the day of Uhud, his face was cut and blood was running there-from. He was wiping his blood and saying How can these people (the kaafirs) succeed when they shed the blood and stain the face of an envoy calling them to their lord. The serious and assertive Prophetic mentality ordered the execution of 400 counter revolutionaries belonging to Bani Quraida. Revolutionary integrity in the beloved heart of our leader made it possible for him to personally eliminate a kaafir by the name of Ubaiy Bin Khalaf. The Prophets policy to his commanders on the conquest of Mecca was that they should not kill anyone unless the others were intent on killing the Muslims. But there were several who the Prophet wanted to execute even if they were found within the sanctuary of the Kaaba. Among them were Abdulla bin Saad, Abdulla bin Khattal and two of his women singers who often sang songs of rhythmic diatribe against the Prophet. The Prophet ordered them killed in addition to others. His words still ring in the justice seeking and struggling revolutionaries: KILL THEM EVEN IF YOU FIND THEM HIDING BEHIND THE CURTAINS OF THE KAABA All of the above policies and actions taken by the beloved are subject to the outcry of international organisations, human rights associations etc. Even the conventional minds of ritualistic Islam would question the revolutionary portrait of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) in the Quran Muhammed is the messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are strong and firm and ferocious against the kaafirs but compassionate amongst one another (Surah Al-Fath verse 29) And that is precisely the issue. The revolutionary figure of the Prophet has faded away. His revolutionary and combatant nature does not exist in the minds and hearts of the bulk of those who purport to follow him. Here lies the task of rehabilitating the revolutionary character of our supreme guide and teacher. The original khutbah was delivered in 1984 by Imam Asi, the elected Imam of Muslims in Washington DC.

Islam and Revolution (Part 3 of 3)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims who do not consider the Deen of Allah in jest And every time the revolutionary determination went into a higher gear, the anti-Islamic forces stepped up their dual stick and carrot approach. One of the carrots some Islamists are nibbling on today is a formula for sharing power. This is not new! What is new is the departure from the Prophets policy. The Kingdom of Quraishi Arabia offered the Prophet to rule and apply Islam for one or two years in their stay, and they would apply their system and regulations for one or two years. Some present day Muslims would celebrate for such an opportunity. Their argument would go as follows: Islam is intrinsically superior to the other ideologies and systems. The people are in dire need of Islam and they know it not. Some people are even Muslims and the only thing lacking in their lives is the implementation of the Islamic penal code and law. If we are given the opportunity to present people with the excellent qualities of Islam, then we should do so, because once they have tasted Islam, they will not settle for anything less. This abridged argument contains at least a couple of fallacies. First of all, it accepts the good faith of Taghut, and it

assumes that Taghut is going to honour its word. So there is an element of reliance upon Taghut to establish Islam. The other false assumption is that Islam is capable of winning over adherents who will en masse make a difference simply by granting Islam a stage appearance. Besides, Allah Most High and Most Knowledgeable answered this Taghuti offer with a policy from above seven heavens: Say: O you who reject faith, I dont conform to that which you conform to, nor will you conform to that which I conform to, and I will not conform to that which you want me to conform to, nor will you conform to that which I conform to, to you be your way and to me mine (Surah Al-Kaafirun) Muhammads lifelong struggle to destroy Taghut in the sphere of reality has to be resuscitated. Absolutely no-one in the history of mankind demolished in so short a period of time as many Taghuts as did this unique revolutionary. When we review twenty-three years of liberation and revolution led by Muhammed, we cannot but submit to the fact that this revolutionary was inspired by revelation. Virtually alone, and unsupported by any secular power, he managed to cause a radical change in the spiritual, social, economic, military, political and cultural activities of man. He was a revolutionary against the contorted concepts of God which cleansed the human mind and soul of false images and ideas of God and brought home the pristine oneness of Allah.

His was an all out war against bias in all its manifestations, especially racist and nationalist bigotry. This revolution anchored the policies of a single human family, thereby crushing the narrow mindedness of racial supremacy. Taqwa was to replace all other dogmatic criterion. There is revolutionary value, justice and law in the following Quranic principles: O Mankind, We created you male and female and made you derivatives of other peoples so that you may know each other, not that you may despise each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is he who is constantly on guard against Allahs power presence (Surah Hujurat verse 13) O Mankind, revere your guardian Lord who created you out of a single nafs, created of like nature his mate and from them twain scattered like seeds countless men and women (Surah An-Nisa verse 1) The Prophet says Not among us are those who live, fight and die in the name of Nationalism. It was and still is a revolution against social and class discrimination. At that time, when the Quraishi feelings of superiority was at their peak, and when Quraish in the days of Hajj use to stand at Muzdalifa, and proceed from there while the rest of the pilgrims stood at Arafat, and proceeded from there. The revolutionary defiance and directives were revealed as Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) who belonged to the Quraishi citizenry stood with the rest of nonQuraishis at Arafat, and with the Quran addressing Quraish:

Then pass on quickly from the place from where the multitude do so (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 199) This was a revolutionary method and measure which equalised all people. The Quraishi pomp and pride could not accept or see a Quraishi daughter or sister married to an average Arab or commoner. Then, along comes the Prophet who was from the best stock in Quraish and he adjoins his cousin Zainab bin Jahash in marriage to the socially inferior Zaid. Today, the daughters and sisters of Saudi Quraish are not wedded to the other Muslims, unless it may be out of some interest. Today, Quraish reincarnated as the royal family of Saudi Arabia performs its Tawaaf, after vacating the immediate vicinity of the Kaba from the presence of the other Muslims, and there are no Muslim scholars, many of whom are swarming into the petro-domain of quick wealth, who have displayed the will to rehearse these meanings to the contemporaneous lords of the Saudi clan. Today there are heated debates in certain Islamic circles pertaining to the Islamic legality of revolutionary change in the regimes and dictatorships that have come into existence in Muslim lands. Menacingly, these establishmentarian sponsored Islamists dont favour a rupture with the Taghuti system. But, as a matter of Prophetic revolutionary discipline, we do not have a choice but to take issue with the established Taghuts, especially those that are mattressed by the affluence of petro-riches while their brothers and sisters in Islam and humanity are subjected to a general condition of oppression and injustice throughout Asia, Africa and the World at large.

The reasons for any Islamic Movements hostility towards the autocratic regimes are the following: Then We put you on the right way, so follow that way, and dont follow the desires of those who know not (Surah Jaathiyah verse 18) We have sent down to you the book in truth that you might judge between men as guided by Allah (Surah An-Nisa verse 105) If any do fail to judge by the light of what Allah has revealed, they are no better than the kaafirs (Surah Maidah verse 47) So judge between them by what Allah has revealed (Surah An-Nisa verse 48) And this He commands: judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they beguile you from that which Allah has sent down to you (Surah Maidah verse 49) Do they then seek a judgement from the days of ignorance, but who can give better judgement than Allah (Surah Maidah verse 50)

And, there are other hadiths from the Prophet (alaih salaam), that demand and suggest rebellion against the established Taghuts travelling in our Muslim lands. Today, there is no excuse, nor alibi for the Muslims to ignore or neglect this effort that belongs to the Muslim Ummah, and the mustadafin (oppressed peoples) of Allahs creation. Striving to achieve an Islamic Revolution is an embodiment of the revolutionary impulse of Muhammed (alaih salaam). It has become obvious, even to non-Muslims, that the super and regional powers, (the US, the SU, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Zionist occupiers of Palestine, Egypt, and virtually all the Taghuts in the world,) are involved directly more than indirectly against the revolutionary stance of certain Muslims, but let not the sons of the Islamic Movement take the side of the kuffaar as some moderates would like us to see. Throughout this khutbah, I tried to demonstrate the affinity between Islam and revolution. It should be clear by now, that the two are synonymous and inseparable. Whoever the implementers of the Prophets revolutionary concepts are, be they the Ulema, the combatants, and the oppressed and committed sons of the Islamic Revolution, they are on the side of Allahs Messengers: On Shuaib (alaih salaam)s side against mercantilism, financial exploitation and money monopoly; On Moosa (alai salaam)s side against political corruption and super power arrogance; On Lut (alaih salaam)s side against moral degeneration and ethical degradation. These are the most chronic problems of our times, and if the leaders of Islamic associations, parties, organisations and local movements want to take the side of this historic procession, then the only step they have to take is the revolutionary march into the future as is outlined in the Quran, implemented by the Prophet and preserved by the Mujahideen. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, the sufficient is Allah for him (Surah At-Talaq verse 3) The original khutbah was delivered in 1984 by Imam Asi, the elected Imam of Muslims in Washington DC.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers, Sisters who feel responsible. Todays world in many respects is similar to the world of Makkah and Al-Medinah fourteen centuries ago. Theres a constant theme that runs through our time that connects us with them and all the generations who devoted and dedicated their lives and sacrificed their wherewithal for Allah. In all the cascading ayaat that come our way, Allah is speaking to us personally- and the defect is not in His guidance, the defect is in us understanding the light and the enlightenment that comes to us from Him. Since September 11th, people almost everywhere who were facing towards the Qibla and staying up portions of the night, who had their hands raised in Qunoot during the times of prayer were saying: O Allah, lift this burden off of us; O Allah, relieve us of the pressures that we are in; O Allah, spare us the agony of our mistakes and our deviations etc. Unfortunately, because of the pressures of the past couple of years, some individuals ceased to call upon Allah in public to give victory to the committed Muslims in the usual areas, Palestine, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq and the other areas that we are familiar with. Why have they ceased to invoke Allahs name for Allahs victory to Allahs committed Muslims? Because they are afraid! But theyre afraid of the wrong source of fear! Instead of being afraid of Allah and speaking

His words, theyre afraid of Allahs enemies and silent of His words, and this is a symptom of those who are denial of Allah. Only those who are in rejection of Allah despair of His relief. (Surah Yusuf verse 87) What happens to us when we dont want to open our eyes to the reality and the facts that are pounding our existence? We are the ones who bring about these types of consequences on our own selves. Certainly, in the Messenger of Allah, you have a perfect and excelling example, model or precedent. But, it is for those who are in desire of Allah and the final day. This living model of Rasulillah can only be of value to those who have ideas, feelings, expectations and hopes that are located in Allah, in the final day and they never relent, cease, nor decrease their consciousness and their focus on Allah. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 21) Heres the gap between those who Allah describes in these perfectly worded ayaat and the flaw that exist in todays deficiently behaving Muslims. The partial Muslim takes this ayah and then, from their positions of influence through khutbahs, books and everything at their disposal, they want the rest of the Muslims to concentrate on the Prophets behaviour as a private person. But it is not left to you and me or these spokespersons who have blasted our conscience with information out of context. Most of the damage that has come our way has come from those who try to justify non-Islamic ends by using Islamic means, by taking the accurate information Allah has provided to us and dislocating it. In this particular instance, in what context is this information coming to us from Allah? It is coming in the context of a military reality and the following ayah explains it. And when the committed Muslims saw the allied forces, when they watched a military alliance at work, when they observed the common policies and strategies that descended upon them in a confederated military organization, they said This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 22) What a difference between these committed Muslims who accurately perceived of reality and conscientiously understood Allahs directives to them? They were put in a position to look at the real world without trying to skew information, without trying to bend the rules and the laws for their own interests and without trying to force Allahs words in a context to which they did not belong. Today, there is the equivalent of Al-Ahzaab- talk about military alliances or coalition of forces- it is here. If you are willing to open your eyes, you can see Al-Ahzaab; all it takes is for you to diagnose reality objectively and impartially- but, what are we saying compared to what they said? The instant the committed Muslims saw this coalition of forces, they said this is what Allah and His Messenger promised us. For those who are willing to look at this fact, many of them are not willing to say THIS IS WHAT ALLAH AND HIS MESSENGER PROMISED US. Whats wrong? If the quality and the degree of your imaan do not place these words in your mind and heart to be expressed by your language and your behaviour, then Allahs

Prophet is not your model and not your prototype. We rather look around and say Well- NO, Wait a minute, something is wrong here, Islam is a religion of peace and cave in. The committed Muslims around the Prophet didnt say that. When they saw the coalition of forces cementing their militaries around Al-Medinah, they didnt say wait a minute, something is wrong here; this religion of Islam is a religion of peace. But this is the behaviour of todays mainstream, establishmentarian and status quo type of Muslims. In addition to that, Allah gives us further information about this polarization- Islamic forces on one side fourteenhundred years ago and today; mushrik and kaafir forces closing ranks against them fourteenhundred years ago and todayAnd Allah and His Messenger have stated the truth. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 22) They werent running away from reality the way todays Muslims run away from reality. Today, Muslims want to diffuse this encounter. Allahs Prophet and the combatant Muslims around him didnt want to diffuse this polarization. They said: Indeed, this is the right thing that is happening because it is the truth that has been spoken by Allah and His Apostle. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 22) And further, When these forces meet, they only increase, bolster and magnify the commitment and the yielding of these Muslims to Allah. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 22) If we can see this clearly fourteen-hundred years ago, why cant we see it clearly today? What happened? Why are there gaps in our minds that are filled with misinformation, the distortion of reality and the bending and twisting of these crystal clear ayaat? Let us try to break these issues down a little for our own understanding. Over a decade ago, and in another instance, over two decades ago, in both instances, there was a brutal suppression of an attempt at Islamic self-determination in particularly two areas of the Muslim world, one of them in the Levant and the other one in North Africa. Since that time, there has been a meeting of minds, something like a think-tank consensus, that the best way to deal with Islamic selfdetermination is to bring about an awesome combination of brutal forces to wipe out the first signs of Islamic self-determination before they have the opportunity to catch on. Algeria and Syria have become the adopted models of todays coalition of the willing to try to suffocate the expression of Islam in its cradle, lest something happens on the order of what happened in Iran. Of course there are other benefits that go along when policies like this are put into motion, they are not mono-objective policies. There is not one goal for these policies, there are multiple goals to be achieved, but the core at it all is to try to stifle, kill and abort Islamic self-determination. Yet, after all of these years, some of us cant understand this- we havent even defined the Taghut and the Pharoah. The military power in the United States, the Taghut- by which we mean excessive government, excessive force and excessive repression that comes from the combination

of interests and militaries and finances in this world; and, likewise, after all of the experiences in which we pay with our blood and our lives, we havent defined the Pharoah, because Pharoah is not strictly a geographical, historic or an ethnic person. The Pharoah, just like Taghut, is a generic that refers to the maximilist decision maker. Pharoah said, I am your superior sustainer. (Surah An-Naaziat verse 24) These are words of the types of supremacist rulers that are behaving today in front of our eyes. Why can we see the historical figure and not see the living figure? This is the question that you and I and every Muslim has to ponder. The Quran has brought the Pharoahs, the maximilist leaders of the world within its purview, but the way Muslims process the meanings of the Quran today, these elites are beyond the scope of the Quran. This is a failure! Its one of our failures! Either the Quran is above them or they are above the Quran, and if our understanding of Allah is correct, no one is above the Quran- no one. From within the committed Muslims there are men who are true to their pledge with Allah. Some of them have done their duty and they ceased in the line of duty, and some of them are still in anticipation and, in the interim, they did not equivocate, hesitate, nor vacillate. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 23) Do we have committed Muslims in todays world? Certainly we do. Who are the ones who live up to the degree of honouring their pact with Allah? And then, from among those who live up to this pledge, theres a portion of them who have fallen in the line of duty and some of them are in anticipation. What is all of this about? Its about the will-power of the committed Muslims- this is where it is all centred. These Ahzaab and our ignorance combined seek to undermine this willpower or to dilute it. When Allahs foes attack us, they attack us as militaries, but when we fight back, we fight back as committed Muslims. Armies can fight and they are successful if they are fighting parallel armies, but we are not a parallel army, we are a force of another nature, of another kind. It looks like the memories of maximilist leaders, Pharoahs and the experiences of so-called super-powers or hyper-powers are short. Many times they fought against peoples and they lost, many times they fought against militaries and they won. How is our response to them going to be? Is it going to be a military of ours against theirs? Or, is it going to be this fervent, popular, grass-roots opposition and resistance to them? Let us see- if these Ahzaab have embarked on a military course that they say will take years and a long time, we say back to them they will take generations and a longer time. But Allah has guaranteed the outcome and the final result of this. It is in this manner, with this in mind, as an Islamic policy, that Allah will reward those who are honest and faithful to him. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 24) It is through the verification of this attachment which can only come by us being honourable with Him- not by trying to play tricks on Him. There are some Muslims who years ago showed a ferment for Islam and now they behave as if they are retiring Muslims- O Allah we will be with

you for a few years and then after that we are going to retire. Where did this idea and this attitude come from? You retire! Islam has become a career or a job! You do it while you think it is serving your purposes and while you think things are not going your way you step out!? And, it is through this method that Allah will torment the dual loyalists or the multiloyalists; these munafiqs are either tortured by this process or they are amnestied through it, depending on which way they make up their mind, but they cant linger on. (Surah AlAhzaab verse 24) This is the process in which they are shaken to their core in agony and their nature is exposed. Allah will not permit these drifting, band-wagon munafiqin to be around in the presence of those who are one-hundred percent committed to Him. Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims- the mind doesnt function right on a crippled psychology. It will always have the effects of that psychology on it. In todays world, why cant Muslims breathe and think freely? What has been going on in the past couple of years to many individuals seems like an un-ending nightmare- and it shouldnt be like that. There are people in Guantanamo who seem like they are exempt from all man-made laws and from all heavenly laws. What happened to the international organizations around? In light of what we have just stated in the khutbah and with the confidence that comes from being with Allah? Why cant people take a common sense approach to individuals who are locked up as if they are animals? What happened to the international organizations, the Red Cross? Wheres the Red Cross in the world? Wheres Amnesty International? Wheres Human Watch? They all ran for cover. In the aftermath of September 11th, everyone is running for cover and the Taghut and the Pharoah are whipping and sending out their forces and trying not only to cut away healthy human civic behaviour, but they are also trying to destroy healthy human thoughts, especially if these thoughts are generated, cultivated and come to blossom by virtue of Allah, His Prophet, His book and the sacrifices of generations of struggling Muslims and struggling peoples in the world. The predicament that we are in is as a result of our short-comings and deficiencies. Allah doesnt change the condition of a social order until they change their social psychology, their social attitude. (Surah Raad verse 11) Why is it that throughout all of these long and blood-stained years of aggression against us we havent relocated ourselves in the proximity and in the presence of Allah? How much longer should we suffer to discover Allah, and not as a distant deity, but as a sustaining power in the lives of humanity and mankind? How long are we going to be hyperbolic about the Quran and its meanings and permit the Pharoahs and the Caesars and the Mushriks of the world to be placed beyond the meanings of the Quran?

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims whose responsibilities are defined by Allah and whose direction is outlined by Allah. Allah speaks to us closely, carefully and intimately, and the times that we are going through make it more necessary for us to dwell on His guiding words. In a world that has been polluted with every idea that is counter to the purpose of our presence and creation, He says as He said hundreds of years ago: Allah proffers evidence or Allah testifies to the fact that there is no Divinity or no Deity besides Him, and so do the Angels and so do those who are endowed with knowledge, that He is the upholder of justice or equity. There is no deity save Him, the Impregnable the Truly Wise. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 18) These words were not meant only for rhythmic and melodic voices. They were meant for the human mind and the practical world. What is outstanding about this ayah, besides the theological or theoretical fact that there is only one Divine Being? What is pertinent to this theoretical or theological fact (which is undisputed) is the fact that He in His capacity as the one Godly Authority is the Upholder of Justice- or else its just a theoretical issue. The point of contention

between those who place rivals with Allah is its practical extension to the real world and life that we are in wherein those who think or claim that there are other deities besides Allah go off on a tangent of rationalizing injustice in the world. But to us, our belief and our commitment and our devotion to Allah means that He is a Just God who wants to see to it that justice is done in mans life- there should not be other Demi-Gods or Pseudo-Divinities that get away with rationalizing injustice in human life. But, we have a real world that has an argument with this. They say If you want to believe in God, we dont care what type of God you believe in, if its one God or a million Gods, you have the freedom to believe any type of God you want to, but dont let the effects of your belief in that one God become a social reality in the world. But equity and justice are precisely a social reality in this world, hence, Allahs presence has to be a social reality in this world, or else the Quran is a book for recitations with beautiful voices, but with empty minds and vacant hearts because no one wants to pursue the characteristic of Allah being the Upholder of justice, and that is why the ayah that follows addresses any type of questions that may arise in this regard Certainly, the deen that is recognized by Allah is mans self-yielding to Allah. (Surah AhlImran verse 19) This is what Islam is. Its not one of these proper-nouns like Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Hinduism and these other proper-nouns around. Islam is that simple relationship of becoming the underling of Allah- that is our status in this world, we surrender ourselves voluntarily and willingly to the power, will, determination and wisdom of Allah. What does that mean? Does that mean in-activity, or neutrality, or indifference? No, to the contrary, it means activity, involvement, action, movement, sacrifices, jihad and ultimately giving ones life for Allah. This is what Allah is going to accept from human beings- their surrender, their ceding themselves, their resignation to Allah. But what happens to the larger world around? The next sentence in the Quran has to be mentally processed and digested by all Muslims, especially now, in our days where there are many Muslims who think the only thing AlYahud and An-Nasara need to know is the truth and then they will be guided. You know, theres an immediate circle around Muslims in this world- those who say that they are followers of earlier scripture, Al-Yahud and An-Nasara, who also lay claim, and for that matter, a monopolistic claim on Allah. The only reason for these so-called people of scripture, the only reason for their divergent views, their disputes, their discrepancies and their differences is that they were presented with knowledge and because of a penchant for transgression and aggression among them (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 19) Well, the truth has come to them, it was presented to them by Musa, Isa and Muhammad (peace be on them all)- it was presented to them by Allahs Prophets and Messengers, but what happened? Were they guided? Listen to that and think about it in the world today in which we

have these so-called Muslim daees around thinking that it is the ignorance of Islam that is generating the hostility against the Muslims. Thats what they think, and theyre convinced of that! But wheres Allah? Dont they listen to Allah and what He is saying? The reason that these people who say that they cling on to scripture are divided is because Allah has given them knowledge of the truth and because of a penchant for transgression and aggression among them. Are these daees going to remedy all of this by presenting a hocus-pocus image of Islam? That doesnt mean that we shouldnt have to present them with these facts! Its an absolute must! We have to present them with these facts, but to anticipate that presenting them with these facts is going to solve their tendencies for hostility and animosity and belligerency towards us is wrong by the words of this ayah. You can look at these differences that theyve had all along in their history- every time Allah presents them with the truth, they turn around and make issues of dispute, warfare and bloodshed because of it. Look at- before this Quran was revealed- when they were given the Injeel. When Isa, (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) came to these people, they turned around and made a mockery out of the issue. They said that there is no one God there are three Gods; and on the other side, Yahud- the other part of Ahl-Kitaab said there is one God, but He is our God and not the God of the rest of the peoples. When Allah presents them with these facts, they want to claim Allah, monopolize His words and then they want to ride rough-shot over those who dont agree with their fallacies, lies and fabrications. You see, in the previous ayah, it was a difference among them because on their internal proclivity to hostilities and aggression, dissension, dispute, division, hostilities and aggression- all of this becomes that kufr and that denial of Allahs presence in human affairs- this is the seeding of secularism in todays world, where they rip Allah away from human societies, lively affairs and vital issues and they say Hes up there in Heaven, Hes not down here on Earth. This is a major practical difference between those who have gone off on satanic tendencies and tangents and those who remain committed to Allah on Siraat-il-Mustaqim. Were not going to run away from this statement, were not going to make excuses for it and were not going to turn apologetic because of it, because Allah is present in mans affairs on Earth and this is a major divide between us who affirm Allah and those who negate Him. And yeah, we expect them to come around with their loud mouths taking issue with the words of Allah and those who are committed to Allah and His words, if we go this length and distance in affirming Allahs presence in human affairs. When you look at some of the areas of the United States that are burning- is this untimely? At a time when that government declares war against Islam in the world- this is not a war against terrorism, this is a war against Islamic self-determination. Let them mind their own business and leave Muslim lands and territories and let us settle these issues ourselves. But they dont want to do that, because they have regimes, client rulers and traitors at their service- they dont want to give that up, and we have Allah in this world and we dont want to give him up, and the twain shall not meet. If they come to you (O Prophet of Allah), (and to us by extension because we are on his path, in his direction and with him all the way), and they want to argue this issue to death, or dispute this issue or if they want to turn quarrelsome with you concerning this issue- Allahs

upholding justice in the affairs of man- then say to them, I have surrendered my whole lively orientation to Allah. I have surrendered my whole life to Him, and so did those who are with me. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) The Muslims at the time of Allahs Prophet in Arabia fourteen-hundred years ago and the Muslims today, wherever they are in the world who are in the company of Allah and following his Prophet- We have to make a statement here to those who were vouchsafed revelation before us and to those who are un-educated about this whole affair. We should say to them, this is what self-surrender is all about. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) Look at the affairs of the Muslims today who place their confidence in Allah and take their lives to the front-line- these are the ones who characterize the meanings of justice in Allahs book and who stand up for the fact that Allah upholds justice in mans affairs. Or else, hows that going to be? Is Allah personally going to come down to earth, sit on a throne somewhere and then dispense justice via departments and regulatory systems around the world? Is that the way justice is going to be done? Or are we responsible for this feature of Allah so that justice is done with our own hands? We ask them, Are you willing to self-surrender or yield to Allah? If they self-surrender themselves to Allah, then they are on a direction of guidance. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) Where do you see that? Look around you, who are these people who are surrendering their policies, their minds, their best plans, their military orders, their economic projects? Theyre seeping throughout all the areas of the world, are they doing this because they are subservient or sub-ordinate to Allah, or because they are on a war path with Allah? If they turn the other way, you continue to present this issue and these facts to them (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) not only verbally, but in your actions which count more, and Allah has a watchful eye on what they are doing. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 20) Dont they see it? The United States is being battered by un-usual weather, areas around that country are burning. Are these natural developments dislocated from the social developments? Or do they go together? We say in our commitment and knowledge and presence with Allah that they go together. They should understand that none of this would be happening on this scale if we were these Uncle Tom Muslims or the royal Saudi-type of Muslims going to the Masjid and saying virtually nothing from the Mimbar. What do they say when we have wars in the offing against Muslims dedicated to Allah? But Allah is Watchful over all that they are doing. Listen to Allah, and then, He says

And those who deny Allahs ayaat, those who are objecting to Allahs power manifestations in human affairs, then Allah is quick to reckon with them. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 19) How do they object to Allahs Power presence in this world? Allahs ayaat is His embedded presence in human affairs. How do they take issue with that? They secularize life, they demean God, they separate church from state, they do everything that theyve been doing to try to have the regular you and me believe that God is up there in Heaven somewhere, un-involved with what is going on in this world. Indeed, those who kill Prophets. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 21) Theres a segment of human society that can rationalize killing Allahs Prophets. Is this something new to you? Dont you know that Allah dispatched Prophets, Messengers and Apostles to mankind aforetime and they were killed by real people in this world? These killers of Prophetshave they gone away? If you are listening to those who are indoctrinated by the dead-heads in Saudi Arabia, you would think theyve gone away? Do you want this demonstrated to you? The foreign ministers of these turn-coats in Muslim lands come to the White House, one of them even attired in the clothes of the first generation and the Prophet and his family- these people who are controlling Makkah and Al-Medinah seek justice at the Pharoahs court, and we have some Muslims who honor them, who want to pray with them and who want to receive their permission to go to Makkah and Al-Medinah to go for Hajj or for Umrah; and some people consider themselves fortunate enough if they become their guests to go to Makkah and al-Medinah. Whos the Muslim of principle and conscience who can say to them NO! We question whether Hajj is valid within your type of administration that is not subservient to Allah as the Upholder of Justice but is subservient to the enemy of Allah who is shedding Muslim blood and with whom you have a session and ask for justice for other Muslims in the Holy Land. Theres no-one around whos left to say it? Who are these people who were killing Prophets? And, theres no justification or grounds for killing Prophets. They are Yahud. Why dont our respected Muslim scholars have the mental strength and the emotional fortitude to step up and say this is what the ayah means. Yahud are the ones who are responsible for killing Allahs Prophets. And these same deniers of Allahs Power presence in human life also kill people who are focused and centered on justice- who reinforce, demand and order that justice become the central feature in human life. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 21) This irritates them so much. Have you seen them going around and killing a person who offered one-million rakat in one month. Never has it happened! Because if these rakat and sajdaat and prayers are meaningless, then they will finance this type of understanding of Islam. But if anyone wants to take a closer look at what Allah is saying and relate it to the central issue of justice, which Allah says in abbreviating Prophetic history

Certainly, We have sent our Messengers with evidence and We have vouchsafed unto them, we have revealed to them the book and the criterion so that people have justice as their point of gravity in life and as their central issue in their societies. (Surah Al-Hadid verse 25) Why has this central issue been deleted from the presentations of Islam from almost all the Mimbars around? Because the spokespersons for Islam have become the court-clergy of the Kaafirs and the Tawagheet! Whats the problem with the militaries around the world that are taking issue with committed Muslims around the world? The higher ranks of their echelon are so infuriated and so upset that theres a new generation of Muslims that is willing to place the vital meanings of Allahs words in the real life of todays human beings- that upsets them so much that they declare war against terrorism. Legally they dont declare the war and practically they dont define it. If they were going by their own laws and regulations, theyd go to congress and say According to the law of the United States, we want to declare war against these Muslims. But they didnt do that, they violated the laws of their own land, and then they go around and they want look for Muslims who are violating the laws. What laws!? We challenge them, if they wanted to take a survey of the most law abiding religious community in the United States or in the West, it would be the Muslims. They dont want us to think about Allahs words and if we do, we would demand that justice be done. They dont want that because we are the last hope that humanity has, theres no other piece of ideology or philosophy that has the potential of bringing back world-wide justice into our lives except this book of Allah that they want to smother, suffocate and choke to death in our minds. They do this by occupying Allahs Masaajid and they think they can get away with it- NO! We believe Allah is with us, Hes not a remote deity billions of light years away, beyond the cosmos, (we dont believe that), we believe He is in the thick and thin of this conspiratorial scheming of theirs. Give them the Glad tidings of a tormenting punishment. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 21) Brothers and Sisters, dont let these words escape you. There are people in this world who are justice centered, who are pursued just like the Prophets were pursued, they are wanted dead or alive, these are not nameless individuals, these are not Muslims without families, these are not human beings unlike yourself and me, these are real blood and flesh Muslims who are centered and focused around justice. These kaafirs, It is they who have inflated deeds in this world and in the one to come, but these inflated deeds are diseased. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 22) They think the more inflated acts they put out, the more progress they are making- NO- it is a disease that is going to spell the end of their empire and of their aggression and neither in this world nor in the world to come will they have anyone to support them, (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 22) because Allah is here and He is there, He is in this life and He is in the one anticipated.

The deficiency in todays routine or the cultural Muslims is that many of us dont factor in the presence of Allah into what we are doing. Some of us want quick results, and we want to achieve these quick results by going to Allahs enemies. This is what is practically happening in many parts of the world. But, we are not left to our own instincts in trying to figure out how to have justice done. There is Allah and there is His Prophet, and we have demonstrated in our past how we can make justice a fact of life. If this book of Allah is abandoned by whom-ever, then the results are going to be bitter. Dont think that by reaching some accommodation with the enemies of Allah, you are going to get somewhere? Youre not! If anyone prefers to isolate themselves from the sacrificing and the jihadi line of Islam, it is their choice and we will meet in front of Allah in the world to come. Let us remind you, A reminder has its effect upon those who are committed to Allah (Surah Az-Zaariyat verse 55) Let us remind you, If you retreat from this responsibility, if you give your backs to this trust from Allah, He will replace you with another people who will not duplicate your behavior, your attitude and your policies. (Surah Muhammad verse 38)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Muslims whose reference is the Quran and the Prophet. It is during these times that we recall the bounties and sponsorship of Allah to His obeying subjects and servants. As the days and years go by, our certainty and assurance of Allahs promise and His words increase. If we look at the Muslim condition in todays world, there are two ways to simplify things. You can look at it with the materialistic mind and physical calculations, and the image of the Muslims would appear dismal. The descriptions and images have been reproduced via many channels too numerous to count, but the result is that Muslim blood is flowing, and this to a physical, materialistic mind is pathetic. But theres another way of looking at the Islamic condition in the world- and that is to look at it through the vision of Allahs words and the unflinching will of His subjects on earth. When we look at this condition through the course of the last couple of decades we realise that the Muslims determination has not been eroded. We take stock of the fact that they are taking on the illegitimate and illegal governments that are imposed upon them. When we take a further scrutinising observation of this condition, we find that it

is not attributable to the Muslims, (those that have been the strugglers of Allahs course), but more to the point, it is attributable to the presence of Allah amongst them. When we look at the momentum of the Muslims and the measures being taken by them, we find that it is not the Muslims themselves that are opposed to the systematic form of injustice and tyranny, but it is the presence of Allah in this life and world Who is against it. That is why they are so terrified by this Islam. As these years have been accumulating, we notice that as the Muslims have been increasing their momentum, the kafirs seem to be diminishing their momentum, with all the noise that they have aside. They make a lot of noise about many issues, but these are high decibels that mean nothing. They thought some unpredictable event took place a few years ago that would have no repercussions and that they would contain it with their agents and through the generations that they had brainwashed through the media that is at their disposal. They thought that with all of this and many other gadgets in their arsenal they would be able to stifle the military, political, ideological, philosophical- the world view- expression of Islam, but they have not been able to do that. In the course of the past couple of weeks, we saw the ill-equipped and materially inferior Mujahidin in Palestine register a victory over the heavily equipped and materially superior invaders in Occupied Palestine. Just as we witnessed how not so long ago the Hezbollah inflicted a humiliating defeat over the Zionist enemy, we see that unfolding before our eyes all over again. Do you know how ominous this is? When people in the four corners of the earth find out what has happened to an intruding military foreign presence of Israelis where they dont belong, they will entertain the same ideas. And so, not only are the Israelis going to have to beef up security in the Occupied territories, they are going to have to beef up security wherever they are in the world. They are, building protection physically, but becoming vulnerable in every other sense of the word. They can throw walls around themselves, reinforce it with concrete, steel barriers and with all the latest material technology available to them- but is that going to protect them? The revenge of Allah will come to those who are in violation of the principles of justice and the values and ideals of peace in the world, and, in the meantime, we will continue to fulfil our obligations to our Maker and our Creator, and let the politicians look for security in false quarters of the earth. Allah says We will bait them from an area, from a direction that they are not aware of, and dictate to them, that my (meaning Allahs) revenge is a revenge of steel. (Surah Araf verse 182-183) We have seen in these few years, a world of change, and what we have seen is only the opening shop, it is only the introduction to a new world that belongs to Allah, a world that is centred, motivated and oriented around Allah and not to their super-power arrogance. And even though there was a time, when these yahud said that Allahs hands are tied, now, they waking up to the overwhelming reality that Allah is able to do all things. They would prefer to go on crushing the powerless, but Gods preference is something else. And they want to make believe they dont hear, but when Allah speaks everyone listens.

What has been the Israeli response to all of this? They try to camouflage this defeat and try to make it seem as if this is a voluntary withdrawal because they have peace at heart. But we know and they know that this is a lie. Had it not been for the relentless Jihad waged by the Mujahidin, we would not be seeing these developments and these results. Without negating the effects of the passive demonstrations and the economic boycotts and without amplifying them, had it not been for the armed resistance, the Zionist enemy would not have been forced out of Gaza- this is a fact that stares us in the eyes. The position of the committed Muslims regarding the Occupation of the Holy Land, viz. that we will not give up the armed resistance as long as even one inch of Palestine is under occupation is a position that no Muslim can dispute. Any one who is of the opinion that the armed struggle must be abandoned has to be out of their mind. Besides, if these utopian ideas, such as giving the diplomatic route a chance in the absence of being in a position of independence and power or looking at other forms of struggle at this stage to the exclusion or minimization of the armed struggle could bring the required results, then Allahs Prophet would have chosen that route. But we know and Allah has said: You will find yahud the most attached to life, even more than the Mushriks (Surah Baqarah verse 96) As long as there is an occupation, it remains the duty of every Muslim to repel this occupation! Even if, due to the military pressure placed on these yahud, they try to circumvent justice by becoming Muslims, unless the Palestinians agree to have them remain in the Holy Land, and it will still remain our obligation to oppose them, because even as Muslims, no Muslim may rob, steal and occupy the land of another Muslim.

Unfortunately we have a short memory, but for those who can remember, about twelve years ago, the religious scholars in the family Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued fatwa saying that peace with the Israelis is permissible and as usual, they quoted the Quran out of context, they said: And if the enemies opt for peace, then your choice should be the choice of peace. (Surah Anfal verse 61) This is taking the Muslims for granted. Imagine if we were to understand and interpret this ayah like the establishmentarian scholars in the Arabian Peninsula, the enemies would know that anytime they wanted what they would say is a peace, the Muslims would trail because theres this ayah in the Quran that imposes on them to trail whenever there are gestures for peace. But it is not that simple. Muslims are not going to be fooled that easily, even though Ibn Baaz and his establishment issued so called fatwas for peace. Ibn Baaz and his religious establishment ought to know very well that Yahud are the enemies of Allah. You will find those most intense in hostility to Alladhina amanu, those who are Jews and those who are Mushriks. (Surah Maida verse 85)

But if they are short sighted and cant understand the Quran, let us take a look at what Israel continues to do. Zionist Israel refuses to sign a nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Nuclear powers in the world are signatory to this treaty, whats wrong with this state, that it doesnt sign a treaty like that to prove to the others that it has peaceful intentions? What type of interpretation or understanding are we supposed to have when a state that has hundreds of nuclear bombs warheads refuses to sign a nuclear non-proliferation agreement. They have strategic military co-operation agreements with the United States. Is this a state that is looking for peace or is this a state that is looking for war? They have the extremist, the terrorist in their parliament- the ones who want war. Just the other day they shot innocent Palestinians. Some trigger happy Zionist Jew opened fire and killed innocent people, the day before they did the same, is this an indication that they want peace, or is it an indication that they want war? Lets not be fooled by what they are saying? Thats not a state that has peace on its mind? To the contrary, if it is talking peace through its mouthpieces etc. but in fact it is working night and day on developing its war industry, what are you going to believe? Are you going to believe what they are saying through their media or what their generals, diplomats and politicians are doing on the ground? The guilt that is growing in the Jewish psyche is so serious, that they may wander into adventurous areas either in the Holy land or in a neighbouring country. They are setting the stage to either directly or indirectly bomb other places in neighbouring countries, in Iran and wherever they feel a threat. This is how strategically they are thinking. Do you hear about this in this media? I guess those who write the news have turned sick in their bellies by contravening the facts! They lied about the Muslims one thousand years ago and they continue lying about Muslims. The argument is bounced back and forth- should they build a wall around the Occupied territories to protect their invading thieves or not? How do they treat other human beings? Do they accept them as equals or not? The issue of race, as much as they dont want to speak about it, and as much as everyone wants to conceal it, is alive and kicking. They need to dive deep down inside of their selves and see if they can accept other human beings because of the way God created them or they cant? And if they cant, they need to begin to ask serious questions. They look around, theyre very conscious of their security. Security has become a key word in their lives. Theyre obsessed with security. Why? Because theyve done much harm to human beings. The Zionist Israeli Jews deserve to feel un-secure because of their own acts. In the meantime, we have no gripes and no qualms with individuals who are seeking the truth. We remember the way they used to refer to Muslims in the course of the past years. Now, we watch and listen to the way they refer to their own selves. The Israelis are disturbed, so, obviously, with all the resources and power they have, they will try to channel the outcome of this withdrawal (read defeat) to their advantage. That is to be expected, but what is also to be expected is that Allah is going to be in control of the outcome whatever it is and the repercussions of that outcome, whatever they are. They want to fixate and exercise the attention of the public in an area that they can control, and so they create this artificial conflict between their usurping settlers and their murdering military, to try and create an atmosphere which would indicate that they are serious about peace and in the process bring the free Muslims and other people into their

cage. No! Muslims and common sense people have had enough of their cages- mental and physical. The Muslims and common sense people are not going to be suckered into this artificial conflict that they have in store and thereby be divided because of it. Their veneer of protection is becoming very thin. The Muslims and the common sense people can see through it. Throughout these years, Committed Muslims who are sincere and dedicated to Islam have been pointing their fingers at those who are pulling the strings from behind the scenes, and victimising many people in the process. With Allahs assistance, and with Allahs help, we will continue to do so, relying utterly and totally upon Allah, who sees and who knows each action and each move that they take even though we ourselves may not be privy to it. Right now, we see the Quranic description of their historical character all over again. These yahudis thought that they were well fortified, that their defences could not be penetrated and that they were in a superior military position, Allah says regarding that type of calculation: It is He who has caused the deniers of truth from Ahl-al Kitaab, (in this instance yahud), to be expelled from their fortifications, they thought they were well guarded and well protected, but Allah approached them from a direction un-beknowned to them and He threw terror in their hearts. They ruined their own homes with their own hands and the hands of the committed Muslims. Take notice of this, those of you who have an insight and a foresight for these types of issues. (Surah Al-Hashr verse 2) At the first occasion of their assembly, when the mass murderer Ariel Sharon set his filthy foot into the precincts which Allah had blessed, they did not think that they would be expelled from Gaza. They thought that their munafiq connection and their military might were going to work. But Allah terrorised them. It seems like when Muslims have this connection to Allah, it generates terror in the hearts of the enemies. Strangely, some Muslims are afraid of this terror that is generated in the hearts of the enemies- instead of the enemies being afraid, some Muslims are afraid. Do you think this is a historical ayah, speaking about the jewish community in Al-Medinah over fourteen centuries ago and not applicable to the current jewish community in the Holy Land? The Prime Ministers and Presidents, (we say this without apology and without any malice- we state this as a fact) who are going to be either directly or indirectly hunting down and killing Muslims are hypocrites par excellance. They dont serve their own people. They serve their sponsors and their masters in the west. What are these poodles doing except whitewashing forthcoming policies of attrition against innocent people in their millions, using their military at this time, not against the avowed enemies of Allah, but against the servants of Allah. We have the Palestinian Authority, who only have the authority to collect garbage and hunt down committed Muslims gearing up to once again fulfil their role as a sentry and security guard for the Israelis. They come out and make statements conciliatory and acknowledging of the Occupiers withdrawal from Gaza, to make the broader Muslim populace believe that the Israelis are sincere about peace. The hypocrites have come together to try to fool the rest of the people, but the rest of the people are not going to be fooled. The Islamic momentum is growing at a pace that

it has become immune from their deceptions, tactics, propaganda and ploys. We are not going to be deceived by their charades and their parades. The time and the age of deception are behind us. The Jews, especially those who have developed their Judaism around Zionism and the Israeli illegal nation state are going to come under closer scrutiny, not only from the Muslims, but also from those who are not Muslims, but who have come under their influence. Reading the newspapers is one thing, reading reality is something else. When you read their media, and when you listen to their media, you would think that their hearts are torn, that they have bleeding hearts for the Palestinians, but the fact and reality is that they are bleeding that community dry. But, they see the backlash and the expanding scale of Jihad in the making. You have to be blind not to see the expanding war in the making. And the Jews need protection, so they try to gain any type of protection they can get. And if it is to hide behind a withdrawal to indicate they want peace, and if it means they go in front of the cameras and verbalise some supportive statement concerning this issue to drum up support, they will do that, but when it comes to real life, its business as usual, they will kill, they will rob and they will steal these oppressed segments of society and they could care less about it. And then, finally, they want people to make believe nothing is happening. It cant be! People will not make believe nothing is happening. Condemned! By the tongue of Dawud and Isa (alaih salaam) are the deniers of Bani Israel, because of their disobedience and aggression. They never sought council in opposing that aggression, vile acts indeed is what they commit. (Surah Maidah verse 78-79)

These critical times need critical thinking. Times in which many quarters are in offensive positions against us, we cannot afford to be in defensive positions against them. There are policies that are being thought out to draw Muslims into wars among themselves. The Israelis were kicked out of Gaza only a couple of weeks ago and now we are beginning to see the tension flare up among the Muslims, low-level war-like statements are beginning to get louder and loudercourtesy of their agent, the Palestinian Authority. They think offensively. Before running with their tails between their legs, they were planning for this tension and this potential war. They were not waiting for Hamas or Islamic Jihad to come to power, but were trying to pre-empt Hamas and Islamic Jihad from entering into the corridors of power. This is how they act, and this is how they strategize. We cant afford to sit back, watch these events, in the best of conditions, and then, after they occur analyse what happened.

Isra and Mi'raj: Night journey and ascension of the Prophet

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers, Sisters who feel responsible. On the 27th of the Islamic month of Rajab, the Prophet of Allah was taken on an incredible and fantastic voyage from Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula to al-Quds in the fertile crescent.From alQuds, and in that same night, the Prophet ascended to the heavens. This occurred during the year that preceded the migration of the Prophet from Makkah. The Prophet of Allah was taken on an incredible and fantastic voyage from Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula to al-Quds in the fertile crescent. The distance between Makkah and al-Quds is nearly 765 miles, which is about 1,230 kilometers. That is approximately the distance between

Washington, DC and Montgomery, Alabama or between New York City and Jackson, Mississipi, in the US. Other comparisons could be with the distance between Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas; or between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, Utah. The reason we cite the above cities is so that Muslims have a better grasp of the distance we are talking about between Makkah in Arabia and al-Quds in Palestine. The way these two cities are presented in the media or in academia, most people are not able to get a feel for the distance between them. Even in the 'global village', which this world has become, Al-Quds is remote in more ways than one. It was this distance that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, travelled during a fraction of the night here on earth in what is referred to in Islamic history as al-Isra (the nocturnal journey). But that is not all; from al-Quds, and in that same night, the Prophet ascended to the heavens. This occurred during the year that preceded the hijrah (in the sixteenth month before the hijrah). As to the month in which the Isra and Mi'raj happened, there are two historical narrations. One says that it took place in the month of Dhi al-Qa'dah (the 11th month of the Muslim calendar) and the other narration says it happened during the month of Rabi 'al-Awwal (the third month of the Muslim calendar). There are statements by both Jaber and Ibn 'Abbas who say that the Apostle of Allah, upon whom be peace, was born the night of Monday, the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal, he was commissioned by Allah to become a Prophet at the same time and in that month he was sent to heaven, and in that month he sought political asylum in Medina (the hijrah), and in that month he died. Of course all these events occurred in different years but in the same month. There is a narration in the Islamic books of history and Seerah to the effect that the Isra and Mi'raj took place on the night of the 27th of the month of Rajab (the 7th month of the year). In other books and chronicles, we find that there is another narrative indicating that the Isra and Mi'raj occurred on a Saturday night that corresponded with the 17th of Ramadan (the 9th month), eighteen months before the hijrah. According to this narrative the Prophet, upon whom be peace, was 51 years and nine months old! Obviously, from this review of literature we have visible disagreement (which is nothing new) among our respected scholars as to the day and month in which this most significant event happened. Everyone agrees it happened; but there is no consensus in the narratives as to when it happened! But they all agree that the Isra and Mi'raj occurred after the Prophet returned from Ta'if with all the bad treatment he was subjected to there. But there seems to be a popular Islamic opinion that the Isra and Mi'raj actually materialized on the 27th day of Rajab. This opinion has been accepted eversince although there are other sources at odds with this as noted above. Nowadays, we celebrate this occasion on the 27th of Rajab but in the strictly academic and research realm, there is no incontrovertible evidence of it having been actualized on this day. After zeroing in, more or less, on the time and place of this historical event, we should try our best to identify the hikmat of this monumental event in Islamic history. Why did it happen at that particular time: one or so year before the hijrah? In trying to answer this question, we may begin to identify the wisdom of the Seerah even if not necessarily the full intent of Allah.

To answer such a question, we may say that the Isra and Mi'raj occurred in the aftermath of the Prophet's 'failure' to gain support in Ta'if. When the Prophet, upon whom be peace, realized that he would have no power base in Ta'if, and after the 'gangs' throwing stones at him as he left the town, he oriented himself towards Allah and expressed a heart-rendering du'a that began with Alluhamma eelayka ashku da'faquwwati... (To You, O Allah! I express lament for my weakness..). The answer to this prophetic du'a (supplication) did not come from Allah the day after nor the month after it was uttered. It came a year or more after that when Allah had his patient subject transported from Makkah to al-Quds and from there on to show the Prophet there is no 'weakness' to complain about when you are in the company and in the auspices of Allah. In other words, Muhammad's, upon whom be peace, most powerless moments on earth (at Ta'if) became in a matter of a year his most powerful moments beyond earth in the miraculous transfer from both Makkah and al-Quds to the vicinity of the Almighty: sidrat al-Muntaha. To feel the solitude and loneliness of the Prophet before this historical event we have to realize that preceding this 'Ta'if expulsion' by the kafirs of the town, he was struck by the demise of the two most caring people in his life: his wife, the passionate Khadijah, and his uncle, the defending Abu Talib. The Isra and Mi'raj were Allah's way of communicating to His servant that 'I' care for you; 'I' will empower you. It is Allah's attention and concern that will deliver you, O Muhammad (upon whom be peace) from the feelings of despair and humiliation to the feelings of victory and triumph. With this in mind, we turn our attention to the ayats of the Qur'an that bring to light this marvelous transfer of feelings and power: 'Limitless in His glory is He who transported His subject by night from the Inviolable Masjid [at Makkah] to the remote Masjid [at al-Quds] - the environs of which We have blessed - so that We might show him some of Our involvement [in human affairs]: for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-seeing' (Surah Isra verse 1). In another set of complementary verses, Allah says: 'Consider this unfolding [of Allah's involvement in man's affairs], as it comes down from on high! This fellow-man of yours [Muhammad] has not gone astray, nor is he deluded, and neither does he speak out of his own desire: that [which he conveys to you] is but [a divine] inspiration with which he is being inspired something that a very mighty one has imparted to him: [an angel] endowed with surpassing power, who in time manifested himself in his true shape and nature, appearing in the horizon's loftiest part, and then drew near, and came close, until he was but two bow-lengths away, or even nearer. And thus did [Allah] reveal unto His subject whatever He deemed right to reveal. The [subject's] heart did not give the lie to what he saw: will you, then, contend with him as to what he saw? And, indeed, he saw him a second time at sidrat al-muntaha, near unto the garden of sanctuary, with the sidrah veiled in a veil of nameless splendor... [And withal,] the eye did not waver, nor yet did it stray: truly did he see some of the most profound of his Sustainer's involvement [in human affairs]' (53:1-17).

Many unnecessary statements have been made about whether this whole manifestation was done by the Prophet in body and soul together or this was just an apparition, a specter, or a phantom-type of occurrence that involved the Prophet's spirit but not his body! We see no need to be sidetracked by such arguments. The word abd which refers to the Prophet, upon whom be peace, in the first ayat in Surat al-Isra and in the tenth ayat of Surat al-Najm refer to both body and soul. And this ends this whole unessential debate. A more pertinent concentration of thought should be on why was it necessary for the Prophet to go to al-Quds before he went to the heavens? Allah could very easily have taken the Prophet from Makkah directly to the heavens. Clearly, Allah wants us to understand that Makkah and al-Quds are intertwined on our journey to the heavens. Here al-Quds is a second only to Makkah. It even supersedes Medina; and this is one of the most important implications of this lesson. The Masjid in Makkah and the Masjid in al-Quds are twinned together. If Allah has banded these two Masjids together in the Prophet's journey of empowerment to heaven (after which Islam became a power-base in Medina) then no amount of 'Jewish journalism' or zionist zealotry, no amount of propaganda pundits or Euro-American alliances with Israel can unlace this Masjid-to-Masjid relationship. Another way of looking at this is to understand the manifestation of Islamic power on the ground in Medina (after the Prophet, upon whom be peace, returned from this heavenly sojourn) was possible only after Allah had combined both Makkah and al-Quds in this prophetic journey to heaven. Could this be a suggestion to the Islamic movement of our time? Could this be saying to us that in our efforts to establish a contemporary Islamic order, we are instructed from on High to tie our own 'Makkahs' (our own local masjids) with the remote Masjid in al-Quds, we are running into the same frustrating difficulties that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, encountered? Out of which will eventually emerge the power-base that we are all seeking for the gratification of Allah? This is a central question that demands our thought and attention. If nothing else has been detected in this presentation, we would like to draw attention to the fact that the Isra and Mi'raj is located, in timescale, between two poles in Islamic prophetic history: the utter physical and material powerlessness of the Prophet, upon whom be peace, a year before the Isra and Mi'raj, and the undiminished physical and material power of the Prophet, a year after the Isra and Mi'raj.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In stating the obvious and saying what many individuals lack the courage to say, we continue to shed light on yahuds tricks, their psychology and their attempts at undermining the Islamic fact of life. We will take another example which (by the way) is not very popular- its not common knowledge, not many Muslims recall these events that occurred between the Prophet and the learned elders of Bani Israel. We want to quote for the record so that this information doesnt seep out of the Muslim mind because this information does not circulate and it is deliberately buried in a few books that are endangered because there is a system at work now that wants to obliterate all information that make yahud look unfavourably. You can understand this yahudi system wanting to get rid of this information, but can you understand why Muslims dont have this information that belongs to us, our history, the first generation of Muslims and to the Prophet? When the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) arrived in Al-Medinah, he settled there and the first Islamic reality was established there. The information that is thrown into the public from the

mouth-pieces of yahud want to discredit Muslim Ulema and clergy-men from the other religions in the world, but when it comes to the rabbis- this is a subject thats off limits- but it shouldnt be off limits to Muslims, especially when these types came to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa ahlihi wa sallam). On one occasion, two rabbis, (try to remember these facts and establish a body of knowledge about yahud and how they treated the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)). One of these rabbis by the name of Rafi ibn Huraymala, from the Qaynuqa faction of yahud in AlMedinah- this is not any yahudi, hes a prominent yahudi of status, influence and command within the community of yahud in Al-Medinah, and another rabbi by the name of Wahab ibn Zayd from Bani Quraida, another faction of yahud in Al-Medinah came to the Prophet. Who says yahud are not factionalised? Some inexperienced Muslims want to give the impression that these jews are united- they are not! Its our weakness that makes them appear as if they are strong and united. They are weak and disunited when we are functioning up to par with our Islam. Look at these names, they have Muslim names. Zayd, Wahab, Rafi, Numaan, Uthman- these were names among the other names that the jews had in the time of the Prophet, but since that time when they developed animosity with the Prophet, the Quran and Islam, you dont find any yahudis by the name of Zayd, or Numaan, or Uthman nowadays. Maybe this should say something to those who are sensitive about the name Uthman for example- if he served yahuds interest, they would have preserved that name, but he didn't serve their interests so they didn't preserve that name. (But this is not the issue of going into this subject). (Try to picture this meeting,) These two rabbis came to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and they said to him: If only you could bring down for us/present us with a holy book that is coming down from heaven so that we may read it together, and if you could cause rivers to gush out of these deserts, we will approve of you, endorse you and follow you. Imagine that! This is the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and listen to what they are asking! They wanted to see a holy book coming down from the sky and they wanted to see water bursting out of the Earth. If they could see that, then they will agree with the Prophet, follow him and work from there. What do you say to people like this? First of all, take a moment to think of this psychology that would come to the Prophet and begin imposing demands upon him: two jewish rabbis from the learned elders of the Children of Israel come to the Prophet of Allah and demand You want us to believe, Ok, well believe, but then they tell him what he has to do as a condition for them to follow, as a condition for their conviction. Well, what is the Quran? Isnt the Quran a revelation, a scripture, a holy book that is revealed from the heavens? They knew that a person in the primitive nomadic life of Makkah and Al-Medinah couldn't come with such information that is present in the Quran? But they wanted something to meet their physical standards. They didnt want to try and deal with the Quran mentally, because they cant! They didnt want to try and deal with the Quran emotionally, because they cant! So they tried to bring these types of demands to the Prophet and did Allah leave this occasion un-observed and without an answer? Theres an ayah that is recited in the Quran until the day in which the Earth will end that addresses the psychology that yahud brought to the Prophet and this is the ingredients and the context under which it was revealed- Allah was watching this human episode and He revealed

words that we recite until the end of eternity. Remember, the jews present themselves as people of knowledge, scholars and intellectuals- even up till this day, they try to make the word jew, synonymous with big heads, big thoughts, big ideas. Allah slapped that mentality in the face and He said to them: And those (rabbis) who lack or dont have knowledge and who are ignorant said to the Prophet if only Allah speaks to us. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 118) This is how Allah reproduced this caption of Muslim history for us to ponder. Imagine this human psychology- demanding that God speak to them- how arrogant! and not just a jew hobo around the corner, high class jews in the form of rabbis say: If only Allah speaks to us or if Allah could present us with ayahs. As if they hadnt been presented. Imagine what's going through the Prophets mind and heart, knowing the hundreds and thousands of ayahs that were presented to them. They wanted Allah to speak to them when this experience already took place in the time of Moosa- now, they want it to recur in the time of Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And Allah addressed, spoke to or verbalised Himself to Moosa. (Surah An-Nisa verse 164) Now this materialistic nature of Bani Israel wants a miracle that they can experience with there senses. And this to the public would make sense. Arabia is a barren land- theres no water aroundso they asked something that can go down very well with the public. We need water around here, and if hes a Prophet and if we want to become Muslims, why dont we put together a package? You do us a favour and well do you a favour- you want us to become Muslims- OK, we want this- this for that- do you see this commercialism? Even in Islam they wanted to introduce it to the Prophet. They wanted to commercialise with him about Islam- everyone needs water, they could do a lot, make money, have agricultural produce, the market could flourishand then these jews will say to us"Hey, see what we did for you. You didnt even know how to speak to your Prophet- this is the way you should interact with him, get some advantages, benefits or material gain from him. Allah was watching and witnessing all this unfold, and He said: It is exactly what was said by their predecessors ( to Moosa when they were in Sinai, another desert north of Arabia and they wanted water). (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 118) As a consequence to that request in Sinai, Allah said to Moosa: Strike that rock with your staf, out of which twelve springs of water came gushing through. Each of the factions of the Israelis knew their source of water, and Allah said to them, enjoy it, drink of it and eat of the produce that comes from it but dont go around in the lands causing chaos, trouble, problems, instability and all these things that you are used to doing. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 60) Here they are, repeating the same scenario to the last Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and Allah registered this event for the Muslim mind to be aware of and carry this information with it-

not to be empty like it is now. Where are the Muslim minds who can recall the details of this incident that is registered in the Quran for all Muslims to read until the end of time? In the last sentence of this ayah, Allah says: We have expressed, clarified or verse118) .then what? explained these ayaat for people (Surah Al-Baqarah

Allah could have said for people who know. Is it a matter of not having knowledge? No! Not having knowledge is part of it, but Allah says We have expressed these ayaat for people who are endowed with certainty. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 118) A certainty that comes from having knowledge- the knowledge that produces experience which breeds this certainty. And here, we have a chain reaction amongst Muslims in which there is no knowledge of these facts and there is a systematic assault on these facts by the establishments of yahud in Muslim lands. They are working on educational programmes to weed out books that speak about the Jews and the problems of the jewish mentality and psychology. We have these live events coming to us courtesy of the lifetime of our Prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) but Muslims dont want to understand these ayaat. When Allah works through the human medium, we are required to do our share in obeying Him- we will encounter hardships, hard times, opposition, imprisonment, exile, military attacks. Etc. and out of all this encountering, Allahs ayaat will come through to bolster our certainty, raise our conscience and hone in our experiences (not by being the lazy type of Muslim that goes to a Masjid to be put asleep, which happens day in and day out, week after week, generation after generation).

Yahud dont stop here. On another occasion, another rabbi, also from Bani Quraida comes to the Prophet of Allah, and he asks him, (listen to this question), When shall this world come to an end? What do they want the Prophet to do, give them a precise calculation? Or tell them in such and such years, 9340 years for example the world will come to an end? They know from their scriptures and previous experiences that this is a fact that is concealed from man. Another ayah in the Quran that came to speak to this intrigue and subterfuge of jewish rabbis. The response in this ayah to this question, The knowledge of this final hour of human existence, human life or the final day belongs to Allah, He will not publish it until it arrives. When it occurs, it will take you by surprise. (Surah Al-Araf verse 187) But even if he did give them a calculation, knowing their psychology, they would ask him What type of years are you talking about, lunar years or solar years? And even if you give them the lunar years, they will throw in calculations and questions to try to somehow discredit the answer of Prophets.

Now, this psychology that is willing to take on Prophets- if they were willing to take on Moosa, Isa and Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa salllam) and if they were killing Prophets, imagine what they would do to the rest of the people? Who are you and who am I? If they were in a mental and verbal war with Prophets, sure they can kill off the Goyim, (the non-jews), because deep down inside their scholarly books, we are like animals, we come from an animal extraction. They try to give a bad image to Muslim scholars, but when a jewish rabbi tries to have sex with a teenager on a night flight across the Pacific to Califonia, and he is caught in the act and taken to court, this doesnt circulate, because the person is a rabbi. If he was a pastor or a priest, if he was a sheikh or an imam, the whole world would know about it. Rabbis, no!!! Youre not supposed to speak about them. Why? Especially, when they are justifying all the problems in the world. . Its a shame that only a few Muslims can take on these jewish rabbis who are standing behind the governmental structure, the economies and the establishments in the world. They topple governments and collapse economies, yet theres only a few Muslims who can see through this faade and point to the source of danger to Muslims and mankind. Racism is a problem in the rabbis head, because the way he reads scripture is a racist interpretation of scripture. The jews- Bani Israelbecome chosen people and the rest are sub-humans, so its easy for them to dehumanise us, demonise us and then set into court policies to kill, murder and homicide us because they have the moral justification. On the level of rabbis, they say its haraam for them to deal in usury among themselves, (forget about businessman, theyll kill each other for a buck, for money), were speaking about the scholars of Bani Israel. A jew cannot interact commercially with another jew on the basis of usury, but it is halaal for them to suck the rest of the world dry. Famine throughout the world, starvation, malnutrition, the promotion of abortion, euthanasia- kill, kill, kill for more money- that is their philosophy and they want to get away with it by draining the Muslim mind of the initial information that exposed them in the presence of our beloved Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). Would you say that they have been relatively successful? Were going to disperse from Jumah prayers and go back to our own communities and acquaintances, ask them what they know of these details, these gimmicks, the lies, the tricks and the fast ones that they wanted to pull over the Prophet, that culminated in their attempt to assassinate him, which Insha-Allah, in the course of these khutbahs we will get to. Were going to build this case against the yahudi rabbis and those who follow them, especially those Muslims who are acting as a justification by putting out fatwas and learned opinions that protect this cancer in the history of mankind and this malignancy in our lives and in our times. Those who are opposed to Allah from the Children of Bani Israel have been cursed and condemned by Dawood(David) and Isa ibn Mariam,(Jesus the son of Mary). (Why?) because of their deliberate disobedience of Allah- a disobedience that is manifested by them in that (among themselves), they were never systematically opposed to a munkar that they commit. (Surah Al-Maidah verse 78-79) Look at the munkars that they are committing now, of all the states of the world- torture is legal in Israel. There is no public jewish opinion against torture of Palestinians, or Arabs, or Muslims!

And when a few jewish consciences around take issue with that, the rest of the jewry tells them Hush, be quiet, and they follow. Brothers and sisters, there shouldnt be any Muslim who is suspended in his mind about the intrigues and conspiracies. We use the word conspiracies and they are not going to scare us away from this word because they are conspiratorial. Brothers and sisters- open your eyes to the fact that there is an undeclared war against the Muslims of our age, generation and times. In the United States, Muslims are hauled off and put behind bars for no crime, felony, misdemeanour or for nothing wrong that they have done. This goes hand in hand with the Russians who opened up a war front against the Muslims in their ancestral homelands, in Dagestan, Chechnya, Aghushtia, in the Caucuses area. Why bring helicopter gun-ships, bombers, fighter aircrafts and drop lethal weapons and kill Muslims? And then, the FBI has to go into action and dispatch some of its team to Russia to hunt down, (this is what they call Muslim freedom fighters), terrorists. The FBI is in action now with its Russian counterparts, arresting Muslims in Moscow, St. Petersburg and all around Russia for interrogation just because of the way they look. They come to them during the night, without any prior permission, they knock the doors and they take families to jail- Why? And after all this, they want us to make believe that this is a world of democracy and fairness. A couple of years ago, there was a Palestinian Muslim behind bars in the United States. It took finances, efforts and connections by the largest so-called organisation in the Middle East to have King Hussein (who is gone to his maker) agree to have him go back to Jordan. And then, upon returning to Jordan with a couple of colleagues of his from the Islamic Republic of Iran, his colleagues were arrested at the airport and thrown into a prison with criminals, drug addicts and thieves. And then, this person who was in prison was told, "Youre not permitted into Jordan, go somewhere else." Where do Muslims go? This is a Palestinian Muslim brother whos homeland has been stolen, and the United States with all its democracy, liberty and justice for all cant tolerate a Muslim walking the streets and travelling its lands, and they want us to believe theres no jewish manoeuvre concerning all this. We have to be crazy to think there is no jewish hand in all of this. Whilst they are stabbing Muslims in the back, they are also going to potential Muslims in the United States- the African-American community- and they want to build bridges with them and send some of them to the kibbutz, (the collective farms they have in Occupied Palestine). They want to lodge them there and make them think that these Palestinians are enemies when they are their present and future brothers and sisters. Theres a social current in the United States that wants to make jews and blacks feel that they are in the same boat, that they are the victims of racism. How can the jews be the victims of racism when they are the generators of racism. This cannot be! No mind that understands yahud can accept that they have ever been victims of racism. Holocaust in Germany!? The Fuehrer of Germany discovered that they had been wreaking havoc on the economy of his country and he wanted to get rid of them. There was no holocaust of six million people, there was savagery, and in war there is savagery, but that pales with the psychology of yahud. When they found someone who was treating them like they wanted to treat everyone else, they labelled him as a demon of humanity, but no-one is supposed to label them the Shayateen of Ins and Al-Jinn and the Shayateen of the past, present and the future.

Muslims- wake up to what they are cooking all around- it smells. Wake up and realise that we only have Allah out of all of this. Dont think that you can enter into some type of arrangement with an enemy of Muslims to take the pressure off other Muslims. Theyre not nave, theyre not dumb, dont act as if you are nave and dumb yourself. Have the integrity and Izzah that Allah has given you by the Taqwa in yourself- fear Allah, dont fear these. We are here for a few years, and then we are on our way, keep Allah and His Power Presence in your minds and then, dont care of what happens after that, because all the other things are reactions to the power of Allah. Place yourself in Allahs company and feel free and content.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In our ongoing endeavour to try and shed light on yahud, we will take a look at the ayaat of Allah, the nifaaq of these jews, and then, well take a look at ourselves. In one of the many ayaat in the book of Allah that cannot be approached by any fallacy or mistake from any direction- it is the abundant truth, and it is the distilled truth- Allah Subhanah says: And when a scripture or a Holy book comes to these yahud (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 89) Before this ayah was revealed, yahud would predict the advent of this last Prophet of Allah to the kaafirs, but when the Quran and the Prophet were no longer predictions, but rather, now they were facts, as the Prophet (the person) and the Quran (the holy scripture) was there, at that moment, they denied it, they said: This is not the Prophet and this is not the book. thus, Allahs curse and condemnation is on these kaafirs. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 89)

Let us try to get a feel for this ayah All the Muslims should know that the concentration of yahud in the Arabian Peninsula was in AlMedinah. There were three blocks of yahud in Al-Medinah. But not many Muslims have thought out when did they come there? Since when were they in Al-Medinah? There is some information that indicates that theyve been there since Dawud (alaih salaam). We know that the first Islamic state was established by Dawud- in the Holy Land, in what can be described as the far-fetched suburb of that Islamic state. Then, theres another opinion that says that yahud always tried to make their presence on a certain route from where Makkah and Al-Medinah are nowadays, all the way up to the Holy Land, including what is called today Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon etc. anticipating that they are Gods chosen people, and if Allah is selecting Prophets, it is going to be in this area, and they are going to be privileged by this selection. They considered all other Prophets who were not from their clan and did not agree with their racism to be outside of the history of God and revelation. Hence, their presence coincides with their anticipation of Allahs last Prophet, and they tell people all around: We are waiting for this last Prophet. This last Prophet is going to be one of us, and he is going to be an enemy of you- the pagans, the mushriks and the kaafirs. And then, finally, Allah chooses his Last Prophet, and that was Muhamed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). At this moment, the yahudi psychology begins to spin- why? Because it appears to them that Muhamed is not one of them- he has to be from Bani Israel, and Muhamed (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) is not from Bani Israel. To this spinning psychology, Allah says: And when a divine book is revealed, that confirms what they have- the Quran is not in contradiction with the Torah or the Zabur or the Injeel, it endorses the Torah and the Zabur and the Injeel and the rest of the scriptures that Allah has given mankind(Surah Al-Baqarah verse 89) When this book (which they knew to be the book of Allah) was revealed and it came to them, they said: No! We dont believe in it, we dont endorse it, we dont accept it, we deny it. Its not Allahs book. Now, think about this psychology in two incidents... The one incident relates to a scholar of yahud in Al-Medinah when he became a Muslim. His name before he became a Muslim was Al-Husayn ibn Salaam. He knew the psychology of yahud because he was one of them. When he heard the Quran, and when he studied who this person in Makkah was, upon the Prophets arrival in Al-Medinah, he went to see the Prophet, he spoke to him for a short while, thereafter, he stated the Shahadah and became a Muslim- and he asked the Prophet:

Please keep my Islam confidential, and have the rabbis, the ahbaar, the learned elders of yahud in Al-Medinah come to you, and ask them about me. Dont tell them that Im a Muslim, but when they come to you, just ask them about my character. And, after that, tell them that I have become a Muslim, and see how they will react. Sure enough, within a few weeks, a delegation of jews in Al-Medinah came to the Prophet, and as is usual with them, they begin to ask questions and make comment, and then, the Prophet (alaih salaam) said to them: What is your opinion about Al-Husayn ibn Salaam? And they said: He is one of the best of us. He is a learned scholar who comes from a learned family. Hes a son of some of the best of us. And, they spoke in terms that glorified this rabbi or learned scholar of yahud. After they professed to this, The Prophet (alaih salaam) told them: He has become a Muslim. And immediately at that session and at that moment, they began to curse and defame the same person who a few minutes earlier they were praising. This is something that will not appear in main-stream history. Why? Because it scores and it shows the hatred that yahud had for Islam, the Quran and the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam.)

Another testimony to this yahudi psychology comes from another one of them- a lady who used to be a jewess, a yahudiyah, and from the cream of the crop of yahud. Her father was Huyay ibn Akhtab, one of the leaders of Bani Nadhir, and a very well known personality in Al-Medinah. She said this about her father and her uncle after she became a Muslimah and married the Prophet (alaih salaam). She professes or confesses to the following I was loved very much by my father and my uncle. Whenever they would approach and I would be playing with my siblings- my brothers and sisters and my relatives- they would come to me in particular to the exclusion of the rest. That shows how much affection they had for me. Remember, she was not a Muslimah at that time, but she recalls exactly what happened. When the Prophet came as an exiled person from Makkah to Al-Medinah, before he entered Al-Medinah, he stayed at a place called Quba' and several yahud went to see him there. Imagine, they could not wait for him to enter Al-Medinah, so they went to meet him at the outskirts of Al-Medinah. She says:

My father (Huyay) and my uncle (Abu Yasir) led the group of yahud who went to see the Prophet, and they stayed with him for a long portion of the day, and they came back very late. And this is what I heard them say to each other. When they approached home, My uncle asked my father: Is it him- is it the Prophet? Is it the Apostle and the Messenger that we have been reading about in our scripture? And then, my father says: Yes, its him by Allah. Then, my uncle asks my father: Do you recognise him? Can you vouch for him, that he is truly the Prophet that we have read about in our scriptures? And my father says: Yes, indeed. Remember, this is a young lady listening to what her yahudi father and uncle are saying regarding the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And then, my uncle asks my father: What do you find in yourself, or how do you feel about him? And my father answers my uncle, and he says It is animosity as long as I live- Wallah!

What does this tell you and me? These are yahud who went to meet the Prophet and who had reason to believe that this is the Prophet. They spoke to him at length, then they dismissed themselves and they came back home, and they divulged their inner thoughts. They acknowledged, they knew, they realised, they recognised that he is the Prophet of Allah, and because of that, they hated him. Were speaking about yahud, the same block of people who hate because they know, they dont hate because they are ignorant- and this is the problem we have with many Muslims who think that the animosity against Muslims and Islam is because of the ignorance on the other side. But when it comes to yahud, Allah is telling us, and Hes making it an eternal and public fact- the animosity and hatred generated by yahud against the Prophet, Muslims and the Quran is because they know what the Quran is, they know who the Prophet is, and they know who Muslims are. Theres a segment of these scripturalists who desire that you who are committed to Allah renounce that commitment and become deniers of that commitment. Why? It is the envy in their psyche after they realised and recognised the Haqq. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 109) So its not a matter of ignorance. Empty-headed Muslims:- know your enemy; your enemy doesnt hate you because your enemy is ignorant, he hates you because he knows exactly who you are.

These are a couple of testimonies from the Prophets life that come from within the pool of yahud. Al-Husayn ibn Salaam was called Abdullah ibn Salaam, and Safiyyah bint Huyay ibn Akhtab also comes from within yahud, and this is what they had to say about the yahudi internal thoughts concerning the Muslims. Nowadays, if you listen to what they print and broadcast they want us to believe that they are against hate, while in-fact they are the conveyors and the generators of hate. They couldnt take it- this lad from Arabia who is not one of them is favoured by Allah with scripture, this is something they have to hate, and they have to stroke the ambers of hatred in other people against the Prophet. This is what they have been doing since those initial days and they continue to do now. What are some of their plots and their subterfuge against Muslims? We defy any Muslim, to right now as you listen to these words to mobilise your memory to answer the question: Do you know the name of any yahudi/jew from the time and age of the Prophet who became a nominal Muslim, a munafiq Muslim, a hostile Muslim, or a troublemaking Muslim? Ask yourself, do you know anyone? And more that 99% of you will have not even one name in your memory. This is how effective they have been in cleansing the chapters of history and purging the Muslim mind of those names that were actively trying to cause havoc, instability, trouble, friction, feuds and wars among the Muslims in the days of the Prophet. This is a double prone comment- in the first instance, it says that yahud have been working hard to clean their polluted image, and when not even a Muslim can recall who they were when they were in positions of hostility to the Prophet, it shows, they have gone a long way in disturbing the Muslim mind. On the other hand (the comment is ours), why have we permitted ourselves to forget the worst enemies of the Prophet in his day. The Prophet may have enemies now, he may have had enemies generations and centuries ago, but the fact is, he had flesh and blood enemies in his time, in his city and in his neighbourhood yet we dont even know who they are today.

If we were to give you some names, you probably have not heard of them, yet there are ayaat in the Quran that speak about these yahudi trouble makers in the time of the Prophet. (Maybe its better not to mention names until a follow up khutbah, so that you will think or read or look or investigate or research or do something). Some of them became Muslim, not because they were convinced of Islam, but because they wanted to undermine Islam from within. At the time when the Prophet's camel was lost or it was not where it was supposed to be, word got around to see where it is and bring it to the Prophets domicile, and then one of these yahudis (who is this yahudi, none of us know!) comes and says: I would have second thoughts, or I think about such a person who says that he is receiving word from the heaven, but he doesnt know where his camel is! Remember, he was a yahudi, who claimed to be a Muslim, but this is what he said. Thats why the ayaat in the Quran exposes such people:

You can detect them by the way they present their ideas. The selection of words that they use to express what they have on their mind exposes them. (Surah Muhammad verse 29) Now, this may be a wiss-waass, a thought that is a spill over from shaytaan into the Muslim mindit could be, but true Muslims dont express such thoughts if shaytaan tried to circulate such an idea in their mind, but this yahudi came out and expressed it. Obviously, this is a way from inside- if a yahudi or an avowed enemy of Islam says something like this, its easily dismissed, but when its a nominal Muslim who says something like that, its going to do its damage inside the Muslim house-and thats what yahud were trying to do. They havent given up, theyre still doing it. Theres another collection of yahud, from Bani Nadhir who said that they are Muslim at the time of the Prophet. They are Muslim by name, by word and by appearance, but thats all they have. In order for them to de-stabilise the internal Muslim house, this is how far they go. This is yet another area of war-fare. If people hate Islam, it doesnt mean that theyre only going to drop a bomb at Muslims, there are other ways of trying to damage Islamic morale, confidence, commitment and momentum. The behaviour and the plan of these yahud necessitated eternal words from Allah to capture that moment of trouble-making among the Muslims and to display it for the rest of the Muslims until the end of time. O people of Scripture Why do you camouflage what is false with truth, and then, why do you conceal what has been revealed to you, while youre knowledgeable of it, and then theres a segment of you These are the ones (yahud) who became Muslim, and then, under the garb of Islam, they come to the other committed Muslims and they say why cant we believe or accept what Muhamed is saying in the day and spread kufr at night. (Surah Ahl-Imraan verse 71-72) Isnt this a real good description of what a liberal mentality is? These yahud had enough courage to suggest to the Muslims: Its alright- you can be Muslims at one time and you can be of another conviction at another time. It doesnt matter and it doesnt harm. But this is done for a purpose: So that these Muslims are budged away from their commitment to Allah and their imaan, and they return to their pre-imaani state. (Surah Ahl-Imraan verse 72) Isnt this what is happening nowadays? But Muslims are not educated enough, they dont have the theoretical knowledge to begin with, and then they are way behind in their experiences. Today- we have people who may have originally been yahud- let us give you an example of this. There is free-masonry- the allegiance to the masonic order takes preference over all other allegiances, and there are people who go to the Masjid, and to the Hajj, and who recite the Quran, but their allegiance is to the establishment of the Temple of Solomon on the ruins of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, because that is the higher purpose of free-masonry. They are among us,

and they tell us: Why cant we do this, and why cant we do that? And, they have their thoughts about the Prophet if he has done this or if he has done that. Yasser Arafat, the person who was supposed to be representing the Palestinian people. We all know how close or central it is to the rest of the Muslims in the world, its not a nationalist issue and its not a patriotic issue- this is an Islamic issue first and last. He was polished and presented by the powers that be to be the representative of the Palestinian people and the Muslims of AlQuds, the Holy Land and the issue of Al-Isra and Al-Miraaj. When we take a closer look at the make up of this person, theres no doubt that on his mothers side, he comes from a Muslim lineage, because his mothers grand-father was the mufti of Jerusalem. But on his fathers side, noone is sure! The best information that is given about his father, is that his father moved from Morocco and settled in the jewish neighbourhood of Cairo. We know that theres a big jewish community in Morocco, but why would a Moroccan of unknown ancestry (go and look at the origin of Arafat on his fathers side- youll probably not be able to come up with information, because this information is left on a personal level- people who know him personally who know this about him) settle in the yahudi section of Cairo, if youre not a yahudi yourself from Morocco? Why do you come more than a 1000 miles, and then settle in the yahudi section of a city, if youre not a yahudi yourself? And then, one of the closest lieutenants to Arafat said: Yes, his fathers side is a yahudi side. Do the rulers in Arabia and the other countries of the Middleeast, do they owe their allegiance to Allah, or do they owe there allegiance to shaytaan? Only with the accurate and precise information that comes from Allahs book will we be able to move forward and build the Islamic reality of tomorrow. Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims With Allahs presence, we will continue to look at yahuds behaviour with the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). We realise from previous examples, how irritating, aggressive and insulting these jewish scholars were with Allahs Last Prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him). Now, we take a further look at some of these encounters in which they came up to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and acted with a frontery, arrogance and mis-behaviour. These facts are not registered in yahuds history because it is something not to be proud of. Brothers and sisters, you have access to a flood of information, but can you find in all of this information any recounting by yahud of those formative days of Islam in Al-Medinah when these yahudi scholars were coming to the Prophet of Allah and asking him what amounts to insulting questions? Youll not find that around, and for good reason- they have enough brains to try to dismiss this infomation from record forever, but we dont have any good reason for trying to dismiss this information from record. This is something that we should bring back to our public thoughts and to our common conscience so that we know who we are dealing with when we say

yahud or the jews or the rabbis. To follow up on these encounters that are regrettably no longer present in the Muslim mind- they are buried in pages that are threatened with obscurity and deletion forever- To show you the intriguing behaviour of yahud, on one of these occasions, a collection of scholars go to the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alahi wa sallam) and they ask him: O Muhamed- Everything in creation has been created by Allah, but who created Allah? We used to think that this question was posed by atheists. In the past generion or two, this type of question used to circulate in communist circles. People who did not commit to Allah used to try to present committed Muslims or people who believed in a Supreme Being with this question. At the time, before investigating what was deep down in the bowels of history, we thought this was a development of the contemporary mind. We werent aware that actually this is a historical question, and certainly, we were not aware that at one time, the rabbis came to the Prophet with that exact question, and at that time, these rabbis were not supposed to be atheists. The Prophet (alaih salaam) knew that the type of individuals who were presenting this question were supposed to have a book- scripture- which was supposed to teach them better, they were supposed to know better than to ask such a question, so then, Allah inspired him to give them an answer- the ayaat that were previously revealed in Makkah and pertaining to which the Prophet (alaih salaam) said: This surah is equivalent to one-third of the Quran- Allah instructed His Prophet to answer them with these four ayaat from the Quran: Say (O Prophet of Allah): It is He, Allah, the Singular, the Unique. The Independant the Indefatigueable. Who has not given physical birth and Who has not received physical birth; And Who is not matched by anything or anyone, and is not similar to anything or anyone. (Surah Ikhlaas) What is lost by you and I (the average Muslim), is the knowledge that Allah instructed His Prophet to recite these ayaat to these yahud when they were asking: Who created Allah? When you recite this surah- there is a component that is lacking in your relationship with the Prophet, and that is, the average Muslim, is not aware that when you recite this surah, you are responding to the intriguing behaviour and character of yahud that wasnt limited only to that encounter with the Prophet but that also poses the question today. They try to undermine the relationship a committed Muslim has with Allah by trying to place doubt in your mind. They tried to place doubt in the Prophets mind and they continue to try to place that same doubt in the minds of the followers of the Prophet today and into the future, as long as they are yahud and as long as we are committed Muslims. You would think that they have enough common sense to terminate this discussion with the Prophet and leave. No! They followed up and they asked him: Would you give us an idea of how Allah is? What are His features- His hands, His arms, His legs etc. They know from the Torah that Allah doesnt have any legs or arms or any of these features that belong to intelligent life that we are accustomed to as human beings, but they wanted to trap the Prophet into giving them some type of answer that would indicate that Allah is similar in any sense of the word to some or part of what He created. In that way, the Prophet would be

contradicting the ayaat that he just recited in front of them, so Allah revealed an answer to these types of yahudi characters- ancient and present- who know from reading and studying the Torah, that Allah has no human or physical features? Allah says answering this type of mentality: They did not assess Allah His rightful assesment. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67) When you think of Allah, you give Him Hes due- in your thoughts and emotions. They havent given Him His due in their thoughts nor in their emotions And, the whole world is His contraction on the day of resurrection. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67) Qabdatuhu- in the normal sense of language is fist. its the contraction of the hand. But Allah did not express any hand contraction, He said contraction, because that would give-in to trying to give Allah physical qualities. Within the range of human thinking, this would mean some type of human quality is parted to Allah. So Allah says: And the skies, the cosmos, the galaxies- all of these are folded in His right. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67) Allah didnt say right hand. Were not falling in traps of these jewish rabbis- not conceptually, politically nor in any other sense of the word. Exalted and Extolled is He, away from whatever character or features they want to tag onto Him. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 67)

These yahudi rabbis who came to the Prophet did not give up, they came back to him. (Maybe you can familiarise yourself with some of their names) This group that came comprised of Salaam ibn Mashkam, Aziz ibn Abu Aziz, Bahri ibn Amr, Mahmoud ibn Sayhaan- (they dont use the name Mahmoud any longer. Their hatred for the Prophet since that time has had them avoid using any derivative name that can be associated with the Prophet. Hence, no Mahmoud, Ahmed, Haamid, Hamid, Hammad, Hammud, Muhamed- none of names, but at that time, one of these rabbis who came to the Prophet was Mahmoud ibn Sayhaan. They came to him, and they said (once again, they call him Muhamed): O Muhamed- You claim that, that which you are receiving from Allah to be the Haqq- the truth. But we find that it does not mesh in with the serialising ot the Torah or it is not organised or sequenced the same way the Torah is sequenced. And what did the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) say to them? Listen to what the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) said to them- im paraphrasing here, but he said something which in the structure of the arabic language are emphatic re-inforcement the truth of their

knowledge of what Allah is revealing to the Prophet- this is a vow in the most solidly constructed grammatical way of pronouncing an emphasis in language. By Allah, you know that this revealed scripture is the truth from Allah. And, you indeed find the news of the Quran written or registered in the Torah. Where is it? Anyone has access to the old Testament, the Bible or the Torah. Does anyone find a clear statement indicating that the Quran is Allahs scripture to mankind, which was foretold in the Torah? Its obliterated and gone- it doesnt exist today. And for this reason, and for this type of questioning, Allah says in surat Al-Israa: Say (O Prophet, and you Muslims in the footsteps of the Prophet to anyone posing these types of questions): If all humanity, and all the jinn- these are the intelligent forms of lifewere to combine and put their efforts together, and re-inforce their thoughts and place all their brain-power in support of each other, they will not be able to reproduce or to replicate anything similar to the Quran. (Surah Al-Isra verse 88) They dont give up, when the ayaat of the Quran are responding solidly to their intrigue, insults, and their mis-behaviour in the company of the Prophet (sallalhu alaihi wa sallam). At one time, in their own meeting, they said: Lets go to Muhamed, and lets try to lure him away from his Deen, because hes only human. Human nature has its weaknesses, so now, theyre going to try to work on the weaknesses of human nature in the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). So, they came to the Prophet with something in their mind, and listen, because this trap that they tried to place in front of the Prophet, is the same one that they are using nowadays. After sitting in the presence of the Prophet, these rabbis and scholars of yahud said to him: You know that we are the elite, the cream of the crop or the upper crust of yahudi society, and they will not dis-obey us. Once we make our decision they follow us. But, among us, theres a dispute, and there are other yahud who have taken issue with us. We want you to be our arbitor and we want you to judge this dispute among us. And, if your judgement or decision is in favour of us, we will follow you, and you will have the rest of yahud following you. Theres a human nature here, that wants people to become Muslim. And ofcourse, there are among the lower classes of yahud, people who dont know the dynamics that are at work. So, if theres a way to win them over to Islam, then that would be fine. Besides, there will be other noble jews that will become Muslim. Just like in our time and our day, there are jews or yahud at the highest levels who are communicating with nominal or cultural Muslims on the highest level to reconcile, and to endorse their point of view in what may be contention in the yahudi body of

people in the world. Do you think yahud dont have their differences? They do! Do you think they are united? They are not! They want some type of Islamic support for their point of view. The poitical games that they are playing in our times, they tried to play this same political game on the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And Allah revealed ayaat in surat Al-Maaidah that would put an end to any type of yahudi, or otherwise, who would try to gain recognition, prestige and status, by having Muslims involved in their internal affairs, there-by giving credibility to some of them against others. Yet, we have Muslims in our time and day falling for this game- as if they dont read the Quran, and they probably havent dwelled on this incident in the seerah, thats if theyve ever read about it at all. Thats why, from time to time you hear them come and say: This israeli administration is better than that israeli administration, or this israeli prime minister or official is better than that israeli prime minister or official. The Prophet didnt get involved on inch within the yahudi territory of affairs. Why? Because he was listening to Allah when Allah was guiding him. Unlike the Muslims of today, who dont listen to Allah when Allah is trying to guide them. They made this offer to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)- Ok, come and arbitrate our differences and give us the upper-hand in this arbitration. Thats precluding all due process. They want to reach a final judgement with the Prophet without the Prophet even looking into the details of what the nature of this dispute in the internal yahudi rank is. And Allah said: And, you should judge between them in accordance with the standards that Allah has revealed to you, and be guarded, be cautious, that you are lured away by them from that which We are revealing to you. And then, from here on, if they dont accept, and if they turn away from this method of arbitration, you should know that Allah wants to inflict upon them damage with their mistakes and their sins. And, there are many people who are degenerate, and who cant live up to the standards of Quranic arbitration and scriptural arbitration and Prophetic arbitration. Do they want a judgement that comes from the days or the times or the attitude of jahilliyah, where personal or self-interests would dictate the judgement or the solution? This is not what Allah teaches to people who entertain the certainty of Allah. (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 49-50) This trickery and this gimmickery comes from people who dont entertain the certainty of Allah. Its not that they dont know that Allah is present, they know it, but from these conversations, dialogues and encounters that the rabbis and the scholars of yahud had with the Prophet, the fact comes out at the end that they dont entertain the certainty of Allah in the depths of their thoughts and in the depths of their emotions. On yet another occasion, they come up to the Prophet with their brainy characters, and they ask him: Dont you claim to be following Ibrahim, and you believe in this Torah? By saying that, they wanted to draw recognition to themselves, that they are authentic and legitimate, while the Prophet and the Quran are saying youre not authentic, and youre not legitimate. They ask the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam): Ok, before you, who are the Prophets that you believe in?

and he said: We hold in recognition, respect and in achknowledgement Ibrahim and Ismaeel and Ishaaq and Al-Asbaat, and that which was vouchsafed to Musa and to Isa, and to all the Prophets. We dont discriminat among any of them. And, they say to him: But we dont believe in Isa. This particular incident shows you how Muslims are not up to par when the jews have an argument against Jesus, and when they use foul language against Jesus whilst we look to Jesus with all respect and dignity that is due to the rest of Allahs Prophet. Theres no Muslim working on this area to expose the true character of these yahudi rabbis who have taken scripture out of its meaning and given it its talmudic deviation. Theres No Muslim to follow and expose the talmudic deviation of these yahud who claim to uphold the Torah, the old testament or the bible but who dont live in accordance with the principles, tenets, teachings and standards of the old Testament and the Bible. Say: O people of scripture, you have no basis at all, until you adhere to, observe, and live by the standards of the Bible and the Gospel and that which has been vouched-safe unto you from your Sustainer and that which has been revealed to you (O Committed Muslims), will cause many of them to exacerbate in hostilities, aggression and kufr. (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 68) This is a fact that we see all around us. Why do you think they are hostile to Muslims? Because they know in their closed meetings and in their elitist minds that what Allah has given us is the truth- the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and they know, what they have is a diversion from this truth which pales when it compares to the Quran and to the Prophet. In the few minutes that we have left, this speaker will try to bring to your attention what happens to Muslims when they dont develop their minds to think. These incidents, and these events that we are recalling from the Prophets life, when the rabbis came up to him is not made public information. Imams and khateebs- if they know about this, are not permitted to say this in public. So what happens to the Muslim public mind?- it begins to shrink to such a degree that it is no longer capable of thinking about whats happening to the larger Muslim body around. You see- Brothers and sisters- a few years ago, there was this hue and cry about the Muslims in Kosova. So, international, multi-national, trans-national, and all types of forces go in and, they had this smoke-screen of a war against Milosevic. We all know, and we all are familiar with the information that came our way to formulate our thoughts and to undermine our understanding of the Quran and the Prophet in this context. And, we had some Muslims actually praise the kuffaar and the mushrikin and the munafiqin for their stand in Kosova. Subsequently, in front of your own eyes, what happened in Temur, in Indonesia? Theres an area there with a majority population that is not Muslim that was given the right to vote for the way it wanted to conduct

itself politically. Eighty percent of those voted to break-away from the Central government of Jakarta and the Muslims of Indonesia and the rest of the world were put on notice- If you dont accept this, we will send in the forces to have Temur break-away from Jakarta. This should not strain anyones memory. Can anyone of these Muslims who were making favourable remarks about the United Nations, and the United States and NATO, and all of these forces in Kosova stand up today and say Why do we have double standards? Why dont you do in Indonesia what you did in Kosova? Or, if you want to be consistent with yourself, why dont you permit the Muslims in Kosova to do what the Christians in East-Temur did? But, because the political thinking of the Muslims has shrunk so much, they cant even see what happened in Kosova as opposed to what happened in Temur and Indonesia and that part of the Muslim world. Brothers and sisters- this is what happens- when Muslims cannot think with the political mind about the days and the times of the Prophet, we will be unable to think with the political mind that is required about the days and the times of ours here and now. Take a look at what is happening to the Muslims of Chechenya and what is the international public saying: This is an internal Russian affair! Why wasnt East Temur an internal Indonesian affair? This is what happens to the Muslim mind- and what do you expect when you go to Masjids that are under occupation. We long for the time when our Masjids will be free, when our minds are permitted to be free, so that our lands can become free. No-ones going to come up to you and say You have a license for free thought, you are required to think freely and do what is required thereof. Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Muslims who are on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim In a continuation of our expose of yahud and the positions, interactions and communications they had with Allahs most beloved (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), we will continue to highlight these incidents that should radiate with significant meanings to those who consider the Prophet their prototype and leader, and from whose experience we learn in order to avoid repeating the mistakes that unfortunately many are condemned to repeating over and over again. The reason we highlight these chapters of our history is because yahud have not distanced themselves from that behaviour with our Prophet. Has anyone heard yahud come to a Muslim and say: Yahud of those days are not the yahud of today? You dont hear that, because they consider themselves an extension of that attitude and behaviour. For that reason, we want that attitude and that behaviour to become public knowledge and we will continue to highlight what they want to sweep under the carpet of history. In their days in Al-Medinah, when Muslims had an authority and a government, some of these yahud became true Muslims. The sad state of the contemporary Muslim mind is that we cannot recall even a few names of these yahud who became sincere and honest Muslims. You ask yourself, Is it public knowledge? Who do you know from yahud who committed themselves to

Allah and the Prophet? This shows you how much control they have on our thoughts when we cannot even recall from our own history those yahud who devoted themselves to Allah and the Prophet. Heres a few names that I hope will not slip through the cracks of Muslim memoryAbdullah ibn Salaam, Falaba ibn Saya, Usayd ibn Saya and Asad ibn Umair. You have a circle of acquaintances and Muslims that youre associated with, ask them; Please tell me, have you heard of a person in the days of the Prophet whose name is Asad ibn Umair? Hell say: I dont know, whos that? This is how pathetic our minds are and this is how much damage has been done to contemporary thoughts of Muslims. Allah revealed ayaat in the Quran that we read and we recite concerning these individuals who came out of yahudi racism, nationalism, tribalism and ethnocentrism and committed themselves to Allah and His Prophet. But what did the rest of yahud in Al-Medinah say? They said: Only the worst people among us follow Muhammed. If they were from the privileged among us, they wouldnt have changed their religion and gone with another religion. Just like yahud have a grip on the media today, at that time they also had a similar grip on what was said in public in Al-Medinah. So, they had information circulating in the public that these yahud who became Muslim are bad people and are not worthy of any consideration or respect. When this becomes an idea that is repeated in public, then you have other yahudis who are thinking about becoming Muslims who no longer want to become Muslims. You also have Arabians- the mushriks of Al-Medinah, who are not Muslims yet- but who are thinking of becoming Muslims but who would think twice before becoming Muslim because of the poisonous ideas that were spewed out by these yahud. This is how they work on trying to cripple Allahs message, His scripture and his Prophet. From here, once again, we go to the rabbis- the segment of society that no-one wants to speak about. These learned elders of Bani Israel went up to the Prophet on one occasion and said to him: We are going to ask you about four things, and if you can give us the answer to these four things, we will believe in you, endorse what you have to say and follow you. And, they give their word of honour and trust to the Prophet that if he was able to answer their four questions, they would become followers, believers and disciples of Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And then, to emphasise what they are saying, the Prophet asked them: If you were to receive true answers to your questions, will you indeed- as a matter of trust and word of honour- believe in Allah and this message of Islam? And they said: Yes, we will. So he said: Go ahead, ask your questions. Remember, the reason we are presenting these facts is because theres a deliberate class of infomation managers who want to delete this information from the records of history and make believe that it doesnt exist. Their first question, they said to him: Tell us, why does a child who

is born of the mother resemble the father? Now, this may seem like an awkward question and you must understand the mentality of the time- the concept at the time was that the father was the fertiliser- he has the nutufah- so why do we have children resembling the mother? This is not in the books and is a way of having you understand the question that they are posing to Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). In other words, its like saying that if youre planting a plant in the ground, it doesnt make sense to have the plant looking like the earth. Just like the earth is a container for a plant and when that plant grows it doesnt resemble the earth, similarly, the women is nothing but a container, but here, you have a human being that is implanted in the mother and when it is born, it resembles the mother. They asked the Prophet: Why is this so? And he said to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. Should you know- the mans fertilisation is white and re-enforced and the nutufah of a women is yellow and in a sense vulnerable. And at the time of fertilisation, there is a type of tug between that which is white and re-enforced, and that which is yellow and vulnerable, and one may overcome the other- and whichever does so, the new-born resembles it. And they said to him: Yes, by Allah, that is the answer. Of course, this can be investigated in terms of genes or chromosomes and the other information that we have today, but the fact of the matter is they endorsed the truth of the Prophet.

And then, the rabbis went on to the second question. Listen to this- theyre asking the Prophet: How is your sleep? And then once again he says to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. You claim that I am not a Prophet, but a Prophets eyes sleep yet his heart remains conscious or does not sleep, and such is my sleep ie. my eyes are closed or my eyes go to sleep, but my heart is not closed and my heart does not go to sleep. This also can be understood further in the light of the analysis of sleep- the rapid eye movements, the different stages of sleep viz. the deep sleep and otherwise. This is not the time to go into these details, but when they listened to the Prophet answering them, they said: Yes, by Allah. And then they went to their third question, and they asked him: What did Israel prohibit to himself? And then once again the Prophet of Allah says to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. The favourite food of Israel was the dairy and the meat of livestock/cattle, and he suffered an ailment, so he took it upon himself to say to Allah that if he recovers from this ailment, he will not consume any dairy or meat of any livestock/cattle.

And they said: This is correct. The rabbis who were questioning the Prophet then said We have the final question that we want to ask you. Who is Ar-Ruh in the Quran and in the Torah? There is reference to something called Ar-Ruh, can you tell us what is Ar-Ruh? And then once again he says to them: I beseech Allah and remind you of His days with the Children of Israel. This Ruh that you ask about is Jibreel. An then they said: Yes, but Jibreel is our enemy. He is harsh and he communicates bloodshed. They knew that the Prophet was saying the truth, so they said Yes. But they had an issue with Jibreel (alaih salaam), and for this reason these learned jews harboured an enmity with Jibreel (alaih salaam) saying: Hes our enemy. Theyve made Prophets of Allah enemies, theyve made Angels enemies, and theyve made Allah an enemy. And Allah revealed ayaat in the Quran that we read but little do we place it into context: Whoever is an enemy of Allah, His Angels, His Apostles and the Arch-angel Gabriel and Michael, then Allah is the enemy of the kaafirs . And, We have revealed to you ayaat of evidence and only the degenerate, only the faasiqs claim that these are lies. (Surah AlBaqarah verse 97-99) Allah didnt say that He is the enemy of the rabbis, because the rabbis by these expressions they are kaafirs. Remember- when they came to the Prophet, they said: If you answer these four questions we will believe, submit, and follow. But they lied- the rabbis lied, per the Quran and how the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) demonstrated this to us. Since that time, we havent had any rabbis or any jewish infomation saying: Wait a minute, we have nothing to do with that. The jews and the rabbis of those days had their own positions and we have our own positions today! No!- the rabbis of today have become an extension of the rabbis of those days. Every time they say they want to give you their word of honour, they break that word of honour, and most of them are not committed to Allah. And when a Prophet came to them from Allah, authenticating and endorsing the scripture from Allah that they had within their own possession, a proportion of these scripturalists threw Allahs scripture behind them, and then they presented themselves as if they know nothing about it. (Surah AlBaqarah verse 100-101) This is yet another living example from the time of the Prophet for us to think about- they want to throw all of this infomation behind everyones back- as if nothing happened, and as if they have no knowledge about all of this. You can understand them doing this, but can you understand the Muslims doing this? We have become like yahud, we have no knowledge of this, we act and behave as if none of this ever happened. This is one demonstration of how these yahud express

their animosity to the Prophet and Muslims. Remember the make-up of Al-Medinah- when the Prophet went to it- there was a polarisation between the Aws and the Khazraj, and the jews of Al-Medinah were taking advantage of this. Bani Qaynuqa allied itself with the Khazraj, and Banu Quraida and Banu Nadhir allied itself with Al-Aws. The last battle between Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj before Islam came to Al-Medinah and before the Prophet established an Islamic reality in Al-Medinah was called Yawm Buath, and yahud were on both sides. In this battle, Banu Qaynuqa and Khazraj lost, and yahud (like they always do), they take advantage of rivals and they want to be on all sides. Youll see this in the United States, in Europe, among the Arabs and all over the world. In all of their history, they want to be on both sides so that they never lose- they can always shift to the winning side. So, when this serious conflict between the Arabians finally happened, they would always come up with some loot. The tribal nature of that society did not permit some tribes to take advantage of the others when the others lost, but that wasnt the case with yahud- if their enemies lost, they would loot, steal and possess whatever comes their way. In todays world, the heads of the jewish israeli government get questioned because they loot whatever comes their way. Their bad habits never die- from the rabbis to the prime-ministers of israel; from the time of the Prophet to our time, their nature is still alive and vicious and kicking. After the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) came to Al-Medinah and Islam was nurtured, some yahud and some scripturalists recognised the authenticity of the Prophet and Allahs word. They came to the side of the Prophet and supported this new Islamic state in Al-Medinah. After that, yahud began to work on a certain category of people in Al-Medinah- these were the munafiqun, and even some of them concealed their kufr and said We are Muslim. Muslims should be aware of these dynamics of life which occurred then and whenever we have the same dynamics at work, they will re-occur. This is a fact- when Islam becomes the reality of the day and it organisers our life, we will see yahud and nasara becoming true dedicated, honest, devout and sincere Muslimsprobably not many of them, but some of them- as happened then will happen now. But then, you will see another dynamic at work, and in their enmity towards Islam, they will fork out on two fronts. They will nurture a munafiq segment in the Islamic reality, and some of them will claim to be Muslim while in-fact they are not. This was demonstrated at the time when yahud were expelled from Al-Andulus. They came to the Ottoman State and many of them claimed to be Muslim, and they climbed the ladder of the Islamic government, until finally they took over and they demolished the system of Islam altogether in Istanbul- and they are known as the dhunma. This is what they do, and this is why Allah referred to the munafiq segment of society and said when they were in Al-Medinah: When they meet the committed Muslims they say "We believe", and when they are alone with their devils, (the jews of Al-Medinah), they say "We are certainly with you, we were only jesting."(Surah Al-Baqarah verse 14) When Banu Qaynuqa lost the first confrontation with the Islamic authority in Al-Medinah, they

instigated Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salul to go to the Prophet of Allah and to use his influence so that the Prophet will probably be lenient against the treacherous Bani Qaynuqa of Al-Medinah. And ibn Salul went to the Prophet and he spoke to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and Bani Qaynuqa were expelled from Al-Medinah- they went to Shaam and to Adhruat where they perished later on. We realised that when all three factions of yahud viz. Qaynuqa, Nadhir and Quraida lost their foot-hold in Al-Medinah and were no longer in Al-Medinah, the munafiqs no longer had the influence that they had. Today, not many muslims can see the same thing happening in our time and in front of our own eyes. Theres a contingent of munafiqs that rely on the israeli zionist jewish nation state- and when Muslims have the upper-hand somewhere, these munafiqs have secret meetings with the zionist israeli jewish officials. The problem is, we dont read the Quran as if its a vital, contemporary, now and here book that speaks about the facts and the realities of the world that we are in. Its not a book to put a baby to sleep, its the book that stimulates our commitment. The rabbis lied to the Prophet of Allah, and we ask our Muslim scholars when are they going to face the public and have the courage to say We want to take issue with the rabbis of today who havent taken issue with the rabbis that were trying to fool the Prophet and who declared their animosity to God and to scripture. As long as the jewish rabbis of today have not taken issue with this, they are in the category of the jewish rabbis in the time of Isa (Jesus) and the time of Muhamed. Far from the Muslims being able to diagnose the condition that we are in, and to accurately and appropriately point to the zionist jewish cancer that is not only the enemy of Allah but also the enemy of mankind we can't even see that this cancer is on the offensive. It is trying to organise meetings, conferences and inter-faith sessions to bring Muslim clergy-men on a par with yahudi rabbis, to say: We are actually all the sons and followers of Abraham- there is no serious difference among us. They are organising these locally, regionally, nationally and internationally within religious temples and within international, political and diplomatic departments and institutes. Remember- 25years ago, they used to tell us religion and politics dont mix, much has happened since. Now, even the United Nations plans conferences to which it invites religious scholars and clergy-man from around the world- jews, christians, Muslims, hindus and others who will either become hypocritical because they know the truth but they dont want to express it, or act as agents to communicate to the rest of the Muslim public that Look, we can all get along. How are we supposed to get along with people who are responsible for the blood that is flowing in the Ummah? If we had enough knowledge and infomation, we will find that there is a yahudi hand behind the assault on Muslims in Chechenya. If we had enough knowledge and information, we would know that there is a yahudi hand playing in Indonesia. If we had enough knowledge and information, we would know that yahud are busy trying to dis-member and dis-figure this body of ours and at the same time, they want to meet with us and say, We are your bosom buddies, we are your friends, we are close to you, look at how much we have in common. They want to smile in the faces of our Ulema and they want to stab and kill and massacre our children and our women at a distance. In the meantime, we continue to read the Quran without meaning and to evoke the name of the Prophet without a context. We are called

upon to understand what we are reading and to sympathise with the Prophet in these positionsnot as some holy man, but as someone who belonged to a real world and who rabbis were accusing of lying- a Prophet who faced the rabbis. If you sympathise with the Prophet, you also face the rabbis- the evil of yahud all around- or else your salawaat on the Prophet and your evoking the Prophets name is next to meaningless- go out and gain a meaning in existence, live what Allah has to say, and learn and study what the Prophet means to you.

AL QUDS MONTH: BLOOD ON OUR HANDS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We desire to expand and build on the designation of the day of Al Quds (designated by the late Al Imam Al Khomeini to be commemorated on the last Friday of Ramadhan in recognition of the suffering meted out to the Palestinians and the oppressed peoples of the world), and will be inshaAllah running a weekly additional Khutbah on Al Quds during this month of Ramadhan. We pray that Allah raises the awareness of people regarding the suffering of the people of Quds and the other oppressed peoples so that the designation of the last Friday to ensconce the realities in the lives of oppressed people in our minds will culminate into a daily occurrence.

We emphasise the greetings of peace. We think the religious aspect of the conflict that were talking about is also very critical within the political pursuits of this conflict from whichever angle we may be approaching it. Peace has to be understood with a good and healthy approach to justice. There cannot be peace with indignity, discrimination, hidden agendas and with teaming up and then beating on the small guy, (as it were). 1st of all, wed like to commend the presentation that preceded this one- its informative with very good information that you dont come by in the docile and subversive media that serves American national interests which is shaped by the policy of Imperia that describes the United States, especially in the part of the world that we are looking at. Well try to be a little more pointed at some of the aspects of American policy when it comes to Israel. When we speak about American policy and we speak about Israel, there seems to be a built-in blind area that no one wants to come to terms with. Theres always been this argument of is the Israeli component of this alliance the mover and shaker of it or is it the Imperial component, meaning the American contingent within this alliance the main shaker and mover when decisions are being made. That area, we think, continues to be a-give-and-take; none of us are insiders and were not prevalent at the discussions that are made, classified as they are, so we really cant say with authority who really has the upper hand. The arguments go both ways. Some people will tell you the Zionists are on top of it and they really dictate to the American government and the American government really doesnt have a choice except to follow orders and the others will tell you its actually the Imperialists who are using the Zionists and Israel as a cats claw in the overall policies of the Middle-East and its really the shrewd Imperialists who are taking advantage of a human condition that wants to get itself organised in a social manner in Palestine. This keeps on going back-and-forth which makes it an area that needs more of our attention. We dont need more of the rhetoric that comes out of the media pertaining to these two forces- obviously they are forces.

Let us say that the United States government, (let us try to take a little step back and remind ourselves that), after the resolution that acknowledged or recognised the State of Israel; within 11 minutes, Harry Truman, the President of the United States government immediately recognised the State of Israel. Thats an indicator that the affluence and influence of the yet-to-be AIPAC was in high gear very early on before the 700 pound guerrilla, (as it is referred to sometimes), that operates on Capitol Hill and swings it weight in the Congressional offices never to vote against Israel or never to enact laws that may damage the interest of Israel. Were looking at a significant presence of Zionist presence in the United States that goes back sometime; its not a very recent development as some people would like to believe. Let us also remind ourselves in trying to know the proportionality of Imperialism and Zionism as they relate to each other that the United States government gives Israel every year more than $3billion in grants- these are the official grants that go from the United States to Israel. These are the official grants that go from the United States to Israel, were not talking here about donations and other financial channels that prop up the Israeli

Zionist illegality in the Middle East; this is on the record, official, over board and public. That amounts to almost $10million every day. (When) you think about this, (we just finished doing our taxes), a huge sum of our tax- officially $10million everyday goes to Israel. This is more than is given by the United States to all of Sub-Saharan Africa and more than is given to any other nation state in the world. This would make you think, (we hope), that there is some type of control mechanism that makes this type of money go to that type of regime, knowing that this type of information does not really circulate- thats very important to be cognisant of. So far, since the establishment of this expansionist, war-like, destabilising nation state called Israel, the United States has given more than $100billion out of your and my hard earned money- that, once again is on the record, publicly and officially. Theres no merit and no justification for this amount of money going to the bloody regime- I have no qualms, Im not a politician; I tried to look at the issue as it is and call-a-spade-a-spade. The Israeli Zionist regime is a monstrosity and it should not be fed this financial line of money and resources at the rate that it is at. Let us make the point, (we dont want to lose this as theres so many of these that are tied together), and say that there hasnt been in at least the last 50 years or so an American official at the highest level that has spoken out publicly, confidently and forcefully against the Israeli policy that has plunged the area in periodical wars. (It) seems like theres a war that is ignited every decade by this Israeli nation state and to that there hasnt been an American President since Eisenhower- Eisenhower is probably the last Chief Executive in the White House who took issue with the tri-partite aggression against Egypt in 1956 and told this alliance of three states- Israel, France and Britain- Its enough. I want you to recede from the Suez Canal and let it become the property of the Egyptian government. Since that time, there hasnt been an American President who has the courage to speak out against Israel. On the contrary- right now, this is an election year and this is election time and right now you have two front-runners Obama and McCain and none of them dare speak truth to an Israel that is going wild in once again trying to ferment instability in the area. The issue of Lebanon in the past couple months is another example of the trouble making that the Israelis are up to along with their American sidekick in the area. (I think the previous speaker and some of you in the audience who are as old as we are), can remember that after 1967 when the Israeli government began in a frantic manner to embark on a grand policy of building and constructing settlements, (or if its a miniature settlement, it calls it an outpost), throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in the West Bank. The official American language at the time- the American government used to call these illegal settlements and in the last 40 years or so there has been a metamorphosis of this language and no longer will you encounter anywhere in the official, diplomatic and political language of Washington DC any reference to illegal settlements. This is another indicator in this internal convergence of interests between Washington and Tel Aviv as to who really is influencing the other. There is one of these unknown details of history- I was saying that there hasnt been a President that has the political and moral courage to speak to the Israelis when they go overboard in what they are doing, I should note, (even though this is not common knowledge as are many details

pertaining to the Israeli/American and how it works out policies in The Middle East), that when Golda Meir used to be the Foreign Minister of Israel before she became Prime Minister had come to the United States and she had a discussion with President Kennedy at the time and that discussion went something like this, (of course were paraphrasing the whole thing), it had to do with Israel developing its nuclear weapon and Israel was relying to an advanced extent on France and it was getting there; just like you hear today in the media that Iran is developing nuclear technology. Israel at the time was not in the media and no one was speaking about Israel developing nuclear technology much less a nuclear weapon, but obviously the Head/President of The United States was aware of what was going on and he spoke in a direct way to Golda Meir and told her that if you go ahead with developing your nuclear weapons then, there will come a time, maybe in the near future, when the interests of Israel and the interests of the United States are going to diverge and when and if that happens, the United States has no choice but to pursue its own interests independently of the Israeli interests. It was a matter of a year or two after that and we know what happened to Kennedy and as they say, the rest is history. Then, we have another indicator in this very well undefined relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv. This incident has to do with the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty. The USS Liberty was one of these intelligence gathering vessels that was located or positioned in Eastern Mediterranean during the time of the 1967 Israeli war, (Israel launched that war, contrary to most of what the media says), and this intelligence gathering ship belonging to the United States Navy was there, obviously, to snoop or pick the information and communication that is going on inside of the war command structure in Israel and also Egypt, Syria and that general area that was at war. It was during this six-day interval of war, (beginning on June 5th 1967), that Israeli war planes bombed the USS Liberty. They killed 34 servicemen/navy personnel and they injured 173/174, (whatever the count was), and during the time of attack, the USS Liberty crew sent distress signals or SOSs to the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean (saying) Hey look, were under attack. Come and rescue us. These signals were received by the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, (wed like to remind you that Admiral McCain, the father of the current Republican Presidential runner up for the office in the White House was in that command structure of the US Navy in the Mediterranean at the time, but anyways), I think a couple of fighters were scrambled to come to the rescue of the USS Liberty but as they were on their way, the orders were reversed and they had to go back. These American sailors, whoever survives of them, did not have the legal process of following up on the course and reason for this type of deliberate Israeli attack on an American military vessel that was well identified because the person who was in-charge of that ship had displayed the American flag that could not be mistaken by the attackers. Besides, before they attacked the ship, these Israeli pilots were flying back-and-forth over it and they were well aware that this was an American vessel. But this whole issue, in those tense times and in a compact manner went to the White House, and President Johnson at the time, along with the Defence Department killed any attempt to investigate this affair and they told the crew of the USS Liberty that you are to remain silent on all the details that went into this Israeli attack on an American vessel. Usually, when something like that happens, the law has a full Congressional

investigation. (But in this case, there was no investigation), of this Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, which, (once again), if we are thinking of who is predominant in the Zionist-Imperialist alliance, once again, this moves us in the direction of saying the Israelis must have a lot of clout all over the place to kill an issue like this and remain killing it for the last 41 years. Come next month- it will be 41 years that that incident occurred. In the late 1960s, (we have to go back to the political atmosphere of the time, especially as it relates to The Middle East), there was a guerrilla movement that was picking up momentum by the Palestinians- The Palestinian Liberation Organisation with the many factions that it had. One of the factions was the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. It had taken control of some airlines and bombed them in the Jordanian desert. This was a spectacular demonstration of the guerrilla warfare against the Israelis and it was beamed all over the place etc. etc. Then, there were other such types of spectacular outbursts by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in different parts of The Middle East; all of that scenario put together caused a type of national security meeting in Washington. As you can recall- at the time, Henry Kissinger was the Head of National Security and President Nixon was in the White House. They got together and an Executive Order was issued- not many people know about this. An Executive Order was issued, (I cant remember, but it had a name and a numeral to it), that Executive Order considered in the circumstances that Americans who are of Arab descent within six generations are to be considered suspect. That is a very damaging decision that was made at the highest levels of the US government that still reverberate today. After 911, we had new policies that are kicking in to also de-Americanise Americans who are of Arab descent and now Americans who are of Islamic descent- i.e. the Patriot Act, profiling, admitting into Court secret evidence and the rest of this whole thing. For those of us who have been living these details, its nothing new because its always been there, except it was kept away from the public eye; after 911 it just burst out in the dramatic fashion that it has. Then, we have and reference was made to AIPAC, that humungous and very influential body of people who have disproportionate into the policies and decisions, particularly as they relate to Israel. Note that almost every year, especially the past few years, it has been a practise of very influential American politicians, such as Hillary Clinton and Republicans and Democrats to attend the yearly Conference of AIPAC and to make sure that everyone who is attending understands that these officials are going to do their utmost to protect Israel, even if that means launching a war against Iran. This has come out very clearly in the course of the past couple of years at least. Another indicator of the disproportionate internal relationship between Zionists and Imperialists is the matter of these spies that keep on popping up from time to time. The most notorious case of an Israeli-American spying for Israel is the case of Jonathan Polard. This person is reported to have photocopied tons of information and passed it on to his handler at the Israeli Embassy who in turn passed it onto Israeli Intelligence. The person got caught in the act back in the mid-1980s, was brought to court and was sentenced to life imprisonment and was in prison for 22/23 years now. There have been several serious attempts by the Israeli government to spring him out of

detention and commute this life sentence. They have all failed so far. When the court ruled that this person has to spend the rest of his life behind bars, this person, Jonathan Polard, was visited on several occasions, (that I know of, what we dont know of is much more), by high ranking Israeli officials. During the wine plantation get-together- through the offices of the United Statesbetween the Palestinians and the Israelis or Netanyahu, the Likudnik warmonger when he was involved in all of this, he passed over an attempt with President Clinton to have Polard released from prison as part of a deal to work out some type of solution with the Palestinians. Back to the time when the court ruled that this person should spend the rest of his life in prison, the Secretary of Defence, Kasper Wineberger stated, (these were very forceful words), that if there was capital punishment for persons like that, this person should have been executed for the crimes that he committed against the United States. When we hearken back to the relationship between the Imperialists and Zionists, it also flags us as to what is going on here and who really is in control of these things. Once again, we dont know which side youre going to fall on, but this is another indicator of the internal relationship between officials in Washington and officials in Tel Aviv. Then, we had recently- you probably heard in the past 3 months, (or maybe a little more than that), another spy. An elderly gentleman who lives in the New York area was also arrested because he was involved in espionage against the United States for Israel. The guys name is Benani Kadish. You would ask and there were news reports saying that the United States intelligence services were aware of his activities many years ago but then, the unknown factor in all of this is well if you knew about this many years ago, why did you delay arresting a person like that? Still, we come up with sort of unknown answers. We can speculate but theres not really a hard answer to that question. In the meantime, there are also other officials, who belong to AIPAC, right now who are awaiting sentencing also on charges that theyve passed on sensitive American information to the Israeli Embassy. They were supposed to, in the past couple of years, come to court a few times and its always been delayed and delayed and delayed and were still going through a delaying cycle. We dont know what type of sense it makes! Right now, we would draw your attention to the wars that are breaking out in The Middle East. We dont argue the point- we think its very validthe wars that the United States is involved in The Middle East, particularly in Iraq, is for oilthats true. We have an economic beast in Washington that thinks with its stomach and its a predator on the world scene- thats true, theres no argument about that. But when you come to think about it, if this is the way the machine in Washington thinks, then why is it? (Its just a simple mathematical view of the world). You have a Muslim world out there, (the number of which is around 1,7billion), that is rich in resources; and then you have a nation state in Occupied Palestine, (the population of which is around 5million) and theres no oil out there- none, period. So why is it that you have all of this foreign policy skewed in such a deliberate and awkward manner towards an interest group of people, (like the argument in the book, right here, that was referred to earlier), at the expense of almost one-forth of humanity? It just doesnt make sense; it

doesnt make sense from any way you approach it which also places a very serious question mark about the internal relationship between Zionism and Imperialism and whos calling the shots here. Then, we come to the issue of anti-Semitism. This is an issue that the Zionist crowd, lobby and media resort to when they cant face facts with facts and when they cant present a cogent argument for their point of view then all of a sudden someone is an anti-Semite. Wait a minute here. (When a person), especially a person like me who spent many years speaking against the types of Imperialist and Zionist policies- all of a sudden (we have) the accusation of the person is an anti-Semite. Lets 1st of all ask ourselves whos a Semite? Are we to say the Semites are the Jews only and the other peoples of the Semitic lands of The Middle East (meaning the Arabs), are not Semites? This issue is one of those issues that is buried in the public mind. This is the extent of control that is exerted on the public opinion by the Zionist interest- its almost automatic that anytime anyone thinks of a Semite, they think of a Jew; anytime someone thinks of an antiSemite, they think of a Jew-hater. Well- theres information for these people who run around throwing these accusations through, of course, the extensive media network that they have that Palestinians are Semites; Arabs are Semites; the Arabic language is a Semitic language. As a matter of fact, (for those who dont know very much about this), the reconstruction of the Hebrew language itself relied to a certain extent on the preservation of the Semitic/Arabic language. So why come and say If a Palestinian is against Zionism and Israel that a Palestinian is antihimself?! How can that be?! A Palestinian is a Semite; an Arab is a Semite- lets be very clear on this. So dont come, especially some of these Zionists that look more Aryan than they look Semite, (you take a look at them when they stand up and they accuse someone like me or someone else who has very serious remarks about the Israeli nation state) and say Youre an anti-Semite. Say, Go to a mirror and look at yourself do you racially qualify to be a Semite? We can extend the argument even further- Do you Scripturally qualify to be a Semite? Lets put this canard behind us- you have monopoly over money, but youre not going to have a monopoly over ideas; the facts speak for themselves. Then, if Arabs and Palestinians are not Semites, what are they? Dont leave this a vacuum! Come out and express for us who are the Palestinians and Arabs who are opposed to Israeli Zionist policy? What racial classification do you give them? Speak out! Come-on, let us hear them! They wont because the facts are not on their side. Another indicator that will help us diffuse the internal relationship between Zionism and Imperialism- remember the Summer before last, the Summer of 2006. There was an Israeli war that crippled Lebanon; virtually all the infrastructure, bridges, highways, road system, everything of that country was destroyed. During that time, the United States, especially the United States foreign policy officials were virtually cheering the Israelis to finish off the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon. This is an area that really needs some type of genuine thinking- the people in the State Department can no longer rehash. The people in the area are no longer living in the 18th, 19th or even the 20th century any longer. Theres a new breed of people and there has been talk that the United States has suffered in the last half-century at least a very serious intelligence failure. It shocked them. They didnt know how to re-organise the intelligence community; they didnt

know how to re-organise the CIA; they put together a Department of Homeland Security and now they dont know how to communicate with each other; one computer system is different from the other. They woke up and realized we dont have intelligence operatives who can speak Arabicwe mean, they do have a few of them, but its no where near what they need in this new world. Theyre waking up to a new world. OK- lets help them wake up; lets stimulate them and tell them that theres a new breed of people out there who are not going to take it any longer. You cannot come in with your militaries and plant all of these bases, (which you saw on the screen a short while ago), proliferate all of these military bases all over the area and think its Colonialism all over again. No- that era has lapsed; its gone. You have to wake up to this reality. But who do you speak to? People who are fed with this false expression that the United States is the sole superpower in the world! This sole superpower in the world has its almost clandestine agreements with Zionist Israel- they have military research and development agreements; you probably have Israeli officers streaming in and out of the Pentagon; they have a common defence agreementmeaning any attack on Israel is going to be considered to some degree an attack against the United States. This hegemony that Zionism and Imperialism enjoyed in the past century is on its way out. But whos going to convince Condoleeza Rice, Robert Gates, George Bush or the NeoConservative crowd inside and outside the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature that there is a new breed and generation out there. Now, they are suffering from the intelligence failure that marked the past, at least half-a-century. This brings us to the last point in trying to understand whether Imperialism or Zionism is on top and that is the issue of dual citizenship- thats the issue that no one wants to speak about. Why? Its a fact of life, lets face the facts. If there are officials in the United States government who owe their allegiance to Israel before the United States, wed like to know about it, especially when they are occupying some of the most sensitive positions in the government. Well just give you one example. Michael Chertoff, the Head of Homeland Security- a department that has about 185,000 employees. This person is a dual citizen; hes an Israeli and an American. As a Muslim American and an Arab American, I have a right to be very concerned that an Israeli who also is an American is the Head of Homeland Security, especially when a person like me is travelling all over the place and every time I travel to the United States, Im stopped at the airport, singled out, taken aside and then they begin to go through everything I have; literally, if Im going to take a card like this, theyll be looking at my cards and what do I have on my cards. Im a suspect. Because of what? Youve just heard my presentation; I present presentations like this all over the place; are they afraid of what Im saying? Theres no Uzzi machine gun or Golani around herenone of that stuff; just ideas. Theyre becoming afraid of ideas?! How many other dual citizens do we have in this country who owe their allegiance to Israel 1st and the United States 2nd? The NeoConservatives and before that, the other Israeli firsters in the Clinton administration and God knows in the coming administration what type of Israeli firsters were going to have. We hope that by saying and explaining some of this, you have moved your thoughts and mind to decipher who is predominant in the Israeli-American or Zionist-Imperialist connection.

Thank you for your patience and I end with the word of peace; a peace with justice for all- Jew, Christian and Muslim; a peace with justice that dictates by necessity the withering away, somehow and someday, the forces of Zionism and Imperialism. Wa Salaamualaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Sisters and brothers, committed Muslims Allahs guiding and nourishing words tell us the following: And when an Apostle or a Messenger comes to them from Allah verifying what they have, a proportion of those who have been given scripture discard Allahs scripture and throw it behind their back as if they know nothing about it. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 101) This ayah speaks volumes about the attitude, policies, behaviour and decisions of those who are presented with a Prophet from Allah. Even though this ayah came to describe a particular incident, it is equally applicable to analogous incidents. The Quran is not a book that is frozen in time and only meant to speak about events, issues and affairs that happened fourteen-hundred and some years ago, in addition to that, it analyses, penetrates, exposes and sheds light on equivalent issues and affairs that re-develop and recur in the lives of the generations of committed Muslims until the end of time and until Allah inherits the affairs of this world. This ayah details for us the frame of mind and how a contingent of scripturalists (those who received the Torah and the Injeel), were reacting. Allahs words and His Prophet put these types of people in a reactive mode. This is something you dont see very frequently. They are always aggressive, they always claim

to have the initiative, they are always breaking new grounds, almost as if the rest of us are behindthis is when we dont have the initiative, are not at the frontlines and when we are not the vanguards. But Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) placed us at the cutting edge of events and so they now began to react. When a Messenger, comes to them from Allah authenticating what they have, what do they do? How do they behave? They try to place this whole scripture behind them, as if nothing is happening- theres no book and theres no Messenger- they go into a mode of denial. They want to believe and they want everyone else to believe that Muhamed doesnt exist and this book that he claims is being revealed by God has no basis of truth to it. For those of you who dont know, (and many of us are blank on these issues), during the first eighteen months in Al-Medinah, when the Prophet established Islamic order and authority in Al-Medinah, yahud were keeping a low profile. They were not publicly placing themselves in an active position of hostility to this newly founded authority and order, (eighteen months- mark that in your mind), because everyone wants to delete the type of information that we can begin to make sense of, provided we know how to relate it to our facts and our worldly affairs. After the first battle the Muslims engaged in at Badr, yahud began to make themselves known. During these eighteen months, Allah was revealing ayaat to the Muslims to have them raise their guard against these types of in-house potential enemies, because they were located inside Al-Medinah. When Allahs Prophet came to Al-Medinah, three very significant things happened, among the many other things that are also important. These three very significant developments were: 1 For the first time, the Muslims had a Masjid. During thirteen years of Islam and publicising Allahs words, the Muslims didnt have a Masjid. This is unlike the way we think today- if we are a few people in a distant place, with no power, and we have no clout nor authority, everyone wants to build a Masjid. When the Prophet was in Mecca, there were very dedicated Muslims around him, and (in the language on the commoner), they went through hell, yet there was no Masjid. Why? Because Muslims didnt have power, they didnt have authority. If you dont have power and you dont have authority, you dont need a Masjid- this is what the Prophet told us throughout thirteen years in Mecca. That didnt mean the Muslims were not meeting- they were meeting- in Dar Al-Arkam, but it wasnt a Masjid. They had what we may call sessions of learning, but they didnt have a Masjid. When the Prophet went to Al-Medinah, he built the first Masjid, his Masjid- Al-Masjid Al-Nabawi, and many Masjids thereafter, but this only happened when the Muslims were in command or in-charge. 2 The second thing that happened was the Prophet, along with the other power factions in Al-Medinah, noteably the jews, entered into an agreement. 3 The third remarkable thing that happened was the affiliation of Al-Muhajireen and AlAnsaar- the brotherhood between those who were dislocated from Mecca and those that became the supporters of the Prophet in Al-Medinah, known as Al-Muhajireen and Al-Ansaar respectively. The jews entered into an agreement between them and the Prophet. This agreement guaranteed them their rights and their civic equality. But when they saw the Muslims defeat the mushriks at Badr, they began to express words and statements to the effect that they will no longer honour what they signed themselves to. So Allah in more than 80 ayaat of the first surah that was revealed in Medinah, began to raise the Muslim consciousness concerning these yahud or rather

those that overtly said that they were Muslims, those who verbalised Islam- do you think we dont have these types of individuals in our world today?- Do you think you dont find Muslims who come and say with their mouths that they are Muslims, but in fact, what they conceal in the depths of their minds and hearts is an opposition to the Prophet, the Quran, Allah and the committed Muslims? The status quo clergy-men want us to think that these types of people dont exist any longer, as if these ayaat in the Quran was meant for a few people who would say something and contradict their verbiage with what they do. When these people have private meetings with their shayateen- who are these shayateen- these are the jews of Al-Medinah. This is not what a few, (one or two individuals) are saying, this is what a body of tafseer and those who studied and researched these events said. When these verbal Muslims are secluded with their shayateen, (with these zionist israeli type of jews), ie. in private, they say but we are with you. We are not serious when you see us with the Muslims, meaning with the Prophet, and the Islamic social order in Al-Medinahwere not really part of that. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 14) When did these munafiqs find company with the jews of Al-Medinah? They found company with them after the mushriks were defeated at Badr. This is when the whole issue began to surface and it could no longer be concealed. Allah was bringing it to the attention of the combatant Muslims whose combat itself was exposing these types of elemants. That doesnt mean that within these yahud there were not individuals here and there who were ready to listen to what Allah had to say. Abdullah ibn Salaam Al-Qaynaqai was one of them. He was a learned scholar of yahud and after seeing and knowing the truth, he joined the Muslims. In the defeatist mind of todays Muslims, they want to reverse the realities of that time and make us believe that the majority of yahud in the world today are the equivalent of Abdullah ibn Salaam Al-Qaynaqae. As if the bad apples among yahud are a very few, and the majority of them want peace with the Muslims. The fact of the matter is- anyone who is willing to be convinced with this type of propaganda and publicity is either ignorant of the history of yahud or he knows the truth, but for some vested interest and for some selfish gain in this world, he doesnt want to follow these facts to their obvious conclusion. In todays world, we have rulers, decision-makers, something called the Palestinian Authority, the Egyptian, the Saudi or the Jordanian government- arent these the types that on the surface present us with an Islamic image? Dont they pray in the Masjid, and fast during Ramadaan and do the other rituals that are required of a Muslim? Dont they have closed/private/secluded/confidential/secret meetings with these israeli zionist jews of today? What do they say to them in these meetings? For how many years have they been having these meetings, and what do they discuss? You would ask- all of these years, weve been listening to a summit here and a summit there, bi-lateral and multi-lateral conferences and meetings- what have they been talking about for these past thirty, forty, fifty years? Havent they been beating a dead horse for all this time?! And in the interim, we are supposed to believe and think that something called the Palestinian Authority or the Jordanian or the Egyptian or the Saudi or the rest are not saying We are with with these israeli zionist jewish thieves of our possession, in the form of an illegitimate and illegal state. Remember, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was not at war with yahud, he was at war with the establishment of Mecca, but as he pursued this war with the decision-makers of Mecca, yahud began to surface. He entered into an agreement with them in Al-Medinah, which they could

not honour because of their historical and cumulative hostility to Allah and the Prophets. When the Prophet began to realise the amount of animosity they had, he called them to a meeting in the market of Qaynuqa in Al-Medinah. Banu Qaynuqa was the only faction living inside Al-Medinah, they werent in the suburbs as we would say today. Banu Quraida and Banu Nadhir were in the suburbs of Al-Medinah. Banu Qaynuqa were in (what we call) downtown Medinah. So, he told all of these yahud of Al-Medinah to come to a meeting in the market of Banu Qaynuqa inside AlMedinah and they came. The Prophet said to them: From the scripture you have and from the covenant you took with Allah, you know that I am the Messenger of Allah. Come to terms with this fact or else look at what happened to the mushriks in Badr. How did they respond to that? One of the leaders of yahud by the name of Kaab ibn Ashraf stood up, (not in front of the Prophet, but in front of the rest of the jews in Al-Medinah), and he said: If the mushriks of Mecca were to wind-up the same way the mushriks at Badr wound up, meaning to be defeated and eliminated, then the earths interior is preferable to us than the earths surfacemeaning were better off being dead than alive. These are supposed to be people of the book. If Muslims have a scripture, theres supposed to be some affinity here, but it was precisely because Muslims have guidance from Allah that generated this type of behaviour and this type of statement from one of the jewish leaders in Al-Medinah. Have the jews changed their skin? Have they gone through a transformation of fourteen-hundred years now to accommodate themselves with the Muslims of today? Theres nothing whatsoever that indicates it. Besides, what did the Prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) do when a jewish leader came out with a statement like that? Not only did he express his and his communities point of view regarding the Islamic State in Al-Medinah, but he also went to Mecca. Obviously, he wasnt going to drink coffee and tea. He was going for more sinister and more aggressive purposes- the Muslims have tasted victory and yahud in Al-Medinah could no longer see the Muslims on a course of victory into the future, so something had to be done. They had to consolidate with the mushriks of Mecca. Do you think when the israeli zionist yahudis are defeated today, they are not working with the mushriks to pre-empt an Islamic course of victory into the future? Are they not meeting with their counterparts in todays world? Was the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) the type of Gandhi personality who would say we dont want to follow up with this enemy of Allah? No! He brought together some Muslims- this is our history, and we are in the Islamic sense of the word proud of our history- and he said to them: Who can take care of Kaab ibn Ashraf- the loud mouth against the Muslims, a person who has a criminal, if not a genocidal policy within his sights? While all of this was happening the yahudi community of Al-Medinah was suggesting to the Prophet that he go to Al-Quds. Imagine these jews that say today: Jerusalem is their eternal and undivided capital,- in order to take the sail out of the state of the Prophet, they were saying to him: Well, all the Prophets of God were the Prophets of Jerusalem, why dont you re-locate to Jerusalem?. Thats what they suggested to the Muslims who were building their power-base in Al-Medinah when the Prophets leadership was uncontested. And, to pre-empt this type of mischief from these trouble-makers in Al-Medinah, Allah instructed His Prophet and the community of Muslims, finally, to orient themselves in their salaah towards Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Mecca which was still under what we would call occupation- it was still under the control of the mushriks. As this propaganda was coming out of yahudi quarters in Al-Medinah, Kaab ibn Ashraf was busy cobbling together a military effort from Mecca against the Muslims in AlMedinah. The Prophet was not in suspense, he brought together some Muslims and said: This person has to be dealt with. And what were the Muslims doing? Were they telling the Prophet, No- Allah is Merciful, Allah will take care of it, we shouldnt be doing anything.

The only thing we should be doing is going to the Masjid and praying extra prayers during the night or fasting extra days during the week? They didnt say that to the Prophet. They volunteered and said, If this has to be done, lets do it. So they thought of a plan whereby they would lure this potential yahudi war criminal to a time and place where they would end his life. The initiative was in the hands of the committed Muslims- these were the vanguard of Islamic destiny. And they did, first they spoke to him, then they agreed upon a time, and then these four or five Muslims were able to lure him one night and take corrective action against him, before he was able to execute his war policy against the Muslims. In our time and age, theres an Ariel Sharon a war criminal who is long overdue for Prophetic justice- why dont we have Muslims who are capable of taking the initiative into their own hands? Remember, this is a person who was previously speaking about bombing (and if need be) with nuclear weapons. This is a yahudi war criminal who massacred Muslims in Qibya, Egypt, Lebanon and who was responsible for Sabra and Shatila, but where are the Muslims who are able to resuscitate the spirit and the objectives that were alive in the days of Allahs Prophet? When someone needed to be taken care of, Muslims took care of them. Today, there are the same equivalents of these yahud who have to be taken care of, but if you think for a moment about the propaganda from the mimbar itself, you would be convinced that these yahudis have vanished, but they didnt vanish. When we speak about Kaab ibn Ashraf, why dont the jews speak about this same person? Were not speaking about some fictional character or a fictitious personality, this was a real war-criminal who the Muslims were able to bring divine justice to, on earthly terms. Why dont they speak about him? Why do they bury him deep down, inside their own studies? They have encyclopedias, they have the media in their control in todays world, why dont they speak about his type? We understand why they dont speak about him, because what type of point or idea are they going to express when they speak about him? We understand why they are hush-hush, but we cant understand why Muslims dont speak about such characters! -especially at times like these. This is the time to speak about them and to remind ourselves where these yahud and their leaders were, how they wanted to take on our Prophet, the same way they want to take us on today. Why are we silent about it? Is there anything to hide? Is there anything to be low-key about? Is there any reason to keep a low profile about these issues and subjects? Theres nothing that warrants it, so how come we have our speakers and preachers silent about these issues? When the Prophet of Allah spoke to the Muslims about the jews in AlMedinah, he told them to meet at Baqiyya-Al-Gharqat. Why cant the Muslims when they go to the umrah and the Hajj go to Baqiyya-Al-Gharqat where the Prophet assembled the Muslims of his time to speak to them about the jews of Al-Medinah? Why cant the Muslims step out of this silent mode and go to Adhruaat in the Northern parts of the Arabian peninsula, to see where Banu Qaynuqa settled after having been forced out of Al-Medinah due to their treachery of the agreement they signed onto with Allahs Prophet? Why cant the Muslims go to Khaybar? Why is Khaybar off limits!? When Muslims go to the Hajj and the Umrah, why dont we hear that they have also gone to where yahud had been defeated at Khaybar? Why cant this be done? Because you are going to have those who are going to protect yahud and tell you this is a bida, so you cant go to Baqiyya-Al-Gharqat, Adhruaat and Khaybar. A bida-what?! Is it a bida for us to remember where Muslims were victorious? And howcome this claim of being a bida serves the interest of the israelis today? These religious figures who are willing to serve the israelis today should be put on notice, that everytime they pronounce the word bida, they are serving their masters in Tel-Aviv- in

Occupied Palestine. When the Muslims were successful in having their Islamic domain in Al-Medinah, they were sovereign, free and independent. No-one was dictating to them, they werent inferior to the degree of saying we need our lobby in Byzantium and Persia. Today, we have a sovereign, independent and free area for the Muslims- weve had it for twenty-six years. Throughout these years, do you think these yahudis are absent minded? Do you think they are not thinking about war crimes? Do you think they have not met with Meccan establishment of our times and our days? Do you think people are not going to the Islamic Republic nowadays and saying to them with smiles on their faces that we are also committed Muslims and then, they dont turn around and have their confidential meetings with yahud, and say No! We are not serious when we are with the Muslims. Do you think they do not have their contingent of munafiqun inside todays sovereign, independent and free Islamic State? Do you think they are un-aware of the Islamic resistance in Southern Lebanon, Palestines and across the world and how it is related to the Islamic State in Iran? We are not living in a vacuum- they are aware of our internal thoughts. These people throughout history changed their religion- if it served them to become christians, these yahudis became christians and if it served them to become Muslims, they became Muslims. Yahud penetrated the last political expression of Islam and they destroyed it altogether in what is today Turkey. Do you think they are not entertaining those ideas if it serves their interests and purposes to become Muslims? But we say to them, Even if all the jews in Occupied Palestine were to feel one day that they cannot bear the pressure of the Islamic jaugernaut any longer and for convenience sake they say to us We have become Muslims, even if they say and even if they mean that they have become Muslims, they still have no right to occupy and take away the belongings, property and the homeland of other Muslims. So they still have no way out, except to leave and to give back the possessions and property that they stole to its original owners. Theyre not going to fool us even if they say that they have become Muslims. They know that the pressure is coming and they know from where the pressure is originating. And we have twenty-six years to celebrate for the increase and the turning on of this pressure from its sources. Soon, we will have another Khaybar to celebrate and soon we will have another liberation coming our way (Insha-Allah). In the mean-time, whilst working towards that day, we rely utterly and totally on Allah to deliver us from their conspiracies and from their criminal thoughts- and our lives are dispensable for Allah.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Maasharal Mumineen In our ongoing attempt to bridge the details of Allahs Prophets life with the details of our life, we look at a chapter that is relevant to our times and the mechanations there-in. After the battle of Uhud, the second major military encounter between the Muslims and the mushriks, the yahudi media began to put out poisonous propaganda. The Prophet and the committed Muslims did not score a conclusive military victory at Uhud, they came out of Uhud scathed, because the instructions that were given by Allahs Prophet to some of those who were in commanding positions were not fulfilled. And then, yahud began to say (which, if brought into the language of our times would mean), Muhammed is after power. This is not a Prophet. There werent such Prophets who endured such humiliation. Muhammed has been damaged in his physical body and he has been damaged in the crowd around him. Remember, these words are coming from jewish sources in Al-Medinah. In the first instance, the first thing that would come to our mind, living in the type of information that circulates around us is Freedom of Expression. They

say Muslims dont tolerate objecting views, criticism and their opponents expressing their opinion. In this instance, which is a case setting example for the rest of the Muslims for the rest of time, these yahudis were not taken to task for what they said, even though some committed Muslims came to the Prophet and said: Listen to what these yahudis are saying, let us take out their leaders. The Prophet said If its just a matter of expressing their internal thoughts, let them come out with their internal thoughts. Its more poisonous for society at large if they internalise these thoughts. Besides, they begin to define who they really are. And, there was no immediate forceful or physical action taken against them because of the statements or irritating comments, as much as they would irritate everyone who is dear to the Prophet and who the Prophet is dear to them. So, the Muslims listened to what these yahud had to say. (By this time, one of the factions of yahud- Banu Qaynuqa- were already told to leave Al-Medinah, not because of what they said, but primarily because of what they did or wanted to do.) Then, as Allah would have it, weeks and months would go by, and then, a Muslim accidentally killed a kaafir as he was leaving a massacre. So, he comes to the Prophet and explains what happened. Now, because of the conditions that was written in the contract that defined social relations in Al-Medinah, the Prophet had to pay diyah or blood-money, because an opponent was killed accidentally. Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) had to go to yahud to defray this financial obligation. According to the contract of Al-Medinah, that yahud signed with Allahs Prophet, yahud had to participate in this financial responsibility. So, Allahs Prophet along with prominent sahabah go to Banu Nadhir who were outside Al-Medinah and he explains exactly what happened and he reminds them that they are financially responsible the same way the Muslims are because a member of Medinah ended another persons life. Before we go on to the further details, we ask ourselves- were the Muslims (meaning the Aws and the Khazraj), capable of paying this diyah themselves? And the most obvious answer to that is: Yes, the Muslims were capable of paying that diyah if they wanted to, and if they did not want yahud to bear their responsibilities. But, (after listening to what yahud were saying), the Muslims wanted them to prove their metal. If they signed on the dotted line and they said they were going to honour the particulars of that agreement, this is the time and this is the occasion to do it. It wasnt that the Muslims were in need of finances, but they were in need of placing yahud where they belonged. So, Allahs Prophet went to Banu Nadhir, and they said after listening to him, You have come to us and we will be as forthcoming as we can be, but give us a few minutes to discuss this issue, and they left him and his company and went into seclusion to deliberate on what to do. Then, some of them said This is the best oppurtunity we have. Now he is within our territory, he is on our grounds, he is in our area and now is the time to eliminate him. (Imagine what they just told him a few minutes before that and what they are saying in secret among themselves.) Then, one of them volunteered. He said, I will go and do this myself. As they were reaching a decision to kill Allahs Prophet, (these are the types who are re-incarnated today in the Israeli zionist figures and images), as they were plotting and planning to shed the blood of Allahs last Prophet, Allah revealed to His Prophet what is going on behind yahudi curtains and closed doors. Immediately, Allahs Prophet leaves and he hastens back to Al-Medinah. And then, they come out more or less to implement what was in their mind and they found that he was gone. The Prophet of Allah went and met with the rest of the Muslims who joined him, and he expresses what Allah has revealed to him and then he sends word to Banu Nadhir You have an ultimatum of 10 days, no more, to live in Al-Medinah, after which you will have to leave. And they send back word to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), and they tell him, But were not

going to leave, were staying here. So Allahs Prophet despatches a force to lay seige over this yahudi area on the outskirts of Al-Medinah. And now, yahud were relying on their nifaaq connection, Ibn Salul, who was their Muslim on the inside. Outwardly, overtly, apparently, he was a Muslim who was praying in the front rows when Allahs Prophet was leading the prayers, but he was the type who would go to his masters- yahud- and try to relay to them inside information of what the Muslims are thinking, and what the Prophet himself was deliberating on. So, they waited for days, and for a week, and it was almost two weeks now, and their munafiq connection did not deliver, hence they decided to surrender. And Allahs Prophet told them, Now, you may only take whatever you can on the backs of your domesticated animals and leave. You cant take any weapons and you cant take any wealth with you. These were given after these yahudis left to the Muhajireen. Ansaar did not get anything out of this, except for an individual or two who were in social need. These are the facts that scream out at us from reading the particulars of the Prophets time, and if we say and : In the Messenger of Allah we have a perfect model (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 21) If we confess that in the Messenger of Allah there is an example to follow, a perfect one, then how come some of us nowadays behave otherwise? Some of us think There has to be strategic peace with yahud or with Israel. (this was the pre-dominant thought in the past fifteen years, not to speak about previous years). Thats what the rulers in Islamic lands have been telling us, and this filtered down through religious establishments who churned out fatwas saying that Muslims should enter into an accommodation with yahud. Meaning that we will be able to do what Allahs Prophet was unable to do?!- Astaghfirullah wa A'udhubillah. And some of us profess to love the Prophet so much, and that Allahs Prophet is so dear to us- and when we ask them, If thats the case, can you tell me who was that yahudi who volunteered in that session of Banu Nadhir to kill Allahs Prophet?- theres a deafening silence! because those who claim to love Allahs Prophet dont even know the yahudis name who wanted to kill him. And, its not only this piece of information, when we take a look at the details of the seerah, there are many other pieces of information that says My mind is aloof from the Prophet, even though my heart says that I am with the Prophet. If someone comes to you and says Who is Lee Harvey Oswald? The average persons going to say He was the person who it is said killed the president of the United States- John Kennedy? People know who either actually or it was made by the media to be the assassin of the president of the United States. Almost anyone will recognise that name, but if you were given a multiple choice of a few names and you were asked, Of these, names, which one was the one who wanted to kill Allahs Prophet? In 99,99% of the cases, Muslims are going to scratch their heads and wonder who is this person? What is his name? The problem is not in the fact that an individual or a few have forgotten the name of a potential criminal, and criminal is not the word because if you want to kill one of Allahs Prophets, thats as if you are on a vicious and bloody course of bloodshed against Allah himself, yet few of us have it in our mind to remember the name of a yahudi who wanted to kill Allahs Prophet. What has happened to this ummah, that it doesnt use the head that Allah has put on its body? And we are left drifting in directions. Remember, throughout the past fifteen years, the rulers were speaking about a peace process between these killers of Prophets, virtuous people and killers of committed Muslims. And because the political wind keeps shifting in a different direction each time theres a new administration in Washington, the word peace process will go away and they will concoct new words and the Muslims in the absence of the Quran and Allahs Prophet will drift yet again in yet another wrong direction and they will try to filter that down to us through the mimbars and the masjids as if they were self evident facts when they

are self evident baatils. And we go from one occasion to the next behaving in such a manner, oblivious of our historical continuity, it means, (let us confess at this moment), they managed to break our mental relationship with the Prophet, his seerah, his sunnah, his time, his decisions and his policies- we no longer have a mental connection to it. These yahudis, who thought that they were well fortified, that their defences could not be penetrated and that they were in a superior military position, Allah says regarding that type of calculation: It is He who has caused the deniars of truth from Ahlal Kitaab, (in this instance yahud), to leave and be expelled from their fortifications. At the first geathering, little did you think that they wuld be expelled and they thought that they were secure from Allah but Allah came to them from a direction which was not within their calculations and He threw terror in their hearts. They ruined their own homes with their own hands and the hands of the committed Muslims. (Surah Al-Hashr verse 2) At the first occasion of their assembly, they did not think that they would be doing that. They thought they were well guarded and well protected. They thought that their munafiq connection was going to work. They thought that their military might was going to work. But Allah approached them from a direction un-beknowned to them and He terrorised them. They were terrorised. It seems like when Muslims have this connection to Allah, it generates terror in the hearts of the enemies. Instead of the enemies being afraid, some of the Muslims are afraid of this terror that is generated in the hearts of the enemies?! Do you think this is a historical ayah, speaking about the jewish community in Al-Medinah over fourteen centuries ago? Do you think it is not applicable to the current jewish community in the Holy Land? Some of the committed Muslims who are breaking new grounds are causing late coming Muslims to think again and reconsider. Take notice of this, those of you who have an insight and a foresight for these types of issues. (Surah Al-Hashr verse 2) But we ask, are Muslims today able to bring the flavour of Allahs Prophets struggle into our times? In the months when the intifada in the occupied territories was gaining momentum, suddenly, the rulers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan hysterically began to contact the Palestinian Authority to try to place pressure on it to diffuse the intifada. They had meetings and summits. You dont have to stretch your memory to a thousand-and-four-hundred years ago, were just asking you to stretch it a few years. The summiteers, yahuds internal connections, the munafiqs decided to give the Palestinians some crumbs- $1billion. This is considered crumbs$1billion- and after the summit, how much did the Palestinians receive? $228million- thats about a quarter of what they decided to give these people. And when Muslims were beginning to track towards Mecca to perform the Hajj, the self-styled guardian of the Haramain says, From their own pocket, they want to sponsor a thousand Palestinian pilgrims to come to Mecca and AlMedinah to perform their Hajj. This is supposed to be a generosity, Muslims are supposed to be thankful. Oh, thank you!! Guardian of the two Holy Harams in Mecca and Al-Medinah. We appreciate your generosity!! And when they go to Mecca and Al-Medinah, they have to be numb, they cant speak about these issues- but then their Israeli connection sealed off the occupied land. This is the internal enemy of the Muslims whose hand is with the external enemy of the Muslims. Both these hands together want to muffle our voices, cloud our ideas and dissipate our determination so that we get nowhere and we have another Hajj in another year which is directionless and without purpose- the way it was meant to be by the clan that rules

there. Stay alert in the coming months and see how the Saudi surrogates of the kaafirs and the mushriks will manage, once again to have Muslims with all the true and sincere motivations and intentions cattled in and cattled out. As if we are sheepish human beings and there is a Saudi shepherd in charge of this Muslim flock that goes pointlessly and aimlessly from one place and one station to the other, performing what is supposed to be meaningful, not meaningless, Hajj rituals. For those who need to be brought back to the gravity of the Quran and to the motivation of the Prophet, when this faction of yahud in Al-Medinah proved its treason and were expelled, some of them went to geographical Syria and some of them went to Khaybar. Being that the Muslims in the coming few months will be on their way to the Arabian Peninsula- to Mecca and Al-Medinah, how many Muslims, (you can ask those who have already gone to the Hajj), will be able to know the area of Al-Medinah where Banu Nahir used to live? Ask! And if the answer comes your way in the negative and they tell you, Its been a long time, Al-Medinah has expanded, and theres no longer any signs or any indications or any ruins of the yahudi presence in Al-Medinah. Does that mean we should not know where they were? Or, is there a subtle hand at work, trying to protect them? Besides, if Muslims are going to Mecca and Al-Medinah, why cant they insist on also going to Khaybar? Is it wrong for a Muslim to go to a place where the Prophets generation defeated yahud? Or, is there a religious establishment there, that is going to come to your face and tell you, This is a bida. Why is it a bida to feel that Allah has honoured and glorified that generation of Muslims that was committed to Him? And, if that was a bida, then why were the Muslims at other times permitted to go to Khaybar? Why didnt we hear this from other Islamic administrations of that land? Why are we hearing it now? Is it because they dont want to generate an Islamic current that is opposed to the cancer in the Middle-East? They dont want you and I to gain a military momentum from going to the Hajj and from identifying our common enemies whilst our common enemies are planning war. Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim... ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR These are not words of rhetoric, and these are not words of rituals. These are the words of the Muslims throughout history, and the Mujahideen in our time. ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR These statements can be heard in Southern Lebanon, Chechenya, Palestine, Algeria, Kashmir, Bahrain and in other parts of the Muslim World. ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR Muslims who bare arms also bare testimony to the veracity of this statement. Allah is greater and

superior to the forces against us. ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR Freedom fighters dying, but they are not really dead. And dont consider those who have died for the cause of Allah as being dead, for they are alive in the presence of their Sustainer, with the privileges and the honour, and with the sustenance that is offered to them. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 169) We send off our martyrs to Al-Jannah, and the criminals who bomb us with their artillery, with their pieces, with their weapons of destruction- these enemies of Allah send their dead to the fire and these cannot be considered the same. ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR When the Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wasallam) approached the Kaba in his final year on earth, he looked at it and he said O Allah, You are peace, and from You comes peace, and to You peace returns, give our lives peace. O our sustainer, dignify this house, the Kaba and the Haram, and give it prestige and status and an aura. You look at the house of Allah and you find that the family that is ruling the Hejaz has humiliated the house of Allah. They have degraded the Kaba and they have disgraced the Haram by everything that they did- bringing in the Mushriks to protect them, killing innocent Muslims in the Kaba itself and trying to fortify themselves with kaafir forces rung around the Arabian Peninsula. Their Kaba has become Washington. This is where they perform their pilgrimage. No longer does Mecca and Al-Medina figure in to the central role of Muslims. They have rendered it as desolate as a desert can be. When the Prophet of Allah invokes Allah to give Mecca and AlMedina centrality in the lives of the Muslims, what do these rulers do? This family, with its evil intentions, what does it do? It enters into an agreement with the Mushriks. Allah is telling them to cut off relations with the Mushriks, they go and they build relations with the Mushriks. And they dont want to be reminded of it- tough luck for them! We dis-avow- this disavowal comes from Allah and His Apostle to those youve signed a reliance agreement with. (Surah Taubah verse 1) They depend upon American, European, Zionist forces for their protection. They cant see that their days are numbered? They cant continue like this. Look at them, twenyty-five years ago they brought in hundreds of French troops to kill thousands in and around Mecca. At that time, there

was no simmering population in the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf, North Africa, Central Asia, the Balkans, the Indian Sub-continent and throughout the Muslim World. It was relatively quiet to their own eyes and their own vision. But what do these rulers in the Holy Land see today? From their own tent, they have opposition. Its no longer those Palestinians or those Shis that they used to dismiss very lightly, the opposition comes from their school of thought, their areas and regions and from their own tribes and families. What are they going to say now? They have an Ambassador posted in Washington DC, who has amassed a tremendous amount of wealth, estimated at around $8billion. An Ambassador, the nephew of the king, to Washington the new Kaba of the family of Saud. $8Billion, and look at the plight of the Muslims. Look at the hungry and the distressed and depressed condition of the Muslims and then these Saudis come and they want to pray with you in line. Is this equality or is this hypocrisy? Then they say dont politicise the Hajj, and we think that they would tell the Prophet himself (if he were here) Dont bring politics into the Hajj. So, is it a political statement when Allah is saying? We dis-avow- this disavowal comes from Allah and His Apostle to those youve signed a reliance agreement with. (Surah Taubah verse 1) Are were supposed to be silent about this ayah? When the Prophet of Allah despatched the closest people to him (prior to his last year of Hajj) to go to Mecca to recite these ayah to the people who were going to Mecca. We think the advice of Ahl-Saud to the Prophet, and Abu Bakr and Ali would be Dont go to Mecca with these ayahs, just like they are trying to advise other Muslims, telling them Dont come to Mecca with these ayahs.

The Prophet says: The equivalent of the Muslims is like one body, they care for themselves, they feel for themselves, they have sympathy to themselves, they show compassion towards themselves, if one part of that body aches, the rest of the body feels the pain. But the corrupt tribe in Najd, and the Prophet of Allah referred to this area of Najd: The two generations of Ash-Shaytaan, or the two horns of Ash-Shaytaan shall emerge from Najd. We think that Ahl-Saud would give the Prophet advice and tell him dont politicise your statements- but Ahl-Saud are lying and the Prophet is telling the truth. The Prophet of Allah says: You are not a committed Muslim if you can satisfy your needs and your neighbours cannot satisfy their needs.

The family of Saud can satisfy their needs but their African and Asian neighbours cannot satisfy theirs, so they are not committed Muslims. None of you shall have imaan unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. Obviously, their representative in Washington DC, desires for himself more than he desires for anyone else, or else why does he amass this wealth? And he goes around contributing stacks of cash to kill off this Islamic movement or that Islamic personality. They anul contracts because they have an opposition to them in England- they dont like that, but this is only the beginning. There are many other things this tribe or clan of Saud are not going to like. They want us to go to the Hajj and make believe nothing is happening in this world. They treat us like cattle, into Mecca, out to Al-Medina and then out of Hejaz in a matter of a few weeks. And Allah described the Hajj as a matter of months. For Hajj are the months well known (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 197) They are in contradiction to the Quran and they are in contradiction to the Sunnah of the Prophet, may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him and his. And we repeat, we reverberate and we echo the words of ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR The evil clan of Saud with their seven-thousand members who are making decisions on behalf of the enemies of Allah, the Zionist Israeli Jews- whos financing this so-called Middle East peace process and the wars that are going on there? They think Muslims are dumb, deaf and blind? They think we cant see that theyre financing it? And when theyre short on cash they turn to the taxpayers. Have you realised in the past couple of weeks how the gallon of gas has jumped?. Why? Whats the explanation for this? Did the Saudis and the rest of these oil exporters have the integrity to come and say to the Americans and the Western Industrial Complex we are going to raise the price of oil? No! It is their western masters that said this Middle East peace process and the wars there need more money, were going to raise the price of gasoline to finance it. And you would think part of the benefits go to the Muslims. No! The Muslims get none of these benefits. Its once again someone like their Saudi Ambassador here in Washington who siphons off a certain percentage of the profits out of this gasoline to give financial power to yahud- Who are most intense in hostility to Committed Muslims (Surah Al-Maa'idah verse 82). This is what they are doing. And then they come to the masjid and they want to tell us theres no politics in Islam. And if you dare think politically, they tell you Out of the Masjid, you cannot come pray in the masjid. If you think politically, they tell you, You cant go to Hajj, you cant express these ayaat and these hadiths in front of the rest of the Muslims in Mecca. They say because its a matter of controversy. Listen to their feeble logic. The tribe of Saud and their seven thousand members say that if we are going to bring the meanings of the Quran and the meanings of the Prophets statements to Mecca and Al-Medina, we would be causing disintegration among the Muslims. The Quran and the Prophet cause disintegration among the Muslims! Or is it the

seven thousand members of that clan, who are causing disruption and disintegration among the Muslims? A flawed logic they have. They quote the Qur'an out of context, and not for the first time, and they tell us: Let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the Hajj (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 197) Muslims dont go to Mecca and Al-Medina to cause any type of disruption, they dont go there to cause any type of disintegration. They go their to rehearse and to state unequivocally and publicly the statements of the Quran and the Prophet: LABBAIK ALLAH HUMMA LABBAIK, LABBAIK WAHDAKA LA SHARIKA LAKA LABBAIK But the clan, the seven thousand members of the Saudi Royal family comes to Washington and they say LABBAIK YA AMERICA-LABBAIK. Their talbiya is to the United States administration. Their response and their answer is to the United States administration- its not to Allah. The seven thousand members of Al-Saud are lying, they speak out of both sides of their mouth when they say Allahu Akbar. They dont mean it, they dont believe in it. If Allah was Akbar, if Allah was superior, if Allah was greater, then why do they beg the United States administration for protection? When Martin Indick, the Zionist Jew became the United States Ambassador to Tel Aviv, their Ambassador in Washington, Bandar, the son of their so-called Defence Minister said: Now he feels like an orphan. So, his father is Martin Indick! He feels at home with Martin Indick! He feels protected with Martin Indick! Why doesnt he move his Ambassadorship to Tel Aviv and join his Godfather there? And he dare say Allahu Akbar! They want to fool the Muslims! We are not being fooled. Watch, observe the Muslims in Lebanon, in Palestine. They are prostrating themselves at the Altar of Zionism, Bandar and his extended family make their sajda at the altar of Zionism and look at the Mujahideen with the limited resources, they dont have the money to come to the United States and sign billions upon billions of dollars away of Muslim resources for a phoney armed forces. Where are these planes? Where are these tanks and artillery pieces? Rotting in the desert! Resting in the desert! When they are needed most. And then they come and say Allahu Akbar. Who are they fooling? They dont mean Allahu Akbar, they are lying when they say Allahu Akbar. Not because Allahu Akbar is not a true statement, IT IS, but the way they say it, they are verbalising a lie. And theyre not deceiving us. The Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula can see through their shenanigans and their lies and their hypocrisy and they can see better today than they did ten years ago, and ten years from today they will see better than they see today. And they will say ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR until these rulers realise that. They dont deserve to be the administrators of Mecca and Al-Medina. We know they dont deserve that.

But if you, Muslims, persevere patiently and guard against evil, then that will be a determining in all affairs (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 186) Through our struggle, we are patient through the struggle against them. Were going to peel away all these layers of protection that they have put together by their Zionist lobbyists, by their American protgs and by their local agents from hypocritical preachers and usurped masjids all the way to the Haram in Mecca. The Muslims are going to see through all their fabrications and when that day arrives, it will truly be a day when the voice of Allahu Akbar will reverberate in this world. ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR Cant these Arab Governments learn? Almost six decades now, and they have not scored a single victory. How much money have they invested in all of these armed forces from Morocco to Iraq? How much money from the Muslim pocket have they placed into the kaafir pocket and yet have not scored one single victory for the Muslims? Through six decades of the occupation of our first Qibla and our third haram. They havent even put together one motion picture concerning the tragedy of history and the dilemma of all times- and then they turn around to the Muslims, and they want to fool us. On this day we echo with ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR

Allah is superior to their plan. They plot and plan, and Allah too plans, but Allah is the best of planners (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 30) They have the intelligence services, they have the classified information- they have all these excesses, but we have Allah, and His intelligence and His information supersedes and is superior to the quality and the quantity of their analysis and their assessments. ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR And besides, look at the government of the United States that claims that theres freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion!? Committed Muslims are in Massachusetts Avenue and they are prohibited from going into the masjid. Wheres this freedom? A person, a blasphemer comes and he writes a book and they want to speak about freedom of expression. They want to give freedom of expression to a kafir, and deny freedom of expression to a mumin. Theyre all being exposed. And behind the Saudi government and behind the United States administration, whether republican or democrat is the evil of all evils, the Zionist Israeli Jews. And they think theyre going to get away with this? No! Theyre not going to get away with it neither. They are being

cornered, they see the wrath of Allah in the occupied lands, they see the wrath of Allah in Lebanon, and theyre going to see the wrath of Allah in the United States. These Jews who are Zionist and Israeli by persuasion are going to begin to see the reaction to them here in the United States, by Muslims and by non-Muslims alike. They cant continue their evil scheme forever, and in the middle of all of this, we are certain, we are confident and we are assured that Allah remains Akbar. WALLAHU AKBAR; WALLAHU AKBAR; WALLAHU AKBAR Once again, these are not words of rhetoric. These are the voices of the Mujahideen in Algeria, Egypt, Palestine, Chechenya, the Balkans, Kashmir and all around. And when they want to converge on Mecca... These governmental agencies combined come and tell some Muslims You cant go to Hajj, or they begin an allocation system. For every one million Muslims, they are permitting only one thousand to go to Hajj. And they speak about Bidas (innovations). This is the grand bida that they are committing. A person commits a bida in their view if he is reading a dua after prayer aloud. But to come and say to the Muslims we are only going to permit one thousand out of every one million to come to the Hajj!? and then they dont observe that themselves. The Muslims are 1,6billion in the world and they are only permitting one million to come to the Hajj, yet the Saudis are no more than twenty million, and they permit one million of themselves to go to the Hajj- meaning half for the rest of humanity and half for themselves are permitted to go to the Hajj. They want to fool the Muslims. No!? ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR; ALLAHU AKBAR They are digging their graves with their own hands and the hands of the committed Muslims. Take warning oh you with eyes to see (Surah Al-Hashr verse 2)Brothers and sisters: A felicitous Eid to you and a remembrance of the brothers who we have around the world who are spending this Eid in the struggle against kufr and shirk and against nifaq and hypocrisy. With that in mind, we say and we invoke Allahs presence wherever true Muslims are, and we ask Him that the Hajj, Mecca and Al-Medina regain their centrality in our lives. And we ask Him All Mighty, All Seeing and All Knowing to rid us of such clans and tribes who are interfering in the Hajj, interfering in the affairs of the Muslims to the detriment of the Muslims and to the construction of Kufr. We ask Allah, not only verbally, but by what we do, by our lives and everything we have invested in Him to rid us of these munafiqin, these muthabbitin, these muawwiqin, for now and forever. On that day and at that time, we will truly enjoy Eid- an Eid of freedom and liberty, an Eid of self-determination and reliance upon Allah. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is Allah for him (Surah At-Talaaq verse 3) And Allah has full power and control over his affairs but most among mankind know it not

(Surah Yusuf verse 21)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of the Islamic way Allah speaks to us through the Quran, a book that cannot be approached by any fault from any direction, hence, a book in which there is no doubt. In this book, Allah told us Behold, you have in Allahs messenger (peace be upon him), a prototype, someone whom you can adopt as your role model, But, for whom? For those who are intent on wanting Allah and the final day, and In whose conscience Allah is embedded. (Surah Ahzab verse 21) Since we are in the reference of the Quran, these guiding words from Allah are directed to us. There is no space for indifference here. If we claim to be Muslims in the footsteps of Allahs messenger (peace be upon him), it is binding on us that we endorse his character as well as his will and determination, and not just his cosmetic features. The issues, I in a humble way want to explain is the essence or the meanings of the five pillars of Islam When we state our article of faith:

ASH HADU AN LA ILAHA ILLALAH WA ASH HADU ANNA MUHAMMEDAN ABDUHU WA RASULUH The practical meaning of that is that we have liberated our mind and our conscience (in theory at least) from those powers that want to enslave the mind and pollute the conscience. The muslims article of faith begins with a denial. The word la which is the first word uttered by any muslim as a break with the prevailing anti-Islamic condition and circumstances. It is not a theoretical vote of no confidence in an anti/un-islamic status quo, it is a word that follows the attitude and intention to destroy mans will in an anti/un-islamic status quo and replace it with Allahs will. But these days, people interpret La Ilaha Illalah as an automatic and in some cases a free ticket to AlJannah just by verbalising it, and it doesnt matter what happens after that. Allah says: Do people figure that they will be left at ease if they say We believe, and they will not be tested? Lo, we tested those before you, so that We may know those who are sincerely committed from those who are phoney. (Surah Al-Ankabut verse 2-3) Imaan is not a matter of lip-service or a wishy-washy mentality, it is that which settles in the heart and then, it is verified by work and labour and deeds. When we make this statement, we attempt to break-away from the structures of kufr and shirk as manifested in the form of the UN, Governmental Structures, NATO, The World Bank, The International Monetary Fund, etc. Make no mistake brothers and sisters, the mushriks and kaafirs from the time of Allahs Prophet are still around. The only things that have changed are the names and the faces. Todays mushriks are not only those who say Allah has a son, or those who are simply pagans. Todays, mushriks are sitting in the corridors of power and they are claiming sovereignty over Allahs earth and legislating all sorts of things which makes the halaal- haraam and the haraam- halaal. Others want to solicit the help of the kaafir to have a piece of Allahs will legislated. Not only is the drive to have what has become known as Muslim Personal Law against the Seerah of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), but by going to solicit the help of the kaafir it goes into the sphere of committing shirk. Allah says, And praise be to Allah who did not beget a son, And who has no rival or partner in the sphere of sovereignty or dominion, And who is not so weak so as to solicit assistance, And magnify your Lord (Surah Isra verse 111) In other ayaat. Allah says: And the decision is for Allah only (Surah Anam verse 57) and And Allah has no rival or competitor in regards to legislating or Allah is the sole legislator. (Surah Kahf verse 26) This should be a clarion call to all Muslims to ensure that they do not contradict their verbalisation of the shahadah by furthering the usurpation of Allahs attributes of being Sovereign and being the sole legislator. When Allah orders us to perform salaah, He doesnt say to us pray. You read the Quran, we all read the Quran, has anyone seen a direct order from Allah saying to us pray- Sallu? In the overwhelming majority of ayaat about salaah, He says: AQI MUS SALAAH

Make your salaah tangible, construct it. Practical, thats what our salaah is supposed to be. But today, Salaah has become a habit that doesnt carry with it an obvious standard of life- we say one thing in our salaah, and we come out and life strikes us with the opposite direction because the standard of life is not the salaah. Proclaim what has been revealed and Establish Salaah, verily salaah is a barrier against committing the fahsha ie. Great sins and the munkar, shirk, dhulm etc. and have Allah embedded in your conscience is greater in preventing the fahsha and the munkar. (Surah Ankabut verse 45) In the Quran, Allah says: Condemnation on those who offer their salaah, but are neglectful of its time and who are seen praying, but are neglectful of the duties that come with this salaah. (Surah Maun verses 3 to 6) In Egypt, if Mubarak makes salaah at the Azhar, its front page news, but theyll not report the maasacres of the government on the mujahidin who are fighting for Allahs word to be supreme. The cameras are ever rolling with the presence of the Saudi Royals in the Haramain, yet you have starving populations in close proximity to this oil rich land- in Africa and South east and Central Asia. In a hadith, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) says, Whoevers salaah does not prevent him from the fahsha, evil acts such as immorality, oppression etc., that salaah only drives him further away from Allah Or in another rendition of the hadith Whoevers salaah does not prevent him from the fahsha, evil acts such as immorality, oppression etc., he has no salaah. Further, if we were to look at the life of Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Sallul, who was the chief of the hypocrites in Medinah, he was a person who used to read Fajr salaah in the front saff behind Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). But that did not disguise his reality. His reality was that he was a hypocrite because he verbalised his commitment to Allah and His Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) but his agenda was to the construction of kufr. Another incident occurred during the time of Allahs representative on Earth- Khalif Umar (radiallahu anhu), when a person came to him and requested to further the case of another person for a certain post. So, Umar (radiallahu anhu), who understood this deen, because he was a close student and companion of Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) asked him three questions: 1. Have you dealt with this person? 2. Have you travelled with this person? 3. Have you lived with this person? This person replied no on each occasion, To which Umar (radiallahu anhu) said to him, youve probably just seen this person go in and out of the masjid, but you dont know him. When Allah tells us to give of what we have, He makes sure that this becomes an institution in life. But Zakaah has been reduced to individual acts of charity. Theres no Iqamah of salaah, and no Ita of zakaah. Yeh, there are persons who pray and there are persons who spend of what they have, but these are individuals, and we no longer have the Iqamah and we no longer have

the Ita. An incident in the time of Abu Bakr (radiallahu anhu) comes to mind, when people during his reign as Khalifa- as Allahs representative on Earth, refused to pay the zakaah. He waged war on them, not withstanding that they were praying, fasting, verbalising their shahaadah etc. Why? Because he knew that their act of not paying the zakaah to the Islamic state was an act of treachery against Allah, which would undermine Islamic rule. He therefore forced them to subdue themselves to Allah. When Allah tells us to observe the month of Ramadaan, He wants us to gain the pre-requisite of Taqwa, which is not some evasive spiritual quality. It is a practical behaviour that is supposed to be noticed and detected by everyone that is around. Yet, Ramadaan comes and goes, and theres no trace of Taqwa around. Has anyone observed that Ramadaan has anchored a consciousness of Allahs power, and a behaviour that conforms to Allahs power? O You, who are committed to Allah, fasting has been declared a mandatory service upon you as it has been on those before you so that you may take heed of Allah, so that your awareness of Allah will become a barrier to the punishment and the penalty of Allah (Surah Baqara verse183) In another ayah, Allah says See to it that justice is done even if it be a person who is related to you. (Surah An'am verse 152) In yet another ayah Allahs words Let not bad feelings towards a people make you regress from justice, or let not these bad feelings superimpose themselves on you to the detriment of justice. Do; maintain justice because it is a forthcoming of taqwa, because it is near to taqwa, because it is the closest in proximity to taqwa. (Surah Maida verse 8) In another ayah Allah speaks about His communication with man via His Apostles and Messengers saying We have commissioned our emissaries with clear evidence and along with that we have fortified them with scripture and criteria (and then what) so that equity becomes norm of life among people. (Surah Al-Hadid verse 25) But these meanings do not belong on pages; they belong in peoples lives. If you take the way life is conducted around us, do you see any semblance of justice in it? We can point to many violations of justice- we can point to moral violations of justice, there are social violations of justice, there are also economic injustices that we may refer to. And, everyone speaks about peace, stability and prosperity. Well dont we want justice? Why is this word avoided? Sometimes it is slipped in, but it doesnt figure centrally in their statements. Now, the kaafir media is distorting reality and we even have some Muslims who want to silence other Muslims from shedding light on the truth that the whole world is crying out for, by abusing the power they think they have. Why? But to whom do these speak? Yes, administer justice because it is in close proximity to taqwa.

It catches our attention that in another ayah in the same surah Allah says: Fighting has been made a mandatory service upon you (Surah Baqara verse 216) The same choice of words was used: Fighting has been made a mandatory service upon you and fasting has been declared a mandatory service upon you Both of these have been made compulsory or as an obligation upon you. In the second instance, for what reason, fasting has been placed as a mandatory, a fardh upon you, so that you may gain this taqwa. This taqwa that was referred to in the earlier ayah as being the most in close proximity to justice. That quality of Taqwa, that stands as a barrier between anyone whose observing this fast and whatever shaytaan has to offer of indulgence, attractions, pitfalls and what the carnal desires of man always gravitate towards. Allahs guiding words: Ramadaan is the month in which the Quran was caused to descend as a matter of guidance and as a criteria. Those of you who are present in this month should fast it, those who are ill or travelling should make up by an equivalent amount of days later on. Allah wills ease for you and does not will to burden you. (Surah Baqara verse 185) These sequence of ayaat on fasting have the potential of developing a crystallised human being in our behaviour, our feelings and our thoughts. There are people who are fasting today in the physical sense of the word, they withhold consumption of food, liquids and the partaking of sex during the daylight hours. That is the outward manifestation of the fast, but there is a significant expression of fasting, and that is that our internal thoughts and feelings are moulded to conform to the standards of Allah. The Prophet of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) to this effect said Whoever does not abstain from false statements, and false actions during any time of fasting, then Allah has no need for this person to abstain from food and from drink. So, it is the parting in our feelings, our hearts, deep down inside of our mind and our psychology with false expressions, whether they are verbal, or whether they are physical. If we dont part with these false expressions then Allah doesnt mind if we are parting from the food and the water that is available to us. This is the area that has to be worked on during Ramadaan, so that everything any Muslim says and does will not reflect any tendency towards whatever is false, untrue, artificial and not substantial. Now, take this criteria and look at the multitudes of people that are fasting in this month. Probably the overwhelming majority of us fast at least in the outward physical sense. But are we doing it in the prescribed sense, not in the mechanical qualifications of fasting, but in the more intrinsic meanings of fasting. Are we meeting that qualification and that standard? During Ramadaan, when we are abstaining from a couple of meals a day, we should notice that there are people in this world who dont have any meals during the course of the year. To them, if they happen to be Muslims, Ramadaan in the physical sense is no challenge at all, because, most of the time they find themselves denied of the food and the nutrients that to many of us are available. What is the meaning of fasting as far as Muslims who are stashed? Ramadaan comes and goes, and we dont see a very significant amount of resources given to these people who are in need. So those of us who embarked on this regimental course of Ramadaan and then do not gain a sense of proximity to justice, we havent gained very much from our fasting. The purpose

of this is taqwa, the common ground between fasting and doing justice and not some type of physical torture and then some type of ingestinal indulgence at the end of the day. If Ramadaan didnt bring about an awareness and a consciousness of these facts, then it was a mechanical and a physical Ramadaan. What is intended of Ramadaan is not a mechanical and a physical Ramadaan, even though obviously abstainance from food and drink is part of the process, but that is not all of the process and that is not the objective of fasting. Allah Exalted and Almighty says: And if my subjects and servants question you concerning me, I indeed am near to them, I respond to those who solicit me, so they should call upon me, so that they may reach a level of maturity and understanding. (Surah Baqara verse 186) This ayah in the context of the Quran has been placed almost in the dead centre between the ayaat which speak about fasting. In the middle of this discourse on Ramadaan, and fasting, Allah presents us with this particular ayah, where-in He is saying If my servants query you concerning me, then I am near to them. How many moments in life does a person contemplate the idea that Where is God? If there is a God, he would have responded to me! If there was a God, he would have shown more compassion to us! If there was a God, he would have acted in a more forthcoming manner! These are questions that cross the minds of individuals, whether they are Muslim or whether they are not Muslims. If we take a look at the individual position of a Muslim or whether we take a look at the broad existence of 1,6billion Muslims in the world, whatever condition we are looking at, sometimes the question knocks on our minds, Why are we left up to this plight or this predicament? Why doesnt Allah come to help us when we are encountering hard times as an individual, as a family, as a community, as a society, as a congregation, as a collective presence in this world? There are many times when this question entertains our feelings. Look at the plight of the Muslims in the Balkans, in the Caucuses, in North Africa, in the Nile valley, in the Middle East, in Central Asia. Its only a thinking mind that will pose the question If we are so obedient to Allah, then why isnt Allah here? And Allah responds to this question, not when our stomach is full, Allah doesnt respond to this question when we are the object of class materialism, Allah responds to this question when we are ready to receive his response, and Allah knew that if we were observing Ramadaan correctly we would be ready for his answer. For those who persist in posing this type of question when they look at the condition of the Muslim, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) explained when Allah is responding, when He is nearby and when He is at a close proximity. You will indeed make the maruf the legal order in life, and you will indeed make the munkar illegitimate and illegal in life, or, you will call upon Allah and He will not respond to you. Now, do you understand why at times we wonder where is Allah. Do we want Allah to respond without us doing our bit to get Him involved? And, for those that are involved, the response of Allah doesnt necessarily mean a detectable response, or something that we will immediately notice with our senses. If we say that we want the oppressive powers to expire, how do you think that is going to happen? Is it going to come about in an action similar to Moosa, when Pharoah was trailing him and the sea parted and then Pharoah and his administration drowned? Or is the response going to be that Allah will approach these types of dictators in His own way and in proportion to our involvement? We are sure and we are confident that Allah is responding to the Muslims within depressed conditions. Hes not responding to some idle Muslim who is

withdrawn from reality, who is isolated from other Muslims, and who is cut-off from current events, much less those who claim to be Muslim but who are involved on the other side of the issue, and who are participating in trying to undermine this growing and vital and vibrating reality that emerges from those committed Muslims who are steeped in Ramadaan, schooled in Ramadaan, and dedicated to this course of Ramadaan, and who listen to Allah. So we understand from this, that our brothers and sisters who observed the month of Ramadaan where there is pressure placed upon them and who are living in the mountains where there is snow and where physical conditions are life threatening, and not only that, where there is a military regime at work against them- they were fasting Ramadaan, and they experienced FA INNI QARIB. Our complementation of theirs is that we stand in a position that will represent their cause, that is on cause to Allah FI SABI LILLAH. With this, we make this connection between us and the rest of those whose future by Allahs promise is theirs. Allah has promised those who are committed to Him and who do As-Salihaat, ie who do his will on Earth. (Surah Nur verse 55) If you are in that position, you receive Allahs promise. What is His will? And what is His promise? His will is : Lo, I am about to place on earth my deputy. (SurahBaqara verse 30) Allah didnt say Inni Jaal ilun fil ardi musalliyaat or muzakkun or Hajji. Simply because, being Allahs deputy incorporates these along with other obligations- obligations which people conveniently neglect. In another ayah, Allah says: Allah created mankind and jinn only so that they may conform or adapt or agree to Me. (Surah Zariyat verse 66) The word word yabud for the word worship is so meaningless, it takes away the active component and almost automatically triggers the elemant of ritualism. The closest we can come to the word yabud is we conform or we agree or we adapt to Allah. Which is why, even when we walk and eat, if we conform to Allah, it is considered ibaadah. We can worship Allah for a few minutes a day in the masjid, and then we can come out and adapt and conform and agree to everything else, and then we think were included in the ayah and we will receive Allahs promise. His Promise is: He will have you become the heirs, the inheritors of this World. (Surah Nur verse 55) This is not a local issue, neither a self-centred issue, this is a universal issue. Allahs promise is inheritance of World affairs. This is quite an ambition from where some people are to where this statement is taking them. In another ayah on Ramadaan following this ayah, a couple of ayahs beneath it Through this, cultivation of Taqwa, Allah makes clear to mankind His ayaat, ie. His traces of involvement in human affairs. (Surah Baqara verse 187) It is a sad comment, that Ramadaan would have come and those that are making decisions for the Muslims will not have gained the privilege of fasting this month of Ramadaan. We ask Allah (SWT) to offer us that privilege by extending ourselves to those in the human condition around us. If, we cannot in any physical sense do so, at least in our thoughts and in our minds. The Prophet of Allah (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) says Fasting is a protection, is a protective layer for this human being.

Is that the case when these decision makers are fasting, and when they make decisions impacting the lives of Muslims? Have they been fasting? How can anyone be fasting, if there is an administration that tells some Muslims they cannot have access to something that belongs to this ummah, like a Masjid or a media resource etc. with no shari basis. Is this the meaning of Taqwa? But this is only a small presentation of the large scale policies and decisions that impact the lives of many other Muslims in this world. Remember, when Allah started speaking about Ramadaan he addressed Alladhina Aamanu, and now, He is saying that through Alladhina Aamanu, His ayaat ie. Traces of his Power presence is made known to mankind. If Ramadaan comes and goes and there is no manifestation of Allahs power presence in human affairs, then Ramadaan was, once again, a physical and mechanical Ramadaan.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of the Islamic way... Little do the Muslims who go to the Hajj know that this obligation has become an empty shell that has been drained from its quint-essential meanings. Allah Jalla Jalaluh did not impose on us rituals that have no meaning to our responsibilities in life. Every ritual that we perform is meaningful and relevant and practical within our responsibilities on earth. The Hajj is a matter of months. (Surah Al-Baqara verse 197) Now, just like they serve us fast food, theyre giving us fast rituals. Youre supposed to go to the Hajj and perform what is supposed to be a matter of months in a few weeks. Therefore, we are not able to bring into full fruition the meanings that are supposed to dwell in our souls and penetrate the core of our feelings in the Hajj. Allah says concerning the Kaba Al-Bayt Al-Haram, Allah has rendered Al-Kaba, the Holy sanctuary Qiyaaman for people. (Surah Al-Maida 100)

Wheres the lost meaning here? The lost meaning here is that the Kaba is no longer a place for people to make statements on a worldwide scale. Has anyone heard of Muslims who go to Mecca and Al-Medinah nowadays and have a statement to make to the world? You dont hear about it, because it doesnt exist! Theres no statement coming out of Mecca to the world. The Hajj has become aimless! Listen, (Brothers and sisters), Allahs Prophet says: A Muslim is a brother to the other Muslim. or in another hadith, A committed Muslim is a brother to the other committed Muslim. Brotherhood has a meaning. When you are someones brother, you understand him well and he understands you well. There are no barriers between you and him. Where else can Muslims express this brotherhood? Does this exist in the Hajj, where it is supposed to exist? Visually, everyone becomes equal, they take off clothes, because when you put on the different clothes, you make a statement. Some people see through the clothes that you wear- the status you come from or the inferiority you suffer from or the class that you belong to or your national origin or how clean or otherwise you may be. All of that visually comes down when one puts on the ihraam. Everyone is supposed to be equal to facilitate the process of communication. But, what do you do when you put on this ihraam and theres no process of communication? Whats the ihraam for? You want to bring down all stereotypes, all pre-conceptions, all the pollution that is in the world that interrupts the process of communication between you and the other Muslim beside you. But no-one is allowed to communicate. Hajj has become an activity once a year in which Muslims are forbidden to communicate. How can we express ourselves? Try congregating in the Haram and discussing the affairs of Muslims, and see what the guards will do to you? If Allah is saying: Indeed, this ummah of yours is one ummah. (Surah Al-Muminun:52) Would you know that by going to the Hajj? Would you feel that this is one ummah by going to the Hajj? How can we become one ummah, when a few of us cannot communicate and consolidate our hearts at that basic level and at that central position in Mecca and Al-Medinah? If we are not allowed to do so, then how do we say that this is one united ummah? You have Muslims coming from the bleeding part of the ummah to the Hajj. Do you think theres not hundreds and a few thousand Muslims who make it to the Hajj from places like Chechenya, the Balkans, Palestine, Kashmir, parts of Asia and Africa, etc. who are suffering and are oppressed, discriminated and prejudiced? Its in our body, and we call ourselves brothers?! In Mecca and Al-Medinah, Muslims are supposed to express a sense of globalisation. Right now, who is defining globalisation? Who is telling Muslims and non-Muslims where this world is

going as barriers are coming down and people are coming closer together? But on whose terms are they coming together? On the terms of Shaytaan, on the terms of big money and business, on the terms of trans-national capital and profit, not on our terms of humanity, brotherhood, equality and justice! It was and still is a revolution against the social and class discrimination- at a time when the Quraishi feelings of superiority was at their peak and when Quraish in the days of Hajj use to stand at Muzdalifa and then proceed from there while the rest of the pilgrims used to stand at Arafat, and proceed from there. The revolutionary defiance and directives were revealed as Muhammed (alaih salaam) who belonged to the Quraishi citizenry stood with the rest of non Quraishis at Arafat, and with the Quran addressing Quraish Then pass on at a quick pace from the place where it is usual for the multitude so to do (Surah Al-Baqara verse 199) The Quraishi pomp and pride could not accept or see a Quraishi daughter or sister married to an average Arab or commoner. Then comes the Prophet who was from the best stock in Quraish and adjoins his cousin Zainab bin Jahash in marriage to the socially inferior Mawla Zaid. Today, Quraish reincarnated as the royal family of Saudi Arabia performs its Tawaaf, after vacating the premises of the Kaaba of the other Muslims. Today the daughters and sisters of Saudi Quraish are not wedded to the other Muslims, although they may be on occasions be married off conveniently.

Allah says: And when the call to Hajj is made, people will come on foot and by means of transportation, from every corner of the earth (Surah Hajj verse 27) But, the Saudi government imposes on Muslims its permission for Muslims to go to the Hajj. Where did all of this come from? Do you need anyones permission to perform your salaah? Do you need anyones permission to fast during Ramadaan? Do you need anyones permission to say Ash hadu Allah ilaha illalah wa ash hadu anna muhamedur rasulullah? Do you need anyones permission to pay your zakaah? (Not yet) Then, how do we need someones permission to go to the Hajj? The kaafirs who have an american passport go freely to almost all the European countries they dont need a visa. Some of them just wave you by at the airport, they dont even want to look at your passport. But its not enough to be a Muslim to be waved by to go to the Hajj. Why do we need someone to stare us in the eye and hassle us and then insult us during this period when we are there? We are not going to the palace of the King! We are not going to the homes of the princes! We are going to Allahs sanctuary. They are the first people to use the word bida, and no-one dares to use that word back at them. Small minor issues become such a bida in their eyes, that the majority of the Muslims in the world are kaafirs. This is what they say-

privately- No wonder the Muslims are where they are, because all of them are kaafirs. And who do they mean by all of them? They mean the small guys, you and me- we are the kaafirs, and thats why we have all these problems. But our problems are not from the small guy who toils in the field all day or who begins his day at dawn and ends after Isha, to bring home food for his family- the problem is not there. The problem is with the rulers who have taken away the livelihood of these people and then signed contracts of allegiance and dependancy with the mushrikeen- these truly are the kaafirs. Allah says during this annual Hajj assembly, Allah and His Prophet are annulling, they are cancelling all allegiance and dependancy relationships that the Muslims have with the mushriks. Allah is saying that there should be a dis-avowal, we should dissolve the relationships with the mushriks. (Surah Al-Bara verse 1) Oh no, please dont bring that to the Hajj, thats what theyll tell you. Dont bring this ayah and this surah to Hajj. Not just that, they will tell also their clergymen: Dont dwell on these ayaat throughout the year in the Masjids. You see, they prepared their empty Hajj in the previous eleven months. When Muslim minds are not trained on the meanings of these ayaat, we will go to Hajj thinking that by obeying the Saudi guides who tell us where to go and when to go, we are fulfilling our obligations, but theres no Bara. The Prophet instructed two of his companions, Abu Bakr and Ali, to declare publicly in the Hajj, this Islamic annulment of dependancy and allegiance relationships with all the mushriks. And proclaim to the people on the Great day of Hajj that Allah and His Messenger are annulling and are are free from all allegiances and dependency relationships with the mushriks. So if you repent, it will be better for you, but if you are averse then know that you cannot escape Allah. So give tidings to the kaafirs of an excrutiating punishment. (Surah AlBara verse 3) Imagine Muslims going with this message and declaring it publicly in the Hajj. With the stifled Hajj that theyve made it, a measely three-million people go to the Hajj out of 1,6 billion muslims in the world. And then they dont declare that Muslims should annul their relationships of allegiance and dependancy with the mushriks. This is the meaning that is now absent from these annual ceremonies. They take away from the Hajj what they want, they deflate the number of people who go to the Hajj, and they do this within an international system that helps them. The Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) is reported to have said whilst in a state of sakraat ie. Passing on from this Earthly presence Expel the Mushriks from the Arabian Peninsula Now, this information is slightly out dated, it dates back to before the invasion of Afghanistan.

From time to time, information leaks out, and they tell us there are three-hundred-thousand Europeans and Americans in the Arabian Peninsula. What are three-hundred-thousand Europeans and Americans doing in the Arabian Peninsula? These rulers have bases that the mushriks are using to drop bombs on the Muslims. They are mushriks, they dont belong in the land of Muhamed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). And this is one of the demands of Usama bin Laden, may Allah be pleased with him, that all these mushriks must be expelled. So, who is on the Sunnah of Rasulillah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)? And theyre not going to fool the muslims by moving these troops to Kuwait and these other areas, because these artificial boundaries were demarcated by them. For the Muslims, Kuwait etc. falls into the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallams) description of Jazeeratil Arab. The kiswa that they put around the Kaba. They embroider it with gold threads, do you know how much that piece of cloth costs? $4,5 million! Imagine spending $4,5 million dollars on a piece of cloth on the Kaba and there are hungry Muslims who come up to that Kaba, and they dont know whether they are going to survive the endemics of hunger in their countries. This is Hajj?! This is taqwa. These people should be responsible for Mecca and Al-Medinah?! I would like to shed light on some of the policies from Allah, which strip people who are hiding behind rituals, there-by exposing their true reality. These kings, presidents, rulers, governors, princes and decision-makers make broad and far and wide reaching claims that they are from Alladhina aamanu. But Allah is telling them: Dont place yourselves in positions of a relationship with the political and the ideological expressions of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara. (Surah Maida verse 51) And it is as if they are doing exactly the opposite. But the remainder of this ayah which did not work itself into Muslim brains and which did not seep into Muslim hearts, is beginning to be understood Whoever it is from among you that places himself in that type of receiving or dependant relationship on the politics of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara is one of them and is no longer part of this ummah. (Surah Maida verse 51) These are the words of the Quran- he becomes part of the whole political system of kufr. Allah does not leave these types alone- Whoever belongs to you, but then aligns themselves with political and ideological yahudism and nasarism, it doesnt matter who he is, it doesnt matter if hes praying night and day until there are holes in his musallah, if he is going to Hajj and Umrah every year, if hes fasting days on end, if hes making tawaaf of the Kaba and sajdah in the Haram, it doesnt matter how much hes outwardly behaviour appears to be Islamic, he has left, he is no longer part of the Muslim crowd. These Saudi rulers that have occupied Makkah and Al-Medinah are equally as criminal as those who have occupied al-Quds. They want to make believe, that if Bani Israel put on the same type of clothes as Fahd and Sultan and Nayef and the rest, and then they begin to pray five times in the Masjid, that we should welcome them as brothers? We should go up to them and say Hey, brother, and shake their hands and kiss them on both cheeks!

Insha-Allah, I will conclude with one more illustration. There is a defining moment in the lives of social orders. That defining moment is when there is a call to military duty, which is the core definition of our commitment and devotion to Allah. This has been a historical fact- its nothing new. Allah has presented us with this test of our subservience and obedience to Him. He says to us in Surah Maida, the gist of the meaning of these ayaat is the following: Musa (alaih salaam) speaks to the committed muslims around him and he says to them That Allah has designated this Holy Land for them, and they are ordered to go into this Holy Land as liberators - which is a military task. This is not a ritualistic requirement, this is not a private responsibility. This obligation needs these committed muslims (who are the people of Musa) to make a life and death attempt at liberating this Holy Land. And, their response was No, we are not going to do that. And, we cant say that logic was not on their side, because they explained their position. They said, There is an awesome military power that dwells in the Holy Land, in what was called Palestine. So, we look at ourselves and we dont have very much military power compared to the military power that occupies that land, so were not going to fight. And they repeat that, Musa- if you want to do this type of fighting, you and your Sustainer, you and your Lord can go, but you can count us out. This is the lithmus test of our commitment to Allah- historically, thousands of years ago, hundreds of years ago, today and into the future. What happened to people who failed? They said we dont want to fight. And so Allah didnt describe them any longer as Muminin, He described them as Al Qawm Al-Fasiqin.- a degenerate people. Musa said I can only vouch for myself and for my brother, therefore separate us from degenerate people. Now, these may have been people who were fasting exactly like Allah told them to fast. We have no verifiable information that says that these people were lax in their ibaadaat. They may have been praying nights on end and fulfilling their personal responsibility, but when it came to this lithmus test, they failed. And Allah no longer described them as Muminin or as Muslimin- He said by the words of His Prophet Musa that they are Qawmin Fasiqin and by His own words:This land is prohibited to them for a period of forty years, in which they will roam the earth, Grieve not for people who are degenerate. (Surah Maidah verses 20 to 26) What qualified them to be de-generate? It was their un-willingness, their reluctance, their objection to carry their commitment to the battlefield. O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah, whats the matter with you? Why is

that when you are asked to mobilise for Jihad you become dead weight on earth? Are you satisfied with the enjoyment of this life to the exclusion of the hereafter? But the enjoyment of this life is nothing compared to that of the here-after. If you do not mobilise for Allahs cause, He will inflict upon you an excrutiating punishment and He will substitute you with another people, and you're not going to damage Him for He is able to do all things. (Surah Taubah verses 38 to 39) We ask that Allah guides us to understand that the five pillars are not so limited and restricted as they are being made out to be and that we realise sooner rather than later that there is a duty attached to them. We ask Allah, (whose mercy is abundant, and whose knowledge is infinite), to accept from those who try their best to do their duty. We ask Allah, (whose wisdom is infinite, and whose power is present), to check the excesses and to punish the evil of these individuals who have cut the Muslims off from each other and sent their poisonous propagandists around the Muslim world to abort our determination to live and to die for Allah. Our compensation for not being in those front line positions is that we should stand in a supporting position of those until Allah who hears us and who is near us grants us the privilege of sharing with them this type of front line position.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters whose commitment to Allah remains an unflinching one: Allah Jalla wa Ala speaks to us through the Quran, a book that cannot be approached by any fault from any direction, hence, a book in which there is no doubt. In this book, Allah told us Behold, you have in Allahs Messenger (peace be upon him), a prototype, someone whom you can adopt as your role model, But, for whom? For those who are intent on wanting Allah and the final day, and In whose conscience Allah is embedded. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 21) Since we are in the reference of the Quran, these guiding words from Allah are directed to us. There is no space for indifference here. If we claim to be Muslims in the footsteps of Allahs

Messenger (peace be upon him), it is binding on us that we endorse his character as well as his will and determination, and not just his cosmetic features. The issues, I in a humble way want to explain is the concept of wilayah or tawallah ie. Allegiance Little do the Muslims realise that Islam has become an empty shell that has been drained from its quint-essential meanings. Allah did not impose on us rituals that have no meaning to our responsibilities in life. When we state our article of faith: ASH HADU AN LA ILAHA ILLALAH WA ASH HADU ANNA MUHAMMEDAN ABDUHU WA RASULUH The practical meaning of that is that we have liberated our mind and our conscience from those powers that want to enslave them. When we make this statement, we attempt to break-away from the structures of kufr and shirk as manifested in the form of the UN, governmental structures, NATO, The World Bank, The International Monetary Fund, etc. Institutions in which and from which mushriks are sitting in the corridors of power and they are claiming sovereignty over Allahs earth and legislating all sorts of things which makes the halaal haraam and the haraam halaal. When Allah orders us to perform salaah, He doesnt say to us pray. You read the Quran, we all read the Quran, has anyone seen a direct order from Allah saying to us pray- Sallu? In the overwhelming majority of ayaat about Salaah, He says: AQI MUS SALAAH Establish your salaah, Make your salaah tangible, construct it. Practical, thats what our salaah is supposed to be. Allah says: Proclaim what has been revealed and Establish Salaah, verily salaah is a protection against committing the fahsha ie. Great sins and the munkar, shirk, dhulm etc. and have Allah embedded in your conscience is greater in preventing the fahsha and the munkar. (Surah Ankabut verse 45) In a hadith, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) says, Whoevers salaah does not prevent him from the fahsha, evil acts such as immorality, oppression etc., that salaah only drives him further away from Allah Or in another rendition of the hadith

Whoevers salaah does not prevent him from the fahsha, evil acts such as immorality, oppression etc., he has no salaah. We all repeat many times that we are guided by Allah to do away with the fahsha, munkar and baghi. But, how can we do away with something that we dont have a definition or a grip of. This is supposed to be a very basic and elementary issue, that people dont realise is missing. One of the most apparent evils in our time is the dis-location of authority, the usurpation of power and the oppression of people on an ever expanding scale. Allah Exalted and Almighty says to us in a number of ayaat in the Quran to have Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims as our allies and authority to whom allegiance is due. In an ayah, Allah says: And those who have as their authority or their allies or as their reciprocal counter parts of allegiance- Allah, His Messenger and those who are committed, then indeed Allahs Hizb (party) are triumphant. (Surah Maida verse 56) In another ayah, Allah speaks to us saying: Committed Muslims shall not have the kaafirs as their authority, their allies and those they reciprocate allegiance with or pay allegiance to, to the exclusion of the other Committed Muslims. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 28) In another ayah, Allah speaks to you and to me saying: O you who are divinely secure in your commitment to Allah, dont take or designate my enemy (Allah is speaking) and your enemies as authorities and allies and sources of allegiance. You present yourselves to them cheerfully, you greet them with cheers, while they are kaafirs in the Haqq that has been presented to you by Allah. (Surah Mumtahana verse 1) We commonly identify Allah and His Messenger, but we cant identify the committed Muslims, viz. those who havent lost sight of Muslims having a head, having a leadership and a direction. Why are we having millions of Muslims dying, and the issue of leadership, if it comes up, it comes up in the kaafir context. Not that we should get involved in the kaafir politics, but Muslims are not telling you to go and vote for your Muslim leader or Imam. It doesnt bother them at all that Muslims should not vote for an imam or give baiah to an Imam. They will explain that away. They will tell you: Oh- wait a minute, if we begin to talk about this issue, we will be inviting trouble because we will be generating a fitnah. Or, others will tell you: No, no, no, no- if you come and speak about this issue, you are pre-empting the facts of life, because there cannot be an Imam in the absence of the twelfth Imam. With all humility, both these approaches are off course. Allah did not give us this responsibility to be afraid of a so-called fitnah, and Allah did not give us this responsibility of Islam to put it on hold until the end of time. What does

Islam become without this central issue?- the rituals and the mechanics. The concept of Allegiance is not only cornered in one ayah: O you who are firmly committed to Allah, dont have as your allies or superiors yahud and nasara, Dont ally yourselves to the political and the ideological expressions of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara, they are allies one to another. And, whoever from among you does that, he has become one of them, {it doesnt matter who he is, it doesnt matter if hes praying night and day until there are holes in his musallah, if he is going to Hajj and Umrah every year, if hes fasting days on end, if hes making tawaaf of the Kaba and sajdah in the Haram, it doesnt matter how much hes outwardly behaviour appears to be Islamic, he has left,} he is no longer part of the Muslim crowd. (Surah Maida verse 51) At this point, I would like to focus on the local scene, before expounding to the international scene. With elections virtually at our doorstep, you have Muslims looking around and wondering what should be done. Should Muslims vote or should Muslims refrain. This state of confusion, is not characteristic of one who is attached to the Quran and the sunnah. Another issue is that Muslims here, should not hide/flee from their responsibilities by citing Were a minority as their excuse, and at the same time think that they can escape from their responsibilities in Muslim lands because they are thousands of miles away. Let us take a look at a few instances from the life of Allahs final Messenger. Remember, Muslims were always a minority, even in Makkah. But, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) did not at any stage integrate into the power structures of Makkah. The parliament of Quraish was Daar An-Nadwa. This is where the power mongers of Quraish- Ubay bin Khalaf, Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl, etc. were meeting. But, the Muslims didnt participate in this gathering. They were not saying We need a lobby within the Quraishi power structure. The Muslims were learning, they were teaching, they were meeting and they were strategising. But they did this within their own Parliament- at Daar Al-Arqam. On yet another occasion, when Islam was growing, the leaders of Quraish came to the Prophets Uncle, and they said to him Why dont you try and speak some sense into your nephews head. And they made the following three proposals: 1. If its an issue of position and status that you want, Quraish are willing to elevate you to the most luxurious and comfortable position that you wish, 2. If it is a matter of being in-charge of the entire Makkan order, the Quraish are willing to appoint you as its supreme leader; 3. If it a matter of you being possessed by uncontrollable spirits and forces, they will arrange the best physicians for you. Under these conditions and in these circumstances, what was the Prophets (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) clarion reply for all Muslims to hear through-out the ages and the years, He said:

By Allah, Oh my Uncle, were they to put the sun in my right hand, and the moon in my left hand, I would not forsake my mission, until Allahs word is supreme or I am no more. Surely, he could have said: Let me get in and then gradually change the system from within. But he did not choose that strategy. On yet another occasion, Quraish come to him and they say: Why dont you accept our system and regulations for one or two years and then we will accept your system for one or two years. Allah didnt leave this Quraishi offer un-answered. Allah, from above seven heavens answered this Quraishi policy with another policy: Allah said: Say to those who deny Allah His Power, and who reject Allah and His Messenger (say to them), I will not conform/agree/adapt with your system and you will not agree/conform/adapt to my system, and I will not want to conform/agree/adapt with your system nor will you agree/conform/adapt to my system, To you be your way and to me be mine. (Surah Al-Kaafirun) This is where Muslims need to demonstrate mental maturity. Quraish were offering Allahs Messenger governance. To translate the word abud into worship deprives it of its meanings and almost automatically triggers the thought of rituals. But this was not the case. The word abud more correctly should reflect your coming to conform, to adapt, to agree to Allah. Hence, your every act, whether it is your walking, your eating, whatever you do, it becomes an act of ibaadah.

Now, we ask, do we know better than Allah and His Messenger? He could have accepted such an offer, which would have been the perfect opportunity to express Islam and what it representedbut he did not do that. When the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was in Medinah, and all of the Arabian Peninsula had been aroused by an Israeli, to come and wipe Islam out. When the Muslims were under the pressure of extermination, one of the Prophets companions came to him and said: Why dont we get yahuds help? By this time, two jewish factions were expelled from Medinah, and only Bani Quraidah were there. Under these conditions, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) said: We dont need the assistance of yahud. All these decisions and events should make it very clear to all Muslims, that integration into an existing anti/un-Islamic political structure would not serve the Islamic course, or else Allahs Messenger would have adopted that strategy. But, he didnt want us to be stabbed in the back. He knew that Muslims could not place their reliance on Al-Kaafir to implement an Islamic Order.

To return to the international scene. The Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), at no stage of constructing the Islamic social order and trying to undermine the Quraishi power structure said we need a lobby inside the super-power governments of the day. Remember, there was the Byzantine/the Roman Empire and the Persian empire. He never said, we need to lobby these governments to our course. The Muslims at that time and that generation were successful because they were listening to Allah when He was guiding them, unlike todays Muslims who seem to think they know better. When Allah is saying: And those who have as their authority or their allies or as their reciprocal counter parts of allegiance- Allah, His Messenger and those who are committed, then indeed Allahs Hizb (party) are triumphant. (Surah Maida verse 56) Its as though this ayah says the exact opposite. Or else, why do we have the Saudi government and the Egyptian Government and the rest of these subservient rulers in the Muslim Lands going to beg these yahud and nasara for Muslim rights regarding various areas where Muslim blood flows. Why dont we have our respected Ulema present this Islam in its pristine form. When Allah revealed the ayaat dealing with the Bara, Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) despatched Abu Bakr (radiallahuanh wa rahmatullah alaih) and Ali (radiallahu anh wa rahmatullah alaih) to go to Makkah and inform the pilgrims that were coming for the Hajj that Allah and His Messenger are annulling the contracts with the mushriks. A Disavowal from Allah and His Messenger to those with whom you have allegiances (Surah Bara verse 1) But today, what do we have? These rulers in Muslim lands want to build relations with these whom Allah is instructing us to cut-off relations with. And, with all this happening, our Ulema, who claim that they are the inheritors of the Prophets, they continue to talk about issues of najasah and wudhu and salaah- when this is the state that we are in. If you claim to be an inheritor of the Prophet, then tread in the footsteps of the Prophet. Or else, Islam will remain a private and personal affair and not the complete deen which Allah envisaged and His Prophet had in mind. For those, who continue and insist that we need to integrate into the existing structures, whether it is national or trans-national, I will cite a few examples which would hopefully- Insha-Allahclarify why Muslims need to develop their own political program and be more assertive so that they may be Allahs Khulafa Al-Ard. A few years ago, when the saga pertaining to East Temur, in Indonesia had began, and the

Christians in that place within that Islamic Land opted to have their own political- independent political- program, the Muslims were put on notice, that if you do not accept the independent state of East Temur, then the United Nations will send in the troops to have East Temur break away from the Central Government of Indonesia. Yet, and we should ask, why is there double standards. If you want to be fair, then why dont you send the forces into Chechnya and Kosova to have their own Independent Political Program. Or, if the Russians are saying that Chechnya is an internal Russian affair, then why was East Temur not an internal Indonesian affair. And again, we ask- what did all your lobbying do- these rulers in Muslim lands- what did all your lobbying do for the Muslims in Chechnya etc. If these kaafirs claim that democracy is one of their fundamentals, and they pride themselves on free and fair elections, then why were Muslims who voted for an Islamic Program in Algeria not allowed to enter the corridors of power? What happened? Now, they forgot about their ideals of free and fair elections and democracy. Or, do they hate Islam more than they love their ideals? Muslims in this part of the word, should also not forget all the anti-Islamic legislation that exists and that is being passed as well as the pending terror legislation. The South African government has a two-state solution to the dilemma in Occupied Palestine. In terms of Islam, a Muslim land cannot be divided and given to kaafirs- the next time your Muslim MP comes to you, ask him whats his position in regards to this issue! The South African government maintained silence on the murder and persecution and rape of thousands and thousands of women in Bosnia and Chechnya and Kashmir, but made a big HuHa about a women who was about to be executed in Nigeria, with statements like that conduct was barbaric.

For those who still think that they can rely on those Muslims who have integrated themselves into the existing political system, they should think and re-think their position through the vision of Allahs words and His Prophets example. As an after thought, Muslims that have just passed the season of Karbala and Aashura should realise that this was not an occasion that requires the shedding of a few tears, not mutilating ones self nor remaining silent about. This event in Islamic History is about a man of principle and integrity, who did not negotiate away the issue of allegiance and authority, and he set out to correct the polluted political image of Islam. Even though there is much conflicting information regarding this issue, when it is put within the reference of the Quran and the sunnah, the fact that stares one in the eye is that a man of integrity and principle would not betray his allegiance to Allah and His Messenger. But, for those of us that are still burdened by tradition and cannot see Muawiyah and Yazid for who they were, cant you see Bush and Blair and Sharon and Fahd and Mubarak and the rest of these enemies of Allah and His Messenger and the Committed Muslims

today. And, one of the facts of that time that is still alive today is the fact that people paid lipservice. Remember, there was reason to believe that thousands and thousands of people/ Muslims at Kufa indicated that they were also for correcting the polluted political image of Islam- they understood Al-Imam Al-Huseins position, they sympathised with him, they were with him all the way- short of the military responsibility. Just like the Muslims today, we are with the Palestinians and the Kashmiris and the rest of the oppressed peoples of the world in providing moral support and material support- what we cannot do is take that position to the battle-field. I would like to end this khutbah with a hadith in which the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) says: Whoever dies without having an allegiance to carry,(and obviously, an allegiance is to an Islamic Authoity) has died a non-Islamic death or on a tangent of Nifaaq or hypocrisy. Also, Allah says: It is not befitting for any Mumin or Muminah to have their own opinions, whims, fancies and reservations on a matter (such as the one we have been talking about) after it has been decided upon by Allah and his Messenger; and whoever dis-obeys Allah and His Messenger has gone astray in a manifest way. (Surah Ahzab verse 36)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims... There can be no doubt, that amongst the first Political decisions taken by the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was to arrange his followers into what is today called a party. But, he did not do so to gain 1 Power; 2 Popularity or 3 Privlege. Never in the Quran and sunnah will we find a policy that would use popularity or numerical growth for the sake of 1 Money; 2 Employment or 3 Political leverage.

The opposition to the establishment was an all-out, hard-core and confident one, which did not sell-out nor break-down into negotiations half-way through the struggle. To the contrary, the more the revolutionary leadership of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) persisted in its opposition and relentless struggle against the forces of shirk, the more these kaafir leaders tried to persuade the Islamic leadership to negotiate, compromise and accommodate. (Surah Al-Qalam verse 9) The decision makers of the quraishi system pleaded with his uncle to try and talk some sense into his nephews head on behalf of the quraishi power heirarchy. His uncle approaches him with the following proposals: 1. If its an issue of position and status that you want, Quraish are willing to elevate you to the most luxurious and comfortable position that you wish, 2. If it is a matter of being in-charge of the entire Makkan order, the Quraish are willing to appoint you as its supreme leader; 3. If it a matter of you being possessed by uncontrollable spirits and forces, they will arrange the best physicians for you. The first two are a dream come true. Any of the modern day liberal/moderate muslims would jump at this opportunity, but was this the sunnah of our leader. Was he a fanatic? Was he politically nave? Or, was he reacting to years and years of torture and persecution that he could not accept an Islamisation process whereby he and a negotiated few of his companions could join Quraish and then gradually change the system into an Islamic one from within. Under these conditions and in these circumstances, what was the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallams) clarion reply for all Muslims to hear through-out the ages and the years, He said: By Allah, Oh my Uncle, were they to put the sun in my right hand, and the moon in my left hand, I would not forsake my mission, until Allahs word is supreme or I am no more. This Prophetic statement has to be the epitomy of revolutionary immunity for the manoeuvre of containment and vacillation. 6 And, every time the revolutionary leadership went into a high gear, the Quraish stepped up their dual stick and carrot approach. One of the carrots that todays Islamists are nibbling on is the formula for sharing power. This is not new, however, what is new is the departure from the sunnah/policy of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). The kingdom of Quraishi Arabia offered the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) to implement Islam for one or two years and they would implement their system and regulations for one or two years.Offcourse, many muslims would celebrate for such an opportunity, but Allah answered this Quraishi offer with a policy from above seven heavens: O You who reject Allah and His signs, and His messengers, and His Power, Before I continue, something needs to be explained here. The word abud when translated to worship triggers a stereotype, which automatically goes off in a tangent of rituals. This translation is so limited, that it renders the word almost meaningless. You can worship Allah for a few minutes a day in the masjid and then you go out and its business as usual. More correctly, the word abud means to conform, to adapt, to agree to Allah in everything we do. I conform not to that which you conform to, Nor will you conform to that which I conform to, And I shall not conform to that to which you conform to, Nor will you conform to that which I conform to, To you be your way and to me be mine. (Surah Al-Kaafirun)

Hear that, Lakum di nukum wa li yadin. Due to the circumstances that we find ourselves in, mental dis-connection from our Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and hostilities against us, I will skip over the benevolent nature of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and focus on some of his military decisions. Not that any of these decisions conflict with his description of Rahmatul lil Aalameen- these decisions re-inforce that description. Suffice it to say, that for his mercy to remain a reality for the bulk of mankind to be at peace and for justice to prevail ie. For him to be a Mercy for mankind, he had to eliminate certain people who were a menace to the manifestation of him being sent as a mercy and peace to mankind. Unfortunately, regrettably, people these days interpret benevolence and being a mercy only as doing acts of charity and even co-existing with ones enemies etc. This revolutionary participated in twenty seven military battles and expeditions. He was ordered by Allah to arouse the Mumin to do combat. (Surah Anfaal verse 65) Revolutionary integrity made it possible for him to personally eliminate a kaafir by the name of Ubaiy bin Khalaf. The assertive revolutionary mentality of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) ordered the execution of seven hundred counter revolutionaries from Bani Quraida. Even on the conquest of Makkah, the order to his commanders was that no kaafir should be killed unless they wanted to attack and kill the Muslims. But, there were certain individuals who the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) wanted to eliminate even if they were to be found within the sanctuary of the Kaba. Among these was Abdullah bin Saad, Abdullah bin Khattal and two of his women singers who sang songs of rhythmic diatribe against the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). His words still ring among the justice seeking and struggling revolutionaries: Kill them, even if you find them hiding behind the curtains of the Kaba. These policies are the outcry of human rights organisations. Even some modern Muslims would question the Revolutionary portrait in the Quran: MUHAMMED is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are fierce and ferocious and firm with the kaafirs and compassionate amongst each other. (Surah Al-Fath verse 28) The war initiated by the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was waged simultaneously on the Quraishi value and legal system. The consequence of following the divine revolutionary guidelines resulted in an increase in the torture and persecution of Muslims. The revolutionary students and companions of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) did not depart from their torture chambers convinced that the only way to power was through joining the Quraishi power structure and changing it from within. They did not depart from their incarceration cells convinced that they had to align themselves with the devil in order to undermine the Quraishi aristocracy. Instead, they graduated from their torture chambers convinced that Allah will either deliver them to worldly power or heavenly peace. Quraish instigated policies of boycotts and embargoes, it activated its mouth-pieces against the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and his

deen, but he continued to criticise them and he continued his struggle to undermine the prevailing Meccan order. Remember, he was one individual, un-armed, un-assisted and un-supported by any secular power. This is one of the issues- the revolutionary leadership of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) has faded away. His revolutionary and combatant nature does not exist in the minds and hearts of the bulk of those who purport to follow him. It was this divinely inspired revolutionary drive that forced him and the Prophets before him and the committed Muslims into ex-communication, banishment, poverty, assassination attempts etc. In todays world, where do we find Qadhis, Muftis, Shaikhs etc. on the wanted lists of their respective governments? Rarely- do we find this, simply because they do not have the revolutionary impetus of Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). But I remind you and myself of our obligation to change an anti/un-Islamic status quo: Allah is describing a scenario on the day of resurrection: And they all come forth in the presence of Allah and the people who thought they were powerless people, the mustadafin people like you and me- say to the mustakbirs- those who were arrogantly displaying the power they thought they have- we were your followers, we were following you; so, can you spare us some of this adhaab that is coming from Allah And what do these mustakbirs say- people like Bush and Blair and Sharon and Fahd and Mubarak etc. had Allah guided us, we would have guided you now, whether we are patient or whether we are raging, its the same, theres no way out of this (Surah Ebrahim verse 21) And then, Allah tells us about shaytaan, and shaytaan speaks: After everything is over shaytaan says "Verily Allah promised you the promise of truth I also promised you, but I broke my promise to you And, what is this promise of shaytaan? He offers it to many people and lures many people through it, (Bi Idhnillah) its the intoxication with status in this world, wealth, power etc. Ill give this to you. Go and meet Bush, go sit in the UN etc. There are many benefits which you will derive. But I had no power over you. The only authority I had was that I called you and you responded so dont blame me blame yourself I cannot plead your case and you cannot plead mine I reject your act of bringing me into this relationship between you and Allah; Indeed, for the dhalims there is an excrutiating punishment. (Surah Ebrahim verse 22) The other issue I wish to speak about is unity.Many times, Muslims speak about unity. Many times, we recite these ayaat, but very few of us, if any, know that Allah revealed these ayaat in response to a plot that was being thought out and implemented by a jewish elder in Al-Medinah. For those of us who are not familiar with some of the details of our own history When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was persecuted in Makkah, and he eventually had to leave, he came to Al-Medinah. The people of Al-Medinah consisted of the Aws and the Khazraj. Also, at that time, there were three Yahudi/jewish tribes, that also had their presence in AlMedina, viz. Bani An-Nadir, Bani Qaynuqa and Bani Quraida.

We also realise that the society in Al-Medinah, was not a normal society, is was a society that was characterised by wars and feuds, and that the jewish factions that were there, in Al-Medinah used to live off the animosity between the Aws and the Khazraj. So, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to Al-Medinah, he saw all of this. And, he got the Aws and the Khazraj to settle their differences, in fact he did more than that, he moulded them into a single society, in which they now used to get together and have discussions and brotherly sessions. After having done that, there was an elderly jew, and this jews name was Shaas ibn Kais, this jew was so irritated, and so agitated by this that he had do to something about it. So, what he did was, he instigated a younger jew to go and sit amongst the Aws and the Khazraj when they were having their meetings. And, he instructed this younger yahudi/jew to listen and when the right moment approached, he instructed him to remind them of their previous history. And true to these instructions, this younger yahudi/jew went to the meeting, and he sat, and he listened, and he waited for the appropriate slant of the discussion. When the right moment presented itself, this yahudi/jew began to interject some of their previous history. He mentioned a sensitive issue known as Yawm Buath. It was a day in the history of the Aws and the Khazraj, in which the Aws scored a victory over the Khazraj. Immediately, two individuals, who were still weak in their Islamic character, picked up on this, and they began to exchange verbal volleys, and then there were war like cries from both sides. Immediately, word of this came to the Prophet (peace be upon him), who immediately tried to remedy the situation. And he came to them, and he said: How do you do this, when I am still amongst you. I remind you of Allah, who gave you this privilege of Islam, and by which you have relinquished your jahili status. And when they listened to the Prophet (peace be upon him), they understood, and they realised where and how all of this began, that it took a young yahudi/jew to come and instigate and arouse feelings of hatred within the Muslim rank and file, against each other. It was in response to this incident that Allah revealed Say: O you who have scripture, those who say you are Jews and Christians, why do you say that Allahs words are lies, and you reject Allah, and Allah is a witness to all that you do. Say: O you who have scripture, those who say you are jews and christians, why do you seek to sabotage Allahs course, and you seek to subvert those who are heading towards Allah, by trying to make their path crooked, when you were yourselves witnesses to Allahs covenant. But Allah is not oblivious to what you are doing. And then, Allah turns the attention to us, and Allah says: O you who are committed to Allah, if you listen/obey a segment of those who were given scripture before you, you will denounce your imaan, they will have you return to a state of Kufr after you have believed. And how do you do this, how do you return to a state of dis-belief, when Allahs signs are rehearsed to you, and amongst you is Allahs messenger, (And remember, Allahs Prophet (as) is the only personality that lives on, in our minds and in our psyches, in our conscience and in our lives.) O you who are divinely committed, fear Allah as Allah should be feared, and die not in a state other than submission. And then: Hold on, all together, to that which Allah extends to you, and be not divided amongst yourselves. And recall the bounty of Allah, how you were enemies, and Allah made

friendship between your hearts and joined you in brotherhood; and you were on the brink of the inferno and Allah saved you there from. Thus does Allah make clear Allahs signs, so that we may be guided. (Al-Quran Surah Ahl-Imran verse 98 to 103) These ayaat were revealed fourteen hundred years ago, and they are as relevant today as they were then. Lets look around us, dont people get disturbed when Muslims begin to get together, dont people agitate when we begin to close ranks. Arent there forces all over the place that thrive on the differences we have amongst each other. Arent there forces out there that want to maintain and preserve the divisions we have amongst ourselves, and they want to divide us further. They come out from time to time with their propaganda, they paint pictures of Muslims and then they instigate some Muslims against other Muslims that are heading towards Allah, and then some of us, we begin to fall for this. Remember Allahs guiding words Hold on, all together, to that which Allah extends to you, and be not divided amongst yourselves. There are Muslims in this world, brothers and sisters who we have, that are giving their lives and their blood to Allah, for Allahs course, the least we can do is to take a position that will place us in support of what they are doing, until such time that Allah extends to us the privilege of taking to the frontlines. There are many positions we can assume to take up a position in support of them. Even though this is not the ground breaking position, recently, you would have noticed calls from almost all quarters to boycott, to stop the purchase of certain products, this may be one position we can assume. Another position we can assume is, and this may sound strange, but sometimes we encounter even amongst ourselves, individuals who will tell you, I dont agree with this or I dont agree with that, I dont agree with the issue of suicide bombings. I know that I am digressing here, but these individuals are thinking out this phenomena through the eyes of our enemies who want to define what we do in terms of their understanding. This concept of what they call suicide missions, these are not suicide missions. If you were to open a dictionary, you would find the meaning of suicide to be the act of taking ones own life out of desperation and out of hopelessness. Muslims are not desperate, and we are not hopeless. When we embark on these missions, we do so with renewed vigour, and renewed faith, as we enter into a life that is better than this one. Muslims call these missions Amaliyya Istish-hadiyya, or martyrdom seeking operations. Every Muslim knows that suicide is abhorred in Islam, but these are not suicide they are military operations. Simple-, these are military acts, we know theres an enemy there, and we confront this enemy and we send them to the inferno. You see, the choice of words is part of the effort once again, to divide us amongst ourselves. Remember Allahs guiding words Hold on, all together, to that which Allah extends to you, and be not divided amongst yourselves.

Another issue that I would like to draw your attention to, is the issue of the building of Masaajid. From the Sunnah and Seerah of the last Prophet (peace be upon him), we notice that the first thing the Muslims did upon the Hijrah, was they built a Masjid. The first Masjid being that in Quba, and subsequently the Masjid in Al-Medinah. Back then, Masjids symbolised the power of Islam, it was a symbol of Islam, that said Islam is here. What do we have today, Alhamdulillah, we have Masaajid almost everywhere, what purpose are they serving. And theres nothing wrong with building Masaajid, as long as theres a need, but what purpose are they serving? In an ayaat in the Quran, Allah says: What is Allah saying here: There are those who built a Masjid to harm, and to promote kufr, and to divide the Muslims and as an outpost, from where they will wage war against Allah and Allahs messenger. And they will say, under oath, that they only want to do good. But Allah bears witness that they are liars. Never stand to pray there, a Masjid that was founded upon duty to Allah is more worthy that thou should stand and pray therein, where there are men that purify themselves, and Allah loves the purifiers. Is he who founded this building upon duty to Allah and Allahs good pleasure better, or he who founded his building on the brink of crumbling, overhanging precipice so that it toppled with him into the fire of hell? Allah guides not wrongdoers. (Al-Quran Surah Taubah verse 107 to 109) Is this not a fact that speaks to reality today? Dont we have people, who come around they pray, they fast, they do all that is required, they expend sums of money to construct Islamic Centres, and Masaajid, let us look at what Allah is telling us. Sometimes you find a Masjid next to a Masjid. Why are they building these Masajid? For what purpose? A Masjid for harming the Muslims- DIRARAN ; A Masjid to promote disbelief KUFRAN ; A Masjid to sow division TAFRIQAN BAYNAL MUMININ and, A Masjid from where war will be waged against Allah and Allahs Messenger LIMAN HARABALLAHA WA RASULAHU MIN QABL. And they will tell us, we only want to do good. But Allah bears witness that these types are liars. You see it, We have the Saudis, getting ready to build a multi-million dollar Masjid in Houghton, what for? And you will find many of them and their types, that are willing to lay out sums of money. You go around the place, there are numerous Masajid, listen to what comes out of these Masajid, do you get the feeling that this Ummah is a single brotherhood. Now, many of these descriptions are apparent when you for example look at the faiths of Bida, deviated sects that have sprung up. But, due to the brain-washing and the cosmetic features, many Muslims cannot place the rulers of Saudi Arabia in the frame of reference of these Quranic words. I will give you one illustration, which is just a sample of the truth and relevance of this ayah. The Rulers of Saudi Arabia are the forth largest contributors to the world bank. An institution that is soaked in Riba,

usury. Allah outlaws Riba to the extent that it places those who consume Riba as being on a war path with Him and His messenger. O you who are divinely secure in your commitment, take heed of Allahs Power presence and give up any claims you have pertaining to usury if you are indeed committed to Allah. And, if you are averse thereto, then take notice that you are Allah and His Messenger are on a war path with you. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 277 to 278) And then, they will fund the set-up of Masajid and Islamic Centres, all around, through which they will dictate what is said from the Mimbar, through which they give legitimacy to all their policies of kufr and shirk. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) says He is not a committed Muslim, who does not desire for his fellow Muslim that which he desires for himself. And The equivalent of the Muslims is like one body, they care for themselves, they feel for themselves, they show sympathy towards themselves, if one part of the body aches, the rest of the body feels the pain. Allah tells us in an ayah in the Quran, in Surah Hujurat Verily this Ummah is a single brotherhood. (Surah Al-Hujuraat verse 10) Can anyone deny it? You tell me, if you go to the majority of Masaajid that we have around, do you get the feeling that we are one ummah. These ideas to some Muslims may sound strange, but this is where we are. You may be thinking, Im nuts. Earlier I was going on about how we need to get together, and now Im going on about division. We need to understand that the getting together of the Muslims should be on the basis of the Quran and the sunnah, and for the purpose of implementing Allahs will, and not just for the purpose of window dressing. The last issue I want to talk about is the one that pertains to security, or the safeguarding of the lives and the things of the Muslims. Allah says to us: And those who disbelieve are protectors one to another, if you dont do so, there will be confusion in the land, and great corruption. (Surah Anfaal verse 73) When the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood on the plains of Arafat in his final year in this human company on earth, heres what transpiredThe Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) as he stood on Arafaat, he asked O people- Which day is this? He then said, This is a day of sanctity. He asked Which month is this? He then said, This is a month of sanctity.

He asked Which city is this? He then replied, This is a city of sanctity. He then said: Then know, that your lives, and your possessions, and your honour, are as sanctimonious (HARAMUN ALAYKUM) as this day in this month in this city! Let this message be communicated by those who are present to those that are absent, and may those that are absent, understand this better. Oh yeh! Take a look at whats happening. Is there any indication that theres sanctity attached to the lives, and the possessions and the honour of the Muslims. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is saying that our lives and our possessions and our honour has a sanctity attached to it, but what are these kuffaar saying to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They go in and out of our homes, and our lands and our territories, at will, and they spill the blood of the Muslims, at will, as if its worthless. And we still want to break away! These kuffaar could not even tolerate Muslims who were fully integrated in Bosnia, those Muslims who lived with and amongst them, they couldnt tolerate their presenceWhat do we want to do? Are we waiting, are we going to wait, for them to penetrate each and every one of us, are we waiting for them to get to us individually. Today, its Al-Qaida, tomorrow, it may be Hamas, then Islamic jihad, then Hizbollah, until they will isolate you from every other Muslim, and then, they will eventually get to you. Is that what its going to take for us to wake up, and realise that whats happening to some of us is actually happening to us. In the ayah cited earlier, Allah says: And those who disbelieve are protectors one to another, if you, and Allah is addressing those who are in the reference of the Quran, dont do so, there will be confusion in the land, and great corruption. This obligation of protecting each other can only be achieved by us coming together, whether it is in the form of organisations, communities or Islamic Movements, and working together, harmoniously and sincerely with each other. If We were to cause this Quran to come down, its meanings to be revealed and communicated to (what can be more harsh than) a mountain, you would find this mountain to be in a state, or in a condition of utter resignation to Allah because of the awe inspired by Allah. (Surah Al-Hashr verse 21) And here we are- one would think in the course of these events, that at least around us we would have some Muslims who are waking up to the facts. Its a shame to find that with all of these forces around, it is a shame that they are not in touch with these vital facts that affect their own lives.

HAJJATUL WADA
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters- Committed Muslims.... One of the difficulties that we encounter in our current state of development is that some of us feel that what is lacking in our communication with the other is the others ignorance of who we are or our inability to explain who we are and therefore we are in need of discussions, interfaith meetings, dialogue of religions or civilizations- some of us think this is where we are in our current affairs. Those who choose to think this way choose not to understand precisely the contextual words of Allah. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslimsif we live the meanings of Allah and if we regenerate the decisions of His Prophet, we live the particulars and details of those who preceded us, in other words, we dont lack information

concerning a yahudi, a nasraani, an opponent to this Islam in theory- a kaafir, or an opponent in practice- a mushrik. We are not void of this information. If we are grounded to this Quran and rooted to the Sunnah of Allahs Prophet, then it is not we who are in particular need of information coming from other sources about who these others are. We know (almost as a matter of common sense) that the previous attempts that preceded the Quran and the Prophet winded down in todays failures of those who claim that they are related to scripture and to God. In the Quran, the verses that show that this Islam has been a historical fact- you take those who are considered to be in the jewish realm of history or jewish context of scripture. Yusuf (alaihi salaam) said Oh my Sustainer cause me to expire as a Muslim and to join those who are virtuous or those who do what is right (Surah Yusuf verse 101) This is a matter of understanding Allah- its not a matter of exchanging mental, academic or interfaith information with those who disagree with us on matters of what is called religious affairs. She said I have surrendered with Sulaiman to the Sustainer of the world (Surah An-Naml verse 44) This is in reference to Bilqis, once again, this is an Islamic statement. This statement from Ibrahim and Yaqub to their Prophetic descendants Allah has customly selected this deen for you, so do not expire except that you are in a state of surrender to Him (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 132) But this whole affair is lost because of the shortness of thoughts that we ourselves have. We have failed to understand the range of our responsibilities, so we shrank into a religion. When we forced-placed ourselves in the type parameters of a religion we begin to think that wait a minute, we need a common conversation of common sense with people who disagree with us on matters of faith- we dont need that because part of our make up and development is understanding how others think and act towards Allah. Any cursory reading of the exact text will produce for you and me a mature understanding of who these others are, so it becomes a fact that they are in need of this understanding. But, are we to speak to them when why place the terms and the conditions of what we are going to speak about or is it Allah who does? Let us recoil for a moment into the common body of information that we have to see where we have gone wrong. After Al-Hudaibiyah, the 1st attempt of the Prophet to go to Makkah, about 4 years short of the ending of his life span or lifetime, he send emissaries to the rulers of the time. When you send a courier with some information to a distant land to speak to those who are making decisions for the world- what was in those communiqus? Was it a message that had to do with listen king so-and-so or emperor so-and-so, you are required to pray and to fast? That was not the contents of these messages. Allahs Prophet was not telling these people this is what God expects you to do you- have to pray 5 times a day and you have to fast a certain amount of days in a year, etc.- the way we understand todays Islam to be. This was not the case. What these emissaries or messengers were communicating was the issues of justice. This is where they did not want to reconcile themselves with God, because this message of God stands for justice. So, if we are going to begin a dialogue or commence an interfaith program with these people who dont share our principles, our message to them should be (this doesnt come from us, this comes from the precedent of Allahs Prophet) one in which they understand that Allah

stands for justice and they should be the implementers of justice on earth. But where do we have this in the real world today? Is this the type of communication that goes on between Muslims on one side and all of those who are on the other side? We dare say with confidence- this is not the case, because we no longer understand our range of obligations. We have recoiled into a set of ritualistic and religious, personal and private obligations. We no longer have that scope that brings us into contact with the larger world. Can you see -Allahs Prophet, never failed to conquer or liberate Makkah. And then he sent emissaries out with the message of justice to the superpowers of the time. Then, when he finally made it into Makkah in aam al-fath, the year of liberation, one of the statements that stands out- the Prophets sentence says, he is speaking to Quraish, an organized power structure that opposed him for 22 years running, this was a war and after this triumphant return to Makkah he says Quraish, listen, Allah has relieved you of the impulse of a society, a structure and a system of ignorance and the pride that it has in its ancestry and forefathers- which means Allah has relieved you all of nationalism and ethnicism that draws on these factors. All of you are extracted or come from Adam and Adam come from the soil of this earth and the ayah in Surat Al-Hujuraat We have rendered you into extractions or derivatives of each other and We have also rendered you into blocks of people corresponding to each other so that you may become familiar with each other, (not that you may rationalize wars against each other, or that you may give credence to discrimination amongst each other)So that you will co-operatively understand, Indeed, the most noble among you are those among you who are keen on Allah's Power presence (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) This is a message of equality and justice in human society that needs it today and we go around telling them look, you have to pray and you have to fast. Where did we get this reductionist Islam or this reducationist deen? (Take a) look at ourselves, we havent given it our thought. When we speak about deen and when we speak about Islam, there is not really a probing, thinking and discriminating mind that will tell you a deen and what is deen? Because weve been occupied- there is a lot of mental territory, that we have, that is under occupation; we dont only have a holy territory that is under occupation we also have mental territory that is under occupation- what is deen brothers and sisters? Youve heard this word many times; it is mentioned in the Quran repetitiously; you will encounter it numerously in the ahaadeeth- so what is deen, (a word you always come in contact with)? We still are satisfied up to this very moment saying a deen is a religion. NO! A deen is not a religion. 1st of all, to make it simple, a deen is a debt that you will spend your life repaying and not being able to fulfill it- its a post livelihood debt to Allah; and which ever way you organize your life to pay off this obligation to God or to whomever you consider your superior, is considered your deenthats for starters- this is not a religion. Obviously if we understand deen in this sense we are not understanding what the word religion is. Deen is the institution, burden, onus, collectivity or (without the negative vibes of today) the corporate life that we have. This is a deen- we have a deen others have their deen To you be the way you organize you life and to the others the way they organize their lives (Surah Al-Kaafirun verse 6)

Its not religion with this over emphasis on rituals and religiosity. Can we just take one step (at least) in understanding what we are? Then, when we organize this i.e. when it becomes a pattern in life that Allah is satisfied with we call it Al-Islam. This is what all these people were trying to communicate. Indeed, the only way acceptable to Allah is submission to Him (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 19) So, if we no longer understand deen to be this religion, we begin to understand it to be the life long range of responsibility that is organized according to a certain pattern- its no longer a religion. Some people try to attempt to capture its meaning by saying it is a system. This is where we (right now) are marking time, because if we fail to understand what Allah is telling us we begin to fail to understand what our responsibilities are; and if we are dont understand them we will never be able to execute or discharge them. These are critical moments in the Prophets life time that dont register very much in our memories and minds- in Hajjatul Wadaa, the farewell speech that the Prophet gave in Makkah- there was 23 years of opposition and now he gives his farewell address to those who were assembled there- may be 10,000 to 20,000- and what issues was he speaking about after 23 years? If the Prophet understood Islam the way we understand it today, he would have told them finally now, we have people all over praying 5 times a day; they are honoring the month of Ramadhan. He said nothing to that indication. He spoke about Ar-Riba, all forms of usury are terminated (he said) and I will begin with the immediate one that concerns me, which he called ribba al abbas- that is to be terminated and no longer a part of our lifestyle and economic institutions. That is the accumulative affect of being dead serious about justice and equality in the world and not about a battery of rituals. The cumulative speech of 23 years of struggle, and he speaks about fairness to women in society and women are the generic material counterparts of men, only a man of honor does honor to them and a man of disgrace disgraces them. These are issues- brothers and sisters- that are rocking human societies. These are the words of Allahs Prophet in Hajjatil wadaa a Muslim is a brother of the other Muslim, you shall not revert after me (the Prophet is saying) to deviants or opponents of Allah in which you strike each other to death. What happened? Do we conveniently become Muslims and all of these social justice issues that he struggled 23 years for and expressed in this farewell address are absent from the way we pursue our deen or organize our Islam? If we cant differentiate between a deen, and its meaning- we never thought about it; no one has taken just a little time to reflect on what it means- and we are satisfied to be carried with other peoples understanding of it. They give us its meanings and definitions and we carry the meaning that comes from them- these opponents of Allah and His Prophet and then at the end of the day we say we want to enter into a discussion with them, when we have borrowed of our thoughts from them?! At least to begin with, we should have the independent thoughts, character and will before we say hey, lets go on this type of encounter with those who we assume know nothing much about us. This is where we are. These are real events in the real world in the real today. Were not talking something theoretical and hypothetical, its real. Policies are enacted around false assumptions and false ideas. That is why when the Muslims around Allahs Prophet left Makkah and Al-Madinah to other parts of the world they were leaving with a message of justice and thats why Who became Muslims? Brothers and sisters, this area that were looking at, especially the one that is called the holy land, there was no Muslim living there, these were Christians and jews and the Muslims were not going and telling them you should pray, fast and go to Hajj! They were going telling them you should be concerned with the problems and the issues of justice and equality in the world. This was

our jihad- a jihad for equity, justice, equality and fairness and everyone was watching and many people were accepting but when we subverted this meaning (we did it ourselves) and then our jihad was one for spoils of war- we wanted to go to have some resources- then people began to say well this is a religion against another religion. So these other people began to whip up their religious hysteria against us and we countered that in a defensive motion by reducing Islam to a religious hysteria to counteract what they are doing- this is where we are today, because Muslims are failing to recast these original meanings within the life long scope and range that they are in. Every jumah ends Allah demands justice (Surah An-Nahl verse 90) How many times- we mean- a person who has listened to this 50 times a year and maybe had 70 years in his life time of going to jumah prayers- 3,500 times- listening to Allah demands justice (Surah An-Nahl verse 90) Isnt this what almost all Muslims in the world listen to at the end of every jumah? Where is aladl? Why arent Muslims anxious to have this feature predominant, central and overwhelming in human society? This adl is not a monopoly of some people; this adl not a privilege of some class; this adl belongs to everyone everywhere. Where are we? Are we interested in this? NO! Because the person who is on the Mimbar on Fridays mechanically citing this ayah at the end of the khutbah has spent, in addition to the deen he is part of, To you be the way you organize you life and to the others the way they organize their lives (Surah Al-Kaafirun verse 6) that is their deen- (i.e.) reducing Islam and shrinking or boiling it down to your satisfaction of having performed your personal obligation and whatever happens in this world- you could care less about because you are sanctioned to think that way and consider yourself to be saved for spending a lifetime that way because you are told so from the Minbar from the Masjid and even from Makkah itself. The Prophet of Allah, whether it is after or before the Hudaibiyah, on to his entering into Makkah or in his farewell speech to those who were listening was outlining for us the responsibilities that are put together to make up our collective being. This was to be destroyed by rulers who came and imposed their illegitimate administrations on this course of action. We witnessed a historical decline and now it is time to begin a historical upward direction. Is it going to take sometime, sacrifice and some challenges? Of course it is, but if we place our hearts, and minds in the care of Allah,then it doesnt matter what comes in this regard. It didnt matter when they were doing it right and it will not matter to us when we are doing it right. Brothers and sisters who share the meanings of the Quran and the understanding of the Prophet In the context of our time, we should be focusing our attention and shedding as much light as we can upon those who are in violation of Allah and His Prophet. An ayah in the Quran makes it mandatory upon us to be able to visualize and to predict what the mega criminals of this world are up to. So that the course of these types of criminals becomes clear (Surah Al-Anaam verse 55) - this ayah is saying, but here we are, trying to build up the necessary vocabulary. Something has to begin somewhere. Here we are, trying to build up this vocabulary that will enlighten us as to what is going wrong around us. Brothers and sisters, if we have accompanied our mind and conscience in the past 20 years (or so) we have seen many things. In the United States, if you are

rich, have the resources and the money you are a Republican; if you cant pay you bills, are having problems having ends met at the end of the month, youre a Democrat. It was fashionable just 15 years ago to be considered within the Saudi circle of Islamic activities. Some people considered belonging to the Saudi orbit to be somewhere on top of the world at the time- look at now. What happened? This is what happens to people who are disconnected from Allah and His Prophet. They bounce from one feeling to the next- its the yoyo effect, they go down and they come up; reacting to the hand that puppeteers them. This is not a feature or characteristic of those who belong to Allah. We are not yoyos. We dont feel that we have to be apologetic for this Islam and this responsibility that we have. We feel as confident as to take these words to those who have structured injustice in this world. We dont want to speak to them about praying, our dietary laws or any of these simplistic and sometimes ridiculous approaches that Muslims have with the world around. We want to go to the heart of the issue. Charity begins at home, and if there are Muslims who are in violation of justice and equity in this world we want to deal with them 1st. If those who are ruling the country of the Haramain and leasing out that country to those who have the money and the military might, they are doing an injustice and Muslims should be able to say so from the Mimbar every jumah and on every occasion. Whats wrong? You dont to find enough courage and confidence to say that these are traitors and mega criminals? If we dont have the understanding that is not subject to the market- our understanding of the Quran is not a subject to the Dow Jones or to Wall Street or to the economic fluctuations of this world- we have a free flowing and independent relationship with Allah that is not influenced by the proactions and the reactions of those who are opposed to Him. Only those committed Muslims who are able amplify the meanings in the Quran to the larger whole outside that are centered on justice, fairness, equity and equality can look forward to a relief when they meet their Maker. Because some people have undeveloped minds and they havent thought much about what Allah is saying, they think why mention the Saudis in your khutbah? If these minds had thought a little more, they would have asked Allahs Prophet why mention Quraish in your khutbah?; they would have asked Allah why mention Firaun in Your book? Why mention Aba Lahab in the Quran? We pray that the time is quickly approaching when we can with a comfortable conscience and with a thinking intellect mention these criminals- and we know we are supported by scripture and by Messenger.

MEDIA DEFAMATION OF THE PROPHET (PBUH)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters- Committed Muslims.... The events of the past week in which the western media is trying, once again, to instigate bad feelings and precipitate hostile actions forces us to interrupt (for this Jumah) the sequence of khutbahs that we have been stringing together for the past months pertaining to Islamic opposition, political consciousness and the Islamic revolutionary impulse. This khutbah and Jumah is in solidarity with the rest of the Muslims in the world in bringing to the fore this issue that seems to have the potential to drag on for weeks and months if not more than that. It began last September when a newspaper in Denmark placed on its pages cartoons or caricatures of Allahs Prophet. These 12 pictures or depictions of Allahs Prophet are very offensive, have no

decency in them and are meant as an affront to every Muslim in the world. We, Muslims, have a principle that we live by in our relations with those who disagree with us on what is called theological and religious matters Allah says to us and His words guide us in times like this. This is ayah 108 of the 6th surah, Surat Al-Anaam. This sentence from the Quran is saying to us that we are not to revile, impute, slander or slam those that they invoke besides Allah for it will cause them to slander, slam, revile, impute and attack Allah without knowledge to what they say or express (Surah Al-Anaam verse 108) Obviously we have today a recurrence of what took place several months ago. In todays climateMuslims are supposed to be 1st informed and aware of what is happening in the world- if we are not aware then these types of events and the meaning in this ayah have no tract into our minds or within our psychology. We have after that initial publication, several months ago, in Denmark, with these pictures one of them having a turban on a face that is supposed to represent the Allahs Prophet and this turban has a fuse in it; another picture has the terroristic image that todays is in the public mind placed on the character of Allahs Prophet and in his hand there is a dagger; and then there are other images supposedly of Allahs Prophet in the presence of the virgins of paradise and on and on these insulting photos go. We, Muslims should not be reactive to what they are putting out in public in the sense that when we respond to these types of insulting signals coming from them, we do so with maturity of mind and not with an emotionalism that will drag us in the direction that they want. If we are observant of Allahs instructions and enlightenment to us, we should (number one) maintain our respect and regard for the religious and theological common ground that stands between us and them. Because they are insulting us in the form of presenting Allahs Prophet as a terrorist or as a person who is overwhelmed with sensuality etc; no Muslim anywhere in the world should be reacting to this in any way by trying to express an iota of a negative idea towards Isa (Jesus) Musa (Moses) or any of Allahs Prophets (alaihim as-salaatu wa salaam)- that is a given. Beyond that- we should have the inside information that will have us in a superior mental position to them. (Number 1), we should understand the political, military and ideological context in this world within which this provocation is occurring or taking place. This is not happening in a vacuum- any Muslim who for one moment who perceives of this instigation as purely freedom of expression that the press or media in the West are simply exercising doesnt understand how the world is operating. This is taking place in a world that is telling us that there is a generational of war against Islamic self-determination- they dont use that word, they say that there is a war against international terrorism. This war in fact is not against international terrorism- some of the acts of outrageous violation of human life, sanctity and decency that is happening in our world today can be traced back to the same people who say that they represent freedom and stand for human rights. In reality, their weapons, militaries and think tanks along with the media that they have is deployed for the purpose of trying to take us away from our unfledging allegiance to Allah and His Prophet. This is one of the instruments that they have used- they come along and within this time frame they tell their cartoonists to come up with some type of images that they can place in public circulation that are meant to offend the Muslims. Listen brothers and sisters- these people who work in the media- the editors (at large) and the managers of these means of communication- understand very well, (they dont need any sensitivity lesson when it comes to Muslims) they understand (probably more then Muslims themselves) what will inflame the feelings of the Muslims. So, when they come out with these types of negative images what they

mean is what is exactly what is happening. They deliberately want to stir our feelings and because they want to do that they should not come and tell us that they have a right to do that because they are exercising freedom of speech, expression, conscience and freedom of the media- we are not going to be fooled by that, we should not for one minute be fooled by them. If their media has the freedom that it is exercising, then why doesnt the same media come out and present us with the same type of information that debunks the holocaust? Why doesnt the media itself give a forum to people who take issue with the calculations, the mathematics and the history of the holocaust? They dont do that. Do they have a selective media freedom? You can be free and at liberty to express anything you want when it comes to the Muslims but your hands, tongue and mind is tied when you want to express something concerning the jews! This is not across the board freedom, this is hypocrisy and this is what we see expressed in front of us today. This is one aspect of it- freedom, especially when they come to tell us you Muslims have freedom. Are they serious?! We have freedom?! We are in the streets for almost 24 years and you call that freedom?! Look- they have this same media and press that they are using- why is the press absent? Why cant we express ourselves in the same press that is circulating all of this obscenity against Allahs Prophet. It is not a matter of freedom. Any Muslim who steps into this area of argumentation has fallen into their trap. Theres no freedom when it comes to an Islamic point of view but they give all the freedom that they want to an anti and counter Islamic point of view. (Number two)- there is a wave or a trend of bigotry in its 1st stage throughout Europe. AntiIslamic (some of them call it anti-immigration or anti-immigrant feelings) is taking hold in certain European countries. In some of these countries, Muslims are more than 10% of the population. At one level, because this is not a mono issue- this is an event that brings together several issues- one of these issues is to try to heighten the contradiction between Muslims in their immigrant communities in the West and the preponderant population. We should (at least) be aware of this. Dont let them get involved in their trick and then slice us thinking that we are incapable of figuring out what they are trying to do. This is another element that Muslims should be aware of when we are located in non-Islamic societies. Another issue that they will try to use this incident for is their military recruitment of world public opinion against the Muslims. Obviously, when they say (this is their words) there is a generational of war against us- forget about the euphemisms or the trick words that they hide behind- in fact, they are so upset now that they want to turn public opinion in their favor so they want to present Muslims as being rebel arousers, demagogues and emotionally saturated that Muslims can no longer make sense of their positions and that will feed into their justification for further acts of hostility against us. Another element of this is the psychological warfare. What we mean by psychological warfare is that they will try to tap on selective Muslim individuals. Theyll bring them to the camera, and into their own media trappings to try to unexplain what this whole event is all about. They will cautiously select who they want to present an inferior position that belongs to the Muslims inside of this murky atmosphere so that they can prove to the public- look, youve just listened to these types of Muslims express themselves, do they make any sense?! When we cannot make sense of

this because we cannot elevate the components of this issue to its political context then we lose psychologically it is interplay with them. Another element that is part of this is the element of their bankruptcy. Remember how comfortable the Western media was when it used to speak about Muslims and Islam 30 and 40 years ago. You only have to go and pick up national geographic or major newspapers at the time and see how they spoke about Muslims in the world. They spoke about us as almost in the margins of existence, but they began to change their choice of words, their rhetoric and their propaganda towards the Muslims in proportion to the Muslims themselves struggling for their rights and their self determination. This change has been developing throughout these past 20 odd years to a degree where they have become vile in their language. This displays the bankruptcy inside of them. Theres a fear- right now, numbers speak a lot- when their numbers tell them that Europe is going to become predominantly Muslim by the turn of this century, meaning in less then 100 years Europe is going to become Islamic what does this mean to them? It makes these people- to whom Christianity and Judaism mean nothing- fearful. We have different altogether relationship as Muslims with Allah, His Prophet and His book than they have. They insult the Prophet, Gods scripture and they say this is part of their freedom of expression. They are not allowed to insult political sensitivities but their definition of freedom permits them to insult religious sensitivities. They had in one of the European newspapers last year (if we can recall correctly) a French periodical, they had image of Jesus naked, with an erection and a condom and they said well the Catholic Church put up with that therefore the Muslims have to put up with its parallel or similarity. They dont know that Muslims are not Catholics; Muslims are not the type of Christians that they have become. We have a respect and a personality affiliation with Allahs Prophet and if their reversals psychologically, politically, mentally and militarily in all of these fronts are suffering from post-Islamic encounters and the only way they feel that they want to be themselves is to express this affront to all the Muslims in the world, it is our Islamic duty and responsibility to respond accordingly. This doesnt and should never mean trigger happy Muslims going on rampages here and there. This should mean in the 1st instance that we elevate our thoughts and that we build a Muslim mind that is capable of understanding what is happening around us in the political, in the media, in the economic, in the ideological, and in the educational. If anything anywhere happens- we are capable of understanding it in its context with a mind that thinks Quranically and in a character that behaves Prophetically. Allahs Prophet was accused in his own time and day of being a sorcerer, a person with an ecleyestical character and of being a lunatic- saahir, kaahin and majnoon. The Muslims- just like you and me- our senses at that time were exposed to these insults coming from these kafirs and with the love, attachment and affection that all Muslims have and had to Allahs Prophet, we were not as superficial as to be withdrawn into a reactive mode with our enemies. One of the issues that this incident should bring home to us is to have the moral high ground and the mental clarity to identify enemies when they present themselves to us as enemies. It has to be a Muslim with an absent conscience who come and say they can do all of this but they dont mean it or they can do all of this and they feel neutral towards the Muslims. NO- they cant do that knowing our position from Allahs Prophet and say youre doing it because this is part of your liberalism. We ask, why werent you doing this 30 years ago when Muslims were almost zilch on the scale of self determination? We didnt see these types of things. They had the same freedom of conscience, expression and all the freedoms that they sing

about in their worldwide orchestra 30 years ago, why didnt we see this? 50 years ago- why didnt we see this? Even when they were at war with the last political expression of Islam less then 100 years ago, we didnt see any of this. At that time they were post-Protestantism, post the French revolution and post the enlightenment and we didnt see them go through these fits that they are expressing on the pages of their newspapers and media- why is it now? Because they are showing their true colors and their true colors are showing because of the Muslim blood that is being shed. This didnt come cheap. Exposing them and having these quarters of kufr express this type of imagery didnt come while we were in the corners of the Masjid or hiding in the depths of the darkness in the night- it came because now Muslims have warfronts, self-determination, shuhadaa and an opposition in the making. Theyre so upset now- we can see, were living the world, the facts and the information that is around- theyre so upset that a Muslim country is going to posses in military terms the capability of what they, themselves call mutual destruction- all that they want to monopolize and when Muslims are on their way to a parity, they are afraid and scared that their subconscious can no longer hide it. Another issue that has scared the day lights of them is Muslims in the occupied territoriesHamas- has won in an election with all the traps, pitfalls, trappings and entrapments that are placed around it- you have given Hamas an environment that is dynamited and a climate that is charged and with all of that because they themselves are polarized and split on this issue, some of you are scared stiff because of the oncoming Islam that you see fulfilling itself in the near future. Where does that place us, the Muslims? Should it place us in a position of reacting, of feeling inferior or should it place us in a position of closing our ranks? It is a welcome gesture- even though these are just gestures that dont have much practical meaning when these cardboard nation states withdraw their ambassadors- it is reported that a few cardboard nation states that have been in Muslim countries withdrew their ambassadors from Denmark, from Copenhagen, but this is just a symbolic movement- this needs more then that. They have taken some Danish items off the shelves of some supermarkets. The Danish government is big on selling dairy products in Middle Eastern countries, so those dairy products are no longer in the market- that is also a weak movement in the right direction. What is needed more then anything else if there was an Islamic political mind that was active inside the Muslim public of 1,7billion Muslims in the world, there would be no Muslim political figure walking on territories where these images come into existence. We dont know about the Unted States- the United States may begin to feel that it has to be on par with European liberalism- - it is said that there are some flunky type of newspapers The New York Sun and probably something else that have placed some of these pictures on their pages, but what if after one or two weeks or how many weeks down the road you have the New York Times or The Washington Post- the mainstream American newspapers places these images on its pages? What are we, Muslims, going to do? Are we going to debate this issue to death or can we take significant steps in correcting this major act of hostility towards us? How far do you want this aggression to go? It is not enough that there are military bases in Islamic countries and territories that dont belong there, what are you doing about it? Now, that is the major dish- their military presence in our lands and this is only the cherry that is on the dish of dessert on the table when they come and say OK- We are insulting you by projecting the image of your Prophet in this way, what are you going to do? and theres no pressure that is generated by the Muslims on these organizations that are supposed to represent us in this country. Whatever relationship or communication you have with these organizations, what are they going to be able

to do?! Because theyre running on empty- that is what happens when the fuse is taken away from the Masaajids around the world- then we have these Islamic organizations run on empty. Brothers and sisters- this is the time when we should realize how important it is to (number one) understand with a public mind, not an individual mind (we dont want just a few individuals here and there shedding appropriate life on this issue) we want a Muslim public mind, we want millions of Muslims who can understand this issue clearly to see through the gimmicks and then act with the merits of an action that corresponds to this affront- that is what is needed. Allahs Prophet struggled, fought, sweat and bled- he did all of that for what? So that you can take a comfortable ride to the Masjid on Friday so that you can feel that you are unloading your responsibility by standing side by side with a diplomatic community here?! Were not in the Deep South or the Artic somewhere, were in Washington DC and theres a type of diplomatic community that comes here, what are they doing regarding this issue? What if the Muslims said we dont want to ship anymore petroleum to Denmark? Theyll freeze in an instant. They may find some substitute sources for a while but what if Muslims trail the substitute sources and said if you are going to give oil to that country we are not going to give you oil and well shut off all the oil if that means we regain the dignity of a Prophet that brought humanity the scripture and the guidance of Islam. We dont have those types. We tried to show you why we dont have these types of representatives and officials- i.e. because we are dealing with 1,300 plus years that have brought us to where we are today. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Today, this Friday, Muslims around the world have made it their objective to demonstrate their objection to a cultural assault and assassination of who we are. If these brains behind the scenes can get away with killing us culturally, beginning with this type of media activity, then they will go on to liquidate us physically- all of this is tied together and we cannot permit something like that to happen. This is reminiscent of the Salman Rushdie of ill repute time when that book also came out during particular and peculiar worldwide circumstances. Now, we have a repeat of that and we have a ruler in that country, Denmark who says well Western democracy doesnt work in a way in which a Prime Minister or a President can call a newspaper agent and tell them what to say on their pages- a statement like that assumes we dont know how the relationship is between the press and the government. Dont try to fool us, we know how much influence governments have on the media and the press. Of course those in power can send signals to those who are in the media that we will not tolerate you publishing such things and the press will hold off. Remember- just last month, when The New York Times broke the news item that the government of the United States is spying on its own citizens, when we read further into this affair we realized that The New York Times was withholding this news item for a year or more as they tell us because of government pressure. They are lying in the same frame of time- before, they used to disperse their lies so that when they say one thing last year we will have forgotten it this year and they can say the opposite thing, but now they are saying one thing and the opposite in a shorter time frame- that makes you exposed. Brothers and sisters, what do we need and what have we being trying to work on is the development of the Muslim mind that can understand these issues in the broader context that they are in. Its not an isolated issue its not a theological issue, this is an issue that is integrated into a matrix that fits into a larger strategy that belongs to a larger ideology. If we cant see these issues like this we invite further attempts and attacks in the

future. Hopefully we and others around the world have contributed (at least) a small bit to filling in that vacuum.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters Approaching Allah... We would like to bring to your attention that we will be parting from our policy of avoiding public discussion specific to the theological issues that have divided the Ummah for such a long time. Allah knows how we hate to use the labels but we have to explain the point. We realize that the policy of the kaafirs is meant to have the Muslims involved in a bloody civil war and we are in a way forced to go into forbidden territory. This area is very sensitive to many people, but we ask that you turn your emotions off and your intellect on so that we can avoid some of the mistakes of the past. We ask that you bear with us in our attempt to reconcile some of these differences which are grounded in an alternative understanding so that we may learn from them. These movements have been analyzed primarily from the position of them being opposition movements who are then used as instruments in the hands of oppressive powers so that they may retain their grip on power. We have no doubt that some of the tension can be dissolved and some

of these issues can be reconciled if the subject is approached with a heart that is not contaminated by the culture of tradition and prejudice. In conclusion, suffice it to say that none of these Muslim groups who take pride in their hyphenated designations have a SOLE CLAIM or MONOPOLY on the truth. We beseech Allah and ask Him to consolidate our rank and file and rid us of the opportunists, the infiltrators and the instigators who pry on these differences. To begin, we thank Allah profusely that He has equipped us with information besides which we are in no need of the inaccurate and misleading propaganda and publicity that has people falling into occasional traps, mental traps and traps that last for ages. Our inability though to grasp and understand this information that comes to us from Allah is of our own making. This inability is not imposed on us, it is our own choice and if we have enough confidence and understanding of what Allah is telling us, it doesn't matter what these other developments in life wind up being. That been said, let us take a plunge into these profound and pivotal meanings. One of the meanings that we have shown an inability to deal with is pertinent to who governs and who rules. For a long time, this issue has been one in which Muslims don't want to bind their minds to the words of Allah and understand with Allah's guidance where we are in this issue. Let us say that the concept and the understanding of an Ummah is absent. We tried in previous khutbahs to brush off the dust that has settled on this concept for a long time. We said that an Ummah is defined by a human effort that is concentrated around a task. Whether it is one individual who is giving it all that he has to fulfill this effort and task or whether it is hundreds of millions of people who are concentrated around this effort. Ibrahim (alaih salaam) was an individual but he was an Ummah because he as an individual gave it all he had to do and to work and to implement the assignment that was given to him by Allah. (Surah Nahl verse 120)

And then, we take a look at the snowballing effect of this definition and we find in the words that come to us from Allah: Let there arise from amongst you an Ummah that invites to good, commanding morality, virtue and decency and obliterating the immoral, vile and indecent (Surah Ahl Imran verse 104) The first observation in this regard is that we are defined by action. We are not defined by history, we are not defined by ancestry, we are not defined by nationalism nor a religion. We are not defined by any of these words. We are defined by the action that we commit. Even the word Islam, Aslama; Yuslimu; the word that points to whom we are supposed to be is one that denotes action. There is the surrender and the yielding to Allah. So, it is the human being in action that becomes who we are. If we take away the action, we have no definition. We can have some people saying who we are, we can even refer to ourselves using words that don't describe reality. If we are supposed to be Muslims omitting, projecting or giving out this action, ie. our yielding to Allah but if we fail to yield to Allah we are not Muslims. The same is applicable to Ummah. What

happened here? Allah's word is the final word on this matter, He says In reality, this Ummah of yours is one ummah and I am your sustainer, so conform to me. (Surah Ambiyah verse 92). What Allah soliciting is here is an action that we conform to Him. The group effort of conforming to Him designates us as an Ummah, but this Ummah has a sub clause to it: inviting to good, commanding morality, virtue and decency and obliterating the immoral, vile and indecent. This raises our responsibility as an ummah to another level, yet, when we reach this level, we want to close our minds. Why? When we have Allah, when we read Allah, when we understand Allah, why are we unable or incapable of looking and understanding and moving with our features and characteristics. Of those people that We created, is an ummah that guides with the Truth and does justice with the Truth (Surah A'raf verse 181) This is a key word here. Once someone mentions justice, the mind goes into a recession. What are you talking about?! What is this issue of Justice?! But, it's not what we are talking about, it is what Allah is saying. So, we are speaking about a team here. An Ummah is a consolidated effort that is assumed by the Committed Muslims. When we look at our condition today, we realize that there is no teamwork, and when some of us, if we are moving with these meanings that are coming to us from Allah take a closer look at this, we begin to realize that something happened to us which we don't want to take a look at. These meanings go back to the early history that we share with different interpretations to it , and it becomes very difficult for some of us to realize that we are human beings, and with all our sincerity and with all our devotion to Allah we still make mistakes. And making a mistake has generated reactions. It has generated a reaction of infallibility. One of these infallibilities is stated, it is on the record and in the book and the other one is assumed or it is indirect. But none the less, we don't want to deal with the fact that we make mistakes and these mistakes must be corrected. we don't correct the mistakes by becoming idealistic, we correct the mistakes by coming back to earth and re-doing what was wrong. Unfortunately, the way we ran away from our mistakes was by referring it to a stated idealism or an implicit idealism. What happened after the Prophet passed away, or before that, when the Prophet was around, how were decisions made? First of all, the decisions were made in the Masjid. There was no parliament in one place and the Masjid in another. there was no politics in the parliament and the melody of spirituality in the Masjid. That didn't exist! But, something happened in the course of our human nature that separated the rulers from the Ulema and some of us care not to take a look at this when Allah is giving us enough information to take an enlightened look at this issue without bad feelings, accusations, scoring against each other which all of us want to do in our own secluded groups. When the Prophet of Allah wanted to decide on an important issue, he had the Ummah of Muslims involved in those critical decisions, and all of them were in the Masjid, and whatever decision was made, he and the Committed Muslims would go on. Now, were all of these decisions 100% correct, even in the time of the Prophet? NO! There was a Qur'an with words from Allah to adjust these decisions that were not exclusively made by one person. They

were made by Allah's Prophet with the input of all those who were around him. We can refer to military issues- the Prophet wanted to make a decision whether to go to war or not, he didn't make it by himself. It was made with the input of the team around him, from the Ummah that was with him. When he wanted to take a position out there in the military front-line, he did it with the input and the involvement of the team Ummah that was around him. Muslims were interacting with their Prophet, with their leader. when they saw at the wells of Badr that the Prophet had taken up one position, they came to him, they spoke to him, there was no formality or there was no distance between the leader of the Muslims and those who were being led. They came and said "The decision that you made for us to have our front-line here, is this a matter of revelation? Do you have guidance from Allah that tells you that we should be here or is it a matter of opinion and warfare and out smarting the enemy?" He said "But it's the latter." They told him "Well, this is not where we should be." When we read this, what are we reading? That we are trying to say to ourselves that there are people who are smarter than Allah's Prophet- NO! Obviously, no-one who understands the nature of this human experience and the status of Allah's and the involvement of those who are with him reads that people are trying to say "We are smarter than Allah's Prophet." That wasn't the case. They were all involved here with a life and death issue and they all wanted to do their best to overcome their enemy. So he said "OK, what do you say?" They said "We should position ourselves in such a way that the source of the water is behind us and we deny access to the source of the water to our enemies." And he approved, we had a leader who responded to common sense, to the feedback of those who were sharing this effort with him. This is how the ummah was interacting with those who were making decisions for them. O you who are securely committed to Allah, obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who carry authority in this interactive-position amongst you. (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) Listen carefully to what Allah is saying, the first sentence is clear- you obey Allah, no-one disagrees with that; all of us are subject to Allah's book; and obey His Messenger, meaning Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and then those who have the authority to make decisions inter-actively amongst you. (This is the best way we can bring out this meaning in english). What happened here? We fail to understand what Allah is saying to us. Some of us understand this ayah to mean you obey Allah, you obey his Messenger and those who have taken over authority over you, meaning those who have usurped power, or those who have place themselves in a position of making decisions because they have military force on their side. This is not what Allah is saying, but this is what gave legitimacy to over 1300 years of deviation from the Islamic standard, from the consultative interaction between those who make decisions and those who carry the decision. Had this understanding been correct, Allah would have said Wa Ulil Amri Alaykum. And then, there's another segment who understand this ayah to mean that the decision making process amongst Alladhina Aamanu is predecided. Alladhina Aamanu no longer have any input into the decision making process. Has this been the case, Allah would have said Wa Ulil amri fikum. Allah has made it clear that that it is peculiarly and specifically the involvement of Alladhina

Aamanu that gives legitimacy to those who rule, not those who take over because they have more force on their side and not to those who are pre-determined to be the rulers of the Muslims. These are two mis-understandings of this ayah and we have lived with these two misunderstandings for over 1300 years, and we still live with them, because no one wants to open their mind up and read what Allah is saying. Let us bring our mental capabilities that Allah has given us to this ayah. First, we realize that Allah didn't say and obey those who carry authority in this interactive position amongst you. The third ta'a is omitted. He said you obey Allah and you obey His Messenger and those, He didn't say and obey those- He omitted the word obedience when it came to those who as a matter of normal and natural relationship between decision makers who are generated by the Ummah and the Ummah that is responsive to its decision makers, which means that the obedience to Ulil amr is an extension of the obedience to Allah and His Messenger. But, if these people who are making decisions slant away one degree from Allah and His Prophet, they are not to be obeyed, which means the omission of the word ati'u from Ulil Amr gives us the permission to disobey them when they dis-obey Allah and His Messenger, ie. they have no intrinsic obedience that is due to them from us. Now, another re-thinking of this ayah at another level means that there is a body of Ulil amr, it is not a personality cult, the way many of our thoughts go many times, and this is why we should pay close attention to the wording. Allah didn't say Wa Waliyal Amri minkum because He wanted us to understand that when decisions are made, they are made in unison, in connection between the Ummah and Awliya al-amr -this is not a personality cult, this is a collective responsibility and the word collective responsibility is written all over the ayah. The plural structure of all of these individual words along with the plural construction of this ayah looks us in the eye, yet we want to think about this issue as a personality. You can go back to your traditional mind, to whichever collection of people you identify with and you are going to find that there's an emphasis on an individual and not enough emphasis parallel to that which is mentioned in this ayah pertaining to the ummah. In another ayah, to re-iterate this meaning, Allah says And if the committed Muslims are confronted with an issue pertaining to security or fear, they go public with it, they disclose it, they make it a public affair to solicit what everyone is trying to think on this matter. But then, Allah to fine tune this says It would have behooved the Muslims to refer these matters of security or fear to the Messenger of Allah and those who have the authority in their own capacity (Surah An-Nisa verse 83) Because an Islamic decision making body has many departments so to speak, hence it would behoove the Muslims when it comes to matters of security and fear to refer these matters to the authorities in this field. This is another way of saying that even though we are an inter-acting Ummah, there has to be specialty, there has to be people who know how to make decisions on peculiar matters that need knowledge and experience. So, you can't just be an Ummah in a Masjid bouncing your opinion against each other without there being a body of people who understand more about specific issues and who can give an approximately right opinion concerning the matter of security or fear that is being discussed. So don't try to take this issue open endedly and

say ok, if Muslims are a matter of an Ummah meeting in a Masjid to make a critical decision on a certain matter, then they can haphazardly reach a conclusion. It has to be through a process of sifting through the details and reaching an appropriate and measured decision after due consideration. But what do we have? Once again, we return to our internal thoughts, none of this seems to happen because we don't have the confidence in our larger self, we don't have the confidence in putting our heads together and putting our hearts together and putting our hands together. We never had confidence in that process, and now we have a cumulative effect of it. We have over 1300 years in which we can't return to this described and defined decision making process. Let us recall that after the Prophet passed away in Al-Thaqifa, in which the most critical decision of all had to be made, ie. who is going to fill in this vacuum now that the Prophet has passed away. There was an input, even though it had its flaws, there was an interaction that took place in the spirit of the Qur'an and the Prophet. There was no one there trying to regain lost power to themselves or their tribe, something which was only going to appear after another 30 years. That time period saw the first successor to Allah's Prophet, as an example, -the day after he became the leader of the Muslims he went to the market. It's like putting someone in the white house and all of a sudden you find him the next day in a mall somewhere trying to sell some merchandise. They told him "What are you doing? He said, "Well I have a family to support, I have to feed my family." They said "No, No, No, now you have a responsibility towards the Muslims and we are going to have to secure for you what is going to take care of your family so that you can take care of the affairs of these Muslims." Now, obviously this doesn't indicate that the person was relying on tribalism or nationalism. Our problem today, you can substitute the word tribalism and instead of it you can use nationalism. Our problem today is nationalism. We want to fall back onto our national bases, we want our support to come from a nationalist context. Its easy to criticize a distant nationalism if you are separated by over 13 centuries from the Arabian nationalism that undermined this interactive relationship amongst committed Muslims who came together as a team, as an Ummah. Imagine if you didn't belong to that nationalism, it would be much easier to criticize it. And today, human nature is still around, we haven't become angels after 14 centuries, we are still dealing, encountering and opposing the same forces that were there at that time, some of us can see it and some of us cannot. With all the confidence and the courage, the motivation and the high spirits that come to us from interacting with Allah through his un-impeachable book, with all of this, we still have difficulty today in taking a thorough and penetrating Islamic view of those who have gone astray in very accentuating ways. It is very clear to a soul that is in the Qur'an and a mind that accompanies the Prophet, that those who are making decisions for us today have parted with Allah and His Prophet in diametrically opposed ways and in a hostile fashion and we still don't want to look at them. Who can say with any basis or foundation that those who are ruling in Muslim countries are doing so in accordance with the Qur'an and the Prophets, especially when it comes to Makkah, AlMedinah and Al-Quds? Who can say that people who are ruling in these areas are doing so in

fulfillment of the Qur'an and in application of the sunnah? And, if they are not, why are we not busy or involved in exposing their true character? Why are we so slow in responding to the information that comes to us from Allah to show that these people who fast and pray are the enemies of Allah. They are not making decisions from the Masjid, they are not even making decisions from their own palaces and their own parliaments! These decisions are made for them in kaafir territories, they are then exported and imposed upon them and they act like the sicker pence that they are. They go around in the service of their masters and they take hold of all the Masajid around the world practically with none them even raising red flags regarding the exchange of agents that are taking place and the impact is has on Makkah and Al-Medinah. We are not talking about a land or a country or a nation state that is far from our holy of holies, and we would have spoken about anyone else who is in this position, but we have to do so equipped with this information and we have to present them with the ayaat and the ahadith that tell them directly to the marrow of their minds that they have left the pale of Imaan and Islaam altogether. This is not a matter of politicizing, this is not a matter of debating, this is a matter of understanding what Allah is telling us and then going public with the condemnation and denunciation of everything that they stand for using Islam as a cover up for their dirty work around the world against committed Muslims and annulling Makkah altogether. Right now, they are in the process of taking over an area around the Ka'ba and the Haram in which they want to build residential units. Some of these places are very historical and they have destroyed these historical places without any input from any Muslim anywhere. They do this as if Makkah and Al-Medinah belongs to them personally and individually. There are some people who say that they know of some places in Makkah where Allah's Prophet used to spend time, and they don't want to bring these to the attention of these types of authorities because they say they are going to put an end to that place because Muslims are going to worship those places. How ridiculous! How idiotic can human beings be to think that we are going to worship places where the Prophets were. We can revere, we can respect, we can exchange feelings of esteem with Allah's Prophets and the places that they went to. We would certainly like to go, and we think every Muslim in their right mind would like to go to the places that the Prophet went to. If the Prophet lived in a dwelling, we like to go and see how that dwelling was, we would not want for that dwelling to be leveled with the earth and for them to build a Holiday Inn or something of the sort as they are used to doing. 300 such historical areas have been obliterated from the face of the earth! Why?! Because we're not involved! The Masajid has been pacified and neutralized so they get away with whatever they want to do. They come to you on Friday and they give you a pill to put you off to sleep for an hour or two and if they're good at it, they'll put you to sleep for a week or a year in their types of presentations from their types of pulpits.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of the Islamic way With guidance and guidelines from Allah and through understanding and living what He has to say to us, we sense as a matter of being with Allah that His victory is near. This is not an illusion, we are not wishfully thinking and this is not recklessness on our behalf. Allah has promised those who are committed to Him and who do As-Salihaat, ie. who perform the work of Allah in this world (Surah An-Nur verse 55) If you are in that position, you receive Allahs promise. What is His promise? He will have you become the heirs, the inheritors of this World. (Surah An-Nur verse 55)

This is not a local issue, nor a self-centred issue, this is a universal issue. Allahs promise is inheritance of World affairs. This is quite an ambition from where some people think they are to where this statement is taking them. And He will consolidate this Deen for them, for which He is satisfied and He will certainly replace their fear with security. Conforming unto Me, not having anything else compete or vie with Me. (Surah An-Nur verse 55) Allah says: Conforming unto me, not worshipping me, The word worship for the word Yabud is so meaningless, no Muslim should ever use that word again. It takes away the active component, the social context and the heavenly direction of the word YaBudunani. As close as we can come to that is- we conform or adapt to Allah or else you can worship Allah for a few minutes in the Masjid and go out to real life and conform and adapt to everything else, and then, you think that you are a committed Muslim! You think you are included in this ayah and in other ayaat. And then, when He speaks about His victory that is pending if Muslims decide to enter into these agreements with Him, Allah says it is our due (to break this meaning down for the regular person to understand), Allah is saying I owe it to Al-Mumineen, to give them triumph and victory. (Surah Ar-Rum verse 47) These are the parameters of the ayaat in the Quran. But how come none of us find ourselves thinking and behaving within these parameters? How can we begin to sense the impending victory that is due from Allah when there are deliberate forces that want us out of the Quranic context and into the Jahili mode?? The indications are around us We can see Allahs victory in the making when we see His enemies falling apart (not because we are talking about this issue, but because we are working and sacrificing for it). Allahs enemies want to play the convenient/political role of saying that they are with us and saying that they are with our enemies. When they speak to us, they feed us with words our ears want to hear, and without the immunity of the Quran, the words of the kaafirs, mushriks and munafiqs penetrate beyond the ear and they begin to take their effect in the lives of these individuals. We should have enough confidence generated by Allahs words and enough insight to watch these rulers when they go from our original lands to Washington DC. Back home, when they speak to the Muslim crowd, they impregnate their presentations with ayaat from the Quran and hadiths from the Prophet, because they still have a shallow area to penetrate. But when they go to Washington, what do they say? What do they do? When Colin Powell the then secretary of state of the United States- when he was in Jordan, he drove the kings car from the Palace to the airport and the king was sitting next to him. What were they doing? This is how a person will understand how Allahs victory is just awaiting us. The king was telling him some things that he was not secure of telling him anywhere else in his Kingdom. The securest place he could find to speak to one of his own was when they were

driving to the airport. Why? Are they afraid that there are some Muslims in the Royal courtservants, maids, ushers or low ranking employees in the government who will pick up and understand what they are communicating? This is treachery at its highest level and at its best expression. In the meantime, there are Muslims who have sewerage running in Jordanian waters that is not filtered properly because of the way the Israeli Zionist Jews are running the show. Is a king like that interested in the affairs of his own people at least to secure pure drinking water for the subjects in his Kingdom, or is he more concerned about how to implement schemes to kill off what is becoming an Islamic expression of fighting Yahud? When they had a summit meeting in Amman- and Amman and Jordan are places as far as Yahud are concerned that leak like a sif- theres nothing that you can keep confidential- but these kings and presidents had their meeting in Amman. To do what? For those who may not have heard of the escalation of clashes and exchange of fire in Occupied Palestine- when three security officialsthe flunkys of Yahud and Nasara, viz. the Palestinian Authority were shot at- they were in their vehicles with diplomatic licences, they thought they were immune and no-one was going to bother them, and then, all of a sudden, gun fire breaks out and just one of their vehicles was riddled with sixty-eight bullets. From that exchange of fire, it was a miracle that no-one was killed. Two security agents were injured and the three highest ranking security officials from the time of Arafat escaped. These are people who sold their souls to Shaytaan and look at what Shaytaan is doing to them!!! So, the kings and the Presidents took that offensively. They looked at it thinking, if they are going to do this to the Palestinian Authority, they will probably begin to do it to Mubarak and his people, or to Abdullah and his people. So, theres a serious concern here,- even though, remember, in light of the Quran these are the type of rulers who are in fact with Allahs enemies, but only as a show are with Allahs servants. And this demonstrates the depth of the meaning, when Allah says to us about these types of Rulers, (if we have enough thinking power): Dont place yourselves in positions to be subordinate or inferior or on the receiving side of a relationship with the political and the ideological expressions of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara. (Surah Al-Maidah verse 51) These kings, presidents, rulers, governors, princes and decision-makers make broad, far and wide reaching claims that they are from Alladhina aamanu but it is as if they are doing exactly the opposite. But the remainder of this ayah did not work itself into Muslim brains, it did not seep into Muslim hearts, Whoever it is from among you that places himself in that type of receiving or dependant relationship on the politics of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara is one of them. (Surah Al-Maidah verse 51) These are the words of the Quran- he becomes part of the whole system of kufr, in lands that conveniently hide behind divine messages, behind the Gospel and behind the Bible. Allah does

not leave these types alone. In another ayah in the Quran, Allah says: Protect yourselves against a fitnah, a sedition, an air or an atmosphere in which it is very difficult to ascertain what is right from what is wrong as this type of confusion, this type of fitnah will not be limited to those who have committed the crime of oppression only. (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 25) It will not be limited to the rulers, kings and presidents. It will also get us all involved in it. Have you taken a moment to think, in one ayah in the Quran, Allah says concerning these decisionmakers, Whoever belongs to you, but then aligns themselves with political and ideological yahudism and nasarism, it doesnt matter who he is, if hes praying night and day, how much hes outwardly behaviour appears to be Islamic, he has left, and is no longer part of the Muslim crowd. But then, in the other ayah, Allah says Guard against a fitnah that is not going to be specific to those who have committed the crime of oppression. That is exactly how they behave. They want to appear as though they are part of us but in fact and in reality they are part of Allahs enemies. They come comfortably and some of them are probably praying in the Masjid- and they can pray wherever they want, the problem is not with them praying, the problem is with how Muslims have abandoned what Allah is telling them to such an extent that they cannot see these facts when they look at these characters. This is what bothers a committed and a sincere Muslim. With the level of friction increasing and with a remarkable Islamic component coming out of this friction in Palestine, the Muslims that are aloof are provided with the opportunity to verify and no longer be confused when these heads of state meet at what they call a summit conference. A more apt description for these conferences are conferences in the abyss. Theyre not summit conference, these are abyss conferences. Remember- they all pray in front of the media. They have armies of reporters, journalists and correspondents thrashing the words of the Quran concerning these figure heads and giving them a twist and a slant of piety, but none of them dare mention the word JIHAAD in the communiqus that they put out by these conferences in the abyss. Whats wrong? Dont these rulers/autocrats/authoritarians/despots, read the Quran? And if they do, have they ever seen the word Qitaal and Jihaad in it? And if they have, why cant it figure into their self proclaimed summit meetings? Allah says: Permission to fight has been given to those who have been oppressed and Allah is certainly able to provide them with His victory .(Surah Al-Hajj verse 39) Are we waiting for an official communiqu from the presidents and kings to come out and say to the Muslim public, Now is the time to do war against this avowed and vicious enemy of the Muslims. If Muslims are going to wait for a communiqu like that, they have to wait until Jahannum freezes over. This will never be said by these types whose hearts, strategies and

confidence dont belong to Allah but rather it belongs to Shaytaan, who have as their leader the people in the white house. This is what happens to Muslims who are no longer thought provoked by the Quran. We cannot let this issue die down, even though its going to take years for Muslims to be sensitised to it. When we have Muslims who cut loose with the Quran come and say to us vote for so and so as president, what did he do when virtually the whole world was in an agreement that an international force should go to occupied Palestinian territories to protect the out-gunned and exposed human beings called Palestinians? We dont know how people who voted for President Bush felt when they began to see the first rumblings against their brethren in the occupied territories. And that was only the beginning of it. Has there been any official or unofficial objection by the administrations and by the rulers to even say we dont want to take a supportive position of these Palestinians, but present us with a fair approach to this issue? We dont know how those people felt and that might not be very important, but what is very important is why cant the Muslims hold them responsible for wanting to have the whole Muslim community endorse the types of policies against the rest of the Muslims in the world. Make no mistake about it, the government in Washington is the headquarters from which this entire network in the world is trying to bring Muslims to their knees. All the governments in the area around Al-Quds were not elected, nor endorsed, nor given the go-ahead by their own people. How do they survive? It is because of the protection that they get from Yahud and Nasara in their political institutions. If you know some people who voted for Bush or who wanted to vote for Gore- every-time something like this happens, go to them and say to them Maybe my understanding of the Quran and the Prophet is not enough. Maybe you know some-things we dont know, and if thats the case, explain to us how in good conscience and in your right mind you want Muslims to vote for the Pharaoh of the land. But they know Muslims will not do such things, Why? Because Muslims are de-programmed from the Masjid itself. The Masjid has taken the fuse out of your head, so when you read the Quran, you dont light up. You have no fuse in you, and of all people in the world to diffuse you from the Quran, it took a preacher and a clergyman from the mimbar to do it. And so, the Muslim lobby, joins the larger crowd and then looks with contempt upon the Muslim crowd that doesnt even have enough brain power to tell these status quo organisations and spokespersons that they are wrong and because they are wrong they forfeit their position to make decisions for the Muslims. There is a dictatorship in the United States among Muslim Organisations- but if an Islamic organisation misleads the Muslim crowd, then the Muslims should have the right to relieve them of their responsibilities. Does anyone dare think about relieving AMC or ISNA or the other organisations that have been misleading Muslims to say Enough is Enough? Ask the voters- the Muslims around the Bush- the United States is making statements that are leading in the direction that it wants to move its Embassy to Al-Quds, what do you say to that? How do you deal with that? And if you cant deal with it, step down and have other Muslims who understand the American system deal with these issues. There are Muslims who understand the system better than any immigrant that has been there for thirty or fifty or even a hundred years. But they dont want those types of

Muslims to speak out, and they tell them You dont know enough about the Quran, and the Sunnah, we want to teach you. And then, they begin to select the individuals who they can teach. Why? If you want to teach the Muslim crowd, everyone can learn if they are willing to. Does it take you from the first step to begin to select and tell us who can learn and who cannot learn? Thats what they do!!! and they do it without anyone paying attention to what they are doing. Then, they send them to their universities, seminars, religious institutions and they teach them for a few years or even more than a few years in some cases, and then they send them back, thoroughly brainwashed to dwell on private Islam, personal Islam, individual Islam, selfish Islam. And if you cannot fit into the individual and selfish and personal and private Islam, then you are a kaafir. On the other hand, the same way we have Muslims who understand what the American government is, we have Muslims who understand equally what Islam is, and Islam is not second fiddle to capitalism and globalisation. Islam doesnt need a cane to move. Islam is independence, Reliance on Allah, Freedom from kufr- but they exclude these types, and if they cant, they try to buy them over- What do you want? What is your price? What are you out to do? Isnt there a way we can all work together? And if the person is beyond that, then they have their means of trying to marginalise and exclude these types of individuals from their mainstream, and the saga continues. Once again, knowing the impending presence of Allah, we repeat what Allah says It is due upon Us to give victory to the committed Muslims, and commitment is within the range that Allah speaks about in His book and the Prophets statements.

FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE, SHURA, JUSTICE

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims... Before we look at some of the details that the Muslim mind has neglected for centuries, even though Muslim emotions have been involved in this mindless issues, it is very important for us to develop the atmospherics that were at work in the time of Allah's Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa

sallam) that had the force of propulsion to take following or successive generations into an area of responsibility that has only been rekindled very recently. The first element very important to understand before we look at some prohibited areas is that the Prophet in Arabia had made it very clear that peoples conscience is going to be guaranteed, which means that there's not going to be anyone forcing anyone else to adopt a belief system, an ideology or what is called a religion against their better judgment and conscience. As a matter of Islamic Commitment to Allah, there was an insurance to all and sundry that their conviction and internal beliefs are guaranteed to them. There are ayaat in the Qur'an that relates this meaning. Allah says: There is no compulsion in matters that pertain to a persons indebtedness to their deity. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 256 ) There's not going to be a Muslim on Earth who is going to force non-Muslims to agree with Islam or to embrace Islam. This was a matter of established principle. To the contrary of this, it was the power structure in Makkah and in Arabia that did not provide freedom of conscience to the Committed Muslims. In the meantime, it was the Committed Muslims when they were powerless who were guaranteeing those who disagreed with them that same freedom of conscience. Allah says to His Prophet: Is it you who wants to compel, enforce, use force or utilize a position of power against people so that they become committed Muslims? (Surah Yunus verse 99) In other words, that's not the way to do it. We are not permitted to use force or to utilize positions of power to influence people against their own conscience, internal feelings and thoughts so that they become committed Muslims. This is a question that means we can't use force to have people become Committed Muslims. Another parallel ayah in the Qur'an says and this is a wide spectrum of options that is given to human society. Allah says to everyone: After He has presented mankind with the truth, with what is right, with what is balanced, with what is correct, then He says: Now, after this has come to your attention, you have the right, you have the freedom to commit yourself to Allah or to deny or reject Him. (Surah AlKahf verse 29 ) Remember, we Muslims are responsible for guaranteeing this right, this freedom of choice and this freedom of conscience to all peoples. This was one of the elements that was developed throughout 23years of a Mohammedi struggle and somehow as we remake ourselves today, it seems to be an absent element. When you approach some well versed Muslims or even some scholarly Muslims, sometimes get the impression that their mission in life is to have this Islam preponderant when in the process they may be violating the freedom of conscience and the freedom of conviction that is guaranteed to all peoples of the world by the words of Allah, Everlasting, in this Qur'an. That should not be the case, especially when we are at the beginning of our beginning. Another aspect that faintly figures in to our contemporary re-making is the void when it comes to the issue of Justice. This communication from Allah expressed by the Qur'an

and the Prophet guarantees at the same level and with the same intensity mans freedom of conscience and mans responsibility for justice. We can't think of reconstructing a program on earth without having justice our center piece. Oh you who are committed to Allah, be actively involved in activating equity on earth even if that means you are going to be against your own selves, your ancestors or your parents and those related to you, your blood affiliations, whether they are family or tribe or even beyond that. (Surah An-Nisa verse 135) You have to be against your own selves if that's what it takes to stand for justice. Freedom of conscience- the centre and pivotal piece of justice, and then, the open channel of communication when it comes to decision making. This is another integral part of Islamic self-determination that is absent even when we are trying to rekindle Islam. This is referred to by the words of Shura in the Qur'an. Shura is virtually non-existent if we define the Shura the way it was defined in the time when it was Qur'anically functioning and when it was Prophetically applicable. There is no Shura nowadays. When the Prophet wanted to make decisions, he opened the public Muslim mind to participate in that decision making process. There was no dictatorship here- even though Allah's Prophet because he was Allah's Prophet, because he was just, because he was self-less, he could have gotten away with being a dictator because his dictatorship would have been one of love, mercy, justice and equity, but he wasn't. He had to sacrifice to teach us a lesson, and that is when we make our decision, we make it with the involvement of the average Muslim. No Muslim should feel excluded from the decision making process. No human being should be excluded from Freedom of Conscience, no human being should be excluded from justice and no Muslim should feel excluded from the decision making process. This is the atmospherics that the motivated Muslims around Allah's Prophet were keen on. Their attention and efforts were mesmerized on these objectives, unlike many of today's decision making Muslims. They don't care very much about freedom of conscience, they don't care very much about generic justice and they don't care very much about involving all the Muslims in the primary decisions that affect them which are to be made. This brings us to the issue of, and we are pre-empting the coming khutbahs that the Muslim mind has surrendered to Muslim emotionalism. This brings us to the issue of whether Allah's Prophet had a government equivalent to the government that we have today. All of us are familiar with the concentration of power that is the instrument of officials. We ask ourselves, understanding what we understand from that Sunnah paradigm of Allah's Prophet- were their officials who were abusing power, the extra power that becomes the entrapment of the contemporary nation state. We have some examples of how Allah's Prophet dealt with potential officials because in those days there was no such things as officials. The whole idea or concept of officials and officialdom didn't exist because there were no barriers between and among Muslims. How can there be an official and then a layman? How can there be a superior and then an inferior? All of this didn't exist. They came to the masajid, where all the barriers came down, there was a leader, there was a task to be done and they were all involved in it. There was no protection of this state power that we have in today's contemporary nation state.

On one occasion, Allah's Prophet says, and this is one of these areas that has gone off the mental radar of today's Muslims, Allah's Prophet says to Abdur Rahman ibn Auf, who (to use a term of todays world) was an aristocrat, a very rich man something which goes like this "You are a person of affluence and I see you crawling into Paradise." Then, Allah's Prophet says to him "Give of what you have so that you will be given the means to walk into Al-Jannah." Todays nation state, todays governments the way they act, operate and impact our lives is those who have financial power are given the opportunity to move up on the scale of decision making. The more a person has money and affluence the more he has influence and clout. Allah's Prophet wanted to make it clear that just because a person has money, finances, assets, investments and what not, that does not make that person an influential figure in this newly constructed Islamic social reality on earth. Al-Medinah in the time of Allah's Prophet was not a place where the rich had their positions in state. On another occasion, this is another example, Allah's Prophet sent an Aamil, this is a term that is used in the books of the time which means in today's language something like a government employee or a functionary so that he can collect what is due from the people to the Islamic (what we call today) State, and this person goes out. After going out for months, he comes back to AlMedinah and out of the total that he collects , he says "This is for you, (meaning this is for the Muslim public or the Muslim treasury) and this is for me." And he takes a portion of it for himself and this was not done in front of Allah's Prophet. It was done where the affairs, the finances are taken care of. But, the details are brought to the attention of the Allah's Prophet and he summons this person and the others, in one narrative and in the other narrative, that person is not present and he says to him or to those who were present, "Why is it that some people behave the way they do? You send them out, you deputize them, you give them a responsibility that has to do with the Muslim public and then they come back and say this belongs to the Muslim public or the Muslim treasury and this part belongs tome, because people gave this particular amount to me." And then, the Prophet says "Why shouldn't this person look at himself when he is in his own clan. Are people going to come to him and say this is for the Islamic State and this is for you?" The reason they gave you that extra money is because they perceived of you being in a position of power. If they didn't think of you as a powerful person, they wouldn't have given you any of that money." This was the overall atmosphere that had captured the imagination and motivated the will power of the Muslims and that generation that was committed to Allah's Prophet. Later on, as we systematically probe forbidden areas in the Islamic mind and in Islamic History we should always remember that this was the ground work of those unique and committed individuals who grew up with the spirit of the Qur'an and Allah's Prophet. When Allah says: And their decision making is an affair of consultation among them. And them here means the Muslim peoples, the Muslim populace, the Muslim population (Surah Shura verse 38) One of our incapacities is that we never take a look at the word Amr and try to update its meaning as it relates to todays world. Allah is saying that the affairs and the issues that need a decision in

life is in-dispersed among the committed Muslims. Today, there are many issues in life but many people who need to be involved in making decisions are excluded. If you can exclude people from freedom of conscience and if you can exclude people from justice, then you can exclude them from the decision making process and this is what we have rampant in todays world and we have some Muslims who want to copycat todays nation state. They want to run their own affairs in the same manner and commit the same mistakes that were committed before. Let us take a certain level of justice that has to do with financial and social justice. Allah has barred us from hoarding wealth, from monopolizing the circuit of finances, of deterring the circulation of wealth. He has threatened those who do these things. In the ayah in the Qur'an, "They should await Allahs punishment."(Surah Taubah verse 34) Today, you can take a healthy look at the real world around and you will find this characteristic a very strong one and Muslims cannot garner enough mental clarity and enough mental determination to point to that fact, never mind excluding it from being a part of life altogether, but just take a close and a honest look at it. Allah as a matter of human justice has forbidden Ar-Riba, but Ar-Riba usury or what some people call interest has become a monster in the world. There's a Frankenstein usury operating from continent to continent and because we are not concentrated on justice, we let this phenomenon escape out attention. Who's there to address this? This atmosphere: freedom of conscience, justice and the involvement of Muslims in the deciding their own affairs. This has to be addressed and this has to be understood in the grain of our own thoughts, so we can understand where we went right and where we went wrong. What happened at the beginning? The state began to grow, beginning with the last six years of the reign of the third successor of Allah's Prophet and then began to take on the configuration of an empire, an empire in Damascus that was influenced by the Romans, an empire in Baghdad that was influenced by the Persians, all of course prior to Islam- an area not many people want to address and look at, but we cannot fail to underline, emphasize and re-iterate the crucial element of freedom of conscience and what it means when Muslims begin to deviate, what it means to relinquish the centrality of Justice and what that meant when we began to deviate, and then how we began to have Kings, Princes, Dynasties, Monarchs and Dictatorships who began making decisions for us and excluding us from the decision making process and some of it we will find in the language of the fuqaha. The language of some fuqaha lent legitimacy to the improportionality of the concentration of power. You take the word Ahl Al-Halli Wal Aqd, people who qualified to bind matters and to undo them. This was not a terminology in the days of Allah's Prophet. If there was a matter of Shura, decision making and input from the Muslims, everyone qualified at least in the preliminary process. Everyone had access to the Masjid and the most important decisions were there in the Masjid. Later on, we began to have Ahl Al-Halli Wal Aqd, another way of trying to rationalize excluding the majority of Muslims from being involved in making their own decisions for their own selves. Brothers and sisters, this is an area insha-Allah, with this general introduction, we will try to venture into some of the details that obviously we will try to rely our human best on referencing

these historical details in the book of Allah and what we consider to be consensual Sunnah of Allah's Prophet. Without this most important understanding and introduction, we will remain failures in understanding where deviation began and how it was rooted throughout centuries and now, how this deviation has bloomed into monarchies, autocracies, dictatorships and false rulers that have no legitimacy. Remember, the word legitimacy itself is an outcome of Islamic History. Before the Prophet, the Qur'an and Al-Medinah, the concept of legitimacy did not exist. What would give rulers legitimacy or circulation was the power they had. It wasn't whether they were right or wrong, it wasn't whether they were legitimate or illegitimate. The fact that we understand what is legitimate and illegitimate is attributable to the laws that Allah has given us that regulate the laws that we practice. And we have human beings who are sincere and tried their best to go by these laws and we had others who tried to use them, and we will take a closer look as Allah gives us more life and more attention. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims You may observe that the more we withdraw from the scope of these ayaat and the role of Allah's Prophet in this context, the more we give room for trouble makers, mischief makers and intruders who are causing us right now the real hardships that we are encountering. If the Muslim mind does not want to think, concentrate and penetrate the details of what is happening to us in the real world and what has happened to our predecessors in their real world, then we have the like of what is happening today. People just come along and they begin igniting explosives killing innocent people and they attribute this to fundamental Muslims. If you read the details and commentaries on the execution of the two Algerian diplomats, not that we care any bit for Algerian or any other types of diplomats, but if you read in detail their comments on the background and some of the issues that the Algerian government is guilty of, you would think these people, what is called the Zarqawi Group or Al-Qaida in Iraq, have a think-tank. We, who are following these affairs at a distance and with the flow of information that is available to us, it is hard for us to come up with the type of detail that they released. Where did they come up with all of this? They want to convince us that this is what they are capable of when they are on the run- that they are people who have atomic weapons or nuclear potential! This is the time when our common enemies who know how to exploit circumstances move in and they begin to kill right and left. They are killing so indiscriminately, so frequently and in a blood-thirsty manner that they forced what they called the Islamic Fiqhi Committee in North America to appear on National TV and denounce these acts of "terrorism", the implication being that Muslims are responsible for them. You see, because all along, even these who are supposed to be the first rank scholars of Muslims in America, they haven't seen the light. They can't see the hand behind the world-wide war in which our enemy has become our friend and in which our friend has become our enemy. In which they can open up a stateless land, a country without a government, then go in there and present to the world- look how blood-thirsty Muslims are amongst themselves, look how terroristic their religion is. They began to express this on the airwaves. They are saying in public now, "Islam is the religion of Terror", and instead of us having enough information to dig

up these true instigators, financers and sponsors of terrorism, we begin to apologize and in our apology, we infer that some of us are responsible for this. Do you see the gap that we have created throughout all of these years? Now, this gap has become their playing ground to try to diffuse our self-determination and to undo our Islamic aspirations. They're not going to be able to get away with this, even if we do have ignorant Muslims who are trying to indirectly apologize for things that we are not responsible for. Now, a new twist of this- anyone can put out a communication, who is to verify whether a communication or a message or a telephone call or a fax or whatever has come from original authentic revolutionary Committed Muslims? Anyone can put something like that out and anyone else can accept it for their own purposes. So, not so long ago, a new communication comes across and it says that Al-Qaida in Bilaad Ar-Rafiday wants to now kill or assassinate certain individuals or officials in Lebanon. The underlying message is the Sunnis in Iraq- this is not the way it's presented, but this is the way it is meant to be processed- are going to begin to kill Shi's in Lebanon, and they gave the names of nine individuals. What if the agents of Mossad , the CIA and the army of other agents out there begin popping off individuals here and there of another denomination? And because many of us are entrapped in these stereotypical presentations and with our superficial understanding of each other, they will recruit us for a polarization and a schism that will cost hundreds of thousands of lives in the future. This what they are thinking about and this is what we are permitting them to get away with because none of us wants to look at these issues with the confidence of the Qur'an and with the precedents of the Prophet. We would like to remind you that we are parting from our policy of avoiding public discussion specific to the theological issues that have divided the Ummah for such a long time. Allah knows how we hate to use the labels but we have to explain the point. We realize that the policy of the kaafirs is meant to have the Muslims involved in a bloody civil war and we are in a way forced to go into forbidden territory. This area is very sensitive to many people, but we ask that you turn your emotions off and your intellect on so that we can avoid some of the mistakes of the past. We ask that you bear with us in our attempt to reconcile some of these differences which are grounded in an alternative understanding so that we may learn from them. These movements have been analyzed primarily from the position of them being opposition movements who are then used as instruments in the hands of oppressive powers so that they may retain their grip on power. We have no doubt that some of the tension can be dissolved and some of these issues can be reconciled if the subject is approached with a heart that is not contaminated by the culture of tradition and prejudice. In conclusion, suffice it to say that none of these Muslim groups who take pride in their hyphenated designations have a SOLE CLAIM or MONOPOLY on the truth. We beseech Allah and ask Him to consolidate our rank and file and rid us of the opportunists, the infiltrators and the instigators who pry on these differences.

KHALIF/EMIR/IMAM ABU BAKR (RADI ALLAHU ANHU)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims... To begin with, it should be said that the issues, the people, the history, the details that we are looking at in these khutbahs are not exhaustive and there has to be a selection of information that suffices for the rest. Number two, it is not our choice to speak about these types of subjects, we do so because of the events, the strategies and the foretelling details that are unfolding in front of our own eyes, which are meant to lead us into conflicts with each other. To bar that from happening,

we are forced to speak about what we are going to speak about. And, number three, these types of issues should not be approached by people who are instigated by their emotions. Once a person feels that he is eclipsed by his feelings, that he is emotionally imbalanced by these issues or his mind is eclipsed by his feelings, he should withdraw from discussing these issues altogether. That being said, we will try to proceed, to reconstruct as best as we can some of the history that invites trouble, or rather it is our mental absence from this history that causes the military presence of our enemies to use these issues to divide us. One of the components that is not present in the aftermath of the passing away of Allah's Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) is the power configuration, ambition or greed that dwells in the different segments and places around what Allah's Prophet managed to have as a point of reference, an Islamic Authority, an Islamic Power base in Al-Medinah and then eventually in Makkah. We will try to follow that up with saying the following: when the Prophet of Allah joined the eternal abode of Allah, there were power currents in Makkah, Al-Medinah, Al-Hejaz and Arabia. This wasn't a vacuum, there were tribes, urban centers, alliances and a factionalism. Each one of these was aiming to have a share, if not a monopoly of this power vacuum that they perceived in the absence of Allah's Prophet. The first configuration of power can be traced to before Islam altogether. The person who consolidated Quraish to run the affairs of the Haram or the Ka'ba or Al-Bayt Al-Haram was the great great grandfather of Allah's Prophet, a person by the name of Qusayy. Consider him the consolidator of the status quo into which Allah's Prophet was born. The way Makkah, and more specifically the way the Ka'ba and the Haram were administrated is attributed to Qusayy, who had two lines of inheritors. One of these lines was Abd Manaaf, which you can consider right now as a political partisan power block. That's the only way we can look at it to understand what we are dealing with. Abd Manaaf was split into two lines, one of them is referred to as the Ummawi line and the other is referred to as the Hashemi line, and between these two cousinly lines there was an internal rivalry. This precedes Islam. There was an internal rivalry as to who should be the elites in administering the most important thing in Makkah, which was the Haram. It was within this type of internalization that Allah's Prophet was born. And, obviously, you can't be born belonging to two lines or pedigrees- he belonged to one of them, and that was the Hashemi line. So, when Allah's Prophet was favored with this Islam and Qur'an, the way human nature works is the tradition and historic rivalry took on a power rivalry and there was an opposition to this new Prophet, and that opposition continued for over 20 years and it took the form of, in its most fantastic expression, military wars in which the Umawi line refused during the course of over 20 years to concede to the fact that Muhammed was Allah's Messenger and His Apostle. Of course, this was not the objective or the basis of the Prophets mission. It refused to do that, until finally, in the last couple of years in the Prophets lifetime, this historical, inter-tribal friction and feud acceded to Allah's Prophet. When he passes away, what do you think, all of these years and generations of well structured feelings had automatically gone away? No, they didn't, and the people who were living these details knew that these sensitivities that were now hyper-sensitized through over 20 years of clashes didn't disappear, they were still there, beneath the surface. That was one major consideration that went

through the minds of the Muslims who had to make the right decision or the decision that would minimize the consequences of an internecine conflict among the Muslims themselves. The other major factor that is factored into who is going to take the place as a leader or who is going to succeed Allah's Prophet as a leader was the fact that their was tension between Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar, and proof of that tension was the meeting that took place under the Thaqifa. These were the Ansaar who came together. There were only three Muhajirin among them, Abu Bakr, Umar and Abu Ubadah (radi Allahu anhum), the rest were Al-Ansaar, and the intention of AlAnsaar was to choose Saad ibn Ubaadah (Radi Allahu Anhu) from the Khazraj wing of the Ansaar to become the leader. This rivalry between Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar had reared its unbecoming head earlier in the time of Allah's Prophet. They were drawing water and the two individuals, one belonging to Al-Muhajirin and the other belonging to Al-Ansaar got into a small dispute regarding drawing some water from a well and they turned a relative ideological fraternity that Allah's Prophet brought among them, that took them out of their jahili definitions and placed them in a new definition. He defined the people of Makkah as Al-Muhajirin and the people from Al-Medinah who were his supporters as Al-Ansaar, to take them out of this Quraishi thing and to take them out of this Aws and Khazraj thing. This had to be submerged as much as possible, he knew and everyone else knew that you could not eliminate that. It's like coming into todays world with this message of Islam and trying to have them eliminate their national, or their sectarian, or their racial or any of these other characteristics that make up the behavioral social norm of a people- it's not possible. You can minimize it, you can eclipse it, you can marginalize it, you can suspend it, but, you can't in a very short period of time eradicate it. The Prophet of Allah understood this, and the people who were struggling with him understood this. So, when Ansaar came in this Thaqifa, Ansaar, with the intention of having Saad ibn Ubaadah become the leader, what happened? What happened was that these three Muhajirin, understood what was in the making, because when they began to speak and exchange ideas, Al-Ansaar said "We Ansaar will have our leader and you, the Muhajirin will have your leader." This was undoing what the Prophet did. He consolidated them and united them. When the Muslims came to Al-Medinah, the Prophet of Allah fraternalized between them. He said, "You the Muhajir is a brother of the other person, Al-Ansaari." He began to do this with everyone so that they can no longer even begin to feel the sensitivities. Remember, this is not an easy subject to deal with, AlMuhajirin were like refugees, they struggled and sacrificed the most, and now, they were in something like a foreign land, they were not among their own people. So, when the Muhajirin under the Thaqifa who were under the goodness of their hearts trying to have something like this division not happen began to hear that everything the Prophet had put together seems like it's gong to fall apart, they began to convince Al-Ansaar that this is not the way to go. Al-Ansaar understood that if they began this process, they among themselves are going to fall apart, because there's that old friction between the Aws and the Khazraj, and they didn't want this friction to return. So, without having the decision making position, the successor-ship to Allah's Prophet a monopoly that can fall into fault lines before Islam or fault lines after the Prophet, there were fault lines here, and people didn't want this position to come back to a power clique.

That's when the decision was made and it was understood that this was a nomination, this wasn't the final word, the Masjid was open for the rest of the Muslims to agree or disagree with these primary initiatives, and so it was that Abu Bakr was endorsed via the Masjid. And we have to underline the existence of flaws here because not everyone was there in the nominating process. The Muhajirin were excluded, other Muslims were excluded- this was a flaw, but, the way they tried to make up for it was to take the affair to the Muslim general public in the Masjid and see whether the Muslim general public is going to accept this or not. This wasn't done behind closed doors, Muslims had all the right in the world to agree or disagree with this. At that time, the issue was taken to the Masjid and the Muslims came and in their overwhelming majority opinion and they endorsed Abu Bakr as being the successor to Allah's Prophet. Even though people at the time were looking at individuals with the nationalistic or tribalistic vision that today's people use, bear in mind that he does not come from the prominent tribe, he wasn't of a prominent national character. They were avoiding the power falling into the grips of a family. We have to ask this question, and we have to answer it- was he the most qualified person around to assume that position? Many people would say No!, he wasn't the most qualified, and they re-iterate by listening to Allah's Prophet and the way he was directly and indirectly nominating Ali (radi Allahu anhu)to be the qualified successor to him, contingent upon the endorsement and majority agreement of Muslims to him assuming that position, and we'll try to get to that later. But, in the meantime, the Muslims came, or what we may call the overwhelming majority, and they gave their bai'ah, allegiance to the first successor to Allah's Prophet. This was done in the absence of someone trying to concoct a conspiracy. That was not the case, there was no conspiracy and he became the ultimate decision maker of the Muslims. But why, oh Muslims, why do you work yourself up into these polarized positions and try to drill into your brother Muslims heart to find out what their preference is, and then why do you seek to make that preference a cause for disavowing other Muslims. This was not the behavior of those who were around the Prophet. Ali had, to name a few, Abu Dharr, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Abdullah ibn Abbaas, Ammaar ibn Yasser (radi Allahu anhum) who were very close to him, but we didn't find the others going upto them and forcing to make them into choosing a side and then isolate them if it wasn't as they preferred. Why do you, if you are a sunni or whether you are a shi'i, where does all this come from and where are we going with all of this? It's not also as if Ali was practicing some concocted form of Taqiyyah, deception. Any one who makes such a statement is obviously ignorant of the personality of Ali and the relationship between him and Abu Bakr. Sa'ad ibn Ubadah, a well respected person from that generation, passed his life without giving his allegiance to Abu Bakr and he wasn't harmed for doing so, so this argument holds no weight. What are some of the indications that he was a just and fair ruler who tried his best to fulfill his obligations and responsibilities in that position. The first statement he makes "Now, I have become your ruler, though I am not the best among you. The weak among you shall be strong with me until their rights have been vindicated; and the strong among you shall he weak with me until, insha-Allah, I have taken what is due from them... Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Messenger. When I disobey Him and His Prophet, then obey me not."

This may be, a more or less confession that he may not be the best person for this position, but now that he's in it, he's going to do his best. We find that he would do everything in the presence of a mutually consultative process. On the occasion, when he was dispatching the army under the command of Usama, he instructs them thus "Do not be deserters, nor be guilty of disobedience. Do not kill an old man, a woman or a child. Do not injure date palms and do not cut down fruit trees. Do not slaughter any sheep or cows or camels except for food. You will encounter persons who spend their lives in monasteries. Leave them alone and do not molest them." He wasn't going around making enemies, but when they presented themselves in that capacity, he would deal with them firmly. He was very austere in regulating the resources of the Islamic state and would not abuse the position nor the treasury of the Muslim public. He is known to have led a simple life free from ostentation. He set the pattern for simple living, he would sleep on the floor, his meals were abstemious, he attended to his own jobs, he lived in an ordinary house and there were no guards to attend to him. Once, one of his wives desired a sweet dish to which he said that he had no money for such luxury. She requested to save something daily, and then have a sweet dish when sufficient amount has been collected". In a few days she saved some money. He then deposited this amount in the public treasury, and got his daily allowance reduced by such amount as had been saved by his wife. When some members of the ruling family of Yemen arrived in Al-Medina in exquisite garb and they saw the ruler in simple coarse clothes they felt ashamed and discarded their finery. In this way the social life in Al-Medina came to be marked by simple living devoid of all show and ostentation. He would go out on occasion and serve the common Muslims, he is known to have frequented the home of an old lady where he would milk her goats. How many of todays rulers can match up to these? Does this indicate that he harbored bad feelings towards the Muslims?

He tried his best and is not a person that we should be thinking about and saying as some people who are either misinformed or on a sectarian tangent say "Should we condemn Abu Bakr in public?" Condemn him for what! It's not as if you have the freedom to go privately and condemn him there? This is not going to be very helpful, neither for the person who is involved in this type of thinking nor the society that has these types of people in it. There were disagreements on the basis of Ijtihaad, a persons best understanding of the Qur'an and the Prophet, not just any opinion, like those that are ungrounded in an understanding of the Qur'an or the Prophet, as is abundantly the case today. Abu Bakrs disagreements with the people around him concerning whether the army of Usama should go out as dispatched by the Prophet of Allah. Even though he was of the minority opinion regarding the sending out of the army, he did that on order or in completion of the order of Allah's Prophet, and to teach you and I that submission to Allah is not a matter of an emotional attachment and struggle for Allahs cause goes on. As

regards the issue of the inheritance, this was an issue of Ijtihad, they both had their decisions firmly grounded in the Qur'an and the hadith. It comes across in the literature of hadith that Ali and Fatimah (radi Allahu anhum) were upset and until her death had not had cordial relations with Abu Bakr. The same literature goes on to say that subsequent to this Ali gave his bai'ah to Abu Bakr. This is not an issue of Abu Bakr verses Fatima as some people would like to exaggerate, and neither is it any persecution or injustice. Besides, the same literature goes on to say that subsequently, relations normalized. For those who want to follow, that time period has long lapsed and the time has arrived for us to normalize relationships in the spirit of both Abu Bakr and Ali. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... The enemies of Allah take no respite in planning the shedding of Muslim blood. Movements are judged by their long-term objectives, their history and their expressions, whether verbal or physical, we haven't heard any statements from the likes of Shamail Basayev, Usama ibn Laden, Hassan NasrAllah, Moqtada Al-Sadr and other such prominent figures who are involved in Muslim struggles against our enemies calling for the spilling of the blood of the other Muslims. So, there's no equating these who call themselves Ansaar Al-Sunnah, The Zarqawi Group, etc, in Iraq, and there are few similar groups, which no one can seem to really identify who are spewing out the venom of sectarianism with those who are in the caves of Afghanistan. Even in the works of their super scholar, ibn Taimiyah, and this is not a matter of patronizing nor discrediting him, and neither is it a matter of us expressing a consensual viewpoint to the terminology of his, but even in his works, there are statements acknowledging the position of those who preferred or expressed a group solidarity to Ali, but how come, these who claim such affiliation do not think twice about the shedding of blood of those who are potentially from this designation. Even scholars who are aware of this statement are silent when they know the truth? We long for the day when Muslims can go up to these occupied mimbars, to these who are pretending to be Ulema and say to them "Enough is enough! Don't you know what you are doing! Whose purposes are you serving by adding to the tension amongst Muslims from within our own Masaajid?

KHALIPH, IMAM OR EMIR AL-MU'MININ UMAR

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims... To Begin with, we remind you that the issues, the people, the history and the details that we are looking at in these khutbahs are not exhaustive and there has to be a selection of information that suffices for the rest. Number two, it is not our choice to speak about these types of subjects but we do so because of the events, the strategies and the foretelling details that are unfolding in front of our own eyes, which are meant to lead us into conflicts with each other. To bar that from

happening, we are forced to speak about what we are going to speak about. And, number three, these types of issues should not be approached by people who are instigated by their emotions. Once a person feels that he is emotionally imbalanced by these issues or his mind is eclipsed by his feelings, he should withdraw from discussing these issues altogether. Previously, se spoke about the aftermath of the passing away of Allah's Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and the power configuration, the power ambition or the power greed that dwelt in the different segments and different places. We spoke as far as we could concerning the way in which Abu Bakr (radi Allahu Anhu) came to fill in that position. We spoke about how the Muslims who had to make the right decision or the decision that would minimize the consequences of an internecine conflict among the Muslims themselves and the other major factor being who is going to succeed Allah's Prophet as a leader. And then, without having the successorship to Allah's Prophet a monopoly the decision was made and it was understood that this was a nomination, this wasn't the final word. The Masjid was open for the rest of the Muslims to agree or disagree with these primary initiatives, and so it was that Abu Bakr was endorsed via the Masjid, and after two years, by the same token and with the flaws, we said and we have to underline the existence of flaws because not everyone was there in the nominating process, the Muhajirin were excluded, other Muslims were excluded but the way they tried to make up for it was to take the affair to the Muslim general public in the Masjid and see whether the Muslim general public is going to accept this or not. All of the Muslim public, without any exemptions or exclusions, came and they agreed to it. And so, when the second successor was chosen, it was done by a matter of nomination. This was not an ayah from the Qur'an or a hadith from the Prophet, this was an Ijtihad of a person, Abu Bakr exerted his best understanding, and this was in the absence of malice. While he was in his last days. he nominated Umar (radi Allahu anhu) to become the leader of the Muslims or the successor to Allahs Prophet in that position. And then, the following day after Abu Bakr dies, the whole issue was taken once again into the Masjid. This wasn't done behind closed doors, Muslims had all the right in the world to agree or disagree with this. It's not like what happened recently- a King dies in the same land, in Arabia, a ruler dies, and then, who takes over? The Crown Prince! There was no crown prince here and it wasn't a theatrical show. In Arabia recently, it was theatrics, the crown prince had already become the king when his brother died. There was no nomination, there was no take this to the Masjid and open it up to the Muslim public and let them agree or disagree. No! He became the king before they came in with the camera produced scene and shook hands with him saying that we agree to you as our leader. And, how many were they? Who were they? Do you know? Do we know? Even though we are living now, in our days of technology and mass communication, we don't know how many went there and said we agree with you as our leader. Did anyone take the pulse of the Muslims in that land and say how many of you agree and how many of you disagree with him being the ruler of the Makkah and Al-Medinah. No! We don't know, Why? Because, if the truth is going to surface, all the Muslims are going to know that no-one agrees with this person becoming the king or his brother or his sibling or any of that type of family becoming Crown Princes and then becoming automatically Kings. At that time, the issue was taken to the Masjid and the Muslims came in

their overwhelming opinion and they endorsed Umar as being the successor to Allah's Prophet. And, bear in mind that people at the time are looking at individuals or persons with the nationalistic or tribalistic vision that today's people use, but he didn't come from the prominent tribe, he wasn't of a prominent national character. So, once again, they were avoiding the power falling into the grips of a family. We have to ask this question again, and we have to answer it again- was he the most qualified person around to assume that position? Many Muslims would say No!, he wasn't the most qualified, and they re-iterate by listening to Allah's Prophet and the way he was directly and indirectly nominating Ali (radi Allahu Anhu) to be the qualified successor to him, contingent upon the endorsement and majority agreement of Muslims to him assuming that position, and we'll try to get to that later. But, in the meantime, the Muslims came, or what we may call Alladhina Aamanu and they gave their bai'ah to the second successor to Allah's Prophet. This was done in the absence of someone trying to concoct a conspiracy here. That was not the case, there was no conspiracy and he became the ultimate decision maker of the Muslims. What are some of the indications that we have, from reviewing some of the literature on this time period of Islamic rule that would indicate to us that he tried his best to fulfill his obligations and responsibilities in that position? The first statement he says and it echos the statement of his predecessor is "Now, I have become your ruler and I do so in the hope of fulfilling your legitimate expectations to implement the word of Allah and the precedent of His Prophet." This may be a more or less a confession that he may not be the best person for this position, but now that he is put into it, he's going to do his best to live up to the popular expectation. When we review some of the details of his life, we find, given his character, this was a very impulsive character, but impulsive on the side of the conscience- whatever he thought was the absolute conclusion of his conscience, he would do. He would do all of this, not in the absence of a shura process, but in the concentration of a shura process. This person is known to have consulted and asked the opinion of almost everyone or every segment in society, not only in the Masjid where that was the sunnah of Allah's Prophet, but now he also instructed that shura be an integral part of the Hajj. At the time of Hajj, when the governors and the citizens of the Muslim domain would come to Makkah, he would bring them together. Now, imagine if this was happening today? They'll tell you this is a bid'a. What are you doing? Are you telling Muslim rulers to be held responsible in front of Muslim constituents? This was exactly what was being done during this time and during this reign. Umar would tell the Waalis, the Governors, "You are going to be held responsible in front of the Muslim public at the Hajj." So if anyone had a complaint or a criticism against these governors, it was done in front of the masses of Muslim people. This was an institution of Islamic life that everyone agreed to. There was no objection to this as far as we know. What happened to it? Just step out of history for a moment, today, we have rulers who go to Makkah for the Hajj and you have you and me, (the average Muslim) who goes to Makkah for the Hajj, can we meet there and ask our rulers why are you doing this or that? Can you explain to me certain types of policies? Can you give us the reasons why we no longer have our resources belonging to us? No! They will do as much as possible now-a-days to have it impossible for those

who rule to look into the face of those who are being ruled. There were instances that indicated that this person and we emphasize, re-iterate and underline the fact of an absence of malice on his behalf and on behalf of his predecessor in the administration of Muslim affairs. He would go to be with the Muslim people. On one occasion, he told one of his colleagues "Let's go and see for our ownselves what is happening to real people in the real world." So, one evening he takes off and he begins walking the streets. Its dark and he wanted to give the impression that he's incognito, so that no-one would know, so he covered part of his face. He was just there among the people, and he came across a mother, a lady who had some children around who were crying. So, he asked for permission to speak to her, and she says "Yes", and she says "I'm trying to put my children to sleep." Imagine, where are todays rulers who are doing these things? He said, "Why, what's wrong? Can't they go to sleep"? She said, well "I'm just boiling water for them to make them believe that I'm preparing some food for them, but Ii don't have any food." He asked "Why don't you have any food?" She said "Because the ruler Umar has only given a portion of the budget for children who are weaned away from the mothers chest and I have a couple of children who are not yet weaned away, therefore I am falling short on being able to give them food." So, he goes, with his colleague and he says "Why isn't there food for this lady?" And he goes to the place where there is food and he puts the bundle of flour on his shoulder or back and he goes back to the lady and then he says, "Let me help you cook this thing." She didn't know who the guy was and then he comes back, he tells his friend "We haven't done what is right." This was a state of social justice. Everyone had something out of the Islamic budget, but he realized that breast-feeding children didn't have anything. Almost everyone else had something that they could rely upon except these poor children, these babies. He said "We also have to enter them into our treasury account and make an allotment for them."

He was harsh? Yes- desert people are harsh, and he was one of these people who was a harsh desert individual. It was brought to his attention- "Your son got drunk". Remember, Umar himself was a drunkard before Islam, he was a very heavy drinker, but when his conscience was convinced that it was wrong, not one drop touched his lips, then when they come and tell him "Your son, Abdur Rahman, had some alcohol, he got drunk." He tells his son "Come here son, did you drink and get drunk?" He says "Yes father, I did." Umar says "Come here, let me apply the Hadd to you." Then, he takes the whip and he lashes his own son. Now, it is said that a month later, and this is also almost a consensual issue in the literature, his son dies. Whether that death is attributable to the harsh whipping he got from his father or whether it is attributable to something else, only Allah knows, but there are different versions in history that speak about this event. This was a person who was centered around justice. As we said, this person was a peoples person, he was among the people, you would see him where people are. He comes across an old man who is virtually blind. This man couldn't find his way around. Umar asked him "What's wrong? It seems like you're in dire straits, your condition is

a very heavy one and there's a load on you, how can we help you? What's going on here?" (More or less- we're trying to paraphrase for you the words that were exchanged.) He said, "Well, when I was a younger person, I used to pay my jizyah, my financial dues." It turns out that this person was an old yahudi person living in Al-Medinah. "But, when I got old, there was noone to care for me." So, this same ruler of the Muslims, who heard this complaint directly from this man, once again, (you have to understand that this was a state that was highly concentrated with finances, this was at a time when the Muslims had exponential wealth compared to what they had before), he comes back to lets say his office, (not much of an office, but you can visualize what it was at the time), and he tells the people around him "We have not been fair. You don't take away resources from people when they are healthy and neglect them in their old age. We should have a portion of this treasury going to the elders, or the seniors, something like welfare or social security should be given to them." A person who tried to do his best to live according to the principles of justice. Another incident, a Christian religious figure became a Muslim, and one time, he was going around the Ka'ba and an ordinary person, a commoner, an average Muslim steps on this elite persons robe and after a harsh exchange, this commoner says "Who are you to be insulting me like this? I want to take corrective actions against you." And this little simple affair was referred to Umar and he says "This person accidentally stepped on your robe- what's your problem?" So he said "But can't you see, he's an average person? Don't you know who I am?!" Umar says "I know exactly who you are. But you don't have any right to take any type of reactive measures against a person who did not harm you with intent. There was no injury, virtually nothing happened to you, so what's your problem?" So, this person couldn't take it, he renounced his Islam and he left, he joined his co-religionists in the North. Is this not an example of a person who is concerned with Justice?

He goes on one of his trips to the North, to Al-Quds, when he enters Al-Quds, he speaks to the Arch-Bishop in Jerusalem or whatever his rank was- and after that, the Arch-Bishop tells him "You may pray in the Church here, (the Church of the Holy Sepulcre, the Holiest Church in Christianity)." He says "No, I'm not going to pray here." He asks "Why?" Umar replys "Because if I pray here, the Muslims in coming generations are going to consider this place a Masjid, they will claim it and you will not have your church." So, he refused to pray there, because he was looking at issues as far and as broad as he could understand them. A military Commander such as Khalid ibn Al-Walid, with all the medals and decorations and honors that he had, when Umar saw that- Wait a minute, you're stepping out of step here, you're taking matters into your own hands, he said "You are relieved of your responsibilities." Is this not a man who is concerned with Justice?

He gives the governorship of Kufa to Ammaar ibn Yaaser, knowing who Ammaar is, and probably with an insight to the future and what's going to happen, and he gives him what we call today a salary, and Ammaars salary is more than Umar's salary. The Muslims had six months of drought or famine during his years in office and he refused to eat anything that an ordinary Muslim could not eat. He had, for six months, olive oil with bread (or whatever passed as bread). Is this a person who is withdrawn from the public? Who is living in an Ivory Tower who is behind some type of conspiracy? Or who has bad intentions against the Muslim public? No! We should try to expel this notion from our midst. But we have to return and say once again, with all of that and with much more details than that, during his time, the judiciary was independent of the legislature or the executor. If he got into a dispute with someone else, he would go to Ali and tell him "Look into this affair and try to solve it." and if Ali was not around he would say "Now, we have an issue and we don't have Ali to solve it for us." A person who spoke his conscience, who acted his conscience in whichever personality that may have been is not a person that we should be thinking about and saying as some people say- either they are misinformed or they are on a sectarian limb- they come and say "Should we condemn Abu Bakr and Umar in public?" Condemn them for what! So that means what?- you have all the freedom to go into your closed rooms and the privacy of your lives and condemn them there? This is not going to be very helpful, neither for the person who is involved in this type of thinking nor in the society that has these types of people in it. There were disagreements on the basis of Ijtihaad. Umars disagreements with the people around him concerning the issue of the armies when they go out and liberate different lands and territories. The majority opinion of those around him was "That these liberated areas should belong to the people, the troops, those who are sacrificing and struggling," and his opinion was "No! For how long is this going to go on? And then you may have a class of people emerging here. Imagine troops becoming rich." He couldn't see it that way, but he was not selfish to say "Oh, I can't see this the way everyone else sees it so I'm sticking to my opinion." No! When he saw that everyone around him looked at this issue with a difference to him, he agreed with them. He quoted an ayah, they quoted an ayah, but when he realized that when they quoted their reference in the Qur'an and they had a point, he conceded. This wasn't a man with an ego. He ruled as best as he could and then he passed on, which will take us to, with Allah's help and with your endurance, another chapter and another movement of Muslims that becomes more critical and more sensitive than the one we are looking at. It was this leader of the Muslims who learnt from Allah's Prophet who tells you and me when he sees a person in the Masjid trying to put on an air of religiosity- A person comes to the Masjid and begins praying up and down and up and down and hours and hours and days and days. Someone asks "Who's this person here? Who takes care of his family? Who pays his bills? (Of course these are not the words, but this was the type of inquiry that was going on at that time). The people who knew this person said "Well, his relatives, his friends, and his neighbors take care of his affairs." Umar goes up to this person who puts on this image of religiosity and says to him, after striking him, "Don't kill us with your religiosity, may Allah cause you to perish!" Just listen to this. Where are todays verbal and verbatim

religious people taking issue with this and saying "what are you saying- Umar? He said on another occasion, when you take a look at a person, "Never, never look at his prayers and his fasting, look at: When he speaks, is he going to honor what he says? If he promises or commits himself to something is he going to deliver on his commitment? If he has an impulse of doing something that is wrong, is he going to check himself?" Look at that, what's happening today? If he was among todays religiosity types of Muslims, they'd probably say "Well, Umar has left Islam, he doesn't understand this deen any longer!" Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... If we just were to understand the standards of that time, and how some people who were the product of the struggle of Allah's Prophet were trying to honor their Ahad and their Mithaq, their contractual obligations with Allah and then we take a look at what's happening today. You see, this type of information has been withdrawn from the Muslim public mind, and now, the people who feel that the Muslims are not enslaved enough as they should be are trying to go after the books and the education system that may still have this information buried deep down inside of it and take it out of public circulation. We're not going to have this information anymore and we will go ahead and clobber ourselves to virtual elimination because we don't have what it takes to re-construct these facts and work ourselves forward in challenging times like this. As you have just heard, Umars son just drank enough to get drunk and he faced the punishment and the consequences. Look at today, how many people, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, the same place that we're talking about, go about drinking until they die! There is one source of information that says "in the Arabian Peninsula, there are 250,000 prostitutes." Now, not to take a look at the political deficiency, look at the morals! Many Muslims take pride in their moral character. What are 250,000 prostitutes doing in the land of the Qur'an, the Prophet, Al-Wahy and Al-Islam? Most of them in Dubai and the areas to the East of the Arabian Peninsula, coming from Eastern Europe and Russia, in five-star and four-star hotels all over the place. Is this the type of Islam that we understand? But this is what happens when you take away this vital information from Muslims, they begin to accommodate anything. They can wind up asking scholars for fatwas that "Is AzZina halaal?" If things keep on going like this, they will go to these scholars and say "Tell us, is Az-Zina halaal?" They rationalize usury, they give you broad religious explanations for Riba being halaal. Where are we going with this? But, you see, it's up to you and it's up to me, as long as our minds are void, they'll move in and fill the vacuum with all the falsities, the falsifications and falsehood that they have. In front of our own eyes, a King comes and a King goes, does anyone speak to them about Freedom of Conscience? Can anyone speak to them about Shura? Can anyone speak to them about Justice, Equity and fairness? You can't say that- Why? Because they've taken those words out of your thinking mind. We hope that we can contribute with this information as much as possible to barring these people who are fishing for war and tension from our personal lives and from our social and geographic areas.

KHALIPH, IMAM OR EMIR AL-MU'MININ UTHMAN

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem... It is not easy to look at our own selves in the mirror sometimes, especially when our image leaves a lot to be desired. In this instance, we will try to look at some of our faults and some of our failures. We do this in an understanding of Allahs words and also trying our best to re-cast our character in the mould of Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). The Muslims, after about

thirteen or fourteen years after the Prophet had passed on, reached a critical moment, and they were bound to reach this critical moment, in which it was no longer possible to keep at bay the strong sub-terennial feelings that were up until that time, we're speaking about 13 years in Makkah and ten years in Al-Medinah, and then about 13 to 14 years after that, a total of about 37 to 38 years. During this time, what was submerged were the social values that were attached to nationalism and tribalism and ethnicism. They had no political expression up until this time, but what happened at this turning point, and Allah knows best, and we are trying as much as possible to be as conscientious and accurate in understanding these events. As an demonstration of the ayah Oh you who are committed to Allah, stand in awe of Him and speak a straight word. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 70) It is not for a worldly gain, nor out of fear of a worldly power, nor for a greed that pulls us and distracts us to worldly aims. It is our heightened attention and guard of Allah and His Power that has us say what we are going to say. For the first time now, the Muslims experienced a political assassination. While Umar (radi Allahu Anhu), the second conscientious successor to Allahs Prophet was in the Masjid, he was approached by an assassin and killed. Not immediately, but none the less, he lost his life because of what remains an Enigma in Islamic History. There is no concrete information, (from what we know so far) of who executed this assassination, meaning belonging to what interest group or faction or block in that growing society and for what purpose was this done. If we wanted to bring it into the proximity of our world today, we can say that the assassination of the just ruler, Umar ibn Khattaab, is similar to trying to obtain accurate information of the assassination of Kennedy in our generation. It's just speculation, theories and educated guesses as to why that took place. That being said, we have to understand at least a minimum of the social reality that was at work. The society in which he was assassinated had become a militarized society. There were wars, there were people, recruits, volunteers who were in the tens of thousands, according to one count and according to another 48,000 who were what we say today constantly under arms, and, society as a whole cannot tolerate an ongoing military campaign for which it sees no cessation. To the average person, it seems like "we are in this forever". There has to be a respite, a break from all of this. So, in the make-up of that society there may have been an anti-war movement. And this type of social trend can feed on anyone and everyone as there were lots of blocks of people who had resented the strict norms and the high standards of Justice that they were exposed to. (We're trying to borrow words and notions from todays world to understand what was happening in the world at that time.) There was a lobby, zero-in to this word, because it is very important to understand what is going to happen after this event. This was the most obvious faction in the make-up of that Islamic society in Makkah and Al-Medinah specifically and beyond that, in the other areas into which it had expanded and become the norm of the day. There was a lobby that was at work to try to capture the levers of state and control the decision making process, and this lobby was concentrated in what is called Quraish At-Taliqah, the amnestied Quraishis, who were forgiven

their generational war against Allah's Prophet himself when he went to Makkah and liberated it and there were these throngs of people who were up until then his avowed enemies for a very long time. Allahs Prophet, in that position of triumph asked these people who had proven who they were "What do you think I shall do with you?" And then, here they responded by trying to tap on his good nature and his sympathy. They said "But you are a noble brother and a noble nephew." And he said to them "Now, you are released, go, you are free." The word that is used for that is At-Tulaqa, the plural of Taleeq. So, Allah's Prophet gave them this description and definition. It is within this body of people that we find there is a type of incessant unyielding attempt to grab the handles of power. In the way they conducted and expressed themselves from occasion to occasion, this fact would leap out from them. Prominent among these Tulaqa was Bani Ummayah, and central to the Ummayah clan was Abu Sufyan and his family. These, on the surface of it had become Muslims and they were to be treated as the Muslims they professed to be. Once a person comes out and says that now he is a Muslim, you can't go out in public and deny him, the expression that they have made public. This was the position of Allah's Prophet and those who had struggled throughout all these years. Also keep your mind on the word Quraish AlMuhajirah, because what happened to the power block that was ruling Makkah before Allahs Prophet and during the first 13 years of his struggle, Quraish itself was split into those who now had become the sincere followers of Allahs Prophet, the ones who were forced to leave Makkah and go to Al-Medinah, hence Quraish Al-Muhajirah. So, we have now for the first time a conscientisation of these two segments of Muslims, Quraish At-Taleeqah and Quraish AlMuhajirah. Umar said, referring to Quraish At-Taleeqah, the one's who fought for a very long time and established their hostile credentials towards Allahs Prophet and the committed and sacrificing Muslims around him, "For how long are we going to continue considering them AlMuallafah Qulubuhum?" There was what can be considered in todays language an economic category of people, by the words of the Qur'an, they are called Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum, which means those who you want to win over their hearts. Many of the people of Makkah, who at the end of the life-time of Allah's Prophet became nominal Muslims fell under this economic or welfare category, which in practical terms meant that a portion of the Islamic budget is due to them. So, Umar said "For how long are we going to continue to pay these people and consider them Al-Muallafah Qulubuhum? Are they going to retire with this description?" So, he cancelled the payments to the Tulaqah who were called Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum. Who felt the pressure at this time? Obviously those who were just hiding their true feelings to this radical change in Arabia; social change, political change and economic change that the Prophet brought about and was strictly adhered to by his first two successors. And then, Umar said (and this may have drawn guns against him from this quarter of people) "I will not give any responsible function or position of importance to any of these Tulaqa." So, they were aware of this, could this have contributed to his assassination? It's still a matter of speculation- no one can say firmly and definitely why he was assassinated, but during the critical moments when he was passing away, to the best of his Ijtihaad, to the best of his reasoning, he had thought out a way in which Muslims could peacefully, without bloodshed, without division, without a civil war, because these were on the back-burner of everyone's minds, and he wanted to avoid this happening, so he said

"There are six persons who should decide among them who the next ruler of the Muslims is going to be." And he named the six of them, Az-Zubair, Talha, Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhum), and he said, "These six should decide among themselves within three days," the condition of three days, meant that if it went longer that that, from how he understood the Muslims, the Muslims were going to be divided and they were going to approach an internecine or civil war and he didn't want that to happen, so he gave the Imamah of the salaah to Suhail. Suhail came from Byzantium, he had nothing to do with a Quraishi or a Makkan or a Medinian or an Arab or anything of that. That decision by Umar was another indication that the preference was to draw the leader of the Muslims away from Quraish At-Taleeqah. All of these that were named came from Quraish AlMuhajirah, those who were forced out of Makkah because of a death threat. We notice that all other Muslims are excluded, there was no Ansaar among them, no one from Medinah was among these six, none of the other Muslims who had proven their caliber and their character, in other words, the inside circle of Allahs Prophet were also not included in these six. Was this a faultless decision? Obviously not. It was flawed, but it was not intentionally flawed, it was done with the best that this person can think of doing to spare the Muslims blood shed early on and he told the Muslims while he was dying, "If these six cannot agree among themselves to who is going to be the leader of the Muslims within three days and they enter the forth day, it is the responsibility of you Muslims to behead six of them." This was not done because he wanted to get rid of people, nor because he was blood thirsty, nor because he wanted Muslims to have power by ridding themselves of these six. There are many interpretations to this, but some of them are built on the misunderstanding of either the character Umar or of the social forces that were at work or both. The urgency of having a leader and the unity of the Muslims could not tolerate more than three days without someone being the leader of the Muslims. What happened here? (Sometimes some falsely religious people are going to criticize us and say "How dare you speak about these people?") These six people in the rationalization of Umar were chosen because the Prophet died while he was not upset with these six. The hadith literature has it in this sentence which means he was "satisfied more or less with these six individuals." Now, the issue of whether we have the moral obligation to put in light of the Qur'an and the Prophet the behavior of these six- are we permitted to do that or not? If we are not permitted to do that, we're finish! There's no longer anything we can say, but if we are permitted to do that, because they are men and we a men and they are all accountable to Allah and we are also accountable to Allah, that being the case, it becomes perfectly normal to take a Qur'anic and Prophetic look at what transpired here. What happened here? Six individuals have to choose one of them to be the leader of the Muslims- when we take a look at these people, we see that with one exception somehow, whether faintly or strongly so, these individuals had background relationships with Quraish AtTaleeqah. They themselves were not from it. They had nothing to do with the 20 year war that Makkah imposed on Allah Prophet, a hot war and a cold war, they had nothing to do with that, but they had relationships, they had family connections and this is the issue the first two successors to Allah's Prophet were trying to avoid all along. Right now, it sneaks right back into this committee of six individuals and Abdur Rahman ibn Awf was given the responsibility of

trying as best as he could to determine where the majority Muslim loyalty is. Listen, it's only three days, and after an extensive contact, asking questions with practically everyone he could, he discovered what had already been there, and that is a strong trend that favors Ali, and there's another strong trend that favors Uthman ibn Affan. These were very strong trends and to the best of his knowledge, he did not know what to do here, even though he was a brother-in-law to Uthman ibn Affan, it wasn't very obvious to him who was the most popular figure and so, he called everyone to the Masjid, time was running out and he had to do something. All of the others sort of were marginalized- Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, Az-Zubair, Talha- there was nothing much there, so he called everyone to the Masjid. And, he asked Ali, first, (we're paraphrasing here), "If you were given the responsibility, meaning if you became the leader of the Muslims, are you going to carry on in word and spirit, in theory and in practice with the Sunnah of Rasulillah and the two seniors who followed him (That's in reference to Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma)?" He says "Obviously, the Sunnah of Rasulillah is binding, but what Abu Bakr and Umar said or did was their Ijtihad and I will have my Ijtihad." And the Muslims were listening. Then he turns to Uthman and he asks him the same thing. Uthman immediately agrees, meaning he is going to follow in the footsteps of Muhammed and Abu Bakr and Umar. He had no hesitation in saying that he will follow suit. At that time, Abdur Rahman ibn Awf tips the balances or what appears to the Muslim public as the consensus to give the bai'ah to Uthman. Uthman becomes the third ruler after Allah's Prophet. Brothers and sisters, we are not trying to say these words out of centuries of bad feelings, we are not trying to say these words because we want to cut down people who sacrificed in the presence of Allahs Prophet, we are saying these words to try and learn from our mistakes. Anyone who is understanding this in another way, May Allah help them and relieve them of whatever is causing them to do that. So, here we have Uthman saying that he is going to carry on in the same method and same spirit as those who preceded him. Did he do that? Remember, we're not looking at the minor issues of daily life, we are looking at the issues that impact the Muslim peoples, issues of Bai'ah or allegiance, issues of jihad, issues of Adl or justice, issues of Freedom of Conscience, issues of Shura, this is the area that we are looking at. Did Uthman follow through with what he said? You can go back to whichever history books you feel comfortable with and after you have exhausted your reading, you will find that he did not do so. In the first instance, the issue of relatives gaining power positions in the state- Uthman failed to live up to the example of Allah's Prophet and his two successors on this count. What did he do? To understand it a little better, we're going to have to simplify it a little- the Islamic State at that time had covered the Arabian Peninsula and it expanded into four other important regions, Al-Kufa, Al-Basra, Ash-Shaam and Misr and these regions had their governors. These governors, before Uthman, were assigned on the basis of their merits, their qualifications, their precedent jihad- what happened now? The people who were to assume, what is called the governorship today occupied those positions because they were relatives of the ruler of the Muslims. Did Allah's Prophet or the two successors to him begin to give high governmental positions to his relatives because they were their relatives? No! This was the first serious action with catastrophic consequences that was institutionalized during the reign of Uthman. Abdullah ibn Sarh, Uthmans cousin, became the

governor of Egypt; Abdullah ibn Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet, Uthmans half-brother or brother by suckling and also his cousin, became the governor of Kufa; Abdullah ibn Aamir, who also belongs to this, and by the way, when we speak about relatives here, we are speaking about the Umawi lobby, became the governor of Basrah and add to them Mu'awiyah who is now the governor of Shaam, and now you can see that something terribly wrong has happened in the decision making body of Muslims. And Muslims were not sleeping, people were watching, they were seeing what was happening. Just like today, we can look at these events and say "Why did this happen?" The literature says that this person, first of all was a very old man in his late 70's or early 80's and he was sentimental. He was given in to trying to help his family. Well, that could extend into dangerous areas. How do you define your family? All of us are required to support our families, but does that mean you bring in cousins and half brothers and uncles and nephews and what not just because they are your family and you give them these high positions regardless of their merits and some of them are Tulaqa! They are the ones who were at war with Allahs Prophet- this is something that would have been impossible to happen in the two administrations before Uthman, but now, it was happening. That was one fatal flaw that we have to learn from. We are not saying this because we want to bring down someone. This person, maybe tried to do his best, but he was taken advantage of, he became something like- if we were to use a loaded word, "a puppet" in the hands of his extended tribe. We don't want this to happen again. It's enough for us to have suffered from this mistake then and to carry the effect of it until this very day. It has a psychological impact on us that Muslims don't know how to speak about this. If it's a sunni-Muslim he doesn't know how to speak about it and if it's a shi'i Muslim, he doesn't know how to speak about it, and if anyone wants to truly express their heart-felt feelings on this issue, they're going to antagonize the other Muslim. No! We can speak about this without antagonizing anyone, as long as there is common sense and goodwill in the Muslims. In another instance, what happened during these years? If you say tribalism to urban people, they're not going to understand what you're saying, but if you say nationalism, then the concept is understood) Nationalism made a come back during these 12 years of Uthman's rule. It didn't make a comeback because he was deliberately supervising it, it made a come-back because there was an internal lobby that was working on grabbing the controls of state affairs. On the other hand, just as there was a nationalistic spike during that time, there was also a class spike that took place. To understand this a little more, maybe we have to mention some numbers. Remember, the Muslims began in Al-Medinah with virtually nothing. When we speak about budget, there's just about enough to go around and eliminate poverty. Even that was not possible during the time of famine, during Umars reign, but towards the end of Umars reign the Muslim yearly budget just from the Iraqi areas alone was around 100million dirhams. Dirham is another word for silver coins and dinaar is another word for gold coins. The Muslim budget was in that area. This was a lot of money. To understand how much this money was, listen to this, the salary from the Muslim budget to Al-Badrieen, the Muslims who fought at Badr, they were given out of the Muslim budget 5000 dirhams a year; the scale goes down by a thousand and 2000 and 3000 for other

Muslims who participated later on in Uhud and in Al-Khandaq and in the other military sacrifices that took place. This was their "pay-scale" 5000, 4000, 3000 all the way down to 1,500 dirhams a year. The wives (radi Allahu anhunna), Ummahaatul Mu'mineen, of Allahs Prophet were given 1000 dirhams each month. Mark these numbers in your mind. This was the level of subsistence or living, they're not poor and they're not rich, this amount of money is taking care of their expenses. During the time of Uthman, we have something else happening- we had people who were going on military missions and acquiring new lands, estates, large tracts of fertile land, and it became their property and they were beginning to receive in what some people would say a liberal manner and other people would say an unsupervised manner a lot of money from the Islamic treasury. Uthman himself, in addition to what the Prophets wife Aisha (radi Allahu anha) was receiving just like the other wives, he gave her an extra 10,000 dirhams a year. He began to give money without the strict supervision that was practiced by his pre-decessors. Remember, Uthman said that he is going to follow in the footsteps, in the Sunnah of Allahs Prophet and the two seniors. This is not the sunnah of Allahs Prophet and the two seniors. Now, we had a new class of people that did not exist before. We are coming at the end of an era in which socialism and communism took a toll on peoples normal thinking. Let's throw that out. We have nothing to do with all of that type of thinking, as meritorious as its objectives may have been to bring about social justice in human society- you can't bring about social justice in the absence of Allah! But now, we had something like this, you compare the pay scale of these individuals who in the words of Islamic literature, they did their very best in sacrificing, in protecting Allahs Prophet, in being with him at the war fronts, when he was persecuted, when he was expelled, when he was ex-communicated, when he was the target of ridicule and their economic policy, they stood with him and this was their pay-scale. Now look at what happenedindividuals such as, and these were just a few years ago part of the six who were supposed to decide who the ruler of the Muslims is going to be. Talha (radi Allahu anhu) died, he got involved in the commercial world and he left an amount of 35million dirhams. You tell me, we don't have a problem!? Az-Zubair dies, and here you have numbers, either it was 35million, 40million or 51million dirhams. How is it happening? It's happening because there's no longer a sense of Social justice, economic justice and financial justice among the Muslims. This did not go unnoticed. There were people who were seeing exactly what was happening. Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) began to speak out against these serious deviations away from the spirit of the Qur'an and the model of the Prophet. He said, this is one of the statements that rings in the history books, "Those who are hoarding silver and gold, pass on a good word to them, they will be ironed with the fire." This is a harsh criticism of the injustice and the social disequilibrium that now has become a feature that did not exist before in Islamic life. So, he became an undesirable person. He would go around, there was one area, Ash-Shaam was sealed off from this type of criticism. The governor, Mu'awiyah who was the centre of this lobby, sealed out Ash-Shaam from this criticism. So, when Abu Dharr wanted to express his conscience, (remember freedom of conscience), on these issues, he told him "No! Get away, stay out." This is probably the first incident that we know in which they deny a Muslim access to an Islamic country, to an Islamic land, and it wasn't limited to Abu Dharr. When Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu Anhu)who had been an employee

in the finance ministry of those days saw Uthman taking out of the treasury 500,000dirhams to give to another Taleeq, one of his relatives, he said "What are you doing?" He said "I'm borrowing, never mind, I'll return it." He said "No! That's not the way business is transacted here. You don't just come and put your hands and tell m" You see, Uthman told Abdullah ibn Mas'ud "You're a gate-keeper." It's equivalent in todays language as if you're just a teller. You know, you go to the bank and there's a teller there, so Uthman told Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who is also a well established and known character "You're a teller, you just do what we tell you to do." He said "No! I resign, because this is not the way you run affairs." This was going on-, these types of discrepancies, mistakes, ill-begotten policies, nepotism and favoritisms now became a characteristic of the Islamic Governance. It didn't exist before, and people were aware of this. So, what did they do? They came to Uthman and they said "You've gone too far?" And he would say when he would meet people on the first few occasions and the people in Egypt and Kufa in particular were boiling against this institutionalization of what is becoming in-justice. He said "Ok, we'll take corrective measures." Then, Marwaan ibn Al-Hakm, and the other guy, Mu'awiyah, who were the two people running the show behind the scenes because they were fermenting this lobby that was waiting for the appropriate time to make a jahili come-back vetoed all of this. Remember, Ali, for those of you who have a little question mark, what's going on here? At the beginning, he could see through what is happening here, he could see the clannishness of it, he could see through the tribalism that was rearing its head, he could see national sensitivities coming in, he could foresee the class issue- anyone living the real world could see these. If we were to take these events and place them in todays world, a person with a living mind and conscience cannot see these things coming?! He reluctantly gave his bai'ah to Uthman, but he didn't do that with a grudge, he did that with an opposition to him. He would go to Uthman and speak to him frankly when he was wrong- he'd tell him on monetary issues, on issues of bringing in his relatives into government until finally, against all advice, the Muslim people revolted against Uthman and what happened was another assassination. That brings us to the issue of "If a Muslim ruler begins to realize that he has lost the social contract between him and the people who placed him in that position, should he resign or not?" The answer to that is "He should resign." It was the consensus of the Muslim people who put the leader into office, if that consensus goes away, that Muslim leader should go away, because there's an argument that is going to develop after this. Uthman said "I will not take off a shirt which Allah has fixed on to me." Where did that come from? It wasn't Allah who put him in that position, it was the bai'ah of the people that put him in that position, and we have to learn. When rulers lose the bai'ah of the people, they lose the right to be in that office- they should just step aside. So what does that mean? Is it too big for a person to step aside for the interest of the Muslims and to obey Allah? Hasan ibn Ali (radi Allahu anhu) did that! Uthman was wrong in sticking to that position when he saw that the popular pulse was against him, Hasan was right when he abdicated that position knowing that he's going to spare the Muslims the war that was in the making from the time when these decisions were made in the time of Uthman. Brothers and sisters, we say these words, once again, not to take away from the sacrifices of these Muslims, but to learn, not from their mistakes, because their mistakes are our mistakes, we are learning from our mistakes.

If you want to step out of this and say you have nothing to do with this, you don't belong to this history of Muslims, to this experience of Muslims, to this trial and error of Muslims. We belong to it, so we have to speak about it. What was right we say is right and what is wrong we say is wrong and we correct ourselves. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We have to remind ourselves that it is because, and Allah knows better, we see that the strategy of the coming years is to inflame and internal civil war amongst the Muslims, primarily with misunderstandings, sensitivities, alienation, a break down in communication and the fact that we don't want to open our hearts and our minds to each other that we tread into this territory so that we can (and Allah is our witness), dispel as much as possible of the foundations and the plans that are in the making to have us turn against each other. If we can with good intentions and common sense place these issues solidly in the book of Allah and in the Sunnah of His Prophet, if we can open up to each other without negative feelings, without grudges, without a superiority and inferiority complex, to try to by-pass this with our hearts and minds, together, we will have foiled one of the biggest strategies and strategems against the re-dedication of our self-determination in todays world. We have to say it again, we are only covering this territory because we are forced to do so and we do so not for a worldly benefit or worldly status, we do so, so that we relieve our conscience knowing that we are accountable to Allah. Anyone who wants to contribute to this coming future is called upon to go back to source literature that speaks about these issues and then straighten our thoughts in accordance with Allahs words and His Prophets and then, in the spirit of brotherhood amongst ourselves, the you and I Muslims, the average Muslims, try our best not to accelerate the strategy of the kaafirs.

DEVELOPMENTS LEADING TO KHALIPH, IMAM OR EMIR AL-MU'MININ UTHMAN (RADI ALLAHU ANHU)'S DEATH
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem... With reliance upon Allah and confidence in His life giving words, we continue to take a hard look at an area which the Muslim mind has avoided for many generations which has given an opportunity for trouble makers of today, the fomenters of wars, those who have their national interests and their personal agendas at work to try to move in and instigate what may be probably one of the worst chapters of our history that can be added onto the other chapters that have been closed if we don't move in with our minds that are strictly located in the reference of the Qur'an and the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). We remind ourselves of how it is important, essential

and central to our understanding of Allah and His Prophet to always be aware and sensitive to the issue of justice. And when you govern or arbitrate the affairs of people, or when you rule over people, you govern or arbitrate or rule with justice. (Surah An-Nisa verse 58) Part of our history and our progression is the initial Ijtihaad and mistakes that were made, whether we like it or not, whether we identify it or not, whether we are able to learn from it or not, it is part of our make up. We can't run away from this fact. What is left for us is to try to make the best of it without a repetition of those mistakes and deviations and without offering the opportunity to the enemies of Allah, the Prophet, Ad-Deen and Islam to come in as they are trying to do nowadays and try to create or intensify divisions, misunderstandings and ignorance that now describes this particular area. We will continue to take a measured look at the information that is available to us at this critical time period that has been so sensitive to the Muslims, that even though we had around fourteen centuries to develop a healthy mindset and attitude to as accurately as possible understand what happened on one side, and on the other side, to build the necessary barrier of knowledge that would make it impossible for those today who are trying to penetrate our internal thoughts, the sensitive area in our psychology and then ferment unrest that will lead to further divisions down the road. That is why it is incumbent on us to step into this forbidden territory and to do so with a consciousness of Allah, with a confidence in Allah and with a general understanding of the Qur'an and the Prophet. Remember, even though in a sense this is history, in another sense it is contemporary, we are not looking at something that is not related to the real world today- rather it is. Allah gave us an Amanah, He says We have presented this Amanah to the heavens and the Earth and the Mountains but they declined to carry it and they trembled at this type of responsibility, but man assumed this responsibility. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 72) At the core of this Amanah that we are speaking about is the organization of Human society- the light, the information, the enlightenment, the ayaat, the revelation, the scripture, the words, the meanings, the feelings that have come to us from Allah can be distilled into organizing the human will, which in a sense at its core is the decision making process. We tried as much as possible to trace this decision making process and how the Muslims dealt with it after our Prophet passed away. We reached the critical area which still begs (number one) our objective approach; (number two) our full fledged analysis of what happened during this critical time. The Prophet of Allah in the best and most informed way tried to give the necessary information that we need to organize and develop our social existence, while maintaining our submission to Allah and our obedience to the Prophet when the Prophet is finally gone, and he's a Prophet, he's a human being , he's a mortal and death as every human being understands will overcome every human being, and the Prophet himself was no exclusion, as dear as he is to Allah and those who love him, he is not an exclusion to this sunnah- to this law. We saw how in the best understanding of the Qur'an and the Prophet this issue was dealt with pertaining to the first two successors (radi Allahu anhuma) to the

Prophet. We come though to an area that still begs for our thinking ability. This is an area that doesn't need our emotions. It's been a mind field of emotions for so long, let us try to minimize that aspect and to place more emphasis on our rational approach to what happened. This information is gleaned from different sources and references, trying to avoid those who are on the extreme of this era. There's always extreme opinions and we are trying to avoid this. We are trying to be as objective, as factual while we understand Allahs words and his Prophets words simultaneously. When we come to this, you see, we're not excluded from this, it's easy to run away and say "Well- that has nothing to do with me!" It does! Because what happened then still has an impact on our lives, and further yet, it has an influence on our thoughts and feelings, so we can't come and say we have nothing to do with this. This is part of our makeup, whatever is positive, whatever is negative about it- is part of our total make-up. Anyone who wants to deny this is either trying to run away from reality or deny his own Islamic History and character. We are not trying to do that. That's an easy way, people can run away and say "WellYou know, this has nothing to do with us." It does! In ways that we understand and in ways that we may not understand. During the reign of the third successor to Allah's Prophet, Uthman, there were serious violations of the standards that were established before him and of the meanings of certain Qur'anic criteria. There's no way anyone in his right mind and heart can avoid this. When we look at it, we're not looking at this with a vengeance, we are not looking at this to try and behave as if we are superior or inferior in understanding this- we approach this with a healthy mind and a healthy heart, away from the reactionary attitude that characterized many people who tried to step into this territory. How did we have the assassination of the third ruler after Allahs Prophet? How did we get to that? What happened? Something happened here! This didn't take place in a vacuum and it didn't happen at the spur of some ones emotions. There must have been something that was developing throughout the years, and we're talking about a decade and a halfsomething was happening to have led to people doing what they finally did. Here, we can pinpoint some major developments. We repeat that during the reign of Uthman, there was a break with the pattern of governance that preceded him. That break is accentuated by Uthman appointing his relatives as governors of the most prized territories in the Muslim domain. Most of the sensitivities towards this began in Al-Kufa. The other areas, Ash-Shaam, Misr, and Al-Basrah were not as sensitive to what Uthman did as the population of Al-Kufa, which will force us to take a closer look at Al-Kufa itself. Al-Kufa was something like a forward head-quarters for the military surge of Islam into what is today called politically and geographically Iraq and Iran. AlKufa which is a city in the southern part of todays Iraq, was the head-quarters of this Islamic Military vitality and because this was the case it was a magnet for the Arabian warriors who are now under an Islamic command structure who were coming from the Arabian Peninsula and bringing with them their previous culture, even though now they had an Islamic character, but there previous culture was still there. Meaning, tribalism was part of their make-up, and now, there's a new element that has been intensified and that is nationalism. Al-Kufa now, was also a city of status. There was a considerable budget and there was money here to be made. What was

happening was, as the Islamic territory was expanding and growing, there was new wealth to be had by psychologies and mentalities that were not thoroughly at the standards of the Qur'an and the Prophet, the standards of Islam and the Sunnah. Nothing can happen in a few years- you can't come, just because Islam now has grown into new territories, assume that the culture of the people in these new territories has become an Islamic culture. They bring with them a non-Islamic culture. Central to this non-Islamic culture is basically two elements- tribalism and its nationalistic extension, and now, capital and its feudal developments. These were not there before, now they had become a new element to which the people in Al-Kufa had become supersensitive. Contributing to that was the fact that Uthman, the ultimate decision maker in the Muslim state, now has appointed one of his relatives, a very close relative, a cousin and a brother by breast-feeding, Al-Waleed ibn Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet to be the governor of this Kufa area. Sometimes, in history, little things become major issues. What happened after the first five years of Uthmans rule is, his governor who was known to be a drunkard, (remember, we are trying to extract this information from mainstream versions of this history)- what happened during this time was someone stole something, a theft occurred which led to a clash between two elements of that population and that clash resulted in deaths. This whole issue was raised to the governor of Al-Kufa who is a confidant and a very close person to the governor of the Muslims, and the governor was in-capable to see to it that the rule of Allah, the Hadd applies in this case, and so the governor himself was recalled because this issue was going to get out of control. He was recalled and Uthman himself was not able to bring his own Governor in the Islamic line of judicial action. This was the first serious, popular movement against the central Islamic government in AlMedinah. Let us say, before it passes us, that the Islamic government was in Al-Medinah and not in Makkah for a reason. Remember, we spoke about Quraish At-Taleeqa, remember, we spoke about a city that was in opposition to Allahs Prophet for over 21 years- it appears that the Islamic capital could not be moved to Makkah itself because of the strong anti-Islamic feelings that were still alive there. The Prophet liberated Makkah in the last year and a half or so of his life, he can't change their deep seated feelings, reservations and internal hostilities towards him in one or two years. Now, don't tell us that this is an easy thing to deal with. If the Prophet of Allah himself could not locate his seat of power in Makkah which is where the Ka'ba is, Al-Bayt Al-Haram, the Ibrahimi legacy and tradition, then we are dealing with a significant force here, a force that did not go away. The Prophets decision to stay in Al-Medinah, should send us a message as to the repelsitrant feature and character of the people of Makkah themselves. During the rule of Uthman, when he was unable to bring his own governor into the legal procedures of the Quran and the Prophet, he thought maybe now is the time to replace him with someone else. So, he came, he brought to Kufa to replace his cousin another person from the same family, Saeed ibn Al-Aas, but he turns out to be just an extension of the previous ruler, and during this time there was another incident that also brought the population of Kufa closer to take more action against the central authority in Al-Medinah. What was that? There was a day in which this new governor in Al-Kufa called for a meeting of his consultants- Muslims who are known to have had a glorious history of sacrifice for the course of Allah and what slips from him- we dont know whether that was deliberate to try and provoke some people or whether its trying to take the pulse- whatever the

case, he said referring to the new fertile territory in Iraq, that this is a Quraishi garden. These fertile lands were referred to as As-Sawaad, an explanation in the Arabic language that would indicate that the land is muddy, of a dark color that can sustain agriculture and productive produce. He said, This Sawaad is a Quraishi garden. This, as far as the internal make up of the population of Kufa, became the proverbial needle that broke the camels back. Now, to them it was proven that the government in Al-Medinah is out to expand the fiefdom of Quraish- this has nothing to do with Islamic values. They thought that the ruler of the Muslims in Al-Medinah had learnt his lesson. The previous Governor who was known to have not had a fiber of Islamic morals in him was relieved of his responsibility, the new one comes in, but the new one himself also had this nationalistic, this tribal and even this class feature to him, and from here on, the dye was cast. The people of Kufa were convinced now that they had to do something about this. They began to agitate. At this time, when Saeed ibn Al-Aas the new ruler of Kufa that was appointed, (remember, these were appointments, this was not a Shura process in which the Muslims themselves decided who their governor or local ruler is going to be, (we have to learn from these mistakes)), realizes what has happened in Kufa, he goes back to Al-Medinah, and then, when he tries to come back to Kufa, they block him. The people of Kufa send out a contingent of troops on the road between Kufa and Al-Medinah and they tell him, Youre not welcome back into Kufa and if you come, you know what is going to happen to you! So, he returns, and for the first time, the Muslims in Kufa elect their ruler or regional or local Governor. Who do they elect? They elected Abu Musa Al-Ashari, another well known character from the generation of the Prophet. Even though he doesnt come from Quraish. He doesnt have this stigma to him- there was a public stigma in the public eye, there is this thing that the Quraishis are taking over the Islamic State and theyre putting their men in these high and sensitive positions. So, when the election of a Muslim ruler took place, (there was no appointment, it was not imposed from the highest office, they themselves elected their own ruler), the other Muslims, they were not sleeping, they were seeing what was going on and they had their own grievances. The grievances were exponentially growing- Misr in Al-Basra, Shaam was sealed off from these events, and they began to feel themselves that something like this should begin to happen where they were. But, to convince the government, they would have to go to Uthman himself and speak to him, telling him what has gone wrong. So, there were three delegations, about 600 from each delegation, from Al-Basra, Misr and Al-Kufa. They finally decided to go to Uthman and open this whole issue up. There were some historical headlines that captured some of these moments. As far as these delegations are concerned, they had three major grievances that they wanted Uthman to solve and do away with. The first was his nepotism, they considered assigning the highest offices to his relatives and family is a form of nepotism that violated what the Prophet and the two rulers after him did. They wanted him to take corrective measures along this line. The other one was that there was a maldistribution of wealth and they wanted Uthman to take measures to see to it that the rich people do not become richer and the poor people do not become poorer. The other issue was their immediate demand in vacating certain offices- meaning the Governors in these areas should no longer be the governors. The words that he told them were set, we have to, quickly say that these people were not on a military mission. They were not going to Uthman to get rid of him, or

assassinate him, or throw him out of office or these other things that some other people try to play into this. They were going to him simply to advise him to do what is right. Also, this was not a matter of a couple of days or a couple of weeks. When this popular movement began, against what it was considering to be a ruler who has slipped out of legitimacy, this was not a matter of days or weeks, this continued for about 70 days. The first time was a matter of a full month in which they were discussing back and forth what should be done, and in these discussions, it appears very vividly that Uthman was agreeing with their demands and that is why the issue seemed to at one time be diffused- things are going to be taken care of. But then, something happened, and here is where is seems the history books are not as forthcoming as we would want them to be. None of the corrective measures that Uthman agreed to were institutionalized or executed. There can only be one explanation to that, and that is that the strong men, as they were called, those who represented the Tulaqa, the Quraishi tribalism, the Umawi clannishness, Marwan ibn Al-Hakam and Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan vetoed all of those demands in the closed decision making circle. So, nothing was done. So, these people, the average people, ie. Muslims who did not belong to an agenda, Muslims who were looking at Justice to be done. There was and this is important for us to think about, there was something like a movement that developed in these years leading up to the assassination of Uthman. That movement was called Al-Qurra, which means the reciters of the Quran. To understand them, we would have to capture the facts on the ground. When Allahs Prophet passed away, there was an intense emotional vacuum and one of the attempts to fill in this vacuum was to concentrate the human mind and the human heart on the Quran. So, there was a popular movement that was concentrated around the Quran. People were memorizing, reciting, explaining, rehearsing, and exchanging its meanings amongst themselves in the Masjid, in public. This Qurra movement was the leading force in Kufa and it centered basically around two persons, Abdullah ibn Masud and Abu Musa Al-Ashari. None of them from this Quraishi, Umawi, Tulaqa ambience- they were free from that. There was a movement, because during Hurub Ar-Ridda, the social forces that wanted to renounce authoritative Islam and an Islamic central leadership in Al-Medinah, many of these Qurra had passed on in their opposition, or Jihaad against those who were fighting for purposes of breaking away from an Islamic authority and an Islamic Shura state. This began to increase and as these were very serious in the toll that they had taken on these Qurra they developed a movement to preserve the Quran. The Quran up until now was not written down, had not become a Mushaf, was not collected into pages from the beginning to the end, and these Qurra's intensity about reading the Quran exposed them to the Qiraaat, the seven legitimate ways of reading the Quran, and some of this interaction began to cause friction among the Muslims. The Qiraaat themselves began to cause this friction which led up to the idea to consolidate the Quran into one Holy Scripture, one Holy Writ. So, Uthman decided to do this. Now, when Uthman was deciding some things, he was getting input from another circle of sincere Muslims, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Ayyub Al-Ansaari, Saad, Zaid ibn Thabit and a few others (Radi Allahu Anhum) who were also advising him especially on this issue. So, he put together what is referred to today as Al-Quran or Al-Mushaf Al-Uthmani which to some of the Qurra was misinterpreted as taking away the vitality of these Qiraaat. Still, up until this day is an area in which the Muslim mind is not very familiar

with and it causes these problems nowadays. If we come to todays Muslims, we're supposed to have 1400years of education on these matters since then, and some Muslims will come and tell you, even scholars that you are dividing the Muslims by re-introducing these Qira'aat. Even though they are scholars they say this without a firm understanding of these Qira'aat. Never the less, this was an issue during those days, a critical issue and so, when this Qurra movement, these people who were out on the war front and who were intensely concentrated on the Quran, who began this corrective movement against the deviation coming from the inside circle of Uthman. When they did come to Al-Medinah, there were attempts at reconciliation by the Muslims who were living the details of these issues in Al-Medinah. Finally, when it appeared, when it came clear that what was agreed upon was not going to be implemented and what exacerbated the issue a little more was that there were hostile acts against Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr (Radi Allahu Anhu) and another prominent figure. These delegations from Kufa, Basra and Misr, are around 2,000, and 2,000 is nothing compared with the men under arms in this Islamic State, there was about 200,000 Muslims under arms and you had 2,000 who came to correct the deviations at the highest level. Imagine if the office of the Khalifah was to act like the governments nowadays! They could simply recall a fraction of the 200,000 and try to kill off these people who are coming to reform and correct what is wrong. That didnt happen, when Uthman spoke to them, and they left and these other events snowballed, indicating that there was no goodwill on behalf of the castle, Uthman had elaborately built for himself his own residence, it was called Al-Qasr, they came back this time more serious. Ali and the others who were there, who were trying to diffuse this issue tried their best to have those corrections take place, but it appears, once again, that the Umawi lobby was not in a mode to adjust what had gone wrong, so they took a hard line position now, in opposing these people who had come from hundreds of miles away to oppose them. Uthman himself said that he saw or felt that there is a popular wave but he said he will not unclothe himself from a garment that Allah had clothed him with. These are his words. That is not so. He became the leader of Muslims by the baiah of the Muslims. Theres no ayah and theres no hadith that makes him the leader of the Muslims. It was his misunderstanding on principle that had him stay his ground. He would not leave, even though, his castle, his elaborate residence was under siege for weeks. Ali had to send his son with food and water so that he doesnt die of thirst and hunger. Uthman wasnt permitted to go to the Masjid to lead the prayers because of the popular wave against the mistakes that were institutionalized during his years. Finally, there were some individuals, some books would try to make you believe there was some type of gangsterism or mob, No! this was a sincere attempt- now, there may have been trouble makers and trouble makers were all over the place, but by and large, this was a sincere popular recourse at adjusting the mistakes of government- some of these individuals went to the door and they torched it, they lit it on fire, and then, there were between three and five individuals out of around 2,000 who climbed over and went to Uthman in the sorry state that he was in. Remember, being under siege for this time period and as he was reading the Quran they stabbed him to death. We are not saying that this type of action was the correct action to take, we are not saying that Uthman deserved to die in such a way, what we are trying to say is that these events took place and there was a breakdown of governance between the highest office in the land and the average

Muslims who were here and there. This is where Islamic Governace broke down and this is how the third successor to Allahs Prophet met his final day on Earth. And, they leave, what was accomplished? In the institutional sense of the word, nothing much was accomplished- they wanted things to be done, those things were not done, but what became more clear is that that lobby that is in the shadows now would re-appear with its true agenda and what it had on its mind- an issue and a theme that we will approach in the coming khutbahs to try to have a feel for the area that our enemies now are trying to divide us on, an area that begs our attention, our common sense, our good intentions and our goodwill towards each other. This is not an area that should invite our enemies to polarize us into sunnis and shiis killing each other and keep on killing each other, saying we dont want to take a rational look at these events- Why not?! If we are confident, if we are sure, if we rely truly on Allah and His Prophet, we can be delivered with informed knowledge from this trouble making area. Instead of leaving it the open field of the war mongers and those who are fermenting civil strife among the Muslims today. We are responsible for Justice, beginning with that deviation during that time until what we have today. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims Going through some of the details of those sensitive years in Islamic history and trying to compare what was happening then with what is happening now- the mistakes that we had then pale, they drift into almost insignificance with the types of mistakes that we have today. Today, can the average person put together a delegation and go and speak to the highest person in Saudi Arabia, as an example. Yeah, they have a show, they have what they call some type of local council meetings, they throw in the word Shura, and they tell people Lets hear your complaint? What have you to say? This, what we are talking about, is this Islamic Governance? At that time, the years that we are looking at, this is 30 years plus after the Hijrah, 20 years after the Prophet. It is said, and this cannot be finalized, but it is said that the opposition to Uthman, part of it was organized, thought out and planned during the Hajj and the Umrah to Makkah. When we go to Makkah, can we now have a meeting of minds and souls on issues that are faintly related to the issues that we are talking about? The answer to that is a solid No!. Why? Because the rulers that we have dont even compare to the vitality that was present in those days. The ruler of Makkah and Al-Medinah- he is going to say I can defend my position?! I think what I am doing is right, and if the Muslims come and want to speak to me in their hundreds I am willing to respond to them without bringing in the armed forces?! When they feel that they are threatened, their armed forces cant do a thing, they call in the armed forces of the Kaafirs and the Mushriks of the world to defend them. But, with these details absent from the Muslim mind, these rulers, kings, monarchs and presidents are having a field day of security because were not thinking. This area is absent. We dont know what its like to go and speak to a ruler face-to-face, heart-to-heart, mind-to-mind. Thats been taken away now for over 1300 years. And what now- do we want it to become part of our social lives? No one can attempt to approach these rulers because no one wants to enter into this forbidden territory. Why? If we have Allah and His Prophet with us, we can go anywhere, into any territory and not become the terrorist that they want to say we are, or

the gangsters or the goons or the hit-man and the assassins that they try to sink into our history back then. There was nothing, per se, evil about the Muslim public conscience- nothing was evil then and nothing is evil about it now, regardless of the Umawi lobby back then and regardless of the Zionist Jewish lobby now. But, it is because we dont have this vital information in our heads and our hearts that these trouble makers begin to blow their poisonous ideas into our lives.

AFTERMATH TO AL-JAMAL AND THE BATTLE OF SIFFIN

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem... We will continue with Allahs provision to uncover and move forward with some of our experiences which we ourselves choose not to look at, and which have even been institutionalized in choosing not to look at it for centuries and centuries. Now is the time, especially with what is happening, and this is why we are looking at this area, because behind the scenes, minds want us to victimize our own selves in a physical manner after we have victimized our own selves in a mental manner. Obviously, we cannot put together armies at this time to stand in the face of this conspiracy. We don't shy away from this word- there is a conspiracy against us. The least we can do is clear the mental fields to diffuse the military plans of these conspirators. The history that has polarized Muslims, and there's no need for Muslims to be polarized if we understood our own history, our problem is some of us want to put our history in an oven and inflame our feelings thereby eclipsing our minds and others want to put our history in the deep freeze, in the ice-box there-by serving the same purpose. Even though they will rationalize that they are trying to run away from some fitnah, while by doing so, when you freeze your mind you give opportunity for

people to lead you to the fitnah that you are trying to avoid. Both of these positions are extremist positions and they need not accompany us any longer. We have to take a look with an open mind and a receptive heart at what unfolded in this dynamited history, relying of course on what Allah and his Prophet have left us with. The atmosphere after Al-Jamal can be approached in such a manner- we know, up until now, this was the 36th year after the hijrah, and up until then, there was a broad, tribal, self-centered tendency that cloaked itself with Islam. It wasn't convinced of Islam, it wasn't sincere to Allah and his Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), but now, Islam had become the force of the future and it had to find its convenient place in this future force. We tried to take a look at this, it is represented by 1st and foremost the Umawi lobby- that's probably the best way we can characterize it, the Umawi lobby in Makkah. It could not surmount over 20 years of hostilities, confrontations, clashes and warfare with Allahs Prophet. Finally, during Al-Fath of Makkah, the conquest of Makkah, it settled itself within this new Islamic reality. When Uthman (radi Allahu Anhu) was assassinated and Ali (radi Allahu anhu) for the 1st time now, by popular consent- there were pockets (as we said) that did not agree with this leadership, Imam and Khalifa, but the rest of the Muslims overwhelmingly, in their majority gave their Bai'ah to the Imam and Khalif. Recalcitrant in his position was the ruler in Damascus, Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan- he did not do so. What appears from reading this history is his nightmare was that two influential population bases or regions in the Muslim world unite against him. These two areas were Egypt and Iraq- thats the geography of today. Those times they were refereed to as Al-Kufa, Al-Basra and Misr. His nightmare was to see the consolidation of these areas militarily- he could care less for the emotions that were overwhelmingly in support of Ali, even though they were damaged by the battle of Al-Jamal. We, have to take a look at these areas. When Muawiya had his attention fixated on somehow diluting the influence and the potential of these two. How did this go? At the time when Uthman was assassinated, the ruler of Egypt, and now the concentration of Muawiya was on Egypt, because he knew that as far as Al-Iraq was concerned, it was very difficult to make in-roads after what happened at Al-Jamal and what happened before that because Al-Basriyun had sacrificed 599 of themselves to diffuse the tension and to put and end to the claim for justice because of Uthmans assassination. So, the concentration of Muawiya was on Egypt. The ruler of Egypt at the time was appointed by Uthman. His name was Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa (radi Allahu Anhu). Even though this person came from the Umawi line, tribe, block or camp, whichever way you want to look at it, but this person was fair. We have to be fair to the facts. It wasn't all of Bani Umayyah who were against the leadership of the Muslims at this time, viz. Ali. We saw how some, even though they were not the majority, a limited number of those who were from Bani Ummayah were sincere to Allahs Prophet. One of them was ibn Hudhayfa, another one was Uthman. These, in the Prophets life-time, as far as they could express their sincerity- did so. We have to recognized these individuals because they were able to break out of their nationalism (even though this was not the word at the time but it is today), but we can't come and say that just because a few of them broke out of their nationalism. This is another area in which an opportunist governor would try to take advantage of. So, when he realized that Muhammed ibn Abi

Hudhayfa, who was appointed as the governor in Egypt was a fair person to the events, he interpreted that as taking sides with Ali. There was reason to believe that that was the case- being fair meant to Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa championing the cause of Ali, the elected Imam. So, what did he do? He sent some troops to Egypt and he captures Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa. This is not as simple as this one sentence is. We have to know that Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa in the Battle of Badr told Allahs Prophet "Let me kill my father." His father was on the Quraishi side, the side that gives fuel to tribalism. The other intriguing part of this is that he is Hinds brother, Hind being the wife of Abi Sufyan and the person who chewed the liver of Humza (radi Allahu anhu), the Prophets uncle when he was a casualty at the Battle of Uhud. Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa, the ruler who was appointed over Egypt, was Hinds brother and he was also considered like a son of Uthman because Uthman had brought him up in his household, tendered to him, nurtured him and cared for him as he grew up. This person now became the governor of Egypt. In Egypt, you're looking at a fighting force of at least 10,000 to 30,000. The ruler in Damascus was concerned with this particular area, so he dispatches a military mission that goes and apprehends Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa. At this critical time, this was during the time when Uthman was under siege in Al-Medinah or immediately after it, (it's not very clear when exactly this took place) but it was definitely during the time of a critical spike in the psychology of the Muslims. What did he do? Ok, he captured him. Remember, the appointee of Uthman viz, Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa was seconded by Ali. Ali didn't say just because you're an UmawiI'm going to relieve you of your responsibility. It didn't happen, because Ali was not looking at people through nationalism or tribalism- the type of overwhelming solidarity feeling that was the make-up of the time. This infuriated the person in Damascus, Muawiya, who is looking for gaps and cleavages. When we spoke about Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and we speak about Ali (radi Allahu anhum), we speak knowing that there was a type of conscience at work and we pointed to the serious mistakes that were done by Uthman, but they were not done as a matter of trying to score against Ali. Now, the bets are off as they say, the gloves are off- Muawiya was a vicious person looking for power and he would use everything, whether it was the instructions of the Qur'an or the teachings of the Prophet or the pre-Islamic solidarity notion in Arabia, anything that would come his way to try to grab power. We say that because why was he not satisfied with the people in Basrah giving 599 lives to try to end what was becoming a serious division among the Muslims. One life- OK Uthman, as virtuous as he may have been during the lifetime on the Prophet and after the Prophet passed away and with the types of mistakes that were not intended as institutionalizing the nationalism that now had appeared via Muawiya. He wasn't satisfied because he was looking for power. This military force that was sent by Muawiya to Egypt, it captures the governor and it takes him and imprisons him and there are other reports that say that they kill him. This was an Umawi ruler in Damascus, the governor in Damascus who takes his equivalent, his counterpart, the governor of Egypt and then either imprisons him or he's not heard from after that, or kills him. Which ever way, the person is gone. Who's responsible for this? There has to be someone who is responsible for this, we have to hold someone accountable for this. Along with Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfa was Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhuma), the son of Abu Bakr and the brother of Aaisha (radi Allahu anha). They were a team

that spoke out against the wrong policies of Uthman and now had to face the military planning of Muawiya. Muawiya took advantage of certain things, (number one), after the Fath of Makkah, there were two important policies that came to be by order of Allah and His Prophet. The 1st policy is Al-Muallafah Qulubuhum, those who you want to win over to Islam by being kind to them, by giving them stipends, by opening some doors for them- you notice that there may be a good number of them that you can win over peacefully to the principles, values and doctrines of Islam. This is a Qura'nic policy, Al-Muallafah Qulubuhum. The other was when he designated the majority of the population of Makkah as Al-Tulaqa, those who are free to go now. They are not brought in front of a court of law for the 20 years of war against Allah and His Prophet, they were amnestied, these were Al-Tulaqa. Muawiya found fertile grounds in the people who came under these two policies, Al-Muallafah Qulubuhum and Al-Tulaqa. Then, you have to understand Muawiya on a personal level, during the Battle of Badr, the 1 st all out full fledged military confrontation between the Muslims and the Mushriks, in this clash of militaries, Ali had killed many senior Quraishis. What does this mean to the person at the time? It's not like we are talking about it now- Ali killed many Shuyukh, seniors of Quraish- it's not like that! The way they understood it was that Ali had killed their national figures. Whatever today is a national figure in the nationalistic context of our times- imagine a person killing many of the figures there. Included among them, Ali killed the grand-father of Muawiya and the brother of Muawiya. If a person was truly an Islamic figure, if Muawiya was truly an Islamic person with and Islamic heart, Islamic principles, Islamic standards, Islamic values and Islamic morals, he would acknowledge immediately the virtue of what Ali did. The problem was (listen to this very closely Brothers and Sisters), the Prophet of Allah and the close circle that was fighting with him, central in that close circle was Ali. After they became Muslim, these people who were seeing as the years went by that their nationalism was losing and Islam was thriving, they could not say anything negative about the Prophet, he is Allahs Prophet, they say Ash-Hadu An Laa Ilaha Illalah wa Ash-Hadu Anna Muhammedar Rasulullah, but they had their negative feelings in them. They had suffered tremendously, their loved ones were killed, their loved ones were maimed for life, their loved ones suffered because of this Islamic force, so the negative feelings they could not take out against the Prophet, they took out against the person they thought of to be the closest one to himthe one who had the sword that was dripping with the blood of the Kaafirs and the Munafiqs and the Mushriks, and that was Ali. This was the internalized feelings that was to live on and to come back at another day, and Muawiya was calculating for that day. What do you do now? How do you get public opinio9n? How do you mobilize public opinion against the Imam and Khalif now? He tapped on a person called Amr ibn Al-Aas. He brought him into him internal circle and consulted him- what should we do? He said the following: "We have to convince the population of the Levant and Egypt, in todays geography- Lebanon, Syria, Jordan Palestine plus Egypt, that Ali instigated the killing of Uthman and after Uthman was killed, Ali harbored the assassins and the murderers." Now, the propaganda machines went to work through these channels. At this point, you tell us, who is in violation of the Sunnah, the Ta'ah and the Jama'ah? If it's hard for you to answer?! We'll answer for you. It was Muawiya who broke from the ranks and instigated the beginning of our internal upheaval. So, word spread

around, because Ash-Shaam was an area that was sealed off. You tell us, because some people out of ignorance call themselves "Ahl Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'ah", if they could accurately apply the Sunnah and the Jama'ah exactly to the time frame and the area that we are looking at, we will find Ali representing the Sunnah of the Prophet and the Jama'ah of the Muslims, the consensus, the mainstream and the popular beat or pulse in the Muslims. There was a person who broke away from that, but later on, he's going to come back to claim it and the people who are with him are going to say "We are the people of Sunnah and Jama'ah." They drop this most important development in Islamic history and then later on, they make a comeback claiming what does not belong to them. So, when Muawiya took the Governor of Egypt and had him disappear- was he imprisoned to death or was he instantly killed- that's a matter of historical speculation- he's gone and Muawiya is responsible for that. But does anyone hold him responsible for that? Why? Because many times, history is written by those who are victorious. Ali, immediately after that appointed Qais ibn Saad ibn Ubadah. Remember Saad ibn Ubadah, one of the two pillars of the Ansaar in Al-Medinah, one of the twelve who initially went to Allahs Prophet when he was still in Makkah and offered him refuge, solace, power and a base in Al-Medinah- Al-Ansaar up until now were excluded from the higher positions of the Islamic Government, so, in an inclusive gesture, that would bring them back and get them involved in the Islamic decision making process, Ali appointed immediately Qais ibn Saad ibn Ubadah to be the new governor of Egypt. Remember Saad ibn Ubadah, he's Qais' father. He refused to give the Bai'ah to Abu Bakr and to Umar- that was at a time when there was still freedom of conscience, from Muawiya on toward, we're not going to find this freedom of conscience any longer. During the time of Umar, Saad leaves Al-Medinah, the capital of the Islamic state, where Ashaab As-Saabiqah, Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar were, he left, he couldn't take it anymore- he went to an area what is today southern Syria called Hawraan and after a short period of time, he was killed. Some books want to point the fingers at Umar- that Umar was behind killing him- that is in-accurate, we can't say obviously for sure, but trying to read through this maze of information in which there are extremes here and there, all over the place, a better educated assumption is that Muawiya was responsible for the death of Saad ibn Ubadah in Syria, because Syria was under his Jurisdiction- he was its ruler. Now would be a good time to instigate popular or public opinion against the institution of the Khalif of Allahs Prophet as Muawiya wanted because things weren't going his way. But time was to be on Muawiyas side at least in that period of history because he depended, he was riding his time, he was depending on the 1st sacrificing and struggling generation around the Prophet to diminish and go away. Many of them were dying at the war fronts, in the wars of the Ridda. There was a plague, called the plague of Amwaas in the 17th and 18th year of the hijrah in which 1,000's if not tens of 1,000's of people died in that plague, many of them belonged to that first generation around Allahs Prophet. Then, with the 1st spark of an internal upheaval at Al-Jamal another good proportion of those who understood who Muawiya is had also lost their lives. It began to seem like things are going Muawiyas way. Still though, with Qais ibn Saad ibn Ubadah the governor of Egypt, the Egyptians were still not won over to Muawiyas side. Remember, they had participated in the protest against Uthman and then they were subjected to the propaganda of Muawiya, so that

at the bare minimum neutralized them. But, they were not on the side of Muawiya up until this time. So, now what happens- Muawiyas concentration is on Iraq. The rest of the areas either are split because of what happened at Al-Jamal. Az-Zubair, Aaisha and Talha (radi Allahu anhum)remember Zubair, Aaisha and Talha during the time of Uthman were critical of some of the things that Uthman was doing, but even though they were critical of that, when he was killed the way he was killed, they came up with this public campaign for justice. Now, the concentration was on the people of Iraq. As if history is trying to repeat itself. We can see, now there is a Iraqi/Syrian issue- at the time also, it was a Iraqi/Syrian issue- of course not in the geography and the politics of today but in the population bases- a population here and a population there. Ali had secured the support of most of the population of Iraq and he had not secure most of the support of the people of Ash-Shaam because it was sealed off by Muawiya. And, Al-Qurra, remember Al-Qurra, that segment of committed Muslims who had committed themselves to the Qur'an when the Prophet passed away and they were now considered in the camp of Ali- when they came to Ali and they asked him what do you say about concerning Uthman after he was murdered- what is your comment on that, how do you describe it? (The meanings in Arabic are much more than you're going to hear in English), Ali, the imam and khalifs response to them when they asked him about Uthman was "I will not say that Uthman was killed as a dhalim", meaning he wasn't killed because he was an oppressor, a ruler who ruled with in-justice, an offender of peoples rights, these are some of the meanings of dhalim, Ali said "I'm not going to say that he died while he was a dhalim" and then he says "and I will not say that he died being denied his rights, without being given a chance for fairness." Uthman died in a mid-distance position, ie. He wasn't a dhalim and he wasn't a Madhlum. Look at todays Muslims, any side that you are looking at, they didn't hear what Ali said to these Qurra. We have some Muslims, and I think your information is enough without me trying to scratch some peoples feelings or harm some peoples emotions, some people, as if they have all the confidence in the world, they come and say Uthman should have been killed because he was a dhalim and the others will come and say, and I think your information is enough without me trying to scratch other peoples feelings or harm other peoples emotions, they will come and say Uthman died a Madhlum. Ali gave us the answer but no one is listening. This is what happens when some of us are frying our nerves with emotions and others of us are freezing our nerves with disinterest. If only people could listen. Finally, the armed forces of Ash-Shaam set out with this type of background to settle their score and there's nothing to settle here. If they are looking for justice, this is no longer an issue of justice here. This has become, Al-Qisas as some of the history books says, as far as Muawiya is concerned, the Qisas, divine virtuous retribution, the law of retribution that is described in the Qur'an, defined in the Qur'an, outlined in the Qur'an for those who deserve punishment or capital punishment- Al Qisasu Inda Muawiya became a matter of Damm and Qaraba, it was converted into an issue of blood and family relationships. That is why when we speak about this person who took the Muslims in the wrong direction there are no holes barred. Now, we have a meeting of two armies at a place called Siffin. The number is also a matter of exaggeration on one side or scoring against the other side, but it may seem fair to say that both sides had around 70,000 warriors and we add to them the supportive positions. Besides

the warriors, there were tens of 1,000's who were occupying what is called logistic or transportation activities to these two armed camps. When we add those on, there's probably around 100,000 in each camp. Remember, Al-Jamal was 50,000 total, now, we have around 200,000 total. Just for you to realize how empty we are, how blank we are when important things like this are taking place- you ask yourself, do you know on what day this happened? The average Muslim, we don't know you personally, but the average Muslim is not going to answer- he's blank. Just like the details are blank, some of the facts cannot be moved from one side to the other, Muslims are also blank. The 7th of Safar in the 37th year of the hijrah can be ranked as the day in which the Muslims went to the day of the most damaging civil war. How were the armies at that time? The armies were composed basically of Al-Maymanah, Al-Maysarah and Al-Qalb that means a right flank, a left flank and a center. On Ali's side, the head of the right flank was a person called Al-Ash'af, the head or commander of the left flank was Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu Anhu) and Ali was the commander of the center, and there was a similar arrangement on the other side. Before these two armies met as two armies, they were meeting as military unitsmeaning one army would dispatch like a squadron leader along with a squadron of troops and both of these squadrons would face off. To give you an example of these preliminary skirmishes to the all out war that took place after that, these preliminary skirmishes lasted for eight to ten days. Ali would dispatch, and this is an example of this, Ammaar ibn Yaasar (radi Allahu anhu) and with him a couple of dozen or a few score troops who would engage and Muawiya dispatched Amr ibn Al Aas against Ammaar ibn Yaaser along with also a few score troops that would be on one day and before these skirmishes began, (brothers and sisters, listen to this), there was a friendly atmosphere. 100's of people from both side were meeting each other, discussing or arguing their positions in a friendly manner, but they realized that these were polarized positions. What you going to do? Are you going to say that Ali isn't the leader of the Muslims? Or what are you going to do, are you going to say that Muawiya is trying to hijack a course for his own self? None of these positions were acceptable to the representative soldiers in both camps. So, that's when the skirmishes began. After these skirmishes, around the 10th day, Ali gave orders that the Muslims, the Islamic camp that he is in, engage in total, all of them together against the opposing army. It seemed like at the beginning of this war, after the days of skirmishes, the Islamic forces with the Imam and Khalif suffered significant losses. But then, as the days went by, this was a matter of at least three days, the tide of the battle began to turn against Muawiya and the troops who are with him. So, finally the Muawiya army had an internal assessment of the war and they decided that they should place the Masahif, the printed copies of the Qur'an on their swords and seek what is called Al-Tahkeem, arbitration on the basis of the Qur'an. It is said that there were about 500 copies of the Qur'an that were available and those 500 were raised on the tips of the swords for the fighting camp to visualize along with saying we want to arbitrate this, we don't want to solve it the way it is going. One of the statements that circulated in the days of this war in both sides, what is going to happen to the Muslims if the people in Iraq are annihilated by this war? What is going to happen to the Muslims if the people in Syria are annihilated by this war? At this point, Insha-Allah, we will take a closer examination of how this affected the camp of Ali and how from there on Muawiya tried and at least in that period

turned the direction of warfare to his advantage and finally usurped power, there-by ending the sincerity to rule that was exemplified by Allahs Prophet all the way Ali and then the opposition. This went on in the opposition to the Umawi and the Abbasi dynasties there-after. Brothers and sisters, we remind you, these words and these ideas are not expressed with ease and we don't mention them except that we understand, by relying on Allah and by learning from His Prophet, that we have a treasure of experience and information that we should not be leaving to those who are throwing fuel on inflamed and impassioned emotions to try to stir once again an internal war among the Muslims. We had one that was more than enough. That generation dispatched all of this information and experience to us not for us to look the other way and make believe that nothing happened, because the issue at its core is, are Muslims allowed to revoke their Bai'ah if the consensual leader begins to violate the standards of Islam. This question re-appears today! Can we take out of power today, those who don't stand for anything concerning Islam. Forget about deviating here and there like Uthman did, today, we have rulers who have nothing to their credit when it comes to Islam and yet everyone is absent minded, everything goes on as if nothing is happening. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims, We will transition ourselves from those details at that time to some of what is happening today. Today, we have Islamic movements, we have people who invested a good proportion of their lives for Allah and His Prophet. Now, we have the mushriks of the world, the Pharoahs of the world, the Qaruns of the world approaching them and telling them, "Look, you can have your Islamic way, but let us do it through our institutions of democracy." Then, we have some of us who only look at the surface of issues beginning to be convinced to re-invigorate Islam the American way. The United States government is doing to the Muslims what it did to the Communists in the last century. It took a look at Marxism/Leninism in the world and tried to figure out how to take the fuse out of it. So, it adopted leftists and socialists and after a course of a couple of generations, the initial thrust against capitalism collapsed. Now, they are trying to repeat the same thing with Muslims. We have revolutionary Muslims, we have Jihadi Muslims, we have struggling Muslims and what do they want to do right now? They want to take a look at progressive Muslims, liberal Muslims, Modern Muslims and what have they found? We're sorry to name contemporary names, but we have to- Al-Imam Hassan Al-Banna, may Allah grant him Al-Jannah, is almost impeccable. If there was a person in our time who devoted himself, heart and soul to Allah, he was one of them. Now, we have this Shaytaani administration in Washington who has picked up on Hassan Al-Bannas brother and Hassan Al-Bannas grandson to polish them, and if Muawiya could pick on some on some of the 1st generation Muslims to serve his agenda, then obviously these types today can pick on these types of Muslims and we will have sincere Muslims go in this direction. This is what happens when we don't learn from our own internal experience. We want to rely on them to bring us peace, justice and stability?! We can't do this ourselves?! We'll never be able to do it if we cannot learn from experiences. What we are trying to do in these khutbahs is precisely that- to learn

from our experiences in order to avoid the planned civil war on one hand and then to avoid this hijacking of enlightened Islam on the other hand- both of them are going hand in hand as we speak.

THE BATTLE OF SIFFIN AND ITS AFTERMATH

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem... These times are critical times, these days are challenging days and the events keep on going from one level to the next. We maintain our position of Taqwa, we remind ourselves of this Taqwa characteristic of ours especially during these crucial events that are unfolding in the world. In our continuing attempt to stay ahead of the curve as there are Shayateen Al-Ins wa Al-Jinn who are in full force to undermine our Islamic assertion and our full dependence upon Allah. In our continuing attempt to diffuse the instability that is in the making, we take a brave look at some of the areas that have been forsaken by the Muslim mind to regenerate an understanding that will deliver us from internal ignorance and from the plots and the plans of those who are on the outside. Iraq is becoming a magnet for evil ideas and for inflaming Muslims around the world to have us thwart our own selves. We will pick up from where we ended, where the germs of ignorance breed the hostilities of today. We say in our history there are details should serve us lessons and instructions to correct our direction and approximate our efforts to Allah. Todays shakers and movers are trying to destabilize our Islamic psychology and to split our Islamic societies and then to pitch our Islamic forces against themselves, and they want to draw on a fanaticism that grows out of ignorance. People who are well grounded in their ideas coming from Allah and in their relationship with Allah are not given to a fanatical attitude or behavior.

To go back to those defining moments in our Islamic past and to take the fuse out of hostility out of it, which the enemies are trying to light today. In the Battle of Siffin, this is one of the milestones of that early history of Muslims, the Masahif, the Quranic pages, were raised on the swords of 100's of Muslim warriors. This in and of itself is a visualization, but along with it, those who were raising these Masahif were saying "Allah's book stands between us and you." These were the two flanks of the two opposing camps that were there. A thoughtful approach to this scenario causes us to realize that this act of raising the Masahif has two meanings- one of them, an immediate meaning and the other a postponed meaning. The immediate meaning of this maneuver was to end hostilities, to put an end to Muslim killing Muslim, because both sides of this clash had grown wary of the way this war was going. It appeared to them that this had become an internal Muslim hemorrhage in which if it continues, the only debility that is inflicted will be on the general Muslim body, not only those around 150,000 troops who are there, but this is going to weaken the general Muslims all over. Sometimes, we tend not to look at the larger picture, but the larger picture in those days, at that time was the Muslims were the number one military force in the world. As this Islamic military force was going from success to success, from victory to victory, it had to deal with this internal problem. One of the issues that had elevated the camp in Ash-Shaam that was contesting the legitimacy of the Islamic leadership in Al-Medinah was the participation of that lobby (that we referred to earlier- the Umawi lobby)- their active and sacrificial participation in the war at Al-Yarmuk, in which the Muslims defeated the Byzantines. It was through the military chain of command that this lobby had climbed to the highest levels. So, the military proves to be a critical institution at that time, the same way it is a critical institution in our time- something the Muslims have lost sight of because once again, this information is not processed by our reasoning and by our mind yet this is where it belongs. In this Battle of Siffin, when the Muslims raised the Qur'anic texts on their swords, it caused a type of reaction within the ranks of those who were opposed to those who were carrying the Qur'an on their swords. The internal Muslim mind now was concerned with whether this means a sincere arbitration to the Qur'an or whether this is a trick. This is part of the internal Muslim mind at the time. In the camp of the Khalif/Imam Ali, this type of characterization caused two trends in this Islamic armed force. One of them believed that this was a deliberate maneuver to put an end to what appears to be the eventual loss of the side represented by the forces that did not recognize the legitimacy of the Khalafah and Imamah of Ali ibn Abi Talib. But most of those who were there wanted an immediate cessation of these hostilities. This was the public mood and the overwhelming feeling of the majority of the peoplethey wanted this war to end immediately. But then, the follow up to that was what was called AlTahkeem, arbitration. These are two different things. The cessation of hostilities is one thing and then arbitrating the differences between both sides is another thing. So, the overwhelming majority of Muslims wanted to end or stop this war immediately. This teaches us, or this should teach us if we are looking at these events with an open Islamic and Qura'nic mind, that the pulse of the Muslims is not to fight against themselves. In other words, if they do fight, there has to be an instigator for this fight, but left to themselves, Muslims are not apt to kill each other- that is true then and it is true now. But then, when we come to the issue of solving our

differences by referring to the Qur'an which was the general impression among everyone at the time- we have our differences, let us refer our differences to Allah and His Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), to the Qur'an and to the teachings of Muhammed. After the meeting of representatives from both sides, they agreed on an arbitration that would take place within eight to ten months after that. In the meantime, each side can go back to their homes and try their best to conjure a reconciliatory attitude within themselves. Within the forces of Ali, the Imam/Khalif, there were those who doubted the sincerity of Muawiya and his forces. So, what did they do? They expressed their reservations concerning the sincerity of the other side. These individuals who had their question marks about the intentions of the other side can be traced to the trend of Al-Qurra, the reciters of the Qur'an. Remember, earlier on, we spoke about Al-Qurra- this was where most of the objections to the gesture of the Shaami camp came from. They expressed this to their leader. They told him, "We don't believe their leaders are up to any good in what they are doing." But, the majority of the Muslims wanted to pursue this Tahkeem, this arbitration to the end. So, in arbitration, you have to appoint your spokespersons who are going to represent this side and who are going to represent that side. They were still at Siffin, and it took a week to work out the details of this arbitration. In trying to work it out, there was an influential person in the side of Ali, his name was Al-Ash'af, who was doing most of the communication with the other side, Muawiya and Amr ibn Al-Aas. In this exchange and setting the stage for the arbitration, certain things happened that gave those who were suspicious more fuel to their suspicions. Number one was- Ali had to agree that he will no longer be called Amir Al-Mu'mineen. Another item or another detail in setting this arbitration was that the camp of Ali is going to be represented by Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari. If we can recall, Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari was totally neutral in the Battle of Al-Jamal. Some would even say that his neutrality reinforced the camp that is opposed to Ali, so why is he now being put in a position to represent this side? This also fueled the less than positive ideas that Al-Qurra, and here at this time, they were called Al-Muhakkeema, because they said that if we are going to arbitrate this affair, we need not any of these representatives, we only need Allah book. They came up with their famous saying- they will be known for this until history ends, they stated "There's no judgment or there's no arbitration accept that that belongs to Allah." Then, they took the ayah from the Qur'an in which Allah says If there are two camps of committed Muslims who are warring against each other, then you bring a reconciliation between them. But then, if one of them transgresses against the other you fight the transgressors until they are referred to Allahs adjudication or decree in this affair (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9) This is the ayah that they claimed justified their position, they said this ayah applies here. Now, we have to look at the numbers. What are we speaking about? During these moments at the end of the campaign of Siffin there numbers were probably only in the hundreds. Remember, one side is about 70,000 troops and the other side was about 70,000 troops- so, when we speak about several hundreds, it's not a very substantial point of view. Given all that was present there, Ali decided to go for this Tahkeem because, (listen to this very carefully), the reference of it all was the

book of Allah- they said they wanted to arbitrate this whole issue with the Qur'an being the reference. We can take this whole issue to that extent and see where it's going to go- there's nothing to fear, there's nothing to be reactionary about and there's nothing to be apologetic aboutif people want to solve an issue according to the book of Allah- lets do it. This was in the month of Safar, for those of you who may have forgotten, in the 37 th year of the hijrah, some say the 36th year- whether it's the 36th or the 37th it's the month of Safar. This arbitration had eight months to work the good intentions up to diffuse the differences among the Muslims. But now, inside the Kufi camp, the supporters of Ali basically came from Kufa, Southern Iraq and some from Basrah, that was it, that's why it is referred to in history as a battle between the Iraqis and the Shaamis or in todays geographic polands between the Iraqis and the Syrians. They agreed to meet after eight months, around Ramadaan at a place in todays Northern Arabia in Jordan called Dumat Al-Jandal. So now, Ali had to deal with a growing dissatisfaction towards this arbitration, because these people who were called Al-Muhakkeema, before that they were called Al-Qurra, after they returned to Kufa and those areas, they began to publicize their point of view in opposition to this arbitration. They began to gain followers- from the several hundreds that they were there, they became several thousand. When they saw that their numbers were growing, they moved out of Kufa and they went to a place called Harurah. Now, Ali had to tend to what appears to be a potential insurrection inside of his own supporters. He went to them and he spoke to them because once again, it's not like todays Muslims- if they disagree with each other, they don't want to speak to each other. What happened to us? If you are solidly on the side of Allah and His Prophet- you speak to anyone. With that confidence he went to them and said what's on your mind? Let's see how we can have you understand that you say "There's no judgment, there's no arbitration except that which belongs to Allah- thats true, but the Qur'an which is Allahs word cannot speak on these details, it is our understanding of Allahs words that will speak on these details." There was an exchange of opinions in which they told him "We will agree with you if you do not go to this arbitration, this Tahkeem." This is why, when the Kufis were expected to appear in Dumat Al-Jandal, they did not go there, because there was trouble inside of this house. This internal problem had to be solved, so Ali worked his best on solving this internal problem. So, when they saw that they did not, or anyone from that side did not go to Dumat Al-Jandal, they came back from Harurah and they joined the rest of the people with their opposition to the other side. But then, the original agreement says "If for some reason the two sides do not meet in Dumat Al-Jandal then they shall meet in Adhruh, another area which is in Jordan today, which also is a place of a Roman fortress not very far away from Patra. Patra today in Jordan is a tourist area which is made popular by the outside world, but our internal Islamic dynamics has not made Adhruh popular. You can ask any Muslim- where's Adhruh- he's blank headed. He'll tell you, "I don't know! Where's that? As if I heard of it, but can you tell me where it is?" This is how we have buried our Islamic History. That side comment aside, a delegation went from both sides, from the camp of Muawiya and from the forces of Ali- both of them this time honored their word and they met in Adhruh. This was called Al-Tahkeem. When they went there, both sides had with them basically 400 military individuals. The side of Muawiya was represented by Amr ibn Al-Aas and the other side of Ali was represented by Abu Musa Al-

Ash'ari. Amr ibn Al-Aas was a close confidant of Muawiya, he was virtually his right hand man, Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari was no confidant of Ali, he was not his right hand man, he was known in many ways to have deterred the flow of people in the Iraqi area, even though he is of a Yemeni origin who was placed as governor in Southern Iraq. But, he did his best because he believed in strict neutrality. He did not believe in taking sides, he did not believe in internecine warfare among Muslims, and that was the only thing, his strict neutrality, that caused the camp of Ali to acquiesce, not to endorse, to him being the representative of their side. So, they meet in Adhruh, and the first issue that they wanted to solve was whether Uthman was killed as a madhlum, without having his rights. Both sides agreed to that, which was during the previous two years almost a matter of destabilizing the Islamic people- now, that was gone. Now, the issue was who was to lead the Muslims. Among those, by the way, who were present were Sahabis and Taabi'een- the noteable Sahabi that was absent was Saad ibn Abi Waqqas. He was one of those original 10 who it was said when the Prophet passed away, he was satisfied with them. He did not attend. There were others who attended from the children of some of these Sahabis or from people who had left Al-Medinah and gone to Southern Iraq. What is notable though is that not one of that 1st generation, with the exception of Muawiya and Amr ibn Al-Aas, even though their history with the Prophetic era is only a couple of years, but these were the only ones who attended from that side of notable respect if we consider the general mindset of the Muslims. Then, there was Abdullah ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) and other individuals who had spent a good time in their sacrifices from Al-Ansaar who attended, because Al-Ansaar, as far as the camp of Muawiya was concerned were excluded. They had no representation in that side of government, but they came through from the Iraqi side and were present there. When it came to the issue of who is going to lead the Muslims, Amr ibn Al-Aas suggested that Muawiya be the leader of the Muslims, but Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari was adamant, he was firm, "Dare not mention the names of the two individuals of whom we are arbitrating." In other words, you have no right bringing up the issue of Muawiya and his name, and I have no right bringing up the issue of Ali and his name. This is the way the arbitration was going- Amr ibn Al-Aas was as ferocious as to take a dialogue of understanding in an offensive way to interpose his superior in it. This tells us that there was no will here to bridge the gap from that side, but, from the other side, (listen to this), this is one of the details of history that is buried, Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari suggested that Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Al-Khattab become the leader of the Muslims. For those who only read superficial history, and think that Ibn Al-Khattab was part of some type of conspiracy would have thought- hey- this is the 1st thing that Muawiyas camp is going to accept- they didn't. Amr ibn Al-Aas refused vehemently, he strongly objected to that. What occurred after that was an Islamic lobbying for sides in which these details are buried. They could not agree, and from here on, history books become so murky, it is very hard to tell what really happened. One version is that Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari felt that he had failed the side that he was representing and he felt that those who were against him were so strongly working on not building a bridge that he just left. He went back to Al-Jazeerah Al-Arabiyah, he went back to Al-Medinah- he didn't want anything to do with all this. Then, there's another version, and even though it's a popular one, we don't know how authentic it may be, but it says that here is where Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari was

tricked. He was taken aside by Amr ibn Al-Aas who said "Let me and you try to reach some type of understanding on this, let us say that we both exclude Muawiya and Ali from this position of leading the Muslims." That was Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari's idea to begin with, so he had no problems with that. Ibn Al-Aas told him, "You express yourself 1st." So, Abu Musa AlAsh'ari goes in front of around 1,000 people and he says "I exclude Muawiya and Ali ibn Abi Talib from being the leaders of the Muslims." Then, Amr ibn Al-Aas comes and he says "I exclude Ali ibn Abi Talib but in the same breath I endorse Muawiya." The people here thought that this is what they had agreed upon or that Amr ibn Al-Aas had tricked Abu Musa AlAsh'ari. Now, the Muslim public had to deal with the ramifications of an aborted arbitration effort or a hijacked arbitration effort. They had to deal with this. Each side goes back and now, the side that Ali is on, those suspicions that were always there, they gained a life of their own. Of course, when Ali knew that all of this was happening, he excluded himself from all of this that had happened, because originally the arbitration was supposed to be on the basis of the Qur'an and neither Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari nor Amr ibn Al-Aas were arbitrating this whole affair to the Qur'an. Neither side, so it wasn't an arbitration to begin with. Now though, there were Muslims that Ali had to deal with, because they were saying "We told you so! What are you going to do with them now?" So, he went to them, once again, not like todays Muslims, if they think they are in possession of the truth, then they think they are above speaking to other people who have gone wrong. You see, todays Muslims- there's a gap between them. There was no gap between Ali and the people he was dealing with, even though they disagreed with him. He went to them and said "What do you want now?" They said, "Now, we want you to make a taubah, to declare you are a kaafir." Listen to this- these now, who were called Khawaarij- from Al-Qurra to Al-Muhakkeema, they call themselves Ahl Al-Haqqnow, they became Khawaarij, those who broke totally from the Imam and Khalif. They said, "You are a kaafir, we want you to make a taubah." Now, doesn't this sound like some of the issues that are taking place in todays world- this liberal accusation of Takfir. They said that we want you to make a taubah and after you make this taubah and declare that you are wrong, we will join you, because to they thought that Ali had tricked them the 1st time at Harurah and they said "We don't want to be tricked again." We said, to begin with, all of these are internal problems. Now, we are dealing with an internal problem of an internal problem. Look at how they understood this, now they took this even further, this was their logic- they said, this is the way we think, and this is why they began to gain some supporters- "When we went and we assassinated Uthman, we were right." So now, it appears that they were responsible for this assassination of Uthman- a fact that Ali himself wanted to get to and now they were confessing to this fact themselves. We fought at Al-Jamal and Az-Zubair and Talha were killed and we were right. We will see in the coming khutbahs how Ali dealt had to deal with this insurrection and the repercussions that they had on the Islamic leadership. Brothers and sisters...

This disease that we have been speaking about has the potential of getting all the Muslims involved and affected. This issue of Sunnis and shi'is doesn't begin nor end in lands where Muslim are the predominant populations. If we do not sort out these misunderstandings, they will become fuel for further divisions within the Muslim body. You want an example of this- recently, in a minority community, we had one group along this polarization approach the local government requesting burial permission. Equal but opposite to that, we had the other group along this polarization request the same local government to deny that group burial permission. Now think about this for a moment, this is a minority situation where Muslims have no clout as far as the major policies of government are concerned and where there is a degree of discrimination against this Muslim minority, in this political reality you have the one group requesting permission to bury its deceased and the other group wanting to deny them this permission, justifying their behavior by saying "these are not Muslims, and cannot be buried in our cemetery." Is it any wonder why Muslims become the easy pickings of the kaafirs and whey Islam becomes the laughing stock of the world?! You want more. In the same Muslim minority community, the one group approaches the other group saying "Lets see where we can put together some type of effort, social welfare or other community related effort to benefit the general Muslim community and the Islamic course in general among the non-Muslim natives. The other group says to them, "But you are from the other "sect" and we don't work with them", and they use the label, the obvious inference being to them not being Muslim. Lo and behold, the Government meets with this religious community at frequent intervals to "build bridges", the synonym for putting a program together to get this Muslim community plugged into its agenda. At this forum, there are numerous representatives from the one group and a few from the other. On sight of this, these few are shocked, so they approach this majority within the minority and say to them "Well, by your standards, this government is kaafir and so are we. But how come you're willing and enthusiastic about meeting and helping them?!" If this type of mentality prevails, the only losers will be the Muslims, if we can't surmount these obstacles that we have brought into Islam, the day will soon come when these enemies will polarize us along more serious issues and may Allah forbid the bloody consequences of such a polarization.

INTRODUCING KING MU'AWIYA- ISLAMS FIRST KING

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Over the weeks, we covered the form of government, Al-Khilaafah the followed An-Nubuwah. The reign of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and Hassan, (radi allahu anhum) were characterized by the model of Allahs Prophet. Even with some of the mistakes that unfolded in the time of Uthman, this system of government was on the model of Allahs Prophet as they were still characterized by the essential elements of Shura, Justice and Freedom of Conscience. Now, we will see a new form of government- something that many Muslims are slow in recognizing. Sometimes, bringing up these issues renders some Muslims broken spirited. It is alien to us to have a broken spirit. How did this all begin? Where did all this begin? Why are not we able to track it to its sources? Once again, the problem is we don't have enough confidence to track it down to its source. You come to the fear molded Muslim of today and you tell him- look, Allah has given us this indisputable source knowledge, this book of certainty, (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 2) but why are we in the condition that we are in today? Let us try to take a hard look at what has happened. When you express these words, they fall on an average individual who is incapable of rewinding his mind with the pulse of the Qur'an and the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). Incapable! Why? - because he is beholden and entrapped in a tradition that has become a religion. He is not stimulated by the meanings that Allah has imparted to us. What factors in is centuries of consolidated customs that put together have become the substitute for our imaan. Granted- these are brave words, but brave words only come from those who are solidly, thoroughly, deeply and honestly entrenched in Allah and His Prophet. What

happened? If a person is located with Allah and His Prophet, he can easily take a look at 1,400 years of human efforts and say this is right and this is wrong. Why are we the most feeble people in the world when it come to pointing to what is right and identifying it and adhering to it, and then pointing to what is wrong, disclaiming it and opposing it? Why are we so feeble? You take the obvious- early on in Islamic history, after the period of succession to Allahs Prophet, kings took over- that's what happened. Brothers and sisters, this is not said with any type of bad feelings, this is not said to try to score against someone and this is not said to try to make certain Muslims feel inferior- it is only said as selflessly, objectively and honestly as the words of truth can be expressed. An indication of how lazy Muslims have become isAllahs Prophet himself said "There's going to be an era or time-frame of corrective governance after him, mature administration after him. Then, after that, there's going to set in a monarchy. Then, after the monarchy there will be despotism. Then, after that, the Muslims will make their way back, full-circle, to mature governance." Where's this? We've spent 1,400 years- has anyone realized the historical stages of this hadith? Is anyone paying attention? If someone comes and says (as a matter of sincere interaction with the information, that is proof positive to us from Allah,) "Look, Muawiya was the first king to rule after Allahs Prophet."- what happens? Why should anyone get upset?! Why should anyone feel any unease with a fact that should have been crystallized over 14 centuries? Why should anyone take issue with this? The 1st king- the Prophet of Allah said "There's going to be a monarchy that follows mature governance." We ask these Muslims who run away from the facts in the Qur'an and the facts in Al-Khalq, from revealed facts and from developmental facts- we ask these types, have you not heard the Prophet speak? This is an authentic, consensual, mainstream hadith that the Prophet expresses to us. It's not controversial, it's not a hadith ahaad, it's not of a dubious verification process- it's a hadith that all of us have come to agree with and if that's the case, who is the 1st king? Has the 1st king come yet? Are we still living in the era of mature governance? Can anyone in his right mind look a the condition in which the Muslims are living and say we still don't have a king and we still don't have a despotism around? They have set in a long time ago. They have taken root over the centuries, so why are we slow in identifying this? Why can't anyone wake up and smell the coffee as it were? What's wrong?! Don't we have access to what Allah is telling us? Can't we hear what Allahs Prophet is explaining to us? What happened, brothers and sisters- committed Muslims- is that Islam began to recede initially at the level of those who ruled the Muslims. That's where the 1st retreat of Islamic self-determination set in. How did we, (you and me among the Muslims), behave towards this? There was an armed opposition and a passive status quo arrangement to it, that's how you and I responded to this. The violent strong armed opposition 1,350 years ago was defeated by the monarchy, by the dynasty that ruled over the Muslims. So, when we take a look around in this world and we see Muslims who are in armed resistance to the deviation that has grown into centuries of a livelihood, if we have a consistent historical character, we realize that this is nothing new. This is a continuous response to a deviation that has entrenched itself since those times at that level of our being. But, the question is after all these centuries and all the generations after all this time, why do we come out today with Muslim

individuals who are fearful to look at this fact? Fear what? If you are looking with the vision of Allah and His Prophet, you fear what?! Allah says concerning people who because of fear became selective about scripture- Ooh! This is what we want to speak about and this is what we don't want to speak about...; this is what we want to speak about in public and this is what we want to stay clandestine. This is of Allahs book and Allah condemned these types and everyone who meets this standard, as despicable as it is. Do you commit to some of Allahs book and do you reject or deny other parts of Allahs book? Do you know what the results of doing that is? It is humiliation, disgrace and mortification in this worldly life. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 85) An apt and exact description of the condition that we collectively find ourselves in. Here, we are dealing with a root problem. The root problem is not in the symptoms that are around- military occupation, military assaults, military invasions, military this and military that, that's a symptom. The diagnosis is in the fact that we are unable to face the facts with the microscope and the amplifier that Allah and His Prophet have given to us. We turn our backs and say "we should be speaking about fiqh and muaamalaat." This began 1,400 years ago, it's nothing new. One of the ways to try to avoid facing the corruption or the deviation that set in at the decision making level of the Islamic reality of self-determination was the passive co-existence with it. We turned to fiqh and muaamalaat; we turned to akhlaaq and tasawwuf. All of these are integral parts of who we are. We cannot say, thinking about the organization and the co-ordination of Allahs instructions to us are not part of Islam, obviously it is. Fiqh and muaamalaat are part of who we are, but we have an enlargement of that at the expense of the other parts of who we are. Then, some of them took an escapist route out of this. They emphasized akhlaaq and tasawwuf. Obviously these are an integral part of who we are. No one can say that a Muslim is not an ascetic; a Muslim is not a moral human being. Abundantly obviously we are, but not at the expense of the other parts of our integral, consolidated and unified character. So, why have we grown throughout these long years of being incapable of taking a look at our rulers and saying to them "that you have gone out on a tangent and you've been there for so long- this is no longer tolerable." You see, in the course of our history, there has not been a gelling of Islamic public opinion to address our governments when they go astray?! It hasn't existed. It either has to be an Islamic violent opposition or it has to be Muslims disappearing into the underground or it has to be Muslims dissimulating a moral character to hide behind it, and we can't be ourselves. Why can't you and I be ourselves? Why can't we cause a consolidation of Islamic public opinion to say to the ruler when he is right "you are right" and equally and forcefully to say to him when he is wrong "you are wrong." Imagine, an Islamic public opinion swells that stands up and roars against a ruler of Tughyan and Taghut and tells him "Enough is enough- you are relieved of your responsibilities and if you don't want to relieve yourselves of your responsibility, this Islamic public opinion- these hundreds of millions of active, informed, conscientious Islamic citizens and constituents will take you out of power and office." Why can't that be? Why are we always preempted? When Muslims begin to get a sense of how things should be done, then some internal

and external enemy unite against us and they abort our growing consciousness, saying "look how violent Muslims are, or look how hypocritical Muslims are." You see, both ways that we go on our own, without bringing together the majority of Muslimsgranted, no-one is going to be able to bring together 100% of the Muslims on a political platform of opposition to stray governments, but we can bring together 70% or 80% or 90%, but why isn't that possible? Why hasn't it happened since that time? You can look at all of these years and all of these chapters in our history, why hasn't there been a popular, over-whelming groundswell of popular public opinion that can easily move transplanted governors and rulers, kings and presidents out of their seats of oppressive abuse of power? Why? Because we live in a culture of fear, and they want us to stay, disintegrate and rot in this culture of fear- that's what they want. Allah says They will try to frighten you by using those who are inferior to Allah. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 36) That's what we have. Where is all this fear coming from? You look around at the Muslims you know, the communities, the neighborhoods, the local Islamic Centers, the Islamic Conventions and Conferences, the scattered bodies of Muslims all over, and come and present them with the issue of the hour- to come and concentrate and focus on those who have been taking us in wrong directions for centuries- let us begin to think about them, let us begin to discuss them, let us begin to expose their wrongs and their crimes- isn't this a moral personality who does that? What do you say about governments that get away with murder? You know the squeaky voices, the silent voices, a long time ago, we're talking about over 1,300 years ago- there's a scholar- you see, the problem with mentioning the name with traditional Muslim society, if we're going to mention the name of the scholar, then all of tradition is going to break loose, and you're going to imagine this in your particular and your lop-sided understanding of history, because we've never written our own history, it's always been the people in power, whether they are Muslims, or whether they are claiming to be Muslims- they are the one's who wrote this history. So, if we're just going to mention the name of a scholar over 1,300 years ago, he's going to fit into this historical fix that you have, so, we're not going to mention the name of the scholar, but suffice it to know that he was an Islamic scholar by the agreement of almost everyone. They came to him and said "The authorities have caught a thief and they're taking him to a ruler." This scholar said, and he's one of the scholars who entered into a passive arrangement with the status quo, he wasn't the type who was working on regenerating the promising potential of the Muslims to correct the political deviation early in Islamic history- he said "Oh! They're taking the small thief or the minor thief to the major thief, they're taking the junior thief to the senior thief, they're taking the average thief to the super thief." Who in our world looks at the rulers that we have an immediately thinks about culprits and criminals? The way Islam is presented to us, it doesn't help us, even though Allah and His Prophet have made it very clear to us how we should be thinking and how we should be looking at the world around, but the way the khutabaa, the Ulema, the A'Immah speak to us about Islam, no-one is going to be thinking about people in this capacity. It's not a weekly thing that- you're going to be reminded every week during khutba to focus your

attention and your thoughts on these types of people. Thats not going to be the case. What do they say? (As an example), what did this person across the street from this mimbar in an occupied masjid say? When he was talking about some people in Iraq, and he can't even speak his own mind, they always have to hide behind words, he was talking about some Muslims- (we're relating to you only the small part that we heard), taking other innocent human beings as hostages. Who's he referring to? Obviously you and I know who he's referring to and the people who are listening to him know who he is referring to, but he's looking at the petty criminals- he is not looking at the master criminals. Why can't we, in the house of Allah have the confidence to break out of these shackles of fear and express our heart and our mind on the subjects. The Qur'an and the Sunnah are a waste if we don't process them in our minds. Did Allah send His Prophet and did He reveal His words to the animal kingdom? Obviously not, because it doesn't qualify, it has no mind. He revealed it to us who have the quality and the responsibility to understand what He is telling us in the context of our world. Then, why should we be trying to hide some of His ayaat and some of the hadiths- why should we be hiding them? Why should these scholars be concentrating on a segment of the Qur'an and the hadiths and then disregarding other segments of the Qur'an and the Prophet? Why? At a time like this, brothers and sisters, we ask- this khutbah is all about raising our sense of Taqwa- the fact that you should be more conscious, more aware and more cautious of Allahs power presence in human affairs and in human life than anything else. Where's Allah in all of this? Do you think that Allah doesn't see those who are monopolizing Islam? Do you think that he doesn't hear the irrelevant words that are said every Friday from the mimbar during this time. Don't consider for one moment that Allah is oblivious (Surah Ibrahim verse 42) But, nothing is going to be done, nothing will be done if we relinquish our responsibility- it is through our sweat and through our tears and through our blood that Allah will change the course of decision making in this world and He will put it in honest hands only if we carry the burden, and the 1st thing to do in carrying this burden is to get rid of this fear factor. Fear what?! This is un-acceptable- to have the Muslims of today fearing demi-gods and semi-gods. Where has this taken us? You can take a look at the historical continuity and look where we are today. People have many ways of avoiding Allah, His word, His Prophet- they can even rationalize it and give it a logic, but we know as a matter of truth and certainty that this relationship and this connection with Allah and His word generates more confidence. We speak about a divine writ that tolerates no doubts and that is guaranteed to be a source of guidance for those who are committed to Allah. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 2)This is the case, even though in some of the discourse of the Qur'an there are things that are not totally understood. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 7) Brothers and sisters committed Muslims Literally thousands of Muslims, from jum'ah to jum'ah, are losing their lives or their liberty. From this week to next week, there will be another at least another 1,000 Muslims who have either lost life or liberty. Why? Because of the systematic ignorance that has taken hold in our psychologies and in our societies, because the Muslim mind is not developed to think everydayAllahs

Prophet says "Whoever is not concerned with the affairs, whoever does not follow the developments, whoever is not plugged into the condition of the Muslims is not one of them, is not a Muslim." Here we have, week after week, year after year, loose Muslims- graduating with degrees of ignorance from Masaajid, Islamic centers, schools and Institutes to make it possible for the perpetuation of this week to week denial of life and liberty to thousands of Muslims. In the past, we hade those who occupy Makkah and Al-Medinah-you see- the word occupation is a loaded word on those who are brain vacated- no thoughts circulate in them about Tughyan. Whoever rejects At- Taghut , the excessive concentration of excessive power, (that's the practical meaning of Taghut) is on firm grounds. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 256)

O you who are firmly committed to Allah, dont have as your allies or superiors yahud and nasara, Dont ally yourselves to the political and the ideological expressions of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara, they are allies one to another. And, whoever from among you does that, he has become one of them, it doesnt matter who he is, (it doesnt matter if hes praying night and day until there are holes in his musallah, if he is going to Hajj and Umrah every year, if hes fasting days on end, if hes making tawaaf of the Kaba and sajdah in the Haram, it doesnt matter how much hes outwardly behaviour appears to be Islamic), he has left, he is no longer part of the Muslim crowd. (Surah Maida verse 51) Certainly, kings and monarchs, when they enter or make their appearance in a society, they render its noble or good sector or elements in society into an inferior one into the lower grade of society; they corrupt it, they cause it to decay and disintegrate. And it is routine that belongs to them, this is their policy or this is the way they behave. (Surah An-Naml verse 34) Much of these mind stimulating meanings that are coming to us from Allah, courtesy of Allah, as a function of His care for us, we deliberately decide to dismiss them- and look at the consequences. The occupiers of Makkah and Al-Medinah, (we've been saying this for the past two and a half decades, and Allah is our witness,), have been serving the all time pharaoh of history. To add more proof to the ample evidence that are strewn all over these years, the mouthpieces of these Saudi royals were saying "Yes, Muslim and Arab forces should go into Iraq." Look at how far they are going in satisfying Ash-Shaytaan and how extremely they are proceeding in displeasing Allah, and when it comes to the Muslim collective conscience and public opinion, it's as if it's a footmark or a foot note in the course of events. What did the Saudis do, just as a quick reminder- in the past crucial years in our lives. We're not responsible for Makkah and Al-Medinah before and after us, this is our portion of history and destiny- the least we can do is get our facts straight. The Shaytaani administration in Washington DC goes to the Saudi equivalent or parallel and says to it "you have to clean up your act; you have to change

your educational curriculum.", and the Saudis prostrate themselves to this order. After that, they tell them "You have to identify the extremists among you.", and the Saudis religiously point their fingers of accusation against committed Muslims all around, especially those who gained their trust. Ash-Shaytaan Al Akbar goes to them and says "You have to cut-off the financial assistance that you are giving to some of these Islamic radicals", and once again, as a religious act of faith, they open their financial records and institutions to officials from the state department, and the FBI- come on it, and these, some Muslims continue to call the custodians of the Haramain, the protectors of Makkah and Al-Medinah. "Bring down the price of oil" they are told, and the Saudi royals genuflect, and, because, upstairs, there is not enough enlightening and illuminating responsibilities that are generated by Allahs word and His Prophet, they will want to get away with this, thinking that you and I are clumsy, we can't see all of this, because yeah, this is Islam, the Islam of peace, the Islam of brotherhood between oppressor and oppressed, the Islam of turning the other cheek, the Islam of burying your head beneath the sand, the Islam of sitting in the corner of a Masjid somewhere and forgetting about the world around, the tamed Islam, the domesticated Islam, the eviscerated Islam, the sterilized Islam- that has become the religion of the majority of the people around, who get their weekly doses from the mimbar and the Masjid so that the pharaohs, the mushriks and the enemies of Allah can have their way. Brothers and sisters, our immediate responsibility and duty is to follow Allah and His Prophet and free Makkah and al-Medinah, our center, our seat of power, throbbing heart, our pulse- to clean it and to clear it for the course of history, for the will of Allah. This is where it all begins and this was demonstrated throughout 23 years of the Prophets life. How have we been distracted in every other direction.

KING MU'AWIYA- (1)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With reliance upon Allah, we will continue to break through the walls of ignorance and misunderstandings and offer our effort to Allah in trying to consolidate at least a common understanding that will preclude us from what is otherwise a bleak and a doomed future. In the previous khutbahs, we took a closer look at the way our previous, 1st generation of Muslims dealt with the issue of power. We tried to follow as conscientiously as possible the information that we have available to us, and we pursued that line of information closely as it unraveled or as it developed until the 1st king of Islam took his position by force from a camp or a block of Muslims , beginning with Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) and ending with Hassan (radi Allahu anhu), who were concerned with, 1st and foremost, the issue of justice, a free Islamic conscience, the equality of the committed Muslims and with Islamic participation in the decision making process. We followed this type of concern and how it eventually gave way to another type of concern, which is to govern and not be burdened with the issues of justice, equality, participatory politics or the issue of a free Islamic conscience and mind. This is a new set of people which we have to reconsider in light of what happened, because all of this was to usher in events that had no equivalent and no precedent- events like ibn Ziyad having the head of Al-Imam Husein (radi Allahu anhu) presented to him on a platter. Whichever way a person may understand Islam, this is not something that can be explained from the Qur'an or from the sunnah. Because of this unscrupulous obsession with power, as represented by the 1st king in Islam, we were to witness later on, the horses of this new power structure commit a massacre in AlMedinah, referred to in Islamic history as Yawm Al-Harra- the horses came into the Prophets Masjid and urinated between his grave and the Mimbar. Because of this new set of

rulers, we were to have a class of Muslim scholars who were going to say that Al-Imam Husein was slaughtered in accordance with the shari'ah of his grandfather (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). Things that don't make sense at all were going to become part of our history. We were going to begin to have a class of Muslim scholars who would argue in a scholarly way- is it prohibited or is it not prohibited during the days of Hajj to bleed a mosquito or a fly or an insect, but they would not look at the shedding of the blood of the Mujahidin who stood for justice. They were more concerned with the blood of insects than they were with the blood of the Mujahidin who were inside the Islamic context, trying to stop a deviation that protended ominous days for future generations with these events in our history. With these events in our history, it should behoove us to take a closer look with our minds and our conscience and our combined understanding of the Qur'an and the Prophet, to see where the beginnings of all of this are. To do that, we are going to have to muster enough courage to take a hard look at the formative years of what later on became a monarchy, or in the words of Allahs Prophet, in the hadith in which he refers to the sequence of Islamic Governance- the Khilafah and then, Al-Mulk Al-Adud- the type of monarchy that we are going to take consideration of. How and where are the roots and the beginning and the genesis of this monarchy? With our best understanding of this early era of Islam, we can trace it back to the feelings of solidarity that predate the Prophet, the Qur'an and Islam. There's something we can call nowadays, Al-Usrah Al-Umawiyah- the Umawi family, Al-Ashirah Al-Qurashiyah- the tribalism of Quraish and Al-Qabaliyah Al-Arabiyah- which can be roughly upgraded today to mean Arab Nationalism. These elements were at work prior to the Prophet, the Qur'an and to Islam. Then, all of a sudden, as if coming from no where, this society that had these three important and integral elements to it was presented with a problem- Islam is Justice, Allah is Just and the Qur'an is justice, and family solidarity, clannish interests and nationalist priorities don't recognize this type of justice. So the struggle began, and it continued during these years that we are familiar with- the years referred to as the Makkan era and the era of Al-Medinah. We don't have to cover this territory, because we have a sense of what it was about. The area that we have to cover though is towards the 23rd year of this cumulative life-long effort which was centered around justice, equality, participation of the people, freedom of conscience and thought. What happened was the forces of the Umawi family, the tribalism of Quraish and Al-Qabaliyah, that clung to these notions found themselves at a loss. They lost this confrontation with Allah and His Prophet and the committed Muslims who broke out of this mode. They no longer recognized family relations, tribal clannishness and nationalist interests- that no longer was part of their heart and soul, but some people still had that. When Allahs Prophet returned to Makkah, there was a class of people who fought against him. There was a population of people that spent a generation in a war against him and now they had to make up their minds. They could either become Muslim, or they would have to leave that territory altogether or they would have to fight and die. Looking back at 22years, they saw and they thought that the best thing to do or the only choice left is to become Muslim. We are speaking here particularly about Abu Sufyan and Muawiya. So,

they became Muslims and the rest of Muslims became Muslims. We may refer to them as Quraish At-Taleeqa, the nationalist Quraish that were amnestied by Allahs Prophet. To refresh our memories, we have to remind ourselves that Abu Sufyan and Muawiya took charge of the military force in Makkah against the Islamic forces in Al-Medinah after Badr. In Badr, shuyukh, senior commanders died and the opposition in Makkah needed a leader and Abu Sufyan was to fill in that gap, and he thrust the mushrik forces against the Islamic forces in Al-Medinah. In other words, he brought an army from Makkah to Al-Medinah to threaten the Muslims twice- in Uhud and in Al-Khandaq- and in both instances, there was no victory. So, Makkah was beginning to feel the psychological defeat of its encounter with the devout and committed Muslims of AlMedinah. But now, these age long enemies of Islam became Muslims. When this Prophet of Allah went to Makkah, how did he deal with these people who said that they are Muslims? They'd been fighting the Muslims for over 20 years and now when the power of Islam grew to an extent that they no longer could challenge, they said "Now, we are Muslims." What did the Prophet do at this moment? When he saw that Makkah is no longer resisting, he said "Whoever enters the residence of Abu Sufyan is secure or safe." The Prophet also gave Abu Sufyan and his son Muawiya 100 livestock. He gave each one 100- why? Because- we have to take a moment to think about this- you are not permitted to help Ash-Shaytaan against these types of people- these were living in the higher positions of society and now they were defeated. So, the Prophet of Allah called them At-Tulaqa so that he would give an accurate definition of their status- the Qur'an called them Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum, those who are left to be won over through their hearts- in a condition like this, you want to be forth-coming to those whose hearts and minds have been broken after all of these years, so, he and the Muslims were generous towards these Tulaqa, these Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum. There was a revenue from the Islamic budget that would go to them to help them overcome this psychological retreat and this inferiority position that they found themselves in. Also, remember- this is hard for some people to factor in, but this was part of real life at the time- the Prophet of Allah was married to Abu Sufyans daughter, Umme Habiba (radi Allahu anha). So, this is not that easy and simple thing of blindly going to condemn people because lines here are drawn on the basis of peoples character and not on the basis of family relations. All of this was to take the antagonistic and belligerent sting out of a generation that fought against the Prophet in Makkah. But, were Abu Sufyan and Muawiya really won over to the psychology and character of the Committed Muslims? The facts later on indicate otherwise. Even though, as far as we know, they never challenged the rituals of Islam- none of them ever took issue with the salaah, or the siyaam, or the zakaah or whatever constitutes the personal responsibilities of Muslims- never have we come across anything like that. What we do have though, is a set or a class of people who have the old attitude of opposing Islam from under a veneer of Islam. This is the new development that occurs at this time. So, the Prophet of Allah passes on, trying to blunt the Shaytaani inclinations of people who used to have power but now lost that power. It was in a sense demeaning to call these opponents and enemies of Allah and His Prophet when they finally surrendered to the wave of Islam in its innocence, when they were called At-Tulaqa and Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum, they felt inferior. Then, if you read these books of history and seerah etc., you will find that the committed Muslims at that time were not socializing

with these Tulaqa- they would not communicate or associate with Abu Sufyan and Muawiya and the rest of this class of people. When the Prophet of Allah came into Makkah and Islam became the order of Makkah, it is reported in the common books of history- we're not plucking out information from a particular side, we're trying as much as possible to stick to the common history that we have- in the shades of the Ka'ba, when the Prophet of Allah came to express this sense of equality, justice and common-hood of the Muslims to the new adherents of this Islam, when he was stating to them the new value system that many of them reluctantly, in an opportunistic manner, just to avoid the problems and the trouble if they chose otherwise he said to them "You- the folks of Quraish! Allah has relieved you of the upper class man-ship of this pre-Islamic era, of the jahiliyyah culture that you belonged to and of magnifying your ancestry, i.e. Giving your tribal affiliations a status in society- Allah has relieved you of that too. Are we not from Adam? And Adam comes from clay." Then, he quotes the ayah (13) from Surah Hujurat that we are all familiar with. When the Prophet of Allah was in the vicinity of the holy sanctuary in Makkah, stating this to the Quraishi public, Abu Sufyan and a couple of other prior mushriks were sitting around the Ka'ba and they were making statements- "How did we reach this condition that we are in now." feeling either negative or sorry about the condition that they are in. When these two people with Abu Sufyan were saying these types of things, Abu Sufyan said (we're paraphrasing here) "I'm afraid that if I were to speak, these stones around would inform on me." If this was a Muslim at this time, even though the Prophet was dealing in a delicate manner with the potential transitional psychology that this person may be in, this statement divulges to us the real self of this person. He goes up to Allah Prophet later on, and according to some sources of information- he pleads with him, "to have my son become a scribe, a person who will register the scripture that is being revealed to you.", and he wanted something else, he wanted a position of power- someone from his family, himself or someone from his sons to become a military commander- he didn't get that type of request, but his son Muawiya was given the leeway to write. The person knew how to write, let him write what there is of these ayaat and this wahy. When the Prophet passes away, and in As-Saqifa, this is another time where a persons real personality surfaces- when there was a little commotion around what's going to happen right now? Who's going to lead the Muslims? Who's going to fill in this vacuum? Abu Sufyan urges, (not that he had much clout, this was in AlMedinah, this was a place where his power base that was in Makkah really didn't have much clout,) the Muslims to agree that Ali (radi Allahu anhu) become the leader of the Muslims. He doesn't do this because he recognizes the virtues, qualities and merits of Ali. He does this because he recognizes the group solidarity within Quraish- because Ali was closer to Abu Sufyan than Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) were to him. If we were to take the pedigree of Quraish, Abu Bakr and Umar came from Taim- they weren't the immediate cousins of the Umawi clan as were the Hashimis, from whom Ali (radi Allahu anhu) is an individual. So, on the basis of this Usrah and Ashirah and Qabaliyah, he spoke what was on his mind. But he didn't find a

response because the majority of the Muslims who were around were convinced that they don't want the culture of jahiliyyah to influence their decisions, especially on this matter. So, the days and the years go by, without any break through until now as far as regaining that stature and that position of power in Makkah. During the rule of Abu Bakr and Umar- the Islamic territories had expanded into the North, the East, the South and the West and people are going to have to be given responsibilities. One of the responsibilities that was given to the sons of Abu Sufyan is that they should be... Let us track back a moment here. During the time of the 1st successor to Allahs Prophet, the Islamic forces were under the leadership of Khalid ibn Al-Walid (radi Allahu anhu), and one of the major generals, in todays language, around Khalid was Abu Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah (radi Allahu anhu). These basically were the military type of men. They were looking, as should be the case, at who qualifies to be in charge of this area- who is familiar with this area. We're talking about an area referred to in Islamic history as Bilad Ash-Shaam- the geography of today says that it is Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. They were looking at who qualifies to be in a position to administer this area. These were administration responsibilities. This responsibility was given to Yazid, the brother of Muawiya and the son of Abu Sufyan. This was done because, and this is also a piece of history that also goes un-thought of- the Umawis, before the advent of the Prophet and before Islam, used to track in their commercial pursuits between Arabia and Ash-Shaam. They used to go several times a year on commercial missions to that area. It is even said that there was a dispute- the grand-father of Muawiya and his grand-uncle had some type of fall out between themselves and one of them, the grand-uncle, moved from Makkah to Damascus. So, this family, not only was it familiar with these people, this territory and this culture, but they also had something like a residence there. So, you would want to give administrative responsibilities to people who had some qualifications here, and it may also have been with a streak of extending the concept of Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum, because up until now, they didn't show any outright hostility to the central Islamic government in Al-Medinah. So- give them this responsibility. After a short while, Muawiyas brother Yazid, who was basically incharge of what is today Jordan passes and Muawiya becomes an inheritor to the area of Jordan in addition to the area of Damascus or Ash-Shaam. This is the explanation of why they occupied these positions. Also, when Amr ibn Al-Aas was given the governor-ship of Egypt, it is because he was a person who had traveled there many times and was familiar with and had experience with these people. You can't send someone, as sincere as they may be, but cannot have administrative qualities to perform the responsibilities and the duties that come from that position. This is how they began to climb the Islamic social ladder- it was through the military. But having this position would not fool Abu Bakr or Umar- as a matter of internal policy or internal decision making, there was a very serious disagreement between Abu Bakr and Umar as to how far or for how long is this concept of Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum applied. Is it going to be forever? Are we going to keep on paying these Tulaqa or these Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum this monthly stipend or there shall come a time when they're going to have to prove themselves. Umar was of the opinion that enough years had lapsed and they should prove themselves- they should not be on this, let's say, Islamic dough. Abu Bakr during his time disagreed with that. Nevertheless, these individuals

gained these positions and they used the goodness in the Muslim hearts of Al-Quraish AlMuhajirah. Remember, before we were looking at Islamic history as it unfolded towards the north and the east, Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah and the Iraqi areas, now, we are looking at Islamic history as it unfolded in the north and towards the west. We begin to have now, in this new dimension of Islam an excessive expression of opportunism. Remember how sensitive Ali (radi Allahu anhu) was to people who wanted to express themselves, even though they were against his own opinion; how he left them the freedom to do so, and when it comes to Muawiya, how a person like Hujar who refused to annul the Hadd, an Islamic legal procedure, and go along with him and his types was killed. This is what happens in autocratic dictatorial expressions of state functions and positions. This is a new type of government that the Muslims are going to have to take a good look at, without the type of sectarianism and without the type of nationalism that is interjected almost always into reconsidering and rethinking the details of this history. We have to mature enough to look at this and come out comfortably without the accusations and counter accusations of Sunni verse Shi'i or Arab verse A'jami- we have to outgrow all of that and look at the merits and the de-merits of these issues one by one, step by step, heart with heart and mind contributing to mind. This new chapter- Muawiya was in Ash-Shaam 20 years as an Ameer, as a governor, roughly speaking, and he was there also 20 years as a king. That's 40 years of a type of administration that does not countenance, that cannot tolerate criticism, plurality and even serious disagreements- it doesn't tolerate any of that. There was a type of lobby that lived on, from those early days in Makkah, when Makkah was finally subdued by the will of the committed Muslims according to the Qur'an and the Prophet which lived on to work to regain its position in power. It found its channel through the military and finally, it unfolded in some of the details that we were looking at- Al-Jamal, Siffin and from here on, we are going to have other experiences with it, that have throughout 14 centuries snowballed, accumulated and reached the peaks of autocratic, dictatorial, monarchical, nonrepresentative governments that we have in our Islamic lands, countries and territories. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Today, we live in a world in which you and I can see for our own selves- just look at what's happening and you can see some Muslims who are anxious to align themselves with those who are at war with the Muslims. Need we say who they are by their names?! There's enough of them around that you cannot miss them. You can almost point to any government in the Muslim sphere of the world, and you will be almost 99% right that that government is anxious to side with the external threats and leave the Muslims to the tragedies that follow, and this is why what we are talking about is relevant to today. When the king to be, Muawiya was concerned and overworked with trying to defeat Ali, he was willing to pay the Byzantines to neutralize that front- at least for a while. That may have been the 1st detection of Muslims who were in power who were willing to ally themselves with the devil to tend to internal Islamic issues. Later on, we saw this happen.

During the Abbasi era, the kings who were in Baghdad, Harun Ar-Rashid was willing to be on good terms with Sharlemon, in France, so that they could get rid of the Muslims in Al-Andulus. Later on, we saw how the Fatimis in Egypt, were willing to be on good terms with the Crusaders so that Salah Ad-Din would not be able to bring about the consolidation to liberate Palestine from that 1st form of colonialism and imperialism nearly 1,000 years ago. This is what we see today developing in front of our own eyes- it's just the re-run of what began to happen during that time. For how long are we willing to visualize these types of arrangements? This is going to go on for a long time as long as these Masaajid that we have don't bring this information and place it in our heads so that we can begin to make sense out of it, learn from our mistakes and improve the efforts of those who preceded us. This is what needs to be done today. And please- brothers and sisters, please- if anyone wants to try to help in this regard, leave out the issues of todays nationalism and sectarianism- anytime these issues are put into this mix, they just spoil the whole effort. Let us try to look at them with the maturity of our brotherhood, the sincerity of our togetherness and with the devotion that we all have towards Allah and His Prophet.

KING MU'AWIYA- (2)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... In fact, in their narratives, there is an eye opener (Surah Yusuf verse 111) We will continue, in these few minutes that we have, to bring out in light of the Qur'an and the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) some of the events that still have not been seriously considered in light of the Qur'an and the Prophet. With Allahs help and with the insight that we gain from that position, we will continue to dwell on these issues that our enemies and the enemies of Allah are going to try to use to instigate us against each other. We remind ourselves, that this topic is not a topic of preference to be dealt with from the Mimbar on Fridays, but we have no choice, because this is one of the few, if not the only public access we have to explaining what has remained for almost 1,400 years un-explained. We took a close, considerate and confidential look at how the 1st few decades unraveled after Allahs Prophet joined heavenly company. We saw how careful and conscientious Muslims interaction and disagreement was along the lines of the Khilaafah and the Imamah that followed Allahs Prophet. We did not follow that closely interaction among Muslims as they developed along the line of worldly and potentially "secular" power that had its beginnings in this new political deviation and away from the course of Allahs Prophet and the course of his 1st successors. We mean by this deviation, the monarchy that began its debut with the grabbing of power by Muawiya the son of Abi Sufyan. There are many Muslims, because of the 1,400 years of mental lapse that we inherited, even today, with all the advances that we have to reconsider these events, still we have Muslims, it doesn't matter brothers and sisters, whatever types of Muslims you are looking at or from whichever type of background you come from, still we have Muslims who are unable and incapable of saying that Muawiya was the Muslims 1st king. For whatever purposes, they still refer to Muawiya as a Khalifa. There are exceptions to this, but we are looking at the thrust of our

own history up until this very day, by and large. Muslims are not willing or daring enough to have the moral courage that is extracted from understanding these events in light of the Qur'an and the Sunnah to say that the Muslims had their 1st king in the person of Muawiya, that is why we have to retrace this history to find out these facts. When Imam Hassan (radi Allahu anhu), the 2nd Imam or the 5th Khalifa, (there's no contradiction here), ceded or relinquished or stood down from that position of power because of the freedom of conscience that he felt responsible for among the Muslim public, because of the participatory political right of the Muslim public, because of the issue of justice that is central to this Muslim public, because of the equality of the Muslims in this public and finally because of the failure of this public to live up to the standards of Allah and His Prophet- this basically sums up the abrogation or the relinquishment of this position which does not mean that this is an endorsement of Muawiya as a king of Muslims. The interaction of the Khilafah and the Imamah was with the Muslim public, before it was with these usurpers of power who were making headway among the Muslims. We had a totally different outlook and an imposition of a new set of political ideas that do not relate whatsoever to the leadership of the Muslims as was taught by Allahs Prophet and practiced by his 1st successors- this was a break from that model and the political orientation. Muawiya, the 1st king of Muslims, we pray for the day when Muslims in the near future are able to look at these political issues in the correct manner, without getting involved with the petty nationalism and sectarianism that have smothered this issue- this, Muawiya, when he came to power, he didn't say like the precious rulers of the Muslims, remember, everyone of them said to the Muslim population- "You obey me as long as I obey Allah in the administration of your affairs." He never said that. Why? Because this is a new kind of person who is ruling. He is not in the mold of the previous rulers- some of them more accurate than others, but still not kings. Now, he wants to impose the bai'ah and the ta'ah. Before, we didn't have an imposed bai'ah and an imposed ta'ah. Once again we go back to what is called the arbitration, that segment of Muslim history that we covered from the side of the Imam or the Khalif, now, we are going to take a look at a segment of it from the side of the king. The representative of king Muawiya was Amr ibn AlAas, and when he was speaking to Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, the representative of the other side, he said to him, "Why don't you agree to the wilayah of Muawiya?" If you have a problem with him being delegated power; Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) had delegated power to him, so you're not going to be the 1st one who's going to be doing this- you have nothing to be afraid of." Then, if you have a reservation about the Prophets household, (which means that this was one of the considerations in the public mind at that time) he said that "If you have reservations, there's nothing to worry about here, because the Prophet was married to his sister- Umm Habiba (radi Allahu anha). If you're worried about the companionship of the Prophet, he can be considered one of them." So, in this one-on-one discussion between these two arbiters, listen to this type of logic, if we can call it that- here, he is trying, almost in the tradition of the politicians of today, this is not in the tradition of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, he wants to try to win over his interlocutor to his side. He wasn't concerned with ayaat from the Qur'an or statements from Allahs Prophet- he didn't mention any of this. When the response came from this person that

he wasn't willing to go along with any of this, and he gave his own response, which was enough to convince Amr that he wasn't going to go away with this trend and this offer. Amr tells Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, "Well, if you can't agree with endorsing Muawiya, then how about considering my son?!" Look, listen to behind the scenes discussions that were going on. He says to him, "Why don't you consider my son for this position?!" Of course, he immediately turned him down and said, "Why don't we, (meaning Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari tells Amr ibn Al-Aas), why don't both of us consider presenting the Muslims with the son of Umar ibn Al-Khattaab (radi Allahu anhu)?" This person turns him down! Like we mentioned before, we repeat and reiterate, if there was a conspiracy that traces its way back to Abu Bakr and Umar (radi allahu anhuma), that conspiracy would have exposed itself at this moment. But, there wasn't- this was not a conspiracy. Back to the mind-set of these political opportunists in the camp of Muawiyarepresented by this limited exchange of words between the representatives of both sides during these tahkeem days. We go back to Muawiya, even though this also should now be common language among Muslims without throwing in nationalist and sectarian side issues- remember, in all of this, how many years have we been covering?- No-one was speaking about "how do you make your wudhu?" We're going to go to a battle called Siffin or Al-Jamal or An-Nahrawaan or the rest of these internecine encounters- no-one was saying I'm going to take issue with you because you're not praying the way I am praying, or you're not saying the adhaan the way I'm saying it, or your wudhu is invalid because you're not doing it the way it's supposed to be done- these were not issues at all, even though they may have been doing it the same way we are doing it today. There's nothing that says it was not done the same way we continue to do these ritualistic issues today, but these were not issues of war. So, what was the matter that took these people to the war-fronts? The matter was that the only place that Muawiya, in his pre-monarchical days, ruled over without fighting to have it was Bilaad Ash-Shaam- all the other regions and areas in the Muslim world, he had to fight to gain the position to rule. There was no bai'ah, in the sense that you have free and fair and full elections. This person was out to grab power because of the sword and the force that he had. When you had this person who is a Taleeq and is from Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum ruling over the Muslims- what are the background motivations for him to have fought all of these years and to finally break with the model before it and assume a new political institution referred to as AlMulk Al-Adud, in the Prophets words. We can summarize it in the following This person, this 1st king that the Muslims had and his Umawi clan and circle did not feel reconciled, even after becoming ritualistic and nominal Muslims, with the following salient features of Islam. First of all, they could not live with the Qur'anic principle of, Allah says, It is our will to favor those who are powerless in the world, and render them leaders and then render them inheritors of this whole affair. (Surah Al-Qasas verse 5)

This could not be reconciled with the upper-class mentality of the Makkan opposition to the Prophet, which because of a winning wave of Islam, declared its verbal agreement with the Qur'an and the Prophet. In fact, they could not see it that way. Another salient feature that they could not reconcile their psychology to was the equality among the Muslims, Indeed, committed Muslims are brothers. (Surah Ambiya verse 92) This couldn't be. When people come from an affluent background and they fight for their affluence for a full generation, it's not going to happen that overnight or within a short period of time, as a class of people, they're going to give up all of these privileges, wealth and positions and then become equal with everyone else. The Qur'an says about them, This Qur'an came to Muhammad, why didn't it come to one of the two major figures in these two major societies (Surah Az-Zukhruf verse 31) This is their opposition- the Qur'an coming to a person as humble, down to earth and without any status as Muhammad- they couldn't reconcile themselves to that. They couldn't reconcile themselves to the fact that this new message belonged to the world, it should belong to them. They should have the major stake in it, they should have the major stake in it. What do you meanthese ayaat, We have sent this Qur'an as a reminder to Mankind and the Jinn (Surah As-Saad verse 87) We sent you, (O Muhammed) as a mercy to all that exists. (Surah Al-Ambiya' verse 107) All of these Qur'anic ayaat about Al-Aalameen did not cross their heart and dwell in it. They resisted this. As much as Allahs Prophet and the Committed Muslims wanted to help them to help themselves- the concept of Al-Muallafa Qulubuhum is to help them help themselves- they don't want to help the Shaytaan against them, so they were forthcoming, they had open hands and they tried to accommodate them, but these people, you can't accommodate them, so they lived on with this. Some Muslims say, not only is Muawiya a king, but he is also a baghi. This word, of course, doesn't mean very much to people who don't know what it means. A baghi means someone who transgresses, intrudes and offends- this is basically the gist of the word. Where does this come from? It doesn't come from scholars re-studying and reconsidering Islamic history, it comes from an integral and undeniable part of the 1 st generation of Muslims, and it goes like this Ammaar ibn Yaaser (radi Allahu anhu), whose grandfather, Aamir, had originally come from Yemen to Makkah, married there and had a son by the name of Yaaser, there. Yaaser got married in Makkah to Sumayyah (radi Allahu anha). Both of them come from what is called the lower classes of society and they had a child by the name of Ammaar. When Allahs Prophet opened up this Islam to the people of Makkah, Ammaar and Yaaser and Sumayyah were one of the 1 st to have become committed to Allah and His Prophet and supportive of Allah and his Prophet. They

had to support him when there was no power. Allahs Prophet at that time and the few who were his followers and companions had to endure torture. Ammaar and his family was one of the units that was supportive of Allahs Prophet in Makkah who had to endure the hardest times. Now, listen to this, because they came from a lower class, they were persecuted and tortured by the class right now that is around Muawiya, but, at that time, they were out and out mushriks, die hard opponents of Allah and His Prophet. So, they took Ammaar to the fiery deserts and they would lay him down. Imagine this- temperatures of around 150 degrees Fahrenheit and they lay his body on the sand of the desert and to torture him more, they would lay his body on rocks that were heated by this very hot temperature. What did the Prophet of Allah do? Of course, he knew that this was going on- he would go to him and he would try his best to relieve him, even though there was nothing he could do except be there and try to give him moral support. The Prophets statements about Ammaar are registered for anyone to review and think about. Allahs Prophet said to him- this is a caring leader. This wasn't a leader who was locked up somewhere in a mansion or hiding away some where from his followers. He was out there, where ever they werehe was to be found, even if they were being tortured, Allahs Prophet was with them. Allahs Prophet said, "O fire, be a soothing effect and a calming effect on Ammaar as you were a soothing and calming effect on Ibrahim (alaih salaam)." Ammaar participates in all the military campaigns of Allahs Prophet- he was to be found in the front lines. When they were building a structure in Al-Medinah, Ammaar was participating and the Prophet would go to him and he'd see the dust on his face and he'd take the dust off and he'd say "O Allah, support those who support Ammaar and be the antagonizer of those who antagonize Ammaar." Then, the Prophet said on this occasion, when everyone was participating and they were saying a verse of poetry in one tune, together, and then an area collapses and some one says "Ammaar is injured, Ammaar may be dead." Then, the Prophet of Allah says "No! Ammaar is not dead. Ammaar is going to be killed by Al-Fi'ah Al-Baaghiyah, by that group or block of people who are transgressors, intruders, offenders and mal-effectors." In another hadith, Allahs Prophet says "My heart goes out to ibn Sumayyah. He will be killed by a transgressing, offending and intruding camp." Then, Allahs Prophet passes on, and Ammaar still participates in the major military campaigns of the Muslims. He fights in Al-Yamamah, against Musailamah Al-Kaddhaab, the person who came in the 1st year after Allahs Prophet and said "I am Gods Prophet also." In this campaign, Ammaar loses his ear, his ear got cut off.

Then, if there was a conspiracy somewhere, for those who are of this opinionthe 2nd successor to Allahs Prophet, Umar, appoints Ammaar the governor of Kufa, along with ibn Mas'ud. Is there

a conspiracy here, of some sort?! They knew what the relationship was between Ammaar and Ali (radi Allahu anhu)- if they were trying to conspire, why would he do something like this?! Then, the day of Siffin comes, and Ammaar says as he goes out to Siffin, as if he had a premonition or a feeling of what's going to happen- and he was a man who was known for his silence, he wasn't a person to speak much. He says "Tomorrow we will meet with our loved ones- Muhammed and his company." The battle of Siffin goes on and this aggressive, transgressing power represented by the side of Muawiya- remember, he made a big issue about standing for the justice concerning Uthman (radi allahu anhu) at that time; later on, we know that he wasn't concerned with that at all- he just wanted raw power- they were aware of what the Prophet said, so they were trying to avoid Ammaar. What happens? What if they kill him? The 1st day, the 2nd day, the 3rd day- they avoided him in the 1st few days, but finally, the camp, the camp, the military force of Muawiyah killed Ammaar and that was an authentication and an explanation of what the Prophet of Allah said. It's clear here, who the transgressors are. It seems like just this one event was going to have so much impact, that immediately word went up to Muawiya himself- "what are you going to do? Ammaar is killed!" Everyone knew that the Prophet said "Ammaar is going to be killed by Al-Fi'ah Al-Baaghiyah, by that group or block of people who are transgressors, intruders, offenders and mal-effectors." During the time of Siffin, Ammaar said, "Before, (meaning), in the times of Makkah and Al-Medinah, we were fighting against you (meaning these same people), because 1st you did not agree that this affairIslam, this Prophet and this Qur'an were from Allah, ie. we were fighting you because you were disputing the fact that this was from Allah- today, we are fighting you because of the way you are misinterpreting and misunderstanding it." So, when the word went all the way up to the commander of Al-Fi'ah Al-Baaghiyah, he couldn't deny the hadith, everyone knew it, so what is he going to do? He says, and this probably says it all, if anyone is tuned into these affairs, this says it all. He said, "Well, we didn't kill him. Actually, the people who killed him were the ones who forced him to leave his home and brought him to this war." Meaning, the side that Ammaar was on was the side that killed him. This is a very obvious, clear and an unambiguous explanation of the nature of these two sides that were locked into this type of clash, that we feed with our ignorance, silence and mental absence even today. Muawiya becomes this 1st deviation in Islamic Governance and still, up till today we don't have Muslims of thoughts and ideas who can stand on the high moral ground and say, "In Muawiya, we have experienced the 1st monarch in Islam. Some people say that he is a Khalifa to try to mitigate or minimize this tragic event, which is not being sincere to the facts and some people say that he is a Khalifa to distort and discredit the rulers who previously ruled under that title, and this is disingenuous and it lacks integrity and both of these sides are wrong on this issue. We hope and we pray to Allah that we can re-grasp these events in light of the thoughts and ideas that germinate from Allah and His Prophet and our correct understanding of them, so that we can learn from these mistakes and improve our future relationship with each other and avoid these types of rulers.

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims You and I and witness to the unfolding of an aggressive brutal onslaught on our brothers and sisters across the world. The kaafirs and the mushriks could care less about the hyphenated designations that some Muslims take pride in- they could care less. To add to this, we have to deal with internal enemies. Many of you would be, we hope, privy with the fatwa that recently came out from one of these so-called "muftis from Saudi Arabia, in which he said that no Muslim should help the Hizbullahis who are fighting the eternal enemies of Allah, Islam, the Prophet and the Muslims and then, as they are used to doing, he took an ayah out of context and then in explaining it, he was telling the Sunnis, if you help them, then you are one of them. But, what these fake Muslims, who represent a line of defense for the Zionist, Israeli Jews didn't realize is that Muslims the world over are no longer waiting for them and their types to brainwash other Muslims, and we had scores of Sunni ulema refute and reject this phony fatwa. Muslims are waking up, Wa Lillahil Hamd, some faster than others, to the fact that we we're meant to be one brotherhood, and not the enemies of each other upon whom these Zionists followed by their proxies the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian and the rest of these officials feed off. Hizbullah has opened a bridge between "Shi'i" Muslims and "Sunni" Muslims- our part in this ground breaking effort is to follow suit and consolidate each others efforts.

KING MUAWIYA (3)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With Allahs light and with His Prophets (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) influence, we will continue to dispel the dark corners in our minds, the ambiguity in some of our history and the misunderstandings among us that are traceable to the opening chapters that go back to the years and the times that followed Allahs Prophet. After the time when the best possible political behavior was exemplified by the four administrations that followed the passing away of the Prophet of Allah, after those critical years in which there was a transition from a political standard that drew on a sincerity and a devotion to Allah and His Prophet, we altogether should see that there was a qualitative change that set into our early history on the decision making level of the Ummah. Now, for the 1st time we have a monarchy that is making decisions for the Muslims. This monarchy parted in a break-away attitude from the principles, values, standards and the strategy of Allahs Prophet and the monarchy had given itself an air of legitimacyobviously, it needed that to survive. The 1st source or channel of this legitimacy that was going from now on to be played up, expanded and publicized had to do with a ahaadith that are attributed to Allahs Prophet, and one of these purported ahaadith is taken as a authentic and a common hadith. What are these two ahaadith saying to us? Remember, these hadiths have lived on and they still continue to circulate in all the Islamic literature from whichever perspective you are approaching it. The ahaadith, and people ask, when is a hadith valid and when is it not valid?! We will put these hadiths and see if they measure up to the verifier of validities and that is Allahs incontrovertible, ever-lasting truth in the Qur'an. The 1st hadith that is widely quoted and was taken all the way back then as being a source and a channel of legitimacy for the

1st monarchy or monarchical system in Islam. "This position of leadership belongs to Quraish. Anyone who expresses an opposition or an animosity to this (Al-Amr), meaning to the leadership being inherently in Quraish, Allah will cause him to fall face down." This is in reference to the leadership of the Muslims. Al-Amr here is in reference to the leadership of the Muslims. It is reported to us through the books of hadith that this position of leadership belongs to Quraish. Then, the hadith goes on to say, "Anyone who expresses an opposition or an animosity to the leadership being inherently in Quraish, Allah will cause him to fall face down." Then, the final qualifier, "As long as these leaders from Quraish are responsible for the substantiation or the established order of this Deen." This was widely and particularly quoted when there was a shift from a particular standard of governance during the time of the Khilafah to a new form of government which is a dynasty, a kingship and a monarchy, and so was the case with the adjunct hadith that is quoted. This is more specific and more succinct, in which we are told that the Prophet is reported to have said "The imams, meaning the leaders of the Muslims come from Quraish." So, we have what may be called Al-Quraishiyah, a segment of society- up until the oft quoted ahaadith, two of which were just quoted, and other similar and collaborative hadiths that give legitimacy to Quraish, we know that Quraish in its bulk was at war with Allah and His Prophet for the longevity of the Prophets existence in Arabia. But now we have a king who comes from this bulk and this center of Quraish that needs legitimacy, because we no longer have the peaceful transition of power which we noticed in the previous four administrations preceding this king. This king is king Muawiya that we are speaking about to continue what we were shedding light on previously. Now, these are hadiths that may or may not be authentic, but we know for sure what is authentic, and these are the ayaat in the Qur'an. The ayah that we all know, that has no change to it, and that tolerates no ambiguity of meaning is The most noble, dignified and honorable of you in the sight of Allah are those who have Taqwa, ie. those who are more on their guard towards Him. (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) This is not mutashabih ayah, ie. this is not an ayah that tolerates a variety of complementary meanings- this is a clear, clarifying ayah. There is no blanket statement here for a tribe or a nationality. If there are people who from within Quraish acquire Taqwa, they are noble. If there are people within Quraish who acquire a degenerative behavior, they are excluded from the meanings of this ayah. Al-Quraishiyah became a problem because we had rulers who are propagandizing what are reported to be hadiths that are related to Allahs Prophet that give legitimacy to Quraish to lead. So, we had a king who said "I am from Quraish, therefore I have a special status to rule." Another problematic issue that sought to give legitimacy to an illegitimate ruler, remember, this extends from those days, up until now- the only exception in that early era was Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radi Allahu anhu) who wanted to tear down this false legitimacy and bring back the relationship that belongs between those who rule and those who are ruled, but besides him, we have had this ongoing and still we have it today. Another area that these new rulers, kings and monarchs in Islam tried to use at that time to give themselves legitimacy is what is called As-

Suhbah. As-Suhbah means the companionship to Allahs Prophet. But now, it comes to "What do you mean by a companionship to Allahs Prophet?" Here, we begin to be exposed to an expanded and a very flexible definition that makes anyone who saw Allahs Prophet to be in the company of Allahs Prophet or a Sahabi. So, we had people who during the last year or two, at the end of the 23 years of the struggle that Allahs Prophet gave to the Muslims and to the world, who jumped on the Islamic wave of the future and declared themselves to be Muslims and therefore entered into the company of Allahs Prophet and some of them only by seeing him. So, by visualizing Allahs Prophet, according to those who have usurped power in the Umawi dynasty, these people are Sahabis. So, the 1st king to be, he wasn't the king yet, Muawiya at that time was a Taleeq, a person who was amnestied when the Prophet and Islam regained their position in Makkah, but the propaganda machine went to work full force during that 1st monarchy and tried to impart legitimacy to that monarchy. So, they had to say that Muawiya, the 1st king in Islam has virtues to him. He is from Quraish, and remember what we are saying to you are from state positions or from positions of power. Quraish has a legitimacy and As-Suhbah has a legitimacy. This king was trying to pull these two currents together to give him legitimacy. The literature goes that Muawiya was a scribe- he wrote the Wahy, so doesn't that give him a special status. There was another person, they don't mention these in these books, Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh who was also a scribe who wrote the Wahy, but what happened to him? He became a Murtad, he denounced Islam and lied about Allahs Prophet and there was nothing there that said that just because he wrote the Wahy we are going to overlook his true behavior and character. Besides, if the meaning and the definition of As-Suhbah is to extend to mean everyone who saw Allahs Prophet, there were Munafiqin who saw Allahs Prophet. Ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, the head of the Munafiqin, wasn't he seeing, talking and praying immediately behind Allahs Prophet in the 1st row in the Masjid- and we can go on and on. So, this definition doesn't hold any weight especially in light in the ayah, regarding which there are no questions marks as there may be regarding such meanings that are purported to be hadiths. The ayah that speaks to us directly from Allahs book says, Muhammed is the Apostle or Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are strong and fierce against the kuffaar and they are cordial and compassionate towards each other. When they come together, you see or visualize them in ruku and sujood. They are seeking from Allah his satisfaction and His plentiness. (Surah Muhammed verse 29) Notice the wording of the Qur'an- those who are with- it doesn't mean those who are around the Prophet are with him. But, this new propaganda that is being churned out by a dynastic government wanted to confuse As-Suhbah with the Maiyah, it wanted to confuse those who were around the Prophet with those who were living, sacrificing and sharing the responsibilities of being with him. So, we have this effect that has taken its course and the reverberations of it are still alive in this world. It's very hard to come to Muslims and tell them "re-gage yourself and remake your thoughts with the primary influence being the Qur'an and the Prophet" and these other issues that came into play in history should be weeded out. When Allah

says those who are with him are cordial and compassionate towards each- did this king, Muawiya express any of this compassion or mercy towards those who were around Allahs Prophet? When he was influenced by the form of government in Ash-Shaam, he had an advisor called Sarjun Ar-Rumi. You would think that if a persons main influence is going to be from the Qur'an, why do you needwe didn't experience in the personalities of the four leaders of Muslims that preceded him advisors from Byzantium or Ar-Rum, or Al-Furs- the predominant powers at that time. This ruler created and developed things that didn't exist before. He sits on something equivalent to a throne. We don't know of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (radi Allahu anhum) sitting on something that looks like a throne. He has personal guards- he has an entourage of security personal around him. Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali didn't have any of that. There were copper coins that were minted in Ilya' in Palestine that had Muawiyas image on them. In a copy cat manner, he wanted to be just like the Roman kings. Those who saw those coins say that they were a bad or incomplete duplicate of what the Romans had. This new king in Islamic history also had units- men who had lost their virility inside the inner circle of this new prominent figure in the Muslims lives. These didn't exist before. Muawiyas advocate and public relations man, Amr ibn Al-Aas tried to use this Quraishiya, this line of "legitimacy", when he was arguing with Abu Musa Al-Ashari who was representing the side of Ali. Amr was telling or trying to convince him by telling him of the Muawiyas qualifications by saying that "he is also related to the Prophet. The Prophet was married to his sister- Umm Habiba (radi Allahu anha)." They were trying to use that. You see- all of these are attempts to trying to legitimize the usurpation of power- something that still up to this day we cannot penetrate with our thinking minds and undo at least in a theoretical sense the purported legitimacy of todays rulers. This advocate and public relations man, Amr ibn Al-Aas, after he couldn't convince Abu Musa Al-Ashari, what did he tell him? We looked at this issue from the other side a few months ago, now we are looking at it from this side. He said a statement that should be ringing in everyone's ears nowadays, because it speaks exactly of todays political opportunists. When in the middle of a "civil war" among the Muslims it appeared the only way that this "civil war" was going to come to an end was- this is the way Amr ibn Al-Aas, almost the outer ego of Muawiya expressed itthese are his words, this should be echoing in everyone's mind "This contention for leadership of the Muslims is not going to be fixed, this competition Muawiya and Ali, except by a person who has an appetite. Darus, literally means a person who has a good set of biting teeth. It's going to be a person with a good set of biting teeth, with an appetite who will devour and who will feed." Can you place this statement in the atmosphere of the Qur'an or in the climate of the hadith? Is this how we are going to fix something that is broken inside of our government and society- to bring someone who has an appetite and who has good biting teeth, who will satisfy his own appetite and throw out food for the public? You can't! You can't place these types of statements and behaviors in the environment of the Qur'an and the sunnah. Impossible!

And, lest, we have someone who will come and say, "But we haven't heard anyone else refer to Muawiya as a king!" We will take you back to that time, to a person who was one of the 1st to become a Muslim. When he was 17 years old in Makkah, he came to the Prophet and he announced and proclaimed his submission to Allah and to the Prophet. When all of these "civil" conflicts among the Muslims began- Al-Jamal, Siffin, An-Nahrawaan, Al-Madaai, etc.- he was involved, but then he began to see what was happening. Before Uthmans time, he was appointed as the Muslim governor over Al-Kufa, then during the time of Uthman, he was relieved of his responsibilities- this is Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu). The person who took over his position of governor over Al-Kufa was Waleed ibn Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet. Saad was called the maternal uncle of the Prophet even though he was younger than him because the Prophets mothers uncle was his grandfather. He was replaced- there came a time when those in AlMedinah thought that he was not qualified to be the governor of Al-Kufa so Waleed replaced him by orders from those who were governing during the time of Uthman- maybe from Uthman himself or maybe from those who were around him- this area remains undetermined. This new person who is leading the Muslims there goes to lead salaat-ul-fajr and he prays four rak'aat. Alfajr is two rakaats- this governor prays four rak'aat and he is drunk. We're not taking this from biased historical sources. This is common historical information that does not circulate. Then, after he finishes four rak'aat, he turns around to the Muslims and he tells them, "Do you want me to pray extra rak'aat." Saad is aware of this. When the "civil war" between those on the side of the king to be and those on the side of the legitimate khalif or imam occurred Saad withdrew himself from this and some people from Muawiyas side came to him and said, "Why don't you participate in this war? We'll give you a sword, just participate in this war." Look- they're looking for legitimacy and he said to them "If you were to give me a sword and I were to use it, I would wish for this sword to have no blade if is going to be used against any Muslim and I would wish that it has a thousand blades when it is used against the kaafirs." So, he wasn't involved in this. At one time, Saad who, for your information, now that we're speaking about these early Muslims- some of you say we need a little more information about these founding fathers of an Islamic authority- Saad was the last Muhajir to have died- with him, all the Muhajirin that went with the Prophet from Makkah to Al-Medinah were dead. When he was dying, he said to his family, "Go bring me that dress that I have." -what we call today- the cloth. They said "Why?" He said, "Because these are the clothes that I wore in Badr." The 1st encounter or major war in Islam against the kaafirs was Badr. He preserved the clothes that he wore at Badr so that he would be wrapped around with these clothes when he goes to his grave. Saad was the 1st person to release an arrow when the Muslims 1st encountered the kaafirs in warfare. At Uhud, the Prophet of Allah said, "Shoot Saad, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you." It is not known in Islamic literature and in the hadiths of the Prophet, that the Prophet ever said "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you." to anyone except to Saad. Saad was also given the military position of being responsible for 30,000 Muslims in their war called Al-Qadisiyyah against the Persian empire. There were 100,00 on the other side. He

was the one who dispatched Rab'i ibn Aamir (radi Allahu anhu) to Rustum, the king or the headhantial amongst the Persians to try to diffuse a war. This Saad goes up to Muwaiya, being who he is- notice the two behaviors- Saad says to him "Assalaamualaika O King." So, we're not the 1st ones who are saying Muawiya is a king. We've heard it before and we've heard it from that early generation around the Prophet. "Peace be upon you the king or you who are king." With a smirk on his face, this is how the literature says, defines or describes Muawiya- Muawiya tells Saad "And what was wrong with addressing me by saying Assalaamualaika O Ameer AlMu'mineen- Peace be upon you o commander of the committed Muslims?!" Saad responds to him by saying "I would never ever have reached the position that you are in by doing what you have done" As the exchange proceeds between Muawiya and Saad, Muawiya tells Saad "Why didn't you carry arms with us against our opponents?" This is what Saad told king Muawiya "I would never carry arms against a person who I heard the Prophet describe and say to him the following: You (the Prophet is addressing Muawiyas opponent who is Ali ibn Abi Talib) in relationship to me is like Harun is to Musa (alaihima salaam) except there are no Prophets who will come after me." In the middle of this history, when we want to recall or recount it, the words of Allah are flooded by emotionalism, nationalism, sectarianism, tribalism and ignorance. We are the ones who are going to have to take ourselves back to Allah and His Prophet and when we look at these issues we should look at them understanding Allah and His Prophet. The most noble, dignified and honorable of you in the sight of Allah are those who have Taqwa, those who are more on their guard towards him. (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) Muhammed is the Apostle or Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are strong and fierce against the kuffaar and they are cordial and compassionate towards each other. When they come together, you see or visualize them in ruku and sujood. They are seeking from Allah his satisfaction and His plentiness. (Surah Muhammed verse 29) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We have many jobs to do, but one of the most pressing ones is to overhaul our understanding of the way things went in these 1,400 years or so that have passed. There are two ambiguities that usually interfere with sound thinking towards the Qur'an and the Prophet when we try to reconsider the way a monarchy began to erode the standards of ruling. The 1st one is the expansion of the Muslim territory during that time. During the time that we are speaking about, the Muslims in their military capacity were moving from one land to the next. This was a fantastic unprecedented flow of a people in all directions of the world and usually when this happens, people begin to associate this with the government. This is an unfair and inaccurate association. You can have militaries moving in history prior and post Islam that had nothing to do with those who are in the ruling positions. This had to do with the pulse that began in Makkah and AlMedinah and nothing to do with the politics of Damascus and Baghdad and we confuse this up until now. Our confusion is complicated by the fact that we do not wish to take a closer look at

the vital and the dynamic issues that interplayed during that time- that's one confusion. The other confusion is the modernity or the scientific advancements that the Muslims gained during a time when their political standards were lowered. Civilization and modernity- two words that are used even though they have to be refined are in the Muslim public mind attributed to those who are at the highest levels and they have nothing to do with it. You can take todays world, you don't have to go back to history, take America as an example, do we attribute the scientific advancements, research, investigations and discoveries that we have in todays world to the white house? We know how corrupt the politicians in todays world are, so do we attribute whatever progress there is in science and technology to a corrupt ruling class! We don't do that! If we don't do that today, how come we are supposed to be convinced of this in our Islamic history? No- we shouldn't. But is takes the involvement of our minds with Allah and His Prophet to deliver us from the ignorance that can feed into warfare in our world today and for purpose and that reason we speak about this. We don't take any pleasure in opening up these chapters and these issues in such a forum, but as we are forced to, we will not shy from expressing this truth.

KING MUAWIYA (4)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We ask Allah to guide us on a straight forward path to Him and not to be distracted by temptations, selfishness, any type of false group solidarity and any of the isms that have taken Muslims away from this As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim with roots in history and with interests currently. We will continue with the help and the light from Allah to go into some of the sources of what can potentially become, if our ignorance continue, a bloodbath among our own selves. Just in this past week, there were hundreds of Muslims that were killed in Iraq and the impression that is meant for our attention is that Muslims are killing Muslims. An informed impression is Sunnis are killing Shi's and Shi's are killing Sunnis. This is meant to increase in momentum, this is planned to spread to out to the rest of the Muslims and it falls within a strategy to bleed us to surrender. If we are equipped with more-or-less accurate information that we can trace back all the way to the source of this issue, we will spare ourselves unnecessary casualties, untold misery, unbridgeable divisions and further occupations and invasionsall of this can be done if we regain a confident grip on the source of the disinformation and the false impressions of what happened in the early generation of Muslims. Muslims- in the plural, inclusive of everyone, regardless of school of thought or background information, this is a statement that applies comfortably to maybe more than 90% or 95% of the Muslims- have a difficulty in delineating an early political rupture that happened with the 1st kingdom or monarchical administration in our history post Allahs Prophet, not in our history that goes back to the beginning of human intelligent life. Many Muslims want to equate kings and monarchs with khulafa' and imams. This is still used in todays wording and this is not accurate and it is not the truth. Muawiya has to become a common understanding among the Muslims as being the 1st king that has been inflicted onto our history. By saying this,

we do not take away from the Islamic motivation of the Ummah. We do not try to give credibility to certain rulers or to take away credibility from certain Muslims- you see- the Muslim mind has a problem and we have to word ourselves like this because there are two sides to this mind at looking at the kings that were to rule that had no legitimacy to rule, but they did it. You can have rulers who are ruling, who to a certain extent are genius in their own make up, but you can have a genius who's going down the wrong path and that's what we had in this case because it wouldn't have been possible for this deviation to last this long, for over 1,300 years without there being some type of information that was given to the public to make the political deviation last for this extended amount of time. One of the parts of this overall informational body that has taken hold in the Muslim mind is that you can't question these events or personalities, because in this Muslim literature- let us be frank for those who cannot catch on- the Sunni and the Shi'i literature refer to Muawiya as a khalifa. It took a lot of work by Muawiya to have gained that title that doesn't belong to him. He had to work very hard on equating As-Siffin with Al-Jamal because he wanted to enter into the company of A'isha, Talha and Zubair (radi Allahu anhum). He worked on this aggressively, and this you can only know when you go back to the source books, whether they are history, seerah, fiqhi. There are many references to unidentifiable sources. You will encounter in this literature the words Jumhoor Al-Muslimeen which means like today, Muslim public opinion, the Muslim masses. There's another word, Jumhoor As-Sahaba, the public opinion of the Sahaba and then you will find that word Qalu, they said. These do not refer to any particular identifiable source. No one can come and say that Jumhoor Al-Muslimeen thinks this or Jumhoor As-Sahaba thinks this, or Qalu, they said. These are frequent words that are used in this literature to try to put in credibility for a person who is ruling as a king but wants to get away with ruling as a khalifa. In this literature, they try to equate the reluctance or the with-holding of Muawiyas bai'ah from Ali (radi Allahu anhu) with Ali initially withholding his bai'ah from Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu)whether it was a matter of six days or six months- we're not going to go and become judgmental on how long that was- and both of these numbers are used in this literature and everything in between. They come and say that Muawiya didn't give bai'ah to Ali and he wasn't the 1st one to act like this because if you think there is no precedent to what he did, look at what Ali did. He didn't give the bai'ah, to begin with, to Abu Bakr. But if you trail this type of logic, you can respond to it in at least a couple of ways. Eventually, Ali gave his allegiance to Abu Bakr, but it wasn't that eventually Muawiya would give his allegiance to Ali- so the analogy doesn't work. It doesn't work now because we can look back at it and sort it out, but it worked for people, at least those 1st generations to begin a public campaign that raised Muawiya to the level of khalifa. Another way of responding to this is that Ali, for his own reasons, for a short time period did not give the bai'ah or did not pay allegiance to Abu Bakr, but he wasn't alone. Saad ibn Ubadah (radi Allahu anhu), who is very well known among all Muslims without question for his status among the supporters of the Prophet, Al-Ansaar, also didn't give the bai'ah and he went on and finished his life without giving a bai'ah to Abu Bakr. So, why doesn't the literature that wants to give

legitimacy to Muawiya as a khalifa dwell on Saad ibn Ubadah? Why do they dwell on Ali to make their point? The answer is simple- they want to try to draw legitimacy from the person who has it and then confer it on a person who doesn't have it. When there were people who did not offer Ali the bai'ah- they were very few and they were on the opposing side- Ali didn't say or write into law that they are wanted, targeted, suspected, persons of interest or enemies. None of that occurred, but what do we have occurring with a person who refuses to give his bai'ah to Muawiya? He's there, in that geography and he says "I don't agree with you, I'm not going to pay my allegiance to you as a leader." Muawiya turns around and kills this person, Hajjar ibn Adi. You see- you have two different psychologies at work. This is a rupture and a break that was represented by the Umawi dynasty from the standards of the khilafah. Look at the two opposing sides- during the time of the khilafah, we had selfless Muslims, we didn't have opportunistic Muslims the way we had them after the khilafah. Imagine, you have the highest ranking individual in all the armed forces, Khalid ibn Al-Walid (radi Allahu anhu) who was like the head of the joint chief of staff, the high ranking general, in todays language, of the Islamic armed forces and word comes down from Al-Medinah to him at the war fronts, "You are demoted or relieved of your high rank. Now, youre just a regular soldier." If we were looking at someone who is selfish or opportunism or someone who is trying to make political capital out of this, he would have gone around and tried to look for supporters against Umar (radi Allahu anhu) who gave that order from Al-Medinah. He didn't do anything. He went down from being a commander or the highest ranking military officer and became a private, just like any other soldier. We don't find this happening in the military commanders or anything equivalent or parallel to it happening among the military commanders in an era of opportunism when the khilafah was no longer a khilafah and became a monarchy. Brothers and sisters, one of the details of this history is, which hasn't been identified very clearly by us, even though we have hundreds of years behind us to take a thorough look at this issue is that we have people who are pacifists, and we're always going to have these types of people. Even if they see that one opposing side is wrong and the other side is right they will always say we will not participate in what they consider to be an Islamic "civil war". They cannot see that this primarily was not an Islamic "civil war", but it was a struggle by a faction to be in control of the Islamic governance or to change the Islamic administration from a khilafah to a monarchy. They couldn't see it that way. There was Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari and there were about 16 who belonged to that circle of people who were close to Allahs Prophet who refused to participate in the battles that went on, which we spoke about in previous khutbahs- they just refused. Do you think that this is a part of history that is gone? Any time that we have the same dynamics, factors and details at work, we're going to have this segment of people. Has anyone thought ahead of time and tried to say how we can try to convince them of taking a principled position against a political deviation that is happening inside our own political house. It hasn't been the case because our minds have been absent from this area for a very long time.

The 1st king in Islam was busy putting out propaganda. There was no television or radio- the media that exists today didn't exist then, or else he would have had the governments seize the TV and radio broadcasting stations and then begin to play with public opinion- that wasn't the case, so how do you do it at that time? At that time, one of the instruments of propaganda- you go to the Masaajid where there were story tellers. You see, this is off the Muslim mental radar. We don't know that existed at that time, yet it did exist. There were story tellers or narrators in the Masjid who used to put together some events, sometimes accurately and sometimes with intruding information or information that's not true. This is one of the doors that it is said that we have Israeliyaat in our Islamic literature, we have Israeliyaat concerning the tafseer of the ayaat of the Qur'an and we have Israeliyaat that have been elevated to the degree of hadith. How did these Israeliyaat enter our Islamic sources and our Islamic literature? One of the doors or entrances was these full-time story tellers who were in the Masaajid. The order comes from the highest office that you should begin to present the issue of Al-Jamal and Siffin from the governmental perspective and that's what they began to do, so we had a public opinion Besides, when the Muslims had their 1st king, one of the 1st things that was legislated and put into law in the Masaajid was the condemnation of Ali and his family. This became a weekly denunciation of the opposite political side that was institutionalized in the Masaajid for years and years. When Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radi Allahu anhu) who can be considered the 6th khalifah, not a king, came and he found that the propaganda and the rumors that were spreading by officials that was now standard procedure was not Islamic behavior- remember, we may have slipped, all of this position that the 1st king in Islam institutionalized that became a pillar of the monarchical establishment was attributed to an ayah. They had to have some misinterpretation of an ayah to extend all of these deviations to, and that ayah was concerning the death or the murder of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), And, whoever has been killed or murdered without a basis of justice, then WE have allocated to his guardian 1st of kin, an authorization (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) They stopped here, the ayah says He should not be excessive in taking corrective measures for a person who was killed without justice (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) So, all of this was extended to give a veneer of legitimacy to the vile language that was used to condemn Ali and his family. Imagine, a khutbah just like this during jum'ah, and then someone would come use words that we cannot use- these were official words and public pronouncements, and then when Umar ibn Abdul Aziz came, he didn't say that in his khutbah. He didn't say any of these institutionalized statements that have been repeated for years and generations and then someone stands up and tries to remind this Muslim who is trying to follow his conscience and tells him "You should be following the sunnah" Meaning the Sunnah means you should be condemning Ali and his side; and Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said to him "An innovation! An Innovation!" and he obliterated or put an end to this type of policy and these official statements

from the Mimbar and he replaced it with something that is still used today- it doesn't come from the time of Allahs Prophet- when you go to the conventional and traditional type of Masjid, you hear every khutbah ending with Verily, Allah orders Justice and that you be patient and dutiful totally for His sake and that you be forthcoming to kin and He forbids evil deeds and the things which are prohibited and aggression and oppression. Allah admonishes you so that you may take heed. (Surah An-Nahl verse 90) That was not the way the khutbahs ended during the time of Allahs Prophet. This is the way it began to end when Umar ibn Abdul Aziz replaced those condemnation statements with this ayah from the Qur'an and we still have it today. People who are not aware of these details think that they are saying something that belongs in the time of Allahs Prophet. No! They are saying something that can be traced back to correct what the 1st king in Islam did. Then, of course, to gain some type of legitimacy a king would need a class of scholars around him. We are not going to be any where near exhaustive, but we will mention some names and we hope the case will increase and we will have more Muslims who will go back to some of this literature and familiarize themselves with some of the names that you are exposed to. Az-Zuhri, Ash-Shaa'bi, Al-Awzaa'i- and there are others, but we just mentioned these names of those who were to become the circle of court scholars around the king who will try to have the text of the Qur'an or the hadith fit the new establishment that has broken away from the model and the standards of the khilafah. What did he do when he became the king? The people who were supportive of his adversary, viz.Ali, who up until then used to have a revenue from the Islamic treasury, that revenue was cut-off and the power of the state turned against those who we call today the opposition or dissidents, people who don't agree with the official line- we had this monarchy turn and use the instruments of state against them. Since that time, the potential Islamic opposition has developed a culture of accommodation with the rulers and powers that be. It thrives amongst us. Today, we have Islamic scholars who live in a culture of accommodation with usurpers of power- they have many titles today- presidents, kings, emir, sultan, the sole leader, Az-Za'in Al-Qa'id etc. This culture of accommodation and submission to power can be traced all the way back to this circle of scholars who were around the 1st king in Islam. The king in Islam at that time tells a very well known poet to compose poetry, which was a very effective means of public communication that was used to formulate public opinion, to use his poetic talent against his opponent, Ali and his side. Who does this poet turn out to be? A person by the name of Al-Akhtal. Many people who haven't read Arabic literature or haven't heard the name before are probably not familiar with this. There were three major poets during this time-frame when Muawiya became king- Al-Jarir, Farasdaq and Al-Akhtal. Muawiya turned to Al-Akhtal, who happens to be a Christian- he's not even a Muslim- and he tells him to put together all this poetry against his opponent. You would think that people who don't belong to the rest of the masses would be very cautious, but somehow there's some guarantees and we still have this right now. We still have Christians amongst us who will do the speaking for the powers that

be, even if that means going against the Islamic public opinion. So, if we had it about 1,300 years ago and if our minds have not taken an analytical, sharp and penetrating look at this culture around the rulers, then how are we going to free ourselves from the condition that we are in today.

Muawiya and his camp made a big deal about twisting the ayah- And, whoever has been killed or murdered without a basis of justice, then WE have allocated to his guardian 1st of kin, an authorization (Surah Isra' verse 33) they wanted the perpetrators, murderers and culprits of Uthman and they used the incident of AlJamal and they fought the war of As-Siffin and they gained the power. Why is it that after they gained the power they did not go after these murderers for which they had launched this Islamic "civil war" through-out all of those years? Now, their primary concern was their adversaries or opponents- the Islamic opposition within Muslim society. That became their obsession. They targeted anyone who disagreed with them. Compare that with what Ali used to do. Those who became known as Al-Khawaarij, (we looked at some of their developments) some of them used to come and pray in the Masjid with him; they had all of their rights guaranteed; their testimony was accepted in Islamic courts of law; they had their full civil status preserved. There was no-one trailing them, spying on them, taking away privileges and freezing their salary from Bait Al-Maal if they were due any of that, but during and after the time of Muawiya, the 1st king in Islam, these were to become facts of life. The state spied; the state could kill and get away with it; the state could launch aggressive military campaigns; the state could go to Makkah and kill its opponents around the Haram and the state could even destroy the Ka'ba- that's what we had and some people come and tell us that this is a khilafah!? We took a look at the way Muawiya treated those who politically disagreed with him- withholding their pay, excluding them from the state- it's like treating them like 2nd class citizens and these are sincere, devout, struggling and sacrificing Mulsims. For those who have a little sensitivity with comparing Muawiya with Ali, let's compare Muawiya with Umar. A person who killed Umar's brother comes up to him and Umar could not tolerate looking in his face, so he said "Why don't you look the other way?" This person said to Umar "Does that mean that you are going to take away my rights?" With all the emotionalism inside of him, he said "No." Meaning, these were not the words that were used, but the body language was "I can't tolerate you because you killed my brother, but even thought that's the case I will not be able to take away a fraction or scintilla of your right as a citizen of an Islamic state and authority. This man, this Muslim, who had his full rights said "I have nothing to worry about now." We're paraphrasing what he said- he said "there's no lost love between you and me." The Arabic expression for that is "Only women wail when it comes to lost love." It may be considered probably politically incorrect today in certain quarters to express something like people, but we try to tell you what

happened. We're there people who were prone to oppress women at that time? Yes, there were people. Was this official policy of the Islamic state? No! Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims, if we are not able to take a confident look and liberate our thoughts from layers and layers or tradition and go back and extract our concepts and our world view from Allah and His Prophet and from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, we will continue to function, function is a larger word- rather, we will continue to act as traditional Muslims who are vulnerable to those who are coming to us and saying that Sunnis are killing Shi's and Shi's are killing Sunnis. Some of us, in our ignorance, will even find a thread that can connect todays killings with the historical killings of over 13 centuries ago when there is no connection at all. When foreign, occupying, invading powers ignite sectarian amongst us, they don't do that because they understand these details of history, they do that because they understand that we are ignorant of these details of history, and this ignorance will give fire power to sectarians to kill each other and there is no sectarian justification for this type of behavior in the Qur'an or in the behavior of Allahs Prophet.

DEMYTHOLOGIZING OF KHALIF/IMAM/AMEER AL-MU'MININ ALI (RADI ALLAHU ANHU)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We ask Allahs assistance as we proceed to role back some of the ignorance that has taken a firm hold in some of our individual minds and even a stronger hold in some of our public minds. In previous khutbahs, we have been trying our best to trace events that occurred at the dawn of Islamic history that have become signposts to many Muslims, showing them which way to go, who to rely upon, how to understand and to interpret the Qur'an and the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) through these awe inspiring events. With Allahs help, we will try to continue to take a look at further developments that are related to this maybe misunderstood history. We realize that there is a type of centralization of who is going to fill in the seat of authority after Allah's Prophet had gone on to heavenly company. The crux of this matter culminated in the later years of the Khilaafah around Ali (radi Allahu anhu). We covered some of the details of history, as best as we could, without falling victim to the exaggerations, the superstitions and the unreasonable versions that accompanied these events. We may say that Ali became to certain people a man of principle- and a man of imaan, but to other people, he became a person of mythology- an idealist whose practical behavior belongs to the past and is no longer a matter of human repetition. Then, he is a character of history, and there are different versions of history that have their own interpretation of his positions. This is probably the best way to summarize where the Muslims left off- a person of imaan, a person who has become a myth to some people and a person who has shades of history attached to him. Obviously, if we are to break away from Allah and His Prophet, meaning from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, then anyone could be anything. We need an anchor. We need firm information that comes to us from Allah and His Prophet to begin to see things in their proper perspective. Let us remind ourselves that history was not written when the events were taking place. This is an important this that is absent from the Muslim mind. We think that when we look back at these events, they were recorded as they were happeningthats not the case. No-one recorded our initial pages in history as the events were happening, the

Prophets history included, - they were recorded later on. When we come to the record that we have pertaining to these very awe inspiring events and history, we have people who wrote this history through their experiences on the sides that they took in the events that followed this history. This is very important to understand, because if we can understand this, we can by-pass much of the tension that is built into these versions of history. After these events that we covered, we spoke about Al-Jamal, Siffin, An-Nahrawaan- none of these events were registered when they were occurring. There was no historian at the war-fronts who was inking for us the positions, the character, the exchange, the fatalities and everything that was happening-it wasn't recorded at the time. It was recorded after the event, years and generations after they happened- that's when we began to be appraised of what went on. This is not peculiar to these, AlJamal, Siffin, An-Nahrawaan, which generally speaking in Islamic history is referred to as the time period of the fitnah. Then, later on, we have the Abbasi rulers who were in possession of power in Baghdad, and even though these Abbasi rulers came from a trend that was present in the opposition to the Umawis- ibn Abbas, Al-Abbas ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Abbas. Power was to be channeled from an Umawi dynasty to a new dynasty and people began to write history and to collect information. They began to tap on elderly people memories of what happened. So, what do we have now? We have a body of information that is put together through the lens and the interpretation of people who had already taken sides- that's what we have. Our humble scholar is trying to give you a sense for what is in the books that we refer to- whichever background you may have- we don't care. The books that we refer to, generally have the following flavors: what has become known as the Sunni version of these events. This Sunni version of events tries to give legitimacy to the 1st four successors to the Prophet and then, from there on it does not give, in theory, any legitimacy to the rulers that came after that. Some of it may have been silent about the Umawi and Abbasi dynasties, but as far as the fuqaha that represents what has become Sunni rituals- they were in opposition to the rulers that came after Ali in their own ways. So, contrary to some of the notions that are out there, there is no legitimacy in the Sunni literature of the rulers that followed Ali, ie. the Umawi and Abbasi dynasties. If our information is incorrect on this score, now is the time to begin to correct us. Then, there is the Shi'i version of history. The events in the Shi'i version of history were a reaction to the absence of the continuation of the legitimacy that was represented by the leadership of Ali. Most of it was distilled into what is called the "wasiyyah" that the Prophet communicated to Ali, according to this reading of history, and there-upon the same "wasiyyah" as it is communicated from one generation to the next, ie. the 12 imams as it has now settled in the public mind. Then, the least that survived that initial unfolding of events is the Uthmani version, (meaning those who adopted the course of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu)) of those events. Practically speaking, now it doesn't exist as a current, you don't find people adhering to it, but at the time of these events that we are speaking about, it was a social block of people who were under the influence of the government that was defying the legitimacy of Ali. It is curios to note, that this whole interpretation of events began around Uthman, the third successor to Allahs Prophet, but in its historicism, it deletes Uthman and refers to Abu Bakr (radi allahu anhu). It

developed a literature in trying to say that Abu Bakr is more preferable to Ali. Later on, when this version of historical events ceased to exist, it was placed on the Sunnis. Nothing in actual fact developed that way, it's just the way that power worked itself out. Hence, the Sunnis are left with the Uthmani version of history, even though it doesn't belong to them. This is another area whereby trouble makers can move in and say- "look, history is very clear on this issue." It's not! You have to be careful before accusing other people. Now, to reduce some of these issues even more, when history began to look back at these events, this is what we have- we're going to give you a sense of what we have in the three different historical lenses. Beginning with the Prophets history himself, the events that occurred after the Prophet had the force of coming back and then re-examining and re-explaining what happened in the Prophets mind. This is how significant these events were, they had an impact on the Prophets days itself. What do we mean by this? We take a look at let's say the Battle of Badr- All of us know the Battle of Badr, but we don't know some of the nuances in the information that is communicated about the Battle of Badr. We know that Ali was a participant in the Battle of Badr, everyone knows that, but when we scrutinize the information about this battle, we find that there was about 70 from the kaafirs who were killed at the Battle of Badr. We know that Ali was a front-line combatant, he was involved in cutting down the lives of many of those who wanted to extinguish Islam, eliminate the Prophet, and put an end to this nuisance in Arabia. Up until here, we have a common mind, but when we take a closer look at the details, in the Sunni version of history, it is recognized that Ali was a brave warrior, he defended the Prophet, he defended the Qur'an and Islam and he extinguished the lives of the kaafirs in the Battle of Badr. That's as far as that goes, which is a conciliatory position. But, we have in the Shi'i version (we're trying to stay as far as possible within the mainstream on all of these sides, because there's a mainstream and then there is the marginalized versions of these events. We try as much as possible to stay away from those because many times they are irreconcilable and we are looking at bringing Muslims together and we are not looking at perpetuating divisions among Muslims.) In this version of history, we know the common information which is among whichever version you want, the Sunni, the Shi'i or the Uthmani, they don't dispute that there was about 70 from the kaafirs who were killed by the Muslims at Badr. In the Shi'i version of these events, it tells us that Ali killed 35 of the 70. Even though Ali is a person who stands out like no other in the group besides Allah's Prophet, of course, but to come and say that out of 70 people, he alone killed 35, meaning all the rest of the Muslims were involved in eliminating out of 70 people half of those who were killed on the kaafir side and he killed the other half. This lends itself of a type of exaggeration that can be understood in the events that happened after Ali passed on. It happens in our time- an Islamic movement is defeated somewhere, then the followers of that Islamic Movement have a tendency of exaggerating the virtues of the leader or the leaders in that Islamic movement. We have to find a common ground of common sense where we can trim these exaggerations a little, and that doesn't mean that we are trying to devalue someone by doing that, all it means is we are trying to stick to the facts as much as possible.

You can take another instance, the Battle of Uhud- we go from Badr to Uhud. In the Sunni version of history of this military encounter, we all know that the Prophet was deserted at the battle-field, we tried to cover this in previous khutbahs. This is a very dangerous moment in the life of Allahs Prophet, where the rumor circulated that he was killed. If you take a close look at these books of history, you find that in the Sunni books of history, it is not mentioned that Ali was in the presence, in the company or in the direct protection of Allah's Prophet. Much is mentioned about Abu Bakr, Umar, Talha and Zubair (radi Allahu anhum) and a couple of other people, but it seems that there is a type of exaggeration here, that Ali, who before and after that always (with one exception) participated in all of the battles of Allahs Prophet, and then, at this critical time, we look and we find "where is he?!" He's not found here in this version of history. It's not common sense number one, and number two it's not conducive to the unity of the Muslims, but you can understand how this happened if you take a look at the unfolding history a generation and two after that. Now, to come to the three major events. Here, we're trying to give you the essence of this historical issue. There are three departure areas in this history, specifically between those who are Sunnis and those who are Shi'is and the way they understand themselves today. We wish there could come a time where Muslims would outgrow some of this divisive information. There are three incidents that have become something, an area that the Muslims have to work on, whether you consider yourself a Sunni or you consider yourself a Shi'i, these areas we're going to have to work on. The 1st one is the Battle of Tabuk. From what we know, this was the only battle in which the Prophet of Allah participated in and he left Ali to be the governor of Al-Medinah. It is said, that when Ali felt that he is going to be excluded from a major military campaign like this- the Muslim military was in the tens of thousands- they were going to engage a kaafir force, the Byzantines, who were potentially going to be in the hundreds of thousands, so Ali felt that he was being excluded. He participated in everything up until then, as far as military efforts are concerned, and now a very major and important encounter of this military magnitude is going to take place and he's going to be the governor of Al-Medinah, he's going to be the deputy of Rasulillah in Al-Medinah- he sought of felt that this was something like less than what he expected. As the Muslims depart, he sends a letter of communication to Allah's Prophet that 'I sought of feel like Im left behind here with women and children. Most or the rest are on their way, if not all of those who were able bodied and ready to fight.' Then, the Prophet responds to him, and this again is across the board, you'll find it in all of these history books, the Prophet tells Ali, 'Are you not satisfied to be in your relationship with me as Harun was to Musa' (Harun is Musa's brother.) This comment which is in these two versions of history is taken out of this context. Some people want to play it down and some people want to play it up. We have not developed enough understanding of Allah and his Prophet to place this event and this prophetic statement in the context of that time. Why should something like this- seems like it's an innocent development with an innocent statement from Allahs Prophet that has been taken to serve the political ends of those who consider themselves either Sunni or either Shi'i. Why cant

we understand this in context? This is one event that gives us an opportunity to think in reconciliation terms.

The 2nd one or these areas in our incongruent versions of history is when Allahs Prophet during Hajj Al-Wada', the last year of the hijrah in his life, and in some other history books, the year before that- we don't want to get into some fine points of history here, we want to look at the thrust of it, Allahs Prophet sends Abu Bakr to Makkah. The purpose of that delegation that was chaired, so to speak, by Abu Bakr was to have the relations that the Muslims had with the Mushriks of the Arabian Peninsula annulled and to forbid access to Al-Masjid Al-Haram to the mushriks- that was the gist of it. After Abu Bakr leaves, the beginning of Surah At-Taubah or AlBara'a or Al-Faadiha were revealed and then, the Prophet dispatches Ali with these ayaat to follow Abu Bakr and to join in the same mission together in Makkah. How does this become an area on contention among the Muslims of today? It has become. When you read the historical literature on this issue by both sides, you find that they are trying to score against each other politically. From what we know, there was no rivalry in this same event between Abu Bakr and Ali. There's nothing that this humble khateeb has come across that would indicate that there's some type of competition between them to fulfill the mission of Allahs Prophet. They were coordinating themselves, they were helping themselves, they were complementing themselves. How did this come across to us as if there was some type of rivalry or as we go on, some type of bad blood between these two individuals. It's not there, but somehow it lingers on in our public minds. Then, the 3rd, and this is probably the most critical issue in which it is understood out of context. After Hajj al-Wada', when the Muslims and the Prophet were returning from Makkah to alMedinah, they stopped at a place called Ghadir Khom. This is in all the books, theres not one version of it. The Prophet, in the presence of all those who were there, hundreds or thousands of Muslims, he said 'Whoevers guardian I am, Ali is his guardian. O Allah! Be the protector of those who protect him and be the tormentor of those who torment him.'- they listened to this. No-one came and objected to what he was saying. No-one said that this is some type of political imposition on the Muslim conscience. At that time, everyone processed this according to their non-conflicting understanding of the Prophet. When we scrutinize the literature in this area, we find that Sunni historicism, the writing of history from a Sunni perspective, even though this hadith is mentioned in the reliable Sunni books, there are some who come and say that, and this is a very minority opinion, that this hadith is not an authentic one, and reference is made to ibn Hazm in this regard, who stands out on a few other issues as being the odd person in the mainstream of the coming together of this version of history. Then, Al-Bukhari says that this hadith is less than a sahih hadith, even though it is present in the other books of the sihaah. We can sense here, that the Uthmani version is trying to make its impact on the sunni version of these historical events, but the mainstream here is an acknowledgement of what happened, an acknowledgement of this hadith, and then in the least damaging of version of this, there are some

who say in sunni historicism that the 1st part of the hadith is valid but not the latter part- meaning, 'Whoevers guardian I am, Ali is his guardian' that is accepted, but 'O Allah! Be the protector of those who protect him and be the tormentor of those who torment him.'- the Prophet didn't say that. All of these Sunni versions put together about this event do not account for dismissing it from Sunni historicism, meaning it is still there, no Sunni can dispute it, but it doesn't have a divisive connotation to it. There's nothing that you understand form this hadith that tells the Muslims that you have to be divided in deciding who you leader is going to be. Now, we go to the Shi'i processing of this event. In the Shi'i version of history, it says that what Allah means here, is He is telling His Prophet to appoint by name, the leader of the Muslims who is going to succeed him. There's no ayah and there's no hadith that stands up to the veracity of this statement. To the contrary, the ayah says O you who are securely committed to Allah, obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who carry authority in this interactive-position amongst you. (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) That sets the frame of reference for how and for who is to be vouched for by Alladhina Aamanu to become the Imam or the Wali Amr or leader of the Muslims. But, in the historical version that reacted to the events, if you can recall, all of this is in the context of the years that we were talking about, Al-Jamal, Siffin, An-Nahrawaan, At-Tahkeem, Al-Khawaarij, the fall of Egypt to Muawiya, the virtual nationalization of the Hejaz by Muawiya and then, the institutionalization for 80 years that Ali, his sons and even the Prophets daughter had to be condemned from the mimbar- this gives ground for an attitude of reaction, which is not justified. You can understand it, but you can't justify it. This is what happened, they came and said after these events, that Allahs Prophet had skipped the ayah of the Qur'an and had given the responsibility, regardless of the participation of the Muslims, regardless of the ayaat of Shura, regardless of considering the Muslim equality, regardless of the forces of nationalism at work against Allah Prophet himself who could not return to Makkah to have it the seat of the Islamic authority, regardless of Allahs Prophets knowledge himself, skipping all of that, your leader is going to be so and so, whether you like it or not. Someone saying something like that is not in tune with Allah and His Prophet. Then, there's an ayah that is selected, O Messenger! Proclaim that which has been to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. Allah will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allah guides not those who disbelieve. (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 67) This ayah, just like the understanding of the hadith is taken out of its larger historical and its scriptural context, this ayah is likewise taken out of context which doesn't serve the complementary positions that the Muslims should have towards each other, it doesn't serve as a common ground. This is an area that we have to deal with, with our common minds, our common sense and our goodwill, but no-one has taken these events and looked at them in such a way that we can recuperate our unity that was there at the time of the Prophet, with the ability to expose the munafiqin yet with the tolerance to have them amongst us. This is

what we live with. We're trying to bring you up to par with what we have. Where are we at, where are the Muslim ulema who can serve as a medium of communication, looking at these issues in their context, with a strong reference to Allah and His Prophet and without going out on these extremes?

The Uthmani version of history began a strong argument early on, after these events that we spoke about in all of these previous jum'ahs- they began creating a divisive issue among the Muslims- who is better, Abu Bakr or Ali? This actually became an issue of separating, dividing and conflicting the Muslims with each other. The argument deteriorated to such an extent that to identify when Ali became a Muslim had become a problem. If you read thoroughly through these books, the Sunni books so to speak, (were sorry brothers and sisters, that we have to use this type of language) say that he was a s young as seven years old, even though most of them say he was either nine or ten years old. They say that because they want to give the impression, and this is the impact of the Uthmani government, meaning Muawiyas administration that adopted the course of Uthman, that's what we mean by this, they wanted to say that to exclude Ali from the virtues of becoming a Muslim when you have to decide on it, meaning if you're like Abu Bakr, an older person, then you made your decision because you had to think about what you were doing, you're not just a young lad in the backyard of the Prophet or in his household who sought of became a Muslim because he was a child. This is how the arguments had deteriorated, to the extent that people began to feel very tensed towards each other, because some say that he became a Muslim when he was seven years old on that extreme and the others say he became a Muslim when he was 14 years old, trying to extend him to the age of puberty to try to give him the virtue of becoming a Muslim. How silly?! How silly is an argument like that that can divide the Muslims. But we have it, and we have some people who are so vulnerable that they will listen to something like that and then they will begin to take emotional sides against each other. This is the type of seeding that we have in Iraq today that has the potential of flaring up and drawing everyone into it, so those feelings that are hundreds of years old are being given an extension of life in our time. It's as silly as that. They go on to say that Ali was a person who killed many people. Listen to this, brothers and sisters, you are being given access to an area no-one wants to speak about, because not many people have confidence in your thinking. They come and they say to try to discredit Ali, "He killed many people in the wars against the Mushriks and the Kaafirs." That's true, he killed many people. But why should something that discredit him? Look at that twisted logic. They say that the Prophet of Allah only killed one person, and he did. In these Muslim books, no-one disputed that Ubay ibn Khalaf was killed by Allahs Prophet early on. They take that as a measuring stick and they want to tell us that Ali was far from the Prophets sunnah because he killed many peopleif he was ideal, he would have only killed one person. Imagine if all of these Muslims who were fighting along with Allahs Prophet only killed one person- the kaafirs would have won. But, this

is what happens when people twist these events around and take them out of context and begin to create issues of division among the Muslims.

For those who are still hung up about the meanings of "Whoevers guardian I am, Ali is his guardian. Allah! Be the protector of those who protect him and be the tormentor of those who torment him." A little bit of thinking. The Prophet was not incapable of choosing the right word. If, (and we are speaking specifically to those who consider themselves influenced by the Shi'i version of history), and this is not trying to discredit everything in these versions of historywe are trying to selectively take some of the critical issues that are used to divide the Muslims, the Prophet didn't say "Whoevers leader I am, Ali is his leader." Had the Prophet used the word Imam instead of Mawla, then, we can understand that the Prophet has made up his mind and is trying to use his influence on the Muslims around to make the right decision after he passes away, but, because he selectively loosened the word of leadership from Imam to Mawla, he was giving the Muslims the Shura that belongs to them, he was giving the Muslims the confidence that belonged to them, and even if they were to make a mistake with good intentions, they had the right to do that, which is what many people see unfolding after he passed away. Brothers and sisters, Committed MuslimsWhen we approximate these expressions of ours, whichever way you're looking at this and however far developed you are in processing this information, it still belongs to us- this is our experience. Our fault is we haven't learnt from our experiences and because of that, there are gaps in which we have powers of persuasion, powers of influence, powers of logic, powers of the military and technology who are moving in. What they want to do now, if we haven't said this before, we will remind you of it- what they want to do is, they want to identify those of us who have sectarian tendencies. Whether you are a Sunni or a Shi'i, if you are a sectarian, you are favored by todays mushriks and kaafirs. You are the one they are looking for. Then, they want to identify amongst us those who are moderates and those who are extremists. You can be a moderate in your own Sunni or your own Shi'i make-up, but they definitely want to know who you are so that they can ignite someone's moderate approach against another person's extreme approach. We begin to have these moderates and these extremists when we no longer understand Allah and His Prophet- we begin to fall apart. Don't you see, what happened in those days? These experiences that we are trying to relate to you, at that time they generated sectarianism and they time generated extremists. Now, these sectarians and these potential enemies are in high demand by the people now, who have made in-roads all over the place, militarily and psychologically. What are you going to do? Some of us take the easy way out? We read a couple of books and then we think we're on top of the world, we think we know everything. We don't want to bother ourselves to think what type of validity a person who disagrees with us may have on the basis of the Qur'an and the Prophet. Self-righteousness can consume us and it can destroy our potential. The "holier than thou attitude"- they are looking for that, whether you

are a clergy-man, whether you are an educator or whether you are a spokesperson, whether you are a politician, whoever you are, if they sense in you any merits- they call these merits, sectarianism to them is a merit- they'll open doors for you, they have programs and think tanks working around this issue. This information that you just heard, they will never want this information to be heard in all of the Masaajid in the Muslim world, because it's going to cause you and me to think, and they don't want us to think.

ABU DHARR (RADI ALLAHU ANHU) AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With reliance upon Allah, confidence in Allah and with the company of Allah, we will continue to try our best to proceed in areas of information that have been abandoned by our scholars and ourselves for a long time, thus creating a gap for the mischief makers to try to come in and wreak havoc among ourselves today. We cannot afford to have this mental no approach zone where we are not supposed to rethink ourselves, when everyone around us, especially when those with nogood intentions have free access to this area and are trying to implement their devious and destructive plans in our communities, homelands and our holy precincts. With consideration to the details of history, in light of the information and the facts that come to us from Allah and in view of the model and the precedents that were set by Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), we said that there was a serious break from the standard of governance that we are instructed to abide by through revelation and by honoring the example and the standards that were set by Allahs Prophet- which is, still up to today un-thought through. This break happened during the time and during the eventual power struggle that was to favor of the 1 st king in Islam. Remember, we are saying these words, even though many Muslims have chosen not to say these words when they know the truth. This 1st king in our Islamic history, post the Qur'an and the Prophet, has to be re-evaluated in light of the events that we have to condemn that deviation from As-Siraat AlMustaqeem- the standards and the values of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. To understand this a little better, we are going to have to take a look at the principles of Shura. Allah says to His Prophet, Consult with them pertaining to the public affairs of the Muslims (Surah Ahl Imran verse 159) If Allah is giving an order to His Prophet, that order is more binding upon us, the followers of that Prophet- so, this is more of an order to us. From understanding those formative and pioneering years of the early Muslim generation of the Prophet, we understand that the Masjid was the arena for this interaction when Muslims are to make social decisions. The Masjid was a type of "parliament". If we wanted to place todays ideas and jargon, into that time and period, we would say that the Masjid was the place and the convening area for Muslims to make up their mind on

decisions that affected their public life. This Shura or understanding of decision making in the Islamic society was honored for the 1st 30 to 40 years of the hijrah, but what happened after this was that we no longer witnessed you and me, the Muslims public, participate in the decision making process when this 1st king in Islamic history became the superior ruler over the Muslims. From here on, the following kings and the following rulers were also to exclude the Muslims from participating in public life that would have an impact on the decisions that affects them allwhether it was an economic, political or military decision- whatever it may have been, the Muslims had been cut-off from all of this. We can all recall a statement that an average or normative type of Muslim said to the 2nd successor to the Prophet. He said to him, in the context of the Masjid, where the Muslim public mind would meet to come to terms with a decision that had to be made one way or another- this mediocre person, history books don't even register for us his name, that's how mediocre he was- he said to Umar (radi Allahu anhu) the highest ranking officer in this Islamic state and society, "If we see that you have deviated, you went this way or that way, meaning if you parted from this Siraat Al-Mustaqim that we know and are familiar with, we will correct you with the blades of our swords." This ultimate ruler of the Muslims didn't say "Where's the security guards? Take him and throw him in jail." He said to him a statement that should be percolating in todays Muslim mind. This statement tells us how they understood their civic responsibilities. This ruler of the Muslims tells this person "There's no good in you if you don't say what you just said, and there's no good in us if we don't listen to what you have to say." Now, this is a standard, and then, the kings that usurped power after the period of Al-Khilafa Ar-Rashida- their tone was a different tone. Muawiya, the 1 st king after AlKhilafa Ar-Rashida was the type who didn't want to listen to any type of criticism. Another king in this dynastic line of ruling, Abdul Malik ibn Marwan said "I am here to take care of the ills of this society with the sword." He said, in the Haram, to the Muslim public, "If anyone of you wants to remind me of TaqwAllah, then I will resort to the sword." He said on another occasion, and this displays this new break-away attitude from the previous one that we should be familiar with- "Whoever goes this way with his head, I will go this way with my sword." This is an area that hasn't been covered and dwelt on by the Muslim public, and because of this, we are having sectarian misunderstandings, sensitivities, ignorance and the opportunity for our enemies to infiltrate our societies and then set us on a course of conflict and internal civil wars. We don't want them to get away with this, and we don't want our ignorance and misunderstandings to feed their plans. That is why we are going to have to do some serious reconsideration and approach these issues with the knowledge that comes to us from Allah and from His Prophet. This is a barometer of what we are speaking about when rulers begin to according to their whims and desires and not according to the instructions and the directives that are included in the scripture and in the unadulterated Sunnah. There was a person who was close to Allahs Prophet. He was one of the 1st 10 to become a Muslim- some may place him as number 5 or 6. He came from outside Makkah, and when he came to Makkah, he began to ask about this person who is called Muhammed. When he was referred to him, he went to him and said "What have you to say?" This person, whose name is

Jandab ibn Janadah (radi Allahu anhu)- most of you know him by his title or his surname- very few of you know him by his real name. He asks Allahs Prophet "What have you to say?" Allahs Prophet recites verses from the Qur'an immediately upon which this person says Ash-hadu An La Ilaha Illallah wa Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadar Rasulullah. Then, the Prophet feels an affinity with this person and he asks him "From which tribe are you?" This person answers him and the Prophet smiles, because this tribe was known in the Arabian Peninsula to set up people who were traveling and dispossess them of what they had- that's the best way that we can speak about this tribe without using offensive or negative words. The Prophet smiles and asks him "How would you behave if there were rulers who were to use their upper hand, in other words, they would claim Al-Fay, the revenue of the Muslims for themselves?" (This is the rough meaning of this statement of Allahs Prophet to this person.) He replied, "I would come out swinging with my sword." The Prophet of Allah told him, in todays language "Take it easy. Be calm. Use the word of truth when you encounter this." As if Allahs Prophet was looking into the future and foretelling what was going to happen. Another bit of relevant information- to skip a lot of details- when Allahs Prophet and those who were at the military responsibility of events were preparing to go to encounter the Byzantines in the last military campaign of Allahs Prophet called Tabuk, there were some people who were lagging behind, the Prophet told the warriors around him "Never mind. If they can make up for lost distances or lost time, they will." Once again, we're paraphrasing these events. One of the persons who were lagging behind was this Jandab ibn Janadah. The reason that he was lagging behind was because the means of transportation that he had- whether it was a camel or a horse or a mule is not very much clear- was so weak that it could not keep up with the pace of the army that the Prophet was commandeering, so he lagged behind. Then, after a day or two, in the horizon, people look and they see this person coming. The Prophet of Allah says "Let it be so and so- this person will walk alone, he will die alone and he will be resurrected alone." And, it was that particular person that we are speaking about who is going to have an encounter with the 1st deviation in the administration of Islamic affairs. We have to know that during the time of Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma), there was no financial and thus social corruption in the austere society of Al-Medinah and Arabia. Of course, we know of the foul elements that were there. There was a class of people there that was called Al-Munafiqin, but their impact or the decomposition that was to inflict Islamic governance had not had its impact yet. One of the statements that the Prophet of Allah gave in those final days of his, he turned around and looked at his company of people and he said "The best one of you is the one who is going to meet me on the day of accountability the same way you are today." ie. You're not going to be spoiled by the world, its wealth, attractions, temptations and riches- if we meet the same way as we are today, then you're the best ones- meaning, that some of you are going to be corrupted by this world. That was the inference in his statement. This stood out and was indelibly etched in the mind of this Jandab ibn Janadah. (We'll mention his name by which you know him in a few minutes.) So, when the Prophet passed away, there was no financial and thus social corruption. The vehicles of state were run in accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The same can be

said of during the time of Abu Bakr. This was a very rich man prior to Islam, but when he died, he didn't have what we can say today "He didn't have a dollar or he didn't have a dinaar when he died." When Umar died, it is said that there was a debt that needed to be paid off. Obviously he didn't have any money. The expansion of the Islamic state was not very significant during this time, it only began to acquire the fertile and resourceful areas, viz. Egypt, Syria and Iraq during the time of the 2nd Khalifas reign, but he was strict, austere and harsh and this corruption could not, up until this point, find a foot hold. During the reign of the 3 rd Khalifa though, the issue changed. Now, there began to be manifestations of the materialistic, physical attractions of this world taking there course on these people who were around Allahs Prophet. Unlike in the days of Umar, he did not let many people go to places where they wanted to go to. Some of them wanted to go to Egypt, some of them wanted to go to Syria and Iraq, he said "No. You stay around here, because if you go, I fear you will be corrupted." It was done for their own sake, but during the reign of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), this was no longer the policy- if anyone wanted to go, they could go wherever they wanted to go. Then, people began to go to places, and unlike the previous policies, now they had the right to claim some of these lands that were liberated. Now, they could say, and some of them did say "This fertile area in Iraq is the orchard of Quraish." - a statement that you would never hear before that time. So, we had fiscal policy becoming irresponsible- this was irresponsible fiscal policy. This person- you know better and you refer to him by the name Abu Dharr. He went to Uthman and he had a very good encounter with himfriendly, there's nothing hostile here- these were not enemies meeting, these were people who were trying to do what was right. To simplify this whole affair, the issue evolved around if a Muslim pays his zakaah, does he have to pay anything more than that. There was a person there by the name of Kaab Al-Ahbaar and Uthman and a few others and they said "No. If you pay your zakaah, you've paid what is due by you." Abu Dharr took issue with them. He said "No. You haven't done your responsibility just by paying the zakaah." and he quoted the ayah in the Qur'an Virtue is not in facing the east or the west. Virtue is to be committed to Allah, the final day, the Angels, the Books, the Prophets and to dispense with what you have in wealth despite loving it for relatives, orphans, poor, travelers, those who ask, freeing slaves... (Surah AlBaqarah verse 177) He repeated this to Uthman. Kaab Al-Ahbaar wanted to object to this and, it may have been harsh, we're not saying it was- Abu Dharr had a stick with him and he poked Kaab Al-Ahbaar and in another version of this, he hit him on the head with a stick that he had in his hand and said "What do you know you son of a jew?!" The gist or the expression that Uthman uses to Abu Dharr roughly in todays language states "Leave! I don't want to see your face." Abu Dharr leaves and where does he go? He goes to where he suspects that this type of corruption exists. He goes to Ash-Shaam. There, the ruler, the king to be, he was just a governor- speak about fiscal irresponsibility, we're looking at fiscal corruption, estates, mansions and maids. Abu Dharr goes there. There's a statement by Allahs Prophet that says when Abu Dharr 1 st became a Muslim,

"There is no earth that has carried nor any tree that has shadowed any man who is more truthful in what he says than Abi Dharr." When he goes to Ash-Shaam and he sees this irresponsibility, and he was known for a statement that he used to repeat all over. He used to say "Break good news to those who hoard gold and silver- that theirs are steaming rods of steel." Of course, this is just another interpretation of the ayah Those who hoard gold and silver, monopolize or deter the circulation of wealth- and don't spend them for Allahs course, announce to them a painful torment. On the day when that will be heated with the fire and with it will be branded the foreheads, sides and backs of those who hoarded and it will be said to them, "This is the treasure you hoarded for yourselves." Now, taste what you used to hoard." (Surah Taubah verse 34-35) When he went to this new territory, he also had an encounter with Muawiya. To make a long story short, he more or less repeats to him what he was saying to Uthman, "The wealth that exists now should be distributed among the Muslims." Abu Dharr began to have an audience and popularity among the people there. At the beginning of this new social trend, Muawiya contacts Uthman and he tells him "This person has to go. He's swaying the people in the wrong direction from us." Uthman tells him "Ok. Send him back." Muawiya, once again uses power, wealth, prestige, status and the position that he is in, and he tells Abu Dharr "You have to go- we're sending you back to Al-Medinah." What does he do? He puts him on a horse without a saddle, (it is believed to be a horse). Imagine a person riding on a horse in todays world without a saddle from Damascus to Al-Medinah, and he was in the company of five Caecilians, people of Caecilian origin, who were his guides to make sure that he went back to Al-Medinah. When he arrived in Al-Medinah, in todays words, he was in bad shape. How do you ride on a horse without a saddle?! Only Allah knows how many days it took to go from Damascus to Al-Medinah. Uthman, once again, you see- some people don't understand this psychological dynamic- there was no hostility. When he saw his poor condition, even though he was the one who agreed with Muawiya that "This person had to go back to Al-Medinah.", he took him in and treated him as a guest of honor. With all the differences that they know exist between them, especially when he saw that his physical and health condition were very poor after this long and arduous journey. He received him and tried to have him once again settle in and settle down. But Abu Dharr would not settle in and settle down when there was a discrepancy in society. He had told Muawiya, "You have increased the wealth of the rich people and you have increased the poverty of the poor people." He was repeating this meaning to Uthman. Uthman finally told him, "I don't want you around, you have to leave." Uthman was the one who told him, (according to one source of history)- "Go out to Ar-Rabdah." Ar-Rabdah was a very outlying area from Al-Medinah, that was nomadically harsh. This was the 1st time in Islam that we experienced a ruler who put a committed Muslim into exile. This was in effect a status of being in exile. When Abu Dharr wanted to leave, they didn't want anyone to follow him or to say goodbye to him etc. Ali, Hassan, Husain (radi Allahu anhum) and a couple of other individuals insisted on walking him through and out of Al-Medinah, as to say farewell to him. Once again, there was an exchange of opinions

between Ali and Khalif Uthman concerning this type of departure to Abu Dharr. Basically, what Ali said to Uthman was "I wasn't doing this for so and so or for self or selves, This was done for Allah." Abu Dharr goes into this exile where he was to pass on. The gist of this encounter between Abu Dharr and what was becoming a financial problem, we don't want to use other words because they fall into some contemporary political philosophies, we want to avoid that and rather take a hard and close look at some of the deviations that began early on so that we can altogether diagnose this deviation and say it shouldn't have happened, something else would have been better- this is our understanding of Allahs book and Allahs Prophet. Allahs Prophets prophecy came true when he said "He will walk alone, he will die alone and he will be resurrected alone." When Abu Dharr died, he had nothing. When he was expiring or dying, his wife was next to him and she was crying. He looks at her and he says "Why are you crying?! Death is a fact. Death is in-evitable. What makes you cry?" She says, "I'm crying because we don't even have the cloth to wrap your body to bury you in when you die." Now, you tell us- if we didn't have a deviation in our Islamic history at the level of the highest office, why should something like this happen? A lesson we should draw from this is: why can't Muslims communicate with each other. Why does it have to be that almost all the time that people who are in power are less able to communicate with those who don't have power. Wasn't that a fact then, and isn't it a fact today, in the world around us? You take this lesson and you draw it on todays realities and developments- why are those in power incapable or unwilling to co-exist, communicate and interact with those who disagree with them and who don't have power? This is supposed to be an Islamic family, an Islamic household, an Islamic community. Why do we have this? Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims The word of truth, as was the case hundreds of years ago and is still the case today, doesn't find very many supporters to begin with. Much of these supporters begin to come along later on. When the Muslims knew what was happening to their political system early on, they knew that the bai'ah during the time of kings is not the bai'ah that it was during the time of the successors to Allahs Prophet. How did these rulers who usurped power- kings, autocrats, tyrants, oppressors get away with this? They used money- they would pay off people to be silent or to agree with them. They used power- they would frighten people away. They would use the power of state against people who would try to show some resistance. They would use concocted religious opinions to legitimize what they were doing. Then, when the kings began to rule, they told people that you are not allowed to become an opposition. You cannot oppose us, and they had their court scholars concoct these fatwas that Muslims cannot oppose a ruler who is a dhalim. Even though some of these scholars today don't know it, because they haven't read their own sources- Ibn Taymiyah, who is much quoted by these scholars who are bought and intimidated and well received by todays status quo rulers- their scholar number one says "Obedience to a ruler is due when there is justice, and disobedience is due to a ruler when there is injustice." Take todays mindset of the status quo scholars and ask them, if you don't believe in opposition to oppressive and

tyrannical rulers, then why do you not object to the opposition that was expressed by Muawiya against Ali when he had the bai'ah of virtually all of the Sahaba. But then, you express opposition to Husain, Abdullah ibn Zubair and Zaid (radi Allahu anhum) who stood up against these foul rulers. There's a double standard here- you have to be consistent with yourself. But no-one is going to understand that there's a double standard and no one is ever going to reach this amount of information if these mimbars and these masaajid are still in the control of tyrants and oppressors.

THE POLITICS OF STATE AND ISLAMIC OPPOSITION

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Allahs information to us and the living behavior of Allahs Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) were not meant to suffer under centuries of inaccuracies and deviations. When we are interacting with Allah and His Prophet, then the other, if there are, intruding affairs and powers should be of minimal effect upon us. If we were true to our word and relationship to Allah and His Prophet, then the interference that occurs only causes us to be stronger in our relationship with Allah and His Prophet- not to compromise it, not to negotiate it away and not to smother it with excuses and with false pretext. We say this as an introduction to our on going effort to peel off the layers of traditions and justifications that have worked their way into our mentalities and within our Muslim public. We will try to add this week to the other weeks of the cleansing information that we obtained to wash away the pollution and the increment of past generations and past eras. With the supervision of Allah, this time, we will concentrate our mind on a scheme that was put forth by the political deviation that became part of our history. We said that after the administration of the khulafa', the Muslims in that early history became the subjects of misrule. The 41st year after the hijrah was fallaciously referred to as Aam Al-Jamaa'- this is another taint that we have in our history. That was the year in which, for all practical purposes, the pattern of legitimacy was broke or severed. There was no longer public opinion that was enacting a social contract with its decision makers. Now, the decision makers forced themselves on the Muslim public whether they liked it or not. It was only ceremonial that there were token individuals who would go and give their bai'ah to the king. This practice has lived on for over 1,300 years, because we have it happening today. When a king sits himself on the throne, he has a token amount of people who come and say that they have given him their bai'ah. As far as the multitude of the Muslims, public opinion and populations are concerned- all of these are excluded from this process. When this 1st happened in the year that was officially designated as Aam Al-Jamaa', the year of consensus- this was a the year in which the Muslims lost contact with the way governments come and go and with the way khalifs and imams are given their responsibility from the way kings and monarchs steal this responsibility from their own people. This time, brothers

and sisters, committed Muslims- the king that forced himself upon the Muslims had a genius idea that with the instruments of power and government, state and authority, which the king now has, he managed to pull a fast one on the Muslims which still continues to operate until this very day. Now that Muawiya became king, he came and said, to the Muslims that his side is called Ahl AsSunnah Wa Al-Jama'h, the folks of or the people of the Sunnah and the consensual Muslim public opinion and therefore everyone who is opposed to him is automatically opposed to Ahl AsSunnah Wa Al-Jama'h. This could only have become part of Muslim life because the instruments of state were available to make it possible. No one can come and generalize and say they represent the Muslim public, the Muslim consensus and the Muslim populace without having the power, force and the departments of government that are necessary to make this almost a fact that is acceptable by the average Muslim and then to live on for all of these years. Let us try to take a look at this Umawi propaganda and this Tulaqa lobby. At-Tulaqa is in reference to those who were amnestied by Allahs Prophet when Makkah was liberated and who now are the rulers of the Muslims- Al-Muhaajirin, Al-Ansaar and Ahl-Muhammed are not the rulers- the rulers now are these Tulaqa. When we take a look at the word Sunnah which is used here, and which has been used by governments ever since that day who are Islamically off course, the 1st area we place it in is Allahs book. The word Sunnah as it appears in the Qur'an does not coincide with the Umawi propaganda that circulated with Muawiya and after him, onto the Abbasis and the Fatimis and the rest of these rulers, who some people in their rush to re-formulate an Islamic government still continue to say that Muslims had a khilafa' until just about a little les than 100 years ago. This is not a scrutinizing look at governance from the time of the khulafa' until the time central Islamic power seized to exist- which was roughly around a hundred years ago, in a technical way. The word Sunnah, and we can only quote a few ayaat from the Qur'an, Allah say You will not find an alternate course to Allahs social laws, (Surah Al-Faatir verse 43) This is probably the closest we're going to come to delivering the meaning of the ayah. The word Sunnah here refers to Allahs social laws, but the way the 1 st political administration that deviated from the khilafah used the word Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h does not refer to Allahs social laws. Anyone who listens to and understands the statement Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h is not thinking that these are folks who are belonging to Allahs social rules and laws. Another ayah says, You will not find a change in direction to OUR social laws. (Surah Al-Faatir verse 43) This is an ayah, and what all Muslim minds understand from this ayah is in reference to Allahs regulatory laws that are in social existence- the way societies rise and fall. But, the Umawi propaganda does not acknowledge or permit this Qura'nic definition or explanation of the word Sunnah. Social laws of Allah has preceded you. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 137)

Sunan is the plural of the word Sunnah. Allah is saying that social laws of Allah has preceded you; you have a full history of Allahs social laws at work in social life. Once again, this meaning of Sunnah in the Qura'n does not substantiate nor explain the Umawi propaganda of Ahl AsSunnah Wa Al-Jama'h. If we have to take the hadith- there's a hadith that is a Sahih hadith in Sahih Muslim, Whoever begins a social pattern (within Islam), of a good nature, he will have its rewards, and whoever initiates a negative or bad social pattern shall have the bad consequences upon him. Once again, if we are to gain the definition of the word Sunnah from the Qur'an or from the Prophet, we referred to some ayaat and saw that they do not mesh with the propaganda that broke away from the khilafah system. In this hadith, the word Sunnah means a social pattern. Once again, we don't find the meaning of the word that is used by political deviators in the highest office of the land. Still, if we need more, we will refer ourselves to the Islamic history that we should have mental access to. In this Islamic history, who are the ones who, in a scholarly sense representative of Ahl AsSunnah Wa Al-Jama'h as per the post-influence of governments off from an Islamic course? When someone asks another "Who represents Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h?"- our minds immediately and almost automatically go to Abu Hanifah, Ash-Shaafi'i, Al-Maalik and ibn Hambal. These are the ones who, because we have been influenced by these successive governments that have been off course and not by Allah and His Prophet, we automatically identify Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h with Abu Hanifah, Ash-Shaafi'i, Al-Maalik and ibn Hambal. Once again, we run into a historical difficulty that makes the words which is used by governments- Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h, off limits as far as these four scholars of Islam are concerned. Why? Because we don't find any quote by any one of them that attributes their scholarly output to what is called Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h. They had schools of thought and whoever agrees with their school of thought is therefore identified with their persontherefore we say that a person is a Hanifi or a Shaafi'i or a Maaliki or a Hambali- that's the way it was, because at that time, when they were living during the Umawi and the Abbasi dynasties, there was a difference between identifying with Allah and His Prophet and the social justice and the political system that come out of the Qur'an and the Prophets statements on one hand and then identifying with usurper rulers on the other hand. There was a difference there, but the governments did not want Muslims to be keen on this difference and they wanted to blur the line for the sake of political expediency called Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h on one hand and then the scholarly output of these well known fuqaha' of Islam. If we take a look at the lives of Abu Hanifah, and Ash-Shaafi'i, and to a lesser degree Al-Maalik and ibn Hambal, they were on opponents of the political established order. They were in opposition to Umawi and Abbasi rule, the forms of government that they were living under. Abu Hanifah gave financial and moral support to the political opposition of Ibrahim An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah. Ash-Shaafi'i was going

to be executed by these types of governments if it wasn't for a good word that was put in by a friend of his that saved him from execution. Although Al-Maalik and ibn Hambal were not as actively involved in the opposition as Abu Hanifah and Ash-Shaafi'i, they were still considered in the non-active involvement among the opposition and at odds with the government of their day. They were jailed, tortured and persecuted because they were in an opposition. They were not enrolled in this government sponsored broad title of Ahl AsSunnah Wa Al-Jama'h. This wording doesn't exist in the Qur'an and it doesn't exist in the validated Sunnah to mean what these governments and monarchies wanted us to believe it means. The same thing applies to those who call themselves Shi'is or Shi'a. The word in the Qur'an doesn't give the meaning and the explanation to the word that is used today by those who consider themselves Shi'is or Ahl-Tashayyu. On both of these terrains we have a discrepancy that has been fed by reacting to governments or by being employed by governments. After we say this, we also add that people who want to give a uniformity to Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h as they are called by these governments- this should not be a settled fact in our minds, we should have enough information and knowledge from the Qur'an and the Prophet to say "Wait a minute, we are not accepting this propaganda." When we take a closer look at this general public, what the government called Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h, we find that there are very serious differences inside this broad arena of Muslims. The 1st serious difference we have- unfortunately these differences are extended into accusations of kufr- this should never be the case but this is what happened historically and what is happening currently. Back then, there was a serious difference between those who are called Ashaa'irah and those who are called Mu'tazilah. Much of this came to a head during a time of Abbasi monarchy when these two trends were almost equally divided in the Muslim public and the difference of opinion culminated into whether the Qur'an is created or not. The two opinions that were clashing with each other had millions of people on each side, and was almost reaching the verdict of kufr against the other side. The Ashaa'irah were saying that the Qur'an was not created and the Mu'tazilah were saying that the Qur'an was created, and both these opinions had their justifications, explanations, rationalizations and extrapolations- it was all there. Remember, this is the point that we should not lose sight of- all of this is within that governmental sweep of Ahl AsSunnah Wa Al-Jama'h, but in the meantime this is what is happening within. Add to this that the Hanbali school of thought had very serious disagreements with Al-Ashaa'irah. The Shaafi'i school of thought which is the closest to the Hambali school of thought was considered the fiqhi flip side of the Al-Ashari thought- Al-Fiqh Ash-Shaafi'i Wa Al-Fiqh Al-Ash'ari went hand in hand, but here, you had the Hanbalis who's school of thought is considered by some to be an extension of the Shaafi'i school of thought that could not agree with the Asharis the same way they could not agree with the Ahnaaf, the followers of Abi Haneefah. You would think that by now all of this would be put to rest and we would look upon this chapter in our history as being one that we can learn from, but no one is in a methodical Qur'anic and Muhammedi way opening these chapters of history to learn from. When they open them today, they are to find ammunition to use against other committed Muslims. This should never ever be the case, but it is in todays real world.

Some of these opinions say that Abu Haneefa actually did not have a school of though. We're sorry- brothers and sisters- to be raising these issues, but we have to because we no longer have the luxury of having to look at them in a scholastic fashion. Now, we have to look at them to avoid the pitfalls that lie ahead of us because there's an extension of those governments today that are united against us and want us to shed each others blood and to feel hype about our hyphenated Islamic designations or descriptions and there are real Muslims who are falling into these pitfalls. Some of these Hanbalis come and say, "Well, Abu Haneefah didn't have a school of thought anyway. How can anyone have a school of thought when he says that the only hadiths he could ascertain are 17 hadiths. How could he have a school of thought. This is just an opinionated scholar." If you go back to these books and you come to todays cobweb minds that some Muslims have and that's what they'll tell you. Brothers and sisters- what purpose does it serve when you come across people like this? What are they trying to do? You can only classify them as being with the historical enemies of Islam and the current military enemies of Islam. Both of them are with those who have power. We're still looking at this general and broad description that was used by governments called Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h- we are looking at another layer or another segment that is called AhlHadith. There are scholars who spent their lives trying to validate or verify the hadiths that were attributed to Allahs Prophet. In this segment of people, they considered Ash-Ashaafi'i as unreliable. There's not one hadith that is related by way of Ash-Shafi'i because they said that he's unreliable- we're taking Ahl-Hadith words from these old books. So, what do you do here? If you go to the books, you will not one find one hadith that is a Sahih hadith in which he is one rawi or narrator in the chain of narrators? What do you do here? Of-course, we are supposed to skim over all of this and show our solidarity, not with these scholars- which we should be doing, but with the governments who are trying to use these scholars for their own purposes!? Then, if you want to take a look at it at another level, they say to gain political mileage out of this that Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h are all of those who are in agreement to the legitimacy of the four khulafa' that came after Allahs Prophet. But, there were strong social currents or blocks of solidarity in the Muslim population that agreed with the legitimacy of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (radi Allahu anhum), but these governments could not work them into Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h. The Zaidi Shi'is agree with the legitimacy of the four khulafa', why didn't these governments consider them within Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jama'h? A segment of what became later on known as Al-Khawaarij also agreed with the legitimacy of the four khulafa' but they're also not included here. Al-Mu'tazila, who had worked out a rationalist school of thought also agreed with the legitimacy of the four khulafa' but they were not enlisted as supporters of the contemporary governments that they were reeling under. But No! the Muslims mind has to remain away from weeding out these root issues that are contributing today to a sectarianism in the making. Sometimes some of us understand more by example of real people. We will take a person who probably most of us haven't heard of, or if we did, we just heard the name but we don't know the

details of his history. This persons name was Ghailaan Ad-Dimashqi, Ghailaan the Damascin. The person used to be in Damascus. It is said that originally he was from Egypt or he may originally have been a Copt- whatever the case is, now he is a committed Muslim who happens to live a good distance inside the Umawi monarchy. He took issue with this monarchy because this monarchy sponsored a public trend in the Muslim public called Al-Jabariyya. At that time, the big mental or popular issue was that people do what they do because they are pre-destined to do it. Meaning, if a person comes to power, Allah has predestined him to come to power. If Muawiya comes to power, Allah has pre-destined him to come to power and you can't question that! This took away the active components of Imaan and Islam. Now, because of the school of though of Al-Jabar, there was a truce between Ad-Dhalim, the oppressor, and Al-Madhlum, the oppressed. No one is to bring out into the open social justice issues. But Ghailaan AdDimashqi, brought this out. It is said that he was influenced by Hassan ibn Muhammed ibn AlHanafiyah ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib and at that time, as is the case today, there was an Islamic opposition to political deviation. This is the common thread that we should be looking atIslamic political opposition. It was Haraam to have Islamic Political opposition to rulers then and it is extending itself today. It is Haraam to have Islamic opposition to our rulers today. Ghailaan Ad-Dimashqi didn't buy that. He believed that human beings are responsible for their actions. You don't do something under a state sponsored philosophy that says you do it because Allah has predestined you to do it! In that case we can't hold anyone responsible. This contradicts the attributes of Allah if He is Al-Adl, Ar-Rahim, Al-Qahhaar and if all these other attributes belong to Allah- how does this work if we have everyone thinking that we are doing because Allah has created us to do what we do and we have no input or freedom of choice? The ayaat in the Qur'an are clear Whoever chooses to commit to Allah may do so and whoever chooses to deny Allah may do so. (Surah Al-Kahf verse 29) There's a freedom of choice, will and expression in these words from Allah in the Qur'an. And you cannot will except that it be the will of Allah (Surah Al-Insaan verse 30) This is not understood like the Jabariya understand it! - you are only going to do or will what Allah wills or do what Allah does. This ayah means that the cumulative effect of the human will, whether you choose Imaan or kufr, will eventually coincide one way or the other, with Allahs will. If you did what is right, Allahs will is to reward you and if you did what is wrong, Allahs will is to punish you. But here we this official philosophy adopted by the state and we had opponents or Islamic political opposition to this- but this political opposition is not supposed to become clear to us, it's not supposed to have continuity and an expression today when obviously all of these Muslim rulers are off course. They are going on the offensive and trying to neutralize the words in the Qur'an- Al-Mushrik is to become a non-word, Al-Kaafir is to become a non-word, having no definition and if it does, it's a historical one that belongs in the museums and it doesn't belong in todays real world. Ghailaan Ad-Dimashqi disagreed

with all of that. He considered the value of Imaan is not in what you know of Allah or of Islam but it's in what you do and determine. Obviously, this put him into a clash with the established order or the government of the day. He was popular, he began preaching, he wrote 2,000 pages, NONE of those pages survive today- we have none of them. That's an effect of what governments do with people that they disagree with. So, they disagreed with him and when he began a popular movement and the government realized that he had popularity in Damascus, in Bilaad-AshShaam, what did they say, "We're going to get you!" So, he runs away or goes into hiding, or in todays language, he goes underground. But still, they seek him out. Before, he was sought by the authorities of the time, he had a rapport, a working relationship with Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radi Allahu anhu), who can be considered the 6th khalifah, they met and spoke, they agreed on many things and they disagreed on somethings. This was a three year period, from the 99 th year of the hijrah to the 102nd year of the hijrah. During the time of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, the political atmospherics changed and the opposition could come out and speak its mind. There were many corrections that took place. One of those was that Umar ibn Abdul Aziz assigned Ghailaan AdDimashqi a position to redistribute the wealth in the Islamic treasury. Before that, this wealth belonged to the Umawi ruling class, now it doesn't. Now, it belongs to the people and Ghailaan would go in public and he would say "People! Come to the possessions of the treacherous (this is in reference to the rulers), come to the possessions of those who have done injustice." All of this was expressed in public." He managed to take away from the ruling class the privileges and the monopolies that became theirs and redistribute this to people who were in need. On one occasion, when he was expressing this in the public square in Damascus, Hishaam ibn Abdul Malik, who was not yet king, heard what he was saying and he said "This person is bashing me, he is bashing our family and he is bashing our ancestors. If the time comes and I have power, I'm going to cut off his hands and his legs." As it were, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz lasted for three years- remember, he was confronted with his own family who told him "We caution you! Don't you fear the consequences." Those were the words that were coming his way. When a just ruler wants to set things straight, he begins to receive threats from his inner circle. He responded and said "Any type of thing that I am to fear short of the accountability on the day of judgment- I don't want to fear it." Then, when Hishaam ibn Abdul Malik becomes the ruler and king, he says "Now, I want Ghailaan Ad-Dimashqi. I want him!" So he goes underground with another person who was accompanying him. Finally, the authorities or the government or monarchy catch up with him and then they bring Ghailaan Ad-Dimashqi and a faqhi called AlAwzaa'i. Awzaa'i, was just like we have fuqaha today who speak the language of the government, they don't speak the language of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and they had a discussion and Al-Awzaa'i goes back to Hishaam ibn Abdul Malik and says "I give a fatwa that you can execute this person!" So these fatwas are along in the making, they go back to when? We have them today. What did they do? What is done at this time? The king takes Ghailaan AdDimashqi and he crucifies him and the person who was with him, called Saalih, on one of the gates of Damascus called Baab Kaisaan. Even when he is on the cross, he still continues to speak to the people who are watching this atrocity. This is an example of Islamic opposition, and we will encounter more of this Islamic opposition to political oppression, economic exploitation

and the absence of social justice- these are an integral part of this commitment to Allah. Ghailaan Ad-Dimashqi said "Imaan is not only a knowledge in your head, in addition to that, it is Al-Mahabbah, Al-Khudhuwa and Al-Iqraar. We want to see how this Imaan comes to your hand and how it becomes a social behavior- it is not subservient to wicked rulers and despots who rule the land." Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In our ongoing effort to weed out alien information and cleanse our minds of polluted ideas, with our yardstick being the actions of Allahs Prophet as well as his statements, all of this in the context of Allahs words, His ayaat, and the information that He has endowed us with. When we do this, we do not just do this as a lesson in history, we do this so that we can see today what is being done to us. When we look today, especially at those who are ruling the Haramain, or the three Harams from Makkah to Al-Medinah to Al-Quds, if we have a substantial understanding of the ups and downs and the trials and the errors of our own history, then we will not permit the continuation or perpetuation of the status quo and the re-enforcement of anti-Islamic systems and all that goes with them including those who are in religious garb who try to give legitimacy and authenticity to these types of governments and rulers today. Last year, we had 345 Muslims who were killed and hundreds of others who were injured in Makkah. This is not something that is happening every century or every generation- it's a pattern. As if when we go to Makkah, we can expect to be going to a killing field and then we are not supposed to hold anyone responsible. You see- that philosophy of Al-Jabriyyah is still alive and kicking amongst us today. Why is all of this talking place? They telling us, to preempt any type of corrective thoughts that we may have "Next year they're going to build another layer or another bridge or another by-pass or another something so that this will not happen again." How many times have we heard that! They tell us, once again it's coming from them, "We're going to spend $1,2 billion." The solution is not in spending money, although that is necessary. There are trillions of dollars that they have that they are giving away to those who are doing us in at the war-fronts and we're supposed to think that this is Allahs will and we are not responsible for our actions! This is not the solution. The problem is large numbers of Muslims are bottled up to do many things in a short period of time. That period of time has to be extended. There used to be a pillar that represented Iblis, and when we throw these pebbles, Rami Al-Jamaraat, we were throwing it at something like a pillar or a pole. So, these fuqaha, without consulting with you or me, they said, "Why don't we make it easier for these Hujjaj and widen that pole into a wall. No-one dare tell them "That is a bid'a! What are you doing!? Where's the consensus or the consultations before you do such a thing?" They went ahead, as monarchies behave and they did what they wanted to do. The issue is not in extending a pole and making it a wall, the issue is in extending weeks and making them months. Hajj is a matter of months (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 197)

You don't have to be a rocket scientist or have a doctorate in the Arabic language to understand the words in the Qur'an. If we can give ourselves a breather by extending three weeks to three months to do what we have to do, then we will not be running over each other and stampeding each other. Now it's called the Hajj stampede. If we were factual and we were looking at these events, we would call them with accuracy what they are. So, we have rulers, without any input from you and me, we've been locked out, for over 1,300, and some odd years, and Woe to any Muslim who can't think themselves out of this mess. "Throw them out into the Street! Don't let them come to the Hajj! Drop all types of accusations against them. Tarnish their reputations etc. etc."- this is the way they act. We have Allah and He is superior to all that they are doing.

FROM QURAISH TO BANI UMAYYAH

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With the understanding and the light that comes to us from Allah and His Prophet (sallalhu alaihi wa sallam), we continue with our sequence of thought to identify the missteps of the past and to correct the accurate steps into the future. We say, and in Allah is our confidence, the word Quraish is most of the times a vaguely used word. Even though it only mentioned in one Surah of the Qur'an. One of the short Surahs (Surah Al-Quraish) The word Quraish has to be put into its Qur'anic and Prophetic environment to understand some of the developing meanings that come to us via the Qur'an and the Prophet. It is necessary, especially pertaining to the concentration of thought on the developing years of Islam. We would enlighten ourselves if we understood what Quraish is, because it has obviously an impact on the history that we are looking at. If we were to take the language of today, to put it succinctly, Quraish was the pre-dominant government of Arabia. The center of Arabia being Makkah and Quraish was the decision making body in Makkah. Makkah was a cultural, commercial and a tribal seat of power concerning the Arabian Peninsula. Once again we're going to use the language of today, when we speak about Quraish, we are speaking about 10 portfolios or positions that were occupied by members who come from this Quraishi class of people. These portfolios had responsibilities with them. When you read Islamic history, you've heard the word Hashemi, Umawi, you may have heard the word Nawfal, Asd, Taim, Jumah etc. These are what is called Butun Quraish. If we were to look at Quraish as a tribe, this tribe had different lineages or ancestral lines. One of these ancestral lines was the Hashemi line, Banu Hashem. This was part of this Quraishi structure. This Hashemi line had a portfolio or responsibility which was Siqayah AlHaaj. Before the Qur'an and before Muhammed, there were combined responsibilities of Quraish. One of them was to offer water for the pilgrims who come to the Hajj every year. This responsibility fell upon the Hashemi extraction of Quraish. Another position or portfolio was the Umawi position or status within Quraish. What was the Umawi responsibility? It was the military responsibility. They were responsible for warfare, encounters with enemies, for preparing a fighting force if Makkah was threatened. This responsibility fell on Umayyah. There were other responsibilities. Udayy had the responsibility of what is in todays language called the foreign ministry. Taim had the responsibility of seeing to it that there is enough money to pay for any type of blood money responsibilities, Dafa' Ad-Diyaat. This was the general composition of Quraish, so when we say Quraish, this is what we are looking at before the Qur'an and the hadith.

You should know that when the Qur'an and the Prophet began a new orientation to Makkah, in other words, when the people of Makkah were listening to the words of Allah and His Prophet, at that time, the person who represented the Hashemis in the Quraishi aristocratic structure was AlAbbas ibn Abdul Mutallib (radi Allahu anhu), who is the uncle of the Prophet and the person who represented the Umawis in this Quraishi structure was Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and the person who represented Udayy or Adi was Umar ibn Al-Khattab (radi Allahu anhu) and the person who represented Taim was Abd Al-Ka'ba later known as Abdullah ibn Abi Quhafa or as the average Muslim knows him, Abu Bakr As-Siddique (radi Allahu anhu). The Qur'an came in this condition, when these people were responsible for these either seasonal, yearly or occasional responsibilities. The Hashemis, as you can understand from this, were not very affluent in this Quraishi structure. It is not a very important responsibility to offer water to the pilgrims who are coming to Makkah. So, in this Jahili structure, the Hashemis were an underclass. Even though Quiraish itself had a superior status to the rest of the tribal blocks in Makkah, within that, the Hashemis were not very prominent. So, we can understand one of the psychological difficulties that the Umawis had. Remember, the Umawis had the responsibility of generals. They were responsible for the military component of Makkah. So, when Allahs Prophet came from this Hashemi line, which was not of the highest class or status in Makkah, these people had.remember, Islam, the Qur'an and the Prophet were in real society, they were dealing with real people, traditions, history, a build up of concepts and ideas, so when Allah chose Muhammed for this responsibility, according to this mentality of Jahiliyah, He didn't pick or choose form the best options of Quraish, and that is why we encounter a class mentality. They said to Allahs Prophet If only this Qur'an came down to a person who belongs to one of the two great societies or a great person who belongs to one of the two prominent societies. (Surah Az-Zukhruf verse 31) Meaning that it is very hard for them to accept that an average person coming from a lower class segment of Quraish would be favored by Allah to receive this Qur'an. This is part of human nature that we identify in the course of scripture. The people of Nuh (alaihi as-salaam) said basically the same thing to him. Looking at society from a class perspective, the people around Nuh were saying Are we going to commit ourselves with you where as the only people we find who are following you are those of the lower classes of society? (Surah Ash-Shuara verse 111) The same people were saying The only people we find following you are the scum in our society. (Surah Hud verse 27)

These responses are part of human nature. So, when Allahs Prophet was chosen by Allah, there was a reflex social reaction to this choice that could not go away. It's not just because the Qur'an was revealed and Muhammed was in Makkah that we no longer had the propensity for human nature to take issue on the basis of its traditions, history, customs and conventions and all of a sudden it's going to become an ideal society. That didn't happen. This opposition to the Hashemi being favored by Allah in exclusion to the rest of these nine other portfolios or derivatives of Quraish was concealed within them, in the winning years of Islam. This is reminiscent of Yusuf (alaihi as-salaam)'s brothers when they felt that Allah has chosen the "wrong" one among them to be His Prophet, but instead of this happening in the Israeli context, within one family unit, it happened within the Arabian context within the tribal block unit of Makkah, but, the same reservations, objections, psychological difficulties were prevalent here that were prevalent there. They could not overcome this difficulty and as we know, Islam gradually took over, even though they persecuted their own, the Hashemis were part of Quraish, but the Quraishi establishment thought that Allah choice was wrong, this should not have gone to the Hashemis, it should have gone to some other prominent extraction of Quraish. When we speak about Quraish and its behavior to Allahs Prophet, we should understand that we are speaking about a social force, a historical build-up and a status quo that refuses to go away. Those who committed themselves to Allahs Prophet were persecuted by this Quraish establishment. We are familiar with the history from the 1st day of the Wahy until the 1st day out of Makkah- we are familiar with the details that went into those 13 years, and our purpose now is not to dwell as much on these details as much as to notice that they will have a carry-on effect that will linger in the Muslim populace in the years that will follow the passing away of Allahs Prophet. The Qur'an made ample reference to this opposition by speaking about the phenomenon of the Munafiqin. Allahs Prophet managed to anchor a new orientation in life that is centered around justice, equality and the participation of the Muslims in deciding their own future policies. One of the captions in Islamic history, that probably many of us have read or heard about in khutbahs or Islamic lectures many times, that harkens back to pre-Islamic times... remember, we mentioned that when the Wahy was revealed, Al-Abbas ibn Abdul Mutallib was the representative of the Hashemis in the Quraishi structure and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb was the representative of the Umawis in the Quraishi structure- this was prior to the Qur'an and the Prophet. Towards the end of the 23 years of the Prophet, in the last year or two, (this is mentioned in almost all the books of the seerah), these same two persons come together and Al-Abbas gives a tour to Abi Sufyan, showing him the Islamic state and the Islamic armed forces, potentially tens of thousands of them. Remember, Abu Sufyan prior to Islam, the Qur'an and the Prophet was the number one military figure in the Quraishi aristocracy. This is a general before Islam, a general during the 23 years of the Prophets struggle but in the wrong camp until the final couple of years. When Al-Abbas, this person who was just responsible for bringing water to provide for the Hujjaaj, the pilgrims to Makkah, was taking Abu Sufyan on this tour of this new Islamic force, power and state, what did Abu Sufyan say to Al-Abbas? This, once again, was at a time when the Muslims were cresting? Abu Sufyan said to Al-Abbas "Today, your nephews domain or

dominion has become awesome, grandiose." This statement, even though it is said after a struggle of 22 or 23 years and at a time when supposedly Quraish has been won over to Islam, he didnt say "now an Islamic state or a Prophet has managed or succeeded in extending the authority of Allah in this area as a right minded Muslim would comment, but he carries with him the effects of the Jahiliyah. This is not a person who in his heart and mind has become the committed Muslim on the order of Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar. This, as we said, was to have its extended influence in the immediate generations that followed the passing away of Allahs Prophet and it obviously expressed itself finally when the system of governance that was concerned with justice, equality and participatory politics became a monarchy that set into the Islamic political order and began to express itself. Before we go on to some of the distortions of this monarchy, let us also quote or express a statement that Umar ibn Al-Khattab said to ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) who is known to have been a very close confidant of Ali (radi Allahu anhu). We're speaking about before Muawiya, the people who were very close to Ali and AlAnsaar had their questions about the way power or the way the Muslims decided to have this successorship to Allahs Prophet, ie. Al-Khilafah. Umar understood why ibn Abbas and his likes had a difficulty in reconciling themselves to the marginalization of Ali from the highest office in the Muslim state. This statement that Umar says to ibn Abbas is a statement that Muslims have to reflect on and think about many times before they begin to draw swift conclusions from this ongoing trial and error experiment with power and governance. (Now we have a better understanding of who we're talking about when we say Quraish, these 10 Butun or lineages of Quraish with the exception of course of Al-Hashemiyin because the rest of the Quraish looked at Hashemiyin as being favored by Allah.) Umar is speaking to ibn Abbas Umar and he said to him "Indeed, they, meaning these nine other segments of Quraish, (which is for practical purposes the overwhelming of Quraish, nine tenths of Quraish), are looking at you, meaning AlHashemi, ibn Abbas, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ahl Al-Bayt, the way a bull is looking at its butcher." What do you do in these circumstances when you know that you are responsible for justice, equality and Ash-Shura? What do you do in this case? Do you impose a leader on a public that in its majority is going to be against you? Why? Because the deep effects of Islam did not take root in the majority of people around. It is said that at Hajjat Al-Wada', there were 130,000 Muslims listening to the Prophets farewell speech. We know how many Muhajirin and Ansaar there were. When we combine Al-Muhajirin with Al-Ansaar, we will come out with a measly number compared with the 130,000 who say that they are citizens, constituents and full "members" of this Islamic State. So, Abu Bakr and Umar were not kidding themselves. They were not trying to set Ali (radi Allahu anhu) up. They knew the social forces that were at work. If we were to exaggerate, and we don't try to exaggerate, but unfortunately, the exaggeration literature is all around- if we were to exaggerate, we could say that they could feel a potential Yawm Al-Harrah or a Karbala in the making. What do you want them to do- contribute to it or be responsible for justice, equality and Ash-Shura the best they can hoping that this original message of Islam will take root in the populace at large- in those 110,000 people if we take away Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar? We have an after log of what we are speaking about when Muawiya and the Umawis came to power. We see what they did when they

figured that finally the power had left the Hashemis and now it is in the domain of the Umawis and as far as possible extended to the rest of Quraish. We see a king like Abdul Malik ibn Marwan, after his predecessors had put their hand on the executive and then the financial branch of government, now to finish the process, they put their hand on the judicial branch of government. Now, they would have judges and scholars who will explain to the public their policies. If Abdul Malik ibn Marwan wanted a decision to be made, he would turn to a judge by the name of Abu Idris Al-Azdi who would custom tailor some quotes from the Qur'an and the Sunnah to justify the policies of the king. Brothers and sisters, listen to how vital Muslims were at the time even though they had this governmental deviation imposed on them, the Muslims had around 20 schools of thought, or madhhabs. Then, on order from the king, Al-Mutawakkil, another king in the time of the Abbasis, there was only going to be four official or sanctioned madhhabs. What happened to rest, 15 or 16 that were left? They were not supposed to exist according to these kings. From that time up until one of the kings in Saudi Arabia recently, within the last 100 years...what are we speaking about here? We're speaking about over 1,000 years we had and we still have it, in some masaajid, you go to some Muslim countries and we still have it- you will have four jam'aat of salaah performed separately for the same salaah! This was done for over 1,000 years. It is one thing to sanction and approve of the different ijtihaadaat, that is fine, as we mentioned previously, and we repeat now, four or five or even nine madhaahib that are recognized by the Muslims indicate a poor state of mind or thinking on behalf of the Muslims. It means we were never thinking of the Qur'an and the Sunnah if we have only a few schools of thought. We should have, if not hundreds, scores of schools of thought at least, because it indicates the vital interaction between our faculty of thought which Allah endowed us with and the Wahy and the inspiration that has come to us from Allah and His Prophet. We encourage any type of legal, authentic and qualifying ijtihaad, we need more of it, but we don't need more division. An ijtihaad does not justify a division, therefore, if Abu Haneefah. Ash-Shaafi', Maalik and ibn Hambal had their ijtihaads, that doesn't justify Muslims praying separately from each other as they did for over 1,000 years. We had a king, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud who came and said "this should not be done. Muslims should pry together." It's heart-aching to have someone like that realize this type of social cleavage institutionalized for over 1,000 years. Before we get to today, we had Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan appoint a ruthless governor over Al-Basrah and then over Al-Kufa and finally in the 56th year of the hijrah, after this monarchy took root in the center of the Islamic territory, we had him return to Al-Medinah- Muawiya, who was in Damascus, returned to Al-Medinah in the 56th year of the hijrah. He went as the maximilist leader of the Muslims and what did he do as an affront to you and me and all the Muslims until the end of time? He stepped up to the mimbar of Allahs Prophet, in his masjid, in Al-Medinah- imagine this king with all his Umawi-Quraishi background coming to the Prophets masjid- he's looking at all the Al-Muhajirin and AlAnsaar and their children, and what is he saying to them? He is saying to them that the person who is going to become his heir, in todays language, the crown prince, will be Yazid. What more? How much more intimidation are the Muslims going to take? This imposition of the official line

of thought and this systemic, governmental use of power against free Islamic expression of thought and conscience that has been institutionalized for 1,300 years plus. It was so institutionalized that many of the details of this history are just not in our purview or range of identification. When certain royal personalities would impose a particular school of thoughtlets say in Al-Andalus- Al-Maliki school of thought was the official school of thought. It's not that these rulers agreed with the founders of the four madhhabs, rather, it is that within these madhhabs there were scholars who could be bought or threatened. They used the carrot or the stick and anyone of these scholars who would succumb to either the carrot or the stick was approved by the royal palace. So, when the royal palace in Al-Andalus certified the madhhab of Al-Imam Malik as the official madhhab of the land, these latter day scholars could not tolerate freedom of thought so the took Al-Ghazalis book, Ihya Ulum Ud-din and they torched it. From that day on, we had a layer of functionaries in court, in the executive, in the ministries of commerce, economy and finances who are second fiddle to the kings. Just like was the case then, it is now- if there's an Islamic opposition character, how does the government deal with him? They take him to a civilian court or a military tribunal and then they pass their secular judgment on him and he is condemned to life sentence behind bars or the death penalty and that goes from these types of courts to the religious personality. It goes to Dar Al-Iftah, the fatwa department of the government or to some religious institution such as Al-Azhar, and they cannot object, we don't have one instance that we know of, in which these religious institutions took issue with their power bosses. Then, from there it goes to the head of state to be signed. Then we have Islamic martyrs, we have Islamic opposition leaders who are put behind bars or are taken to the gallows. This position of "Shaikh AlIslam" which is a latter position was developed by Sulayman Al-Qanuni- or the magnificent in the Ottoman state. He put a position there "Shaikh Al-Islam" to make it official that the clergy will speak with the political administrators with one voice. To our detriment, that voice was not an Islamic political voice. This is what we have today, you can take a look at todays world- how does it operate? This is exactly how it operates. You have a religious class of people who are attracted to the state, the monarchies or the republics by a carrot or by a stick and they are living this culture of over 1,000 years- a culture of accommodation, inferiority and currying favor with illegal rulers and all of this is done because we, the Muslims, you and me, have not exercised our mind on this area in this existence. They put all political issues off the radar and Islam is reduced to these daily habits that we have, and at the end of the lifetime, we ask Allah in our du'a to accept us when we have spent a full life time in ignoring what He had said to us and what His Prophet had taught us. This is where we are. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We owe Allah our gratitude and thanks for everything that has come our way. We show Him this gratitude and thanks by expressing our responsibilities and performing our duties being accountable only to Him. What has taken many of us off course is the interference of people in power in our own internal affairs. There is a vast difference between the caliber and quality of

leaders that graduated from the Prophetic institution of Allahs Apostle At that time, a Muslim governor was guilty of having his son offend a Christian in Egypt and justice dictated to recall this governor from Egypt to Hejaz and hold him responsible, even though the Jahili and Quraishi mindset expressed itself. When the rule of justice came down, by the 2nd successor to Allahs Prophet against the Muslim governor in Egypt, the Muslim governor protests, "Are you giving an order that the son of the two most honorable parents be lashed?!" There was no excuse, nepotism or violation of justice. Justice had to be done. Look at todays world and rulers- the kings and the presidents over us- can anyone of us see them in that position?! Can you imagine anyone of them being brought to justice?! There are many issues that we can bring them to justice and hold them accountable for- many issues. Forget about bringing them to justice, can be bring or raise our minds to the level of placing them in positions of accountability? The way we have habitualized our Islam is that we have relieved them altogether of this responsibility and that accountability, so they get away with it. This corresponds to the vacuum we have in our social being, once we fill in this vacuum with the truth, accurate information and the consciousness of Allah, they will not be able to get away with what they are doing today.

POLITICAL OPPOSITION OF AL-KHAWARIJ

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... It will take a saturation of the meanings of the Qur'an and the lifetime of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) to bring back the long lost sense of equity and justice as there are many forces, governments, dictators, interest groups, financial blocks, etc. that stand between the way we are today and the way we are supposed to be tomorrow. We have, in many of the previous khutbahs, tried to contribute, at least, to our mind and our understanding and place those where they are supposed to be. The problem is that we have parted company with Allah and His Prophet in the significant sense of the word, not speaking about where we are today with our optimistic thoughts, imagination (sometimes) or with our idealism- that's another issue. We're speaking about where we are with our feet on the ground and with our hands plugged into the real world. There is a lot to be done for us to catch up or join the front line Muslims who with their sacrifices and struggle made our Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet the tangible facts of their lives. We have tried our best to elucidate the fact that something went wrong when we, Muslims, had a king who began to rule over us. From then on, we had a series of despotic rulers, dynasties and regimes that did not meet the political essence of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and did not agree with the ideological spirit of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and who could not anchor the virtues of justice in society as they are explained in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. There has been since that time and up until today, an Islamic Opposition to the waywardness of the political regimes that we have been subject to. This political opposition is not clear in the Muslim mind. Obviously it is not clear because there is a lot of interference, plenty of static and a programmed set of information that has us absent minded from this political opposition. This political opposition is not of one type. There has been different strains and trends of this opposition from way back then, from king Muawiyas time up until today. You can look around in todays world and you will find that there is Islamic opposition. This Islamic opposition doesn't belong to one party, organization or reference point. There is a variety of it, and this was the case way back then. Our condition today can be generalized by saying that we have an absence of information that will consolidate this political opposition and give us a better understanding of the details therein. The reason for that is that we have governments, educational systems and a media that want to protect those who are illegitimately in power. Part of the social and intellectual effort that we have today, in as far as it is protecting illegitimate rulers, it is also neglecting legitimate opposition. This has been going on for hundreds of years. If we can read our history correctly and fairly, we should have a clear understanding of this Islamic opposition through over 1,300 years so that we don't wake up in our world today and think that we have some Islamic Political parties

or some Islamic fundamentalist today who are in opposition to their governments as if they are the creation of the past 20, 50 or 100 years and they have no extension in time. This is a biased and a self-defeating reading of history. In our attempt to dust off the effects of the years, let us try to look at some aspects of this opposition. As we said, there's not one trend or strand of it, there is a variety of it, and we will try to take a look at this variety, whether it is in the form of some personalities or movements to have a sense that this opposition has been alive and well throughout all of these years. If we want to trace this opposition all the way back to when a political deviation set in and then culminated in an Islamic throne, with a king who is illegitimately ruling over the Muslims, we can, from those early years, discern those who were called by their enemies "Al-Khawaarij". This happens most of the times- those who are in the opposition are given their designation or name by their enemies. They prefer to call themselves "Al-Mu'mineen" or "Jama'at Al-Mu'mineen". This is how they initially wanted to describe themselves, but because they didn't have power and they were in the opposition, those who had power, who were in government and who commanded militaries stuck a description on them and they called them Khawaarij. As is the case with those who belong to Islamic opposition, when they were given there own names, they tried to justify those words to use them in a positive light, instead of the negative light as was meant by the authorities. When they were called Al-Khawaarij, they looked for an ayah in the Qur'an and they said And, if they had intended to march out, certainly they would have made some preparations for it (Surah At-Taubah verse 46) Al-Khuruj means a couple of meanings. One of them is the literal meaning of the word, and that is dissent. They dissented from their original positions or from the group of people that they were within. In its more practical meaning, Al-Khuruj was used at that time exactly the way revolution is used in our time. These were the revolutionaries, and this meaning wobbled between dissent and revolution. Our guess is it depended very much on the doses of propaganda and whether they were succeeding in their opposition or whether they seemed to be losing. This is not the 1 st time we come into contact with these types, we can trace these as we tried to shed light on them as they developed from Al-Qurrah, the reciters of the Qur'an. These were people who were strictly and strongly bonded to the Qur'an, its meanings, recitations, implications, suggestions, applicability, etc. They were very supportive of Ali (radi Allahu anhu) against the stirrings that were beginning during the time of the 3rd successor to Allahs Prophet, Uthman (radi allahu anhu). They were supportive of Alis position during the latter years of Uthmans reign- the last 6 years of his rulership until the time of arbitration. When Ali, after consulting with the people on his side of the issue found that the public will wants this arbitration to put an end to what was beginning to become and could have been an extended "civil war". At the time when Muawiyas camp raised the copies of the Qur'an on their swords, seeking this Tahkeem or this arbitration, some of these Qurrah agreed with that. Because these were people who were intensely, fervently and enthusiastically Qur'anic, when they saw this Qur'an, they said this is our arbiter, we can't go

wrong. If people want to settle their differences within the context of the Qur'an, we have no problems with that. Some of them wanted to refer this whole issue to this arbitration, called AtTahkeem, others did not, they said "This is a trick. This is a ploy. This is a shenanigan- we should not be fooled by this military maneuver." The way history went is that finally there was an arbitration and these from Al-Qurrah were known as Al-Muhakeemah, because AlMuhakeemah means that they wanted Tahkeem or arbitration- they were pro-arbitration. When the results of this arbitration went in a deceptive direction, the results gave a semblance of power and legitimacy to Muawiyas and they took away a shade of power and legitimacy from Alis camp, these Qur'anically ideological Muslims came back and said "Whoever from among us initially agreed to this arbitration- we were wrong and we repent and ask Allah for forgiveness for the wrong choice that we agreed to, meaning this Tahkeem and arbitration." Then they turned to Ali and told him "This was a mistake, so we atone for this mistake and we expect you to atone for it too." When he refused to do so, being that this is not an individual decision that he made, this was in representation of the public will of the Muslims and no-one can make a Taubah for the public will of the Muslims, it's the Muslim public that are responsible for that, not the Imam or leader. But they couldn't understand this, so they began their opposition to Ali. Brothers and sisters, we're going to go through some details here, and we will realize that these details are not historical only, they are alive today and they remain to be irritant issues because we haven't sorted them out. All of these issues have been put on a millennial hold, with none of us trying to bring these experiences and facts, that are accessible to us, and place them in the context of Allahs book and Allahs Prophet- thats all we have to do to sort them out, but the governments that existed for all of these centuries and generations don't want us to do that. They still continue to anaestize our winds every week so that we will not be able to open up these chapters and minimize these differences. What happened? What were the issues that were alive and kicking 1,300 plus years ago and still are alive and kicking today. The 1st issue was and continues to be "Who is the leader of the Muslims. Who qualifies, has the qualities, merits and the qualifications to lead the Muslims?" Because we have not been thinking about this issue, in our conferences, one-to-one discussions, universities and Masaaajid- no-one is thinking about this, and that's why anyone can come along and because he's riding on a tank or because he's born within royalty, he becomes the automatic leader of the Muslims. This early Islamic generation of opposition to illegitimacy and usurpation of power as was represented by that dynasty of Muawiya, they said "No! Let's think about this. Who qualifies to lead the Muslims." They said, which is still not a statement that many Muslims can repeat today, "Whoever is qualified to do justice is qualified to lead the Muslims." This is, in a nutshell, their conclusion. They centered it around the capability of doing justice in society and it doesn't matter if the person is a Hashemi or an Umawi or a Quraishi or an Arab or a nonArab. It doesn't matter what language, national origin, tribe, color, gender, he or she isnone of that matters. At that early history, one of these issues that is coming back to haunt lazy

minded Muslims is the issue of gender. These people, one of the 1st strains of Islamic opposition, came and said "Al-Imamah Al-Kubra or Al-Imamah Al-Udhma may be obtained by a qualifying female Muslimah." They even said "It is better for the Imam or the Khalifah, (they used both words), the ultimate leader of the Muslims not to be a Quraishi." In the Sunni and Shi'i, we use these words as they are used in the books and in the public mind, remember our reservations and our criticisms of these words, but for the sake of making the point, in the traditional context of the Sunnis and Shi'is, you had to be from a certain tribe or from a certain strain of a tribe to be the leader. The Sunnis said "You have to be a Quraishi", and the Shi'is said "You had to be a Hashemi." They said "No, it's even better that the Muslim leader not be a Hashemi or Quraishi for the reason that if he goes astray, it is easier to unseat him or her." At that time, they were thinking more than we are thinking today. That's when it came to the issue of who is going to lead the Muslims. Now, the issue of when do you become an Islamic opposition. They basically had three words to describe what legitimates an Islamic opposition- Al-Jaur, Al-Fisq and Al-Da'f- these were those three words that to them makes Islamic opposition a legitimate pursuit. These words still have not been developed in our world and in our public forums today. Dare anyone give a public presentation, lecture or a khutbah in the Masjid or anywhere else where Muslims congregate or have their seasonal conferences or annual symposia. Does anyone speak about Al-Jaur, Al-Fisq and Al-Da'f-? What they mean by these words is if we, Muslims, have a rulerthey were speaking about the Muslims having one ruler, today we have 50 odd rulers. They were speaking about that one ruler- if he displays any one of these three features or characteristics, he will give legitimacy to political and ideological opponents to take him out of office. The 1st one is Al-Jaur, if this person is applying oppressive policies. We can see today, oppressive policies have been the mainstream policies all around us. Then they were speaking about Al-Fisq, if this Muslim ruler is corrupt. Because you can have a Muslim ruler who is not corrupt in himself, but he is responsible for the policies that are executed in his name that are against the basis of Adl, justice, equity and equality. So, what if you have a person who has policies that are fair and just but he in himself is a Faasiq, a degenerate. Does he qualify to stay in that office? They said "No! He doesn't qualify. The only thing he qualifies for is to see the sword of the opposition." Then you had Al-Da'f, you can have that ruler in the highest office, in the Muslim government not applying oppressive policies and not being corrupt in himself, but he's weak and if he is weak, does he qualify to lead the Muslims? They said "No! He should be thrown out of office for his weakness." We have a combination of all of these three weaknesses in all of the rulers today. No-one is speaking about them. What a difference between the type of Islam that we are processing in out minds and hearts and the type and Islam that they were living in their minds and hearts. Then, they came to the evaluation of those 1 st years after the Prophet- this is the result of some Muslims trying to find their way out of an oppressive, social, economic and ideological atmosphere that they were in. This is much more than the types that we have nowadays who don't

even want to breach these issues. They came and said "We have no problems with the rule of the 1st two successors to Allahs Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma). We have no problem with the 1st six years of Uthmans (radi Allahu anhu) rule, but the last six years of his rule, we have many problems with, we are opposed to them and we expressed our opposition at that time." We have no problem with the 1 st portion of Alis rule, but from the time he accepted the arbitration, and from there-on, we have problems with." You come to todays Muslims and you try to find out where do they stand on these issues, and the only stand they have is because they have inherited or they were born in a particular family and because of that birth co-incidence, they hold a certain opinion. Did anyone ever think that opinion out?! Very seldomly or rarely do you encounter individuals who have principled their positions- most just have an inherited point of view and they will sacrifice the most precious thing in their life, if it comes down to it, to defend an inherited point of view. These people were not like that. This Islamic opposition began with warfare against the camp that they came from, meaning that their 1st acts of hostilities was against Ali and the committed Muslims with him. They were the ones who caused the Shahaadah of Ali and then they went on after he passed away and Hassan (radi Allahu anhu) relinquished the highest office, they went on to fight against the Umawis. They fought many wars and battles. When you take a look at this history and the details that are there, it is something that makes the conscience of todays Muslims embarrassed to be a Muslim- it makes you and me embarrassed to be Muslims. They fought when they were just 40 or more and they fought when they were up to 100,000 fighters. In all of this range, throughout a matter of almost 100 years, they fought brave encounters with the established regime in Muslim territories. The 1st time they fought against Muawiyas army, they were on the verge of scoring a resounding success against him, but what did Muawiya do? He tapped on the manpower of Southern Iraq, of the Kufis. After almost losing that battle, he springs back. How did they explain fighting? They said it is a duty, fard, upon 40 or more Muslims who agree to the deviation, corruption and injustice of the ruler to carry arms against him. No 40 Muslims and above have any excuse to carry arms against a deviant and wayward ruler. If you are less than 40, you remain in an organizational status until you reach the required number above that, the more the better. If you are less than 3, you are not required to fight. What else do they have? This is probably why they didn't live on. They had an opinion that we have today- i.e. If Muslims don't belong to the way "we" explain this world, then they are kaafirs. They came and had this internal assessment among themselves pertaining to the ruler or the Muslim king. They said "Is he a Mu'min? Is he a kaafir? Is he a Munafiq or is does he belong to what is called Al-Manzilah baynal Manzilatain?", this is a position that later on was mostly used by Al-Mu'tazilah, which means that there's a half-way position between being a Mu'min and being a kaafir. So, does this oppressive tyrannical ruler belong half-way between kufr and imaan. They had these vital discussions among them and they ended by agreeing that the ruler who is actively involved in institutionalized injustice against the Muslim people is a kaafir. Does that sound familiar to some of you in todays world!? They went a step further and they said

that all the Muslims who are not actively opposed to an illegitimate ruler over the Muslims are also kaafirs. This is where they cut-off the bridges or the relationship between them and the average Muslims or the Muslim public or population. One of them went to the Masjid in Al-Medinah. This is towards the end of the Umawi rule. Remember, the Umawis came to an end around 132 years after the hijrah. Two or three years before that, one of these individuals belonging to this trend of opposition goes to the Masjid in Al-Medinah and he gives a very informative speech to the Muslims who come to the Masjid. He tells them, in short, "Don't you agree that these rulers, the Umawi dynasty, has usurped the right to rule?" And, they say "Yes". He tells them, "Don't you agree that they are making what is haraam- halaal and what is halaal- haraam?" They said "Yes". He said, "Don't you agree that they are spending the resources, the treasury and the finances outside of the eight channels that are mentioned in the ayah of the Qur'an?" As-Sadaqah is only for the poor, needy, those employed to collect the funds, to win over the hearts of those inclined to Islam, freeing captives, those in debt, the strugglers for Allahs course and the way-farers (Surah At-Taubah verse 60) "These eight channels that are mentioned here, are they spending the money outside these channels?" And they said "Yes, they are". He mentioned or exposed many other injustices and false policies of the Umawi dynasty, and the Muslims of Al-Medinah all agreed, unanimously and then he asked "Then what are you doing? Why are you silent about this? No-one's doing anything about this?!" They said "We're not doing anything". It was like at the time of Ali, it was said concerning the people who were with him, "They pray behind Ali and they eat at the table spread of Muawiya." This is what we have in todays world and this is what we will continue to have as long as there is not a keen focus on the legitimacy of opposing these types of rulers that are illegitimate. They are so illegitimate, that our enemies have realized that our rulers are on their way out and they want to move in with their ploys, plots and plans for democracy. This is what you see happening and unfolding in front of our own eyes today. This active opposition- imagine, brothers and sisters, we know that Allah has given us the license to reduce our salaah from four rak'aat to two rak'aat if we are traveling. We all know this- right?! These who were opposed, all history books agree that if these people were rich, they were the 1st to give for this Islamic opposition, they would fight heroically and gallantly saying that "The only arbiter is Allah in this affair. It's not a matter of academia, or political negotiations, it's a matter of living by the words of Allah". They took these words And if there are two factions of Muslims that are at war with each other, then it is your responsibility to reconcile them, but if there is a faction that proves irreconcilable and transgresses (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9) Al-Baghy, this is the key word in the Qur'an that they latched onto to explain all of their positions. When they see that there is an aggressive and offensive party of Muslims who is not amenable to

reconciliation, then it is our duty to fight. What will come after this is the unfolding will of Allah. To this end, they didn't much who is a scholar. Remember, in todays world, whether it is in the non-Islamic or what is called the Islamic world, we evaluate people by their scholarship. They didn't evaluate people by their scholarship. They evaluated people by their courage. The more courage you had, the more status you had- that's a yardstick that has long been absent, not only from the Islamic rank and file, but from the world at large. Who in our day and time measures someone by the type of courage that they have?! It doesn't exist anymore, which means that we are not beholden to our Islamic values and principles, a merit that they had. We have to be true to these people who were ascetics, they were not worldly people. They were willing to give up their lives spontaneously and instantaneously. Back to our original point, when it comes to the Qasr, abbreviating As-Salaah from four rak'aats to 2 rak'aats, what they did was, they said "In our opposition to illegitimate government, we are not settled." Even if they were living in the same neighborhood, but they were living underground or running from the authorities, they were not settled, they were not at home- they could have been in their own house, but they were not at home, so their fiqh gave them the reasoning to abbreviate the four rak'aat to two rak'aat even if they were at home. Where did all of this come from? It came from the vibrancy and the vitality of those who are not just living this Islam in theory and idealism, but living this Islam in real life. We had real, live opponents that began with this monarchy and today we don't even know how to benefit from the experience that we have. You don't have to agree with all that they did, and obviously there are many areas of disagreement, but that should not trump their position as an opposition to the forces and the governments that still live on today. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims Going back to those years of misrule, there was an intellectual current among the Muslims that wanted top give legitimacy those who are power, by saying that Muslims are not accountable for their deeds. Imagine how an idea like that took off and became the overwhelming mindset in the people at that time. The Umawi establishment wanted all Muslims to concur with the fact as presented by them that there is a Jabriyah- (this is what they called it), a type of fatalism that we can't do anything about. There were people, scholars and movements that took issue with all of this. One of those who took issue with all of this was a scholar in the South of Iraq, of all places in the world, where defining events are taking place even as we speak. This persons name was AlHassan Al-Basri. He took issue with this and he developed his thoughts and he argued against it. He was also persecuted by the dynastic rulers of the time and the day. This person is supposed to belong to the mainstream literature of those who reconcile themselves with illegitimate authorities, but he was persecuted to the extent that he had to go underground, his daughter was killed while he was forced away from his domicile and he couldn't attend her burial because he took issue with the prevalent school of thought that said that Muslims are not responsible for their acts- meaning that if a king becomes a king, that is the will of Allah and we can't be held responsible for that. That doesn't make sense. Allah is Merciful and He is also Just, and His

Mercy and Justness is not going to cause me and you to go to paradise or to hell because we are robots and machines in this world and we don't have the freedom of choice to be held accountable for what we are doing. If we have establishments and governments that are not accountable to Allah and His Prophet, we are responsible for that. These governments don't get away with what they are doing when we are actively opposed to them. There were some court clergy men, these latter day fuqaha of the official state, who came and said to this scholar "How do you criticize? This is gheebah." This is what they tell you today. If anyone wants to criticize a ruler, they say "that's gheebah, you can't criticize". The ruler is a public figure, you're not criticizing his private character, you're criticizing his public decisions, and if he is wrong, that should go public and everyone should know that he is wrong. How did he respond to that? He said to these people who are criticizing him, and some of them are so called scholars, just like we have today, "It is astonishing to look at some people who are criticizing public statements about public figures who are licking the blood of the Muslims like dogs and then making scholarly issues about whether the blood in the belly of a mosquito is najas or not najas?!" How true. From that day to today, people are making scholarly issues about trivial blood and then, we're supposed to look the other way if we have any knowledge about Allah and His Prophet when there are rivers of blood that flow from Muslim veins because of the institutionalized injustice and inequality of todays world.

ISLAMIC OPPOSITION OF AL-IMAM ALHUSEIN (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Even though the events of the past few weeks have not shown any respite concerning the deliberate pre-meditated antagonism of Muslim public opinion in the world, we will continue to develop the ideas that we are attempting to develop pertaining to the early generations of Muslims so that we may, in a sense, fulfill Allahs words when He says So that the course of the criminals becomes clear. (Surah Al-An'aam verse 55) We have been exercising our minds in the past months on some of our trials and errors in our early history, at some of our attempts at doing what is right and some of our failures at doing what is right. We have a sense that early on in the unfolding 1 st chapters of our history, those who were responsible for that political authority tried to carry their responsibilities in the general direction that they understood from Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). Then, we realized that a break from that model occurred when the Muslims experienced the 1 st political deviation represented by the kingdom of Umayyah or the dynasty of Bani Umayyah. We tried to reconstruct the political flavor of the time. We spoke about individuals who were legitimate political Islamic dissidents; we spoke about Islamic movements and trends that constituted an Islamic opposition to the monarchy that imposed itself on the Muslim public. Now, we will speak, about something that is lost on almost all Muslims- in the climate of Islamic legitimate political opposition- an issue that somehow during the course of time has been smothered- these words have to gel together in our collective mind... Very few Muslims surface nowadays with a robust understanding that Muslims had within their experience, history and background legitimate Islamic political opposition. If we understand it correctly, this is a contribution to Islamic opposition that we have in our time, in our world today, there is Islamic opposition. We can solidify this opposition if we try to enhance our understanding of it. We go back to the climate of the time when this legitimate Islamic political opposition took place and when it was represented by individuals, parties and movements and within the variety of this opposition, we pick up in this khutbah on the moment or trend of opposition that was represented by Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu). Speaking about this issue runs the risk of being classified one way or the other. There has been, built into Islamic traditions and cultures a stereotypical approach to this whole issue. There has been some type of cultural polarization that has been working its way for so long, that if a person wants to look at this issue, inevitably this type of frigid mind

will try to classify that person one way or another. Rest assured- we don't come from that type of cultural polarization or classification, so our attempt to deal with this issue may not fit comfortably with those who have inherited centuries of stereotypical accusations. We know that Husein has made a political imprint in Islamic history, and it should be in the course of human struggle, by belonging to the clear vision that his father (radi Allahu anhu) and his grandfather had- which means that in the climate of the time, within the Umawi kingdom, his opposition was principled, moral and without extremes. Of course, we can't develop a bibliographic type of coverage of his lifetime in a khutbah, but we can encounter him carrying the mantle of Islamic opposition when there were trends of people and underground activity against the Umawi dynastic kingdom. Remember, we spoke about those who were called Al-Khawarij or Al-Haruriyyah or Al-Qurrah or Al-Muhakeemah- all of these words refer to internal Islamic dynamics that gave freedom to an opposition to political deviation represented by Muawiya and those who were to become kings after him. If you can recall, Ali had given the Muslims enough freedom of conscience, expression and movement that his freedom made it possible for his opponents to eventually succeed in assassinating him and fail to succeed in assassinating his two rivals, ie. Muawiya and Amr ibn Al-Aas. Now, Husein no longer has his father, Ali, who was a visionary in his opposition, but at the same time had to be held to his own constituents. This is not a person who is an angel living in heaven- this is a responsible Muslim who is struggling on earth. Husein, having the knowledge of what led to the time that he himself had to carry the mantle of this opposition. He was in Al-Medinah and he leaves Al-Medinah and goes to Makkah. We tried to fill you in on this information, if we were intellectually responsible, the 1st thing we would ask ourselves is why did Husein go from Al-Medinah to Makkah?" There were other options here. He could have gone from Al-Medinah to Al-Kufa, or to Southern Iraq, where we know that from the previous year, there is a potential for a consolidation of the opposition there. He could have gone, conceivably, to areas outside of Muslim territory. He could have gone to Yemen where there was no strong grip of the authority there. He could have gone to Al-Habasha, where Allahs Prophet sent the 1st Muslims for political respite or an air of freedom. He went to Makkah where he stayed for four months. This is our understanding of it and it invites the larger Muslim mind also to try to understand it- we know that before this, even though Allahs Prophets jihad of 23 years sought to have Makkah itself as the capital of the Muslims, but never was Makkah to be the political capital of the Muslims because of the details that we covered in the previous khutbahs. We hope that you understand why this took place because this is very important to understand why these events are happening. Husein left Al-Medinah and went to Makkah because both Al-Medinah and Makkah are in the geography of Al-Hejaz and the rival usurper of power and authority, Muawiya, was in Ash-Shaam. He had appointed his governors in these other areas and was trying to move in to finish off with Al-Hejaz after securing Al-Kufa. Husein stayed in Makkah for four months, and during this time, he was a popular figure among public opinion, but being a popular figure among public opinion is one thing and then having this public opinion carry its responsibilities is another thing. We read these four months that Husein spent in Makkah as being a period in which he was

trying to take the pulse of the Islamic opposition and the remnants of the 1st generation of Muslims who may still be willing to militarily oppose the usurper of power. In Huseins days, Muawiya had passed on and the usurper, the new king was Yazid. A lot has been said about Yazid as a degenerate figure in his own character- we're not going to cover that territory and it is a matter of consensus in all books. You can go to any type of resource that you want and this figure comes across as a degenerate from whichever angle you approach him. So, we're going to skip this area and say that after Husein stayed in Makkah for four months, he decided eventually to leave Makkah. Before he left though, he solicited the opinions of people around him. He had different opinions come his way. We will just quote for you two opinions. One of them came from Abdullah ibn Zubair (radi Allahu anhu). Remember Zubair (radi Allahu anhu), who was in the battle of Al-Jamal against Ali, his son, Abdullah, was a main political opposition figure in Makkah against the Umawi ruling clan. So, Abdullah ibn Zubair comes to Husein and he tells him that he should concentrate his effort on the Hejaz and Abdullah ibn Zubair sensed that Husein may be going to Al-Kufa and he told him if you do leave for Al-Kufa, appoint me as the governor in Makkah and Al-Hejaz. That was one of the advices that came his way. Some people, historians and scholars think of this as an opportunistic type of advice. We will, in all likelihood, in the future encounter the struggle of Abdullah ibn Zubair against the Umawi illegitimate authority, so we're not going to pass judgment like some people feel comfortable doing. Another advice comes to Husein from his cousin, Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi allahu anhu). No-one doubts that this person was giving advice from his heart. He said to Husein, "Do not go to Kufa." His words are "The people of Iraq are treacherous people. They may betray you. If you want to leave Makkah, there are other places to go to." Ibn Abbas told Husein (we're paraphrasing), "You may want to consider going to Yemen. Your father had and has followers in Yemen. If you decide (remember, this is heart to heart advice), and if you have your mind made up that you want to go to Kufa, leave your family here and go by yourself." In the meantime, Husein had sent Muslim ibn Aqueel (radi allahu anhu), who is his cousin, to Kufa to try to understand if there is going to be possible to have a base for political and military opposition in that part of the Muslim territory. The people in Al-Kufa were sending messages and writing letters to Husein telling him "to come to Kufa- we will be your supporters. We will do whatever has to be done. If, it is the military responsibility, we will be your soldiers". (Remember, we're paraphrasing the communications that was going on). When Muslim ibn Aqueel arrived in Kufa, there were 12,000 people who were demonstrating their support for Husein. This begs our attention. If people say that they are going to support a certain qualified leader- when that time comes, is that support going to materialize or is it going to vaporize?. It went from 12,000 to 18,000 to 30,000 supporters and the communication from Muslim ibn Aqueel to Husein was in progress. From all the information, it seems like that would be the best place for him to go. So, he left Makkah, and he left Makkah on the 8 th of Dhil Hijjah, two days before the eid, when the Hajj was climaxing. This strikes the traditional, customary, conventional

Muslim mind of today as being very odd. In the most developed time of the Hajj- he was leaving. There's a strong message for those of us who are willing to think about these issues in the way developed people were thinking about these issues at that time. In doing what he did, he was sending a very strong message to us today, who are caught up in this ritualistic type of Islam. In other words, he is saying- what does the Hajj mean if Makkah itself is under the control f an illegitimate authority? So, he takes off and he goes to Al-Kufa with his family and he arrives there where there was a tug-of-war between the Umawi ruler, Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad on one side and the population of Kufa on the other side. Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad began to do what governments nowadays do. He began to spy on what he called Talabat Ameer Al-Mu'minin, the sympathizes, supporters and seekers of Ameer Al-Mu'minin meaning Ali and Husein; he also had spies to identify who were Al-Haruriyyah or the Khawaarij and he also had spies to identify Ahl Ar-Ri'ab, those who were suspicious, people of suspicion. Just like today, you have a city that is divided into districts, AlKufa also had its districts and each district had a chief, and he told the district chiefs, "You have to bring me information about the people in your own districts whose sympathies are either with who they call Ameer Al-Mu'minin, or with Al-Khawaarij or you suspect them." They used to take people whom they suspected all the way back then- it's nothing new. So, the sentiments and attraction of the population to these political positions were in a flux- this was the condition that Husein had to face. By the way, Ubaidullah ibn Ziyaad finally, in todays language, arrested Muslim ibn Aqueel and beheaded him on the day after Husein left Makkah, it was n the 9th of Dhil Hijjah. Ubaidullah ibn Ziyaad, called Husein ibn Ali, "That liar, son of a liar." All of this type of behavior and public position came from the highest corrupt office in a Muslim state. We say it's a Muslim state, not because the government is corrupt, but because on the popular level there was this Islamic popularity or populism. Imagine, he had this castle and he tells him to go up to speak to the crowd below. When he got up, ibn Aqueel had nothing but positive things to say about Husein, then ibn Ziyad gives the order, "Chop his head off." You can visualize thisstanding up on the high level of the palace and decapitating this person with is head falling to the crowd. This, in and of itself, is a strong indication of the type of government that was in control of Muslim affairs that has to be opposed. No-one who has a grain of the understanding justice in him can just sit by and say that this type of government is a god-send or is ordained on the people. That doesn't come from understanding Allah and His Prophet- understanding Allah and His Prophet came in the position of Husein who opposed this. With all that has been said and is going to be said, Yazid was after two persons whom he wanted to endorse his rule- Abdullah ibn Zubair and Husein ibn Ali, this is the most important thing to remember here. The government was after them. They were not leaving them alone. They wanted them to publicly give bai'ah to Yazid. Yazid wanted these two figures to give him the bai'ah by force. The Umawi government was after him, so he was left with the choice- either he gives bai'ah to this degenerate ruler or he has to honor his principles, and he chose to honor his principles like any Muslim would do and that led to the tragedy of what is called Karbala or Aashura. In every sense of the word, you look at 70 odd individuals who were facing an army of between 4,000 and 14,000, depending

on what book you're reading- whatever it was, it was no comparison between those who were standing for principle and knew that they were going to die and those who were fighting because of their opportunism. Remember, we stated to you previously, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi allahu anhu), who was the 1st to call Muawiya "King Muawiya" and didn't agree with him, his son was one of the commanders of Yazid. When we come to this issue of families, we find that you will have a brother against his own brother and a son against his own father. Let's not get overly sentimental and try to drag a whole family either to heaven or to hell because of some individual that we like or dislike. The issue was more detailed than this type of generalization. We had a heroic stand of committed and principled Muslims at Karbala. Why has this epic encounter at Karbala not resonate among normal thinking people? Because it is either claimed or disclaimed by the wrong people who are either ignoring it or suffocating it in emotionalism instead of taking a calculated, enlightened and rational look at it so that we can understand Islamic opposition without the extremes and imbalances that come from Islamic opposition then and now. There's no need for that if we can only learn from our history. But, this occasion comes every year, and just like the Hajj- Al-Hajj is a shell- it's a meaningless Hajj that millions of people go to, with all the restrictions that are placed on them, and now we have the same thing. People who go to Karbala, it's like a shell that doesn't radiate with the meanings that belong to it. Why? Because people are not willing to open up this whole issue of Islamic political opposition. This is a dynamic of our history that should not go lost and that belongs to all people who are in opposition and who want truth and justice. It doesn't belong to a particular culture, sect or geographic area. But, this is where it is today, we've located it there and we've incarcerated the whole issue because of our misunderstandings or rejection to understanding. Some of you may have been around during Muharram and may have gone to some Islamic centers who come from a Shi'i background and you see the force of traditions bringing hundreds or thousands of people to these centers and then they drift away. Look at them two weeks after, where are they? No substance there. Imagine the grandson of Allahs Prophet, once Allahs Prophet was passing by and Husein was crying, he said "Don't let him cry, his crying harms me." -these are the Prophets words. If for the sake of loving Allahs Prophet, you have millions of people demonstrating around the world because we love Allahs Prophet, but we don't love a person Allahs Prophet loves?! This doesn't make sense. For how long are we going to stay hostages of our own cultures? For how long is this going to continue? This is what we have and this is what we are going to have to deal with. We have to place this issue in the context of legitimate Islamic political opposition. Husien went a step beyond the verbal opposition that we have today. You can have verbal opposition, write articles, put together a demonstration, but this political opposition went further and it said there is a time when you are gong to have armed Islamic political opposition. How are we gong t learn how to have armed Islamic political opposition if we are not going to open up these pages and learn from our own history and leaders? This is a precious lesson that is unlearned every year. We have the opportunity to put our minds together and to ask ourselves "Do we have the right to oppose those who have usurped

power?" Once we answer that question, we ask ourselves further "What level of opposition should we have to express?" We have to learn that our opposition can go from passive opposition to active opposition- from a word of opposition to a bullet of opposition. We can't do that and we'll never be able to do that if our minds and hearts are not at that level. Husein, in his principled and self-less struggle brought us a crisis. To put in it the simplest words, that crisis is between our conscience and our stomachs. We have Muslims who drift towards their stomachs. They want to feed and satisfy it and it doesn't matter if their conscience can suffer- they will kill their conscience to satisfy their stomach, but then there are those who will feed their conscience even though that means that their stomach is going to have to starve to death. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims May Allah bless those Muslims who have placed themselves in positions of opposing our governments who have gone astray with a historical background and a secular vengeance. We have in todays world, Muslims who know that this type of mistake has to be corrected and correcting it is not a simple task. There's a struggle, sacrifices, bloodshed, warfronts, clashes misunderstandings, etc. -all of this describes the real world around us. These Muslims who are in these positions today, whether they know it or not, they belong to this historical opposition to dhulm by taking issue with illegitimate rulers. What do you do today when you encounter an average Muslim who in his heart and mind doesn't think and is not aware that he is living under the rule of illegitimate kings and presidents? This is the average Muslim today. His mind and heart is not bothered with these illegitimate rulers. What do you do when Muslims begin or they are in their footsteps in the right direction, the kaafir in the world say "look, the Muslims are beginning to catch on to something in their Islamic syllabi, movements and madrassahs so what we're going to have to do is we're going to have to take this revolutionary fuse that is in the making out of these Islamic programs". The 1 st people who should object to this foreign hand inside our internal affairs are the Ulema. Where are they? Some of our Ulema are busy trying to figure out how to get a visa to a certain country or how to obtain a green card in a certain country. Some of our Ulema have the sense that if they bad-mouth other Muslims, then they will be looked at favorably by these worldly powers. This culture of capitulation and compromise among some or many Muslim scholars once again shows its ugly face. We've seen that ugly face before. The Umawi monarchy had its court scholars who used to legitimize the persecution and the liquidation of Islamic political opposition and opponents of the regime at that time. But, some of us are not familiar with that. We don't know that Al-Awzaa'i was the faqhih or the scholar of the Umawi state who would rubber stamp the decisions of the state to apply capital punishment to Islamic scholars. In todays world, when Muslim feelings are uneasy about the public presentation of Islam and the Prophet, one of the scholars of our time, the head of the Azhar, to be more specific, meets with the Danish Ambassador as the news items had it- this so-called scholar meets with the Danish Ambassador and tells him "Muhammed is a man

who is dead. Why pick on a dead person? He's gone, leave him alone." We ask you- brothers and sisters- in the climate of today, is this the type of statement that a Muslim scholar speaks to these types of people knowing what they have been doing to us all along? Then, when he realized that the word got out and public opinion is objecting to the way that he spoke to that official, he tries to join the publics demonstration in Cairo in front of the Azhar against the defamation of Allahs Prophet. This is only one simple sample of what we have. It's not inaccurate to generalize and say that most of them belong to this culture of capitulation and accommodation instead of being representative of a culture of opposition and struggle. That is what we need among us. As the ayah has it So that you may see very clearly the course of the criminals. (Surah Al-An'aam verse 55) We're not going to be able to identify the course of the criminals when most of our scholars are more concerned with their stomachs than they are with their conscience. Look for people who speak their conscience not for people who want to satisfy those who will give them the means, the resources and the status that these types of scholars are looking for.

ISLAMIC OPPOSITION OF AL-IMAM ZAID (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With Allahs assistance; understanding His disclosed word and learning from His Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), we will press on with uncovering and reconstructing facts that have been damaged by time and distorted by worldly powers. You are aware that in this sequence of khutbahs, we have been trying our best to highlight the issue of Islamic legitimate opposition and dissent. There is a vocabulary in the Qur'an to which these events belong. The ayaat in the Qur'an that have the words qiyaam, khuruj, jihad, qitaal and their derivatives are eye-openers concerning Ad-Dhalimun, yadhlimun and Alladhina Dhalamu- all of these ayaat, and we are speaking about dozens of ayaat in the Qur'an if not hundreds of them that catch the flavor of Islamic legitimate political and military opposition to illegitimate rulers and autocratic monarchs. It is in this context and with these scores of ayaat pertaining to Ad-Dhalimin and the responsibility of jihad that we try to present the facts that have been run down and run away from out common thoughts. Along this historical path that was 1st blazen by Allahs Prophet, we pick up another chapter of this glorious but un-mentioned history. Today, we pick up around the year 122 after the hijrah, when there was an active and a death defying opposition to the Umawi dynastic rulers. We spoke previously about a trend and a movement known as Al-Khawarij; the last time we spoke about Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu) and Karbala and we spoke about other brave and selfless movements and personalities. We add on to them the courageous opposition to the Umawi deviation of governance that was represented by Al-Imam Zaid ibn Ali (radi Allahu anhu). For those of us whose memories are not very clear on who Zaid is- he is the grandson of Al-Imam Al-Husein- Zaid the son of Ali the son of Husein the son of Ali (radi Allahu anhu). Zaid also happened to be geographically located in the Southern part of Iraq when he began to consolidate an underground movement against the Umawi kingdom. This is something Muslims need to think about with all the juices in their minds- when Zaid, just like Husein and Ali were operating in that particular area of the world, within that particular population, the sympathy and identification of these people with these leaders on the surface was very solid. There were thousands and tens of thousands of people who said "We will support you. Our swords are with you. You have tens of thousands of fighters on your side." These were the continuous messages that these people received from the people within the population. Zaid, with the experience of his grandfather and his great grandfather began to put together a military force that would fight against the military force that this dynasty

represented whatever the consequences were going to be. Even when Muslims of today review this literature, they disconnect from the fervency of this issue because this was an opposition that was willing to go the full length even if that meant perishing for the course. Its easy for academic or theoretical Muslims to take an issue like this and then reproduce it in its historical chronologythat's one thing, but to assimilate the lessons of this and to gain the fervency of this lesson is something else- and that doesn't come easily to todays Muslims because of the mental barriers and physical obstacles that are placed in the way of reproducing that spirit in todays Muslims. What do we have? We have Zaid dealing with the same people that were sending him messages telling him that "We are with you. You have 12,000 or 15,000 warriors at your command." But then, when he began putting together this opposition force. The bai'ah that was given to him can be summarized in the followingMuslims who were ready to go with Zaid into this military stand against the Umawi dynasty said "We will abide by the book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger; we will be responsible for a jihad against Ad-Dhalimin; we will be responsible for supporting Al-Mustadafin; we will provide for Al-Mahrumin, those who are denied; we will se to it that the revenue of the Islamic treasury is evenly distributed among the Muslims and we will support the position of the Ahl Al-Bayt opposition." Remember- at that time, Ahl Al-Bayt- those who opposed them, beginning with Ali- from the manabir, was a curse word in the circles of officialdom or the public governmental sponsorship. This (bai'ah) was the type of initiation of those who were on the side of Zaid were expressing when they entered into this mithaaq or covenant of responsibility with Zaid. During this time, there were many scholars, Muhaddithin, Ulema,and Fuqaha who were supportive of Zaid. For those of us who don't know much about this uprising against the Umawis at that time- Zaid, or what later became known as Az-Zaidiyah is identified very closely and they are almost synonymous with Al-Mu'tazilah. On the major issues of Usul Ad-Din, they are counterparts of each other. They agreed on so many things that- on the issues of Adl, AtTawheed, As-Sifaat, Al-Wa'd, Al-Wa'id- (all of these issues at that time that were part of the scholarly atmosphere)- that it is very difficult to distinguish between these two contexts. AzZaidiyah and Al-Mu'tazilah were almost synonymous, so obviously Waasal ibn Ata' and Ubaid ibn Amr, who are the main figures of the Mu'tazilah were almost the natural supporters of Zaid, but is not very much known, and this is what is kept out of our attention area is that Al-Imam Abu Hanifa gave his bai'ah to Zaid. In addition to that, he contributed 10,000 dirhams in support of the force that Zaid had, and Abu Hanifas words, he described "the revolt of Zaid against the Umawis as similar to the military campaign of Rasulillah at Badr." This is an established historical fact. We're not being sectarian or partial in presenting this information in the course of these khutbahs, we try as much as possible to present the information that is common knowledge across the Islamic spectrum. Now, if this is one of the pieces of information that is common knowledge across the Islamic madhhabi spectrum, then why is it that the average Muslim does not know this as a matter of fact? Once again- because the average Muslim has been drained mentally throughout these years to omit this type of vital information

from his or her thinking mind. With all of this support, Zaid is approaching the zero hour, the point of military contact with the usurpers of legitimate power. What happened in this Kufi atmosphere is once again another tragedy that we Muslims having all of this time to learn from it have not done so. What happens is the nobility or the noblemen of Al-Kufa gave Zaid guarantees that they will support him with their finances, numbers, they even told him that there is "100,000 who will be on your side." Part of this is the guilt that they felt for the way they treated Ali and Husein. Also, in those two episodes, they said "We will support you. There are tens of thousands of people on your side." But, when the time came, there was no-one around. So, being followed by these feelings of guilt, here they are once again, expressing to Zaid that "we will be on your side". Governments, just as they are everywhere- they have a way of picking up inside information. The Umawi regime at that time had its informers inside Kufa and they knew that Zaid was planning to clash with them on a certain day, so they accelerated that time by a week. In other words, they wanted this clash to happen one week before Zaid had planned this confrontation to take place. In addition to Al-Kufa, he had communiqus of support from the rest of the areas. Al-Hejaz was on his side, Al-Madaa'in, Al-Basrah, Al-Mosul, Ar-Rai, Khurasan- all of these areas were communicating to him that "we are in support of you". But obviously these are far away areas and when the clash occurs, it is going to be in Al-Kufa. He was physically in Al-Kufa with the internal support of the people of Southern Iraq and the extended support from the outlying areas all around. He was also advised, just like his predecessors were advised, "Don't rely on these people." But he said to them in the spirit of the Qur'an and the Prophet "That the excesses and the injustices of Bani Umayah have become so much that we cannot stop here any longer." So, at that time, when the real issue was that you had 12,000 Umawi troops or soldiers under arms in Kufa preempting the date for which all of this is planned, he looks around and says "How many do we have?" He counts the people around him and he finds that there are only 218. Remember, from all of these assurances that he was given- in the tens of thousands- but when the swords were drawn, there was only 218 individuals with him. Still, we have not managed to learn from this. This is a social law of sorts. You get all of these well wishes and expressions of support from your sympathizers and so called supporters, and then when the time comes, Zaid said, these are his words, "Where is everyone?!" There's no one around. That 1st day, the followers of Zaid fought gallantly and they had the upper hand during that 1 st day. Before we get to the 2nd and 3rd days of this, because its a three day battle, it is necessary also to understand the wise/uniting type of idea that Zaid managed to defeat Umawi propaganda, because the Umawi rulers were thriving on the divisions among the Muslims. One of the dividing and separating issues that still exists concerns the successors to Allahs Prophet- Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (radi Allahu anhum). One side said that Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman usurped the right of Ali and the other side countered that with their own argument that Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman at that time, deserved to be in those positions more than Ali, and this issue went way down from that time to the simple or average people everywhere and because of this schism, the

Umawis felt comfortable. They could play sides against each other even though they were facing popular agitation and revolts. The revolts that were to come after Zaid that were along the course of Zaid were 24 revolts, not to speak about the Khawarij and others. In the middle of this schismatic division, Zaid came and said "Imam Ali was more qualified to be the 1st leader of the Muslims after the Prophet, but because leading the Muslims is contingent upon the consensus of the Muslims, and being that the Muslims expressed a consensus towards Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, then what's the problem?! All Muslims together should not have any problem." That idea is that is at least 1,300 years ahead of its time is still not studied and understood by todays Muslims. He tried, having support, at least from Al-Mu'tazilah and what is called Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jamaa'h at the time and from the followers of Ahl Al-Bayt according to a revolutionary course, because here's the other problem the Zaid had to deal with...Remember, Zaid is Imam Baqirs (radi Allahu anhu) brother, who's the uncle of Imam Jaafar As-Sadiq (radi Allahu anhu). Zaid would not condemn Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, so now he had an issue with his own internal family members. They were divided, as they still are today, within three categories...one of them that says "Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman were usurpers of power", and then others said that "they were Faasiqin" and yet others said, these are the extremists, that "they are kaafir". We still have this today- look brothers and sisters, Muslims- we still haven't learned. Whichever experience our forefathers gave us then, after all of this time, we still haven't learned from it. These family members of Zaid came to him and said "No! We will not support you if you don't condemn Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman." He would not condemn them, because he knew, as we should today, the difference between a form of governance called Al-Khilafah and a form of governance called Al-Mulk. So, because he didn't condemn them, they said "we're not going to support you." So, here he was in the atmosphere of Kufa. On the 2nd day, he was joined by about 300 other warriors, so from 218, there was about 500 on his side. The way the battle was unfolding, it was to the benefit of these who were in the opposition. On the 3rd day, which happened to be a Friday, the Umawi forces brought in their sentry or in todays language, their sharp shooters with their arrows. Zaid, was told "You have on your side thousands of people, but they are holed up in a Masjid". He said, "That's not an excuse. For those who gave us bai'ah in their thousands to say that they are locked up in a Masjid is not an excuse". So, he went to try to break this hold of the Umawis in the main Masjid in Al-Kufa in which there were thousands, at least, of his verbal supporters. When that siege was broken, these supporters would not come out to fight on his side. Then, what happens is one of these sharp shooters lodges an arrow in the left side of Zaids forehead. This was at the end of the day, when night had fallen. So, his supporters say, "What are we going to do now?" Among his supporters, there were different opinions and they took him out from that Masjid area to a residence of one of his supporters, and they brought a person, in todays language, a physician to look at it. This physician said that "If the arrow is going to be taken out of your skull, you are going to die." He said that "Dying is better than the state that I am in now." They tried to take the arrow out, which they did and he died- he became a Shaheed. Now, what are they going to do with his body, because if the word gets around that Zaid is dead, then that is going to cause a public reaction in which the Kufis are once again going to feel that they didn't

support the person that they said they were going to support and some of their hypocritical nature is going to appear. Remember, it should be recalled that during this time, the Umawi ruler, his name is Hishaam ibn Abdul Malik, was communicating with the noble people or the upper classes of Kufa and telling them about finances, trade, profits and all of this worldly talk we hear around us today. Anyway, the followers of Zaid decided to take his body and bury it in a certain place and have a stream of water run over it so that no-one will know where he is buried. As fate would have it, there was a person who saw all of this happening and he conveyed all the information to the authorities. Listen to this brothers and sisters, we try as much as possible to bring you the type of information that is not tainted by extremism or emotionalism- they came and they dug him out of his grave and then they put him on a cross and he stayed on this cross for years until his son Yahya began a revolt against the following ruler that came after Hishaam ibn Abdul Malik, Waleed ibn Yazid. During this revolt, this Umawi ruler says, imagine after about four years of a body being placed in public- this is one of the reasons why many Muslims don't want to bring up this issue, because it will cause our emotionalism to take over and not our rationalism or our minds... We are talking to you with the confidence that our mind can take over and we can take a look at this with straight thoughts out of the Qur'an and out of the Prophets Sunnah. They put a person like that, the great-great-grandson of Allahs Prophet for four years on a crucifix and then when they were fed up of his son who was also revolting against the Umawi kingdom in Arabia you say "bring his body down, we're going to burn it". They brought his body down and at that time, it was exposed, there was no clothes on his body- whoever you are, tell as that that type of government is an Islamic government?! If you hear these words, tell us that that government that does such a thing is a khilafah on the model of Allahs Prophets rule! Brutalities are involved in this history- Zaid had women supporters- one of these women is known in Islamic history as Umm Khalid, the government of the time brought her out and cut her arm off to try to sow fear into the hearts of the you and me Muslims. They brought down that body and they torched or burnt it and they threw the ashes into the Euphrates river. This regime is the same one that came to Medinah under Muslim ibn Uqbah, the Umawi commander who came to AlMedinah and laid it to waste in three days. He desecrated the Masaajid; the troops killed numerous innocent people; they physically and sexually abused Muslim women. Remember, Medinah is a place where Allahs Prophets 1st success was expressed. They didn't have enough decency in them to lay their hands off of that place and even now, we don't have the rational courage to look at what they did. For any one who studies and understands closely Allahs Prophets struggle was to have the Islamic capital in Makkah. He was not able to do that because of the population in Makkah and its resistance towards him for 23 years almost. So, he kept it in Medinah. When these rulers, in the images of kings and royal highnesses came, they moved it from Medinah to Damascus, and then from Damascus to Baghdad and then, from there-on it made its rounds- never to return to Makkah, because as rulers, they were never interested in what Allahs Prophet was trying to do. Since that time, take a look at the world around us- who's interested in having Makkah the decision making capital and the decision making city!? Because we never learn. These revolts continued and they still continue until this very day. We don't have enough accurate understanding of the Qur'an and the Prophet to regroup this effort and consolidate it to

turn this historical page of despotism, oppression, deviation and resume the straight forward course, As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims As we scrutinize these events/issues that have been buried under a tonnage of ignorance or that have been side-tracked by a fury of emotionalism, we begin to realize that we ourselves have, especially in the past, fallen into two categories or descriptions of people that do not belong to us. Those of us who have made a rallying cry around the book of Allah or the revealed words of Allah have fallen into nationalism that began in those days. If you are a student of the Prophet and you are committed to Allah, you can love Allahs book, read Allahs words, memorize Allahs ayaat and understand Allahs Surahs without being a nationalist- do you hear that?! Then, the others who have fallen into sectarianism by saying that they love Allahs Prophet, his family, offspring and progeny- you can do that without being sectarian and eccentric about it. Why have we suffered a history in which nationalism took us in one direction, deviating from As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim and sectarianism took us in another direction, deviating from AsSiraat Al-Mustaqim. These are not mutually exclusive- you'll find elements of sectarianism on the opposite side and elements of nationalism on the other opposite side. Why can't we be the committed Muslims described by Allahs words? Indeed, committed Muslims are brethren of each other (Surah Al-Ambiyaa verse 92) Where is this in real life? You go into these temples of worship- take your pick- if you are in the mould of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, you can sense either nationalism or sectarianism or both of them in these types of Masaajid. Zaid had a statement that he said "Muslims are not brothers when they accuse each other and when they kill each other." We are not brothers when we point fingers of accusation at our ownselves. Those who are in power are not from within our ownselves. They have broken away from us, but look at our ownselves at this level- we're supposed to be together, but look at how they divide us and then they turn around and say that we are the ones that are dividing the Muslims! We don't divide anyone when we are with Allahunderstanding His book is inclusive and understanding His Prophet is also inclusive.

ISLAMIC OPPOSITION OF AL-NAFS AZZAKIYA (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We will continue with Allahs help to uncover areas of ignorance before these areas of ignorance become justification for our own undoing. You can see what is happening today, you can see what has happened in the past couple of dayshow this issue of Sunnis and Shi'is has become the favorite instrument of division by those who don't know better and by those who will use anything at their disposal to polarize, divide and to instigate instability and bloodshed amongst the Muslims. These past months have been an attempt to diffuse the dynamite that we have contributed to by not bringing these issues to the fore. If we can go back and untangle the information that we have in our possession, then we will have spared ourselves what we see happening in front of our own eyes- which translates into victimization, losses, displacement, casualties and general warfare. We said previously, and we continue to say that Islamic Opposition to illegitimate rulers is an integral part of our being. It's just our lack of information that we don't understand that our normal position in life is to oppose all types of authorities and governments that institutionalize injustice, usurp power and inflict the results upon the average person- you and me and the rest of us in life. We saw how after the Imamah and Khilafah of Ali ibn Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhu), Muawiya came and he stole power. He didn't come and gain the majority opinion of the Muslims that he should become the ruler- that's not the way he operated. The way he operated was- he imposed himself by the force of arms upon a reluctant Muslim public the same way we have kings and presidents imposing themselves on a disagreeing Muslim public today- nothing much has changed. We went through the details, and we had to go through the details of Islamic Opposition to rulers who are tyrants, authoritarians, autocrats and monarchs and to add to that sequence, we will take another effort of opposition in the history that we should be identifying with, provided that we have the right information, because much of this information that comes from history books is cooked to serve certain traditions or interests. We have nothing to do with that, we try to take this information as objectively and positively as possible. The tragedy that happened in Karbala had its fallout on the Muslim public. The Muslim public were aware that a few people, 70 odd committed Muslims with Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu), stood against a military killing machine and in the calculations of the material and physical world, that conflict resulted in the pulverization of the committed Muslims. This was an epic tragedy that made people react in different ways. We're looking at the Muslim public- there were

some people who sought refuge or wanted to escape from all of this by adopting certain methods of tasawwuf and zuhd. This was an escapist way out from facing our own responsibilities and telling our ownselves that illegitimate, unjust, oppressive and tyrannical rulers and governments have to go, and we have to contribute to that process. Some people found in a peculiar type of zuhd or tasawwuf out of this. In this way, they relieved themselves of the responsibilities of mobilizing against illegitimate governments and authorities. Some other people joined a trend in Islamic society that gave legitimacy to the rulers. This trend, at the time, was called the Murjiah. They simply said that it is Gods will that we are where we are and the rulers are where they are and we can't fight Gods will. This officially sponsored public trend or sentiment deflected criticism and analysis of what these rulers by force were doing. Another trend that developed especially in the aftermath of Karbala was a quietist trend. People were aware that the Bani Umayyah kings were illegitimate, but as far as revolt, struggle and active sacrifices goes, they were not going to do anything about it. Then, and this is all societies, there are those types of people who begin to satisfy their worldly cravings, they lead a loose life, they go into the area of sin to relieve themselves from all of this pressure. This was basically the general attitude or sentiment among the Muslims in the months and the years that followed the sad event of Karbala. One of the trends that is to be found in all of this is referred to as the Mu'tazilah or they are called by another name, Ahl Al-Adl wa At-Tauheed, the folks of Justice and Tawheed. This trend began in one of the Masaajid. If we can recall correctly, it was in Al-Basrah when they had halaqaat, study groups. Naturally and normally, you would find in the Masaajid study groups- a scholar would present his ideas and his scholarly work to those who felt comfortable with his way of thinking, and there were plenty of these scholars. In one of these study groups, one of those students who was in the study group abandoned it- I'tazala- he said "I'm no longer going to fit into this study group", because he had taken some issues with the mentor in the group. From here on, a trend and a movement began that emphasized the rational approach to the Qur'an and the Prophet (sallahu aliahi wa sallam). This rational approach was to become a numerically significant movement in Islamic society. The person to whom this trend is attributed is called Waasal ibn Ata. He began this rational assimilation of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Previously, we said that the movement of Imam Zaid (radi Allahu anhu) was almost in conformity with this trend of I'tizaal. To further elaborate on that, remember- we're speaking of the years after Karbala and the official oppression by the state against its Islamic opponents, the founder of this movement, Waasal ibn Ata, went to Al-Medinah, and he has a meeting in the Masjid, again- this is how important and critical the Masaajid were, these were the hubs of the Muslim minds and sentiments. In the Masjid, there were many supporters of the previous opposition trends who came to the Masjid. At that time, the opposition to the political opposition that occurred with the onset of Umawi rule was represented by what is known as Al-Khawaarij, and we touched on this; then there was the opposition that was represented by Ahl Al-Bayt, Husein and Zaid and others, and we touched on this; then there was this opposition of the Mu'tazilah, whom we are speaking about now. Their opposition was that even though the Muslims have suffered an emotional and

tragic setback due to the consequences and results of Karbala, but active revolutionary opposition to the Umawis should continue, but not the way the Khawaarij were behaving. The Khawaarij were saying "that anyone who disagreed with them is a kaafir". Al-Mu'tazilah said "that is wrong". Al-Khawaarij said that "the Umawis and at least some of the Ahl-Bayt are kaafirs", Al-Mu'tazilah were saying "that is wrong opposition has to be principled, organized." In this meeting in the Masjid in Al-Medinah, there were many supporters of Ahl Al-Bayt, and in this meeting what happened was a split within the supporters of Ahl Al-Bayt. Some of them preferred to stay more or less passive in their opposition to the Umawi rulers, but as a consequence of this meeting, their were also people from within the ranks of Ahl Al-Bayt who were convinced that there should be revolutionary opposition to the Umawis. In this conclave or meeting in the Masjid, we had people like Zaid, his relatives and extended family, and as a consequence of this meeting was there was an exchange of words between Waasal ibn Ata and Al-Imam Jaafar AsSadiq (radi Allahu anhu), concerning whether opposition should go into a revolutionary mode as Waasal ibn Ata was saying or whether it should stay less than a revolutionary mode as Jaafar was saying. This was an obvious split that took place early on within the "cadre", if the word can be used, of Ahl Al-Bayt. We covered the revolt of Zaid and how it ended. We mentioned how the rulers of the time used to parade the bodies of their victims- these Muslim, legitimate opponents of illegitimate governance. Zaids head was cut off and his body was put on a cross for years. We read about the horrors that are taking place in Iraq- this is nothing new, we can go back and revisualize these horrors when they were taking place during that time. Then, the son of Zaid, Imam Yahya (radi Allahu anhu) also carried arms and fought against Al-Waleed ibn Yazid, the successor Umawi ruler to Hishaam ibn Abdul Malik; also, what happened was a military, material defeat of these Islamic free spirits with a revolutionary soul; and obviously you have a Muslim public, just like we have a Muslim opposition in todays world, and you can see how the Muslim public acts or interacts with these events. In the midst of all of this, there was yet another personality who would emerge. This persons name is Muhammed ibn Abdullah ibn Al-Hassan ibn Al-Husein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhu). He is known by a title in Islamic history, he is referred to as An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah. An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah had participated in the revolt of Zaid, he was one of the young persons who attended that initial meeting in the Masjid, in AlMedinah, where Waasal ibn Ata and Jaafar As-Sadique exchanged different opinions and he also participated in the revolts of Yahya, the son of Zaid and now what happened was that he was convinced that illegitimate authority had to be opposed by the use of arms. These were the final years of Umawi rule of Marwan ibn Muhammed in the year 132 of the hijrah, all the Islamic oppositional trends sensed that these were the last days of Bani Umayahs political deviation so everyone was preparing for who is going to rule or assume power after this horrible chapter of Islamic political history. Also, there was a trend among the Muslims that said "the responsibility of ruling the Muslims has to return to the Hashemis." -meaning that strain of Quraish from which the Prophet of Allah, but they said that "those who should be ruling are the sons of AlAbbas, the Prophets uncle- these are the legitimate rulers of the Muslims and they should be in charge of Islamic governance." There were two personalities or characters who were at the fore-front of this Abbasi/Ahl Al-Bayt trend. One of them goes by the title As-Saffah, the butcher,

who died early on in life after the Abbasi political trend gained power and the other one is Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur, who used to be a student of Waasal ibn Ata. This reminds us of todays world- we have individuals who used to be students in the Islamic movement but when they saw the opportunity to become rulers, they ran for that opportunity and abdicated their Islamic duties and responsibilities. To make a long story short, Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur assumed power and there was a new form of monarchy, but this time this monarchy had a propaganda leverage that it represents the Islamic opposition which was furthest from the truth, but they used that. People and governments that are in power use whatever they can to justify whatever they wanted to do- this is what they were doing. History has to be presented as frankly as possible- Abu Jaafar Al-Masur and the Abbasi political trend assumed power because of a reaction to Arabian nationalism that was represented by the Umawis. This reaction in Islamic history is called Ash-Shu'ubiyyah, one nationalism, ie. Arabian nationalism, under the suzerainty of Bani Umayah inflicted upon the Muslims another nationalism that expressed itself in the areas east of the land of the two rivers which is generally referred to as Persia. Muslims were in a reactionary mode, but one nationalism does not justify another nationalism. Here is where the reaction took place and this is how these persons with an Islamic background got involved in just a counter part of the Umawis- the Abbasis were a counter part to the Umawis. This reminds us in our generation of Algeria- the Muslims did all the fighting, dying, sacrificing and struggling and then the nationalist came and reaped the results. This same thing happened with the Abbasis- the Islamic opposition did all the fighting, dying, they paid all the price, the sacrifice and the struggle and then some people with a nationalist agenda came along and reaped the results. Damascus was history and as the Abbasis were consolidating their power in Baghdad, they were aware of the Islamic opposition because they were close to this political opposition for the past generation or two and what happened during this time of transition from Umawi to Abbasi was that one of the well known Mu'tazilis by the name of Amr ibn Ubaiy goes to Al-Medinah and he tries to consolidate and bring together all the strains of the Islamic opposition in a Shura process to agree on a leader in these critical circumstances. The majority of the Muslims of Al-Medinah, through a Shura process, as was supposed to be the case through the past 100 odd years, agreed that An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah qualifies to lead the Muslims in finishing the struggle of the past years and launching the Muslims into a new era of Adl, justice, equality and political participation that was lost in the previous years at that level. Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur knew what was going on. People who are in power have informers all over the place, there were mercenaries all over the place- he knew all this was going on and this new form of government, which is just the counterpart to the previous one established a department to keep an eye on all types of opposition, particularly this new type of opposition that began in Al-Medinah. An-Nafs Az-Zakiya understood that he is a wanted man. He gained the bai'ah of the majority of the Muslims through a shura process and now he was wanted by the illegitimate ruler. Now, there were two rulers, one of them was the one who had power and he forced the Muslims to give him the bai'ah and the other one was An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah who didn't have power but whose bai'ah was volunteered by the Muslims in Al-Medinah and in all other places. We should hasten to say that before all this took place, there were the military physical defeat of Yahya that followed that

of Zaid and in the area of Khurasan, the government would not let the Muslim public express themselves and how they felt towards Zaid and Yahya. When that Umawi government was gone and the new government was on its way, the Muslims felt so strong about Zaid and his son Yahya, that for one full year in the area of Khurasan, every male that was born was given the name of either Zaid or Yahya, but these internal feelings of the Muslim public were not given freedom of expression. If you say that today in the Muslim world there is not freedom of expression, we can extend the absence of freedom of expression all the way back to that time. The supporter that An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah had on the popular level was no doubt a popular/across the board support. What do the people who are ruling in Baghdad- the Abbasis, Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur- do now that they see that there is a popular Imam who has been given the popular bai'ah of the people and this is when Al-Imam Maalik, one of the renowned four fuqaha, came in and when he was forced to express his opinion, he said "Whoever is forced to give a bai'ah, that bai'ah doesn't count." -which means that Abu Jaafar Al-Mansurs bai'ah is illegitimate, and because of that he was tortured, jailed and persecuted. This is a little detail in history because they don't want us to develop the political positions of those who are considered fuqaha- well, this was the political position of Imam Malik that goes detached from the overall circumstances from which it came. Just like we have Islamic movements now, that function underground- we can also trace Islamic movements underground all the way back to that time. An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah goes underground and he has to disguise himself and Abu Jaafar Al-Masur tried to track or find him. He went to Najd, Hejaz, Adn, Bilad As-Sind, he came back to Al-Kufa and then he went back to Al-Medinah- all of this he did while he was wanted dead or alive by the monarchy in Baghdadthey were trailing him. In one of his escape attempts in the Arabian Peninsula, he had his one year (or so) old baby with him. He was climbing the mountain and he lost control of the baby and the baby fell and died. This is just a small detail from the lives of underground Islamic opponents to illegitimate authority. Finally, when he came back to Al-Medinah, this was about the year 145 after the hijah, almost 10 years after the Abbasi consolidation of their form of deviant political governance. The people in Al-Medinah rushed to him and guaranteed him their support. Brothers and sisters- once again we encounter the public when they tell a legitimate leader that they are behind him and supportive of him- this is what he had- the numbers were in Al-Medinah and Hejaz, there was around 100,000 who were behind An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah. A side comment- look at these rulers, there geography condemns them, because if they were Islamically ruling, what are they doing in Baghdad? The same way with the Umawis, what were they doing in Damascus? If there was an Islamic grain in them, they would be in Makkah or Al-Medinah, but they knew who they were. Anyway, Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur sends or dispatches thousands of warriors to AlMedinah and they lay siege to Al-Medinah- in todays language, they imposed sanctions of AlMedinah. Some people from within this popular support that he had were trying to give him advice, they told An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah, once again- this is not the 1st time we encounter this type of advice, they said "We don't think the odds are on our side. The odds are against us. We advise you to leave Al-Medinah and go to Egypt because in Egypt you have much more

support and Egypt can be an equivalent base where you stand a chance to defeat these usurpers of power in Baghdad." The tyranny of Baghdad was so bad that people who were opposed to the Umawis were saying that "we wish the Umawis were back in power." This army that had come to Al-Medinah and laid siege to it left an escape route, they left just one area for those who didn't want to fight to escape from and get out of Al-Medinah. When An-Nafs AzZakiyah began to realize what was going on among these tens of thousands of people in AlMedinah who just a few months ago were willing to fight to the bitter end but now that they were under siege and suffering from sanctions, they began to express that they are not able to go through with all of this, because they saw that they had to fight. On the other hand, Abu Jaafar AlMansur was concerned with the movement of the Mu'tazilah, because the Mu'tazilah had there numbers all around. Towards the end of the Umawi state, they were about to take over in Damascus. They were successful for some months in destabilizing the Umawi rulers, so Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur was concerned with the movement of the Mu'tazilah who probably were in the hundreds of thousands all around who would potentially come to the support of An-Nafs AzZakiyah because of the way he began initially, way back when Waasal ibn Ata came to AlMedinah and was part of them. So, Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur went to Amr ibn Ubaiy who was concerned the head of Al-Mu'tazilah and he asked him "What would you do if An-Nafs AzZakiyah were to come under pressure and was threatened by military force?" He said "You know that I would not give you a straight answer to that." Remember, Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur who is the ruler used to be a student of Waasal ibn Ata and Amr ibn Ubaiy- in other words, it's like saying in todays world, he used to belong to the Islamic movement or the Islamic revolution. Then Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur left and he had someone else go to him and try to pick his brain because he was concerned with the Mu'tazili numbers. Finally, Amr ibn Ubaiy told this person that "If there were a number of individuals equivalent to and as committed as the number of Ahl Badr, it doesn't matter what type of opposition is out there, it is legitimate to fight against them (the rulers)." At that time, Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur rest assured because he wasn't going to find 300 odd Muslims who are in the conviction, the level and the standards of Ahl Badr. So he said "we are sure that these Mu'tazilis are not going to be involved in this affair in AlMedinah." Who was head of the military force that had laid siege to Al-Medinah? It was the great grandson of Abdullah ibn Abbas. We can recall who Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) was in those years way back during the time of Uthman and Ali (radi Allahu anhuma). Imagine, his great grandson was to lead this army. So, when we speak about families and great personalities, that doesn't mean that automatically you are going to have a virtuous family and a virtuous offspring. Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur wanted to preempt the revolt of An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah, so what did he do? He brought An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah's brothers and cousins and immediate supporters- among them was the great grandson of Uthman ibn Affan- and he puts them in a dungeon or a hole next to the Furaat in which they could not know night from day and some of them began to die and their bodies decomposed in that dungeon. The news was going out to AnNafs Az-Zakiyah, who knew about his brothers, cousins and relatives who were treated like that by a person who used to belong to the Islamic opposition and who is now corrupted by power. He had to take a stand in Al-Medinah and he began to fight back. The siege began the 1st day of

Rajab 145 hijri year and then, on the 12th of Ramadaan, the two armies engaged. The fighting continued for a couple of days and An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah, once again, was an Islamic personality, leader and revolutionary who had to succumb to the insincerity of those who said they supported him and to those who committed treason to their principles and became the monarchs and the illegitimate rulers of the Muslims in Baghdad. Once again, what happened was when the Muslims lose in Al-Medinah, this Abbasi authority takes the bodies of over 300 Muslims who were killed fighting against the 4,000 who laid siege on Al-Medinah and they crucified them- they put their bodies on crosses that extended from Thaniyat Al-Wada', remember when the Prophet arrived in Al-Medinah, (look how they pick places that will irritate) and what used to be the house of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radi Allahu anhu), and the bodies remained there for days until the foul smell of these bodies caused the people of Al-Medinah to force these people to take these bodies down. When they took these bodies down, they went up to a mountain and threw these bodies into a yahudi cemetery called Al-Mafrah. All of this history is almost buried- because if you go to AlMedinah, are you going to see a place called Al-Mafrah? Would you know where Thaniyat AlWada' is? Or where Umar ibn Abdul Aziz used to live? Or where all of these events took place? There are hands that not only are trying to destroy us mentally, but they are trying to destroy us physically. Just like they took the head of Zaid and began to display it in public, they did the same thing with the head of An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah. In other words, they beheaded An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah and took his head and displayed it in public. So, do we or do we not have Islamic political opponents of political deviation? We have them, their sacrifices, struggles and jihad and we disavow ourselves from that political deviation of the Umawis to the political deviation of the Saudis today and everything in between who usurped this power and are still getting away with it because what we are saying is not public information. . Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims What we are expressing in these khutbahs is not irrelevant to what is happening in front of our eyes in our world today. You heard, in the past and you continue to hear that there's a possibility of a civil war in Iraq. We say to anyone who thinks- that there will be a civil war in Iraq and if something like that is going to happen, it will draw on our ignorance of who we are. There is no reason for Muslims who think of themselves as Shi'is and Muslims who think of themselves as Sunnis to shed their blood because of a larger plan that wants to destroy the house of Islam due to nationalistic and sectarian residues. We know that we cannot speak to 1,7 or 1,8 billion Muslims in the world, but we can only express our mind and our conscience as best as they are made from understanding the Qur'an and the Prophet at this time every week. We only hope that there will be other Muslims who will wake up and begin to express these facts before it is too late. There are (maybe) hundreds of thousands of jum'ahs in the world every week- imagine if the Ulema and the scholars were opening the minds of the hundreds of millions of Muslims who are attending the hundreds of thousands of jum'ahs every week concerning these types of issues where the record is set straight and there is no access made into our internal affairs by the trouble makers who are either ignorant to the point of

fatalism or who are mercenaries to the tune of millions or dollars or who are outright enemies of Allah and His Prophet. But, when you have Masaajid and so-called scholars who are silent on these issues, then they have us fall into the currents and the rapids of sectarianism and nationalism. Through these khutbahs, we are contributing as much as we can to make that impossible. What we say, we say for Allah and we stand by what we say and we will go down with what we say with honor or we will overcome with victory.

ISLAMIC OPPOSITION OF IBN ZUBAIR (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Allah says to us Allah is the superior and the ally of those who are committed to Him, Allah moves Alladhina Aamanu out of the obscurities of power, but those who defy and deny Allahs power and have taken issue with the power of Allah, their, protectors, authorities, superiors and allies are those who have concentrated and built up their own power (Surah AlBaqarah verse 256) The words of this ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah are contrasting two centers of power. A center of power that is Allah and the center of power that belongs to people who concentrate power, abuse power and people who are obsessed with worldly power. If we take a look and understand this ayah in light of this power definition, we begin to have another consideration of the powers around. Allah says in another ayah, the meaning of it is similar to the following And they, people who have possession of this material transient power try to scare you using those who are inferior to Allah. (Surah Az-Zumar verse 36) You can fill in the blank and think of the powers in this world that become the source of fear. Noone fears mercy, compassion and understanding. There are sets of values and conditions in the world that no-one fears- you and I dont fear breathing. There's something though, that makes us fear, and that is the concentration and accumulation of power. The accurate Qur'anic word that refers to this is At-Taghut. Tagha means to accede, but it's not any access, it's that extra power that some-one, some state or some military may have. To relieve us of this fear, Allah puts the proportion in their true brackets. He says Allah is the superior and the ally of those who are committed to Him. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 256) The problem that we have been enduring for all of these years is that we do not have confidence in what we are saying. If were true to our conviction, we would know that Allahs power trounces all these other powers. Allah is not the superior, the protector, the ally and the reference of anyone- this is a particular relationship- it belongs to Alladhina Aamanu. This relationship causes Allah to move Alladhina Aamanu out of the obscurities of power. They can see very clearly who has and who doesn't have power, who is trying to project excessive power to drive terror in the hearts of Alladhina Aamanu- that is clear, they can see it all. But those who defy and deny Allahs power- Alladhina kafaru- because it takes an effort to deny something and that effort is eventually referred to the source of power. If you have no power, how can you deny something?! The denial

here is a practical denial. In this case, those who have taken issue with the power of Allah, their protectors, authorities, superiors and allies- all of these meanings are shades of Awliya'- they refer to those who have concentrated and built up their own power. This ayah becomes necessary for us to understand, in light of what we have been talking about in all of this sequence of khutbahs during this time on Friday, why some people fail to live up to the power of Allah. If we take or add onto the sequence of events that we were looking at- Islamic opposition- Islamic opposition needs power, but the power that the Islamic opposition does not need is the power that comes from the relationship or the reliance upon Taghut. In our current day and time, this concentration of power is accurately exemplified by such powers that call themselves big powers, super powers, hyper powers. In this world we have individuals and peoples who say that they are Alladhina Aamanu. To justify their awkward position, they want us to think that Alladhina Aamanu is "we believe in Allah"- when someone says they believe in Allah, there is no power connotation in this description. You believe in Allah- OK- that doesn't necessarily mean that Allah is the power that will eventually defeat your adversary- it doesn't mean that! That is why even in the usage of language, we have given in to At-Taghut, but Allah doesn't want this to exist. Thats why there were serious attempts of Islamic opposition during those early periods of Islam to what became a concentration of power and along with that concentration of power was the concentration of wealth. You rarely see- if you can see it at all- a concentration of power without the concentration of wealth- they go together. The fitnah- we don't use this word quite often because it has an elasticity to it- but it is a Qur'anic word, and let us go back to the Qur'anic definition of it. Do people think or calculate that they are going to be left alone just to pronounce the verbal words of Imaan, without being exposed to a fitnah? (Surah Al-Ankabut verse 2) Here, a fitnah comes to test, verify and substantiate our imaan. The issue that we encounter in the Islamic opposition throughout the 1st generations of Muslims all the way up to today, even though this is not written in history books, because we don't have historians who analyze the events in history from an opposition point of view. There's nothing wrong- brothers and sisters- if we look at ourselves and if we have been deficient somewhere, to recognize it- this is one of the areas that we have been deficient in. We don't have Islamic history that comes from the view point of Islamic political and military opposition to those who concentrated power and wealth. We don't have it- it's that simple- we have to come to terms with that. But that's not a big problem if we can refer to the meanings of the Qur'an. Now, notice that in this ayah, the word Awliya' is used. The word Awliya' is used in other ayaat in the Qur'an. O you who are firmly committed to Allah, dont ally yourselves to the political and the ideological expressions of Al-Yahud and An-Nasara, they are allies one to another. (Surah Maida verse 51)

In the ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah, we have a Wilayah to Taghut; in Surah Al-Ma'idah, we have a Wilayah to political Judaism and political Christianity, which in todays world express themselves in the form of Zionism and imperialism and who turn out to play the role of those who have concentrated this power through which they seek to have influence over us and for which they have been relatively successful for some time now. So, the problem is not a new problem, this has to do with human nature. In a very quick fashion, as we have been doing all along, let us try to recall one incident in which the Muslims tried to express their commitment to Allah and did not want to subject themselves to those who have concentrated wealth and power and the abuse of it all. This incident does not come through very strongly, unfortunately, because of the way we deal with our history and because of the subservience of todays so-called Islamic scholars to these Tawagheet, plural of Taghut. In the 2nd generation, that's not very long, we're talking about the 2nd and 3rd generation after the hijrah, roughly the years 60 to 75 hijri era, when this Taghut, this is how we have to understand Taghut- at that time it was expressed by the Umawi nation state or monarchy- this is not a very accurate description of them, but it comes very close to what that dynasty was doing and what it stood for. After Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu) went through the gallant opposition in Karbala during Ashura and gained the ultimate privilege, there was another opposition figure in Makkah and Al-Medinah, and that was Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhu). For those who want of simplify history, we looked, saw and tried to consider the position of Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhu) early on, now we are looking at his son. His son, after the apparent of reversal of Karbala to many people, this is the way they understood it- this was a tragedy-70 odd individuals go out and they make this grand-stand opposition against a military that was hundreds of times more than they were, so this went down to some people as being a reason to lose hope or to recoil into themselves, but with other people it was reason for more opposition. Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair was the person that the people in Makkah and Al-Medinah looked forward to, to try and regenerate a serious opposition to the Umawis in Damascus. He managed to have the people of Medinah and Makkah agree to this opposition and that was going to mean that they were going to have to fight, sacrifice, struggle and probably lose their lives. The ruler at the time, Yazid, sends a military commander with some forces to Al-Medinah and they begin to try to 1st discuss this issue short of a military encounter. They come to ibn Zubair and say "Look, the only thing we ask of you is to accept the legitimacy of Yazid." At the time, ibn AzZubair was in Makkah. He said "No." Then they began, just like people who belong to these so called powers behave, they said "Well, If you don't come the nice way or if you don't come to us in a nice way or if you don't respond to us in a peaceful manner, then we are going to have to revert to other means." They said, "If need be, we'll bring the army to Makkah and we'll do what we have to do- and if that means we're going to have to kill you, we're going to have to kill you." If we just borrow this little confrontation of opinion into our day today and try to figure out who are Alladhina Aamanu today who have enough courage, reliance upon Allah and enough determination to say "We are not going to accede to your demands that you have a legitimate government in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistanyou name it." We don't accept that.

Today, we have those who cloak themselves with the words of Alladhina Aamanu but who are more than willing to accede to the status quo. But here, he said "No." This commander who came to ibn Zubair was Muslim ibn Uqbah and he had a side-kick with him. When they began to use this threatening language, ibn Az-Zubair said "We are in the vicinity of the Haram in Makkah, Al-Balad Al-Haram and around the Ka'ba and you want to use force in this sacred area. Even birds and pigeons are safe in this inviolable area." They said "Safe?!" Then they took out their arrows and there were pigeons that were flying around and they were saying, while ibn Az-Zubair was watching "OK pigeon, if you don't recognize the legitimacy of Yazid, here goes my arrow." Then, they'd release an arrow and kill a pigeon. They did this continuouslythey were trying to tell ibn Az-Zubair "What are you trying to tell us?! Do you think we will not kill here?! We will!" He still didn't give in, unlike many of the characters we have around today, so, what they did was they communicated all of this to their king, Yazid, remember, he's a king- don't use any other words- this king, together with his advisors, whoever they maybe decided to send and armed force to Al-Medinah 1st. They sent that armed force of several thousand to Al-Medinah, and what did they do in Al-Medinah? This is the Prophets city of asylum, support, refuge, his power base and they knew that the people of Medinah had given their support to ibn Az-Zubair, so 1st of all they tell the people of Al-Medinah "We give you three days to reconsider your position and if you don't reconsider, terrible and horrible things are going to happen." After that ultimatum, these who belong to At-Taghut go into AlMedinah- this is what is startling about Muslim history, as bloodletting as this event was, it's not common information among us, Muslims, today- this is a problem- they go into AlMedinah and they do all types of things. Let us tell you- and this information comes from ibn Katheer, Al-Mas'udi, At-Tabari, which are the standard and the mainstream, so to speak, Islamic books that have accounts of these events, so we're not bringing this from what some people may say "Where did you pick up that information from?! Maybe it's from an extremist opinion?!- NoThis army came to Al-Medinah and it laid it to waste. This is what these historians tell us- this army that came to Al-Medinah, these forces of Taghut did to those who just wanted to stand by their convictions. They attacked them and killed 700 plus individuals, men, whom they considered to be a threat. These are in the language of fiqh and Islamic history, Tabieen. They killed 700 Tabieen and they killed three from the Sahaba of Rasulillah. Yazid can't by any stretch of the imagination be called a Sahabi. He did that and in addition to that, what else did the army do that these books tell us? This is in Al-Medinah. We're talking about 60 or 70 years after the Prophet had passed on. What did they do? They violated the virginity or around 1,000 Muslim women- we hope you know what that means, because we just used another combination of words to allude to it. They had another 1,000 women who became pregnant from them. There were another 1,000 orphans who were born after this raid on Al-Medinah who had no fathers. The problem with todays Muslims is that we don't have a recall of these events. If we can't understand that this happened to us, early on, as a manifestation of the corruption of power, then how are we going to connect, build a momentum and get an Islamic opposition going? In other words, we hand over in a direct and indirect manner, our affairs to the illegitimate rulers who rule today. Islamic opposition today should not be beginning from scratch. It should tap on

this source of experience in its past. After a few weeks or so, Yazid dies and then, another ruler by the name of Abdul Malik comes and he continues this policy. Also, this Uqbah also dies. He sends another few thousand men under arms to invade and, in their own words, "to flush out Makkah of ibn Az-Zubair and his followers." That actually happened. Once again, if the average Muslim wants to think of his Islamic history, this is obviously something that does not factor into the information that he has of Islamic history- this force goes to Makkah and it uses Al-Manjaneek, that is a weapon that lobs or throws rocks at a distance to whatever target there is. They used Al-Manjaneek to lob or throw these rocks, and they put inflammable material on it, so that when it lands, it burns whatever the intended target was. What was their intended target? The Ka'ba. Now, you tell us- is this an Islamic government?! How can anyone say that an Islamic government or leader are valid if they are targeting the Ka'ba? This happened- we're not trying to fabricate information. This is information that is there if you care to review the events of history, but it's not in our active minds because if it were, we probably wouldn't have these illegitimate rulers who are around. They kill ibn Az-Zubair. Ok- mission accomplished- they burnt the Ka'ba and they killed the Muslim who was opposing them and the many who were with him- they got away with it at that time because they had power, our immediate concern now is how come they still get away with it? Because we don't have accurate information about it! This is our concern nowadays. Let us tell you something that probably many of you are not familiar with, in the books of history and literature, sometimes, when a historian doesn't agree with the Islamic opposition, even though he is going through the narrative of the facts of what really happened, he'd use some derogatory or inflammatory words to refer to some of this oppositionand this is being done today. The last time, we spoke about Ali ibn Muhammed (radi Allahu anhu) and what was called Thawrat AzZinj. That person was referred to in some history books as Al-Khabeeth, the malevolent person, his up to no good, he has undisclosed plans and intentions of his own- all of these are shades of the ,meaning of the word Al-Khabeeth in that context. Those who were following him or with him in this opposition that lasted for around 25 years, this was unlike these other events that were over in months or weeks, they'd refer to the followers around him as Al-Fasaqa. They didn't use the word Al-Fasiqin. Al-Fasaqa is an offshoot of the word Al-Fasiqin which has a moral derogatory connotation to it. What else do we have in the expression of Islamic opposition? The Fuqaha Al-Arba'a or Al-A'Immah Al-Arba'a, they're referred to both ways, with both sets of words- Abu Haneefa, Maalik, Ash-Shaafi'ee and ibn Hanbal (radi Allahu anhum)- their position, because this has to do with Islamic opposition, doesn't come through very clearly. Their position, from some of the information that we came over or encountered in trying to dig up some of the lost history in our public mind- we eluded to Abu Haneefas role previously concerning his role in the revolt of Zaid and An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah (radi Allahu anhuma), and this is an area that also doesn't shine through, he refused to collect one cent, or take any money from the Umawi rulers, unlike today, we have these scholars for dollars all around, who look for where they can secure their livelihood and then take money from them. But then, on the other hand, Imam Malik took

money from the Umawis, but he didn't take it because he was legitimizing them, he took money because he said "This money belongs to the Ulema and they're not doing me any favor and neither am I a stooge of theirs. I'm taking not only what belongs to me alone, but I'm taking also what belongs to the other Ulema of our time." We know how Imam Ash-Shaafi'ee was accused by the authorities of being a crypto-Shi'i, a person who was in support of the revolts against the Umawis, but did not want to come in public and say so and he almost lost his life in that process. This is some of the information that does not come out when we speak about this history of Islamic opposition. It is time for us to renew our understanding of At-Taghut. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims All the dynamics of power that we are reconsidering and re-thinking all the way back to the political deviation that happened early on in Islamic history, have their presence in todays world. There's an Islamic opposition that's not very well thought out and it does not have the historical depth to draw on these experiences, but never the less, it exists. We can't dismiss the Islamic opposition in the world today. There are many Islamic parties, with varying degrees of political maturity; there are Islamic movements, there are the types of Muslims who want to work within the system who want to be elected and become members of Parliament and pursue that course, even though we don't find much justification at all when we take a look at the way the Prophet and those who were with him politically behaved towards the established order of their time; we have a vital Islamic agitation in the world today, but we still don't have the vitality of thought to make the accurate decisions. We stumble on our own mistakes- one of the traps that we find ourselves in as an Islamic opposition today is in what is happening in Iraq and Palestine. In these two areas, and you can review the literature of the Islamic types who are, both, in Iraq and in Palestine, even though some of them may have different references to refer to, they still do not show a political maturity in dealing with the challenges today, particularly when it comes to the issue of At-Taghut. They want to submit themselves to this Taghut. They find themselves in a comfortable position with the Taghut of Washington or with European Tawagheet or with the regional Tawagheet, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan etc. This doesn't come from a continuity of action, an extension of opposition that we, the Muslims, should claim for ourselves and for our prosperity. We hope we don't have to be specific and that you have enough information to understand what we are alluding to, specific to these two areas, because these two areas- Palestine and Iraq- are about to become the two main theatres in which our ignorance is trapped and we will fail ourselves because of our relationship to these Tawagheet. The day of freedom of the Muslims will arrive when they show that they are capable of relying upon Allah and His Prophet and the circle of committed Muslims in the world- there's no other way. Some of these individuals think that they are smart by trying to have good relationship with the United States government, or with the Saudi Arabian government or with the Israeli government and all the governments that are scattered along this connective line. That's not being smart. The irony of it is that those who are with Allah are perceived to be in a position of either naivety or weakness. You can't be with Allah and be nave and weak- a simple lesson. How long is it going to take for

us to learn this lesson? The ayaat that allude to this continue and continue, but some of us choose not to listen and learn.

ISLAMIC OPPOSITION OF THAWRAT AZZINJ

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We have been tracing the movements, uprisings and revolts that took issue with the political deviation that settled in the highest offices of the Islamic decision making process early in our history. We may, in one sense take a step backwards to have a broader understanding of some of the dynamics that we may not have covered in all of these khutbahs. Mind you, that being a committed Muslim or Mu'min entails a civic status and a civil responsibility. You cannot be a committed Muslim and then recede into your personal self- it can't be. If you want to be from Alladhina Aamanu, you share in the public responsibility. That is why our salaah together is much more meaningful than it is by ourselves; that is why we have a financial responsibility in the form of Nafaqaat, Sadaqaat and Zakaah; and that is why almost all the time when we read Ya Ayyuhalladhina Aamanu in the Qur'an, it is followed by a social responsibility or involvement. There are some people who want to kid themselves. They want to gain the description of Mu'min but they don't want to carry the higher responsibility of Imaan, especially when it comes to sacrifices. That is why many times, the public fail their active insightful leaders, because when it comes time to give of your life and possessions, some people choose not to do that. This is part of human nature. We detect this human nature before the Qur'an and the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam). In the history of Bani Israel, there were failures at this point. There is also in our own history, in the era of Medinah. We can recall- this is something that is below the radar level, it is not common reading and you don't come across it frequently- even if you are a Muslim scholarbut the fact of the matter is that this human nature in Al-Medinah, in the presence of Allahs Prophet did not want to carry social responsibilities. The Qur'an refers to these types of people saying that they have diseased hearts (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 52) There's a pathology within themselves. They are morbid. They lived in Al-Medinah, came to the Masjid, did all the private and personal requirements that are due from every individual Muslim, but when it came time to prove their social worth and to carry their social responsibilities, they did not want to do that. They found that the forces that are against Islam may one day vanquish the Muslims and defeat the Prophet. Imagine- these were people who were saying Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammedur Rasulullah, they were in the front line of the salaah in the Prophets Masjid; they were frequent visitors of Allahs Prophet and then the caliber of the

leadership of Allahs Prophet and the unfolding of events exposed these types of people. When the Muslims had to sacrifice their lives, this tract of people- those who have morbid hearts - said We don't want to severe our connections with Yahud in Al-Medinah (Surah Al-Ma'idah verse 51) This was expressed by their front man, ibn Sallul. He comes to the Prophet and says "Look, I have connections, ties and relationships with these Yahud and I'm not going to severe these ties." This was after Yahud showed signs of treason and collaboration of the Mushrik Makkan enemies of Allahs Prophet. The words of the Qur'an express this psychology. They said We are afraid that misfortune comes our way (Surah Al-Ma'idah verse 51) Imagine- if they take the solid side of Allah, the Prophet and the committed Muslims, they say that some bad luck is going to happen to them; the days and the times are going to change; the Yahud are going to become the powerful and the Muslims are going to become the losers. This is a psychology that is present. If it was present in the time of the Prophet, it's going to be present after him; it's going to be present when we are looking at Islamic political opposition, it's going to be present in the interim centuries and generations and it is present today. We took a look at certain revolts against the illegitimate authorities- the periodic revolts of those who were called Al-Khawaarij; the revolt of Al-Imam Zaid (radi Allahu anhu) that was in Al-Kufa in the year 22 of the hijrah, it continued for two or three days and it was over because of this dynamic that we are looking at; we took a look at the revolt of An-Nafs Az-Zakiyah (radi Allahu anhu) which was in Al-Medinah and that continued for around two and a half months and it was over and his brother, Ibrahim had a revolt that continued simultaneously with him during that year in AlBasrah, but it only continued for three months. We have to take a close look at why these revolts just continue for a short time and then cannot accomplish the desired goal- it is because of this psychology. Going back to the time of Allahs Prophet, there were three revolts during the time of Allahs Prophet that failed. Probably the most famous one is the one of Musailamah Al-Kaddhaab. This character claimed to be a Prophet and he even sent a letter to Allahs Prophet saying "Now, I am your partner in Prophethood!" He was killed and his social attempt to break away from the leadership of Allahs Prophet failed. It may be noteworthy to say, because much of this information is omitted from public discourse, that Wahshi (radi Allahu anhu), the person who killed Humzah (radi Allahu anhu) in the battle of Uhuda slave who wanted to gain his freedom, it turns out that later on, in these last times or days of Allahs Prophet, Wahshi is the one who kills Musailamah Al-Kaddhaab and he said, "When I was not a Muslim, I killed the best person on earth, (referring to Humzah, the Prophets uncle) and then when I became a Muslim, I killed the worst person on earth, (referring to Musailamah Al-Kaddhaab, the imposter who said that he was a Prophet)." We're not speaking about the Munafiqin who were concealed in the social atmosphere of Al-Medinah, Abdullah ibn Ubayy and the 300 who were with him who refused to

go to Uhud- this was a class of people that was known, and their relationships with the Mushriks of Makkah and the Yahud of Medinah were also known- we are talking about those who claimed to be Muslims but then refused the social responsibilities of Islam. As far as we can tell, the Munafiqin inside Al-Medinah were financially forthcoming and would at would at least put on the appearance of honoring the higher responsibilities of Islam, short of sacrificing their lives, but in this case we had break away movements from the central authority of Islam referred to in Islamic literature as ridda, which is mistranslated as an apostatic effort. These are more than that, these are not just apostates, these are people who renounce Islam by renouncing the higher responsibilities of Islam. During the time of Allahs Prophet, there were three groups of people in Arabia who tried to break away from the social fabric of Islam. They wanted to continue as personal Muslims but they didn't want this thing of belonging to an Islamic state and having an Islamic citizenship and living within an Islamic society. Then, during the time of Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) who followed Allahs Prophet in the position number one decision making position among the Muslims, there were seven attempts in Arabia to break away from the Islamic central authority. There were wars against these attempts. Then, during the time of Umar (radi Allahu anhu), there was one, which wasn't really a serious attempt. It centered around a person who was a chief in his own tribe. He comes and announces publicly that he is a Muslim and then he goes to make his Tawaaf around the Ka'ba and then a commoner, a regular person, steps on his garment. This person, his name is Jabla ibn Ayham, what did he do? He virtually smashes this persons face- he breaks this persons nose, his teeth and according to one narrative, he gouges his eyes. Then, this issue is taken and referred to the leader of the Muslims- Umar, and he summons these two people- "Come here, lets see what happened." So, the issue is explained and no one disputes the details of the issue, neither the commoner nor the king, and then Umar says "This commoner has the right to take his Qisas, rightful punishment from you." This man tells Umar "Are you going to subject me to a punishment, Qisas, because of this hobo?"-more or less, these were his words. Umar tells this man, "Both of you and all of us are in the fold of Islam"- meaning what are you talking about- kings and hobos?!"Islam has deleted these designations." So, this man says "OK, Give me a day, I'll come back tomorrow- postpone the punishment for a day." Then, he takes off with some of his relatives. He leaves Makkah and the Arabian Peninsular altogether and he goes to Damascus and he becomes a Christian- do you see how these small issues can become break away issues from Islam? He and his tribe, those who were closely affiliated with him could not tolerate this social equality in Islam. If Islam was just a personal issue, then we wouldn't be talking about all of these events- Islam is more than that. We pick up on another detail in Islamic, the magnitude of which makes us surprised to know that it virtually doesn't exist in the Muslim mind. In the year 249 of the hijrah, there was a person by the name of Ali ibn Muhammed. He is the great grandson of Zaid who saw the discrepancy in the Muslim Ummah. He saw that there were poor people and then there was the corrupt ruling class, the Abbasis who were ruling in Baghdad, in Iraq. Because Samerra was in the news- this is a city

in Iraq, not very far from Baghdad- the capital of the Abbasis was relocated to Samerra when they had an influx of a military class. Now, the new development in Islamic society is that for the 1st time we have a strong and effective military class that was made up of, what is called today, minorities. We spare the details of how this took place because it will take us off in another direction, suffice it to say that Ali ibn Mohammed began an opposition movement to correct this polarization among the Muslims, with the poor, needy and working on one side and those who have power, being in the military, and those who have money, being in the bazaar on the other side. He put together a resistance movement which took years to put together- going from city to city, area to another area and from country to country to try to consolidate an opposition to the Abbasi kings. Before, the opposition to the Umawi and Abbasi kings was more like hit and run opposition, especially the continuous revolts of the Khawaarij against the Umawis and then we had Zaid, An-Nafs Az-Zakiyyah, his brother Ibrahim and Ali ibn Muhammed. Remember, we're looking at social tendencies- finally, Ali ibn Muhammed for the 1st time, managed to amalgamate social tendency with popularity- we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people. Even though it is very hard to come by this information, it is referred to in the books of history, as Thawrat Az-Zinj, which means, if we were to give it the flavor of todays language, the revolution of the Negros. It wasn't exclusively a revolution exclusively by those who had black skin, but that is the way it is referred to because many (and according to some sources- most), of those who participated in this uprising which continued for almost 20 to 25 years Remember, we were talking about uprisings that were a matter of days and weeks and maybe months at the most, but here, for the 1st time, we had a revolt and an uprising that continued for a generation. They managed to break away, and this was not a negative breaking away from the central authority. This was a positive one to reconstitute the Islamic authority along the lines of equality and justice. Most of these revolutionaries came from what is called, today, the working class. Most of them were black and they used to work in what is today the Persian Gulf or Southern Iraq and they used to do menial jobs like desalinating the soil and the water to make it suitable for agriculture. When Ali ibn Muhammed came to them, they had an experience with others who tried to take advantage of their social condition and use them against the government. So, they were very reluctant, until Ali ibn Muhammed spent a long time and long years with them and they ascertained his sincerity. As this was going on, the government in Baghdad and Samerra was nervous that there is an autonomous area in Muslim territories. They built a city of their own, called Al-Mukhtara. They had Al-Bahrain, areas of what is today the Persian Gulf and also called Khusastan- all of this was part of a movement against the political deviation in Baghdad and Samerra. Finally, the confrontation came and the armies met. There were skirmishes throughout these years, but the climax was around the year 269 hijri, when after four years, the Abbasi military force placed this capital called Al-Mukhtara under siege and then, governments begin to do what they always do. They place a certain area under economic strain, political pressure and military threat and then they tell people "If you want to leave, this is the escape route." They did this there. As is the case with some people, they don't want to live up to their Imaani responsibilities.

We are afraid that misfortune befalls us (Surah Al-Ma'idah verse 51) Those were the words of the diseased heart of ibn Sallul. So, they want to leave the zone of danger. Al-Mukhtara was a military combat zone of imminent danger and they wanted out. The battles that went into these four years of confrontation were so bad, to let you get a sense of this When this city was under siege, there was nothing going into it and nothing coming out of it. When the Abbasi military would take the hostages in the limited confrontations that were taking place towards the end of these four years, they would ask them "When was the last time you had bread?" They would say "About a year or a year and a half ago was the last time we had bread." Cannibalism took place under this siege. As we said, information about this is very scant- before encountering their enemies, the resistant fighters against the Abbasi military were put into a high level of moral character, unlike what we've seen from the Umawis and the Abbasis, so this was a moral force that was under siege, but even though it was moral, some of them had to eat human flesh to survive. When the final battle took place- do you know the number of those who were killed? This is why it is surprising that no-one knows about this. The lowest estimate of the number that were killed, and we're talking about history books of At-Tabari, ibn Khaldun, Al-Mas'udi, Muruj Adh-Dhahab- was 500,000. A half-a-million Muslims were killed in this encounter. You would think this would be one of those incidents in Islamic history that we all know about, but it seems that barely anyone knows anything about it. When the tide turned against the forces on the side of Ali ibn Muhammed, he escaped and he had to run from place to place, hamlet to hamlet, countryside to countryside and then he made his way back and he put up a fight and he was killed. As had been the case with the previous militaries, what do they do with him? Just like they did with the others, they decapitate him and they take the head to Baghdad. When the head came to Baghdad, Baghdad was a city of festivity with all appearances of happiness. This was done by the government, not by the people. The people understood what happened and there were neighborhoods and sectors of Baghdad that were in mourning because of this and the ruler said to his military people "Go burn down the parts of the city where the people are not sharing the happiness of this occasion with us." And, the military men said "No, don't spoil the event by doing such a thing." Suffice it to say that the rulers who are behaving today are behaving in the tradition of the rulers of those times. We come back to the psychology of the people themselves- this question has been living with us for 1,400 years- why is it that there has not been a resounding, successful unity of the peoples against wayward authorities, oppressive governments and autocratic rulers? We're not going to be able to answer this question if the vital information that we have is not common information. You shouldn't be listening to this for the 1st time in a khutbah. This should be something that people speak about regularly so that we learn from our experiences and we press on with our responsibilities. The question that is valid and begs for an answer now is that if there were those clandestine ties and those behind the scenes connections between this social class within Islamic society then, does it not exist today and now? And, if it does, why is it that not apparent when we have all of this information coming to us from Allah and we have all the experiences that are around us here and now?

INTELLECTUAL DIVISIONS
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... In our fluctuating history and common experiences, from the years in which Marwan ibn AlHakam stood up on the Mimbar in the Masjid of Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) in his Medinah and said to the Muslim public, with all the support system behind him- you can't come out in public and say something like this without having a support system at work- remember, this was from the Mimbar in the Masjid, in the Medinah An-Nabi, this person comes and says "Indeed, Allah has chosen Yazid, the son of Muawiya, as the crown prince."; from those years and the bundle of experience that we should have gained from what was to happen after that- we took a close look at the ensuing and ongoing opposition to people who were saying things like this and misappropriating power. From that time, when that statement was made -we covered a lot of territory on how events and developments shaped themselves to make it possible for a person to say such things, there was a response to him. Abdullah ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) stood up to him and said "This is the Sunnah of the Roman or Persian kings. Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) never sought to have this issue a family affair such as you are doing by trying to tell us that the son of a king is also a king. We understand you as saying to us that an imposed ruler has the authority to impose a ruler." From those times at the beginning of the Umawi monarchy, extending to the Abbasi dynasty, there was and remains, to our very day, an issue that has caused a drift and a division among the Muslims, and that is When Allah disclosed this Wahy to us, the Muslims of the time were understanding and communicative with this Qur'an. In those 1st years or generations after the Wahy, there was a Qur'anic culture. This is hard to come by. We have local, national, ethnic and scientific cultures, but something that we are hard to come by is a Qur'anic culture. In those formative years of this Imaan and Islam, we had a Qur'anic culture. Inclusive in this Qur'anic culture was the issue of Qiyaam, Jihad and Qitaal. These are fundamental components of this Qur'anic culture. The dynamic of this Qur'an and this Islam had its adherent human beings going into the furthest directions of the planet. They were carrying this Qur'an to people who were really not versed in this Qur'an and here is where we have the seeding or germination of one of the problems that we still carry to our day. Let us try to go back into that historical context and have a better feeling for the erosion of this Qur'anic culture from one standpoint.

When these Muslims of Qur'anic common sense and culture began to initiate contact with other peoples, systems, cultures, they began to realize that they had to explain this Qur'an so that other

peoples could understand it. Just like we are doing today, when we are presenting this khutbah, we are not presenting it in the language of the Qur'an and the Prophet because if we would, the majority of people in the society around us would not understand what we are saying. The Muslims understood that in order for them to pass on this trust and responsibility to others, they are going to have to communicate it. When they came into contact with these others who were not Muslims, they, in earnest, began a serious attempt at communicating the meanings of this Qur'an and the Prophets verifiable quotes to the people who were around. We should learn from this and avoid the mistakes that happened in the past, that are going to continue happening if don't learn from this experience. Much of the intensity of this contact culminated during the Abbasi dynasty when there came into being a "new class of people" called Al-Mutaqallimeen or Al-Mu'tazilah. They realized that Muslims were no longer in Arabia and they had to interact, discuss and debate with people who had two things that the 1st and 2nd generations of Qur'anically cultured people did not have. These two things were theology and philosophy- they didn't exist. What is referred to as theological studies and philosophical research simply wasn't there. The Muslims began there 1st contact with people who had a theological and philosophical mind. What do you do when you come into contact with people like this? Do you arrest Islam and say to people that because you don't understand the Qur'an, there's nothing to say to you? That was an option, but the Muslims did not choose that option- obviously. They chose to carry the meanings of Allah and His Prophet into the minds of those who still are not communicative in the language of Allah and the Prophet. So, the Muslims themselves, developed there own sort of theology and philosophy and they began this communication process and the result of it was that still Islam was gaining. Islam was not in retreat on the popular level. We were looking at all the problems that we had with our rulers- that is one issue- but what we have to add to that is that we didn't have very much problems as far as communicating this message to the public. We did as much as we could in that direction. What happened though was that when Muslim Ulema and thinkers were developing the meanings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and trying to extend those meanings into the minds and the publics that were not conversant with the Qur'an and Sunnah was a couple of things that probably were not expected. The 1st one was that this new development was used by the rulers. What the Abbasi kings did was- they said "we are going to adopt the intellectual discourse that was developed by these Muslim thinkers and make it the official state religion." This caused a reaction inside the Muslim public. For the many times preceding it, the government put there hands into the public issues of the Muslims. Muslims were responding to the times that they were in and trying to do so as best as they can, but here was where some Muslims agreed to become part of the official layer of society that they are in. Can we learn from this in the time that we are in? It seems like we ourselves have not learned our historical lessons because, today, we have people who also belong to the scholarly tradition of Islam, but they find themselves on the governmental side of life instead of remaining on the peoples side of life. This is an unfolding fact in our history that we haven't learnt from. Another unintended reaction to this frank and sincere attempt to communicate this Islam was that even the Muslim people themselves began to feel alienated from a class of scholars. This is a very disturbing development because it had nothing to do with

government. We can understand that when governments put their hands in internal Islamic affairs, they spoil them, but what is very hard to make sense of is how come we have Muslims who are able to develop an effective Islamic thinking process that can take the validity of Islam into the argumentative quarters of those who have theology and philosophy in their minds and when we do that we begin to alienate our ownselves- this also happened to us. The average Muslim- we talking about a good 80 to 90% of the people who are Muslims- could not keep track or keep up with this type of scholarly alienation. There was inside of the Muslim public, a need that was felt to return to the common sense culture of Allah and His Prophet. This is the beginning of what we have in our history that has developed into todays argument between those who say "you are using your mind" and those who are saying that "the mind doesn't require that it be used the way that you are using it". These have designations in todays world, they have names that refer to them- we're not going to use these words because they cause a lot of sensitivities among some people- instead of using the words that spike, maybe, some bigotry or some misunderstanding, we'll not use these buzz words that are used today. Suffice it for you and me to understand and diagnose the problem which comes down to how far can we go in utilizing the gift of thinking that Allah has given us. Is it unlimited or is it disciplined? Allah has many references in the Qur'an to the disciplining of thought Indeed, in that there are expressions of Allahs power for people who discipline their thoughts (Surah An-Nahl verse 12) And they said, if we could only reason or tame our thoughts after having listened, we would have been spared the companionship of those who are enthralled by the punishment, the fire (Surah Al-Mulk verse 10-11) In the Qur'an, there is a continuous stimulant for us to think. There are many complementary and synergistic meanings in the Qur'an that force us to think. But the issue is that when we come, especially to Allah, our thoughts remain insufficient. Our inability to recognize the insufficiency of our minds and thoughts vis--vis Allah is what has caused the mental friction and the social misunderstandings that have lived with us and continue to bother us today. Adh-Dhaat, As-Sifaat and Al-Af'aal are three words that are used when we human beings are trying to understand the Qur'an, Allah and His Prophet. There are three words that we use when we try to focus our minds on what Allah and His Prophet are telling us pertaining to the Majesty of Allah. Adh-Dhaat, His essence; As-Sifaat, those words that describe Him and Al-Af'aal, what He does. Concerning the details there-in, we have been going down these roots and channels of understandings in different ways, at times, without accommodating each other. Anytime a Muslim- whatever his scientific achievements and whatever his scholarly status is- wants to be definitive about Adh-Dhaat, As-Sifaat and Al-Af'aal- that pertain to Allah- at that moment, whoever that is, is wrong. We can all be approximate about it, and we have the leeway to do so. All of these scholars or Islam, throughout the years have agreed that the Qur'an itself is Qat'i Ath-Thubut and either Qat'i Ad-Dilalah or Dhanni Ad-Dilalah, which means the validity of the Qur'an is definite, there's nothing for the mind to say about that. The authenticity, originality and the

validity of the Qur'an is final, no-one can say a word on that issue- Qat'i Ath-Thubut. But then, what the Qur'an delivers of meanings is one of two things; Qat'i Ad-Dilalah, which means it has in some of its ayaat a meaning that is definite and final and there's no argument about it and it has some ayaat that are Dhanni Ad-Dilalah, which means that it can deliver a meaning that still is not in the full control of our mind. We can understand its partial meaning or significance, we may think that we understand its exhaustive meanings, but never are we sure that we are in control of its exhaustive meanings. These are the ayaat that are in front of us on these pages of the Qur'an. The problem in our history and in our present is that we have some Muslims who come to us and say that they have the final word on what these Dhanni Ad-Dilalah ayaat mean. The problem is right there and then. Whenever you encounter that type of person, you know that something is wrong. Thats on one issue. The other issue is the Prophets hadiths. This area has been an area in which Muslims have identified a body of hadiths that comfortably fit into the body of the Qur'an and don't conflict with it- they've been well established by the consensus of the Muslims. Some of them may have the exact wording from different sources or narratives and some of them may have different wording but deliver the same meaning. But then, we come to some hadiths that are referred to in the literature of hadiths as da'if hadiths ie. hadiths that are hard to substantiate or vulnerable to a healthy dose of doubt. These hadiths are numerous- we're not just talking about a few hadiths. There is a large body of these hadiths. What do we do here? We've had this problem from all the way back then, when this movement that we are looking at began to formulate itself and we had Muslims of two opinions basically. An opinion that refers to the competency of rationalization within the body of the Qur'an and the established hadiths and it says we don't need these da'if hadiths- with the Qur'an, the Sahih and the Hasan ahadith, we just don't need da'if hadiths. That's one approach. The approach is "No- we prefer Al-Hadith AdDa'if to mans rational thought." Meaning that if there's going to be a conflict between the way we logically think and a hadith that is not sufficiently substantiated, then, according to this opinion, "we're going to prefer a hadith that is not substantially authenticated to our rational way of thinking." Brothers and sisters, we have lived and we're going to continue to live with these two better judgments of scholars and committed Muslims. Taking a look at 1,200 years of this established fact, what do we do? Are we going to say "I don't agree with you and you don't agree with me, so I don't want to see you any longer and you don't want to see me any longer?!" This type of attitude is not generated by the Qur'an, the Sunnah, mans rational thinking and it's not generated by any da'if hadith that you can find. So, there's no foundation for a break away attitude either by those who want to rely on Ar-Ra'yi, Al-Qiyaas and At-Ta'weel- these are three components of rational thought. Ar-Ra'yi is an opinionated judgment; Al-Qiyaas is an analogy and At-Ta'weel is you take an establish meaning and you realize that is has the capacity to include a supplemental meaning, so you prefer a supplemental meaning to its general meaning. So, whether a person subscribes to a rational priority after has been exhaustedwe're speaking about all these Muslim scholars who agreed to the Qur'an and to the established and authenticated hadiths, we're not speaking about anyone who does not fall into this category of

people- but after that, what do you do when you are either left with some hadith that is contrary to rational thought or you are left to relying on whatever thinking power you have coming out from a thorough understanding of the Qur'an and the mainstream hadith? Whichever choice a person may choose for his or her own self, there is no justification for divisions among us. No matter which method is the preferred one it doesn't give you or me the excuse to be alienated from each other or to say you can have your own state and I'm going to have my own state. But, this is part of our history. These types of intellectual issues serve for some time as a basis for dividing you and me by illegitimate governments that ruled over us. At a certain time during the Abbasi reign, some kings preferred the rational school of thought and they persecuted the others. At other times, there were other kings who came and flipped it upside down and said we prefer the Ahl-AlHadith, this is in reference to those who don't give preference to Ad-Da'if hadiths- and let us say the 1st school of thought is referred to as Al-Mu'tazilah and the 2nd school of thought is what is going to become known (all the way up to our present day) as the salafi school of thought, (if we can call it that). Of course, they don't even want the word "school of thought" to be mentioned. But (just to use a little license here), this is what it has developed to when you trace it from that time, all the way up until the days that we are in today. So, let's give you a little sense of history as to what we mean here, when the Abbasi kings- one Abbasi king, Al-Mutawakkil, he comes and says "I am in support of Ahl Al-Hadith or Al-Fuqaha as opposed to Al-Mu'tazilah or Ahl Al-Adl Wa At-Tawheed" so, he gives a city in Iraq, Samerra, to a class of military people who were to begin with were non-Arabic speakers- most of them were Turks- and he says, "we have an internal problem among ourselves and you are blessed because even if you wanted to, you couldn't be involved in this internal intellectual or scholarly problem that we have." Then, they themselves begin to take over power, which becomes the genesis of the Uthmani or Ottoman state and the Ottoman state, in the cause of its own history begins a series of warfare against those who call themselves Salafis. So, what may have been at one time a particular trend does not mean that that same trend is going to continue in the cause of history. These are mental stations in our own history that we haven't learnt from because, today, we still have the same problem- it hasn't gone away. We have a Muslims who have a Qur'anic and a Sunnatic culture and we have Muslims who don't- not because they don't want it, they just don't have it. The issue could be referred to a lack of scholarly achievement, a lack of communicating in the language of the Qur'an, or any number of rationalizations, but the fact remains that this is what we have todayso, inside of this Muslim popular base, there is always those who want to take Islam to the heights of communication with the others. We live in an enlightened world of the mind and some Muslims feel inferior. We have to be able to build our own tools to argue with those who don't have this Islam. When we take a look at this issue, we're not only taking a look at it in history- it exists today. Parallel top that, we also have Muslims who, honestly, don't care very much about this, but what they are keen on having is their own Qur'anic culture and they don't want to damage that by trying to extend our Muslim mind so that someone else can understand what Allah is saying. Being aware of this does not mean that any one of these are absolutely right or any one of these are absolutely wrong. It is a dynamic in our past. The sorrow case of it is that we are not aware of it and hence we have the potential of re-committing the mistakes that we paid dearly for

in centuries that have passed. We need not repeat those mistakes and go through the awful feelings of alienation and misunderstanding and accusations that are thrown against us by us. That we don't need. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims We try- acceptance is a divine matter- to take an in depth and penetrating view of our reality. This is a real world that has real challenges that come with real problems. We don't under estimate any of that. We know that we ourselves are unable to come up with solutions to these problems and reversals. We take a look at the real world and we find that our Masaajid are in one planet and our killing fields are in another planet. There is no serious sustained cerebral effort to look at all of these issues in context. We are left on our own and we can't look for help from those who plan all of their strategies and master plans to cut us down, uproot us and undermine everything we do. We said, and the voices of truth have always been lonely voices- that there are serious and advanced stratagems to instigate civil war among us. The kinder box is Iraq. They are trying to drop their inflammatory matches on that population and then they want to flame the flames of ignorance among the Muslims so that we all get involved in carrying feelings of hostility against our ownselves so that we self-disintegrate. We are capable of self disintegrating if Allah and His Prophet are absent from our conscience. We ask you- brothers and sisters- why can't we have voices that amplify the shared meanings of Allah and His Prophet in our lives that will bolster our collective immunity against these common enemies around us and inside of us? What justification do you have to look around in your immediate surroundings are realize that our Masaajid are empty headed and our congregations are empty hearted- how do you feel and think about that? Do you keep your distance from this issue to a degree and extent that you permit the dividers to come in? There's plenty of them and they can pick on our ignorance and they can pick on the inaccurate information that we have in our own books and they can throw all of that out into the public square and make a bonfire that will consume our lives for generations to come. We can only do our duty; we can only say the truth as far as Allah wills that truth to go and we can pray that our minds and hearts, with the latitude of differences that we are permitted, remain together despite the hatred of the kaafirs, despite the hatred of the Munafiqs and despite the hatred of the oppressors for our unity. Brothers and sisters: A felicitous Eid to you and a remembrance of the brothers who we have around the world who are spending this Eid in the struggle against kufr and shirk and against nifaq and hypocrisy. With that in mind, we say and we invoke Allahs presence wherever true Muslims are, and we ask Him that the Hajj, Mecca and Al-Medina regain their centrality in our lives. And we ask Him All Mighty, All Seeing and All Knowing to rid us of such clans and tribes who are interfering in the Hajj, interfering in the affairs of the Muslims to the detriment of the Muslims and to the construction of Kufr. We ask Allah, not only verbally, but by what we do, by our lives and everything we have invested in Him to rid us of these munafiqin, these muthabbitin, these

muawwiqin, for now and forever. On that day and at that time, we will truly enjoy Eid- an Eid of freedom and liberty, an Eid of self-determination and reliance upon Allah.

FIQHI DIVISIONS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah.... From time to time, human nature may not have the endurance to keep up with the higher responsibilities that are ours, so we take a step of relief and look at other issues that are presented to us by Allah and His infallible Prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be His for eternity). To break from the continuing discourse on Jihad and Qital, subjects that are central and crucial in the times that we find ourselves in- just as a matter of relative relief, we'll try to approach another less demanding one. Brothers and sisters, Allah says to us And do not be like those who were divided and acrimonious among themselves after having received clear evidence from Allah, it is they who will have to endure a most significant suffering, penalty or torment. On a day when there will be enlightened faces and on a day when there will be darkened faces. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 105-106) The general meaning of this ayah is obvious to the average person. Allah is telling us "Don't be separated from each other and disagreeable with each other after you have received AlBayyinaat, Allahs clear, evident and unmistakable words, ayaat and communication." What is not noticed by the average person is that indirectly, this ayah sanctions or has us understand why human beings are divided when they don't have Allahs Bayyinaat- meaning that if you have a crowd, a company or a conglomerate of people who lack Allahs guidance and they are disunited among themselves- that is understandable, but what is not understandable is if we have Allahs Qur'an, His ayaat, and His meanings and then we display disunity, disagreements and divisions. That is not understandable. (This is the question that should live with you at least a week- that's not asking very much; just think about this whole affair or scenario for a week), why is it that after people receive word, information, guidance, teachings and instructions from Allah that they show themselves as being disunited, incapable of coming together and unable to understand their own selves? You would think that if Allah is giving us this vital information that will improve our lives, we should be coming together. It is the lack of communication with Allah that characterizes many of us, that makes us cling to a proportion of this information from Allah and then through other mediums, it's not that many of us feel a comfortable one-on-one relationship with Allah. This (comfortable one-on-one relationship with Allah) is what is required. We are closer to you than the most crucial vein that you have in your body. (Surah Al-Qaf verse 16) And, if My servants ask you about me, I am near them. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 186) If we feel that Allah is near us and that we are next to Allah, then this feeling itself will not generate division. But, the information that Allah has given us in the form of the Qur'an,

His ever-lasting words, may cause some of us to understand Him sincerely in a manner that is different from others of us who also understand Him sincerely. This difference is not grounds for division. The words of the Qur'an that we repeat are supposed to settle into your best understanding and be processed by the gift that Allah has given us, ie. our ability to think and to reason. Allah has acknowledged that we have different capacities of understanding or thinking about Him. It's just in the way that Allah determined us to live and be. If Allah wanted, He would have willed it that all people would have been one Ummah (Surah Hud verse 118) But, it is within our human nature that we disagree, but it should not be within our human nature that after we are close to Allah that this disagreement becomes a matter of division. Let's take examples from the Prophets life. How is this demonstrated in the real life of Allahs Prophet? Allah had His Prophet as the person who didn't make mistakes concerning Al-Kitaab, Al-Hikmah, Al-Mizaan, Al-Wahy, Al-Qur'an, Adh-Dhikr. After one of the battles that the Muslims had, The Prophet told them "No-one should pray Al-Asr except at Bani Quraydah or after reaching Bani Quraydah"- everyone was listening, just as you would be listening- Banu Quraydah was the last surviving yahudi neighborhood in Al-Medinah and Banu Quraydah was involved in this grand alliance against the Muslims. There was Al-Ahzaab and Al-Khandaq, in which all of Arabia put up a final assault with their "coalition of the willing" against Allahs Prophet and the Islamic state in Al-Medinah and Bani Quraydah, the last remaining yahudi enclave in Al-Medinah was part of the anti-Islamic forces. When the Mushriks, the hostile powers that besieged Al-Medinah realized that they are not able to defeat the Muslims, they began to break up, break away and go back to Makkah and where they came from. But, inside of Al-Medinah, where is yahud, Banu Quraydah going to go? They can't go anywhere. Allahs Prophet was aware of their treachery- they signed an understanding with Allahs Prophet when he arrived in Al-Medinah, that they would not help the other hostile forces around, the mushriks and the kaafirs, against Muhammed and those who are with him. But they didn't honor their word or fulfill their agreements. When the defining days came, they took the side of the Mushriks- with all the disagreements that they had among them. They were not of one mind. Al-Yahud- Banu Quraydah were not of one mind on this- as usual, they want to be on all sides at the same time, so whoever comes out winning, they are with that side also- but at this defining moment, they had to make up their mind. Allah brought them to a defining moment in their history where they no longer could be on all sides at the same time. So, they decided that they wanted to be with the Mushriks. But now, the Mushriks were gone and they stood exposed for everyone to see. Imagine what is in the hearts and minds of the struggling, bleeding and sacrificing Muslims who were there? Then, in these circumstances, Allahs Prophet says "No-one should pray Al-Asr except at Bani Quraydah or after reaching Bani Quraydah". Banu Quraydah were not in down-town Medinah as it were. They were in something like a suburb of Al-Medinah. This is the nature of people who separate themselves from the rest of the people. They had their own enclave. The Muslims who were in Medinah had to go there because they were at a distance from Al-Medinah- 5 or 10 or 15 minutes or even half-

an-hour, whatever it is- to get there. The Prophet of Allah said and everyone heard him- no-one disputed a word in this sentence- "No-one should pray Al-Asr except at Bani Quraydah or after reaching Bani Quraydah". So, everyone went on there way to re-join and meet altogether in that suburb of Al-Medinah, called Bani Quraydah, where the concentration of these yahudis were. When they reached that place- they all knew they had to go there and they all knew that they had to make haste or get there quickly. Time was running out- that's why Allahs Prophet said "None of you should pray Al-Asr except at Bani Quraydah" Some Muslims didn't pray AlAsr until they arrived in the pre-dominant yahudi area of Al-Medinah. Others prayed on their way. They didn't wait until they arrived there to pray. When everyone was there, those who didn't pray thought that everyone was going to come and pray. The Adhaan and the Iqamah was said and it turned out that some people had already prayed- they didn't pray Al-Asr with them because they prayed on their way. What does this say to you? Imagine this happening in this worldsomeone listening to this hadith from Allahs Prophet or from an Islamic commander, head of state, emir, khalifah, imam- call him whatever you want?! Some of us would turn around and begin to accuse others either of ignorance, disobeying an order or of some other issue that will put tension and friction among us. When this happened, how did Allahs Prophet comment on it? Those who already prayed- why did they already pray? Why didn't they wait until they reached Bani Quraydah and pray there? Because they understood Allahs Prophet, not for the literal sentence that he verbalized, but for its intent and purpose- meaning, make haste or go as fast as you can to Bani Quraydah. So, for that reason, fearing that going as fast as they can, they will not be able to make it in time for Al-Asr, they prayed on their way there. The others understood Allahs Prophet very literally, ie. in addition to making haste, we should also pray Al-Asr at Bani Quraydah. When Allahs Prophet understood and saw what had happened, he said "both of you were right" (in effect, that's what he said). He didn't say someone was wrong and there always had to be someone who's absolutely wrong and someone who's absolutely right on issues like this. We're not talking about an issue of kufr and imaan- this has nothing to do with kufr and imaan or shirk and dhulm. This only has to do with a committed Muslims better understanding and better judgment of what he or she hears. So, when he understood that they did this in good faith, he approved of both behaviors. On another instance, Muslims could not find water for wudhu. This was in the time of Allahs Prophet. They were on a journey and they couldn't find water and time was running out, so they said "we'll make tayammum". So they all made their tayammum. And, if the time of As-Salaah approaches and you don't find any water for your wudhu, then you take to the surface of the earth (Surah An-Nisa verse 43) This is an ayah that's mentioned in the Qur'an. Everyone reads it and understands what it says. You pound your hands and you pass them over the surface of your face and your hands- and arms (according to others)- and that substitutes for al-wudhu. So they did that and they prayed. After that, they prayed and they moved on. After they moved on, after a distance and a while, they found water. So what happened here? What do you do? When they found that water, some of

them renewed their wudhu and they prayed the same prayer all over again. Others didn't do that. This whole issue was brought to the attention of Rasulillah and what did he say? Did he say that someone was more correct than the other? No! He didn't say that. For those who prayed only after making tayammum and did not pray again, he said to them "Your salaah after tayammum sufficed you. It is well and fine and acceptable- nothing wrong with that." For those who prayed again, he said to them "Nurun ala Nur." Both of these are statements of approval. Why? Because these people were trying to understand what they are supposed to do in issues that have nothing to do with shirk and kufr. These are internal Islamic issues in which we have the latitude to see differently after we employ our sincerity and after we do this with our best intentions and our best understanding. Allah and His Prophet knew, after this, there's going to be some who do this one way and others who do this another way. This should be equally acceptable to all of us. This is not an issue of division and acrimonious arguments. Just to take one example, there are a numerous ayaat in the Qur'an that tolerate different understandings, not a contradictory understanding but a variation of interpretations. One of them is the issue of, aw lamastumun nisaa, in Surah An-Nisaa, that says we have to clean ourselves if both sexes touch each other. What does that mean? Some people said "It's a physical touch, it's as simple as that." Others said "No. There has to be feelings that are generated by that." Both of these are understandable and should not be a matter of division among ourselves. That is why individuals, just like you and me, who have a fervent, intimate and involved understanding of Allah see these as a fertilization of our condition. These are necessary. Imagine if all of us only have one opinion about everything in life! How dull this life would be. But, life becomes more stimulating and more understandable if we begin to tolerate these types of ijtihaadaat or interpretations. We leave the time of Allahs Prophet and we go into the 1 st couple of generations after him who still had some type of breeze from the wave that began with this relationship with Allah and His Prophet and we look at the ijtihaad in as far as we pray. As-Salaah, prayer itself, is supposed to be the lesser area in which there are opinions. Opinions begin to increase when it comes to the changing dynamics of the environment and human condition- the increase in population, the advance in technology- in these areas we have as number of competing opinions that are referenced in the Qur'an and the Prophet, but when it comes to As-Salaah, this has nothing to do with human nature, here's where differences should be to a minimum, but we find that a mujtahid, a faqhih, an imam, who would come forward and say "when you are praying and there is an imam who is leading the prayer, it is haraam to read the fatiha behind him"; and another equal person of equal knowledge comes and says "No!- it is wajib to read the Fatiha behind him." To a mind that is disconnected from Allah, this seems conflicting and contradictory, but if it is said and done with all the good intention, purpose, understanding and interpretation that it is the variety that Allah refers us to in the way that he has fashioned our human relationships. Because of this understanding that even when these men of knowledge gave their scholarly interpretation and opinion, what did they say? We wish all of us had this approach and just

understood these issues at this level- "when you are convinced of a certain thing because it is the best understanding that your mind offers you, you say, my opinion is true, but it is vulnerable to being mistake; and the others who have another opinion, their opinion is false but it is vulnerable to being the truth." This makes for consolidation and unity among ourselves. Don't be of the mushrikin, those who have divided their deen (Surah Ar-Rum verse 31-32) See- when Allah refers to division, he refers to it on the level of those who are guilty of shirk. These issues that we have been talking about previously are not a matter of dividing the deen, they are a matter of fertilizing this deen. It is the problem of individual Muslims who are at a distance from Allah who cannot see this issue at this level. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims It is not enough to think of what Allah is telling us. It becomes enough when what He is telling us gives us the confidence to hold hands with those who disagree with us, having the same basis, intentions and objectives that we have. We will take a brief example. Allah says Follow, obey or have allegiance to that which has come to you from your Sustainer and do not follow, obey or have allegiance to those who are Awliya' besides Him (Surah Al-A'raf verse 3) Brothers and sisters- how many of us have given this ayah a thought? Allah is speaking about a matter of obedience and allegiance. In this manner, we become dependants upon this source of information that has come to us from our Sustainer. But, Allah says Don't follow, obey or have allegiance to those who are Awliya' besides Him (Surah Al-A'raf verse 3) What does awliyaa' mean here? How we have become a failure when some of us say that this word means friends, companions or masters. The word itself gains its definition from the ayah it is embedded in. Allah is speaking about a matter of obedience and allegiance. In todays world, who are those who extract from us matters of obedience and allegiance? What do we call them? The secular world!? Those who have Farraqu deenahum?! You see, this is what secularism is. Don't be of the mushrikin (Surah Ar-Rum verse 30-31) What do they do? They separate the affairs of deen. They say "something is religion and something else is state." This is an accurate definition of the mushriks. But, who's going to make the mental leap today and say "the secular world is a Mushrik world?; the secular officials are Mushriks?; the secular decision makers are Mushriks?" These are the awliyaa' that are competing with Allah. When this type of mind is not at work, the mind retreats into petty, individual and personal issues to make them issues of division. So, it is not enough to read

only what Allah is saying and it is not enough to understand only what Allah is saying, this understanding has to generate the practical implications and the confidence that comes with being besides Allah, in the company of Allah and alongside Allah- that is what is required.

ISLAMIC HISTORY: SECOND THOUGHTS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah.... As we move ahead and try to dig up some facts that have been buried by generations and centuries of combined elements of ignorance, indifference, deviations and injustice, we should always remind ourselves of the accurate information that comes to us from Allah. In our pursuit of this truth, we are cognizant of Allahs words In their narratives there has been a learning, moving and touching experience, but only for those with core knowledge (Surah Ahl Imran verse 13) And Allah says Speak to them the accurate and the correct narrative, which may become a reason for them to think (Surah Al-A'raf verse 176) So when the information comes to us from Allah regarding previous chapters in human history that centers around Allah, His Scriptures and His Apostles (alaihis salaam), we don't just consider this for the sake of some history tale or story that we read to ourselves. It is meant to instigate our reasoning, to move our ideas and stimulate our thoughts. What is meant by recalling, reconstructing and recollecting these facts together is that we should consider these events in light of the mind and the reasoning that Allah has given us. We've spent many weeks considering the Islamic Political behavior that has gone unnoticed and placed deep down in the chapters of our history and been neglected. The purpose for doing that is to fulfill the meanings that Allah has mentioned in these ayaat. One important aspect or component of rejoining our thinking selves with this rich human experience that many Muslims, (yours sincerely included), are not conscious of is the appreciation that Allahs final Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) leaves us with. We have to repeat to ourselves that our human existence in this world in our relationship with Allah has suffered numerous setbacks in the history that goes back to the beginning of Prophethood and revelation. In a sense, we can say that there was a physical and material failure that describes this history. In these pertinent events, never have we scored a political and military sustained victory. The Prophets of Allah came and they tried their best, but in the physical and material sense, there was nothing that they could produce for the record. There was no Islamic state, no Islamic decision making body and no Islamic social order that we can speak about, with the possible temporary or passing exception of Dawud and Sulaiman (alaihimas salaam)- all the rest, there's no accountability for a fortified, anchored and extended Islamic success- it doesn't exist. There was frustration, there were times when the Prophets felt that they had run out of patience and they want to give up on this responsibility- and this was expressed throughout and throughout. Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa (alahis salaam) all came to that climax and statements were made.

My Sustainer, have not one of the kaafirs dwell on this Earth (Surah Nuh verse 26) My Sustainer, had been your will, you could have destroyed them and me long ago; would you destroy us for what the fools have done from within us (Surah Al-A'raf verse 155) O Allah I am overwhelmed and oppressed; come with victory (Surah Al-Qamar verse 10) But what happened after this historical sequence of less than material and physical success, because in every other sense of the word, all the responsibilities and tasks of these Prophets was a success- don't misread this history- only, in the physical and material world, it did not express itself as such. Then, finally, Allahs last Prophet comes with a break through. Now, there was the element of Fath that was absent in the previous, thousands of years of scriptural and prophetic history and Muslims had the physical and the material expression of their relationship with Allah. Islamic finally becomes a social order, a decision making process, a leadership, a government and a state. If we look at the deviation that took place when Muslim rulers became kings, monarchs and individualistic rulers absent the Shura, the equality, the popular participatory politics, freedom of expression, thought and conscience- we can understand that it is very difficult for Muslims to be very critical of this success having gone at the highest level in the wrong direction. People, even scholars, would hesitate to be critical of injustice and mistakes at the highest level when we are speaking about the 1 st and the only sustained physical, material, social and political manifestation of Allahs revelation in history. Some scholars would say "What are we doing? If we begin to criticize our rulers who have become kings and monarchs, we may be chipping away at this only success that mankind has- so we better be careful with that." This may explain to a certain extent some of the psychology that has been slow, indifferent or aloof and not willing to take a hard calculated look at mistakes when they happen. This type of attitude, especially now, after centuries of accumulation of these types of mistakes, cannot be justified by the Qur'an or the Sunnah. The 1st reconsideration we have to make, while acknowledging what we have is a historical responsibility. What we have is the only success in human history- Medinah, Islamic self governance and the growth of this reality unto other cultures and societies and civilizations is the only thing we have going for us, so when we turn critical of its mistakes, we should be very conscientious and very accurate- not some type of blank statement that throws away our deviations along with our accomplishments. This is not what we are doing and it is not what we intend. The 1st self-re-evaluation of ourselves is the notion of the Quraishia. From the 1st generation of the Muslims up until this day, in our political vocabulary, there is something special about Quraishafter Islam and after the Prophet. This we cannot find a rationalization for in the Qur'an or in the valid Sunnah. There's nothing special about any tribe, nationality or nationalism or family in the world. The ayaat of the Qur'an and the established hadiths of the Prophet make this very clear.

O People, be conscious of Allah who created you out of a single nafs, created of like nature his mate and from them scattered like seeds countless men and women (Surah An-Nisa verse 1) This is an understanding of the homogenization of the different strains and the corresponding varieties of the human social and physical condition. There's nothing that is in built in our understanding of Allah and His Prophet that gives a superiority to a family or a tribe or a nation when that is not accompanied by a consciousness of Allahs power presence in the individuals lives and in societies lives- anyone who breaks that rule and violates that consciousness, even if he is from the genetic material of Quraish, doesn't stand on favorable grounds with Allah. And We have rendered you into derivative strains of ethnic stocks and corresponding blocks of people and societies so that you may become familiar with each other, (not that you may rationalize wars against each other, not that you may give credence to discrimination amongst each other) (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) The Prophets words, "All of you came for Adam (alaihis salaam), and Adam himself comes from dirt, the soil of this earth. So, there is no preference for an Arab versus a non-Arab or the opposite and there's no preference for a white over a black or the opposite, except for the element of Taqwa," ie. the consciousness of Allahs power presence in human affairs and in social reality. So, no-one can come and bring you and me a blank statement that says that Quraish is the most preferred for the responsibility of ruling. Where does this come from? It has no basis. Even when some of the scholars researched something like this, they found that you can't fit a governorship superiority for Quraish comfortably in the context of understanding the Qur'an and the Sunnah. If, and there are some hadiths that mention Quraish, but if we were to understand them in the overall development and establishment of an Islamic political and social order, we would understand this as not giving preference to a tribe because of its tribal material, but giving it honor because it eventually has become the environment of this Islam. In other words, when the attachment and responsibility of Imaan is acquired by Quraish, centre most to it is the element of Taqwa, it gains honor and therefore, maybe a 1st of consideration when it comes to allocating the issue of governance, authority and leadership. We don't have a Bani Israel mentality in us and just because these are Quraish, and anyone born in this Quraishi setting are superior and the rest are inferior. This doesn't have an argument in the Qur'an or the validated Sunnah of Allahs Prophet. So, there's nothing wrong if we take a close look at this now that we want to assume our Islamic governmental character and say that this is not element to be taken into consideration, especially after all of these years- who can come and say that this person is a Quraishi descendant and this person is not?! There's no longer an accuracy as was the case fourteen hundred years ago when they used to have pedigrees for horses. They used to keep count of the blood connectionsmeticulously. That's no longer the case, so how can a person in our time, in the real world that we are in come and say that this person is a Quraishi noble and therefore he is more qualified to lead than the rest? It doesn't exist. By taking issue with this component in our political vocabulary, we're not trying to bring down what was accomplished then and the Islamic momentum and

Islamic movement of political opposition that continues up until our day- we can't confuse these two issues together. In looking at all of this, the other one is there's a concept called Ahl Al-Halli Wa Al-Aqd. It means, more or less in todays language, representatives of people who are assigned the responsibility of choosing, selecting or appointing a ruler. If you want to take our literature and our scholars back to the time of Allahs Prophet, that wasn't used. In the days of Allahs Prophet and in the days of his khulafa' (radi Allahu anhum), there was no such thing as Ahl Al-Halli Wa Al-Aqd. This may have been generated during the monarchy era or the individualistic ruling eras that followed after that. It's very hard to get a grip on what time frame it originated in. There are some who said it mat have gone back to the days of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radi Allahu anhu), it may have been a little before or after, whatever the case is, this concept is not a concept that finds it's justification in the words of Allah or in the words of His Prophet. The Prophet of Allah didn't say that if in the future you are going to decide on a governor or a ruler, you refer this issue to Ahl Al-Halli Wa Al-Aqd. So, what is wrong if we want to go back to our basics- the Qur'an and the Sunnah- and dust away the cumulative effects of time and say "we want to take it from here"- meaning we are going to have to go back to the concept of the bai'ah. People, the raw material of society; you and me are going to have to agree or disagree on who is going to make the ultimate decision for us. We can by-pass this if someone comes and says "we can place aside this Ahl Al-Halli Wa Al-Aqd issue or we can incorporate it in a process- it becomes one component in a larger process of deciding who the Imam, Khalifah or Emir Al-Mu'minin is going to be- and that's not going to take away from our successes. Another area that some of our minds are not informed of is when Al-Khilafah Ar-Rashidah was undermined by Al-Mulukiyyah- with the dynasty of Muawiya and what was to follow- and by the way, all the major administrations that the Muslims had after Al-Khilafah Ar-Rashidah- the Umawis, the Abbasis and the Fatimis- tried to draw on what is called the Quraishi legitimacy- all of them. With the disputes, wars, underminings, polarizations and antagonism that was among these three factions who eventually became the misguided rulers of the Muslims, they all drew on this legitimacy of this Quraish. Back to the 1st deviation in our history (we have to repeat, once again), the deviation doesn't take away from our innocent pride in the accomplishment of having an Islamic state in Al-Medinah and having a period that didn't deviate from the principles of the Qur'an and the Prophet, but little is it known- and this is why we bring forth this information- that when Muawiya imposed himself as the ruler of the Muslims under the title of Khalifah- it doesn't fit him- he was not a Khalifah, but when he imposed it as such, there were people who refused to give him the bai'ah. Al-Imam Al-Husein, Abdullah ibn Zubair, Ubaidullah ibn Umar, Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhum) among others, refused to give him the bai'ah. There were others, but these are the ones who are more or less well known to us. So, how do we have later on that many of us settled it in our minds that there was nothing wrong with this person becoming the king or "Khalifah or Emir Al-Mu'minin" of the Muslims? How does this happen? It happens when we don't have this vital information, it's not presented to us so things like this begin to

happen. We even have scholars, just to name a couple of Muslims scholars that are known for there position in Islamic history that had the overall state sponsored fiqhi mentality undermine their Islamic rational thinking- one of them is ibn Hazm and the other is ibn Khaldun- they're known, obviously, for their participation in this Islamic history that we're talking about. With the brave ideas that they had to offer, when it came to Al-Quraishiya and Ahl Al-Halli Wa AlAqd, and making a very clear distinction between the period of Al-Khilafah Ar-Rashidah and then the period of monarchy that followed, to put it mildly, they were ambivalent. They could not come out and with a Qur'anic and Sunnatic mind and draw the line and say that Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali were legitimate rulers of the Muslims who were following in the line of the Prophet and then the kings that followed after that were not legitimate. We're taking these as examples, with all the erudition, insight and mental capacity- Al-Mawardi, another Islamic type of scholar who worked his mind in the political area of things, may not have been as expressive in trying to attribute illegitimacy to rulers when they went off course. This is a matter that is yours and ours. This is not a time when we leave these cleavages open for the people who want to cause havoc in our midst and bad feelings amongst Muslims. This is the time when our minds rush in to fill the vacuum and empty area. We'll try to speak about this later on in more details, but the 1st expression of reconciling Muslims with an illegitimate Islamic political status quo- this may be a contradiction of terms- "Illegitimate Islamic" illegitimate is in the fact of the matter and Islamic is in the imposed term on the fact of this matter- it doesn't belong here, but that's what's being used. So, when we regroup this description in such a way, we do so taking into consideration the fact of what was really there and then the imposed propaganda on that fact. When we take a look at the Umawi, the Abbasi, the Mameleek, the Ottoman, the Safawi, the Fatimi and other scattered political entities around and consider them very closely, we trace the beginning of reconciling this political opposition, which we saw was expressed in terms of life and death at Karbala, Al-Harra, Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah, AlMedinah, Hejaz, Al-Bahrain and many other areas that we covered in these past weeks- we saw how Muslims, from their relationship with Allah and with the confidence of the teachings of the book of Allah and His Prophet opposed political deviation, but early on there was this trend that you cannot oppose by the use of force rulers who have gone off course. With all the opposition that ibn Taymiyah and ibn Al-Qayyim expressed towards the rulers of their days, what is left in the literature of today is that they say or attribute to these types of scholars (these two individuals, in addition to another person called Abu Ya'la Al-Farra' who is included in the early salafi history), statements such as "to live 60 years in conditions of dhulm, injustice and oppression is better than to live one night without Sultan, an authority or a government." That is one statements that they cling to, to justify the absence of opposition. Another statement that basically goes along these lines is that "it is not permissible for Muslims to express physical opposition to Dhalim rulers, because the consequences of that are worse than what we are opposed to"- as if we know what the future brings. They rely on an incident in which they say that people went to Allahs Prophet and they asked him, "Should we take on some Umara who are delaying their Salaah?" There's some question marks about this, but it is there- let's not question what they

consider to be a legitimate hadith- but in your right mind, who are these people who would come up to the Prophet and say "We want to take on, by physical force some commanders or governors who are delaying the Salaah." This had nothing to do with Iqamah As-Salaah, this is Ta'kheer As-Salaah. Then, the Prophet said, and look at the discrepancy in citing this hadithpeople are coming to the Prophet and saying "We think we should take these rulers or Muslim governors on by force because they are delaying As-Salaah" and the Prophets response was "No, you don't do that as long as they are responsible for Iqamah As-Salaah." They're speaking about Ta'kheer As-Salaah and the Prophets response was about Iqamah AsSalaah. With the inconsistencies that are in this narrative, it is extended to tell you and me that we are not supposed to object and oppose illegitimate rulers and illegitimate governors. Now, the landscape is littered with illegitimate rulers and governors and they want to extend this argument to us today and say "You Muslims- don't even think about it!" We can remind them by a hadith, a person, Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yamaan, comes to Allahs Prophet and he asks him "After this prosperity and abundance (this Imaan and Islam that Allah has privileged us with), that we have now, is there going to be a set back to previous conditions of jahiliyyah, denial and opposition to Allah? Is that going to happen?" Then, the Prophet of Allah said "Yes, it is going to happen." Then he said "So, what do we do? What is our fortification in times like that?" And he said "Bi Saif" As-Saif means literally the sword, but this is a reference to the use of power. When there was no Islam, meaning in the social, political and military dimension of things, Muslims did not equivocate or hesitate one moment to think about carrying arms. In this hadith that is across the board, the Prophet speaks about when times deteriorate- and they've deteriorated now there can be nothing beyond this. If people are trying to avoid a fitnah at that time, now there is a fitnah to the power 100, if not more, so what are you trying to avoid? None of this is going to make sense to people who don't want to think, reason and approach Allah and His Prophet with their minds. Brothers and Sisters, committed Muslims Just one of the issues- these issues come from time to time and they expose how vulnerable we are to the position that we are in- recently, and it's probably going to be in the news a little moreonly Allah knows, there has been a type of news incident that causes the type of confusion within minds that are disarmed from the type of information that we have been communicating- it is said that a person in Afghanistan, a Muslim by birth and maybe by rearing, becomes a Christian and there are some Muslims who say that he is guilty of Ridda. Brothers and Sisters, if a person is guilty of Ridda, that means that he denounces Islam in its social, political, military and economic expression besides its religious and ritualistic components after having given his word, ahd, and mithaq, his vow to Allah to uphold his political, military, economic and social standards of Islam. When todays Muslims are born and raised in families and societies that do not have any of these Islamic components to them, how can you come and accuse or say that when a person wants to cross the grey line that has marred the relations between Islam on one side and Judaism and Christianity on the other side and when a

person passes this grey line in its ritualistic and religious definition, that person of the crime of Ridda?! In the time of Abi Bakr, when Ar-Ridda was at its height, Muslims (so to speak) were praying and doing everything that everyone of us does. The only this they were not doing was they were not participating in the Islamic treasury, they withheld their Zakaah, they broke with the financial element of Islamic solidarity and they were called Murtad Deen. This may happen in other places and this is not encouraging anyone to step out of his Islamic personal responsibility, but it will happen and it's happening and it will continue to happen as long as we are delinquent in our supra or trans-religious and ritual responsibilities. We give fodder for these events to occur and then we turn around and say "we're going to drop the sword on your neck because you did something like this?!" You see- brothers and sisters, this is what happens when we no longer have the extended definition of Islam in our lives the way it was then- some people who are ill-equipped or lack this knowledge come and they want to draw conclusions and take away this persons life. They have taken away the heart and the mind of Islam in the world and don't want to return to that heart and mind and bring that heart and mind back to the human condition, and then, an individual like this who may be following his conscience or who may be doing this out of survival or for whatever reason- wants to go from being a Muslim in the religious sense to becoming a Christian or someone else and now, we remember that we have a little power that we want to use against a weakling individual like that. Then, there's a hey-day there's a lot of words and a lot of literature that's going to be written about this and in the form of the people who speak for the Muslims, we don't have a balanced mind that can go out with the information coming from Allah and His Prophet and clear the air on this issue- that's why we need more of this vital information and that's why we need more, to learn from our precious experiences.

PRELIMANARY ATTEMPTS AT REVIVAL

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah.... We will continue to try to bring down the barriers of ignorance. We place our reliance in Allah. Allah does not burden a person except for within the potential that He has given him (Surah At-Talaaq verse 7) You and I are privy to the developments of our time. We have been trying to concentrate our mind on what developed and undeveloped in our past and at the same time talking into consideration what is happening and in the making in our own time. We seek not to lose sight of these two "separate" time frames. Bombs are going off and innocent people are being killed, and as far as the Muslim public mind is concerned, it is supposed to be absent from these events. We are trying to have that absenteeism eliminated so that at least we are involved and enlightened in our conscience and mind with what is happening. The results are on Allah. We are not responsible for the results- we do our duty, we try as much as possible to express the truth, but from there on, wherever and how far that goes is no longer mine or your immediate responsibility. With the bombs that are going off and the explosives that are shattering lives in todays world- if you're tuned in to the past weeks news and if you listened to todays news, you will know exactly what we are referring to. These khutbahs are in the context of these unraveling events. We are somewhat familiar with the way politics and decision making in Islam have gone in the past 14 centuries- we should be aware of that because we are in continuum. Anyone who comes to you and tries to convince you that you have nothing to do with what happened in the Prophets (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) time, after that or in between that time and now- you place that person at a distance. We are a continuation of that generations and we want to make a better future than the mistakes that were committed in the past. The Prophet says "All the descendants of Adam (alaihi As-Salaam) are error prone and the best of these error prone individuals are those who make amends with Allah." But how can we do that if we are not conscious of what we have done or are doing?! This is the consciousness that we try to inspire from this position. Obviously we can't take individual by individual or ruler by ruler, we have to look at time frame after time frame- in the past couple of hundred years, there have been some individuals who sensed or realized that the political direction of the Muslims has been off course and something has to be done about it. Some of the Muslims, we're speaking about hundreds of millions of Muslims, not an intellectual elite, a sub-division of Islamic schools of thought, we're speaking about Muslim public mind, within this general, global public mind, there is acknowledgement that there were individuals who tried to correct the Islamic political course.

Some of these Muslims take an individual who was born and raised in Arabia about 200 and some odd years ago to be a reformer who sought to correct the mistakes that had become part of Muslim life. This individual is Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahab. He is referred to by some to be a person who has corrective program. We seek to say that more investigation has to be done concerning what is meant by a corrective program attributed to him and to those who call themselves Wahhabis. We want to know what is the correction? If by correction, you mean that there were public notions and general misconceptions that the Muslims were plagued with because a social and political environment that did not feed the mind- in other words, if some Muslims were going to graves and worshipping graves we know that any person who has just a shallow understanding of Islam would know that we are not permitted to worship graves. If there were individuals, communities or larger or smaller numbers of people who were doing that and they needed to be corrected, then the correction is due- there's no argument about that. Muslims don't elevate human beings and make out of them deities. But, how do you go about doing that? If a group of people are traditionally Muslims and they offer their reverence to a grave of a dead person, do you go up to them and kill them because they are doing that or you sit with them and follow the Qur'an? Call to the direction of Allah and to Allah Himself with wisdom and with acceptable or decent speech and if you want to discuss, debate or dialogue a matter with them, you do it with courtesy (Surah An-Nahl verse 125) What was done here? We don't want to dwell on this character because the information around him is dubious! One of the things that he did was, he went to Karbala and the dome in the Masjid of Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu) is destroyed and then, around 2,000 people are killed. This is not the way Muslims are supposed to correct themselves if there are Muslims who need to be corrected. But, that was done, it's part of our history whether people want to look at it or they want to look the other way. We've been looking the other way for a long time and we've reached the dire straits that we are in because we've been looking the other way- it's about time that we begin to look at our ownselves- this is part of our larger social self. What justifies doing something like that? If anyone agrees that this type of foray, with the bloody consequences that it had, and the after effects that we are still living with, let us hear from them, but as far as we understand Allah and His Prophet, this is not a conduct of a Muslim who seeks to advise or correct his fellow Muslim. We can go on to another personality that saw in the course of Islamic life that something is wrong. The words Iqra and Qum of the Qur'an Read, Proclaim in the name of your Lord who created (Surah Alaq verse 1) This cluster of ayaat Take a public position and proclaim the warning (Surah Al-Mudatthir verse 2)

and this cluster of ayaat need a human effort, they don't just need to be read, it's not enough just to vocalize these ayaat, but what is needed is human beings who can actualize these ayaat. So, we had another person who comes along, roughly around 200 years ago, and he also tries to bring back the lost effort. This persons name is Muhammed ibn Ali Al-Sanusi. This was a person who was born in, todays, Algeria and he lived in a context of time in which the Europeans were coming into Muslims lands- the French were beginning their colonization of northern Africa and he was brought up realizing what the colonialists wanted to do to the Muslims on one side and what the Muslims had done to themselves on the other side. He grew up, of course, he was educated in what may pass at the time as Islamic academic circles, and he realized how the Muslims themselves were ignorant. Going from country to country- he went from what is today called Algeria, to Egypt, to Arabia- he went to the Hajj, to Libya, and he realized that the forces that impact Islamic human existence are two major forces. The 1st one is the condition of a low level Islamic living. This has its negative impact on the Muslims and the Europeans who were bringing in their armies to occupy and control Muslim land- he sees these as a Muslim should see itThis Izzah belongs to Allah and His Apostle and the Committed Muslims (Surah AlMunafiqun verse 8) But, he looks around and he says "Where is this Izzah?" We encounter an individual, a person, a Muslim who had an element that many Muslims today don't have. Many Muslims today are satisfied not to have this Izzah, but he looks around and says "No! I'm not satisfied with this. We have to do something about it." After experience in life, contacts, obtaining correct and relevant information, movement around different Islamic areas- this was his own Ijtihaad- he was influenced by At-Tasawwuf in Islam, and mind you, at that time, Sufism or Tasawwuf was used by the colonialists to hush up or bring down any Islamic voice or character that had the courage to step out of the miserable conditions that Muslims found themselves in- so when someone says Mutasawwif or Sufi, don't automatically think that that's something good or that that's something bad- it depends on who you're speaking about. In this case, he figured that the Muslims are going to need a protracted struggle with the internal and external enemy. He set up what he called Zaawiyah, he set up around 200 Zawayah. These were concentrated in North and Central Africa and some of them were also in Arabia. What were these Zawayah? 1st of all, they were located in places that were thought out- either they were on commercial routes or they were in areas that had substantial living conditions such as flowing or artesian water or some type of water or they were in military sensitive locals. The way he was brought up in life, he would study half the day and the other half of his day was spent in what some people would call, martial arts or military training. When he placed into this immense geography these Zawayah, they were run like a combination of what was called back in the '60s and '70s communes and military bases at the same time. The people who were living there were required to volunteer one full day, Thursday, when they would go out and work the fields or do what is done without any compensation. This was for their collective selves- no-one was being

paid for it. After Jum'ah prayers, society would go out and exercise for the future military encounter. They fought against French colonialism and they tried to contribute towards bringing about a correction amongst the Muslims. Another effort, that was also to fill in between Iqra and Qum, the ayaat that we previously referred to, was by Ahmed ibn Muhammed Al-Mahdi in Sudan. This was another person who came from a very poor family. His family used to work what was called hard labor- fixing some marine vessels, boats or ships. He didn't have the money to go to school, but never the less, he was one of these souls who could see the pathetic condition that the Muslims were in. You come to ask yourself "Where are todays souls who have that caliber of character who can look and evaluate the condition of Muslims?" He also began to school himself, the best he could, until finally he determined that British colonialism had to be stopped and eliminated. What becomes at this time a common denominator in the efforts of these sensitive and motivated individuals, (we're trying to be somewhat sensitive and accurate about this), is that they almost equated the Ottoman rulers or their vessels, as was the case in Egypt, with the colonialists themselves. This was not an attempt by them to weaken Islamic self-rule as much as it was trying to re-capture the independence and integrity of Islamic power and Islamic politics. Therefore, they had their serious brush with the government in Cairo, Egypt as well as the Ottoman Sultan who was at that time, somewhat of a respondent to European pressures. In other words, if the war, somehow, was going negative for the Islamic power in Istanbul vis--vis the European powers, there may be some negotiations. Throughout these negotiations, the European colonialists would tell the Aasitana, or Istanbul "Look, we are encountering some trouble makers in North Africa and we want you to help us out." No-one should be surprised- if we are looking at gradual deterioration of Islamic rule that has been going on for over 1,000 years- then yes- we will have a Sultan or a ruler who is a client of the European powers- that's what we had at that time. These fought and they scored victories. They were not there at the time to say At-Tasawwuf has nothing to do with our military spirit. But we have, today and then, the same types of people who come and tell you if you want to be a sufi, you can't think about military affairs or the military world around. We heard, just a couple of years ago, that they are trying to get a Sufi trend in the United States, but they don't want a Sufi trend like Al-Sanusi or Al-Mahdi or Umar al-Mukhtaar or the others who fought against colonialism. They want their own types and they're probably behind the scenes still working on this project. They probably ran into some difficulties so right now, they say let us do more work behind the scenes than going out in public and speaking about this whole affair. These were the rumblings inside the Muslim body that tried within the context of their own geographies and societies and times to make the Islamic difference. They were followed by another generation who are favorably looked upon by the Islamic efforts of today. They were considered like the precursors to the Islamic movement and commitment of today. 1st one is Jamal Ad-Din Afghani or Asad Abaadi. 1st of all, what is unique about him is that no-one really knows whether this person was a Sunni or a Shi'i- but everyone claims him. Why? Because he was above and beyond the trivial differences in todays world that

classify one person a Sunni and another person a Shi'i. Obviously, he was born in Afghanistan. His lineage goes back to Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu). He was schooled in Islamic academics (if we can use that word), but in addition to that, he also gained the type of knowledge that may be called secular knowledge. He went from his home country to India. At that time, the British were the colonial power there. After a short while, they sensed that this person should not be around, so they forced him to leave. He went from India to Egypt. Once again, British colonialism was in Egypt and after a while he had to leave. He began going from country to country- it's almost like you can't keep up with him- Turkey, parts of Europe, back to India, back to Egypt, Iran, Iraq- he was all over the map. But, from the viewpoint of the Muslims today, looking back at him, what is clear about him is he was a contribution to the spirit that is needed in todays world. His duplicates are very rare. He had a student, Muhammed Abdou, an Egyptian, who was also born to a poor family. There's a message in this coming from a poverty stricken background. He made his way to the Azhar and he got turned off by the way knowledge is being taught in this Azhar. He came into contact with Jamaal Ad-Din Afghani or Asad Abaadi, and there was room for his mind to flourish. But, the Azhar took issue with him as it took issue with the Sanusi, before him. The sheikh of the Azhar at that time told the Sanusi "I'm going to go and kill you." He threatened him- this was Ash-Sheikh of the Azhar and this was one of the peoples personalities- both of them on opposite sides. The same thing- once again, we find that there was an attempt to use the Azhar against budding minds and lively spirits and just like Jamaal Ad-Din, Muhammed Abdou had a run-in with those who call themselves people of fiqhi because they refused to activate their minds and think more about what Allah and His Prophet are saying to them. Obviously, in a very limited quarter of establishmentarian or status quo Muslims they don't have a favorable image- but that is only a small and limited section of the Muslims. Add to that the rejuvenating efforts of two other people- in Syria, Abdur-Rahman Al-Kawakibi and in Al-Maghreb, Abdul Hamid bin Baadis. These were individual who also sought a change and who worked on realigning the Muslim public with what it means to be their own decisionmakers. Here, we want to note that Makkah was a magnate to them. Anytime they felt a little pressure in Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, wherever they felt pressure, they would go to Makkah. Abdur Rahman Al-Kawakibi went to Makkah and inside Makkah, he had a secret meeting with the scholars of the Muslims to try to bring everyone together for an all-out movement. As-Sanusi had a statement, he said "We want to bring the Muslims together, from Ghana to Farghana." They were not some local chaps who were going to be satisfied with a very limited Islamic ambition in their own geographical area or country that they came from. They were looking at the Muslims as a body of people in the world and they belonged to this body. There wasn't going to be any sectarianism or nationalism in their way such as has become the case with some of todays shining Muslim figures. When ibn Baadis went to Makkah, he met Algerian Ulema. This was the time when Makkah was open and no-one was telling you "You cannot come to Makkah or you cannot have a meeting or a conference in Makkah!" The Algerian Ulema told him "Why don't you have a Hijrah. Come and settle in Makkah." He said to them "We are the custodians of Islam, the language of the Qur'an and all of

this homeland of ours." It is said, Al-Kawakibi was poisoned to death- by whom (of all people)? Sultan Abdul Hamid, who was at that time what ever was left of a feint figure of a Muslim central authority. What are we going to do? Are we going to take a look at this and say none of this happened? This is exactly what the status quo establishment type of Muslims want you and me to be. None of this history, experience and details- don't even think about that. What we can learn from all of this experience and history and how we can ferment our public mind on this- none of that is permitted to be around. We are supposed to make do with the orders that come to us via the financial channels of a contemporary "Islamic movement". Our movement is not going to learn and we are not going to progress if we're not able to locate ourselves dead centre, in the middle of our historical experience and dead centre within the middle of our geographical existence, and not being placed in the margins because we come from a certain school of thought or country. These are alien concepts that have divided, pulverized and rendered us where we are today. Where are the Muslims who can emerge and re-capture the spirit and intent of Iqra (Surah Alaq verse 1) Take a public position and deliver the warning (Surah Al-Mudatthir verse 2) Our brothers and our sisters, committed Muslims In the course of the time frame and developments that we are trying to reclaim with thinking minds, pulsating hearts and an enlightened conscience and during the spread of these generations, there has been a concept that has worked its way into our thinking. That concept is secularism. No-one probably could forecast that secularism is going to take its toll on us, but it has and we have contributed to that. What do you expect when we shut off our thinking and when we don't learn from our mishaps? We create these gaps. One of these major gaps is the gap of secularism. Secularism may have been an arguable development in Euro-American history. They ran away from an oppressive church. Running away from it necessitated a new frame of mind and they found that new frame of mind in their secular pursuits, theories and governments. But how about us? What were we running away from? There was nothing equivalent to the church- we don't have a church a Rome or a Constantinople! So, how come some of us want to hold on to the flimsy explanations that come from secularists? Then, when some of us grab onto this secular way of life, we try to respond to it. One of the major responses to secularism in our Islamic literature is called Al-Haakimiyah, which roughly means governance. The 1st person to have elaborated on Al-Haakimiyah was Al-Marhoom Abu Al-A'la Al-Maududi. He was the 1st to come along and realize that there is a gap in the way Muslims have begun to interact with these secular concepts that were moving in with missionaries and militaries and he prolifically wrote about this and it was picked up by other Muslims. But the issue, even though this is a very important and integral part of Islam, is not only secular politics, but along with that, it is also secular thinking, secular economics, secular philosophy and secular religion itself. The response can only come from us, the Muslims, who part company with our own mistakes. When we identify with our past, it doesn't mean that we identify with our mistakes. We identify with our past to isolate our mistakes and not commit them again or else, we won't be able to make a Tawbah for it. If you don't realize your mistakes, identify your errors and

point out where you went wrong, then how are you going to make a Tawbah or ask Allah for forgiveness for it? But, if you don't want to look at this altogether, crank up your thoughts and turn on tour mind, as is the case with this Islam of officialdom, then we're going to mark time and stay exactly where we are with the forces of the world setting us back more and more because of out indifference and failure to reconsider who we are. It may seem like this is a gloom and doom political area in our Islamic past, but we have accomplishments and contributions to civilization and the human effort to raising the standard of living and the quality of life as human beings of earth and if Allah gives us time into the future we will speak about that. We will try to shed light on that so that we can take a look at what went wrong along with what we had right.

PUBLIC MIND: ABSENCE

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah.... To try to re-cap and bring into focus some of the previous information in these khutbahs, we realize that the world as it works is subject to Allahs orders and control. From beginning to end, from what is near to what is far, from what is observable to what is not, absolutely nothing is beyond or exempt from the management and involvement of Allah. He has created what is in the Heavens and what is in the Earth by virtue of the truth (Surah Al-An-'aam verse 73) From the simple fact of creation to the fact of management, Allah says about existence Everything within this creation, within the Heavens and the Earth, are in a mode of yielding to Allah (Surah Al-Baqara verse 116) There are scores of ayaat in the Qur'an that approach this whole construct from different perspectives, but that being said and realized, we come to one area in which there is a latitude or range in which Allah, whose affair is above our immediate mental understanding, has given us the freedom to acquiesce to him or to refuse to do so. This area that we are talking about is what is referred to as our will-power or determination. This is the area where we are responsible for. We're not responsible for anything else in this world; we are not responsible for galaxies that are far away; we are not even responsible for involuntary functions within our own bodies. We have no control and access to that. What we are responsible for is the implementation of our own will. The history of scripture rotates around this area in our lives. The history of Prophets (alaihim assallam) and Allahs Messenger (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) can be capsulated in the fact that they were assigned to synchronize this human will with the will of Allah. It turns out that the powers in this world- governments, establishments, officialdom, elites, landed interests- all of these and many others of similar construct were enemies of Allahs Prophets- because of what? Because of this simple task of relocating the will of man within the will of Allah. This is as simple as we can reduce the history of Prophets and scripture. Therefore, all of Allahs Prophets- some of whom we know of and others of whom we don't know of. Allah says to His Prophet Of the numerous Prophets and emissaries that He sent to mankind, some of them We have narrated to you and some of them we have not (Surah An-Nisa' verse 163) In this long history of scripture and Messengers of Allah, these figures or human beings, just like me and you, were in an opposition to the powers of the status quo that had deviated from the will of Allah and therefore were responsible for the deviation of societies from the will of Allah. So, the corrective effort of these Prophets who were guided by Allah fall into the category of a historical political opposition. This is the larger picture. The more focused picture that we were

dwelling on in the previous months relate to the opposition that developed in the Islamic context and history post or after the Qur'an and the Prophet. We realize that this history was compacted with the same line of opposition when an Islamic authority and government went off course and it seeks in the process to dislocate it's population, citizenry and constituents, we had Islamic personalities, movements, social trends that began to re-fulfill the mission of these Prophets, ie. to re-align the Islamic public will with the will of Allah. We took a closer, detailed look at many of these developments. For a moment, we want to refresh ourselves on the level that an Islamic governing body of people should be at as opposed to where it is now and has been sliding into for many generations and years. We can remind ourselves of the prototype Muslim decision makers in the 1st years that followed the Islamic state of Nubuwwa, which was 10 years. We had 10 years of Dawlah An-Nubuwwa, the Islamic state of Prophethood in which the Prophet, himself, was the ultimate reference and decision maker. That was followed by 30 years of what is called Dawlah Al-Khilafah. In these 30 years, we had a high standard of Muslim rulers. Just to remind ourselves of what we are talking about, because this is the only we're going to understand the difference between what we had then and what we have now- after the Prophet passed away and the Muslims had to make up their mind as to who is going to be the person who is going to fill in that vacuum, they chose a person. Previously, we went through what was accurate and what was not accurate about this process of deciding on who is going to fill in this vacancy, the highest office in Muslim lands. After that, we look at a person, this is Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), who the following day after he was chosen goes to the market. Some of us may not want to take a closer look at the meaning of this, but because we have trouble makers all over the place (some of us are trouble making inside our own meetings and get-togethers and we have trouble makers who come from outside- out and out enemies) we have to. After becoming the leader of the Muslims, this person on the following day sets out to the market. His colleague comes up to him and says "Where are you going? What are you doing?" He said "I'm going to the market. I used to make a living by selling clothes or fabric." This person was a fabric merchant- he used to sell some material from which clothes are made. He says "No! But now you are the head of the Muslims and you have to spend your time thinking about the affairs and what the Muslims as a society has to do." He says "Yeh, but I have a responsibility, and my immediate responsibility is to my family. Who is going to take care of my family?" He said "OK. Come on." They went to Abu Ubaidah (radi Allahu anhu), who was the treasurer of the Muslims. This was when the Muslims were still in Arabia. Remember, we're not looking at a hefty treasury and an endless budget- we're looking at some coins. They said "Come- lets try to figure out what is going to suffice for a Muslim ruler." Then, the treasure said "I will give you, from the Muslim treasury a garment that you will wear in the summer time and another one that you will wear in the winter time, (listen to this) and the quality of this garment that you're going to be given is not going to be something an upper class person is going to wear and nor is it going to be from what a lower class Muslim or citizen in this society wears. It's just going to be the average and you will have from the Muslim budget 4,000 dirhams a year." Dirham was not the gold currency- that was the dinaar. "You're going to be given 4,000 dirhams, the silver currency a year and we figure that that will take care

of your personal needs and the needs of your immediate family, thereby, you can now spend all of your time on regulating the affairs of the Muslims." The person who followed him, followed him in a similar manner- no extravagance, nothing much- living from day to day. It is said that after Abu Bakr passed away, he had 8,000 dirhams. That was exactly the amount of money that came to him from Bait Al-Maal, the Muslim treasury. He said that "he wanted this amount of money to be dispersed among the Muslims." So, in fact, this person did not accumulate anything from what came his way and what was his right as a servant of the public. The person who followed him, Umar (radi Allahu anhu), basically had the same characteristics. During his time, the Muslims had a year of famine and there were Muslims who were hungry and he chose to feed himself with exactly what these hungry Muslims were feeding themselves- that was whatever oil there was- olive oil according to some narratives- and what passes for bread. He was eating that for six months. Then came the exception to this in the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), when the Muslim budget was a considerable one and he said that "his understanding of ulil arhaam, those who were his blood relatives, and his duty to them was to give them positions in state"- something that everyone before him avoided. Here is where the 1st gap in Islamic governance took place. Then, we had Ali (radi Allahu anhu), and an indicator of his character and quality can be grasped in a couple instances. In the 1st incident, he finds a person who was in position of one of his weapons. This was in Al-Kufa, he doesn't have enough evidence to prove this in public so he has to take this affair to court. He takes the affair to court and because there was not enough evidence to prove that he possesses that piece of weapon, he agreed with the judges ruling. What can he do? This is the ruler of the Muslims, who cannot, with all that he has, prove that a piece of weaponry belongs to him. On another occasion, he encounters a judge, it could have been the same judge- this was in Al-Kufa by the way, it wasn't in Al-Medinah- and then this Muslim judge begins to show Ali hospitality, a good spirit, accommodating words and expressions to the exclusion of the other person in court. Then Ali says to him "This is the 1st expression of your injustice." There's not a case in front of the court yet, but the demeanor and conduct of such a judge was immediately evaluated and exposed by a person who is in his character and livelihood a life time of justice. We can easily plug or take out examples from their lives, but the issue is not to inundate ourselves with the many examples that they had in their lives. Remember, these were Muslims rulers who were walking the streets of the Muslim peoples; attending the Salaah of the Muslim public five times a day; they didn't have any security, guards, they were just like you and me. If they wanted to go somewhere, they went by themselves. This is a standard of character that began to diminish as the rulers turned from successors to Allahs Prophet to become kings, monarchs, authoritarians and autocrats such as what we have in our world today.

These were responsible for an Islam of Justice. We speak about freedom of Conscience, this was guaranteed to everyone.

After He has presented mankind with the truth, with what is right, balanced and correct, He says you have the right and freedom to commit yourself to Allah or to deny or reject Him. (Surah Al-Kahf verse 29 ) These types of Islamic rulers had to guarantee for everyone their freedom of Conscience and thought. There is no element of compulsion when it comes to your persuasion concerning matters of deen (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 256) Allah says to his Prophet Are you going to coerce people so that they become committed to Allah? (Surah Yunus verse 99) This is a question that negates that type of choice. In other words, you can't force people to commit themselves to God or Allah. We're talking about a standard of governance that has been absent to the extent that it makes our heart ache and only motivates those of us to see to it that it will come back. We don't have a policed state. Allah says to the Prophet You are not accountable for what they do if they choose as a matter of their conscientious priority a path or a route besides the one that is committed to Allah (Surah Al-An'aam verse 107) We had a standard of Islamic governance that beckons its parallel in our time. Having an Islamic decision making body doesn't mean we have a dictatorship or an authoritarian government! This form of governance guarantees to every human being the sanctity of human life. And don't kill a life that has been sanctified by Allah except if it be for fulfilling what is just, right and true (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) It guarantees the privacy of Muslims and not the intrusions on our private lives that we have in our lives today by dictatorial governments that breed on the mother of theirs in Washington. Don't enter domiciles not belonging to you until their is an air of acquaintance and familiarity and the greeting is placed between you and those who are its occupants (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 12) The Qur'an- these are the words of governing responsibility. And don't spy upon each other (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 12) The freedom to express the agony of being mistreated and oppressed

Allah does not favor expressing yourself with loaded words except if you are mistreated and oppressed (Surah An-Nisa' verse 148) Allah and the synchronization of our will with His, permits what is called Freedom of Assembly. Let there be an Ummah of you who agitate for what is prosperity, who mobilize to implement the Ma'ruf and to disestablish the Munkar (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 104) All of these and many other freedoms, rights and responsibilities that we encounter in this book of Guidance, the objective of which is to synchronize our human will with the will of our Maker are absent. There may be a trace of them around and they may have an artificial presence in some area, but the genuine pulse for which there can be many duplicates if we place our confidence in Allah and say "If it happened once, it can happen again and if we learn from our trials and errors." Nothing is going to happen, especially if we don't learn from our mistakes. This is what brings us from that standard and that lofty position, that we are speaking about and which is part of our past to what we have today. What do we have today? You can look at those who are making decisions for us- do they fulfill any of these features? Can you detect in them any ingredient of this type that we are talking about in the conduct and character of these individuals who were molded in the Qur'anic and Prophetic experience in life. Can you find them today? Certainly, they are not the kings and the presidents who are around! For that reason we have movements, sincere and dedicated attempts to bring back to real life what has almost become a fairy tale and to make it happen again. We brought all of this sequence of events to the past 100 years and a little more than that- we took a look at the precursors to what is called to day the "Islamic revival"- Jamaal Ad-Din Al-Afghani or Asad Abaadi, Muhammed Abdou, Al-Kawakibi, ibn Baadis- these were the types of individuals who sensed the distance between where we should be- where we once were but then where we are now and here. There's a vast area that separates us from where we should be in contrast to where we actually are. These individuals had there run in with authority figures. This is also another element that is absent from the average Muslim of today. An average Muslim doesn't have a run in with authority figures. It happens to be an integral part of our Islamic pastthat to live up to your standards and responsibilities, you have to have a run in with these types of authority figures. You can make a check list of your ownself- when was the last time you expressed the words and the will of Allah to those who are opposed to Him?! If you are honest to yourself, you'll find that it is scant if it is there at all. Muhammed Abdou, as an example, faced off with the rector of the Azhar university. Muhammed Abdou was trying to convince him "that the curriculum of the Azhar should be updated- in addition to the traditional studies of fiqhi, usul ad-din, lugha, tarikh and the rest of these subjects, there should be subjects of science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, etc." This person who was in charge of the Azhar could not get it and he told Muhammed Abdou "You have spent 10 years of your life gaining the knowledge that is due to you because of the curriculum that we have." The response to him by this person who had a run in with this authority figure was

that "I have to spend another 10 years trying to decontaminate my mind from the negative influence of the curriculum you have upon me." This same person, Muhammed Abdou, used to go to the Khudhaiwy, that is the title of the ruler of Egypt 150 or 100 years ago- listen brothers and sisters- to the type of aura that a committed Muslim has. The comment that the ruler of Egypt had about Muhammed Abdou approaching him was, he said "He would approach me as if he was a Pharoah." Don't get this mixed up- this was the ruler of Egypt describing how he felt when a Muslim scholar would walk up to him. He said "He appeared to me to be like a Pharoah."- not because he had any power, Muhammed Abdou had no power at all; he couldn't give orders to a military and he couldn't sign policies to a department of government- this was only a scholar, but the ruler of Egypt felt that when this person was coming towards him, he had the power of a Pharoah. His mentor, Jamaal Ad-Din tried his best to reconstitute an Islamic solidarity and to recap the nature of Islamic power in those times, (we're speaking about the hey-day of colonialism, the latter half of the 19th century and the 1st years of the 20th century) he tried his best to put together a nucleus of an "Islamic common wealth", referred to as Jamiah Al-Islamiyah in Hejaz, Najd, Tihama, but he couldn't. He ran into the powers that be there. He tried to do it in Egypt. He placed a premium on the role of Egypt, but he couldn't do it there because he ran into two powers- that of the Ottomons and that of the British. Finally, he said "Let us try to go and speak some sense to the figurative leader of the Muslims- As-Sultan Abdul Hamid in Turkey- in Istanbul." This is a Muslim individual, just like you and me, but look or tune in to their motivation and understand how to them authority and those in power didn't mean much- "Who are they?! If you are in the presence of Allah, who are these lesser beings that decorate themselves with militaries and the aura of power?! nothing much." They would go to them- so, he went to AsSultan Abdul Hamid to speak to him about how important it is to regenerate this Islam. In the opinion of As-Sultan Abdul Hamid, it seems like his mistake, if we can call it that, was that he was placing more emphasis on the Arab component of Islam and for that, he was given what may be called a golden cage. Jamaal Ad-Din was to spend the last years of his life in a golden cage in the Ottomon state. This Islam and all of these concepts, values, principles and standards that we are responsible for are not given to any one. There has to be an Islamic sense of togetherness and this cannot come by just one individual and it will not come by wishful thinking; it comes by action that is solidly located in the mentality of this Qur'an and this Prophet to whom we claim a heritage and a history but to whom we have shown a failure. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims Because we, ourselves, do not approach it, there is a subject that has been left beyond our common minds, thoughts and sense and it has become somewhat of a sensitive and a polarizing issue. That issue is the public mind that comes from understanding the Qur'an. If we were to use another word, some of us may either feel some nationalist or some sectarian sensitivities, so we're avoiding these types of buzz words. The Qur'an requires a public mind. For this reason, Allah has related to us in His calculated words

In fact, We have brought down to you an Arabic Qur'an so that you may discipline your reasoning (Surah Yusuf verse 2) There are several other ayaat in the Qur'an that indicate or teach us the way of developing a Qur'anic and Prophetic mind. The French tried to do this is Algeria- may Allah forbid, they wanted to take away the Muslim public mind from those people. The say, the best way to do that is to make them speak in another language. They tried for over 100 bloody years to dislocate a population away from its public or potential public mind and they failed. Now, the effort is on, by the same sources of colonialism and imperialism along with their zionist masters to block the potential of a Qur'anic and Prophetic public mind. It's not enough to have a few scholars here and there and it's not even enough to have a few Islamic governments here and there. What would make an Islamic scholar and an Islamic government of any essence and any value is an Islamic public mind. This is the issue of our time. We have to reconstitute this Islamic public mind. After that, the pieces are going to fall into place- not before that. This is extremely important t o understand, or else the issue that occupy alot of our time... we don't know, we're just going to throw out an issue... A person of Islamic weight and value comes out and says- this was said a few hundred years ago- "there's nothing in this garment except Allah!"- then you had the deteriorating Islamic public mind come and say "these are words of kufr! We're going to take you and tell you that an Istighfaar is due. You must ask Allah for Maghfirah for what you said." What did he say?! These are called sufis in the books and the literature that you read. In the absence of a Muslim public mind, another statement that can take a person to court and even to the executioner is, (roughly translated), "O Allah, Who has not been veiled except by His light and Who never concealed Himself except that He is extremely apparent" and on he goes... Then the people want to execute this person- because of what?! The technicalities that are brought to bear in the absence of a Muslim public mind. Today, we have a similar thing- a scholar in Sudan- Hassan At-Turabiwe may have our disagreements with some of what he says, but how can a person be taken to the gallows for expressing his heartfelt, conscientious ideas about what Allah and His Prophet are saying. This happens when we don't have a common Muslim public mind.

MORE DETAILS FROM THE THIRD KHALIFS REIGN

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah.... Allah says to us And for certain, this is My Siraat- the direct approach to me- as it is straight, therefore follow through on it and do not be distracted by other approaches and avenues. If you do, you will go astray from this direct and forthwith access to Allah. This is Allahs advice, council, remaining word and bequest unto you (Surah Al-An'aam verse 153) Obviously, if a Muslim absorbs the meanings of these words from Allah, he need not be concerned with whatever other comment comes his or her way. We have been, for some time, trying to bring into our focus of attention many areas and issues that have been, either, neglected or purposely omitted from our sphere of attention. Brothers and sisters- even though we alluded many times to it, we haven't spoken very much about the grand plans that are at work today. There are two major strategies to basically shred the Muslims and divide them beyond hope. One of these policies is a-foot in Africa, particularly in Sudan. The purpose and the objective of this is to have an internal Islamic hemorrhage on the basis of racism. What they are trying to do in this area is to have the African continent embroiled in a divide between what they will call "black Africans" on one side and "Arab Muslims" on the other side. It is no wonder that you will see some of the signs raised at synagogues trying to promote this agenda- they'll not come out and put it in these terms, but this is what they are trying to inflame on one front- this is of course, a racism issue. On the other front- in Iraq, they are trying to inflame a sectarian issue. Because sectarianism has taken its toll on the Muslims, we have devoted many weeks and months to try to bring into the realm of our mind where the beginnings and the susceptibilities of the Muslims are when it comes to this issue of sectarianism. We gave a broad coverage of the initial political developments in Arabia, way back, in the generation of the Prophet and the generations that followed. Now, we will try to fine tune this information, because even though they were presented in khutbahs, there's not a public mind that is at work with these issues and it's easy for these issues to drift away- so, it behooves us to come back and recap some of what may be considered the core issues that have become feed for sectarianism. We go back to the time of Uthman (radi allahu anhu)Remember, this information does not come from extremist literature, because on both sides of sectarianism there is extremist literature- we avoid this extremist literature. We go and try to find the information that is

presented from thinking minds and un-disturbed psychologies. - Listen brothers and sisters, because this information does not normally come your way- we go back to the time of Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and we notice that he did not assign any significant government position to anyone from Bani Hashim, ie. his own derivative family line of Quraish. The Prophet of Allah did not give office or any responsibility to anyone from Bani Hashim with the exception of Ali ibn Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhu). That being the case, there was no objection from anyone, even those who were in their hearts of hearts nationalists or tribalists and felt that they were Quraishis 1st and Muslims 2nd or Umawis 1st and Muslims 2nd or they felt that they were Arabians 1st and Muslims 2nd- these types of feelings were present beneath the Islamic surface. None of them objected to the fact that the Prophet had given responsibilities to Ali ibn Abi Talib. After the Prophet, Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) refused, as a matter of principle, to have anyone from his family, extended family or any relative of his gain a position in the Islamic state. After him, Umar (radi Allahu anhu) refused to have anyone from his family, relatives or from his extended family assume responsibilities or office in the Islamic state. This was a pattern until brothers and sisters our speaker and brother catches it from everyone because we have Sunni fanatics and Shi'i fanatics- and because we try to speak the truth as honestly and as conscientiously as possible, we hear it from both these extremes and it doesn't matter if a person engrained with the words of Allah, it doesn't matter- whoever these fanatics or irrational people may be- let them express their emotional reactions. When it comes to Uthman, we find this person to have committed a violation of the Prophets code and the way Abu Bakr and Umar followed. Once again, we have to draw your attention to this area because this area is taken away from our public mind. We find that Uthman began to give numerous positions of governmental responsibilities to his immediate and extended family. What are we going to do here? In a moment, we'll explain this, but before explaining it, what do we do? Do we say Uthman cannot commit mistakes? He's not a Prophet and he's not a Messenger- he is a person who sacrificed for the course of Allah and may Allah reward him for those sacrifices, but if he steps out of line with Allahs Prophet and the book of Allah, he is subject to correction. We cannot correct him now- he is gone. There's about a 1,400 years that separates us from him, but what have with us are the decisions that he made. If they are correct, we will accept them open heartedly, but if they are wrong, it is our responsibility to bring that fault to the light of our common mind. This is what people have not been doing. They've been jumping around these issues with their emotions. Let's take our emotions out and look at these issues with our mind. We went through the issue of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman succeeding Allahs prophet- we covered that territory. The fact of the matter is- through an incomplete political process that was endorsed by Muslim public opinion at the time, Uthman becomes the Khalifah of Rasulillah and at that time, the ruler in Al-Kufa, was Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu)- a figure of stature in the 1st generation of Committed Muslims around Allahs Prophet. Uthman comes and he relieves Saad ibn Abi Waqqas of his governorship of Al-Kufa and he places in his stead AlWaleed ibn Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet. This is Uthmans half brother. When this is done, what do we

say? We're going to cover a little more of the character of Al-Waleed, but before we go into the disqualifying details of the character of this new governor in Al-Kufa, the fact is it has become a violation of the code of the Muslim Khalifah or ruler to appoint any of his relatives to the high offices of an Islamic state. This was a mistake and the Muslim mind has to mature enough to take a look at this and say "this was a mistake" and say it in such a way that it doesn't stir the emotionalism of history. This is not an easy task, but it has to be done. We have inherited 1,400 years of an emotional polarization that some people, officials, commanders, executives and heads of state are trying to ignite to burn the Muslim house from inside. This is the beginning. Then, there is Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari who is the governor of Al-Basrah at that time. We really don't know the details of whether it was Uthman personally who issues the orders or whether it was his close circle of advisers, who were his family, once again, but he says to Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari "you are no longer the governor of Al-Basrah" and he appoints Abdullah ibn Aamir. Abdullah ibn Aamir is Uthmans uncles maternal son. He says "you go and become the governor of Al-Basrah." To put it in todays context, if you take away the political, ideological and religious character of Makkah and Al-Medinah, and if you're looking at the United States- AlKufa and Al-Basrah were something like New York and Los Angeles in the United States todayso that you can get a sense of what we're speaking about, we're not speaking about some remote, disconnected and irrelevant areas in the Muslim realm. These are two very significant urban centers in a growing Islamic reality of the world at that time. Then, he turns to the ruler in Egypt, who was Amr ibn Al-Aas, and he says "You are also relieved of your responsibilities" and he places instead of him Abdullah ibn Saad ibn Abi Surah, who is also his half brother or a brother who shared his mother at the time when they were breast fed. The Muslims are not absent minded from this. There's a Muslim public opinion. These things were being done and this Muslim public opinion was observing what's being done. During the time of Umar, Muawiya was just a governor over Damascus. The area of Shaam, which is Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon during the time of Umar had four administrators or governors. During the time of Uthman, all of these four administrative areas were combined and given to Muawiya. So now, Muawiya was in charge not only of Damascus, but of Hims, the area all the way north to the Byzantine borders, and then, in the south it was Jordan and Palestine and Lebanon to the west and Muslim public opinion- AlMuhajirun and Al-Ansaar (radi Allahu anhum), were watching this and saying "this is not right." It wasn't expressed in a political movement- it was just by word of mouth. People were contacting and meeting each other and saying "what's going on, this is not right!" Then, to add what may have been considered the most abrasive act of all, ibn Al-Hakm, who is the cousin of Uthman, was given by Uthman a position which is similar to a secretary-general in todays political administrations. Marwan ibn Al-Hakm becomes the secretary general of the Islamic state. Number one- these are all the relatives or family of Uthman and number two, all of these were Tulaqa'. These were the people of Makkah who opposed and fought against Allahs Prophet and Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar until the last year and the Prophet amnestied them. These opponents of Allah, His Prophet, Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar and Islam altogether were braising for some type of penalty from Muhammed (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) but no- he said "You're free to go." It's from this (let's use a borrowed word) class of people that we have the highest echelons of

government during the time of Uthman. Let us take a look at at least a couple of these personalities so that we can feel and understand how the conscientious Muhajir and Ansaari felt when this was unfolding in front of their own eyes. They were the ones who had sacrificed from the beginning and all of a sudden, they found these latter day Muslims assuming these positions. Let us take a look, 1st of all at Al-Waleed ibn Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet. This was the appointed governor of Al-Kufa. What do we find in his background? 1st of all, he became a Muslim in the last year of the Prophets life, then, before the Prophet passes on, he gives him a simple responsibility. This should have been a lesson for anyone who came thereafter. He told AlWaleed to "go and obtain the zakaah of Bani Al-Mustaliq". This is one of tribes in an area in Arabia at a distance from Al-Medinah. Al-Waleed was tasked in his 1st year of Islam just to go obtain the zakaah, and bring it back to Al-Medinah- which sounds like a simple task- nothing to it! Al-Waleed leaves Al-Medinah, he goes for a few days and then he comes back and he tells Allahs Prophet that "the people you sent me to collect zakaah from were going to kill me so I had to run away". At this point, the Muslims and the Islamic state went on alert, expecting hostilities from Bani Al-Mustaliq. Remember- in the last year of the Prophet, there were power factions in Arabia who were showing signs of breaking away from the Islamic state because they didn't want to pay their zakaah. So, the internal feelings of the Muslims in Al-Medinah was that Bani Al-Mustaliq may be gearing up for a break-away action from Al-Medinah. In todays language, Medinah was on high military alert. Then, the news that came to the people of Banu AlMustaliq indicated that Al-Medinah, the Prophet and the Islamic state is potentially beginning offensive military actions against Bani Al-Mustaliq. So, they sent emissaries to the Prophet who explained to the Prophet that "we were expecting you to send anyone at anytime to us and collect the zakaah, but no-one came". So, Al-Waleed had fabricated an incident that could have potentially ended in a war between Al-Medinah and Bani Al-Mustaliq- you would think that an act like this would disqualify anyone from public office- it didn't- because he eventually became the governor of Al-Kufa. When he became the governor of Al-Kufa, he led the prayers of AsSubh or Al-Fajr and he prayed four rak'aat. Any simple Muslim knows that Al-Fajr is two rak'aathe prays four rak'aat and after he finishes, he turns around to the Muslims that he is leading and he says "do you want me to add more to it?!" The, he was caught in the act of imbibing intoxicants, in other words, he was drinking until he got drunk. All of this news would go back to Al-Medinah and finally, when Uthman was convinced that this person was in violation of his personal Islamic standards of conduct and in violation of the political code of Islamic conduct, Uthman tells Ali "to execute the punishment on Al-Waleed" which in the Islamic legal code is 40 lashes. Because of the sensitivity of the issue that goes back to when Uthman was selected in preference to Ali, Ali gave that responsibility to another person. Marwan ibn Al-Hakm, who has become almost the 2nd man in charge in the Islamic state is Uthmans cousin. Let's take a look at his background. Once again, we have to remind you that we are taking a look at his background from reliable, mainstream almost consensual Islamic books of history and seerah. Who is Marwan ibn Al-Hakm? He is the son of Al-Hakm ibn Abi

Al-Aas. Who is this character? This is another Taleeq- another person who became a Muslim during the last year of the Prophets life and he was among those who was amnestied. He came to Al-Medinah- Al-Hakm, Marwan's father, along with the family moved from Makkah to AlMedinah. In Al-Medinah, Al-Hakm began to relate inside information- the Prophet would discuss some of the sensitive issues of Islamic society and state among his confidants and somehow word would get out to Al-Hakm who would divulge what is considered to be something like state secrets to the Mushriks of Arabia. Besides, he had a personal flaw in him. He would imitate or make fun of the Prophets character, but it wasn't for the latter that the Prophet told him "you have to leave Al-Medinah", it was because of the former- because of him passing on sensitive information to the enemies of Allah and His Prophet, so he told him "you go to At-Taif and you stay in At-Taif." He went. No-one can disobey the Prophet, so he and his family went to At-Taif. At that time, his son, Marwan, was probably about eight years old or so. The Prophet passes on and then Abu Bakr is in charge of Islamic affairs and Al-Hakm approaches Aba Bakr by people that he knows and he seeks an amnesty. He wants to return to Al-Medinah and doesn't want to stay in At-Taif. Abu Bakr says "I refuse. The Prophet placed you there, you stay there." Then, Abu Bakr passes on and Umar is in charge and again he is approached by Al-Hakm or those who represent him and they say "Al-Hakm and his family want to move out of At-Taif and they want to come back to Al-Medinah." Umar says "No! If thats where the Prophet puts him, that's where he belongs." But now, when Umar passes away and Uthman becomes the leader of the Muslims, he says to Al-Hakm, remember, this is his cousin- "you may come to AlMedinah." - and he comes. When the Muslims go to Uthman, knowing this history, and ask him "What are you doing? The Prophet placed him there and Abu Bakr and Umar kept him there, why are you bringing him back?" Uthman said "I had approached Allahs Prophet concerning Al-Hakm during the Prophets life-time and he had promised me that eventually he would come from At-Taif to Al-Medinah, so I took that to mean that I have the permission to bring him from At-Taif to Al-Medinah." So he comes- and he doesn't come just as an average citizen, (so to speak), he comes and he is placed in the highest office of the Muslims, to such a degree that many Muslims were under the impression that the true ruler of the Muslims is not Uthman but it is Marwan ibn Al-Hakm. Brothers and sister- this is the area in which our enemies want us to misunderstand each other and then, absent our mind from these facts in our history, they will wait for the appropriate time and throw a match in this combustible atmosphere among the Muslims and watch us go up in flames. Did Uthman, commit mistakes or do some wrong things? From all that we know, the answer is yes. But, what does that mean? Does that mean that some one of us- whether you're a Sunni or a Shi'i- is going to take it out on the other? What does this have to do with you- a socalled Sunni or a so-called Shi'i- 1,400 years later, trying to take it out against each other. It doesn't fit- what you have to do as a so-called Sunni or a so-called Shi'i is to understand what happened and then spread that understanding to the rest of the Muslims so that our mind can correct our mistakes.

When the Prophet of Allah returned to Makkah, he said "there are a few individuals, who even if they were to hide behind the curtains of the Ka'ba, their blood is Halaal." One of them was the person who Uthman appointed as the governor of Egyp- and it was Uthman himself who intervened with Allahs Prophet to spare Abdullah ibn Saad ibn Abi Surahs life. Some of you consider yourselves Sunni and some of you consider yourselves Shi'is- if any of you, after hearing all of what you heard, feel that somehow you have some fuel against your brother Muslim who is not your type of Shi'i or not your type of Sunni, you're thinking with your emotions and you're not thinking with your mind. Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims Muslim public opinion is still Muslim public opinion! Because we haven't worked our mind on these issues that means we still have them. In the time of Allahs Prophet, there was an Arabian culture. In our times, under the umbrella of Islam, in addition to an Arabian culture, we have other cultures that are at work- we have a Turkish, Indian, Persian, African cultures- they exist and these cultures are going to continue to damage our ideological character if we are not totally and absolutely devoted to Allah- word-by-word, step-by-step and phase-by-phase in life. The Arabian culture, as is the case with other cultures, could not swallow the fact of equality in Islam. They couldn't live with the fact of Shura in Islam. They could not tolerate the central concept of justice in Islam. They wanted to maneuver around all of this and bring back this universal and growing phenomenon of Islam and fit it into their peculiar culture. We looked in the past and we still are looking at how this unraveled and how there was a transformation from a Prophetic manner of ruling until it became kingdoms, monarchies, autocrats and authoritarian regimes. Do you think this doesn't exist today? You can take a look at the real world- you can look at where there is an Islamic state and you can take a look at where there are Islamic movements and you will be hard pressed that they are culture-free, and if they are not culture free, then they are susceptible to these unsolved mistakes that have been buried, either by emotionalism, neglect or ignorance. When opportunists came to Ali after Al-Jamal, by the way, for your information, there is in the books of history a narrative that says that Marwan ibn Al-Hakm is the one who killed Talha (radi Allahu anhu)- anyways, whether it was the person who killed AzZubair (radi Allahu anhu) or the person who killed Talha, they came up to Ali. One of them brought the sword of Az-Zubair to Ali and said to him something to the effect of "This is the sword of your enemy and a sword that may belong to you more than him." He refused to take it and said "Do you know how many lives this sword of Az-Zubair had killed to defend Allahs Prophet?" He wasn't caught up in this petty, superficial, emotionalism that some of us are in. Then, the other person or the camp that killed Talha, some of these individuals felt that they had killed someone like the most dangerous enemy of the Muslims and he looked at this attitudehe wasn't very much concerned with the person himself- and he said to him "It may be that Allah will have the ayah in the Qur'an And We shall remove from their breasts any deep feeling of bitterness that they may have so they will be like brothers facing each other on

thrones (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47)-that means the type of animosity and hostility that superficial people have is not the type of differences that divided this 1st generation of Muslims." As a reminder, it was in Al-Waleed who fabricated the incident of Bani Mustaliq that the ayah O you who are divinely secure in your commitment to Allah, if a Faasiq, a degenerate comes to you with some information, verify it, lest you slander other people and that becomes a cause for regret for you (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 6) was revealed. If you want to review the books of tafsir, you are free to go there, but go there equipped with the information that has been lacking for so long.

MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS FROM KHILAFAH TO MONARCHY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah.... In light of the incessant interference of those who have been as a matter of character and history at war with Allah, His Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and the committed Muslims and due to the fact that, today, we are living yet another chapter of the dirty hands that are trying to destabilize not only our thoughts and emotions but our countries and societies. They're trying to do this in large part today, relying on our failure, inability or unwillingness to look at each other with open minds and hearts instead of looking at each other through the prejudice of time and the inaccuracy of some historical versions of events. We will continue to press on and say what has to be said, even though sometimes it is uncomfortable to say it as it may be uncomfortable to hear it- but if we don't express the truth, as much as we understand to do so, and as long as we don't listen to the truth, as much as our capacity for listening is, then we will continue to have what we having been having all along- but we don't want a continuation of the status quo. Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims- we have been taught by Allah and His Messenger to state the facts and not be bothered by what other people may say and not to react to the presumptions of others and not to be reactive in our ownselves. Part of this meaning is included in the ayah And don't let the dislike of a people distance you from justice- try your best to be just- this is an expression of Taqwa and a proximity to (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 8) Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims- we will try to go slow motion back to the time when Islamic political participation began to disintegrate- a time when equality was eased away by inequality; a time when justice was being substituted with injustice and when the free Muslim mind and conscience were being trimmed or sliced into silence. I know that some of us have scant information and we've been trying for many months to fill in this void, and we'll continue to do so in a manner that only is conscious of the truth and the facts. Those who communicate Allahs messages and stand in awe of Him and fear no-one besides Allah (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 39) This has to be the character that describes our psychology, state of mind and our interpersonal relations when it comes to this area in our past and in our present.

When the 3rd successor to Allahs Prophet was assassinated, (we hope you can conjure the information that we mentioned pertaining to this event), but as a matter of a reminder, he didn't have any security guards, he didn't have a military that he would unleash against the people and he refused any type of protection because he thought that what he was doing was right. We said that some of what he was doing was wrong. When he was assassinated, whether you look at it as a day of the assassination of the leader of the Muslims, with the mistakes that he had, or whether you look at it as a day when the Muslims 1st expressed their 1st popular uprising against a ruler who mistepped As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim- whichever way you want to look at it, it's not one of these days that is built into our memories. Why? Because none of these events are located in our mind. There's a lot of emotions, stereotypes and prejudice about them, but the element that is lacking is "a lot of thinking" about them. We don't need the other elements, we just need our calculated thoughts about what happened. That was the 18th of Dhil Hijjah, the last month of the year and the year was the 35th year of the hijrah. When he was assassinated, (as we said, we'll just look at it with our minds in slow motion), we ask ourselves with all the legitimacy to remove a ruler who has committed serious errors, the movement to unseat a ruler who has stepped out of the Sunnah of Allahs Prophet, like Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) did, that type of popular movement can be accommodated by understanding Allah and His Prophet. There's nothing that says that Muslims cannot correct a ruler when he goes wrong. To the contrary, there's every meaning and encouragement to do exactly that, ie. to correct a ruler when he goes wrong. The Prophet of Allah says "For sure, you will take his hand and lead an offensive ruler in the right direction, you will place him in the context of or you will make his reference the elements of truth and justice, because if you don't do that, Allahs going to jam your hearts." The Prophet also says "One of the expressions of jihad is to speak truth to delinquent powers." We enumerated Uthmans mistakes- when he committed these mistakes, he was subject to popular correction- to the Muslim rank and file telling him "you are wrong and you have to correct yourself." What happened though is that we didn't have a "thought out" popular movement to correct a ruler when he no longer in the footsteps of Allah Prophet. This is an area that still needs the scrutiny of your mind and my mind- what we had was a couple of thousand people coming from distances and it appears to some that they took the law into their own hand. This type of social conduct has no precedent or foundation in the Qur'an and Sunnah and has no justification. The Masjid was an open place- this was before we had the closed Masajid that we have today. These Masajid are only physically open, but they are mentally and socially closed. At that time, the doors of the Masaajid were far flung for those who wanted to come to the Masjid with their social and ideological issues. So- if they could do that in the Masjid, the 1st question that needs to be asked is "Why did they storm the place that Uthman was living in This doesn't indicate a calculated expression of the Qur'an and the Prophet, but we had this happen. Even though it happened, it's one of the least deliberated areas in our history- no one wants to speak about it. This is where we are wrong. It's very easy to criticize someone else, especially when that someone else was 1,400 years away, but look at ourselves today. No-one wants to speak about this issue with their minds. Uthmans wife had told him "I think you better get rid of Marwan ibn Al-Hakm because he's going to kill you!" He

didn't take the advice of his wife. Why did he not take the advice of the Muslims nor of the closest person to him- his own wife? Her name was Naailah. We're saying this- brothers and sisters- as a matter of honest and sincere reading. It doesn't appear that we know why he was resistant to advice. This is not the behavior of a Muslim ruler. A Muslim ruler is very much open to the process of Shura, consultation, advice, counsel, feedback- this is all part and parcel of a person who is in the position of Uthman. As some people said, was it a matter of senility or dementia? - we mean- some people get old and this person, by all accounts, was a very old manin his eighties. So, in the absence of accurate information here, what are we going to do? Are we going to create information for ourselves and say "we know for sure that he was this way or that"?! We can't do that. In the absence of accurate verifiable and reliable information, this areawhy he did what he did- is going to remain a grey area. But the fact that after he did what he did we cannot evaluate that- that is wrong. This is not a person who is Ma'soom, he's not a person who is beyond making mistakes. He made these mistakes, but he wasn't a tyrant who would call in the military to kill the Muslims public to defend his errant ways. He died and what happened after that was that a person takes the shirt of Uthman that was stained with his blood from Al-Medinah to Damascus and the shirt was in what we say today "on public display". Everyone could see it- "see what happened- a person, not an average or regular person, but the leader of the Muslims was assassinated by some (this is the way the news was presented in Damascus at that time) criminals." At this point, we don't know whether there was or there was not a criminal element in those who assassinated Uthman. If anyone comes to you and says, for sure, "there was a criminal element in it", or anyone else on the other side comes and tells you, emphatically, "there was no criminal element in it"- both of them are wrong because we simply just do not know. But if we don't know this detail of history, this doesn't mean that you or we or anyone else has the right to fill in the blanks with our own prejudicial inclination. We can't do that, but unfortunately, this is what happens. So, they placed this on the Mimbar, in the Masjid is Damascus, where people come. After the demise of Uthman, remember, Uthman was assassinated in Dhil Hijjah year 35 and , when Ali (radi Allahu anhu), became the legitimate leader and ruler of the Muslims, the following month, Muharram, the 36th year of the hijrah, which was a month later, Ali relieves Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan of his position in Damascus, but this person refuses to budge. Ali is the legitimately elected leader. He gained the bai'ah of the majority of the Muslims. Even books that tend to be critical of Ali (in a historical sense) only count between 17 and 20 people who refused to give him bai'ah from among tens of thousands of people in Arabia and beyond who whole-heartedly agreed to his leadership. There's only between 17 and 20 individuals that refused to give him the bai'ah- according to these books that are critical. Muawiya, who's in Damascus, says "I'm not going to accept it. I'm out to seek revenge from those who killed Uthman." So, Ali sends him an emissary. Before he does that, Ali tries to appoint a person, Sunbul ibn Hanif, to replace Muawiya. As he was on his way to from Al-Medinah to Damascus, he was intercepted at Tabuk, an area roughly in the Southern Jordanian/Northern Arabian area, by a dispatch of individuals who were armed by Muawiya and they told him "it's better for you to go back and not proceed." Seeing that he himself did not have the power to finish his journey to Damascus, he returns to Al-Medinah. Thereafter,

Muawiya sends a person to Al-Medinah to communicate what's on his mind. When he arrives in Al-Medinah and after he has a session with Ali, Ali asks him "What is it? What are the goals and the objectives of those who are ruling in Damascus?" He says "They are concerned with getting even." Getting even is in reference to the assassination of Uthman. "I left behind me 60,000 shaikh, seniors, who were crying beneath the shirt of Uthman at the Mimbar, in the Masjid in Damascus." So, Ali said "Ok. Who do they want to get even with?" And he said, these are his words, which means something like "From the fibres of your own self." So, you realize that these are no longer an issue of people in Damascus who feel they are out to do justice. They are out to target a particular person at that early time. This was before Al-Jamal, As-Siffin- before all of that. One of the elements that has to be well established in our mind when we begin to look at these issues with a calculating mind is that when Ali assumed the responsibilities of the highest office amongst the Muslims, the Muslim public was roughly split along three counter blocks or factions concerning Ali. One of them was the element that was responsible for the assassination of Uthman. These elements were distracting society. There was a time lag. Off course, if there was a normal functioning of state and no opposition in Damascus and no other governors thinking about grabbing power for themselves, the Islamic state, stable as it is, would immediately put its social, political, military and security resources to pursue those who were responsible for (what we call today) pulling the trigger. But we're not speaking about normal circumstances- we're speaking about a time period in which there was a suspension of the normal day-to-day functioning of government and state. So, one portion of the Muslim public was concerned with the individuals who were personally responsible for the shedding of the Muslim ruler who was in office. This does not mean they were taking sides. This was a socials concern- "We want those individuals." There were 2,000 of them who scaled or went into the residence of Uthman, but obviously, 2,000 people were not the ones who actually stabbed or killed Uthman and his wife." By the way, this was another element. Uthmans wifes fingers were also cut-off and they were also eventually taken to Damascus and displayed in public for a passion play in the service of Muawiya. Another segment in society- we're talking about immediately when Ali assumed his ultimate responsibility, felt somewhat neutral or indifferent to what was happening. They just saw the polarization of forces and they just felt that they just did not want anything to do with any of this. The 3rd element that occupied public opinion was the opposition that was expressed by Aa'isha, Az-Zubair and Talha (radi Allahu anhum) to Ali. These are three significant blocks of society or public opinion that did not belong- at all- to Muawiya, what he was doing and the overall scheme that he had for literally nationalizing power. With these dynamics at work and with Ali trying to communicate he also sent another person by the name of Al-Bajali to Damascus to try to communicate and just speak to Muawiya. Look who's sending who Muawiya is not very much interested in communication. Even though there was that one person who went to Al-Medinah, but he was speaking in tones of threats and intimidation. On the other side, this is where the departure or the fraying happened between the successors to the Prophet and those who were becoming kings, beginning with Muawiya. We're looking at the disintegrating area. Ali sends this person by the name of Al-Bajali. Ali was trying to increase the level of communication,

unlike Muawiya who really doesn't want to speak about these issues and wants to keep on going or working, almost in the dark on his own plans. Then, Muawiya, says "I don't want to see him", he procrastinates, so this person remains in Damascus and tries to communicate with other "influential" people in society and Muawiya realizes that this person is beginning to gain some popularity. What this person was trying to tell the people that he met was "Ali was not responsible for the assassination of Uthman." because the media machine of Muawiya was trying to place the blame on Ali and this person was in Damascus trying to set the record straight. So, what Muawiya did was after summoning people to a public meeting, he called five witnesses and these five witnesses, we don't even know their names, testified that "they bear witness to (what they said was) the fact that Ali was responsible for the assassination of Uthman." So, what happened after this type of attempt of communicating and solving this through discussions or meetings, and Muawiya was the obstructing party, Ali began to put together an army that would go to Damascus because Muawiyas responses were along the lines "The only thing that exists between us and you is the sword or the use of arms". But then, something occurred that distracted not only that initial campaign of Ali from going to Muawiya and settling that affair with him once and for all. He got "distracted" by Aa'isha, Az-Zubair and Talha and instead of going to Dimashq, he had to go to the area of Al-Basrah and Al-Kufa and then we had the details of Waq'at Al-Jamal that we spoke about previously- the details of which (if you may recall), Az-Zubair refused to participate in the clash of the two armies when they got engaged. He was there before that and up until that moment, but when the two armies met in the battlefield at Al-Jamal, Az-Zubair, of course, he was killed after that, but he did not go into the flair of the battle. Some people would probably ask- "Why would that be", and he answered, he said "When I saw Ammaar (radi Allahu anhu) on the side of the opposing army and I remembered the Prophets hadith in which the Prophet says regarding Ammaar ibn Yaasar "You will be killed by the transgressing party", I refused to be part of that military clash." From the previous year up until that moment, he was part of it, which brings us to the other sensitive issue- that is when the Muslims of both sides met at Siffin- Brothers and sisters- we have to be frank with you, trying to locate exactly where Siffin is, is no easy task. The closest geographical pin-pointing of Siffin is (listen to this) somewhere west of the Euphrates. Well!- there's a lot of territory west of the Euphrates. Probably its not tens of miles west of the Euphrates, it's probably within a mile or two, but the Euphrates runs from North to South and we're talking about at least a couple of hundred of miles- so where in these couple of hundred of miles is Siffin exactly? It doesn't seem like Muslims know much about this. Once again, it indicates how this whole issue has been removed from our active thinking. You would think that Muslims would identify Siffin exactly the same way they would identify exactly where Karbala is- well- it doesn't seem like they want to do that! Another one of these strong indicators of how the Muslims were going from a successorship to Allahs Prophet, a Khalifah, to a form of government that is a monarchy, a king, is that no-one disputes the hadith of Allahs Prophet concerning Ammaar ibn Yaasar. In the battle of Siffin, Ammaar ibn Yaaser was in the army of Ali and the army of king Muawiya was the army that was responsible

for killing Ammaar. So the issue, in a consensual matter, should be settled here- it's obvious. The ayah in the Qur'an says And if there are two camps of Muslims fighting or warring against each other, then your 1 st effort is to reconcile them. (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9) In the years leading up to Siffin, Ali was involved in the attempt to reconcile what was to become a future Siffin. Then Allah says And if one of these two warring camps transgresses, and pursues its offensive policies, then you fight it until it refers itself to the affair or conclusion of Allah. (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9) So, when Ammaar was killed in Siffin, and everyone understood who Al-Baaghi was- Muawiyaand who Al-Fi'ah Al-Baaghiyah, the army that was with him was, so they came to this king and they said "Wait a minute-we all know the Prophets hadith, how do you explain this?" How did Muawiya explain this? His response to this was, these are Muawiyas words to those who have serious questions and doubts about his side of things- "Did we kill him?! The ones who killed him were the ones who brought him or made him come to war." Of course, this is a lame excuse and a round about way of trying to explain away the obvious, but when people listened to this and took this statement to Ali and said "this is how Muawiyah interpreted or explained the Prophets hadith in regard to Ammaar." These are Alis words, "If what Muawiya is saying is true, then the Prophet of Allah was the one who is responsible for killing Humza (radi Allahu anhu)!" It's obvious that Muawiyas explanation didn't hold any water because obviously the Prophet didn't kill Humza the same way Ali didn't kill Ammaar. So what is Muawiya trying to do? How is he trying to explain this away? Then, ever since then, the Muslim mind fell silent. No-one wants to reopen this issue calmly- the facts will speak for themselves. We don't have to divide ourselves as Muslims and then take it out on each other- none of that. Just look at these unfolding events and they will speak volumes by themselves. Among other things, these are some of the main issues that tipped Islamic governance from a system in the model of An-Nubuwwa to a system that had nothing to do with An-Nubuwwa. In times of arrogance, dictators speak their mind, and in this particular instance, even Muawiya confessed and is reported to have said that "he is the 1st king". Because, there's another hadith pertaining to Allahs Prophet who says "The administration of those who are going to succeed me, more or less the way I was responsible for the Muslim flock, congregation, citizens and constituents will continue for 30 years and then after that it's going to be a monarchy." But once again, if we don't think and refresh these hadiths and this area of our own experience (which belongs to us) in our public mind, then we're going to have Zionists and imperialists fertilizing our ignorance with their bombs.

When Muawiya became king and he wanted to substantiate and reinforce an institutionalization of his monarchy, he sought to have a crown prince. This was unheard of- in Islam, there's no crown prince, but he wanted that for Yazid. So, what does he do? He tells Marwan "to try to obtain the acquiescence of Ahl Al-Medinah to this affair." Remember Marwan ibn Hakm, the drunkard- he becomes the ruler or governor of Medinah. Muawiya spent 17 years in Damascus. Those 17 years convinced his ego that he is no longer a governor and now he wants to become a king. Those others who were relieved of some responsibilities in some areas began coming back into other areas. So, Marwan ibn Al-Hakm goes up to the Muslims in the Masjid in Al-Medinah and tries to obtain the approval of the Muslim public for Yazid becoming the successor or the next in line after Muawiya. And who stands up to him? After Marwan gives this speech about how Yazid is qualified to become the next ruler of the Muslims- remember, this is in violation of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and it was being propagated in the Prophets Masjid in Al-Medinah just a couple of generations after that 1st generation of Muslims- Abdur Rahman ibn Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) stands up to him and he says "You are lying." And he goes on and says "You don't want what if for the advantage and benefit of Muhammeds Ummah. What you want is to make it a monarchy the same way the Byzantines have their monarchy." In his words, "Every time a Byzantine king dies, another Byzantine king replaces him." Then, he's threatened. Brothers and sisters- this is the way some minds work- because there is this prejudicial bulked up of hundreds of years, they think there was a conspiracy by the majority of Muslims against Ali. This is where they are wrong! The conspiracy was by a pocket of power grabbers who were in Damascus and in Makkah who wanted to bring Islam into a nationalist mode. If there was a conspiracy against Ali by the average Muslim, which we believe, strongly, is not the case, then Abu Bakr's son wouldnt have stood up to Marwan. Then, he had to run away from the Masjid- this is unheard of in Islamic history. You run away from a Masjid?! But that' was the beginning of nationalizing these Masajid and this is what we had today. When Abu Bakrs son runs away from the Prophets Masjid at that time, it's no wonder that after this 14 century deviation that we have chained Masajid today. He goes to Aa'isha and he seeks some type of refuge there and she says that, these are her words, "The Prophet of Allah used to curse Marwans father, Al-Hakm, when Marwan was still in his groins!" What?! Was there a master conspiracy against Ali?! When you look at the way the sentiments were- even when Muawiya had secured by way of placing his clients governors around the Muslim world and he only had Al-Medinah and Makkah to worry about, he himself went to Al-Medinah and he would not talk to Al-Husian the son of Ali, Abdullah the son of AzZubair, the son of Abu Bakr (radi allahu anhum) and a couple of other individuals who wanted to speak to him in Al-Medinah. Then, when he went to Makkah, Muawiya had a meeting with the sons of Abi Bakr, Ali, Umar (radi Allahu anhum) and a few others of the prominent sons of these 1st generation Muslims and what does he say? Muawiya tells them "Ok- speak. Who wants to speak to me?" So, Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair volunteers and says "I'll speak." Muawiyah says "Ok. What do you have to say?" He says "We know that you are going around trying to secure public opinion for your son as the next king of Muslims. We say to you, do one of three things. Do as the Prophet did in which he did not specifically place this issue as a

matter of being a personal responsibility of one individual after him. He didn't pronounce this to be a family affair. Or, do as Aba Bakr did- he gave this responsibility to a person who comes from the fringes of Quraish." In todays language- brothers who don't understand this- he gave this responsibility of ruling the Muslims to a person who is free of the taints of nationalism. "Or, do as Umar did- select a group of people who don't belong to your family because none of the others placed this affair in their family like you want to do." This was in Makkah. 1st he refused to see them in Al-Medinah and when he finally caught up with them and thought that he had to speak to them and he heard these strong words coming his way, what did Muawiya say? He said, "If after I say my statement in public, any of you express any opposition to me, I'm going to have two men trail you with their swords, and before anyone can respond to one word, in answering your opposition, your head is going to be chopped off!" We ask you- brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims- are these words and this deterioration that is represented by this person Qur'anic, Prophetic or Sunnatic? It is not in league with Allah, nor His Prophet nor the committed Muslims. If we can understand this much, with our thinking minds instead of leaving this area open for trouble makers, we will have satisfied much of what we need to learn from our previous experiences. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Just living the unprecedented freedoms that were guaranteed to the Muslims before the political deviation set in, and comparing that with the world today... Imagine, at that time, Muslims were vocal as much as they could, also, due to the type of developments that are traced back to those early days, they developed this opposition throughout history which continues up until now. It all began with the majority of Muslims disagreeing that Muslims should have families that rule. Just one individual or a couple of individuals in a family was enough to stir popular opposition among the Muslims. Look at today- you have a ruling family in Arabia with 50,000 or 60,000 members who are ruling and there is a deafening silence among the Muslims of today. This is a difference of quality, character, behavior, understanding and relating the truth. Something that it some people live with as if nothing really changed. We have an ocean separating us from that vital and active generation of Muslims and we've been placed in a cocoon of inactivity and a passive mind that refuses to look at these issues as they are. Some of us who should know better are right now, trying to play politics with a Muawiya who has added 1,300 years to his life. Do you want to play politics with him in Saudi Arabia and his masters all around? We don't understand how some people have lost sight of a 1,400 year old Muawiya. We can understand that Ali got side tracked because of Aa'isha, Az-Zubair and Talha for a while, but what happened to these other long centuries that have passed? Are we still side tracked and what is our excuse for doing so?

DISINTEGRATION OF KHILAFAH, INTEGRATION OF MONARCHY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah Azza Wa Jall....

In our on going continuum, with Allahs assistance and supervision, we will continue to take a look at the roots of the issue that has become the central policy of evil-doers, politicians and military commanders who have no business being in Muslim countries and territories, waging war and having some of us directly or indirectly contributing to that war. We do no lose sight of what is being planned and how todays military and political reality feed the frenzy that tries to instigate hatred among Muslims so that that hatred turns into internecine warfare. There are roots to this issue, and these roots or historical affairs constitute the subject matter that we have been pursuing for so long, and we will continue to do so to try to diffuse this unwarranted tension that has been built up and is now being played out. Allah says, pertaining to the word king- a word that has intruded itself pertaining to our Islamic history. A system that tried to live up to the standards of the Qur'an and the Sunnah was demolished by those who wanted to become kings and monarchs, therefore we are going to have to consider this from the perspective of the Qur'an, because nowadays, we have, Muslims and even those who are called Muslim scholars who try to give some legitimacy to kings. If we take a sample of some or a couple of ayaat from the Qur'an In the 1st ayah, Allah says and we realize that in this ayah, the word Muluk is used- that's the plural of Malik, This ayah can be brought out into English with the following approximate meaning. And bear in mind (Musa, the Prophet (alaihis salaam) as he says to his people) or remember Allahs abundance, bounty and ni'mah upon you as He has rendered from you Prophets and as He has rendered you Sovereigns and as He has given you what He has not given anyone else in the world (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 20) So, in this ayah, the word Muluk is a reference to being Sovereign and not being the types of political kings that we speak about when we speak about todays world. The word itself, gains its meaning from the context that it is in. In this ayah, Allah is favoring or showing His favors in this statement that Musa addresses his people with. So, being a Sovereign or a Potentate in this context is a positive description- there's nothing wrong with that. Then, we take another ayah from the Qur'an, in which the words of Allah are Certainly, when kings enter a society, they render or make its noble sector or folks into inferior ones- they make the noble sector of that society into the lower grade of that society and it is this routine that belongs to these types of Kings (Surah An-Naml verse 34) This is their policy or the way they behave. When Monarchs or kings make their appearance in a society, they corrupt it. They cause it to decay and disintegrate and then they render, make or convert its good people or elements in that type of society into inferior ones and it is in such a manner that they behave. So, the same word, Muluk, the plural of Malik, that we encountered in the 1st ayah, we encounter in this ayah. In the 1st ayah, the word Muluk had a positive inference to it- sovereigns and potentates; in the 2nd ayah, the same word- defined by its context has a negative inference to it- it means kings and monarchs. Brothers and sisters- these ayaat and this

word is manipulated. When you listen to some types of people who graduated with degrees from religious and social science institutions of advanced learning- because most of them are in the service of establishments and systems that support the status quo- they come and say "Look, the Qur'anic ayah are speaking favorably about kings." and they may quote this ayah pertaining to the history of Bani Israeel and Musa. 1st of all, they don't contextualize the word and 2nd of all they don't compare it to other ayaat of the Qur'an and they want to get away with it and they have been getting away with it. It is with this knowledge and approach that we take the change in the mode of governance in the time of Muawiya and we find that we have a person who fits the description of a king and a monarch. Before that, the way a Muslims were tasked with leadership was a function of the Muslim public, people or masses- they were the ones who would assign that responsibility, through the process of Shura and bai'ah to the individual that they voluntarily chose. There was no coercion, force or military telling people that you have to vote a certain way- people would express themselves whole-heartedly and freely, but that changed. When the system of Al-Khilafah changed to the system of monarchy and kingship it was different. Now, the election process was imposed on the people. People were told "You are going to have to accept the appointed or selected or officially designated person who is going to rule." In the Khilafah era, the bai'ah itself was the source or basis of power but in the era of the monarchy, power became the source of the bai'ah and the foundation that usurped the right of the people to choose their own representative. Now, we have a new political behavior that we were not accustomed to during the time of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (radi Allahu anhum). Now, we have a new type of ruler- a ruler who has his personal guards- before, we didn't have a ruler who had personal body guards- now we have it. Before, we had rulers who were walking, talking, mixing, interacting and praying in the Masaajid with the people; they listened to the complaints of the people, but now, for the 1 st time, we have kings, beginning with Muawiya who do not want to mix or be with the people. They had, what is called in the books of history, guards and buffer forces that would buffer them from the other normal, average and regular Muslim. Brothers and sisters- we are speaking about this issue not as something that is theoretical, academic, historical, abstract or hypothetical- No! Because these issues have been distilled and institutionalized throughout official governments and policies to become the culture that has stifled the conscience of todays Muslims. For that reason, we want to understand where deviation began and correct these mistakes. The Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) says "Anyone of you who sees a munkar should change it" and this is the grand Munkar that has gripped the Muslims and has anchored itself in our societies with roots of hundreds of years and now, it's beginning to be used against us in what the Mushriks want to become an Islamic civil war. We don't play nave and we're not simpletons to dismiss all of this like many of these khateebs do on Fridays who want to make believe that none of this is happening. We are not in that position because we answer to the authority of Allah and not to the authority of imposed kings, monarchs, princes and political evil doers. Some of us deliberately don't have enough information but we believe that if this information is made public and known, Muslims in their right hearts and minds can sort out what is right from what is wrong.

So, what do we have in this new king figure besides the other information and light that we shed on this type of corrupt political character? 1st of all, the shari'ah is a law that pertains to everyone, there's no exception- Muslim or non-Muslim, rich or poor, Arab or non-Arab- it applies to everyone with a sense of justice, equality, fairness and non-exclusion, it was a matter of policy or the law of the land, before Muawiya became king, and was in charge of Muslim affairs. In the time of Allahs Prophet, Dawlah An-Nubuwwah and Dawlah Al-Khilafah after that, Muslim law said that "a Muslim does not inherit a kaafir and a kaafir does not inherit a Muslim." This was part of Islamic law that was agreed upon by that 1 st generation of Muslims, but when we had this king, he said "No! this doesn't apply." OK- so what does the king do? He enacts a law that says "A Muslim may inherit a kaafir." He went against the consensus of all Muslims and violates what is essentially Ma'luman min Ad-Din bi Ad-Darurah, core knowledge among Islamic scholars and imposes this law and he is saying to you and me, the average run-of-themill Muslims "What are you going to do about it?!" These types of people who rule as autocrats and dictators have developed that attitude and approach up until now. When they do things, they look at the Muslim public and say, in effect, "What are you going to do about it?!" Another violation of Islamic law was the diyah or blood money. If there is anyone who is mistakenly killed or murdered in a society that is governed by Islamic laws and principles, there's a compensation for that lost life going to his family and 1st of kin. That compensation is called diyah in Islamic law. So, here comes this king figure and he says "Well, if a Muslim family is owed a diyah, they should be paid the full diyah or amount, but if the victim is not a Muslim, then the family should be paid half the diyah" and where does the other half go? King Muawiya said "the other half comes to me", (and once again, in your eye Muslim public). He gets away with it because he has forces and a military establishment behind which he is located. Al-Ghanaaim, the spoils of war- it's very well known in all of those years, up until then, that the spoils of war are distributed of the basis of one-fifth of them, Al-Khums, belongs to Allah and His Messenger. The ayaat in Surah An-Anfaal pertaining to the distribution of the booties of war tell everyone that one-fifth of that belong to Allah and his Prophet and the other four-fifth's of that are distributed among the Muslim military. One-fifth of the booty belong to Allah and His Prophet (Surah Al-Anfal verse 41) This was the law of the land until this king comes along. Before he said that the fifth goes to him he said "Whatever spoils are in the form of gold and silver come to him- (the king) and the one-fifth goes to the budget in which he is in direct control of and then, the other fourfifth's go to the Muslim military." Brothers and sisters, these are royal decrees- these royal decrees did not begin 20 years ago or 200 years ago- from which we have todays political systems in Muslims lands, especially those that are called kingdoms. The royal decrees did not begin with them- these royal decrees can be traced back to the 1st king in Islam.

What else did he do that was an offense to the Muslim public? In Islamic history, there's a person by the name of Ziyad ibn Abi- Ziyad is the name of the person; ibn is the son of and usually it's the fathers name that follows- Ziyad ibn so and so. But, in this particular case, this persons name was Ziyad ibn Abi because they didn't know who his father was. We want to remind Muslims who are listening that this information is not taken from books or Islamic historical sources that are classified as extremists. There's a lot of extremists books in this area and a lot of effort has gone into avoiding the extremist opinions pertaining to these historical developments. So, the information that you are listening to comes to you from what is called consensus, mainstream and reliable Islamic historical sources or references. It turns out that the character of Ziyad ibn Abi was claimed by Abu Sufyan. Ziyad's mother was known, her name was Sumayyah, but following the culture of that time and even following the ayah of the Qur'an, because some of this culture in the time of Allahs Prophet was a residual of the Ibrahimi age and scripture, so some of it had Ibrahimi traces to it but other aspects of it did not. This particular aspect of referring a son has to be done to his father. The ayah in the Qur'an says You call them by the names of their fathers or you refer their family line to their fathers (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 5) This Ziyad, who in society was as unknown as far as his father was concerned, in other words, in the language of the Arabs, ibn Zina- a son begotten from adultery- for that reason, he was called Ziyad ibn Abi- Ziyad the son of his father- because no one knew who his father was. But, in this particular case, before Abu Sufyan, who spent most of his active life in opposition to Allahs Prophet and who became a Muslim during the last year or two of the Prophets mission had an affair with Sumayyah, the mother of Ziyad, and he told his son that "he (Ziyad) is from my semen." These are his words, meaning, "I am his father." When Muawiya became the king, as if he's not offending Muslim public opinion enough, to offend Muslim public opinion even more, he comes and acclaims ibn Az-Zina and the Prophet of Allah says "Al-Waladu Lil Firash wa Lil Aahir Al-Hajr". Muawiya doesn't care about You call them by the names of their fathers or you refer their family line to their fathers (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 5) and he doesn't care about the Prophets hadith. What he makes official policy is the unverifiable words of his father pertaining to this person. What else happens during this time of this initial monarchy or break away system from Dawlah An-Nubuwwah and Dawlah Al-Khilafah? There's a clamp down on freedom of expression. There's a person by the name of Hujr ibn Adi. When Muawiya institutionalized the la'nah, cursing of Ali, from the Mimbar, there was at least some personal opposition to this. There were people who were opposed to this. One of the people who had gone to Al-Kufa and who was opposed to this was Hujr ibn Adi. During the khutbahs on Friday, during one particular incident, he expressed his opposition to this type of bid'ah in the khutbah on Friday. By this time, we had a

kingdom- we no longer had a khilafah in which people can speak their conscience and their Islamic mind- now, if someone is going to say something out of line- as is the case in todays monarchies and quasi-republics- you have a police force that is going to come and do something about it. That police force, at that time rounded up Hujr and 12 others and they referred this affair to Muawiya. Muawiya says "Kill them." Where's Islamic justice here?! There's supposed to be a legal procedure and Islamic courts, but that was interfered with also. Justice, or what was called justice comes from the king who said "Kill them." He tells the ruler in Iraq, at the time, "You can have one of them. You can kill him the way you want." So, he brings him and he buries him alive. For what?! What was their crime?! Just like today, there's no crime that is committed, it's just a free mind and a free conscience that is trying to express the word of truth and justice by living the words of the Qur'an and the Prophet and for that reason they are labeled by the establishment and those who rule as being "criminals who deserve this type of thing." When you listen to the news, and what's happening in Egypt, Arabia or in other parts of the Muslim world, do you think what the governments are doing does not have a culture to it?! This comes from a political culture that has to be shattered and we can shatter it by replacing ourselves and relocating our minds and our conscience in the book of Allah and in the Sunnah of His Prophet. This became something like a habitgovernors and deputies and dispatched rulers to the Muslim world were given a carte blanche to do whatever they want. They are no longer responsible to a Muslim public and there's no longer a judiciary that can hold them accountable for these types of policies. One day, in Al-Kufa, a person stands up and objects to the type of ruler and the type of contents that are spoken during the khutbah and he pelts the khateeb with a stone. That's the least a person can do- this is very weak expression of public opposition to such rulers. So, what do they do? Once again, they skip over the judiciary process, the legal system, the courts and judges- they don't care about that, the same way they don't care about it today, and they cut this persons hand off. This has no basis in the Qur'an and it has no basis in the Sunnah. At another time, during the time of Ziyad, the ruler in Iraq, there were between 30 and 80 people, (this depends on these books in history) whatever it was, 30 on the low side or 80 on the high side, who also stood in the Masjid and opposed the type of official sermon that was generated by royalty at that time. They closed the Masjid. This is what authorities did- when we speak about what is happening today, such as the Saudi government beginning to place close circuit television cameras all around all of the Masaajid all around that country- there's a culture for this type of official behavior and this culture has its roots that extend all the way back to those times and days. After they close off the Masjid, they take these 30 to 80 protestors and they chop off their hands. Where did this come from?! Wicked behavior- galore! The son of Abu Bakr, Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhuma) who was the governor of Egypt, what does Muawiya do to him? He kills him- he doesn't kill him with his own hands, but he issues the official orders, (just like they do today) and these orders are given to assassins and hit men (just like they do today) and they go and kill Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr and what do they do? To add insult to injury, they stuff his body into a skin of a dead donkey and then they torch

it. We ask you- brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- does this political behavior have any basis in the Qur'an and in the Sunnah? Of course not! The mutilation of bodies and the beheadings that began the 1st beheading reported in our Islamic history (brothers and sisters- we have to learn from this so that we don't have these trouble-makers trying to ignite tension among us) was that of Ammaar ibn Yaaser (radi Allahu anhu), who was killed in Siffin. Two men come to Muawiya bragging that each one of them should take the credit for beheading Ammaar ibn Yaaser. Somehow, one day, this information will come out, but we want to ask you brothers and sisters- how do we behave toward each other? Are we going to kill each like they want us to do? Shi'is killing Sunnis and Sunnis killing Shi'is like they want us to do or should we identify the source of these crimes and these policies and say "you who were in power then and you who are in power today are responsible for these war crimes and criminal acts." Another person who participated in the assassination of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was hunted down by the forces of this new kingdom in Iraq. He hid in a cave and was stung by a snake and he died in the cave, but those who were in pursuit of him found his body and then they behead him. This is a Sahabi- they behead him and they send his head to Damascus. Parading of the heads of dead people also became a salient feature of these types of monarchies. What did they do with the head of Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu)? They took it from Karbala to AlKufa, and then from Al-Kufa to Damascus and then they (once again) display it in public. The horses trample on his body- those who were at war against him step on his body with their boots military boots (in todays language) and this goes on with Musab ibn Az-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhuma) and the others who were in opposition to the Umawi monarchy. After all of this, is there any room or time for anyone to confuse the issue? We quote the ayaat once again- the positive influence of Al-Muluk which doesn't apply to the kings that we are talking about. And bear in mind or remember Allahs abundance, bounty and ni'mah upon you as He has rendered from you Prophets and as He has rendered you Sovereigns and as He has given you what He has not given anyone else in the world (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 20) This is a positive, constructive and progressive inference of the word Muluk. The Muluk that we are talking about that made its debut at the beginning of Islamic history is the one that is described in the words of Allah Certainly, when kings enter a society, they make its noble sector into inferior one and it is this routine that belongs to these types of Kings (Surah An-Naml verse 34) Muslims of As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim We would be a miss if we look the other way when our attention is attracted to the atrocities and the mayhem that is becoming like a whirlwind that wants to draw in the rest of the Muslims so

that we cannot move forward one inch. What we are referring to is the heightened, politically thought out, strategized and well planned tension between those who consider themselves Shi'is and those who consider themselves Sunnis in Iraq. This is a matter of Islamic life and sanctity. Islamic life is sacrosanct. The Prophet of Allah said in his farewell address, Al-Hajjatil Wada' "Your lives, possessions and honor are as sanctimonious as this day in this month in this city". We are meant to file away and to forget what Allahs Prophet said and now (these are facts of life) we have this type of attitude. The government of the United States is giving visas and one way to qualify for a visa is to show your sectarian color. If you are willing to come to the United States to further the distance between Muslims along these lines, then you are welcomed. There are hit squads in Iraq killing contingents. There are death squads that are at work who are trying to convince the Muslim public, with its two wings, that each one is guilty of murder and mayhem against the other- these are the official pursued policies. The CIA, MOSSAD and the rest of these other dirty departments of government are actively involved in this scheme. Then, we have reports coming out such as, (these are only examples to show you how sectarianism is making inroads among some people) There are two brothers who have been going together to school in Iraq, in Baghdad; ones name is Umar and the other ones name is Ali- these are brothers. The school administration tells Umar "you have to change your name to continue to come to this school." Where does this come from? Can anyone substantiate this type of behavior? Can't we overcome this type of fanatical attitude! Along the same lines, children and people who have the name Umar in Iraq are supposed to change their names or else they are going to become victims of those who have power in Iraq, so many of them are changing their names from Umar, that is offensive to some Muslims, (just imagine, a Muslim name that is offensive to some Muslims!?) and they feel they'll change it to the more neutral and benign Ammaar- from Umar to Ammaar. This is what happens when people are corrupted by power- they no longer can understand their history and they no longer can make sense of who they have been throughout 1,300 years.

KING YAZID
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah Azza Wa Jall.... The events, the wars, the shedding of blood, the rationalization of transgression, the occupation and the slaughter of populations is part of the scenario that we are in physically and personally today. We have been looking at a historical matter that is meant, by the enemies of Allah, His Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) and the Committed Muslims to divide us and to have us go at each other for generations so that we cannot bring ourselves together in a frame of unity, with a common purpose and with a set direction. In other words, there's a deliberate plan that has been set in motion, in the past several years, to make it impossible for the Muslims to bring about a

solidarity among themselves. When we try to go to the roots of this matter, we are not doing this out of a tradition- traditions have a way of numbing the mind. We are not doing this as a matter of expediency- these types of matters blow over in a limited time and cannot be sustained. What we are saying relates as a matter of principle to Allah and His Prophet and as a matter of brotherhood to the Muslims as populations and peoples and not as elites or governments. If we can crystallize our perception of this, we are the ones who will come out winning and the enemies of Allah and His Prophet will come out losing. We said before and we will say again, it is not an easy task to untangle issues that have taken root in culture, nationalism and sectarianism and put them back where they belong, especially when there are hundreds of years that have accumulated pertaining to the meanings of these issues. We will try to pick up from where we left off. We said that at the beginning of Islamic political history, the Muslims had suffered a damaging political set back that demonstrated itself when Muslims went from a system of Khilafah to one of Mulk- from a dispensation on the model of the Nubuwwah to a form of government that is characterized by a dictatorship and oppression. We tried to make it clear that the ayaat in the Qur'an that speak about dictatorial rulers speak about them to condemn them. As a matter of fact, when kings make their debut in a social order, they render its noble segment of population into inferiors after having destroyed that social order and this is the way they behave (Surah An-Naml verse 34) We endeavored to make clear that we, Muslims, turned a bloody page in our history when we had a monarchy imposed upon us. Today, we'll take a closer look at a time period in that early Islamic history that has to do with the 2nd Muslim king- Yazid, the crown prince who was imposed by his father- the 1st king in Islam- by royal decree in violation of Shura, Islamic popular political participation and also in defiance of the Prophets Sunnah and Seerah by which he did not impose on the Muslims, in disregard to the element of imaan in them, a ruler who will rule against their will. That is in fulfillment of the ayah, O you who are committed to Allah, obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those who are entrusted with your affairs- who come from you. (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) Brothers and sisters, these are facts. Either we look at them with open minds and reach the Qur'anic and Sunnatic solution or we leave them to the mass murderers of the world who will come back on us with these affairs to seed our mind with hatred and who will seed our hearts with rancor. We don't have a choice and we are going to have to look at these issues by a mind and a heart that is formulated by Allah and His Prophet. This is going to be the only way out of what is being planned against us. If we take a look at the 2nd king who was imposed on our history, without getting into his personal life (his personal life was one of a degenerate in every sense of the word, and he could degenerate in himself and decompose and it wouldn't bother us a moment- the problem is that he had the power to inflict his evil character on not only the

Muslims of that time, but even all the Muslims who have lived since that time, up until now... We still don't have clear Muslim minds on who this character is, or for that matter, the string of kings, monarchs, autocrats, authoritarians, dictators and oppressors who have followed since then, until we have todays political structure that is littered with these types of figures all around us and who hide behind Islamic symbolism or behind Islamic ritualism. We still don't have enough information to see through this faade. There are three major events that took place during the monarchy of Yazid that shook the Muslim conscience and Ummah to the fiber of its heart and the element of its brains. The 1st one was Yazids military orders against Al-Imam Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhu). Brothers and sisters, before we speak about this issue, here is where we encounter these three nuances or disturbing factors- culture, sectarianism and nationalism. Only a few people or not many of us can take a calculated look at what happened without these three elements. (You ask yourself), who is it in your life, whom you've listened to (speaking about this issue) who spoke about it without culture, sectarianism and nationalism. The easy answer to that is "Not Many! And that's being generous too!" We are going to try to speak about this as best as we can without any of these elements. Yazid who was the imposed dictator on the Muslims, he was a crown prince- by royal fiat from his father king who placed him in the position of the head of state of an Islamic society. What did this person do that shook the Muslims to their core? The 1st thing he did was to identify Husein, officially- it's one thing to think about a person in your mind, but it's another thing to go about trying to make this the public thoughts and impression of everyone around- but this is what he did. He went around and taking the queue from his deceased father, he promoted the idea that Husien was an insurgent, a dissident or a rebel. We don't know of anyone in our Islamic history, belonging to the 1st or the 2nd generation of Muslims, who was honored with the company of Allahs Prophet and who considered Husein to be an insurgent, dissident or a rebel. Here's the area where we are going to have to rethink ourselves- Husein was a person who took issue with the deviation of Islamic politics. Do Muslims have the right or don't they have the right to take issue with kings and absolute rulers when they deviate from Allah and His Prophet? The immediate and obvious answer to that is that not only do we have the right but it is our responsibility and it is mandatory upon us to take issue with those who have deviated at that level from Allah and His Prophet. What does he do? Yazid authorizes an army of 4,000 individuals- men under arms- to go and fight against (in his language) this insurgent or political trouble-maker. The army of 4,000 was under the leadership of Umar ibn Saad ibn Abi Waqqas. Brothers and sisters- we know that we are stepping on some sectarian territory, we mean not to present this issue from a sectarian point of view. Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu), the father of this military commander, was known for his immediacy to the circle of Allahs Prophet. In other words, (we try to avoid these words because they have these deep sectarian connotations) he was a Sahabi, but that doesn't mean that automatically his children or grandchildren are going to be automatic "angels". You can have a Prophet and his own son is against Allah- and we had this. Nuh (alaih salaam) was Allahs Prophet and his son

was a kaafir. When the final moment of truth approached and there was this parting of company between Nuh and his son, Nuhs son says to him I'm going to go to a mountain whereby I will be protected (Surah Hud verse 43) and Nuh told him There's nothing that's going to protect you from Allahs decree on this day (Surah Hud verse 43) So, we have this military commander who is in the ranks of military criminals. Whatever his relationship may have been doesn't matter- a person is judged by what he does and not by his family lineage. This person has under his command 4,000 men under arms and they go to encounter Husein. Once again, we have to re-emphasize that the problem we suffer from is that we have not made it clear in our minds- brothers and sisters- we're very slow, we've had 1,400 years to think about this and we still have not made the point to our own selves. Are we legitimate in opposing rulers who step out of the Qur'an and the Sunnah? The political message and lesson that comes through very clearly from that time- regardless of the cultural, sectarian and national baggage- is that we have all the right in the world and all the God given legitimacy that exists to oppose those who have gone off from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. This point has to re-settle in our public mind. We need to regenerate a political "culture" that makes us brave enough to expose those who have gone off course. In this case, we have one of the 1st obvious incidents of a ruler or king who has gone off course and a man of Allah who wants the Muslims to be back on course. So, you have an army of 4,000 soldiers who face off against Husein. What does Husein have? Does he have an army? He had 32 individuals who were on horses and 40 individuals who were not mounted. That's 72 individuals who were with him. By any definition, this is not an army. Then, this encounter or clash begins in the area of Karbala. The details that take place have also been consumed by the three evils of nationalism, culture and sectarianism. People just don't have what it takes to learn from what happened because of this type of consumption. What happened was simply the following. When these two sides met and before there was any sword that was raised, Husein simply communicated to the other side, (we're paraphrasing) "Ok- Now that we've met, let it pass without any bloodshed. Let us go back to where we were or to the frontiers or even to Yazid himself." But this type of army was not the type that was going to listen to reason. It had its orders and they said "If anything, we will refer you to ibn Ziyad, the ruler of Al-Kufa." Of course, being that ibn Ziyad had a record of brutality, that was not an option. So, they finally engaged in that war. We call it a war because it is not something that can be described in other terms, even though one side of that war was not really an army. You cannot call 72 individuals, in the conditions that they were in, as opposed to 4,000 a typical military clash of armed forces. After everyone was practically killed in that confrontation, and Husein was one of the last to be killed, how does this army behave? In looking at this affair, we can realize how people who have power- governments, establishments and militaries- behave when power corrupts

them. Without the emotional details, because here is where the mind field of culture, sectarianism and nationalism thwarts the lesson- we want to skip over that and we want to learnafter this type of army kills Husein, what does it do? It beheads him- this is the grandson of Allahs Prophet- any average and moral standard would exclude this behavior, but we're not speaking about an average and moral standard of behavior here. We are talking about something else that had more to do with the reaction of people who could not live with the norms of Islamic justice and the standards or the Qur'an and the Prophet. This simply was a nationalist issue to the people who were justifying to themselves what they were doing- this is what we have to understand. This is almost the lost lesson in all of this. There's rationalization for what people do, and the rationalization for this unbecoming conduct at an encounter like this- where they kill a person whom they consider to be their political opponent; thereafter they behead the person, thereafter they bring their horses and trample on this persons body, and then, personally, with their "jackboots" (so to speak) they also step on that persons body and you take off the clothes that cover his body and the private parts of his body and then they go around to the other individuals who were killed in this confrontation and then they are beheaded- forces us to think about what type of psychology was at work and, more yet, what type of mentality rationalizes that type of psychology? The simple and straight answer to that is that the "conquerors and victors", by worldly measurement, are saying "we will not permit anyone to step out of their own history, culture and nationalism because there are utopian standards and ambitions for justice." That was not only the undeclared policies of that time, but they are now the elaborate, voluminous and encyclopedic policies of today. In todays Islamic context, can you try to find or locate someone of vision who can step outside of their culture, nationalism and history, because they want to belong to Allah and His Prophet?! They will immediately be pulled back into it if they want to hang onto their lives or else, they know that they could not survive a challenge like that. This is the lesson that people who are intoxicated with their cultures, nationalism and sectarianism for over 1,000 years cannot understand and still have not understood. What does this public attitude of nationalism and sectarianism do? It takes the heads from this battle to Al-Kufa and then it shows the people "LOOK!" Remember, these are the people who were saying to begin with "We will stand on principle with justice." What happened? These were the people who were looking at heads without bodies. They were the ones who were saying "We will support you." Then, after that, these heads were taken to Damascus. A statement was made in the middle of all this after the "material conclusion" of this battle- this battle still continues, but people who are suffocating with their own non-Islamic idiosyncrasies can't see it. At the conclusion of this very educating experience in Islamic history, the military leader as well as the governor or ruler in Al-Kufa said "Thanks and praise be to Allah who has given victory to Al-Haqq and it's people"- as if Yazid and his crowd stand for this Haqq- but this is what they are saying and this is what they repeat "and Ameer Al-Mu'mineen (you all know what that means- now Yazid has become Ameer Al-Mu'mineen?!) and his party ". Here is the follow up statement "And we thank Allah that he has defeated the liar, the son of the liar- Al-Husein and his party." As we said, this is not only a historical statement, but this is also what todays heads of

state repeat every time they think they scored against Islamic leaders or movements. At this moment, some people are overcome with either emotions, stereotypes or comfortable rationalization and they can't see that even if they are theoretically in agreement with Huseinand mind you, all Muslims are theoretically in agreement with Husien- you can go to any Muslim and will you see anyone who is going to defend Yazid? You'll not find anyone whether he is a Sunni or a Shi'i- no-one is going to defend Yazid. But, the matter is not defending a person; the matter is looking at a social trend that this person represents. Yazid was representing a social reality- a social reality that was saying "we are not going to step out of our nationalism for the sake of some theoretical justice that Husein is speaking about." The 2nd major event that took place during the monarchy of Yazid, because of his unscrupulous obsession with power, that shook the Muslims to the fiber of its heart and brains was what is referred to in Islamic history as Yawm Al-Harra. An army of 12,000, of this new power structure committed a massacre in Al-Medinah. After the martyrdom of Husein, the people of Al-Medinah could see what was going on so they began to revolt. This is the Prophets city of asylum, support, refuge, his power base so 1st of all they tell the people of Al-Medinah "We give you three days to reconsider your position and if you don't reconsider, terrible and horrible things are going to happen." This is what is startling about Muslim history- after that ultimatum and as bloodletting as this event was, it's not common information among us, Muslims, today- this is a problem- they go into Al-Medinah and they do all types of things. This information comes from ibn Katheer, Al-Mas'udi, At-Tabari, which are the "standard and the mainstream" Islamic books, so we're not bringing this from what some people may say "Where did you pick up that information from?! Maybe it's from an extremist opinion?!- NoThis army came to Al-Medinah and it laid it to waste. This is what these historians tell us- this army that came to Al-Medinah attacked those who just wanted to stand by their convictions and they killed 700 plus individuals whom they considered to be a threat. These are in the language of fiqh and Islamic history, Tabieen. They killed 700 Tabieen and they killed three from the Sahaba of Rasulillah. In addition to that, what else did the army do that these books tell us? They violated the virginity or around 1,000 Muslim women- we hope you know what that means. They had 1,000 women who became pregnant from them and 1,000 orphans were born after this raid on Al-Medinah who had no fathers. The 3rd major event that took place during the monarchy of Yazid that shook the Muslims to the fiber of its heart and brains was that after Yawm Al-Harra the army was authorized to proceed to Makkah, where there was Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhu). Once again, if the average Muslim wants to think of his Islamic history, this is obviously something that does not factor into the information that he has of Islamic history- this force goes to Makkah and it uses AlManjaneek, a weapon that lobs or throws rocks at a distance to whatever target there is and they put inflammable material on it so that when it lands, it burns whatever the intended target was. What was their intended target? The Ka'ba. Now, you tell us- is this an Islamic government?! How can anyone say that an Islamic government or leader are valid if they are targeting the

Ka'ba? This happened- we're not trying to fabricate information. This information is there if you care to review the events of history, but it's not in our active minds because if it were, we probably wouldn't have these illegitimate rulers who are around. They got away with it at that time because they had power; our immediate concern now is how come they still get away with it? Because we don't have accurate information about it! This is our concern nowadays.

SOME HORRORS OF OUR POLITICAL DEVIATION

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... The words of Allah clearly stated

As they are arguing in the fire, those who are weak say to those who are arrogant, "we were your followers so can you spare us a portion of this fire"; those who are arrogant said "but we are all in this together for Allah has judged among His subjects" (Surah AlGhaafir verse 47-48) This ayah speaks to the relationship between those who have power in this world and therefore have a puffed up ego and those who were their followers, even though they didn't have power in this world- Alladhina Astakbaru and Ad-du'afaa'. Now visualize this- all of them are in the fire. You would think that there is no time or psychology for a conversation but Allahs words zero-in on the core of these types of people- the types of people that you see in todays world, who are willing to follow a Mustakbir, an arrogant leader to the bottom of Jahannum. There is a time when they are going to be arguing. These two sides who are basically in this Dunya, world, one and the same- the difference is that some or a few of them had power and many of them didn't have power but they all found themselves in Jahannum. Imagine the torture that they are in, but besides the physical torture, there is a will to escape, those Du'afaa' in this world want to find a way out of Jahannum. So, they turn to their masters in this worldAlladhina Astakbaru- and they say "we were following you." You told us to do something and we did it; you gave us laws and we obeyed it; you entertained us and we accepted it; you told us what is right and what is wrong and we didn't question it. Could you just save us from just a portion or a small effect of this fire? Allah doesn't hold us to anticipate the answer, the answer comes directly. These Mustakbireen answered "But we are in this altogether. Indeed Allah has passed judgment among His subjects." Allah was the one who judged us and now we find ourselves in the place that we are in. Brothers and sisters- we have been looking, for a long time, at a sequence of events where people grab power and then abuse it. They want to do whatever they can get away with when they have this power. We call them kings, despots, dictators, autocrats, monarchs, oppressors- they are the ones who have this power and we saw what they did with it. One day, the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was sitting on a mat and this mat had left its imprint on his side where he was sitting on and one of his companions enters and sees him in this condition. He says "Look at the kings and the rulers around. They live in a life of luxury and here you are- the Prophet of Allah- and I see and compare you with them and I have no choice but to feel emotional about this." The Prophet of Allah says to him "They are living in their own luxury after which there is none. We are living in our hard time after which there shall be eternal luxury." This attitude, psychology and mentality does not exist and has not existed for a long time within those in power who have ruled over the Muslims in the past 13 centuries plus. We took a detailed look at their behavior. We saw how they sabotaged Shura or participatory politics, how they undermined equality among the Muslims, how they did away with freedom of conscience and how they smothered justice in the decisions that they were making. When we take a closer look at this, we find that they had released their egos so that they could get away with this abuse of power. In trying to bring this issue closer to us, the Prophet of Allah says in a

hadith qudsi "Allah says about Himself- Pride is My garment and honor is My belt. Whoever competes with Me or whoever wants to take away some of this from Me, I shall expose to torture or I shall punish and penalize." This arrogance and false pride has become the definition of these rulers. Instead of this pride and honor being Allahs, they claim that it is theirs and they engineer a life that their citizens and populations live in a life that has to adapt to their arrogance. We saw kings and how they behaved. We saw nationalism and the terrible consequences that it brought against us. The Umawi adoption of nationalism generated a counter nationalism. Arab nationalism generated "anti-Arab" nationalism. The Umawi regime generated an opposite regime of the same material. What did we have? We looked at some of the monopoly of power that characterized the Umawi kings and it also characterized the Abbasid kings. Remember- the Abbasis came to power by claiming that "they were the representatives of the oppression and injustice that was inflicted on the household and the family circle of Allahs Prophet." When they came to power, what did they do? Brothers and sisters- it's alright if we open up a house of horrors. It's better to do so in our minds than do have our enemies open this house of horrors in our own lands and lives. When the Abbasis came to power in the year 132 after the hijrah, when they finally gained power, what did they do? Remember- brothers and sisters- one evil does not justify another evil. When they went to Damascus, they killed 50,000 people. Instead of addressing those who were in power and bringing them to a court of law because they had the power... They could bring them to a court of law and bring out the facts about what they were doing, but no-one wants to bring anyone to a court of law- they want to kill, just like today. You have a war criminal who is behind bars in Iraq and who is interested with bringing him to the levers of justice in which we can know the details of those who were responsible in his war crimes that cost the Muslims at least 2,000,000 lives and still counting. It's as if we haven't learnt from history. They kill 50,000 people in Damascus. The Masjid that is called Al-Masjid Al-Umawiwe all disagree with what the Umawis did- they gave a name to a Masjid and you could change the name of the Masjid if you don't like it, but what do they do? They bring their horses and their animals into the Masjid and they render it a barn for 70 days. This is an obvious, unjustifiable reaction to what took place. They didn't stop here, they go even further. They went to the graves and then they began to dig out the dead bodies from the graves. Of course, some of them had been dead for 80 years and their bodies had disintegrated, but they found the body of Hishaam ibn Abdul Malik, one of these kings, whose body was still in good shape, so they took the body out, beheaded the body and then crucified what was left of that body for some days for the people to see. Do you think that the torture and the type of policies that are pursued by the governments which are over our necks and shoulders began from nothing?! These governments can cite for us a history of over 1,000 years of this practice. Mutilating these bodies- they take a body out of a grave and they do with it in public what they did, is this Islamic behavior? Is this the way Muslim rulers are expected to behave? Then, after that, they burn the body and thereafter they throw the ashes, in public, to the wind. Is this Islamic behavior? Is this what Muslims were looking for? Muslims were looking for a way out of dictatorship and a way

out of the concentration and abuse of raw and aggressive power and then all of a sudden they were in a reaction with a counter raw, aggressive, concentrated and abusive poweranother word for At-Taghut. They went from one Taghut only to find themselves cornered within another Taghut. Let us stay in Damascus. In Damascus, when these 50,000, many of them were men, individuals were killed, there were children and babies who were left behind, so because of the crying and sadness in these families, this new crew of Tawagheet said "let's take these children and these infants also, and let's kill them." Not only did they do that, but they put there bodies in public and they spread a mat over some of these bodies that were still alive and they began to have their food over these dead or dying bodies. It's not an attractive picture that we are looking at, rather, it is repulsive! Why? Because this is the way that people who grab and abuse power behave. Today, we have people who have grabbed this power and who are abusing it. Abdul Malik ibn Marwan made it haram or illegal for any Muslims to say to a governor or employee of the state "Ittaqillah- be observant of Allahs power presence" This is a Qur'anic word. Why? Because if that became a popular notion, it could be perceived to be a threat to those who have power and are ruling by royal decree. Then, they go to the inflicted area in Southern Iraq. This is where the Abbasis gained or began their power base- Al-Kufa and AlBasrah. They go there and they tell some of the people "whoever goes into the Masjid is secure. If you're looking for refuge and want to feel safe, then go into the Masjid." 11,000 people go into the Masjid in Al-Basrah and they thought they would be safe there, but that was only used as a trick. 11,000 of them were cut down and killed and it didn't matter if they were in a Masjid. Brothers and sisters- you tell us, if we have enemies who are looking at us, do you think these enemies don't know these facts? If we are doing this to ourselves and if we don't have the moral and mental courage to re-open these pages and correct our political mistakes does not that invite them to live off our negligence, silence and ignorance as they are doing today?

Then, we have another element- nationalism and ethnicism are bad enough, but now we have another element in our history (We don't know how to put this without using words that will harm any ones feelings, because these notions of racism, nationalism, ethnicism and sectarianism are very deep in the Muslim psyche and we probably would not be saying these types of things in public if we were located in the Muslim world today because of the sensitivity and vulnerability of the Muslims to certain words, even though the only thing we're trying to do is restate the facts that are in front of us- we're not trying to promote any ism in any way. One of the almost unspeakable events that occurred in this "non-Arab" nationalism reaction to Arab nationalism(maybe we should just use the word as it is used in Muslim books)- was that there were 4,000 troops who are called Zunuj, that is in reference to people who are of African origin or black (we just don't want to use a word that gets into someone's sensitivity area), who felt that they were free to violate the honor of women who were defeated in what was Umawi domain. That's what they did- as if these 4,000 were turned loose and they let their sexual desire violate the honor of

Muslim women in the thousands. Of course, what happened after that was that the scandal was so much that popular complain was so strong that it went to the Abbasi ruler who in his own way got rid of them. He either repositioned them or just eliminated some of them in order to put an end to something like this. Brothers and sisters- we have to remind you, once again, that this information is not from extremist literature. It is from the mainstream books about this time period in our history and is taken from those who tried to register this history in an objective manner as much as was possible. We had a ruler in the Abbasi era or from the Abbasi kings- remember, these came to power claiming that they were the defenders and the champions of the course of Ahl Al-Bait. We had an Abbasi ruler/king who is called Al-Muntasir Billah. What did he do to become king? He killed his own father who is called, Al-Mutawakkil Alallah- Al-Muntasir Billah the son, kills AlMutawakkil Alallah, the father to become king. How far are we going from the Qur'an and the Prophet when things like this begin to happen?! We are not trying to bury Islamic history in chapters of horrors like this; there is a positive and an enlightening portion of history that belongs to the Muslims as peoples and communities, but we cannot say that these rulers had the model of governance based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah working when they were ruling- that wasn't the form of government that we are looking at. Before Al-Mutawakkil Alallah, who was killed by his own son, this is what he did. Today- kings have a crown prince, so when the king passes away, the crown prince becomes the king. That is the decree of Muawiya that was to be adopted by all rulers since then, with one exception- Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radi Allahu anhu). He was the only exception to this rule. When Umar ibn Abdul Aziz was just a governor in Al-Medinah- he wasn't the full ruler yet- there were orders that came down to him to take one of the figures of Islamic opposition in Al-Medinah and whip him in public and then place this person at the main entrance of the Masjid and then place ice-cold water over his head in the scorching weather of Arabia until that person dies. Feeling that he was somehow responsible for what happened when he became the Muslim ruler he knew that he was not a legitimate ruler because there was no bai'ah and no Shura- these concepts and practices have been buried by the previous kings, beginning with Muawiya- so he left this affair to the Muslim public (to you and me) to decide who is going to be ruling. The Muslims and even the opposition at that time which was a very active and revolutionary opposition, accepted that he become the ruler of the Muslims. For what reasons is another issuewhether it was for transient reasons or to expedite further plans that they had is besides the point, but compare people who want to be fair and in the mould of the Qur'an and the Sunnah with this Abbasi king, Al-Mutawakkil Alallah who says that "the 1st ruler after I die shall be (so and so) my son and after he dies, it will be his brother and after he dies it will be his other brother ." This is as if ruling has become an inheritance. Allah tells us how our money passes down to future generations, the laws of Wirathah. When we have an estate, property, wealth or whatever and when we die, there is a way of distributing this money in the family. Likewise, there is a way of distributing this power within the Ummah. No-one can come and say "this power belongs to me and this is what I am going to do with it, regardless of what you think!"

Brothers and sisters- remember, there was a time in those years when there were some scholars who came and said "Shura is not necessary." The ayah in the Qur'an is an order. When it comes to public policy, you have to get them involved in the decision making process (Surah Ash-Shura verse 38) Then, there were some who said that "the bai'ah of two or three individuals was enough!" What is this- a joke?! If someone wants to become the ruler of the Muslims, it's enough to have two or three individuals coming to give him the bai'ah, and then all the other millions of Muslims that are around need not give him the bai'ah or be concerned?! This is what we had and this has bred itself into the dictatorships that we have around us which is destroying the fabric of our lives. This dynamic in this world, where some of us want to give ourselves excuses Knowing the truth is not enough, the least responsibility after knowing the truth is expressing it. Some of these truisms that we have spoken about may be known to some people, but why don't they speak about it? When you come and take a close look at them, you realize that it is the ingredient of power that they are so concerned with. No-one wants to speak truth to power. Very few people are willing to circulate the word of truth and make it popular whilst others want to satisfy and obey those in power, even if they are on the Mimbar of Allahs Prophet in Al-Medinah or in the Holy Haram in Makkah and are not pleasing Allah, then we have a problem. There is a hadith concerning Allahs ProphetOne person was given the interface or presentation and knowledge of the Qur'an in this world, the other one was given abundant wealth in this world and the 3rd one died fighting for the cause of Allah in this world. The three of them were brought to judgment day and the 1st one who had this knowledge of the Qur'an was asked by Allah "what did you do with this knowledge of the Qur'an that you had?" He said "I expended it and gave it to people so that they could live by it." Allah and the angels tell this person "You are lying. The reason you were in the position in the world in the past life was so that people would say you are a scholar. You did this with out any sincerity to Allah. You did it because you wanted to listen to what people would say about you." Then, this other person who had all this wealth was asked the same thing- "what did you do with all this wealth?" He said "Well- I gave it to people who needed this money and assistance." Allah and the angels tell him "You are lying. You spent what you had so that people would say "Oh- he's a generous person." and so that you could get recognition from people and you could care less about recognition from Allah. Then, they came to the 3 rd person who fought at the warfront and was killed there and they said "Why did you go out and fight and be killed?" He said "I did it for the cause of Allah." They said "You are lying. You did it because you wanted people to say you are brave, courageous and a war hero." This is what we have in todays world- people who are playing roles to be identified by the powers in this world and not by the power of Allah. We don't have "Islamic unknown soldiers" and that's what we need. We need "Islamic unknown soldiers" who are willing to do what they have to do because they are accountable to Allah and not to any of these powers. We

don't have that, and if we do, they are not as many and as much as we want them to be. AlKibriya', pride, is their problem. They are consumed by pride of their egos. If you tell them to "come to Jum'ah prayers"; they want to go to Jum'ah prayers where there is the recognition of power and where the Islamic Center is run by people who have money, wealth, political connections and partisan relationships. Are they to go to a Masjid where the truth is spoken? "No! No! Stay away from there, especially if that truth is spoken in the public, outside and in the streets."- is what they are told. What's wrong? What happened to these ayaat and these hadiths of Allahs Prophet?! What happened to the Muslim psychology, attitude and mentality?! If you give them power, money and knowledge, they want to use all of this to satisfy those who are in the highest office in the land? We had scholars, pundits, poets, publicists and all types of people who were praising illegitimate rulers way back then- in the time of these Umawis and Abbasis that we have just looked at. They put the crown on the head of a king and then, all of this literature comes forth praising this king who is a criminal. You shouldn't put a crown on his head, you should put a sword beneath it! This is what we have today. Brothers and sisters- if we didn't have a culture of this- this has become a culture and this culture has to come down- we have to destroy this culture that has eroded our lives. Our culture is killing us; our culture is inviting death and soliciting wars. Who are the people who are going to step out of this culture that is in the service of dictators and dictatorships?! The Prophet says "You will not step into paradise if there is an iota of pride in you". - a pride that takes you away from Allah and places you as a subservient, a sicker fence, an inferior and a slave of the powers that be. Dear brothers and sisters- committed Muslims whose life and livelihood are Allahs... We say what we say in these khutbahs not as a matter of just stating a few articles of knowledge. We say what we say so that this knowledge can circulate and become our strength as we are able to see through the stratagems that are alive and kicking with military dimensions in our countries. We said and we continue to say- the grand plan is to have a fertilization of our ignorance that will bloom into bloodshed as they unleash- some of us help them do so- the evil forces of sectarianism, nationalism and racism in our own backyards. They know that if you and I and the average Muslim in this world remain alienated from the valuable information and experience that we have- these chapters of history serve to protect us if we want to learn from them. You can take a close look at the real world around- look at these governments and these political systems that are heavy weight on our souls and our lives and see where- remember when we were speaking about Dawlah An-Nubuwwah and Dawlah Al-Khilafah, we were speaking about Al-Adl, Justice, Ash-Shura, consultation, Al-Musaawaa, equality, Al-Bai'ah, allegiance- where is anyone in todays world speaking about these values and principles. Where, if it does exist are they trying their best to make these principles the policies of life? You can take a look around- this is a small and growing even smaller world- information is available, you have to pursue it, we can only give you a broad frame of reference- you should be able to rely on your common sense and your understanding of Allah and His Prophet to sift out the good from

the evil, the sacred from the satanic. Cast a look at the degree of the political systems that we have in our countries without the dumbing down of this culture. Every week there's a waste of a billion-and-a-half people when nothing is said to them and when no pertinent information is expressed to them and when no knowledge that becomes weapon is offered to them. This is what we have- a waste of time when these Masaajid no longer belong to Allah but belong to the wealthy and the corrupt- corrupted by the power that they abuse and offend us with. Is their any hope? Of course there is hope! You cannot be with Allah and say "there is no hope." If you begin to feel "Hey- I'm looking at history and it doesn't look good and I'm looking at the world around and it doesn't look good so I'm losing hope." If in addition to looking at history and the world today, you have your attention and your conscience focused of Allah- when that is the case, there is nothing but hope. Brothers and sisters: A felicitous Eid to you and a remembrance of the brothers who we have around the world who are spending this Eid in the struggle against kufr and shirk and against nifaq and hypocrisy. With that in mind, we say and we invoke Allahs presence wherever true Muslims are, and we ask Him that the Hajj, Mecca and Al-Medina regain their centrality in our lives. And we ask Him All Mighty, All Seeing and All Knowing to rid us of such clans and tribes who are interfering in the Hajj, interfering in the affairs of the Muslims to the detriment of the Muslims and to the construction of Kufr. We ask Allah, not only verbally, but by what we do, by our lives and everything we have invested in Him to rid us of these munafiqin, these muthabbitin, these muawwiqin, for now and forever. On that day and at that time, we will truly enjoy Eid- an Eid of freedom and liberty, an Eid of self-determination and reliance upon Allah.

AL-HAJJAJ AL-THAQAFI: EARLY WAR CRIMINAL

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Sometimes people fail at expressing the truth and Allah says Be on guard concerning Allahs power presence and express whatever you have to say with accuracy (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70)

The 1st portion of this Qur'anic sentence fixes our attention on Allah and His power influence in every aspect of life, thereby there's no excuse for anyone, no justification for scholars and no alibi for people who know the truth and then will not want to say it. If we are all in agreement that Allah is the power and Allah does and decrees whatever is final in this life, then who are we to say that the circumstances are not right to express the truth or the audience is not mature enough to understand the truth or our personalities are not strong enough to verbalize the truth. If in this human vessel of ours- our thinking minds, pulsating hearts and stirring emotions- there was a living fact that occupies our notions, propels our will and defines our conscience, we would not come and say "well, we have to factor in some type of superpowers or we have to take notice of some type of security agents" and the other continuing line of apologetics that are strewn in our way as we encounter people who fail to express the truth. We have been on a trail for almost a year- seeking out buried facts, looking for hidden information and trying to locate the truth of the matter wherever we may find it and we will continue, especially when we have no choice except to pursue this line. We're not cowards- we will say the truth whenever we come across it and to whoever will listen, unlike those who give legitimacy to the status quo by there Shaytaani silence on these issues of destiny. The Muslim mind has developed a shell where it dwells and this Muslim mind has justified its position in this shell as a matter of culture. This is not just an academic statement that is current for a few months or years and then it fades away. This is not a legal procedure that is part of an establishment or government so that when that government or establishment ceases to exist, along with it goes this legal procedure. This is much more than governments and think tanks; this is a culture that justifies the status quo- as suffocating as it has become. Because this culture that we share has its vulnerabilities, which has nothing to do with the Qur'an or the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam)- when we speak about the issues that we have been speaking about, this culture invites wars or occupation and aggression. The Qur'an and the Prophet stand for a political orientation that repels, retards, destroys and defeats aggression and occupation. The mind teaser is "why do we belong to a culture that brings upon us what it has brought and at the same time claim that we belong to Allah and His Prophet who do not tolerate the circumstances and conditions that we have at the same time?" We tried our best to take a piercing look at the issue- with all the sincerity, understanding and insight that comes from being a Muslim who tries as much as possible to be solidly located in Allah and His Prophet- all the way down to its roots. We will continue and pursue this when almost everyone else in the world is hiding behind their silence or taking cover in their culture. This may not be the case in the future, but up until now, there's been a deafening silence concerning these matters of life and death. We don't say this rhetorically- we say that these are matters of life and death in every practical shred and fiber of the word. The political oppression that we have today and everything that goes with it all the way down to the erosion of the values and morals of people who want to be moral and who want to have valuesthis climate of political and military suffocation that people are in just didn't snap overnight. It has a background to it and it is exactly this background that we have been trying to put in the rays and beams of our minds and thoughts. We will add yet another increment in this process, and only Allah knows how far these increments will go. In our beginning chapters of Islamic

history, we reached the point and the extent in which Muslims were inflicted with a form of government that doesn't belong to Allah and His Prophet. We may call it Mulk, Mulukiyyah, a monarchy, kingship, the rule of a dynastic class of people, family rule, ruling by royal decreenone of these have any trace of justification in the Qur'an or the Sunnah, yet it became well established and it thrived throughout hundreds of years until it bred the political systems that we have over our head today. Some people just don't get it when Allah says Be on guard concerning Allahs power presence and express whatever you have to say with accuracy (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) Ok- if we are to be on guard against Allah and His power influence in our lives, then how come people are silent when He is saying And say the truth as accurate as you are able to do so (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) If there is an issue in which the truth needs to be expressed, it is on this decay that has eroded the Muslim collective will throughout these centuries. When we begin to become specific, some Muslims or some listeners begin to become nervous. There's no need for anyone to become nervous when the truth is spoken or when there is a human attempt to approximate the verbalization of this truth. Why should anyone get nervous?! More than that, some people turn fanatical. If this is the psychological beginning of what needs to be done, then we welcome these developments. We are not going to succumb or cave in to them. We have our ears to Allah and the other noise around is just that- noise in our surroundings! Brothers and sisters committed Muslims- at the dawn of our Islamic history, the 1st hundred years or so, when this political waywardness happened, we had kings. In this particular instance, we will take a look at a time period in the Umawi dynasty during the rule of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. 1st of all, we are not just going back to history just for the sake of enumerating some events. You've probably heard these events mentioned before- that's number one. Number two- when we relocate our mind, what we say is meant for your mind and it's not meant for someones emotionalism, it's not meant to feed someones sectarianism and its not meant to contribute to someones nationalism- we don't mean any of that. We need Muslims who can step out of this shell and look at these events that we are reconstructing so that be can begin to do the business of correction that has been long abandoned by you and I- the average or mediocre Muslim in this world. When we go back to the reign of one of these kings who usurped power, we realize that this king, unlike his peers- the kings before and after himwas a scholar. Abdul Malik ibn Marwan was on par with the scholars of his time. He attended the halaqaat, study groups and sessions, of the scholars in Al-Hejaz, but then he becomes the king. This brings to mind at least a couple of the rulers in Muslim countries nowadays who claim to be very well educated and then they want to get away with violating the Qur'an and the instructions of Allahs Prophet. He gives orders to a governor in Iraq by the name of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Al-Thaqafi, to go to Makkah and finish the resistance and the opposition there. In

Makkah, there was the grandson of Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhu) who was a thorn in the back of this monarchy. In their own minds, they had finished off other portions of Islamic political opposition and now, they want to turn their guns on what is left of this opposition in Makkah. Some of you have gone to Makkah and you may have also gone to a mount called Jabl Abi Qubais, but the question is, when you went to or seen Jabl Abi Qubais when you were in Makkah, how many of you were aware that this governor, Hajjaj had placed what is called AlManjaneek- these were very primitive and cruel weaponry on this hill- today, their equivalent would be tanks- and he aimed them towards the Ka'ba and people were at the Hajj. This wasn't a time when Makkah was empty. Of all the months of the year, this ruling government decides to attack Makkah when all the Muslims were at Hajj. This weapon would lob considerably large rocks towards the Ka'ba. Remember, you had tens of thousands of people who were in that area and you have to realize that you had a government that was more than willing to rein death upon Muslims who were in and around the Ka'ba. If you begin to realize this, you will begin to realize that we had criminals who were ruling that go back 1,300 years. So, does it surprise anyone that we have the types of criminals who are ruling today? The Ka'ba was ransacked during the time of Yazid, his last weeks on earth, and once again it was ransacked during this reign of corrupt, war criminal rulers over the Muslims. This is the truth that many people are trying to avoid. Why? What purpose does it serve? These are facts and if you want more factswe don't know of any other attack on the Ka'ba. Even in the times of Al-Jahiliyyah, Shirk and "non-Islam" before the Qur'an and the Prophet, the Ka'ba and Al-Bayt Al-Haram were considered inviolable. These were sanctuaries and you couldn't violate them the way was done by these war criminals. When is the Muslim mind going to wake up and realize that we had war criminal rulers early in our history? What does it mean? If we identify with Allah and His Prophet, does that mean that we are going to automatically also identify with these types of war criminals?! There's nothing that says that, therefore we pass on our concern to those who speak to the Muslim public today and say "why don't you express the truth?" It was Abdullah ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) that pleaded with Al-Hajjaj on the outskirts of Makkah "to seize this at least till the pilgrims leave." There was an interruption of a couple of days or so and then the bombardment began again. Brothers and Sisters- what type of rulers do we have here is what we ask ourselves in a manner that will bypass the cultural shell that we are located in. What purpose does it serve to be silent about these crimes that have catapulted into todays wars of aggression and occupation that are inflicted upon us? Do you want to know more about this ruler? Let us take it from some people who were living during that time. There's a person by the name of Aasim ibn Abi Nujuud. Most of you have probably heard his name before the recitation of some ayaat of the Qur'an. Sometimes, you will listen to the expression "bi riwayati hassin an Aasim"- that is the current riwayah that most of the Muslims read of the Qur'an. Of the seven authentic recitations of the Qur'an, one of them is "bi riwayati hassin an Aasim". This is the Aasim who spoke about Al-Hajjaj, the same war criminal who ruled in Iraq during that time. He said "there was not one sanctity that Al-Hajjaj did not violate."

Al-Hajjaj, himself, referred to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu anhu)- we hope you have enough information about who Abdullah ibn Mas'ud is- as "the head of the munafiqin". These are Al-Hajjaj's words when he speaks about a Sahabi like Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. Then, he says "If I were to have an access to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, I would have let the earth drink his blood." Do you want more? The same war criminal, Hajjaj, who ruled over Muslims- remember, he ransacked and bombarded the Ka'ba- we haven't had kaafirs or Mushriks who bombarded the Ka'ba. The only occasion we know of is the attempt to do so in the year Allahs Prophet was born- Aam al-Fil- designated in our history as "The year of the Elephant", when there was this caravan of elephants belonging to a military that was instigated by its own interests and revenge to try to destroy Bait Allah Al-Haram, Allahs sanctuary in Makkah. After that, you hear the enemies around who say "Nuke Makkah"- when tensions rise, you hear these imperialists and Zionists come out with the way they feel. We're not talking about an imperialist or a Zionist, we're talking about an internal war criminal who was imposed as a governor on a sensitive area of the Muslim Ummah. He didn't have nuclear weapons- only Allah knows what would have happened if he had access to nuclear weapons with that psychology coming to finish off the Islamic legitimate resistance in Makkah. Hajjaj said- listen to this because it speaks volumesthese are his words "if I were to tell the Muslims to leave the Masjid from a certain door and they left it from another door then I will plunder their lives and their possessions or I will liquidate them and what belongs to them." Brothers and sisters of understanding- there's a lot of moral talk around- OK, take that morality that you understand from Allah and His Prophet and try to fit it on a person like this- you can't! No-one can! So why do we still have people, up until this very day, trying to squeeze war criminals into the mould of Islam? When now, there is a worldwide policy to bleed the Muslims- almost practically in the same geographical area that we are speaking about- and still we have stony expressions of silence on the faces of those who are expected to say the truth within these conditions and circumstances. Do you want more about an example of wayward rulers who are in their own right war criminals? He reigned for about 20 years in Iraq, and it is said that during those 20 years, 120,000 people were arrested without due process- as if Islamic judiciary, courts and judges do not exist. We're going to have to repeat this forwe don't know how many times because when we begin to step into this sensitive domain of "silent information", then people say "where did you get that information from?" So, as a reminder for we don't know how many times this information comes from "mainstream" Islamic references, sources and citations and they don't come from the fringe groups, fanatical extremists and imbalanced minds. It's all there if you only care to look for it. 120,000, people were imprisoned without access to a fair legal process. What does this say? You can read this in many ways, but one of the ways that not many people care to read it in is "there was a lot of opposition to that type of government." 120,000 people who were arrested in 20 years meant that the Muslim population didn't agree with that government and these types of rulers. This is also a blank area in the individual Muslim mind. We have opposition and rulers today, but because the iron is still hot, some people say "spare us public presentation of what is happening today." OK- this has happened over 1,300 years ago- do you still not have enough time and

buffer to speak about something like this?! It is also reported in these same reliable sources that 80,000 bodies disintegrated behind bars on the watch of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Al-Thaqafi. This war criminal ruler or governor of Southern Iraq, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Al-Thaqafi, once spoke to the Muslim crowd to instill fear in them. What did he say? This sentence that we are going to quote to you might as well be said by todays rulers from the way they behave- but it all began many many centuries before todays rulers. If you talk about someone who is trying to instill terror in his own people, this sentence has it, he said "I can see that there are heads out there that are ripe for picking." This person didn't have a conscience in him. When, Abdul Malik, the Umawi king who gave him this position was on his dying mat or bed, he turns to his son Waleed, and he tells him "Take note of Al-Hajjaj because he has cleared the land for you, he has defeated the enemy and he has made it possible for you to rule." We ask- if we wanted to compare this statement with the Shura, equality and participatory politics. Brothers and sisters- we tried to dig the dictionary so that you will not fall into your cultural shell. Words have a way of drawing you into your traditions and customs that have accumulated in a way that have shut down your mind. In the days of Allahs Prophet, those who were his closest affiliates had their homes around his Masjid in Al-Medinah- the doors used to open up to the Masjid of the Prophet, so when they wanted to decide on an affair that concerned the Muslim public and citizens, they did so as if they were living with the ultimate decision maker and in his life. Now, you have a king who is telling his crown prince, his own son, and advising him concerning this ruthless and bloodthirsty war criminal that ruled early in Islamic history. All of this is oppression.

Some of you still may have a better sense if we speak about the corruption that they caused inside just the rituals of Islam. Before them, As-Salaah was performed on time in Al-Masjid Al-Jaamiah in Al-Medinah, Makkah and the other areas. When they became the rulers, they delayed the Salaah by one or two or three hours. Is it any surprise that they began to have opposition against them? They used to deliver the 1st khutbah of the Jum'ah while they were sitting down. Khutbah Al-Eidayn- Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha that is given after the Salaah, they gave it before the Salaah and they were getting away with all of this. We ask- "where are the conscientious, sacrificing and struggling Muslims to see through these gaps and to plug them so that todays war machines find no inch of territory that will accommodate them in our lands?" Brothers and sisters Committed Muslims If we build relevant information, as truthfully as we can obtain it and as truthfully as we can consolidate it, we will begin to realize that from early in our Islamic history, we had regimes that were oppressive, authoritarian, and unjust and we had a political opposition that was sincere, sacrificing and continuing. This has been the case from there and then to now and here. The difficulty we encounter is Muslims are not being permitted to connect these lines. Just a couple

of weeks ago, the son of the president of Egypt was in Washington DC. What was he doing? He was trying his best to win over American support for the transition of power from father to son. This would force us to think. Were there any connections during the times periods that we are talking about in which there were emissaries traveling between Makkah, Al-Medinah, Damascus, Baghdad and other main centers in the Muslim Ummah to enemy territory and trying to secure the support that they need against the Islamic opposition that they encountered? This area seems to be absent from Muslim history, but it is not absent from our current affairs and events. There is a policy that is in the making in which the imperialists Zionist interests is recruiting the rulers in Arabia, the Gulf and North Africa against what they see as a line of opposition that extends from Iran to Iraq to Syria to Lebanon. Are we going to speak about these events when they become history?! When they become history, we'll be six feet under and we can't speak about them or, are we to preempt them with the insight and the knowledge that comes to us from Allah!? The same thing is happening with the Islamic resistance in the Holy land. There is this movement to contain or starve it- don't give them money, don't offer them loans, close the banks when they come to it, literally, this is what they are saying. If these Palestinians try to withdraw from their own accounts, don't give them their own money. Are we going to remain in this 1,300 year shell, being unable to think outside of this shell so that we can take pro-active measures that are in high gear today? The truth must be said, and we will say (as a matter of record), that Al-Imam Al-Khomeini was the one who was able to collect this assortment of information, make out of it practical sense and put into motion for the Muslims a tomorrow that belongs to Allah and His Prophet. What happened to those who were around at the time? Look around you- they are hiding in their silence or disguising themselves in what they call "diplomacy". When Allah, His Prophet and the legitimate leaders and revolutionaries come out and say the truth, the fashion is to accuse them of being reckless, impulsive and reactionary. To qualify to become one of them, we are going to have to turn to silence or become the diplomatic types. This silence and these diplomatic types have had 1,300 years to prove themselves and they haven't presented us with one success, rather, they have burdened us with all of this reversal that we are in.

TAKFIR
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Bridging then with now and looking at our own selves hundreds of years ago and nowadays is what is required of us in order not to lose the valuable experience that we have been honored to have. We have had serious trials and errors, we've made serious mistakes and we've also had accomplishments and achievements to our credit and merit. One of the issues that we have in our past that has the potential of coming back and haunting us in our present is the issue of what is called kufr or takfir. Before we try to take a calculated look at this issue, we should remind ourselves that this concept is a Qur'anic concept. It's not an accusation to begin with and it is not the improvisation of a group of people as it may have been intended at times to be. The word

kufr and its multiple derivatives in the Qur'an are plentiful. There are many ayaat in the Qur'an that mention this word in context- this is the key to understanding it- "in context". This is by no means an exhaustive attempt, but we will attempt to try to have a sense of what this idea or definition is so that it cannot be abused by individuals and utilized by political powers as it has the potential of becoming if we ourselves are not there to absorb and to behave according to its meanings. Allah states in the very 1st ayaat of Surah Al-Baqarah- and His words are the eternal truth- this is just one context of the many other contexts in the Qur'an. It's as if it was meant for us to begin this elementary understanding of two opposite concepts. We cannot understand kufr in the absence of our understanding of imaan. Therefore, in a sense, the definition in the last two ayaat that were quoted is a further definition, even though it is a contrarian follow up to the definition of Imaan. Let's take these ayaat- we're not going to leave you in a mental wilderness. These are the beginning ayaat of the 2nd Surah in the Qur'an. The letters ALIF-LAAM-MEEM; constitute that Holy writ about which there is no doubt, a source of guidance for those who are conscious of Allahs power presence in human affairs (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 1-2) A further description of this group of people who are on guard against Allahs ever present power in our daily and lively affairs is those who are committed to the un-palpable or that which is beyond human senses and those who have institutionalized or standardized in society this relationship with Allah through the daily observance of Allah through the daily observance of Allah (Surah AlBaqarah verse 3) This is another meaning for As-Salaah. As-Salaah is no longer an individual trait. Allah did not say Alladhina Yusallun. He said Alladhina Yuqimun As-Salaah. Iqamah As-Salaah needs a combined human effort and it intends for a social dimension. and out of that which We provided them with, they give or disperse (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 3) Anything that comes their way, they in turn distribute it. It is very important to follow these meanings of Imaan that are going to help us understand the meanings of kufr. And those who are committed to that which has been bestowed upon you (O Prophet) and that which has been bestowed upon those who have come before you from on high and they are certain of the approaching life- of the final life. It is they who are on a course of guidance from their sustainer and it is they who are successful or felicitous (Surah AlBaqarah verse 4-5) Now, we have a definition for what is now to follow.

As a matter of fact, those who are in denial, it is the same whether you caution or relay an ultimatum to them or whether you do not do so, they will not commit themselves to Allah. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 6) Brothers and sisters- let us go through this in a way that we will understand each other. We're not just here to pontificate. This is a matter of you and us understanding what Allah is explaining to us. When Allahs Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) came to the people in Makkah, these people had no Islamic feature or character to them. They had no conviction or commitment that is drawn from the book of Allah into their social order, but, when Allahs Prophet spoke to them at the beginning of this divine communiqu, he didn't say to them "O Kaafirs". Even though in a lopsided understanding of the word, there are people who are more than willing to brand people who are not familiar with Allah, His scripture and His Prophet just the same way the people in Makkah, at the beginning, were not familiar with Allah, His scripture and His Prophet; but, Allahs Prophet was not broad brushing them with the title of kufr. He was saying to them "Ya Qawmi", "My People". This makes for a chemistry of communication. Allahs Prophet knew that the people around him were on the wrong path. They were potential followers or potential enemies of his, but they were not in the future where they had made up their minds regarding what position they were going to take for or against Allahs Prophet. That is why as this momentum of Islam and Imaan began to build up in Makkah, a counter momentum began to build up also, in opposition to Allah and His Prophet. When this momentum began to express hostility to Allah and His Prophet, then the words of kufr was introduced to the par lands of Islamic communication. Then we began to hear these ayaat from Allah explaining who a kaafir is. Notice in this ayah at the beginning of the Qur'an, the wording Certainly, those who are denial (In denial of whom?) and rejection of Allah, His holy book and His holy Prophet, it matters not whether you break bad news to them or you don't, because they are not going to commit themselves to Allah. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 6) Notice- in this ayah, Allah did not say "Innaladhina kafaru sawaaun alaihim adawtahum am lam tud uhum laa yu' minun". The fast and loose thinking that is preponderant amongst the Muslims and the non-Muslims today There are people who have no warm relationship with Allah, His Prophet and the Qur'an who step into this area for dubious and sinister reasons- it's as if they get a kick out of disturbing this Islamic psychology which dwells in people like me and you who have not yet activated the delicate meanings of this Qur'an with the issues of this life. The word Andhara and Yundhiru is that you (O Prophet of Allah) whether you tell these people (of the opposition) of Makkah of the horrible consequences that await them in the matter of the social laws of this world or in the matter of the ultimate accountability that they will face in the coming world- in any case, whether you express this ultimatum to them, for them it's the same- "It doesn't matter." So now, Alladhina kafaru are not just subjects of a conversation. They are not interlocutors of two sides- one being the Prophets side and the other one, the opposite side. Now, they have hardened their position of opposition so that the Prophet is no longer just a communicator of a message, but a purveyor of a threat to them. This

meaning flows in the rest of the ayaat of the Qur'an. There are people who have hardened their positions, entrenched their opposition to Allah and His Prophet from what is a theoretical argument to Allah and His Prophet to what will eventually become a physical and a military opposition to Allah and His Prophet. Just for a moment, let us select a few other ayaat from the Qur'an which we hope to understand within context so that we don't have any Joe Blow coming and imposing their definition of kaafir upon us and we run away with it. In Surah Al-Kahf, there is an encounter between two individuals. Most of the time in the Qur'an, we realize that kufr pertains to a block of people or a social trend, but it also pertains to individuals. In Surah Al-Kahf, (verses 32 to 38), there is an encounter between one individual who is on the side of Allah and the other opposed to Allah. We will try to give you the context and then zero-in on why one individual is presented with the question "Are you in denial of Allah?" This can take some time, so we'll just quote the ayaat and then give you the compact meaning. Ok- what's going on in these ayaat? For those of you who cannot follow this verbatim ayaat from the Qur'an. There is a person who is in possession of agricultural, financial and worldly wealth. That type of wealth has caused this type of person to think that this type of wealth is going to endure and continue forever. Even if he were to return to Allah, he will find better than what he has in this world. This psychology is described by the words of the Qur'an "Dhalimu li nafsi"- this type of person, with this particular type of psychology is doing injustice to himself. So, what does his colleague tell him? He asks him a question- after laying out this human characteristic, he says to him "Are you in denial pertaining to He who has created you?" Now, this person didn't say "I don't believe in God." To the contrary, he confessed to a Sustainer, a Lord and a Sovereign. He said "And if I were to revert or return to my Lord, my Maker (that's what he's saying), I will find better than the wealth that I have." So, even psychological injustice that germinates in the internal mind and emotions of one person can extend itself to become a practical denial of Allah. That is why his companion asks him "Are you in denial pertaining to He who has created you?" Do you see? If we can contextualize these meanings, in this case, Allah says about one individual who is doing injustice to himself the inference from the quoted ayah of his colleague is that "by asking this question, it is inferring that he is in denial of Allah." Another ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah says And the kaafirs are the dhalims (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 254) If we understand these ayaat in context, we begin to understand that these people who are in a lifetime of denial of Allah eventually become in their own positions and status tyrants, oppressors and otherwise, individuals who are responsible for injustice. There is a transition- it can take sometime- either in the life of one individual or in the life of societies, and, the life of

society is much more than an individual life. There is an inevitable transition that goes on for those who are in theoretical denial of Allah, to one day become practical deniers of Allah. And the kaafirs are the oppressors (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 254) There are other ayaat in the Qur'an when you look at this word. This is a key word and it has to be understood. We can't look the other way and say "we don't want to use this word." or we want to overlook its meanings- we can't do that. A word is used hundreds of times in the Qur'an and you want to overlook its meanings! Impossible! The only alternative we have left to us is to approach these holy words and this holy writ with our open minds, so that we can understand what they mean in context. In another ayah, Allah says Those who say that Allah is a 3rd of three are guilty of kufr (Surah Al-Ma'idah verse 73) They are not guilty of kufr simply because this is a verbal statement. You can give this statement to a parrot and the parrot will repeat these words. If the parrot repeats these few words, can you look at that parrot and say "he's a kaafir?!" NO! Unless there is a human paradigm for which these words stand- and when there is a human paradigm in objection to Allah, then, that human paradigm is guilty of kufr- especially when there are notions of racism that are drawn from it as anyone who has opened his mind can see abundantly around. In the opening chapters of our history, we want to remind you that one of the polarizing issues at that time was concerning leaders or rulers who usurped power- power no longer came to them via the channels of Shura and bai'ah. In the time of the Umawi monarchy, when Muslims had rulers who were illegitimately in power, there was a debate that took place pertaining to these rulers. They called them Al-Murtakibi Al-Kabira, which would roughly mean those who are guilty of a cardinal sin. To them, rulers who had grabbed power and were imposing their personal will on the masses of Muslims who were around were Al-Murtakibi Al-Kabira. How do you define this Al-Murtakib Al-Kabira? This was the position of those who were called AlKhawaarij- they said that "Al-Murtakib Al-Kabira is a kaafir." There was another trend, something like what we called in our political phraseology of today "centrists". There were these centrists, called Al-Murjiah, who said "No! As long as you profess or verbalize your Imaan, it doesn't matter what you do, you are still a Mu'min." This Al-Murtakibi Al-Kabira, from this point of view is a Mu'min. Then, there was Al-Mu'tazilah, the rational school of thought that developed in Al-Kufa and Al-Basrah (if you can recall from previous khutbahs) who came and said "Al-Murtakib Al-Kabira is found in a position equidistant from the extremes of kufr and imaan." They called it "Manzilah bayna Al-Manzilatain", which means a status between that of kufr and imaan, so they said that he is a munafiq. But from that day, up until this day, there hasn't been some level minded Muslims We are not trying to simplify this matter and we are not trying to be sarcastic about it- we're trying to stick to the facts as much as we can because you can see- nowadays, if you just open your eyes and ears- look and listen around, and you will

see that there is a trend of what is called Takfir among the Muslims. You probably heard it in the news last week or in the past couple of weeks because of what has happened in Iraq. Because there are powers who want to ignite this defamation, place it out of context, use it for its political ends and in the interim, we ourselves are the victims, not because of what they are militarily planning, but because what we what mentally incapable of sorting out. So, you come today to the average Muslim and you tell to him "Ok- What does this word and its offshoots in the Qur'an which is used hundreds of times mean?" And most of the time, the answer is going to be a secular answer. As if we don't have problems enough trying to rethink ourselves, we borrow answers from those who don't even belong in our context or psychology. Then, we say a kaafir is an unbeliever, a heaven, a pagan or an infidel. All of these words, as ambiguous, misleading and sometimes impractical as they are- no person with a thinking mind encounters living human beings around, and the 1st thing, if someone encounters a person that doesn't relate to God, the 1st thing that comes on your thinking mind is the word infidel or heaven. It just doesn't exist. These are words that are found in some religious literature and some books of history, but in the active mind of today, it doesn't exist. So, why do we come and try to latch onto them, as Muslims, to try to give to them definition or even insight into what an active and practical word like this word in the Qur'an should mean to us? So, it is taken for granted that when we come to a short Surah, which probably many of us may have memorized, that we should know what we are saying when we read a short Surah like this. O You who reject Allah and His signs, and His messengers, and His Power; I conform not to that which you conform to; Nor will you conform to that which I conform to; And I shall not conform to that to which you conform to; Nor will you conform to that which I conform to; To you be your way and to me be mine. (Surah Al-Kaafirun) Here, we find that the word kaafirun is conjoined with the word Na'bud. Once again, Al-Ibadah is not to be understood through secular references or definitions- it is to be understood through the Qur'anic definition and context. Al-Ibadah is the lifelong consuming effort of complying with a source of influence. Al-Kafirun, in their individual or public configurations do not comply with Allah, whereas we comply with Allah- every thing we do and every effort that we exert is channeled towards Allah- this is our lifelong conformity to Allah and that is their lifelong denial of Allah. Brothers and sisters on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqim Some of you may have been following very closely what was said and some of you may have found some gaps in what you've just heard. We hope that your common knowledge and common sense is enough to help you understand that we are not talking about hypothetical issues and this is not conjecture into the unknown. These are the real issues that are issues of disagreement in an underground of active Muslim fermentation. In the past as in the present, Muslims who want to express their heart-felt convictions of the meanings of this Qur'an find themselves in torture chambers or dislocated from their homes, home towns and home countries- refugees, exiles,

expatriates. What is the reason for this? The reason for this is that they try in their own way to bring the meanings of Allahs narratives to real life. Some of them in these prisons and in these horrible conditions have evolved and expanded on a literature that makes it easy to brand other Muslims as kaafirs. If we can go back to one part of history- when this accusation (it was an accusation and not a word of truth and a statement of fact) 1st surfaced, it surfaced when the Khawaarij had their disagreement with Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and this disagreement climaxed in the accusation by the Khawaarij telling Ali that "you are a kaafir" . That is the 1st time it was expressed with the type of reverberations that we are beginning to notice in todays world. This was taken from that difference which happens to be in the same land that is played today with the scheme of igniting these internecine differences- remember Al-Jamal, Siffin, An-Nahrawaan and Karbala- these were all unfolding in the same territory that today we begin to hear this labeling of kaafir being played, used and exploited out of context so that it can sweep in tempers, ignite rages and drop bombs. When it began with this accusation against Ali, Al-Khawaarij went as far as saying "all the rest of the Muslims are kaafirs. We cannot eat their meat, intermarry with them and in the extreme cases, we cannot pray behind them or attend their Jam'aat. We have to fight and kill them because they are kaafirs." Brothers and sisters- because the way public discourse is in the Masaajid, in Islamic congregations and periodical meetings, no one is stepping into this area with their minds. They are stepping into it with their emotions. What do we want to do? Do we want to go and repeat this mistake from which we should learn? If we do not learn from it, we are going to bear its everlasting consequences. Who wants to do that? In their narratives, there is an instructive lesson (Surah Yusuf verse 111) But who wants to learn? Do you want the door wide open for the trouble-makers? There was a survey that was done and the person, Al-Zarqawi, who was killed in Iraq by some of his sponsors- we know that we're opening ourselves up to more questions than we are trying to provide answers for- but a survey was done and 75% of public opinion in that part of the world consider him to be a hero. This is how much misinformed many of us have become and this is how much influence the media has when we can't speak to ourselves. When you and I can't open our minds to ourselves and we cannot have a meeting of minds and feelings in Makkah and Al-Medinah the way we are supposed to, then we leave open these wide gaps and cleavages and this is what begins to happen.

SECTARIANISM
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa Sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of a conscience; a thinking mind and Muslims who are in the service of Allah Azza Wa Jall.... This weekly khutbah is intended to cleanse ourselves and enlighten our lives as much as is possible pertaining to recent issues and affairs that are expected to be put under the spotlight of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Therefore, we say that in this past week the Muslim psychology, (if we may call it that), has been shaken by events that are in one sense troubling and developments that are meant to take away the confidence that we have been working on far and nearpertaining to our relationship with Allah and our struggle for Him. Let us try to begin to capture these events in light of the ayah that is clear in its meanings. In Surah Ahl-Imran, Allah says and the direct meanings of these ayaat are the following

O you who are securely committed to Allah, take precautions against Allahs power presence the way it is due to Allah (in other words) in full measure and do not die except that you are in a state of submission to Him. And hold firmly or be guarded altogether by holding on to Allahs extension or lifeline to you and be not divided. And bear in mind Allahs bounty and privileges upon you as you were enemies and He reconciled your hearts with each other then, you became, due to His ni'mah upon you, brethren. You were on a precipice of a pitfall of fire and He rescued you from it. It is in this manner that Allah demonstrates His power presence to you so that you may be guided. And from among you, there should be a consolidated body of people who call others towards what is good and virtuous; they authorize and institutionalize what is self-evidently the truth and they decommission, dis-establish and dis-mantle what is self-evidently evil or bad, it is they who are successful. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 102-104) This is the rough transfer of meanings from the original text to our lingua franca, our common language, which is English- the language that everyone understands. We have deliberately chosen this ayah to try to recapsulate some of the turbulence that has occurred in the past week due to plots and plans that are meant to divide us and turn us against each other. What exactly do we mean by this? We are not and have not been in the streets 23 years and counting because we are trying to avoid the issues or be indirect about the events. With Allahs help and aid, we have tried our best to address these critical issues which many Muslims are abandoning, therefore the Muslim public becomes the instrument of those who want to divide and disperse our togetherness. In this ayah, Allah is clearly ordering us to behave in a way that promotes togetherness, solidifies our ranks and files and that "homogenizes" our different elements from which we are constituted. Mankind or human society and individuals by their very nature have distinctions with each other or among themselves. One distinction is race, another distinction is language, a 3rd distinction is ethnicity, and a 4th distinction is different opinions within the purview of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The event that occurred last week in which a war criminal was hanged was done in a way that was intentionally pre-planned and thought out to bring about a cleavage or gap among the Muslims. We say this because if Muslims were in-charge of a certain responsibility, they will discharge it honoring Allah and his Prophet. The 1st responsibility that Muslims have is that of justice. This is a historical and also an immediate responsibility; it is also a personal and an administrative responsibility. Justice has to be done- all Muslims agree to this. There's nothing that divides the Muslims in pursuing justice. Hence, if Muslims among them, in their society have a war criminal, they should pursue that war criminal with justice. And if you govern or rule among people, you do so with justice (Surah Al-Nisa' verse 58) Indeed, Allah has commanded that you do justice (Surah An-Nahl verse 90)

Brothers and sisters- those who listen- we have a war criminal and this war criminal should be brought to a court of justice- not to a kangaroo court; not to an imperialist/Zionist court and not to a puppet court. Unfortunately, because Muslims are not in-charge in Iraq, the people who make the decisions brought a bona fide war criminal not to an Islamic court but to a theatrical court of their own production and management. They spent 13 months in this court of a fiasco with 40 legal sessions. These characters who are involved and responsible in the deaths of over 1,500,000 people were brought to this show court for the Muslim public to see. Some portions of those sessions were censored, even though the Zionist/imperialist, (to be more blunt about it), the Israeli/American controllers of Iraq spent on Muslim public opinion 13 long months and 40 televised encounters in court with these war criminals. What were they charged with? Remember- these and the others with them are responsible for the deaths through wars of aggression of 1,500,000 Muslims not to speak about those who have been injured or handicapped by these wars and those who have been displaced and forced to move out of their towns and homes (which is also in the millions). These are universal war crimes. We're not dealing with a petty criminal. We're not bringing into court a ruler who tripped on 148 individuals of his own population, but this is exactly what they did. They brought war criminals to a court which was not an Islamic court and the charges were not Islamic charges and the verdict was not an Islamic verdict. After that, they said "we are going to execute this person!" He deserves more than the death penalty. But 1st of all, he doesn't deserve it in the way it was applied. We ask anyone with a living conscience and a working mind "Why execute a war criminal on a day that is considered by many Muslims to be Eid AlAdha?" Brothers and sisters- we tell you that this was deliberate and intentional and the reason for it is to try to inflame sectarian feelings among the Muslims and to a certain degree, these Shayateen who have been in-charge of these theatrics have been trying all along to spike these sectarian feelings. If you don't know or if you don't have extensive contacts with people aroundwhen many Muslims who know that this person is a war criminal, who have no sympathy for him, at all, and who spoke out against his wars of aggression against his neighbors to the South, East and North saw what unfolded in front of their very eyes, through the media, they began to think about this person as a martyr. This also was intended who were doing this. No-one would have thought about this person as a martyr if he was tried along with his masters for being responsible for the killing of 1,500,000, most of them, his own people. No one would have considered him for one moment to be a victim of his own bosses. Should we be graphic about this- unless someone is living in a cave somewhere, most of us saw what we are talking about. A person is brought to the gallows with his feet locked into chains and then, in the last moment of his life he is trying to say "Ashhadu An La Ilaha Illalah wa Ash-hadu anna Muhammedar Rasulullah" they did not let him finish saying what he wanted to say. Brothers and sisters- if we are Muslims and if we are responsible for justice, we are responsible for it in a responsible way. The Prophet of Allah says "if you are going to slaughter or if you are going to take away another life, you do it with perfection." This is not the way things are done if they were in the hands of committed Muslims, but, this whole operation in Iraq is not in the

hands of committed Muslims. Yes- there are Iraqis who are given some power but they cannot decide and implement their will without the approval of their masters in Washington and Tel Aviv. Brothers and sisters- let us just go back to the time when the dictator in Baghdad launched a war of aggression against his neighboring people who were trying to put together a state of their own on the basis of Islam. What happened? He got his orders and signals to do that from the rulers in Washington. You execute a person like that and you not only got rid of that one person, but down into the abyss with him went all the information that could bring to court his superiors who also share in the crimes against humanity and in the war crimes that were going on for at least a decade and a half it we want to also throw in what he did in Kuwait. Why take his masters in Washington off the hook and relieve them? You are getting rid of the evidence that will condemn these real war criminals who are sponsoring their puppet war criminals. Is that what you want to do? Is this Islamic justice? What happens to the 1,500,000 people who have been killed in these wars of aggression? Will they not ask "why were you not responsible for doing us justice? We don't count!" 1,500,000 people don't count and 148 Shi'is in Dujail are the only ones who count?! This is what you have to understand or this is what is being planted in your minds because they want to split the Muslims asunder. These neo-conservatives and the crowd that is running the show in Washington has its roots back in the 1980's when they were 1st elected in the Reagan administration- they are the ones who want to get rid of the evidence that can bring them court. Listen to this- the Muslims who now are ruling in Iraq come to Washington to try to communicate with this Shaytaani government that "we need more of your support" Brothers and sisters- Saddam and his henchmen were doing the same thing and when they were doing it, they were lakkies and puppets of the United States. When his rivals are doing it, why are not they also puppets and lakkies of the United States? What is haram on one criminal is halal on another person?! But how is it that you judge?! (Surah As-Saffaat verse 154) They are equally to be condemned by a voice of truthO Allah, at times like this we miss an Imam who can stand up and point to these deviants who are getting away with a chummychummy relationship with Ashaytaan Al-Akbar. They want to get away with it because they camouflage themselves. Why? One person was hiding his crimes under the cloak of nationalism- Saddam, the war criminal of all times, use to justify everything that he was doing because he was protecting Arab nationalism. He didn't care; if he understood that someone was opposed to Arab nationalism- that was enough to label that person with treason and send him to the gallows or the torture chambers. We spent the years that we spent exposing the crimes of that ruler and his class of rulers, but that's not going to make us blind to the facts. Few are the people who will stand up and say it as it is. Now, we have a new set of people who are moving in, and to them, if things continue to go the way they are going, they are willing to kill anyone- not on the basis of nationalism, but on the basis of sectarianism. Do we want this evil root to take hold firmly in the grounds of Iraq? We spent the last 30 years fighting Arab

nationalism with the ideas and blood that we have and now we're going to spend another 30 years or whatever the time is going to be fighting against Shi'i extremism?! Is this what the Muslims want?! Is this how you want to play the American game? Don't you want to learn from our ownselves? Whoever is and has been involved in the past 30 years with these strings of war crimes dictated from Washington with the approval of the Zionists in Tel Aviv is condemned in this world and in the world to come. Equally applicable are those who are the functionaries of this new Imperialist/Zionist wave of sectarianism will be condemned in this world and in the world to come. Justice is not served by nationalism and justice is not served by sectarianism. We want these words to ring in the heads of those who are tempted to follow the American line. We have seen some of our brothers who used to come here and be with us for Jum'ah prayers and because of this Imperialist/Zionist poison concerning Iraq- look arounddo you see any of them? Those of you who were here 30 years ago, look around- how many of them are around us? If there is any, it's one or two. What happened? Where did they go? This is how deep the poison has set into the Muslim body. What are we going to have now? A new crop of people who will feel more comfortable if just like we were exposing the folly and the fallacy of a nationalism at war with Islam, we're going to have a new set of people coming here who want to listen to the folly of Shi'i sectarianism against Islam? Yaa Muqallibal Qulub- Thabbit Qulubuna Ala deenik. This is what happens when we open the door and invite, not actively, but passively- by not saying anything; forget about doing something- we seem to be far away from doing what has to be done, but by not being able to say what has to be said, this is what happens. You can take this Masjid and the other Masaajid that are around, who is in light of what Allah and His Prophet are telling us. Who is bringing these events into the context of Allahs words and Allahs Prophets words? Who are they? If we were actively doing so, we wouldn't have had this empty space into which Shayateen Al-Ins Wa Al-Jinn have moved in and are now trying to distance the Muslims from themselves. Look at how they're doing it When they are planning a very large sectarian divide amongst the almost 2 billion Muslims in the world, they have on our local level intra-faith meetings. They have Sunnis and Shi'is coming to a suburb of Virginia and speaking about how nice they are to each other and this is encouraged by the same Shayateen who are planning something much bigger. They may do the same thing in Los Angeles and Detroit and Muslims who are detached Think about these Masaajid who every week are detaching their congregations from reality- these are the issues of reality that we have to ferment in our minds, but you come to these types of Masaajid and they want you to break away from these issues. They will tell you "Oh- this is a controversial issue." Every time a life and death issue comes staring us in the face, they tell us "this is a controversial issue and to look the other way and when we look the other way, all of a sudden the bombs beginning falling on our lives and our societies." Do you see how these Masaajid and we, ourselves, who go to these Masaajid are participating in these crimes because we don't want to speak or listen to the word of truth on these matters that count?! Back to Allahs words. O you who are securely committed to Allah, raise your guard concerning Allahs power (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 102)

If these people of the last 30 years and the people of the last three or four years were raising their guard regarding Allahs power, they would have cared the least about what these self-styled super powers are doing today or have been doing in the past. They would look at them as if they were flies or nuances- that's what they are, but No- they think about this power in Washington as being something like a Godly power- they can't stand against it, resist it or do anything about it. The ayah is not saying O you who are securely committed to Allah, take precautions against Americas or Europes power presence the way it is due to them. That's not what the ayah is saying. We only acknowledge this relationship of power when it pertains to Allah and we don't acknowledge it when it pertains to others. Have you realized that in this ayah, the leap was made from an active life of Taqwa, whatever the active details there-in are, and we were brought immediately to the moment of death. Therefore do not expire except that you are surrendering to Allah (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 102) These people are expiring when they are in surrender to these lesser powers. Whoever you are, whatever language you speak and whatever school of thought you have, you will find that your fortification is in the extension and the lifeline that Allah has given you, but you have to do this altogether and don't be divided and dispersed (Surah AhlImran verse 103) If this is an ayah that is going into everyones heart and mind- look around you- why do people seem like they are divided. A simple example is here in the Washinton DC area- people will go to their ethnic or national or sectarian centers and they don't want to call them thatthey call them all Islamic centers. Even though they call these centers Islamic centers, Islam is innocent of these claims and these types of centers. And bear in mind Allahs ni'mah upon you (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 103) We ask you- brothers and sisters- what did Allah give us that He has not given others or that others have not themselves acquired? It is these words and His Prophet. Does anyone appreciate it? Does anyone show any appreciation? If we don't understand Allah and His Prophet, then how are we going to think about them as a ni'mah- because before Allahs book and Allahs Prophet, what were we? We were mutual enemies of each other because (as of that time) you were enemies (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 102-104) You were hostile to each other and then what happened? Because of Allah and His Prophet He has caused your hearts to be familiar and to reconcile with each other then (Surah AhlImran verse 103)

This familiarity and this reconciliation does not cancel your God given specifics- it does not cancel your ethnicity, school of thought and it does not cancel your language or tongue- none of that. due to this ni'mah, we became brothers of each other (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 103) Is there a nationalism that divides one brother from the other? Is there a school of thought that divides one brother from the other? NO!- meaning that if you are going to interpret your language or your school of thought in such a way that you no longer feel that you are brother of another Muslim, then your interpretation and understanding are wrong and in violation of this ayah. You were on the edge of a pit of fire (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 103) That's where we're standing today. We are standing on an edge with the possibilities of us slipping into the fire very high. He rescued you from that destiny- from falling into that pit of fire (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 103) He did not save us when my school of thought or my language is better than the other. Anyone who has these ideas is standing on the edge of a pit of fire and Allah brought us back from that edge- wait a minute my servants- minimize this (Surah Ar-Rum verse 22) This is an ayah and these types of differences that we have is an expression of Allahs power presence among us so why are we making them issues to divide us? It is with this is mind and with understanding these dynamics and factors that Allah is going to guide us (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 103) These people who tell us "don't speak about these issues"- then how are we going to be guided? We cannot be guided as long as we are in a psychology of ignorance and inferiority. What does it need? Why can't we take on the issues that everyone speaks about? Just step out of the Masjideveryone is speaking about what happened last week. It is the ammunition in their talk-shows, commentaries, editorials, parliaments and probably in their temples, but when it comes to us Muslims, "Oh No!" We are not allowed to think and have a solution that comes from Allah and His Prophet. It's alright- brothers and sisters- with all of these mistakes and misdirection, Allah has given us the time and the opportunity to correct ourselves, but we have to do it. No-one is going to correct me for me and you for you- it is you who is going to have to do it for your own self. Brothers and sisters Committed Muslims

We only have a limited time every week to try to bring Allah and His Prophet into our social and collective selves. The number is out and it comes from the authorities in Arabia. They tell us, (we don't know whether they are telling the truth or not but it makes a person think), that during this Hajj period which is roughly a month, there was roughly around 720 people who died. This is what they are telling us and this is what should have us think. They said that the number of pilgrims who went to Bayt Allah Al-Haram is around 2,500,000 Muslims and Musalimaat and out of those around 720 died and they tell us that these deaths are attributed to natural causes such as heart attacks, infirmity, old age or some disease or the other. We don't know if this is the truth or not. Allah is a witness to the facts and to what they say and what we say- but it causes us to think. In a normal population of 2,500,000 people, (statistically speaking as has become vogue in todays world), is it normal to have 750 persons die in a matter of one month? If it's normal, then this is a normal Hajj, but if it's not normal, then we have a question mark about the way that this Hajj is being run. We don't have the answer so we place the question in our public mind and then we look for an answer

ZIONIST IMPERIALIST SCHISMS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... From this position, during this time of week and from this place, we tried our God given best to clear our conscience of what is beginning to happen. Allah says

Oh you who are securely committed to Allah, take precaution against Allahs corrective power and state or say or express what is accurate, truthful and precise (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 70) It is taken for granted that we have around us individuals who are not interested in saying the truth. Brothers and sisters, this is the psychology that permeates our larger body- the hundreds of millions of Muslims- who when it comes time to say the truth, we find that we lack the courage and the personalities to stand up with a conscience and express the truth of the matter to the Muslim public or to the public beyond the Muslims, even though Allah is saying in very clear words Oh you who are securely committed to Allah, take precaution against Allahs corrective power and state or say or express what is accurate, truthful and precise. It's as if to say what qualifies you to say the accurate words within the critical time-frame is the taqwah of Allah. Therefore, if there's absence of the words of truth, there is an indication that there is an absence of taqwa. Then, once again, Factor in Allahs corrective power and keep company of those who are truthful. (Surah AtTaubah verse 119) In today's poisoned atmosphere, we are forced to try as much as we humanly can to express some truth on some of these matters that are meant to harm our relationship with Allah and our selves. The violation of Islamic solidarity, the lunge at Islamic unity and the attempts to destabilize this Islamic awakening in its beginning has now taken a sinister turn as we have an issue of sectarianism staring us in the face. Because of the relative lack of information, sectarianism is quite a problematic issue to deal with because of the virtual absence of the Muslim mind from this area. If we are observing human beings and if we live with what is happening around us, we saw and sensed how serious this sectarian monster can be. We, (humbly speaking) are not the types who like to dwell on these types of issues, especially when there is propensity to inflame the emotions about these issues. A dictator (just about two weeks ago) was hanged. All of us know what we are talking about- we are talking about Saddam Husein. We don't want ignorance also to make its inroads into our minds because we are unable to express the name of a dictator or war criminal. OK- So what happens after that? We begin to sense that there are some Muslims who are saying that this man is a Sunni. We want to express the truth on this matter. This person was not a Sunni. This person was a secular which is akin to a kaafir which amounts to being an instrument of the enemies of all Muslims. How is it that there are some minds that refuse to define this well defined person as a secular and insists that he is a Sunni? They by pass the issue of Imaan and Islam and tell us to be specific that he is a Sunni. We have been saying until our mouths ran dry in all of these years that these rulers and this particular one in Baghdad have no relationship to Imaan and Islam and we don't need the mouth-pieces of Ash-Shaytaan to foster him upon us now; saying to us that he in their minds and plans (to be precise) is a Sunni. What is meant by all of this? Obviously, what is meant by this is to capitalize on what remains or what is left in the Muslim public mind because the Muslims are in a process that is taking years and the Muslims are getting rid of false information, artificial traditions and superficial notions

and the time is going to come when the Muslims are not going to be fooled by someone saying a Sunni Muslim and someone else saying a Shi'i Muslim. That time is not here yet and the proof is in what happened in the past couple of weeks and what seems to be in a continuum of developments- i.e. what we mean by this is the attempt at snowballing sectarianism. Brothers and sisters- let us take a close look at our own selves. Why do some Muslims in the hearts and minds of their own selves insist at looking at people as Sunnis and Shi'is? It is because there is a malfunction in the way they understand or think of Allah and His Prophet. Never have we heard in the words of the ayaat of the Qur'an or in the words of the Sunnah of the Prophet the words "Sunni" and "Shi'i" as it is understood by todays average Muslim. Never! So why do have todays average Muslim bouncing around these words to create more distance and bad feelings towards the other Muslim who is not a Muslim who belongs to his particular persuasion of the way he or she defines a Sunni or a Shi'i. When we look at a dictator like Saddam Husein and when the world (meaning the media, officials, governments, the information generators and those who are in control of the images and propaganda) wants us to believe and think of a dictator as a Sunni, they are sending a strong message that is unmistakable to an unpolluted Muslim mind and conscience that what they mean by this is to deliberately begin a division among the Muslims with this sectarian line. It begins with the inability of the average Muslim to understand the meaning of the many ayaat in the Qur'an in which Allah says Alladhina Aamanu wa Amilus Salihaat. There's an infusion between a commitment to Allah and a display of a behavior that performs As-Salihaat. They are inseparable, but in todays mind, even in today's "Islamist" mind as some people refer to it, there is a convenient relaxation or detachment between Alladhina Aamanu and Alladhina Amilus Salihaat. Because of this, a person can be called a Muslim only if he claims the words of faith and there is no requirement for Al-Amal As-Salihaat. It is in this gap that sectarianism takes its roots and we have some people come and tell us that one person is a Sunni Muslim and another person is a Shi'i Muslim. If we were in our correct Islamic minds and in our correct mode of Imaan, we would refuse this characterization and hyphenation. We are not hyphenated Muslims. Never! We are Muslim 1st and we are Muslim last. But there's a larger plan here. If some of you don't have a sense of how this sectarianism is deliberate and plotted Some of these sectarian minds looked at the execution of a dictator. All that went into the execution of that dictator was a theater. Bringing this person to court and presenting this issue through satellite television and the internet to a world audience of Muslims- that's who is intended by this. They don't intend for these show trials to be the concern of people in Latin America, North America, Europe or in China. All of this charade during these 13 months and 40 sessions were meant for you, the potential sectarian Muslim, to register every remark and violation of the standards of justice during this time period, so when it happens they show us this on camera. Allah says So that the course of criminals may become evident. (Surah Al-An'aam verse 55)

What we should have been watching is the motion and the direction of not only war criminals, but the masters, financiers and ideologues of war criminals and not only the clowns who are in front of the camera. So, when this image of a dictator going to the gallows was presented to the Muslims public at large, because that is the intended audience, some Muslims looked at this and processed it as if it was a sectarian operation or with very obvious sectarian overtones. Look- here is where suspicions are deliberately fed by previous events. A dictator goes to war and a war criminal is brought to court- Why? Because he is charged with the killing of 148 Shi'is. Brothers and sisters- we are forced to say what we are saying because of what they are doing. As some of the fuqaha' would say "and he who is expressing or conveying the words of kufr is not necessarily a kaafir". When the media that wants us to be divided among sectarian lines come and say "Look- this person was put on trial because he killed 148 Shi'is in Dujail." That's exactly what happened. He was not put on trial for more serious crimes. This person was the criminal behind the massacres of Halabja; the campaign of AlAnfaal; the launching of a war against a neighborly just emerging Islamic state; the invasion of another "Arab" country; the assassination of many individuals from scholarly families- the family of Al-Hakim, the family of Bahr Al-Ulum- there were many scholars; there were Shi'i scholars- Arif Al-Basri and others and there were Sunni scholars- Naadhim Asi Al-Ali Al-Ubeidi and Abdul Aziz Al-Badri- these were Sunni, Iraqi scholars who were tortured to death in the most gruesome ways. They are so graphic in some instances that we spare you the details. He was responsible for assassination squads that roamed different countries and areas around Iraqthe killing of a person by the name of Hassan Ash-Shirazi in Beirut at one time- a Shi'i; the killing of another person called Hardaan At-Tikriti in Kuwait another time- a Sunni; killing another scholar- Al-Mahdi Al-Hakim in Khartoum in Sudan at yet another time. This criminal record goes on and on. He wasn't only a criminal against Shi'is- this is a sectarian trap. He was a criminal against communists, nationalists and his own Baath party members. We know that the American armed forces are in charge of the Iraqi theater- don't let anyone convince you that a few individuals who are put in governmental offices are running the show in Iraqthey are not! But some sectarians want to believe that and so they say it was these Iraqi Shi'is who were responsible for this execution. We tell them that anyone who is a stooge or client or customer and a puppet of an invading and occupying force is neither Shi'i nor Muslim. Some of them may have had Islamic backgrounds; they may have been involved in Islamic activities; they may have been members in Islamic parties- it doesn't matter- when they are trafficking with Ash-Shaytaan, they have joined the company of Ash-Shaytaan and no hyphenated is going to save them- therefore it was an American/Imperialist and Zionist/Israeli decision to produce for us this theater of a sectarian execution so that the watching Muslims will become inflated with false feelings of hostility and animosity that violates our togetherness. As was stated in another earlier khutbah- Allah says And hold firmly or be guarded altogether by holding on to Allahs extension or lifeline to you and be not divided (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 103)

OK- that's what Allah is telling you, but what are Allahs rivals, those who impose themselves as Gods on Earth, saying? "No- but you should be divided." Allah is speaking to us frankly and directly. He is not setting us up for a unity, He is soliciting our brotherhood and our care for each other directly from our hearts when He says this. But these earthly "Gods" are coming to us through the backdoor of our ignorance and they are working on our sub-conscience and bringing out all of the dirt of history so that we can turn against each other. Still- to understand more of how deep this sectarianism may go and we are still "scratching the surface" On an Eid in Islamic history, way back in the time at the end of the Umawi years, we're talking about at least 1,300 years ago. Now, the sectarian mind has dug up an issue. One of the rulers in Baghdad prayed Salaat Al-Eid and he gave a khutbah to those Muslims who were listening. After this khutbah, he said "You may go and slaughter the Adhahi, the animals that are slaughtered on Eid Al-Adha, for as you do that, I myself, am going out to slaughter a person by the name of Jaa'd ibn Dirham." This was an opposition figure. He went out and he did it. He slaughtered a Muslim opponent of that regime at that time. We have no sympathies for governments that usurped power after Ali (radi Allahu anhu), therefore these governmental rulers at that time were on the wrong course and there was an opposition to them throughout the years (we tried to speak about them at length sometimes) but how is the feelings of the Muslims towards this opposition? Why is it that when a dictator goes to the gallows, instead of us feeling that his due is death, we begin to become polarized between Sunni and Shi'i? This need not be the case. It is intended by those who are spending their nights and days trying to figure out how to turn us, with weapons in our hands, against each other. Why is it that if a dictator goes down some people want to feel some type of affiliation with that dictator? This is the force and the effectiveness of the plot in this on-going affair and it tells us something about our own psychology. How many Muslims have been put behind bars in these years, just in our lifetime? Relieve yourself of the long history regarding this issue- just in our lifetime- how many Muslims have been put behind bars and still are behind bars? How many Muslims have been tortured? How many Muslims have been executed? How many Muslims went to the gallows because they were an Islamic opposition belonging to Allah and His Prophet? Why don't we see Muslims as sensitive to these individuals as they have become sensitive to a tyrant and an oppressor going to where he belongs? Brothers and sisters- Committed MuslimsOh you who are securely committed to Allah, take precaution against Allahs corrective power and state or say or express what is accurate, truthful and precise (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 70) Factor in Allahs corrective power and keep company of those who are truthful. (Surah AtTaubah verse 119)

These words of direction from Allah forces us to express as much as we can with accuracy about this issue that is meant to drive a wedge of hostilities between the Muslims. It forces us to say that those who were responsible for this quick execution should be brought to a court of law. Why? Because they didn't hang an individual or pronounce a death sentence on who used to be a ruler, what they did was they deliberately put to death information that will implicate the larger or master or universal criminals who have been involved in our own affairs. How much information has gone down or will be going down into a persons grave if they cannot be brought to court to speak the truth about why they went to war for over a decade to the East and the South. We want to know why. We want them to tell us who was alongside with them in this war and encouraging them- giving them information, weapons of mass destruction, political cover and everything they needed to kill 1,500,000 Sunni and Shi'i Muslims combined. This issue should bring us together, but it's not going to bring us together if these people are going to put these criminals in a hasty trial and accuse them of what amounts then to what amounts to a scintilla of a body of crimes throughout a history of crimes of oppression and injustice. Now, they want to put two other persons to death, and then they'll round up the other criminals and put them to death. We are not saying that they do not deserve the death sentence- to the contrary- if they are found guilty for crimes that they committed in late 1950's and the early 1960's- to the days of Abdul Karim Qasim in Iraq- 1963, 1968 and then the wars that came after that- wars against the Kurds, Arabs, Iranians, Sunnis and Shi'is- look at the whole picture! After that, how can we be sectarian if we are looking at the whole picture?! Then, if they deserve the death penalty on one crime, they will deserve it on the hundreds and thousands of crimes that they are responsible for. So, at the end of the trial period, which may continue for years, they would have incurred hundreds of death sentences in the full measure of justice where the millions of people were killed- not because of a petty tin-pot dictator in Baghdad, but because of the power structure that made it possible for him to become the killer, murderer and butcher of Baghdad that he was along with his gang and cadre of criminals. But, are we ever to see a court that will convene these individuals to the full range of justice? Not when the imperialist and Zionists are involved. By doing what they did, they wanted to put six feet under the ground individuals who when the time comes can point their fingers to the same people who are in Washington, thousands of miles away from them in Iraq to the individuals who are in Washington who said "you can have the chemical weapons that you want." Even American families should demand justice. There was a frigate in the Persian Gulf that was torpedoed or hit by Iraqi warplanes and 37 Americans were killed. If there was a court of justice, Saddam and the circle around him would have to answer to why they killed American service men in the Gulf. But no! It could extend to the United States and have non-Muslims involved in it. So, whoever you are- we don't look at persons through their sects or their denominations or Madh'habs- who are rubber stamping the imperialists/Zionist decision- they're going to catch up with you. Your name may be Ibrahim, Mahdi, Nuri, Qadhim, Muwaffaqwhatever your name or denomination is, these Shayateen have no mercy. The lesson is unfolding in-front of you. This person who went to the gallows was their man for all of these years and if you want to become their men, you're going to find the same destiny and walk to the same grave.

In the meantime, we, Muslims, refuse to be tricked into this sectarianism- whoever you are, whether you consider yourself to be a Sunni Muslim or a Shi'i Muslim, put that aside and don't let that consideration generate bad feelings towards the other complimentary Muslim. Brothers and Sisters- Committed Muslims We ask Allah through our hard-work and our sincere intentions to fold back this cloud of ignorance that is causing and contributing to much of what is happening today. We may have mentioned this once before and now in probably the time to say it again- if we ourselves go into a relaxed mode, the enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims are not willing to go into a relaxed mode. At the same time that they are trying to stir the pot of sectarianism in Iraq, they are also trying to instigate racism in the horn of Africa. What we have seen in the past couple of weeks pertaining to Somalia and Ethiopia is directly related to what is happening in Darfur, Southern Sudan and the Nile Valley and that is to try to stir racism against the Muslims. Just as they want the Muslims to fight on the basis of "I'm a Sunni or I'm a Shi'i" in Iraq and to spread from there on, they also want Muslims and non-Muslims to fight in Africa on the basis of race. They will never present this issue to us as we are explaining it because it would counter their plans. What they are saying is that in some places these are Islamic terrorists and in other places they are Arabs and the victims are Africans, Christians or animists. The real intent and purpose is to classify Muslims in that part of the world as Arabs and to classify non-Muslims as blacks or Africans and then bring that false classification and then generalize it in other places in Africa so that every Muslim is classified as an Arab. You can be as black as black comes, but according to this plan, if you're a Muslim, you're an Arab and therefore Africans can be as white as white comes, but if they are not Muslims, then they are considered as Africans and now we have a racist type of war that they are trying to inflame amongst us. They want racism to take hold in Africa and they want sectarianism to take hold in Asia and they want these two fires to burn our will for an independent Islamic future. We will not understand this if we continue to be listening to irrelevant talks from these Manabir on Fridays. A good project (for someone who is interested) would be to register or record a few khutbahs that are considered to be the best khutbahs in town and then, along with those khutbahs add this meek and humble khutbah to them and give them to Muslim public opinion and let them draw their own conclusions.

SLAVERY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We would like to remind you that our responsibility on this day is to try to stimulate your thinking and to relate your life to the meanings that we are entrusted with from Allah and to the

developments within which we are located in by Allah. We've covered a lot of territory in the past months- areas and issues that can become a mind-field in which innocent lives are lost and in which machinations and conspiracies are spun. One of the areas that is least mentioned that has the potential of coming from the past to haunt our present and future, (we've mentioned on occasions that when we opened up the pages of history as best as we could in understanding it and expressing it that there is an area that is not very much thought of or thought through) and this has to do with slavery. We know now, that after reviewing the political and governmental missteps that have tainted our history- this is our history, whether you like it or not and whether you disagree with it or not, at the end of the day, it constitutes our history. We've seen in this history how dictators and kings have had their way, but one of the details of this history is that we have not seen some of the lessons that we should learn from, pertaining to this issue of denying human beings the freedom with which they were born. We have some historians and some history books that point to the palaces and the mansions of kings and autocrats who used to have what is called slaves. To some Muslims, this would seem offensive and it should, and to some other Muslims it is so offensive that they don't want to think about it therefore they don't want to talk about it- we say to them and to others who fall into this broad category of silence that "your silence may contribute to internal Islamic bloodshed. Let us back-track a little as this is a khutbah and not a dry lecture or an academic presentation. This is a khutbah that has its foundations and definitions and we are required to immediately reference ourselves in the book of Allah and in the model of His Prophet to get a feeling for whether there is any justification for indentured people or slaves or individuals in bondage. Is their any grounds for this as far as Allah and His Prophet are concerned? We find that are ayaat and there is a body of thought that undermines the institution of slavery and dissolves its notions in human psychology. Let us remind ourselves that when this light unto man came, the world was a place of institutionalized slavery. All the major powers and civilizations had this institution in it and the way they used to rationalize it was that if a person commits a crime, he runs the chance of losing his freedom, in other words, he may become a slave; or if a person falls at the war front and is captured by the enemy force, then, according to the norms of the time, becomes a slave, suffers from bondage and may be treated as a subhuman. These were some of the rationalizations that would explain why there is slavery in the world. Then, Allah wants to break this world-wide mould with its religious arguments, its civil justifications and with its philosophical interpretations as it had all of that. Then, ayaat from Allah come and the political behavior of His Prophet indicate that this should not be a human practice. The ayah says Had he not surmounted the challenging barrier; and what would you know about this challenging barrier? It is setting those who are in captivity, bondage or slavery free. And, beyond that, it is also offering food to an orphan or to he who has no wherewithal in this world. (Surah Al-Balad verse 11-16)

When this principle was enunciated in the time of Allahs Prophet, Abu Jahl comes to the Prophet and says to him "Do you mean to tell us that the son of Sumayyah is now going to be on par with the nobles and chieftains of this society!?" It doesn't make sense to people who are in power and who have wealth to see that those who are the under classes of society are all of a sudden on equal par or status with those who have the money and wealth. Allah says in a supporting meaning And We want to favor those who have been denied power or powerless in this world; We want to favor them. (Surah Al-Qassas verse 5) Oh Yes!? But there are governments, institutions, philosophies and religions that don't want that to happen. What do we, Muslims, have in the form of this Qur'an that will invalidate the political conduct that has accumulated in the centuries to be passed down to us? Once again, in our lives, we have religions, political systems, ideologies and philosophies that rationalize slavery. Another ayah in the Qur'an says to the Prophet to say to those who have fallen into captivity as a matter of war. Allah is speaking to the Prophet and telling him to say to prisoners of war who have lost their freedoms and have sunk into the status of those who may be considered slaves If Allah knows that there is good in your heart, Allah will replace it with a good that's better than the one that you have coming into the position that you now find yourselves in (Surah Al-Anfaal verse 70) This is another incentive to set prisoners of war who lost their freedoms free, but it's going to take an interaction between Muslims who have the upper hand in a war and those who have fallen into captivity because of their aggression against Muslims. How is Allah going to know what is in their hearts to change their condition, upgrade their status and to free them from the bondage condition that they are in if we who are entrusted with Allahs responsibility are not going to know them? So, even in a condition of imprisonment, they are not left to rot in the months and the years to come. We have a moral responsibility to know who they are. This is a level of civilizational behavior that doesn't exist today. You can take a look A lot is being said about secret detention centers, Guantanamo, the torture and the inhuman behavior that is inflicted upon people (many of them if not the overwhelming majority who are subject to these conditions are Muslims) that we listen to and watch every other day and week. How do we pull people out of an institutionalized captivity when the other side brags about this institutionalized captivity? This is where Muslims find themselves in-between a rock and a hard place. Muslims are on a path of eliminating any institutions in life that will deny human beings their God given freedoms, even if they are criminals of war. But then, on the other side, you have governments and systems that cannot keep up with this civilizational standard in the Qur'an and the Sunnahthey can't do it, so we are caught between what some people may call an idealism and a realism on the other side. Still, there are incentives to give freedom to those who find themselves in life without freedom

And they (meaning those who are committed to Allah and living at the standard or level of this commitment) offer sustenance and food to those who don't have the where-withal in life, to orphans and those who are in captivity even though they are fond and in need of it. It is that we offer you this food for the purpose of Allah. We don't ask of you a reciprocity nor do we ask you for thanks. (Surah Al-Insaan verse 8-9) These levels of altruism define who we are as committed Muslims, but when we take a look at our own Islamic history, we find that we, Muslims, are guilty of having rulers who violated all of the meanings of these ayaat and the hadiths in this regard. The Prophet of Allah orders us "to visit those whose health is failing, to feed those whose hunger is overwhelming and to release those whose freedoms are lacking" The ayaat and the hadiths are overwhelming in this regard, but why is it that we turn around and we see that we have a political behavior among us that is in contradiction to these ayaat and hadiths? What happened? Even if people cannot think and expand the meanings of the ayaat and hadiths into their social and political implications, take it as a person. You should learn this from "the ABC's" of your personal responsibilities. If you are a Muslim and you deliberately and intentionally fail to fast a day in Ramadaan, one of the ways to compensate for that is to give freedom to people who don't have freedom. If for a sexual failure, you tell your wife that she is like a mother to you. This was one of the customs that was found in Al-Jahiliyyah, it's called Adh-Dhihaar. If you are guilty of this, one of the ways out of it is to offer freedom to those who don't have it. Another compensation for a serious error, called Al-Aymaan, ie. you make a false vow to Allah. One way out of that is to free a person who is in conditions of slavery. Al-Aymaan, Ad-Dhihaar, Iftaarun fi Ramadaan are serious errors that from time to time may become the fault of an individual and the way out of these errors is to see to it that those who don't have freedom will have freedom. Now, you tell us- this is at a time when there are oceans of ink and forests and pencils and books that are printed and circulated that say that "Muslims don't know what it is to be free" or "they hate is because of our freedoms"- this is a deliberate and a judgmental error against we- who honor the meanings of Allah and His Prophet as mentioned in the aforementioned ayaat and ahadith. How dare people who are of "stature" in our world- it's not your simple neighbor throwing an accusation out of his ignorance at you because you are a Muslim and because you are a Muslim, you don't know how to live freely or offer other people their freedom when we have a battery of ayaat and ahadith making it duty bound for us to be responsible for these freedoms. "When has it become that you captivate or enslave people when their mothers gave them birth in a state of liberty and freedom?" This is a statement that comes from the generation and the followers of Allahs Prophet, but what do we have today? Brothers and sisters, we don't have to be hypothetical about this, we're not talking in the abstract- look- this is a Masjid and we are Muslims and there is a deliberate effort and we may venture to say that has been "institutionalized" for the past 23 years between the deniers of Islam who have been ensconced in this Masjid for that time period- they haven't even had the courage to face us or interface with

us for 23 years. Have you seen any of them come on the sidewalk in these past years? We haven't done anything wrong- we are all Muslims and if we have done something wrong, it is their responsibility (hopefully in Allahs ultimate wisdom we are all Muslims) and if that's the case, this is a brotherhood and a brother has to correct his brother; so if we are wrong for some unknown reason, why are they hiding? If there is more to it than just the individuals who are behind the walls of this Masjid, we also would like to know how far this extends and who is behind all of this? Denying freedoms has been a trait of rulers who have gone off the Islamic political course and thus we find that this is a feature and characteristic of kings, monarchs, dictators and despots in our history and in our time. We may not be able to go back and correct and to deviations in history, we have no access to the past, but we can learn from these deviations. And indeed, in their narratives there is an illustrative lesson (Surah Yusuf verse 111) We can't make believe that we didn't have such rulers who institutionalized the lack of freedom. We tried to trace this all the way back to the 1st generations that came after Allahs blessed Prophet and how there was a trend in Islamic history to say "you remain silent- don't express your Islamic conscience; you don't have the social freedom of Al-Amr bil Ma'ruf and An-Nahyi an Al-Munkar"- we traced all that, but is wasn't to remain as shallow as it began. It began to acquire new depths until we reached the rock bottom that we are in today. Why is it haram for a Muslim to express his Islamic heart and mind in these Masaajid? Why is it haram on the Muslim Ummah to meet in Makkah and Al-Medinah to express its Islamic heart and mind on the bloodletting issues that are causing hundreds of thousands if not tens of millions of Muslims to suffer on institutionalized slavery today in which Palestinian families (as an example) find themselves in social and economic dire straits that they are thinking in this way It's alright- if we are brothers, we open our hearts and selves to each other- why should we if we are an Islamic brotherhood For indeed, committed Muslims are brethren of each other. (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 10) If that is the case, why can't we have access to the internal feelings and thoughts of our brothers and sisters in these conditions who are in thinking this way A father and mother-They looking around and they have children, teenagers- what do I do? We have to feed our family, should we have our daughter link up in a less than civilized marriage with people who have wealth if they have to go to the lands of plentyness and resources to send us money back home. If they have to do that through prostitutions, brothels and red light districts of the prosperous cities in the Gulf or the Peninsular area, then what choice do we have if we want to feed the rest of the family?! In Iraq, families are thinking about dismissing the (financial) dowry- We will have our daughters get married and the dowry that we demand is for our son-in-law to become a Shaheed against occupiers and invaders of our land. These are the internal thoughts of people who have been institutionalized in their denial of freedom and in the meantime we have a nexus and a network of Masaajid and Islamic Centers around the world that every week- how many weeks has this

been going on for? Hundreds of weeks if not thousands and millions of weeks- and we prefer to look the other way and make believe that nothing is happening. This is not what Allah and His Prophet taught us. Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims It is with pain and it is very difficult to take a hard look at the facts of life and realize as much as we prefer not to express the truth of this matter, but the truth has to be stated, as painful and as demanding as it may be. Brothers and sister, by now, you and we should have realized that there is a beginning (if not the stages beyond the beginning) of what may be called a civil war in Iraq. There are accusations and counter accusations; fabrications and counter fabrications; there are local and foreign elements that are involved in what may prove the most challenging issue of our generation and time. Look- you all live in your "own worlds"- have you heard of Muslims who sensed their responsibility calling for an extra-ordinary meeting of the Muslims on a world wide level- and let these Muslims meet in Makkah itself- where they should meet to begin with. Why has Makkah been off limits to Islamic conferences, scholars, thinkers and the devoted and devout Muslims of the world? Why can they no longer go to Al-Bayt Al-Haram, to Makkah itself to try to put an end to a problem that has a potential of bleeding the Muslims Ummah for generations to come? With all the humble character that comes from a Muslim asking another Muslimwe ask "Why is there a deafening silence about hundreds of innocent lives that are going down a civil war drain from Jum'ah to Jum'ah and from week to week? Do you feel comfortable with your silence? If it is the Muslims in Iraq who are going under today, it's going to be the Muslims in your own country of origin that are going to go under tomorrow. This silence is a flagrant violation of all the togetherness that belongs to us- the Muslims. How long do you want to tolerate this? Allah is present, you can't trick him! Where are you going? How many years do you have left? Then, your register is going to be presented to you. Whoever does an atoms weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atoms weight of evil shall see it (Surah Al-Zilzaal verse 7-8) Do you think you're doing good with your silence that is contributing to Muslims going six feet down and under? We point a finger to all these Islamic Centers and Masaajid who have remained sheltered in this conspicuous silence of theirs.

INTRODUCTION TO WOMENS STATUS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We are in the coming 10 days approaching the month of Ramadhan. A month in which we solidify our will power and we remember those who are powerless. Hunger, thirst and

deprivation are in a sense a matter of diminishing physical power and in Ramadhan we celebrate the power of determination over physical and material power. Being that one of the issues that has not been approached from this angle is the issue of women in Islam, we think it is befitting to begin the month of Ramdhan and to go through that month as much as possible trying to make sense out of where the position of women is pertaining to traditions; many of them having nothing to do with the Quran or the prophet; many of them attributed to the Quran and the prophet without any justification or basis- and on the other hand the position of women as a reaction to that in (what is called) modern or westernized society and how that has become to influence our own lives and our own behaviours. We want to begin this with a general overview or approach. Some of you may be aware that women seem to be (the word that is usually used is) discriminated against or oppressed within Muslim society itself or whatever is left of an Islamic society. This discrimination or violation of the status of women has even been expressed very eloquently by those who stand for it. One of these speakers said- now listen brothers and sisters, this indicates to you and me and every listener, the bottling up or suffocating of a womans life- Blessed are the days when a woman was born out of her mothers womb into her parents home to remain there and only to part from there to the home of her husband to remain there and only to part from her husbands home to the grave. This is a silly and a suspicious mentality that expresses these words and these types of ideas. We even find in our Islamic historical and scholarly literature a quote from the Prophet in which his daughter was asked presumably by her father, What is the best description of a woman? Listen to the reactionary, uninformed, and what passes as a hadith statement we have. It is recorded that Fatimah, the daughter of Allahs prophet, said, that she should not see anyone and no one should see her. Then, upon saying that we are told, in this type of literature that the Prophet hugged her and he said, an offspring that regenerates itself, meaning this expresses his view on the matter. Brothers and sister- with Allahs assistance we will be covering this territory in khutbahs to come, but let us first of all say that anyone who follows the meanings of the Quran doesnt find any discrimination or any oppression from men towards women. We challenge anyone to quote for us any ayah in the Quran that will indicate that there is a second status or a lower position for women in society vis--vis men, and we dont want any quotes to be made out of context, we want them to be placed where they belong. We say first and foremost, that we take innocent pride in the fact that we dont have the Judeo-Christian taint of placing the onus of the first sin of man upon a woman. In this narrative it was Eve who tempted Adam to have of the forbidden fruit in paradise for which we all came tumbling down to Earth. We begin with a fresh, rational and an equal start between men and women, the masculine and the feminine, in life. The ayah of the Quran says, Adam disobeyed His sustainer, consequently he went in the wrong direction but then Allah offered amnesty to him and showed him the correct direction (Surah Taha verse 121)

Where is it here that anyone can sense there is an undue burden that is placed on a woman when the ayah is speaking about Adam? We seek not also to take this to an extreme in which we may think that we have some feminists who are going to place the onus and the sin on man in exclusion to women. Both of these approaches are not found in our reliable source of information. Another ayah in the Quran says concerning Adam and Hawa, Adam and Eve, Both of you eat whatever you find in it (meaning in paradise) with a full appetite but do not (Surah Al-Araf verse 19) In English it may not appear because of the failure of the language but in the Quranic Arabic it is clear that Allah is speaking to two, the man and the woman, the male and the female, the masculine and the feminine. See how many times? At least four times in this ayah, there is reference to two or to both of them. We dont have this psychological inferiority that bounces around from society to society and from century to century, inflicting the ignorant and the bias with false information pertaining to the position of women as we honour that position as a function of our submission and obedience to Allah. Let us say also that there is a human nature. We are speaking about a God-given nature that is distributed equally between male and female, to complement each other and the Quran has been observant of this as a matter of justice. In an ayah in Surah An-Nisa, Allah If a woman is found to have committed the sin of adultery, then what is required is the testimony of four witnesses (Surah An-Nisa verse 15) As far as men are concerned, the act of adultery becomes one that can be hidden but a woman, especially in places and times in which there are no (what is called) birth control mechanisms, no pill and no surgery, when adultery is committed, the crime shows because the woman is now pregnant and the man can disappear back into society. But what do you do when this is the case? What is required in this case is the testimony of four reliable witnesses in a court of law (Surah An-Nisa verse 15). What happens here? The evidence is established- the woman is pregnant, but if there are no witnesses, the legal procedure cannot go forward. In order for the legal procedure to go forward there has to be four witnesses and if that does happen then she is required to stay at home. Now, you tell us why this is not well known among the Muslim public. Of course this is a Mansukh ayah; the penalty for adultery is eventually established, but before that ultimate penalty was established, she was required to, what we say today, be under house arrest or to stay at home. She cant go out into society any longer until one of two things happens: until she expires due to death or until Allah causes a way out for her. There has been much argument pertaining to what is called Al-Nasikh ayahs that have been updated and AlMansukh, ayahs that have exhausted there purpose or outdated ayaat. This may sound a little strange to the novice, the uninitiated and to people not familiar with the growth and development of Islamic society. This is an area in which women, because of their nature, were not considered equal with the way men are to be treated and that is because we said theres a degree of difference between men and women and that degree was meant for each to complement the

other, not to oppress or react to the other- behaviours that are preponderant in our societies. The ayaat dont permit oppression and reaction. The Prophet of Allah in a hadith says, women are the twins of men, or the twin equals of men. An ayah in the Quran says, some of you are the extraction and the complements of others (Surah An-Nisa verse 25) This is a reference to men and women. So where do we have these non-sensical developments that have set in like concrete in our societies coming from? Where do we have someone coming and telling us No, the face and the hands of a woman are a Awrah, a private part coming from? It has been established that during the time of Allahs Prophet, women used to show their face and their hands. So where did all of this come from? Why do we now have what is called an Islamic justification for it? (Let us say this a little more slowly and at a lesser pitch), we, meaning the Muslims, dont have a normal relationship between men and women. Its not normal because some of us are consumed with inaccurate information to which we give an Islamic gloss and some of us are anxious to run away from this type of traditional Islamic understanding to another extreme in which we want women to undress, to forget about the Hijab, and what Allah and His Prophet say. These two currents that now devour our human relations have made us in our inter-gender relationships, abnormal and dysfunctional. We even have masajid around the world, in which women are discouraged or forbidden from entering the masjid. Where did this come from? Once again it comes from uninformed opinions. We dont find any basis for this in the Quran or in the Sunnah. To the contrary, theres a hadith that says, dont withhold women subjects of Allah from going to the masajid, to the mosques of Allah. A plain hadith on the authority of Muslim which is one of the highest if not the highest authorities of hadith but then why do we have the attitude among us that tells the woman, you dont have to go to the masjid? In the time of Allahs Prophet, women who were within their monthly cycle or period used to attend the masjid. They used to go to the masjid continuously and no one would tell them you cant be here. They would go to Salatul Eid and participate in every function of Salatul Eid with the exception of the salat. So why do we now have this attitude of discriminating against our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters by telling them- (this is what they say in their homes and one-on-one communication) its better for you to pray at home than it is to pray at the masjid? Would you think this is a strike at Islamic unity when we say And hold firm to the rope of Allah, all of you and do not be divided (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 103) We sense that in this attitude that prohibits and bars our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters from going to the masjid and being part of an Islamic assembly, Jumuah, and Jamaah is in violation of this ayah which is clear, direct in its meaning. Were going to cover this with more detail if Allah helps us in the Jumuahs to come. This is one area that has to do with power. We can detect our weakness in our divisions. One of these serious divisions is half of our numbers, at least half of us have been paralyzed. The enlightened ones, say, ok you can go

to the masjid, but they tell Muslimat, Muminaat, Haafidhaat, Qaanitaat, Thayyibaatin wa Abkarah, Ok if you want to go to the masjid, you cant go to the night salat- Al-Fajr and AlIsha. Go to Al-Dhuhr and Al-Asr; we have no problems with that but dont go to the masjid at night. Where did this come from, we ask once again, when Muslimaat used to go to the masjid at Al-Fajr and Al-Isha in the time of Allahs Prophet. Isnt that the time that we refer to saying this is our Sunna, our model behavior? What happened? Why cant we act normal? Thats all that is required- acting normally and have our Muslim sisters know that we honour their dignity and humanity. But why is it that some of us are unable to do this. A quick answer to this is that we are an inhibited society. Many of our brothers are living in denial of their sexual orientation and needs. Its like there is a struggle going on in them and part of this struggle they or their religious elders calculate, is to keep men away from women. Well if this was the case we would think that part of the 23-year history of the Prophet in Makkah and in Al-Medinah covered this area. If there was going to be a problem, then we shouldve found an echo to what is happening today in those years, but we dont find it. We find that the solution to get rid of this sexual inhibition or repression is marriage. Its a simple thing, you get married and you move on to the higher responsibilities. Were looking at nearly 2 billion people in the world- what do you want to do? Put half of them, 1billion Muslim women, in a lifelong incarceration just because we have a segment of youth who cannot get married?! And why cant they get married? Because they dont have the wherewithal, the finances, the career, gainful employment and whatever it takes to get married. The problem is there. We begin to think about these problems. But they dont want us to open up these issues in the Masjid. Dont speak about economic and financial issues in the Masjid. You see, this is where it all ties in. They say, O brother, youre speaking about politics, wars, corporations, capitalism, and monopoly. These are the problems that come back to haunt you in your social lives when we cant speak and think about them. Look at what is happening to us. We become corrosive internally- this is where we are. Dont speak about these issues- why? There is no Quranic or Sunnatic basis for not speaking about these issues. Show us where Allah and His Prophet tell us we cannot speak about these issues, relate them to each other and trace our problem to where it begins to where it has to end. But they cant. So, when they no longer have the mental ammunition they go to the military ammunition- this is where they are. They dont have any muscles in their brains and in their heart, so they go to technology and think they have all the muscles there with their military technology to use against us before we can wake up and begin identifying these problems. Some of the instances of women One of the women in the household of Allahs Prophet, heard someone, a man, saying, (we dont want to mention names brothers because when we mention names some people who listen to these khutbahs begin to draw on their stereotypical and biased emotions. We want to avoid that and speak to your minds) that when women wash their head, have to undo their hair to make wudhu. If a woman has her hair tied in a ponytail or whatever they are called, she has to undo it for her wudhu to be valid. Then, one of the women in the family of the Prophet said, Thats not true. I used to perform my wudhu from the same container as Allahs Prophet and I just used to run water over my head and that was

it. So this person was trailed with this information, they took this information to him and said what are you saying? He said, Well I heard another person attribute this to the Prophet. And he said, If your information is coming from the Prophets household, then I have nothing else to say. It was a woman in the Prophets family who put an end to a version of things that was not correct. We dont want to say theres a deliberate act of lying. Its just misinformation. Another small example of misinformation- theres an ayah in the Quran which says, you women stay or settle within your own homes.(Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 32-33) You could put it this way, you women are ordered to stay at home. Thats what the words say. Then, they take this sentence and generalize it- Look, women have to stay at home- the ayah says so. This is what happens when they take a sentence out of context because this sentence is speaking to the wives of Allahs Prophet. And then Allah says, O you, women or wives of the Prophet, you are not like other women. And then it says, therefore remain at home. This is a special case that is not to be generalized like we have today. We will find, with Allahs help, that women were conscious of their status in society. They came to the Prophet to ask for advice on selecting their own husbands; the right to choose their own soul mates, the right to abandon that relationship if there is a basis to do so. In other words, they have a right to annul the marriage. They came with these concerns to Allahs Prophet. They participated in social activities, in decision-making and in all activities in life that is compatible with their nature. And there was no one saying to them, What are you doing? You belong at home. Dare you not step out in the real world. Even if our enemies wanted to scheme and plot something that would paralyze half the Muslims, they couldnt come up with something as effective as this. Half of the Muslims now, for one reason or the other, either its traditions or what is called westernization- we have lost many of this potential. Then you can go on to the absurd. They quote a hadith. They say theres a hadith from the Prophet that says, pertaining to women, yes, consult with them but after consulting with them do the opposite of what they tell you to do. Can you believe something like this still exists and in some circles passes as bona fide Islamic information and knowledge?! The ayah in the Quran, when it speaks about the dissolution or the undoing of the marriage, there has to be a consultation between husband and wife and there has to be satisfaction on what has to be done by both of them. When a hadith is in contradiction to an ayah, you suspend the hadith and follow the meanings of the ayah. Not like some of these people around, who bring all of this hadith literature, some of it true, some of it false, and they want to understand the Quran in light of the hadith. Its the other way around brothers and sisters. We understand the hadith in light of the Quran. We will see and we will try as Allah gives us the knowledge and ability, to look at this issue through a Quranic and Sunnatic mind- an understanding that is extracted from the words of Allah and His Prophet.

Brothers and sister, committed Muslims... An issue that has been making waves had been a statement by the Pope visiting his home country, Germany, in which he quotes an emperor back 600 and some odd years ago as having said that Muhammad (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) did not bring anything new, (were paraphrasing of course), to this world, and if there is something new he brought, it is evil and inhumane, Astaghfirullah al Adhim wa Atubu Illayh. This is a very injurious, inaccurate statement. As a consequence to this, there have been Muslims around the world who responded, asking him to either apologize for what he said or to explain it in a way that is not defamatory to the Muslims. When this was in the making, we had not heard any statement to that effect, neither from the person who made the statement, nor from the Vatican itself. In the meantime, the Muslims living the conditions that they are living, should feel that there may be some larger plan because of that statement, and that larger plan in light of what has happened in the past, beginning with the Salman Rushdie assault on the Muslims, and recently these cartoons or caricatures in Denmark and the European press and now with this type of statement it would seem or appear for a thinking mind, (beware of a committed Muslims insight because when he sees things, he does so with the light of Allah), that this statement was meant to feed into the military frenzy against Muslims and maybe, knowing that this Pope is going to go to a Muslim country, we may have some evil minds who are thinking about inflicting physical and deadly harm on this Pope, not because they are zealous about the Prophet or Islam, but because they want to plunge the Muslims and the Christians into a clash of catastrophic proportions. You can recall around 25 years ago, when there was an attempt on the previous Pope by a Turk. So is it far away from reason? Turkey is one of the accessible Muslim countries for the CIA, Mossad, MI6, or any of the intelligence services working in their orbit to have a pontiff killed in Muslim lands to bring back ancient animosities and dig up the history of the past, the Crusades, the Conquistadores, the Inquisitions. Who would love to see something like that? The Zionists in Tel Aviv. We dont know the nature of how speeches are prepared for the Pope but we can sense that there is now a dirty hand that is trying to execute a filthy plot and then blame the Muslims so they can go on and on in their propaganda and in their wars doing what they have been doing in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and in other places. This is one issue that we have to keep our Quranically open minds on and not let it pass away and then when the crime is committed go into reactions. This is not the character of a committed Muslim. And just very briefly as an extension to the status of women, you may not know that in the recent past, there was serious consideration by the government in Saudi Arabia to forbid Muslim women from going to the Haram. This fits in very good with the schematic polarization with the Muslims. How do you get away with that? Do we want them to get away with that? We dont know where this issue is going to be decided or when but just by seriously considering telling Muslim women who have been going to the Haram ever since the days of Allahs Prophet, O now you are not permitted inside the Haram., and they will make excuses. Its not a simple issue where they will say we dont want Muslimaat to come around the Kaba. Its not that

simple. They will have some justifications like harrassment, courting women around the Haram etc. for it. Some of these things may be happening but the solution to it is not to say, Muslim women cannot come to the Haram. The solution to it is to open Makkah, the Hajj and the Umrah to the months and the years that was meant for Hajj and Umrah and not to squeeze them in like sardines. You squeeze Muslims around the Haram like sardines and theres bound to be moral violations there and the answer to that is not to tell Muslim women you cannot come to the Haram anymore such as is their thoughts.

WOMENS STATUS- PART 2

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We shall continue, with Allahs help, trying our best to dispel the ignorance and reaction that have taken hold in our selves and our societies, pertaining to the issue of women. We have been

living for generations in a psychological duality and a social duality. One side is living in unjustified traditions and another side is living in an artificial modernity. This polarization was more evident in previous generations. In our time there has been something like a less than intense encounter between these two attitudes or social trends. In a moment with Allah, if we can refer ourselves back to Him and relive the guidance and the meanings that are untainted and are not up for a traditional monopoly nor a reaction that has its basis in Western thought and behaviour. If in this moment with Allah, we can refer ourselves to Him, then we can begin a strong, vibrant, confidant, and a forward-moving social and psychological break with both the traditions that we are speaking about and the reactions to them. They say that Islam is unfair to women and that Muslim men abuse women in their societies, families, and even in the husband and wife relationship. We hear much when it comes to mentioning Islam; theres a lot that fills the airwaves about how the Islamic religion, Muslim scholars, the Quran and the Prophet are said to be anti-feminine, anti-women, anti-the gentler sex. With Allahs assistance, we say and we will continue w to say to them that from the Quran, from Allah and from the source of who we are, that they are wrong, they are fabricating this issue and they are accusing us of something that does not belong to our Islamic conviction nor to our Islamic character. In doing this we refer to Allah and the Quran. Notice that with all the fabrications and accusations that are thrown against committed Muslims, they dont refer to the Quran, but we shall. In the first ayah that indicates the equality or the same source of life for both men and women, Allah says Oh people! Take into consideration Allahs corrective measures against you (Surah AnNisa verse 1) This is the gist of the meaning of Ittaqullah. When you are in the midst of lively activities or when you are doing whatever you are doing in the course of the day, always factor in Allahs power in what you are doing. Be vigilant pertaining to your Sustainer, (to be more precise), pertaining to the power of your Sustainer. Jumah is a time when Muslims are to be reminded of taqwa. In some schools of thought taqwa is a pillar of the khutbah. This reminder of taqwa can be frank and blunt, by using the word taqwa in the khutbah, or it can be indirect by leading you to the conclusion that you should always be aware of Allahs power presence. This has dropped from usage even in the language. In past generations and centuries, when a person would use the word taqwa, he would say, Oh so-and-so, be conscious of Allahs power when it comes to orphans or oh so-and-so, be conscious of Allahs power when it comes to your spouse. The word taqwa was used when theres a discrepancy of power- orphans dont have power and wives are perceived (without the stereotypical of the traditional parts of that perception), are less in power (physically speaking) than men are. So the word taqwa, to interject the power of Allah in the conscious of man, is due and warranted. If we can regenerate this understanding, then we get more out of its meaning when Allah is using this word to remind us.

 who has created you from one Nafs, one Self, one genetic material that has become life or one human essence (Surah An-Nisa verse 1) These are some of the meanings of Nafs. In this ayah, there is no indication of who came 1st. Was it Man or was it Woman?; and theres no notion of someone coming 1 st. Allah says that He created us- we know who we are as far as gender is concerned- we are male and female. So what He is saying is from one Nafs, so this doesnt give any justification for sexual oppression or sexual exclusion. We dont know where this is coming from. If you find in an Islamic family, community or social order that there is a sense of male superiority (because this is the problem of history and our time, there is this male superiority) where does it find its origins? From where does it draw its notion? Obviously its not from the ayat of the Quran, its not from the words of Allah as we begin to cover this subject. In this ayah, And He created out of this one Nafs its counter sex, its complementary half, its mate, its double, its spouse (Surah An-Nisa verse 1) We still cant find any notion here of a male or a female superiority or inferiority. Where does this come from? And out of them He has spread into being many men and women (Surah An-Nisa verse 1) So at the source of life, (Allah wants us to consider genesis itself, the beginning of life), when we take a look at this beginning through the words of Allah, we cannot detect any tension between the masculine and the feminine. It doesnt exist. So if it doesnt exist here in our mental contact with Allah, how come it exists in real life? Where does this come from? Then Allah says in somewhat of a lengthy discourse or ayaat Of course if we go to the translation of these ayaat, it would be somewhat time consuming so were going to go to the translation of the point that we want to emphasize. After this long introduction in which human beings who are committed to Allah, work our mind on His creation and we follow His prophets and messengers in an active sense, Allah says (when we are on this course) He responds or has answered to them (Surah Ahl Imran verse 195) Saying what? Allah is saying He will not make lost any effort or any labour, coming from a male or a female, some of you are from others.(Surah Ahl Imran verse 195) In the world of creation- an area we have no access to- creation is Allahs- it uniquely belongs to Him. Anyone who attempts to go into the details of creation becomes demagogic, semantic and theoretic- nothing with evidence or concrete proof except for the evidence that comes to us from Allah because Hes the Creator and knows what goes on in that realm. So, when He says as the Creator we come from each other, that is another way of synchronizing the male and the

female. So once again, we come back and we ask ourselves where is this coming from? Where do we get all of this discrimination between a man and a woman? In our understanding of the Holy Tanzeel, we understand men and women to be complements of each other and equal to each other, with a few exceptions. These exceptions are due to the way Allah created us and they do not violate the compatibility and complementary and equal status of men and women. Allah says, Whoever does what is good, be it a male or a female, while they are committed to Allah, they are the ones who are going to enter Jannah (Surah An-Nisa verse 124) When Allah uses the word Ameela, to work or to do things, He says this equally applying it to a man as He is equally applying it to a woman, so how come we get this notion of excluding some women from work? We can listen and hear the response- Ok you want to take a woman out and let her work, well look at the society that she is in. But, these ayaat are not spoken in the context of Jahili societies, ie. societies that refer to a knowledge that is disconnected from Allah or a society that is constructed on the basis of parting with Allah. When we speak these words and express these ideas, we do so in a society that is moulded by the Will of Allah. Brothers and sisters who are listening with your minds, place your emotions away. We concur that women had been mistreated before Allahs Quran and before Allahs Basheer and Natheer, the final Prophet. There are ayaat in the Quran that speak about the condition of the oppression of women. One of the ayat says, and this should take the wind out of the feminine sail. There are some Muslim women who dont have enough Islamic information and think the Quran does not stand up for their rights, so they go looking with non-Islamic and antiIslamic researchers and social scientists for cases to build against Muslim men, and this has nothing to do with Muslim men if these men are committed to Allah. So what does Allah say concerning practices, social trends or what may be called in some cultures social values. He says, And if someone was told the news that you have a girl that has been born to you meaning your wife has given birth to a girl, his face would turn black and he goes into a psychological mode, a type of depression because of that (Surah An-Nahl verse 58) What does he do? He is running away from society, he doesnt want to see anyone, he doesnt want anyone to see him (Surah An-Nahl verse 59) Why is he running away from society? Because of the bad news that he got. What was that bad news? A girl was born to him. What does he do now? Now hes thinking (Surah An-Nahl verse 59)

These are the internal thoughts of these types of people. Were not talking about one individual in history; were talking about a social attitude. Whats wrong with these types of people if they have a girl that is born to them, they begin to think. What am I going to do? Am I going to bury her? Should I bury her? (Surah An-Nahl verse 58) The fact of having a girl invokes these types of thoughts. And then, Allah says There was a time in which parents would think about killing their newborns and most of this would be done towards a baby girl, because society says girls are a burden on the family, they do not offer the strength and the wealth that a boy may offer, so they think about getting rid of them through killing them. Do not kill your children because of scarce economic conditions, economic conditions that are threatening (Surah Al-Isra verse 31) The fact of the matter is there is this rationalization in primitive societies as well as in modern societies that it becomes justifiable due to economic conditions to get rid of the less productive members of society, and the less productive are the dispossessed, the overpowered, the disenfranchised, and obviously at the centre of this are that component of society that is called females. When we take the practice, if this thought runs through our mind in primitive societies as well as in modern societies, what becomes a practice of this thought? Look for girls among others, orphans, gypsies, minorities, etc But one of them is, in practice and in history- well we should get rid of our girls because the economic conditions are tough. Allah is saying, We will provide for them and you, their murder, killing them is a gargantuan mistake (Surah Al-Isra verse 31) Another ayah says, And when a victim of infanticide asks, what was my crime? Why was I killed? (Surah AtTakwir verse 8-9) This is in reference to killing children at the younger age of development, killing infants. Could it be extended also to killing foetuses? This depends on how much we are able to think about the meanings of this ayah and what are the motivations for it? There is another practice of ignorant societies. Ignorance here is any society or is applicable to any society that is formulated away from the knowledge that comes from Allah. You can have the most technologically advanced society in the world that is disconnected from the guidance of Allah and it becomes a society of ignorance. What is another ayah that is used and repeated in the Quran for us to understand what refers to these types of unwarranted, anti-divine behaviours?

They say that whatever that is in the bellies of cattle, (it could be a cattle of camels, cows or goats or whatever), is only for our men and it is haraam on our spouses (Surah Al-Anaam verse 139) Here it is being qualified by the word Rijaalina because Azwaaj without a qualifier is a spouse, it could be a husband or a wife but in this ayah, it has a qualifier. Where does this come from? The Quran is assailing and attacking this type of dietary or nutritional discrimination, whatever their argument may be for it. Do you think when they say things like this and it becomes social values, they dont have an argument for it? Of course they do. Our men are going to go and fight and they need this scarce meat and women, you can do without it, youre staying here at home. Allah is getting at the roots of this discrimination that will take away from the ammunition of this mental argument that they have. Then Allah takes Muslims and Muslim women away from a practice that does not give her her inherited rights. Inheritance is an issue. How do people inherit possessions, property, and wealth? How does that go? Is that left up to you and me? A Jahili society, a society that has science but does not have Allah, comes and improvises its own laws. You can do whatever you want as far as this is concerned. Theres no checks and balances on the flow or the movement of riches and property. One of these instances was there in human history. Allah is speaking to responsible Muslims, not these mechanical types You are not on legal grounds to inherit women or to set women up to inherit them (Surah An-Nisa verse 19) A practice that they were able to do. An example of that is a wife becomes a widow; her husband dies either a natural cause or any other cause, and then his family, the deceased husbands family tells the woman you cannot get married. Why would they do and say that? Because they want to inherit her. They dont want her share of the inheritance to be distributed among another person who may be a stranger who becomes her new husband. This is an example of how mans supervised social values place women in a victims position. This is not tolerated or acceptable. We cant be exhaustive, these are going to be a series of khutbahs, Insha-Allah, to clarify this issue. Allah in many ayat in the Quran brings out the character of women beside the character of men. This is one of the semi-short if not a short surah in the Quran in which Allah is expressing an oath, By the night and what it engulfs in its darkness. And by the daylight and what it exposes with its brightness. And by He who created male and female. Indeed your striving in life takes on different proportions, directions and pursuits (Surah Al-Layl verse 1-4) So this not only is it an emphasizer of the male character in life and its pursuits, it is also an emphasizer, equally so, of the female character in life and its pursuits.

Then Allah says, and this is an ayah we try many times to repeat in the beginning of the khutbah, And it is not a choice of a committed Muslim or a committed Muslimah, when Allah and His Messenger decree an issue, they have no choice but to follow forthwith (Surah AlAhzaab verse 36) So that means when Allah and His prophet decree something, it is binding on both a Mumin and a Muminah. There are no exclusions here. The question is how did we make these exclusions? In a short surah that I hope everyone has memorized Allah says Im sure you probably read this surah many times in your salat or you probably listen to it being read many times in and out of salat, but how many of you have taken a closer look at this surah from a gender point of view? Wouldnt it have been enough to condemn Aba Lahab? Ok- but Allah, because He is looking at the crime and because the crime has consumed both husband and wife, then it is necessary to mention the other part of this crime in which the wife of Abi Lahab, is involved. So the ayat were there- not excluding her from the consequences of what she was doing. This is another ayah in which there is equality; the same type of equality that is given for doing what is good and avoiding what is bad is also the same type of equality that details the crime when it is perpetuated by man and woman equally so, also. Then, there is the ayah in which Allah says, Allah has brought us the example of two women who belonged to two virtuous men of ours, the wife of Nuh and the wife of Lut. And these two wives, betrayed their husbands (Surah At-Tahreem verse 11) Now I want you to think a little more about this. These are two prophets of Allah and the ayah is telling us that the betrayal of their husbands, who are Allahs prophets, was tantamount to kufr. We dont know if Nuh and Lut (alaihima as-salaam) divorced their wives. They say what type of freedom do Muslims honour? What more honour do you want than for prophets maintaining their spousal responsible relationships with the closest person in the world to them. Whos closer to husband than wife? Whos closer to wife than husband? This is the closest relationship that we have in society, and these husbands had what we call in todays terminology, kaafir wives who betrayed them. They were treasonous to their own husbands/prophets. Time collapses here, we are in Al-Akhirah, and it was said to them, You enter the fire with those who are going into it (Surah At-Tahreem verse 11) On the other hand, Allah gives the example of a woman who stands out for what she said and what she did. The wife of the Pharaoh who said, Oh Allah, build for me a residence where You are and save me from the Pharaoh and what he is doing and save me from an oppressive society. (Surah At-Tahreem verse 12)

If there was a type of imbalance in the relationship between man and woman, why is Allah bringing this to us above all written history, (this is everlasting history because this is an everlasting fact). Why is He quoting this, the wife of the Pharaoh, for us? Its enough what the Pharaoh did that would eclipse any mention of his wife. Its just like picking out today the wife of the occupant of the number one superpower in the world. The Pharaoh of this superpower has done so much that it would overshadow whatever virtues his wife may have. But we are not speaking about historians who are writing the facts of time, we are speaking about Allah who registers this feminine position that comes from a woman, so people can appreciate virtue from wherever it comes. We dont know when Muslims are going to be able to communicate and understand what Allah is saying to them, not through the social fabric of their time, but without the social fabric of the time. In other words, we dont want the social trends that we have around us to influence our understanding or our misunderstanding of what Allah has to say to us. And then a final note. An ayah in the Quran says, And it is of Allahs power illustration that He has created from yourselves counterparts (Surah Ar-Rum verse 21) Notice here there is no mention of man and woman. He has created for you from your own selves spouses, mates so that you may settle within them in comfort (Surah Ar-Rum verse 21) This is equally understandable by male and female, vis--vis the other. There is no tipping the balance for man, saying that they find comfort and they settle down in women and there is no tipping it in the opposite direction and saying it is women who would settle down and find comfort in their mates. It is equally so. It is equally applicable, and it was meant to equalize the relationship on both sides.

WOMENS STATUS- PART 3

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... One of the important segments of mankind that has been deemed powerless are our women. It is apt to take a closer look at the status of women through the enlightening information that has come to us from the Creator, the Initiator and the Fashioner of our lives and our interactive behavior in this life. Many times we run into strict and sometimes illogical behavior that camouflages itself in Islam. And sometimes we run into a behavior that is illogical in as far as trying to bend and twist and mal-form Islam to fit what are supposed to be the standards and values of modernity. We invite those who are in a shell of uniformed tradition, those who are exposed to the deviations of modernity and Westernization and ourselves to the table spread of Allah. We will continue to try to place in front of our eyes and in the presence of our mind this information that has come to us from Allah so that we may have enough will power and courage to admit to the rights and to the right position and status of women- our mothers, our sisters and our daughters, among us. First, as a continuation of the previous khutbahs, there is a balance of rights and responsibilities between husband and wife, between male and female. Allah says (this ayah as well as others should be in our minds every time they take target and try to shoot down the values and standards of Allah and His Prophet) regarding the equilibrium of rights and responsibilities pertaining to women, And they, (meaning women), have that which is equivalent to what is in imposed on them, (in other words), they have rights that are parallel to their responsibilities (Surah AlBaqarah verse 228) If we were to look at life as a bundle of rights on one side and a bundle of responsibilities on the other side, it is wrong to give women more rights than their responsibilities and it is equally wrong to place more responsibilities on them than they have rights- if Allah is telling us this, and we look at the rights and the responsibilities of the world around, how come we see an imbalance? Why is it in the majority of cases we find that women have a disproportionate amount or responsibilities and a diminishing amount of rights? This violates this ayah.

There is another issue that is almost always triggered when someone is speaking about social Islam. People who are ignorant or malicious to Islam say, how come Muslim men are permitted to marry more than one wife? Almost always this issue is brought up and they throw it in our face and those of us who have no knowledge of Allah and His Prophet and no thinking relationship with the Quran and the Sunnah, stand exposed- they have no disciplined and

principled answer. We say to them that Allah has regulated this issue of multiple equal marriages. This is not an issue of polygamy. They want to draw us into their definition of thingsthis is where a confident Muslim mind and psychology is needed. Allah says, and the ayaat go on but the gist of it is here. The approach here is a social one. If you as a society fear that you are not going to be able to be fair to orphans (Surah AnNisa verse 3) This Islamic society that we are trying to build is like every society on Earth, it has its widows and it has its orphans. So Allah is telling us that if we as a society are fearful that were not going to be able to offer the orphans what is entitled to every other child who has a father and a mother (Surah An-Nisa verse 3) An orphan doesnt have a father- at this time when there is a social fear of this, then a law, a provision or a procedure is opened up. Then you marry what pleases you of women(Surah An-Nisa verse 3) The wording of this ayah is not you marry a second wife or a third wife- Fankihu maa Taaba Lakum min al-Nisaai Ukhraa wa Thalitha wa Rabia. Theres a deliberate sense of equality and fairness. Mathna, meaning your second marriage, with all that went into it of emotions, willingness and without objections. The same thing for the third- a third equivalent and at a same par marriage without any internal objection because when you marry your first wife, there was not another wife to object to it. Here when you marry the second wife, the first one cannot object to it. If she objects it is not going to be, Mathna; and if one or two object, it is not going to be Thulath; and if one, two or three object, its not going to be Ruba. So here, Al-Nisa, women has a qualifier and that is the orphans, which makes women, here, widows- its not just anyone. You dont go and pick anyone you want to marry- just like right now the license is among the general Muslim public who have been alienated from the Quran and its meanings and also from the necessities and the needs of society. They dont understand it from this area and they dont understand it from that. Then, Allah says, if you fear you are not going to do justice to the combination of women together, then you remain with one. (Surah An-Nisa verse 3) There are a couple of indirect meanings that are included in this ayah. The first one is the usage of the word Tuqseetu and then the word Tadeelu. In the un-practicing Muslim mind, these are roughly the same meaning and they are roughly the same meaning but they are fine-tuned and this is where we fall short. When Allah used the word, Tuqseetu, He was speaking about social justice and when He spoke about, Tadeelu, He was speaking about personal justice. So if we can from now on pay a little more attention to these words in the Quran. Then theres another ayah that says,

You will not be able to be able to do justice to women, even if you try your best. (Surah AnNisa verse 3) So this is also a precaution for those who may want to contribute to social justice to think twice before they violate personal justice. But when we are dumped with this issue, do we think out these meanings so that we can confidently plough through this field? Regrettably not many of us can do that. Another issue that is brought to our attention concerning women is the issue of Talaaq, divorce. We look around in our world and we should be proud that Allah has regulated divorce. Our values and our standards eclipse the values and standards of a tormented social fabric around us. Instead of us going on the offensive and taking a look at the way they behave in putting together a family or tearing a family apart, which is what they do, we, (the short-comers) take a look at our own regulation of this and we cannot stand up with confidence and say Allah has given women in the household, when they are married the right of the dissolving of the marriage to be regulated. Its not up to some whimsical husband to come and annul a marriage. Allah says, Divorce is a two-step process. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 229) It occurs twice which means if this relationship of husband and wife, upon which a society is constructed and consolidated is frail and coming apart, its not done so abruptly and recklessly. It has to stand the test of time. It has to be proven. That is why there is the issue of Idda involved. A woman has been dignified by having an Idda, a concept not known to those who are not privileged with Allah and His Prophet. There is a three-cycle period, (whether they are three full cycles of a womans monthly cycle or whether they are three months without going into these nitty-gritty details which amount to a couple of days difference), when a Talaaq is intended. This Talaaq has to withstand these three cycles and not only once but twice- thats why the ayah says, Divorce is a two-step process. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 229) Now after this if there is still the emotional thrust and the passionate detachment from each other then Allah says- now both sides have arrived at the defining moment at that time after these emotions have been probed through this time period in their depth, you can resume a merit or each can go their merry way, (as it were) (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 229) When we read or understand something like this, why do we have some of us feel as if we are the weaker side of social concepts in this world? Its because its an indicator that we ourselves are at a distance from what Allah is telling us. Does a divorced woman have any rights? Is she

left to a material society? Is she left to paternalistic tribalism? Or does Allah speak to this area once we have a Mutallaqah, a divorced wife or a widow. What does Allah say, If you had your wives divorced you cannot, (the Quranic word is) muscle them out of reattaching themselves to their husbands. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 229) Meaning a divorced wife has all the right in the world to return to her divorcee if thats what she wants to do. I will leave it at that. Now, for this divorced wife, what if theres a baby, an infant who is being breastfed? Are there any rights involved here? Allah says, Mothers are to breastfeed their suckling babies two yearly cycles, for those who want to complete the breastfeeding period. And for the man who has begotten this baby, his responsibility is to provide and to clothe in a manner that is relative, pertinent and fair- Bil Maruf (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 233) You cant also tell a father you are expected to spend such-and-such money when that is not within his means. What if theres a decision to be made about when? For those who dont want to go through the two full yearly cycles of breast feeding and they want to cut it short, 12 months, 15 months, 9 months, whatever the case may be, how is that done? Is it done in a dictatorial fashion? We want to know what laws we have on the book today that are equivalent to or parallel with such moral and legal learnings and teachings that we have in front of us here when we are dealing with an infant that cant speak for itself. How is that to be determined? By the mother? By the father? And the answer, dig into the laws and the morals in society around, do you find any satisfying answer for this? Allah has an answer and says, If they want to discontinue breastfeeding, that decision is made as a matter of both husband and wife, father and mothers agreement and satisfaction. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 233) Then we come to- and this is a little sensitive for some Muslims, (remember were referring here to Allahs words- were not dealing with the scholars, the fine print and the fine tuning)- the issue of a woman, a Muslimah looking good, presentable, fair, even attractive. I know this is sensitive to some brothers and sisters who are going to hear this. What happens if we have some Muslim woman, a wife, whos divorced? Her husband and she have gone through the process and now its finalized. Shes in her own world alone and hes in his. How does Allah speak to this issue? Or even in the case of a widow who has become a widow not by way of divorce but her husband died, on the warfront, in an accident, whatever the case may be. She now is alone. How is she going to socially present herself? Listen to that- especially the cobweb type of Muslims who cant think. This is an ayah that should be reverberating in our public mind. What

is this ayah saying? Those of you who pass on, whove been given their full measure of life and Allah has taken their soul, (so to speak), and they leave behind spouses, their wives, they maintain a suspended time period of four months and ten days, this is the time period in which they cannot marry. Once these widowed wives pass that time period, (around 130 days), Allah says, they carry no misdemeanor or felony if these widowed wives were to present themselves with a picture or an image or a feature that is attractive. But it shouldnt be outlandish, exaggerated or phony because Allah says, Bil Maruf. (Surah AlBaqarah verse 234) Ill repeat this last sentence in the ayah because it is extremely important in bringing down the concrete or the cemented minds that some of us have. Our women should not be excluded from society and they should not be un-presentable. Its their right to be attractive but not attractive to lead to sin- the moderate attraction that will secure for them a husband, Bil Maruf. Because sometimes when we try to get rid of the unthinking minds sometimes we run into minds that have diarrhea. They want to take this and say, Look women can dress and then theyll present their own views on this. Theyll try to legitimize the undoing of the Hijab and undoing the modesty of Muslimaat, Muminaat, Hafidhaat, Muhsanaat. All of these are qualifiers of a woman Bil Maruf. What happens from time to time in society is we have some husbands who are suspicious about their wives, but they cant prove a thing. They dont have evidence or witnesses- they just have a very strong suspicion. If that suspicion is so strong in them, they can bring this matter to court and accuse their wives in court of infidelity or fornication. Allah has given them the right to do that. Ok, if they can do that, what is the position of a woman, the wife? Is she going to be railroaded in court? Listen to this ayah and how the strength of a husbands testimony against his very wife is matched by the strength of the counter testimony of his wife against him. These are Allahs words, And those husbands who accuse their wives, and they have no witnesses and no proof for what they are saying except their own selves, then what is required here is for him to pronounce his accusatory in the form of a testimony four times that he is telling the truth. And the fifth testimony is that Allahs curse and damnation is on him if he is telling a lie. (Surah An-Nur verse 6-7) What happens here? Theres a judge, theres informed public opinion. Heres the part that somehow escapes our man-centered Islam. she will be spared the punishment and the torment of such an accusation if she, the wife herself bears testimony, repeats four times that he is telling a lie and the fifth testimony is that Allahs curse and damnation is on her if he is telling the truth. (Surah An-Nur verse 89)

For those who come and say that in an Islamic society a mans word is above a womans word, you tell them where did you get that from. The information we have in the Quran, in our holy reference is no, their words are equal to each other in a court of law. And then we have the issue of inheritance, this is another accusation they throw against Muslims. Well you Muslims give men twice what women get when it comes to inheriting some deceased person. First of all, theres no doubt about it, the principle of inheritance is there. Men have a share of what is going to become an estate or an inheritance and so do women, (with the same wording). (Surah An-Nisa verse 7) But the problem comes when they come and tell us (and this is also true) that men get two shares and women get one share. And then the ayah says, a male has the proportion that belongs to two females (Surah An-Nisa verse 11) In other words if we are going to look at the total inheritance in thirds, theres one boy and one girl, (to make it simple), the boy gets two thirds and the girl gets one third and this proportion or percentage is the general rule and it applies to any number of children, male or female. But this is a general rule. They come and ask, If you Muslims believe everyone is equal, and we do, then why do you apportion twice as much for a boy, for a brother than you do for his sister? As simple as the answer is to that, as complicated its understanding becomes because we believe in equality of male and female and whichever position in the family that they are in, but we dont believe that a male and a female are equal in a sense that a male is a female and a female is a male. We believe they are equal while they compliment each other. We dont believe their equality is going to come from one of them becoming the other or both of them losing their distinction and becoming something else. And the problem that irritates many people isabsent the complementary nature between male and female, everyones asking wheres equality? If you complement each other you will discover where equality is, but if you dont want to complement each other; youre going to lose sight of this equality. Women participated in the Hijrah. Insha-Allah well come to these issues in the future, drawing on practical events in the time of Allahs Prophet. This is an overview from the Quran about these issues. Are women, our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, going into political asylum, looking for political refuge? Yes, this is an ayah. Do you follow? Those who have been brought to the time of expiration while they were doing injustice or mistreating themselves in this life, they were asked, what were you in when you were in this world? What was your condition? They said we were oppressed in this world. Was not Allahs land as wide enough for you to seek political, economic or social refuge or asylum somewhere else? (Surah An-Nisa verse 97)

So they had no excuse. These people who are feigning the lack of power, as the ayah tells us, they are trying to use that as an excuse. They were trying to use that as an excuse because the answer to them was, well Allahs land is immeasurable. If youre a Mustadaf here, you can go somewhere else, except if you are truly Mustadaf- if youre a man, woman, or child (Surah An-Nisa verse 98) Those women who are not Mustadaf have to feel the duty and responsibility of a Hijra when it is due- it is not just for men. And as I said we will come to these details later. Allah says, O you who are committed to Allah, if committed Muslim women come to you, you test their Imaan by giving them the privilege of the Hijra. (Surah Al-Mumtahanah verse 10) Fantahinuhunna, you test them through a Hijra. Todays way of conventional Muslim thinking says no, no we exempt our sisters from that. Now where do you get that from? No ones exempt from this Hijra when it is due- no brother, no sister, no child except if they are truly Mustadaf. Thats why the exception is mentioned in the ayah. We always use the words, Al Amr bil Maruf wal Nahi an il-Munkar. One of the most testing responsibilities in life is Al Amr bil Maruf and al Nahi an il-Munkar. This is a responsibility now that not even men want to be involved in. The masculine type of Muslim men want to be exempted from Al Amr bil Maruf wal Nahi an il-Munkar. And what is the ayah saying? Committed Muslim men and women are supporters and allies of each other as they do (Surah At-Taubah verse 71) As they do what? Yamuroona bil Marul wa Yanhawna an il-Munkar. This means that the task of Al Amr bil Maruf and al Nahi an il-Munkar needs both men and women in a relationship of Wilaaya. As we try to bring these meanings closer to your memory, theres one of the short surahs that indicates that women were exposed to torture because of their involvement in Al Amr bil Maruf wal Nahi an il-Munkar. In a relatively short surah, in Surat ul-Buruj, Allah says, hopefully this is in your memory. So we find in this context when committed Muslims were brought to torture chambers, this has a history, the torture was immense but it wasnt exclusive. Why? Because Muminoon and Muminaat were involved. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims. With Allahs supervision and with the words and the knowledge that come with Him, we will keep on pursuing this issue of women and men, so that going to the source material, the book of Allah and the Messenger of Allah, we will not feel reactive, inferior or guilty when it comes to these issues that are thrown at us as if the people throwing these issues at us are doing justice in their

own lives. We can turn this the other way around but we have to be grounded in the book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger.

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Sometime back, they had a segment on one of the satellite TV programs Al-Jazeera in which they featured the Islamic center here in Washington D.C. Towards the end of this one-hour program called Min Washinton, From Washington, they spoke very briefly about the Jumah that has been here in the street for over 23 and years, but the way it was presented in the end was unfair to the matter and to the subject. The program ended by the imposed official, the Imam in the Center saying that we are welcome to go and to pray in the Center. This of course is to an audience of tens of millions of people. The whole truth was not expressed. Its partially true that we are free to go to the Center and pray but is it true that we are free to go and speak to each other in the Center? Thats what they told us we are free not to do. Besides, they have a Bahai Savaki whos in charge of their security in their center. And the interior minister of their country said we are the only Salafi state in the world. Ok you say you have a Salafi state that you are proud of and you have a non-Muslim whos in charge of your security there and at the same time you force Muslims to pray in the street and then you tell millions of Muslims that these Muslims are free to come and pray in the Masjid. This is how they lie. We are not shy from expressing the truth of this matter. We are open to speaking about it without any censorship. In the program that was aired last week, they even censored some of the answers we gave which were very short; they censored an already short answer.

WOMENS STATUS (PART 4)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa Sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of a conscience; a thinking mind and Muslims who are in the service of Allah Azza Wa Jall.... With Allahs aid, and in His company, we will continue to dedicate these khutbahs for a subject and a behaviour that is defined by Allah and displayed by His Prophet who is a model and example for all of us. Let us be frank with ourselves and admit that there is not a measure of justice that accompanies the status of women in our communities, families and societies. The reason for that, once again, is that we have distanced ourselves from Allah and His Prophet. Yet another indicator, as we looked at other indicators before, we can add this one as an additional one of how we have become alienated from Allah and His Prophet .To try to fill in the vacancies, we began and we continue with Allahs words from which we learn and more to the point from which we behave. We have a general Muslim attitude, (we say Muslim here with reservations), that is confused when it comes to the normal behaviour of women in society. Once again, we extract from the book of Allah a snapshot of a social condition that is defined by the following ayah, O prophet! If committed Muslimaat come to you to pledge allegiance to you, provided they do not commit any act of shirk or they do not violate the unity and indivisibility of Allah; they do not steal and they do not fornicate and they do not kill their children and they do not commit a salacious act between their arms or their legs (Surah Al-Mumtahanah verse 12) OK, They come to you O prophet- this is what this ayah is saying and they want to pledge allegiance with you and they steer clear of all the cardinal sins then you do what? The order from Allah to His prophet is to exchange this baiah with them. (Surah Al-Mumtahanah verse 12) How was this done? How did this pledge of this allegiance physically take place? Women in their whole character and their whole beings came to Allahs prophet and said to him that we pledge allegiance to you. Then, here is an area in which we have conflicting information in our reliable books. One version says that the prophet actually shook hands with these women and the other one said No! He did not physically shake hands with them. Either it was placed in a pot of water or it was done over a cloth. Meaning the hand contact was not physically there. We dont want to create an argument out of how this may have occurred physically. What we want to do is we want to have women regain a position in which they can pledge allegiance or vote for or agree to who the leader is going to be. Remember, this ayah is in front of us and we have Muslim societies 1,400 years later telling women No! you cannot vote and you cannot participate in deciding who the leader in society be. This ayah slaps that attitude in the face. There is a world of a difference between those who want Muslim women excluded from civic rights and

responsibilities and the meanings of this ayah. Why do we have Muslims reading the Quran and then why do we have a behaviour of injustice emanating from these readers of the Quran. We cannot say except that tradition and customs themselves have become the religion. Islam is not the mode of behaviour when we have a violation of Allahs words in the social fabric of our lives. Then, women are also included as a reason for warfare. When Muslims go to war, at some junctures in time and history, an unavoidable responsibility Allah teaches us that one reason for that is and these are His words once again from His own book Why do u not wage war for the cause of Allah and for those who lack power, who are powerless (Surah An-Nisa verse 75) OK, who are these who are powerless? The words of the Quran, these powerless include men, women and children. If women, on the same par with men and children when they are powerless and oppressed can become issue for launching war, why do we have a type of physiological war against them when we ourselves are guilty of excluding them from the position that Allah has put them in? Once again, it boggles the mind to read what Allah is saying and we ourselves are doing. We all, (hopefully, probably), heard of mubaahalah, an instance in Islamic history when Christian clergymen came to Allahs Prophet. What occurred between the two sides was a very cordial meeting. One side was not telling the other side you are inhuman or evil. The prophet received them in his own Masjid in Al-Medinah. Some reports say that there was about 60 of them and they spent days literally living in the prophets Masjid. As the discussions went back and forth the issue reached the divinity of Jesus. On this issue there was no agreement and when this issue turned into a polarizing one, we have these ayaat that we read in this context. Now, let us try to put this in context or to give this its range of meaning. Imagine, today, if there was on the highest level, discussions between those who represent Muslims and those who represent Christians and these discussions were fairly proceeding in a friendly manner and then they ran into this obstacle of understanding or defining who Isa (alaihi salaam) was. The initiative from the Islamic side, from the prophet himself was, on orders from Allah- OK, let us invoke a prayer of condemnation to be binding on those who are lying among us. If we are in todays social fabric or behaviour- Muslims, you can see and count for yourselves how many Islamic delegations have met with Christian delegations. In these interfaith or ecumenical meetings or sessions when the discussion became stonewalled, would you think that it would be the attitude of those who represent the Muslims today to say we want to bring our children, our siblings, our women and ourselves into this polarized positions? We havent had that occur. It seems like all of these types of discussions are the exclusive responsibility of men to the exclusion of women. This is not what Allah is teaching us if we try to understand this ayah and if we try to place it in the really world of today. This is not to speak about the inability of the Muslims to carry the discussion on to the point in which there is a stonewalling attitude.

The prophet himself and the Muslims around him were able to develop a discussion, this is true interfaith communication, to the real issue of disparity between Muslims and Christians and in doing so, on instructions from Allah he had all the people who were dear to him involved in this discussion in what is called mubahalah in this ayah. Who are these people right now- you ask yourself and answer yourself- where have you seen this involvement in these types of encounters? Its as if no one is reading these ayaat. Here is where we need to underline wa nisa' ana wa nisa akum. We simply do not have the Islamic social confidence that can display this social behaviour. Why? Because there is a religion of customs and conventions that have placed our women with our participation as men in an inferior position or in a position in which they are excluded from being involved in these types of activities. In this erroneous attitude among we the Muslims of hiding our women and trying to relieve them of many God given responsibilities, then why is it that, in the civil sense of the word, a man and a woman are equal when it comes to the penalties of law? Allah says an adulteress and an adulterer- you whip each one of them one hundred lashes (Surah AnNur verse 2) Here, this frank expression of Allah in which He is equalizing or putting on an equal par the penalty of a man and a woman for committing the same crime. This contrasts with the type of soft touch approach that conventional society treats women with. The same thing is equally applied to both sexes when Allah a thief, man and woman, severe their hands (Surah Al-Maidah verse 38) There is no lesser penalty for someone, there is no lesser penalty for a woman. Why? Because to begin with, shes an equal participant in social and civil life. If she was not equal then the penalty would be lesser then that of men. Then Allah has a woman qualified as a witness. Here, once again, we run into the question that many adversaries sling against Muslims. The longest ayah in the Quran, (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 282) this is the part in the ayah that we are concerned with at this moment- the 1 st thing we have to acknowledge in this ayah is that Allah has placed women in the same category as men when it comes to being witnesses- ie. they may participate in giving their testimony in a court of law; they are not to be excluded because they are women. But here, the usual objection is OK, you have a court of law and you are saying that in this court of law you want to have two witnesses for a financial transaction- this has to do with debt that has a time reference. OK, you say you need two witnesses, then you bring two witnesses to court, but if you cant find two men witnesses then you find one man and what substitutes for the other man is two women witnesses. Then, the objection stops here, it doesnt follow the ayah which says min man tardawna min ash-shuhadaa- witnesses that satisfy the testimonial requirements, which means you can dismiss a man witness, ie. not any man is automatically accepted to be a witness in this court of law for this issue- there has to qualifications that are met. Because in the usual

responsibilities of life, economic or financial transactions are in most of the cases the responsibility of men, not because thats imposed on society but because of the complimentary role that we spoke about between men and women, but, this min man tardawna min ashshuhadaa may also mean more then two men, but this is setting the minimum- shaheedain min rijaalikum. This ayah has to be understood in context the same way with fasting Ramadhan. The ayah that we repeat in the month of Ramadhan, Allah says in this ayah Allah desires your comfort, Allah does not desire to strain you (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 185) We understand this in the context of fasting Ramadhan the same way should understand you bring two witnesses, but if you cant find two men witnesses then you find one man and what substitutes for the other man is two women witnesses (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 282) It is only for the reason in which in the in-experience of one of the women may need the experience of the other to fortify the testimony. We have to understand these in context. Allah desires what you can do within your ability and not what can be done straining your ability (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 185) We cant take this ayah out of this context and when a time of war comes say Im not going to war because this is going to strain me to death and Allah says Allah desires your comfort, Allah does not desire to strain you. Without going far off on this tangent a besides affairs that are not familiar to one of the genders you need another in that case. If we were to reverse this around- lets say in matters of giving birth where men would lack the experience or the familiarity that women have and we needed a man witness in matters of giving birth then we can, (understanding the ayah of debt), we can accept the testimony of one woman but we would need two men in that area. Its not because men is less then a woman and vice versa in the case of financial transactions its not because a woman is less then a man. Allah has calculated that we give this khutbah on a rainy day and because of the weather conditions it is not advisable to extend this with more words, but there is a sexual area between either genders and to some people it seems like one sex is more attractive to the other. There are ayaat in the Quran that tell us that this matter of attraction is equally shared by each side. One of the surahs, Surat Yusuf, that has a number ayaat, in which this attraction is highlighted. Now, in the same traditional mind we have among us, some would say these ayaat are (astaghfiullah) too explicit- no theyre not. The 1st ayah,this is in reference to Yusuf (alaihi salaam) when he was in the mansion of the master. The wife of that residence tried to negotiate him into a sexual affair or tempt him into an illicit relationship (Surah Yusuf verse 23)

If the sexual initiative is only or solely a mans, then why is Allah telling us that it may also be the womens, meaning the women may take the sexual initiative as we are taught here in this instance. Then when the sexual moment of truth was about to unfold the ayah says and she was on the verge of the sexual act of sexually involving him and he was on the verge of sexually involving her (Surah Yusuf verse 24) So, in these intimate moments of attraction and temptation we have an equal gravity by both man and woman. Also, we would think that if Muslims were giving this ayaat a thought, they would find the contradiction between their traditional understanding of sex and the way Allah is representing the issue of sex here. Then we have to take a look at the social role of women. Have women played a social role? Have women, as we read the Quran, have they come into contact direct contact with men? Today, there are some Muslim men who want to put women behind closed doors, hide them behind the curtains and place many barriers between them and contact with society including men in that society. The 1st instance that we have in this we know a woman came into contact with society and men was Hajar (alaiha salaam), the wife of Ibrahim (alaihi salaam) When Ibrahim left his wife and his son, Hajar and Ismaeel in what, (was to become Makkah later on), a barren an arid a desolate part of the world (Surah Ibrahim verse 37) There was nothing, just sand. There was no Zam-zam, there was no water, there was nothing. He left them there, but what was his dua when he left them there? Did he want his wife excluded? No the words of the Quran O Allah render peoples heart to be attracted to them, his wife and his son (Surah Ibrahim verse 38) Thats not the character and feature of many of todays Muslims. This is Abul Ambiya, the patriarch of prophets and he is making a dua that society and people be attracted to his wife and his son- not attracted in the sexual sense, but attracted in the social sense, the same social sense right now that we have thrown many of the barriers of discrimination into. Then, his other wife Sarah (alaiha salaam) the ayah in the Quran says you know when the angels came to Ibrahim where was his wife? We know he was in the company of men or angels who looked like men but where was his wife? Was she hiding behind fortified doors in the back somewhere or peeping from behind curtains? The ayahs say in this context, where there are men and his wife was there in full attention and she laughed (Surah Hud verse 71) Some of the stiff attitudes and the rigid traditions that we have a woman laughing in the presence of men?! This is an ayah, you all read this ayah. Theres no condemnation of this

behaviour in the Quran. Allah is not condemning her for laughing the presence of her husband and the others who were with him. and then we gave her the good news of having a child a baby called Ishaaq and following Ishaaq was to be Yaqub (Surah Hud verse 71) When these, who were looking like men, gave her this news of her, an old lady, going to have a child she said how am I going to have a child (Surah verse 72) Meaning not only was she a listener but she interacted, spoke and expressed herself. No one was telling her you cant talk or you cant say whats in your heart and on your mind. All of these was with the decency and the decorum that came with the personalities that belonged to Allah, men and women. She expressed herself, Am I going to have a child. This is a social behaviour speaking in front of people. Im old and so is my husband, this is very strange (Surah Hud verse 72) Does the ayah close here? No, the social discussion continues. They, the men said When we read Allahs words and when we understand what He is telling us, it strikes us as incompatible with the way we have conditioned ourselves for hundreds of years to exclude women from these positions in life. Then, a final remark this is speaking about the household of Ibrahim, from which Allahs final prophet Muhammed has come and we have some brothers and some sisters who want the word Ahl Al-Bayt to be limited. If you read what Allahs saying, He is not limiting this. Hes extending this historically and socially. Ahl Al-Bayt in the Quran is speaking about Ibrahim and his intimates and his offspring.

WOMENS STATUS (PART 5)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa Sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of a conscience; a thinking mind and Muslims who are in the service of Allah Azza Wa Jall.... In the past weeks, weve been speaking about the issue of women and we have been strictly focusing on the words and the aayat of Allah as they pertain to this delicate issue. With Allahs provisions, we are trying to go back to the source- about which there is no doubt- the book of Allah and the meanings there-in, to try to relieve ourselves of basically two deviations; the first one is characterized by our culture or the cumulative affect of traditions that a have no basis in what Allah or His Prophet said and the other one is the break away and runaway attitude of those who think that modernity and westernization has answers to womens issues and therefore we should according to them adopt the western lifestyle a lifestyle that we see around us so obviously. If we can refer ourselves to Allah and His words and the Prophet and his words, then we will spare our personal selves, our families and our society the rambunctious and turbulent behaviour and attitude that either one of these two trends represent, the unfounded traditions along with the zigzagging western lifestyle. So, dedicating these days of taqwa, (we may remind you that the word taqwa) is used in its original context to stimulate the presence of Allahs power in our life. When we have power we tend to abuse this power on those who are weaker then us and because, on the power structure, women are physically weaker then men there is a tendency to abuse them. Taqwa, this important element in our constitution and in our substantive being puts a damper on this proclivity that wants to demonstrate power to those who have lesser power. We said in the previous khutbahs that we find in the Quran that women were participants in social life. They were not taken out of society and thrown behind closed doors, high walls and opaque areas. We mentioned when Hajar and Ismail (alaihima as-salaam) were left in the forsaken area in Arabia how Ibrahim (alaihi salaam) said Oh Allah cause the hearts of people to be attracted to them.(Surah Ibrahim verse 37) He didnt say Oh no have them excluded in that desolated area; he did not make dua to say Oh Allah have them away from peoples eyes. Thats his wife he said Oh Allah cause the hearts of people to be attracted to them, which is an indicator that there was no reservation in his understanding of Allah and scripture to have his wife which he trusted and left with his only son to come in contact with people and to have people come in contact with her. Then, in another time period we saw that Sarah (alaiha as-salaam), the other wife of Ibrahim, was interactive with the men who were in her household. Interactive- meaning what? Meaning she was speaking to them and they were speaking to her- we went through that detail. Now, we come to another Prophet at another time period. We take from the life of the Prophet Musa (alaihi salaam) a

segment that will teach us how we should behave, we meaning both sexes or both genders. The ayah says The meaning of this discourse of aayat We know Musa was wanted by the pharaohonic authority or the super-power government of the time and he was on the run. While he was on his journey away from persecution he arrived at a source of water in Madyan, a land north or north east of Egypt. As he arrived to this source of water, a well, he found a crowd of people who were drawing water (Surah Al-Qassas verse 23). Now, up until here this is a normal and natural occurrence, but listen to what happens here and take an observing and closer look at Musas behaviour. The ayah says in this crowd of men and people who were drawing water, Musa found two women (Surah Al-Qassas verse 23) Ok. So what did he do? You would think in todays mentality and mens attitude towards women, hed avoid them. Todays mentality is Oh these are women, stay away from them. And, hes a stranger; he doesnt even know who these people are; he just arrived from a far away land. So, the ayah says Musa goes to these two women and he says what is it with you or what do you want (Surah Al-Qassas verse 23) As if he is trying to help them. Now, this is a communication between Musa and these two women and they are speaking freely. The Quran picked this particular moment in human history to have our minds focused on the developments between Musa as a man and these two women. So they answered him. Both of them said, We will not draw water until this crowd clears the area.(Surah AlQassas verse 23) Meaning until they draw their own water and leave at that time we can go and extract this water for ourselves. They wouldnt have had to have said this but they said this because communication was normal. It was not this issue that Musa is a man and these are two women therefore keep your words to the minimum. These two women added something that basically maybe in todays attitude should not have been said. They told him and our father is an elderly senior (Surah Al-Qassas verse 23) So what happens here? So, Musa, himself went and drew water for them (Surah Al-Qassas verse 24) He did what he could do for them, he helped them out. There was no physiological barrier here saying Oh these are women and Im a man and I cant go speak to them and I cant go help

them out. If this was just one of those generous acts of a human being- Musa was a human being and this was, of course, an act of assistance of a generosity of this person- if it was just that, then Allah would not have picked this particular instance in history to have us recite as His holy words until the end of life and time- so there is significance in this, robust significance. then Musa went to the shade (Surah Al-Qassas verse 24) Obviously it must have been a hot day he went to relax in the shade. Oh my Sustainer, I am impoverished to give back to you what you have given to me (Surah Al-Qassas verse 24) That is in reference to his vitality, his strength and his energy- being able to help these two women in their task. And it doesnt end here. The next thing we know from reading these ayaat is after a while one of those two women comes to him walking with the shyness of a women. She said my father is inviting you to compensate you for you your help to us (Surah AlQassas verse 25) These two women are not Prophets, so there may have not been any necessity to mention this follow up, but to teach us that women may have the initiative in talking to men- we learn that one of them comes back to speak to Musa. and one of them came to him walking in a shy manner. Then she said but my father wants you to come so that he can repay you for the good you did to us (Surah Al-Qassas verse 25) Obviously, if we read and understand this ayah there is a discrepancy between the way Musa behaves and the way we, Muslim men, behave today- we do not behave normally, Musa was behaving normally. Allah says about the character of Musa, this is like a privilege statement which means- Allahs saying to Musa I have custom made you for myself. (Surah Ta-ha verse 41) So theres no flaw in character here- someone cant come and say Well this is one of those Prophetic moments in which he did the human thing, he spoke to those two women. No- it was a trendsetter, this lesson is a trendsetter for we, Muslim men and women to act normally towards ourselves. Of course, this is in the overall character of the Muslim men and women. OK, now we part with this occasion and we go to the time of Sulayman (alaih salaam), a Prophet of Allah the son of Dawud (alaih salaam) another Prophet of Allah. We know that there was communication between Sulayman and Bilqees, the Queen of Sheba, in the English language. After this communication, the Queen of Sheba came to Sulayman. Some historical narratives tell us that that journey was from Yemen, the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula to Al-Quds, Palestine today. Thats quite a journey, especially during those times. She comes and she arrives.

We want to pick up the interface or the behavioural conduct of Bilqees and Sulayman because this will give us an image of how men and women behaviour are in their normal deportment. We know, at least some of us know, that Sulayman had brought the throne of Bilqees faster then the blinking of the eye. Her throne was with Sulayman and she arrives. The ayah in the Quran says When Bilqees came she was told is this is your throne?(Surah An-Naml verse 42) She said (now this is a normal conversation, Bilqees was not behind a wall or a curtain, she was in front of Sulayman as far as we know and Sulayman was in front of her, a man is talking to a woman and a woman is talking to a man) she was asked that question, is this your throne? Does this seem to be like your throne? She said as if it is it as if its my throne (Surah An-Naml verse 42) And then, she was told enter this court (Surah An-Naml verse 44) She was told enter this court, now she was looking at something very elaborate way beyond the technology that she had and was used to, so when she was about to step into this area of the court, she thought it was water so what did she do? The ayah of the Quran says she bared or uncovered her legs (Surah An-Naml verse 44) If some of these Muslims today were there, they would have said Astaghfirullah or they would have looked the other way or they would have just gone and left. No-one did any of that. Allah did not tell us that anyone, Sulayman or any of the Muslims who were with him did any such thing. But this lady, what did she do? She exposed her legs- just like when you are going to go into water, what do you do? If you are wearing a dress, what do you do? You pull it up and thats what she did until her legs were uncovered and were showing. Todays mentality of some men, those who are in the traditional mode and smothered in customs that have no basis in the Quran or the Sunnah say Why is this ayah in the Quran? They wouldnt say it with their tongue- they wouldnt express it like that- but their attitude their non-verbal communications and expressions would be we shouldnt even be thinking about this ayah because look, when youre thinking about this ayah you are thinking about womens legs, and to them this becomes almost a step towards pornography. NO. When the Quran speaks here and when it was speaking about the encounter of the first lady of Egypt, almost, at that time when she wanted to tempt Yusuf (alaihi salaam) to have sex with her the same attitude says Oh wait a minute, let us not think of these ayaat. Why? Whats going to happen if you are going to think of these ayaat? What will happen? We are going to have a problem if we have Muslims who are sexually repressed, but, we are supposed to have normal functional Muslims- the problem is not in the words of the Quran the problem is in the social behaviour that we adopted that is alien to the Qur'an. You see, to todays mind, reading this ayah in Surah Yusuf,

the first lady closed the doors and she said to Yusuf Im yours (Surah Yusuf verse 23) The ayah in the Quran says this- but something is wrong in our minds and internal thoughts that we cannot read these ayaat calmly, with composure, thought and understand the normal human behaviour between man and women. So, this is what happened during Sulaymans time- Bilqees came and, then all of a sudden, she thought that this was deep water she was going to go into and she exposed here legs- this is what ayaat are telling us and the ayaat are meant for us to think about not to fantasies about. Remember, all of these are ayaat, no-one is bringing such and such a scholar says or some opinion from whatever source this is Allahs book, the book that formulates our thoughts and our emotions. We move from that time period to the time period of Allahs Prophet. There is an ayah and a Surah in the Quran that is womens specific. This Surah is called Surah Al-Mujaadilah. AlMujaadilah, is a discussant women. It begins by saying..what is this ayah saying? It says, In fact Allah has listened to her, to the woman, who is disputing with you about her husband and Allah has listened to her complaints and Allah is listening to this discussion that is taking place, for Allah is ever hearing, ever listening ever watching (Surah AlMujadilah verse 1) Who would think just a regular woman in the Arabian society is going to become the full subject and the central character in a Surah of the Quran. Once again, we have to compare what Allah did in specifying this issue of a woman who is coming to Allahs Prophet and complaining about her husband. Allah takes this encounter and makes this issue an ayah and a Surah, whereas todays attitude is if there is going to be a wife complaining about her husband oh thats just one of those wives who likes to complain or something along those lines. In other words, the attitude becomes dismissive against a wife who is complaining about her husband. The Quran, Allah and His Prophet were not dismissive about this, this was very serious and therefore we have it in an ayah which means if you are praying you can read Surat Al-Fatiha and then after that, read this ayah- its part of our salaah, our communion with Allah. Now, all of these staggering incidents throughout time, from the time of Ibrahim to the time of Musa to the time of Elsa (alaihi salaam)- we didnt speak about Maryam ibnati Imran, and there is a Surah about Maryam and there are many ayaat in Surat Ahl Imran about Maryam and in the time of the last Prophet we have some principles and some values that are part and parcel of the character of those both the Muslim man and the Muslim woman. The 1st one is to be conservative in our looks. When we look at each other, a Muslim man and a Muslim woman, we dont puncture our eyes with our vision towards each other. When there is this normal behaviour it is done with an air of respect and with the average and the moderate communication that goes on between human beings just like when a man speaks to a man and when a woman speaks to a woman theres no incursion into their own personal realm. This is outlined in the ayah,

Say (Oh Prophet) to the committed Muslim men to un-focus their vision when they are communicating with a woman (Surah An-Nur verse 30) Un-focus this vision means you dont invade a womans privacy with your eyes and to maintain under their control their sexual inclinations. When we speak about normal man to woman behaviour or woman to man behaviour we speak about it in this context with these principles and values. Likewise, equally so, the ayah says And (Oh Prophet) say to the committed Muslim women (the same words), they also should behave when interacting with men with defocusing their vision (Surah An-Nur verse 31) Because the eyes can say a lot, the eyes communicate extensively and in this case there shouldnt be beyond the normal communication that goes on an extra communication by the eyes or even by the sexual emotions inside. All of this has to be under control- were not animals. Now, theres another issue here and thats the issue of, youve heard it and you will hear it again, how much is a Muslim woman allowed to expose of herself. The ayah says and they shall not expose their zeenah, the attractive parts of their body, except for what is naturally exposed (so to speak) (Surah An-Nur verse 31) The majority of Islamic informed opinion about this, throughout the hundreds and thousand years that we are speaking about, is the face and the hands- thats the exception. The rest of the ayah says the way women used to cover their heads in pre-Islamic and pre-Quranic times wasthe cloth that used to cover their heads whatever was extra of it used to be placed behind on their back thus exposing a pocket of flesh in the neck area (and in relation to others in the breast area) so the ayah says let this cover that is this covering the head whatever is of excess let it be placed in this pocket of the neck and the breast (Surah An-Nur verse 31) Then, you have women who should be moving or walking with honour and integrity not walking as if they are hunting for men or trying to solicit the attention and the involvement of men- thats not a principle, a value and a characteristic of a Muslim woman. The ayah says women should not be walking in a way using their (were translating this with some license) using their legs to attract the attention of men (Surah An-Nur verse 31) So that they draw attention to their charms and beauty they conceal- they cant do that. But not doing that doesnt mean were going to take them out of society and tell them you cant speak or talk to men. Lets be careful in what we are doing and understanding. Then, Allah says women you yourselves should not devalue your communication (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 32)

In other words when you speak be serious about what you say- because some women have a tendency to try to entrap men by the words that they use or by the way they use their words, and Allah is telling them- dont do that. The ayah says to women do not devalue your speech in doing so you will entice some men whose hearts are diseased and when you speak you speak with the measure and the standard of maruf (Surah AlAhzaab verse 32) All of these, brothers and sisters, have been ayaat. We have been looking at women through these ayaat in the Quran and from looking at them we realise that women are the full social human beings that men are. But, that doesnt mean that women are men and it doesnt mean that the men are women. We cant lose the characteristics of each by trying to say we want to equalize them- we cant do that. In the social, dignified sense of human behaviour we are equal in the responsibilities and tasks- we are complimentary and remain equal. We will come to the Prophets ahadith that will fill in some of the areas that we covered, in which in one of them, he says in truth women are the counter parts or the other half or the reflection of men. When we can not only understand this, but make it a behaviour in the full sense of the word, we will have managed to fulfil the taqwa we are here to observe. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims. Dont think that if we are allocating a certain series of khutbahs to a sensitive and misunderstood topic as this, that somehow we are lowering our standards- no. This is an issue that has to do with power and power is the element that is used against us. We have to empower ourselves. We cant do so when, you as a brother, as a man, have your mother, sister, wife or daughter, who dont have any power- how can you feel that you are in power? We cant feel so unless all of us are re-invigorated with these essential meanings that come to us courtesy of Allah and with the fulfilment of the Prophet. Brothers and sisters, recently, one of the major newspapers came up with an article about this Islamic Centre. The Washington Times had on the front page an article about this Masjid and Islamic Centre which we have been excluded from for going on 24 years. They tell us that the bahai savaki agent that has been inside that Masjid for all of these years- he probably came over here when many of the Musalleen were Iranians- now many of them are gone but he still remains inside the Masjid- and the article says that the Saudi administration of the Masjid ordered an audit of this place and they found out that there was $US300,000 that this bahai savaki who has been protecting the salafi saudis for all of these years has been sealing from his masters. Then, The Washington Post ran an article and then buries it on the last page of Section B, also concerning the same news item ie. The thieves inside the Islamic Centre. We have two ranks of thieves inside that centre- the Saudi rank that is stealing billions upon billions of dollars from the resources of the Ummah and then the petty rank of a bahai savaki who is stealing from the thieves who are stealing from the Ummah. These thieves are the ones running this Centre and we have Muslims who go and pray comfortably with the administration of thieves, crooks and criminals inside this Centre and this has been going on and on and on. Then

they throw in a news item- we dont know how much they know, by the way, both of them The Washington Post and The Washington Times conveniently excluded from their talk about this Centre the crime of forcing Muslims out of this Centre for all of these years- as if they know nothing about it. Imagine- being here for coming on 24 years and they are playing deaf, dumb and blind- as if none of this exists. Anyway they throw in a piece saying that it turns out the Saudi administrator of this Centre who gives the khutbah most of the times, his name is Abdullah Khuj, is going to be appointed, according to the article itself, the Saudi ambassador to South Africa. We dont know exactly what they are up to, but we do know that their plans and their strategies are going to fail. They can go to court, we are in a larger court and Allah is our judge and their judge. We will continue with Allahs help and His aid and let them- as criminals are in their nature- fall out with their own selves. Let them expose themselves and let the rest of the Muslims, those who are hiding come out of their hiding positions and those who are watching from a distance take notice of what is happening.

WOMENS STATUS (PART 6)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa Sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of a conscience; a thinking mind and Muslims who are in the service of Allah Azza Wa Jall.... It is sometimes very difficult to realise that some of the issues that we are trying to clarify may have us feel like in a position of defence or in a mode of catching up. Sometimes, these are passing thoughts that come to mind when we are speaking about an issue I dont think we should be talking about. We have lagged behind and have inflicted our own families and societies with particular traditions and a culture and also brought upon ourselves alien ideas and strange behaviour and because of this, we found ourselves compelled to clarify some of these issues. We have begun in the past couple of months a discourse on the status of women. As we reiterate, we speak about this subject because we ourselves are smothered with the ignorance of it. We continue and we try to proceed from where we left. Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims- you are aware that there is a streak of what is called feminism that dwells in the world around us and that is beginning to penetrate into our own world. Many of us may not be aware of the feminists that began this break away attitude from Islam all together. They werent concerned with looking at the text of the Quran, reviewing the precedent of Allahs prophet and scrutinizing the information that is coming to us from Allah and His messenger and they still remain not to be concerned with any of that. What they are interested in is to try and prove that they are in a struggle with man. This has become their obsession- females in the mode of warfare with males. Now, we ask ourselves, if we are steeped in Allah and His Prophet where did this alien attitude come from- this feminism, where did it come from? We may begin to identify some motivations or incentives for this type of behaviour- some of us (as we said) may not be as old enough as to recall the imagery of those first feminists among the Muslims of the past century when they used to present their lectures and their ideas and their bodies were exposed- their thighs, arms and breasts exposed; smoking cigarettes and puffing away as they are trying to combat their perception of women who are caged in traditions and according to them caged in Islam, itself, so they set out on a liberation course as they tell us. A Muslim women, and if she truly is a Muslimah, she need not feel these types of feelings, react in this type of manner or devise a superficial course of liberation that will lead nowhere as we see in societies that are not Islamic. When do we encounter (just to give you a sample) of how this contorted mind works...

Some of these Arabic speaking feminists came and looked at the Quran- they know and they read the Quran and some of what is being said there, but they can be prejudice and they can be selective when they do such types of things- so they looked and they said wait a minute here look

at this Quran it says in reference to Adam (alaihi salaam) that Allah has forgiven Adam. The ayah thus Adam disobeyed His Sustainer and went wayward, subsequently Allah forgave him and guided him (Surah Ta-ha verse 121) You see, they tell us look at the ayah, it is speaking about Adam; it is not speaking about Hawa (alaiha salaam). We are supposed to know that both of them are participants in the mistake that they did- eating of the prohibited tree or fruit. both of them participated in the consumption of that prohibited element (Surah Ta-ha verse 121) So they tell us then why is Allah speaking about amnesty to Adam and not about the same amnesty to Eve? This is how their minds begin to operate. Well, if they were thinking objectively and if they were not on a course that justifies prematurely their own biases, the ayah did not say faasa Adam wa asat Hawwau Rabbaha, the premise is Adam initiated the act of disobedience and that didnt exclude Hawa. Adam also solicited the reward of Allah and that doesnt mean that also Hawa solicited the same amnesty from Allah, but this is what happens when we have prejudice minds and attitudes. They have a fore thought- they already worked out how to interpret these meanings in their own way without being objective about it. They began their deliberations and their discourse and it began to accumulate into books and volumes and even libraries on feminism and womens liberation. They began telling us that al-haya, shyness, being coy or bashful there is a hadith that says this haya is a branch or an extension or a derivative of imaan. These feminists and pro-women liberation movements come with their philosophy and they want to make us try to feel that this should not be a feature of a womens personality. We tell them this is a feature of a mans and a womans personality equally. But when we say someone is hayee or he has hayaa, that doesnt mean that we say someone is passive, indifferent or inferior- it doesnt mean that. I, you, any man or woman can be in possession of hayaa and be as active, revolutionary and sacrificing as is humanly possible- one doesnt exclude the other, but once again we encounter a mindset that wants to interpret things not according to objectivity and understanding what Allah and His Apostle have to say on issues but taking the words and then remoulding them around these types of feminists distorted version and vision of things. This type of language has inundated all around. We have to ask ourselves from week to week and from experience to experience what makes women perceive of themselves in a belligerent position towards men? This doesnt come from nowhere. There has to be something that has motivated this type of behaviour- even though this type of behaviour is going off the deep edge. Theres something there and the something there is that originally this behaviour was a reaction in a non-Islamic environment, to be more precise in the Euro- American or the Judeo-Christian environment. They, men and women in those types of societies, began to have problems with each other and these problems began to grow and were fed by centuries of inequality and exclusion until a reaction blew up in their own

history, but how about us? Did we take this polarisation to that type of extreme that they suffered from? We cant find it. We do find that we, meaning in an Islamic society, in the relations of men with women have our mistakes- theres no doubt about this- but these mistakes do not justify the type of literature and mindset that today is responsible for prostitution being (according to some counts) the 3rd most generating industry of profits, if we take the military industrial complex and the narcotic business (if we call it that). These are the only two that supersede prostitution as far as making money in the world. Today, we have a pandemic of sexual corruption and disintegration in human societies and this attitude of women warfare against men has no basis in the Quran or Sunnah. We covered ayaat in the Quran that speak about the normal and complementary relationship between husband and wife, man and woman and the masculine and the feminine- this is a relationship in which both sides help each other out; they fit together neatly and perfectly but what do we have now? What is the attitude that is trying to circulate among us now, when they take away al-haya? They begin with that, they say that doesnt belong to an average and a healthy human character. When you take away this haya then what do you do? You say Oh we are against couples getting married at an early age. Thats what they tell us, they dont like that, but they are very much pleased with youth at an early age fornicating and committing adultery- they dont have any problems with that. You take it from there We begin to realise that they dont feel comfortable with family relationships- this definition of marriage itself, so take away marriage. So what do you want? They want a consensual live-inpartnership between male and female, so that whenever a person wants to leave may leave and whenever a person wants to stay may stay and they dont care what the consequences of that is, visa-vis any children may come out that consensual adult combination of living in one bedroom without the sanctity of marriage- they dont care about that. So we have families that are coming apart and no longer a husband and a wife being able to maintain their normal relationships with themselves. We dont find any of that root coming from the Quran or the prophet. In defining the relationship between man and woman, Allahs Prophet said, the wording of this, when prophet of Allah used the word shakaik which is the plural of shaki and shakka means split so he is saying women are the split proportion of men meaning at the genetic level- at the level of genesis, both these come from the same material or source and are equally split from each other to come back into life to equally compliment each other. This definitely does not give fuel to the type of verbiage and language that wants to polarize society between male and female, like we have in the world around us today and we have sexual chaos that is brewing behind the scene. From time to time we discover that a certain clergyman, we dont want to give their ranks or their status in society, very high as it were on the religious hierarchy they turnout to be what? Paedophiles or they turn out to be what? Gay homosexuals or they turnout to be what? Perverts in every sense of the word. Why? Because they no longer have a normal relationship with themselves, their counterparts, the members of their own families and congregations. Why? Because, to begin with, they lost their normal relationship with Allah, their Maker and their Creator. This is where we have to bring them

back into the fold. It is our responsibility to set the pace and show the course of movement and action in this regard. When we review, here is a moment for reviewing an ayah, lets take an ayah- weve spoken about some of these ayaat before, let us return to them, but with more thought. When Allah, at the beginning of Surah Al-Qassas, speaks about Musa (alaihi salaam), how does He begin speaking about Musa? He begins by speaking about Musas mother. When Allah wants us to begin to think about Musa, He begins with speaking about how He inspired the mother of Musa if you fear concerning your baby then place him on that water, that deep water, we will cause him, (this was Allahs inspiration to Musas mother) to return to you because in fact he is one who is going to be dispatched with a responsibility and a message from Us meaning from Allah and by Allah (Surah Al-Qassas verse 7) Later, the ayah says the fuad of Musas mother, upon having her baby son taken away from her, became empty (Surah Al-Qassas verse 10) The repository of feelings in a mother was vacated, and then another woman in the life of Musa and that is the Pharaohs wife, she said concerning Musa this baby is a soothing element in our life he may be of great benefit to us (Surah Al-Qassas verse 9) Another feminine, (we dont use the word feminine like the way these other people in todays world use it with the agenda that they have) or feminine figure in the life of Musa was the one who in her own way initiated the marriage process with him. She said to her father when Musa was running away from the super power of the time, (now, if we wanted to translate this word literally) Oh father, rent him, meaning Musa (Surah Al-Qassas verse 26) In other words, bring him and pay him for what he does. (Surah Al-Qassas verse 26) Istajeer- you cannot have a better person in that position then one who is reliable strong dependable and reliable. This is another lady in the life of Musa- his mother, the Pharaohs wife and then his wife. We dont know and we cannot sense- this is a challenge for everyone of youyou go back to this textual source and try to find whether there was some type of misunderstanding along masculine-feminine lines and if there was some type of friction between Musa the man and these women that are mentioned in the Quran- his mother, the wife of the most powerful person in that country and in the world and between him and his wife. Can anyone detect if there is any tension or friction in this relationship? Absolutely not, because there wasnt and this is the case as it goes on in the lives of all the prophets and in the life in the final prophet.

Now, we know that it is very difficult to say with precision the following, but we extract this from history books- it is said that at the time that Allahs final prophet passed on, there was around a 124,000 or 125,000 Muslims at that time- this was the extent of it. We are not talking about millions and we are not talking about what we look at today as a super power structure- we are talking about a life time of 23years of jihad and sacrifice- a struggle and a leadership that resulted in around 124,000 Muslims- now, we have the latitude to give and take a few thousand, lets not be very stubborn about this- out of that, the cream of the crop was about 8,000, these are called in the books of those times and by historians and scholars as-safwa- out of 124,000, we had around 8,000. From those 8,000, what is the number of the women who were in this cream of the crop of this committed Islamic social order? We had around 1,000 women. Thats one eighth of the best and the brightest as it were. That is a significant number, because if you take a look as the radical and the substantial social changes and movements in history up until now, even with the type of revolutions that took place around us, could you point to one eighth of the steering committee of that radical transformation of society as being women? We dare say with confidence there isnt one eighth, one out of eight, we dont find that, even though we had a 1,400 years to grow, develop and mature, we still havent being able to bring into the real activities of life one eighth of the decision making the participants who were participating in all the activities of life. In the battle of Uhud, there was a woman whose name was Umm Ammara. She was defending the prophet when men were running away. That didnt create a problem in society about men and women. She received or her body sustained 13 wounds defending the prophet. The prophet would say I would look right and left, forward and backwards and I would see Umm Ammara all around. No one was telling her you cant participate in the battles- because it is alien to the understanding of Allah, when Allah and the Quran say mobilise whether you are light or whether you are burdened (Surah At-Taubah verse 41) That meant everyone. There was no exclusions here, every able bodied individual is expected to participate. Theres no discrimination here. Where did this all come from? A woman goes up to Allahs prophet and tells him (of course, no one was yelling- this is a khutbah and our pitch of voice may go up) but she goes up to him and she speaks to him and says of course were para-phrasing) men have gotten the good part of you Oh messenger of Allah, we, meaning women, barely have any interaction with you. So he allocated a day a week to speak to women in his Masjid. No-one came and said Oh what is all this about?! Women coming into the Masjid to speak to Allahs prophet?!

Another woman comes to Allahs prophet and says wait a minute here I am listening to these ayaat Compare this with the type of reactive feminists in our time- she comes and says to

Allahs prophet I hear all of these ayaat and the overwhelming majority of them are speaking about men. It is said that an ayah was revealed to try to drill in the point that whenever these words that refer to men in the Quran are used are used also to include women. The ayah is in the response to this type of an enquiry from a women who approaches the Prophet of Allah who listens to her then have heavens reply, (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 35). So when Allah is speaking about any mumeen or any mumeenah any Muslim or any khashee or any qaanit or any mutasadiq- using the linguistic construct referring to a male, Allahs telling anyone who harbour any kind of question like that, that it is also inclusive of females. So, when Allah says Ya ayyuhalladhina Aamanu, this is Oh you men who are committed, it is not Ya Ayyatuhallawaati Aamanna; even though it is said that way it is inclusive of you, women. We dont have that problem. We are surprised to have people think that we have that problem that can be traced all the way back to Allah and His prophet- astafirullah Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims Obviously we would prefer to speak, in these khutbahs, about the immediate issues that need our attention. We are going through hard times. We are just at the beginning of changing the course of history and correcting the international deviation that has been with us for hundreds of years. There are earth shaking events that we can speak about with a Quranic mind and with a prophetic understanding. There is the issue of a war that is contemplated against Muslims in AlArdh Al-Muqaddasa and Al-Ardh Al-Mubaraka namely in Palestine and its surrounding areas. Do you think we are comfortable here when we know that there are war plans for that sensitive geographical and historical area of ours and we have to speak about a social issue like women? There is a war that is in the making against independent Muslims who do not take their orders from imperialists or Zionists. Do you think we are comfortable delaying our Quranically understood analysis of these events and speaking about how we should correct our thoughts pertaining to our mothers, sisters, wives and our daughters? We are forced to do this because there is a pre-ponderence of ignorance amongst us. We have to go back and reconstruct, at least, in our minds the proper, the courteous and the befitting relationship between men and women so that we can get on with these challenges that are cropping up around us. We want to clear this just, like we tried to clear the issue of sectarianism, we want to try to clear the issue of feminism so that no one can come and haunt us and hunt us with this kind of issue.

WOMENS STATUS- PART 7

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With Allahs presence and with His power, we shall move ahead shedding some light on the ambiguous areas and on the traditional practices that more or less define our behaviour towards ourselves, which is in need of a long overdue correction. Let us face it- we have an incorrect attitude towards ourselves. We may be repeating this but we have a lot to be desired when it comes to the way we behave towards ourselves, especially, brothers towards sisters. Sometimes it doesnt occur to us to think in the way that Allah presented some of these issues to us but we never cared to look at them as far as a man and a woman are concerned. We know, (at least most of us know), that we do have a ruler in history who has been thoroughly condemned by the Quran. Obviously, that ruler is a man the Firaun in Egypt himself. The Quran has many ayaat that break down and bring down the features of the male ruler. One ayah that may substitute for many ayaat tell us the arrogant, hoardy and contemptible position that Firaun was in. What was he doing? He was virtually going around killing whomever he wants and sparing the lives of whomever he wants. killing their sons and keeping their women alive. Behold he was one of these mufsideen, the person who is responsible for decay, decomposition, chaos and mischief making in the social order of the world (Surah Al-Qassas verse 4) If we want to make up for lost time in the relationship between men and women, it does seem to us like someone is taking this person to task because hes a man. It is a reactionary attitude that looks and tries to evaluate a persons behaviour because of a persons sex. For sure Firaun and Haamaan and their troops were in the wrong (Surah Al-Qassas verse 8) And Firaun says to Musa (alaihi salaam) Ya Musa youre a liar (Surah Al-Ghaafir verse 37) Almost any type of offensive behaviour that comes from this man is condemned in certain words, in certain ayaat and in the certain Quran. On the hand we have the Quran that speaks to us about another ruler and this ruler was a female. From what we know, every word about her is almost the opposite of those words projecting Firaun. Let us take a sample of words about this female ruler. How does Allah describe a female ruler? Firaun was not a Muslim ruler; he tried to become a Muslim when he was drowning. Bilqees, this queen that is mentioned in these ayaat was not mentioned a Muslimah- so both of these rulers were not Muslims, but how do they behave in their capacities as the ultimate decision makers in their own societies and in their own

times? The condemnation of Firaun, the man, is a cascade of negative descriptions in the Quran, yet, here is what the Quran says about this female ruler. We have to emphasize, underline and reiterate that we dont say these words to play into the hands of the type of feminism that circulates in the world today. We are not reacting, we are not chauvinistic men and we are not feministic reactionaries. Both of these extremes do not have any place in our book or in our behaviour. What does the Quran, Allahs words say about this other non Muslim ruler? She is speaking to her public decision makers, I have received correspondence. (Surah An-Naml verse 29) In other words she is not making decisions behind closed doors. Shes up-front with her people, not like the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh had an inner circle (like we know). I have received a correspondence from Suleiman (alaih salaam) and this correspondence is in the name of Allah, the Mercy giver, the Merciful (Surah An-Naml verse 29-30) And, this correspondence from Suleiman to this society to this other society in the southern part of Arabia says Do not come to me with a superior approach but come to me in a submissive state to Allah (Surah An-Naml verse 32) This letter that Suleiman wrote to the queen of Saba is expressive and is a detail of how Muslims in the positions of power behave. In other words he is saying we dont expect you to come to show us your power or force- come to us in normal way- not belligerent, not hostile and not showing us the power that you may have but in a mood that is conciliatory with Allah, that is yielding to the power of Allah and that recognises the dominance of Allah. What did she do? Did she go behind closed doors? No. Once again, she is speaking to a public decision making body of people, Al-mala, the influential body of her society, she says, (literally speaking), give me a fatwa. I am in need of a fatwa, an enlightened or an informed decision, concerning this affair of mine. What am I going to do? In other words, you participate and you let me know what your thoughts are on this matter. She says to them I never made a decision without your presence or participation in it or without your observation of it (Surah An-Naml verse 32) Remember, this is a woman and Allah has chosen from the course of history the correct attitude of the ruler even if that is coming from a woman. What did they say? The political feedback that she received was, These public advisers of hers said we are a society of force and we are society of awesome power (Surah An-Naml verse 33)

Now, telling you how we feel about this give and take between you and Suleiman, we say to you when it comes to the military, the army or fighting power, we have it. Meaning, if you want to take on this other ruler who is corresponding with you we are alert and ready, but then, after that the decision is yours. you make the decision and then you issue the order (Surah An-Naml verse 33) Now, this looks like, at least as in as far as her administration, they were gearing up for a type of confrontation with Suleiman and then what does she say after she reads very closely what Suleiman wrote to her and listens closely to what her consultants, advisers and her public is saying to her, what does she say? When kings forcefully enter another society or social order they corrupt it and they bring down the noble people of that society and humiliate them and that has always been their course of action (Surah An-Naml verse 34) This is a deep understanding of history and it is a sensitive and fair understanding of people who are in possession of awesome power. Sometimes, this ayah or statement is repeated by scholars and people in the talking professions- they repeat this ayah not the one before it or after- they try and make a point against monarchies, kings and hereditary rulers and the listeners, many times dont understand that they are quoting a woman. Allah quotes a woman and we quote Allah who quotes that woman, but somehow we dont absorb the total facts that are relevant to this issue. The point that we are trying to bring home is we have a comparison- when you read Allahs sacred scripture read what He has to say about Firaun, the man ruler, and read what He has to say about Bilqees or the queen of Sheba, the female ruler. The bad reputation of Firaun is scattered throughout many surahs in the Quran. The good reputation of Bilqees is in Surat An-Naml. The way we behave, especially the men in Muslim societies towards the women, what is it there that we have that tells us that Bilqees was out of place in saying what she said and in doing what she did. So, what did she finally do? I am going to send them a gift (Surah An-Naml verse 35) Bilqees says to all these people who were militarily ready I am going to send them a present and then Ill see how they are going to answer this present that I am sending. If you were to take todays average working Muslim mind and you tell them look at Allah and how he speaks very favourably of a woman ruler- if somehow she was out of place and she didnt belonged where she was, then why is this in the Quran and why is it brought to our attention? We can take that as a cue and accompany our thoughts to the time of Allahs prophet and realise that when the prophet of Allah was ordered to go public to the people he was closest to, the ayah in the Quran says to Allahs prophet and give words of cautionary advice to those who are your close relatives (Surah AshShuara verse 214)

So, he stands up and he says O you, the descendants of my great grandfather (so and so); O you, the offspring of my great grandfather (so and so), my worldly possessions and my worldly wealth will not benefit any of you in the least, none of it will benefit you when it comes to Allah. Meaning you have to look out for yourselves. Then he says (several meanings come to our mind when we recall these sentences of the prophet) but what we are concerned with is why mention Safiya, his aunt, and Fatima, his daughter, (radi Allahu anhuma) unless he is trying to make a point and drive home the fact that womanhood in society has to be given full recognition and has to be addressed. We go on- when this wahy, this history making event occurred and the prophet listened to Allahs words for the 1st time, he goes home and he speaks to his wife, Khadijah (radi Allahu anha), and he tells of what happened and she becomes the 1st to commit to Allah. A woman becomes the 1st after the prophet to adhere to Allah. What is this? We cant figure out why we have minds today who try to exclude women altogether when we have these types of examples. Sumayah bint Khabaat (radi Allahu anha), the mother of Ammaar (radi Allahu anhu)- Allah says dont consider those who have been killed on or for a cause of Allah dead, they are alive (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 169) Now, when we think- the best that we can think and if we try to go back to the early years of the prophets life, who was, if not the 1st one, of the 1st to give her life for the cause and on a direction to Allah? Wasnt it Sumayah, a woman? Which means these Muslims didnt have the attitude lets close our women up in secluded rooms or lets hide them in our homes; they cant come out and participate in the social responsibilities of Islam. When the Muslims were confined in Shib Abi Taalib for three years the family- that was an Islamic family- had its men and women there. We dont know of any case in which a Muslim male that knew that Quraish was on a course of economic warfare against the Muslims in Makkah told their women- their mothers, wives, sisters or their daughters no, you stay at home, its our right; we know what they are going to do to us we know that we are going to go through an extended period of severe hunger. They used to chew on leather because of the hunger. They didnt tell their womanhood OK, you stay at home well go and bare the consequences- their own women were out there with them. When the Muslims were forced under the social, political and psychological pressure that came to bare on them in Makkah they went on two waves of Al-hijrah to Africa. We are told that there were about 83 men and between 15 and 20 women. No one was saying Oh no, this is going to be a very long journey, we dont know what the consequences are going to be, or we are going into the un-known, so keep our women out or stay back home. It never occurred. We dont have a scant sentence to that effect in the books of history and seerah. So, how come today, if we have the same pressure coming to bear on us, some of us will say we have to keep our women away from these challenges. That wasnt the case.

When the Prophet of Allah was forced to leave Makkah for Al-Medinah because they wanted to kill him- its just like a president or a leader of a certain country who wants to leave his domicile and go somewhere else- this is considered like top secret information- who knew about this? The women of Allahs Prophet, his family and his relatives knew about this. Fatimah, Aaishah, Asma (radi Allahu anhunna) knew about it. If there was something like Oh, we cant trust women with information, then why did they know about it and why were they actively facilitating his exodus from Makkah to Al-Medinah. Brothers and sisters, something is wrong with todays mentality among the Muslims that want to exclude women from their social responsibilities. Umm Salamah (radi Allahu anha), the Prophets wife, at the time of Al-Hudaybiyah, this was a time of non-belligerency between the Mushriks of Makkah and the Muslims of Al-Medinah. When the Prophet agreed to the stipulations of Al-Hudaybiyah, the Muslims felt offended and the Prophet came up to them and said that they should shave their heads and sacrifice an animal. They wouldnt do it. The Prophet was telling them frankly and candidly what to do, but because they felt so humiliated, they didnt feel like doing what Allahs Prophet was telling them to do. He returns to his wife, Umm Salamah and he tells her what was going on. She, his wife, says to him why dont you- dont speak to them at all- just go and do what has to be done. You want them to shave their heads, just shave your head; and you want them to perform a nahr, slaughtering of an animal, just do it, and, the Prophet did exactly that. He didnt speak to them and he did what he told them to do. Thereafter, every one of them did what he had originally told them to do, but in this case, the little un-noticed detail in history is that the Prophets wife had an input into the social behaviour of the committed Muslims who were reluctant to do what Allahs Prophet, their leader told them to do. On another occasion, Umm Salamah heard the Prophet in the Masjid saying Ayyuhan Naas. She was in her own room and someone was helping her look beautiful, someone was helping her comb her hair and do whatever women do to make them look appealing to their husbands and all of a sudden, she hear the Prophet say Ayyuhan Naas because the Prophets room was next to the Masjid, she heard him in the Masjid say O People, she told her assistant I want to go and attend to what the Prophet has to say. Her assistant said Hes only calling for the people- youre a women, you dont have to go. She said No, when he says O People, that includes men and women and she went to the Masjid to listen to what the Prophet said. How come we have an attitude in todays world where women are told by scholars of Islam- You are discouraged from coming to the Masjid. The Masjid at that time was not something just for a few minutes of worship; it was a hub for the activities of the Muslims. If there was a discussion for a military issue, it was in the Masjid, if there was going to be some type of negotiations with an enemy or another force around, it would be deliberated in the Masjid, even when people wanted to meet, young men and women- this is gone now and if it is back, it is not back in the right manner- if a man and a lady wanted to get married, theyd go to the Masjid so that they could get married; the Masjid was like a gym at times, where there is physical activity. The Prophet, on one occasion, had his wife look at Al-Ahbaash, these were like African athletes who were performing their own physical or martial arts (as we would say), and where was this done? In the Masjid.

When Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said that the dowry that a man gives to his wife upon marriage, as-sadaaq or al-mahr, should not exceed 400 dirhams, a lady stands up and says but that is not right and she quoted the ayah Even if you were to give the bride to be a qintaar, a tonnage of money or silver and gold, theres no limitation to this Surah An-Nisa verse 20) Theres no limitation to this- So, she was objecting to this in the Masjid, in front of everyone. What did the ruler say? He wasnt an arrogant ruler to say Well, silence her or take her out of the Masjid. What did he say? He said most or all the people know more than Umar (radi Allahu anhu). He stood to be corrected. It wasnt like someone was being embarrassed. He didnt take that as coming from a woman, that should embarrass him or bring him down. He was like all those who were in the footsteps of Allahs prophet- waqqafun inda hududillah and waqqafun inda awaamirillah. This was and should continue to be the active role of Muslimaat in the world around us. This is what we should observe without reactions, without being apologetic, without feeling inferior or bouncing around between masculine verses feminine positions. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We have an organised and a coordinated attempt to paralyse half of our society. Nothing disturbs the enemy, rather, everything will be a delight to the enemies of Allah if half of the Muslims were paralysed. Our women folk, our nisa are half of our society and where are they? Then, all over sudden when some of them step out into the real world and they may carry explosives on their bodies- we are not advocating this as the first step of having our women be honoured in their full civil character- but circumstances sometimes force members of our society to do things that normally we would not do. 30 or 40 years ago you looked at the Muslim world and populations and you could comfortably say half of them are inactive, stagnant and virtually non-existent and then all over sudden today individuals from that same half of the Muslim women of the worlds are participating in military responsibilities. This becomes scary and it terrifies those who have been keeping a close watch and monitoring the movements of the Muslims. We say to them this is only the beginning, there is more to come. We know that the ignorance- that they have sponsored with their academic programmes- have tied half of us down to secluded quarters, a demeaning niqaab and to the inability of women to share and partake in all the rewards that are available to men. Now, theyre scared, this is big. You do not have to be scared if you are not doing anything wrong. Remember we are doing this in our back-yards (so to speak) not in your backyards. What are you afraid of? Some of you are resigning, some of you are forced out of office and some of you are voted out- these are the distant reactions. You see, they dont want to connect what is happening here with what is happening there, but reason that they are in political free-fall is because the majority of us are in a military mode to do what has to be done. The process has already began we hope our words that describe our today will become distant history tomorrow and Allah will expedite the

resumption of our full potential- men and women- without this segregation, discrimination and this apartheid in this Ummah.

WOMENS STATUS- PART 8

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... May Allah bless a person who shows me the deficiencies of myself. (This myself extends to meaning ourselves). May Allah bless those who show us the shortcomings or fallacies of our ownselves. For this purpose we will continue to help ourselves see where we are lacking or there is room for improvement. As you have been (as the expression has it) tuned in for the past almost a dozen khutbahs or so, we have been diligently trying our best to show that we need to improve on our relationships with each other- our relationships with each other is in reference to men and women, because there is an attitude that is overwhelming and very significant in its manifestations that make our own women -these are not distant people these are close; when we say our own women, these are our mothers, sisters, wives and our daughters. Our behaviour and interaction with them makes them feel as if they are lesser then we are. Theres something wrong with that. When we are supposed to be together in our rights and responsibilities, sharing and caring and holding or moving together at the same pace with a sense of understanding and cooperation, theres a flaw in our social self when our women-folk begin to feel, and continue to feel, that they are of a lesser kind or an inferior type. Theres something wrong in that. We speak values about brotherhood, mercy, equality and justice- we speak values about these meanings, but why is it that after we do our are speaking at the Mimbars and in the Masaajid, when we are interacting with each other, we still are compounded with what appears to be in some cases a complex. Something is wrong and it needs to be addressed and therefore we went to Allahs book and took a close look at some of the ayaat, with open and functioning minds, to see how these ayaat will remedy this issue. We took a look at some of the pages of the seerah of Allahs Prophet and saw how women were treated at that time. Now, with the same spirit and pursuit, we will take a further look and notice in this area. To begin with, we want to say that it is a negative remark on ourselves when we dont have a history that presents us with men and women, especially during the ground breaking years of Allahs Prophet. We had women at that time, but in our mind, as if for petty and sometimes even ridiculous sectarian divisions, we only have in our minds three of four women in the time of Allahs Prophet and the thousands of other women who existed and were active and struggling participants in the making of this critical period of our formative years, its as if in our minds, even the minds of the big wigs, they dont exist. Well give you an example to show you or illustrate what is meant here. Even though her name was mentioned previously, but if you mention some ones name once or twice- and there is a structured set of information- it doesnt

matter. These struggling Islamic women are not around to be noticed. Theres a person by the name of Umm Imarah, Nasiba Al-Ansariyah (radi Allahu anha)- thats her name. Now if someone asks you Whos this figure? Whos this lady? You can scratch your head?! Some of you who may have a library or excess to some sources can dig up the pages and youll probably find her, but who was this female figure, this Muslimah who was at the time and in the company of Allahs Prophet? Who is she- we ask the average, normal Muslim mind out there. If there is no answer or if you dont have the vaguest idea of who she is, this indicates how we (ourselves) cannot honour our ownselves. To begin with, she gave a baiah when the Muslims were in Makkah, at a time of oppression and all the social, political and economic pressure came to bear on the few Muslims who were in Makkah. She was one of them who gave her baiah to Allah and His Prophet during that time of hardships and challenges. She also gave the baiah to Allahs Prophet in what may be called the general assembly of Muslims that anchored an Islamic state in Al-Medinah- in the 1st baiah and the 2nd baiah. This should not be a person who doesnt share a part of our memory, but the fact of history and our current mental condition and consciousness is that shes no where around. Practically no-one has heard of her. Then, we see her once again. Brothers and sisters- this is to illustrate how juvenile we, the Muslims, are when it comes to our ownselves. We notice her at the battle of Uhud. Before we get to the detail at the battle of Uhud, this baiah that we are speaking about, in which committed Muslims come to Allahs Prophet and pledge allegiance to do what has to be done, regardless of the currents or the circumstances- that doesnt factor in- they will do what has to be done. Indeed, Allah was pleased with the committed who pledged allegiance to you under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts and bestowed on them tranquillity and rewarded them with a near victory (Surah Al-Fath verse 18) Verily those who pledged allegiance to you are pledging allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is above their hands (Surah Al-Fath verse 10) These are ayaat tutla- ayaat that are going to be sequenced into human life, forever, and these ayaat are inclusive of men and women, so how come we can remember the name of many men and we cant remember the names of the women who were standing and participating with men at these critical moments and sensitive times? What does that indicate about us? What does that say about our own selves? This Umm Ammarah, Nasiba Al-Ansariyah is included in these ayaat. Notice how in these ayaat theres no reference to the female gender, because we have a problem with the western secular and materialist mind-set that says if you are not mentioning women you are excluding them.- but Al-Mumieen and Alladhina Aamanu in the Quran, even though technically speaking refers to the masculine, but it is not exclusive of women- it is inclusive of them. Once again, we have to remind ourselves, because the conditioning has been so long, and recently, its been so intensive that some people begin to entertain doubts about the wording of Allahs book. If Allah says

O you who are Committed to Allah, fasting has been prescribed for you (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 183) The wording of this ayah, pertains to the men or masculine- Alladhina Aamanu; it doesnt say Ya Ayyatuhal Lawaati Aamanna- Lawaati pertains to women, the feminine. But, every time you speak, you cant repeat these two, because if you do, it indicates that we have a problem and Allah wants to second Himself to our problem-thats not the way our relationship to Allah is. Our relationship with Allah is that we mould and condition ourselves to Him, so if He chooses Ya Alladhina Aamanu and by the virtue of the technical, grammatical and linguistic use of the word, it refers to men, that does not mean that He excludes women, rather, it means that He is speaking to men and women together. We see Umm Imarah in the battle of Uhud. What is she doing when men were running away? There were men who were running away from the Prophet- they did not want to face this enemy and fight and potentially kill and be killed- men did not want to do that, but there were women who wanted to do that. This is yet another area that is not developed in our minds and Umm Imarah, this Muslimah, was one of them. The Prophet of Allahs says I could not look right or left except that I would see Umm Imarah defending me. There was an enemy of Allah by the name of Umayah, who wanted to take aim and kill Allahs Prophet and this women, this Muslimah, was the one who took the hit and was wounded in her shoulder and she had her husband and her two sons who were there with her- meaning that she was not in the rear of the Islamic forces. She was not somewhere away from the danger zone. She was in the middle of the life and death war and warfare. She was bleeding when she was hit in her shoulder protecting Allahs Prophet- instead of that arrow or whatever instrument of death it was going to hit the Prophet, it hit her- she took the hit. So, a lady, a women, a mother, a wife, a sister- she was all of that- defends Allahs Prophet. If she didnt take that hit, we dont know how seriously Allahs Prophet would have been wounded. Yet, theres no one around who can remember her from these pages of glorious history. She wasnt alone at this battle of Uhud- there were other women who were in the middle of this battle. The problem is that if we begin to mention some of these names is that we have a sectarian mind and some of you are going to try and process these names through sectarian thinking, so well leave that out and maybe, you can have this as an assignment- you can go and look up the names of women who participated in warfare and discover for yourselves, maybe in the calmness of a non-sectarian setting, how these women were there to equally participate with men when these occasions and responsibilities necessitated it. Theres another Muslimah, her name is Umm Salim (radi Allahu anha)- (well, they refer to her as Umm Salim), her real name was Al-Fuhaysah bint Malihaan. She also was there. If we mention her name, its not going to bring up a sectarian issue, suffice it to know that she was a committed Muslimah who was participating in these ghazawaat, military expeditions by Allahs Prophet. On one occasion, during the time of Al-Khandaq, the trench, that last all-out attempt by the Mushrikin of Arabia to finish off the Committed Muslims. Her husband, his name was Abu Talha Al-Ansari- remember, we are talking about atmospherics of war- he saw her with a knife

or a dagger, khanjar. Whats was this all about? So he, her husband, goes and complains to Allahs Prophet. He says my wife is carrying this big knife with her. So, the Prophet of Allah calls her and asks her a simple question- Why are you carrying a knife? She said so that if I encounter a Mushrik, I will slash open his abdomen a women saying these words. What was the Prophets response to all of this? Did he say O my God! This women is too much or this duty is a mans duty, why dont you give this instrument of war or this killing tool to your husband or brother or another man in your family and let him do that job? No. The words in the books of seerah says in reference to Allahs prophet when she told him- remember we are talking about Al-Khandaq, a siege of an Islamic society and state and the final and all out attempt of the Mushriks and the kafirs of Arabia to finish off the leadership of Allahs Prophet in Al-Medinahin these conditions and circumstances she says I am carrying this weapon so that if I see a Mushrik, Ill slash open his belly or his abdomen. How did Allahs Prophet in those conditions and circumstances respond to that? The books- you can refer to them- unfortunately it doesnt come out enough in the language and the discourse of todays Muslims, especially at this time, when we need to revive our commitment and involvement- the Prophet showed all expressions -through smiling and a form of laughter- of his approval to what she said. Take that home to those who want to exclude half of our existence from all of our responsibilities- take that to them. Theres another Muslimah, her name is Umm Aatiyah Al-Ansariyah (radi Allahu anha) -another women who was contemporary to Allahs Prophet. She participated in seven military expeditions. During six of these times, she was with her husband but one of these times, she went to a military war-front and her husband was not with her. There was no one who came and made a big issue of this, saying Look, this women is going to the war front and her husband is not with her. It didnt occur. We cant find it there. If any of the people who are listening or if any of you in the future listen to these words and find out that there is reliable information that says that a Muslimah needs the licence or the permission of her husband to repel an enemy who is attacking an Islamic society or an Islamic state with a mortal threat, then bring us that information- we dont have it. Theres another Muslimah by the name of Rafidah Al-Aslamiyah (radi Allahu anha) that also, if we say that name, that doesnt mean anything that should divide us. Unfortunately, if we use the names of the closest people to Allahs Prophet, some of you will think that we are trying to score against others, but when we use neutral names that you are not familiar with, that can be a matter of joining or uniting us together. Rafidah Al-Aslamiyah was the 1st to set up a tent, or a place in the Masjid of the Prophet, Al-Masjid An-Nabawi, that served as a clinic for wounded Muslims, on the initiation of a Muslimah, a female Muslim and not a Muslim man. Arent these moments to be honoured? Arent these women of responsibilities and the higher duties that had to be done? There was no one questioning them Why are you doing this? You are a women and you dont belong in these positions? We dont see anyone uttering this. The only thing we realise when reading this history is that the Muslims who were forced to leave Makkah and go to Al-

Medinah realised that the women of Al-Medinah were more assertive than the women of Makkah. Thats the only type of discriminatory remark that we come across when we go back into the details of this history of ours. Yet, we have something in Islamic fiqh, the scholarly reworking of the Quran and the Sunnah called sadd ad-dharaai. Brothers and sisters, we want you to listen closely, because this is where most of the problems that we have inherited, the double attitude that we have come from. We have the very (we want to use the word orthodox and we also dont want to use the word orthodox, but lets use it) orthodox Muslims who represent one side of the issue who have taken traditions and customs and placed them on a par with principles and Islamic values- this is one side. On the other side, we have the seculars who looked at these customs and traditions and then they ran away from Islam altogether. Both of these positions are wrong. We dont try to use the word religion, but those who have made a religion out of customs and traditions and those who have abandoned Islam because of those customs and traditions that have become religion. Both of these are wrong, but we have both of them around us, and much of the reactions, the extremist positions and the perloqial approaches come because of this concept of sadd ad-dharaai which means literally, the obstruction of pretexts or rationalism. To make it simple for the average Muslim, this concept of sadd ad-dharaai, which there is no argument about- no one is arguing the concept- means that any method or means that will lead to the violation of the Quran and the Sunnah is in and of itself prohibited. But here, we have a very wide area that we are looking at. If we mean by sadd ad-dharaai that we are going to pre-empt a sin by avoiding what leads to it, then we accept that. If I refuse to go to a red district area in town, where there are pubs and prostitution, I fear that if I frequently go there, I am going to fall into sin, then it comes from the concept of sadd addharaai that I dont go there. We can understand that, but we cant make whatever is halal, something that is haram because of the concept of sadd ad-dharaai. You see, a lot of very sincere Muslims, we dont want to use certain words that refer to them, we hope you have enough information so that you can fill in the area- these are on the face of it very religious and very pious types of Muslims- these types will come and tell you that excluding women from life is permissible. What do you mean by excluding them from life? Meaning they cant interact or mix with men in the social context of life. This didnt exist in the time of Allahs Prophet. Men and women were mixing with each other. Women were going to every salaah in the masjid. They were going to the war-front. They were there, side by side with men- of course, with their Islamic principles and attire. So, how did it happen that we came and placed women outside of their social context- we sort of privatised women. How did this happen? How did we privatise women? It all begins with the hadith in which the Prophet says there cannot be a women who is alone with a man, and in another extended hadith, except that Shaytaan becomes their 3rd. But this is not social life, were not talking about a man and a woman going to a bedroom together- the hadith is applicable there, but if a woman is participating in the social responsibilities of our communities, societies and states, then how is this hadith interjected into this context? It doesnt belong there, but thats what they did and thats what was done

throughout all of these years. They said we fear a fitnah. But you cant extend this concept of sadd ad-dharaai to exclude a fitnah from the nature of life itself. The ayah in the Quran says We will expose you as a matter of testing you to evil and to good (Surah Al-Ambiya verse 35) This is the nature of life. Its like saying we are going to extend this concept of sadd ad-dharaai to say that you cannot eat anymore, because do you know that when you eat in an exaggerated manner- instead of having one meal, you have two or three meals- its going to cause you health problems. So, we can bring this concept of sadd ad-dharaai and say its prohibited for you to eat- youll die. You want to try to remedy one problem and you create a problem that is worse than the problem that youre trying to solve. This can be said about the relationship between men and women. There is zina in life, some men and women are guilty of zina, adultery. What do you come and say- because there is zina, we dont want marriage anymore?! Thats not the solution. The solution is in trying to put these issues in perspective. After Allahs Prophet passed away, one of his successors- we say this, once again, because there is a sectarian sensitivity out there- these wars that are going on right now have brought up the sectarian issue to such an extent that if you say the name of one of the successors of Allahs Prophet, you are going to be accused of taking sides in an internal Islamic affair. We dont want to look at the personalities as much as we want to look at the behaviour itself. One of these successors to Allahs Prophet heard a women saying poetry at night. Now, this indicates to us that this successor to Allahs Prophet was in the street, among the people; he wasnt excluded and isolated; he was there, listening to what and how his own constituency is living during the night. He hears this one women saying poetry of how she longs for the arms, love and affection of her husband. After that, he begins to dig for the reason as to why is a Muslim women saying this. So, he finds out that her husband has gone out on a military expedition that has lasted for months now. So he asks- hes a man and hes consulting women- hes asking how long can a woman, a wife tolerate the absence of her husband in the sexual and emotional meaning of the word? He was told a few months- four, five, maybe six months. So, there was an Islamic law or legislature that went into effect to do justice to wives because their husbands, in some cases, are at the war fronts when their wives were not with them. What does this tell us? Is there neglect in Islamic societies towards women? Are women 2nd and 3rd class citizens? That no one cares for women in an Islamic social order? None of that- you can deduce or detect in this information that comes to us fresh from Allah and His Prophet. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims, there are, right now, four or five issues that our detractors, adversaries latch onto to try to say just listen, you dont have to do more than that, to what the public airwaves carry everyday against Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims- accusations, defamations and calumny coming at us from all directions. They care not to listen to what we have to say. In this charged atmosphere, we have one of these issues, and

well try to dissipate some of them in these coming khutbahs, even though we are approaching the time of Hajj and it is necessary for us to involve ourselves in the ayaat and the ahadith pertaining to the Hajj, but one if these issues that always comes our way is look at the discrimination in Islam. Theres favour for men over women. They take an ayah from the Quran, of course, they dont take the whole lesson, discourse or picture, and because we are not up as engulfed in the meanings of the ayaat as we should be, they say look at this ayah in the Quran Allah advises you pertaining to your children: for a male, there is twice the share of a female (Surah An-Nisa verse 11) Thats what the ayah says. They take this ayah and say look at the discrimination in Islam, a man gets more than a woman. They dont take a look at the overall picture. The ayah does not say that as the rule in Islam, all men get twice of what all women get. The ayah says Allah advises you concerning your children (Surah An-Nisa verse 11) When it comes to a son and a daughter, the son gets twice of what a daughter gets at the time of inheritance, but this is not the general and all-out applicable rule. Im just going to take one exemption to this rule, and there are several other exemptions to it, in which not all the time a male gets twice what the female gets. Lets take one instance- a man dies and he has one daughter and a father who are going to inherit him. The daughter gets more than the father gets. The daughter gets half of his inheritance and the other half is distributed among the rest of those who qualify for inheriting- whether its a brother, mother or father. How can you come and say in this instance that a man gets more than a woman does when it comes to the laws of inheritance in Islam. But this is our problem- we never took a look at the whole picture. We never cared to think about the meanings of the words of the Quran. Allah didnt say yusikumullahu fi warathatikum- He says fi awlaadikum; and on and on. Its our ignorance, compounded with their animosity that has us face what we are facing today. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims The bad press, the vicious propaganda and the unrelenting rumours against us are not going to dissipate. Only people who are in a dream world are going to think that those who are cranking out these wild accusations against us are going to cease what they are doing just because we are going to exert all that we can to show them how civilised we are. To begin with, who are they for us to consider to show them anything? If we are proper Muslims, we are responsible and we answer only to Allah. We dont get involved in triangulating between the media, the government and their financial establishments- running from one corner to the next, trying to please them all. We are only concerned in pleasing Allah. As far as their chickenry, shenanigans and elaborate schemes- Allah is above all of that. We dont know where each or anyone of you have been in the past 20 or 30 years, but we have been living the details of these past 20 and 30 years and there doesnt seem to be even a scintilla of goodwill that is projected by them towards

independent, selfrespecting and Muslims of self-determination in the world. Look at this- you can see for yourself- this is supposed to be the capital of democracy in the world. How many times have we heard- its almost sickening to listen to their numerous usage of the word democracy and elections and from where, in all of the world? Emanating from Washington DC. Look- for almost 24 years, because they want a dictatorial, imposed administration in this masjid- its only a few miles from their departments of state, interior, justice and the white house and congress- where is democracy? Are they speaking the truth? Are they speaking for justice? Any Muslim who wants to open their eyes and ears can see the truth looking them squarely in their eyes and faces. A gargantuan statement that spews out of their mouths, but they say nothing but false words and lies (Surah Al-Kahf verse 5) How much longer is it going to take for us to correct our internal behaviour and how much longer is it going to take for them to see their erroneous ways?

WOMENS STATUS- PART 9

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With a heavy heart and with the facts and bloodshed that surrounds the Islamic condition in our day and time, it is sometimes difficult to speak about a subject matter when there are other pressing life and death developments that are knocking on our attention and unfolding in front of our eyes. We hope that we can clear this subject of the misunderstandings and the traditions that define the relationships between man and women, husband and wife, which have come to disturb our normal Islamic interactions. With reliance upon Allah, in this khutbah, we will revisit an ayah that has been abused and misunderstood to try to clear the air on how some trouble makers want the general public and the particular Muslims along with them to think that there is a discrimination between a man and a woman in Islam. Theres an ayah that we spoke about previously and right now, we are returning to it. It is the longest ayah in the Quran towards the end of Surah Al-Baqarah; the ayah of debt, ayatud dayn in which Allah says- were not going to quote the whole ayah, you can refer to it in the comfort of your own time. This ayah has been quoted many times to try to have Muslims think that a women is half of a man. When this ayah is used by some conventional Muslims and by some criminal enemies, it is used for the purpose of making the point that it takes two testimonies of a woman in one setting to equal the testimony of one man- this is not what the ayah is saying. 1st of all, the propaganda of our detractors wants us to believe that this statement pertains to court witnesses- it doesnt. The ayah has nothing to do with a court of law. The ayah is zeroing in on a financial transaction in which one person is borrowing money, on whatever terms, from another person. This is stated very clearly in the ayah If there is a debt transaction among you, stipulating a certain time period (Surah AlBaqarah verse 282) The debt would be a year, several months or whatever the time period is, then the order from Allah is to put it in writing, and there shall be a person who shall register this debt transaction with the standards of justice, and there shall be no-one to resist registering this if he qualifies to do so once he is ordered by Allah (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 282)

So, when this financial transaction is taking place, one of the procedures for it is to have witnesses. Here is where Allah says In this case, you call for two witnesses from among your men (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 282) Here is where we have to place the ayah in context and in the particulars of real life. In the particulars of real life, it is more apt that men are involved in these types of financial transactions because one of the definitions of an Islamic life is that it is the primary responsibilities of the man to shoulder the financial transactions of family life, social life or the larger scope of international financial transactions. The primary responsibility is that of a man, but it doesnt mean that women are excluded from this. Because that is the case, there may be conditions in which you cannot find two men who are qualified to understand this financial transaction, so if you cant, in this case, you call upon two women. This is for the purpose of trying to omit the possibility of those who are not versed on these financial details to commit an error. Its because of unfamiliarity and not because they dont qualify, but because in the nature of regulating a cooperative and coordinated life between the sexes and because the proportions of responsibility in the financial segment of life are allocated more to men than they are to women, then as a safety procedure, the ayah says You call upon two women (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 282) This doesnt mean that one women is half of a man or that it takes two women to equal a man. It would mean something like that for people who are taking these ayaat out of context or are withdrawing these ayaat from the realities of life or are dislocating these ayaat from the Islamic definition of relationship and responsibility between men and women in life- thats when the flaw begins. But, it is not upon us or it does not behove us to commit this type of error. If, in the nature of life, it was the primary responsibility of women to bare the financial burden and men were relieved primarily of that responsibility, then this would have been reversed- the ayah would have said fastashidu shahidayni min nisaaikum, fa in lam takun imraatayni fa imraatun wa rajulaan. But when we speak about this, it has nothing to do with a court of law. When it comes to a court of law- lets take an ayah that deals with being present in front of an Islamic judge and in an Islamic court of law- lets take an ayah in that context. An ayah in the Quran says For those husbands or married men who accuse (the word in the ayah is target) their other half, spouses or completing couple (Surah An-Nur verse 6) Heres where we have a court issue or where we go to court. Lets see, if we go to court Islamically- men and women- is there going to be any discrepancies or discrimination? These men who go to court and they are accusing their wives of betraying the marital relationship, this term is called al-liaan in Islamic vocabulary, and they have no witnesses. They may feel strongly and confidently about what they are saying, but it is all their internal thoughts, theres no witnesses, so what are they expected to do in court according to this ayah in the book of

Allah, in Surah An-Nur? What do they do? They testify in front of the qualified Islamic individual or individuals, They state four times, as a testimony, that his accusation of his wife is the truth and the 5th testimony is that may Allah bring down His damnation on him if he is a liar (Surah An-Nur verse 6-7) Then, the ayah says She will relieve herself of the penalty of such an accusation if she herself bears witness four times that he is a liar or is not saying the truth and the 5th testimony is that Allahs wrath be incurred upon her if he is telling the truth (Surah An-Nur verse 8-9) So here we are, a man and a women in court- no one is saying to women that you have to bring another person- your sister, daughter, mother, another women or member of the family structurewith you to build up your testimony; or we cant believe you; or your testimony is half of a man or your husbands- none of that. Why do we have this confusion? People take this issue and now we have international conferences and womens conferences. Why? Because there is some inequality that they feel which is not attributed to the book of Allah and it cannot be attributed to the Messenger of Allah. They attribute these things to what have become local cultures that try to take things, whether they are ayaat or ahadith our of context. We come to what is truly an issue to be dealt with. There is a statement that is taken from one of the ahadith of Allahs Prophet that is mentioned in As-Sihaah, which means that this is not one of the ahadith that you can dismiss very easily. Its one of the hadiths that runs into a type of incongruity with the Quran or you cant fit it into the meanings of the Quran. This hadith of the Prophet says that women are Naqisaatin Aqlin wa deen. Were going to quote this hadith for you because this is probably the one hadith that either cultural traditionalists or secular materialists use to try to make the point that there is within Islam an in-built discrimination between the sexes. Listen to this hadith because much of the imagery about Islam, when it comes to men and women, relates back to this hadith. Were going to quote this hadith for you, verbatim, word by word, it is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari, Ahmed, it may be mentioned in Muslim and all of these rest of these very authentic books of hadith. How does this come out? What does this hadith say? Believe us- brothers and sisters- if you listen to this hadith, you will understand some of the difficulties that we are running into. Remember, we have honoured our pioneering sisters- when the Prophets wife, Khadijah (radi Allahu anha wa salaamullahu alaiha) passed away, that year was called Aam Al-Huzn, the year of sorrow. Sumayyah (radi Allahu anha), the 1st martyr in Islam is honoured by the living memories of involved Muslims. How come, we have this notion that hearkens back to this hadith which says the following, (were going to translate this hadith for you): the Prophet of Allah went out to either Salaat Al-Fitr on Eid Al-Fitr or Salaat Al-Adha on Eid Al-Adha. He went out to the Musallah, the congregational area for the mass Muslim prayer and he passed by women and he said (obviously to them) You womenfolk, I have not seen (here is the word Naqisaatin Aqlin

wa deen and here is where the translation becomes tricky, because it can go in both directions, but the translation that is used is), I have not seen incomplete human beings pertaining to their mind and deen as I have seen in you or in the individual of you. And they ask him, Oh Prophet of Allah, what is it that you mean by saying Naqisaatin Aqlin wa deen- inferior when it comes to our mind and deen? This is the type of translation that circulates. Then he says Is it not that the testimony of a women is equal to half of that of a man. They said Yes. He said, then this is proof of your mind being incomplete. Then the Prophet says Isnt it when women have their menstrual period that they do not pray and they do not fast? They said Yes, O Prophet of Allah. He said that indicates how you are incomplete when it comes to your deen. This is a hadith that many Muslims want to accept as an authentic hadith on par with the ayaat of the Quran. There should be a general rule that if there is any hadith in any book, that does not fit into the ayaat of the Quran, then we marginalise that hadith. This should be a general rule; and it doesnt matter what book you are referring to when you refer to a book of hadith, because theres no ayah in the book of Allah and no word from His Prophet that says that any of these books of hadith that we refer to are 100% reliable. The only book that is 100% reliable is the book of Allah and the testimony to that fact is in the words of Allah. Indeed, We have caused this book of consciousness to be revealed and certainly We will preserve it (Surah Al-Hijr verse 9) But theres nothing that says that Sahih Al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim is preserving the hadiths of the Prophet as they were stated. Yes, we can rely upon the over-whelming majority of hadiths in these reliable books, but when we come across a hadith like this, we have to look at the ayaat of the Quran and how they dealt with the issue of gender or the relationship between man and women in society or husband and wife in family. We see that Allah honours our mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and womenfolk and then we come and see that theres an understanding of this hadith that brings them down from that Quranic standard of esteem and honour, then we have a question mark about the words of the hadith and about the understanding of the hadith. This is a challenge that no Muslim has taken this responsibility upon himself to come and filter in an enlightened way the body of hadiths that we have. Were going to take a look at this hadith a little closer with the time frame that we have. 1st of all, the hadith said that the Prophet went out either Salaat Al-Fitr or Salaatul Adha- so there is a matter of uncertainty at the beginning of the hadith. The person or persons who are narrating this hadith are not sure whether it was during Al-Fitr or Salaatul Adha- thats number one. Number two- the consensus of Muslims- whether they are scholars or laymen- is that the day of Eid is a day of joy and a time of happiness in which the spirits are buoyed and lifted. This hadith, as it is understood and quoted to bring down the character of women in Islam takes this happiness and joy from these women at a time when the Prophet of Allah was telling women in many other hadiths that are narrated to come to the Eid and enjoy the time of the Eid and feel happy and dont be disappointed and dont be grieved and sad but when women listen to this hadith, it is making

them feel sad. It is not bringing joy to their hearts- theres a conflict here, but Allahs Prophet doesnt have a conflict in his personality. Allah vouches for him. Allah says to His beloved Prophet And for sure, you are of a great moral character (Surah Al-Qalam verse 4) But, according to the way that this hadith is worded, understood and traditionalised, it doesnt seem like he is a moral character when he is on his way to the Musallah and he is saying these types of things to women. So, there is a question mark pertaining to the understanding of this hadith. This will bring us to the matter of women in general in the Quran. Allah says The believers, men and women, are allies of one another, they enjoin Al-Maruf and forbid Al-Munkar (Surah At-Taubah verse 71) As far as lifes responsibilities, what is there that is more demanding on man and women and husband and wife than Al-Amr bil Maruf and An-Nahi anil Munkar? When it comes to these common responsibilities, they are co-operating with each other. And Allah responded to them Certainly I will not cause any of your efforts or labours, whether you are male or female to go in vain, for you are from each other (Surah AhlImran verse 195) This is the complementary relationship that we have. This is the accurate understanding of how man and women should behave in families and in societies. But, how come we have the kind of world in which our wives, sisters, mothers and daughters, sisters and wives complain that they feel excluded, inferior or insufficient? If there is any credibility to translating these words Naqisaatin Aqlin wa deen, then it would be that you are at times imperfect when it comes to matters requiring thought or religious obligations. There are exemptions, but not in the area of being deficient or not to mean that you are inferior like in some local cultures or some century long traditions have it- No. This means that you are temporarily imperfect and you can make up for it later on and at the end of the day, men and women are there to complement, supplement and reinforce each other.

INTOLERANCE
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... The social, military, political and economic world that we are in and in which we one way or the other are participants in is one that does not permit or tolerate the weakness that some of us display. We have taken a long and extended look at ourselves for many months. We have been looking at our historical, sectarian and nationalist self, among other things. What do we have today? Who are we, the Muslims of today? We are a constituency of a variety of outlooks, convictions, schools of thought and persuasions. This is permissible. There's nothing wrong with Muslims having a variety provided this variety fits into the context of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Let us remind ourselves of Allahs words, pertaining to this issue of variety, He says And, a manifestation of Allahs power presence is the creation of the Heavens and the Earth is the variation of your languages and colors. In this variation, you have the presence of Allahs power- but for people who are knowledgeable and aware of these facts (Surah ArRum verse 22) This variation should be a stimulant for our thoughts. When we have differences of opinions, Ijtihad, or differences that come to be called schools of thought or we may even have some political differences does that mean that our unity of purpose is violated? No, it doesn't mean that. Then, Allah in an ayah that corresponds to this says O People, (we are looking at the generic origin of humanity in its different forms of existence), verily We have created you from a male and a female and We have rendered you into extractions or derivatives of each other and We have also rendered you into blocks of people corresponding to each other. (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) We don't sense a notion, unlike the misinformed words that bring these words into Englishusing tribes and nations- this is not what the original meaning of the words of Allah are. We were created and meant to consider ourselves extractions (Tasha'aba An-Naasu) and correspondents (Taqabala An-Naasu) of each other. Even though there is a difference here,

there's no room for friction. We have not learned throughout hundreds and thousands of years to co-exist with ourselves whilst recognizing these differences. We will come down to the harsh words that are used as a matter of driving a wedge among the Muslims. The purpose of all of this creation, with the in-built differences in it- there are physical and social differences and we have to come to a recognition of these differences and in the process come to know each other better. The word ta'arafu is a construct in which you are going to know me when I'm going to know you. You cannot understand me if I don't understand you and I can't understand you if you don't understand me. This is a meaning that is absent. 1st of all, it is a meaning that is absent from this ayah when it is translated into a secular language and it is also absent from the functional way that we socially behave- in both these instances it is absent. So that you will co-operatively understand, (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) - not that by virtue of who you individually are, you are going to come to understand- that's not what the ayah is saying. The ayah is not saying li ta'rifu, it says li ta'arafu. Indeed, the most noble among you are those among you who are keen on Allahs Power presence (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) We have a creational difference- there are corresponding races and derivative ethnicities in this world, but the functioning words or the mode of thinking that are capable of bringing or integrating people together is that we understand these differences in a supporting fashion and not in a conflicting manner. See- the Shaytaani policies of today that are at work want to divide and rule, exploit and conquer. There have been policies at work for centuries that have thoroughly exploited Asia and Africa so that Europe and America seem to be prosperous, affluent and civilized at the expense of these forsaken parts of the world. This would not have occurred if wee were actively tuned into these meanings that bring us together and do not separate us from each other. Once again, the physical and the social differences in the ayah should be a given. There is no room for friction here, because Allah is the Creator. Who can take issue with this? Does anyone have a problem that we have different languages and colors? No-one should because this is the will of Allah in the way that He created us. When we come to the social difference, we have societies in this world that are different. We are derivatives, shu'uban, of each other. Is there room for division because we are derivatives of each other? We are correspondents, Qabaa'il, of each other in the blocks of social units that we are configured in, in this world- does anyone have a problem with that? It is precisely in this area that we have mischievous characters and trouble-makers stepping in to the area of ignorance to instigate issues of racism, sectarianism and nationalism to divide us. Brothers and sisters, if you are tuned into the God-given meanings of these ayaat, why should there be anyone who can get away with such a thing. You can take a look at the world around us and see how the termite of nationalism, sectarianism and culturism have made there way into our body and have corroded our structure.

Now, we come to the more challenging aspects of the way we are susceptible to these divisions. As we said, we have been for a long time taking a look at the germs of division that have infested our historical body for a long time. This is going to need your attention. We come and we encounter an ayah in which Allah says Had your Sustainer willed it, He would have rendered people one Ummah, but even had that been the case, had Allah rendered human society one compact Ummah, they still would have been at differences with each other, except (there's an exception here, but that's only the exception, it's not the rule) for those who Allah, your Sustainer, has graced with His mercy. (then, here is where your mental ability kicks in), it is for that purpose that He has created them. (Surah Al-Hud verse 118-119) It's as if the purpose of creation itself is this in-built differences that we have. Some people who have an elementary view of things take another ayah in the absence of this one to try to explain the purpose of creation and they say But I have not created the human species and the species of jinn except for the purpose that they unto Me. (Surah Zariyat verse 66) Remember, Allahs words substantiate and support themselves, there's no contradictions in meanings and there's no incompatibility between ayaat. So, here, we have an ayah or a verse in the Qur'an that speaks to us this way But I have not created the human species and the species of jinn except for the purpose that they unto Me. (Surah Zariyat verse 66) The purpose of our creation is to conform and comply unto Allah- this is the meaning of ibadah. We say these words under as wreckage of concepts and mistranslations that take this ayah out of its context and its original meaning. Allah has created us so that we conform to Him- OK, that's the 1st step. Now, take the 2nd step. The 2nd step is a further explanation of what is required for this conformity. It appears, here, that what is required for this conformity is that we work through these differences that we have with the light and the knowledge that comes to us from Allah. Now we can understand better what Allah says. The purpose for our creation, if we refine the meaning of conforming to Allah, is that we conform to Him through these differences and not by trying to obliterate them- it's not going to happen. They're going to stay with us. What do we mean by these differences? Brothers and sisters- don't get upset if we want to bring these meanings down to their Earthly practices. We're not going to be like the mercenary khateebs who are on many of these mimbars, who are afraid to open up these meanings, when we speak about differences, we are speaking about Muslims1 st of all, when we are looking at the humans condition, we're looking at all these different languages and races in the world. Is anyone in his right mind- an average person who just utilizes his God-given mind and intellect- put an end to the races and languages in this world? It's not going to happen. This is part of human life. Going beyond that- we have in this world we have

religions, schools of thought, different ijtihaadat- is anyone going to put an end to that? The answer to that is No! Just as you can't obliterate the races and languages, you can't obliterate the schools of thought, the madhaahib and the ijtihaadaat that we have. To each of you, We have rendered a program and its procedurals (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 48) Allah didn't say we rendered to each of you a Shari'ah. The Shari'ah is one- the set of laws that Allah has given this varying condition is one- but within in that, if we, Muslims, are going to try to exert the potential that Allah has given us, we are going to come out at the end with a variety of opinions. We have to make room for ourselves to accept the variety of these opinions that do not conflict with the Usul of this Deen. There are fundamentals to this deen and as long as any of these ijtihaads do not conflict with these fundamentals of this deen, then we should welcome it. It shouldn't be an issue of dividing us. Now, we take a look at what this means in as far as the freedom that is given to us. Do we have the freedom to reflect this type of tolerance? Let us just give a couple of examples here The ayah in the Qur'an says that there are a segment of scriptural people who said A segment of scriptural people, (these were the yahud of Al-Medinah), said to themselves "Commit yourselves or believe (we can use the word believe here, because we're speaking about scripturalists) in that which the Committed Muslims believe in at the beginning of the day and then renounce that in which the committed Muslims believe in at the end of the day so that the Committed Muslims will reconsider their commitment and abdicate it (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 72) Remember, this is in Al-Medinah- when the Prophet came to Al-Medinah, he recognised the power faction differences Al-Medinah and in the Peninsula- Qabaa'il Al-Mushrikin were recognised- that recognition didn't mean imparting to them legitimacy; it meant that that was the status quo. He recognized Ahl Al-Kitaab, the Jews and the Christians who were in AlMedinah and in the Peninsular; and he recognized Al-Muhaajirin and Al-Ansaar. It wasn't this utopian vision that all the Muslims are all the Muslims and there was no variation amongst the Muslims themselves- there was. These concepts are ingrained in the Qur'an and in the vocabulary of Allahs Prophet. Within this recognition in the constitution spelt out in Wathiqat Al-Medinah the ayah is revealed telling the Muslims what the internal thoughts of yahud in AlMedinah were. In this particular instance or occasion, they said "Let us say that we now are followers of this Prophet at the beginning of the day- let us go for some time claiming that we are Muslims, but then, after a time period, we will go back to our yahudi belief, and in this process, because we know how highly these people have been thinking before this man, (meaning the Prophet), arrived in Al-Medinah, we will shake the foundations of their faith and

we will cause them to cross that line back into the position that they were in before this person came to Al-Medinah." This became public knowledge to the Muslims. This is an ayah- tutla ila yawm Al-Qiyamah- that is to be recited until the end of time or the day of judgement. If we know this fact, if they are willing to go this far, what did the Prophet do? Did he summon them and say "Yahud, come here, you are guilty of one of the most dangerous crimes that can be committed." This is very serious. The freedom that was guaranteed to them in Al-Medinah would give them the opportunity to think that they could get away with saying "we are Muslims."- in that way we (yahud) will be on an emotional and social par with everyone else in Al-Medinah, with the Muslims, but, our (yahuds) purpose is not sincerity to Allah, our (yahuds) purpose is at the end of the day to bring these people back to their original positions before they became Muslims. This is a serious crime. But there was a freedom for them to think- they could think that way, but did they ever implement this type of criminal behaviour? Not to our knowledge- even though they were given the freedom to do that. On another occasion, after the Muslims encountered Hawaazin, one of the power factions in Arabia, and the Muslims won in this military encounter, the Prophet was trying to channel the spoils of war among the Muslims and a person who is at least a nominal Muslim comes to Allahs Prophet and says to him "Be fair, O Muhammed, in distributing this wealth!" The Prophets response was (something along these lines), "If you don't expect me to be fair, then who else is going to be fair?!" Then, one of the companions of Allahs Prophet says "Permit me to slit this Munafiqs neck." The Prophet said "No. As long as he professes this Islam" Even though they give themselves out by what they say- many of these people who hide behind an image of Islam, their true character squeaks out on particular occasions. This was one of these occasions in which a dual-loyalist showed his true character by doubting the justice of Allahs Prophet- he is the Prophet of Justice and he is the Prophet of fairness and equality. But he, just like yahud who were contemplating eroding Islam with this psychological and social trick of theirs, we had this person and many other persons within the Muslim rank and file who were inside of them a character contrary to the character they projected in public. What does this say to us? It says to us that we Muslims have enough tolerance to accommodate the variations that come with being a human being and with being a thinking Muslim. We covered territory in which Muslims went to war against themselves- there are exceptions to this- but generally speaking, it never developed to the point that where a Muslim disagreed with another Muslim he would cancel him out by saying that this other Muslim is a kaafir. We said that there are exceptions to this, but these are the exceptions. When we come to the general attitude of the Muslims, even though the differences were so sharp You can take the issue of the 1st king that we covered many khutbahs ago, when he changed the highest political office in the Muslim Ummah from that of a successor to the Prophet to that of a king, there was no mainstream Islamic public opinion that said "this king is a kaafir!" This is a very serious reversal, probably the most serious reversal, of the Islamic trend that was set into motion by Allahs Prophet and the committed Muslims around him. The 1st serious obstacle

was that now the Muslims had a king, and even though this was the case and this king along with the armies that he had were fighting and killing Muslims, there was no exchange of the accusation of kufr back and forth between them. Lets come down, after trying to have a feel for the ayaat and the ahadith, lets look at todays world and the people around. They will not tolerate someone else. You can take your own background, circle of acquaintances, Masjid or that Islamic Center- it cannot tolerate the presence of other Muslims that disagree with it in the categories of disagreement that we spoke about. What a vast difference between the tolerance that the 1st generation of Islam showed towards scripturalists and munafiqin and the bigotry, intolerance and fanaticism that many Muslims, today, show towards other Muslims! What happened? Why is this? What basis do they go on? What do you think? We don't know the type of historical, sectarian or nationalist brew that is within each individual, but let's say that in todays world there's a Sunni that looks at another Muslim who is, let's say a Shi'i or Ibaadiwhat goes through this Sunnis mind? Is he looking at someone who disagrees on the concept of Allah, the Prophet, the Qibla, the Qur'an or any of what is called Usul Ad-Deen? It's not the case. The variety of opinions comes on other issues that are called Furu'a, which should be tolerated with open arms and open minds. Likewise, another person who considers himself or herself a shi'i or an ibaadi- when you look at another person who is a Sunni, what do you think? Do you think that you are automatically looking at someone who is in the army of Muawiya. Where did all of this come from? How come there is not enough Rahmah, mercy? We are speaking about an Islam, a Prophet and a scripture of Rahmah- you don't have enough rahmah in you to show enough integration with another Muslim who has a varying Ijtihad? This is the case today. You can pick and choose from any of the Masaajid or Islamic centers that are around- NO EXCEPTION- and there is an element in them of sectarianism, nationalism or racism. We do ourselves a disservice if we think this is a rosy picture and we are living the brotherhood of an Ummah. We just don't get it. We have time- Allah has given us years to improve on this character of ours and not much improvement has been done. Someone steps three steps in the right direction and after a few years he goes back five steps in the wrong direction. Brothers and Sisters- Committed Muslims A major obstacle that still has not been surmounted by even the fervent adherents of Allah and His Prophet in our day and generation is the inability to place decision makers under the rule and law of Allah. There is an emptiness or a vacuum in the Muslim mind that lets kings and presidents get away with their crimes as if they are not subject to Allah and His Prophet. Let us remind you that this is almost the history of human nature- if a person is next to a president or a king, he almost naturally and instinctively feels inferior. This is not right, and it is especially not right when it comes to us, the Committed Muslims. This reminds us of a nomad, a Bedouin, who came to Al-Medinah and he found himself next to Allahs Prophet and the people could see that he was quivering, shaking and nervous. The Prophet looked at him and he said to this exemplification of human nature- it doesn't only happen to a nomad, it could

happen to the highest CEO in the land when they are put next to people who have power, influence and clout, Allahs Prophet said to him (in todays language) "Take it easy. I'm not a king, I am just a son of a women from Quraish who used to eat dry meat" (or maybe in todays language canned meat). This was Allahs Prophet, and this was a gesture from himwho wanted the simple person next door or next to him to feel as strong and confident as is humanly possible, even though he is in the presence and company of the most important person in the history of mankind. But what happens to us? No-one wants to bring these characters, kings and potentates of power down to earth and place them in the context of the Qur'anic and Sunnatic rights and wrongs. If we do, we have managed to overcome this debilitation that has accompanied us for a long time and rendered us incapable of placing these people with wealth and power inside the pages of the Qur'an and the quotes of the Prophet. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid to put people who are doing something wrong, in the light of day, within the pages of the Qur'an and the quotes of the Prophet? There was, by any interpretation or definition a legitimate military operation by oppressed Palestinians who killed two or three Israeli troops and then took one of them as prisoner-of-war and then the Israelis retaliate by using their air-force, they cut-off the electricity to over 500,000 people and then they shake the foundations of the world to release a legitimate prisoner-of-war. Then, we, the Muslims, are run-over by the military machines of the world in the millions, (in front of our own eyes), and there's not one Muslim with a back-bone to express the facts on this matter along with reinforcement by scripture and revelation and strengthened by experience and resolve. What happened? Where are you- Muslims of the world approaching 2billion? We don't want to say in the cacophony of the media telling us we hover around 1bllion- we've been hovering around 1billion for the last 30 years and we have one of the highest birth rates in the world- but we don't even have the confidence to count our own selves. Then, we are taken in the political wind in every direction, we drift left and right, and then we have some Muslim spokespersons come to us from time-to-time and say to us "Vote for this president and vote for that president." There are elections that are coming in a few months and keep your eyes on these drifters- these Muslim spokespersons- who have no anchor in the Qur'an and in the Prophet.

MUTE MUSLIM V ACTIVE MUSLIM

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Remember, what we speak about in developing the meanings of the ayaat and the ahadith are meant to be relevant to the world, the people and the issues that are around us. Allah says- the lesson from Surah An-Nahl is very pertinent to us, the Muslims, today. What does this ayah say? Allah has coined a parable pertaining to two men, one of them is dumb, he cant talk, and he cannot do anything and he is a burden to those whom he belongs to or upon his guardian, in whichever direction he is placed, oriented or given, he does not produce any satisfactory result. Can we equate him with a person who demands justice while pursuing a straightforward course? (Surah An-Nahl verse 76) Here, we have a picture of two individuals. Allah has coined a parable pertaining to two men (Surah An-Nahl verse 76) These are full fledged, grown-up and mature individuals, rajulayn- two men. one of them is speechless; he cant express himself (Surah An-Nahl verse 76) Why? Is it because of a natural defect in him? If it was because of a natural defect in him, this man would not have been included in this ayah, but the reason why this person does not speak out is not because he has a speech deficiency, he doesnt speak out because he doesnt want to speak the truth. He doesnt want to express what is right and just in the particular place when it is needed or when we need a person to express what is right and just. So, this person chooses as a matter of his own will to be silent, speechless and dumb. Its as if Allah is saying to him whats wrong with you? that I have given you the ability and wherewithal to speak out and you choose to remain silent.

Hes not able to do anything (Surah An-Nahl verse 76) Notice that Allah is saying that a person that is unable to say the truth at a time and a place when the truth it is needed to be said is not able to do anything. This person is a burden on his own people, superiors, sponsors and guardians. (Surah AnNahl verse 76) This is the type of person who is dead weight. These are not our contrived words and fabricated ideas, these are the words of Allah. Where ever he goes, he cannot bring prosperity or do what is good- he is not productive (Surah An-Nahl verse 76) You tell him to go left, forward or right and hes a lost course. In any direction that you place this type of individual, nothing is going to come out of him. Why? Because to begin with, he chose to be silent when he should have been speaking out. Can we equate this type of person or character with the other person in this parable- a person who demands justice? (Surah An-Nahl verse 76) Can we compare these two individuals? One of them chooses to be a silent, speechless, see nothing, say nothing and hear nothing type of person with the other who is exerting himself, not only speaking up for justice, but doing whatever it takes to demand that justice be done while he pursuing a course that is unwavering and has no zigzags to it (Surah An-Nahl verse 76) Hes not looking to cut corners or for which is the easiest way out of this- he is pursuing the end and the aim of justice while he is on a direct and straight forward path. These are two individuals who Allah says, in his own words, they cannot be compared to each other, its as if they are in two different universes or worlds. As we said, these guiding words of Allah are meant for us not just to look at two imaginatory personalities, but to take this standard and apply them to the people around us. How many people or individuals do you know that are supposed to be in positions to speak to the public? How many people do you know that say we rather be silent about the vital issues; or we dont want to breach the most important issues; or dont tell us to speak about political or military issues? They want to hide behind their silence- these are the people or the type of individual that Allah says is abkam, and not capable of doing anything, because if you want something to be done, the 1st thing that you do is you talk about it. If you are not able to speak about it, its not going to be done- because you havent met the 1 st requisite of doing something. Take todays issues- lets begin with the soft issues or the easy ones- some of you may not remember as you may be a little younger than your brother speaker- but during the 1950s and

1960s when there was this non-alignment movement, there were scores of nation states in the world who said we want to take a neutral position in the fight between Washington and Moscow. Two of these countries began industrial military industry and civilian industries to build up their economies. One of them was Egypt and the other one was India. Look at all these years that have lapsed, almost a half a century has gone by- and look at Egypt, it doesnt have a military industry and an industrial structure to speak about and look at India, it has its military industry, (were speaking about a very poor nation) and it has an industrial infrastructure, atomic weapons and its even beginning to think about having its own satellites. What happened? They began on an equal footing- one of them is a Muslim country and that is Egypt and the other is a non-Muslim country, and that is India. Why did something develop in one of these countries but did not develop in the other? No-one can come to the average thinking person and say to him that the Indian individual or people have more brains in them than the Muslims in Egypt. No ones going to accept that? Muslims are equally as brainy as everyone else, nothing more and nothing less, but why havent we developed this capability? Because we are not trained every week in our Jumahs, and everyday in our Jamaahs and we are not trained every season in our Ramadaans and in our Ashhur Al-hurum and on different occasions and every year during our Hajj and Umrah to work in this direction. We are trained to un-think ourselves! We are not supposed to think about our larger responsibilities in life. Whats wrong? Why cant these people in these Masaajid, Islamic Centres and Islamic conferences speak about these issues? The type of Islam that they express is the type that will tell you, (we are just going through our internal minds), it is forbidden by Allah for a Muslim women to become a Head of State. They give a blank statement like that, and then, they come and tell you that it is permissible or rather it is the duty of a Muslim man to become a Head of State. But what happens if we have a Muslim man who is a butcher and a war criminal who becomes a Head of State and then we have a woman, a lady who becomes a Head of State but operates or administers that State in fairness? Which one is preferable? Of course, because of the 14 centuries of layered traditions that we have burdened ourselves with, we come and automatically give the answer that a man should be a head of state regardless of how he behaves politically and socially- he can kill his own people, but still a man is better than a woman and a woman may be able to run state affairs better than a man. Allah says in the Quran pertaining to a woman before she became a Muslimah, in recognition of the justice in the way she ran the affairs of State. Bilqis says to the decision makers around her You know that I will not make a final decision before I consult with you (Surah An-Naml verse 32) If there was no merit in a woman running the affairs of State in that way, Allah wouldnt have put down these words in a Quran Yutla, until the end of time. The deficiency is not in the words that we read from the Quran, the deficiency is in the mind that refuses to think about the words and meanings that it is reading.

Once again, we go inside our internal mind and encounters. To give you an example- you see two Muslims, one of them is a Salafi and the other is a Hanafi, and they will argue in a heated debate whether shaking hands with a Muslimah, a women, or not even shaking hands, but a Muslim man touching a woman is going to undo or invalidate his wudhu or not. Imagine, in the world that we are living in, we find this type of heated debate and where do we find these types of heated arguments? In places that are supposed to be our study groups, halaqaat and our meeting of minds and heres the level that we are at. We get worked up and steamed up in an argument about whether when a Muslim man touches a Muslim woman, is his wudhu going to become invalidated? The Salafi in 95% of the cases, is a follower, in the fiqhi sense, of Ahmed ibn Hanbal (radi Allahu anhu) and this Hanafi is a follower of Abi Hanifah (radi Allahu anhu)none of them will ever open up the subject of why Ahmed ibn Hanbal was thrown into prison and was tortured behind bars. Ask this Salafi- even the enlightened one- who was ruling during the time of Ahmad ibn Hanbal; where was that jurisdiction and why did that happen? The same thing with the other person whos a Hanafi- he doesnt ask himself why was Abu Hanifah thrown into prison? Why was he tortured in prison and according to one account of it, why did he die because of that imprisonment and torture? This is the type of issue that is absent from our current thoughts and because these types of issues are absent, we have this type of world that we are in. No one is willing to speak about the political, ideological and active absence that we are guilty of. Why? Whats wrong? You, as an individual make mistakes- all of us are error prone. Every son of Adam is error prone or commits mistakes. You take a look at yourself and say wait a minute, Ive done something wrong, let me ask Allah for forgiveness. If you can see this in your own life, and your own life is what?- 70 or 80 years- and you cant wee that in the Muslim life of 1,400 years?! We have become a Masoom political administration?! Look at the rulers that are ruling today- they rule in a way that they get away with murder, war crimes and everything that theyre not supposed to get away with and you cant express your objection to them. It is against the man-made laws that are clamped down on the Muslims in Arabia to express opposition in the form of a rally. Let 50, 500 or 5,000 of us leave the Masjid and go to the emirs palace and say we object to the way that you are ruling- you cant do thatyoure not carrying arms, you dont have machine guns or explosives- nothing, the only thing you have is your heart and the word of truth and you cant go and say to that dictator and despot who rules in Arabia we disagree with your policies. Where did this come from? When Muslims disagreed with the khulafa, they would tell them in their faces- if we see a mistake in you, well chop off your head, so what happened from those times and days to these times and days? We no longer have what it takes to express our opposition to those who are ruling with iron and fire? Whats wrong? What happened to these characters around? You ask yourself and you remember this ayah if you are tuned in to Allah. This is where we are today. Allah is distilling the polarisation in these two individuals, now, instead of one individual who cant speak his conscience and mind, we have hundreds and millions of people who are bukm, and on the other side, a person who demands justice and does everything to achieve that goal while he is on a straight path to Allah has become an endangered species. You dont encounter them very often. We dont find them plentiful around. We can take this imbalance

if 50% were bukm and 50% were yamuruna bil adl, but when we have this imbalance, with 99,99% of the people who are satisfied with a suspicious silence We are supposed to speak the truth, especially from the Mimbar and especially on Fridays. You are free, brothers and sisters, you can go to these Masaajid and see if you can find the pertinent, effectual and waiting truth around, and if you cant, then you are encountering these bukm, dumb individuals, who refuse to express the truth when Allah wants them to speak out. We have an accumulation of this psychology that keeps on adding more layers- they will come to you and try to sit down with you and convince you that it is smarter for you to be silent. If we were living in a world in which our blood is not flowing and where there were not populations and continents that have gone under because of this silence and if there was a semblance of justice, they may have a point and you may want to listen to them, but when there are babies crying and millions of people who dont have homes and when there are wars against oppressed people and they come to you and say you have to be silent, we wonder where they are living and whether they can face Allah with their argument and attitude on a day in which no amount of money or no numbers of progeny or forces are going to be of any advantage to any one. The only advantage is going to be for one who approaches Allah with a sound heart (Surah Shuara verse 88-89) not a heart that has been polluted and diseased by these politics and politicians who want to play ball and play games with Ash-Shaytaan. Brothers and sisters Committed Muslims You may not know this because some of this information is not meant for public attention, but there are governments in Muslim countries that are and have been writing laws telling the imams, the preachers on Fridays the subjects that you shall speak about shall be and then they give them a list of seven or eight topics, something like keeping the public areas clean as a subject of one of the khutbahs, and one of these imams can find a hadith to try to explain his khutbah. One of these hadiths says that the least expression of Imaan is to take a stumbling object from a pathway. Hell take that and hell spin a full khutbah about keeping the streets clean. They want us to become civil servant slaves of the government that be and they institutionalise this from the mimbar. They dont want our minds to expand to see the larger picture- the picture of these governments who are responsible for not having enough pathways in the country, theyre not distributing the wealth of the Muslims among the Muslims. Take another incident that also is not meant for public attention and that is the yearly voyage, rihlat as-saif, of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Every summer time, they have this royal voyage that they go on and they have this fleet of planes that fly them to summer resorts. This time, they snuck out of their country and went to a summer resort in Spain where they had built their summer mansions. The late king Fahd built something like a duplicate of the white house there. They take this entourage of thousands of maids and servants and this time there are only 14 princes or emirs and (we kid you not) some of these individuals go on one shopping spree and they buy these

glittery items from boutiques or malls or shopping centres and just one shopping excursion and the bill (if we have our numbers correct) is $678,000. Then, they go into the Mediterranean with their yachts while two things are happening: they claim that they are representatives of Islam and many other Muslims around them are going under because of natural and man made causes and they are contributing to these catastrophes and disasters because of their behaviour and they are supposed to be off our mental radar screen. No one is supposed to speak about this and no one has been speaking about this and look at where we are!

UTHMAN (R) THEN, KING ABDULLAH NOW

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Allah says Your Wali is Allah and His Messenger and Alladhina Aamanu (Surah verse) This meaning has been exhausted with ignorance. Its been hundreds of years since we have been thinking about who is our Wali or who are our Awliya. The word itself has not been used in a daily or an occasional manner among you and me- the average Muslim. Part of the problem is our inability to look at ourselves with the light that Allah has given us. When we decide not to think of what we did and what we are doing and we shrink Islam and the meanings that come to us from Allah and His Prophet away from policy making, decision making, strategy and tactics, procedures- when the ayaat and the ahadith no longer relate to this area- of course we are going to wind up with an empty vocabulary when we use these types of words. So, when Allah is saying Your Wali is Allah and His Messenger and Alladhina Aamanu (Surah verse) or in another ayah, Whoever has as their allies Allah, His Messenger and Alladhina Aamanu (Surah AlMaaidah verse 56) we find no operative meaning to this ayah. One of the mental issues that we have been trying to rebuild or re-understand in a healthy way is the leadership of the Muslims. Of course, in much of what we have been saying, we have not used the word leadership- we leave that up to your common sense and common Islamic knowledge, but this leadership that has been misunderstood in a historical way, early in Islamic history is the area in which we invite ourselves to. After

being misinformed and traditionalised about it, Allah is calling on you and so is His Prophet to reinvigorate your understanding of this critical and central issue. In this regard, we have a history that is begging us to learn from it. If the past is irrelevant, then why does Allah relay to us the experiences of past societies, peoples and civilisations? So that we can learn and so that we dont have to make the same mistakes over and over and over again. Let us, with the confidence that comes to us from Allah and His Messenger, take a look at our own selves- an area and a place in time that has been far away from our attention and analysis. We will pick up where we left off so that we can have a clear understanding and a straight course- not a foggy mind and a zigzagging direction- we want to avoid that. Is he who moves fumbling his direction- has he more guidance or the one who walks straight on a direct path (Surah Al-Mulk verse 22) We relocate ourselves in a period that has to be clarified- if some Muslims are tardy at clarifying it, or if some of them are delinquent at this task, that should not be us. By the way, we are not out in the street without any reason. If we wanted to play dumb and if we wanted to play politics and if we wanted to zigzag, wed be somewhere else- probably in a comfortable and sheltered structure rather than here, under the elements in full view of pedestrians, people who are passing by and the rest of what we have. Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims- let us go back and move forward from where we left off concerning the serious split that occurred among our forbears in that generation that lived around Allahs Prophet as it behaved when he passed on. When we spoke of the Muslims who were opposed to the decisions and the policies of Uthman ibn Affan (radi Allahu anhu), what we didnt say was there was an area that no one was criticising and there was something like a consensus about it- that area was the performance of the Islamic military at that time. The Islamic military was moving in all directions- in the north, east, west and in the south. The Muslim military was going from one land to the next; from one people to the following people and from an adjacent society to a corresponding society. This is bound to have its effect on the peoples who were becoming Muslims. Nationalism- as we are tracing it in the birthplace of the Prophet and the reception area of the wahy- we have been placing our attention on Arabian nationalism. Much of the criticism and opposition that we have been trailing for all of these khutbahs has to do with the element of nationalism. Now, the Muslim potential has spread into non-Arabian areas. The Muslim armed forces (if we can borrow todays word for those times) were in Persia and the king of Persia was losing his influence. Do you think that this does not have an effect on people who are Persians and that they dont have a nationalism? Do you think that only those who are Arabians have a nationalism that we can criticise and oppose? The Islamic movement of fath extended into Persia and obviously, just like you had in Arabia, you had Muslims who were sincere to this Islam and you had others who became Muslims on the surface, but inside they were nationalists. Human nature is human nature- if Islam is going to go into Persia, youre going to have people who are going to become sincere Muslims and you are going to have people who are going to put on a show of Islam but harbour their own nationalism. The same is true with the Turks. When Islam (at this time), we

are speaking about Islam and the Islamic force of fath that was also entering into Turkey or Anatolia. Those people also- some of them became Muslims and some of them place a faade of Islam around them, but deep down inside, they are nationalists. We dont want to extend, we just want to plant an idea in your Quranic mind and in your Prophetic conscience so that we dont develop a lop-sided understanding. We want to be clear, fair and just to whomever we are talking about. The Islamic military on its mission of guidance had caused a crumbling of the Persian empire and, remember, this will have internal repercussions inside of the Persian people. The Islamic forces also caused the crumbling of the Roman empire and people who became Muslims who were subject to the Roman empire will also have internal nationalistic vibrations as a cause of this Islamic fath. The Islamic army was on the move. During the time of Uthman, Armenia became an Islamic territory; Al-Maghrib the area in Northern Africa today known as Morocco and Algeria; and even Andalus the Iberian subcontinent todays Spain and Portugal witnessed the presence of Muslims there. Remember when we were speaking about the inaccurate decisions and policies of the administration of Uthman ibn Affan, we were speaking about these deviations when we had this military success going on at the same time. This military success- imagine this happening today- Islamic armed forces going hundreds and thousands of miles away, but this was not an excuse that was used. No one came and said to Ammar or Abi Dharr or Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf or Ali ibn Abi Talib or Saad ibn Abi Waqqas or Az-Zubair or Talha or ibn Masud (radi Allahu anhum) hey, wait a minute, stop criticizing Uthman cant you see all this military success anywhere you look. For the 1st time Muslims took on the Byzantines at sea and Muslims gained the Island of Cyprus, Kubrus, but this was not to be used as an internal policy instrument. Uthman or those who were ruling with him were not saying to the very harsh critics that they had wait a minute, you have to be silent, look at all of this success that we now have scored all around. Cant you see- we dont have time for this type of internal erosion. No one told them that, but imagine if we had to have an equivalent development in our time. Lets say an Islamic state takes shape in Arabia (the same place we are looking at) and then the Islamic fath extends through all of these areas including Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe and then inside the Islamic capital, the Islamic seat of power, there are predominant well known honorific Islamic figures coming from the tradition of Rasulillah and the school of the Quran and they tell whoever the ruler in Arabia is, you are wrong in this decision and you are wrong on this policy. You can imagine what todays rulers will do with the external success that they have and how they will try to invest it in putting down any type of political opposition inside their own country. We took a look at very serious internal Islamic political opposition, shall we remind ourselves that the leadership of Uthman was a valid leadership. When Uthman assumed his responsibilities of governance, everyone gave him the baiah- at that moment, there was nothing to speak about. Only in the years after that with the details that we covered, Jumah after Jumah did we realise that something serious had began to happen during that administration or reign. This is where we Muslims dont come and say look, we, today, have a lot of experience; let us go over these times and see whether it is legitimate to have an Islamic opposition or not. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf who was the person instrumental in Uthman assuming the position of the ultimate decision

maker in the Islamic state- when Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf was dying, he was in the throws of death, (as it were) he told Al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib if you take your sword I will take my sword because this person (in reference to Uthman) has reneged on the promise that he gave us in another statement he, meaning Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf, says get to him (in reference once again to Uthman) before his domain gets overwhelming or unstoppable. We know that Muslims took issue because they had freedom to take issue- a freedom that has long been absent. You give Muslims the freedom to speak up against the financial policies of the state- that is what they did. Ammar, ibn Masud and Abu Dharr spoke out eloquently and forcefully against what was going on in the distribution of wealth in this Islamic state. They werent silent and they werent looking for positions- they had live conscience. You see, when all of these lands and territories in Africa and Asia became a large Islamic state, with it came wealth and with that wealth came in the difference of opinions that we have. Our difference of opinions were not that wide and serious when we were poor. This is important to remember. There was nothing to argue about there was no treasury to speak about, but along with the military successes came economic prosperity and along with that economic prosperity came the mal-distribution of wealth- we had very rich people and we had very poor people. Brothers and sisters, we had this experience and we dont need capitalists and Marxists coming in and telling us look you Muslims did not know how to manage a free market or you Muslims did not know how to develop a centralised state that can control your economy. No! Whats wrong with some of us Muslims today? We cant rethink our experience and we cannot analyse it in light of the ayaat and the Prophet that we have? All Muslims have a sense that our serious problem- the split that occurred from the time of Uthman has not been bridged yet. How are we going to bridge it when no one wants to think about it? The 1 st effort that is required of us is come on- let us bring our minds together and see what happened. Why should anyone be upset about that? We will have different history books and we will cover those territories. OK- the attitude that we have towards our history books is the following: some of us say well, none of that happened. Why do they say that? Because they dont want to find out that we also have our short comings, we have our mistakes. Whats wrong if we discover that we have mistakes? What does that do? How does that disqualify or damage you as a Muslim if we discover that we have mistakes? You tell us, how many times have we quoted Allahs Prophet All the descendants of Adam are prone to making mistakes and the best ones who make those mistakes are the ones who make up, make amends for those mistakes and who ask forgiveness for those mistakes. Are we going to have an attitude that we dont make mistakes? This is a human being. if you do what is good, youre going to see its results in a positive way and if you do what is bad, youre going to see its results in a negative way (Surah Az-Zilzaal verse 7-8) So whats wrong? You, the thinking Muslim, ask yourself whats wrong if you discover that your historical personality- who is our historical personality- has its mistakes. Uthman, the khulafa, the decision makers, theyre all human beings. The Prophet is masoom. We dont say

the Prophet makes mistakes. We have a problem there if we say that the Prophet makes these mistakes at this level- that harms the meanings that is included in the Quran. May Allah forbid that we have some personality appearing and says the Prophet is guilty of mal-distribution of Muslim wealth- that can happen to someone lesser than the Prophet, it cannot happen to the Prophet himself. But heres where were stuck, no one wants to come and say and see that all of us had mistakes. Do you want to run away from it- fine. When we look at our history, some people run away from it, they say none of this occurred; and some people have a conspiracy theory to run away from our responsibilities, we say some person like Abdullah ibn Saba began an internal trouble making trend among the Muslims so he and his likes are responsible for where we are. So were not responsible? How can someone like that get away when if what he got away with if we ourselves were not susceptible to what he is telling us? Then why are they selective? All of this information is in our history books- if youre going to throw out what you consider to be the negative part of our history we should not be considering it in this light it is negative to those who lived it but to us it shouldnt be considered negative because we can learn from it. But we happen to have lazy minds when it comes to these issues. Why cant we say that at the beginning of the reign of Uthman there a consensus among the Muslims. The only recorded exception to this consensus actually did not take place during the time when Uthman was given that responsibility, it took place when Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) assumed their responsibility. Saad ibn Ubadah (radi Allahu anhu) from Al-Ansaar refused to give baih- thats the only consensually recorded person who said Im not going to give baih to them and he abandoned the Muslim political activity altogether. By the time Uthman became the ruler, he wasnt around, he had passed on; but when Uthman became the ruler of the Muslims, everyone gave the baih to him. As we said, in that day, there was nothing wrong. The baih is a contract- the ruler is contracted by the people to obey Allah and to obey His Messenger, but in the case of Uthman, there was another element to it. Not only did he say that he was going to obey Allah and His Messenger, hes going to obey Allah and his Messenger and honor the policies of the preceding two rulers, meaning Abu Bakr and Umar. Ok- he said that on the day he became the ruler, what happened later on was that he didnt honor what he said he was going to honor and from that day on, the Muslims developed into the different trends or schools of thought or analysis or traditions that they have that goes back to that critical time. What other issue- brothers and sisters- that we have today? We have a serious issue today of what is called takfir. Some Muslims are not satisfied with other Muslims and they whip out this label and say youre a kaafir. The word kufr is a Qurnic word- it needs definition. All Qurnic words are vital and necessary to human life. No one is going to run away from the Qurnic word of kufr- thats not the right attitude. Our right attitude is to approach it, understand it in context and apply it in context and as relevant as it is applicable- that is our duty. It doesnt mean that just because we havent developed the meaning of kufr and shirk in our minds today that some person or personality comes along and for their own political purposes pluck out this word and then throw it at their enemies like is happening today. Today is not very much our concern at this moment in this khutbah, what we are concerned with is trying to find when was it that this type

of label or accusation came into vogue; when was it used by one Muslim against another? As far as we can tell, we are just human beings reading and researching and using our hearts and our minds, the best that we can tell is that this accusation or label of takfir- saying another Muslim is a kaafir- came into being precisely at this time period that we are looking at- during the reign of Uthman. The opponents of Uthman said that he was a kaafir. If I were to tell you or mention the names of these opponents, it might be premature to some listeners. We want to remind you that this information is drawn from the main books on history that we have and after using this description of kufr against Uthman, obviously it became easy to fight against someone who is a kaafir. Then, as a consequence of that, we had the snowballing of this effect and Muslims killing other Muslims in the two battles that we covered previously, (maybe many many khutbahs ago), during Al-Jamal and As-Siffin. Its obvious that if that word begins to be misused or misapplied, then its going to take its course- from the issue of takfir to istahlaal ad-damm, meaning that that kaafirs blood has become halaal, and from there it snowballs into one army of Muslims facing off against another army of Muslims- which we had and we cant learn from this?! We want to do it all over again?! Some or many of you Muslims who should be re-thinking these events to make it impossible for Muslims to kill other Muslimsbut you dont want to think about it and because you dont want to think about it, you are making it possible for some Muslims to kill other Muslims and for that process to be facilitated by the common enemy of the Muslims. That is what is happening today. You can look at Iraq- just yesterday, the average news was telling us- and this is just one day- around 200 civilians in Iraq were killed yesterday- on one day. Count how many days this has been going on and count how many days and centuries our traditional mind has been put into a deep freeze- we dont want to think and we dont want to talk about these issues. Why? Whats wrong? You dont have confidence in the information that you have?! A person who doesnt understand Allah and His Prophet should remain silent, but those who understand Allah and His Prophet, especially those who ascend the mimbar every week, why are they silent about this issue, we ask? They dont want to lose their mimbar and their masjid? Are they afraid that they going to be out in the street? Thats a small price. Rather we be out in the street speaking the truth and trying to catch up with our mistakes than being inside a comfortable Masjid and contributing to the status quo that is becoming a war that is spilling our own blood and killing our own societies. For those who want to speak about a moral Islam- step forward. Do you have the moral courage to say this truth or you want to remain silenced and become an accomplice to the war criminals who are dictating not only the battlefield, but the ideas that are going to be expressed from these manabir? Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims If we have a tradition, we dont mean the word tradition, here, in the dead meaning of the word, but if we have an institution that is rooted in the Qurn and the Sunnah that can be traced to Allah and His Prophet and that gives us the courage and the confidence to speak out against public figures when they are making the wrong decisions- if we had that quality Muslim who

was speaking out against Uthman when he was wrong- and even though the distance was not that great, Uthman wasnt using the Muslim military to kill Muslim people, in other words, his mistakes were minuscule compared to the mistakes of the magnitude that we have nowadays. Why cant Muslims speak out against the king and the princes in Arabia who have become the playthings of Zionism and imperialism and the toys of the superpowers? Everything that is being said and done by them invites our criticism of them and our opposition to them. In just this past week in Arabia, there was a conclave or a meeting of the heads of states of Arabian countrieskings and presidents, everyone was there-and the king of Arabia said that there is an illegal foreign occupation of Iraq and now, the pundits and commentators pick up on this word and say that the Saudi Arabian government or the Saudi Arabians or the king are showing that he is not friendly to the United States and we have some Muslims- because this area and this political mind of theirs has been locked up for centuries and theres no mental vitality in it- who hear something like this think that there is something redeeming about the monarchy in Arabia. Brothers and sisters- dont listen to what they say or dont say, watch what they are doing. If the king in Saudi Arabia is true to his words- and we say this with the nerves and the brains of ibn Masd, Ammaar, Abi Dharr, ibn Awf, Az-Zubair, Talha, Saad and Al-Imam Ali- (radi Allahu anhum)- we say it with their minds and hearts- if you are true to what you say, then vacate Arabia of imperialist and Zionist forces; shut down those military bases that you have there. We are not dumb, blind and deaf Muslims- we are the fiber and the fabric of Allah and His Prophets (alaihim as-salaam) and behind the scenes, the rulers of Arabia go around whispering to their Shayaateen that they have to play this political game. These are words for consumption- they can throw words out like that to mislead the uninitiated public and then go on with their destructive work in Falasteen, Iraq and other areas of the Muslim world where Muslims are just trying to stand up and breathe fresh air. They cant hide themselves from conscientious and committed Muslims.

UTHMAN (R): RIGHT OR WRONG, NOT KAFIR OR MUMIN

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... With Allahs provisions, with reliance upon Allah and with our attention on current affairs and developments, we will continue to un-earth the suspicions and misunderstandings that are being used in our world today, to divide and to devise plots and strategies that are meant to produce for us the mayhem and the massacres that are occurring around us. Distance is not an issue as long as they are taking place within the Muslim realm and body it affects us. They, meaning these instigators and aggressors think that they have a monopoly on the events and on the record. We tell them No! These events belong to us and we are capable of unravelling the stratagems and manoeuvres that they are trying to impose on us. We may be years ahead of our brothers and sisters who still dont have the moral or mental courage to look at these areas with the knowledge that comes from Allah and His Prophet. We will open, once again, one of these sensitive areas that, virtually and practically speaking, no Muslim wants to speak about. Why? We dont know, unless we say that we have a debilitated psychology and a vacant mind- thats the only explanation we have for Muslims who are incapable of looking at these areas that are being used by Al-Mushrikin, At-Tawaghit and Adh-Dhalimeen to do what they are doing today. With the ayaat of Allah and the hadiths of the Prophet, we will venture into yet one other chapter in an area that has become a matter of division among Muslims and it need not be. In the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), notice that many of the issues became issues divisive to Muslims during this time, and to be more precise, during the 1 st days of Uthman, one of the issues that was registered or recorded against him, by his Muslim opponents was the issue of annulling a penalty that is mentioned in the book of Allah, or in the Islamic fiqhi words, tatilu haddin min hududillah, and this pertained to- remember brothers and sisters, were not covering history for the sake of academics or fancy talk, we are covering this historical territory because it is the same territory out of which trouble makers and war-mongers of today are drawing on Muslim

psychology to have us kill each other- and we want to diffuse these elements that are ignited among us for the purposes stated. When Ubaidullah ibn Umar killed three individuals because of the assassination of his father Umar ibn Al-Khattab (radi Allahu anhu), Uthmans decision was to amnesty this person, Ubaidullah ibn Umar. His critics say that was not right- it was not right to amnesty this person. They tell this person more or less you are relieved of the penalty that is mentioned (as these critics say) in the book of Allah. The law of equal retribution is prescribed for you in case of murder, the freeman for the freeman, the slave for the slave and the female for the female (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 178) or in another ayah, Due to that, we ordained for Bani Israel that if anyone took a life without it being due to murder or to spread corruption, then it will be as though he killed all humanity (Surah AlMaaidah verse 32) And, whoever has been killed or murdered without a basis of justice, then WE have allocated to his guardian 1st of kin, an authorization, He should not be excessive in taking corrective measures for a person who was killed without justice (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) in another ayah, In the law of equal retribution, there is life for you- O people of core knowledge (Surah AlBaqarah verse 179) All of these ayaat and others in the Qurn put together indicate and tell the Muslims that there is a penalty for this type of act. You cant do what Ubaidullah ibn Umar did and then be pardoned for it. Uthman on the other hand and those who supported his point of view said, Uthman himself said I am the Wali of these persons who were killed. Who were these persons who were killed? These three persons who were killed were Al-Hurmuzaan, who was a Persian Muslim prince or a Persian Muslim with status; then, there was Jufaynah and bint Abu Luluah. The 1 st is a Muslim and the two others are dhimmies. Nevertheless, if its a Muslim or a dhimmi, their blood is sacrosanct in an Islamic society. No Muslim can come up and violate their right to life in such a manner. What Uthman was saying was I am the Wali of these people. What is Wali, here? What does wali mean? Wali means guardian or protector or what is called in a more familiar way in todays terminology what is called next of kin or next of friend. Uthman says according to the ayah itself And, whoever has been killed or murdered without a basis of justice, then WE have allocated to his guardian 1st of kin, an authorization, He should not be excessive in taking corrective measures for a person who was killed without justice (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) which means in the course of applying the death penalty, there is room for those awliya of the deceased to dismiss the death penalty in a court of law. They have the right to stand up and say

we want the defendant in this case to be relieved of the death penalty. So, Uthman was saying I am acting in this capacity and I opt for al-afu, pardoning ibn Umar instead of inflicting the death penalty on him. This he said is for the well-being of the Islamic society. Remember, this society was in a phase of togetherness and this togetherness came after decades of struggle and it was vulnerable to internal susceptibilities of disintegration- this is a very key element in much of the decisions that are being made in this critical time. In other words, he wanted to keep Muslim society together. He didnt want this society breaking up, breaking down or breaking apart. That was his calculation of events- whether he was right or wrong remains in the realm of what is called ijtihaad. This is not a matter of saying this ruler or person is a Mumin or a kaafir because of these social or political decisions. Even though he had strong opposition to this decision, yet, the decision was made. What complicates it even more is that even though Uthman paid the diya, the blood money, to the families of those who were killed because of the assassination of Umar by Ubaidillah ibn Umar is that Uthman did not penalise Ubaidullah ibn Umar in anyway. You would think that his movements would be limited, or he would be put under some type of restrictions- No. What complicated it even more was that he was given a residence and land in Al-Kufa. This doesnt seem to be the right decision that was made for a person who committed such an act, and this is what aggravates such an issue. Its not like theres no justification for what was done or what developed. There was- on both sides. An understanding of these ayaat, either al-hadd or al-afu, and applying the hadd or the afu had their legitimate points of view, so why are we Muslims making a life and death issue about this- we dont understand. This is one issue. The other issue is, here it becomes for some people a little bit more difficult to understand- we ask you to listen closely. The salaah at Mina during the Hajj is two rakat- this is salaat al-Qasr. The Prophet made ar-rubaaiyyah, As-Salaat Adh-Dhuhr and As-salaat Al-Asr two rakat at Mina. The Prophet prayed it such during his lifetime and so did Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) and even Uthman in his 1st years prayed two rakat. To some people, this may seem like a trivial issue, but it is not- just listen closely- in the years of Uthmans latter 10 year as ruler, he prayed arba rakat at Mina and this was a serious violation of what the Prophet and Abu Bakr and Umar- not that Abu Bakr and Umar have their Sunnah that is applicable to everyone like the Prophet- No- but Abu Bakr and Umar were following the Prophet but here we had something new. Uthman refused to do that. Brothers and sisters, we are not trying to wash our laundry in public- No, God forbid- what we are trying to do is to retrieve the issue to undo the explosive elements in them which can be used to have Muslims practically kill each other in ongoing wars. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf (radi Allahu anhu) comes to Uthman and asks him did not Allahs Prophet perform two rakat instead of the four? Uthman said yes. Didnt Abu Bakr do the same? Uthman said yes. Didnt Umar do the same? Uthman said yes. So he said even you, in the 1st years, werent you doing two rakat? Uthman said yes. Then why are you praying four rakat here and now, at this time, in contravention to what was done before you? He said I consider myself to be a resident of Makkah. Remember, Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman were dwelling in Al-Medinah. At the time of Haj and Umrah, of course, they have to go to

Makkah, but daaru iqamatihim was Al-Medinah. Uthman was saying I have folks in Makkah and investments in At-Taif- Uthman wasnt saying anything that was wrong, he was just stating the fact- and, Uthman was saying, there are some people in Yemen who consider if I were to continue to pray two rakat, they would consider me to be in violation of my status as I consider myself belonging to Makkah. We may say, and this is an ijtihaad, (and some people actually say that), but the larger issue is not concerning two or four rakat in as-salaah. The larger issue was is Makkah, now, to over-run and eclipse Al-Medinah? The larger issue belongs in the statement of the Prophet in which he said Makkah is an alien territory. During the last year of the Prophet, Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu) fell ill and the illness was so serious that it was thought that he may die in Makkah and the Prophet said if he does, bury him outside of Makkah. Now, why is this polarisation between Makkah and Al-Medinah a factor, here, to be considered? It is so because Makkah had only ceremoniously become an Islamic territory. Makkah that has the Kabah, the Haram and the history of Islam in it was only figuratively an Islamic city. The anti-Islamic forces in Makkah were so strong that the Prophet, Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansaar were afraid that if Islam was relocated from Al-Medinah to Makkah, that would spell the disintegration of Islam and the re-emergence of al-jahiliyyah and the anti-Islamic forces that were under the surface in Makkah. This is why something that seems very unsophisticated and innocent- you pray two rakat or four rakat during the time of Hajj at Mina, in Makkah, so what? Whats the big deal? The big deal is whether this is going to be the 1st step in considering Makkah the seat of Islam when Makkah itself was not ready for it. This is why this sub-social polarisation came about when Uthman did what he did in contravention to Allahs Prophet and the two successors who followed him. This is another issue that warmongers and mischief makers pick on. We ask ourselves, today- if we can understand these dynamics- are they going to divide us? Are they going to cause Muslims to hate Muslims? This went on in that formative generation and there was no hatethere was disagreement, but there was no hate. We can disagree, calculate or miscalculate, but that doesnt mean that we are going to hate each other and that that hatred is going to kill each other- it doesnt mean that at all. So, even though there was disagreement on these issues, there was no hate and there was no war. Now, we go on to another element. Uthman began- this was not done before him, this was the 1st time it was done- to collect az-zakaah from people who owned horses or stallions. This wasnt done before so some people told him what are you doing? Now, the social circumstances changed- in the time of the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar, horses were scarce and they were used in what we may say in a military sense- they were like todays fighter bombers, jets or means of transportation. But as the condition of Muslims began to grow, horses remained no longer what they used to be. Now, they were an indicator of status. They were used for commercial purposes so now the ijtihaad of Uthman was we can tax those (so to speak, not legally using the word tax) who have horses and there was an opposition to this. They said the Prophet and those after him didnt do it, so why are you doing it? OK- this is the way he figured things out. If he is

wrong, theres no reason for us to begin to hate and fight each other- and no one fought because of these issues. These were genuine disagreements among Muslims. The other issue that Uthman did is called hama al-hima, which means the Prophet of Allah said there are three things that are common among all people: air, water and pastured land. When it came to al-kala, what Uthman did was he demarcated certain pastured areas for ibl assadaqah, the animal stock of as-sadaqah needed to eat- where is it going to eat from?- so he put aside certain lands for ibl as-sadaqah. That was an ijtihad- OK- so whats the big deal? He did so, not to harm or score against anyone, he did so to feed this livestock that needed to be fed. Another area that has become a potential contention point- that people who are studying Islam will want to use and we, the Muslims, who have this in our own possession dont even want to consider- is maal as-sadaqah, the revenue of sadaqah that comes into the Muslim treasury. Uthman began to liberally access that money. Well come to that later on when we look more closely at the social and political decisions of Uthman in detail- but here is where Uthman began to give from the Islamic treasury to people that he favoured, more particularly to those who came from his extended family. This created a certain and a strong sense of opposition to him. The ayah in the Qurn is clear As-sadaqah is for the poor, the needy (Surah At-Taubah verse 60) but Uthman did not comply exactly with this ayah, and this was going to become a matter that was going to open up the flood gates of opposition to him as we will see later on, but in his own defence, he said, to begin with, he was taking this money out of the treasury and giving it to those whom he calculated to be the right people, with the proviso that he will pay it back. So far, these are matters of well- I can agree or I can disagree, but theres no reason for warfare. Then, we come to the other issue- what is known in Islamic history as Tawhid Al-Masahif. We know that the ayaat that were revealed by Allah were preserved in what is called suhuf, in different ways and on different material. After the Prophet passed on, during the time of Abu Bakr and Umar, there was a movement to collect the bits and pieces of the surahs and the ayaat that were scattered around. This was just a notion and the beginning of a movement to preserve the Qurn. When Uthman came, at this time, the Muslim military who had a lot of men who had memorised the Qurn were perishing at the war-front, so the Qurn was disappearing with their death and there was a genuine fear that this Qurn is going to be lost if someone doesnt do something about it. Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamaan (radi Allahu anhu) came to Uthman and said please do something about this before this Qurn disappears and before this Qurn becomes a matter of division among the Muslims, because not only was the Qurn vulnerable to being partially lost, but also, the understanding of the people who were now becoming Muslims now became a matter of contention. So, what Uthman did in these circumstances was that he ordered every ayah to be collected and centralised. He put all of these ayaat together and thats what

we have today- the Qurn from Surah Al-Fatiha to Surah Al-Muawwadatayn and all the Muslims agree that the whole Qurn has been conjoined together. All the Muslims agreed that there is nothing missing in this collection of ayaat and sur. OK- up until now, thats fine, but what happened after this was the order came out of the highest Islamic office that every other page, parchment, skin or rock that had the ayaat written on it be destroyed. This became a matter of difference among the Muslims? OK- you collected the ayaatalhamdulillah, may Allah reward you for doing this, the Qurn has now been put together in a systemic manner, but why destroy the elements that had these ayaat of the Qurn written on them? Why do that? Here is where some Muslims argue this issue back and forth- the Prophet of Allah says the Qurn was revealed or vouchsafed in the manner of seven letters. What this means is still open to interpretation. What everyone agrees on is that the words, ayaat and surahs of the Qurn are there, exactly as they were revealed, but what are we to understand of the Prophets hadith seven letters? Some people said this pertains to the contents of the Qurn- Al-Waad, Al-Waed, Al-Amr and An-Nahy, Al-Waad, Al-Qassas- thats what it means; others said No, what it means is that the Qurn had the capacity to assimilate the dialects of the people who communicated in the language of the Qurn; then, there were the Sufis, who as always, had their delicate interpretation of this hadith; whatever the case is, this compilation of the Qurnic ayaat, words and sur has remained a matter of discussion and sometimes dispute among the Muslims and the manner in which it took place also had become something like a divisive issue. By that, we mean the following: when Uthman (in todays language) put together a committee to join these ayaat and sur together, he left out the most knowledgeable people who had memorised the Qurn. To give you a sense of this, Zayd ibn Thabit (radi Allahu anhu) was foremost in that committee; Abdullah ibn Masd (radi Allahu anhu) was excluded. Ibn Masd, himself, by the recognition of all had memorised 70 Surahs from the Qurn directly from the Prophets mouth. He was a senior and a scholar concerning the Qurn. When he was assimilating the Qurn into his memory and mind, Zayd ibn Thabit (in todays language) was still a baby, so why give this responsibility to ibn Thabit and exclude ibn Masd? This was another very serious criticism of what Uthman was doing, but is this criticism a matter of us beginning to look at each other with suspicion and digging up ancient prejudices to come and say we have to not get along with each other- like the enemies want us to do today? Well try to wind up with this one, another issue that has been a matter of criticising Uthman was bringing out of detention exile Al-Hakm ibn Abi Al-Aas. Of course, if we dont have enough information, this may not mean anything to anyone, and maybe, if it doesnt mean anything to anyone, its not going to become a matter of contention- but the problem is, the way things are going, this issue will be dug up by the mental trouble makers in the world today to make it an issue of division among the Muslims, because without proper information, it could become a matter of division among the Muslims. Who is Al-Hakm ibn Abi Al-Aas? He is the uncle of Uthman. Whats peculiar about him? Al-Hakm ibn Abi Al-Aas used to be the neighbour of Allahs Prophet during the time of jahiliyyah and he used to injure the feelings of Allahs Prophet. He used to intimidate him and used bad language towards the Prophet of Allah. He used to harm

him in every psychological and social way available to him. When the Prophet of Allah went to Al-Medinah, Al-Hakm ibn Abi Al-Aas after fath Al-Makkah, the conquest of Makkah, and realising that Islam is the future, this person became a Muslim- a nominal Muslim- and he came to Al-Medinah. To take one instance, he was intruding on the privacy of the Prophet and the Prophet said (in reference to Al-Hakm) he and me cannot live or coexist in Al-Medinah. So he expelled him out of Al-Medinah- for this and many other behavioural reasons. When the Prophet died, Al-Hakm was outside Al-Medinah. During the time of Abi Bakr, Uthman- before that, when the Prophet expelled Al-Hakm outside of Al-Medinah, Uthman went to the Prophet and tried, in his own way, to convince the Prophet to have Al-Hakm return to Al-Medinah- the Prophet did not accept. He tried this numerous times and the Prophet declined. During the time of Abi Bakr, Uthman also went to him and tried to convince him to have Al-Hakm back in AlMedinah, Abu Bakr declined. During the time of Umar, Uthman attempted the same, and Umar not only declined but he said harsh words to Uthman concerning this Al-Hakm who was outside Al-Medinah. Now, when Uthman became the ruler, he permitted his uncle to come to AlMedinah. This was a matter that was not easily dismissed from Islamic public opinion and the Islamic conscience. Why did he do something like that? When Uthman himself became a Muslim, Al-Hakm went after him and he grabbed him by (what we would call today) his collars and almost choked him telling him to renounce his Islam- Uthman would not do it. So, here, when Uthman was questioned, why are you doing this? Remember, Uthman said that he was going to honour the sunnah of the Prophet and the ways of Abu Bakr and Umar upon assuming his responsibilities- he gave his word that he will honour the Prophet and the two who preceded him, but he didnt do that- so when he was asked what are you doing here- youre not honouring your own word- he said (this was his rationalisation) but I sensed from the Prophet the willingness to have Al-Hakm eventually return to Al-Medinah and along with that and because of that, I gave him the permission to come back to Al-Medinah. This was something the Muslims, generally speaking, were not going to accept. Besides that, as we said, he began, as we said, to access the Islamic treasury and give the money of the Muslims to these types of individuals. Uthman appointed Harith ibn Al-Hakm- who is Uthmans cousin and AlHakms son- to the commercial area of Al-Medinah- its like saying hes the head of the chamber of commerce of Al-Medinah. Why? Marwaan ibn Al-Hakm, the person that we heard about, and will be hearing more about, became in what is called today the right hand man, al-wazir and almushir, of Uthman. What qualifications and merit do these types of people have to begin to gain these positions in the government of Islam in Al-Medinah. Brothers and sisters- remember, in the middle of this, as we are covering all of this territory, do we sense that theres an issue of war here? This humble person doesnt sense issues of war here. Remember, Uthman could have easily relocated from Al-Medinah to Makkah, but he didnt do it. Remember, Makkah was this area of uncertainty because of its history against Allah and His Prophet; it was the hot-bed of solidarity against Islam and the Qurn- he didnt go there. When he was under pressure, he could have done that and he could have found a lot people who were willing to support him; he could have gone to Ash-Shaam- Muawiyah who was in Ash-Shaam told him (were paraphrasing here) if the pressure becomes intolerable for you in Al-Medinah, come to Damascus, you will find

protection and refuge here- he didnt do that. So, this wasnt a person who was playing fast and loose with Islamic affairs like some people would want to conclude. We have these types of issues that are inside of our history and ourselves- we cannot disclaim them; we may learn from them and avoid making the mistakes all over again. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims As we follow- with the light of Allah and with the experience of His Prophet- these early developments in Islam, we begin to realise that we should ask ourselves a question and answer it frankly, sincerely and honestly- is it permissible to have an Islamic opposition to an Islamic ruler? If you are not beginning to ask yourself that question, you are not putting this information into context. If it is permissible to have an Islamic opposition to an Islamic ruler or administration, what kind of opposition are we talking about? Are we talking about peaceful opposition and for how long can this peaceful opposition continue before it is permissible to have opposition beyond being peaceful? We cannot throw all of this experience away. What type of psychology is required for an Islamic opposition? Can an Islamic opposition find its expression through the courts or the legal system of Islam? If we dont begin to generate answers, then we will lose our lives before we can integrate and consolidate our rank and file.

UTHMANS (R) ERRORS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sister of Imaan, Allahs assurance and confidence in Allah.... We will continue with the provisions and privileges that come with being in the company of Allah and His Prophet. We will go ahead and open up the areas that have been off limits to the Muslim public for a very very long time. We dont do this to try to stir dissension and we dont say what we are saying to divide the Muslims; rather, to the contrary, we express ourselves on our own history that belongs to our own civilization for the purpose of bringing us together after a period of mental lapsity. Brothers and sisters, in the past khutbahs, for some time, we have been concentrating on the change in direction that happened during the leadership of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) after the Prophet. We understand that the average Muslim does not have enough information about what developed around those years- were talking about around 12 years when Uthman ruled, but it does us no good to contribute to the lack of knowledge of the average Muslim by staying silent concerning some of these defining issues that have extended themselves into our time. The reason why many Muslims today dont speak about political tyranny, economic dislocations or discrimination among people is because they have been silenced for all of these years from talking about them. Either they imposed on themselves this silence or it was imposed on them by the establishments of those times and we dont see any reason why this silence should continue and we say this with the backdrop of those who trying to inflame sectarian sensitivities that are built into our traditions- not into our Islam- that we have inherited from the backgrounds that we come from. So, in order for us to do this, we are going to have to go to the source and this is what we have been doing in the past week and months and this is what we will continue to be doing in the coming weeks and months- Allah permitting. When we take a closer look at the administration or the government of Uthman, we realize that in two areas there were serious errors. We have to underline the fact that these errors were not meant as some type of larger plan to bring down the integrity of Islamic governancethis has to be stated forthright and forthwith. Nevertheless, we realize that these are errors. What are we talking about? The two issues that we are talking about is what is known in the

original sources as At-tawliya wa Azl. When Uthman would assign political posts or diplomatic positions or officers of decision making, he would assign them to those who dont qualify and then, when it came time to relieve the unqualified personnel from their duties, he was reluctant to do so. As quick as he was in placing disqualified personnel in their positions, he was very reluctant to take them out of those positions. That being said, we take a look at some particularswe may have covered some of this previously, right now, were trying to put it all together. We mentioned that at that time and in the world of that day, the major areas of Islam that was occupying the Muslim mind and demanding the Muslim effort were Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah, AshShaam and Misr. For those who cant follow this geography, it is what is called today Iraq, the Levant or Greater Syria and Egypt or Northern Africa. In the years that preceded Uthman, there were in both Kufa and Al-Basrah senior companions of the Prophet who were the governors of these areas. In Al-Kufa and Al-Basrah, we had Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu) and Abu Musa Al-Ashari consecutively. When Uthman came, he decided to fill in these positions with two individuals. One of them, who took over from Abu Musa Al-Ashari in Al-Basrah, was Abdullah ibn Aamir. Abdullah ibn Aamir wasnt even 25 years old. He was young, he had no previous experience (so to speak), he didnt participate in the campaigns, struggles and sacrifices that Abu Musa Al-Ashari and Saad ibn Abi Waqqas belonged to. So, the 1st error that we are looking at here- we say this is an error which up until now, the general Muslim mind has not come out and expressed in this way, saying it is an error- and mind you, because we, the general Muslims have not been able to point to these historical errors, we are incapable of pointing today to similar if not more faulty contemporary errors. Then, in Al-Kufa, Uthman appointed Al-Waleed ibn Uqbah. This person, under popular pressure was later on relieved of his responsibility. But, we had a dynamic at work here, and this dynamic says that Uthman couldnt tell the future of things, but he did not know who these characters are. AlWaleed ibn Uqbah was, by the ayaat of the Quran called or specified as a faasiq and we dont think that Uthman was absent minded concerning this fact. So, the question is why put someone that Allah from the epitome of wisdom has defined as a faasiq? (Thats number one- number two is) the person who was to replace Amr ibn Al-Aas in Egypt, by Uthman (this is another order by Uthman) that you are relieved of your position and instead of you, Im sending Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh to replace you. Why? We can ask this question, but before we ask this question and before we push it, who is Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh? Just to get a better feeling of what we are talking about herewho is Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh? We cant cover all of this persons life, its scattered all around the books, but we can go back to the ayaat of the Quran. For those of you who are keen on following up on this, you go to Surat Al-Anaam, ayah number 93- the ayah says or means something like this who could be more false then he who fabricates things about Allah and says that he is receiving revelation and says that I will bestow upon you the equivalent of the revelation that you are receiving and if you could but see these who have wronged themselves when they are in the throes of death and the angels have their hands extended to them saying come out of life for you will encounter the agony of humiliation, that is because of your

fabrications and the arrogant manner in which you parted away from Allah (Surah AlAnaam verse 93) This is the rough meaning of this ayah. Now, if we review some of the information about this ayah we find that it was revealed in those who claim that they were Prophets during the Prophets time. A person by the name of Musailama Al Kadhdhaab and the sentence in this ayah says who could be more false then he who fabricates things about Allah and says that he is receiving revelation is in reference to Abdillah ibn Abi Sarh or Surh, the one that Uthman appointed as the governor of Egypt. The sentence says who could be more false then he who says and I will bestow upon you the equivalent of the revelation that is coming to you ie. from Muhammad. How did this happen? ibn Abi Sarh was a scribe, he used to write the ayaat of the Quran as they were dictated by the Prophet. Now listen to this brothers and sisters because this information is relevant to what we are speaking in Uthmans time. When the Prophet had received ayaat from Surat Al-Mumeenun, these ayaat had be disclosed by Allah to His Prophet and this person who we are talking about who Uthman places in the future as the governor of Egypt was writing these ayaat and then -listen to this brothers and sisters- when he got to thumma anshanahu khalqan aakhar, he wrote the ayah thumma anshanahu khalqan aakhar and then, at this point, this scribe or writer said fatabarakAllahu Ahsanul Khaliqin. And then the Prophet said that is exactly the ayah that comes. This person had just said it as a matter of eloquent diction that came to his mind- a few words that coincidently were the following ayah that the Prophet himself did not express to him. So the Prophet said write it down. Then the person thought to himself well if the Prophet is telling me to write my own words, then I must have a share of this revelation. After the Prophet of Allah after having him write down these ayaat heard of what this person had said. Then this ayah in Surah Al-Anaam was revealed to expose him and he fled and joined the mushrikeen. Remember, this was a person who was writing the Wahi and after these developments occurred in the presences of Allahs Prophet and obviously the senior sahaba (radi Allahu anhu) and those who were struggling the Prophet and who have lived through the thick and thin of Makkah and Al-Madinah are exposed to the real character of this person. He goes and he joins the Mushriks and then later on he makes a come back to the Muslims and then, all of a sudden, Uthman gives him the responsibility of ruling over Egypt. Now- brothers and sisters- this doesnt take a wizard to figure out. This is an obvious misappropriation of responsibilities. You dont give a person like that this type of responsibility. So what do you do? Uthman made an error- a serious mistake- what do we do? Do we make believe and pretend that none of that happened? This is something that goes into our making. This is our history and these are our personalities- what do we do? Do we make believe that none of that happened as is the case with todays regular and normal Muslim? They dont believe it! None of this happened! Dont remind us of it! Dont mention it. NO! This is the wrong attitude and there are other Muslims that may know some of these facts they try and use them to score points against other Muslims- thats not the correct attitude, thats not the way to behave with knowledge. So, he was appointed there. When Uthman appointed Al Waleed ibn Uqbah as (lets call it) the governor of Al-Kufa. Al-Waleed himself was tried by Umar (radi

Allahu anhu). Umar, before Uthman gave Al-Waleed a position to collect the taxes of Taghleed which is a population center in the North of Arabia. Umar found out that this person was not reliable and he immediately fired him. This was done in the life and under the attention of Uthman. We cant learn- but jumping over these facts he went ahead and gave these positions to these types of people which generated a popular resentment. People began to blame Uthman for these decisions. Were there errors? Yes, they were errors. Did the people have the right to take issue with Uthman because of these errors? Here is were we have a split of Islamic personality. Some Muslims will come and say to you No. Even though Uthman did these errors, but he did these errors in a position of authority that gave him the right to do these errors as an ijtihaad; he didnt deliberately commit these types of errors. In the words of the fuqaha in the books that we refer to, they say the imam- because Uthman was the leader he was Imam- can meet out or assign punishments and penalties according to his ijtihaad- that is his right, lil Imam haqqu Tazeer. So, he was doing this in his capacity as the leader of the Muslims. This would be some what acceptable if it was done in the right manner but, when we review the statements, the position and the political psychology (so to speak) of Uthman, we find that there is something wanting about him and that is that he considered it his duty in that position not to relinquish that office or post. In one of the statements or in another version of this same meaning (there are different riwayaat and versions to this but the meaning is basically one meaning) Uthman is saying it is more to my pleasure if I were to present my neck and have it severed or cut or its better or I would prefer for someone to cut my neck than for me to undress myself from this position of Khilaafah or Imamah that I am in. Brothers and sisters we dont want to go very fast here. Lets take this in good time- we dont want to put words in the mouth of this 3 rd successor to the Prophet, these are his own words, but his own words can be referenced in the book of Allah and in the life of the Prophet. Where do we find that the position of the successor to the Prophet is appointed by Allah? Is there an ayah or hadith that tells us that Uthman is the Khalifah or Imam of the Muslims? There isnt. So why did he come and say that he is not going to take off a garment that has been placed on him by Allah? Where did he get this from? Asking this question is not blasphemy. We have some people- way out there in the dark corners of the Islamic traditions- who will say just by posing this question you are expressing blasphemy. We say No! this is not blasphemy by trying to understand our leaders in light of what Allah and His Prophet have said to us. If this was blasphemy then those who objected to Uthman were blasphemers. And no one said that. When Abdullah ibn Masud (radi Allahu anhu), who was the treasurer in Southern Iraq, disagreed with Uthman and he took his disagreement into the public arena, no one said he is a blasphemer or he is a kaafir. Abdullah ibn Al-Arqam (radi Allahu anhu) who was something like the treasurer of the Muslims in AlMadinah, (let us put it this way) when Uthman came to dip into treasury of the Muslims and began giving Al Hakm, his uncle, and the sons of Al Hakm, his cousins, some money- the treasurer of Al-Madinah opposed this. He said Im not going to do this. He said you do it because that is your responsibility. He said I resign. This was another committed Muslim that disagreed with Uthman. We can disagree with a leader and not be called kaafirs. Both Ammar ibn Yaasir and ibn Masud (radi Allahu anhuma) were assaulted physically because they

disagreed with Uthman. The physical assault in Ammar ibn Yaasir resulted in being herniated. The assault on ibn Masud was done in the Masjid. Remember when we had vital Masajid- when we had a Masjid in which Uthman could speak his mind and those who disagreed with him also could speak their mind- ibn Masud was assaulted physically, locked up, taken out of the Masjid and have his ribs either fractured or broken. Was Uthman right in assuming that this position of his is a God given position or did he come into this position because the Muslim will moved him into that position? This is a question no one wants to speak about because it begins to make us think about those who are in these positions today. Are they there because it is a divine decree or are they there because the Muslims are supposed to motion them in to become the leaders of the Muslims. When some Muslims came up to Uthman and expressed their disagreement with this attitude with the Muslim treasury how come- remember brothers and sisters to try to do fairness to this subject, before Uthman was the Khalifah of the Muslims he was in the time of Allahs Prophet a very generous man. No one can argue this if you are reading history objectively and without prejudice, you recognize that he used to give. On another occasion he bought a bir called bir Ruma for the Muslims- a spring of water; on another occasion, he bought land for the Masjid so that it could be expanded; on another occasion he himself took care of all of the Muslim military that went to Tabuk the final campaign that the Prophet attended against the Northern threat. The person who virtually financed that campaign was Uthman, and may Allah accept this act of generosity in supporting the Muslims- these are facts, but when you become the head of the Muslims, you cannot extend that generosity and say that you can do with Islamic money what you want. Your own moneyyou do with it what you want, but you cant come to the public welfare or treasury and say now I am going to take out of this money whatever the need is for it- which he said. These are Uthmans own words, he says were going to take from the money that was generated through the military campaigns of the Muslims- thats called al-fai- even though some people are not going to like it. You cant do that. As a Muslim whos responsible to your own constituents, you have to be transparent. Umar and Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhuma) were transparent- ofcourse, they didnt have that much money like Uthman- no where near it- but even if they did, they wouldnt have done something like that. Lets take an example of Umar who came before Uthmaan Malikat Ar-Rum, the Queen of Byzantium, sent Umars wife a precious bracelet and Umar, upon receiving this which came through (lets say) the Islamic postal system (thats how we can express how they used to deliver things in those days) he asked her where is this from? How did you get something like this? She said I sent something, one of these Arabian artifacts to her and this is what she sent back. Umar said Im going to call a public meeting (these public meetings are long gone from these Masajid; they used to have an adhaan, a person would amplify the word as-salaalatu jamiah and then when Muslims would hear this they would go to the Masjid and expect a public issue thats going to be discussed here) so on this occasion Umar came to the Masjid and said Muslims! this is a bracelet that came from the queen of Byzantium to my wife, what should I do what should be done with it? And Muslim public opinion, after understanding what all of this was about said well let her have it. He said No! I find in my heart a reluctance to do so. I will give whatever value she sent to that

queen to my wife and this Ill put in the Islamic treasury. Compare and contrast that character and understanding and the one with Uthman who was literally just taking out this Muslim money and giving it to whomever he wants and majority of whomever he wants turned out to be Banu Umayyah and Banu Abi Mueet. And then people come to Uthman- people just like you, the average Muslim watching all of this around and say how do you do something like this? Explain to us. Remember, Uthman, to assume this position said I am going to honor the Sunnah of the Prophet and the two Sheikhs that followed him and here he is not honoring this. So the people want answers. And remember, he was there to answer them; he wasnt hiding, he didnt have a media system trying to cover up for him. Look at all these scandals that happen around us- all of that wasnt around. These were potential or scandals in the making but he was there to answer them. Answer us- how do you explain this? And these are Uthmans words, once again, verily Abu Bakr and Umar committed wrong to themselves and to their family and folks as a matter of approaching Allah and I am honoring my family and folks as a matter of approaching Allah. He said this Sulat Ar-Rahim- this is how he explained it, thought about and rationalized it- I am doing as a matter of moving near to Allah. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims, these are some of the facts that are part of ourselves. Pointing out these facts cannot make any Muslim say I have nothing to do with Uthman. What do you mean You have nothing to do with Uthman?! Whether you agree or disagree with him, you are part of that history. You cant come and say Oh- I have nothing to do with it. Who benefits from our ignorance of this history and our unwillingness to open up this history and figure out what went wrong and what went right? Its about time we did this, and we can do it if we feel our relationship with Allah and His Prophet is strong enough to do it and we have faith in Allah and confidence in our knowledge of His Prophet and we can do this without misfiring against ourselves. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims This history that we are considering is not irrelevant from the real world around us today. Think for a moment- how do people who usurp power want you and me to act and behave towards them? If we are looking at a handful of serious mistakes by the 3 rd successor to Allahs Prophet and if we wanted to take a look at the rulers around us today, we have an ocean of errors and mistakes around us today that are much more serious than the mistakes that we are considering way back then. Obviously, those who have power and money dont want us to look at them, so they close this whole issue for 1,400 years or so. Lock it up! Dont have people look at it! Dont let people consider it! Why? Because they will lose their positions. They dont have any problems with traditions. These delicate and sometimes foul lying issues can become traditions. There are some people who celebrate Karbala and Aashura once a year- yeh, we can do with them, weve been doing with them for 1,400 years. They go to their own Masajid and Husseiniyaat and they have a few acadenics here and there- Ah, they just have a class that they present these issues to, we can deal with that, but for this infomation to become the possession of 1,5 or 2billion Muslims of the worldthat is scary. Dont let that

happen! This is what we see today. If you want to put this information in the context of a tradition, you have all the freedom to do that. If you want to lock this issue up only among academics, feel free to do that, but if you want this information to take hold among the average human being in this world- who is entitled to it- especially if he or she considers themselves a Muslim, then know that that is terrorism- mental, intellectual and ideological terrorism- you are not permitted to do such a thing. And, they have all of these laws go into effect, and you can see that if you can see all of these issues correctly.

UTHMAN (R): OPPOSITION GROWS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We begin by expressing our gratitude, thanks and appreciation for the responsibility that is entrusted to us by Allah. It is not a simple responsibility, especially when we learn from our mistakes. It has proven one of the most daunting tasks that we have lived with in an extended history of Islam that pre-dates the Prophet (alaihi salaatu wa salaam) and in the intensive history of Islam that post-dates the Prophet. The proof of this is in todays world where many of us prove that we are (to use a blunt word) stubborn to the extent that we just cant learn. Meanwhile, the lessons keep on coming at us if we only chose to open our hearts and minds and learn from these precious lessons. We hearken back to the critical time period that has become more or less the breeding ground for misunderstanding, misinformation and in the worst cases, the acrimonious divisions among the Muslims. We deliberately want to go back to those formative times, to undo these types and misunderstanding today, at their source then. As a reminder, the word from Allah to His Prophet, Then, remind or conscientise them, as of a certainty, this dhikrah is of benefit or benefits the committed Muslims, Al-Muminin (Surah Az-Zaariyaat verse 55) We go back to our historical self- no Muslim (whatever his opinion or reading of history is) can step out of this history. Anyone who, today, thinks that they dont belong to this history, then they dont belong to Islam. What we mean by this history is its mistakes and its corrections. Some people like to escape, so they try to recast these events in such a way that make them at a distance from what we have been and will be talking about, because this belongs to us, the Committed Muslims. The ayah in the Quran says about foregone generations, preceding societies and ancient civilizations For sure, in their narratives there is a moral lesson (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13) With this healthy attitude and vital psychology, with Allahs help and insight, we will continue to open up these forgotten lessons that still have their negative effects on our communities and

personalities today, here and now. In a humble sense, we took a look at some of the missteps that began in the period of the ruler-ship of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), the 3rd successor to the Prophet. (With at least the minimum amount of information that is required) we can say that with the 12 years in which Uthman ruled, generally speaking, the 1st half or the 1st 6 years were years of more or less a public satisfaction and the 2nd half, more or less were years of public dissatisfaction. Were not trying to be precise to the day- this is just a very general overview. If we wanted to look at it a little more closely, we could say that the 1st six years were years in which there were not any public or social consolidation of opposition against Uthman. The four years after that were years of a formative opposition to Uthman and the last two years were years of active opposition to Uthman. We are trying to express the events in an objective, non-selfish and practical way. After saying all this, this doesnt mean that Uthman did not have opposition from the very 1st day- he did, and that began with the issue of Ubaidillah ibn Umar which we covered in the previous khutbahs. At that time, there was opposition to Uthmans decision to amnesty Ubaidillah and to pay the diyah, the blood money that was due because of Ubaidillahs reaction to the assassination of his father, Umar (radi Allahu anhu). Opposition was there from the 1st day, but it wasnt a public oppositions. This is the area in which the Muslim mind today is wanting. We dont a sense and feeling for how people felt at that time and this is where we are trying to fill in the vacuum or the blank space. Lets put it this way- during the time of Abi Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma), society lived under what may be considered today, very hard economic conditions. If you take away from society the luxuries and the leisures that they sort of feel- many people in society today and back in history feel that the rulers owe them something and if these rulers are not giving them what they want, then they feel that they have been denied. This is how the Muslim society felt during the time of Abi Bakr and Umar- these rulers were austere, they were known for their zuhd, and now comes Uthman, whose personality is unlike the two before him. He began to open up the economic lifestyle of society, so people received this with acceptance. They like this, so they felt comfortable in these six years because it was a type of economic relief for them. They were not going to oppose a person who has opened up the Muslim treasury and then they began to feel the effects of prosperity- they were not going to oppose that and they didnt. For the 1st six years, this could have been why there was no worthwhile or significant social movement against Uthman, but time was to catch up. What happened was as Uthman began to accentuate the mistakes that he is responsible for- their was an event that happened which shifted public opinionBrothers and sisters- when you read these books, you cannot say you are 100% certain, but you feel or get the strong impression that this is what happened- during his reign, public opinion turned against him when a simple matter happened. Uthman was at a well of water and he had the Prophets ring on his finger- he inherited this ring from Umar who had inherited it from Abi Bakr who had inherited it from the Prophets household. Uthman dropped, not deliberately of course, but this ring came off his finger and fell into a well- its called bir urais or aris, and obviously, this ring was used and considered the Prophets seal. Any order, decision or policy that the Prophet signed onto (so to speak) was sealed with this ring, so when this ring fell off Uthmans hand, the Muslims turned frantic. To find this ring, they exerted all that they could to find it, and even though the books on this say that the

waters of this well were shallow- it wasnt a deep well- they frantically and exhaustedly tried to find the ring but they could not. The Prophets ring was lost forever. This had an impact on public opinion. Now, in addition to what they were seeing developing in front of their own eyes, such as Uthman allocating large estates of far and near territories to Quraish; and specifically to Bani Umayyah- this could be (we are not saying this definitely) considered the 1st appearance of feudalism or the concentration of capital in an Islamic society and within an Islamic government. People were aware of this, but it takes and event, such as the loss of the Prophets khaatam, ring, to bring about this shift of opinion. It appears that this public opinion shifted against Uthman when no one was able to recover the Prophets ring. What happened after that is also tellingAbdur-Rahman ibn Awf (radi Allahu anhu)- we know his role in assigning or becoming instrumental in Uthman assuming the position of leadership of the Muslims- at one point, in what is called today the tax collectors, al-jubah, went out to collect what is due to the Islamic treasury and they brought what is called ibl as-sadaqah, those live stock that were due from the public or taxpayers to the Islamic state. When they brought it to Al-Medinah, Uthman gave it to those who were in affluent positions, what is called ummaas- they received this. When Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf heard about this, he took it upon himself to contact the senior sahaba (radi Allahu anhu)(we know who those are) and he took a contingent of people, after contacting them and he took control of this ibl as-sadaqah, this revenue of the Islamic treasury and gave it to people. Let us try to understand what this means. Uthman is the ruler, theres no doubt about that. Theres no doubt that he began his mandate without popular opposition. There was opposition, but it wasnt a popular opposition, that is clear. Now, he begins to pile up administrative mistake after political mistake after economic mistake and people were tuned in- they werent absent from these facts. On this occasion, someone (in todays words) took the law into their own hands and this wasnt just an average someone, it was Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf. He came and said this has gone too far and let us now give from the people who have to the people who dont have. This wasnt Abu Dharr, Ammaar ibn Yasser or Abdullah ibn Masud (radi Allahu anhum) who were known for their vocal opposition towards Uthman- it was the person, himself, who tilted the decision in favor of Uthman and exclusion to Ali- he was the one who took the law into his own hand and reversed what Uthman did. This was, to put it mildly, very embarrassing, if not humiliating to Uthman, but he couldnt do anything about it because he knew it came from people who count. ibn Awf didnt do this on his own, he spoke to the 1 st line of sahaba and they agreed with him, so he moved people- volunteers as it is known today and said lets go and take that Islamic due and replace it where it is due. Nothing could be done- why? Because now, public opinion was beginning to shift away from Uthman. Then, of course, this majority public opinion began to find its echo with the original individuals who were from the very 1 st in opposition to Uthman, such as Abu Dharr who would cease every occasion and repeat the ayah in the Quran that was so harsh on Uthman and those who agreed with his policies. Break news to those who hoard or monopolize gold and silver, (this is in reference to currency and wealth), and do not spend it on a course to Allah, of a tormenting punishment (Surah At-Taubah verse 34)

Brothers and sisters- please dont rush to emotional conclusions. We had an opposition during this time that could express itself, no one was throwing those who opposed Uthman and his government (so to speak) behind bars or telling them to close their mouths- there are other harsh words, but you know what we are trying to say. They were expressing themselves, which goes to teach us and we have to learn that an Islamic society had freedom for those who were against an Islamic government of the basis of an Islamic principle- something we dont have in todays so called Muslim world. We had it but some of us dont want to consider it because of some ill begotten emotional conclusions, but it was there, it was a healthy expression from everyone in this society against a person who was ruling and going in a divergent direction from those who were being ruled and wanted to correct these mistakes. We will see in a few minutes how vital this expression was. There were a few individuals who were very hard-core in their defense of Uthman, like Zayd ibn Thabit, Hassan ibn Thabit, Saydi and Kaab ibn Malik (radi Allahu anhum) who were known to have been in hard support positions of Uthman, but that was nothing now- the tide had turned. Now, when they came to Abi Dharr and told him why cant you tone down your words against Uthman? He said his famous words to them, to gain Allahs pleasure by displeasing Uthman is more dear and better to me than to displease Allah by pleasing Uthman. This is an active, living, sensitive, laborious and moving conscience that is hard to come by in todays Muslims. We had it then and it was expressing itself with what was beginning to become an official opposition to this kind of administration. Administrative expulsion began in the time of Uthman. Abu Dharr was forced at a particular time- not at the beginning, but when the mistakes of Uthman were retrenched and reinforced, that led to the 1st time that we had an exile of an Islamic conscientious person expressing his mind. This was becoming a serious departure from Islam. Uthman could no longer live up to the Prophets personality. A nomad comes to the Prophet in the Masjid of the Prophet and he says O Muhammed, be fair or just! Do Justice! And he says it three times in an offensive manner, but the Prophet doesnt say send this person into exile!? He says then who is it that is going to do justice if Im not going to do justice?! Do you see the vital exchange and the freedom of expression that we had, even at this level when a nomad, a person from no where comes and speaks word to word and face to face to the highest level official in the Islamic society. No barriers, no guards, no attitude, no permissions, no slips, no official procedures and the rest that we have all around us today. Where do you have a society like that!? As this Islamic opposition began in an Islamic society, concerning an Islamic government Do we have to repeat this?! An Islamic opposition located in an Islamic society that has to deal with the digression of an Islamic government. Its not like today- we dont have Islamic governments, so its easy to oppose them. The issue is very critical when we have an Islamic society that has an Islamic government and things begin to go wrong. This becomes very difficult to deal with, but in this case, after the social opposition movement began to gain momentum and the major opposition sahaba came to Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and they expressed to them what had become a social movement against Uthman and said to him, please go and on our behalf, express to Uthman how the people feel- more or less. Ali goes to Uthman and they sit- theres no hostility or animosity and they speak as if they were lifelong friends. Of course, we are not in a position

to quote verbatim what went on between the two men, but to summarize the meanings that were exchanged, Ali told Uthman now, your excesses have gone too far and you are a person of history- meaning you have spent many years in this Islamic struggle- in other words youre not an outsider- you are also by matter of marriage related to the Prophet of Allah, you are one of his kinfolks and it would have been behooving for you not to have insisted on the manner and the method in which you have reinforced what has become obvious mistakes that have been taken by the people and have become accusations. Uthman responds more or less in the following manner- he says why is everyone blaming me. I basically have opened up to the people. When they were ruled by my two predecessors, he means Aba Bakr and Umar- they were ruled by tough men and they were obedient to these tough men, but here, when I am being gentle and forthcoming to them, they are taking advantage of me and causing me to out step my character- meaning I am now acting the way I normally dont act and the basic issue that Uthman tells Ali and later expresses it to the public- remember, these were not people who were saying one thing in private and then coming out to the public and saying something else- whatever they said to their own confident acquaintances, they would say to t the general public. Uthman is saying in private to Ali and later on, he said it in the harshest address that he gave to the Muslim public- he said, the biggest issue to me seems to be that there is extra money in the treasury and I am doing with it what I see fit for the interest of the Muslims, and if I cant do that as the leader of the Muslims, then who can do it? This give and take of communication is not an easy one to agree with and its not an easy one to disagree with. Some people want to simplify this whole affair and make it seem like there is some type of privatization of government- and that wasnt the case. The case was that there was serious mistakes that were made and these mistakes had to be corrected and there was enough vitality in the Islamic society to correct these mistakes. Uthman used to go to the Hajj and meet with his governors or deputies in the different extended territories of Islam and he used to be present among the average Muslim- the you and me Muslims. There wasnt this type of Monarch or potentate who would come to Makkah with extra guards and be away from the people like is done today- you get these big shots who come to the Hajj and the Umrah but they dont do it like they are shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the Muslims. Theres a difference here that we should be aware of and learn from- Uthman used to meet these deputies, some of them who embarrassed him. Al-Waleed ibn Uqbah, a person who, in todays language, was hand picked by Uthman to go and rule in Southern Iraq became an embarrassment to Uthman because it turned out that he was a drunkard. More than that, proof was presented that he was a drunkard and more than that, his public punishment had to be applied, so when Uthman met in the last year that he went to the Hajj- let us say that the 1 st year that he ruled, he could not go to Hajj because he was ill and the last year he could not go to Hajj because he was under siege, but in between these, every other year, he used to go to Hajj and be the normal Muslim that every other Muslim in Hajj was. In this last year that he went to Hajj, he summoned the major deputies that he had in these areas that we spoke about previously- these were Abdullah ibn Aamir; Saeed ibn Al-Aas, these were from Southern Iraq, Muawioyah from Ash-Shaam and Abdullah ibn ?Abi Surh from Egypt, Misr. Now, with public opinion becoming what it was, he asked them how are

we going to solve this issue? And they gave him different opinions. One of then said well, the best way to deal with this problem is to have these rulers or governors that are in these extended Islamic territories meet the standards that they used to honor before you. This is one issue that Ali brought to the attention of Uthman. Uthman asked why are people so discontent with me when I am basically continuing what was done before me? Ali told him no! Thats not the case. Take Muawiyah as an example, when Muawiyah ruled in Damascus, he used to be afraid of Umar more than of Yarfa. Umar used to have a person who would accompany him- his name was Yarfa. He was more afraid of Umar than Yarfa was, even though Umar was hundreds of miles away and Yarfa was always to the side of Umarthats how much Muawiyah used to fear him. Ali is telling Uthman with you it has changed. Not only do they not fear you, but they are taking advantage of you and using you. Now, they were there in Makkah, in the Hajj- this cant be done today. No one can go to Hajj and discuss social opposition in the Hajj. Theyll tell you this is fitnah. Uthman didnt understand that this was fitnah?! These others who were with him and the whole Muslim ummah at the time didnt understand that this was fitnah and told Uthman you shouldnt be discussing these issues in the Hajj?! But this is what they are saying today. Can they say this to Uthman?! Why dont they come out on this issue and express themselves?! When Uthman solicited their opinions on how to contain or diffuse the Islamic popular opposition, he was given a few opinions. One opinion is to have these governors who it appears are the reason for this social instability live by the standards that they are supposed to live by and not get away with what they are doing. Another opinion was take these opposition figures and execute them. These were the words used concerning those who were trying to correct the political and official mistakes that were coming out of Uthmans political circle. Another opinion was get the Muslims more involved in the military campaigns. Meaning- dont give them time for political oppositionthere are wars, have them go to these wars then these internal opposition will decrease and become manageable. This would seem like it would be the opinions of politicians todays. How do you deal with Muslims who want to correct mistakes at this level of things? Do the following, and this was what they told him. He listened to them and on his way back from Makkah to AlMedinah, Uthman had another shura. So, this wasnt a dictator who was trying to do things and get away with it on his own. He called the senior sahaba in Al-Medinah to a Shura and attending this shura was also Muawiyah who was on his way back from Makkah to Ash-Shaam. In this Shura, there appeared to be a harsh difference of opinion between Ali and Muawiyah- we will leave it at that, but Uthman felt that something has to be done because the opposition is no longer an opposition in Al-Medinah, Misr, Al-Basrah, Al-Kufa and to a much lesser, if almost to a marginal extent, Ash-Shaam- something has to be done about this. During this final year of Uthman, the people in Al-Kufa rebel against their ruler, Saeed ibn Al-Aas and they demand that Abu Musa Al-Ashari be re-instated in Al-Kufa. Saeed ibn Al-Aas was relived of his responsibility, so for the 1st timer, Muslim society felt that rebelling against governmental deviations has results. When the Muslims in Egypt heard of what the Muslims in Al-Kufa did, they came to Al-Medinah the 1st time and they spoke to Uthman and Uthman told them that he will address all of these things that they were talking about, which was basically two things, the

misappropriation of wealth and the bad decisions of governors. He said I will take care of that. The Egyptian Muslims went back from Al-Medinah to Egypt convinced that Uthman was going to take care of this in a short time and the months go by and Uthman doesnt take care of anything. The Muslims in Egypt to Al-Medinah for results. When the people of Medinah hear about this, they fortify Al-Medinah because they felt that this is going to be a type of internal Muslim civil war and they didnt want this to happen in Al-Medinah. When these Muslims- the lower numbers are around 600 and the higher numbers are around 1,000 realized that AlMedinah is on a war footing against them, not because Al-Medinah is so anxious to defend Uthman, but because it didnt want a civil war and the Egyptian Muslims did not come with war on their mind. They had inside of Al-Medinah sympathizers who were relating to them the general information from inside Al-Medinah. So, the Egyptian Muslim opponents of Uthman said well just leave- and they left. But they didnt leave all the way back to Egypt, they just left the general area of Al-Medinah, waiting for information that things in Al-Medinah had gone back in Al-Medinah to their usual day to day affairs. When that happened, they came back into Al-Medinah. Listen to this- brothers and sisters- I know that time here is an issue, but this is very important- when these Muslims came into Al-Medinah, they didnt come into Al-Medinah to kill, maim, cause mayhem and to cause a war- No. They came in to speak to Uthman and to have a give and take with Uthman as to why he had not honored his word with them just months ago and this is what they were doing. Uthman would go to the Masjid and they would go to the Masjid. Uthman would lead the prayers and they would pray behind him even though they were opposed to what he was doing. This contact went on for days and days until these Muslims who had come from outside Al-Medinah got information that Uthman had sent out word to his governors in these territories in Iraq and Ash-Shaam and other places to come to the rescue of Al-Medinah. This is when this Islamic opposition turned from talking to Uthman to going to him inside his own residence and trying to commit him to a position. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- when have we ever had an Islamic opposition that could go to a ruler who is in obvious error? When have we had any other type of opposition in human society where those who are wronged could go face to face to a person who has wronged them? This is what we had in our history. It is so precious, we cant afford to say we cant learn from this, because this is going to feed into other events that are going to happen in this same generation that we are speaking about and then in our Islamic history since that time until today. Some people want to shrink this whole issue into a fight between two people- its not that simple. Theres a lot, theres plenty of details here that are just waiting for our attention and our Quranic and Prophetic minds and souls. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims- we once again remind you that we are not here just to cover some pages of history, we are hear to learn. For sure, in their narratives there is a moral lesson (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 13) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We may realize that there has been around 1,000 years or more of a fossilization of the Muslim heart and spirit. We can take a look at how Muslims were up to their responsibilities and tasks

then and how many of us today are drifting in any direction. Many of us dont even have just the fiber that they had that made them adhere to Al-Haqq, principle and the word of Allah and to the path of all His Prophets. Where have all the Muslims gone?! You ask yourself- do you need someone to come to Jumah and remind you- where have all the committed Muslims gone? Why dont we have today a Muslim mind and an Islamic heart that wants to correct something that has gone wrong and that mistake has been institutionalized and that institutionalization has continued for centuries- why cant we, with the God-given information that we have correct that mistake? Something is seriously wrong, deep down, inside our minds and hearts together when we no longer have the will-power to consider these issues. Go to these Jumah prayers around- why cant people speak about these issues? When we regain that position that we had during the times that we are considering in these khutbahs, then we will have a chance and hope to set the record straight today, but some opportunists come along and they want to buy people. Well- this has been going on for 1,400 years, but some people you cannot buy. Where are these people that are not for sale? We want to find and acknowledge them, but, where are the minds that can think on this level and where are the ideas that stimulate these thoughts?

MORE SERIOUS OPPOSITION TO UTHMAN (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... We begin by saying O Allah, have us of those who listen and who follow the best of it O Allah we realise how without your help, huda, Prophet and without the practise that is required, people can so easily lose direction. We confess that there is a treasure of experience and volumes of lessons that many of us miss altogether because of the shallowness of some people, the ignorance of some other people and the emotionalism of yet many others. We also say as a matter of fact and for the record that we are guilty of misunderstanding ourselves hundreds of years ago and still misunderstanding ourselves today. To try to dissipate some of that, we continue with our heartfelt, Qurnic concentration on some of these areas that have the potential of stirring us with the wrong feelings and leading us in the wrong direction. One of the absent elements in the vital responsibilities that we have is to realise that we are the bearers and carriers of Allahs word and trust. We realise with all of this that we have instigators, provocateurs- people who are on the inside and outside- whose objective in life is that we can never see the light of day- let the Muslims die and kill themselves with those traditions and let us go on with our business of setting the agenda for the world- this is more or less where we are planned to be. As we have been doing in the past weeks, we want to go to the roots of these issues and with a God-constructed conscience, look at them with confidence and learn from our experience. The day we fail to learn is the day they take over- and we will never fail at learning. Brothers and sisters, this may have been a somewhat extended introduction to our return to some critical and sensitive pages in our history. We took a look previously at the opposition of those who were known to have been high profile personalities during the time of Uthman ibn Affan (radi Allahu anhu). Theres another tier of opposition or force that was also alongside the previous layer of opposition that we took a look at. We will only mention three personalities in this other layer of Islamic opposition to Islamic governance. To some people, this may sound a little odd- how can you have Islamic opposition to Islamic governance?! Islamic governance is not perfect because it is run by individuals who are capable of doing

mistakes and therefore Islamic opposition is the identification of these mistakes and the attempt at correcting them.

This stream of Islamic opposition that we will look at or express in this khutbah is represented by prolific or high profile sahabas. The 1st one is Abdullah ibn Masd (radi Allahu anhu). Previously, we took a look at the opposition, during Uthmans time, of Az-Zubair, Talha, Saad, Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf and Ali ibn Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhum)- we were looking at the opposition, that was a form of opposition to Uthman and those who were the inner circle of Uthman. When we take a look, today, at Abdullah ibn Masud, Abi Dharr and Ammaar ibn Yaaser (radi Allahu anhum) we are taking a look at another degree of opposition. We will find that within the 1st composition that we looked at in the previous khutbah, Ali was present there and when we look at this development of opposition, we will also realise that Ali was there. Let us begin by Abdullah ibn Masd. Abdullah ibn Masd was in the beginning of his life a simple shepherd. He used to be responsible for the herd of Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet. ibn Abi Mueet gave him his lamb or sheep or whatever he had and this person used to take care of them. His 1 st encounter with the Prophet of Allah was when the Prophet in the company of Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), they were in the company of each other- they asked Abdullah ibn Masd for some milk to sustain them and ibn Masd, honest to himself said I cant, this is my trust. Remember, hes not a Muslim yet. He says I cant do that, Im entrusted with this milk- I cant give you milk that doesnt belong to me. Then, the Prophet said to him show me one of these sheep that you have that hasnt been impregnated or that hasnt given birth- meaning a sheep that doesnt have any milk- show me one of them. And he took the Prophet and he said this one doesnt have any milk and the Prophet put his hand on the breast of that sheep and then milk began to come out of it to sustain their lives. This is considered a miracle- as Muslims, we dont dwell on this; as students of the Qurn and the Sunnah, we follow the determination, will, struggle and efforts of Allahs Prophet and in that context, miracles may or may not happen, but ibn Masd was paying attention to this. How can this happen?! This convinced him that the Prophet was real. There was legitimacy and facts about this person, so he decided to become a committed Muslim and thereafter he was very close to the Prophet in his life. He accompanied the Prophet, almost, into his private life. He became a hafidh of the Qurn- and not simply a hafidh of the Qurn, but one who was conscious of the Qurn. On one occasion, Abdullah ibn Masd climbed a tree and the Muslims around looked at him- he had (what we may call today) skinny legs and they laughed. The Prophet was there, in this company of people, and he said his (referring to his legs) have more weight on the day of resurrection that the mountain of Uhud. Abdullah ibn Masd went to Al-Habasha in that 1st movement of Muslim people- looking for freedom; he also went on the hijrah to Al-Medinah. He fought at Badr and Uhud and every battle that the Prophet attended, Abdullah ibn Masd also attended. Then the Prophet passes on and ibn Masd was to become responsible for the treasury in Al-Kufa during the time of Umar (radi Allahu anhu). In other words, Umar gives him the responsibility of the Muslim revenue in

Al-Kufa and Umar says to the people of Kufa, when assigning ibn Masd to that responsibility, I assign him to you- the people of Kufa- in opposition to the preference that he gives to me being here in Al-Medinah. In other words, I would have preferred him to be here in AlMedinah, but in act of altruism, I assign him to you- the people of Kufa. So, he was what we call the treasurer of the Muslim Ministry of finances- he was its treasurer in Al-Kufa- that was during the time when Saad ibn Abi Waqqas was the governor of Kufa. But when Saad was relieved of his responsibility when Uthman became the ruler, and Al-Waleed became the governor of Al-Kufa, and this governor goes and wants to borrow money from the Muslim treasury and in principle, theres nothing wrong with that, so he takes an amount of money out for a certain period of time. Whos in-charge of this money? Abdullah ibn Masd. When the time comes to pay back this money, Al-Waleed doesnt pay back. So, Abdullah ibn Masd tries his best to obtain this money that belongs to the Muslims- it doesnt belong to Al-Waleed, Uthman nor ibn Masd- this is the money of the Muslim peoples and it goes back to where it came fromthe Muslim treasury. So, when ibn Masd began to go public with this, Al-Waleed complains to Uthman about ibn Masd. Remember, ibn Masd, just like the rest- when Uthman became the ruler of the Muslims, he gave his baih just like everyone else, but when he began to realise that there are discrepancies, faults and wrong policies, he began to express his conscience on these issues. He began to criticise this favouritism of the rulers when it came to the Muslim treasury. What happens here is the criticism begins to increase and then Uthman summons him back to AlMedinah- OK, you can come back to Al-Medinah, so, he comes back to Al-Medinah, and when he arrives in Al-Medinah, Uthman was in the Masjid speaking to the people. Rememberbrothers and sisters- as legitimate and factual as the criticism of Uthman and his policies were, this wasnt a person who was living outside of the circle of the people- he was in the Masjid, and the Masjid was open for everyone- there was no policy saying OH- because you are critical of the ruler, you cant go inside the Masjid, the thing we see in todays world- it wasnt there. There was still enough trust and brotherhood to accommodate people who did not agree. Uthman didnt agree with these sahaba around him, but he wasnt saying Im going to lock myself up or Im not going to speak to you or kick these people out of the Masjid and these other things that we see in todays world. There still was an open channel with people, so Abdullah ibn Masd enters the Masjid- and according to the most detailed book on this historical issue, AlBalaaghuri, who is taken as a mainstream historian, we are not here, cherry picking our information from whichever source we want- and Uthman sees him, he says a very hurtful sentence, and it could be translated something like Oh People, now we have been approached by a harmful rodent. These are injurious words that are not becoming of a person with high moral standards and Abdullah ibn Masd hears this and says thats not true. There was a rough exchange in the presence of Muslims who were there, this was in public, not behind closed doors or away from public opinion or were going to hide our differences or whatever else goes on in todays diplomatic and political world. This was honest to goodness disagreement because both of them thought that what they were doing, they were doing in their best understanding of Allah and His Prophet. We have to understand this- brothers and sisters- if we cant understand this, were not going to be able to learn from ourselves. It is reported that Abdullah ibn Masd in this

encounter was harmed- physically harmed- some people or sources or historians say it was by Uthman himself and some say it was by others. Were not here to develop an argument on this minor detail, but what is said is he, Abdullah ibn Masd, suffered (what we may call today) a fractured rib and he lost consciousness, he was like in coma for the remainder of the daymeaning no Dhuhr, Asr or Maghrib salaah because he was unconscious. In this incident, two individuals spoke out against Uthman. Remember, this was the Muslim public that was open to all Muslims- there was no exclusions and there were no security people and all these other things that we see today when some Muslim decision maker goes to the Masjid. Two people spoke out against Uthman- one of them was Aisha (radi Allahu anha), the Prophets wife and the other was Ali who more or less said to him you cant do something like this with someone you disagree with. Ali was more specific with Uthman, he told him, you are doing this to a person like Abdullah ibn Masd because of what Al-Waleed communicated to you- Al-Waleed being Uthmans governor in Al-Kufa. Uthman said but in addition to that, theres another person by the name of Zubaid ibn Katheer who relayed information to me that Abdullah ibn Masd went public in trying to shed or making it permissible to shed my blood. And Ali told him this person, Zubaid, whom you are relying on is an unreliable person. On another occasion, Abdullah ibn Masd who now disagrees with Uthman concerning the financial discrepancies that are going on- he saw that money was going out of the Muslim treasury in the hundreds of thousands to Marwaan ibn Al-Hakm and Haarith ibn Al-Hakm, Uthmans brother. He disagreed with Uthman on the issue of the Masahif. We all know that during Uthmans time of ruling, there was a very strong effort and drive to collect the ayaat and suar of the Qurn before all the Muslims lose them forever, because these ayaat were collected in mans memory and on different pieces of cloth, stones or whatever their equivalent at that time of writing was, and they became scattered all over. There was no central book as such, known as al-mushaf or the Qurn, and the Muslims agreed that many of these people who had memorised the Qurn were dying at the war fronts and many of these pieces of the Qurn that were written here and there were being disbursed and leaving Al-Medinah and Makkah, so once this takes its effect, were not going to have a collected Qurn, so what Uthman did in that process was once he, not he personally, but once those who were involved in this effort had brought all the ayaat and surahs together, at that time, he ordered that all of the other bits and pieces all around be extinguished- and thats what happened, and Abdullah ibn Masd disagreed with that. His opinion was we can have everything that we collected, but theres no reason for burning whatever is left here and there- keep whatever is left here and there. That was another serious disagreement that they had. It is said, and here is where we get into conflicting areas of whether Abdullah ibn Masd died feeling bitter towards Uthman or he died being an opposition figure who could oppose Uthman without feeling rancour or hatred towards him- we have two versions of history, and were not going to go into these details- Allah will judge in this one on one matter between Abdullah ibn Masd and Uthman ibn Affan, but we want to ask you- brothers and sisters- after listening to this, more or less difference between Abdullah ibn Masd and Uthman ibn Affan, is there anything in this that will have any Muslim hate another Muslim- we ask you? Definitely, when we were covering this territory and now that were expressing it, theres no hate and no

hard feelings towards these individuals who disagreed- we may feel in support of one of them, and critical of another one, but theres no hatred- how do people come out with this hate now?! Its not understandable nor substantiated if we are looking at these events with our minds, but if we retire our minds and begin to look at these events through traditions and emotions, like some of us do, then we have a problem, and this problem is going to be used by our enemies- believe us. It will be deployed to have us kill ourselves. We go from Abdullah ibn Masd to Abu Dharr. Abu Dharr was also an outspoken critic of what was happening during Uthmans time. Abu Dharr was also one of the newcomers to Islam. If we were to count from those who committed themselves to Allah and His Prophet in Makkah in those early days, Abu Dharr would be a Muslim who joined the Prophet when the Prophet had around 30 people around him- which was very early. Abu Dharr has some statements by the Prophet that vouch for his personality. The Prophet says concerning Abu Dharr the earth has not accommodated or the grey matter of the earth, meaning the soil or the ground has not had anyone walk on it and the green matter has not shaded anyone who is more truthful than Abi Dharr. The 2nd hadith- Abu Dharr will be resurrected as an Ummah by himself. We spoke about Abu Dharr at length, somewhat, in a previous khutbah. What we will like to add or say at this time is in the context of Islamic opposition to Islamic governance. We are going to have to mature enough to understand that we can have legitimate well founded and established Islamic and political opposition to a legitimate Islamic government. If theres so much tradition in your mind that you cant understand this, you have to go back and sweep a lot of those traditions out of your mind so that you can re-emerge to see how its not only possible, but its mandatory. Abu Dharr began his life, also, with the hijrah and the struggle of the early Muslims. To come to Uthmans times now, he also witnessed Badr and Uhud and all the military expeditions of the Prophet- he was there. This wasnt a person who exempted himself or tried to find excuses and these other things. Abu Dharr turned critical, to begin with, of the financial policies of Uthman. He also saw what Abdullah ibn Masd saw. Abu Dharr concentrated on the financial and economic imbalance that he saw between Muslim rulers who were getting rich and the Muslim masses who were still relatively deprived, so he began. Break good news to those who hoard or monopolise wealth in the form of gold and silver, theirs shall be an excruciating torment (Surah At-Taubah verse 34) Understanding this ayah, he used to say tell those who are super rich that they will have irons of fire that will be cast on their foreheads and their sides. Some people came to Abi Dharr and said why are you saying these things in public? Dont you know that Uthman is becoming upset with you. He said I would rather please Allah by upsetting Uthman rather than pleasing Uthman by upsetting Allah. This reminds us of today- some people come and tell you yeh, but you have to be diplomatic, you have to have wisdom- you cant speak these words; cant you see that those in power are becoming upset with you? He didnt buy any on this; he didnt think that was the right thing to do, he continued to express his conscience on this critical issue. He goes to Uthman and he tells him, to his face, of course, the people who were

ruling in Kufa and Ash-Shaam were upset with him, also, because they thought- the same way people today who are ruling think- people who express this type of message are subversives and a threat to our power. They came to Abu Dharr and said speak about other ayaat in the Qurn, theres many other ayaat in the Qurn, leave these types of ayaat alone. Dont speak about social injustice and the mal-distribution of wealth. Abu Dharr was zeroing in on these ayaat and he said what do you want me to do?! These ayaat came from Allah, Do you want me to be silent about ayaat that came from Allah- I cant; Im sorry, I apologise; I cant be silent about these ayaat. So they tried to torment him- send him on a horse or a donkey that doesnt have any saddle on it and have him go from Damascus to Al-Medinah- maybe hell perish , maybe hell die- thats what they were hoping for. No- he didnt. He re-emerged in Al-Medinah, saying the same thing he was saying in Iraq and Syria. What are you going to do with a person like this? Uthman decided to send him into exile. This is the 1st that we know of- that a Muslim has been excluded from the Islamic public or society. This is more or less what the governments today are trying to do when there Muslims who can speak the truth and who begin to have some type of popular resonance, they want to try to marginalise and exclude them from Islamic life. They sent him to Ar-Rabdah, a place at a distance from Al-Medinah. Abu Dharr, himself, wanted to go to Ash-Shaam, Syria. Marwaan ibn Al-Hakm tells Uthman he spoiled it for you in Iraq, dont let him spoil it for you by going back to Ash-Shaam, Syria. Let us also mention a 1st that we know of- this was the 1st internal exile that a Muslim suffers because of his Islamic conscientious objection to the wrong-doings of rulers. Uthman also set a precedent concerning Abdullah ibn Masd. You know, what we call today veterans- in those times, these early Muslims were considered veterans, they had a monthly stipend from the Islamic treasury, and for the 1st time, Uthman put a hold, in other words, he barred Abdullah ibn Masd from his monthly pay. This- the way Abdullah ibn Masd and the way Abu Dharr was treated by the Muslim rulerwas becoming very serious. Then we come to Ammaar ibn Yaaser. Ammaar ibn Yaaser, more or less in todays world would be considered like all minorities are considered. He comes from a very poor family who in other times would have been called slaves. His father, Yaaser (radi Allahu anhu) was originally from Yemen and he suffered at the beginning of Islam like we all know. The Prophets heart would feel for them in this suffering. They were tortured on the sands of Makkah. Some reports even say that they were burned on the sands of Makkah with fire and the Prophet said to them patienceyou the family or the clan of Yaaser- for your repositioning shall be in paradise. In another hadith, the Prophet said, O Allah, forgive the family of Yaaser and you have done so. Imagine, its like the Prophet saying that Allah has already forgiven the family of Yaaser. He also participated in all of the military campaigns and battles of Allahs Prophet. One of the early newcomers to Islam. When Uthman begins this deviation in decisions, he was also considered an opponent or an opposition figure. At one time, after Uthman did what he did to Abi Dharr, and exiled him, and when he heard opposition to this, opposition that came from Ammaar- by the way Ammaar and Abu Dharr were very close in their social and personal lives, so when Abu Dharr was exiled, Ammaar became even more vociferous in his opposition to Uthman and

Uthman says Ill do the same thing to you, and then Ali comes into this picture and he says you are not doing the right thing in your behaviour towards Abi Dharr and Ammaar, and then - and this is what happens sometimes to individuals who are in power- Uthman says to Ali, but you also cannot be excluded from the same policy. Then, when Uthman realises that this has gone too far, he takes a step back from these threats. Ammaar also suffers physical abuse from those who were in power at the time of Uthmans reign and he says- listen to this- this has a deep implication to it- after he was physically assaulted, this happens when you take issue with authorities and governments, expect to be physically harmed- when he was physically harmed, he said, he was referring to the time when the Mushriks of Makkah were torturing him- we were subjected to the same type of torture a foretime, for the cause of Allah. This is a 2nd tier of stepped up opposition to the wrongs that were coming out of the 1st office in Muslim lands. Brothers and sisters- weve had enough time to cover these two tiers of opposition, now we understand, and after this all of what weve spoken about so far has been the opposition of the Muhajirin to the deviation of government in Al-Medinah. Al-Ansaar felt that they were excluded from the political process, so we havent spoken one word about the opposition of Al-Ansaar. To the way these decisions were being made in Al-Medinah. If Allah gives us an extension of knowledge and time, we will pursue this until we know that we carry the banner of opposition to those who go wrong- they can be our own selves and it doesnt matter- this is our responsibility and this is our mission. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims If we were to take a page out of that history and look at ourselves today, what would strike us in the 1st instance is how motivated committed Muslims were and how readily they expressed themselves when things appeared to be going in the wrong direction. They could have had many excuses. They could have said everything is alright; morally speaking, society hasnt crumbled; socially speaking, society is together; militarily, we are doing very fine; the Muslim message is going into territories in every direction and we have one ruler and maybe a family of individuals around him who are beginning to show signs of filure- but everything else is fine. They didnt do that. They were anxious to correct the mistakes in its bud, before it became a much larger and almost impossible one in the future. Today. When we take a look at- especially the sleepy Masajid around, with almost comatose Muslims- almost everything is wrong, but wheres that vitality, the motivation and the commitment to Allah to point out the multiple increasing wrongs around us? What makes this difference? What is it? We will never learn what it is if we cannot approach these matters with a mind that comes directly from Allah and His Prophet. Emotionalism is not going to do it, fanaticism is not going to do it, and temporary reactions are not going to deliver us- its going to take a sustained and continuous upbringing from the Qurn and the Prophet. At that time, we will see results, but in todays climate- take the average Muslims around- if we were taking a look at the mal-distribution of wealth, look at it today. Today, were talking about trillions, but why is there this silence about this matter? At that time, there was no silence. Muslims had what it took to express their Qurnic and Prophetic minds on

the issue and the subjects of the day. Of course, in the process, they probably had to sacrifice in the process- compare that with the easy going, dreamland Muslims of today.

UTHMAN (R)S ASSASSINATION

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Bear with us as we try, with our God-given best, to place sensitive issues in objective minds. Its not simple to look at what has happened to us without being biased. As you, with an open mind know that a tradition which becomes a religion is very difficult to surmount, and after 1,400 years, our traditions have become our religion (so to speak)- and it wasnt meant to be that way. Therefore, trying to re-visualise our own selves becomes a very challenging task- regrettably, only a few are those who are capable of outgrowing tradition and submitting to Allah, free of the generations and traditions of what we have become and not what we were meant to be. Sometimes, we cram too much information together and in doing so, some of the fine details are lost on us, so we will try to go slower on ourselves and look at these events now, with a little more consideration. We said, previously, many times and we will repeat now, that most of our parting of ways can be traced to the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu). We tried our best to take a look at the policies, procedures or politics that were decided during the time of Uthman. We dont know of any hard or bad feelings that can be inherited throughout 1,400 years that can trace themselves to those days. In other words, if there are today, bad, hard or harsh feelings, they cannot be traced to those man made mistakes in those days. They had more to do with nationalism and sectarianism that built up throughout the years and they cannot be traced to the ijtihad of men in those days. We tried in the best possible way to convey this to you as we opened up the file (so to speak) of the 3rd khalifah to Allahs Prophet. We hope that no one who listens to these words or khutbahs develops any of these negative, conflicting, inimical and opposing feelings among the Muslims- it doesnt belong among us. We can identify our mistakes and discourse on our mistakes, but in doing so, we dont generate hostilities towards each otherthis is not meant to be. You cant find a rationale for that in Allahs book or with Allahs Prophetits not to be found. How we came up with this? You can trace that to your own historical character. Brothers and sisters- the ayah in the Quran says- Allah says And We have extracted or expunged any malice that were to be found in their hearts, for they are brethren sitting next to or corresponding with each other (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47) This should describe us on the ultimate recourse to Allah. This ayah should take us back to our historical character in the time of Uthman, when the issues that were building up throughout 12 years of his ruler-ship came to a head or reached the point of maturity. Let us remind you that Uthman was a public figure, he wasnt a private ruler, a secluded autocrat or a monarch- with the mistakes that we covered, he still went to the Masjid everyday and he still was in personal contact with the average Muslim everyday. We didnt have what we have today. You see- when we look at rulers in Muslim countries, they are not public figures. We challenge these kings and presidents to one day in the life of Uthman in which they can dispense with their guards and tell the military that is around them go away. I want to be in the presence of the Muslims without any barriers, security guards and weapons around me- I just want to be a person among the rest of the other persons- we dont have that today. Uthman was going to the Masjid and was

leading the daily and Jumah prayers in the Masjid without these contingents of security forces all around the place like we have today. The last year, actually, it was the last time that he was in the Masjid- he was in the Masjid daily and weekly, listening to the people and having the people express themselves to him without fear. This fear factor that we have in todays politics didnt exist, even though we are speaking about a person who had serious mistakes. He goes to the Masjid, it was to be his last time in the Masjid and amongst the other things that was expressed, he says to them the following, these are his words- what is this simple statement to the Muslim public say- remember, there were Muslims who came primarily from Egypt, but then they came from Al-Medinah, to put popular and public pressure on Uthman to resign and give this responsibility to someone else. When Uthman went to the Masjid, not knowing that this was the last time that he was going to be able to go to the Masjid, he said to them, you- who have expressed this hostility, consider Allah or take Allah into account or think about Allah in doing what you are doing or be conscious of Allah in this opposition to me (this is what the statement implies) he says to these Muslims who had come from hundreds of miles away to topple him that the folks or the inhabitants of Al-Medinah know that you are condemned by the words of Allahs Prophet (May Allahs peace and blessings be upon him)- make amends for what you are doing or obliterate the wrong with what is right. Remember, the people were listening to him- some of them agreed with him and it seems like many of them disagreed with him and they expressed themselves. Brothers and sisters- remember, they were expressing themselves in the house of Allah on a matter that is 1st and foremost a political issue- whether you- O Uthman, are going to continue to lead us or not. Public opinion expressed its disagreement inside the Masjid. Some people stood up and seconded what Uthman said and other people stood up and opposed what he said. No one at that time was telling Muslims be quite. You cant say this in the Masjid. No one told Uthman, who is the leader of the Muslims at the time, dont you know what youre saying in the Masjid is a political statement- you are not allowed to mix politics and religion!- no one said that. The exchange turned into a heated one. There was disagreement, then there was commotion and then there were physical gesticulations expressed against Uthman. Uthman wasnt running from any of this and he wasnt calling in the army or the riot forces that they have today to protect him. This was an open setting. A person from Ghiffaar- the same tribe or clam that Abu Dharr Al-Ghifaari (radi Allahu anhu) belonged to was so overtaken by his feelings of opposition to Uthman- imagine if this can happen in todays world and imagine the differences of the public attitude and the individual psychologies that we had in comparing those times with today- that he goes up to Uthman and he takes his cane- this wasnt Uthmans cane, this was the cane that belonged to Allahs Prophet and then, after that it was used by Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) when they spoke to the people in the Masjid, Uthman was following. These people had a cane and he had the same cane- this person from Ghifaar went to him, took the cane and he broke it on his knee. Of course, this cannot be a justified behavior- we are just trying to recall what happened. In the way that they opposed him, this is what happened and then, when that happened- brothers and sisters, this was happening inside the Masjid- what happened after that was people, Muslims- we are speaking about the Prophets generation- began to pelt themselves

with small stones. Then, there was a commotion and this stone throwing turned violent and then Uthman lost consciousness and he was taken to his residence. When he gained consciousness, he realized that he was more or less besieged by those who were opposed to him and he found out that there were also people inside his residence who were there to protect him. Who were these people who were there to protect him? They were the sons of Ali (radi Allahu anhu)- Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein (radi Allahu anhuma); the son of Umar- Abdullah ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu); the son of Az-Zubair (radi allahu anhu)- Abdullah ibn Zubair (radi Allahu anhu);- they were there to see to it that this opposition that was outside the house of Uthman and the representative of this government do not go to the extremes in expressing themselves. This happens for the 1 st time- brothers and sisters- in our history that the Muslim ruler was under house arrest (in todays political language), by the average Muslims. Can something like this happen in the real world? This wasnt the military or a foreign force- this was the normal Muslim- the Muhammed and Ali and Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman Muslim. He couldnt go anywhere. They told him you cant go to the masjid. They turned the pressure on further by saying you cannot have water- in todays words, its like you turn off a persons utilities. Uthman and his family were denied water, but they were still on speaking terms. It wasnt like no one could speak to anyone else on both of these speaking sides. Uthman was speaking to them and telling them what you are doing is wrong. He was telling those who were on his side we are not to shed anyones blood in this. There were contacts- Ali was in contact with Uthman; the Prophets wife, Umm Habiba (radi Allahu anha) was in contact or attempted contact with Uthman and Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi allahu anhu) was in contact with Uthman. Uthman said to them on orders from the Prophet, I bought a well to offer water to the Muslims and Allahs Prophet promised me Al-Jannah for that and now, you are denying me water?! I bought extra land for the Prophets Masjid and now, you are denying me excess and I cant even go to the Masjid any longer!? Imagine how topsy-turvy the issue is when we compare those days with today. In those days, the Muslim people were the ones who restricted the Muslim ruler- in todays world, it is the ruler who is ruling that is restricting all the Muslim populations. Theres a significant heaven to earth difference between the ruler in that day who were making some mistakes and the rulers today who have institutionalized mega mistakes. What happens during this time of siege becomes a matter of conflicting information and what we have is what we can say in somewhat a general sense- Uthman was under arrest by the Muslim populace itself. Never has this happened in Islamic history. Never had the Muslim people had the courage, freedom, confidence and the political motivation to take this whole issue to their own ruler and tell him enough is enough, we have restricted your freedoms. In todays world, its the opposite. The rulers come to the Muslim peoples when theres such a difference between the two sides and they put restrictions on us. When Uthman could no longer go to the masjid and lead the jamaah prayers, this was the 1st time we, Muslims, began to have multiple jamaaat. One of the leaders of the prayers, as-salaah, of the Muslims was a person by the name of Al-Ghaafiqi, one of the Egyptians who had come with the opposition; another leader was Talha (radi Allahu anhu) who began to lead the prayers in the Masjid and of course, another leader in all of this was Ali, in all of this. But, this was the 1st time we had not one Jamaah, but multiple jamaaat. When Uthman

finally realized that he was no longer a free man- the Muslim ruler was the 1st one to lose his freedom because of his mistakes, the Muslim peoples didnt lose any freedoms at all. Now, you may know why no one wants to speak about these issues. When Uthman realized that he had for all practical purposes lost his freedom, he had a discussion with Saad ibn Abi Waqqas in which he told him we are going to have to take this affair back to where it was in the shura and the Muslim shura is going to have to decide who their leader is going to be. This was in the last days of Uthman. Some sources of this information say that this siege continued for about 40 days and during that time he could not go to the Hajj. Who did he tell to go and represent him in the Hajj? It was ibn Masud (radi allahu anhu)- one of the persons who was in opposition to him. He told him you are my representative, go to Makkah. Do you see how this is not a simple affair where we can simply draw lines- theres a camp of (lets say) Allah and a camp of Shayateen- its not that easy and simple. ibn Masud goes to Makkah, he didnt refuse. He could have said Im opposed to you, Im not going to Makkah, send someone else. He went. There was a message that Uthman wanted to communicate to the Muslims in the Hajj, in Makkah when he was under house arrest in Al-Medinah and even though ibn Masud strongly disagreed with Uthman, he read Uthmans message to those who were in the Hajj, but there was no one responding. The unpopularity of Uthman caused Muslimpublic opinion not to respond to him even though in his last days, he was seriously trying to relocate the issue of leadership where it may belong. In other words, he was finally willing to consider I no longer want to be the leader of the Muslims. He saw in his own camp, in his final days how Bani Al-Hakm and Bani Ummayah wanted to fight this opposition, he told them No. There will be no fight with this opposition. No one is going to be killed. How was he killed? Information had leaked into all segments of Al-Medinah that there are forces that are coming from Iraq and Ash-Shaam to support Uthman, so they wanted a closure to this issue as soon as possible before there would be larger bloodshed and mayhem in Al-Medinah itself. Before we lose the thought- when Uthman spoke to Saad ibn Abi Waqqas that we should take this issue back to the shura and let them decide on a person besides me, Saad, in that final day went to Ali and said to him I bring you news, the likes of which no other man has broken to another and Saad explains to Ali the final decision that Uthman had reconciled himself with. Remember- before, Uthman said I will never undress myself from an attire that Allah has dressed me with. He lived up until the final day when he saw that there has to be another solution to this, but it was too late. The opposition and loyal forces were all geared up for a type of confrontation. How did it happen? It is reported that the last day that Uthman was to be killed by the opposition, he was fasting on that day- something that not even these cosmetic Muslims would do nowadays, in their positions of authority and power. This was a person who was fasting on a day that he felt would be his last day. One version of history goes that there was a band of opposition that was led by Muhammed the son of Abi Bakr who found a way to scale the barrier around Uthmans house, they made it inside and assassinated him. Another version says that there was a man who belonged to the opposition, a very senior person who belonged to the sahaba (radi Allahu anhum) of Rasulillah, his name was Nayaar ibn Ayaad (radi Allahu

anhu). He spoke to Uthman. Remember, even though they were in locked in positions, they were still on speaking terms. He told him in effect, relieve all the Muslims from this hostility that they find themselves in, relinquish your position and let us go forward together as Muslims. As he was expressing himself like that, this person was killed. Some information sources say that he was killed by the Hakm circle close to Uthman. These were the ones who were gearing up for a fight and that caused a reaction in the Muslims who were in the opposition and they went to Uthman and they killed him. Whatever the case is, the issue that we have is that Muslims, we ourselves- have an experience, a lesson and something that we can lesson form- not to hate ourselves about, but to learn from. What do you do when a ruler is wrong? What do you do with a ruler who is wrong and refuses to say he is wrong? What do you say about a Muslim ruler who is wrong but refuses to relinquish his responsibilities when he is the one who instigated policies of favoritism or nepotism among the Muslims? What do we do? This issue has been on the back boiler of our public mind for the last 14 centuries almost- why havent we given ourselves some satisfactory solution to these issues. The 40 days in which Uthman was under house arrest or siege- we couldnt have worked out a solution? We ask ourselves- where is an Islamic court? If we have matters of differences, can we not refer them to an Islamic court or Judicial process or an Islamic court of justice? We cant do that? Some people, literature and books want to characterize Uthman as being a person of evil. They neither understand Uthman nor the society of Muslims in Makkah, Al-Medinah, the Peninsula nor in the extended areas of Islamic outreach- you simply dont understand people when you come to a conclusion like that. He showed no evil. He made mistakes- yes; serious mistakes- yes; mistakes that would have historical repercussions- yes, but did he do that from a position of evil within himself- No. Let me tell these types of people that when they were on their way back- remember we recalled last week when they met in Makkah the year before the year that we are talking about- Muawiyah said to Uthman the following- this person had a political instinct for this- so he said I offer you two things, move the seat of political power from Al-Medinah to Damascus. Thats another way of trying to avoid what would happen in the future. Muawiyah could see what would possibly happen if Uthman continued to be in Al-Medinah. Uthman told him a blunt, strong and emphatic No. He said he would refuse to abandon the seat of power that the Prophet and the two successors to him were in- absolutely not. Then, Muawiyah says to him, if you dont accept that, then will you accept a military force (meaning a military force) that I will send to you from Ash-Shaam to protect you from Al-Medinah. Once again, Uthman answered him positively, strongly and without any doubts- absolutely not. Now, you tell us- is this a person who was trying to latch onto power by any means or was he a person who was a victim of his own misjudgments? The latter is the case. Ali described what happened in the areas that we are touching on concerning Uthman and the opposition concerning Uthman when he said in one sentence, a sentence that does justice to this whole issue. Of course, you want to know in an approximate manner what this means. It means that (of course, were translating with license here and just giving you the general meaning) Uthman took things into his own hands and he went too far in doing so and (Ali was speaking to the opposition and he said) as for you, you were apprehensive, you had your reservations, you were afraid, but you too went too far.

This is the lesson that many Muslims dont want to look at, consider and learn form, and this is the time to open up this lesson to understand what happened without becoming prejudices or biased about it. When some of these events unfolded, the son of Talha comes to Ali and he says to him it is because of you that my father was killed and its because of you that I no longer have any money. Ali says to him, as far as the money is concerned, it is within Islamic care. Whatever belongs to you, you can claim and whatever belongs to the Muslims goes to the Muslims. As far as your father and me, and then he repeated the ayah by which we began or opened the khutbah. And We have extracyed or expunged any malice that was to be found in their hearts, for they are brethren sitting next to each other and corresponding to each other (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47) Uthman was simple and he paid the price for being simple in a position that needed more than simplicity. He couldnt believe that there were people who would be moved to kill because of what he considered to be unintentional or mistakes that were not plotted by him. He said that I heard the Prophet of Allah say that a life is due, meaning that the death penalty is due if a person commits kufr after imaan, or zina after ihsaan or qatlu nafsin bi ghairi nafs and Ive done none of that. In the years prior to Islam and during my years of being a Muslim, I have never committed zina, I have never renounced my imaan after being guided by Allah and I have never killed an innocent Muslim for me to have my life forfeited- this is what he was expressing in his final days. This is what happens when we have Muslims who are less than qualified assume these responsibilities. This is what we have after all of these years- no one wants to read these events, make sense out of them and learn from them. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Once again, we are struck by the difference that we find in people of those days as we contrast them with Muslims in our days. Muslims in our days dont want to speak anything that is political anywhere. Some of then have excuses- they say dont bring politics into the Masjid. OK- we dont bring politics into the Masjid. Then, we have an Islamic community occasion and Muslims get together, we meet and we exchange greeting (Assalaamualaykum- Wa Alaykumus Salaam), then someone wants to conscientise the Muslims to these types of issues and then someone says No- dont bring up these issues here. Then, we have periodical conventions or annual conferences in which we, Muslims, get together, and they (meaning those who are top heavy on Islamic rituals), come to us and say Why do you speak about these issues? If we cant speak about them in the Masjids, our communities and in these annual conferences, then when and where can we speak about them?! We cant speak about them in the Hajj and we cant speak about them in the Masjid, we cant speak about them in an Islamic or non-Islamic Centerwhere can we speak about them? Its become haraam for us to express our minds on our own

issues?! Where did that come from? These same people, today, who oppose speaking about these issues, whoever they are, Uthman is 100 times ahead of them. He didnt say I dont want to speak about these issues, he went to the Masjid and spoke about the issues. He had Muslim public opinion come and oppose him until he died because they were speaking about these issues and he was speaking about them, unlike todays world, where no one, ruler or ruled, a citizen or a king, a constituent or a president- is supposed to speak about these issues. Then, after all of this, we encounter these self-gratifying Muslims who say Im holier than thou. They come and say Im going to heaven automatically. Why is he going to heaven automatically? Because hes born into a certain type of tradition- forget about Allah, His Prophet and this generation that we are speaking about them- forget about them, because hes born into a tradition, hes guaranteed heaven; or because he goes to a certain Islamic Center or a Masjid and he follows a certain Islamic figure, hes going to heaven. And with the same breath hell tell you Im going to heaven and be silent about these issues.

ALI (R) AND PUBLIC OPINION

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... In this khutbah, as in the previous ones, we will continue to expose the dark corners in some peoples minds and to fold back the dark areas in some peoples psychology. You and I know- wa

lillahil hamd- that the pace is hectic now a days in trying to stir bad feelings among Muslims. We should know by now that we can't cure these issues that are used for propaganda, which is utilized for the militaries, which in itself becomes the matter of Muslims killing themselves. We are trying our human best to get to the bottom of these issues, and may Allah open up the hearts and minds of other Muslims so that we may learn from ourselves and not accuse ourselves and so that our past history can become a blocking force against what the enemy wants our future to be. We had reached the time when Ali (radi Allahu anhu) became- without any triggering mechanism, as was the case in the past with his three predecessors- by (with the words of today) popular demand, literally speaking- even though we looked at those who had reservations, were neutral, were reluctant and even those who were opposed, but never the less, the popular trend, public sentiment and popular demand insisted that he become the leader of the Muslims. Remember, what we are going to speak about are issues that have been reduced to emotional conflicts among Muslims, and it shouldn't be. We still can't understand why these issues have become hardened emotions among the Muslims. When Ali became the popular leader of the Muslims, Muslim public opinion was not what it was when Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) became the leader of the Muslims. When Uthman became the leader of the Muslims, the Muslim people, especially those who were in Arabia were expecting a time of economic prosperity and Uthman was forthcoming in opening up the Muslim treasury and boosting the Islamic financial or living standards of the Muslims and among many Muslims, he was popular. This happens to any ruler who comes and shows his people economic prosperity. After he was assassinated, Muslim public opinion felt gripped by (in a sense) the unknown. They didn't know how the immediate future was going to develop or unravel. What they began to sense was that there was a brewing or growing danger- they could sense this inside themselves. They could compare the two previous assassinations- the immediate one now, with the previous one of Umar (radi Allahu anhu). Even though the assassination of Umar was violent and quick, the repercussions were manageable. When Umar was taken away to his deathbed, he was heard to have said the words and Allahs decree has become a calculated fate- there's nothing that can be done about this, it has happened. We covered the manageable reverberations of this assassination, but the assassination of Uthman was not a quick and easy affair to manage. The people who were involved in his assassination were many. It was not an event that was local. Hundreds of people had come from far away and they basically took over Al-Medinah. Just by taking control of Al-Medinah, the people of Al-Medinah felt this internal fear, that things are not normal. It was in these types of uncertain social developments that Ali took over. In the public mind, they saw that the governors of Uthman in these remote areas, instead of having the Islamic military do its duty at the Islamic frontiers, now they began to think about the Islamic military turning into and doing its tasks and missions inside the Muslim domain. Not only that, but the Muslim military had its eyes fixated on the Islamic capital- Al-Madinah. This also makes people fear what circumstances may become. It was this fear that had become spread all over that characterized the time period in which Ali took over. We don't know why Islamic scholars, whoever they are- you can listen to them, and please listen to all of them from both sidesdon't speak about this, because this is very important to understand why Muslims feel the way they feel today, wherever you encounter them. Public opinion saw that the cousin of Uthman, who is Muawiyah, is in Damascus in Ash-Shaam, was potentially a person who could cause the undoing the Islamic authority as the Muslims have understood it so far. The information that we don't have because Muslim scholars want to remain silent- this information

was common knowledge among them. You can ask todays Muslims why? They always speak about the 1st generation of Muslims, as-salaf as-salih, as-sahabah and ahl al-bait- all of you are speaking about this- OK. If all of you are speaking about this, can't you or are you not able to bring us up to date on how they were thinking pertaining to this issue because this issue was occupying every ones mind. OK- if it is occupying everyone's mind who is supposed to be our models, how come we do not know or understand what was going through their minds and what made them adopt the positions that they did? We point our finger at todays silence and at these issues that are coming back to become strategies in the world of kill the Muslims today. Public opinion in Al-Madinah and Al-Jazeerah, was, at this time, when we said previously that Ali wanted to open an investigation into the assassination of Uthman and he could not do it. Ali was a person who was going to pursue truth and justice to its end, wherever that may go. He wasn't about to play a political game with this issue. There were some people who would love to have used some political leverage in these circumstances, but now, we are looking at a political ruler who is not about the expediency of political leverage or influence. This was a person who was looking at the truth and the facts and was out to do justice, but what do you do when you have a non-co-operative society around you? Al-Medinah was still under siege, and these rebels who came and assassinated Uthman inferred to Ali that if you continue this type of investigation, we will have you join your predecessor. What do you do when you have a public opinion that we have to understand more about? Uthman had send Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu anhu) to Hajj, to Makkah. We know that ibn Mas'uds was an opponent of Uthman and he read the communication of Uthman to the Muslims at the Hajj, in which Uthman extricates himself from this popular movement against him, and refers to them as al-jawr adh-dhulm. We are not to judge these personalities, we are here, to have the facts surface as much as possiblewhen the average Muslim was in Makkah, listening to this and knowing what was happening in Al-Medinah, public opinion grew more weary to listening to the assassinated leaders (before he was assassinated) message he sent to them in the Hajj. So now, we have a public opinion (to put it in straight words) that is scared. They are scared because they see the military that was doing its job, almost in an exemplary way in previous years, has the potential of turning against itself and against the Muslim public- that's how they understood these developments. Now, what is going through this informed public mind? They see that Ali had become the leader of the Muslims and they know what was said about this Imam, from the Prophet himself- they know and they lived this. They didn't know this just from reading it in some books, they were living these facts themselves. They knew that this current leader that they chose was brought up in the household of Allahs Prophet. They knew that he attended all the battles that Allahs Prophet attended (with one exception). They knew that he carried the Prophets banner in the most serious of these battles. They knew that the Prophet gave him whatever he was entrusted with when the Prophet had to escape for his life from Makkah under those threats. They knew that the Prophet put him in his bed to sleep when he fled the Quraishi attempt at eliminating him. They knew that when the Prophet went to Al-Medinah, he had fraternatized between the muhajirin and the ansaar (radi Allahu anhum) and in exception to that, the Prophet made a fraternity pact with Ali, who is a muhajir- he's not an ansaari. They knew that Ali is the Prophets son in law and also his cousin. The Prophet used to call him his brother and Umm Ayman (radi Allahu anha) who was in the Prophets household made fun of that in a very innocent way. She told the Prophet you call Ali your brother and then you have him marry your daughter. Muslim public opinion was aware that the Prophet said in the presence of everyone, on a most demanding military day in the

Islamic clash with yahud in Khaybar, I will give the banner tomorrow to a man who loves Allah and His Apostle and who Allah and His Apostle love him. They listened to Allahs Prophet when he deputized Ali to stay in Al-Medinah when he went on the last military mission to Tabuk, saying- the Prophet says to Ali- are you not satisfied to be in relationship with me as Haroon (alah salaam) is to Musa (alaih salaam), except there are no Prophets after me? They heard Allahs Prophet say whoevers Mawla I am, then Ali is his Mawla. O Allah, be the Supported of those who support Ali and be the tormentor of those who torment him in his last year- all of this is in the Muslim public mind; a public that is scared and can't do much. This Islamic public had to decide on the 1st successor to Allahs Prophet and they decided on Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) by-passing all of these statements from Allahs Prophet, they agreed to have Aba Bakr their leader and Ali knowing what was said to and about him also gave his bai'ah to Abi Bakr- knowing the public around. It may have been some time (we don't want to get into these petty historical arguments) but finally he went to Abi Bakr and he gave him the bai'ah or allegiance. They may have been some misunderstandings here, but these misunderstandings were not hostile mis-understandings. Fatimah (radi Allahu anha), the Prophets daughter may have felt that Aba Bakr does not understand that the Prophets family is entitled to inheritance, just like all the other families are entitled to inheritance. Abu Bakr was not conspiratorial in stating that he heard Allahs Prophet say we, who are Prophets do not bequeath inheritance. Whatever we leave is a Sadaqah. This is a serious, but not a hostile misunderstanding. This is where uninformed or emotionally informed Muslims go wrong. There was no hostility or animosity between Ali and those who became leaders before him, knowing what Allah was saying when he was trying to nominate him throughout all of those years. It wasn't only the Prophet, Umar (radi Allahu anhu) said about Ali, indeed Ali is the most informed among us concerning legal issues. Umar said about Ali, if Muslims were to give the leadership responsibility to this person- meaning Ali- he would have carried them straight on to a course to Allah. In todays language, it's a highway- of course there was no traffic and trucks on the wide and open access lane toward Allah. But, what do you do when you have Muslim public opinion caught between what they heard the Prophet say about their new leader and the fact that they are scared of this military turning against itself and against them. This is a fact that Muslim scholars want to bury. Whenever they speak to you about Ali or the events that took place in Al-Medinah, tell them we want to know how Muslim public opinion felt and thought at that time so that the enemies who are listening to our ignorance don't come through this door and create war among us like they are doing now. That's one thing Muslim public opinion was in. The other thing that Muslim public opinion was in was they knew Muawiyah- the long lasting governor or ruler of Ash-Shaam had accumulated serious power. Muawiyahs cousin was assassinated in Al-Medinah. This brought back pre-Islamic notions. This brought back the rivalry between Bani Haashim and Bani Umayyah. It brought back the stature of Abi Sufyan, the person who became the leader of the Mushriks after Badr. Muslim public opinion was very familiar with this character. He was the leader and commander-in-chief of the Mushriks when they took on the Muslims in Uhud and in Al-Khandaq. It was Abu Sufyan, the father of Muawiyah. Family tribal and clannish feelings were still there, even though many people had become above the surface Muslims. It was Hind who instigated Wahshi top kill Hamzah (radi Allahu anhu) and then, after that, she goes to the war bed and battle field. She locates the body of Hamzah, busts open his abdomen, takes out his liver and begins to chew it. Do you think that these facts are absent from Muslim public opinion? All Muslims, in their

literature, refer to those who were amnestied after the Fath Al-Makkah refer to those who amnestied as At-Tulaqa'. Abi Sufyan and Muawiyah were from these Tulaqa' and Muslim public opinion understood that now we had an issue of At-Tulaqa' who are in positions of power. AlAbbas (radi Allahu anhu), the Prophets uncle, who was close to the power structure of Makkah and therefore was also close to Abi Sufyan- when Makkah was finally conquered and liberated, Al-Abbas uses his personal rapport with Abi Sufyan and tells him now is the time to become Muslim. He takes or parades him to see the Islamic military on display and Abu Sufyan says to Al-Abbas Muslim public opinion was aware of what Abu Sufyan said and what he meanttoday, the domain of your nephew had indeed become extravagant and colossal. Finally, when Al-Abbas convinces him to come to the Prophet and proclaim his Islam after the Fath of Makkah, he comes, (like every Muslim who wants to say he's a Muslim, he has to utter or pronounce Ash-Shahadah) Ash-hadu An laa ilaha illalah wa Ash-Hadu Anna Muhammedan Rasulullah. So, Abu Sufyan comes here (remember, public opinion, the Muslim population and the Muslim occupants of Al-Medinah and Al-Jazeerah know all of these facts) so Abu Sufyan says Ash-hadu An laa ilaha illalah and he wants to stop there. Everyone hears what he wants to say and he pauses and fails to say wa Ash-Hadu Anna Muhammedan Rasulullah, Al-Abbas reminds him and says, now you should say wa Ash-Hadu Anna Muhammedan Rasulullah. He said to Al-Abbas concerning this meaning concerning me saying wa Ash-Hadu Anna Muhammedan Rasulullah, I have something in me against that. There's something in me that doesn't agree with this. Muslim public opinion knew that (if we wanted to become sentimental about this)- Oh! My God! What are we approaching now? Are we approaching a polarization of forces with all of these issues coming to the fore and the only way that they are going to be settled is through warfare? That is why when Ali was pressured at this time to become the leader of the Muslims through this popular movement, he insisted on having Talha and Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhuma) go public with their allegiance- and they did. They may have had their own ambitions, and there's much to think that they had their own political ambitions or agendas, but nevertheless, they went public and gave their bai'ah to Ali. We looked at those segments of society whom were not harboring any underground activities against the leadership of Ali. Now, the 1st thing that had to be done was to replace some governors that were appointed by Uthman. Ali wanted to bring in Al-Ansaar. In the administrations of the three predecessors, but more specifically in the administration of Uthman, Ansaar were virtually excluded from the political process, so Ali appointed Suhayl ibn Hunayf (radi Allahu anhu) who was a predominant Ansaari to become the governor of Al-Basrah. He appointed Qays ibn Saad ibn Abi Ubadah (radi Allahu anhu) to become the governor of Egypt. Remember, immediately after the Prophet passed away, when Saad ibn Ubadah (radi Allahu anhu) saw that the political affairs of the Muslims had become an affair exclusive to Al-Muhajirin, he just stepped out of Islamic politics (as it were.) He refused to give his bai'ah to Abu Bakr or to anyone. Now, Ali wanted to take the Muslims back to that initial moment and bring back the general muslim public opinion and get it involved in deciding its own affairs. Then, Ali tried to have Uthman ibn Hunayf (radi Allahu anhu), the brother of Suhaly to replace Muawiyah as the governor in Damascus. He also sent Ubaidallah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) to become the governor in AlYemen. When the two governors that Uthman had appointed in Al-Yemen and Al-Basrah- the 1st one, Ya'la ibn Ummayah and the 2nd one Abdullah ibn Aamir saw the new governors coming to take their place, they collected whatever money they could collect and they left their posts from Al-Basrah and Al-Yemen and where did they go? You can quiz yourself right here on how

informed or how uninformed we are. Probably 99% of the Muslims, because of the type of speakers we have, don't know where these two Uthmani appointees went. Of all places, they went to Makkah. Remember what we were saying about Makkah. This was further proof, if proof be needed, that Makkah was a magnet for those forces that were still opposed to Islamic governance and leadership, even though some of them had declared that they had become Muslims. Did they go there by chance or is there something happening or in the making and they are trying to regroup in Makkah? They know Ash-Shaam is off limits. The Islamic government in Al-Medinah knows that Ash-Shaam has to be dealt with and to complicate things more, Talha and Az-Zubair, who were kept in Al-Medinah. Ali, more or less dealt with whatever was left of Al-Muhajirin and those who were left of Al-Quraish who had become Muslims dealt with them the same way Umar dealt with them- virtually limiting them to Al-Medinah. Talha and AzZubair came to Ali and said we want to leave Al-Medinah. Give us permission to leave AlMedinah. He had said to them, immediately after becoming the Imam or the Khalifah of the Muslims, he realized that Talha and Az-Zubair probably don't want to remain in Al-Medinah because they have their popularity in Al-Basrah and Al-Kufa. They want to go to areas where people adore or idolize them (in a sense). So, he said to them I want you to remain here. He wasn't blunt like Umar and expressed it maybe in a way that would hurt peoples feelings. His words- your presence here is an adornment for me in Al-Medinah and I will feel lonely if you depart from here and leave me by myself. That was at the beginning. Muawiyah had sent one of his representatives to Al-Medinah in defiance of Ali. Here is where he tried to take the public pulse- how people would feel if there is a military encounter between Ali and Muawiyah. True to the fact, public opinion was scared and in the middle of all of this, we had Talha and AzZubair saying we want to leave. Ali said OK- where do you want to go? They say we want to go to Makkah- meaning we want to go to Makkah to perform our Umrah. What do you do brother and sisters- remember, we are taking this body of information one step at a time. At every step you should realize that people don't rule in a vacuum and people don't rule without the so-called social contract from those who they are supposed to rule. This is the condition that we are speaking about here. Did Ali have supporters and those who understood the whole issue and were fearless? Yes, but they were few. You can't carry a social program only on the support of a few people like Ammaar ibn Yaasir or Miqdaad ibn Al-Aswad (radi Allahu anhuma) or the others who we spoke about briefly in the past. This is not public opinion. The harsh and real public opinion that Ali had to deal with is the one that we are speaking about. Idealistically, they knew who Ali was, but militarily they also knew who Muawiyah and the other governors were. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Today, some of you may have listened to some of the information that is coming out of Lebanon. We have what is called Fath Al-Islam, that is dueling it out with the Lebanese army. Some of you may think- we just spoke about or you just listened to a khutbah and what does this have to do with the exchange of fire and the body count that we are seeing there and in Palestine. In Palestine, we have Hamas and Fath and in Lebanon we have an Islamic or at least in the media an Islamic group of people against the Lebanese armed forces. What is beginning to appear is that these people who have been working on a Sunni/Shi'i civil war in Iraq, after tirering and running out of patience- because the flames of that civil war have not spread around to the other

areas- they are trying to ignite it in Lebanon. How did they plan to do that? We find Bandar, the ambassador who 24 years ago nationalized, confiscated and usurped the Masjid, working behind the scenes again, advising Cheney, (the person who lives a few miles down in that direction) on how to have Muslims kill themselves. What is Bandars -the sickerphant and boot-licker from the Saudi embassy for a couple of dozen years- genius idea that he comes out with? He looks at the broad political map or picture in the area and he says "OH- It's Islamic fundamentalists who have the guts and motivation to fight. OK- if that's the case, let us sponsor or build up a Sunni fundamentalist group of fighters. We will give them support, money and whatever is needed so that they will reach a point where they can neutralize Hezbollah and we don't even need to fire a shot. As it is turning out, the American government, with Cheney leading the charge- see, he's been in and out of the area in the past months and with Bandar also making his shuttle appearances in the Capitals in the area- you know where he was two or three months agomaking the rounds- and what we see and know is much less than what is happening in reality and fact. It turns out that they were not capable of manipulating a Sunni fundamentalist group the way they wanted to, so what do they do? They send in another proxy of there's- the Lebanese army. Now, it's the Lebanese army and you have an airlift of weaponry into Lebanon to crush these Palestinians, hoping that if they couldn't serve the major purpose- the basic idea was to take on Hezbollah- so if they couldn't do that, then what we do is we will begin with them by cutting down the Palestinians. So, let them send a message to the Palestinians to be followed by another message, in this case, Fath taking on Hamas instead of the Lebanese army in Occupied Palestine so that the Israelis will move in at the end of the project and appear as if they are the invincible force that they always claim to have been until they were defeated by Hezbollah last year. Where did the ideas of Bandar and Cheney go? Cheney had Barnard Lewis go and teach and tutor him about the sensitivities of internal sensitivities of the internal Islamic psychology and Islamic history. Where are they now? There's more of this, and if we continue to be ignorant of our own selves, they will continue to hatch their own plots and political programs to destroy our will to be. Therefore, these khutbahs are not irrelevant or some discourse in historical details. These khutbahs are the facts that go to build an Islamic character that is immune to civil conflict and civil wears and is anxious to take on the imperialists and the Zionists when they come calling with their armies.

DIFFERENCES, NO DIVISIONS
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... The description of those who are in a confident relationship with Allah is portrayed in the words of His Prophets when they face the doubts, uncertainties and the obscurities of the people around them. They would say qul inni ala baynaat mir Rabbi as Allah instructed them to say Of course I am in a clear affair from my Sustainer This bayyina that is the possession everyone who conforms or complies with Allah, (in our case, today as current unraveling events indicates), barely exists. In one of these areas where this is obvious is in what is becoming the Sunni/Shii division of peoples and opinions and therefore a lack of unity and common purpose. This is unknown to those who repeat Of course I am in a clear affair from my Sustainer In other words, is the Quran and the Prophet, both of them, our trust from Allah or are they less obvious then the petty issues that are dividing the Muslims? To gain this descriptive of Of course I am in a clear affair from my Sustainer we are trying, with Allah's help, to clarify these issues that have watered down or marginalized this bayinnah from Allah. We are thankful to Allah to be ahead of our brothers and sisters who are still smothered by inaccurate information that dilutes the brotherhood of the Muslims and their common destiny. We will, with our reliance on Allah, continue to open up some chapters of these critical first generation of Muslims and see whether understanding them increases the distance among us or lends itself to our consolidation. In the time of Uthmaan (radi Allahu anhu), the 3rd successor to Allah's Prophet, there were five individuals who were left out of those 1st generation of Muslims who had become very high profiled Muslims. In the words of some of the personalities of that generation, they said, (which means) the Prophet of Allah expired while he was satisfied with them. These individuals were the ones who were (more or else) contributors in one way or the other to Uthman's responsibility of governing the Muslims. That doesn't mean though the agreed with Uthman. Let us take a quick look at these high profile Islamic personalities who were the shura that was to decide 1st of all the reign of Uthman or to give this responsibility to him and 2nd of all to see where they stood after Uthman himself or the usbah around Uthman began to make decisions. Notice, after we consider these personalities there is no hard feelings. The 1st one is Abdur Rahmaan ibn Awf (radi Allahu anhu). This was a person who he himself excluded himself from being one of those several individuals who qualified to lead the Muslims. He was a relative of Allah's Prophet on his mothers side. His name before he became a Muslim was Abd Al-Ka'aba or Abd Al-Amr and the Prophet himself gave him the name Abdur ArRahman. This person was known to be a very prosperous or wealthy man. When he was exiled

or became a muhaajir to Al-Madinah, he became a brother of another ansaari (radi Allahu anhu) who was also a very prosperous man in Al-Madinah. The altruism between the muhaajirin and the ansaar was such that the ansaari who had everything would offer the muhaajir who had nothing the choicest of what he had. In this case, Abdur Rahman ibn Awf was offered all that he wanted and he declines. He would say just show me the market. As is the case with some people, wealth and money comes in their way naturally. So, he goes and begins his market activity and he becomes a very wealthy man. This wealth begins to multiply and increase by leaps and bounds. But he was also generous. He would give to the Muslims without question when they were in need. On one occasion, one of his caravans was coming to Al-Madinah and there was a rumble to it as if it were some military division and he gave off that to all who were in need. The Prophet of Allah said to him you are a very rich man, indeed, and I see you crawling meaning I see you moving on your arms and legs into al jannah meaning you are not walking like a normal man into Al-Jannah, youre barely making it into Al-Jannah therefore offer Allah a perfecting loan. These words lived with this man, even though Allah gave him all this wealth. He lived until the time of Uthman and he was almost the arbiter in the decision that was to be made among these six individuals of who is going to become the next successor to Allah's Prophet. It was with his influence that the Uthman himself became the 3rd successor to Allah's Prophet. At the beginning, the relationship between Abdur Rahmaan ibn Awf and Uthman ibn Affan was what we may call, very normal relationships. But then, after the family circle of Uthman began to move Islamic issues of policy and destiny in the wrong direction Abdur Rahmaan ibn Awf would no longer speak to Uthman or want to meet with Uthman. Sonot all is like the information in the public wants to convey- not all these developments were some kind of conspiracy. Even though this person was not known to be a person of austeritythere was no austere aspect to his life. He was not a zaahid.. He wanted to partake of the abundance that was around him. He came to the Prophet, because of a skin condition, and asked permission to wear silk. Allah's Prophet made it an exception and gave him that permission, but then he wanted to extend this and he wanted his family to wear silk and Umar (radi Allahu anhu) rebuked him in more or less words, he said enough is enough- you don't carry this exception to make it the norm. So, Uthman was boycotted more or less by the same person who was instrumental in him becoming the 3rd successor to Allah's Prophet.

Another personality that figured pre-dominantly in those days was Saad ibn Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu). We covered a little territory in which there was a dispute between Saad and Uthman and that was as a result of Uthman relieving Saad of his position as governor of Al-Kufa. Once again, Saad was reported to have been, during those critical hours, in making the decision of who is going to lead the Muslims when it came down to two Uthman or Ali (radi Allahu anhuma). It was said that personally, Saad was in favor of Ali becoming the leader of the Muslims, but he didn't make much of this. He kept this personal feelings to himself. We don't know- we say this as a matter of honesty and trust- whether the family circle around Uthman sensed an independent

character in Saad and therefore relieved him of his responsibility of being the governor of AlKufa. It's just one of those questions that presents itself in the coverage of this territory. When Uthman's family decision makers began to steer the Islamic decision in the wrong direction, Saad took a position of conscience. He said he was neutral to all of this he didn't want to be involved in what was beginning to become obvious- an Islamic government and an Islamic opposition. He felt in himself that he wasnt comfortable with all of this and he didn't want to be involved. He expressed some opinions in opposition to Uthman, but when opposition become more than just expressing yourself, meaning he saw people beginning to carry arms in this opposition, he excluded himself from it. So what do we have right now? Abdur Rahman ibn Awf and Saad, both of them, towards the end of the rule of Uthman as opponents to Uthman in their own way. Then, we have Az-Zubair ibn Al-Awwam (radi Allahu anhu), who is one of these outstanding personalities at that time- one of this shura counsel to decide on the future of the Muslims. To begin with, I think some of us should understand Az-Zubair is the Prophet's cousin. He is the son of Safiyyah; Saffiyah being the sister of Abdillah, the Prophet's father. That's in one direction. In another direction- because some of us look as family issues- with Islamic standards, family issues should not contribute to the worthiness or lack there-of of a committed Muslim, but because some of us have been programmed to factor in these issues it is only our right to look at these factors that are involved. Az-Zubair, the full name is Az-Zubair ibn Al-Awwam AlKhuwailid. You know, from elementary Islamic history, Khadijah (radi Allahu anha) is the daughter of Khuwailid. So, Az-Zubair's father and Khadijah are a brother and a sister. This is another contributing factor. In other words, let's put it in the way you can understand it, Khadijah was Az-Zubair's paternal aunt- an aunt on his father's side. In another addition to this, Az-Zubair was married to Aisha (radi Allahu anha)s sister, the daughter of Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu)Asma (radi Allahu anha), which means that Az-Zubair and the Prophet of Allah were Adis of each other (in Arabic or in farsi) baajnaak or in English) two men married to two sisters. We say so what? Our Islamic values dont look at blood relationships. This could be a positive and it can be a negative. Az-Zubair is also one of these people who became extremely rich. If we are talking about understanding the wealth of Abdur Rahman ibn Awf- let's just get a sense of how wealthy he was- when he died, one of these wives (depending on the book that you're reading he died while he had three or four wives) whose inheritance was one-four of one-eighth, which comes out (some what) percentage wise to 3,1 or 3,2% of his wealth went to her which translated into between 80,000 to 100,000 dhirhams or dinaars- it's not made specific. A little, a tad bit over 3% was between 80,000 and 100,000 of the currency of that time. It is said that when Az-Zubair passed away his wealth (here, we, once again run into different numbers) on the lower side it was 35,000,000 and on the higher side it was 52,000,000; the number in between was 45,000,000. Whatever it is, in the context of that time it was much beyond of what we call today's billionaires. How did he make this wealth? He made it in simply what we call today real estate. He asked where is the high value property? He was told in Al-Kufa, Al-Basra, Al-Fastaf, AlAskandaria, Iraq and in Egypt and he bought and invested. When he died, he had 11

residences in Al-Madinah alone- 11 homes in Al-Madinah. Now, you can understand why there were some Muslims like Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) who was very concerned why are some people in possession of all of this wealth and other people barely in possession of survival? So, we come to Az-Zubair himself and his position vis--vis Uthman. At the beginning, it was normal, but then, towards the end even though Uthman showed much favoritism to Az-Zubair's son Abdullah (radi Allahu anhu), Az-Zubair turned an opponent of Uthman, so we can't speak about a homogenized wealthy class of Muslims who did not have their differences- they did have their differences. It's not a simple as some people want to cast it a simple issue of polarization of wealth or a conflict between families. There was much more to it then that, even though these were some of the elements of it. This person also turns against Uthman and becomes one of the opponents of Uthman. The other frontline personality in this shura council was Talha ibn Ubaidillah (radi Allahu anhu). Talha belonged to the family structure of Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) called Taim. He also was a very prosperous or rich man. They say when he died he had 30,000,000 dirham or dinaar- were not very clear on this one is a silver based currency and the other is a gold based currency. By profession, ever since before he became a Muslim, he was a merchant. He had ventures with Uthman- before and after Islam, they would go on commercial journeys to Ass-Shaam. Talha and Uthman became Muslims in the same year. Talha ran into the Prophet of Allah and Abi Bakr when they were on their way from Makkah to Al-Madinah, meaning, during their Hijra from Makkah to Al-Madinah. So, what was Talha's position? Talha, at the beginning, was upset why the decision was made to appoint Uthman to be the leader of the Muslims when he was absent. He was on one of his commercial journeys and he wasn't present in Al-Madinah when the decision was made to appoint Uthman as the ruler of the Muslims. When he came back to AlMadinah it was a feat accompli. Uthman had already become the successor to the Prophet and the leader to the Muslims. He was very upset about this. In other words, how is a council of people making decisions while I am a member of that counsel and the decision was made and I wasn't consulted. Uthman realizes this was the case and he tried his best to diminish this feeling or this position of Talha. Let us remind ourselves that Talha was one of the persons who (as did all of these people that we are talking about) attended the wars of Allah's Prophet. Talha was distinguished by being one of those rare personalities who fought with Allah's Prophet in the crucial moments of Uhud when many people abandoned him. He was hit by an arrow in his hand while defending Allah's Prophet and one of his fingers was paralyzed. He was injured in all parts of his body in defending Allah's Prophet in Uhud. So, what was his position when the opposition though, when the opposition against Uthman amongst the Muslims increased? Even thoughlisten to this how sometimes the details that are very critical, we sort of by pass them and generalize- Talha was one of the persons who turned against Uthman with an opposition of arms. In other words, he joined the Muslim armed opposition when Uthman was besieged in his residence. We just mentioned that Az-Zubair was opposed to Uthman. Az-Zubair's son Abdullah (radi Allahu anhu) was in charge of security of Uthman's residence. Talha was one of the people who was in the crowd of opposition that came to unseat Uthman. When Uthman was killed and

Ali showed discomfort with the killing of Uthman, Talha was one of the persons who was surprised- how could Ali feel uneasy or disturbed by the killing of Uthman. This could not make sense to him. We later know that even though Talha gave his bai'ah after Uthman to Ali, along with Az-Zubair, they were in almost a quick fashion to renege on that baiah and Marwan ibn Hakam was a person who was destined to kill Talha in the battle of Al-Jamal because he said this is for that- you, Talha, was instrumental in this revolt against Uthman and now I am getting equal with you. The last outstanding personality in this counsel of shura was Ali, who, (save us from much of the details of what has become the tit for tat between Sunnis and Shiis in their versions of history) well spare ourselves this and we will take what is known by every Muslim whatever their background is. Ali became a Muslim in the household of the Prophet of Allah when he was either 9 or 11 years old. He was the Prophet's cousin. Abu Talib took care of the Prophet when the Prophet needed help and the Prophet took care of Ali when Abu Talib's family needed help. Ali was married to the Prophet's daughter (radi Allahu anha). Ali was the trustee of the possessions that were in the Prophet's control when he was in Makkah the day or the night that he had to leave from Al-Makkah to Al-Madinah. The Prophet said to Ali, this was when the Prophet was going on a military mission to Tabuk and deputized Ali over Al-Madinah when he wanted to participate in this military mission of the Prophet. Ali was the one who would carry the banner of the Muslims in every military encounter. He was the one who gave his baiah with sincerity and honesty to Abi Bakr and Umar and he did not boycott them. He did not express any hostility towards them. When they needed advice he would give them advice. He did not say I am going to isolate myself from political life because the affairs of the Ummah are going in the wrong direction- none of that is reported in history, if we want to be fair to what we are reading. But, when things began to go wrong at the time of Uthman, even though, on a personal level, he was not an enemy of Uthman, he disagreed with the decisions that were being made out of the office of Uthman. When the opposition turned violent against Uthman Ali's sons were the ones who were entering and leaving the residence of Uthman. That being said, obviously Ali did not agree with many of the things that were done in the name of Uthman, either by his relatives or by him, himself, or by some ambiguous shouldering of the responsibility. Whatever the case was, this was the shura council that made the critical decisions in those times and days and we find out, at the end, that barely anyone- rather none of them none of them from this shura counselwere satisfied with at least the latter second half of the rule of Uthman ibn Affan. Now, we ask you, if this is the information that is affordable or available to all Muslims, then why is everyone worked up with each other saying I am a Sunni or I am a Shii? Where did this come from? It wasn't there. Were looking at this information 1st hand, without any interference and we don't find this type of tension among these sincere Muslims who sincerely disagreed amongst themselves. So, does recalling these events generate bad feelings? NO. Recalling these events lends itself to experience. We learn from this. If we cannot learn from this, maybe being six feet under is more honorable than shouldering the responsibilities of life. Let us ask ourselves alsowe notice that the Muslims did not have, in this time period, a vice-president as it were, meaning

the khalifah or the imam or the Ameer Al-mu'muneen, whatever you want to call the chief executive of the Muslims. The Muslims did not have a deputy. Are we missing something, can we not ask ourselves why was that not the case? Were they less then able to find someone who could fill in for the Muslim ruler if something happens to him? Are we allowed have someone in that position or not? Can we learn from this history, absorb its lessons or are we blinded by fanatical emotionalism? Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims To make you and us have a better understanding of why we are covering this territory- which has become forbidden territory in the Muslim public lecturing activities- out of knowledge, (we hope that the political clocks of imperialism and zionism fail in their 1st steps), but we fear that the Iraqi scenario, which has taken on an ominous Sunni/ Shii vocabulary will be converted to a war against an Islamic state in Iran and an Islamic movement in the world. We will burn ourselves with sectarianism on demand from imperialism central in Washington and Zionism central in Tel Aviv. Because of this, we are pre-empting all of their evil plans with the approximation of right information that will immunize us from the infestation of their conspiracies and stratagems.

IBN SABA
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations....

We continue, and we know that being with Allah trivializes all of these other grand plans that are around us, therefore we will continue in our pursuit of the truth in an area that has become a minefield of emotional explosives and mental obfuscation Allah says those who listen to what is being said and they follow through with the best of it (Surah AzZumar verse 18) Brothers and sisters it is not a secret to say that even amongst us there are some individualssome brothers and sisters- who are discouraged by our pursuit of the truth without a slant to a tradition without any prejudice against other Muslims and without a pre-planned justification for what we say. What we are trying to explain from this mimbar at this time every week, given the circumstances around us, is the pursuit of the truth while we are equipped with the words of Allah and the guidance of His Prophet. That being said, it doesn't matter whether some- even our own selves- don't think that this is the right approach to this subject matter. It is enough to recall that tens if not hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings are losing their lives because of a false hostility that is being instigated and inflamed within the Muslim mind and Muslim communities. This is enough for us to insist on pursuing this truth. We remind these people who need a reminder of Allah's words And hold on, together, all of you to what Allah extends to you and be not divided amongst yourselves (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102) the ayah that any elementary Muslim is familiar with. That being said, we take our consciousness and our minds back to a formative time in our common history. We may have different books and different scholars that we may prefer to refer and listen to- that's your choice, but these facts or chapters in history have to be dealt within a mature way that will make it impossible for outsiders, mischief makers and those who are planning wars to come to us and say because you are a Sunni Muslim this is how you have to think and they throw traditions and raw material at us that we have not thought out; likewise, there are those who come to Shii Muslims and say this is the way you have to think and they throw at them traditions and raw material that has not been thought out- both of these will lead to what we are seeing today. We have to rely on our mental and conscious relationship with Allah and His Prophet to deliver us from the sedition that is laid in front of us which they hope that we are going to fall into and that's the end of our revival. With this being said, we go to one of these time periods that is critical in our history and in some minds it is divisive. We don't want it to remain one of these areas that any trouble maker can come along and drop it in our midst and have us divided. During the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) who was the leader of the Muslims in our history, there's a figure that occupies a lot of pages in our history books. According to some Muslim historians, writers, speakers, scholars and intellectuals this person was the number one trouble maker of the time. Then, according some Muslim historians, scholars, writers, speakers and

intellectuals this person did not exist. We mean- imagine the contradiction and the conflicting material that we have among us, the Muslims. Some people say this is the most evil character because of what he did to the Muslims and other Muslims saying actually this person never existed. How much more trouble making material would you need than to say look- some Muslims believe this person was actually there and he was coordinating a revolution or a revolt against Uthman while other Muslims say this personality is fictitious. This is what we have. Brothers and sisters, we are honest with you. We are not like some of these speakers who ascend this mimbar every Friday, where ever in the world, and then they just want to soothe your minds, give you words that will make you feel good and not present you and me with the problems that we have. We have problems and we have to solve these problems ourselves. No one else is going to do it and we have to begin doing this from the house of Allah and from hearts that belong to Allah. Who are we speaking about here? Who is this personality of diverse and hostile opinions? This person is known in history as Abdullah ibn Saba. Some of you may have heard the name some of you may not have heard the name- it doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is, anyone who has evil on their mind can come to this area and look at this historical information that we have or don't have and then begin to divide us because we ourselves are not putting our hearts and minds together on particularly these issues in a way that will deliver us all. Who is this Abdullah ibn Saba- if he existed or didn't exist? What type of information is there about this person? Here is where we try to give you this information without taking sides and in a way that will heal our own psychology so that today's people who are in high office all around the world who are looking at this area not only to divide and kill us, but to have ourselves kill each other will not have their way- this is why we are forced to deal with this issue. Do you think that if we are not in these circumstances it would be our first choice to speak about this issue? NO. We would probably have left this for more relaxed occasions and more scholarly circles, but now we are presented with these unrelenting and threatening issues and it is from this position of responsibility that we open up this chapter. Who is Abdullah ibn Saba- if that person existed? What type of information do we have about such a character? This is what we have, and we tried to pull this information from reliable and mainstream sources. It turns out that he was born, as some of these books tell us, to a jewish father and an African mother. Now, of course with some people, this is going to take on some other meanings. Brothers and sisters it doesn't matter- a person is a person to be judged by what he does and not by who his father or mother were or where he was born or how can we trace his ethnic, nationalist or genetic lineNO, it has nothing to do with this. So, they tell us, in these books of history, that this character was born in Sana in Yemen from a yahudi father and a habashi mother- OK. Then they tell us that he became a Muslim during the time Uthman was the ruler of the Muslims- that's very late in time. Were not speaking about a person who became a Muslim early on. This is very late in the day (so to speak) that this person became a Muslim- OK. What other information do we have about this character coming from these books? It is said that he went from Yemen (when you follow this information, you would think this person had quick means of transportation going from between these areas swiftly and post haste) to Al-Basra and in Al-Basra, he tried to have Muslims revolt against the government in Al-Madinah. It seems like he didn't find any response

there in a significant way and the ruler of Al-Basra, Abdullah ibn Aamir, virtually expelled him from there. So, where did he go from there? According to these books and sources of information he goes from Al-Basra to Ash-Shaam. These books of history that speak about his presence in Ash-Shaam says that there, he was also very busy trying to intensify the popular opposition to the Islamic decision maker in Al-Madinah particularly. Of course, the person that we are speaking about is Uthman, the 3rd successor to the Prophet in ruling. There, these same books tell us that this Abdullah ibn Saba who by the way in some history books is referred to ibn as-sauda, the child of the black woman- of course, there are some Muslims who because of todays racism, when they read something like this it is going to cause them to lose balance (were just going to leave it at that). Brothers and sisters, how this person is identified in these books and the type of racial connotations that are being used doesnt matter, let us try to look as far as we can understand what we know to be true from this history to see whether this person- in the 1st instance- really existed and in the 2nd instance what he really did, if he did anything at all. He goes to Ash-Shaam. Muawiya being the governor and there it is said (in these books) that he met Aba Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) and these books go on to say that ibn Saba had an influence on Abi Dharr. Now, listen to this- how can a person who just became a Muslims very recently- in the time of Uthman- have an influence on Abi Dharr who had became a Muslim a generation or two before him?! It seems like we are dealing here with information that has to be scrutinized. This information cannot be taken at face value. They also continue to tell us that he was the one who influenced Aba Dharr to read the meanings of the Quran as an opposition to those who have wealth and power, as if Abu Dharr himself didn't have enough information to understand the meanings of the Quran and he needed this type of up start personality to come and tell him what the meanings of the Quran are. Then they tell us that ibn Saba, this border line character, also met Ubada ibn Saamit who took him to Muawiyah and they had an exchange after which Muawiyah expelled this person from Ash-Shaam. So, where does he go now? Now he goes to Egypt and these books tell us in Egypt he found resonance with what he is sayingpeople are listening to him because this person is advocating revolution or a change in governors in Al-Madinah or what is called in today's time a type of military coup that will unseat those who are ruling in Al-Madinah and come up with better rulers. These books continue to tell us that ibn Saba was telling the Muslims that Muhammed is more worthy of returning to life then Isa ibn Maryam (alaih salaam)- because in our Islamic concept, we have the return of Isa ibn Maryam to the world. He said NO, but Muhammed is more worthy of this return than Isa and he quotes an ayah. Listen to this- you talk about quoting ayaat out of context or to serve an immediate objective, he quotes the ayah Certainly He who has mandated the Quran upon you (Oh Muhammed) will have you return for an anchor meaning to do this all over again (Surah Al-Qassas verse 85) He began to preach that every Nabi has a Wasi, and the Prophet being the Nabi had Ali (radi Allahu anhu) as a wasi and just like the Prophet was the last of the ambiya, Ali was the last of the awsiya. Obviously, because youre not the one who is going through this type of digging up

this information, we should mention that there are two very important, if not the most important historical references on that time period- a book written by ibn Saad called At-Tabaqat and a book written by Al-Baladhuri called Ashraaf Al-Ansaab- these two books especially the latter one by Al-Baladhuri that goes into the nitty gritty details of that time period never mentions this character, ibn Saba and ibn Saad also doesn't mention him. The area that needs our investigation- our meaning, not just a few scattered semi-silent scholars, but meaning you and me, the thinking Muslims- and attention is the fact that At-Tabari who is another well known Islamic historian had mentioned ibn Saba relying on a narrative given by a person called Said ibn Umar. We don't know how reliable this narrative is, whether we can collect enough investigative information to prove that this channel of historical narrative by At-Tabari on the authority of Said ibn Umar are enough to convince us that this person actually existed. It is said (in our common books of history- -we know this as a fact- but when we are told that in some of these other lesser history books that have become mainstream and that are used by many Muslims) that ibn Saba met Aba Dharr and then began to lecture Aba Dharr and to motivate him, then, we have a very serious question mark about this whole story and about ibn Saba himself because we know Aba Dharr to have committed himself to Allah's Prophet before all of the Ansaar. Abu Dharr became a committed Muslim at the beginning of the Islamic mission in Makkah. Abu Dharr was a person who committed the Quran to his heart, hafidh Al-Quran. He was a person who lived the struggle of Islam from it's A to it's Z; from it's beginning years in Makkah to it's ending years in Al-Madinah, meaning the Prophet's years. How can anyone tell us, much less how can historians write for us to read that a person like Abi Dharr was more or less schooled or tutored (this is what some of these history books are telling us) by Abdillah ibn Saba. This is nonsensical. Then, we have this well known encounter. After Abu Dharr was forced out of Ash-Shaam and back to Al-Madinah- we mentioned this previously but there is so much of this information here and there are so many details that it merits us returning to it and mentioning it again, but this time to make a point concerning this ibn Saba character in history. When Abu Dharr went back to Al-Madinah, he went to see Uthman to speak to him on this matter of the almost fairy tale world of riches that some Muslims are in possession of, he said to Uthman and we are told, seated with Uthman at that time was Kaab Al-Ahbaar. Kaab AlAhbaar is a yahudi person who became a Muslim before this ibn Saba (we are told) became a Muslim. So, when Abu Dharr went to speak to Uthman- and look, they were on speaking terms. No one was killing each other on this matter. We still had the brotherhood that even though we have our differences about certain issues, we remain on speaking terms with each other. Brothers and sisters- this is a quality that is hard to come by because if some of us disagree with each other, we don't want to remain on speaking terms with each other. This is one of these minor details in history that we can learn from today. You disagree with the way the other person is making decisions or running affairs that doesn't mean you can't talk to him. Uthman was not a person who had so much of himself that he said that I am not going to listen to Abi Dharr and Abu Dharr, because he felt strongly against the way things were being run, was not the type of person who says Uthman is beyond common sense now I can't even speak to him any longer this human relationship seems now to skip our lives. Some of us who

have power are beyond Uthman and some of us who are in the opposition cannot learn from Abi Dharr. So he goes to Uthman and says to Uthman I have a word I want to speak to you (of course were putting this in today's language) he says okay what do you have to say and he says to him and I am translating to you what Abi Dharr said to Uthman- he said if a person pays his zakaah that doesn't mean that he has fulfilled his responsibility because after paying AzZakaah (remember Kaab Al-Ahbaar is listening to this in this session). Abu Dharr says to Uthman after this Muslim pays his zakaah money he still has to respond to a person who is asking he still has to satisfy a person who is in hunger he still has to dispense from his money in the path of An-nafaqa. Then, Kaab ibn Ahbaar- it wasn't Uthman who answered- it was Kaab ibn Ahbaar who answered Aba Dharr- no whoever pays his zakaah has done his responsibility- those were his words. Then, what does Abu Dharr say to him? The reason that we are speaking about Abi Dharr here when he is in the presence of Uthman and Kaab ibn Ahbaar is because we want to speak about Aba Dharr as he is presented in some of these books vis--vis Abdullah ibn Saba. When Kaab ibn Ahbaar gave that answer to Aba Dharr, Abi Dharr said that to him (we quoted for you the exact words here because some people become touchy about this issue) you son of a jewess- this is not taking away from Abi Dharrs character it is a feature that some of us- 99 percent of us- do not have inside of us, ie. to speak your conscience. When was it that you encountered a Muslim who can speak his conscience like the way Abi Dharr is speaking it here. He said you son of a jewess and what is it with you to find yourself qualified to speak on this issue are you teaching us our deen. Now, Kaab ibn Ahbaar became a Muslim. It's not that Kaab ibn Ahbaar is a non-Muslim and he became a Muslim long before ibn Saba became a Muslim- this is how it is established across the board. Were not picking a statement from an odd history book this is mainstream history. So now, if Abu Dharr and not only that he took what is called a nahjan, one of these iron reeds that protects the body and he struck Kaab ibn Ahbaar with it. Is this the type of Abu Dharr who is going to be lectured, schooled, tutored and motivated by ibn Saba? It doesn't make sense. You see- this is the area that some of you say Oh brother Muhammed why are you speaking about these issues?! If we are not going to speak about them then who is going to speak about them?! If we don't try to speak the truth about these issues we are going to have the types today who are dropping weapons of mass destruction on us who are going to be speaking about these issues to divide us. We can't speak about these issues to unite us and you want them to have the freedom to speak about issues to kill us?! Your brother is brotherly surprised when one or a couple or a few of you in our presence or absence say Oh why dwell on these issues?! Were not! This is not our 1st choice of speaking. We would have preferred for us to be speaking about the ayaat, the words of Allah and His Prophet as they relate to today's world but that will take a mature listening audience of Muslims. What if we have gaps? We begin to speak about these issues, we take things for granted and some of us don't have the filler information that is necessary to speak about these issues and we create a problem for ourselves, we trip on the problems we put on ourselves. We want to clear this path. Then why is it that we don't have other scholars and speakers speak to these issues? Why is it left up to rare voices here and there to try to outline and explain these issues? Why can't we echo ourselves? Why can't there be tens and hundreds and

millions of Muslims around the world who can take a look at these issues with maturity without any prejudice, nationalism and sectarianism. Listen- brothers and sisters- there is no doubt no matter what background you come from that in the time of Uthman, Muslims formed their 1 st political opposition- there's no doubt about this. If you want to come to terms with that Ahlan wa Sahlan, you are most welcome. If you don't want to come to terms with that do ask yourself why? We don't want to learn from ourselves?! That's our 1st generation of Muslims, with all of their mistakes and with all of the contentious points of view- you don't want to learn from that?! This is precious experience. What do you want to do, fall into the same mistakes again?! There's no doubt Uthman began to give responsibilities to his family. He gave high position in the Islamic state to his maternal half brother, his half brother from his mother. He began to give high positions to his brother from Ar-Rida breast fed brother. He gave positions to those who come from Bani Umayah from a family network of people. What do you say if someone does something like? The Muslims must look the other way and not pursue justice or Muslims should say No, this should be opposed. How do we oppose it? With all of this time we haven't worked out a method in which our opposition can exclude blood baths and bloody battles? Why? You don't want to look at this?! Then, when we do have a legitimate opposition- let us say we can work our minds and our conscience up to a conviction to say when we have an Islamic government with the flaws that it has we certainly will have an Islamic opposition with the sincerity that it has but having said that isn't it possible to have a false Islamic opposition? When we look at these details in history we had sincere Islamic opposition but didn't we also have false Islamic opposition? If we cannot detect false Islamic opposition at a distance of 1,300 years or so how are we going to be able to learn? If we dont learn from that experience how are we going to look around us today and say we may have sincere Islamic rulers but we may also have sincere Islamic leaders in the Islamic movements that we have? Bt don't they have flaws? And if they do have flaws is there going to be a sincere opposition to that? Is that permissible? And if there is a sincere Islamic opposition isn't there enough trouble makers around to come with a false Islamic opposition? Brothers and sisters- if we don't train our minds and if we don't exercise our intellect on these areas we're just going to invite troublemakers that we have today- more of them- and we are the one who are going to suffer. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims A word is due concerning all this injustice in perpetuity- a bunch of individuals who happen to have money place their hands on the house of Allah, the Islamic Center right here for over 24 years. Some people will say why cant you go away? Just let it be. You can do that, its up to you; its not up to us. We remind you- weve said this previously and well say it again- we will have nothing to say here on Fridays if you dont come to Jumah prayers. If you dont come here, what are we going to say? Who are we going to speak to? Are we going to speak to the air? One of the foundations of the Jumah is the jamaah. If theres no jamaah, theres no Jumah prayer here. But if you decide not to come here, they will have gotten away with nationalizing,

misappropriating and stealing a Masjid- how about that? Can we call it as it is- they stole a Masjid. Some people dont have a conscience. If you want them to get away with that then just leave and dont come here on Fridays and you will be in their service by your absence from these Jumahs, but if you continue to come here, we will continue to speak the truth. We ask you, in all of these years, were we just passing time by coming here to this Jumah every Friday? Do you learn something or you dont learn something? Do you have a sense for what is happening here and what is happening to the general Muslim public and the oppressed people or not? We are not coming here just to fill in an hour or two every week. We come here because we have principles.

ALI (R) AND AAISHA (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose relationship with Allah Azza Wa Jall is one of responsibilities and duties and one of tasks and obligations.... Before we go into the details of this khutbah, we would like to put our hearts and our thinking minds in the context of the ayaat

Our Sustainer, place not in our hearts bad feelings towards those who are committed to you (Surah Hashr verse 10) and the ayah that says and we have extracted ill-feelings from their hearts for they are brethren in sitting positions corresponding to each other (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47) We would like to saturate hearts that feel and minds that think with the meanings of these ayaat before we tread within delicate emotional Islamic territory. Brothers and sisters, we have been trying our God-given best to sort out the beginning of our departure from each other which goes back to that 1st generation of Muslims. The same material that todays trouble-makers are trying to formulate civil wars, civil strifes and bloodshed out of, and it doesnt lend itself to that type of bloody behavior. We detailed some of the history that brings us to the time when Ali (radi Allahu anhu) was by popular consent the endorsed leader and imam of the Muslims. That happened when Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was assassinated. Uthman was assassinated during the time of Haj when Muslims who could make it to Makkah were in Makkah and the news item hit the Muslims like a thunderbolt when they were performing their movements of devotion and compliance with Allah during those high holy days of Al-Haj. When Muslims received this information some of them were on the their way back from Makkah to Al-Madinah and they reacted these developments in conflicting ways. When some of them heard that Ali had now become the leader of the Muslims made haste and were on the double, anxious to arrive in AlMadinah to give their baiah to Ali; other Muslims had another attitude about this. They felt demoralized and that this was becoming an issue that they could no longer tolerate. So when they, themselves, were on their way back to Al-Madinah and when they heard the new: Uthman assassinated, Ali now leader of the Muslims they returned to Makkah. When the baiah became a popular baiah on insistence of the Muslims themselves that Ali become their leader even some of the people in Al-Madinah who had given their baiah to Ali said we want to leave Al-Madinah and we want to go to Makkah. So, there was a movement of some people from Al-Madinah to Makkah. This issue of Ali becoming the leader of the Muslims began to polarize the Muslims and this polarization had an earlier expression. When Uthman was assassinated, two individuals came to Ali- these were opposite individuals- and offered to give him their allegiance. One of them was Al Abbas (radi Allahu anhu). Even though he was a latter comer to Islam he said to Ali extend your hand and I will express my pledge to you. Ali was not responsive. Al-Abbas was doing it from what may be described as clear motivations, seeing that the only qualified person who can deliver the Muslims from the dilemma that they found themselves in happens to be his nephew- he wasnt doing this because Ali was his nephew or because of family feelings yet Ali was not responsive. The other opposite person who came to Ali and said the same thing- extend your hand and I will express my pledge to you was Abu Sufyan. This he was expressing so that the Muslim public can finally make up their mind. Are they going to go with Ali on a course of justice or are they going to choose to settle into reality or the status quo- and the same thing, Ali was not responsive. So, after the Imam not because of individuals telling him extend your

hand and I will express my pledge to you but now there was a society that was demanding from him that he should extend his hand so that he may have the baiah of the Muslim public to become their qualified leader- at that time he was responsive. After word got around that the Muslim leader is Ali, Makkah began to- before we continue, Makkah had a conflicting character, it meant two different things to two different types of people. For those who did not have a hidden agenda, Makkah was Haraman Aaminah- like Allah says in his book, describing Makkah as a secure sanctuary (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 126). So, when Muslims began to visualize a conflict in the making, there were those who were with Ali on a course of justice, not to the right or not to the left. There were others who had this notion of taking the law into their own hands and wanting immediate justice for those who assassinated the duly appointed previous imam of the Muslims, ie. Uthman- the son of Affan. To those who were honest to Allah and His Prophet, Makkah was a place of safety and security, so, when they saw a danger looming in the horizon or a conflict amongst the Muslims, they said they wanted to go to Makkah because it was a Haraman Aaminah. To the others who wanted to score political points, Makkah became a place of latent hostility to Al-Madinah- idaan kaamin- the purpose for them going to Makkah was not to go to a secure place, it was for them to regroup. What happened here was we had Abdullah ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu)- these people meant a lot to public opinion; the you and me average Muslim- who left Al-Medinah and went to Makkah. Because Ali knew what this person meant to the average Muslim, he wanted to send a contingent of horsemen to bring him back to AlMadinah and it took some reliable individuals who told Ali- some of them were from the household of both families- that he is not going to Makkah for conspiratorial purposes. The other two individuals who left Al-Medinah and went to Makkah were Talha and Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhuma). Whether they went as they said they were going for purposes of Umrah or whether they went to avoid being caught in what they saw as being a battle between Ali and Muawiyah- in honesty, theres no way we can ascertain, this is left up to Allah to judge on. Any person whos going to come here and say it one way or the other is just emotionally taking sides in what has become a traditional sectarian issue. Nevertheless, they left AlMadinah and went to Makkah.

The other people who it appears left Al-Madinah and went to Makkah (we can say this with some comfort) is that they wanted to regroup in Makkah against Al-Madinah. These were some of the governors that Uthman had assigned to some of the territories of the growing Islamic state. Abdullah ibn Aamir from the South of Iraq; Yala ibn Umayyah from Al-Yemen, there was Marwan ibn Al-Hakm and a couple of other governors that Uthman had appointed from around the Islamic territories, now at this time they all went to Makkah. It also happened to be that when Uthman was assassinated, the Prophets wife, Aisha (radi Allahu anha) was in Makkah performing her Hajj responsibilities. When the news came that Uthman was assassinated, she was finishing her Hajj performance (as it were). Then, on her way back to Al-Medinah, news came to her that Talha had been appointed the ruler of the Muslims and she felt comfortable with

this for a couple of reasons. 1st of all, it wasnt Ali who became the ruler of the Muslims and 2nd of all, Talha is from Tamim, the same family extension that Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) is from and being that she is the daughter of the 1st khalifah, that made her feel somewhat comfortable. So, she was on her way from Makkah to Al-Madinah when it was confirmed to her that NO- its not Talha that is the leader of the Muslims, it is Ali. Brothers and sisters- as much as we would have liked these people around the Prophet to have understood each other more, it turns out in this particular case, without doubt, that there was friction between Ali and Umm Al-Muminin Aisha. When Aisha heard that Ali is the Imam and leader of the Muslims, she stopped her journey back Al-Medinah and she went back to Makkah. In Makkah, in addition to Aisha, there were two others from Ummahaat Al-Muminin- wives of the Prophet. One of them is Hafsa, the daughter of Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) and the other is Umm Salamah (radi Allahu anha). Now, Makkah has three of the Prophets wives in it. We have to speak Brothers and sisters, we began this khutbah by quoting the two ayaat Our Sustainer, place not in our hearts bad feelings towards those who are committed to you (Surah Hashr verse 10) and the ayah that says and we have extracted ill-feelings from their hearts for they are brethren in sitting positions corresponding to each other (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47) It appears that Aisha, Umm Al-Muminin, disliked Ali. Our understanding is that she disliked him because of at least two or three issues. One of them was what is called haadithah al ifk. In our Islamic 1st generation, there was the issue of ifk- that had to do with Aisha (without going into the details) having been left by herself in the desert when she was in the company of the other Muslims and she made her way back to Al-Medinah and with her was another man. This spoiled the moral impression that the Muslim public had about the Prophets wife. When this issue took its toll on the Prophets psychology (so to speak), there were ayaat from heaven above that came and vindicated Aisha. During those troubled times, Ali told the Prophet divorce her, there are plenty other women in society. His words were divorce her, theres a lot of other women basically what he said to the Prophet. Aisha registered these words in a way that she didnt like the person who said them. That is one issue now that human nature has its way of making a comeback. The other issue is- our sisters can speak to this better than we and we lament the fact that we dont have many sisters speaking about this issue- Aisha was, of course as everyone knows was the Prophets wife and she bore him no children. On the other hand, Ali was married to the Prophets daughter and the Prophet had a fathers feeling towards his children and grandchildren and it happened that the Prophets grandchildren or children did not come from Aisha, they came from Fatima and Ali (radi Allahu anhuma). The Prophet would, in his household, express his

paternal feelings towards Al-Hasan and Al-Husein (radi Allahu anhuma) and this would have its influence on the psychology of Umm Al-Muminin Aisha. The other issue is, (we know that this issue is not available to the public, and we think that it is the unavailability of this information to the innocent Muslim mind and heart that makes it a commodity of the troublemakers), that after Abu Bakr passed on, Ali married Aba Bakrs wife. Her name is Asma Al-Khafhamiyyah and she happened to be the mother of Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr. Now, Aisha sees in her life, in the time period before we are speaking about now- she sees her own brother growing up as a virtual member of Alis household. This also complicates her emotions and her relationship with Ali. All of this is part of known history, but not all of this should become part of harsh difference among the Muslims. With this in mind, that Aisha who was known to be unlike her father who was on the gentle side- a gentle character or personalityshe was an outspoken personality. Aisha was outspoken, not only Ali, she was also outspoken against Uthman. When Uthman berated in an unbecoming was Abdullah ibn Masud (radi Allahu anhu), it was Aisha who took issue with Uthman publicly in front of everyone to see and listen to. She was opposed to Uthman to a degree that many historians and observers to this era thought that she was one of the instigators against Uthman. There are some people who want to simplify history to the point of fanaticism. No brothers and sisters- let us be fair to these issues. These are not the simple issues that you listen to in your traditional religion.

When Aisha had her father pass away, she went to him, because of her character- remember, this person is in his deathbed or the last hours in his life- and she recites a verse of poetry and he says to his own daughter it would have behooved you to have quoted (and he said to her) the ayah from the Quran And the (sakrat al-maut means when a person dies, he feels that he is losing consciousness. Its like a person who is drunk. He could feel drunk and then sober and then drunk again. You like go in and out of consciousness (Surah verse) The Prophet of Allah described these moments of departing life- he said dying has its sakaraat- this in and out of consciousness. So, Abu Bakr was reminding his daughter- it would have been better for you than reciting a verse of poetry when Im passing on to have quoted this ayah from the Quran This going in and out of consciousness has came with the truth, this is what you have been trying to avoid (Surah Qaf verse 19) This ayah speaks to every living soul- at the time of expiration, before that, it tries to avoid this ultimate moment. Aisha, Umm Al-Muminin, with some of this background and facts, was in Makkah, and whilst in Makkah, she had people who would listen to her. She would say we opposed Uthman and now it seems like we are going to be in opposition to the new rulers

from Al-Medinah. A point in history that has to be known is that Ali sent directives that the new governor in Makkah is going to be one that he is going to appoint. When this letter of instructions reached Makkah, it reached a more or less social order that was not reconciled to AlMedinah and Ali, so they took this letter and they virtually threw it into the well of Zamzam. The water that was coming out, they tossed it in there. Meaning were not going to take any orders from Al-Medinah, particularly from Ali. What we have now, and what we had in the making was Makkah whose true character is beginning to appear. Its true that Makkah is what Allah says it is, Mathaabatan Li Naas and Haraman Aamin. It is a retreat or refuge for people (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 125), it is a secure sanctified territory (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 126) but what do you do when you have individuals who are regrouping in Makkah with a political agenda? Whats wrong? Its the Muslim public that came to Ali and insisted that he assume the responsibilities of leadership and now, it is the same Muslim public that seems to be breaking away from what they demanded. Even though this is rich history and we can take a look at this and further deliberation of this history and we can learn from it- we dont have to become enemies of each other because of it. What gives these people who are instigating these types of problems- believe us, they are in both camps- and who say that they are Sunnis or Shiis the justification to go back to these issues that we are covering and hate each other because of these issues? Can anyone sense any hatred in this? We have been covering and bringing it to you, but we cant sense that there is any hatred in it- wheres the element of hate in all of this?! Its not that we can hate each other because of our knowledge of these issues, its that we can hate each other because of our ignorance of these issues or we can hate each other when we refer these issues to our sectarian traditional mould. Here is where we encounter problems and we are speaking across the board. We address those who say they are Shiis and those who say they are Sunnis equally because none of them have been willing and still continue to be resistant in presenting these issues as they are and were and not with an automatic holier than though attitude just because you are a traditional- you can take your pick- Sunni or Shii. This is not an easy issue to unfold and explain. These are delicate positions and for anyone who has a sense of fairness and is selfless- theres no ego in thiswhether its a social ego or a religious ego- we have religious egos- when someone feels that they are on top of the world because they are Sunnis, that person has a religious ego. Another person who thinks that he is in command of Islamic affairs because he happens to be a Shii, the person is suffering from a religious ego. By Allah and with reference to Allah, is there anything that you have listened to from the details that we have covered so far, and we will continue to cover these details, so that we are going to take away this explosive religious material from the orientalists, the academics, those who specialize in Islamic affairs and from politicians who want to bring the Muslims to the edge of sectarian internal warfare. Were going to take this material away from them if we continue to follow with open minds and with clean hearts and we repeat, reiterate and emphasize Allahs words

O Our Sustainer, do not have us internalize feelings of malice towards those who are committed to you (Surah Hashr verse 10) And the other ayah and we have expurged from their hearts this ghill because they are brethren (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47) A committed Muslim can be wrong, but that doesnt mean that because the committed Muslim is wrong is evil. This is a lesson that the Muslims have had centuries to learn but still have not learned. Take stock of Allahs power presence and He will teach you (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 282) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We think it would be a person who is absent from reality who will tell you that some Sunnis feel that they are Sunnis in these circumstances 1st and then they are Muslims and equally so, there are some people who are absent from reality who will come and tell you we are Shiis 1 st and then Muslims later. This is exactly falling into the programs that want to divide and devastate us. This policy is not new. Phiroun has always been considering himself supreme or superior in this world and therefore he implementes policies of divide and conquer (Surah Al-Qassas verse 4) But how are you going to divide the Muslims? The Shaytaani brains came out and thought out this Sunni/Shii controversy. This is not something that has just been thrown out there haphazardly, without having people squeezing the juices of their brains on the subject. They looked at our psychology, they had their informers, agents, turn-coats and spies- all of them come back with information saying that Muslims are vulnerable on the Sunni/Shii divide or issue, so we have to work that up. Now, these policies are in motion and some people have taken the bait, theyve swallowed it and now, theyre causing indigestion in the Muslim general body. Why? Brother and sister Muslim- why are we in these circumstances, beginning with Iraq and all the way to the four corners of the earth where Muslims are listening to discourses on how the Sunnis are evil or agents or traitors? This is not the way to speak. There are people who may or may not consider themselves Sunnis who are all of that and much more, but you dont come and say they are that because they are Sunnis and exactly the same way, there are others who come and tell you there are Shiis who are agents, traitors and all of these other descriptions- and there are people who consider themselves Shiis who are that and much more, but not that because they are Shiis- cant we understand this? Its because of our inability to understand this that we are having and will have more of it if we dont wake up and understand that there is no traitor, hypocrite or person who has gone to the side of the enemies of Islam and has justified it because of the Sunnah of

Rasulillah that all Sunnis are committed to or because of Tashayyu, the feelings of loyalty to Ali that all Shiis feel- theres nothing in all of that that gives substance to the type of sectarian wave that they want to flood the Muslims with. Nothing! Everything begins in closed meetings and low key and traditional context- thats where it all begins. Those who are now turning up the Sunni temperature do it where? They do it in their sectarian strongholds. They do it where? In their cultural meetings. They dont bring this out to the public because they dont have the moral and mental courage to do so. Those who are turning up the Shii heat, the same way. All of them stand exposed, it only takes an open and a courageous mind to see through this plot that has been cooked here, in Washington DC and Tel Aviv and it goes through the back channels of finances. People who have the money are given these instructions and they pass on these instructions to the recipients of the money, who happen to be those in administration of the Islamic Centers and Mosques around. So we have cultural, sectarian, sufi and every other centre that is willing to fall into this trap. Our endeavor has been to go back to the basics and to the essential ingredients out of which they are fabricating- this is a fabrication. There are no bad feelings between those who are committed to Allahs Prophet and those who are committed to Ali- theres no bad feelings. No one can bring us any of this from any reliable or authentic sources. It comes from the devious and doubtful sources that they draw frombeware of this.

FREEDOMS WE ONCE HAD

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sister of Imaan, Allahs assurance and confidence in Allah.... Allah orders us to maintain a solidarity among ourselves. He says And hold onto that which Allah gives you and dont be divided (Surah Ahl Imran verse 103)

This ayah in Surah Ahl Imran is a familiar ayah to the average Muslim, what seems not to be familiar to the average Muslim is the context on which this ayah was revealed. Before this ayah, Allah says O people of scripture- why do you repel from the course of Allah (Surah Ahl Imran verse 99) In another ayah that precedes watasimu bi hablillahi jamian, Allah says If you obey a portion or segment of those who were vouchsafed scripture or given the holy book before you, they will cause you to renounce your Islam and become kaafirin (Surah Ahl Imran verse 100) There was among the Muslims and continues to be this question- are we divided because those who are non-Muslims are working on our division ie. they want us to be divided therefore we are divided or are we divided because we ourselves are responsible for this division, ie. it has nothing to do with outsiders and enemies, just look at ourselves, we are the ones who are causing this division? These two answers, its the outside enemy that is causing our division, (thats the 1st answer) and (the 2nd answer is) its our internal self that is causing this division- and its as if the answer has to be one of the two. Well, why cant it be both of them. When we look at Allahs guiding ayaat, we realize that when He is telling us to be united or solidified, when He is saying O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah, guard against Allahs corrective measures as you should and dont expire except in a state of submission to Him. And hold onto that which Allah gives you and dont be divided, recall his bounty to you when you were avowed enemies and he reconciled you and made you a brotherhood (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102-103) When we are quoting Allah and this ayah in His book and if we just take the little effort that it takes to read the five or six ayaat before that, we can stand and realize that Allah wants us to concentrate on those who are outside the Islamic realm and who are working on our division. Say: O people of scripture- why do you repel from the course of Allah (Surah Ahl Imran verse 99) So as far as our unity of purpose and togetherness is concerned, Allah is opening up our eyes to the fact that there are external forces that want us repelled from the direction and course that Allah is outlining for us. Then, the ayah says O you who are secure in you commitment to Allah- if you listen to, obey and are 2 nd fiddle to those who were given scripture before you, they will cause you to lapse into a state in which you become kaafirin (Surah Ahl Imran verse 101)

So, the answer is here- for those who always debate this issue to death, they just have to read these ayaat to understand that theres a synergistic relationship that wants us divided. This relationship comes from forces that are working outside of us along with forced that are working within our rank and files. If these two forces begin to co-ordinate among themselves and grow, and we, (ourselves), begin to look the other way and not listen to what Allah is saying, then division is unavoidable. That being said, we know that we have been on a course of selfreflection and self-criticism and we know that in todays atmosphere, there are many many individuals, people of influence, institutions that have a say in our social lives as well as militaries that have the use of brute force that are coming into focus to try to have you and me and the Committed Muslims who are just beginning to live their higher responsibilities separated and dispersed from each other. One of the arguments that they are trying to exploit for purposes of dividing the Muslim flock or fraternity is the argument of sectarianism. Now, it is rare that we read or encounter any news item pertaining to the Islamic condition and the vital areas pertaining to the vital areas within this Islamic condition such as Iraq or Lebanon or Iran or the birth place of Islam, Arabia, that doesnt have the deliberate word Sunni or Shii preceding a person, a policy maker, a government official, a population or a region. This comes within a well thought out strategy to try to abort our Islamic revival. One of the areas that they are working on is an area in which we ourselves are unable to reduce our differences of opinions, because we ourselves refuse to point out where and when we were strong and where and when we were weak in our own common history. They take this area of Islamic silence and avoidance of this matter, and they, themselves work on it. Well, why cant we work on it? Why dont we have the able, qualified and credit worthy Islamic scholars who can speak about these issues from the mind and the heart that are located in the book of Allah and the Messenger of Allah. Why is that such an impossible task? With all of these developments that are in the working around us, why dont we have Muslims who can stand on the Mimbar and enlighten all the Muslims, you and me, on these matters? One voice is not enough. This is going to take a concerted effort to realize that we can learn from ourselves. If we take, (and we have been taking) these sensitive pages in Islamic history, and looking at them with open minds and hearts that have no prejudice or hate in them- are we going to hate ourselves? What are we going to do, be prejudiced against our own selves? it doesnt work. Thats not known, neither in the character of Allahs Prophet, nor in the character of those who follow Allahs Prophet.

Lets take one of these areas, lest they begin to try to spur our bad feeling towards each other- as an example- that neither the Muslims want to deal with and therefore those who are in military occupation, economic exploitation and in social preponderance among us are taking advantage of. We go back to the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), which is when many of these issues began to unravel. When we speak about this, we are not speaking about something that is in a sense sacred. These are our brothers and sisters in Islam who either shouldered some responsibility or were excluded from some responsibility and either they were successful in

that regard or they were less than successful in that regard. That doesnt put that whole period of history beyond the book of Allah and His Messengers instructions. To the contrary, it puts them under the scrutiny of the Book of Allah and the Prophet. Therefore, in the time of Uthman, there are two individuals that we think merit our attention. When we cover this area, we cover it without bad feelings and ill intentions. We are trying to look at it so that we ourselves can develop a healthy attitude that will exclude the trouble makers from the plans that they have inshore for us. One of the chapters in the time of Uthman pertains to two individuals. One of them is Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah and the other one is Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr. We know that when we use some of these names, there are people who are going to have some (maybe), mental allergic reactions. This has nothing to do with the facts as much as it has to do with traditions and the elevation of traditions to the area or religion and sacredness. So, let us walk carefully in this area. Let us 1st take a look at who these two individuals were and what their impact has been on our history that has left its traces all the way up to even here. Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah is the son of a very well known character or sahabi (radi Allahu anhu) around the Prophet. His father was the brother of Muawiyahs mother. So what does that mean? Some people say Oh Muawiyahs mother and then they begin to get these big issues in their head. In a family, you can have good people and you can have bad people. Goodness is not genetic and evil is not genetic- lets overcome this. Muhammed ibn Hudhayfahs father had an honorary history with Allahs Prophet. He became a Muslim before the Prophet went to Dar AlArqam, which is in the very 1st months of Islam. So, he was a very early Muslim. He also went with those Muslims who left Makkah to Al-Habasha, along with his wife (radi Allahu anha). He stayed in Al-Habasha where his son, Muhammed (the person we are going to be speaking about) was born. So, what does that mean? This is another sensitive area. Some individuals say this is a Muslim who was born in Africa. So what? It doesnt matter where he was born, but we have these sensitive areas. The family returned from Al-Habasha to Makkah and then they were the 1st to be in the hijrah from Makkah to Al-Medinah. The father of Muhammed (who well be speaking about shortly), witnessed the battle of Uhud. In that battle, he tried to take on his own father because his father was on the side of the kaafirs and if there was anyone who was going to be responsible for killing his father, he wanted to be responsible for that. He was in attendance of all the military campaigns in all the battles that the Prophet attended and he became a shaheed during the time of Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) in what is called the campaign of Yamamah. OKso this is a very honorable sahabi of the Prophet. Can anyone deny this? Thats one issue; the other issue is his son Muhammed. When his father became a shaheed at Yamamah, Uthman was the guardian of Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah and it turns out that the son was not of the same quality or standard as the father. He was about 14 or 15 years old when his father was killed at Yamamah and that was when Uthman became his guardian. This son saw that Uthman was giving out governmental positions to certain people who were in a certain circle of people and he thought or he was expecting that he also was going to gain one of these governmental positions. In some of the books of history, because were trying to cover different areas and different

versions, it is said that Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah was found guilty of consuming alkhamra, in other words, now he had to be subjected to the Islamic law or the hadd of al-khamr. Remember, this is a person who is close to him and who he was responsible for financially and emotionally, but when he did something wrong, what is Uthman going to say? I cant apply the hadd to this person?! He applied the legal penalty as it would have been applied to any other Muslim in the state. Whatever the case is, whether it was the application of the hadd or whether it was the frustration that Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah was not given a power position in the Islamic state, in other words, he wasnt appointed as a governor or an administrator in one of the Islamic regions, so he went Uthman and said I need a little help, could you give me some resources, I want to leave Al-Medinah? OK- here are some financial resources, you can leave Al-Medinah- youre free to go wherever you want to go. Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah went to Egypt. Within the same frame of time, Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr who is well known- his father is Abu Bakr, his sister is Aaisha (radi Allahu anha)- who are known in their relationship with Allahs Prophet. He also may have been expecting some position in the Islamic government of the time. Of course, its impossible to give everyone a position in the government- you cant have everyone chief and no commoners, but some people had high expectations. When he also realized that hes being excluded from the power structure of AlMedinah (were saying these words- is anyone generating any bad feelings?!) We dont understand how some people cover this history and then begin to feel like they are tense or angry and want to take it out on someone- angry on what?! And take it out on who?! These were people who were making mistakes and they were sometimes doing it right- how come this generates some type of distance between me and you or this Muslim and the other Muslim because of looking at this time period in history- you tell us? When these two individuals- we know the type of families that they came from and how they were close to the Prophet of Allah, but they found themselves excluded here, so they went to Egypt. Who was ruling Egypt at that time? Remember, we covered this area earlier- it was Abdullah ibn Saad ibn Abi Surh. This happens to be Uthmans brother through the breast-feeding process, akhuhu bi ridha. This was the highest authority in Egypt. When these two individuals found themselves in Egypt, they began to complain about the Islamic administration in Al-Medinah and specifically about Uthman. Remember who these individuals are and how close their families were with the Prophet of Allah, himself. At that time, the governor of Egypt, Uthmans brother through lactation was preparing for the 1st military sea campaign in the Mediterranean against the Byzantines and what he did was he told these two Muhammeds if you want to come on this campaign, he knew what they were doing as far as public campaign was concerned, 1st of all, realize that no one telling them shut-up, you cant speak. There was freedom of conscience and freedom of expression. But, that doesnt mean that the rulers were not keeping an eye on them, so the rulers told them if you want to come, because it seemed like they wanted to volunteer and go on this military mission, so they said OK. One narrative of history says that they were placed in a vessel that had no Muslims in it. All the rest of the vessels had Muslims in them, but they were placed with Coptic Christians from Egypt. This also is a sensitive area to some people. We dont know why, but it becomes something like a rallying point that these two dissident figures

in Islamic history were put with non-Muslims on a military mission. According to other books of history, it was only Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah who went on this military mission, and in joining the military, he was trying to turn public opinion in the military against Uthman. In the meantime, Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr was involved among the Muslim people themselves, in Egypt, to turn them against Uthman, the Muslim ruler in Al-Medinah. We realize in all of this that there was no police state like we have today. Today, they want to listen to what youre saying in your home, they want to eavesdrop on what youre saying in your bedroom. We didnt have any eavesdropping and we didnt have any spying. We had individuals who were making mistakes, but these mistakes were not institutionalized and systemic compared to what we have today, in our time. Were talking about these two opposition figures- Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah and Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr- and they were gaining popularity. If you read these books of history, you will find that public opinion in Egypt was turning against the Islamic state in Al-Medinah. Even at the end of the salaah- when the imam would finish by saying Assalaamualaykum wa Rahmatullah, Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah would stand up and say Allahu Akbar. By saying that, what he wanted to do was he wanted to draw attention to himself and then he also wanted to devalue the imam that was leading as-salaah. So, this popular opposition movement that began to stir in Egypt- of course, the news was relayed to AlMedinah, the capital of the Islamic state and Uthman heard what is going on there and his brother through ar-rida, Abdullah ibn Saad ibn Abi Surah, who we spoke about previously. One of the statements that was said by these two Muhammeds to the Egyptians was look at your authority and your leader in jihad. This is the one that the Quran itself speaks about his kufr and the Prophet made his blood halal. Remember this part of history that we covered earlier. Jihad should not be with him, the jihad should be against the one who is in AlMedinah, meaning Uthman. Now, this is part of our history. What are you going to do? Are you going to look at this history and feel bad against another Muslim? Whichever way you process this information, if you process this information to generate hatred against Muslims, youre not processing this information right. This is just like any other information you have today. Lets say rulers in our time are making mistakes, is that going to generate hatred in you? It should generate a public consciousness. At that time, there was enough freedom- they speak about freedoms today- we have a deleted word for that- at that time there was enough freedom that a public consciousness began in Egypt by Muslims, just like you and me, who wanted to correct the mistakes that were going on in Al-Medinah. When Uthman heard about this, and he consulted with his brother through lactation in Egypt, his brother in Egypt told him let me take then on and finish them off. This was more or less the communication between the two. Uthman said no, dont do that. So what did Uthman do? He tried to be forthcoming with them. He sent Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah money and clothes. He thought that would placate him and take away his thrust of opposition to Uthman. What did Muhammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah do? He took this money and the clothes, the ward-robe (in todays language) that he received from Uthman to the Masjid. This is how central and vital the Masjid was, even though today, no one will be able to do the equivalent of what was done. Today, they say that theres all these freedoms and we cant do something thats just a shade of what was done at that time. He took it

to the Masjid and he said to all the people in the Masjid look at what Uthman has sent me. He is trying to buy me and divert me from what I am doing. In other words, these are his words, hes trying to bribe me. You tell us, if we wanted to compare the freedom of conscience that the Muslims had at that time with the so-called freedoms that we have today, is there any comparison? So, when we look at these details with the mind and the heart that come from Allah and His Prophet, whatever interpretation you have of this, we didnt try to be judgmental as you have heard, were just trying to relay to you as objectively and without any prejudice the bare facts of history that we have and that no one is willing to look at, especially at times like this when they are trying to use precisely those details of history to have a Sunni and Shii hate themselves. How do you hate yourself? You look at this, how does anyone make any hatred out of this? Theres enough to learn from this, can we not learn? That is what is required. When Allah says O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah, guard against Allahs corrective measures as you should and dont expire except in a state of submission to Him. And hold onto that which Allah gives you and dont be divided, recall his bounty to you when you were avowed enemies and he reconciled you and made you a brotherhood, you were on the verge of the fire and Allah saved you there from (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102-103) When we read this ayah and we want altogether, to hold on to what has come to us from Allah, how are we going to do this together? How are we going to hold on to this common ground that we have that has come to us from Allah when we look at each other and we dislike each other? Its not going to work that way. Let us expel this negative psychology that is trying to take hold all around the Muslim world. Let us expel it at its roots by reconsidering and relearning from our own-selves. Brothers and sisters of imaan In another ayah, and we quote this ayah because of the peculiar condition that has been with our brothers and sisters for 24 years. This week, the powers that be, the ones who have taken away all these freedoms that we speak about, confiscated and nationalized a Masjid, this Islamic Center here. The ayah says In houses or abodes which Allah has permitted to be constructed and which Allah has permitted His dhikr, a consciousness pertaining to His name there-in, Praising Allah therein, morning and evening, are men who are not distracted by commercialism and transactions from the consciousness of Allah (Surah An-Nur verse 36-37) The descriptive meanings in this ayah are a far cry from the status quo of this Masjid and its copycat Masajid all around- the meanings of these ayaat do not come to light. We may not have the time to elaborate on the details of what has happened here, but it is a sore eye and a sore thumb for those who have perpetrated this injustice for the past 24 years. We have seen Muslims who speak about Islamic participation, elections, equality and the brotherhood of Muslims.

Where is all of this we ask? There not enough honor and integrity in the Muslims around to see to it that this division of Muslims- you see, some of our brothers around think that you can only oppose the Saudis or the flunkies of imperialism or Zionism by belonging to a certain school of thought. Thats not true. The Saudi Arabian government would tip its hat to those of you from that school of thought that would not challenge its evil role in everything that it is doing. You only have to look here- for 24 years, do they discriminate between who belongs to whatever school of thought as long as youre trying to express the truth about the matter- No. They treat you with equal discrimination, force and prejudice- thats how they behave. What do you do? What do we do? What does any Muslim do? Its easy- we can wrap up and say that nothing is happening; go home and relinquish our responsibilities. But this is not within the character of Muslims who live and will surrender by their Islam. They cant get away with this. They will not be able to get away with it in this world and they will not be able to get away with it in the pending world. The ayah didnt say adhina Amrika an turfa or adhina Saudiya an turfa or adhina Fulaan wa Fulaan an turfa, it says adhina Allahu an turfa.

INSURRECTION OR DISSENT?
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessaings on Muhammaad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of Imaan, Allahs assurance and confidence in Allah.... We will continue with Allahs provision and with our reliance upon Him in these matters and details to go step by step and thread by thread, placing our God-given mind on the matters that are supposed to be divisive in the minds of the enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims. In this we recall, once again, Allahs words

Our Sustainer, place not in our hearts feelings of malice towards those who committed themselves to you (Surah Al Hashr verse 10) and the other ayah that says We have extracted this ghill- these feelings of malice from their hearts- for they have become brethren who correspond with each other in sitting positions, on seats made available to them (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47) that of course is in reference to the day of post-time, accountability and judgment. With these penetrating meanings from Allah, we take a look at towering figures who differed among themselves with their corrections and mistakes, not to generate any bad feelings towards any of them, and obviously any of us, but to learn, consider and then to move forward with the responsibilities that we all share- which we have been carrying altogether throughout all these years and all these times and trials and challenges. The last time we were speaking about these defining events in Islamic history, we spoke about the assassination of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) and how that impacted public opinion at that time. As a reminder, we say this occurred at a time when the Muslims were in Makkah, performing their Hajj. When word got around to some people, there was a considerable or numerical group of Muslims who considered this to be an offence to Islamic values, a violation of Islamic standards and a set-back to where the Muslims had throughout the passed years progressed. This public opinion can be expressed by what means that the assassination of Uthman can be considered by a good proportion of public opinion to be the shedding of sacrosanct Muslim blood in the sacrosanct month of Islam and in the sacrosanct city of Islam. This public opinion was to gain momentum in Makkah, of all places. As we mentioned previously, there were personalities who were leaving Al-Medinah or arriving from other places into Makkah to formulate public opinion that wants revenge for what they considered to be the violation of Islamic standards in the way that Uthman was assassinated or killed. Central to this was the person of Umm Al Muminin Aaisha (radi Allahu anha), who decided to reside in Makkah and to go public with the opposition of the Islamic leadership in Al-Medinah, for it was now that Ali (radi Allahu anhu) had become the leader and highest authority of the Muslims by public demand. Aaisha began to express herself in harsh words and criticism of the Islamic leadership in Al-Medinah and she began to move public opinion to take corrective measures against what happened to Uthman in Al-Medinah, even though (we have to say for the record) that during the time of Uthman she was a critical figure against Uthman in his last years. What developed in this segment of public opinion that considered Uthman to have been killed as a madhlum, meaning that in the way that he was killed, he was mistreated and denied the justice that was due to him. This Islamic public opinion as it began to coalesce in Makkah thought of taking action 1st, by putting together an armed force that would go to Medinah and face off with the leadership in Al-Medinah. But then, they reconsidered that because it would have been to their disadvantage as far as the rest of the Muslim public was concerned as it would have brought back memories of Al-Ahzaab when AlMedinah was under siege by the Mushrikeen of Makkah. Now, they figured that if they were

going to repeat an attack on Al-Medinah, it would be in the general Muslim public mind reminiscent of Al-Khandaq and Al-Ahzaab. Besides that, it would also bring to the general Muslim public mind the imagery of those who came to Al-Medinah from Egypt and Southern Iraq and then resulted in the assassination of Uthman- so they didnt want to find themselves in this conflicting imagery that would not help their course. So they dropped the idea of attacking Al-Medinah. The 2nd idea that they had was that they should mobilize public opinion in Al-Kufa ie. They should have Al-Kufa as their base of opposition to the Islamic leadership in AlMedinah, but after they thought through that option, they figured that that was not going to work, because the staunchest supporters and allies of the new leadership in Al-Medinah come from AlMedinah. Those who participated, in a forceful way, in unseating Uthman came from Al-Kufa. Besides, the governor over Al-Kufa, Abu Musa Al-Ashari, gave his allegiance to Al Imam Ali, the leader in Al-Medinah. So, this option also was dropped because it wasnt one that was going to bare fruitful results. The 3rd option that was considered by this segment of Islamic opinion, that considered Uthman to have been killed as a madhlum decided that Al-Basrah would be the best place to face off with the new leadership in Al-Medinah. Abdullah ibn Aamir who was appointed by Uthman as the governor of Al-Basrah would contribute to this opinion, not only by what he said was his familiarity and his connections in Al-Basrah, but also by wealth and weapons to a standoff that will begin in Al-Basrah to Al-Medinah. What was to become of this was the following: there was strong public opinion in Makkah against the new consensual leadership in Al-Medinah. The leadership of the Imam in Al-Medinah had the allegiance of AlHejaz and the different other areas in the Muslim domain with the exception of Ash-Shaam. Here, we had an Islamic authority, leadership and a responsible Islamic personality that has to make critical decisions. There were 3,000 people who came together in Makkah and these 3,000 Muslims looked up to 3 Islamic figures- Umm Al-Mumineen Aaisha, and the two well known companions of Allahs Prophet Talha ibn Ubaidillah and Az-Zubair ibn Al-Awwam (radi Allahu anhum). These were the three important figures around which 3,000 other Muslims were willing to leave from Makkah and go to Al-Basrah for the purpose of clashing with the Islamic leadership in Al-Medinah. Aaisha also tried to convince Hafsah (radi Allahu anha), the Prophets wife and the daughter of Umar (radiAllahu anhu) to join them, but Abdullah ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu) was not convinced with this type of political-cum-military activity and convinced his sister not to join this maneuver through Basrah against Al-Medinah- thus she did not join and wasnt part of that effort. We come to the issue of Ali. In these circumstances, (knowing what we already know up until this time- the developments that brought us up to these critical moments), Ali faced something that his three predecessors did not face and i.e. that the Muslim public that was opposed to him wanted a shura, a grand, Islamic popular participation endorsement of this leader. This is something that Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) did not face. Abu Bakr had one person who didnt give him the baiah- Saad ibn Ubadah (radi Allahu anhu). Umar also did not face this. During the time when Umar came to rule, on the authority of Abu Bakr, the Muslims were not saying that we want a grand inclusive shura that popularly endorses the Muslim leader and with the selection

of the six individuals from Quraish who brought Uthman to power, there was also not a peoples movement to endorse the leader. The three of them, Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, were finally endorsed by the people, but it wasnt the peoples movement that launched that endorsement. Ali was faced with a popular demand, meaning that there was a considerable number of Muslims who were saying we want this leader in Al-Medinah to be approved by all the Muslim people- this was something that didnt happen before. Ali had the allegiance of the majority of the Muslims, but that counter-majority that had grouped in Makkah was making a claim that they want to undo the military circumstances that were in Al-Medinah that caused the assassination of Uthman and the leadership of Ali. Ali, as we mentioned before, was concentrating his attention on Muawiyah and Ash-Shaam. This was the place and the people who did not give their baiah to the Islamic leadership in Al-Medinah. As he was about to set out to face Muawiyah, who refused to give the baiah, this development occurred in Makkah and it was moving towards Al-Basrah. He was well informed of this so he changed his plan from going to Dimashq, AshShaam to Iraq, Al-Basrah. Ali was not a person to exclude himself from the affairs of the Muslims. It is reported in some historical references and books that Hasan (radi Allahu anhu), his son, told his father in a matter of advice and discussion not to be involved in the polarizing issues and days that were the last days of Uthman. Al-Hasan told his father that it probably would be the best thing in these circumstances and times to be neutral. Instead of getting involved with Uthman on one hand and telling him what is right and also explaining to him what is wrong- his son was telling him dont do that. On the other hand, Ali was also in communication with these rebels who came from outside Al-Medinah and virtually took over AlMedinah trying to take the edginess off of what they were doing. (In todays language), there were extremists and fanatics in this group of people and Ali was trying to take the sting out of that inclination, and his son thought that he should not be involved in what is broadly known in Islamic wording as al amr bil maruf and an-nahi an al-munkar- he felt it his responsibility to be communicating with Uthman and those who were with him on one side and with the rebels and what they constituted on the other side. For those of us who are slow at thinking- well help you along- this is a demonstration and a lesson for those who think that Islamic history went foul when the Prophet died, and therefore it cannot be redeemed by someone who is going to come in the future. If Ali was aware of these facts, then why was he involved in trying to correct what is wrong and solidifying what is right? Why? In other words, we cannot avoid but use the words that are used today- the activist or the involved character of Ali is the answer for those who today are saying we should not get involved and we should await for some savior to come later on in time and in future generations. We think dome peop0le cannot even learn from this experience. That being what it was, we know nowwe are looking at this with hindsight- that it would have behooved Muawiyah and been the right thing for him to do- if he was looking for the truth and was concerned with justice- to go to Ali and give him the baiah, but he didnt do that, so, Ali is a hujjah against Muawiyah. What would happen later on would bare this out because after Ali was killed and after Hassan reached an agreement with Muawiya, he was no longer concerned with those who killed Uthman? What happened? Are you more concerned with finding the culprits who in your opinion killed Uthman

and therefore youre going to do that (whatever the circumstances are) or are you more concerned with marginalizing and then eliminating Ali and what he stood for? History will tell us that he wasnt concerned with pursuing the assassins of Uthman because when he became the king of the Muslims- let us say it, brothers and sisters let us be frank with this- many of you out there who resist calling Muawiya king- and you are both Sunnis and Shiis and this is where both of you fail in your minds to understand the issues that have to be understood- some of you (at this moment) may think that we are digging up the controversies of history- No- we are not concerned with digging anything up. What we want to do is set the records straight so that our common enemies themselves dont come along and dig out these this is what we are concerned with. It would have been the right thing for Muawiya to come and give his baiah to Ali and have confidence in the Imam and in the pursuant course of justice that he would take, but he didnt do that. Then, we come to At-Talha and Az-Zubair. Unlike Muawiyah, At-Talha and Az-Zubair gave their baiah to Ali. So why are they in Makkah and going to Basra? Why are they involved in contradicting themselves? They gave their baiah to Ali, which means they had confidence in him making the decisions that he has to make, so why are they trying to contradict his decisions by setting themselves on a course into Basra to oppose Al-Madinah? It is self explanatory. When we say this- brothers and sisters, we know many of you are influenced by your traditions and cultures, but this is not the time to raise traditions and cultures to the degree that we make them our Islam and our understanding of Allah and His Messenger. Obviously, this is a hujjah against Talha and Az-Zubair. What are they doing? They presented a conflicting behavior. When we say this, we dont mean were hating someone. Sometimes this happenspeople who look at this history want to generate hatred out of it. Anyone who is looking at this history and generating hatred out of it become accomplices to todays imperialists and Zionists who are instigating this misinformation amongst us and trying to bring war out of this in which Muslims kill other Muslims.

Now, we come to Aaisha Ummul Mumineen. She is Ummul Mumineen by the words of the Quran and the Prophets wives are their mothers and their is in reference to the committed Muslims (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 6) It also would have been the right thing for her to do to give the baiah to the Imam and to listen closely to the words of Allah as Hafsa, the daughter of Umar and the wife of the Prophet did. When the ayah in the Quran says specifically to the wives of Allahs Prophet and stay in your houses and do not display yourselves like during the times of ignorance (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 33

to the end of the ayah. OK- why then and Aaisha would know this later on after the defeat of Al-Jamal- how was she treated by the Imam? She was treated with honors. Remember, she was the one who was putting together an opposition to the Islamic consensual leadership in AlMadinah and when the defeat occurred she was given the highest security to accompany her back to Al-Hejaz from Southern Iraq, which tells us what? After we consider all of these details and the further details that we are going to encounter in the future this tells us what when we look at human beings who differed with themselves to the extent of going to the war-fronts? Another thing that Ali encountered that wasnt present in the years of his predecessors was that Muslims were on a military forward moving and expanding operation. When Abu Bakr became the leader of the Muslims, what happened in the sense of at the beginning of Abi Bakr reign was similar to what is happening to Alis - and that was a revolt of a considerable amount of tribes and power centers in Arabia against him saying we are not going to pay this zakaah- this was like an economic breakaway from the consolidated leadership of the Muslims and he wasnt going to tolerate that. But then, later on Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman managed to place the Islamic military potential at its frontlines. During this time when we are looking at the leadership in Al-Madinah facing a type of insurrection beginning in Makkah and extending to Southern Iraq we are seeing a military freeze or stand still. Now we had Muslims for the first time- this never occurred before- coming back from those fronts and wanting to engage Muslims themselves in and around Arabia, this never happened before. This was yet another element that the Islamic leadership had to deal with and Ali could not fight those first generation Muslims who in the overwhelming majority of them were supportive of Abi Bakr, Umar and Uthman (at least Uthman in his early years)- they were supported but now, this support turned into opposition and this had to be dealt with. Brothers and sisters, what do you do now? How do we think through what happened to us? Are we going to leave this as canon fodder for our enemies to use against us? It comes out today- OK- some of you are Sunnis and some of you are Shiis and look what this means? It means that it is permissible for you to kill each other because this is not the 1st time youre doing it- youve done it before, look at your own history. If we dont look into our own history, we are going to fall in the traps and for the ploys that right now are being positioned in front of us. Brothers and sisters, this is no academic talk. We are not speaking in the abstract. There is a war that is raining everyday and scores, if not hundreds of innocent Muslims, those who consider themselves Sunnis and those who consider themselves Shiis in Iraq- and the fuel for this war is extracted precisely from these areas that we are looking at, here and now. That is why we are in a sense forced to speak about these lessons so that we can learn and not fight on these dubious basis. When some of these opponents to the Islamic leadership in Al-Madinah were considering Al-Kufa, (and Al-Kufa was known to have strong support for Ali then Al-Madinah) the governor over Kufa was Abu Musa Al Ashari and when Ali became the leader of the Muslims, Abu Musa Al Ashari hastened to offer his baiah to the Imam in Al-Medinah, but now, when there was movements of warMuslims to fight each other- he found himself non-supportive of this and in a contradictory position. He gave his baiah to the Muslim leader and when the Muslim leader wanted to put

together a force that would contain this insurrectionist movement, Abu Musa Al Ashari was not in favor of that. What does he do now? To abbreviate our history, he was relieved of his responsibility and there were people just like that who could not find it within themselves to join one segment of Muslims against another. Do you think in the future or today or anytime we dont still possess this same human nature? When some of us see some Muslims who are going to face off against other Muslims on the power of their principles and convictions some of them are going to take one side some of them are going to take the other side and some of them are going to refuse to take any side. Do we have enough understanding of these events to extract the pertinent lessons that are applicable to what may develop among us? Can we not see how these issues are not strictly historical and how they have their meanings in todays world- and how we can learn from this? These people did not fight so that we ourselves fight, they fought so that we do not fight. We learn from what they did and we dont fight amongst ourselves. Can we learn from that or are we condemned to a superficial and a shallow understanding of our past and who we are so that our common enemies come along and invest our ignorance in the wars that they have plotted and planned against us- we hope that never occurs. Our Sustainer, place not in our hearts feelings of malice towards those who committed themselves to you (Surah Al Hashr verse 10) We have extracted this ghill- these feelings of malice from their hearts- for they have become brethren who correspond with each other in sitting positions, on seats made available to them (Surah Al-Hijr verse 47) Brothers and sisters committed Muslims Let us remind you that in these months and years of relative silence- the silence coming from our Manabir from our Masaajid, from the pulpits of Mosques that dare not look at reality- let us remind ourselves that there is a vicious world that is hunting for committed Muslims everywhere and anywhere. They want to spill petroleum and ignite feelings of fanaticism, chauvinism, my country- right or wrong attitude, nationalism and an ugly sectarianism. Many governments, establishments, significant treasures and budgets are allocated for and are targeting our own selves and our own future. They will not leave us alone. They even have the license to come into the Islamic Center- this past week- the president of this industrial-military-banking establishment comes into the Centre. Remember this is like Pharaoh- its halal for Firaun to come into the Masjid and is haraam (on what we may say) the sincere Muslims to go into the Masjid. indeed in that there is a significant moral lesson for those who are willing just to open their eyes and draw the appropriate results (Surah Ahl Imran verse 13) Then, he tells these listening individuals who are there as his audience he tells them that he is going to appoint someone to the Organization of Islamic Conference- the OIC. How does he get away with doing something like that? Has he been invited? Has someone invited someone to be

among this crowd or is this crowd and him made of the same material and they dont need invitation in either direction and thats the way it is? He doesnt need an invitation to come to the Masjid- he comes; he doesnt need an invitation impose his representative on his own lackeyshe does. Are there any free Muslim voices that speak out? He says that Islamic radicals, extremists, fundamentalists, fanatics or whatever the words he may use is the problem that Muslims have because they are death course- killing and beheading innocent people. We ask this commander-in-chief, who is responsible for the millions of Muslims who have suffered because of his zionist inspired policies, the head of whom is- the head of internal security- a dual citizen, an Israeli/American citizen who has a budget of 32billion dollars and 180,000 employees. These are the types who know what makes Muslims tick. They know how to setoff Islamic sensitivities and sensibilities. They come and they want to lecture us- the bare footed, down-trodden Muslims- on who is right and who is wrong; what to do and what not to do; and what is halal and what is haraam and the Saudi nationalized Masjid opens its doors. No surprise, theyve opened their treasuries and put all of the resources that belong to the Muslims in the coffers of the kaafirs and we are supposed to humbly with broken soles accept their dictates- Never- for the Muslim who lives with Allah and His Prophet.

TALHA, ZUBAIR AND AAISHAH VS ALI

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sister of Imaan, Allahs assurance and confidence in Allah.... With Allahs guidance and with our devotion to Him, we will continue this journey into our own historical personality and into the area which todays warmongers and power-maniacs are trying to stir the Islamic psychology in conflicting ways so that they can justify the materialistic

objectives of theirs on flowing rivers of Muslim blood. As we go through our own efforts in the past something that is called history, we plead with Allah, the Exalt and the Extolled Oh Allah render us of those who listen to what is being said and follow through on the best of it (Surah Az-Zumar verse 18) Brothers and sisters committed Muslims, we reached the point where there were 3,000 Muslims who had left Makkah go to Al-Basra- the same Basra today in Southern Iraq, where we have British occupying forces in control of that area. We are looking at ourselves almost 1,400 years ago, when 3,000 of us were leaving Makkah and going into Al-Basra and they were led by Talha, Az-Zubair and Ummul Mumineen Aaishah (radi Allahu anhum). As an indicator of how our mind doesnt work, weve never asked ourselves or discuss it in a friendly way- why did 3,000 Muslims leave Makkah and go particularly to Al-Basra? They could have gone to Egypt; they could have gone to Ash-Shaam; they could have stayed in Makkah; why did they decide to go to Al-Basra? Posing the question doesnt necessarily mean that theres a quick answer to it, but posing this question necessarily means that we have not thought about what we ourselves did. What was Al-Basra? Al-Basra was a complex area; it wasnt simple; it wasnt black and white (as they would say) like Ash-Shaam. Ash-Shaam was in the hold of Muawiyah, Kufa was in the hold of those who were opposed to Muawiyah and Basra was not that clear- it was that grey areaeven though when then rebellion against Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) took place most of the inhabitants of Al-Basra showed sympathy for the rebellion against Uthman. Nevertheless, we had 3,000 or so Muslims with the 3 leaders of theirs so to speak arrive in Al-Basra- this place that was uncertain. When Ali assumed the responsibilities of leadership, he appointed a governor to Al-Basra. This governors name was Uthman ibn Hunaif and of course Uthman ibn Hunaif had his allegiance with Ali in Al-Madinah. When Ali heard that there was a force led by Talha, Az-Zubair and Ummul Mumineen Aaishah that was making their way and intending to go to Al-Basra, he changed or redirected the force that was intending to leave Al-Madinah to go to Ash-Shaam and encounter Muawiyah and his army, now he was on his way to Al-Basra to tend to a more dangerous threat. Muawiyah was a late comer who can be dealt with later but Talha, Az-Zubair and Ummul Mumineen Aaishah were not late comers, they were (so to speak) his generation of Islam and he had to take on this new, potentially destabilizing development in AlBasra. When these 3,000 or so travelers from Makkah arrived in Al-Basra Uthman ibn Hunaif, the governor in Al-Basra, wanted to reach an understanding with them or take the sting out of their demand for vengeance so he sent to them two individuals- two deputies- the 1 st ones name is Imraan ibn Al-Hussein Al Khazaee ,Imraan ibn Al-Hussein was originally sent to Al-Basra by Umar ibn Al Khattab (radi Allahu anhu) as (what we would say today) an instructor to teach the people of Al-Basra about Islam. Now, the governor Uthman ibn Hunaif sends ibn Al-Hussein and another person called Abu Al-Aswad Ad-Duadi who was also another very learned person who later on in Islamic history would be considered the first one to have began what is called grammar- prior to that there was no such thing as grammar in the language. Even though it was an elaborate language, Ali had told Abu Aswad Ad-Duadi unhu nahwaha. These were 2 (lets

say) scholars who were sent to prevent Talha Az-Zubair and Aaishah and they were to do so in the best of brotherly contact. They approached them and asked what is it that brought you here? Why is it you have come to Al-Basra with all of this force? They said we seek justice in the death of Uthman ibn Affan and we want an election based upon the general shura of the Muslims. They said OK- are you opened up so that we can discuss this matter with you? They said No; this is what we came for; this is what we want; this is our objective and we are not going to speak more about this its clear we need no more deliberations. So these two deputies of the governor of Al-Basra go back to the governor and they say you sent us to speak to them but they dont want to discuss, dialogue or reach an understanding; they simply turned us back; they dont want to talk. Before we go on- to do a little thinking for you- take a look at Muslims when they have their differences. Some of them want to try to reach an understanding through verbal communication- lets talk; lets sit down; lets try to understand each other and then it appears some of us dont want to talk. Either there is a self-centeredness that is at work or its a blind belief in an objective that doesnt tolerate the input from other likewise Muslims- a problem that exists today. This is not ancient history, this is human natureyou have Muslims who want to sit down and try to reach some type of understanding on whatever issue divides us and other Muslims who dont want to listen and talk; they are set in their own direction and they dont want any input coming their way. When the governor of Iraq heard this he said (more or less) ok let me go out and try to reason with them. He, himself went out in the presence of the Muslims and he began to present the case of the legitimacy of the Islamic system in Al-Madinah its ruler, its governors and how it may take time for justice to be done. But once again we encounter a people- Muslims, brothers and sisters, listen- this is where it all began- when Muslims were listening and hearing two different things, but at least they were listening and trying to make up their minds. The people of Basra, the majority of them, this time were with the khilafah and the imamah in Al-Madinah but there were others who had their doubts or were not convinced that this is the true leadership of the Muslims. So when their own governor comes to them, they listen and many of them are satisfied with what they hear. Some of them are not satisfied with what they hear but we never had some internal ego that said that the governor cannot speak and the people cannot listen in this direct fashion or one-to-one contact; he spoke to the people of Basrah and they showed that they were divided, but they were divided in his favor. The other, lets call them the minority, (we dont like the word) but they were not the majority of the people- numbers were not on their side but they said we want to hear what Talha, Az-Zubair and Aaishah have to say. OK- let them speak. No one said to them you cant talk or express yourself- they spoke. Talha and Az-Zubair spoke that (were paraphrasing here) someone broke the law in Al-Madinah and justice has to take its course and we are here to try to enlist you, people of Al-Basra, to be on our side to see to it that justice is done. The governor didnt say bring in the army, throw these people in prison! No- we had what we dont have today- we had a free Islamic conscience expressing what was in an Islamic mind. You can agree or disagree with it- this is besides the issue, we didnt have restrictions, censors, the intrusion of security guards and armed forces and the police to tell the Muslims you have to shutup. We are looking at a time in our history where we had freedom of conscience and freedom of

expression- something that we dont have today. They spoke and people listened. It is said in these books of history that people were listening and after they spoke- Talha spoke his mind and Az-Zubair spoke his mind basically saying the same thing- that they want to set the issue straight in Al-Madinah. After the people of Basra listened, they turned against themselves with some of them saying that they are saying the truth and justice has to be done others are saying no- they are lying; they are not telling the truth. They began to shout against each other; they also used bad words towards each other- of course not this is not an Islamic moral character to use fowl language against each other but these are the facts, this is what happened. Remember this is just an up-shot generation of Islam, these are new Muslims. Then, Aaishah spoke. They said we want to listen to Aaishah and what she has to say. She was on her camel and she was very eloquent in the way she spoke to them. She said, the gist of it was- we were opposed to Uthman when Uthman was using his stick and his whip against you, (meaning) the people of Basra, we were opposed to him in Al- Madinah but then when the people came and used the sword against Uthman we also were opposed to the use of that sword, (meaning) we werent just opposed to a stick and a whip, when that turned into a sword, we were also against that. Then she said, these assassins and killers who killed Uthman violated innocent Muslim blood in the sacrosanct month of the year and in the sacrosanct city of Arabia- in reference to Al-Madinah. She left an impression on many of those who were listening to her, but still, after she spoke, the people who were listening, the population of Al-Basrah that were there also turned against themselves. They began to throw the leather that they wear, shoes, at each other. Not only were they speaking fowl language when they disagreed with each other they also began to assault themselves with some of the belongings that they had, basically the shoes that were there. Of course, in the atmosphere of today, you would say this is a very healthy society people- people speak their mind, people disagree and they go to the extent of expressing it up until here and this is what happened. Then, when they saw that there is tension- the people now in Al-Basra are going to have their own mini civil war because they were divided on this issue- they went to their governor and said we are going to agree; we know that Ali and a force are coming to Al-Basra and hopefully when they arrive things will be settled, but from now until then we reinstate, reinforce and reiterate your governorship; youll do your duties, you will be in charge of whatever force that is and whatever budget that we have. They all agreed to that- everyone- whether they were opposed, for or against. Something happened, though- which goes to show you the dynamics that are at work- in this interim. After everyone agreed to this, something happened and that is those who were opposed to the governor of Al-Basra, Uthman ibn Hunaif and Ali- because we are talking about one political line- thought to themselves- OK, if we wait until this force comes from Al-Madinah we think the balances of power are going to shift. So what they did was- listen brothers and sisters, these are the issues that they are trying to have us become enemies around- some people in the opposition camp, meaning those who were opposed to the governor waited for one very dark and windy night and after the governor himself read Al-Isha prayers, finished and left; there was a gang that set itself upon him, beat him, injured him and took him into their own care in an abusive way. The following day, when news of this got out, people who said that where it was just days ago that

everyone and everything was greed upon- it was called a hoodna- seizing these acts of opposition towards each other, so why did this happen and there was a clash by two forces, one of them led by Talha and the other one was led by a person called Al-Hakeem and this led to scores of Muslims being killed. What happened after this bloody encounter was that Al-Basra itself was almost a city without order because its governor is in detention by the force that had come from Makkah. Not only that, to add insult to injury, they plucked his hair off his head and his beard and moustache- all of that was plucked out. What do you say- brothers and sisters- after reviewing what we were doing to ourselves? Do you say that we were living at the highest standards of Islam or there were amongst us those who were acting in conflict with Islamic character? Do you that everyone is right or there were people committing mistakes? Then, after you say whatever you say, does this justify that we be in a civil war and that we begin a future with Muslims killing each other? No one can reach that type of conclusion, but this is the area that they want to stir in the internal sensitivities of Muslims today. It is obvious that AlBasra was a destabilized city, with insecurity, apprehension and some fear of the future. The governor of Al-Basra was leading the prayers. On the other side, those who didnt go and pray with him- Talha and Az-Zubair could not agree on whos going to lead the prayers? They disagreed among themselves until finally they reached a decision- Talha will lead the prayers one day and Az-Zubair would lead the prayer the other day. They rotated one this basis which indicates that they themselves were not of one heart of what they were doing. One day while they were in Al-Basra Aaishah, Ummul mumineen was passing by a spring of water and the dogs at that spring of water began to bark at her. She asked what is the name of this spring of water? She was told that it was called Al-Howab. Then she said take me back take me back or take me away take me away. Why did she say that? She remembered the Prophet in one of his settings with his wives, she included, he looked at them and asked this question- he said (addressing himself to his wives) which one of you is going to be barked by the dogs of Al-Houab. She remembered this and she didnt want anything to do with being in that area. Then, Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhu) came to her with 50 other individuals convincing her No, no- this well is not called Al-Houab to try to have her stay in the political conditions that needed her there. She stayed on, of course. Contrast this with Ali who was on his way to Al-Basra. He knew and was certain that what he was doing was right. He was certain of this not in an arrogant fashion; not in a way that carries hatred towards the other; he was convinced of this because he knew who was most qualified to lead the Muslims and the cream of the crop that Islam gave in their baiah. The muhaajirrun and the ansaar who were in Al-Madinah after the assassination of Uthman voluntarily and with a consensus went up to him and agreed that he become the leader of the Muslims. Ali did not force anyone to do anything. He left those who felt that they wanted to be neutral and uninvolved alone. When he assumed this responsibility, with it comes the responsibilities of justice. So now, he was on this cause to Al-Basra and with him were a select group of Muslims and they had their questions just like everyone else. Remember in their minds this is potentially, not necessarily,

but potentially a war that they might be going to, so they began asking him They said are we going to fight these people in Al Basra? He said no. They said then what are we going to do? Why are we going to Al-Basra? He said we are going there to, in a fraternal way or kind manner, to try to reach an understanding with these people in Al-Basra- those who came from Makkah to Al-Basra and those who were in Al-Basra who joined these Makkans in Al-Basra. We just want to discuss this matter and reach the haqq, the truth, the validity, and what is right in all of this. We want to walk to this end together. Then someone asked him what if these people in Al-Basra dont listen to us? Are we going to take them on? He said we will not initiate a war against them unless they initiate war against us, (meaning) he wasnt going to do war but if that is what the opposing side is going to do then we have no choice. Look at the freedom of the Muslim conscience- someone (an average Muslim) coming to the leader of the Muslim and says tell me, do you think that Talha, Az-Zubair and Aaishahbeing who they are- can be united on something that is wrong. He said to him- this should be a standard for people who think and are responsible- you are a person who is confused. Alhaqq and Al-baatil cannot be defined by the potential actions of man. Familiarize yourself and know Al-haqq then you will know its people or those who belong to it and familiarize yourself and know Al-baatil then you will know its people or those who belong to it. These were people who- unlike what e saw in Al-Basra- instability, the lack of confidence, confusion, polarization, an inability to reach a common decision- this was a force that was around one heart going to do its responsibilities whereby we find the people of Basra not only were they breaching the baiah to the Imam in Al-Madinah, but they were also breaching an agreement that they among their own selves had reached. It was in this atmosphere that Ali had approached Al-Basra and arrived in it. With Allahs guidance and the sincerity of man we will pick up the future Basra developments in the khutbahs to come Oh Allah render us of those who listen to what is being said and follow doing what is right or righteous of it or the better of it (Surah Az-Zumar verse ) Oh Allah cause a break through between us and our people in accordance with al-haqq for you are the most qualified to do so Brothers and sisters sincere Muslims After covering these facts at our beginning, in the 1 st generation of the body of people we belong to, we ask ourselves with open hearts and open minds, can you detect anything in what was just said or expressed that serves as a matter of hate towards another Muslim? Where do you see that? Can you draw any conclusions to what was stated in this khutbah or previous khutbahs about this issue today that is called the Sunni/Shii issue. Can you draw any conclusions from this to justify some Shii killing a Sunni or some Sunni killing a Shii? Can anyone bring forth any reasoning that would give motivation to people to go to war against themselves? We are looking at the formative years, the initial acts and the beginning of what become known as Sunni and Shiis- we are looking at its roots and we cant find any rational any logic that

would have one Muslim feel that he is an enemy of another Muslim by drawing on these events or by considering the details of this history. The problem with us is that when these events are evoked, we dont want to look at this with our minds. We have two emotional extremes about this, (if we may say so), but we have no rational balance about this. We have people who get hyped- and thats emotions- and we have other people who are as cold as ice on this issue. What happens? None of us can think about this?! We are not supposed to think about what happened to our own selves?! We said it before and we will say it again- if we are not going to think about it someone else is going to step into this vacuum and absence of thought and they are going to provide us the hostile ideas about what happened then and there. This is what is happening now and look at the consequences. We cant get to the bottom of this?! Why are Muslim intellectuals, scholars and clergymen not rational about this issue? Why is their mind absent when it comes to detailing this issue? How long are we going to feed off extreme emotions and not find the common mind on these issues? Brothers and sisters- we live at a time and in a set of conditions in which the Sunni/Shii thing is a cry to the battle front. Alhamdulillah, Allah has placed us at a distance from this troubled area called Iraq. If you or I were inside of that troubled area we would probably be acting more or less in identification with the group of people to whom or within which we were born. No one is thinking anything out. Everything goes by birth. If you happen to be born a Sunni or a Shii, then youre automatically going to take the course of your flock or your solidarity group without ever thinking anything out and forces of occupation come with lethal weapons and also with attractive sums of money and they work on the absence of this mind from these people and they let go of the maximum amount of Muslim blood that can flow. OK in the pressure cooker called Iraq, some people may not have the freedom of conscience, the freedom of expression and the freedom of mind that you and I are supposed to have, so why are we thousand of miles away to remain silent and thought less about these issues? How come? Were not lacking in intelligence; we have good minds; many of us get As in courses; we graduate with flying colors; we become very successful professionals; etc. If we can put our mind to use for worldly objectives we cannot put our minds to use for brotherly objectives?! Shame on Muslims who display that lack in character when they cant put their minds to use to bring our hearts and to bring our bodies together! Brothers and sisters, not that we desire to hang our laundry in public, but this is not our choice; not any venue is available not any conference is inviting for like minded individuals to speak these facts to the Muslim public. Here we are- in the streets of all places- expressing what we can on issues pertaining to life and death conditions and in the meantime we have the affluent, Al-mala who go around weaving these conspiracies against us. A former ambassador of the Saudi regime- on his clock we were put by force out of the Masjid- this past week, he has his house for sale in Aspen, Colorado and how much is he selling his house for? 135,000,000$- that is the highest price for one single home in the history of the US- is what they say this to us in these news items concerning that home. This is a person who shuttles all around Muslim territory and areas trying to have Muslims kill themselves in Palestine, in Lebanon, in Iraq and in other

areas in the future if you continue to be dead brained about this issue. We hope that we are investing the word of truth to abort the evil doings of such errant characters.

A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BATTLE OF JAMAL

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters- Muslims who have a responsibility and Muslims whose future goes beyond this world We will begin this khutbah with the ayah in the Quran that says Our Sustainer grant us a grace that comes from your presence and prepare for us an outcome of maturity in our affairs (Surah Al-Kahf verse 10)

This grace and mercy that we ask from Allahs immediate presence and the outcome and the results of maturity and wisdom is what we need when we review our own conduct, especially when inaccurate information and selfish attitudes have interposed themselves on us. We will continue this journey into our history so that todays manufacturers of death and destruction are not able to exploit this grey area in the Muslim mind for their sinister and evil purposes. The focus of attention is the setting of Al-Basra and this is in the 1st months of the governorship, leadership or rulership of Ali (radi Allahu anhu) who was preceded by three successors to Allahs Prophet. There were thousands of troops, potential troops, that left Makkah and were now in Basra. We did our best in outlining their purposes and their intents. Now there are thousands of troops who have arrived from Al-Madinah to Al-Basra and these came to defuse a civil war among the Muslims. When they arrived at Al-Basra, the contingent of forces or potential forces that went from Al-Madinah to Al-Basra, Ali sent a spokesperson or a representative to open up channels of communication with the other side led by Ummul Mumineen Aaisha (radi Allahu Anha) and both Az-Zubair and Talha (radi Allahu anhuma). The name of the person that Ali sent to speak to them is Al-Kaka ibn Amr (radi Allahu anhu). Al-Kaka ibn Amr was initially sent from Al-Madinah to Al-Basra as a judge and he belonged to the circle of companions of the Prophet. When Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was the ruler of the Muslims, Al-Kakas position was reinstated- in other words, he remained a judge in Al-Basra. Ali, who is the leader of the Muslims arrives in Al-Basra and he tasks Al-Kaka ibn Amr with the responsibility of speaking to the other side- which tells us We listed the previous attempts to communicate and speak to the other side, which basically was not successful; this is yet another attempt by Muslims to speak to Muslims before we get involved in what would later become an ache to ours hearts and a misunderstanding to our mind. Al-Kaka goes to Ummul Mumineen Aaisha and he asks her (brothers and sisters- we dont have to be your conscience and your internal mind, you can think about what is happening today when Muslims dont want to speak to each other; we have Muslims who think that they are the sole possessors of the truth and other Muslims are almost kaafirs if not kaafirs per se) in this ambience, we didnt have this self-centeredness that we have with some Muslims today who dont want to meet or see other Muslims, much less to try to internalize or mutually exchange internal thoughts among Muslims. Can we learn from ourselves? You would think that 1,300, close to 1,400 years now are enough to teach us that we realize that some of us still have not learned these lessons. Al- Kaka goes to Ummul Mumineen Aa'isha and he says what is it? What brings you here? What do you want? Obviously, we are expressing to you the gist of the encounter, not the verbatim words, the psychological and the mental dynamics that were at work. It was a peaceful encounter. There was no indication of tension misunderstanding or dislike of each other- none of these elements were present. It was a normal exchange of words and ideas just like a normal individual would speak to another normal individual- this is how they were speaking to each other with the potential dynamite and life and death issues that they were trying to defuse. He asks her what brings you here? What are you seeking to accomplish? What is it that you want? Her words were al-islaha banyan naas which means accommodation, adjustment or conciliation of people. No one can fault anyone for that. If you ask someone why did you came all this way

from Makkah to Al-Basra or why did you go through all this effort that it took to cross the Arabian desert? He says the only reason we are here is to bring people together- how does anyone disagree with that?! Unfortunately some people have a reactionary attitude or some type of internal grudge in them that they want to fault a person when the person is speaking the truth. You cannot fault Ummul Mumineen Aaisha for what she said up to here. Then Al-Kaka says to her is it possible that we have Talha and Az-Zubair in on this? She calls for Talha and AzZubair to come and they come. They were not saying no were big shots, we dont want to speak to Al-Kaka or if anyone wants to speak to us then why doesnt Ali come himself?! That wasnt in them. OK- someone wants to speak about an issue concerning the general Muslim public, the well being of the Muslims, the security of their lives and their childrens future etc. sure. They came and Al-Kaka says to them I spoke to Aaisha (Aaisha was there) and I asked her what brings you here and she said al-islaahu bayna an-naas to conciliate people, bring them together and to reconcile them. Do you follow what she is saying or is there a difference between what she expressed and what you have on your minds? They said No. We agree with that. We also want al-islaaha bayna an-naas. Do you see how they are going through this one step at a time trying to understand each other and trying to take the explosives out of this issue!? Al-Kaka says OK fine. How can we precede? How can we outline what we are going to do to bring people together? Up to now, they are showing that they are divided. They, Talha and Az-Zubair, one of them said to him qutila Uthmanu madhloomaUthman was killed without due process, in an unjust manner and it is not right that those who killed him get off scott free or without any semblance of justice. Brothers and sisters we hope that you can remember the previous khutbahs- Talha, himself who is saying that Uthman was killed as a madhloom was there, with those who were against Uthman in his residence during those critical days when Uthman was almost starving to death with his family. These are the sensitive issues that many Muslims dont want to look at. Whats wrong? Do we disqualify ourselves from understanding who we are? This is us- you dont want to look at us?! Al-Kaka answered Az-Zubair and Talha- he said if you want to take issue with those who killed Uthman then you have already killed 600 of those who purportedly killed or participated in the killing of Uthman. This was in reference to the previous skirmish that we spoke about in the last khutbah in which the two sides- the pro and the anti Uthman or Ali forces went at each other- 600 of those who were said to have been party to the killing of Uthman from Al-Basra were killed in Al-Basra by these 3,000 and their supporters in Al-Basra. So Al-Kaka says to them OK- now 600 have died because of this and if you want to continue- Al-Kaka was speaking to Aaisha Ummul Mumineen, Talha and Az-Zubair- along this path wherever you go you instigate the issue of Uthman and because of that hundreds or thousands of us are going to die then youre going to cause death all over the place- is this what you want?! He said No. Then, they asked Al-Kaka so what do you suggest? What should we do? What should be done? He said now people are divided and the sides that are divided are in an attitude of hostility towards each other; tempers are running high; there is the matter of revenge inside these camps. We need a cooling down period. We need the general public to return to its normalcy. After that happens, then we can pursue this issue in a court of

justice, meaning we will bring the criminals and the culprits who were responsible for the assassination of Uthman to the order of Allah i.e. to the qisas, the hadd and the diya that are included in the laws of Allah. They said we agree. They agreed. Whether they agreed as a diplomatic answer to this or they agreed sincerely is a matter of a question mark, but at least publicly and frankly speaking to each other, they agreed. Al-Kaka returned to Ali and told him they agreed that there should be a simmering down time period in which the Muslims can return to their normal senses, their calculated mind and the fervent hearts of conviction to Allah that they have. It seemed or appeared like from here down there was going to be a major resolution to this potential civil war that was beneath the surface. At this point this is what appeared to be the case. Here, we have a split among historians as to what happened after this outward agreement. We have a version of history- were being frank- brothers and sisters- 1st of all were not going to the books of the extremists. There are crazies who wrote about these delicate and dividing times. We dont go to crazies for our history, even though they may have had Muslim names. What we are looking at is what a considerable or a main stream or something like a consensual review of this history is. Here, according to some people or historians, what happened was that those who were responsible for the killing or the assassination of Uthman thought that if things are going to go this way, then they are going to be exposed and they may face the firing squad (as it were). So, obviously they had no interest in the simmering down, the moderation and the return to normalcy that was agreed upon, so what they said (among themselves, according to this version of history) they were going to do is we are going to play along with this but when the two sides meet then we are going to face this other side meaning Aaisha ,Talha and Az-Zubair. This version of history tells us that in this camp and within this cabal of conspirators was a person whose name was Abdullah ibn Saba, nick-named ibn As-Sawda. We spoke about this person previously. In this book or version of history, this was the person who was inside this cabal of people within the camp of Ali and they were not willing to proceed on a conciliatory course. To be honest with you- brothers and sistersthis would take an infusion of the imagination to believe that inside the camp of Ali there were people who were acting on their own without the knowledge of their leader. This presumes much ignorance by Ali and those who were in charge of this line of justice. We cannot assume that even though this is the part of the history that we have. What happens in the following days was that the two sides come and meet, en masse, thousands on one side and thousands on the other side. Ali wanted to make what was previously agreed upon among individuals an agreement within society i.e. everyone should be on a reconciliation course, so 1st he spoke to Az-Zubair. People were speaking to each other. We are not talking about hostile forces. Brothers and sisters, dont think about this as if we have two avowed enemies. When we speak about wars today, we think about the wars in our world and how they are conducted; were not speaking about a conduct of war during those times that is similar to the conduct of wars in our time. They are dissimilar or unlike each other. Here, we have Ali speaking to Az-Zubair and Talha asking them both did you not give me your baiah? This is obviously a very sensitive question, but to clear the air it had to be asked. Did you not pay allegiance to me he asked them. (Verbatim), they, Talha and Az-Zubair both answered Ali saying to him when we gave you our baiah, we did

not do so in the voluntary sense of the word, meaning there was an element of coercion when we offered you our baiah and then- this indicates what some people have inside their minds and internal thoughts- they said to him and you dont deserve it meaning the position you are in or you dont deserve the baiah more then we. This is a very serious statement that indicates that they, meaning Talha and Az-Zubair, had their own ambitions (so to speak) in becoming leaders of the Muslims. Then, Ali focuses his attention on Az-Zubair. Rememberbrother we have to say this; we have to remind you that were not saying this or we are not covering this territory because we like to do so. In the fashion that we are doing it, we do so because there are thousands of people who are being affected by the misinformation that trails all the way to those days and times. Today, they are suffering against each other because of it. From week to week jumah to jumah from khutbah to khutbah thousands and thousands of people are killed, maimed or forced to leave their homes because of the root material or root information that we are covering and you can see in this root information there is no reason and there is no argument for what is happening today. We go back to this time in our history and Ali addresses himself to Az-Zubair and he says we thought that you were or you belonged to Bani Abdul Mutalib. Remember, (people have to be reminded because the way information is skewed this critical detail is lost) Az-Zubair is the son of the paternal aunt of the Prophet and the paternal aunt of Ali. His mother, Safiyyah was the Prophets father, Abdullah, and Alis father, Abu Talibs sister. So, Ali approaches him by saying that we thought that you were within the circle of your aunt, meaning your uncles and that you had more to care about concerning the Prophet and your cousins (by which he meant himself) than you would have in common with those who have taken this affair of the leadership of the Muslims in another direction. Ali is telling Az-Zubair your son, (Abdullah ibn Zubair (radi Allahu anhu), a name that will be coming up more frequently), had a negative or bad influence upon you. Let me remind you of what the Prophet said; and the Prophet said that you will be in an encounter or a fight with me. The Prophet is saying to Az-Zubair that he is going to encounter Ali in a fight and he will wrong the imam. All of a sudden AzZubair remembered and things began to come back to him. As a result of this encounter, AzZubair went to Aaisha and said I prefer not to have to go further with what you are doing. I prefer to extricate myself from this affair. In other words I want to pull myself out and he did. He didnt participate in the actual war when the two sides met. He left Al-Basra and he was assassinated or killed in what is called Wadi As-Sibaa, The Valley of the Lions. In another version of history it is said that there was a person who was dispatched to kill him by Qais ibn al Ahyan. Whatever the case may have been, Az-Zubair ends his life without actively participating in what may have become an Islamic civil war. Now, Ali turns himself to Talha and addresses him. The words go back and forth and both of them realize that now they are on a collision course. Ali could not convince Talha and Talha could not convince Ali and at this point the reconciliation that the public or at least those who communicated Al-Kaka , Aaisha, Az-Zubair, Talha and Ali thought was going to be possible, now they realized it wasnt going to be possible. So the masses, on both sides, at the beginning of the day, geared up for a military encounter. Alis side was reluctant and opposed to a military encounter on commands and instructions from

their leader, but then, the other side had what we may call zealots, (what we call todays language) trigger happy. They wanted an encounter so they began shooting their weapons at the other side and the other side now the suffering causalities, meaning the 1st causalities were on the side Ali. Now, there was a type of popular demand on this side- they want to fight us we have to fight them. Before the encounter Ali asked for a volunteer. He said who is going to volunteer to take the Quran and stand in the middle of the two sides and ask the other side to abide by this book. Then, one man from Kufa volunteered he said I will do it. Ali told him whoever is going to do this is a certain shaheed, meaning whoever is going to carry this Quran raise it and ask for its standards to become the reference point is facing certain death. When this young man heard that he hesitated for a very short while and then he said that I am going to do it. He took the Quran and he walked a mid distance from his camp and he raised the Quran and he asked for an understanding in accordance and in harmony of this Quran. Then, all over sudden the spears and the arrows, in the dozens, went his way and he became an instant martyr as was predicted. This meant that there was no way to avoid a clash or a conflict of arms and this is when it began and this is how it began. In the beginning of this clash, Talha was hit a fatal wound by an arrow and he said the following words- remember, Talha participated in the siege of Uthman and now Talha was saying as he was looking at his blood coming out of his body when that arrow wandered in it he looked at his hemorrhaging blood and he said Oh Allah take from me whatever is going to satisfy Uthman. Could this have been a moment of retraction in him? He found that he was reacting to his own self. Remember, when Uthman was under siege, Ali did not agree with that act, Talha agreed with it. Now, he was atoning for it in his own way- something that only men of principle can do; and he did that. He was taken off the battlefield to a house in Al-Basra and an hour later he died. When Az-Zubair was killed not participating in the war i.e. on his way out of this war, Ali was saddened by his death. He took the sword of Az-Zubair and said often times this sword of AzZubair was the sword that would polish away from the face of the Prophet the many injuries and harm that would potentially have reached him. You tell us, what type of man and what type of opponent can express words of truth concerning a person who would have potentially become an enemy combatant against him? When both, Talha and Az-Zubair, were killed, the opposing side had only Aaisha and the two sides were interlocked in battle. Remember during those times there were no fighter planes, no tanks; what we had was spears, swords, bows and arrows; those were basically the materials of war. They were at a distance of arrows or face to face with their swords and people were dying in the hundreds or maybe even in the thousands. At the beginning of the day, the battle was obvious- the victory was on the side of the Imam and those who were with him. What happened was Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair goes to Aaisha when she was in the Masjid in the lull of the day and tells her to mount the camel and go to the war front- which she does. When she appears in the middle of the troops on her side of the battle front there was a peculiar blunting of feelings. The Muslims felt not only were they fighting for the issue of justice pertaining to Uthman, they were also fighting for the honor of the Prophets wife. It had an addition to what some people would call a religious element, a social and a psychological element that draws on the culture, the history and the social values of that

society. Now, people around Aaisha turned into a frenzy to protect her and the killing got nastyin other words fighting turned into mutilating each other- something we have seen in Iraq in the past history and in current events. When people at the battlefield were injured, some of them had their limbs cut off while they were still alive. Words- emphatic orders- went from Ali to those who were on his side not to mutilate anyone; if there is a person running away from the battle field then let him escape and dont harm those who are young or who are women dont intrude on peoples privacy. But still, the war turned ugly and when the causalities began to mount into their thousands- some historians say the causalities of this war encounter was 20,000; others say it was 10,000- whatever it was, it was a high number of precious Muslim lives that were ended at that battle front. When Ali saw that he said disable that camel, its survival means the decimation or extermination of the Arabs. We dont want to speak about the word Arab and Arabian and this misunderstanding that arises when some people who cannot distinguish between those who try to perfect their Islam by becoming Arabs not Arabians. Finally someone goes and strikes the camel until the camel falls and Aaisha is in that seat that has a canopy- called al-hawdaj, it had a railing to it and this time it was fortified, it was like an armored hawdaj. She fell and then two people approached her while she was inside her canopy seat that she was on. One of those who approached her was Ammaar ibn Yasser (radi Allahu anhu). Ammaar was one of those who attended this battle on the side of Ali. One on the determinant issues that made Az-Zubair pull himself out of this military was when he saw Ammaar on the side of Ali and he remembered the Prophets words my heart grieves for you son of Sumaiyyah you will be killed by the offending party. Ammaar approached this haudaj with another person, the son of Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu). Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr opens up a slight opening and says are you alright? She said who is it? He said to her probably the person you hate most from your family. She said are you the son of Al-Khatamiyya? Remember- Muhammeds mothers name was Asma Al-Khatamiyya- so Aaisha was asking her half-brother are you the son of Al-Khatamiyyah? He said I am your brother Muhammed. Then she answered him by saying theres a blade in my arm. She was wounded with a blade in her arm and he took it out. Then Ali approaches- remember thousands of people have been killed- select Muslims; choice Muslims who came from the Prophets generation, experience and life-time- these were most of the bodies on the battle ground, so he approaches her with all the restraint and dignity and he asks what now have you seen? Hes addressing himself to Aaisha and she says to him now you are in control; now you are the leader; show how graceful your amnesty is? He orders that she be taken to Al-Basra under protection- to where she goes under protection with dignity. There was no hate. Brothers and sisters- so far, we covered this area, can anyone point out from where these bad feelings come from? Even when we disagreed among ourselves- and our disagreement caused us this war- that should end all wars among us. We cant see a moment, one moment, of ill feelings expressed by one of them towards the other. When it was all said and done at this particular occasion Ali prayed the janaza, the funeral prayer, upon all of the Muslim victims- those who belonged to his camp and those who were in the opposite camp. Can people live up to these standards today? Let us tell you why we say this- we dont know, some of you may be aware and some of you may not be aware

but there are Muslims today- we mean Muslims, not the cultural, hereditary or genetic Muslims; we mean Muslims by rationale, after thought and with convictions- these Muslims, who are committed Muslims, will tell you that one of those individuals who was present at the execution of the dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein (we all saw this on TV, and we know why it was presented to us on TV- so it can scrap these bad feelings into the sectarian war that they want going among us) was Muqtar As-Sadr attended that execution. You can put the rest of the pieces together and you can understand why we are covering this territory because it does not give legitimacy nor does it offer grounds for those who want to sectarianize the Muslims. Brothers and sisters- Muslims with responsibilities and guidance from above Dont think that if our Masaajid and the scholars that speak to us are silent- theirs is a deadly silence- concerning these issues that we dont have mischief makers, academics and intellectuals who are sleeping concerning these types of issues- they are alive and kicking. Their motions and movements are spilling Muslim blood. Part of it is that they want to capitalize on the ignorance of Muslims towards each. They want to maximize their interests and profits because the Muslims lack communication with each other. Didnt you see when we were covering this territory how Muslims were intent on trying to discuss these matters with each other before they get out of hand. Look at todays world, where are those Muslims who are keen on speaking to each other, opening up the issues with each other and trying to find common sense with each other? Where are they? Todays establishments want sectarian Muslims to be mobile. If a person comes to you and puffs up your Shiism then hes a sectarian. If another Muslim comes to you and he massages your Sunni ego then hes a sectarian concerned with sectarianism. We want to nip this problem in its bud before it blooms into clouds of mass destruction in Muslim territories and countries. It is a pity and a shame that there are no Muslims who are capable of blocking access- to these power mongers and war mongers who stoke Muslim lands- by enlightenment and accurate information when and where it is needed. $12,000,000,000 out of the budget of this country every month to feed into the strategy and the scenario that we have being attempting to draw with accuracy and they have been attempting to portray with cynicism and with instigating the root feelings of hostility among Muslims and they want this is spread around. Did you see what they did in Pakistan? Look! Just a few days ago they assault a Masjid- this is what happens brothers- you give in an inch they take a mile. They see- look at this Islamic Center in Washington DC. 24 years and Muslims are praying in the street. Theres not enough dignity, brotherhood and togetherness among the Muslims to see to it how we can reach an accommodation or adjustment on this issue. What you want them to do? After attacking a Masjid in Islamabad in Pakistan theyll attack another Masjid closer to Makkah and Al-Madinah; attacking Masjids in Iraq is almost a weekly news item. Until when can we tolerate this gap in knowledge and this degree of ignorance?

MUAWIYAHS LETTER TO ALI (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters with Islam in your hearts and in your hands.... We begin this khutbah the way individuals who found Allah expressed themselves when public opinion around them was not in agreement with Allah. Oh Allah grant us from Your very presence a grace and give or prepare for us from Your very presence a semblance of maturity (Surah Al-Kahf verse 18) As we retrace or retract ourselves over 1,350 years ago we enter into a territory into our history that is either neglected or it is warped into either a sectarian version of things or a nationalist version of things. We will try to steer clear of either of these two polarizations. In the last of these sequence of presentations we spoke about time period in which the matter of causalities, losses, aches and pains (both physical and psychological) had come out of the encounter on the battlefield between two Muslims sides in what is historically known as Waqad Al-Jamal. We took a look at the political and military landscape of the Muslims after that incident and we realized that there are two sides again. One of them serves the side of Ali (radi Allahu anhu) where the majority area of the people of Al-Kufa and Al-Basra along with the over-

whelming majority of the generation of Al-Muhaajireen and Al-Ansaar. These were all put together i.e. one side and on the other side there was the power base that had been consolidated throughout the years by the governor of Damascus, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan. With last weeks unfavorable acoustic atmosphere we tried (at least) to speak about the differences concerning these two sides especially as they relate to the leaders of these two sides i.e. Ali and Muawiyah. To take a closer look at Muawiyah and his surroundings we find that there was what is in todays world called public opinion that is engineered by propaganda. We have plenty of that in todays world- we have people who are subjected to different types of propaganda and because people are creatures of their own societies and establishments, they are influenced by whatever propaganda they are fed every day, week and year. The people of Ash-Shaam which is today geographical speaking Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan were subject to the propaganda of the power that was there and the power that was there was represented by Muawiyah. He kept on drilling into the minds of the people that Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was killed in a way that was illegal and that his killers got away without the law catching up to them. This was a constant flow of information that was going down the propaganda pipelines into society. In those days there were no televisions or radios or whatever we have today; at that time there were influential people, heads of tribes, poets and lecturers or public speakers. They were the ones that were disseminating among the public the strong point of view that justice has to be done in catching up with the killers of Uthman and people were convinced this is what had to be done or to be technically correct the overwhelming majority of people in that area were convinced that this what had to be done- you cant kill someone and get away with it. That was the internal (more or less) mentality that consolidated into a will to fight. They wanted to go to war to see to it that those who assassinated Uthman are brought to a court of justice. How they wanted to do that (though) is what condemns them. They, themselves, even though they were speaking in the name of legality at the same time were violating the legality of the body of the overwhelming majority of Muslims represented by the other side. The other side as we have seen had suffered through skirmishes and now the 1st of what can be considered as an Islamic civil war. There were casualties and many people who died and were injured. This had as its affect on the people who were with Ali. It had its affect in a couple of ways at least. The 1 st one is: those who were motivated, frontline foot soldiers of Islam from Al-Madinah to Al-Kufa and Al-Basra fought and they were willing to do more fighting because they knew that their cause was right. It doesnt stand Islamic reasoning that a governor of the Muslims break away from the Islamic authoritythat does not make to them any sense. The baiah was given to Ali by the rest of the Muslims and therefore Muawiyah does not have the right to exclude himself from that baiah. Then, there were the other mid-way Muslims who either were confused or reluctant to engage on the side of Ali. After Al-Jamal some or a good bulk of them felt regret; they felt contrition that they did not participate in this battle on the right side so now they were willing to redouble their participation and go where ever the leadership of the Muslims goes. This is much like what is happening in Iraq today as far as the causalities. This is a society in Iraq that is going to be injured psychologically for a long time to come. That society in Iraq at that time carried the scars of that war even up until this today and it is offering the psychological ammunition to the people now

who are divided inside of Iraq. So were not speaking about some phase in history that is closed. This is an on going mentality and a chapter of history that still has not been completed. When Muawiyah was contemplating a showdown or military clash with the bulk of Al-Muhaajireen and Al-Ansaar along with the people of Iraq under the leadership of Ali he, inside his own camp, had some people who even though they were intent on having justice done but they also had questions. One of them came up to Muawiyah and said do you think what you are doing is right? Being that Ali has more honor, virtues and status than you do, how do you justify for yourself taking him on? Of course his response was I am taking him on not because I am above him in status but because I am pursuing an issue of legal justice. These murderers, killers and assassins of Uthman have to be brought to accountability. One particular person, by the name of Abu Muslim Al-Khaulali was noted for asking Muawiyah this type of question. Brothers and sisters- because this history, information and details are the matter of Muslim misunderstanding, Muslim polarization and now Muslim (potentially) civil war againbecause it is such and it is not in our character to do this but we know, from experience, that if we were to summarize this there will be people who are more subject to their own traditions and either sectarian or nationalist biases that I will quote the verbatim the letter that Muawiyah sent to Ali when Muawiyah felt that he was under popular pressure from his own side to clarify this issue before Muslims go to war. Before we quote Muawiyah in his letter to Ali and then were going to quote the response that Ali sent to Muawiyah verbatim word by word, we want to get a feeling for how venerable or unsure Muawiyah was of his own position. Remember he spent all of his years and none of the troops or soldiers who were with him had gone to war. They were (more or less) relaxed and in good preparation for a military showdown. As this consolidation era or time period was in progress theres another character who we are going to notice later on, but who takes a position during this time period. That person is Amr ibn Al Aas. This person (if we can recall) was relieved of his governorship of Egypt by Uthman and he didnt feel good about that. He was one of those who were against Uthman- more so in private then in public because he held a grudge- why does Uthman take away this position from me when I was the ruler of Egypt?- so he did find himself comfortable in going back to Al-Madinah. He settled in what is today a part of Palestine and he was watching what was unfolding amongst the Muslims. He had two children, two sons, one of them Abdullah and the other Muhammed. Abdullah was a person who was known for his Islamic character and he told his father when he knew his father was trying to gage who is going to be the winning side- is it going to be Ali or Muawiyah. His son, Abdullah came to him with advice telling him I think the best thing for you to do is to withdraw yourself from this affair. Dont get involved. As if his son sensed if hes going to get involved, hes going to get involved on the wrong side; so to pre-empt his father from making the wrong decision he tried to convince him- just dont get involved in this affair. His other son though, who was a worldly character; it seems like he wanted power, influence and wealth and he came up to his father with advice counter to his brother. He said No. You are a influential person; you are well known in society; society needs your involvement and your input and now you can sense that there is an issue of justice that has to be brought to a court of law and that is those who killed Uthman. After

listening to his two sons, this person thought about it very hard and he considered everything in his own mind and then he made up his mind- he is going to go to speak to Muawiyah. He journeyed to Ash-Shaam, which was not a very long journey, (it was like from Makkah to AlMadinah), Palestine to Damascus and he wanted to speak to Muawiyah and he did speak to Muawiyah, but Muawiyah wanted to dismiss him. Why? Because he sensed in him that this is another rival and competitor for power and Muawiyah did not broker any competitor for power inside his own camp- he wasnt about to tolerate that. So Amr sensed that and he said but youre not going to be able to have the influence and power that you want if you exclude me- in other words he was implying to Muawiyah that if youre not going to have me in on this on your side Im going to go to the other side and thats going to cause you a significant damage to your position. These are people we are not thinking about Allah and His Prophet, theyre thinking about power. So Muawiyah asks him so what do you ask if you want to become one of my insiders? If you want to be with us whats the price of that? What is it that you are asking? He said the governorship of Egypt. He wanted to return to become the governor of Egypt and after serious considerations Muawiyah agreed. He agreed when his brother Utbah came as an intermediary to try to solve this because Muawiyah was not about to give another person Egypt and this other person is a power monger who is going to compete with him. So, if Muawiyah (in his calculations) gets rid of Ali then he is going to have to think about getting rid of Amr ibn Al Aas. So Muawiyahs brother Utbah ibn Abi Sufyan came to him and said wait a minute here. One step at a time. You have a significant enemy and you need all the resources and potentials that you can muster. You cant just write this person off. Upon that he agreed. He said OK Amr, you have what you want. If we win this war against Ali you will have the governorship of Egypt for life. It was within these dynamics of Muawiyah sensing that there are still questions, even with all of the propaganda and public relations efforts among his own constituents, they still were not convinced as a whole that they should go to war to begin with. So they told Muawiyah why dont you communicate with Ali? Here is where- brothers and sisters- we are going to read you (verbatim) word by word what Muawiyah sent in writing to Ali. The letter begins In the name of Allah the Mercy-giver the Merciful. From Muawiyah, the son of Abu Sufyan, to Ali, the son of Abu Talib. Indeed Allah has privileged Muhammad with His knowledge- meaning due to Allahs knowledge Muhammad was privileged- and Allah has rendered him the trustee of His revelation and the Messenger to his created beings. Remember, these are Muawiyahs words to Ali. And then Allah, as a selection preference, chose from among the Muslims those who would be the advocates and supporters of the Prophet. The Prophet was helped by them. They were in relation or in their status to the Prophet in a position juxtaposed to their virtues in Islam- meaning the more virtuous they were Islamically, the more closer they were to the Prophet. The most in advice to Allah and His Messenger was his successor- thats in reference to Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu)- then the successor of his successor- thats in reference to Umar ibn Al Khattab (radi Allahu anhu), and then the 3rd successor who was killed without justice, Uthman. Muawiyah is saying to Ali... You were jealous of all of them- meaning these three successors to the Prophet- you have aggressed against all of them. We could tell that from the smirk on

your face and from the words of division which you pronounced and the times of relief that you felt during their reign and the way you were slow in consolidating with them- meaning with the khulafa to the Prophet. In all of that time period pertaining to the three successors to the Prophet you were being led or drawn as a reluctant camel would be pulled and you were not more expressive in envy to any of them than you were to your paternal aunts sonthis is in reference to Uthman. The relationship between Bani Umayyah and Bani Hashim and in particular here, the relationship of Ali to Uthman is the relationship extracted from a brother and a sister- the brother being on the Hashimi side and the sister being on the Umawi side. Muawiyah is saying to Ali and Uthman deserved more from you- that you not treat him the way you did, 1st of all because he was a relative of yours and because of his virtues. You have severed the blood relationship with him; and you have turned the good that he did into bad; and you expressed animosity towards him; and you internalized doing what is short of the truth towards him and you instigated people against him- (the following sentence is an Arabic eloquent expression of saying that as a consequence of what you, Ali, did to Uthman, there were people rushing from all over to take advantage of him and there where blockages that were put in every direction for those who were willing to come to his aid. Now there were weapons that came out against Uthman in public and in of all places, this was done while Uthman was in the sanctuary of Rasulillah. Remember, Uthman used to go to the Masjid of the Prophet and he was being opposed in the Masjid of the Prophet. These were not dark night conspiracies. What Muawiyah, in the twisted way that hes expressing this, was referring to incidents that had occurred; Muawiyah is saying to Ali Uthman was killed while you were in his neighborhood and you heard the distressed voices but you were not there to protect those victims neither with words nor with action. Its like saying By Allah- Oh son of Abi Talib if you were to stand for the right of Uthman by telling people to stick to their positions- meaning not to have this public and popular movement against Uthman- and if you were to take a position against that and if you were to distract or detract them from what they were wanting to do- meaning in killing Uthman- then there wouldnt have been one person among us- Muawiyah is saying to Ali- within the Muawiyah camp who would say that anyone is equal to you. Had you taken that position youd have cancelled out all of the impressions that are popular among these people who are with me, against you, because you avoided doing this in favor of Uthman. Muawiyah is saying to Ali and theres another issue: that for the partisans of ibn Affan you are suspect. Giving refuge to his killers, they are your muscles, your hands and your supporters. News has reached me- Muawiyah is saying- that now you are vindicating and distancing yourself from the blood of Uthman. Muawiyah is saying to Ali if you are truthful to what you saying and claim then expel the killers of Uthman to us and we will level the issue by eliminating them- meaning if you dont want to care of them by capital punishment, we will do so for you. And then after that, when that is done, and when the killers and assassins of Uthman are taken care of by the swordthat is basically what the implication is- then after that we will be the 1st and the fastest people to come to you- meaning at that time we will give you our baiah. Short of that, the only thing between us and you is the sword- meaning war. And the last sentence of

Muawiyahs letter is and by Allah besides Who there is no deity or authority- we will seek out the killers of Uthman whether they are in the mountains or the desert or whether they are on land or sea until we kill them or until our souls join Allah. And he says wa salaam. Now- brothers and sisters- we have read to you as narrated by Baladhuri- word by word and sentence after sentence- what Muawiyah wrote to Ali and you can for yourself, (we dont think this needs any comment or anymore explanation. We tried to translate it for you in the language you all understand. We didnt use any difficult words in that translation). You can sense from it that there is a character of defiance. This person doesnt act as though Ali is an Imam, a khalifah, the leader and the ruler of the Muslims. Muawiyah acts as though he is the authority and this whole affair should take the course that he wants and this is the way it should unravel. Of course, Ali has a response to this letter of Muawiyah. Brothers and sisters the were only human being and weve miscalculated on our time. The response of Ali may consume or take another 20 or 25 minutes and that is obviously going to put us outside of the time frame of this khutbah. What we are forced to do is to delay the response of Ali in a written form to Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan and how he took each one of these issues that was quoted by Muawiyah in his letter, one by one, and detailed the truth therein and to that we shall express our selves and listen in the coming khutbah to know how the truth is expressed when there is no power centric individuals and when the issue is referred to Allah and His Prophet. Then, after that you can compare and contrast and make up your own mind by your own self- you dont need tutors and you dont need propaganda. This issue doesnt need propaganda, emotionalism, culture and tradition to justify. Just the communication before a terrible 2nd phase of an Islamic civil war takes place. You can judge that by your own selves. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims When we rethink our history and when we reconsider what we did by our selves to our selves, we dont do that in an ivory tower. The facts that we are covering are meant by todays war mongers and the usurpers of legitimate authority who have made it a religion of themselves to violate the authority of Allah i.e. these nation states and armies of today are trying to bring us to this area that we are looking at to make out of it a matter of tit-for-tat, revenge and counter revenge, a blood bath and blood letting that has a beginning and should not have an end. Brothers and sisters you are of considerable intellect- (Just to take one area), weve spoken about Iraq and we know that there is conspiracy afoot to bring Muslims to the killing fields and to want Muslims to go to those killing fields drawing on an inaccurate understanding of their own history. We say this equally concerning those who say that they are Sunnis and those who say that they are Shiis- you dont have to be a PhD. student in Islamic history to realize that the voice of sectarianism is growing louder ever since the American occupation and invasion of Iraq. The sectarian voice is growing louder and louder amongst Sunnis and amongst Shiis. Both. We challenge any of you (who is getting their information from wherever you are getting your information), to tell us that when you go to your cultural Islamic Center, traditional Mosque or neighborhood Masjid and you meet with your chummy friends and

acquaintances and the issue of todays worlds come up and if you are frank to each other then there is going to be a bottom line of well- the others are Shiis or the others are Sunnis. So what?! What does that mean? Anyone whos a Shii or a Sunni- bring them to the area that we are speaking about and tell them how this historical part of our existence justifies what is happening today in Iraq or the other area that we wanted to speak about is Lebanon?! In Lebanon, they are almost trying to reframe this history with its elements of revenge concerning the assassination of the Prime Minister of that country- what was it two or three years ago. Almost the exact psychology now, is what they want to fit into our societies- we have to take revenge. At that time there was no United Nations. Now, some people who are looking for justice in the assassination of the Lebanese Prime Minister are going to the United Nations; or they want the United States; or the International Court in the Hague; or the Europeans; or some quartet or the other; or anything where is Allah and where is His Prophet in all of this. We forgot that?! Thats exactly what they want you to forget when you think about these types of developments. No one is factoring that in. This is a reminder of what we just read. If you can place the letter of Muawiyah in its time and context and you can read the events today in their time and context youll find that they have a very strong similarity and that is where is your reference to Allah and His Prophet?! Its absent. But why cant we detect it? Because there is an institutionalized dumbing down of you and me in our Masaajid and in our meetings so that we are not enable in elevating the ayaat and the statement of the Prophet to have practical meanings in these types of life and death issues of today. We refuse to be dragged in that direction. We will stay with Allah and His Prophet come what may.

AL-JAMAL AND THE SCARS OF WAR

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters- Muslims on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem... We begin this khutbah by invoking the following words of Allah Oh Our Sustainer You have accommodated everything with Your Grace and with Your knowledge therefore pardon those who have repented and followed your course and spare them the affliction of the fire as well as those who belong to them- being their mates, spouses- and cause them to enter into a wide Paradise which you have promised them, their spouses and their offspring; for You are immune and You are wise (Surah Ghafir verse 7) We invoke this dua before we enter into the divisive portion of history as it has been relayed to us by those who try to do an accurate job of writing and chronicling history as opposed to those who were writing it for the powers that be or their personal interests. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims, in the previous khutbah we spoke about the winding down and the ending of the battle Al-Jamal and we ended the khutbah with concentrating on the behavior and the communication between Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and Ummul Mumineen Aaisha (radi Allahu anha). She professed that the affair of ruling the Muslims is in the hands of Ali and she asked him to show a degree of courteous pardon, which of course he did. He said to her may Allah forgive you and she said to him and may He forgive you also. We realize that even though the differences were as serious as to involve the casualties of thousands and thousands of Muslims,

we could not sense in this encounter even an appearance of hatred. Remember, it is this hatred that people nowadays who are trying to provoke among Muslims- specifically in the same area and country that we are speaking about 1,400 years ago. Ali remained three days before entering Al-Basra. It was probably meant to be a cooling down period for the many Muslims who have lost dear ones in this war among the Muslims. When he did go into Al-Basra, he went directly into the Masjid in Al-Basra and he met face to face and one to one with the Muslims in the Masjid. There were expressions of concern for what had happened; there were gestures of reconciliation among the Muslims but there wasnt any feelings of hatred and hostilities even though the two sides of the Muslims went through the bloody day that they went through. We are surprised when we understand the quality of human beings who carried on in those days as compared or contrasted with the types of human beings that we have today who seem to say that they belong to any one of these two sides all the way back then. Then, Ali leaves the Masjid along with some of his companions and he goes to what in the nature of those times and days is considered to be the most elaborate residence in Al-Basra, a house that belonged to Abdullah Al Khazaai or Al-Khuzaai. The reason he went there is because Ummul Mumineen Aaisha was being protected there on instruction from Ali himself. As he entered this elaborate or plush residence, there was a lady who obviously felt the affects of that war because members of her family were killed in that war. Her name is Safiyyah Al Addariyah. When Ali entered that residence she said to him the following words: (we will quote, verbatim, what she said because it is telling of the depth of resentment and the sorrow that had consumed some people) which means something like this Shes saying to Ali you the killer of loved ones; you the divider of the consensus of people may Allah render your children orphans the same way you rendered the children of Abdillah or our family as orphans. Ali heard this, but he didnt respond to her. He kept on his way until he reached to Aaisha and he had a conversation with her in which he mentioned that there was a person who I havent seen for many many long years ever since she was young and she had words of humiliation that were expressed on my approach to you. Then, there was an exchange of words in which basically Aaisha expressed her concern for those who were handicapped and injured by this war. There must have been hundreds of Muslims who were trying to heal from the physical wounds of this war and she expressed to Ali her concern for these war injured Muslim warriors. Of course he was also concerned for their lives and he also gave his word that they will be tended to in the best possible way given the circumstances. Imagine- Muslims or think- here are two individuals whose differences they attempted to sort out through a war that claimed (whether its) 10,000 or 20,000, (we dont have the exact number but we know for sure that the casualties of this war were in the thousands) and then on Alis way out, the same lady repeated to him the same thing and once again he did not bother to respond to her in the same manner but he did say the following: Ali knew behind these doors were the injured people that Aaisha was speaking to him about so he told this lady with foul language in the best courteous words that I am prepared to open these doors and deal with the people behind them. At this moment when this woman heard what he said she turned silent. She didnt say anything else; she stopped immediately. There were those though with the companions of Ali who were seeing or observing all of this

happening so some of them could not restrain themselves so what did they do? They addressed themselves to her, also in sharp language and they were rebuked by Ali because they were threatening her. He said to them in the previous wars we had with the Mushrikeen we did not threaten Mushrikaat- women who belonged to the Mushrikeen- these are Muslim women, (were paraphrasing this) how dare you threaten Muslim women?! Compare or juxtapose that behavior and lofty quality with the types of attitudes and the internal thoughts that are spoken in certain circles among todays so called Sunnis and so called Shiis. You find that there really isnt a comparison; the distance is vast. Ali leaves and he goes back to the Masjid and to the public. This is very important behavior to observe- a military commander and an Islamic leader who had been through the first war in which Muslims kill Muslims and he is not a person to step out of the public domain. It was like he felt normal being with the public. You also compare that quality of character with some of the Muslims now who think that they belong to him but who cannot or do not feel comfortable in the presence of Muslims who do not see things their way. How come?! Ali felt comfortable being in the midst; in the public eye; amongst the congregation of Muslims inside the Masjid from which his adversaries came. Why we ask?! People dont understand him?! He goes back to the Masjid and people come to him and give him their baiah or reinstate to him their baiah. He said my behavior or policy towards Al-Basra is equivalent to the behavior or policy of the Prophet towards Makkah. Obviously, he had to amnesty many of these people who showed that they disagreed with him before that bloody day in Islamic history and he began the healing process. He was very much concerned with healing these bloody bodies and these bleeding hearts; they needed a cooling down period and he exerted himself to do precisely that so that he may now consolidate the forces that he had and proceed towards those (meaning those who were at Ash-Shaam) who refused to acknowledge an Islamic leadership and an Islamic central authority represented by Ali and Al-Madinah and what it stood for. There was an issue here after the war- as is the case with after effects of war. What happens to the booty of this war? There were two sides that were fighting- there is a winning side and a losing side, how do the winners claim the spoils of war? There were those who said and tried to justify gaining the spoils of this war from their Muslim brethren who lost in this war. Ali said No! Whatever is here or available from the consequences of their loss in the war is to be dispersed among all Muslims; which gained recognition to the other side that it is equally as Islamic as they are. They differed on a political matter but that does not mean that the rules of Islam are annulled and it doesnt mean that the Muslims are going to consider the Muslims they disagreed with (all the way to the war front) as lesser Muslims. This is exactly the area that todays imperialists and zionists are trying to work up within the Muslim context when they are behind fueling this issue of takfir. Remember, this battle took place for us (number one) to learn and (number two) not to commit fatal mistakes in this 1st battle, in what may be called an Islamic civil war. There was no opinion worthy of it that claimed that the opposite Muslim is a kafir. We didnt see it; we didnt hear about it; why are they trying to bring in this issue and convince Muslims that other Muslims are kafirs? They are willing to impose this issue on anyone whos going to fall prey to it. If youre a Sunni and you think the other Muslim is not a Sunni is a kafir, you will find imperialists and

zionists who will support you, finance and arm you to the detriment of the rest of the Muslims and this is applicable to any Muslim whether he is a Sunni, Shii, an Ibaadi, a Zaydi or whomever he maybe. If he is listening to the voices of a Ash-Shaitaan the voices of AshShaitaan want Muslims divided today. They want Muslims to kill each other today. There is no legitimacy and no justification for Muslims today to kill others claiming that they are not Muslims. We are all in this together Oh Allah spare us this agony and the suffering because we are committed Muslims. This interaction between Ali and Ummul Mumineen Aaisha, by any measure and according to any historical reference did not and cannot generate a hostility among Muslims today to have them rationalize a civil war in Iraq, Yemen, Lebenon, Afghanistan, Pakistan or in any other place. We are not going to learn our Islam and our history from those who are most intense in hostility to the committed Muslims- Al-Yahud and Al-Mushrikeen (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 82)-we refuse to swallow their propaganda that they want today among us. Let us accompany Ali and Aaisha Ummul Mumineen further and listen to what they had to say about this. When that one day war was concluded and there were 10,000 or more casualties of that war on the outskirts of Al-Basra (remember its the same bleeding Basra of today) and they were speaking to each other and expressing their heart felt comments on what had happened, what did Aaisha say? She began to repeat the ayah in the Quran in which Allah says and stay in your houses and do not display yourselves like during the times of ignorance (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 33) and she would weep. It is reported that her tears soaked her kheemar regretting what had happened at Al-Jamal. She said I wish I seized to exist 20 years before this day, meaning before the day of Jamal. She also said I wish I would have had the choice and made up my mind to exclude myself from that day of Al-Jamal, that would have been more preferable to her than having ten children from the Prophet of Allah. You tell us that this is not an expression of regret for what happened?! Obviously it is. Ali also said had I known that this affair would have gone to this extent I would not have embarked upon it. This is a statement meaning he did not know that the Muslims were going to show this type of failure among themselves for him to become part of it; and we, the Muslims, today- its as if none of this happened- no Imam is speaking about this in their khutbahs; and no Islamic intellectuals or scholars are explaining this critical part of our history so that we do not repeat it. If we do not understand it, we are going to be condemned to repeat it and these imperialist and zionist enemies who are inside our societies and on the frontiers of occupation and invasions of our land know that as long as we are close minded they are the ones that are going to fill in these minds with the concocted information that they have. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims- when this war was settled Ali treated Ummul Mumineen Aaisha with all the due respect that belongs to her. There is nothing- no one can extract one statement from any Islamic source of history to show that was acrimony of any type between these two

individuals. When, finally, Aaisha was to leave Al-Basra to go back to Al-Madinah, Ali wanted her to do that, post-haste, as soon as possible. She asked him for extra days to see to it that the war injured are taken care of but when that decision was finally made and she left Al-Basra she left with a contingent of guards, both of men and women, and for the 1 st day of that travel from Al-Basra westward towards Al-Madinah Ali also had his sons accompany Ummul Mumineen Aaisha on the first leg of that journey back to Al-Madinah. Try to bring these facts into the lives of the todays Muslims; you can take a look at any of the details that are in Iraq and see where is the Islamic character? Where is the quality of Islamic mannerisms among these people who say that they are Sunnis or Shiis? Where- we ask them- do you get your behavior from? Then- Brothers and Sisters- after Ummul Mumineen Aaisha leaves Al-Basra on her way back to Al-Madinah she said to the public- if this was an unrepentant person carrying in her psychology the wounds of this war-but no, she said to the general public the difference between me and Ali amounts to the difference that exist within a family, meaning dont try to build on this issue into the future. She also wanted the hearts to settle down; she wanted that flared up nerves and tensions to settle. After she left, Ali tried to turn his attention to Al-Kufa to regroup the potential of Al-Kufa with the potential of Al-Basra because the future event is going to be the face-off with Muawiya. Muawiya is cut totally of another fiber. Here, we can take our gloves off (so to speak) because this is not a character in the league of the other characters that we were speaking about. This is not a character in the league of Az-Zubair, Talha or Aaisha (radi Allahu anhum) or these Muhaajireen and Al-Ansaar of the Prophets circle. This was a person who comes out of a fighting attitude against the Prophet. His father, Abu Sufyan was the leader against the war on Islam for over two decades. His mother, also had a vengeful attitude at the war fronts. Mother and father Abu Sufyan and Umm Sufyan and their son Muawiyah was with them at the battle field, spending years and years of his life in war against Islam. This was a person who when Islam finally became the order of the day, he and his parents, said now we are Muslims. How can we equate this type of character with those who spent those same years on the other side of the war front? It cant be done. This person, though became a Muslim, and you have to treat him as a Muslim. He was assigned as the governor of Ash-Shaam by Umar (radi Allahu anhu). For your information, we may have not mentioned this earlier, but when Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) became the ruler of the Muslims, he dismissed all the governors from their positions except Muawiyah. He was the only one left in his position and what happened? Look at Muawiyah through out the years that we are speaking about. He knew Uthman was threatened. In the last year he went to the Hajj and he met Uthman and spoke to him. He said if you want, why dont you move from Al-Madinah and come to Ash-Shaam? Come with me where you will be safe. If Uthman was made out of the same character as Muawiyah he would have gone with him he didnt. Muawiyah suggested to him OK- if you dont accept that, then how about me sending a military force from Ash-Shaam to be in charge of Al-Madinah? Uthman, proving once again hes not of the same character as Muawiyah said no! I will not except that. So, here we have Muawiyah watching all these developments at a distance from

Ash-Shaam. In the final months and weeks in which Uthman needed assistance, why didnt Muawiyah send any assistance? He didnt because he wanted to see or inflame what he perceived to be the contradictions in Al-Hejaz so that there will be the internal power struggle and at the end he would deal with the party that has been sapped by that internal power struggle and this is what eventually was going to happen. When we begin to talk about Ali verses Muawiyah, this is not speaking like this Ali verses Aaisha. This is (in the words of the common language) a whole new ball game. The characters were different. Ali was very conscientious when it came to bait al maal and matters and issues of justice. He was concerned with justice before everything and after everything. Muawiyah was not concerned at all with justice. He tried to ride a wave of revenge and feed that into the current of nationalism to gain power in exclusion to the consensually elected official that was agreed upon by all the Muslims. Ali had to deal with Talha, Az-Zubair and Aaisha- (in his words) as naqifeen- they gave their baiah but then they wanted to withdraw it- which brings us to an issue we havent thought through. Can a person give a baih and then withdraw it? Is not heard of! When public opinion no longer extract confidence in a leader is another issue, but for individuals to withdraw their baiah? This cannot happen, so he called them naqifeen; but when it came to Muawiyah and those who were duped with him he didnt give them the same name. He didnt say they were naqifeen he said they were qasiteen. Now, he had to deal with another set of people with another character and agenda. To give you an impression on the difference between these two characters, anything that was to do with bait al-maal, Ali was very keen on having it dispersed amongst the Muslims in need. It was not known that there was a hefty treasury during the time of Ali. During the time of Uthman, the Islamic treasury grew to leaps and bounds but with Ali this was not known. If there was something in bait al maal at the end of the year it would be dispersed among people who are in need and then bait al maal itself would be washed down with water and then there would be two rakaat of appreciation to Allah performed by the Imam in bait al maal of the Muslims. Muawiyah though used to look at how can he use money to serve his political objectives. He was clever in the sense that he would try to win over people before using force by using financeswho can he win over by money and if money cannot work then hell use force. This was demonstrated (as we covered earlier) in the case of those who were opposing Uthman. Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) was one example. They used to send Islamic political figures in all the Muslim territories Ash-Shaam, to Muawiyah and he would deal with them either through finances or force. He couldnt take or deal with Abu Dharr because he had a credibility that went back all the way to the Prophet. Muawiyah couldnt deal with that. He told Uthman what am I going to do? (Uthman said) Well, send him back to Al-Madinah. He was sent back to AlMadinah in the fashion that he was sent back. Then Uthman couldnt take him and then he exiled him to Ar-Rabdah, an area at a distance from Al-Madinah. These are two different charactersbrothers and sisters- to drive the point further home; Aqeel, Alis brother, was in need. This is the leader of the Muslims whose brother was a poor man. He didnt have what the average man had, so he comes to his brother, the Imam and he tells him can you give me something? I am in

need; I am poor. Ali and his family, like the first two leaders of the Muslims after the Prophet, would draw only the amount that would get them by from cycle to cycle or month to month. So, he told his son Al-Hasan (radi Allahu anhu) the next time we draw our amounts from bait al maal take your uncle and buy him (in todays words) a new suit and a new pair of shoes. Thats all he could afford or do. The same Aqeel goes to Muawiyah and he says the same thing I am a person in need. Muawiyah gives him (what we say today) 100,000 dollars. You tell us, are we speaking about characters made from the same material or here is where we begin to speak about Muslims at a divergent course?! This is what we will see more of in the coming khutbahsinshaAllah. Muslims, Brothers and sisters with responsibilities and duties from on high You may feel comfortable being in an area that is far away from the tension, fanaticism, self centeredness and the egos that are plunging some Muslims in communities and societies into a hardening of attitudes. This is what is dangerous about this- the more it goes on, the more the attitudes become polarized and less capable reconciliation. We say this because we feel and see the dirty hands that are trying their bloody best to have Muslims think about themselves either as Sunnis or Shiis. You have been listening and we have been speaking for I dont know scores of khutbahs in the past years. Up until now, none of these people that we are speaking about were saying one person was a Sunni or the other person is a Shii- none of them. How come this has now become almost a religion? Its as if a person is satisfied with being either a Shii or a Sunni and it is only marginal that he or she is a Muslim. All of this comes from our inability to reconsider who we are and what we did absolutely. We have been incapable of doing this and when people try to open up this subject matter they themselves- even the learned ones- begin to show their bias. Brothers and sisters- people can make mistakes; Muslims can make mistakes; sincere Muslims can make mistakes and they can make serious mistakes, but they dont become non-Muslims because of that. Those who are non-Muslims because of their serious mistakes are those who are in positions today of authority who have sold their countries and their future generations to Ash-Shaitaan and his company of zionists and imperialists. If we can elevate our thoughts and thinking to that degree then yes, there are kafirs among us but they are not the run of the mill Muslim, the Masjid going Muslim or the average Muslim; they are the ones who are in possession of power and who have become authorities usurping the authority of Allah. This is the red line we are not supposed to cross. Stay away from it and begin- you Muslims- according to the imperialists and zionists agenda to accuse your own selves of kufr thereby opening up a war that has beginning and may not have a known end.

SIFFIN: LESSONS NOT EMOTIONS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... With Allahs assistance and with the information that He has entrusted us with the book of records, the Holy writ- we begin by quoting His words Our Sustainer give us in this world the deeds of perfection and the rewards of perfection thereof and give us in the life to come or the end life the results of those good deeds in this world and spare us the torment of the fire (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 201) Oh our sustainer grant us a break through with our own people and you are the best to do so (Surah Al-Khaf verse 18) Committed brothers and sisters- as a reminder, when we express the ideas in these khutbahs, we do so factoring in the issues and themes that are meant to divide us. We remind ourselves of the truth and validity of what we are concentrating our minds on while we take notice of the bloodshed and warfare that are meant to capitalize on our ignorance of our own selves. For that reason we pursue the information that we have, to dispel this ignorance and therefore to abort the plans and programs that are causing us hundreds of lives almost on a daily basis. They, meaning the militaries and governments that belong to Ash-Shaytaan and have no relationship to Allah, want to stir in the midst of the Muslims a war that will consume the potential that we have not only to extricate ourselves from what we are in and have been in for a long time but to extend a hand of support to those who need it. Where is this area that they are trying to fish for trouble in? This has been our concentration for the

past year or more and we will continue. Dont think that we are saying this because we get a kick out of turning these pages of history. These are times of trouble and those were wars that cost us many lives. It may be hard to focus our minds on these developments in our past, but its only hard for those who are not in the company of Allah and His Prophet. We pick up where we left off the last time around- that was when both Muslim sides were gearing up for a war. We realize that Muawiyah, the governor of Ash-Shaam, preceded with his troops to a place called Siffin. This happens to be an area on the right hand side of the Euphrates river, Al-Furaat. The army of Muawiyah sets camp there in this particular area- in other words they reached what is going to become the battle field before the army and the camp of Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and it was a short time later and then Ali and those who are with him arrive. I want you- brothers and sisters- to listen with your minds please place your emotions to the side; you can emotionalize about this as much as you want on your own but when this issue is potentially a divisive issue among the Muslims, what is required here is our full attentions and minds. When both of these opposing blocks of people arrive at this particular area called Siffin, Muawiyah and his side were intent on denying excess to the water to the side and the camp of Ali. Obviously, water is a vital element especially if a war or skirmishes are going to extend for the time period that they did- were talking almost 3 months. This was the 38th year of the hijra and there was an attempt to solve this water issue. Ali sends some interlocutors or spokespersons to try to convince the other side that all warriors, everyone needs to have equal excess to water. Let me remind you, if you have forgotten, that water is not a simple issue. Water has a little background history to it because this side that is with Muawiyah are now trying to take revenge for the denial of water to Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) in his final days. If you recall, in previous khutbahs we explained how when Uthman and his family were under siege, they were denied water-now Muawiyah and his camp are trying a tit-for-tat; you denied Uthman water- now we are going to deny you water. Of course, the spokespersons returned to Ali with the answer that they, meaning Muawiyah and his side are non negotiating on this matter; they want to block excess to water. On Muawiyahs side there were two elements at work. There was a shuraa element; even though that was only a mechanism and there was the assabiya element, the element of nationalism that was always at work. It was at work in Makkah when the Prophet was there; it was at work in Al-Madinah when the Prophet was there; it was at work during the time of the successors to the Prophet Abi Bakr, Umar, Uthman (radi Allahu anhum) and now it is at work within Muawiyahs camp. In opposition to this opinion, one of Muawiyahs lieutenants, Amr ibn Al Aas, advised Muawiyah that you should not deny the other side access to Al-Furaat to the water because this encounter between us and them- meaning between Muawiyahs side and Alis side- may take a long time and we dont want to begin a war with them immediately but if you deny them this water youll be forcing them to go all out against us very quick. But still, putting this shura aside, Muawiyah adopted the Asabiya of Bani Umayyah around him which said we insist and are dead serious about preventing the other side from having access to water. What happened here was is a very serious skirmish between the two sides- this was in the last month of the 37th year of the hijra,in dhul hijjah, and as a result the camp of Ali managed to take control of the water access of Al-Furaat. Now, the whole issue was reversed- the camp of Ali had access to Al-Furaat and Muawiyah and his camp did not have any access to it. There were those on the side of Ali who took a hard position saying that now we are in control we are not going to have them draw from this

water. But Ali as a matter of principle said then whats the difference between us and them?! This water is for all and we will have access to it and they will have access to it. Then the month of Muharram arrives- the 38th of al-hijra- and there were mutual feelings on both sides to try to talk this thing through- let us try to settle this issue short of war. During this month of Muharram, the whole month was spent in intensive, nervous hard talk between both sides, arguments, flaring up of nervesthere was no warfare, it was just a serious back and forth verbal war between both sides and it wasnt going anywhere. Both sides into the month of Safar- after Muharram- realized that this is becoming a stalemate, theres not going to be a decisive decision thats going to come out of this through this medium of both sides clinging to the positions that we outlined in the previous khutbah or two. No one wanted to budge an inch on their positions- positions summarized in one side being al-fia al-baghia and i.e. Muawiyah and the other side being the one that is failing to apply the qisaas to the killers of Uthman i.e.the camp of Ali. These were the two bedrock, hard rock positions of the two antagonized sides. Then, when Ali exhausted the means of trying to solve this issue short of an all out military encounter, he put his army on a war footing in combat formation to take on the other side. Muawiyah realized that his opponents were ready for the real thing, meaning the all out military encounter between both sides so he also put his forces in warfare formation. The 1st day that they began this warit was one tribe on this side against another tribe on the other side or one man on this side against another man from that side or one squadron from one side against another squadron from the other side and war continued like this for the 1st day. Remember, were almost two or two and a half months since both sides encamped at Siffin- this is a long period. Then, on the second day both armies met enmasse and they began dueling. This is very sad to comment upon- when we are speaking about tens of thousands of Muslims who now are going to be killed but there is a matter of principle here (we remind you) and theres a matter of political expedience in here. In the 2nd day of fierce warfare the right flank of Alis forces caved in, meaning there was a gap in the right flank and the forces of the other side began to move into this gap and Ali was forced to go from the middle of this armed force to the left flank but then the fighting intensified and it intensified and what was managed during these critical times was the regrouping of the right flank of Ali under the command of Al Ashtar An Naghi. who in todays word was a hard core military personality who didnt see any grey areas in this affair. As the day went on the camp and the armed forces of the Imam solidified their positions and then the war continued throughout the night. This is unusual. We dont know of any warfare extending from the 1st day to the 2nd day and then from the 2nd day into the 2nd night and then from the 2nd night into the 3rd day and the causalities were tremendous. On that 3rd day the camp or the armed forces of Muawiyah felt that they are going to be defeated. Brothers and sisters- before we go on, were trying as conscientiously as possible to express these delicate historical affairs. Does anyone feel any hatred? You can see someones right and you can see someone wrong, but can anyone see any hatred towards another Muslim because of this? We think the answer is obvious. On the 3rd day, when the rowdy or the defeat of the counter Ali forces was eminent, then all over sudden they raised the masaahif or the written Quran on their spears and swords- most of it was on the spears and they called for arbitration. These were the exact words that were expressed during this military maneuver. What was the impact of this on their opposing side? Many of the warriors on the side of Ali took (maybe what can be described as) an emotional response to this. They said now our enemies

want to arbitrate this difference and they want to do so according to the Quran why should we refuse this offer? That was the majority opinion among those who we with Ali. There was a lesser opinion that said no! We are sure of our position. We have been sure of our position from the 1 st day as else we wouldnt have been in this war that we are in now. We are sure that our leader is Ameerul Mumineen and we are sure that our opponents are al-fia al-baaghia the offending aggressive category of people and then this became (listen brothers and sisters with your emotions aside) a divisive issue inside the camp of Ali. It became so divisive that some of Alis own people threatened him because he didnt agree with the idea that there should be an arbitration. He said raising the mushaf is nothing new. Remember, when the clash in Al-Basra took place at Al-Jamal and when Ali asked (we mentioned this in the previous khutbah) for a volunteer who would go and raise the Quran to arbitrate this affair according to the book of Allah but before the war began. Theres a difference here. He wanted the arbitration of this affair in Al-Basra before Al-Jamal, the causalities, victims and war dead at Al-Jamal; but these are raising the masaahif not because they are sincere about an arbitration but because they see that they are loosing. Its a trick that most of those who were with him could not reconcile to themselves. They couldnt see this as a trick so they insisted and some of them even told Ali if you are not going to accept this arbitration we ourselves are going to turn you over to Muawiyah. What do you do when most of the people who are with you see that the best thing to do is to refer this whole issue to the book of Allah when those who are asking for this referral are not sincere but are doing this to escape an eminent military defeat? Ali was forced (more or less) into this arbitration. What are the armed forces that we are talking about on both sides? Anyone who comes to you with a firm answer on this- dismiss it. The books of history give different numbers. Some of them say the forces of Ali numbered 100,000 and Muawiyahs army numbered 75,000 and then you have the numbers going up or down; and then you have the causalities. Brothers and sisters- this is sad they among us, Muslims. The causalities were (again, we different numbers but we can put out a number that we feel somewhat comfortable with; you may add or take a little from it), those who were killed from Muawiyahs side were about 45,000 and those who were killed from Alis side were around 25,000. We have a total causality figure of around 70,000 Muslims give or take some thousand depending on the historian you are reading, but in that area who were killed during this military encounter at Siffin. What is important to realize is that this was a war unlike other wars. Remember, they spent months yelling or shouting their impressions or ideas against each other. Even during the nights when they were discussing this affair in the month of Muharram both sides would meet during the evening and late into the night speaking to each other and formulating poetry but the out come of all of this was a sad blood letting in our history. No one can deny this and some of the most prominent people were killed in this war. Only to mention one from each side- one of those who were killed on Muawiyahs side was Ubaidullah ibn Umar, the one who killed Al-Hurmuzaan. Remember when Umar was assassinated in the Masjid and his son took the law into his own hands and in revenge killed those he said were responsible for killing his father- this Ubaidallah ibn Umar was killed at Siffin. On the other side we had Ammaar ibn Yassar (radi Allahu anhu) who was killed at Siffin. Ammaar ibn Yassar demands some minutes of our time because hes critical because of the Prophet in defining the

right side from the wrong side. All Muslims agree that the Prophet said to Ammaar pity you the son of Sumayyah you are going to be killed by the offending side. What happened in the course of this war? Obviously Ammaar was on the side of Ali. Ammar was over 90 years old- those were his physical years, but his mental, spiritual and motivational years were very young. He didnt show any feature of being an elderly person as he came voluntarily with his own initiative to this encounter. There was a person by the name of Khuzaimahibn Thabit al Ansaari who tagged on- listen to this- he tagged on to the camp of Ali. He was just there as a person and he didnt want to fight. He was watching Ammaar very closely and when Ammaar was killed this Khuzaimah al Ansaari ibn Thabit said now the truth is obvious and at that moment he took arms and he fought until he was killed and the killing of Ammaar became a problem to Muawiyah because Muawiyah and those who were with him obviously knew the Prophets hadith concerning Ammaar and it was an embarrassment to them so they tried to look the other way. They tried to make believe that this whole thing didnt happen, but no one could bury an issue like this so it was brought to the attention of Muawiyah. They said the Prophet said pity you the son of Sumayyah you are going to be killed by the offending side- how do you explain the Prophets words? He said did we kill him?! This is a question that infers negating the killing of Ammaar, he said the ones who killed him are the ones who brought him to the warfront. No-one brought Ammaar. Ammaar wasnt forced into a war. He came there of his own volition and free will and if Muawiyahs logic stands then we could say that the Prophet was the one who killed Humza because it was the Prophet who was instrumental in bringing Humza to the war fronts. Obviously thats a contorted twisted logic- that doesnt stand the truth of the matter. Ammaar was the one upon seeing Amr ibn Al Aas on the other side of the battlefield said that this is not the 1st time I encounter him in war this is the 4th time there were three other times that we fought on different sides of the warfront. It was Ammaar who said during the Prophets time, we were fighting them because they were denying the Quran, now we are fighting them because they are misinterpreting it. It was obvious at this time by any standards that there was an offending, aggressive and violating camp- that was the camp of Muawiyah- but brothers and sisters, even if we say this and the truth has to be said this doesnt generate any hatred towards Muslims. You can disagree with someone all the way to the warfront, but does that mean you are going to hate the rest of the Muslims? Where did this come from? How did this occur? Finally, we reach the issue of At-Tahkeem, the arbitration and we will find the way this arbitration went when Ali sent some emissaries to Muawiyah and said OK what is it that you mean by this arbitration? Ali reluctantly accepted this because most of the people who were with him accepted it, now he had to clarify what the other side wants from this arbitration. Muawiyah says to these emissaries we appoint one interlocutor or arbiter from our side and you do the same from your side and they will solve this issue in reference to the book of Allah. What we will see in the coming khutbahs is how this arbitration unfolded and how, even though Muawiyah appointed Amr ibn Al Aas to represent his side, on the side of Ali it wasnt Ali per se who appointed the arbiter. It was public opinion on his side that agreed that Abu Musa Al Ashari should represent that side even though Abu Musa Al Ashari was not a participant in this war between the Muslims. We will take a closer look at these unfolding events just as we have taken a look at the preceding events and we will realize out of it

that theres not a matter of hatred or animus among the Muslims. This hatred and animus comes in the outsiders. Let us remind you that at time there were outsiders. Do you think the Byzantines and the Persians who were in the process of losing their empires, both of them, were not looking at those Muslims consuming their own lives- and not any lives, the 1st and 2nd generation of Muslims? They had their military plans and they were working and watching for a comeback if the Muslims gave them that opportunity. If the hatred and the animus would have consumed the Muslims at that time the foreign enemies would have had a chance to make a military combat against the Muslims. They didnt do it at that time and no Muslim should think about doing it today. We are Muslims in this all together and there is no room for this division that is being instigated from the outside and verbalized from the inside. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims It is very difficult (believe us), for a Muslim to recount and recall the details of those defining times. It is very sad to think about what had happened but the fact is that it did happen. There shouldnt be any hostility that turn into warfare because of what happened at that time. Are we not able to learn from ourselves? Can you learn when you are agitated, nervous and emotionally unstable? You cant! They were there to help us learn. The side of Ali that we were talking about, before the division that we are going to be looking at, were the ones at that time in the middle of these battles repeating and recalling the Prophets statements am I not a priority that supersedes the selves of the committed Muslims? And they all responded affirmatively, and then they took the hand of Ali and then he said whoevers Mawla I am, then Ali is his mawla. This hadith we think is known by every Muslim. OK- so you Muslim, whoever you are, when you say this, do you feel any animus towards another Muslim? Remember, these people who are fighting with Ali who are saying these words and who are saying the ayah in the Quran The Prophet is closer to the Mu.minin than they are to their ownselves (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 6) and who are saying Say, if your fathers, sons, brothers, spouses, children, wealth that you acquired, commerce that you fear a decline in and dwellings that you delight in are more dearer to you that Allah and His Prophet and a struggle in Allahs cause, then wait for Allahs decree. And Allah does not guide a degenerate folk (Surah At-Taubah verse 24) They were repeating these words, they were meeting with their (lets call them) enemies and they were heated in their discussions but they didnt show any hatred or animosity- where did this come from? It doesnt belong in the Muslim heart or mind then and it doesnt belong in the Muslim heart or mind now. There is something that is right and there is something that is wrong; we identify what is right and we identify what is wrong and we move forward all together- this is the correct character of a committed Muslim not the type of Sunnis and Shiis today who are stalking the fires of sectarianism. It appears that one of the qualifications for a Muslim scholar to come to

the United States if he is a Sunni to speak against Shiis if he is a Shii to speak against Sunnis this is where we find ourselves now- so who is behind this Sunni/Shii sectarianism- we leave it to your common sense.

THE ARBITRATION: WHAT WAS WRONG AND WHAT WAS RIGHT

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims... Allah says If there are two camps of committed Muslims who are warring against each other, then you bring a reconciliation between them. But then, if one of them transgresses against the other you fight the transgressors until they are referred to Allahs adjudication or decree in this affair (Surah AlHujurat verse 9) This ayah is very relevant to the segment of history that we are considering in this khutbah today. We spoke about the diffusion of the military conflict at Siffin. With the agreement of both sides to what is called At-tahkeem and that means to solve the differences through discussions, negotiations and an arbitration process. Before we pick up the details that followed or accompanied it, the meaning of the ayah And if there are two camps of committed Muslims who fight each other, then your 1 st choice is to try to reconcile them, the 1st priority is to try to diffuse the combat readiness and the warfare intentions on both sides (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9) The ayah says but if one of these camps or if one of these sides of committed Muslims transgress, trespasses or violates its boundaries of legality and morality by aggressing against the other camp of committed Muslims then you fight the party that took the law into its own hands until it reverts to the command of Allah. If it does revert to the command of Allah, at that time, you reconcile these two sides with justice and with institutionalized justice- for Allah is dear to those who are keen on institutional justice. For indeed committed Muslims are

brethren of each other, so it is very natural to reconcile them to each other and maybe in this process you will attain to the mercy of Allah (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9-10) This is the meaning of these ayaat. What we have in the context that we are in- we are speaking about ourselves over 1,350 or almost 1,400 years ago- this is ourselves. We were at war and this war was the 2nd time that committed Muslims go to war with each other. Remember, during the time with Allahs Prophet we dont know of a war in which committed Muslims were fighting committed Muslims- it doesnt appear in the seerah, its not spoken about in Islamic historybooks it doesnt exist, but the book of Allah came to deal with what the Muslims may do to themselves. In this instance, there are clear instructions from Allah on how to behave when committed Muslims are at war with each. Note the wording of the ayah wa in taifataani min almumineen, not min al-muslimeen. In the course of human nature and human events, the ayah is telling us that it is possible that something like this may happen. So, what happened was not out of the extra-ordinary, it was of something that may occur. The 1st the committed Muslims went to war was at Al-Jamal, the 2nd time they went to war was at Siffin- this is something like an all out war. When the camp of fia al baghia, the aggressive party, realized that it was losing this war, it reverted to a trick- it was not done in sincerity. We know that some Muslims may feel upset that we are trying to describe this matter in such a way but we have to be honest and accurate to ourselves and accurate to the events that took place. The losing side in the war, AsSiffin, raised the masaahif, the copies or pages of the Quran on their swords or spears and they said we want now to end this war through negotiations. Brothers and sisters- follow, because to the sad comment- many of us look at these issues with an absent mind and an agitated emotion. We want to simmer down our emotions and spark our mind. When this incident took place, what happened was that in the camp of Ali (radi Allahu anhu), there was majority block of people who were anxious to solve this difference by going to the negotiating table. We say this because our reading of these events indicate that even though Ali had the people of AlKufa, Al-Hijaaz and Al-Basra- Al-Muhaajireen and Al-Ansaar- on his side, the quality Muslim that was required at this moment was not the type that would be anxious to solve this issue by speaking to people who have proven that they themselves dont want to speakbecause before this moment in time Ali sent emissaries, couriers, interlocutors and representatives on several occasions to Muawiyah and his representatives and throughout all of this experience it was proven that they were not interested in solving this issue through negotiations and discussions. So why should Muslims who are aware of these facts be anxious, at that moment, to go to the negotiating table? Do you drop previous months and years of experience with this side and fall for the emotion of the moment? Of course its a very emotional moment when you say we no longer want kill ourselves- life is a very dear thing- but so is experience, wisdom and the credible and qualified leadership that they had. In the 1st instance, it is expected for people to follow their leader. How come, at this time and critical juncture in Islamic history, this anxious block of people wanted their leader to follow them? A question that has remained far from the Muslim mind even though it is lodged deep down in some Muslims emotions or it is assigned to be obscurity by other Muslims- in both cases the mind is absent. Do you want us to be more blunt with you? The Shes and Sunni mind it is absent from taking a look at this development and understanding. This moment did not come from nowhere. This majority opinion in the camp of Ali felt or yearned for the days of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu). These were Allawis (so to speak), because they were on Alis side but inside of them they were Uthmaanis because Uthmaans time was a time of economic prosperity and

human nature- 1,000 years ago, thousands of years ago, today 1,000 years into the future- most of the time wants economic prosperity. They saw that Ali was the leader of principle and justice but wheres the economic well being of the people that Uthmans reign had ushered in? They wanted to return to the normalcy of the market; they wanted to make the profits that they were making- why should they be in a war that is consuming the lives of everyone on all sides? It doesnt make sense to them! These (types of) people didnt die- they are still alive today. If a leader comes and wants to pursue an issue of principle and justice to the end then he is going to find and there is going to be a majority opinion who at a certain time is going to say enough is enough! We want an economic prosperity; we want to raise our standard of living; we want to be like the rest of the people elsewhere- enjoying a dream of sorts. This is the human nature that works itself into this moment of Islamic history. What you expect of Ali? He took a look at the people and realized that his people wanted this arbitration process. He was sure most of them wanted this arbitration process even though he himself did not want it. So they imposed the arbitration upon him and it didnt stop here. Who is going to arbitrate? Who is going to be representing these sides? On the side of Muawiyah there was no problem because things there are not done with the participation of the average Muslims- its like a we dont want to use the word policed state but its a controlled form of government. So, it was decided by Muawiyah that Amr ibn Al Aas will represent that side and there was no argument, no objections and no difference of opinion- it was said and done. On the side of Ali, the majority opinion also did not want Ali to choose who will represent him at these discussions. They knew that Ali wanted ibn Abbaas (radi Allahu anhu) to represent that side. They said no you cant have him because he is your relative. Brothers and sisters- we want you- especially those of you who consider yourselves Shiis- we wish we could out grow thisbut those of you who consider yourselves Shiis, you are anxious to have Ali (and all of us are, we wish history could have gone that way) to have succeeded the Prophet immediately when the Prophet passed away. Abu Sufyan knew what many of you dont know today- i.e. that if Ali was to become the successor to the Prophet immediately upon his death there would have been a backlash of nationalism against him and the problems that he was facing now in Southern Iraq he would have been facing in Al-Madinah immediately in those 1st years because look, these were the ones who were educated- they had the time of Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman (radi Allahu anhum) to educate themselves and be convinced that Ali is the successor to the Prophet, but here he is saying OK, if I want someone to represent me let it be ibn Abbaas. They said no, you cant have him because hes your relative, your cousin. This same mentality- nationalism- did it run away? It is still around. Look around- brothers and sisters- open your eyes and understand the world. Nationalism is still a potent force today. Even those who belong to an Islamic state or Islamic movement- if they can open their eyes they will see nationalism inside of them. Theyre not looking for who is more qualified or who is more concerned with justice or who is obsessed with principle- no! This was the case then. These people werent looking for principle, justice or qualifications. Ali was concerned with that. He wanted ibn Abbas- they vetoed him. His 2nd choice was Malik Al-Ashtar- they said no this person is too revolutionary, he participated in this war; he is a hard core believer in this war. How can you put a hard core believer in this war to negotiate an end when inside of him he wants to return to the war? So they vetoed him once again. Look at the other side- Amr ibn Al Aas was the counter part of Malik Al Ashtar Malik al Nakhee. Why did the other side put him? If you people on

Alis side are objecting to Al-Ashtar as being the representatives of the Imam in these negotiations that are going to take place then why dont you extend it to the other side also and say you people are placing a hawk to negotiate your side? We dont except it on your side and we dont except it on our side to be fair to the subject- but they were not fair to the subject because they wanted this whole thing to end. People who take a non-compromising line on the issue of justice are bound. If we can learn we will understand that they are bound to run into this problem which we have encountered almost 14 centuries ago. Ali didnt want the arbitration they forced him; he wanted certain individuals to represent him they objected; and not only did they object, they came with the man that they wanted. Who did they want? They wanted Abu Musa Al-Ashari who was the governor of Kufa for a while, and when he saw that there was a build up of Muslims who are going to confront each other at the warfront he began to tell the people of Kufa no dont go to the war, and the people of Kufa were pro-Ali, so this person was taking away from the war effort in previous months and years and now they wanted him to represent the side we are talking about- and they have it their way. What are you going to do? What can anyone do in these circumstances? Lets look at another element- brothers and sisters- committed Muslims, you recall that in the course of this very unique warfare- unlike other encounters- people who the following day or week would find themselves crossing swords in the previous day or week they would be sitting with each other talking. Remember, during the month of Dhul Hijjah, they clashed, there were skirmishes- this was the beginning of Siffin. Then, during the month of Muharram they put down their swords and they were every day talking to each other. We dont know of this happening in any other war in the world i.e. where tomorrow we may kill ourselves but today we are trying to discuss this matter between us. They would spend nights together- just talking; they would spend days- together just talking. During these talks, if we want to think of what happened and how human nature works, it cant be excluded that inside both these camps there were people who had their own agenda. Lets give an example- there is a person by the name of Al-Ashat ibn Qais. This person became a Muslim during the life time of the Prophet. When the Prophet passed away, he became a murtadd. A murtadd does not mean only apostate- well make do with the word murtadd. He joined the effort against the Islamic authority in Al-Madinah and when he saw that the irtidaad was being defeated and was not going anywhere, he left his people among whom he was fighting and he went to Al-Madinah and he made up. He said I made a mistake; I am becoming a committed Muslim again and I pay allegiance to the leadership in Al-Madinah. Not only that he also married the sister of Abi Bakr- her name was Umm Farwa. He spent the time of Abi Bakr and Umar as more or less a regular, average, normal individual and then during the time of Uthman he was assigned to administer a territory in Persia. Then, when Ali became the leader of the Muslims, he relieved him of that responsibility and this person came to Ali and sort of made up. He appeared to be supportive, understanding, etc. When this tahkeem took place, Ashat ibn Qais began to circulate among the troops of Ali and said look- we are now going to arbitration. He was a loud voice for this arbitration. This is just a matter of common sense- can we exclude that during the times of encounters between both these sides that AlAshat ibn Qais did not come into contact with Amr ibn Al Aas from the other side? If they did, (theres reason to believe that if they personally didnt do that, this type of activity was in progress) i.e. that if the side of Muawiyah wins then fine, we go to a better economic life as was the case during the reign of Uthman, but if the side of Ali begins to win and we can see the

future- the future is not going to look economically as we want it to look, so we can suggest a mechanism short of military defeat. Thats what exactly happened. In all fairness, we have to point out that in the camp of Ali there were those who said No! All of this is a grand deception. The other side is saying that they want to arbitrate with the book of Allah in this affair - they are deceiving us and this is nothing new. Remember, here is where they understood the difference between the young person who volunteered to take the Mushaf at Al-Jamal before hostilities is broke out on orders of Ali and he was cautioned, whoever was going to occupy that position is definitely going to be killed. Ali, unlike these tricksters, Muawiyah and Amr ibn Al Aas we know- brothers and sisters- some people will find these words to be harsh, but we dont say these words with bad feelings, evil, sectarianism or any notion of division among the Muslims, we are only saying these words to try to learn from our own common experience. The suggestion came from Amr ibn Al Aas that this is what we should do- we should raise these masaahif when they knew that they were losing and ask the other side for this tahkeem. Unlike Ali who was conscience in Al-Jamal of the relationship of Az-Zubair, Talha and Ayesha Ummul Mumineen (radi Allahu anhum) to the Prophet (himself), so he wanted to exclude a battle with them. So before any skirmish and military encounter began he sent someone to raise the Mushaf to arbitrate this war before it sparks the bloodshed that would cost all Muslims, but immediately they threw their spears at him. Imagine, is this a side that wants arbitration? Obviously not! The difference is that Ali did this with sincerity and to preclude or exclude a war, Amr ibn Al Aas and Muawiyah did this not because they wanted to preclude or exclude a fitnah among the Muslims but because they wanted to avoid a defeat. There was this minority (lets call it)-it wasnt the majority-no one really has a good grip on their numbers but it definitely wasnt the majority of people with Ali. They said we can see through all of this. 1st of all, how many times has the Imam sent to the other side people to speak to them, individuals to reason with them, scholars who could answer them and every time there was not one favorable or even accommodating response. That was the truth, the other side was not interested, so this minority among Alis camp said why are we going to believe them now? You saw what they did to us when we approached Siffin. We wanted to have equal access to water- they would not even give us equal access, how do you trust them now? That was the way Ali thought, but what are you going to do? Are you going to agree with a few people (so to speak)- of course a few people is an exaggeration but definitely these were not enough people who are going to be able to carry the decision with a calculated risk of success- that wasnt even there- had Ali accepted their opinion, they would have found themselves between two enemies. Instead of having one enemy, Muawiyah, Amr ibn Al Aas and the troops that were with them; in addition to that they would have had their own side now, the majority of them also their enemies. In this fashion, arbitration was forced by these Muslims and the camp of Ali was going back to Al-Kufa, but it wasnt going back with one mind and heart- it was going back divided, with a large number of them wanting to end this through negotiations and a smaller number of them wanting to confront them until Allahs will is done. Let us tell you that the understanding of this position until now seems to be correct because the understanding of the ayah that was quoted earlier in this context makes it a wajib, a duty, of the committed Muslims to fight the transgressors, offending, aggressing and trespassing party until it reverts to the order of Allah (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9)

Allahs words are clear, so who are we to say that we are going to stop this war. You would think it would be common sense for Muslims who are listening to Allah and reciting these ayaat from the Quran to carry on with the struggle and the war until the other side is recants in the order of Allah but it wasnt and this is the way history took its course. Before they left- each one going back to its own capital or seat of power- they wrote an agreement between them concerning this arbitration, this tahkeem and that agreement had everything in it except what are they going to arbitrate. All the details were included in that agreement and we have a copy of it. It would be a little lengthy to read and also to translate it would also take another khutbah, (for your information, there is only minor differences from one historian or Islamic scholar to the next as to the wording of this agreement between both sides- the one we have is from Al Baladuri) and in it, it is stated that both sides agreed that their representatives should do their utmost to follow the word of Allah from one cover of the Quran to the last and if they cannot find a text in the Quran that addresses their concern; they would refer themselves to the Sunnah of the Prophet, a Sunnah that combines, gathers, enjoins, brings together and unites the Muslims; once the arbitration is done, it is binding on all the Muslims; that the representatives of both sides shall be secure in their lives, families and possessions but what are they going to discuss? It wasnt written down. What does this tell us? It tells us that people were anxious to get out of a war atmosphere. No one wanted war anymore. They were more or less fed up of it. There were 10 witnesses who signed onto this arbitration agreement that also stated that it should be finalized by the month of Ramadhan. Remember, Siffin came to an end around the 3rd month of the Hijri calendar and Ramadhan is the 9th month of the Hijri calendar. So, they had 6 months to work out this arbitration. They also agreed on a place that would be convenient to both sides- the people of Iraq and Ash-Shaam, but what are they going to arbitrate? Are they going to arbitrate the Qasaas of the assassins of Uthman? It wasnt mentioned. Muawiyah said he wanted those assassins to be brought to their due punishments and Ali told him I know of no one person who assassinated Uthman and there was a rebellion against him. What do you want, all the rebels, hundreds of them to be killed for Uthman? This is not justice! This was not entered into the arbitration signing that took place. Muawiyah says he wants a shura. What do you mean you want a shura Mr. Muawiyah (so to speak)? The people of Hejaz, Al-Basra, Al-Kufa, Misr have given their baiah to Ali just as they gave their baiah to Abi Bakr, Umar and Uthman and you didnt object to it, now youre objecting to the baiah that they gave me?these were the people of Al-Halli wa Al-Aqad. The people of the Hijra and the Nusrah, the majority Muslims- are we going to arbitrate that and if we are, why wasnt it entered into the preamble to this arbitration? It wasnt. Are we going to arbitrate the legitimacy of the leadership of Ali? If were going to arbitrate that also, then why wasnt it entered into this pre-agreement understanding? None of that happened. All of the communication between both sides was characterized by ambiguity and generalization, (even though there were details about many other issues, but when it came to the central issue of what are we going to speak about?- there was none of that). When Ali returned to Al-Kufa, those who were with him, the lesser Muslims, who disagreed with this arbitration took a route away from Al-Kufa to a place called Al-Harura. Their numbers differ- on the lower side it was about 6,000 and on the higher side it was about 12,000. They were the ones who disagreed with this arbitration and said (what means)

If you are looking at adjudication of this issue it belongs to Allah (Surah Al-Anaam verse 57) It doesnt belong to these men who were appointed in the manner that they were appointed. Later on, we will begin to realize that as the months and years go by, they became known as AlKhawareej. Once again, the ayah of the Quran that sheds light on this particular segment of our initial years If there are two camps of committed Muslims who are warring against each other, then you bring reconciliation between them. But then, if one of them transgresses against the other you fight the transgressors until they are referred to Allahs adjudication or decree in this affair at which time, you reconcile these two sides with institutionalized justice- for Allah is dear to those who are keen on institutional justice. Indeed, committed Muslims are brethren of each other, so it is very natural to reconcile them to each other and maybe in this process you will attain to the mercy of Allah (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9-10) Brothers and sisters In your hearts and in your conscience, observe that even though we are looking at a unique development and an unprecedented event in our 1st generation of Muslims but compare that to todays generation of Muslims. One element that stands out very clearly is their eagerness or the fact that they did not object to speak to each other. They knew that war was pending. Today, look at us look at our condition anywhere, we see that the ones who have power, influence and money dont want to talk to the rest of the Muslims. We saw or we can detect the beginning of that all the way back to that time- there was a party of Muslims who when they felt that they are strong and in control didnt want to talk and discuss these matters; and if they did, they kept it to a minimum; and if they did, they knew that they were forced to because of the Islamic public opinion. Today, theres those who have power, wealth and control but there is no public Islamic opinion to influence them. There is not even an iota of Taqwa, a cognicence of Allahs Power, that will have them speak to the Muslims who dont have power. Take a (look) at this- a very good example is here in Washington DC. We confess that we have no power, no wealth and no control, the only thing we have is our love for Allah and His Prophet and our commitment to justice and principle- we take innocent pride in that, but look at them. These are Muslims across the fence; they fence themselves in and they dont even want to see us. Brothers and sistersweve been here for more than 24-and-a-1/2 years and you would think that if things were flowing normally, we would run into each other in this sidewalk at least once in 24-and-a-1/2 years- that hasnt happened. Why? We have nothing. Are they afraid of the truth? Whats bothering them? There have been potential intermediaries and go-betweens throughout these years and they dont want to speak and discuss this; theyre not concerned with an arbitration. Maybe if we had an army that would make them feel imminent defeat, then they will raise the Quran or the Masaahif on (we dont know, they dont have any spears or swords inside the Masjid, so they might come with) pieces of wood or iron and say we want to arbitrate this affair. Besides, look at what is happening to them inside- theyre beginning to abuse each other and going to court. These are the extensions of the guardians of the two holy sanctuaries in Makkah and Al-Madinah. The director of the place who just gave the khutbah in the last hour is accused in a court of law by the previous manager of the place of having mistresses. They have no compunction about going to a court of law and spreading their dirty laundry in public but it bothers them so much just to have eye contact with the humble Muslim who is out in the street

every Jumah. Do they have a troubled conscience? Do they have a disturbed mind? Do they have a contrarian lifestyle? Allah is in charge of them. Look- its probably only going to be less then another 24 years (were over the up now) and we are on our way to the final judge in all of this, what are they going to take with them to that day and to that encounter on a day in which no money and no power is going to be of any benefit to them the only thing that is going to benefit them is when they approach Allah with a sound heart (Surah Shuaraa verse 88-89)

ASSABIYAS BEGINNING
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of Imaan.... Allah says to us O you who are committed, be conscious of Allahs power presence, guard against its corrective effects and when you speak, you utter the truth (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) We know we do not recognize any limitations in expressing the truth, as per this ayah. Our humble analysis of this ayah is that Allah did not say aaminu billahi wa qulu qawlan sadida; ubudullaha wa qulu qawlan sadida; ikhshawullaha wa qulu qawlan sadida- He said Ya Ayyuhalladhina aamanu ittaqullaha wa qulu qawlan sadida, meaning that what will drive you to express the wholesome truth is when you factor in Allahs power presence in your life. It is those powers that compete with Allah that try to have you think that they are more significant than Allah which interrupt your expression of the truth or that gag your conscience so that you are unable to express the truth. That being said as an introduction, we find that its as if everyone in the world is given the freedom and the right to express themselves on the issues, but when it comes to the Muslims- NO- we no longer have that right or freedom to express our conscience on whatever issues are involved. This can be traced back to the deviations that developed in our history at its beginning. We have dedicated a long series of khutbahs trying to express our Quranic consciousness and our Islamic intellect on the issue of truth as it pertains to our own historical and collective self. We find (though) that there are Muslims who fall short on their responsibility of taqwa and thus are incapable of expressing the truth on this matter. This is not

to speak about todays issues. There are many things happening in the world today but why is an Islamic mind and conscience supposed to be suppressed on the vital issues of our time. Why are we capable of expressing ourselves about our own history? Because theres a religious institution built inside our Islamic life that tells us NO- youre not permitted to open up these chapters in history because these are divisive and controversial issues. This is as it pertains to events that happened about 1,300 years ago, but there are events that are happening now, but still we are told you are not permitted to speak your Islamic mind and heart concerning the life and death issues that are engulfing us. So, what do we say? What do they expect us to express? Are we to be reduced to dummies who are disqualified or who should be as prudent enough so as to avoid all of these issues- whether they are historical or contemporary- and carry on as if we are living in the Garden of Eden in the 21st century? This is the height of hypocrisy if a Muslim manages to convince himself or his group of selves that this is the right way to go. Therefore we have dedicated these numerous khutbahs to breaking the ice on these types of issues. It will take a bold spirit and a robust mind to venture into the forbidden territories of history and the unfolding day, now and here. Mind you not- if we are in the company of Allah, we are going to express ourselves wherever we happen to be. So, with this ayah and with the Prophets hadith, when he says one of the best forms of jihad is to express the word of truth (in another narrative) or justice in the face of power or tyranny. We can learn from our deficiencies and inadequacies and we will continue to learn until one day, the truth will dawn and deliver us all wa law karihal mushrikun, wa law karihal kafirun wa law karihal dhalimun. In our chapters of history that belong to all Muslims- dont think that somehow, you are exempt from this Islamic history; whatever your opinion about it is you still belong to itwith all its mistakes and deviations- because we inherit these mistakes and these deviations to correct them. This is not the legacy of the enemies of the Muslims to throw at us so that we kill ourselves because of it. We want open minds that will exclude bloodshed and warfare imposed on us under the themes of nationalism, sectarianism or any other theme that is devised to divide and destroy the Muslims. Brothers and sisters- we go back to an era that we learn from. The 3rd successor to Allahs Prophet, and we repeat, at that time (were talking about 30 years after the hijrah), there were four main centers or areas that were the main concern of the Muslim ruling class. These were Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah, Ash-Shaam and Misr. AlKufa and Al-Basrah in the Southern part of Persia; Ash-Shaam- being in what is referred to today as the Levant or Syria and Misr or Egypt, where the Nile Valley is. When Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) assumed the position of khalifah, for the 1st year, he kept dispatched governors to these positions. What happened during Uthman's rule- we dont say this with malice; remember, some people repeat this history either to apologize for it and others as if they are going to score from it- we dont fall in any of these categories. We are repeating this history to learn from it. When Uthman became the reference of ruling among the Muslims, in those 1st few years, the ruler who was in Palestine, (his name was) Abdur Rahman Al-Kinani passed away, so Uthman joined Palestine to Ash-Shaam in an administrative sense, telling the ruler in Damascus, who was Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan that now, Palestine is also part of your

area of jurisdiction. Years, before that Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, (not Yazid ibn (the son of) Muawiyah)- Yazid the brother of Muawiyah was the administrator of the area called Jordan. He had passed away and Jordan had become under the rule of Muawiyah. Now, we had Jordan,Palestine, Syria and Lebanon in todays geographical words under Muawiyah. The ruler who was in Hims, North of Damascus fell ill and wanted to be relieved of his responsibilities, so the region of Hims was also given to Muawiyah. This was unheard of- we had a new development that did not exist before that, and that is that a ruler such as Muawiyah, who, to begin with, was sent or dispatched from the Arabian Peninsular to a remote area- for what reason? Unlike what some people say, the reason this was done was to try to dilute Arabian Nationalism so it would not be able to confiscate Islam. For that reason, Muawiyah was relocated from the Arabian Peninsular to the furthest areas North, i.e. so that he will not be able to put together Nationalist forces that will claim Islam for itself to the exclusion of others and the standards of equality and justice. But, what happened after that was that we had a power base. We were looking at these four areas- Misr, Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah and Ash-Shaam and there was instability in the three other areas. But in Ash-Shaam, where Muawiyah was ruling, there was no instability or no popular movement against him like there was popular movements against the governors in Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah and Egypt. What also happened during the rule of Uthman? Uthman had a brother from ar-rada, breast feeding. His name is Abdullah ibn Saad ibn Abi Surh. It seems Uthman wanted to appoint him as the chief in Egypt, but he ran into a difficulty because the governor there, Amr ibn Al-Aas did not want this to happen. So, what he does, also for the 1st time- we have a precedent here- Uthman sends his breast fed brother with an army that overrules the governor of Egypt to begin military campaigns throughout North Africa and with permission to press on all the way to Spain. This never happened before. What would happen was that these governors in these areas had enough independence to pursue these policies of what is called al-futuhaat al-Islamiyyah, but for the 1st time, Uthman, in a sense, over-ruled or eclipsed Amr ibn Al-Aas in Egypt. This created friction between these two persons, ibn Abi Surh and Amr ibn Al-Aas. We want to remind you, even though we mentioned this before- ibn Abi Surh was one of those people who belonged to a cattery of individuals or a click of people who used to make fun of Allahs Prophet during his lifetime. He is one personality that ayaat in the Quran were revealed to expose his position. The Prophet of Allah permitted the Muslims around him to shed the blood of this person during the year of Al-Fath, the conquest or liberation of Makkah, but it was Uthman himself who came and tried his best to persuade the Prophet to amnesty this person. This person was amnestied. Uthman had this person, virtually, the number one military commander of military operations in North Africa become the governor of Egypt. Once again, the relationship was not good between these governors. It was an uneasy, tense, critical and polarized relationship. What we have today is nothing new when we have people on one side and rulers on the other side- we had this for a very long time. Today, were not supposed to have recourse to correct this political anomaly?! Were supposed to be slaves of the political status quo?! At that time- NO. They said we dont want any of this. The people in Egypt expressed their opposition to these rulers who are appointed and some may even say imposed

upon them. They had recourse. They would go to the central Islamic authority in Arabia or AlMedinah and tell Uthman we no longer want these rulers, relieve them of their responsibilities. Today, you cant do that- people dont have a voice. However you want to look at these details in history, people- Muslims, that is- had a voice. The subjects and constituents of the Islamic State had a voice when ibn Abi Surh began to show his iron hand to the Muslim citizens of Egypt, he even killed one of these innocent people of Egypt. Why do you think there was a Muslim public opinion that was growing against the rulers? Because this is the way the people were treated. They were treated as if they were 2nd class citizens or this is at least how they began to feel they were. Pockets of confident opposition began to express themselves in Egypt, Al-Kufa and AlBasrah, but there was not one pocket of opposition in Ash-Shaam at that time. When Uthman was assassinated, there was not one individual from Ash-Shaam reported in that revolt against Uthman. We should also mention that Uthman even viewed the stability of Ash-Shaam to send people into what we call today political exile. Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) volunteered to fight in the front lines of Islam in Ash-Shaam even though he was critical of Uthman. Uthman told Muawiyah Im sending you Aba Dharr- deal with him. But, once again, we realize that Muawiyah outgrew his position. He was no longer a wali; Wali means like deputy governor of the khalifah. He was no longer in that capacity, now, he became something like a sovereign in and of itself; something no other area in the Muslim domain experienced because the other areas, Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah and Misr had a change of governors. They had a tense relationship between those who were appointed by or from Al-Medinah and the local population. This did not occur in the case of Muawiyah. There was a sense and a continuation of stability there. What do we say? What are we supposed to say? That we cant look at these events?! This is where some individuals or groups of people are disconnected. They are irrelevant, because they begin to say well- we have nothing to do with that. What do you mean you have nothing to do with that? This is part of who we are; this is our history. Allah says in the Quran Indeed, in their narrative there is a moral lesson (Surah Yusuf verse 111) This is speaking of previous civilizations and peoples- so that we can learn from the mistakes of the peoples of previous Prophets. If Allah is telling us to learn from the mistakes and missteps of the peoples of previous Prophets, were not supposed to learn from the mistakes and the missteps of the people of our own Prophet?! How can this be? What Muslim mind factors in these types of thoughts? These are ourselves, we can do the same thing. When we speak about Uthman, what happened? It was his relatives who were taking over. In todays world- we dont have rulers whose relatives are taking over? Show us a place from the Muslim countries that we have- the 50 or 60 of them that we have in the world- where we dont have the advanced stage of what we are looking at at that time? When- you and me- the average, normal, moderate or mediocre Muslim at that time perceived that this was taking place, they moved, rebelled and had something to say about it, because there was vitality. Why is it that today not much of the vitality expresses itself? Is it only that we have a difference in the rulers that we had at that time compared to the rulers that we have today or is there also a

difference in the type and quality of Muslims at that time from the type and quality of Muslims that we have today? Let us be fair to this issue. Let us look at it with the trust and the thrust that we gain from understanding Allah and His Prophet. We have this scenariowhat are we going to do? Were not going to learn from it? Are we going to disregard it? This is a rich history. It has mistakes and deviations in it, but it doesnt have the type of conspiracy theory. This is human nature at work; a nationalism wanted to expropriate Islam. This will always happen. Whenever theres power, the nationalism in possession of that power is going to try to claim Islam for itself and violate the standards of justice and equality that belong to Islam and not to a nationalism. If we continue to ignore these lessons, there are people in this world who will learn what these lessons have to offer and use them against us. This is what is happening today. We convince ourselves that we are either going to dismiss this whole Islamic rich history or look at it as a conspiracy theory and the gap that we have created invites the trouble makers of today to try to fuel a sectarian war among us. Right now, some Muslims, belatedly, are waking up and saying hey look, we have to deal with this. Lets have a program about Sunnis and Shiis at such and such a university, Masjid or International Conference. This is not how you deal with the problem. The problem is not going to be solved by a conference, symposium or lecture. The problem is going to be solved when you stimulate the public Muslim mind- lets set aside our emotions. Theres a lot of emotionalism that can threaten the understanding of this event. Lets set aside that emotionalism and tackle these areas with our open and inclusive minds. Theres no room for Muslims to be excluding others- Oh, you dont belong to Islam because you dont see this issue the way I see it. The mind doesnt say that. O you who are committed, be conscious of Allahs power presence, guard against its corrective effects and when you speak, you utter the truth (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70)Allahs words. One of the best forms of jihad is to express the word of truth (in another narrative) or justice in the face of power or tyranny- the words of Allahs Prophet. God bless that person who shows us the inadequacies of our own self. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Signals have gone out concerning how dangerous it is for Muslims to be divided- as if we, Muslims, are creatures of the occasions. Some other people set into our lives a motion of events and a direction of developments and then, we are supposed to react to those things. We dont want that to be the case. Weve had enough reactions in enough centuries that (at this time), we should be fed up of the reactive mode. We want Muslims who are confident of whom they are and who have a steady progression of growth. Allah says to us

O you who are committed to Allah, dont expire except in a state of Submission to Allah. And hold on, altogether, to that which Allah extends to you (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102103) Remember the ayah that was quoted in the previous khutbah, O you who are committed, be conscious of Allahs power presence, guard against its corrective effects and when you speak, you utter the truth (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) Once more, on the psychological level, its going to take the tawqa of Allah to bring the word of truth out of us and likewise, its going to take the taqwa of Allah to bring the elements of unity amongst us. Nothing else is going to do it. If Muslims keep on living from generation to generation and millennium to millennium oblivious of Allahs immediate and current power in our lives, then we are going to have more of the same. We dont want this. We want an Islamic attitude that is amenable to togetherness. If this understanding of Islamic history does not generate togetherness, there is misunderstanding of it. This we can say with comfort to those who consider themselves Sunnis and those who consider themselves Shiis- if you approach this history and understand it in a way that divides or distances you from the other complementary Muslim, then you are misunderstanding. There is that potential and compatibility that we have for this togetherness. Every idea of understanding these words (1,400 years ago), of who we are today that lends itself to the division of Muslims have not learnt the lessons that are offered to us and will lead us down the path of self destruction and disintegration. And hold on, altogether, to that which Allah extends to you and dont be divided (Surah Ahl Imran verse 103) This ayah applies to you, us and everyone when we are looking at our efforts in formulating this history. Whether we were decision makers or the political opposition doesnt matter, this history grants itself to us so that we can close ranks. And hold on, altogether, to that which Allah extends to you and dont be divided; recall when you were enemies to each other and Allah reconciled your hearts (Surah Ahl Imran verse 103) Allah did not say that we were enemies of each other unable to reconcile ourselves to each other. There is more virtue, credibility and quality in those Muslims who came together and less of all of these descriptions and characteristics if we are unable to come together. We are lesser than they are if we go down a path of divisiveness and destroying our own selves. We know that this is a time of Arctic winter weather. We are cold out here and we are standing on snow- we ask and we plead with Allah that He accept from us, not only the words that are heard and expressed, but whatever effort goes beyond these words.

IS CRITICISM LEGITIMATE? (THE PROPHETS SUCCESSORS)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of Imaan, Allahs assurance and confidence in Allah.... We have been, in the previous khutbahs trying to learn from ourselves. We are human beingswe were human beings 1,400 years ago and we still continue to be human beings 1,400 years after. The Prophet of Allah says all the descendents of Adam are error prone or are in error or are habitually committing errors and the best of these error prone individuals are the ones who ask Allahs forgiveness and pardon. One of the areas in our history- that we may say we can learn from our mistakes, which we will try to relate to the current world that we are in- is when we look at one of our rulers who came after Allahs Prophet or all of the rulers of Allahs Prophet and say that they had their mistakes. As simple as this question is, it is very difficult for Muslims, as Muslims, to come to terms with. The simple answer to that simple question is Yes, because we are human beings. The Prophets of Allah, who are know for their ismah, its common knowledge among all Muslims that Allahs Prophets are Masumun, which means that they are impeccable. But does that mean that they are not prone to making mistakes? No- it doesnt mean that, because they are human beings and human nature has the tendency to miscalculate what certain decisions have to be made. Allah showed us the corrections of these Masumin Prophets in His faultless book or scripture.

Adam (alaih salaam) disobeyed his Sustainer and went in the wrong direction (Surah TaHa verse 121) Then, Allah says concerning this Masum who made this human mistake. What does Allah say after that? Allah amnestied him and then guided him (Surah Ta-Ha verse 122) When Musa (alaihi salaam) made an error of calculation, he asked Allah for forgiveness and Allah granted him forgiveness. When Yunus (alahi salaam) went is a fit, abandoning his responsibilities and was running away from his mission (as it were), he made a mistake. Did this mistake dishonor him? NO. They learnt from their mistakes. When Allahs final Prophets human nature was prone to the wrong direction, Allah corrected him. He frowned and turned away because he was approached by the blind man. And how do you know that he might be purified or receive admonition that might profit him? As for him who thinks hes self-sufficient, to him you attend. What does it matter to you if he doesnt get purified? But for him who came to you running, and afraid of Allah you neglected and diverted to another (Surah Abasa verse 1-10) This was a rebuke to this tendency in human nature to make an inaccurate decision. These events have their details. When the Prophets, themselves, erred, they didnt err in their relationship with Allah, they erred in their relationship with man and hence Allah brought us their correction. When we are speaking about lesser individuals- were not speaking about Prophets and Messengers from Allah, we are speaking about those who are trying to follow the Messenger of Allah- are they prone to mistakes? Yes, they are prone to mistakes. Why do we have difficulties saying or acknowledging that? We were trying, as much as is possible to zero-in on some of these areas, not dishonoring them, but trying to learn from these mistakes. One of these areas (and we have to reconstruct the context) when the Muslims were growing out of Al-Medinah reaching further lands in all directions they happen to be at the critical time of the 3rd decade after the Prophet (this is where we are), there happen to be four areas that meant extra things to Islamic self determination at that time. These were Misr, AshShaam, Al-Kufa and Al-Basra. For administrative reasons, not for geographical reasons, we had two places called Al-Kufa and Al-Basra because geographically they are so close to each other that it doesnt make sense distinguishing between them, but for administrative reasons these where the areas that occupied the 3rd decade Muslims were in this spread out mode around. We will take a particular area and character that belongs to us in our history and decision making (those who are ruling and in those who are being ruled) that we can learn from. We zero in on the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), the 3rd successor to the Prophet. 1st of all, we have to mention that Uthman ibn Affan relates to Allahs Prophet through bloodline and through marriage- that doesnt mean though that because of a relationship he is above making mistakes. During his reign, and if we look at one of these four areas (Egypt, the Levant, Al-Basra and Al-Kufa) the last place Al-Kufa when Umar (radi Allahu anhu) was assassinated the governor of Al-Kufa was Al-Mugheerah ibn Shubah (radi Allahu anhu).We detected that in appointing governors, Umar minimized his appointments from Quraish, in other words he took the nationalist element, as much as he could, out of these appointments therefore the governor of Al-Kufa Al-Mugheerah ibn Shubah was not one in that capacity to try to link up with the spirit nationalism that is inimical to the justice and equality of Islam. When Uthman assumed the responsibility of that office, he remained about one year without making any significant

appointments or substitution governors- he left it as it was. Then, he decided to relieve Mugheerah ibn Shubah of his responsibilities and he appointed instead of him Saad ibn Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu), which in and of itself was not a bad decision. Theres nothing critical that can be said about that because this is a 1st generation Muslim. He is one of the 1st to gain the company and the struggle with Allahs Prophet. He was one of those people who did not run away- remember, there was a time at Uhud when many of those who were fighting to protect Allahs Prophet thought the battle had gone against the Prophet and the committed Muslims so they began to abandon the frontlines- Saad was not one of those who did that. He stayed with Allahs Prophet exposing himself to probable death. So, he has a history that distinguished him among these followers of the Prophet. For those who dont know- sometimes this information castrates itself and we begin to run ahead of our selves, lets not trip with our emotions and lets not say that a father is going to bear the burden of his son or the son represents what the father was- in this case, what are we referring to Saad ibn Waqqass son who some of us may be familiar with, this persons name is Umar ibn Saad, later on in history he participated on the wrong side of the battle in Karbala. He is one of those who were guilty of the massacre that occurred at Karbala against Al-Imam Al-Hussein (radi Allahu anhu). What does this have to do with him? If a son had gone-off in the wrong direction and committed a horrible crime (which we should recognize), what is the father to do with that? Let us be fair in evaluating personalities because this time period has caused us to be where we are today in trying to define the Muslims that we are, to be up front with you, in the issue of whos a Sunni and whos a Shii in todays world. Let us undo this definition by trying to be accurate and precise as humanly possible as we can. Uthman appointed Saad ibn Waqqas to be the governor of Al-Kufa and he run into some difficulties. Here, the books of history turn into something like books that are at odds with each other in describing why Uthman was no longer satisfied with Saad. He was the one who appointed him there but then he was the one who was going to come in and say you are also relieved of your responsibilities. We dont know how these decisions where made. By the way, (from what we know, have read, interacted with other Muslims), no one knows precisely how these decisions were made during the time of Uthman. All we know is the order comes to a governor like that and what did Saad say? If he was a person who was concerned with having power or grabbing that seat of power, like we have rulers of today, he would have stayed in Kufa and he would have found followers to do that. Also, all Muslims, whether they consider themselves Sunnis or Shiis have an argument to pick with Saad because he refused to fight on either side in what later on became Al-Jamal and Siffin, When he was alive he refused to take sides. He said if someone can give me a sword that will tell me who is right and who is wrong in all of this I will do my Islamic responsibility of fighting. In other words he wasnt clear on the issue. Hes not going to go out and fight with this or that side when he himself is not sure who is right and wrong, so he remained neutral. Because of that many Muslims had their issues with him and this appears in the books, articles, speeches and historiography in that time period from the different sides and opinions on these events. Whatever the case is, he was relieved of his responsibilities and then Uthman appointed the 3 rd governor in this very short time period- a few years. He appointed Al Waleed ibn Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet to become the ruler of Al-Kufa. We can contrast what Uthman is doing with what Umar was doing. Umar had said before he passed away if a person from the rival faction of Quraish meaning Bani Umayyah were to assume the highest office in Muslim lands meaning were to replace him, he should not put in high positions individuals from Bani Umayyah or from Bani Al-Mueet. Here, we

find Uthman doing exactly what Umar said not to do. Remember, Uthman became the ruler of the Muslims because he said he is going to follow precisely what the Prophet and Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) were doing. So now, he was in violation of his oath by which he took office. Brothers and sisters- some Muslims take a look at these events and become emotional and others become apologetic- both of these positions are wrong- we have to look at these events with open minds and hearts and be fair to the issue. Now, we have Al Waleed ibn Uqbah ibn Abi Mueet- we hope Muslim mind can mature to pick up these events before it is too late- we have this new appointment in Al-Kufa which in todays language would be a person who comes from the nationalist current of Muslims- if we can have such a thing- meaning this person places his pre-Islamic character before his Islamic character. If we look at the world around today, we find this happening in todays world. He becomes the governor of Al-Kufa and he behaved- (we sort of tried to in the previous khutbahs to highlight his unbecoming behavior)1st of all on a personal level as far as his morals and manners are concerned they were not of the Islamic standards and then as far as his relationship with his own citizens or subjects who were there in that area in Southern Iraq. When the Islamic leadership in Al-Madinah, meaning Uthman, felt that this person has gone beyond what is acceptable meaning to deserve the application of the hadd; meaning he had to be punished by Islamic law for violating the moral character of Islam, he was withdrawn and he was replaced by a person called Saeed ibn Al-Aas who also comes from (once again) the nationalist current within that Islamic society. The 1 st to have done what is expected of the ruler, i.e. try to diagnose whats going on in Basra and in Kufa. This brings us to the question of was it right to have people becoming the rulers of lands that they dont belong to? As far as your humble servant speaking knows, this is a very important question that has not been thoroughly dealt with by Muslims- thinkers, leaders, ideologues, theoreticians etc. How far is it? Look at the experience we have here- one governor after the other, none of them from that area who were ruling there and all of them running into difficulties with the local population. How far can we go and how far are we permitting ourselves to go in taking a hard look at our own mistakes? When we say Uthman did that is, it like we ourselves did that. We are part of this- any Muslim who wants to run away from this history is running away from himself. We cant run away from it. If we want to learn we have to take it as it is and then absorb the lessons that it offers. Be it as it may, this ruler began to try to assess what appears to be the objective way in the 1st years of his rule what is the problem here? Why are we having problems with this population? and things seemed to be working themselves out until he preferred to have a preferred class of people around him- people who would have access to him in exclusion to the rest of the people. We ask you, is this an Islamic character? People who are in power give access to certain people and then deny access to other people?! This is a mistake. From the beginning, Allahs Prophet and those who were following him were equally accessible to everyone. The Prophet of Allah had unknown people come up to him and grab him by the neck or collar at times and shake his body, asking him to be just. Were talking right now just roughly 30 years after the hijrah and what happened to this personality and character of accessibility, equality, popularity and populism? What happened to it? Now we become excluded?! In one of these excluded sessions of this new ruler of Al-Kufa, Saeed ibn AlAas, he said that statement that we dwelled on before, the fertile areas of Kufa has or will become the orchards of Quraish. Where did that come from? Thats nationalism- they use the word tribalism, which is misleading in todays world- the notions of tribalism have developed and become the notions of nationalism. Thats like saying the people of Al-Hejaz or Makkah

have the exclusive rights to the fertile, productive or producing agricultural areas of Iraq. That caused a public opposition and uproar among these people of Kufa. Once again, the ruler of the Muslims had to replace the governor for the 2nd time. We didnt learn from that time- we have close to 1,400 years for learning from this lesson, but none of us want to open it- with its lessons, errors, positives and negatives- and look at it with a straight mind that comes fresh out of the book of Allah and the experience of His Prophet- thats where we are at fault. Now, he goes back to popular opinion- after four other governors ruled Al-Kufa, now, for the 5th one- the ruler in Al-Madinah, Uthman, wants the people to say who do you want to rule here? They express themselves and they said we want Abu Musa Al-Ashari who was the ruler in Al-Basrah, we want him to become the ruler of Al-Kufa. Abu Musa Al-Ashari had instructions from Al-Medinah to go and become the governor of Al-Kufa. We have all of this dynamic. Remember, were speaking about one of four vital areas at a time that was pre-occupying the Muslim decision-making mind- Misr, Ash-Shaam, Al-Basrah and Al-Kufa. In the example of this one instance, Al-Kufa itself, we had the sequence of rulers or governors coming and going- here is where were looking at raw political power (as it were), but there is something else besides that that is more important than that, in the humble opinion of our speaker and that is the policy that was enacted in Al-Madinah, by Uthman, to have the Muslims in Al-Hejaz sell whatever property they gained in these far away lands and then buy whatever they could from that purchasing power in Arabia. To make this a little more understood in todays terms If we were to say that Al-Kufa, Al-Basrah, Ash-Shaam and Misr were areas of civilization or modernity compared to Arabia; its like saying the 3rd world in todays world compared to the United States and Europe. So if a person has property in the United States and Europe, the new law from Al-Medinah, by Uthman, is you are allowed to sell your property here and whatever you make out of that, bring that money or investment to Arabia and purchase whatever you want there. We know when you transfer the higher purchasing power that is available here, in the United States and Europe to the lesser developed areas of the world, people can (as the language of the street is) make a killing out of this; they can become super-rich overnight- and this is what happened. Umar did not permit that to happen. Here it became policy, but it did not become policy because there was some type of evil intention or conspiracy- NO! It became policy because he thought this is trying to make it easier for these people. Why are they relocated and dislocated with their property hundreds and probably a thousand miles away, when they could sell their property at that distance and have their possessions and property along with them- where they belong, in Al-Hejaz, in Makkah and Al-Medinah. Just like Talha ibn Ubaidillah (radi Allahu anhu) who was entrepreneurial- a business savvy business person- sold his territories that he gained through military efforts. Their military efforts were something like thisevery four years, the average Muslim would go on a military mission for six months. This was like the normal course of life. Today, conscription, when a person joins the military, is done at a certain age bracket- say between 18 and 26- after you do your military service no one does it any longer, its gone- those who stay in the military stay for a certain amount of years and then theyre out- that wasnt the way it was done at that time. At that time, it was like a cycle- in every four year cycle, you go for six months military service. You could be 60 years old but continuing this cycle. In doing that, military personnel became rich, especially now that they could sell prime property and buy- like Talha ibn Ubaidillah who sold prime property in these out lying areas and then he came back and virtually bought all of Khaybar. What we had was the

1st expression of a very serious social polarization- those who began to have a lot of wealth and those who basically had just the survival money riches or whatever was at the survival level, that they needed. All of this began at this time, 35 years after the Prophets hijrah, we began to have these types of problems. What do you do? Do you cast all of this in a simple Sunni/Shii argument of power or do you re-visit these issues and events and look at them with the full force of life, just like we have today? Brothers and sisters- look at todays world, and this is probably where we can tie it in, because in todays world, the only success that we Muslims have is the Islamic effort that has been in progress for 28 years, that began in the geographical area called Iran. Take a look at this and what has happened there in these years. Arent there market forces that have also gone down in this direction that we are looking at during the time of Uthman? We ask you- if you are honest to yourself, to understanding history and to looking at the facts on the ground as they are today- you can see many parallels between that time and what is happening today. Can you see a segment of population of affluent money makers in an Islamic State? If you are honest, you will say YES. Alongside that, you also have a segment of population that is still at the sacrificing level; and in todays world, they coexist with each other as they did in yesterdays world. When the mistake was in its beginning, there was a coexistence; there wasnt tension, war, internal strife or serious disagreements amongst serious people. That was just the beginning. At that time, which is 35 years that we are zeroing in onthis particular segment in history that we can garnish with ayaat and ahadith, about al-adl, equality, the brotherhood- take the ayaat and the ahadith and place it in the larger picture that we are looking at almost 14 centuries ago and the larger picture that we are looking at today. We invite anyone who has an open mind and is willing to reference his information in the book of Allah and in the practice of His Prophets to come forth and correct us if we are wrong in anything that we are saying. What happened when we did not correct these mistakes a long time ago and what will happen if we dont deal with these mistakes today? If we dont learn from this history, were going to have to repeat this history and if we cant learn from it at a distance of centuries, were going to have to learn from it while we are struggling in it and re-making it today. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims If we were to live the meanings that we are privileged to have- the meanings from the Quran and the meanings of the Prophets struggle- we would find a discrepancy in the way we see todays world with the way we look at the world in the time period that we are speaking about, i.e. those 1st decades after the Prophet passed on. In todays world, we see that there is a power, a nation state, a government and ruling classes in the world who want and are anxious to extinguish the 28 years of Islamic self-determination, with all its ups and downs. We can see these ups and downs if we are living, absorbing and assimilating these precious meanings that we have. We dont think anyone in his right mind or with common sense can refute that there is a serious attempt in the making by these bastions of kufr and these classes of shirk in todays world to try to bring as much fighting power as they can to eliminate, (as far as we Muslims have today), the most advanced expression of Islamic self-determination in our generation. With this dynamic and fact of life, why cant we take this fact back to the time that we are speaking about and realize that at that time there was also super-powers or civilizational constructs that wanted this Islamic spirit at that time to fail. The difference between now and then is there was a public mobilization of Muslims at that time who were dealing with that external threat

compared with our time when we have not been able to mobilize the popular potential that we have. This is a very important difference between then and now that has to be factored into the thinking and the thoughts of those of us who speak on these issues and for those of us who have the courage to step into the areas of these issues. Today, while we have a buildup of military forces, its no secret those who are the most entrenched in their animosity towards Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims i.e.Al Yahud wa Alladhina Ashraku (Surah Al-Maidah verse 82) - this is the wording of the Quran, of Allah- in gearing up towards this hostility and putting together this military force, in that whole area that we are looking at are doing so with penetrating our internal thoughts. Not only are they bringing atomic and nuclear weapons to the fronts, but along with that, they want to stir divisions inside of us. Could we not say that these same factors were at work during those formative years of Islam back then? Islam back then continued to grow with the internal mistakes beginning to catch up, but today, some of us display an inability to look at our internal mistakes and ignorance and a miscalculation in seeing what the external enemies are doing at the same time. Theres a lot of work that has to be done on our minds and thoughts and the only workshop there is, is the Quran and the Sunnah, Allah and His Prophets. Come to this workshop so that we can set our record straight and not make gaps and avenues in our internal fronts that they are pursuing to every crevice and crack that they find in our minds; or else, you tell us, what sense is there when Al Yahud wa Alladhina Ashraku begin to place an armada in the Gulf and in the Peninsular, where Islam was born, and at the same time, there are statements and fatwas being voiced by both- those who say that they are Sunni Muslims and Shii Muslims- who are working the same agenda to divide us. What benefit and what purpose? Dont these people think before they speak out? You kill a person because his identity card says hes a Sunni or hes a Shii?! Who are you serving? You might as well be one of those troops on one of those frigates, ships or aircraft carriers that is coming together in those waters when you issue such a statement- some Muslims are kaafirs! When we begin to say these types of things, that means we havent absorbed or learned our historical lesson. We cannot identify with our historical self. A mature Muslim is one who says I can assimilate into those who call themselves Sunnis and Shiis at the same time. That is a mature Muslim. A Muslim is not one who says Im a Shii and Im going to exclude the other- we cant build on that. The same thing can be said about a Sunni who says Im a Sunni and Im going to exclude the other. Were talking about hundreds of millions of people and were talking about an internal hemorrhage. O Allah, we ask you to show us these mistakes that are being committed in light of the information that you have given us to privilege us with the togetherness that belongs to usas you have defined us.

THE TRANSITION FROM UMAR (R) TO UTHMAN (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters with the warmth of Imaan... We hide nothing- no word, no information, no explanation- when it comes to times like this; we have being saying (the reference is to a humble we) that there is something like all the material and mortal powers in the world that have found common cause to try to expend their last effort to try to ruin whatever progress and steps forward we have made. Now, their magic formula- as they perceive of it knowing that through all of these years (actually they draw on centuries of experience) that this head on confrontation with the Muslims hasnt brought them the expected results that they foresaw. So what do they do? They hatch their secret weapon of trying to have Muslims spill their own blood. We can see this happening in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon. With the vision of a person who does not lose sight of Allah and His Prophet we have maintained that their ace in this hole is their sectarian card that they have. The meek ability to present this issue went into many, many months from this place at this time. Now is the time buttress ourselves with further information so that we dont have any trouble maker coming along with flimsy statements to try to stir misunderstandings and many layers of traditions that have settled throughout these generations. We dont want to be Muslims who can be taken on a sectarian course of self-destruction. In the atmosphere and in the elements of the Quran and the Sunnah, let us

absorb the lessons that come our way so that we are not (at the end) the victims of these elaborate and well-thought out plans that are now in details in front of us (if we cared to see). One of the ways to absorb this issue without reacting to it and without becoming the victims of it- we ask ourselves; in human nature, is there the inclination or the tendency to disregard other human beings, for whatever the reasons? There are plenty of reasons if we can just relate to this human nature in our own lives. An ayah from Allah to His Prophet may be used to serve as a reference as a point for us to go into some of the information scrambled so that we ourselves react to this information (which we will come to a little later). Allah says in Surah Al-Anaam speaking to His messenger- the approximate meaning of this ayah in English And do not (oh Prophet) expel those who are calling upon Allah at the break of the day and at the end of day, seeking His countenance from your company for if you do so you will be among Adhdhalimeen, i.e. it will be considered as an act of injustice or offense their record or accountability is not yours and your record and accountability is not on them, for if you do eject them from your company you become a wrong-doer (Surah Al-Anaam verse 52)

This is the general meaning, what does it mean in real life? In real life, there were the elites in the Makkan society, what did these elites do? They came to the Prophet and said if you want us to listen to you we dont want to be in the company of these lowlifes. Who were they referring to? Who are these poor or impoverished people that did not add up to much in the eyes of the Makkan aristocrats? They were speaking about Bilal, Suhail, Khabbab and a few other Muslims (radi Allahu anhum) who did not amount much in the eyes of the upper classes of Makkah. It is tempting sometimes to use some of the words that circulate in the world today. This set up or the raw material- theres the Prophet and around him are those who responded to him early on, who happen to be poor or from the underclass of societyAmmar, Bilal, Suhail, Khabbab ibn Erat (radi Allahu anhum) - these were people who were a sore in the eyes of the well-to-do Makkans. So these well to do Makkans put a condition on the Prophet, look if you want us to listen to you then we dont want to be with you in their presence. What do you do here? You have an offer. The Prophet of Allah had an offer, he could have access to these decision makers of Makkah, this upper class of Makkah, but what he would have to do is he would have to tell these people who had stuck to him for the time being we have to make room for these people, so just leave me for a day or two and let me communicate this message to these upper class Arabians. Imagine if this opportunity (as it is perceived by some) was presented to todays Muslims?! You can speak to the president, prime minister, members of parliament- people who have clout and influence in public lifeand who could change course of society but there is one thing you have to do, you have to get rid of the riff-raff or the scum of the earth as the upper classes perceive of the downtrodden, disenfranchised and the powerless. This ayah came to speak to this human nature. Today, we have dictionary of words on the political left that describe these types of encounters in human societies and nature and if we begin to use some of these words, some people may misunderstand us. We dont have to, the Quran and Allah answered

you dont exempt, expel or exclude them (Surah Al- Anaam verse 52) Listen to this Muslims, especially you (out there) who are trying to make public relation efforts. You consider the Prophet to be your model, how did he behave?! There is some further information on this, that goes with this ayah and it pertains to these same people who were won over to the Prophet in his 1st weeks and months. At the end of the Prophets journey (of the 20 odd years of struggle) they see Abu Sufyan and they comment upon seeing him, our swords have not completed their job. You can easily understand what they mean by that. Then, Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) hears this and he says but this is a person in Quraish who has his status and he speaks to them in such a way that he may have offended them or hurt their feelings. So, these people who of the nothings in society in the perception of the upper classes take this affair to the Prophet. This is what exactly what happened- i.e. this is what we said and this is how we expressed it and the Prophet tells Aba Bakr you may have hurt their feelings express yourself to them in a way that soothes their feelings. He goes to them and he says did I, by what I said, hurt your feelings? They said not really (this is all trying to give you the gist of this internal Islamic in-house, intimate exchange and conversation that happened). Because of this ayah in Surat Al-Anaam, the Prophet expressed this (this is a matter of record, were not trying to pick or be selective about the information that we come to you with; this is considered to be mainstream Islamic historical information around which there is no doubt.) this element of human nature i.e. condescending towards other human beings because they belong to two layers of society. This human nature has been with the Muslims during the Prophets times, after the Prophet passed on, throughout all of these centuries, up until today and into tomorrow because it is human nature. Allah did not create human nature one way at one time and change that human nature and created it in another way in another part of history. Its been what it has been throughout. We take this variable or fact and we come with it to one of the sensitive times in Islamic history. We ask you- brothers and sisters to listen with your minds. We dont need these troublemakers who are coming around with their emotions or their skewed information trying to spike our emotionswe dont need that- we come with this understanding of things from the book of Allah and the behavior of His Prophet to the period when the Prophet passes on and there was a decision to be madewho is going to assume the responsibilities of steering the Islamic society and state in the right direction? We come specifically to the time just before the 3rd successor or Khalifah to the Prophet assumed this responsibility. In those few days before that, the 2nd successor or Khalifah to the Prophet was murdered or assassinated. We referred to this earlier on and because we never knew that the Shaytaani minds of today are going to dig out the type of information that is going to spill over into traditional minds that can easily be turned against the fellow and brother Muslim who doesnt share their exact version of history. We said about this that the assassination of Umar (radi Allahu anhu) was in a sense similar to (if we are looking at assassinations in our time) to the assassination of President Kennedy in the United States. Its one of these things that you cant get (so far) a thorough grip on. This was almost very similar to the assassination of Umar. Umar was walking to the mihraab to lead the Muslims into the Salaah and a person comes up to him with a knife in his hand and begins to stab him. At that moment, the Muslims

who were in the Masjid turned their attention to this assassin whos known as Abu Lulua to try to disengage him from his hostile act, but this person commits suicide. He kills Umar 1 st, then he immediately turns and stabs or kills himself- before people could put the pieces together i.e. whats going on here? What motivates you to do such a thing? They couldnt bring him to a court of law thereafter. The person is gone, but there is information and observations of what had happened in that hour before Umar came to lead the prayers. There were three other individuals who came under public observation, who were thought to be complicit in this murder or they had a hand in it because some of the people who were in the Masjid realized that there were individuals besides Abi Lulua who were exchanging this knife amongst themselves. One of them was by the name of (at least in the Islamic Arabic books of history) Al-Hurmuzaan; the other one is called Jufaynah and the 3 rd one is the daughter of Abu Lulua, the assassin of Umar. When this information at that moment and in the immediate aftermath of this assassination circulated, the son of Umar, Ubaidullah took justice into his own hands so to speak and with his sword he cut down Al-Hurmuzaan, even though when he felt the blade coming his way, this victim had reiterated ash-shahada saying Ashhadu an laa illaha illa Allah- it didnt save him. Then, when the other person, his name is Jufaynah, who happen to be a Christian, saw the sword coming his way, in the hands of Ubaidillah ibn Umar, he gesticulated the shape of the cross between his eyes. That also did not spare him. Then, Ubaidullah goes to Abu Luluas place and he kills his daughter. The reason why we want to cover this portion of history, that no one is speaking about, is because we have confidence that once accurate information it is brought into the light of the Quran and the Sunnah, with our minds and hearts forced on it, we will not fall into the traps that they are laying for us today. The reason this is being said today is because for the 1st time- brothers and sisters- the media in Muslim countries is beginning to show the public (you and me)they say that there is a grave for this assassin of Umar in Iran and that people make (to use the Islamic terminology) ziyaarat to that grave. At a time like this, with an issue like this, they try to draw on (we try not to use this word but this comes from their mind and it is within their plans) the fanatical component of the traditionalist Muslims of todaywhether they are Sunnis or Shiis. This assassination in Islamic history, for which we have no recoursethese individuals could not be brought to a court of law- so what happens? What happens is we have an issue of justice. Justice has to be done. How do you do justice at this critical time in Islamic history? We dont want to go into the details of this Islamic history once again, but we do know (hopefully- if we were listening closely) how the 3rd khalifah became the leader of the Muslims. It was done through a process of consultation among a select group of individuals- those who were perceived by Umar to have had the whole hearted satisfaction of Allahs Prophet when he passed away. They met among themselves and they agreed to have one of them exclude himself from being a runner up to that position, so there were five left. Out of these five, they were brought to the Masjid, and they only had three days- all of this had to be done within three days- now we can have our Quranic and Prophetic based critic or comment on how this was done or why it was done but those who think that this was done with malice or with bad intentions dont understand what took place because here we have the force of what is today called nationalism. We had that force working in the majority of the people who had become Muslims. Umar managed to keep that force in- check. Brothers and sisters- you will have to underline these words and you are going to have to etch them in your minds. What did he do? He told the Muhajireen and the Ansaar, especially the Muhajireen, you are not to

leave or you cannot leave Al-Madinah. Its not exactly something like house arrest, but it is something similar to it. Why? We are not talking about a masoum here, we are speaking about a person who was following his conscience. He thought these were like celebrities. These people were with the Prophet; they fought, sacrificed and spent those formative years of Islam with their blood and their sweat. Imagine if they were to leave their homes and go with these armies or go on commercial ventures outside of Al-Madinah and outside of Makkah. They could make money very easily. They could become rich people over-night and this would cause an internal decay of the character that they gained while they were in the Prophets care. Umar did not want that to happen. Now, hes gone and theres a new person and personality that is ruling. What did he do? He said no. Well for the 1 st year, he honored these policies. Umar was tight on not only the movement of people but he was also very concerned with the Islamic budget, with bait al-maal al-Muslimeen, but after him, we find that we had a ruler who said nowhere did this come from? Here, were also not speaking about a person who is saying or doing this because he has a master plan or because there is some type of conspiracy- no. This was done probably not with the most enlightened information but with the best of intentions. Here is where some Muslims take this or that side- we just cannot be objective and neutral when it come to looking to these decisions that were made. He comes and says as far as money is concerned no- if you were allocated one dirham, during each day of Ramadhan from the Muslim treasury you should be paid two dirhams. Whoever was receiving 100 it was doubled to 200. In Ramadhan, during the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), there were public iftars for those who could not afford iftar. This went down very well (at least) for the time being for those people who could not see the consequences of what this would mean later on. Then, it seems like the flood gates were open after that. because were not speak about a matter of weeks or months, were speaking about a period of 12 years. During that time period, wealth that was kept under austere conditions in the previous administrations, was being dispersed left and right. Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhu) was given 600,000; Talha (radi Allahu anhu) was given 200 000 and they were looking for investments. What are we speaking about here? Brothers and sisters- were speaking about human nature. Lets not get caught up in individual acts and personality positions. Were looking at things that became policy and laws of the land. An example of this, to drive the point home, Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf (radi Allahu anhu) who was one of those six individuals who was supposed to decide on who was qualified to become the leader of the Muslim It is known in Islamic history, that because of a skin condition, Allahs Prophet permitted him to wear silk- its known. Every rule has its exception- this is an exception to the rule. During the time of Umar, Abdurrahman ibn Awf comes to Umar and Abdurrahman ibn Awfs son was wearing silk. Umar could not tolerate this. He said we understand your condition-but just because hes your son hes putting silk on?! And he grabs this silk garment of that son and he tears it. This was a person who was pursuing the standards and the gist of his conscience. He wasnt here to try to take sides. He even exempted one of his cousins- who he and the public knew that Allahs Prophet was well pleased with when he passed away- Saeed ibn Zaid (radi Allahu anhu). He says I dont even want you to be with these six deciding individuals. Could there have been any improvement on this? Obviously- looking back at it, you could say why limit this whole decision making process to six? Why not have ansaar involved in it, because the ansaar were excluded? There was something circulating and Abu Bakr said from Al-Muhajirin is the Umara and from Al-Ansaar are the wuzaraa. There was a type of formula that they were satisfied with,

knowing that the issue of Makkah and nationalism was a threat to all of their sincerity combined. When we look at this information (you look at it as a Muslim, whatever school of thought you belong to) what problem do you have? What problem should there be? But this is the same area, characters and history that trouble makers are coming to and want you to hate your brother Muslim because of the way they want to give us this information and they want us to understand this history as if it is haraam on us to open up our own history, read about our own characters with our own minds that are the product of our own Quran and our own Prophet. Theres no reason why this type of history or events (we are only looking at one segment of it; there are many other segments of it), but do all of these segments combined justify that you hate another Muslim, think about killing another Muslim or put together armies of Muslims to kill each other in the thousands and millions? Where does this come from? The 3rd successor to the Prophet had to look into the issue of justice. Ubaidullah ibn Umar took the law into his own hands (so to speak) and now he is responsible for the death of three individuals. What do you do in this case? Looking back at it, the best thing that could be done is to bring this individual and the others who may have been in one way or the other related to these events to a court of law but the Islamic ruler thought and he asked- he didnt do this without consulting and getting the opinions of others- he asked Ali (radi Allahu anhu), those who were in the Masjid and those who he had confidence in what should be done? Here, there was differences of opinion. One opinion said well, this person is not above the law. If he takes another persons life, his life should be taken. But that does not exactly fit into the capital punishment requirements of the Islam because he who has suffered the death of a loved one, especially a family member, in this case his father, then he has the right to pursue the death penalty for the criminals. The ayah in the Quran says And, whoever has been killed or murdered without a basis of justice, then WE have allocated to his guardian 1st of kin, an authorization (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) So in this sense, he may not have had a personal right to execute justice but he had a right to pursue justice- not in the manner it was done. Heres where Muslim opinions differ on this because the continuation of the ayah is he should not exceed in applying the death penalty (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) Some would argue and say well he exceeded. Theres only one individual who died and three other individuals were killed. This becomes a point of contention among Muslim public opinion at that time so the Muslim ruler decided well, well pay the diyah for those who died, i.e. we will present a monitory compensation for their lives. Because- imagine how it would be that yesterday Umar was assassinated and tomorrow his son is going to be executed?! In order to avoid this type of early polarization you pay the diyah. OK- whats the Muslim or human life worth at that time- just pay that amount put the issue behind us and is what was done. But for some people, the issue did not go away- it was just to become another factor that is added to other factors to build a case. It causes Muslims to feel bad when they meet other Muslims. This is the area that these enemies of Allah are trying right now to

work as hard as they can to bring back these types of issues and try to legitimate the shedding of Muslim blood. Theres no reason for that. We will cover more obscure areas in our history in the confidence that our minds and our understanding of Allah and His Prophet will defeat these plans that want to stir up divisions among Muslims and feelings of raw hate and animosity. These enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the Muslims of struggle today will only have their way if we continue to be silent about these issues, but if we can bring them up and look at them with the vision of the Quran and the Prophet, then our enemies will be defeated. We hearken back to the ayah And do not (oh Prophet) expel those who are calling upon Allah at the break of the day and at the end of day, seeking His countenance from your company for if you do so you will be among Adhdhalimeen, i.e. it will be considered as an act of injustice or offense their record or accountability is not yours and your record and accountability is not on them, for if you do eject them from your company you become a wrong-doeryou dont exempt, expel or exclude them (Surah Al- Anaam verse 52) Brothers and sisters committed Muslims We think it would be fair (meaning we are not loading things out of proportion) if we say that there is a Sunni/Shii problem in Iraq and it did not happen without elaborate plans. We also think well not be off the mark to say that there is a Islamic nationalist polarization in Palestine and right now in Lebanon there are efforts to have something like Islamic Christian misunderstanding beginning there. All of these three areas did not just happen. If we were equipped- every week we have this forum and opportunity to regroup and obtain the accurate and necessary information that will thwart the sectarian plans that they have in Iraq; the racist plans they have in Somalia; the nationalist plans they have in Palestine and the religious or clash of civilization type of tension that they want to brew in Lebanon. We cant blame Ash-Shayateen for satanic acts- thats in the nature of Ash-Shayateen, but how about us when we become part of these acts and when we become the executors of these plans? Every Friday, why do Muslims from their manaabir and in their congregations omit these historical and these future shaping events? Why? And then, why are we silent about this? Why do we agree to have a Masjid like this and other Masaajid in the tens of thousands around the world that pretend none of this is happening? If Adh-Dhalimeen, al-Mushrikeen, Zionists and imperialists continue with these plots and stratagems and if we continue with our ignorance and indifference then in the near future, everyone is going to pay the horrible price for this. If theres not enough moral quality, insightful thinking and not enough reference to Allah and His Prophet in all of this, then the outcome and circumstances shall be lethal. We are not only speaking about social dislocation, we are also speaking about wars that will incinerate societies. The issue of preserving human life is one of the essential issues of deen. It is what the fuqaha refer to as the usul of Islam- preserving human life. If we are permitted to violate some of our standards to survive as individuals, why are we permitting ourselves to violate the core of scripture when there are hundreds of millions of people who are potential victims of these issues that we are trying to solve at their core?

Oh Allah bear witness that at least we exert whatever we have to spread the word of truth about what they are trying to make contentious and hostile issue among us.

THE DIMINISHING OF THE PROPHETS POLITICAL STANDARDS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... We try our best to speak the meanings of Allah and His Prophet as relevant and as pertinent as these meanings are to reality and the truth of life around us. The reality that has been taking shape in this life around us in the past months and years is closing in on many of us in a way that we need to understand Allah and His Prophet better. Its alright- this maybe the coldest day in the season, bear, with me even though it is not recommended to expose ourselves to an in climate weather more then is necessary. Brothers and sisters- a word of truth and honesty- what is meant for us, by the powers that be, is that we be split along sectarian and racial lines. These are the programs that are in progress that will impact tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of Muslims in a detrimental way if we continue to be withdrawn from Protective words of Allah and the guiding direction of His Prophet. We spent a good number of months, probably over a year, in trying to explain some of the roots that lay at the foundations of todays intra-Islamic psychology. Because of the atmospherics and the social engineering that is imposed upon us by those who have power, maybe we are going to have to take

something like a crash sequence of khutbahs to gain a little immunity to the sectarian bug that they want to contaminate our body with and infect our health with. The Muslim public has been for so long withdrawn from some of the basic elements that constitute a healthy Islamic mindset and psychology. Allahs Prophet came to his people and to the rest of the people with a book- a scripture that in one sense can be reduced to a couple or few words: tawheed, Adl- the acknowledgement of Allah without any derivatives, competitors and parallels and the acknowledgement of the human condition as one defined by justice. O People, verily We have created you from a male and a female and have rendered you into derivative strains of ethnic stocks and corresponding blocks of people and societies so that you may become familiar with each other, so that you will co-operatively understand, Indeed, the most noble among you are those among you who are keen on Allahs Power presence (Surah Al-Hujurat verse 13) All of us have been listening to this ayah from time to time, but when Quraish and that 1 st human society listened to it, they understood that this ayah was going to disturb their interests. If Allahs Prophet were to come to them just with a matter of some rituals- telling them how to pray and perform their private responsibilities, knowing what we know from Allahs book and Allahs Messenger (and) that history that is common to us, we could say almost certainly there wouldnt have been any opposition to this Prophet. All of that society would have accepted what he had come to them with if it was just a matter of some ritualistic practices; but the problem they had was that this person here has a message that is far beyond the ruku, sujud, siyaam, iftaar, the couple of pennies of charity here and there, the verbalization of a sentence or two or the reorganization of some of the details of the Hajj. They wouldnt have had any problems with that; they wouldnt have objected to that. Has anyone heard in all of the books of the Sunnah and the Seerah one objection to the Prophet because of the way he was praying, performing the Hajj or the other personally responsibilities that have become in the minds of many people the horizon of Islam. No! The problem was he had come with what we may call today a political program- that nobody wants to speak about. The Prophet was concentrating on a subject matter that all the Islamic speakers today are running away from. This subject matter was not a presentation, a khutbah, a sermon or a lecture. It became human behavior and more than that, it developed into an organized social behavior. This is what they could not tolerate. What are you doing? You want come and change the foundations and mechanics of our society- were not going to accept that! This is where the struggle commenced. The Prophet spent 23 long years of sacrifices and struggle based upon this premises and it caught on to the extent that know we had a political behavior and a leadership example that was to be inherited to the rest of us in the years and the generations to come. What happened though is that that 1st generation around the Prophet tried their best to live up to the standards that they were taught by the Prophets demeanor. What did they see? If the Prophet was just a communicator or a recipient of revelation without an interaction with people, then why do we have ayaat like- (Allah is saying to His Prophet)

if you were insensitive or if you were aloof or if you were disrespectful of the people around you, then they would have parted away from you, therefore pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and get or solicit their opinions upon making a decision, and once youve made up your mind place your confidence in Allah (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 159) If the Prophet was a person who was living above the standards of his own people and if he was just implementing cold orders that were coming to him, then why would he be involved when implementing these orders with his own people? This tells us that when policy makers make decisions, they do not make these decisions in the absence of their own constituents, and their own social constitution. Rather, when they do make these decisions, they make these decisions on behalf of those who they represent. If this is said of Allahs Prophet and it applies to him, then it applies to all others who seek to fulfill his leadership position. This class of people- you know today, when we speak about a class of people, usually they mean by that an economic class of people- when we look at that generation that was nurtured by Allahs Prophet, we are speaking about a moral class of people, not an economic class of people, (but) a moral class of people who saw with their own eyes events.

When the Prophet wanted to fight at Badr, he solicited their opinion. What do you think? They say to him and asked why are we fighting in this position? Is this a revelation and an order that has come to you or is this your best judgment or opinion on the matter? They asked is this a position in which Allah has placed you in or is this a matter of a warfare decision and outsmarting the enemy? The Prophet answered. Then they told him we shouldnt be here. We should change our position (and) relocate ourselves closer to the water- the wells of Badr so that we are in control of them rather then giving the enemy access to them. This is a character that was infused into the people around him, unlike todays rulers and decision makers. They refuse to be infused into the people who they represent. What a distance?! What a difference?! On another occasion, when the Muslims wanted to go to Uhud and other Muslims wanted to stay in Al-Madinah, the Prophet also asked them for their input and opinion. Why would he ask? If he was just a Prophet, a Messenger and an Apostle why would he ask these people? Remember who hes asking- these are nomads or Bedouins; its not like hes asking sophisticated people, but the issue is not a matter of being civilized to qualify for the Prophets company, its a matter of involvement. They wanted to be involved; he wanted them to be involved- a far cry from what is happening today and the distance that has grown between that model and the disturbed characters that we have today. After the battle of Hunain, the Prophet- this practical down to earth fellow, individual or personality began to distribute the spoils of war. He began to give some of this hard won booty of war to some who it seemed like didnt deserve it. Some individuals looked around and said

why are you giving this (lets say) money to those who didnt work for it? A person- a nobody someone, whos no one- came up to the Prophet straight forwardly and said to him Oh Muhammad do justice. Imagine that. Compare that to todays world and todays rulers. The detail was there is a segment of society called al-muallafala qulubahum, those who the Prophet sought to reconcile their hearts. They need some money and financial assistance so that their hearts can be won over to the sacrifices and the struggle that is going to be required of them in the future. They werent the ones who were at the front lines, who were bleeding, wounded and handicapped because of the war; these were people who were taking it easy. Then, some of these people who were at the front-line with the Prophet saw some of these spoils of war going from them to people who they think dont deserve it. When they felt like that what was it? They were not interacting with the dictator- oh we have to be quiet; we cant express our thoughts to Muhammad- No. They expressed themselves. They went up to him and one of them Oh Muhammad be fair. This (approachable/down to earth person) was the real personality and real character that left his mark and imprint on that moral class of people around him. Who were this moral class of people? Alladheena Aamanu, Al-Muhajirin, Al-Ansaar, those who gave him their trust and their allegiance- this was the moral class that is defined by Allah in the everlasting book and this is the area no one wants to look at nowadays. Absolutely not! No one is speaking about this and in the mean time, for hundreds of years, because no one is speaking about this we have the area of ignorance among us in which todays trouble makers are moving in. We have trouble makers who want to divide us because we have not developed our minds and psychology with these pertinent facts. The Prophet of Allah passes on and then we have that 1st line of that moral class around him assume responsibility and try to do so in the same manner. What do we have? The 1st successor to Allahs Prophet, in his 1st daysAll his life, he was a merchant so hes now the ruler of the Muslims and he goes into the market to support his own family. This behavior was gained from the personality of Allahs Prophet. He wasnt a dictator or a ruler above the rest of the people- he was one of the people. Just like Allahs Prophet was one of the people, he also wanted to be one of the people. He goes into the market, he has to support a family and then Muslim public opinion finds out and say wait a minute, what are you doing here? You are supposed to be thinking and discharging responsibilities as the decision maker of the Muslims? of course, on the basis of that shura- that moral quality, that was obviously there at that time. He said yeh- but I have to support my family. They said wait a minute lets come and think this thing out. From the limited budget that the Muslims had at that time, they allocated for him a salary that was enough to feed his own family. There were no perks and privilegestheres nothing. What do you and your family need? OK. Its going to be this amount. There you have this amount so that you can live just like everyone else. Then, when this person passes away, he didnt want to be in possession of any money. He had a small amount of money (and) he says take this money and do away with it. In other words, I dont want to leave this world and meet my Maker while I am in possession of any wealth. This was a moral quality that came from understanding Allahs Prophet.

When the 2nd successor to Allahs Prophet assumed that position of the ultimate decision maker amongst the Muslims, he also was following this same course. When the Muslims experienced a drought-its called in Islamic history, aam ar-ramada- people were hungry. They were living or surviving off the basics. What did he do? What did he say? Well, Im the ruler of the Muslims, I need a healthy meal?! That wasnt his attitude. Why? Because Allahs Prophets influence upon him did not permit him to entertain that idea. He said I am going to eat the same way the average or less then average Muslim is eating. What was the less than average Muslim eating at that time? Dry bread and oil! He began eating this for some weeks and then he found out that this is very hard to digest, so he said lets cook this oil. Cooking this oil may make it easier for us to digest. Remember, hes just dipping dry bread into this oil. Theres no specifics- at least as far as we know- of what oil we are talking of. (Are we) talking about olive oil or some other type of cooking oil? Theres no accurate information to it, but whatever it is it, it is edible oil. So, after cooking it he realized- No, without cooking it, its easier on the stomach and he continued like that for months until that condition of drought went away. This is a person who held himself to the standards of Allahs Prophet. This is a person also who did not let the governors and the representatives who were dispatched to other areas of the Muslim domain at time get away with their personal performance. This is something that he did which now is against the laws in Arabia. What did he do that not many Muslims know about and not many or even a few Muslims are willing to speak about? He would wait until Hajj time when people were coming to Makkah and the Kaba. There, he would combine Muslim public opinion with the governors and those responsible for making decision in the different regions of the Muslim country at that time- he would have both of them comment on each others performance or condition during the Hajj. Can you imagine bringing the populations and the rulers of those different Muslim countries into Makkah and asking the population about those who are ruling over them and asking those rulers about their own populations in front of each other?! Can you imagine what the governors and the rulers in Arabia would say to that behavior of Umar (radi Allahu anhu)?! What are you doing? This is a controversial thing that you are bringing to the Hajj! This is a political matter that should not exist in the Hajj! Thats what they would say to him. They didnt care; these were people of conscience- the likes of which we dont have today. They were following their conscience. These examples and this moral class of people, though, did not last for very long because what was going to develop thereafter was a deviation or a break from this behavior. We can see that and we will begin to look at it. As we said, because of the sectarian trouble making around us, and refreshing course that has been deliberately omitted from our public presentations. We have occasional Muslims. You know- this week it is the 1st week of Muharram and we have occasional Muslims or made for the camera Muslims who speak about Muharram, Aashuraa and Karbala on its occasion. They cant look at the years that went into the making of this event, analyze and look at them with your God-given conscience and mind and see where we are. We have some Muslims, who in their

traditional and cultural way try to honor Al-Imam Al-Hussein (radi Allahu anhu) but they have difficulties with Umar. We have a problem here. These are people of personality. (Its not) as if there was some grudge between these characters- we cant sense that. On the other hand we have other types of Muslims who want to think highly of Muawiyah while they say that they sympathize with Al-Imam Al-Hussein- we also have problems with these types of Muslims. Both these types of characters are reductionist or ignorant Muslims who cannot grasp the facts of what happened and what is happening today. We are not occasional Muslims- far from it. We approach these issues with Allah and His Prophet squarely in our minds and deeply in our hearts. We will look at the types of rulers who began to distance themselves from Allahs Prophet. In the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), the 3rd ruler of the Muslims after the Prophet. Now, the Muslims have a lot of money. The Muslims looked at the behavior of the Prophet, Abi Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) and they saw individuals who didnt have any traces of wealth and riches in their lives. Uthman was prompted by his predecessor Umar and he said look at the way Umar lived and look at the way youre living! He says Umar withheld money from his family and his own ihtisaaban lillah, (which means like) in order for him to have an investment with Allah or so that he can be compensated for that behavior when he meets Allah; and Uthman said I spend money on my own family and my own relatives (and he used the same words) ihtisaaban lillah- I am doing it as (in todays common Islamic vocabulary) silata rahum; Im being forthcoming to my Rahim, those Allah said to honor in the circle of my family. Well- why didnt the Prophet do that? A person can say all he wanted to sayUthman had all the freedom in the world to express himself- but does his expression fit into the words of Allah and the behavior of His Prophet? We will see more and more (that) thats not the case. What does that mean? (Does it mean) that this person was (as some people want to express and think) evil inside? This is yet another mistake that takes the whole affair in another direction. If that was the case, then why wasnt there- from that moral class of people around the Prophet, that we referred to earlier- an opposition movement of arms against him? Finally, that did occur, but was it with the participation of that 1st moral class of people around the Prophet or was it by new comers and others who could not live anymore with the idea that ruling is no longer the obligation or the responsibility that is entrusted to an individual by the Muslim people? This is the disconnect that occurred early on, although in gradual way that it occurred throughout years and decades until we have today the total break. The break has been so long in the making that people, who are supposed to be scholars and ulema dont want to speak about it. Who are todays people who are speaking about the difference and the comparison between those who were authentic leaders of the Muslims, dating back to those years, and contrasting that with what we have today- the rulers, governors, kings and presidents that are living among us? How much character and elements do they have of these personalities and this moral class of Muslims around Allahs Prophet? We can say almost emphatically that only traces of it

exists in the spokespersons and in those who are supposed to be the Islamic scholars of today and our time. Another statement Uthman said, knowing that there is a movement of opposition, if any of you can find in the book of Allah a statement that would place chains around my feet go ahead and place those chains around my feet or my legs. Of course, theres no statement in the Quran that says that, but he himself took upon himself an oath to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet and his two predecessors, whose social, economic, financial and political behavior were at odds with his. Some brothers and sisters may say this humble person speaks to much about these issues. It is true, we concentrate on these issues much more then others. The simple fact why we do so is because no one else is talking about them. When the Muslim body does not have any muscles and is paralyzed and we are drawing attention to that fact, help us out. When other Muslims will begin to speak about this issue and the volume will increase and the ideas will multiply about this particular area and when this vacuum that has invited all of these mischief makers into our midst- when all of these other Muslim speakers on Fridays, holidays, conference days and on lecture days- begin to speak about this issue, they will relieve us. At that time we can go to other issues that need our attention. But what do we do when no one is shedding light in this area? Shall we behave like them and leave this critical issue to the imperialists and Zionists who are doing all of this to us today. They want a civil war in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon. They want to instigate sectarian animosities. They want to resuscitate the ghosts in the minds of sectarian Muslims against each other and they want to bring friction between Muslims and Christians and between Muslims and jews when there is no friction at all. If we understand Allah and His Prophet, we have nothing against jews and Christians, but we have a history against Zionists and against imperialists. We can never understand this when we are kept in the deep recesses of ignorance that pertains to our own selves, our own background and our own history that extends all the way to Al-Madinah and Makkah, the Prophet and that moral class of committed Muslims around him. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims We shall try as much as possible to avoid what we consider to be common information and common sense. You all know- without us expressing it- the times that are approaching. You can sense (that there is in the offing) evil plans for Muslims to come to blows each other. They want such rulers as the ones in Arabia to come in as peace-makers. This ambassador- who used to be here, in Washington DC - right now is making his rounds in different countries. We are told that he is doing that to try to solve the potential Lebanese civil war that may flare up any time now. How can this be? This person bragged at one time that he was working with the Central Intelligence Agency and many Muslims among our own selves consider this person to be one of us- how can that be? How can he qualify to solve these types of

problems? This sectarianism has made its way into the minds and impressions of Muslim scholars. We dont want to name any names here, but suffice it to say that there are Muslim scholars who are convinced that Muslims themselves cannot reach an understanding. Let us break themselves down for you- those who consider themselves Sunnis and those who consider themselves Shiis. We wish we could go beyond that, but thats where we are- that theres no way of trying to reach an understanding between our own selves. They leave us with this vacuum and this ignorance. Its not going to be solved until we can refer to Allah and His Prophet and place all of these issues on the table in front of our own selves and solve them by our own selves. We ask Allah, whole heartedly, with deep convictions, with minds from the Quran to open our hearts to each other and to understand each other so that we compliment each other and reinforce each other, excluding these types of characters from the roles that they want to play.

THE FEAR FACTOR

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Muminun; Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims.... We live in a time (to put it mildly) that is very challenging. We need not go into the details of what is happening locally or globally concerning Muslims who are dedicated, sincere and struggling in the cause and sake of Allah; but there appears to be an element that is intruding on our pursuit of As-Siraatul Mustaqeem. That element is the element of fear. It is alien to a Muslim attitude; it doesnt belong in a Muslim psychology; it is misleading in a Muslim social order and we have to surmount it. We all submit that our way out of the condition that some of us may find ourselves in is to follow in the footsteps of Rasulillah. We dont know in his glorious and pacesetting lifetime and lifestyle that he had emitted one iota or one scintilla of fear and he had gone through trying times both in Makkah and in Al-Madinah. One of the most trying times is obviously when he was at the warfront and when the forces seemed to be overwhelming or overrunning the Prophet and the committed and struggling Muslims with him and around him. When Muslims felt they were vulnerable at these times of sacrifices, the words of Allah were soothing to their hearts and they were enlightening their path. As these words go- this is the description and definition of those who have committed themselves and their lives to Allah even when it

comes to the moments and the minutes in which they feel their power is less then the opponent, Allah says- here we have the band of committed Muslims under the leadership of Rasulillah and they are told that the forces have collected themselves against you or the forces out there have regrouped to take you on (Surah Aal-Imran verse 173) The powers that be- military and political powers; the power of the mass media and advanced military technology- all of this is arrayed against you. What do you suppose was the response? Did they feel that they had to negotiate their way out of this predicament? Did they feel that they had to go back to the drawing board and recalculate their policies and reconfigure their strategy? No- none of that! When these types of developments begin to unfold in the world around, that only contributes to a further commitment or a redoubling of efforts (Surah Aal-Imran verse 173) and not caving in to these Shayateen and their proxies around. This is the testing ground, time and field of all of those who say that they are committed to Allah. You are not going to be left to a verbalization of commitment. We are not going to have an excuse of saying Ohwell we spoke the words of imaan. Do you think- do people think that they are going to be left alone just for the sake of verbalizing the words of imaan without being exposed to the elements of fitnah? (Surah AlAnkabut verse 2) This is not the way imaan operates; this is not the way the Prophet taught us? How many times do we read in the Quran (and most of us I hope are diligent readers and reciters and are attuned to the meanings of this holy script) there is no fear that overcomes them nor do they grieve (Surah Yunus verse 62) If we were to take it into medical terms they dont suffer from any symptoms of neurosis nor depression. So why? The Prophet of Allah- as we are familiar with his history- was exposed to overwhelming forces and powers of the establishment and the status quo. Didnt they come to him in the midst of the Haram and taunt him and say bad words to him? They even spilled the guts of a slaughtered animal upon him. Is there any indication in the books of Seerah anywhere (you can take your own book of preferred book of Seerah) do you sense an iota of fear in him? Never! He was excommunicated from his own society- the same society that acknowledged that he was as-saadiq al-ameen. For three years, when Muslims had to chew on leather as nourishment because they had no nutrition available to them, was there any indication or inference of fear in the Prophet or in those who were with him? To the contrary, the Prophets (alaihim as-salaam) themselves did not fear for their lives nor those who were with them. When the Prophet saw the torture of Ammaar and Aal Yaasir (radi Allahu anhum), he said bear it with steadfastness and perseverance- verily your promise is the recompense of Al-Jannah. He

didnt say wait a minute here, this whole thing is going in the wrong direction, we have to think of a plan and infiltrate the establishment and the aristocracy of Makkah; or let us get our own Muslim people on the inside of the Makkan governing body. Can anyone refer us to any incident in his holy life in which he contemplated these types of ideas?! These Prophets had fear, but they feared for society and the people around them. How many times is it stated in the Quran the words of these Prophets throughout history? My people, I fear for you the torment of an excruciating day (Surah Hud verse 26) There was no fear for self or for the committed Muslims; the fear was for those who have gone astray and wayward in life. Compare that qualitative fear with the cowardly fear that is expressed, especially by some people and individuals who are in positions to speak the truth but dont have the courage to say and state the truth. The Prophet of Allah in a hadith (that is not quoted very often) says the best form of struggle is to express the truth in the face of a tyrant ruler. Where are the Muslims of this quality (we may ask)? They are far and in between and that may explain the cyclical reversals we are going through. This is not meant to point a finger at anyone particular individual, as much as it is to try to diagnose the condition that we are in so that we may by pass this and become the God-made leaders of humanity. Its easy to quote an ayah which is quoted very frequently You are the choicest of people evolved from amongst Mankind (Surah Aal-Imran verse 110) Its easier said than done. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- we have a responsibility to the people around us. This responsibility is not going to be discharged as long as some of us feel inferior and others feel that they have to jump on the political band-wagon around. We have to do this job ourselves, and if we dont have the confidence that comes from being with Allah, we disqualify. Brothers and sisters, Muslims of commitment on As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem Theres an ayah that says Indeed, those who are muttaqis- who are ever vigilant of Allahs power presence in human affairs- are as much as being passively influenced by Ash-Shaytaan, they regain their Godconsciousness and that results in them becoming people with insight in We are vulnerable to the passing influence of Ash-Shaytaan. We are human beings, but that results in us going up a degree and elevating ourselves a rank. If we are passively or in a passing way influenced by Ash-Shaytaan, our consciousness is revivified. We ask Allah that the predicament that we find ourselves in (whether it is here, in this country or thousands of miles away across the ocean) and that what we are going

through is only that passing influence of Ash-Shaytaan so that we may regain consciousness at a higher level and proceed with baseerah.. I just got a note here saying (obviously Im not from this area) theres a two year old from the Kaskas family who is in critical condition; a brother who passed away from the family of Maaali; another brother, Simon, who had a mental breakdown; Al-Imam Jaleel Al-Ameen who has been behind bars for 6 years and other such and equivalent conditions of the Muslims around the world that we should become cognizant of, therefore we raise our hands and plead and beseech Allah and say the following

SALAATUL EID
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims .... On this day Muslims repeat and reverberate a statement that speaks to the facts of life. We all say Allahu Akbar and that means Allah is greater- He is greater than the pressures that come into our lives. Sometimes our psychology shows symptoms of weakness (and its) as if this is a remainder that we are not to depend on our own psychology; we are to focus ourselves on Allah and when we do (so), we realize that He is greater that whatever pressure has made a dent in our psychology. These could be family affairs, social affairs, financial affairs, interpersonal affairs, political affairs or military affairs of whatever nature they are. We reiterate on this occasion Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. In our real world, there are people who have a tendency and a practice to submit to those who have clout, power and finances- as if we are to go their way. Some of us cannot muster enough courage and backbone to thwart this power and to speak the truth to it and this is demonstrated in of all things the selection of our Eids. There are

people who have clout (undeniably); financial power (no question about it); influence in Islamic Centers, conferences, congregations and meetings; we look around and who are the ones who can speak to them when they make a mistakes? Who are the ones who can expose them when they are systematically making these mistakes? Isnt one of our characteristics al amr bil maruf wa an-nahyi an al-munkar? If we dont realize that Allah is Akbar then this al amr bil maruf wa an-nahyi an al-munkar is problematic or academic- it is no longer a permanent feature of our personality. So, if a day like this- an artificial Eid is imposed on the Muslims, who are the ones who can step up or stand up and say No- this is not the right day! Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- (by the way), they tell us governments should not interfere in religious issues- if they believe in the secularism that they are preaching to us how come they impose on us when Ramadhan begins and ends and in an erroneous and fallacious manner?! Its not correct (and) they have no grounds for doing what they are doing, (but) nevertheless, they appear and tell us (this is the way they worded it)- listen to them- they didnt say that the hilaal was sighted anywhere in the world; none of them said this. There was an erroneous, fallacious sighting of the hilaal. Brothers and sisters- listen to this- someone in Nigeria said that they saw the hilaal Saturday evening. Of course, that was dismissed by everyone. Everyone knows that whatever criteria they have to determine the beginning of the lunar month and its end, that that is a statement coming from either a source that is trying to make trouble among the Muslims or someone is being paid to say something like that, (but) definitely it is not something that is credible or that coincides with the scientific facts that are available. So, no one saw it. (As of) Sunday evening- last evening- we know of no sighting of the hilaal or the crescent anywhere in the world- absolutely nowhere has there been a credible and reliable source or human beings that said that they saw the crescent. How did these governments phrase themselves? They said that the month of Ramadhan has completed its 30days. Well, they began fasting on the wrong day; they began fasting on the last day of Shabaan, therefore in fact they did fast 30days but that doesnt automatically make today the Eid! Then, another statement of theirs that is misleadingespecially those that come from Arab countries- the way they worded their news is most Arab countries are observing Eid today- on Monday. That surface statement is true; if you count the countries that are celebrating Eid today, they are Saudi Arabia and the countries that are in its orbit with one or two exceptions and these are countries with small populations. If you add the populations of these countries that are observing Eid today and you compare them with the other populations (these are Arab countries- mind you), we find that those who are going to be breaking their fast tomorrow and observing the Eid tomorrow are much more than those who are doing it today. This keeps on repeating itself from year to year. Why? Because theres not enough backbone in we- the Muslims- who are capable of identifying this systemic yearly mistake and telling those who are guilty of it that you have no right trying to rationalize this day as being the Eid. (Theres) absolutely no grounds and no basis for what they are doing, yet they seem to be getting away with it. We can say with Allahs care and help that the trend is turning against these types of imposters. Its alright if we use an accurate, but loaded word; these are imposters who are forcing their populations in observing Eid on the wrong

day. Will the trend turn against them? It is turning against them. 20-25 years ago, they had the majority of the Muslims in the world following them. If this was taking place 25-30 years ago (more or less), instead of having one-sixth of the Muslims breaking their fast on this day (like they are today)we only have one-sixth of all the population of the Muslims in the world observing Eid on this day. 25 years ago it would have been one-sixth who are going to have Eid tomorrow; meaning five-sixths of the Muslim population of the world would have been observing the Eid today. So, there has been an incremental and gradual build up of Muslim public opinion against these imposters. Brothers and sisters- you have to also know (that) they produce a calendar every year. When Muharram, the 1st month in the Muslim calendar, comes along, they have all of the dates identified for the rest of the year, including Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha and it never happens (as far as we know) that this predetermined calendar is upset or contradicted by the facts of the sight ability of the hilaal- in other words, they dont wait for one or two days before the end of the lunar month to determine the beginning of the coming month; NO!- they already have it pre-calculated, worked out, printed and distributed all around. So, we ask why hasnt there in all of these years been a discrepancy between what they have predetermined and the facts on the ground? Now, we have a new development. We have some Muslims who want to adopt a scientific and a calculus for the lunar months, which is initially a good idea because it brings some sort of stability, but then we run into a definitional problem. How do you define the beginning of the lunar month? Is it when the hilaal, the moon itself is totally in the shade of the earth; meaning when you cant see it (because thats one definition of the lunar month)? If you dont then when is it to begin? Is it meant to begin after midnight (or) after maghrib? There are definitional problems which they have not clarified, so this issue is going to continue unless Muslims have the clarity of mind, the reliance upon Allah and if they know that Allah is Akbar. Its even a challenge on this day. We say Allahu Akbar but we submit to lesser forces as is happening today, so what we say is contradicting what we do. We reiterate we repeat Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Brothers and sisters, Muslims on As-siraat Al-mustaqeem Some of you ask from time to time (there may be others who entertain this question) why is it that we come in front of this Islamic Center on a day in which we know it is not Al-Eid and we go through the rituals of the Eid on the last day of Ramadhan (as is the case today)? The answer to that is the communication of the truth is critically important. The Prophet used to go to the Haram, Al-Bayt Al-Haraam, the Kabah in Makkah when it was full of idols. Muslims who were with him at the time- this is before it was liberated (and) when it was under Mushrik control- used to jog between As-Safa and Al-Marwa when there were idols at both ends of As-Safa and Al-Marwa. One idol was called Asaaf and the other idol was called Naailah. We had Muslims who knew that these idols are nonsense (yet) they were jogging there (and) doing what they were supposed to be doing (and) trying to (do so) in what seemed to be a limited capacity. (In the vision of man, what we are doing is very limited; if we want to think in worldly terms, we may consider our presence here- trivial, but Muslims who know that Allah is

Akbar dont consider any devout and sincere act of principle dedicated to Allah to be trivial- this doesnt occur in a Muslim mind or heart. But when theres pollution in that mind and heart, then we begin to see things with a worldly view.) These Muslims who were in Makkah trying to do their duty when there was a system of shirk and kufr in control were doing so as a matter of discharging their responsibility to Allah precisely as we are doing here, today, and now. Someone can come along and say Oh- why dont you give a speech? Why should you go through the exact motions of the Eid prayers? Just give a speech here- on the corner and express these whole facts to them. We would do that if there wasnt a legal angle to this. If we going to give a speech here, on the corner, theyd come to us and say do you have permission to give a speech? Do you have a license to give a speech here? We just dont have that, so well place ourselves in a legal corner if we do that; but we do have (at least) their word on it, that we can perform our salaah here. Therefore this is what we are doing. May Allah reward everyone of you the best of His reward for the time and sincerity that has brought you here on this day or on the other days- Fridays or the Eids. May Allah grant us His blessings, His benediction and accept from us our fasting during this month of Ramadhan and may we use the determination and will-power that come out of the month of Ramadhan in the rest of the 11months of the year. A blessed Eid and a blessed time period that follows Ramadhan to every dedicated Muslim who realizes and behaves in the manner that bespeaks the fact of Allah is Akbar.

AL QUDS DAY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims .... On this day, in this observed month of Ramadhan; a month of taqwa or recalling the power presence of Allah, we bring to mind the interfering powers of this world and the imposing forces in this life. We quote Allahs words as He says in Surah Al-Isra And We have decreed upon the Children of Israel in the book that you shall cause corruption on a global scale twice and you shall reach unprecedented heights (Surah AlIsra verse 3) This is what Allah says concerning Bani Israeel. We compare what Allah is saying compared to what the mouth pieces are saying. The media in todays world want us to believe that Bani Israeel are the victims; that the Israelis are the underdogs; that the Zionists are looking for a homeland just like other peoples of the world; that they have endured the sufferings of centuries and millennia and that they have recently emerged from genocidal policies at which the centre of which is the holocaust- this is what they say. We are bombarded with their perception

management from cradle to grave. We hear nothing except that these are the poor, the oppressed and the under classes of the world who have finally found their foothold of their own in Palestine which they call Israel. Allah says of the current monsters (in the political and military sense of the word), Allah says that He has registered in His registrar the fact that in the history of Bani Israeel that (these are Allahs definite, assuring and final words on the subject) these descendents of Israeel will- with all certainty- no doubt about it- (Surah Al-Isra verse 3) for those who are familiar with the structure of the word, the laam at the beginning of tufsid is for emphasis (and) the nun-al-mushaddadah at the end of the word latufsidunna is for underlining, underscoring (and) reiterating the fact cause disruption in the world- not in a neighborhood, nation state or particular regionin the whole world (Surah Al-Isra verse 3) That is the scale of their corruption, misdeeds, commotions and instability. Let us skip their historical worldwide corruption and let us focus on their current worldwide corruption. Here we have them-the Zionists- no one is going to say this; youre not going to hear this on radio and TV programs. The fact of the matter is (that) those know these facts remain silent because they owe their finances or power positions to the same people that we are speaking about so they cant speak. Cant we, who are free in our hearts and liberated in our thoughts, express the meanings and the ideas that are given to us by Allah? If we cant do it, whos going to do it? The Christians dont have the Quran, they dont have these ayaat (and) oppressed people in world dont have this information from Allah- we have it. So, why do we have learned scholars, Muslim intellectuals and a cadre of clergymen in the world who are incapable of just explaining (that is all that is expected of them- just explain) to us the meanings that Allah is giving us that relate to the life and death issues of our time. These ayaat and words from Allah will spare us the politics and the diplomacy of hypocrites and dual loyalists who cannot (as a matter of principle be the Muslims that they claim that they are. We thank Allah (that) we dont have this problem and character. If Allah is telling us about Bani Israeel and who is Bani Israeel? Some people want to run away from the issue and say this is a historical group of people- they dont exist today. If anyone just opens their eyes when you pass by one synagogue or the other, they will tell you bane Israel- so, do yahud know something that we do not know or are they more courageous at expressing the truth that we do not want to express? He has registered in His registrar the fact that in the history of Bani Israeel that these descendents of Israeel will- with all certainty, no doubt about it- cause disruption in the whole world (Surah Al-Isra verse 3) We can take a look at the meaning of this ayah and we can see how the zionist jewish lobby is capable of launching wars of aggression. Even some people in this country who are not

Muslims will tell you if it wasnt for the jewish lobby in the United States, the Americans would not be at war in Iraq. Some Muslims find credibility if these words come from a non-Muslim and they dont find any validity in this meaning coming from Allah, Himself. There we have it- the yahudi clout has influence in this world (that) only are American politicians and decision-makers subservient to yahud, but you go to Europe and you find the same phenomenon. No one wants to speak out against the disproportionate power that the yahud jewish lobby has inside of Europe. These are the power centers in this world- the AmericanEuropean axis and within this power arrangement there are no voices that are strong enough to be heard that can come out in public and state the facts pertaining to the makers and shakers of todays worldwide policies. You take a look at those who are in control of finances in the world- they dont want us to look at these- they flash words that are void of concepts someone says the IMF or World Bank or Federal Reserve- these are words that conceal a true power behind them. They want to go out with these powers (and) add to it the militaries that they have and then try to rearrange the political map; especially the political map of the area around the occupied territories of Palestine. You can hear them- it only takes an informed Muslim to tune in to their rhetoric and slogans about how this yahudi cabal (lets call them what they are) are in the process of preparing for a war- against who?! Against those who are free and determined enough to put the words of Allah into practice. Now, they are coming out after all of these years and some brothers have an experience (maybe a limited experience but never the less an experience) to try to give and take with these yahud. We may point to some of our Iraqi brothers who got mired in the previous years in a larger scheme trying to be used by this yahudi lobby. They thought that they could use the yahudi lobby and they are slowly and painstakingly waking up to the fact that the yahudi lobby has been using them. What do they want to do? They wanted to turn Iraq into a base of operations to put an end to Islamic self-determination in the area emanating from the eastern frontiers of Iraq, viz. the Islamic State in Iran. Whats wrong? Cant we Muslims think and see whats happening? What do you want to happen to wake up and see the facts?! B52-bombers, bunker busters, nuclear weapons?! Is it going to take a conflagration to bring you to the facts that Allah is presenting to you before the calamity and catastrophe?! (Do) you choose to downplay what Allah is saying and to up play what yahud are saying?! This is the type of attitude and character that we encounter from time to time and from individual to another. Listen to what Allah is saying He has registered in His registrar the fact that in the history of Bani Israeel that these descendents of Israeel will- with all certainty, no doubt about it- cause disruption in the whole world (Surah Al-Isra verse 3) How much more evidence and events are required for us to understand that these are the enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims until the end of time? Were not speaking about a blanket statement that includes the jews. We are careful in what we say Allah. says wa qadaina ila Bani Israeel fil kitaab, Allah did not say wa qadaina ilal yahud fil kitaab. Bani Israel

is the nationalist, ethnic, racist (and) political ideology that is represented today by the Zionist. This is their 2nd performance of worldwide instability. In todays world, the position that yahud of the zionist vintage have acquired is so preponderant that it has cause the psychology of the average Muslim to recoil. Theres nothing terribly wrong with stating this fact. (If) you look at the average Muslim today- (we are always optimistic- we think that todays Muslim is a quality better then the Muslim 30 years ago and we are confident that the Muslims 30 years from now is going to be qualitatively better than the Muslim today- we want to make this fact clear, but saying this does not mean that we dont carry a lot of dead weight), theres plenty of dead weight that we Muslims are carrying today, and the deadliest of them all are these regimes and governments in Muslim countries who have chosen to side with Bani Israel against Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims. We know this is a very substantial statement to say, but someone has to say it. We cant go on giving excuses for these powers that be, to cause havoc inside our own societies and within our own psychology. Banu Israel of today- the zionists of our time are condemned by Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims; they are also condemned by international law. Theres no one who can present to us a page of international law that justifies what the zionists are doing in todays world- nothing. Zionism is as guilty as apartheid; it is as vicious as racism; it is as warlike as dictators and despots and it stands accused in the court of secular law and in the court of scriptural law. There is nothing in the constitutions of the worlds, the declaration of human rights, the magna curta, the Bible- old and new testament- the Quran or the Psalms that justifies the policies of the Israeli Zionist nation state. Youre doing to hear it from the Masjid before youre going to hear it from the parliaments of the world. They steal other peoples land- these are political thieves. The watered down Muslim (and) the orthodox undeveloped thinking capability in us tells us that when Gods law is applied, we amputate the hand of a thief (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 38) and in some places in the world, viz. in Arabia, they take individuals who have stolen- we dont know what they stole, $1,000 worth of something (more or less) and they cut off the hand of that individual. Were not saying that this is not Islamic law, Islamic law has a context. We dont think there is a context for Islamic law in Arabia, but if they think that that is Islam (and) if they are convinced that they are going the right thing (and) that they should chop of the hand of a thief, here we have the most monumental thief in history; the Zionists, who have not stolen $1,000 or $1billion dollars or $1trillion, theyve stolen the holy land- if these people who have Islam on their mind could identify the grand thief in this world, it is the Israeli zionists (and) if they want to take someone to the chopping grounds outside of the Masjid in Riyadh or Jeddah or wherever they do this, why dont they have their eyes fixated on these zionist thieves who have stolen the most precious thing in our lives- our 1st Qibla and our 3rd haram. They cant see that thief! Ask them about it! Whos the last Muslim that brought this to their attention? Whos the Muslim who has the courage to bring this to their attention? When other Muslims- be they in Lebanon,

Palestine, Iran or elsewhere- begin to discover this colossal thief that we have and want to apply the appropriate punishment to this thief, then why are you turning your scholars for dollars, your apologetic Ulema and your media against them and employing your mediawhether its in Egypt, Jordan, Arabia or North Africa- against Muslims who say RabbunAllah (and) not the zionists (and) imperialists? They are neither our masters nor our lords. When Muslims begin to reactivate their imaan and zero-in on the common enemy, you want to find common purpose with the imperialists and Zionists! When are the Muslim people going to wake up to this fact and mobilize along these lines? We dont think that playing the sectarian card with the Zionist-imperialist nexus is going to bring you any advantage. It doesnt matter whether youre a Shii or a Sunni Muslim- we have both sides trying to play a sectarian card and trying to play that card in favor of the imperialists and Zionists. They set up office over here and then they lobby for this support- this will not move us one inch forward. It is the committed Muslims who in the past years and generation have seen this enemy eyeball to eyeball and can see through the lies and fabrications of his media and mass communication system (and) who can identify this enemy and affirm that there can be no common grounds with this type of vicious killer that is in possession of weapons of mass destruction and wants to get away with developing future generations of this same weapon. In the meantime, when clean hearted Muslims want to acquire this technology, they (literally) turn their guns against them. If we are in the shades of this Quran (and) if we are the flesh and blood of this Quran, it doesnt matter what they do. Let them squirm in their ignorance of where we are. There is a combat generation of Muslims in the making that is not going to be aborted by their Islamic terrorism and fundamentalism boogie label. Thats not going to scare us and cause us to run away. Saudi Arabia has been a bonanza for them- 1st they fed off the sectarians of the wahabis, then they feed off the terrorism of the wahabis and then they blackmail the official Saudi government that comes from within the wahabbi context- any way they slice the Saudi gadget, it serves them. The Muslims of today and tomorrow are bypassing all of this intrigue. They place their own men inside certain strains of Islam and they want to cause us to implode from within so that we lose sight of our common enemy in Occupied Palestine. They want us to be occupied with each other. We were maturing and growing at an unexpected pace and they threw a monkey ranch into this process. The September 11 th phenomenon has been their monkey wrench inside Islamic motivation, movement and momentum and now this 9/11 thing has ran out of political gas. There is no more mileage that they can make out of 9/11, so what are they going to do now? Theyre probably up to some other shenanigan and charade on the order of 9/11 to whip another few years of hysteria against the committed Muslims of the world. We tell them we are already born, you cannot abort us! We are already growing, you cannot dwarf us! We are already fighting, you cannot immobilize us!

Things come on Allahs watch (so to speak)- remember, this Yawm Al Quds, this day of Jerusalem that we commemorate today, 20 and 10 years ago; we (Muslims and non Muslims alike) would stand up (and) devote our minds and hearts to Allah on this day, identifying with the oppressed people in Palestine and we were the odd voice out; recently, there has been some academic voices (and) political voices that are not Muslims who came out and said we should take a look at the Israeli jewish lobby in the United States. These are not Muslims and they are well ahead of the type of Islam that is being preached from a Mimbar inside a Masjid (like this, and you can multiply this hundreds and thousands of times around) to realize the type of slumber that they want to put us in. They give us lullabies during khutbah time on Fridays to put us to sleep- thats where they want us. They want us either dead by their weapons of mass destruction or they want us sleeping by their clergy of mass destruction. For the Muslims who have the conscience and awareness to point to the common enemy, the propaganda system is a symphony that does to work and plasters us with all the negative images that they can conjure. these types to shenanigans only engulf those who are provoking them (Surah Al-Fatir verse 43) They do nothing to us, we continue to grow- this is a promise. Al ardh Al Muqaddas- the holy land; Al Quds, Jerusalem will be liberated. We dont know when, but we are working on it and we will continue to work on it; and let those who are suffering from a process of slow learning mature, (and) let those who are suffering from hypocrisy stew in their hypocrisy and let those enemies who are hiding behind fancy words be exposed as the months and the years go by. And indeed Allah will give victory to those who are supportive of Him for He has the power and He has the Izza Brothers and sisters committed Muslims In light of the critical information that we are in possession of, these words of Allah are very valuable for those who ponder and analyze the what they mean, but even though some minds may understand the mental delivery of these ayaat and suwar, there is a psychological component here. Some people who understand (for reasons unexplained) are afraid to live up to the standards of their understanding. Why they are afraid? We dont know where this fear comes from. We dont know of one Prophet of Allah who feared the powers that be- this is not a Prophetic character. We dont know of one Islamic leader, an Islamic Imam who fears, so how come we have fear? Where did this come from? Allah taunts those who fear those who are lesser than Allah. He says and they will try to scare you concerning those who are inferior to Him meaning to Allah (Surah Az-Zumar verse 36)

Thats what they are trying to do today. They are trying to have us scared of powers that are inferior to Allah- so why fear? What do you fear? you stand in awe of them Allah more that you score in awe of Him (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 37) How many times you hear the ayah Theres no fear that comes their way and they do not grieve (Surah Yunus verse 62) And why should we not place our trust and confidence in Allah when He has shown us our ways and we will preserver with the harm that comes our way from you (the people in power) (Surah Ibrahim verse 12) When they try to engineer damage upon us, the response is we will persevere; the response wasnt Oh- let us find a common ground here. Let us negotiate these things away. There has to be something here that can avoid this type of polarization and this outbreak of potential warfare. (Do you) see the difference between how Allah is telling us to behave and how some of us runaway from that and they want to behave on their own? Where is their justification? bring us your evidence if you are true in what you are doing (Surah Al-Baqarah verse111) (Theres) no evidence. As a matter of fact, theres an official policy of hush-hush. These people who are behind the scenes (and) laboring on contacts with zionism and imperialism have a blanket of silence over their movements. We understand (that)- they are criminals, they want to behave and move in the dark; thats their nature (and) thats how they operate; but we, the committed Muslims, should we behave behind closed doors (and have) secret meetings with those who are potential bridges to the zionists and imperialists? Where did this come from? On this day, we reiterate our solidarity and support for the oppressed people in Palestine and in the surrounding lands and we emphasize our support and confidence in the Islamic leadership that also no one wants to speak about. We have a problem on both sides. We have these spineless people who dont want to expose the zionists for the criminals that they are and we also have the spineless people who dont want to speak the truth about the Islamic leadership that we have. This is a silence that smothers us. It has no grounds and no basis. We need people who have the courage in their heart, the motivation in their conscience and the insight in their minds to speak the truth unashamedly, unabashedly (and) unapologetically about where we are. Our lives are at stake (and) our future is what we are speaking about. For those of you who still suffer from fear, this month of Ramadhan should have been enough to budge you away from the fear of mortals (and) into the acknowledgement of Allahs justice that will be done in Palestine and on Earth. We are not limited human beings (and) we are not regional creatures; we are universal and we can see this justice taking its course throughout the world wa law karihal munafiqun, wa law karihal kaafirun, wa law karihadh dhalimun, wa law karihal mushrikun.

DISSENSION AND OPPOSITION IN ISLAM

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims ... Its been a hieidas since the last khutbah which came after a sequence of khutbahs of many months- we will try to regenerate the theme and direction that we were in. As a reminder or refresher, we, meaning the committed Muslims, are required to behave, act and move as a singular body. The ayah that is oft quoted and this is your Ummah, being one Ummah, and I am your Sustainer therefore conform unto me (Surah Al-Anbiya verse 92) The other frequently quoted ayah

Oh you, who are firmly committed to Allah, guard against Allahs power presence as is due to Him and do not die except in a state of submission to Him. And then, take protection in Allahs extension to you and be not divided (Surah Aal-Imran verse 102) Allah encourages us to be together and He discourages us from being separate from each other. With this refresher and reminder, we will go back to our own selves over almost 1,400 years ago and we will pick up from where we left off the last time. After the encounter at Siffin- our encounter at Siffin; (whether you like it or not, these were Muslims on both sides of the issue; one leadership was correct and another leadership was wrong and erroneous, but the people there, on both sides were the Muslim peoples)- what is called in the books of history Ahl Ash-Shaam and Ahl Iraq- these were Muslims- no-one questioned whether these were Muslims or not. After both sides agreed to at-tahkeem, or settling this difference through negotiations and discussions, when Ahl Iraq or the side of Ali (radi Allahu anhu) basically returned to Al-Kufa and Al-Basrah, there was a dissident group that refused to go all the way back to Al-Kufa, so they settled in another place called Harura. These were the ones who were dissatisfied- some of them were angry and some of them were nervous (as to) why AlImam of the Muslims decided to accept this arbitration or tahkeem. Were speaking about this camp of Muslims- when they went back to Iraq and most of them went back to their original areas, but now, we had a new development, and that was that Muslims who were from Al-Kufa and Al-Basrah but didnt want to return there, because they did not want to be under the direct jurisdiction of Ali because they disagreed with him. In their point of view and understanding, why did you accept this folly?! This is a mistake and you should not have done that. When (both sides, meaning) those who went back to Al-Kufa and Harura settled in, in the days, weeks and months after that, both of them felt uncomfortable so they began to discuss this issue. There were delegations that were going from Harura to Al-Kufa that wanted to find some type of common ground. There were talks, discussions and a type of intention to reach an accommodation between both sides. The people who settled in Harura became known in the Islamic books of history as AlKhawarij, the dissidents that broke away from the side of Al-Imam. To give you a sense of how they felt, their leader or commander, his name was Shaat Al-Tamimi, felt so uncomfortable with this development that he left Harura and went to Al-Kufa. When the discussions began between both of these sides, they began by questioning why the Imam accepted this arbitration with the side that the Imam himself said or described as a people without the deen and Quran. Remember brothers and sisters- these are two disagreeing Muslim sides; that the atmosphere that they were in was a war atmosphere and that both of them were threatened, but no one from any side said we cant talk. Both of these sides have a lot to teach to the Islamic sides in our day and time when they say we dont want to talk. They

didnt say that- at least up until now. They began discussing these issues between them. When the delegations or groups of Muslims would go from Harura to Kufa, they would say basically that we cant understand why you (Imam Ali), accepted negotiations and arbitration with the other side. The answer to that was it wasnt me personally who accepted this arbitration. After talking this over, these people who from now on were called Al-Khawarij said we can understand why you may stop the fighting- we can understand that- but we cannot understand why in addition to that you want to go to arbitration. There are two men who are assigned to solve this issue- we dont understand why this took place. Ali decided to send to them to Harura- this is their seat of power- ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu), his cousin, to try to reach some type of understanding. ibn Abbas goes there and its the same thing- they have the same objections, concerns and they say we dont know why you accepted this arbitration. ibn Abbas says to them at-tahkeem is nothing new; its not an alien concept. It appears at least twice in the Quran. The ayah that says In the case in which there are people who go to the Hajj and the Umra and are in the state of ihram, but if they hunt birds or game which is a violation of the Hajj and there are matters that need to be considered, then there is an arbitration for this issue (Surah AlMaidah verse 95) Furthermore, ibn Abbas tell them arbitration is done in family matters where there are two sides to an issue. And if you, the community of Muslims, fear an irreconcilable disagreement between them (meaning husband and wife), then you dispatch arbiters from his and her folks, and if theres a will for reconciliation, Allah will cause that to occur (Surah An-Nisa verse 35) ibn Abbas was telling them the concept of arbitration was not a strange one. If Allah has advised arbitration on these matters that are lesser than the matters concerning the Islamic state and society, then it is due more in such a demanding manner. They answered- we can see the strength of their answer; brothers and sisters, were not trying to be judgmental, we are trying to understand ourselves, we are not speaking history, we are speaking today, if you have the relevant information to see how this is applicable today There answer to ibn Abbas and therefore to Ali was, when Allah instructs us in His words on issues pertaining to for eg. assaariq, az-zaani al-qaatil- there are ayaat in the Quran that deal with a thief, a fornicator and a killer- and theres no room in these ayaat for ijtihaad or tahkeem. Has anyone ever said if theres a matter in the court of law concerning crimes, that we arbitrate? There isnt, we follow what Allah says. Here, the position is clear and Allahs words are vivid. You fight against the aggressing party until it comes back to the order of Allah (Surah AlHujurat verse 9) You can see how this is a grey area- there is not something that is all white or black (as the expression goes). Still- as they were trying to discuss this issue, they were trying their best to

reach some type of understanding. If we wanted to help you out, we can say (in todays language), these who were called Al-Khawarij were the revolutionaries of the time. They couldnt see how a very clear issue of fighting against a very clear enemy which everyone should know, should go into this act of discussion, negotiation, talk, reconsideration and arbitration. The whole issue doesnt tolerate this. When Ali this from them, he said once again but I want to remind you that it was not my preference to stop the fighting and go to this arbitration; It was you, the people, who were with me, the overwhelming majority that wanted to do this, what do I do, fight by myself?! Brothers and sisters- here, we have Muslims (meaning these Khawarij) who (number 1) dont have enough confidence in a person who thinks the way they think- this is what it indicates, or else why break away? You dont break away when you know your leader thinks and feels the way you do, but there is an intervening element and that is public opinion. Public opinion wanted to stop the fight and solve this through bilateral meetings- what do you do with this public opinion? Do you dismiss it?! We want to remind you that as we said previously, this public opinion was moved by economic considerations, the standard of living at that time and the yearning for the forces of the market to take their course and when we look at that, we are not looking at something historical per se, we are looking at something contemporary and alive today. What do you do with public opinion? Internally, both sides wanted to put this behind them and reconvene as one body. The impression on the side of Al-Kufa was that these Khawarij and many of them- it is reported that around 2,000 of them left Harura and went to Al-Kufa; this is a gesture of goodwill- when both sides wanted to solve this issue, one side i.e the Kufis thinking that the other side is reconciled to reconciliation and the other side thinking that this is just a matter of time and re-grouping so that the Islamic potential is channeled once again against the aggressors i.e. Muawiyah and his circle. It seems that we dont have enough qualified Muslims who can put this into perspective without turning sectarian. Up until now, can anyone sense any sectarianism? This is a matter of being right or wrong, its not a matter of being a Sunni or a Shii. With the mutual feeling for reconciliation, what developed is what we call (in todays language) a type of understanding because these Khawarij in their heart of hearts were deadset against arbitration and the Kufis were dead-set on arbitration, but there was a time when they dismissed that from their public mind (and thought) lets get along and they got along for a short while until the time of arbitration arrived. The delegation from both sides convened- it is said that 400 from one side from Ahl Iraq and 400 from Ahl Ash-Shaam and we know who the representatives of these two sides are. The representative of the side from Iraq was Abu Musa Al Ashari (radi Allahu anhu) and he represented that side- not that he was the choice of the Islamic leader, Ali- that wasnt his choice, yet he was functioning at his full capacity to speak for Ahl Iraq. On the other side, we had Amr ibn Al Aas who was representing Ahl Ash-Shaam. They got together and they began these discussions, deliberations and arbitration process and this is what they agreed upon Remember- we spoke about how Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was assassinated and what Ali said about that assassination (i.e.)- I will not say that Uthman died dhaliman or madhluman. When these two individuals met, they began talking this issue back and forth- the primary purpose of that was to avoid further warfare and bloodshed- after that,

they agreed (remember- this wasnt a transparent session; there were 400 from one side and 400 from the other side, but these individuals were speaking (as we would say today) behind closed doors. This is what they agreed upon Uthman was killed madhluman. We, Muslims know what madhlum means; and they agreed that Muawiyah is the wali of Uthman- in Islamic legal terms, that means Muawiyah has the right to go after those who were responsible for the assassination of Uthman. The ayah in the Quran says And, whoever has been killed or murdered without a basis of justice, then WE have allocated to his guardian 1st of kin, an authorization, He should not be excessive in taking corrective measures for a person who was killed without justice (Surah Al-Isra' verse 33) Now that they agreed this far, the question was who does Muawiyah go to for justice concerning Uthman? What does he know? Does he go to Ali, who Muawiyah says was party to the assassination of Uthman? Obviously not! They couldnt agree to that. After they were locked on what to do next, both of these individuals agreed among themselves (remember they were away from the public eye and the 800 or so Muslims who were in the area who came to the arbitration from both sides)- so, one on one, Amr and Al Ashari agreed to a-null the leadership of Ali and Muawiyah. This is what they agreed to- this is in all books of history- no one disputes this. Let us remind you- brothers and sisters, there are many divergent views and we are not trying to choose and pick any of these divergent views; we are trying as much as possible to zero-in on what we have in our common history. When they agreed that they are going to relieve Ali and Muawiyah from their leadership positions, they said now we will go out and express this to the Muslim public that is here. Amr ibn Al Aas who was representing Ahl Ash-Shaam had a sly behavior and attitude. He always was telling Aba Musa Al Ashari to go 1st or speak 1st or take the 1st step in whatever they were doing- if they were going to go out of the room and speak to someone- whatever- Amr would always push Aba Musa Al Ashari to do it 1st. Now, when the time came for this historical announcement, he told Aba Musa Al Ashari (in todays words) go to the podium and express what we agreed upon. He did- Abu Musa Al Ashari goes in front of the Muslims audience (so to speak) and he says as per our agreement, I am relieving Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan from their leadership positions in the fashion that I am taking this ring off of my finger and he gesticulated, he motioned- the ring that was on his finger- he took it off and he said in the same fashion, Ali and Muawiyah are off- and the Muslims were listening. Then came Amr ibn Al Aas and he said in the same way that Abu Musa Al Ashari relieved Ali ibn Abi Talib of his leadership position, I 2nd that voice, but in the same fashion, I am affixing Muawiyah to that position. Immediately Abu Musa Al Ashari told him this is betrayal- meaning you have gone beyond your bounds and now youve betrayed the trust that is in you- in other words, youre lying; this is not what we agreed upon. Then, there was a little commotion and some people took out their swords and it was going to turn bloody but it was settled and they immediately dispersed with the people going to Iraq and people going to Ash-Shaam and Abu Musa Al Ashari breaking from these two directions and going to Makkah. What happened here? There was trust on the

side of Abu Musa Al Ashari, coming from the generation of the Prophet, he didnt know someone was going to commit this type of betrayal- it never occurred to him, but thats what happened and thats what we had. While this arbitration was going on in Adruh, in Dumat Al Jandal- an area between Jordan and Northern Arabia, something like mid-distance between Damascus and Kufa- for (maybe) weeks, what was happening in Al-Kufa? When Ali would come to the Masjid, these people who were against the arbitration would tell him inside the Masjid things like Rule belongs to Allah (Surah Al-Anaam verse 57) and there is no ruler except Allah. They would quote an ayah to him saying dont commit the crime of shirk, if you do, all of your deeds will dissipate and in the world to come he is one of the losers Ali was probably anticipating these types of developments because he said if they remain without any action, well leave them alone; if they try to propagandize their position, we will respond to them with evidence; and if they embark on a course of action bringing about instability and corruption, we will take issue with them with the force of arms. Remember, this was going on while the arbitration was going on hundreds of miles away- in the Masjid, they would stand and say these things to the Imam and he would say be patient, Allahs promise is due and do not be taken in by those who have not gained the certitude of Allah; They would stand up in the Masjid and say their famous sayings: Rule belongs to Allah and there is no ruler except Allah- he would respond to them by saying words of truth but intentions of falsehood. What do you do- brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- when you take a look at how energetic Muslims were and the freedom they enjoyed at that time- to this extent. We will trail this to see how it goes further and further; compare that with what we have today- stifled minds, incarcerated brains, smothered hearts, tied tongues- can we compare the freedom they had to express themselves with the lack and absence of freedom that we have today when we are not allowed to express ourselves. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims When we take a close look- an objective one, not a sectarian or a nationalist one- an objective, Islamic consideration of where we were then and where we are today, we realize how much lost ground has been conceded to those who want to see our Islamic solidarity shattered. When we express these facts and details, we are sorry that this information does not come as common sense. We feel uneasy that Muslims do not have access to this type of information. From time to time, a warm hearted Muslims would come and ask but where can I get this information? What do you say to him, this information is not available in the language that you speak- which is the case in some instances; or it is available in the language that you speak but it is skewed, twisted and contorted either for nationalist or

sectarian ends? We have a treasure of experience available to us if we can just neutralize the ego in us. Many of us carry a sectarian ego and many of us carry a national ego- lets slay these egos and be able to learn from ourselves. Were not speaking about foreigners, what you just listened to in the 1st khutbah is not about people who are living on another planet, or people who belong to another religion or people who speak another language, they are we and us. Why cant we understand ourselves? Because if we cant, were going to repeat our mistakes! If we were speaking about Al-Jamal and Siffin then, were going to speak about them to the magnitude of 100 now-a-days if we fail to learn from ourselves. This is not a lesson in history that is cut-off from our current affairs; this goes the heart of the plots, schemes and stratagems that right now, are in progress to turn ourselves against ourselves. Weve had enough of that! The sacrifices and lives that fell 1,300 and some odd years ago are not going to fall again- we will assure this to our enemies and friends. They are trying their best to fuel in-accurate information, stereotypes and polarizations; theyve been trying for the past 20 to 30 years and they are giving it all they have in the past 4 and 5 years, but so far, theres not an Islamic civil war that is consuming us, but the ignorance that lingers among us is something to be watchful of, lest these enemies break through our lives and place us on a course of disaster.

THE RIGHT TO FIGHT BACK

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims, Muslims of Conviction, hard work and a struggle.... As we try (every week) to have these words of consciousness and mental relationship to the affairs and issues around us we have been subjected this week to a development that carries with it the possibility of consuming our attention and resources and maybe even our lives for weeks or months to come. Allah knows the truth and the details of the coming days and events- we dont preach to ourselves that which we commonly hold as a standard that is shared by all Muslimswe know as a matter of fact that when we speak we speak the truth (and) when we interact with

others we do so with respect and courtesy and when we are involved in warfare our involvement is clean and acknowledged as so. Allah says and those who are inflicted by aggression opt for victory When we are victims of aggression we go for a triumph. This psychology that has been absent in Muslim society for sometime now has begun a comeback. We are no longer the material or the object of powers and forces that want to dictate and order us as to how our lives should be. If they come to us with smiles, we will reciprocate with more smiles; if they come to us with equality, they will solicit from us more equality; if they show us respect and dignity, we will reflect to them more respect and dignity but if they approach us with intentions of hostilities we will return those intentions of hostilities in the same manner and if you are to punish, you punish in the same way that you are being punished (Surah An-Nahl verse 126) If they come to us with warfare we will respond with warfare and they will not dictate to us how this warfare will be and on what grounds this warfare will take place and a response to a sayya is a sayya from the same nature (Surah An-Nahl verse 126) These are ayaat or words that come directly to us from Allah. We are not burning the stages, we are not trying to expedite the results (and) we are not preempting the conclusions. If we, Muslims, had the speakers to express the truth as it should be every week at this time. We, Muslims, are the targets of the militaries of the world. Anyone who wants to look at reality (and) recognize the facts cannot escape this conclusion, so what do we do? They place us in a position that has become the target of their military- what do we do? Do we say we are going to succumb to this? Where do we get an answer when we are put in this position? Who answers us? Do we ask yahudi analysts who come on TV and talk shows to tell us what we were, who we are and how we should become?! Is that where we get our answers from or do we get it from Muslim missionaries who are paid to tow the official line regardless of what Allah and His Prophet have to say about these issues? You have to define who you are and how you proceed. If you are 2nd fiddle to these powers that be with their extensions all their way into our Masaajid and Manaabir, then thats who you define yourself as but if you are an abd, a subject of Allah, then you better listen to what Allah has to say when it comes to warfarethis is what we have now. When it comes to warfare we fight in a clean way. All of this static about terrorism is in a sense a cover for the enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims; all of this fuss about international terrorism is for them to justify violation of all values all standards all laws scriptural and secular. There is nothing in the book of Allah or the instructions of His prophet that tells us to fight the way they are fighting. Listen- when Muslims in Gaza managed through a clean and clear military operation to take a prisoner of war- they didnt pluck a civilian from a shopping center somewhere in a peaceful neighborhood and take that person as hostage- they pursued a military objective with a military behavior. According to

clean military standards and (because of that) a yahudi zionist aggressor and occupier has become a prisoner of war by any standards- the Geneva Conventions or Watheeqat Al-Madinahwhichever standard you want to refer yourself to, that person is a legitimate prisoner of war. Then, the zionist yahudis go crazy- walillahil hamd, let them go crazy because this is a beginning of much more that is to come. Has anyone heard from any source, anywhere, that the Muslims in obtaining a prisoner of war were not fighting clean or were in violation of the standards of warfare or were picking on innocent human beings? That obviously wasnt the case. As a result of that, the Israeli zionist structure in the world began to condition public opinion for a military campaign against about 1million Muslims who are squeezed in the Gaza strip- the most condensely populated area on earth. After that, they began to drop their bombs on innocent people. At one time, they said Muslims are guilty of killing civilians in Estaria, but then why doesnt the world look and watch them killing innocent human beings in their bedrooms and living rooms? Some people speak about world public opinion, we would like to know where world public opinion is?! When we are obeying Allah, we dont need tears or words of sympathy and condolence- we have had much of that in the past century at least and we just go from one setback and catastrophe to the other- what we need is to obey Allah and to take the initiative from the Masjid to the battlefield. We challenge anyone of which ever political or religious background who hears these words to come from to tell us we have no right to defend ourselves or we have no right to live like all other human beings in the world. When we speak about brotherhood, the sacredness of human life, equality and coexistence we mean that this applies to everyone. We dont want to see imperialism and racism combined to justify a war of aggression against us wherever we maybe. Then, in another clean over the board standard military operation the Islamic resistance in Lebanon managed to take two other Israeli zionist occupiers and aggressors as prisoners of war. Does anyone have a problem with prisoners of war? In addition to that, 8 other Israeli occupiers and aggressors in uniform were killed at a legitimate warfront. How do you conduct war we ask? Are you supposed to salute or bow down to your enemies? Then, 21 others were injured. Then, once again, we have a combination of imperialist policies and a racist psychology blend together to justify the attacking innocent civilian human beings in Lebanon. We thought war was supposed to be among combatants and warriors- why are they making this war against civilians? These zionist Israeli yahudi are not capable of fighting in a clean way and facing their enemy at the warfront and then all over sudden forget about (between) 10,000 and 13,000 Palestinians who are prisoners (and) all the world is supposed to pay attention only to three prisoners and the tens of thousands of other prisoners that the Muslims have in this world can be considered bugs, insects and varmints- thats the way they behave. They go into a country and they destroy bridges, they target fuel dip-holes, an international airport, an electricity grid and they impose a navy blockade on a country that is supposed to be an independent sovereign member of the United Nations and they say that they are going to seal off a population- a few million peoplebecause they have three prisoners of war. The noise that is being generated in this context is that they want to expand this war and we have officials in Washington who are willing accomplices

as far as their statements are concerned to a war that may draw the whole world in- all of this because there is no courage to say to the aggressors and occupiers you are exactly thataggressors and occupiers. 10 members of the security council wanted to place this Israeli military action in a freeze and roll it back to where it was before it began a couple of days ago(you can guess)- this government in Washington used its veto to offer political protection to the aggressing occupying regime in Tel Aviv. We want to ask, is this lesson to be added to other scores of lessons of how it is to differentiate Tel Aviv from Washington? Well ask the Muslim spokespersons around in another couple of months who are going to be involved in some kind of propaganda for one official or another to take a close look at these officials now before we begin to hear the propaganda machine (and the Muslim voices in that propaganda machine). All of these politicians who are condoning or are in silence about the atrocities that are being or about to be committed in that part of the world- none of them deserve any vote from any Muslim or any decent American, but sometimes we have a short memory- when October comes around then that propaganda machine is at its loudest. Some of us are going to forget what we should be learning right now. Who remembers the Muslims who in this Presidents 1st run for office were campaigning for him and then they were reacting to their own mistakes in campaigning against him in his 2nd term; (its) as if we have no capacity to learn we are taken on these tangents when our own blood is flowing. It should be the pride of every Muslim to have freedom fighters in Palestine and Lebanon who are fighting the common enemy for the common cause. What probably is also going to go unstated by those who have their brains leeched by imperialism, zionism and racism is the fact that the Muslims who are in Palestine are Sunnis (whatever that may mean) and the Muslims who are in Lebanon and fighting against the Israelis are Shiis (whatever that may mean). Also, at a time when the political machinery of the world is trying to divide the house of Islam from Iraq by turning the heat up along sectarian lines with all the agents, informants, employees, functionaries and missionaries they have (from their own color and background to the ones who have our color and background)- all of them who are working intent to inflame sectarianism among the Muslims; now, they are punched in the nose by the effort of combatant Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon who precisely come from the backgrounds that they are trying to ignite. This is a demonstration of the words in Certainly committed Muslims are brothers of each other (Surah Al-Anbiya verse 92) This is a demonstration of that brotherhood, not the phony lines that they have in CIA directly or indirectly controlled Masaajid and Makkah itself. The Saudi ambassador to Washington gave a presentation (back then) in which he said that Muslims should resist their enemies through non violence. They should take their cue from Gandhi and Martin Luther King. There was another rabbi who was saying basically the same thing. We dont know whether the Saudi ambassador got his fuse from the rabbi or whether the rabbi was trying to support and buttress the statement of the Saudi ambassador but this is the person (brothers and sisters) we have to understand because these enemies are ploughing through our ignorance. We give them access to what they

are doing because we are not speaking about the vital issues of our day. This Saudi ambassador who is the son of the late king Faisal- at the time, in 1973 when there was a war against this zionist cancer in our body, he said to Kissinger (who was at the state department, secretary of state at the time administration) make no mistake about it- we recently left our tents and if a struggle against Israel and zionism means that we will return to those tents, then we are willing to do so. We tell this Saudi ambassador who comes from the groins of that king- listen to what your father said to aggression and warfare and probably paid with his life for verbally challenging the yahudi zionist Kissinger. This Saudi ambassador in this city was head of Saudi intelligence. We have to recall these to understand- has the guy gone berserk when he says you have to opt for non-violence to oppose your enemy and you have to consider Martin Luther King or Gandhi to be your models- this coming from the person who was head of Saudi intelligence. When the war began in Afghanistan this person personally saw the transfer of $20billion of funds for the jihad in Afghanistan. At that time he did not know about Gandhi and Martin Luther King?! Was it halaal to fight on the side of imperialism against an invasion and occupation at that time to the tone of $20 billion out of the resources of the Muslims in Arabia and now this is not the halaal way to do it?! It was the same person (who calls himself Prince Turky) in the same position who channeled between $40 and $60 billion to finance the 1st Iraq war launched by Saddam and his criminals against an Islamic state to the East- where was Gandhi and Martin Luther King at that time?! Then, Persian Gulf war number two- when Kuwait was occupied, they doled out another $50 to $60 billion to liberate Kuwait and they bring in million troops from around the world who know nothing about Gandhi and Martin Luther King- the marines, the army, the navy and the air forces of the world do not learn about Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and now that the Muslims in Palestine and Lebanon are being killed (and potentially in the tens of thousands if you have a sense for political events in the coming months) he gives a lecture and wants the Muslims to be non-violent. They have been non-violent for 50 years almost, virtually begging the world to acknowledge their human, natural, civic and political rights and the world just looks the other way and follow the money- where do we have any basis for this we ask this ambassador and the other crony ambassadors around him? He is the pace setting ambassador because he has the budget, the treasury and the money and the overwhelming majority of the rest follow, but you who are on this imperialist-Zionist-racist line, quote for us ayaat from the book of Allah or ahadith from the Prophet of Allah that tell us that the only way now that we can resist our enemies is by non violence. Where do you get that from? Are you selective? In public, you want to use one language and in your own Masaajid you want to use another language?! Why dont this ambassador who said these words go to Makkah and say these words in front of the Muslims during the Umrah and the Hajj?! He knows he wont be able to get away with it so what does he try to do? He tries to sneak these words here knowing that no one is watching. Once again, brothers and sisters, Allah says and those who are inflicted with aggression they opt for victory and triumph That is the only option left for us.

We ask Allah that we are no longer slow learners not understanding the valuable lessons that come our way. Valuable indeed they are if we just open our minds and hearts- minds and hearts that are nurtured by Allah and His Prophet- and face the facts and realize reality and not act like ostriches burying their heads under the sand as they are doing in many of these jumahs around here and around the world because they get their orders from a worldly source; we only get our orders from Allah. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims There is a considerable potential that we have. This has been a latent potential for some time and this potential is re-understanding our correct Islamic position in the course of history and in the course of todays world. To put it succinctly, there was a divergence (early on) between those who govern and those who were schooled in Islam. The governors, rulers, kings- the oppressors they parted from the model of Allahs Prophet beginning with the king of the Umawi dynasty all the way up until Islamic political authority seized to exist which was roughly 100 years ago but then there were scholars of Islam who in the majority of them even though they reconciled themselves to the un-Islamic political status quo but remained in theory against the deviation from Allahs Prophets model this is the potential now that has to come back to consolidate itself and defeat the challenges now that are costing us limbs and lives these are not things that are repeated often but we will give a few examples as a reminder Abu Hanifa who is considered an Imam, a reference of fiqh for hundreds of millions of Muslims he refused when Al Masour the Abbasi king in the school books we have the rulers of that time are referred to as Khalifa or khulafaa inaccurate wrong the Abbasi king Masour offered Aba Hanifa the position today which would be equivalent to the minister of justice and he refused obviously if there was no opposition in him he wouldnt have refused and he had to pay the price for refusing he was thrown in prison he was tortured in prison and he died in prison some of the historical narratives said he died because of torture. Another Imam who is considered to be a reference for hundreds of millions of Muslims especially in Africa, Al Imam Malik stated that the way allegiance is given to the crowned prince is illegitimate he said this in an indirect way but those who rule understood exactly what he was saying and they threw him into prison and in prison he also was tortured and depending on which source you are reading he had either dislocated joints because of torture a dislocated shoulder because of torture or dislocated bones in his body because of torture this was at that early stage this was a person in opposition to the government at that time imagine how much opposition they would have expressed if they were in our time today. Al Imam Ash-Shafi who is also an Imam of hundreds of millions of Muslims he was taken from Makkah to Baghdad in todays language he was hand cuffed he was chained with 12 or 13 of his colleagues he was accused with subversion his colleagues were executed all of them and by a freak interchange of words he was spared that execution these were Muslims in opposition Abdil Malik ibn Marwan a king of the Umawis who wanted his crown prince usually thats the son to marry the daughter of an Islamic scholar in Iraq by the name of Saeed ibn Musayab he proposed now this is the king of

the land was proposing to a scholars daughter and the scholar refused to have his daughter marry the future king this is when we had blood in the veins of scholars when we had ideas in the minds of scholars when we had motivations in the hearts of scholars they were not these scholars for dollars who are on the Manaabir and in the Masaajid of today.

CONFRONTING AGGRESSION
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Muminun; Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims.... There are very clear ayaat in the Quran that tell us beyond a shadow of a doubt concerning the issue of confronting of aggression. The psychology of todays average Muslim or oppressed people cannot tolerate the task of repelling aggression, therefore we may need a mental tune up to understand our responsibility when it comes to aggression. We will try to follow some meanings of the ayaat that will shed some light and clarify this issue so that our confidence level will raise and we are no longer sycophants and toadies when it comes to the responsibility of repelling aggression.

The 1st thing in a conditioned psychology in the materialistic world objects to is the act of killing. This, to a certain extent is normal. No one who is normal is born with the inclination to kill, but Allah has made it clear to us that lurking somewhere in the deep recesses of human nature, there is that pulse to aggress against someone else and kill that someone else. This whole episode began when humanity was not hundreds of millions of people- it wasnt the over 6billion people that we have today- these were just the few individuals on earth, the limited number of the children of Adam (alaih salaam). One of these children of Adam expressed the intention of killing towards his own brother. This is not a different nationality, race, class, etc. that rationalizes todays policies of killing- this is one brother towards his own brother. The ayaat in the Quran opens up this area that is not very well developed in todays people who are the victims of this aggression. Allah says- what is this ayah relaying to us today- in world where we are engineered to accept aggression and other powers or forces are supposed to be engineered to legally and legitimately launch aggression. If we go back to the seed of aggression- when it 1 st began- what does this ayah say to us and rehearse to them the news of Adams two sons in accordance with virtue and justice as both of them offered a sacrifice but then only the sacrifice from one of them was accepted; the sacrifice from the other was not accepted. As a result of this, one from them says to his own brother I am going to kill you (Surah Al-Maidah verse 27) He says it in emphatic terms- that means indeed, for sure, you can count on it positively- I am going to kill you And the response to this was he said but indeed Allah will accept from those who seek perfection (Surah Al-Maidah verse 27) Obviously, in the course of presenting a sacrifice If your life is a sacrifice for Allah with sincerity and with the best effort that you have, you can expect Allah to accept it from you, but one of these two brothers was not in that mode; he wasnt offering his sacrifice seeking the best that he can do and expecting the best that Allah can reward him- that wasnt the case. The discrepancy between these two psychologies stirred the act of aggression in a brother against his own brother. So, we dont live in an idealistic world where there is an absence of aggression; we live in a world of human nature (in) which in its dark corners (it) has this pulse for aggression and thus for killing. Lets get this straight- human nature has within it the intention to emphatically kill. When one of these brothers spoke to his brother he said indeed, for sure, you can count on it positively- I am going to kill you (Surah Al-Maidah verse 27) It wasnt like he was trying to hide his intention or tip-toe in what he wanted to do. He came out in plain language and reinforced words and said

indeed, for sure, you can count on it positively- I am going to kill you (Surah Al-Maidah verse 27) This is evil, but why do we seek to look the other way when this evil is expressing itself to us? Our ultimate objective is that Allah is going to accept those who are working their best towards Him and for Him. No one has that abstract argument on their side when they say we can solve the issues of aggression by looking the other way or by not going anything about it. We dont learn this from scripture. None of Allahs scripture condones the coexistence with aggression. Allah says permission has been given to those who have been harmed by injustice, that Allah will give them victory (Surah Al-Hajj verse 39) Permission has been given to those who are victims of warfare, aggression, military might- this is the psychological and mental gap that Muslims are suffering from. They think that in order to gain this military victory they are going to have to ask for it from these measly human beings, so they go begging. They come to Washington; they go around the world trying to procure military hardware to secure a victory that eludes them. Victory is not going to come from these antiIslamic quarters- so where is it going to come from? and indeed Allah is capable of offering them this triumph and victory (Surah Al-Hajj verse 39) But- are there any Muslims listening? Allah is saying Victory is due to the ones who once they are firmly established in this world (Surah AlHajj verse 41) (now that) they have power, what do they do? they standardize as-salaah (Surah Al-Hajj verse 41) They dont just go individually praying- as-salaah itself becomes a social nexus. they are in control of a financial system that produces good wealth (Surah Al-Hajj verse 41) They just dont at the end of the year take out several dollars from their pocket or several thousand dollars from their bank accounts and just pay off a yearly due- that is not aatawuz zakaah, that is just one person giving whatever is due by him. This is more then that. When they have power this is what they do

Now they have enough power to construct what is known by common sense and what is generally recognized by the public as being in the publics interests of people (Surah AlHajj verse 41) This is al-maaruf. They shoulder the public interest of people (and) at the same time and they deconstruct what is to the detriment of the public around (Surah Al-Hajj verse 41) These are forward positions of power and responsibility. All of this begins by repelling aggression. and the conclusion of these affairs belong to Allah (Surah Al-Hajj verse 41) What Allah is saying is dont expect victory from Me if you are not going to do iqam as-salaah, ita az-zakaah, amr bil maruf and nahi an al-munch- if you are not going to do that then My triumph that was due to you is being withheld. This is not something new to Muslims. This is something that has accompanied scriptural history. Allah says in another ayah- what does this mean? This is what this ayah is telling you and me If it wasnt for clashes among people (Surah Al-Hajj verse 40) What would have happened? temples, religious institutions, synagogues, churches, and mosque would have been destroyed (Surah Al-Hajj verse 40) (Do) you want to listen to this again? (The) next time someone comes and tries to convince you that Islam is a peaceful religion on their terms- they want to define what it means; meaning that you guys better be peaceful because that is what your religion is telling you and if someone is coming to bomb you out of existence that is how you should behave you cant fight back. The ayah, once again if it wasnt for this clash among people then the places that are designated for the consciousness, devotion and work of Allah- which are these religious houses of His- they would have been destroyed (Surah Al-Hajj verse 40) So, it is our participation in these clashes against us that are going to preserve these places. After hearing and listening to this, how can some people explain away this central responsibility? The Prophet was not the 1st Prophet who fought. Why is it that the way public information makes its rounds, we are left believing that only we- the Muslims- have a military component to our character and then everyone else doesnt have that component? Thats not right; its not true. If we listen to Allah and if we are ready to have His words strike out of the record everything that is forced on it, then we wouldnt be where we are today.

Listen to Allah- OK- what is this ayah saying. For those of us who come under the spell of the mighty media Verily Allah has bought from those who are committed to Him their lives and their wealth in exchange for Al-Jannah (Surah At-Taubah verse 111) What do they do? they wage warfare on a course to Allah for a cause of Allah and consequently what happens in this process (is) they kill and they are killed (Surah At-Taubah verse 111) We stop for a moment at these Quranic instructions- why is it that we dont have an Islamic psychology that can raise its confidence level to accept the meaning of these words? This is a vow that is due upon Allah expressed in the Torah and the gospel and the Quran (Surah At-Taubah verse 111) If this is expressed in all the scriptures, then why is it today that the world is looking at us and saying only you Muslims are of a combat nature- as if they want us to feel guilty of trying to live up to these standards outlined in the Quran and in the Prophets Seerah. Bothers and sisters-after trying to ferment these issues in our mind-this is a world in which we (the Muslims) are victims and we are the ones who are being accused, they point fingers at us, when we still are not as robust as we should be in living these responsibilities and it seems like no Muslims have the courage to turn this around and say hey wait a minute. You are saying that we are the aggressors and terrorists- youve heard- this record has been played for several years at least (and) for a couple of decades if youre looking at it closely. We cant turn around and say wait a minute, you people who are telling us this, when you read your holy book, what does it say? It says if someone hits you on one cheek you turn the other cheek. OK- why arent you doing that? Especially now- we have Evangelicals and the religious types that are gaining in numbers- lets bring them down and look at what they have. Instead of every time (and with) everyone looking out of context and with malice at us, we cant take a moment and say wait a minute here; lets look at this in a larger context! If you people are followers of the Bible or the Gospel, are you turning the other cheek when you go around the world dropping bombs on people in their homelands; with your military bases all around and with your military forces scattered from country to country using every type of weapon against people who are inside their own countries, minding their own business and trying to gain a better tomorrow? Where do you find justification for this? Show us! Is there anything in scripture? Is there anything in the Bible? (Is there) anything in these holy books or in any holy book? Bring it to us and show us where it says what you are doing is right?! We just dont have this type of Islamic confidence that brings about this type of Islamic momentum so that we realize that we have no reason at all to be apologetic for what we are trying to do. We havent done it yet- no Muslim yet is living up to this standard, but we are trying. Where is the justification to tell us that we have no right in living up to protecting our own selves and repelling this aggression? They cant bring a

secular argument to prove that what they are saying is right and they cant bring a scriptural argument to prove what they are saying is right. They are bankrupt anyway they go, but why does it seem that they have the last word on this subject and we cant say anything about it?! Why is it that it appears like this?! Look- brothers and sisters- these ayaat are not quoted to you in a void; you are reminded of these ayaat while there is a tragedy unfolding. There are tanks, warplanes and tens of thousands of troops that are amassed to make an assault on about 1,2million Muslims in Gaza. Weve been saying for years that the relative silence that is characteristic of our Masaajid and public meetings have contributed to getting us to where we are today. If there was an understanding of these ayaat and if there was a social clotting around these ayaat, we wouldnt have found ourselves in a predicament where theres about 1,2 million Muslims that if a military aggression begins possibly tens of thousands of them will die in a course of a couple or a few weeks. How do we as Muslims fit into this? (Do) you go to your evening news program, you turn on your TV set and watch all of this happening in front of your own eyes?! This is the time where we ask if we mean what we say, then what does it mean to say that Muslims are brothers of each other?! Are you?! If a brother of yours was about to go under the tracks of a tank or a military machine you would be indifferent? You will be as cold as ice when you turn on your TV set and find your own brother going under?! This is precisely what we are subjected to. Who is going to blame an enemy for doing what they are doing? You will expect these types of acts coming from the enemy, but you dont expect the enemy to be covered by your own Masjid. Your own Masjid is offering cover and protection to this enemy. Why? Because your own Masjid is not activating these Quranic ayaat that pertain to aggression in your mind every week, so you dont have an immune system and the germs are attacking our body. We cant blame the germs- the germs are supposed to do that, but we begin to blame our body because we closed off the immune system. When the Masaajid have become what they are (and) no one wants to speak about these life and death issues that come back to us every week and every season then we have no immunity. We dont have any immunity and we dont have any muscles anymore and that is because we choose not to have an immune system that is capable of fending off for us and we choose not to have any muscles to protect ourselves. It all begins with this false notion that we can win against this aggression by remaining silent or by saying that wars are not going to get us anywhere. You tell us- what type of war have we been engaged in? Its always been that we are reacting to wars that are launched against us. We are not supposed to be in this position, but where are the thinking minds that can equate the massacres and the military campaigns against us and say that we have a network of tens of thousands of Masaajid in the world that are on the side of this aggression? Why cant we have thinking minds that can see this issue clearly and not be confused just because some of these people who are running the show in the Masaajid pray or fast? What does their praying and fasting mean when they are incapable of lifting a finger of accusation against those who are spilling our blood? Brothers and sisters committed Muslims- this has almost become the norm from the Manaabir all over the world not to use the word jihad. Officials, governments and people who have the wherewithal and pull the strings

have made it known to these people on the Manaabir that you cant use the word jihad, qital or any of these similar concepts from the Mimbar. We told previously that in that country that is named after a family in Arabia- they have begun to place closed circuit TVs in the Masaajid; the same thing we are beginning to hear about the government in Morocco- they also want to begin to place close circuit TV sets in the Masaajid. What do they want to do? What to they want to obtain by doing this? (Do) they think that they are going to stifle the Muslims?! (They want to) literally keep an eye on what is happening inside these Masaajid, but Muslims are not as superficial as to think their thoughts inside these types of Masaajid, but it all goes to indicate to you that this is not a simple enemy that we are facing. This is an enemy that has many faces, colors, languages and many schools of thought and they all work for one purpose- and that simply is not to see us reconnect with these meanings of life and vitality. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims It is with a heavy heart that we look at our own selves and the condition that we are in and realize that we ourselves are inviting aggression, occupation and the military presence in our lands. This cannot go on indefinitely. Any person who thinks that we have reached the end of history is mistaken. Those who are at the receiving end of imperial power and Zionist usurpation of the holy land (and) those who think that just because they have a loud voice and all of this military might that we have to succumb to them and accept their fait accompli. They are wrong. We the oppressed- we the Muslims- are never going to submit ourselves to this raw visceral type of aggression that is moving in different directions. They want to change laws that theyve have on their books for centuries to try to silence the Muslim conscience. They replaced in their own public discourse, the evil empire of the last century called communism with this new evil empire of this new century which they call Islam and they think that they are going to get away with this. Brothers and sisters- they dont even understand the lessons of history. Being cut off from Allah, they should be wise enough to understand that they cant go half way around the world and take away other peoples possessions on a grand scale- theyre not going there and taking away their apples and oranges; theyre taking away their country and resources and then they think theyre going to get away with this?! It cant happen. Muslims, this is the true time for identifying who you are. The more years we step into the future the more demand is going to be on you to either proving who you are or stepping out of this responsibility altogether. The grey area is receding; there is no longer room for those who are trying to play the ropes. The 1st who are going to fall are these false Muslim rulers that we have; these will be the 1st ones to come down and after that we are going to have a tomorrow of justice- not only for us, but for humanity. Dont believe a word of what they are saying when they say they want to spread freedom and democracy in the Muslim world. They are taking away our freedoms. (Take a) look- for a few months they have been silent about democracy among us because they look at the elections. Everywhere these elections are being done, they see that Muslims are gaining political ground so they dont want to speak about democracy anymore; but forget about them for a minute lets look inside of us. If

Muslims are gaining in these elections in different countries, why are not these Muslims themselves getting together? If there were elections in Iraq and Muslims gained the upper hand; and if there were elections in Palestine and Muslims in Palestine gained the upper hand, why dont we see these Muslims in Iraq and Palestine meeting each other? We have not seen one occasion (and) we dont know of one incident in which (just taking this as a sample) Muslims from Iraq and Palestine have come together and they tell us Oh, they wish us democracy and freedom! Brothers and sisters, you know this because youre a Muslim yourself- if you had the freedom that is in your heart and soul you would readily and immediately seek to shake hands with your co-Muslim across the border wherever that be, but why has that not happened? Because they are lying and people who believe them are lying. They seek no democracy and no freedom for us. We are the ones who have to obtain our freedom and (if we dont use the word democracy) establish our own shura- its not going to be done for us. Keep your eye on the ball- as long as Muslims who have been elected to these offices cannot meet each other, then the poison hand still enforces its will upon them and we still have no Islamic self-determination, but we are working on it and the day is approaching. We can see this by our presence with Allah and by our company of Allah. Those who cannot see it are under the burdens of a world life and a materialistic direction.

AL-KHAWARIJ: FROM LOYAL OPPOSITION TO VIOLENCE

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... Allah instructs us to learn from those who out of concern or otherwise had their mistakes and serious errors. To this end He says, in reference to the collapse of previous civilizations and the undoing of foregone societies There is, indeed, a lesson- a moral lesson- in their narrative or in the details of their history (Surah Yusuf verse 111) From understanding this, we seek to learn from our own history and selves. This is what we have been covering in the past- Allah knows how many khutbahs on Friday- well over a year. It

happens that we are at a point of learning from ourselves and we pity the Muslims who are not willing to learn from our own mistakes, strengths and weaknesses that were a result of our own decisions. There was a time in the 4th decade after the Prophet when we, the Muslims, decided that we are going to settle our most serious disagreement that weve had but talking it our and trying to reach some type of understanding absent the battle-field. We took a look, last week and the week before at was has come to be known in our history as at-tahkeem. In earlier literature, this tahkeem was referred to as hukumah. What we are speaking about is the arbitration that occurred between those who were on the side of the Imam and those who were on the side of Muawiyah. The two arbiters in their own way failed the Muslim public. If we had an enriched analysis of why this happened- we venture with a good degree of confidence to say to you that regrettably we have not had Muslim minds who could zero-in on this history of ours and sort out what went wrong and what went right. Up until now, this is virgin history; it hasnt been approached by the human mind- it has been approached by human emotions but not by our rational capability. We know that it ended in a failure and deception, but we never cared to look at the social implication that went into that deception, emotionalism and the social trends that emerged from those implications and emotionalism. Once again, because this has become a very delicate and sensitive issue to the Muslims, we know that Amr ibn Al Aas- tricked or fooled Aba Musa Al Ashari (radi Allahu anhu), but thats all we know. We also know that word went within the Muslim society because of this and Amr ibn Al Aas went to Damascus and Abu Musa Al- Ashari finds refuge in Makkah. He didnt even have the stamina to return to the people that deputized him for this mission. What happens now- that concerns us, because the history of Muawiyah is the history of kings and those who are more concerned with Earthly power than they are concerned with heavenly justice- so we dont even want to bother to consider the details of what happened in the aftermath of this on Muawiyahs side of this issue- were simply not interested at this point, but lets take a look at what happened with sincere Muslims who up until now were trying their best to solve this issue. When word arrived in Southern Iraq concerning the arbitration that took place in Northern Arabia, Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu) stood in front of his constituents and said the followingthis is verbatim as narrated to us by the historian Al Baladhuri, word by word- this is word by word what the Islamic leader said to the Islamic society under his jurisdiction at that time. What did he say? We quoted for you his exact words. How does this translate into the language that we are speaking? Remember, this was his comments on what went on in that arbitration process. He said all thanks are due to Allah- (this isnt a person who lost faith in the Muslims or in Allah; this is the character of Muslims- whatever happens, we say alhamdulillah)- even though the sequence of time has presented us with something like a disaster and an overwhelming development. Then he said I bear witness that there is no deity and authority except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammed is His Subject and Messenger. Henceforth, the disobedience of a person who has come to you with counsel, advice and experience has now generated regret, after feelings and thought of sorrow. I had ordered and showed you the facts pertaining to these two men- this is reference to ibn Al Aas and Abu Musa, the two

arbiters- and I have also spoken to you about this arbitration. Remember, Ali is telling these Muslims, (what we call now public opinion and the mainstream of Islamic society) I have explained to you the characters that are involved and the process that you agreed to; I sorted all of that out (i.e. my opinion about all of this), for you if only it was obeyed, but you objected and wouldnt accept anything except what you wanted and thus, my position towards you and your position towards me- then he quoted poetry, one verse saying or meaning- now it has become too late. My advice now, at this moment (that you may understand) is its too late. Those two arbiters that you accepted, decided upon and chose as the ones to solve this issue- what did they do? They ejected Allahs counsel, injunction or rule and placed it behind their backs; and then both of them opined as a matter coming from their own nafs or self-preferences. Thats what they did- this is an accurate description of what took place. So what happened? They extinguished the livelihood of the Quran in this matter and they instigated or gave life to what the Quran put to rest, meaning they contradicted the Quran on both accounts of what to do and what not to do. Then, at the end, when they came out with their ruling, they betrayed the hukm that was allocated to them by virtue that they said they would arbitrate this affair in reference to the Quran, which they did not do. This being the case of both of them, they cannot show us a way and they cannot be precise in this affair or matter. Now, Allah is innocent, has nothing to do or is relieved from what they have done and so is His Messenger and the Muslim interest. Now, be prepared for the military struggle and get ready for the military journey, camp or let us join at the military camp on Monday with the will of Allah. This was the accurate assessment of that arbitration that went foul. But now, what do we have? Ali spoke these words to committed Muslims who lived this struggle since the days of Jamal and Siffin. He wasnt speaking to some people who were inexperienced or who had just become Muslims; he was speaking to people who had an Islamic background and will-power. In reference to other Muslims who broke away from him and who are known in Islamic history as Al-Khawarij, Ali always used to repeat in the social circles that he was in concerning their rhetoric and propaganda a word of truth that conceals an intention of falsity and he used to say to the people around him if these dissidents leave us alone, we will leave them alone; if they are to oppose us by their words, we will put their words to rest by our evidence and if they were to take up arms for purposes of instability and chaos, we will fight against them. Here, we have (probably) the 1st indication in Islamic history of how people can get carried away and become (in todays language, we dont like the word, but its the word thats being used) extremists. At that point, when Ali spoke to the Islamic constituents of his and he put them on a war footing against Muawiyah, something unexpected happened We have to remind ourselves, that in the interim, there were encounters and exchanges between Ali and these dissidents; it wasnt like they were cut-off from each other. You see, most of the times now, if Muslims disagree with each other, what comes to our mind is they were isolated from each other because thats what happens in todays real world. You have some Muslims who dont agree with other Muslims so theres a big gap between them- theres no talk, communication, communications, meetings and exchange of ideas. No! That wasnt the case at that time. With all of this serious

disagreement, still, people were meeting, giving and taking, exchanging ideas and talking to each other because this is the moral character of committed Muslims regarding of their ijtihaad. As a result of this, many of these dissidents who were in Harura, their break away area, began to return to Al-Kufa and the Imam- some of them discreetly and some of them loudly and publicly. This was a trend that Ali tried to encourage because he knew how they felt because they harbored the opinion and ijtihaad that he had originally. As the Muslims were now set on dueling with the break away, soon to be king in Damascus, Muawiyah, something unexpectedly happened- and that was that these dissidents or Khawarij killed the son of Khabbab ibn Al Arat (radi Allahu anhu), a senior sahabi of the Prophet- his son was killed by these dissidents as were many other women. (As a refresher), Abdullah ibn Al Khabbab ibn Al Arats (who was killed by these dissidents) father Al Khabbab was (what the Muslims would say) one of the mustadaf sahabis around the Prophet. He came from a background of poverty. Before he became a Muslim, he used to make or manufacture swords- something a kin to a blacksmith. (Not to go into the details of his life), but he was one of these personalities around the Prophet that was (as a matter of consensus) respected by the rest of Muslim society. As Ali was embarking upon the final military showdown between him and the instigator of all of this, Muawiyah in Damascuswe dont say all of this with any complexes, hate, rancor or bad feelings, we say this in trying to state the fact, thats all- as the Islamic fighting force was regrouping under the leadership of Ali, all of a sudden this happened! After committing this crime which was a crime by any standards)Abdullah ibn Khabbab ibn Al Arat did not agree with you concerning your opinion, (but) why kill him and why show the capacity to do further killing among the Muslims? They killed an innocent man who holds a political opinion that doesnt agree with you and then they also killed innocent Muslim women who also disagree with you so now, public opinion, (once againbrothers and sisters) in the camp of Ali said lets not go to Damascus. We have an internal problem (that) we have to deal with. Now, these dissidents had gone to a place called AnNahrawaan, an area in Iraq, a place called Diyala; the region called An-Nahrawaan is east of the Tigris River. The force that was supposed to go to meet the instigator behind all of this found itself diverted to deal with this new problem. After defactions -after they were at one time maybe 12,000 to 18,000 some of these dissidents had joined the Imam because of the contacts that Muslims had- imagine if Ali had the mentality and social policy of not speaking to other Muslims who disagreed with him?! The results would not have been what we had. The numbers of these dissidents shrank from the teens of thousands- 12,000 to 18,0000- and now, they were only 3,000; the others went to Kufa and the Imam. The fighting force now went to AnNahrawaan. Once again, the Muslims, now under the command of Ali were not intent on beginning a fight. Even though they were in military gear, they were given orders not to initiate any fight with these opponents, but these opponents were in a mentality and fiery attitude to commence warfare. When these 2 sides met, these dissidents who numbered around 3,000 attacked with their arms and wherewithal the army of the Imam and they caused it to split into two- a left and right flank. After that initial thrust, the larger army of Ali recouped and regrouped and managed to finish them off entirely- the 3,000 or so (a little more or less) all of them were killed. Brothers and sisters- this is not an easy issue to consider. When we ferment these

developments in our own minds and hearts, it is truly something difficult to deal with. Their leader, Ar-Rasibi was killed; all of them were killed. When you think about it, why were they killed? Because they held on to an opinion that was in theoretical terms- correct, but in practical terms, they were wrong and because of that, they ended with this tragic outcome at AnNahrawaan. Now, Ali had to return with his soldiers to Kufa. Who are his soldiers? His soldiers are the brothers, fathers, sons, cousins and friends of these 3,000 who were just killed. This wasnt a foreign invading force; it wasnt an army that came from a far away land; these were the same families, blood relationship and social nexus- imagine what the psychology of these people were right now and how this army that was commanded by the Imam felt after 3,000 of its own were killed. In other words, they were in no mood for fighting; in todays snapshot words, they were demoralized. They may not have expressed this in such words, but now, they were ready to concede to whatever force there was. They did not want to go on in this cousin-against-cousin and family-against-family warfare that they were in. Remember at the time of Al-Jamal, the people of Kufa scored victory against the people of Basrah and they came back because these were two separate population blocs, but now, it was the same Islamic population bloc that suffered its 1st victory and its 1st defeat at the same time. In a poetic verse, Ali expressed it all. He said I complain to Allah concerning all the sad and known events; I have cured myself but killed my people. It may not come out as harsh in Arabic as it is in the English translation, but it captures the moment. How can we go forward when we are consuming our ownselves?! Doesnt this portion of our history invite us to learn from it? If it does, why dont we learn?! Why cant we understand the meanings of dissent?! How far can we pursue an independent political idea? When does that independent political idea turn against our ownselves? How come we havent worked that out yet? How come we have today (what is called) fanatics and extremists rehearse for us what we are supposed to have already learnt? This means something simple- we just havent learnt from ourselves! Dont expel those, from your company, who are seeking Allah from the beginning to the end of the day, sincerely devoted to Allahs direction and His majesty (Surah Al-Anaam verse 52) Why are some of us, today, prone to falling into this sectarian and nationalist problem? Muslims today can simply say we have Muslims who are nationalist and others who are sectarian. OK- we can see who is sectarian and nationalist today, but is this the 1st time that we have these types of Muslims, or did we have them during that time also? These dissidents who took their holierthan-thou opinion to the war and battle fields to kill other Muslims were the 1 st sectarians in Islam and that qamis Uthman attitude that wanted to revive the nationalism of Makkah was the 1st nationalism in Islam, but some of us cannot connect our present with our past because some of us know what is happening today but are unaware of what happened then; and then, some of us have a scholarly head about what happened then, but cannot connect and relate what happened then and there with what is happening here and now. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims

In todays world, what we observe and see is much less than what is concealed and concocted behind the scenes. From reading and understanding Allah and His Prophet, we know that we have an external hand that is locked with an internal hand- both of these trying to undermine our common Islamic future. We see the world today and we realize how the foreign powers have intruded, but the use of arms, into our own homes, homelands and even psychologies. From the choice of words that they use to the last invention of arms and military prowess that they have, who can deny that the internal and external enemies are not working together? Butbrothers and sisters- you dont know; when a person reads about these events of ours at that early time of dawn in our history (in the many sources and references that there are), you dont get the impression that there is an internal hand that is interlocking with the external hand. Remember, at that time of the Islamic extension into the regions of the world that were defeated- much like today, when one super-power has been defeated and the other is in the process- do you mean to tell us human nature has changed?! What we see today was not what was happening then? But, the people who were busy writing the history of that time - their books of history that we read today does not make reference to the interlocking of the external with the internal enemy. This is like a blind spot that we have and because we dont think about ourselves, it continues to have its deadly affects on us up until now. The time has long lapsed- we should be able to take a healthy look at our history and current affairs and learn from our past to avoid the mistakes of our present and future, otherwise the price is very very prohibitive the price will be our blood and lives.

ALI THE PUBLIC SERVANT

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... Allah says Persevere concerning the judgment or ruling of your Sustainer and do not obey those who have gained discrepancies or who are in denial of Our power in worldly affairs This ayah is quite relevant to many conditions or developments along our historical course to Allah. In continuing where we left off and in recalling the meanings of this ayah, we focus further on the relationship between the leader of the Muslims on one side and the Islamic citizenry on the other side. We think that we should think more about this early relationship between the Muslims leader and the Muslims who are being led. From opening up these historical pages, we know or realize that we, (all of us, from whichever background we come from), endured at the beginning of our history three civil wars. As a result of that there was a condition of war fatigue that slipped into Muslim society in Iraq and Arabia. Imam Ali (radi

Allahu anhu) at this time was the leader of the Muslims, in particular the Muslims in Southern Iraq. Within his jurisdictions and within the people he was ruling, there were those who were violently opposed to him. We said these were called Al-Khawarij in the books of history that we have. They lived side by side in Al-Kufa with the population that they disagreed with. The relationships were on the surface of it normal relationships. Even though these dissidents knew that they were enjoying the benefits of a civil society that has no equal; they were not going to be thrown into prison for being against the governments- something that we dont even have today after 1,400 years. The standard of freedom that was available to the Muslims at that time is not available to the Muslims today in their own lands and countries. They knew that the leader they had was not going to cut off their access to Islamic budgets, Islamic revenue and the spoils of war that were in the Islamic treasury- they knew all of that was guaranteed to them. Even though that was the case, they insisted on being violently opposed to the administration that is guaranteeing them these benefits and this standard of living. Ali was aware of their presence, he knew that encountering them at An-Nahrawan had made them more stubborn then they were before. Remember, Ali was initially on his way to Damascus, to Ash-Shaam to solve the pestering internal problem that was in the Muslim rank and file for a generation. It was complying with his own citizenry that he went to An-Nahrawan and was forced into this military dual with these dissents that resulted in the lost of 3,000 lives that generated more instability inside that jurisdiction. Ali would give a lecture or a khutbah and they were there; he would speak to the public and these opponents were there; they would listen to him even though inside of them they were opposed to him and he knew this. In some of the statements he said- and he put his hand on his beard and then his forehead which meant that his beard was going to be stained with the blood from his head. It wasnt like we had a ruler who was disconnected from his own people. This wasnt a person who was living in an Ivory Tower with security all around; this was a man of the people, from the people and he knew the people he was with and it was as if he was waiting for something to happen. In one sentence he said what is delaying the most rabid in this society- meaning the person who was going to kill him; but here is where we have unprecedented heights of a public servant. This is a word that is thrown around very easily and I our days it probably means nothing, but when we look at the ruler of the Muslims at that time and we say he was a public servant, that is exactly who he was. He served the public that he was ruling contrary to his better judgment because he wasnt ruling himself only. He had to take into account what his public wanted- whether it was going to AnNahrawaan or whether it was them dragging their feet on finishing the military responsibility that was beckoning i.e. those who had grabbed power in Ash-Shaam. To get a further understanding of how violent prone these dissidents were, there was one occasion where this person ibn Al Kharreet or Al Khurayyat comes up to Ali and he says I dont want to obey you, I dont want to pray behind you and I dont want to have anything to do with your decisions (this is the wrap up of what he said to him). Ali wasnt the type to say throw this person into prison, as is the case today. They would interrupt at times, when he was giving his khutbah inside the Masjid. He didnt say send in the security guards and chain them and put them behind bars, which goes to prove to us that we had a civil society and a ruler, the likes of which we still dont have today.

The freedom the Muslims enjoyed was enjoyed to such an extent that they did not know how to honor a leader when they had one. When this person said these words, Ali said OK- you come to me later and we can discuss this when you are more in control of yourself. So, Ali was expecting this dissident to come back in a few days, but he never came back. He goes back to his enclave of dissidents and they build up their intention to violently oppose Ali. On their way to this violent opposition inside Al-Kufa- because he had left Al-Kufa to his own people or typesthey ran into two people. One of them was a yahudi and the other was from Al Mawaali, a Muslim. They ask al yahudi, whats your persuasion? What are you? He says Im a yahudi; Im a jew and they let him go because he is from ahl adh-dhimmah. Then, they ask the other person, who are you? He says Im a Muslim. They know he is a Muslim, so now they wanted to query him- what do you think about Ali ibn Abi Talib? He says, well, I agree with him. When they knew that he agreed with Ali, they just killed him. This is just a sample of how violence was practiced early on. So when we look at how violence is practiced today, especially those who use this violence against our own selves, we understand this is nothing new- its been there all along, but it hasnt been considered with our minds; weve never taken a mental look at how this originated, what the excuses for it were and what the rationalization for it is. No one has taken the effort to do that, even after all of these years! Ali sends ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu), whos now the governor in Al-Basra, to see to it that this person and those who are with him do not go into areas and places in this jurisdiction and kill people like they are doing. Now, these Khawarij are pursued by a force from Al-Basra until finally they are caught up with; there was some skirmish and then, hundreds of them were taken as prisoners of war. On their way to AlKufa, theres a person who says wait a minute- now; I may be able to ransom these Muslims and he gave the commander of the Muslims who were in charge of these Khawarij his word that he will ransom them. He paid a small amount of money and he gave his word that he will pay the rest. So, they freed them. Then, when they arrived in Al-Kufa, Ali asked what developed or happened? He is told and so he communicates with this person, his name is Masqalah, and he tells him your word was that you will pay the rest of the amount that you are supposed to pay. This person says No! Im not going to pay anything. We can cover this as a story, but this is not a story, this is a narrative of history and a political behavior that begs and demands our attention. What happened? This person who ransomed these Khawarij, (by the way- they belonged to the same tribal structure), was in touch with Muawiyah in Ash-Shaam and Muawiyah was trying to win him and use this internal opposition in Iraq against the Islamic leadership. When this Masqalah understands that his not going to be able to face up to the central authority in Kufa, he escapes or runs away to Ash-Shaam and joins Muawiyah and that camp. Ali said a statement or sentence concerning this man. He said whats wrong with this person?! May Allah take him on- meaning Allah will take care of him. What he did was honorable by ransoming some Muslims, but what he wound up doing was dishonorable by running away like people who have been denied their freedom. Now, we begin to realize and detect that the renegades that grabbed power in Damascus, meaning Muawiyah and his camp- Amr ibn Al Aas and those who were with them- had something in common with the internal opposition

that was in Southern Iraq and i.e. my enemys enemy is my friend. Even though the dissidents, these Khawarij that we are speaking about were as hostile to Muawiyah as they were to Ali. Now, a new development unfolds, and that is concerning Egypt. The governor at that time over Egypt was appointed by Ali, he was Qais ibn Saad ibn Ubadah Al Khazraji Al Ansari (radi Allahu anhu). Remember, Ansaar were excluded. They felt excluded and Ali wanted them to be included in the administration of the Islamic state. One of the decisions that was made to bring them in was to appoint the leader from the son of one of the two leaders of Al-Ansaar and that was Qais ibn Saad ibn Ubadah Al Ansari to be the governor of Egypt. When he was governor of Egypt, most of the people concurred or agreed that he be their governor, but their were some who had their doubts and could not see themselves governed by this person; so they were neutral or passive towards the governor that they had. Qais ibn Saad was a seasoned man and his approach with these types was to paddle soft with them and not take them on. Muawiyah wanted to know which side is Qais ibn Saad on, so he began to correspond with him and this governor of Egypt began to reply to this correspondence in a way that Muawiyah could not sense which side Qais is on. This is why we are not concerned with this king in the making- finally, what Muawiyah did was he forged a letter. In this letter, Muawiyah made it appear as if Qais ibn Saad wrote it to the people of Iraq and Ali and in it, Muawiyah says (making it appear as if Qais is saying this), that he wanted to show more understanding for the Uthmaniyah course- meaning for the grievances that were expressed by Muawiyah and his camp. This letter arrived in Al-Kufa and Ali was not fooled by this letter, but public opinion, once again, was influenced by the contents of this letter. Remember this public opinion that we are dealing with, it appears once again and it says that Qais ibn Saad should be relieved of his position as the governor of Egypt. Because of this, reluctantly, Ali relieves Qais of his position and he replaces him with Muhammed the son of Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu). Theres a contrast between Qais ibn Saad and Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr. Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr- number 1- was a young person. He wasnt as mature, old and as seasoned as Qais was. He was more enthusiastic and inclined to use force against those Egyptians who were reluctant to acknowledge the governor of their own lands. Qais ibn Saad ibn Ubadah did not participate in the uprising against Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), Muhammed the son of Abi Bakr participated in that uprising against Uthman. These being the distinguishing features, Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr took on those inside of Egypt who would not express their loyalty to the administration on Egypt three times and in the three times, he did not succeed to score a military victory against these (what appeared to be) pro-Uthmani types. As a result of that, Ali replaced him with Malik ibn Ashtar An Nakhi. What do the people who are running the power show in Ash-Shaam Amr ibn Al Aas and Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan- do? They managed to place poison into the food of Malik ibn Ashtar and poison him to deathanother reason why what Muawiyah and Amr ibn Al Aas did is not an Islamic standard. These people were pursuing power; to substantiate this point, in the correspondence between Muawiyah and Qais, their words turned harsh against each other. In one of these correspondence, Muawiyah says about Qais you jew, the son of a jew and when Qais responds to him, he says you pagan son of a pagan who reluctantly entered into Islam and who voluntarily are

leaving Islam. This is how these characters in Damascus were conducting themselves, whether it was vis--vis Al-Iraq or Misr, Egypt. What do you- we ask? Ali is in the middle of this- he realizes how his own public opinion is scattered and no longer willing to fight a good fight; they were war wary and combat fatigued, yet this was the population that we had. Should we learn from these types of Muslims or should we bury these details with our absence of attention or with our emotional attention?! This is what we have been doing for 1,400 years. What do you do now? What is the answer to Muslims who violently disagree with you? Is there any rationalization for this violence? Is or is the leader whose in-charge of the Islamic affairs not a public servant of those who he rules over and how far should he be responsive to the consensual opinion within his society. How far are those who have such a leader to pursue their opinion when they know it is contrary to the opinion and ijtihad of the Imam that rule over them? These are legitimate questions and timely concerns because do you think we are far away from these issues? Remember, (so far) as we have been covering this territory, absolutely no one was speaking about ritualistic issues in Islam. No one ever brought up the issue of whether youre praying with your hands in front of you or to your side; no one was creating an argument about how you are performing your wudhu and these other issues that now have become the defining issues but at that time they were no issues at all. These are the questions that we have to deliberate on and find answers to. Remember Allahs words And be patient for the oncoming of your Sustainers ruling and do not obey any of those who are morbid in their errors or in denial of Allahs power Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Dont think that when we look at our own selves 1,300 or 1,400 years ago and consider the details of what we did, (even though sometimes they are difficult details), that we are failing ourselves- to the contrary, but not doing so we are failing ourselves. Do you know how hard it is to say that in Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan and Amr ibn Al Aas disagreement with Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr killed him and burnt him- they did that. But why did they do that? Lets not get carried away with some traditional holier-than-thou-attitude. And lets not fall victims of a simplified explanation to our history- these are intricate, complex and inter-woven details that have to be sorted out. We think we have enough information and goodwill among ourselves to sort it out. A Muslim who comes to you and presents these details to make you (whatever type of Muslim you are) feel guilty or ignorant is just adding fuel to the fire; when you come to these issues, you should feel informed, you should feel the experience that belongs to you and you should gain the insights from these events so that were not going to be crippled by the ignorance that lead us to civil strife in todays world. Dont we have rulers today who rule in the name of Allah and His Prophet? They say this is Islamic law and they are as related to Islam as the enemies of Islam are, yet they get away with it because we are bred on ourselves who rule over ourselves in the name of our common Islam and faith. They should not be able to get away with it any longer, but they will keep on getting away with it when

they occupy our Masajid, usurp our holy lands and when they are in control of what we are supposed to and not supposed to think about. Allah endowed us with the ability to think so that we will block their attempts if we were not able to do that many years ago; we learn how to do that now.

IMAM ALI AND PEOPLES WAR FATIGUE

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... Allah says to us, if only there are people who are listening O you who are securely committed to Allah, obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who are entrusted with authority from among you (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) This is an ayah that is accessible to every Muslim; that has no ambiguity of meaning and that has been with us for around 1,400 years or so. Pity the minds and people who care not to investigate the application of this ayah, especially when we have the hindsight of looking at our developments and ups-and-downs from those initial generations of Muslims who were the forerunners of the application of the meanings of this book and the instructions of this Prophet. We have taken it upon ourselves to investigate as much as we can in this weekly khutbah our trials and errors- we are human beings and weve been human beings ever since this wahy was revealed and well continue to be human beings till we surrender our collective existence to Allah from this world. Did we have our mistakes? Yes, weve had our mistakes. Did we try our

best? Yes, generally speaking- when we look at the Muslim collective, we tried our best. But even though these are the generalizations, are there further details that we should consider that up until now, we have not had a solid and consolidated effort to do? In this regard, we said the last time, we are living our initial efforts to obey Allah and to obey His Messenger and those who are in the positions of authoritative responsibility. We traced ourselves for 30-to-40 years after the Prophet and weve reached the point where we, the committed Muslims of that generation, decided to disagree with each other. Theres nothing that we know of, that bars Muslims from having different points of view. As much as we understand and can tell, that is a given right to every Muslim, to have and hold firmly to their point of view that comes out of their conviction and understanding of Allah and His Prophet- that is a God-given right. Up until now, theres nothing wrong with the discrepancies of opinions that we, as a whole, had. From reading the book of Allah and understanding the Prophet of Allah, we know that something is wrong when our differing point of view turns deadly against our ownselves. Weve had this happen in our historical self and society that goes back to that 1st and 2nd generation of Muslims that was nurtured by the presence of Allahs Prophet. The point that we reached is- those who broke away from Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and they explained their position by saying we should fight on against al-fia al baaghiyah, the transgressing or aggressing component among us- that was in reference to Muawiyah and his camp- but these people, even though they are permitted their own political ijtihad- thats their God-given right- these people were wrong when they turned their weapons against themselves- because who are we speaking about? Were speaking about an Islamic society, a component of that Islamic society held on to a political version of things, but just because they have a political version of things doesnt mean that they have a right to turn their weapons against themselves. They killed Abdullah ibn Al Khabbab ibn Al Arat, as we mentioned previously, and Ali sent a representative of his to try and talk this issue out instead of fighting it out and they killed him. This type of trigger-happy attitude doesnt have a justification in the book of Allah or in the Sunnah of His Prophet. Beyond that, when it came down to the nitty-gritty of the issue, these Khawarij- remember, this is a history that many people dont want to open up; we dont know why! If you are in the presence of Allah and His Prophet and if you understand what Allah and His Prophet are saying, why shy away from these types of details? To the contrary, you approach these details with the confidence and knowledge that can sort these otherwise, ambiguities out so that we can proceed on Siraat Al Mustaqeem. And for certain, this is My Siraat- the direct approach to me- as it is straight, therefore follow through on it and do not be distracted by other approaches and avenues. If you do, you will go astray from this direct and forthwith access to Allah. This is Allahs advice, council, remaining word and bequest unto you (Surah Al-An'aam verse 153) It takes this type of heightened, cultivated and informed mentality and psychology so that they do not become today military campaigns that turn us against us. The demonstration of what we have are plenty and they are attributable to our inability to sort them out. When these types of characters came to Ali and they said look, youve been wrong, you are wrong and we were

wrong at one time; now, we see the light (this is what they tell him), we confessed to our kufr (these are their words) and it behooves you , meaning Ali, to confess to your kufr, to express your taubah, repentance and then assume the straight course that we have assumed. At this moment, you can visualize the type of condescending attitude that was displayed by this category of Muslims and after that there was no solution to this type of self-righteousness and holier-thanthou attitude that turned violent, killing everybody whom disagreed with them except to go to An-Nahrawaan- we spoke about that encounter there, in which 3,000 of these Khawarij were obliterated. OK- when that was done, what type of Muslims public opinion did we have? We had these warriors who were with Ali returning to Southern Iraq, viz. Al-Kufa and Al-Basrah, the majority of whom went back to Al-Kufa. They told Ali we need a respite; give us some time; we have to recharge ourselves and recuperate from this war. He said OK- we have a time period when we can re-gather our strength, put ourselves together and then proceed to Muawiyah and his camp. But, they took that time and Ali comes back to them and he says the following after he tells them youve had your time; enough time youve spent to re-group, recharge and now the time has come to put on the military gear. They would listen with their ears but they would not respond with their hearts; they dont want to go to war. Brothers and sister- we say this in light of Allahs words O you who are firmly committed to Allah, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those who are entrusted with decision-making from among you (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) Here is an Imam or Wali Al-Amr Al-Muslimeen telling the Muslims around the time has come to resume our responsibility and theyd just listen passively. The words do not penetrate into them, so what does he tell them? What do you do? These are the Muslims who are left, how do you approach them? Brothers and sisters, because these issues have become potential matters of civil strife and wars among us today because we dont listen and we dont put affairs and issues in their contexts- this is what he said to them (were going to quote; we have to quote, we have no choice or else we could have just summarized them as we usually do, but because youll find (that) these words are not just limited to this khutbah, they go thousands of miles away and youll find the technical or sectarian person or some jaded personality out there that if we dont quote these words, theyre going to try and say No, you were not accurate is what you said; for that reason were going to try and be as accurate as possible on this issue and not have internal and external enemies cause friction among us when we are all on the same wave-length. These are not simple people around him, these are the people who have been to Al-Jaml, Siffin and AnNahrawaan and this is what Ali said to them, word-by-word- OK, well take this sentence by sentence and try to deliver this meaning in English: O subjects of Allah, what has come of you, (that) when I order you to mobilize for the course of Allah on a course to Allah you show a gravity towards the Earth; you are tied down to your worldly interests? Are you satisfied with this worldly life in exchange for the ultimate or other worldly life? Are you satisfied with humiliation and degradation in lieu of glory and honor as a manner in your social life? The 2nd sentence: Why is it that every time I order you to Jihad, your eyes begin to turn

in your heads as if you are in the throes of death and as if you have stony hearts? At times of non-combat social life, you appear to be lions (meaning, when theres no aggression and no immediate threat to society, you portray a very courageous and bold manner) but when you are called to warfare and the clash of arms then you are like canny foxes. The frontiers of your domain are contracting (meaning youre beginning to lose sovereign grounds) and you display no fear of what is happening. The eyes of your enemies are not sleeping while you are in a deep slumber. Of course, you have a right over me. This is Wali Al-Amr Al-Muslimeen or the Imam of Muslims saying to his people or his civil society, as long as youre in sincere communication and council with me, I will be in sincere communication and council with you. I will guarantee that you get the share of the Islamic budget; another right that you have over me is that I will continue to teach you so that you are not ignorant; and I will continue to mannerize you so that you are able to pass on this teaching to others. Now, as for my right upon you (up to here he was stating their rights upon him; now, what is his rights) he said you honor the allegiance you gave me and you continue to be sincere whether you are present or whether you are absent and another right I have upon you is that you respond when I call upon you and that you obey when I order you. This is word-by-word, quoting Ali in what he said to the people who were around him. It appears, obviously, from reading and understanding this quote, that we, the Muslims, for the 1 st time in our history are dealing with the issue in which society begins to fail its leader. This didnt happen before in this manner. This is the 1st time that we had people who agree that this is their leader and can understand what their leader is telling them but they seize to be responsive. Theyre not listening, not obeying and not following up on what they have to do. This is the 1 st civil and political failure that we have in our Islamic history. That being said and stated the question is what was the explanation or rational of the Muslim peoples for no longer responding to their higher responsibility? This didnt happen in a vacuum! People just dont say we no longer want to listen to our wali al-amr or Imam because we woke up some morning and we just felt like we dont want to go along with what he has to say- thats not how human nature works. What is it that made these people feel the way they feel and act the way they are acting? 1st of all, we have to understand that this Islamic society in Al-Kufah and Southern Iraq (and Iraq itself) at that time had been through what we may call three civil wars. 1st they went to Al-Jaml then Siffin and recently An-Nahrawan and it is not easy (believe us brothers and sisters) to continue to fight when you have been fighting your own- theyve been fighting their people, folks, crowd, relatives and their families and how much can a society take? This is an area that still the Muslim mind has not settled on. How much can an Islamic society be stretched because from their point of view- they didnt say it in these words, but reading about them and understanding them, if they were here today they would say weve been stretched too much, we cant take it any longer. It wasnt like the time of Abi Bakr, Umar and Uthman (radi Allahu anhum) when the Islamic armies were dealing with a foreign enemy- thats different. When you tell people to fight their own people for justice, they reach a cut off point and the explanation that these people had is we have reached that cut off point; we cant take it any longer; not all the people are Ali in as far as his commitment to the truth and his insistence on justice- they werent

like that, they were the average, regular and normal individuals in a crowd with a social multiplier- thats who they were. So when Al-Imam told them now let us go and do what we wanted to do from the beginning and face off this renegade in Ash-Shaam (meaning Muawiyah); they would listen and watch but they would not respond; they dont want to do that. Some of them also looked around and saw that some of the Prophets generation refused this war altogether. Whatever side there is war amongst the Muslims said we dont want to have anything to do with it; some of them, symbolically, would go and break their swords in a gesture that meant enough is enough; how can we fight against those who say la illaha illah Muhammmad rasoulullah? This was also a social trend in that society and region. Besides theres another issue that you need to be aware of- Ali had what we call to day a policy that all the revenue that comes to the Islamic treasury has to be immediately distributed to the Muslims; it cannot stay in the treasury. This is one of the points of disagreement between Ali and Umar. Umar didnt disagree with Ali on a personal basis, he put this issue to a shura when he was in Al-Medinah. What are we going to do? During Umars time is the time when the Islamic treasury began to get full; before, Muslims were poor; we were in poverty so we didnt have to deal with this issue of what do we do with this money and surplus wealth that is accumulatingthat was not an issue. During the tenure or time of Umar, it became an issue, so Umar put it to the shura of the Muslims- what are we going to do with this? Some of them said you give out what is necessary and what is not necessary, you keep it for (what was called at that time) addawaween, which is the administrative aspect of the Islamic governance. Ali disagreed with Umar at that time, but now Ali is in the position of the leader of the Muslims, the way Umar was at that time, so now he saw to it that whatever came into the Islamic treasury leaves immediately. So, people began to fell that money was coming their way; and not only money, at times it may have been fruit, produce, honey, it was even reported that what came to the Islamic treasury was needles and threads and it didnt stay there one day. Immediately those needles and threads were given to the Muslim public. Ali would say that room in which the money is supposed to be should be clean- nothing in it. This was another contributing factor to these people saying wellif we have this revenue coming to us and we dont have to go and fight- weve had enough of that- lets live this life, lets live and let live. Then, there was another issue and that was Muawiyah. He was sending these people of Kufa and Iraq promises and money. That was another issue of dissuasion. There were contacts inside this Iraqi society who were told if you are neutral or if you dont take sides against us, then you will have a bright future and some of this money began to come from Ash-Shaam to Iraq. Then, these people were looking at a larger picture. Now, public opinion began to fear that if the Muslims were threatened by the previous two super-powers- the Byzantines were threatening Ash-Shaam and this wasnt ignored by the people in Iraq and the Eastern frontiers, the areas that used to be Persia were also showing instability; Ali could not have a tight control over these areas, so all of this fed into a general perception by these people- wait a minute here, how far are we going?! Were not trying to say that the general social attitude at that time was

correct- No. What we are trying to do is understand- with accuracy and a conscience- the factors that were at work. You (can) bring these factors into todays world- its easy to look at this with the distance of 14 centuries, but reconstruct these issues on todays society and see what will happen. But still, the issue remains if a people have a leader who is obedient to Allah and His Messenger, do they have the right to break away from him?! We dont have any information from Allah or His Prophet that once that is the case i.e. a legitimate leader and an Islamic society, that there has to be a break between them, as was in the making in this time period that we are looking at. Let us also quote Ali when he spoke to this condition. Once again, we have to quote him because there are weak characters, feeble minds, a tremendous amount of tradition, nationalism and sectarianism out there and if we were to summarize what he said without quoting him, then all of these features will kink in and try to discredit what we are saying- for that reason, well take you back to his words. OK- whats this 1st sentence saying here: O people whose fathers were united but whose hearts and desires are divided: theres no glory to a person who calls upon you and there is no comfort to a heart that has experienced you. Your words could chip away at boulders and stones and your actions invite the works of your enemies. If I call upon you to jihad, you begin your fabrications and innuendos; contrived excuses on the basis of falsity; (hes reminding these people of Iraq) you are the ones who asked me to postpone the encounter with Ash-Shaam. A humiliated person cannot retard oppression and you cannot reach validity and truth except by being serious, motivated and perseverance. What other homeland besides your homeland are you capable of defending? And what Imam after me are you going to fight? A person of vanity is the one that you have been contagious in giving them vanity; and whoever is successful via yourselves is successful with a disappointing force of arms. The way I feel today, I have no ambition of gaining victory by you and the way I feel today, I cannot even believe what you say. May Allah draw a line between me and you and may Allah exchange for me people who are better than you are. Indeed, after me, you will encounter an encompassing humiliation and disgrace and a chapping sword and an oppressor is going to take advantage of your selfcenteredness and make it a policy, he will divide your society; (this enemy) will bring tears to your eyes and make your eyes weak. He will cause poverty to enter into your homes and families. It will only be a short while after that and you will have desired to have seen me and supported me. You will come to know the truth of what I am saying and Allah will be excluding those who have done injustice to themselves or to others. These are the exact words of the Imam describing for us the moment in which the relationship between a leader and society is being frayed. There are other quotes (here) from the Imam that we could have quoted, but suffice it to say that this is our common experience. Were not speaking about foreigners, non-Muslims or ignorant Muslims, we are speaking about the cream-of-the-crop of Muslims and what happened and we are also reflecting on our ignorance today by not being able to learn from that rich experience that we should inherit. Once again, all of this can be understood in light of the ayah,

O you who are firmly committed to Allah, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those who are entrusted with decision-making from among you; and if you differ, refer to Allah and His Messenger (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims We had one problem- of authority- at the beginning of our Islamic history. At that time, especially with the 1,400 years that we are speaking about, we have the luxury and opportunity to consider the facts on the ground and to extract from this consideration the applicable lessons. This wasnt a generation that just popped into and then popped out of existence without having left us with pertinent moral lessons that we should learn. All of that has been smothered by the traditionalism that itself has become a religion that itself has retarded us from understanding who we were and who we are. Is there something difficult to understand about this if we just put our God-given minds, the faculties that Allah has endowed us with and we can resume our authoritative responsibilities and positions? But look at today- if we had this issue centering around one or two personalities, now we have look at the issues that we have. (Take a) look at the authorities that we have; how many authorities do we have in Muslim countries? 50 to 60 and counting?! And theyauthorities that have no legitimacy, obviously- keep on increasing. (Take a) look at this past week- the king of Arabia goes to England and he shakes hands with the queen. Someone (a man and woman) is in trouble in his Kingdom if they shake hands in Arabia today, but the king of that land goes to Europe and theres no-one to tell him what are you doing? Cant you see the hypocrisy or he doesnt have a choice?! The queen is his lord and he cant disobey- if the United States, Britain, the Zionists and imperialists decree something, he doesnt have choice. Then, this hasnt been played up and hasnt made the headlines in this country, but in the past two weeks, there were riots in Dubai. The Indian, Pakistani and Bengali community there- who are these? These are laborers who come from the Indian sub-continent and theyre being paid between $100 and $140 a month; they come on contracts and they belong to sponsors; they are put in living quarters that are closer to animal shelters than they are to human domicile and when they go to work, they are thrown into trucks or crammed into small buses and vans. Their living conditions are miserable, they generate as-su and al-fahsha- they dont have their families with them, they leave their families behind and some of them live there for years- without a familythis becomes a breeding ground for adultery, homosexuality and many other problem. 4,000 of them had enough of it and they demonstrated in this integral part of Arabia, the United Arab Emirates. Usually, what governments would do is theyd send in the troops and put an end to this demonstration- just kill them or kill some of them and make them a lesson for others. But in this case, it seems like the government of the United Arab Emirates could not do such a thing. Why? Because these are Indians or Pakistanis and now, when you speak about India or Pakistan, youre speaking about nuclear countries and governments. Were sure the Indian Ambassador in Dubai

was watching this very closely to communicate back home on what will happen to the citizens of his country. This is in a country where these sponsors- these are supposed to be Muslims- are stashing away in their bank accounts hundreds of billions of dollars. This is Islam?! Where is Islam in government and authority?! Oh no! They dont want us to think about Islam in government and authority; you have to think about Islam on the toothbrush or fingernail clipper or bed-sheet thats where Islam is supposed to be- dont open your minds to an Islam of social justice. We are trying to take this issue from its beginnings so that we understand who we are and what are responsibilities are.

ALI AND ABDULLAH IBN ABBAS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... With Allahs provisions and the insight that has come to us from Him unto to you from Allah has come light With this light, insight and with reliance upon Him, we will continue our march through the difficult and delicates times, issues, personalities, developments and details that have been consigned to oblivion- alas- that we dont want to consider or learn from hence we pay the price. We said in the previous context of the gradual political erosion at the top layer of the Islamic state, we quoted Allahs ayah and be patient for the outcome of Allahs judgment or ruling and do not obey those who tend towards errors and sins or those who are in rejection or denial (meaning rejection and denial of Allahs power presence)

This is going to be a very sad and heart wrenching recount that belongs to our experience that comes from ourselves- nevertheless many of us want to look a-scant. Whether we pronounce it or not, we want to disavow this type of political behavior that we are accountable for. This goes as follows We have a general understanding and we should have a general recollection of the 1st 30-to-35 years after the Prophet passes on. We now are privy to the fact that the Islamic political order is showing signs and symptoms of disintegration at the highest levels. When we say something like this, we have to reiterate and emphasize that political inconsistencies, political adversarial positions as well as military encounters and conflicts does not reflect the moral, social character or cohesion within those Islamic generations that we are looking at. This is an extremely important observation that has to accompany our analyses of the political and therefore the leadership disintegration that set in early on in our common history. In this particular instance we should know that Ali (radi Allahu anhu) had placed Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu), his cousin, to be his deputy or governor of Basra. With the developments of the last 5 and 10 years in Islamic history (meaning the last years of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) and the 1st years of Ali, we realize what happened to Ash-Shaam, the area that is called the Levant, it came under the suzerainty or the power hold of Muawiyah and Amr ibn Al Aas and those who were with them in public. He has a title he is called something like the pontiff of this ummah- for his knowledge of the Quran, his companionship and relationship to Allahs Prophet and for his al balaa al hasan hitherto the side of truth and justice against the forces of instability and the power mongers that are beginning to surface. So far, he has what we can say a clean record but something happened. When ibn Abbas was in charge of Al Basra and he only reported to the Muslim leader Ali, he was entrusted and put in a position of confidence and trust by Ali, but then what happen was a change in personality. He began to place his hand (so to speak) on the budget or treasury of the Muslims in Al Basra. In todays language, the accountant or the minister of the treasury who was in charge of this budget was a person by the name of Abu Al Aswad Ad Dualy. When Abu Al Aswad Ad Dualy realized that Abdullah ibn Abbas was misappropriating the money of the Muslims, he wrote a letter divulging this fact to Ali. He did this away from the public eye. Ali receives this letter and obviously knowing what we already know i.e. the disenchantment of the general public- politically speaking; the feebleness of the people of Kufa and the defeatism that is beginning to show mass solidarity among the peoplethis was a compounding heart ache that was added to already the many heart aches and headaches that the Imam has had throughout the course of dealing with these people. This came as a major point of disbelief. How can this happen? We can visualize the mentality and psychology that Imam was in when that letter arrived and he read that ibn Abbas- his cousin, companion, confidant and comrade in arms- is playing fast and loose with the Muslim budget. The Muslim budget was the issue around which the opposition to Uthman began. The major criticism of Uthman was that he was not in the mould of Abi Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) when it came to Islamic wealth, the peoples money, the distribution of this wealth and favoring his relatives concerning this wealth. The whole

Islamic Ummah at that time was polarized because of this very issue for which Ali received a complaint from Abi Al Aswad Ad Dualy concerning ibn Abbas himself. Upon learning this, Ali wrote back two letters- discreetly also- none of this was made public. One of them was a response to Abi Al Aswad Ad Dualy thanking him for divulging this information and the other letter was to ibn Abbas himself, asking him his position towards the financial trust that he is responsible for. The response came back from ibn Abbas to the Imam denying that he had any embezzling activity towards the common Muslim wealth. This also added to the gloom and the miserable atmosphere of public relations in which the Imam was located. Let us say the following- which many Muslims do not know and many Muslims dont want to know because they say if we begin to talk like this we begin a fitnah in the Ummah! Yeswe begin a fitnah in the Ummah if we are feeble minded, cant look at our own experience and learn from it and we fall into a pit of trouble and problems but we consider ourselves able minded, we think of ourselves with confidence and courage so that we can look at our historical self and correct it when it is wrong. Therefore we reply to those voices and characters who say that we are trying to open up a can of worms that we are doing no such thing; we are just opening up the facts of our own history to learn as we are expected to do. Let us say the following things that are not said concerning Abdullah ibn Abbas. When Ali was preparing to go to Ash-Shaam to dual the final round with Muawiyah, Abdullah ibn Abbas showed a reluctance to do so. When Ali went to An-Nahrawan to put an end to this new Khariji break away holier-than-thou political attitude, Abdullah ibn Abbas did not participate. When Ali pressed Abdullah ibn Abbas after this information came out concerning the Islamic treasury and Abdullah ibn Abbas denied that he had his eye on the wealth of the Muslims; when finally Abdullah ibn Abbas calculated that his attitude is going to be exposed and what he is doing privately is going to come out in the open Abdullah ibn Abbas is not a simple person, he lived with the management of Abi Bakr and Umar and he saw how they held their deputies, governors and representatives in Egypt, Iraq, Ash-Shaam, Arabia and Al Yemen publicly accountable for every penny that was in their control and Ali was following in this same direction, he wanted everything transparent- when Abdullah ibn Abbas realized that he was sooner rather then later going to surface and be held accountable for what Abu Al Aswad Ad Dualy was describing to the leader of the Muslims in Al Kufa, what did he do? This is the area brothers and sisters- we know this is harder for us to say than it is for you to hear. Abdullah ibn Abbas took the amount of 6,000,000 dirhams from the treasury of Al Basra, it wasnt easy doing that- its not like he went one day and he put or loaded this amount on a means of transportation and then just cut loose. He knew that there were people that would not let him get away with this so what he did is he relied on his maternal side of family called Bani Hilal to secure his root out of Al Basra into Arabia. There were limited skirmishes that threatened to break out into a type of serious conflict, but the upshot of all of this was Abdullah ibn Abbas managed to take 6,000,000 dirhams from the money that belongs to the Muslims and escape with this amount of money to Makkah. He didnt go anywhere else. Why did he go to Makkah? This is also a blind spot in the Muslim mind. We encountered this before. People who

would breakaway from central authority would rush to Makkah- why? This is the question that has to be asked and this question has to be answered! We may not have the full and satisfying answer to it, but all indications are that Makkah even though it was (we said this before) physically liberated, psychologically, historically and culturally it was not liberated. Beneath the Makkan surface the forces of Asabiyah were brewing. Asabiyah is a word that every Muslim should know. It is clan solidarity which contravenes and contradicts Islamic brotherhood. This was the choice for people to go to and Abdullah ibn Abbas chose to go to Makkah. We want to ask- remember just several weeks ago (if that), we were speaking about the arbitration, at-tahkeem between the two sides the side of Ali and the side of Muawiyah and we realized that the representative of the Imams side was super imposed on him and Abu Musa Al Ashari was the one who was chosen by public consent to represent the people of Iraq (so to speak) i.e. the camp of Ali. We knew or it was mentioned at the time that Alis choice was Abdullah ibn Abbas- the same person who comes out with this public personality and communal character. What are we to do? Are we to say that the leader of the Muslim has to be accountable for every subject, every citizen and every individual constituent of his or are we to learn that there are failures in Islamic personalities- this is in reference to ibn Abbas. His accountability is an affair of the day of judgment- we are not trying to pass judgment on personalities we are only here to try to factually look at these personalities and if there is a failure trait in them, we have to acknowledge it and point to it. If this person, who was in the confidence of Ali at the time of this tahkeem shows that he no longer is a supporter of his own Imam- because there was correspondence between Ali and ibn Abbas and in his correspondence to him Ali asks him why have you run away with Muslim money and with Muslim wealth? Why have you done such a thing? And ibn Abbas says the following I would rather be held accountable to Allah for a portion of the Muslim wealth which I took rather then to be held accountable for the Muslim blood that you shed. You meaning Ali. When Al Imam read this, he said and was not ibn Abbas parts of the wars that shed this blood- in reference to Al Jamal and As-Siffin, when ibn Abbas was no regular individual. Remember, he was in charge of one (like what the military people say today) one division of the Muslim armed forces. He was something like (what you would call today) a general in the Muslim armed forces in both Al Jamal and As Siffin but look what happened. This person, who spent most of his life on the right side of the issue began to look at the affairs of the Muslim- in his own worldly mind he saw the fortunes and the future of Ali are bleak- were not getting anywhere- and the fortune and the future of Muawiyah and his camp are on the rise. What do you do with Islamic persons who behave like this? Are we strictly speaking history here or can we see them in the world around us today?! Let us be a little more blunt with you- some of you sometimes just dont get it- when we speak about ibn Abbas, Al Khawarij, Ahl Al Basra and Ahl Al Kufa, who are we speaking about? Theres another word for these people. They were or are (however way you want to look at it) the Shia of Al Imam Ali. Is this a heavy statement for you to ponder?! How many of these Shias of Al Imam Ali do we have today? Arent there turn coats around? This is as blunt as we can make it. Some of you- we do care how you classify yourself- as if we dont know this history Do you know, they call this person who speaks to

you today from this street for the past quarter-of-a-century almost- Oh he just speaks about politics; ask him about zionism and the jews and he will give you an answer from the bottom of the pits or from the extent of the horizon, as if we dont know these issues. If we are silent about them, do you think we are superficial? If we bring them to your attention, as we are forced to do; (weve never spoken about these issues before because they were never killing us). Some of our ignorance about these issues may have vouched for us in the past, but today what do you do when our enemies- who are sworn enemies, (whom we can see them with our eyes), but then we have our bosom enemies who are concealed in our history and rituals who would rather give our secrets to the imperialists and zionists of today and they claim that they are followers of the Imam and they probably do not measure to an umpteenth proportion of ibn Abbas himself- they are all around us. They look at this world and how is the power shifting and they shift with that power and they leave the people of conscience and principle just like they left the Imam way back then and they think we cannot see them they think we do not know them! How else are we to speak? Brothers and sisters committed Muslims- dont force us to say names. We are not entertaining ourselves with taking holier-than-thou positions; this is a toiling Islamic world; were not running behind the scene trying to build bridges with an enemy that has 1,400 years of history, an enemy that is unmistakable in todays world. We say this just as news comes out that (to shift your attention from maybe your own peculiar culture, linguistic group, traditions that have become religion and customs that have become the creed) there was in the making a plot by the Salafi / Al Qaida types, (this is the words that are used today, its not our description and designation, its whats being said), there was a team of them in Lebanon who were plotting and planning the assassination of the leader of Hizbullah in Lebanon. Nothing like that could have been planned or thought of if it were not for these sectarian issue that we are and have been covering in this khutbah in the past, (we dont know), year or two- weve lost count. It is this sectarian ground and this cultural and nationalist background that is at the bottom of the movements that are taking place in the name of Islam. Imperialism and zionism have engaged a proportion of Muslims diplomatically and politically and it has engaged another part of the Muslims via the sectarian ropes and we are vigilant and hawk/eagle eyes on what they are doing. We are not absent minded and oblivious. Beware of the insight of the committed Muslims because he looks, watches and visualizes with Allahs Nur. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We have reached a time in which (to some of us) the issues have become confusing issues. Some of us can no longer see straight. The issues are blurred- as they should not be. Why should anyone be subjecting him or herself to issues and affairs around us which we cannot understand? What is it? Whats wrong? Why cant we understand this? Were not lacking in intelligence; we are not primitive or the meander fall types. We should be enlightened and enlivened by Allah and His Prophet and the endowment they left us with- His book and His Prophet- but we have some people who think theyre smart. They think people who hold on to principle are slow or not

witty enough. You (can) bring these same people- remember, brothers and sisters we have been covering a territory in our history and an era in our 1st generations in which we have not eluded to what some of us consider to be the major tragedy in Islamic history- thats in reference to Karbala. In all of this, we ask you, where were Al Imam Al Hassan and Al Imam Al Hussein (radi Allahu anhuma)? Were they in India, on the shores of the Mediterranean somewhere or were they in the midst of all of this? How come these speakers who come around and talk to you about Karbala and Aashura dont give you the full scope of it? Because if they do, theyre going to expose themselves and they dont want to do that, so its better just to concentrate on the climax; but leave out of your mind and take out of public attention everything that led to that climax. Weve nothing to hide- what is left? Their connivance is what placed us in the street almost 25 years ago. We dont forget. Where are they today? Only very few of you- we can count them on one of my hands- have remained steadfast during this time period, but wheres the rest? They are out there in their cultural centers, observing their cultural rituals and not tackling the backbone of todays issues; let them scream and stew in their cultural soup; but as long as there are lungs that breathing and hearts that are pulsating, we will continue to express the truth come what may- and whatever comes is what Allah decrees.

YAWM AL EID AL ADHA

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of commitment, conviction, hard work and a struggle.... On this day we express the recognition that has been usurped by people in power, who abuse this power. For us this is only temporary; we lived before this, we are living through it and we will live after it. We know that we progress into a future that Allah has promised His devoted ones and Allah does not forsake His subjects and servants and His promise is the truth. Brothers and sisters- it may be true that in our human terms we have occupation, invasions and wars, but this is not the end all of things. We are not slaves of our moment. When we say and announce Allahu Akbar we mean that Allah is greater then these conditions and these temporary circumstances; our psychology has not gone down; we are not defeated in ourselves. One of the meanings that they want to take away from this occasion, day and annual meeting of the Muslims- this is what they want us to think- that when we say Allahu Akbar, it does not pertain to the issues of power that are causing all of these miseries in our world-wide body. We say to them you will come and you will go; before you came and after you go- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar.

No amount of military campaign, budgets, treasuries, spying and informants are going to take away one iota from our confidence building and jihad because when we say Allahu Akbar, we say that from the portion of us that belongs to Allah and Allah is not defeat able and Allah is not destructible- Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We know that we say this while there are crying children, misplaced peoples, families and even societies, but this is not going to diminish the psychology that comes from Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We have enough courage to look at reality and not run away from it because we are in the company of Allah. Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar How many invaders have come last hundreds of years? Where are they now? Where will these new waves of invasions be when our descendants will stand up on this day every year and proclaim to those who want to silence us that Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We are not going to be bullied by such impositions as the Saudi government that has been (in all of these years) aborting this Hajj with fast pretences, lame excuses and flagrant lies. We can see through all of this because we say with confidence and assurance Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We feel sorry and we have pity for some of us who accompany the royalty that has been undermining Islam and trying to cripple our Imaan. We feel sorry for these brothers and sisters who are in the payroll of their cashiers. We say to them also Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar and let the facts speak for themselves. Makkah, Al-Bayt Al-Haram is declared in the open book of Allah as an inviting city. Do you hear this- you the occupiers, usurpers, thieves who have stolen Makkah and Al-Madinah from our hearts; then you stole them from our minds and now you are stealing them from our bodies. Even though we know what you are up to; and even though we dont have the physical or material power and wherewithal to confront you in an immediate sense, behind all of this, our psychology, morale and spirits rebound and say to you Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar. This is a time when Muslims want to go to Hajj. These are some of the facts that speak for themselves The Saudi Arabian government- that administration of evil- tells Muslims from China (Brothers and sisters Muslims from China go to obtain their visas from Pakistan- maybe not many Muslims know this) hundreds of them were told No- we will not give you visas to go to the Hajj. You go back to China and get your visas there. What do you- the Saudi criminals- think? That youre going to get away with this and not many Muslims are going to observe what you are doing; (or) by the way who are these Chinese Muslims to begin with?! In reply to your attitude we say Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar. Then, around 300 Muslims in Germany who want to go to the Hajj- you tell them No you cannot proceed. This was just a few days ago and we dont know what the outcome of that has been but you (Saudis) certainly are ugly. Your character is ugly (and) your behavior is unbecoming

when you do this to Muslims who have a God-given right to access Makkah and Al-Madinah. For those of you who come from Africa- you know how the Saudi regime treats Africans or African Muslims. In this particular occasion- in Ghana 1,000 Muslims want to go to the Hajj and they are told you cannot proceed. What do you mis-rulers in Arabia think? Youre going to get away with this? You who are standing in the way of Muslims who want to go to Allahs sanctuary to fulfill their heart felt obligations! In the meantime, what are you trying to do? With the same breath and with the same hand in which you are barricading the way to Makkah and Al-Madinah, inside the Muslim house you are trying to spark and spike sectarianism. You are falling exactly within the schemes of Al-Mushrikeen and Al-Kafireen which you have misidentified. Instead of looking at the real Kafir and Mushrik in the world, you turn the word around and you want to Muslims of being Mushriks and of being kafirs! We invite you- if you ever listen to these words- to an open in-house debate among the Muslims to identify and define who the true Mushrikeen and true Kafireen in this world are. But you dont want that to happen. Why? Because you get your orders from your masters! You dont have one master who is Allah; you have many masters in this world who are the true Mushrikeen. And to this we reply Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar You want to build a wall- you are taking your queue from the Israeli Zionists. They are building a wall of separation between people. But we can understand the Israeli Zionists; they are enemies and they feel insecure because of their guilt and their crimes, so they are building this 400 to 500 mile wall- we can understand that. But you want to build a wall among the Muslims. You want to erect a barrier between the Muslims in Arabia and the Muslims in Iraq. We see what you are trying to do and we live on by answering you with Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar You come up with an all time bida saying that theres a quota to the Hajj. Oh Muslimbrothers and sisters- whenever (and) from wherever has somebody designed a scheme to limit the number of Muslims who go to Makkah and Al-Madinah for the Hajj saying for every million Muslims we are only going to permit 1,000 Muslims to come to this Hajj?! And you Saudi Arabians officials, government personnel and administrators of dhulm- you are not even consistent with your own quotas. You give some people more then that quota. For example- by everyones common sense, the number of Muslims in the United States is around 8million (more or less, depending on whom youre talking to) so the quota should be in this case 8,000 Muslims who go to the Hajj. For every million 1,000 (thus) 8million=8,000. Why is it that the number of Muslims from the United States who go to Hajj are around 12,000 and sometimes 15,000- we are told from the press. Why dont you Saudis who are issuing these visas and acting like little Gods on earth- who told you that we need your permission to go to Allah and His Prophet?! Where did this come from? Why do you (Oh Muslims everywhere) accept this Saudi dictate? Arent these playing the role of God? Naudhu billah wa nastaghfirullah To that we add (and let it echo in their private sessions and their closed governmental decision making meetings) Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar. We say to you- corrupt Saudi officials, decision

makers, politicians and diplomats- from our deep down convictions that we stand by the word Allahu Akbar and even though you stifle it during this time of year every year, Muslim awareness is growing. We say to you- Saudi lackeys and clients of Mushrikeen and Kafireen the Muslims are coming. We dont mean the kind of Muslims that you treat like cattle. They say these are the guests of Ar-Rahman- in their media, they say the pilgrims, the Muslims, who go to Makkah and Al-Madinah are dhuyuf Ar-Rahman because they are the toys of Saudi laws and regulations. We dont mean these Muslims are coming, we mean the Muslims who are pronouncing and announcing Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar- these are the types of Muslims who are coming. Now, you have something like a play boy- not like you dont have plenty of them- but now you thrust this type of character to be your representative here in the United States- your ambassador. Weve had worse than him, (like) the person who brought him to your Embassy here in the 1 st place (and) who has now been promoted to more or less engineer a civil war amongst the Muslims. We can see all of this and we can respond to all of this with the coming determination of committed Muslims who say Allahu Akbar and mean Allahu Akbar. Brothers and sisters We know that if we wanted to take a close look at our condition, there is more grief in it than there is joy. This day is meant to be, (as much as we can), a day of happiness, a day in which we visit and contact each other- family members, neighbors, relatives, distance relatives, even our folks who are thousands of miles away. This is the time when we should honor this dayactually tomorrow- when the true Eid is. How many more years are the Saudi officials going to get away with imposing the wrong day on the rightful Muslims? How many more years are we to suffer from this pain of a prescheduled Eid and a prescheduled calendar that does not seek to satisfy Allah? This day is a day of comfort; a day of solace and a day of togetherness. Express that as much as you can; be forthcoming to those who are in need; give to those who do not find necessities in their lives. This shouldnt be a one time event during the year, it should be an attitude that extends from this occasion and day to the rest of the year and the rest of the Muslims and the rest of the mustadhafeen. Act as Allah and His Prophet expect of you towards your loved ones, your dear ones and towards those who dont find what they need in life. Kullu aamin wa antum bi kheir. An Eid that is blessed; an Eid that is accepted and may the following Eid in the coming year regain its true meaning when we live up to our responsibilities and behave in the mode of Allahs Prophet. Wa asalamu aleikum

HAJJ
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims, Muslims of Conviction, hard work and a struggle.... On this day, the Muslims are standing on Mount Arafat. We ask Allah and pray to Him that he accepts the intentions and efforts of these Muslims who are performing the Hajj less then the required performance. It is our responsibility (from this position) to speak the truth about what Al-Hajj means, (at least in part), we cannot exhaust the whole subject. We ask you- brothers and sisters- to pay close attention because there is a barrier of traditions and an accumulation of cultures that sometimes make it very hard to understand what is supposed to be frank and direct (i.e.) Allahs words and His Prophets works. Thus, let us listen and pay attention to what Allah in says in Surat Al-Hajj says about this yearly responsibility. This is a descriptive of what it means to have the Hajj (and) to go to the Hajj (and) to fulfill part of the meaning which is absent from the Hajj. OK- it might be worth-while to gain some information that has been throughout the centuries lost to us. The 1st thing wed like to say, this is necessary to have a healthier and a fuller meaning of these ayaat (and) we have to take a look at the Kabah and Makkah itself in history. Before these

ayaat were revealed, we all know that Ibrahim, Hajar and Ismaeel (alaihim as-salaam) were (to put it in words) the founders of geographic Makkah. They were the pace-setters of what was going to become the Hajj and the Umrah. Makkah is a word mentioned in the Quran either as Makkah with the meem or the M or as Bakkah with the ba or the B. It has been designated to be the 1st place that is distinguished for being Allahs bayt or (some translations would have it) Allahs Temple, Sanctuary or (because other languages and words fail the meaning) dwelling place- thats the attempt of capturing the meaning of the word al-bayt. When Makkah is used in any Islamic literature it either refers to the urban center of Makkah, meaning the town or the city of Makkah or it also can refer to Al-bayt Al-Haram itself- both of these usages are found when we encounter the word Makkah. What is the meaning of this word? To the best of our knowledge and research there doesnt seem to be a clear meaning to the word. In other words it may be a proper noun or it may tolerate a derivative meaning. There is nothing conclusive that can be said about the word Makkah. If we were to extend our linguistic definition- in the Semitic language- there are some letters similar to Makkah or Bakkah or Baka which means a valley. We know Makkah is located near some hills and mountains, therefore that maybe the meaning of the word. We also know that since the time of Ibrahim and Ismaeel, Makkah has been a growing place that has attracted the activity of man. Without going into the details pertaining to Arabian tribes of Khuzaa and before that Jurhum who were to have occupied that desolated area after the arrival of Hajar and Ismaeel after Ibrahim left them there. It gained what is called (we dont use this word, but what people call) a religious place, retreat or sanctuary. Al-Kabah itself was built by Ibrahim and his son Ismaeel. This is the ayah in the Quran And bear in mind as Ibrahim raises the foundations of this Bayt along with Ismaeel saying Our Sustainer accept this from us (Surah Al-Baqarah verse127) As far as Makkah, Al-bayt Al-Haraam and Al-Kabah are concerned, in relationship to the Hajj, from what we read and know- the Hajj was performed during pre-Muhammadi, pre-Quranic and pre-Islamic times the same way it is performed today. There was at-tawaaf around the Kabah; there was ascending Arafat; there was the dispersing from Arafat; there was the tadhiyah, the slaughtering of the animal; and there was ar-rajm. All of these were practiced at the Hajj by everyone who was going to the Hajj at the time of the Hajj. The details and the timing of the Hajj did not change. There was one striking difference between the way the Hajj was performed prior to the Prophet and the way it was performed after that and that is that when people used to go to the Hajj between the 22nd year of the Prophetic era, all to the way back to the time of a few generations after Ibrahim, (when something changed in the performance of the Hajj) and that change was that people would go around the Kabah without any clothes- in the nude and that is why in the 22nd year of the Hijra the Prophets instructions to the Hujjaj (in the singular or plural) there shall be no one unclothed whos going to go in their tawaaf around the Kabah. But besides that, the rest of these stations, areas and designations in the Hajj were there- no change. This is very important to remember. Regardless of the accumulation of traditions or the absence

of information you have to begin to understand this. Some people think that the Muslims came with something (at least) the motions of which were new; the motions were not new. The spirit was new but the mechanics were old. This is very important to understand- brothers and sisters- please follow, we beg you your attention. We have an unspoken attitude or ideas that want us to believe that these inhabitants of Makkah, throughout all of these years before we have the refined and crystallized Hajj that we have (beginning with Allahs Prophet), most of us think that before that these people who are coming to Makkah and going through these rituals were pagans. This is not an accurate description. Rather, they were more muwwahidin or people of Tawheed in the religious (here, we mean the word the way its used is in the secular world) sense than they were pagans- this is so important that you should take this sentence and its meaning and plant it deep down in your mind and heart. We know this from the following: idolaters or pagans could have subtle differences in definition, but we want to go back into the Quran and dig out the real meanings of these words. If we take the word wathan or awthaan (wathan is one, awthaan is the plural), we find it only exists 3 times in the Quran- 3 times. If we take the word asnaam or as-sanam, it only exists 4 times in the Quran- only 4 times. Whats the difference between wathan and sanam? Wathan is a designated thing that has the devotion of man to it but it doesnt have a figure- it could be just a plain rock, tree- something without a figure (and) not refined; something that is still (so to speak) natural or raw- that is wathan. When man comes to something in nature and begins to give it an image or figure, that becomes a sanam. Both of these- wathan and sanam- whether they had a figure or image or didnt were mentioned 7 times in the Quran. In at least 4 of those times they were mentioned pertaining to Ibrahim and his parting from his own people, culture, community, society and family. Who are these people who are going to Makkah and the Kabah before the Prophet? What describes or characterizes them? They were characterized as designating awliya besides Allah- not asnaam and not awthaan. We beg you (once again), follow what we are saying because it will clear the air on much of the confusion that has taken deep root in our society and religious establishments. In Surat Al-Azhab, Allah says What is this ayah saying? To Allah belongs the unpolluted or the pristine deen (Surah Az-Zumar verse 3) OK- that fact is established. No one shares this deen, rivals, competes, clashes or is parallel to Him as far as this deen is concerned. but those who call upon lesser beings or inferior things to Allah (Surah Az-Zumar verse 3) OK- ask them, what is your rational for that? They will say these are our awliya the plural of wali. we do not affirm or conform to them except as a matter that these awliya are catalysts to our proximity to Allah (Surah Az-Zumar verse 3)

Remember, al-wathan and al-awthaan and as-sanam and al-asnaam, which are words that dont have derivatives; theyre stuck in a frozen linguistic world are only 7 times in the whole Quran- two words occur only 7 times. The word awliya and its derivatives (there are plenty of its derivatives) occurs around 200 times. If we were to gage and measure the way Muslims think today, we would think the opposite is the case- wed think that asnaam and awthaan are mentioned couple of hundred times in the Quran because our impression and image about those the Prophet was speaking to and trying to have adhere to Allah is that they are pagans and idolaters and Allah is telling us in the Quran your definition of a pagan and an idolater does not apply to them. They were not contrarian to Me because of some idols or figurines, they were contrary to Me because they have in-betweens, awliya, interfering authorities, rulers and maximalists- these are the types they had that violated their relationship with Me. This is extremely important to understand, digest and have flow through our minds and hearts. With this background information, we come to these ayaat- the ones in Surat Al-Hajj that were quoted at the beginning of the khutbah. Maybe something else also has to be said. Some people think that Al-Hejaz- the area in which Makkah and Al-Madinah are located- was at the fringes of existence. That wasnt the case. The way the world was at that time, this was relatively an undeveloped area of the world (and) life in the dessert is nomadic and somewhat primitive- all of that is true, but that doesnt mean that Makkah (this place that we are talking about) was on the fringes of existence or life. To the contrary, there were a few active areas around it that from time to time (and) wave after wave would impact it. Those were the Persians, the Romans and (today they call them Ethiopians, but because of todays politics we are not going to use that word), we are going to call them al-ahbaash. These were the three centers that had waves of influence back and forth on (number one), the Arabian Peninsula, but more to the point on the Hejaz where Makkah and Al-Madinah were located. Let us mention that about one century before this wahy, the area of influence had shifted from Najd in Arabia (this is within the nomadic environment (and) the area of influence) Al-Hejaz. Also, in the Northern parts of AlHejaz is an area called Waadi Al-Qura, which was very fertile so it attracted those who work the agriculture. Also, Makkah was a commercial area. The Quran speaks about the commercial activity between Yemen to the South and Ash-Shaam to the North with Makkah almost equidistant between these two commercial areas (Surah Al-Quraish verse 2) When Allah begins to peel off these layers of mis-information and ignorance and begins to fill us with the way this place should be He says, those who are in objection to Allahs power and they bar from a course to Allah, (sabeelillah) and Al-Masjid Al-Haram (Surah Al-Hajj verse 25)

By twining sabeelillah and Al-Masjid Al-Haraam in this ayah, it is an inference that the course to Allah is to always be remembered and combined with Al-Masjid Al-Haram- something the average Muslim does not do. In these words in Surat Al-Hajj, Allah is saying that He (Allah Himself) has rendered or made those who reside in it or are living in Makkaharound Al-Masjid Al-Haram- and those who come from other areas or who make the journey there from distant lands- they are considered equal there (Surah Al-Hajj verse 25) We dont mean equal in a class sense we mean equal in every sense of the word; meaning there is not more privileges and more rights for people who live in Makkah to the exclusion of other Muslims who do not reside or live in Makkah; meaning Makkah is as easily accessible to you thousands of miles away as it is to anyone who is to the proximity, vicinity and the immediate area around Al-Bayt Al-Haram, Al-Bayt Al-Ateeq. This is very significant in light of the way Makkah today is off limits to Al-Baad- the word in this ayah. We find that someones breaking the Quranic law. These are Allahs words (and) these are His meanings. Makkah equally belongs to everyone, (but) why is that not the case today? Some people can go to Makkah some people cannot go there, but those who live in Makkah can stay or dwell there forever but other Muslims if they are lucky enough they will be given a few days to go in their lifetime and then they are forced to get out. This is not what the ayah is saying. Refer, read and research this ayah! and whoever has the intention, will, policies or administration to profane this (what has been stated about Makkah as a matter of violating the justice about Makkah and about this issue), we will cause them to taste the bitterness and agony of torment (Surah Al-Hajj verse 25-27) Makkah is not some floating meteor up there, beyond our human access; it is on earth. There are people doing with it what they want to do. They dont care what Allah is saying. Is anyone referring to this ayah in the way we are running the Hajj and Umrah or the way we are going to the Hajj and the Umrah? Absolutely not! And we have raised the rank or the status of Ibrahim due to the position of this bayt (Surah Al-Hajj verse 26) that you shall not designate, authorities and deities besides Me (Surah Al-Hajj verse 26) Look at now- we have a rambunctious world of authorities that tell us we cannot elevate these ayaat to this level of understanding. OK- if we cannot do that, tell these people who have an iron clad hand over Makkah and Al-Madinah to do it. If you dont want us to understand the ayaat, then bring us your explanation of these ayaat. Why do you remain silent about Makkah and the Hajj when these ayaat are sparkling in the book of Allah?

and cleanse purify (Allah is saying) My house for those who are in motion around it, and those who are in stand still towards it, in contemplation, and those who are expressing their affirmation and devotion in their ruku and sujud. (Surah Al-Hajj verse 26) The three conditions in which human beings find themselves when they are there should not be polluted by these multi authoritarians. They say they are people of tawhid, they are joking. They are fooling the listeners. These are not people of tawhid what they accept mans authority over them. Allah is telling Ibrahim and by extension you and me that this place should be decontaminated from these types of people who are closer to shirk than they are to tawhid. Then Allah says And go public by summoning people during this time of Hajj. When this public call goes out for this occasion of the Hajj, they will come to you in Makkah as pedestrians, walking on their feet or they will come to you within swift transportation;They come from distant and far away enclaves so that they can witness and see benefits for their own selves and so that they can invoke Allahs name in these certain days pertaining to the sustenance that comes to them through the meat of the animals that are available to them therefore they are commanded to feed the destitute, the desperate(and) the poverty stricken (Surah AlHajj verse 25-27) (Its) as if today the adhan or call for the Hajj is private. Theres no public announcement that everyone can hear and understand. We have to go through channels and tunnels to get to the Hajj. What a difference in todays world with all these restrictions (and) all of these false laws. Allahs saying when this public call goes out for this occasion of the Hajj they will come to you in Makkah as pedestrians, walking on their feet or they will come to you within swift transportation (Surah Al-Hajj verse 27) Thats not the case now. There are so many huddles and barriers (that) even with the fastest, most efficient means of transportation, they will not be able to make it to the Hajj. Even though Allah is telling us the way or road is open to anyone who wants to respond even if they have to go there walking or (another definition of dhaamir- because dhaamir literally means a lean mode that carries a person from one place to another. Whether its a horse, stallion or camel- if it is lean it can move fast; but another understanding of dhaamir is it is weak. If this is the meaning of dhaamir and we add it to rijalan- pedestrians- (the) meaning (is) they will struggle to come to the Hajj, meaning the only impediment is their own inability not someone imposing on us inabilities. Allah speaks with one meaning and these usurpers of Makkah and Al-Madinah speaking with another meaning. They come from distant and far away enclaves so that they can witness and see benefits for their own selves and so that they can invoke Allahs name in these certain days pertaining to the sustenance that comes to them through the meat of the animals that are available to them (Surah Al-Hajj verse 27)

Were speaking about nourishment, poverty and survival- this is what the ayah is saying, but we cannot speak these words (or) explain this ayah in the Hajj because they say you are bringing controversial issues to the Hajj. Were not bringing anything controversial; we are bringing the words of Allah with the book of Allah to this Hajj because we are the creatures and creation of Allah and we bind to together. Can we speak about the food, agriculture, produce, meat and proteins that will sustain life there? therefore they are commanded to feed the destitute, the desperate(and) the poverty stricken (Surah Al-Hajj verse 27) Are we supposed to think who these people are? According to Allah- yes; according to the minions in Makkah and Al-Madinah who control and run the place with their militaries- no. (This happened during the Hajj of 2006 and is happening again during the Hajj of 2007- so its reproduced within its original time-frame because its identically applicable) Brothers and sisters; Muslims on a way or approaching Allah and in the company of Allah As is the case most of the times, the pilgrims are supposed to be standing on Mount Arafat tomorrow, not today. The government in Saudi Arabia had over a week to determine when the month of Dhul Hijjah began. By any definition or any fiqhi school of thought, today is not the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, it is the 8th of Dhil Hijjah, therefore these powers that be are forcing the Hujjaj to do the right thing on the wrong day and by extension they are forcing others to follow suit. This erroneous and falsified designation of Yaum Arafat to be on the 8th instead of the 9th of Dhil Hijjah and the Eid on the 9th instead of the 10th is an issue (at least a beginner) by which any Muslim anywhere can bring to the attention of those who are acting like dictators and tyrants when they make decisions that impact more than 2billion Muslims in the world. We understand that this Masjid is going to have the Eid tomorrow. As is the case every year, knowing that that is the wrong day we shall- bi mashiatillah- be here tomorrow to go through the motions of salat aleid knowing that salaat ul-eid is due not tomorrow, Saturday, but the day after tomorrow, Sunday, to try our best to communicate through whatever rituals are left the truth about this matter and the results, consequences and outcome belongs to Allah.

ALI AND AL-ASABIYYAH

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of a quality Commitment to Allah.... Our Creator says to us, with light and guidance, for those with determination and struggle; and His words are the eternal truth, Oh you who are firmly and securely committed to Allah (meaning to Allahs power), obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those who are entrusted with authority from among you (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) We have been tracing the issue of authority among us (in khutbahs of more than a year that has lapsed) in a historical way that brings out our 1st generation in its ups and downs, its corrections and errors and in its strengths and its weaknesses. We traced and trailed ourselves through the administrations of the four successors to Allahs Prophet and we reached a point in this common history in the last khutbah in which we realized that a new gap developed in the administration of what is now Southern Iraq with Abdullah ibn Abbass (radi Allahu anhu) abdication of his

responsibilities by leaving the Basra Governorate (as it were) and fleeing (in a sense) to Makkah. It is not easy to focus on this particular this in our history and the cleavages that became part of that time period. To regroup our thoughts, let us say, that it was at this time period during the administration of the 4th successor to the Prophet- the Imam of the Muslims- that we begin to have a better understanding of what is called Al Asabiyah. This is a concept of clannish solidarity. In todays par lands, it refers to such ideologies that are called nationalism, racism, tribalism or ethnicism. All of these are manifestations of what is called Al Asabiyah. During this time in particular we had the 1st clannish solidarity that was regrouping against the legitimate leadership and authority of the committed Muslims that was now centered in Al Kufa; its leader being of course Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu). When Abdullah ibn Abbas took off from Al Basra to Makkah the way he did i.e. with his political break from the Imam of the Ummah, this presented a political opportunity to Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan. After having joined Egypt to the Levant, he now had his eyes fixed on Southern Iraq and Arabia because of what ibn Abbas did. We can see how when the closest of allies break with themselves they offer opportunity for those who have a political agenda to make inroads within the Muslim society and power structure. Muwaiyah consults with his right hand man Amr ibn Al Aas concerning Al Iraq because the news coming out of Iraq is news of a leader i.e. Ali who has people, especially in Al Basra who are divided. They are divided because of the following: (number 1)- there still remained in Al Basra the effects of the war of Al Jamal. There were people in Al Basra who had their family members killed when they were fighting with Ummul Mumineen Aaisha, Talha and Az-Zubair (radi Allahu anhum) against Al Imam, so, in Al Basra, there were amongst some people the attitude of scores to be settled (in todays language). Then, there were some people in Basra who simply gave up. They had no inclinations towards Al Uthmaniyyah (as we may call it and as it was known at that time) and they also had no inclinations towards Al Alawiyyah as some people may want to refer to the opposite side- they simply lost interest in the struggle. Then, there were those who were just passive or neutral. This caused the renegade authority in Ash-Shaam to turn its sights in on Southern Iraq. When Abdullah ibn Abbas abdicated his political responsibilities and left Al Basra to Makkah, a person by the name of Ziyaad, who was loyal to Ali, replaced him; but Muawiyah, having a sense of how the people of Southern Iraq felt at that time, he sent a person by the name of Abdullah Al Hadrami to Al Basra to try to regroup the opposition to Ali. Muawiyyah and his team of consultants pursued a policy of harassment towards the people of Iraq. It was like they dispatched hit-and-run squads to try to weaken whatever was left of the body politic in Iraq. When Ali saw that Al Basra began to fail him, he dispatched one of his confidants to speak to the people of Basra. He had conversations and discussions with them, but being who they are, they waited for an opportune time and then they assassinated that person. This would give you a description of which direction the political loyalties of this population began to move, so this time, Ali sends another person to try and reason with the people of Al Basra- but this time he doesnt send him alone, he sends him in the company of an armed contingent. This person begins to make head way with the people of Basra in other words, he begins to win them back to the cause (as it were). When he was successful in doing that, he regrouped the people of Basra and took on Al Hadrami who Muawiyah sent to Al

Basra who is also the son of Uthmans maternal aunt, ibn khalat Uthman ibn Affan. This person, the emissary of Muawiyyah and the cousin of Uthman, felt that public opinion in Al Basra was not in his favor so he was pursued by a regenerated public opinion in Al Basra until he found shelter in (some books of history say it was) a fort (other books of history say no it was just) a residence. Al Hadrami and 70 of his loyalists took refuge in that place. Alis deputy who turned the public opinion in Al Basra back to where it belongs- his name is Qudama ibn Jaariya- laid siege to ibn Al Hadrami and the 70 who were with him and tried to have them surrender; but they fortified their positions in a warlike manner. The consequence of that conflict was that Al Hadrami and the 70 that were with him were torched, meaning they were burned in the refuge or shelter that they were in. Then, Ali, knowing how public opinion is beginning to fall apart because of Al Asabiyah Remember brothers and sisters- sometimes many of us dont want to look at what was working against the Islamic leadership of justice and brotherhood. What was working against the leadership of Imam Ali was this nationalist Asabiyah that we have within us today. Whether you consider yourself historically sympathetic to one side or the other in the facts that we are recalling, you have within you the Asabiyah that was the integral part of the history that we are looking at. Who in todays world can stand up and say I am free of this Asabiyah? Whether hes an Arab, Persian, Turk, black, white or whatever the particularity of that Asabiyah is; whether its tribal, ethnic, racial or national- it is alive and kicking among us today. Even these descriptions- someone thinks of himself as a Shii and someone else thinks of himself as a Sunni- that concept of tashayyu and that concept of tasunnun in itself has become an Asabiyah. The position of the Imam was to try to galvanize the citizens of the Islamic state so that they can defeat this Asabiyah. He gave a speech to the people, (we think it may be one of his most important speeches) when he realized that hes on the defensive and this Asabiyah was on the offensive because within his own people- when the cousin of Uthman, ibn Al Hadrami was defeated, the Muslims who defeated him were trumpeting their Asabiyah. (We didnt go into these details because we didnt want to bore you with some of these details)- the clannish or tribal elements of Al Basra were Tamim, Rabia and Azd. When the lieutenant of Ali defeated the lieutenant of Muawiyah, it wasnt like this was an Islamic victory; they were proud of their Azdi tribal character. Ali realized that even among his own people this Asabiyah is alive so he turned to them and he said the following: (this is a little long, we know its cold, but we think its worth it)- remember, we are speaking and trying to understand in this historical context the ayah of the Quran Oh you who are firmly and securely committed to Allah (meaning to Allahs power), obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those who are entrusted with authority from among you (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) and Muslims developed a difficulty in obeying ulil Amr early; and this difficulty snow-balled into the Asabiyah that was making a come back- so he was addressing this in light of among other things, understanding this ayah. Henceforth- Al Jihad is one of the gates of Al Jannah .

Whoever chooses something other than this, jihad, then Allah is going to humiliate, disgrace and subdue them. He is reminding the people who would just listen with their ears but would not respond with their hearts- I have indeed called upon you to do war against these enemies (or those folks). Ive done so in daylight and during the night. Ive done so publicly and Ive done so privately; and I have said to you initiate this war campaign against them before they initiate it against you. By He in whose hands is my life- there has never been a people or society that has been invaded or aggressed upon within its homeland and territories accept that it winds up being subdued, domesticated and tamed; but you showed a loss of nerve and heart and you began to dodge your responsibilities; and every time that I would speak to you the harder it became for you to listen to me; and whatever Id say to you, you just push it behind you until the attacks are now coming your way. Then he says, (this is a following sentence that we will translate with license) now, so-and-so begins an attack on area of Al Anbaar in Al Iraq and in this attack (he) disgraces Muslim women-folk and women-folk who are in-treaty with Muslims and then dishonor them and then after that these attackers would leave without anything happening to them. If any Muslim was to die of sorrow because of this happening, I would not blamed him; rather I would pay respect to such a Muslim. This means that even the honor that we are supposed to have now, we do not posses this honor- attackers can do whatever they want to do to our women, families and to people who are in our dhimmah, i.e. in our conscientious responsibility level of administration, and Ali is speaking to the public, who are supposed to be his supporters; hes saying more-orless this honor that is supposed to be left in a decent human being is no longer there to be noticed. It is surprising- overwhelmingly surprising- to the extent that kills the heart and occupies the mind and multiples the sorrows the way these people are amassed concerning their baatil and how you are dispersed concerning the haqq- an accurate statement that can be said and applied to todays Muslims, especially those who are in the same geographical area that we are speaking about. Ali is saying to these people you have become targeted objects incapable of returning the blows. If I tell you to initiate military activity against them during the winter, you respond by saying that this is a time of inclement whether (and) bitter cold; and if I tell you to initiate military activity against the during the summer you say but this is the heat of the summer, it is too hot for us to go for military service in that time; give us respite or some time so that this bad whether goes away (and) this hot whether dissipates; and if you are running away from cold and hot weather you will be more inclined to runaway from the weapons and the swords that you are supposed to face. You are semi-men (or) not even men- you who now have become the leftovers- not even capable of thinking gentle thoughts, By Allah you have spoiled my opinion by your disobedience; you have filled my abdomen with anger until Quraish said the son of Abi Talib is brave but he has no opinion when it comes to war. As accurate as their statement may seem, who is more knowledgeable about war than I am and who is more experienced about war than me?! I went to war and I was still under 20 years of age and today I am over 60 years of age. Then he said this last sentence three times- but rather the truth of the matter is that he who is not obeyed has no opinion. Do you hear this? You people who are

cloaked in your Asabiyah?! You Sunnis who identify with Ali but have made your Sunnism an Asabiyah; you Shiis who identify with Ali but have turned your Shiism into an Asabiyah- do you hear what he is saying?! It seems like you are just like the people of Iraq at that time. You listen to words but they dont penetrate your hearts and they dont settle into your conscience. In these circumstances and conditions, i.e. when this Asabiyah was gaining momentum all over the place- its Asabiyah that was part of that ancient history and its Asabiyah is part of our current day.

The internal enemies of obeying Allah and obeying His Rasul were taking a look at the geography at this time. Most of the Arabian Peninsula was in allegiance to this (now) embattled leader in Al Kufa and Muawiyah began, after the attempt at Al Basra to make in-roads in the Arabian Peninsula. He sends a person by the name of Busr ibn Artaa- this was a character that was bent on terrorizing Arabia in every sense of the word. He goes and tries to wrest Al Yemen from its affiliation with Ali and he goes to Al Medinah and Makkah and the instructions that he was given by Muawiyah was to especially terrorize the people who were living as nomads in the desert who showed more allegiance to Ali then they did to those who were against him. This person did his best in trying terrorizing these people. He managed, at least for a time, to after terrorizing Al Medinah to have these people pay allegiance to Muawiyah, and then he went to Al Yemen and tried the same thing. As he was doing this in the Peninsula, Imam sends a contingent of troops to try to put an end to this. In Makkah, there was another brother of Abdullah ibn Abbas who was afraid of this Muawiyah personality and power so he abdicated and Makkah (on the surface of it) became a loyal city to Muawiyah; and Al Medinah was forced to do the same thing; and now, in Yemen, after this new force came from the Imam, this person fled from Al Yemen, but after doing what? After killing the sons of the governor of YemenUbaidullah ibn Abbas the brother of Abdullah ibn Abbas; these were children and they were butchered and massacred. Seeing that there was an opposition to his terror campaign in Arabia, and after this person leaves for Ash-Shaam, he goes mad. There was so much blood on his conscience that these books of history say that he would take a wooden sword and hed be given pillows to strike these pillows whenever the rage arised in him to do so- which was frequentuntil he died. Then, Muawiyah sends a person by the name of Yazid ibn Ash Shajarah to try to administer Makkah itself only during the time of the Hajj. When the pro-Ali ibn Abbas leader of Makkah abdicates his responsibility, this pro-Muawiyah representative tells the people of Makkah you choose a leader to lead you during the time of the Hajj- which they do. At this time, Ali also dispatches another force. Remember the internal difficulties that are going on inside of Southern Iraq and remember how difficult it is to muster the necessary force to do what has to be done. When this Muawiyah representative hears that there is a force on its way, he leaves; but this is how nationalism reconsolidates itself throughout the Peninsula and add to this the fact that not only is the embattled leadership in Al Kufa dealing with this type of political greed or ambition

in Ash-Shaam but he also has to deal with these internal fighters called Al Khawarij- they were also regrouping and they were also using those who became Muslims who were not of Arabian extraction. Ali was caught between Al Mawaali- this is the word that is used to refer to those who became Muslims who are not of Arabian origin; (and) so he had to deal with these internal Mawaali who were fighting guerilla warfare. They would group in scores or in hundreds and then attack the central authority or those related to the central authority in Al Kufa and Muawiyah, at a distance, was using his hit-and-run squads, attacking at the fringes and trying to take over the distant lands in Arabia and Iraq away from this leadership. Do you think all of this is history or can you find this Asabiyah working today?! We call upon every free Islamic conscience to identify this Asabiyah- whatever it is; if its an Arabian, Persian, racial Asabiyah (blacks or whites or whatever) to identify it because if we dont it has a Shaytaani way of eroding the leadership of the Muslims (be it) the governmental leadership or the Islamic movement leadership; the local leadership or the global leadership- it has its way of destroying it. Look- brothers and sisters- we have been talking about this issue for maybe a year and a half- has anyone noticed that there is any hate?! Theres a lot of disagreements, there are polarizations, hostilities and wars, but does anyone realize that there is any hate in this?! Hate doesnt come with identifying with Allah and His Prophet. O you who are committed to Allah, obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those who are entrusted with your affairs- who come from you or who carry authority in this interactiveposition amongst you and if you differ, refer to Allah and His Messenger. (Surah An-Nisa verse 59) Theres no hate in this. When you encounter a Muslim who harbors hate in themselves you can identify that that type of Muslim is more of the Asabiyah types that we are looking at in history that are living today. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We speak about Makkah and Al Medinah during the 1st generations of Muslims and we speak about them today, in these latter generations of Muslims. If at that time Makkah was threatened by Asabiyah, it has been the case during our generation that Makkah is being destroyed by that Asabiyah. One of the news items that was recently mentioned is that the Prime Minister of Turkey, when visited by the king of Arabia- now we are speaking about kings- remember during that time the rulers- Muawiyah and his descendants- could not get away with using the word king so they had to disguise themselves by giving the title Al Khalifah to their positions and persons. (Dont) you see, with over 1,000 years of Asabiyah in the making, now it is said publicly and forcefully that Arabia has a king. When the Turkish Prime Minister was discussing the many issues that they were discussing in the past month, one of the items that was on that discussion sheet was the item of Hajj which we are going to be celebrating in the coming month. The Prime Minister tells the king they were about half-a-million 500,000 Turks last year who applied to go to the Hajj and you only permitted 70,000 of them.- because the Saudis have (it is very

interesting to know where did they get this policy from? It is also more interesting to notice why no one questions them about this policy?) a policy which says that they will only permit 1,000 people to 1,000,000 in a population; so if Turkey has 70,000,000 people, the official Saudi monarchial policy is to admit only 70,000, (70,000 corresponding to 70,000,000 and this is how they have been running or this is how they have been destroying Makkah and Al Medinah.) What was the kings answer to the Prime Minister? He said OK- in the coming year, we will see to it that we will give more visas. He didnt say or at least the news items didnt mentioned how many; but if this is any measurement of the issue- a population of 70,000,000 (we think it is more then that, but these are the figures that are given) and there is half-a-million of them who want to go to the Hajj- so if we have a Muslim population in the world thats over oneand-a-half billion what is the ratio of Muslims who want to go to the Hajj? And, Turkey is considered a more secular society than other traditional Muslim societies in the world, but let us put them on an equal par- how many Muslims want to go to the Hajj and how many Muslims cannot go to the Hajj? Even those who do make it to the Hajj have to perform a Hajj of rituals that is lacking in meanings; it may be high on emotions, but it is low on thoughts and solidarity. Where are we in todays world? We cant understand our history and we cant understand our present! And the kuffar and their agents all around are delighted to have Islamic Centers and Masajid that cannot stimulate thoughts and cannot have us understand Allah and His Prophet and thus obey Allah and His Prophet and those who are entrusted with authority from among us.

THE TRUE MEANING OF HAJJ

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Maasharal Mumineen.... During these days the attention of the hearts, the focus and the occupation of ourselves becomes the Hajj. We all know that Al Hajj is a mandatory responsibility. Incumbent among men by Allah is the pilgrimage to the House of Allah for those who are able to do so (Surah Ahl Imran verse 97) With reliance on Allah- what we want to move forward with is the essence of this Hajj because it has decayed into what it is today. The Hajj was not meant to be a perel of people every year meaninglessly going and coming back from this Hajj. Towards the end, Allah says Allah has designated or rendered Al Ka'bah, Al Bayt Al Haram, the inviolable house qiyaaman lil naas (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 100) Allahs word Qiyaaman lil naas- here is where our human condition fails to capture this description of Allah as He defines this sanctuary in Makkah i.e. Qiyaaman lil naas. The stagnant mind or the static understanding today by the average or the officially guided Muslims is that

Makkah is a place in which Muslims rise in fulfillment of their ritualistic duties in which people dont even think about what it means when it says people stand up in these five or seven or several stations or positions that they go to in an around Makkah. We in our humble and meek understanding of this ayah respond to this sinking traditional interpretation of the word Qiyaaman lil naas (and) say that the word Qiyaaman lil naas means a motivation for people. One of the meanings of Qiyaaman lil naas is that Allah has rendered Makkah and the holy sanctuary to be motivation for people (Surah AlMaaidah verse 100) When Allah says to His Prophet, in one of the 1 st ayaat to be revealed- the word qum in the ayah is related to the word qiyaaman in this ayah that pertains to the Hajj; which means Oh you who are enwrapped or engulfed in your condition or your status quo(Surah AlMudathir verse 1) this is an address to Allahs Prophet from Allah be motivated (Surah Al-Mudathir verse 2) and Allah has rendered Makkah and the holy sanctuary to be motivation for people (Surah AlMaaidah verse 100) He didnt say Qiyaaman lil Mumineen; He didnt say Qiyaaman lil Aaqifeen; He didnt say qiyaaman lil Zaaireen; He didnt say qiyaaman lil hujaaj or lil hajeej which means that the aspects of Makkah and Al Bayt Al Haram should be a motivation for people- whoever these people are. The meanings of Makkah and Al Bayt Al Haram should have an impact on peoples of the world. Another meaning of Qiyaaman is an upliftment for people. The affects of going to Makkah and honoring the meanings of the Hajj should have the far reaching affects of uplifting the condition of people- whether these people are Muslims or non-Muslims. This is the designation of what it means to perform this yearly duty (and) to have the results of meeting in Makkah, a brotherhood and a common understanding in Makkah, bringing back the original contents of At-tawaf. What does it mean to go around the Kabah in the fashion that we do? What does it mean to jog between As-Safa and Al-Marwa? What does it mean to be at Arafat? What does it mean to sacrifice the animals that are sacrificed? What does it mean to drink from the water of ZamZam? All of these meanings- because of the official control and clamp down on these original meanings- have no effect. Forget about the rest of the world, they have no affect in Makkah on the people who are performing these actions and going through these motions- they have no meanings among them themselves.

Let us re-place this ayah in the climate and environment of Allahs Prophet When Allahs Prophet performed the one or two pilgrimages that he performed, he did so while living a struggle. Because of that struggle, (a real struggle, were talking about life and death; people living and dying because of what it means to be a Muslim and a Mumin), Allahs Prophet was forced to sign what is called today political or military agreements with the Mushrikeen. These are the most hostile human elements against committed Muslims and Allahs Prophet had to reach an arrangement and an agreement with them. This arrangement and agreement carried on for months and years, but it wasnt an arrangement and an agreement that was done while the Prophet was idol- sitting back and not doing anything. Why would there be any necessity or justification to have any relationships with Mushriks when youre not doing anything?! The Muslims of Al Medinah were threatened; at times, that they were living at a survival level; at times, they had to go on military forays- the consequences of which were unknown to them. They were shaken to their core, (meaning the committed Muslims), to an extent that the Prophet and those who are committed with him asked but when is Allahs triumph(Surah Al-Baqarah verse 214) They were living in a condition that they felt under siege. In these types of conditions the Prophet had to take on one enemy by neutralizing another enemy- this is a Sunnah that should come alive in the behavior and planning of those who are committed to Allah. If you cant think about encountering your enemy in a theoretical clean way- Allahs Prophet did it in the best possible way when he encountered his enemy knew how to classify those who were most hostile to him as opposed to those who were less hostile to him and therefore he had to enter into treaties or muaahadaat with these enemies of Allah. When the time came to abrogate these treaties, how did he do that? Did he say let us end these treaties bilaterally or was he instructed to do so on a certain occasion within a certain milieu? Allah instructs him to do so in the Hajj itself. Remember, in todays foggy mind, this is one of the most controversial issues to say the Muslims bring your political and multilateral arrangements to Makkah. They will come and say what are you doing? You are bringing matters of controversy to split and divide the Muslims! And they throw in our face words from the Quran words that are equally misinterpreted and misunderstood. Any Muslim who tries to take the relationships of the Muslims with the Mushriks and to decide or deliberate on it in the Hajj in Makkah and Al Bayt Al Haram, he is told automatically fa laa rafatha wa laa fusuqa wa laa jidaala fil hajj. OK- we tell them Yes, this is an ayah from the Quran and we agree to this ayah word-by-word and sentence-by-sentence, but what is rafath? The word rafath in the Quran refers to the intimate relationship between husband and wife- what does this have to do with it? No-one is bringing an intimate relationship (in other words, to break it down to the language of today), there shouldnt be any hanky-panky stuff going on in the Hajj; thats the meaning of rafath. Well- this is not hanky-panky stuff- thats number 1. OK- theres no fusuq in the Hajj. The fusuq in the Quran is fusuq an amrillah i.e. to disintegrate from Allahs order (i.e. if) you

cant bind into it, you disintegrate from it. No one is bringing an issue of disintegrating from Allah into Makkah; they may be bringing issues of disintegrating from the Mushrikeen to Makkah but not from Allah. Now, we come to the most debatable word wa laa jidaala, and there shouldnt be any argumentation in Al Hajj. Well- whose arguing?! What would make an issue of Al Bara from Al Mushrikeen, the disavowal and breaking of power relationships with the Mushrikeen a matter of jidaal in the Hajj? Allah has rendered Makkah and the holy sanctuary to be motivation for people (Surah AlMaaidah verse 100) This is how we should honor Al Kabah and Al Bayt Al Haram as a matter of motivation for people; meaning the committed Muslims start this motivation in Makkah and it is felt by other people around the world; the committed Muslims begin a movement of upliftment in Al Bayt Al Haram in Al Balad Al Ameen in Makkah and then it is felt by other peoples in the world. Allah describes and defines Makkah as a place of security and safety. He says By this cityIndeed, We have created man in toil (Surah Al-Balad verse 1-4) In another ayah, in reference to this same geographical place in the world Makkah as a place of security and safety (Surah At-Tin verse 3) Why has Al Balad Al Ameen in the context of We have created man in toil while referring to Makkah Al Bayt Al Haram, (and) Al Kabah if we place a parallel between what is said in the Holy Writ and what is done in the polluted world we find that if there is stability in the world its everywhere and anywhere except where Allah says there shall be stability, security and safety. Why? If Christians want to go to Rome, Canterbury or even to Istanbul- whether they are Catholics, Protestants or Orthodox Christians- no one tells them where are you going? Or theres a quota on your numbers! Or you have to meet certain types of conditions to go there! They go there freely. Has anybody ever heard of a person belonging to the jewish faith encountering any official problems in going to Jerusalem? Its not heard of! Has anyone heard of a Christian who wants to go to Rome or Canterbury or Istanbul and have encountered problems from governments? Why is it that when we Muslims want to go to the Hajj or Umrah we begin to have all of these problems?! Problems of time limitations, immunizations, financial restrictions, age requirements and other problems that are piled on other problems that at the end discourage us from going to a place that is supposed to be safe, secure and stable for our presence there. Allah has rendered Makkah and the holy sanctuary to be motivation for people (Surah AlMaaidah verse 100)

Just like you have the United Nations and resolutions that are signed there and other people across the globe feel its affects, that has an echo in the world for bad, ill or for good; but you come to Makkah and Muslims go there, what type of impact or movement is generated from Makkah? Last year, some Muslim scholars went and set with each otherSunnis and Shiis sat with each other to agree that it is haram for a Muslim to shed the blood of another Muslim, be he a Sunni or Shii- did anyone feel the effects of that? It was like it was done in a closed room with the high pitch of someone who is whispering in someone elses ear, (if that). Makkah, Al Kabah, Al Bayt Al Haram have been shattered, stifled, occupied and nationalized and we have some Muslims who feel that they have fulfilled their duty by going to Makkah and Al Medinah and coming back. Some of our poor simple Muslim brothers even feel that they are honored to gain the title of Haaj upon returning from Makkah to North America or some other places in the world far from it. Nothing has been done or been accomplished by the way this Hajj has been run, controlled and smothered- nothing!!! We dont live up to the meanings of Allah has rendered Makkah and the holy sanctuary to be motivation for people (Surah AlMaaidah verse 100) When Allahs Prophet wanted to annul his relationship with the Mushriks he was instructed by Allah to do so in Makkah- of all places; during the Hajj- of all times. We dis-avow- this disavowal comes from Allah and His Apostle to those youve signed a reliance agreement with. (Surah Taubah verse 1) There was no one there to say or try to stop the Prophet by quoting some ayaat from the Quran fa laa rafatha wa laa fusuqa wa laa jidaala fil hajj because they couldnt get away with it. Now(this is how crucial it is for Muslims to have power; when we dont have power the meanings of the words of the Quran are no longer themselves. Qiyaman is no longer qiyama; it doesnt mean what it supposed to mean; rafath, fusuq and jidaal no longer have their meanings; they have been stolen by secular-Godless-hostile types and given their slant of the meaning; they fit their own meaning because they are in positions of power onto the words of the Quran and then market that meaning among you and me of all places through the Masaajid.) Brothers and sisters; committed Muslims You are either influenced and moved by Allah, His Prophet and what they say to you or you fall victim and prey to what Shayaateen Al Ins wa Al Jinn have to say to you. This Mimbar on Friday has to be a Mimbar of Muslim conscience that speaks the truth regardless of the consequences. In other areas and details of life, there may be matters of calculation), but from the Mimbar of Rasulillah, on this day and time, the Muslim conscience should speak itself and say the truth to power. In the recent past, 38 religious scholars in that nationalistically designated area called Saudi Arabia signed like something like a fatwa that calls upon Sunni Muslims to

come to the aid of Sunni Muslims in Iraq to kill what they perceive to be their common enemy i.e. the Shii Muslims. The rationale in their internal thoughts is that the Shiis in Iraq are taking over and therefore this is a battle of destiny and the Muslims should be whipped up into a sectarian frenzy to kill themselves. Then, from the other side we have voices from the Shii Iraqi community that are responding by saying that instead of agreeing on this type of edict or fatwa there should be a pan-Islamic agreement on fighting the Zionist occupiers in Palestine. The Zionist occupiers are in Iraq and the Zionist occupiers are in Saudi Arabia. Do you listen to that- Muslims!!! When Allahs Prophet- if you honor Allahs Prophet- was dealing with those who harbor the most intense hostility towards committed Muslims, (in the words of Allah in His Holy Writ), we ask you to collect your geographical and historical information- when Allahs Prophet was setting this iman into motion 1,400 years ago, where were Al Yahud and Mushrikeen concentrated- in Makkah or Al Medinah? They were neither concentrated in Makkah nor Al Medinah. The Mushriks were, in their concentration, way outside of Arabia; Al Yahud, in their concentration, where they had significant members, influence, power and clout- where were they? Were they in Arabia? No. The Prophet of Allah didnt say lets go and take on Ashad An Naas liladheena Aamanu Al Yahud wa Alladheena Ashraku where they are concentrated. He was dealing with his own problem in his own vicinity, home and country. So you, (right now), who are singing this sectarian line- whether you are in Saudi Arabia or Iraq; whether you are Sunnis or Shiis, (it doesnt matter), you have lost sight of your Prophet- deal with your problem where you are. The American-Zionists occupation is equally present in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Al Medinah as it is in Baghdad, Al Basra, An Najaf and Karbala- thats where your immediate enemy is. Dont get side tracked into this scheme that wants to divide us and (more than that) wants to kill us. (We have to say this, once again, when we use the word Sunni and Shii we use it in its general par lands and not as it was originally meant to be defined)- when you- Shiis in Iraq- say you want the government of Saudi Arabia to come down on these Wahabi fanatics because they are stirring religious animosity amongst the Muslims, who are you asking? You are asking the puppet government that is instrumental in bringing about the occupation of your country and solidifying the occupation of the Zionists in Palestine. This Saudi government is beginning to show its internal unraveling so their ambassador here, in Washington, resigns- we are told. He leaves and doesnt want to be ambassador here anymore. His brother, the Saudi Foreign Minister, who is being treated for Parkinsons disease in Californiawhy? Whats wrong? With all the money you have, ($3 trillion by some counts in this country), we, Muslims, cant have our own cash, finances, treasury and budgets in Makkah and Al Medinah? What happened to you Muslims? Giving your wealth and endorsing the process through the Masajid and now theres an internal power struggle in a ruling family- a family that said it is haram for the Prophets family to rule, but it is halal for their own family to rule Makkah and Al Medinah!!! Haramun on the Prophet; halaalun ala annufisihim!!! The son of the king is vying for this position to become ambassador here and the half brother of the previous ambassador is competing for the same position. Makkah and Al Medinah remain

outside of Islamic control- we have no access to Makkah and Al Medinah as is supposed to be and it seems like people are comfortable with that. They want to go to Hajj and come back. Why cant Muslims take their brotherhood to Makkah and Al Medinah? The Muslims from Iraq, Palestine, Kashmir and other parts cant come to Makkah and Al Medinah and join hands with each other and say and this is your Ummah, being one Ummah (Surah Al-Anbiya verse 92) Thats not possible?! Why cant we do that? Who is standing in our way? These people who have all of these resources and money! An investigation in Britain has been going on for months and years concerning bribery and kick-backs in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars that are taken by these princes who have occupied Makkah and Al Medinah and then the government in Riyadh and Jeddah says we are going to break relations with Britain if it continues to investigate this bribery and these kick-backs. They want to sell a fighter jet that sells for around $17million to the Saudis for around $20-30million and the difference in the price is to be gained by those who now are the administrators and hegemons in Makkah and Al Medinah. These are the people through whom we go when we want to go to Hajj. Who says we need the stamp of approval to go to the Prophet of Allah, the House of Allah, Qiblatul Muslimeen, Al Kabah Al Bayt Al Haraam and Al Maqaam Al Ibrahim?! We need the approval of these lackeys of Yahud and Al Mushrikeen?! Where did this come from? Isnt this a bidah? Why dont they speak about this bidah from their Mimbar? This is the biggest bidah in history and we should remain silent about it! The bidah that should bring us to kill ourselves is if a Muslim says after mentioning the Prophets name sallalahu alaihi wa sallam and another Muslim says sallalahu alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallam. These two statements are supposed to be incongruent with each other and we are supposed to kill ourselves because of that! A Muslim performs wudhu and washes his feet (while) another Muslim performs wudhu and wipes his feet- this is a matter of civil war among the Muslims, but they steal the Islamic wealth and resources and plunge the Ummah into poverty and nothing is wrong with that! No-one should even think about that! Let us go to Hajj and Umrah, if we can go there, to fulfill Allahs words Allah has rendered Makkah and the holy sanctuary to be motivation for people (Surah AlMaaidah verse 100)

KHAYBAR- YESTERDAY AND TODAY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters on our way to Allah.... To begin- with our hearts and minds- we cannot express adequately our thanks to Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims for showing us the way. In the tradition of making this khutbah relevant and pertinent to the live issues of our time, we will focus our attention on meanings from Allah and manners from His Prophet. An ayah in Surat Al Hashr in this guiding Quran says- this ayah (as is Surat Al Hashr generally) is the penetration of the psychology of yahud- a psychology that hasnt changed. Therefore, learning from a lesson that is 1,400 years old is learning a lesson that we face today. What does this ayah say? They will not or they do not.(Surah Al Hashr verse 14) The ayah is as inclusive as to include these two meanings. Who is They? They is in reference to yahud- These zionists who are in uniform. They do not wage war against you as a united front (Surah Al Hashr verse 14)

meaning, when they are in war against us, inside of them they are divided. This goes contrary to much of what current day Muslims think. They think (that) out there, there is this consolidated effort by yahud. There may be a consolidated psychology- maybe- but when it comes to the warfront, they are not so. We are not reaching this conclusion by studying any book in history; we dont say this because some smart scholars said it; we say this because that is what Allah- Most Knowledgeable, Al Aleem, Al Hakeem, Al Khabeer says about these types of people. but when they do come together to fight you, they do so from behind fortified establishments (Surah Al Hashr verse 14) This is also what the ayah is saying. or from behind barriers or walls (Surah Al Hashr verse 14) (Take a) look at this ayah- before we come to the developing and moving picture of our time, let us look at how they behaved in the time of Allahs Prophet.

After the agreement of Al Hudaibiyah, the Prophet of Allah put together a military force (this was towards the end of the 6th hijri year or at the beginning of the 7th hijri year) and the objective of this military force was Khaybar- a place that is 100 or so miles North of Al Medinah. At that time, Khaybar was a regrouping area for the rest of yahud who were in the Arabian Peninsula, especially for those who were forced, because of what they did, to leave Al Medinah. These yahud were not operating in a vacuum. They knew that they were not able to withstand Muslim military forces, so what did they do? They tried to involve other Arabians with them- Mushriks, Kaafirs- to fight against these Muslims. Prominent among these Arabians was a power called Ghatfan. When the Prophet left Al Medinah, knowing this- unlike todays characters who paint themselves with an Islamic color and give themselves an Islamic image but they dont know whats going on in this world as far as political factions, ideological polarizations and military blocks are concerned- theyre withdrawn from that; these have become the victims of secularism and a Godless mentality and mind, yet they know how to pray, fast (and) they do so religiously, but that wasnt the character of Allahs Prophet. In addition to his prayers and rituals, he was keen and aware of the forces that were around. He knew that now there was a possibility of the Arabian powers in the North joining up with the yahudi or zionist power in Khaybar, Fadak, Wadi Al Qura and Tayma- these were all yahudi pockets in the Northern parts of Arabia. When he and this Islamic force left Al Medinah on to Khaybar- this is a time when people had informants, spies- intelligences operatives (in todays words) who were all around. So, where is this force going? When the Prophet left, he left at an angle giving the impression that he wasnt going to Khaybar, but he was going to this other Arabian power pocket in Arabia. So, Ghatfan-

collecting this intelligence- realized: wait a minute, this maybe a trick. Word has it that he is out to get yahud in Khaybar, but look- his military directions is towards us. We better protect ourselves. So they told yahud forget it- for now, were going to protect ourselves. So, this military divergent act split the Arabians from yahud. Each one was looking for its own self, interest and survival. This is what the Prophet of Allah did; in other words, this is his Sunnah and his Seerah- something that you will not find in the way the majority of those who represent todays Muslims thinking, behaving and strategizing. When the Prophet of Allah finally arrived with this military force, (between 1,400 and 1,600 Muslims), in Khaybar he said these following words We think that since people are in a climate similar to them, they should be on the minds of Muslims nowadays What did the Prophet say when he approached this fortification of Khaybar? Of course, because we have the mediocre speakers of today, who are not living for Allah, but living off Allah- in the conditions we find ourselves here-in, no one wants to tell you this is the way Allahs Prophet began the assault on Khaybar. Oh AllahSustainer of the heavens and what they overshadow; and the Sustainer of the earths and what they contain; and the Sustainer of the Satans or demons with their diabolic plans and schemes; and the Sustainer of the winds and the directions in which they shift and blow- we ask you the prosperity of this social order along with its people and we seek Your refuge from the evil of this social order and its people. Go forward in the name of Allah the Exalted. Military words from a military commander but not in the immediate sense of we just have a small battle here. This is placed in a larger context- which these words express. Then, the military encounter goes on for over three weeks and finally yahud surrender. This brings us back to the meaning of the ayah They do not wage war against you as a united front but when they do come together to fight you, they do so from behind fortified establishments (Surah Al Hashr verse 14) In that history, there are 23 years in which Allahs Prophet had a history of developing and expanding a real Islam. In these years- particularly in the last 10 years when there was close proximity between Allahs Prophet and the committed Muslims around him, the only time yahud took a military position against the Muslims was at Khaybar. Look how it turned out- Khaybar was a very fortified piece of land; it was known for its abundant agricultural output, but in addition to that there were tens of fortifications, (small fortresses), around Khaybar and they fell one after the other. There were two of them- As Salaalam and Taleeh- (if we call their names correctly) that held out until the end, but it was a matter of just over three weeks and this yahudi power (were defeated). Remember what they told the Prophet when he was in Medinah when he scored victory military victory against the Mushrikeen in Badr?! Ah, you have not dealt with militarily experienced people. If you were to deal with us, then you would know who the military experienced people are. OK- here you are in Khaybar- show as your military prowess, expertise or superiority! They cant- its their nature. Allah tells us this they will not fight you as one solid body; they will fight you behind or within fortified establishments (Surah Al Hashr verse 14)

The only time that they feel they can fight is if they are in bunkers, have solid protection or if they have air cover (as they call it today)- at that time, they feel like they can fight, so they may involve themselves in a fight, but the seeds of their defeat is in their psychologythey cannot sustain a clean fight or if they do fight, It will be from behind walls and barriers (Surah Al Hashr verse 14) Its as if the meaning of this ayah is right there- 400 miles of it. Yahud built a wall and a barrier around themselves to offer them the security after which they feel they can fight against their enemies- in this case, it happens to be us. Why the wall- with all the gadgets that come with itelectronics, engineering, ditches, lights, spot-lights, barbed wires, etc? What do we have? Whats this all about- and for a distance of about 400 miles?! When they have all of this- this is what they sense they have they have air cover (F15s and F16s), tanks, armored personnel carriers, naval vessels, frigates and all of this- wheres all of this going? All of this only gives them the psychological incentive to engage us in a long awaited, long anticipated and a long over-due military encounter with them. We are just reading what Allah is telling us- thats all we are doing. Then- this flies in the face of those who think that these international thieves, war criminals are somehow together. When it comes to the military component of their activities, they are not together. We dont care what type of front they are putting out or what type of propaganda they are spewing, the fact of the matter is what Allah tells us about them. This may be their serious disagreements, that may even take the form of bloodshed among themselves (Surah Al- Hashr verse 14) If we are looking at a zionist entity- and you are out of touch with reality if you think that a zionist entity works and operates independent of an imperialist sole-mate and soldier counterpart. Thats how they work. Some of them are allies of each other (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) If some of us, Muslims, can understand where we are and what we have to do, they will come down crumbling in front of our eyes; but if were not going to do what we are supposed to do and carry our responsibility, (even if that means blood and tears), then of course, theyre going to get away with it. Allah did not speak about these yahud in light of this ayah when the Muslims were in Medinah, not going to Khaybar, not carrying arms and not sacrificing their lives- these ayaat were not revealed for arm-chair Muslims who sit around pontificating and theorizing about abstracts and hypotheticals! This is not the way it works- these ayaat work when we carry our responsibility and make sense to us when we are involved, otherwise these are only ink on paper and words that are verbalized- thats all!

You think that they are together but their hearts are dispersed, scattered and divided (Surah Ahl Imran verse 51) This ayah is understood when we lead them all the way up to this military encounter. Today, some committed Muslims have moved the Islamic condition all the way up to a war-front. Now is the time to take a look at these zionist usurpers of Gods Holy land. What do you realize? How do we visualize them? Are they fighting a clean war? Far from it! With a psychology in which they think that they have the upper-hand, because of the military gadgets that they have- theres no doubt that if we wanted to compare what committed Muslims have with what committed zionists have in the military hardware sense of the word, theres no comparison! The truth has to be said- what do committed Muslims have? They have no air force- at all! Committed Muslims dont have tanks- not even a fraction of what these zionists have! The ammunition, inventory and stock-pile of weapons that the yahudis have is by light years ahead of what the committed Muslims, (you and I), have- no doubt about that! But, if they have all of that, why are they attacking and killing innocent human beings who are not warriors, soldiers or combatants. If we were to interchange Khaybar and 1,400 years or so ago with today, and place the instruments of death and destruction that the zionists have in Khaybar, what would that mean? They would have used their air force and tanks to kill innocent Muslims in Medinah and in other areas if they could get away with it and do so. The fact of the matter is that at that time they didnt have what it takes to kill innocent people- now they have it. So, if yahud had access to the people who we revere and hold in high esteem i.e. the Prophet and those who were with him, their families, loved-ones, they would have killed them because an innocent person is an innocent person, (today or 1,400 years ago or 1,400 years from now), so if they are willing to kill them today, they were willing to kill them then! This is another take on the ayah You will find those who express the most hostility to those who are committed to Allah- al yahud (Surah Al Maaidah verse 85) (Who are) these zionists of today. (Take a( look at them- if you speak about ethnic cleansing, what are they doing? Thats exactly what they are doing? If you speak about massacres, you only have to open your eyes and see how their hands are dripping with innocent Muslims blood from the massacres that they are responsible for. (If you speak about) war crimes- (its) as if the world is on leave; theres no international law, no international legality, no international forums towhat happened to the world and its legitimate judicial systems!? Then, Allah tells us that they are divided amongst themselves. (Surah Al Hashr verse 51) One of them, a previous Prime Minister, who came to Washington and tried to reach an agreement at Camp David with the Palestinians, where is he? You dont see him around. Hes not speaking to the media! Whats he going to say? They want to hide their divisions because what he has to say is against his own leadership and state- of which he was a Prime Minister.

Some of their writers are coming and saying this war (the 33 day beating they took from Hizbullah) is not prosecuted in the right way! The yahudi military should have been given the massive order to move in massively into Lebanon and occupy as much territory as possible from the beginning! Some of these divisions are kept inside of them because they want to hide the fact that Allah is giving us and they are a people who dont string reason together (Surah Al Hashr verse 51) (Take a) look at these 57 or 58 past years- their policies have always been to respond to force by the aggrieved party i.e. if the Palestinians were going to use force, then these yahudi zionists would respond to it with disproportionate, vicious and a force of a genocidal nature. Is this problem decreasing, simmering down or fading away? NO! The string of 57 or 58 years of the false ideas and ideology that represents zionism is increasing the bloodshed and possibility of getting yet more people and populations involved in a war of racism and expansionism by these zionists who are the enemies of Allah, His Prophet, the Committed Muslims and all decent and honorable people in the world.

Some of the information that goes un-noticed or that people dont speak much about in the campaign of Khaybar- just to fill you in on some incidents- these yahudis had an African/black person who was a shepherd in Khaybar. When the Muslims were coming, this African shepherd heard his masters- the yahudi elite- saying we have to get ready- this is war. He came to them and in a very simple way asked whats all of this? Whats going on here? They said to him that theres a person who claims that hes a Prophet whos coming to launch a war against us and we- right now- are taking our precautions. This person waited until the Muslims were in the vicinity. He went- he said If theres a person claiming to be a Prophet, lets see what all of this about? He went to the Prophet. Imagine a shepherd goes to the Prophet- in the racist makeup of the world and the zionist mentality- and the Prophet, being a person whos located among the mustadafeen and average people He didnt need an appointment, he didnt need any bureaucracy or any of that- he went to the Prophet and said could you tell me what all of this is about? Why is this going on? He said yes and he explained to him in very clear and down-toearth words, what all of this was about- Allah, the Prophet, the Quran and these yahud who have been conspiring in all of these years against Allah, the Prophet, the Quran. This person said, well I decide to be on your side- I want to be a Muslim- OK, youre very welcome- but I have me herd and sheep. It belongs to them. He says, its not very difficult, you lead this herd to the gates of Khaybar- where you came from- just up to that area. You dont have to go in yourself and the herd will find its way back. He did exactly that and he came back. Remember- this is a person who has just become a Muslim and Muslims were now in a state of war. He carried arms and fought (along) with the Muslims and became a shaheed. How much spiritual drilling did this person go through? Imagine someone like that

becoming a Muslim today? Theyd tell him OH NO! You have to be educated and spend so much time to qualify to carry arms- we ourselves are not carrying arms! Another one of these untold details in this campaign is that there was an enemy of Allah and His Prophet- his name was Sallaam ibn Mishkam. Probably in todays world- the equivalent of Sharon, Netanyahu and these others- he was killed in the Khaybar military encounter. His wife survived and after it was all over, his wife prepared some meat for the Prophet, she poisoned that meat and she asked which part of the lamb does the Prophet like the most. She was told its the front leg or shoulder area of this roast, so she increased the amount of poison in the particular areas that she was told the Prophet loved the most. She presented this roast, assumable, for the honor of the Prophet. The Prophet and some Muslims who were with him began eating. The Prophet said, after just chewing the 1st bite of meat, something to the effect that the bone tells me that this is poisoned and he spit that meat out. One of his companions ate from another part of this roast and he died in a short period of time. The Prophet did not die, but when all of this was made clear, the Prophet asked to see this lady. He asked her, why did you do this? She said well- I wanted to know whether you are a king, meaning, if what youre doing is just for power and (if) you are power hungry or a man of this world or whether you are truly a Prophet. Now, after seeing what I have seen and knowing what I know, I realize that you are a Prophet. Here, the books of history diverge on whether she became a Muslimah or whether she did not become a Muslimah. We dont want to go into those details, but what happens is- remember, this is the 1st month of the 7th year of the hijrah that Khaybar took place. Its probably the month after (in the 1st part of the 7th year) and the Prophet dies about three years after that and it is said that in dying, the Prophet felt the toxic affect of that poison- imagine, just from one bite- that was still in his body when he passed away. You tell us if these types of people (have disappeared)? This is another area. Who are the people who are bringing up these types of issues with who some of them call our cousins!? If they are our cousins, then the Prophet is their cousin- ask our cousins why they want to do this to their cousin, or you dont want the facts to spoil their cozy relationship with these types of people?! Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims Today, if we honor our brotherhood and exercise our responsibilities, we realize that there is a war with all savagery, trauma and tragedy that come from warfare. Some of us may be consumed within the immediacy of the details of this war, but let us step out for a moment or a couple of minutes and look at it this way It is true- and all thanks and complements are due to the source of these victories- those who are Hizbullah have shown a resolute, stiff and fortified position in this glorious confrontation with these ancient enemies of Allah and humanity, but the question beyond this is the following: the zionist yahudi occupiers of the Holy land should not get away with choking off the Islamic potential that is waiting to take them on. Brothers and sisters- we know, that anyone who is living their Islamic character, fulfilling their Islamic obligations and thinking with an Islamic mind that has its roots with Allah and His Prophet- we ask you, (when we know that there are tens of thousands of Muslims who cannot find a way to participate in this

new chapter in history), is it acceptable that a quantified number of Muslims alone are fighting alone, not only against the zionists, but also the imperialists and also the Arabian official systems in all of that area? Who are we? Where are we? Why cant Muslims in the tens of thousands go to that area and share in the rewards and responsibility that beckon all of us? We hope that this can continue in a more favorable direction and eventually we will, (sooner or later), be involved in this effort; but, we cannot emphasize enough and underscore adequately the role that is being played by the Arabian governments in the area. They come with their money and say Youve been damaged- here is a couple of billion dollars. We ask these same donors, philanthropists and governments, OK- (if) you feel so sorry for the people in Lebanon- you gave them $2,5 billion at least, so far, (we are told), how about the Palestinians? They deserve no assistance? (Is) nothing happening to them? They know- just a few months ago, they wanted to draw just a few measly million dollars from their own accounts and you wouldnt let them do so! Now, you want to fool us ie. (that) youre giving the Lebanese government and Central Bank $2,5 billion?! We are not simpletons! You cant take us for granted any longer. Imagine if these people who are pumping out all of this petroleum just said we will give the zionists in Tel Aviv and their counterparts in Washington one week, and if this war goes on for more than one week, for every month thereafter, we will increase the price of petroleum by $1 per barrel and that revenue is going to be paid to the Islamic resistance. We get nothing of it; its going to go to the Islamic resistance in Lebanon and Palestine! But- brothers and sisters- they are not on our side! They are not part of the solution. These Arabian governments are part of the problem! We have to see it as it is and not be smothered by the emotionalism of the immediate week or month. This is going to have to have a longer course. Besides, we are going to have to reflect and reconsider the decisions made by Allahs Prophet when he had the same type of enemies- i.e. Arabian powers around and a zionist foothold in Arabia- how did he go about in dealing with all of this. Then, we have to compare and contrast and make sense of it all.

ALI: ITS THE ECONOMY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters on As-Siraat Al Mustaqeem.... In the course of gaining consciousness of Allahs power and in a direction that gains us the taqwa that is required, we will press on with the consideration of our historical self, recognizing that those who have came before us are responsible for what they did and we (today) are responsible for what we do. We are not going to be held accountable for their deeds; no-one is going to question us for their decisions and they are not going to be accountable for our deeds or decisions. This is in compliance with the understanding of the of the ayah That was an Ummah that has proceeded. To its advantaged or gain is what it did in accordance and compliance with Allah and to you (is) what you gain once you are in accordance and compliance with Allah and you will not be held responsible for what they did (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 141) Understanding this fact, we continue to learn from ourselves.

We spoke at length for scores of weeks about the 1st generations of Muslims, their mistakes as well as their correct in ijtihaads and we have reached the point in time when we realize that we are expressing symptoms of a political failure- not because of the political leadership that we have, but because of the public sentiment that we had. We realized that it is not easy to live through internal clashes, civil strife and Muslims killing other Muslims- this is not easy to learn from or to recall, but these are the facts that we have to understand so that we dont fall into the same mistakes once again. This is also in accordance with understanding Allah when He says to us that You have been preceded by other nations, (that being the case) you are required to go into areas, lands and territories of these nations and then consider what happened to those who were accusatory against Allah or defying the truth of Allah or falsifying Allah and the facts from Him (Surah Ahl Imran verse 137) As we move with these divine meanings in times that have past and as we continue our journey in that particular time frame to consider what materialized or happened so that we may gage through the word of Allah and the work of His Messenger. We spoke about the social condition of the people in Iraq who showed signs of failing to obey their leader Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and their leader understood their condition. In one of the correspondence between Ali in Kufa and Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) in Al Basra after the encounter in Al Jamal, ibn Abbas complains to ibn Abi Talib about the public attitude- that there is still this what is called at the time Uthmaniyyah in the public mind. One of the sentences in which the Imam answers ibn Abbas, he says pertaining to the inhabitants of Al Basra, he says the people of Basra are where they are because there is an interest that appeals to them and they are waiting for it or there is a punishment that awaits them and they fear it. We covered the exchange of opinions between Ali and the Muslim public and we realized from this exchange between the leader and those who are being led that the leader, himself, felt disappointed concerning the people who are his subjects and he complained. A couple of his famous statements When he would make wudhu, he would say this (referring to his beard; and he put his hand on his beard) is going to be tainted with this (and he put his hand on his forehead; thats in reference to the blood that will flow on from his face). The other sentence that is related to him is the one that says what is keeping the most morbid person from appearing- thats in reference to his assassin. All of this indicates that there is a lack of confidence in the people who are being led. Two features stand out in this relationship between the Imam and the Ummah. The 1st one is (that) the leader never begged, asked or requested the allegiance of this citizenry- never. When the time came and they realized hes the only leader they had, they came to him. He wasnt a person who imposed himself on these people- this is a feature that most of the time is not noticed by most of the Muslims. The 2nd feature is when it came to war he never forced anyone to go to the warfront- never. He would encourage, motivate and stir them, but hed not impose his will upon them. Being that these were the features of his leadership, he had the type of people who began to complain. This was a leader who was concerned with al haqq

and al adl and nothing else and they began to lose interest in al haqq and al adl. Some people have a rosy or non-practical view of the 1st generation of Muslims; they think that they could make no mistakes and they were above the average human being- brothers and sisters, committed Muslim- these were human beings just like me and you. What makes them exceptional is their proximity to Allahs Prophet and the further they distance themselves from Allahs Prophet in their behavior, attitude, internal thoughts and social psychology, the more we can understand that Allah and His Prophet were speaking to human beings then, now and until the end of human life. What happened? If we are to use our God-given intellect and mind, when we began to realize that there is a popular failure that is catching up with the Islamic leadership we ask what happened? What is it? Once again, here, we encounter an area in Muslim history and the Muslim public mind that hasnt generated (what we may call) a satisfying answer, but we can attempt to understand what happened. Were not infallible; we understand Allah and His Prophet and with this understanding we venture to answer such a question. Allah says to us in the organic and basic understanding of human nature- here is the words of Allah that describe to us our human nature and the internal inclinations and propensity that come with it. He says there is a direction of acculturation or refinement pertaining to this human nature and human disposition and there is a opposite direction of disintegration and destruction (Surah Ash-Shams verse 7-8) If we were to take a look at this human nature in Arabia at that time- in the years of Allahs Prophet this human nature was at work. There were the companions, devotees and disciples of Allahs Prophet who committed themselves thoroughly- to the core- to Allah and His Prophet. In later history they are referred to as Al Muhajireen, Al Ansaar, Al Badryeen, Ridhwaanyeen, As Sabiqeen, etc. (radi Allahu anhum) and then they were those who even though they commercially or conveniently became Muslims, they would be referred to as Al Munafiqeen- and they were in the Masjid, in the battles of the Muslims, (at times), and they were there to show their disloyalty by disagreeing with Allahs Prophet from time to time and from year to year. During the times from Allahs Prophet, these Munafiqeen were known to the public mind; the problem began though after the Prophet passed away and then, this category of people in society became ambiguous. There were at least a couple of segments of society that enjoyed a cover of silence- no one wants to speak about them. One of these is called At Tulaqa, those who were amnestied when Makkah was liberated and those who are called Al Muallafatu Qulubuhum, those who were given a share from the Muslim wealth to win them over and to help their psychology and human nature reconcile with Allah and His Prophet. After the Prophet passed away, we had a very serious and potentially devastating development; and that is referred to as hurub ar-ridda. We had Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula who took up arms and wanted to defeat the central Islamic authority in Al Medinah because they said they wanted to be the Muslims

that they wanted to be and they wanted to with-hold their money, revenue and wealth from going to the Islamic treasury. The Muslim mind has not captured- with satisfaction- a societal-social-sociological answer to why this occurred! When Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) ruled, they ruled with a keen eye and the supportive help that they had from that proximity of people to the Prophet on the wealth of the Muslims. The people in Arabia were poor, they didnt have budgets, agricultural produce, natural resources and an industrial base all of which generate wealth- this wasnt there; so the problem of money was not a problem to speak about that would erode the social cohesiveness of the Muslims at that time; but something peculiar happened when the 3rd successor to the Prophet, Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) became the leader of the Muslims. Now, wealth became an issue; we have to understand this- brothers and sisters- in light of the movement of people living during that time. The people who were living at subsistence level in Arabia were on the move to richer more promising areas of the world and then people from those areas of the world who were born into affluence were moving into Arabia, Makkah and Al Medinah. There was a movement of affluence to and from Arabia. The restrictions that Abu Bakr and Umar had on that 1st generation of Muslims i.e. that they should not leave and go out to these distant lands were, during the time of Uthman, lifted. Muslim could free to go wherever they wanted to go- who said you have to stay in Medinah? who said you have to stay in Al Hejaz. Uthman opened up with his policies these movements of people that brought with it an attitude that wasnt there during the time of Allahs Prophet- that attitude was the attitude of affluence- to such a degree that we can understand, (if we read these books of history closely), that some of these people who had left Al Hejaz and gone to Ash Shaam, Iraq or Misr, Egypt, and then had come back to Makkah and Al Medinah they would think that they are more cultured than these primitive inhabitants of Al Medinah, Makkah and Al Hejaz; much like todays immigrants who come from the depressed parts of the world and settle in America or Europe- how do they feel towards their original people in Africa and Asia? They feel like they are more cultured, refined and advanced. This was the type of attitude and feelings that these people had towards Abu Bakr and Umar and now, towards Ali. They thoughthes old fashioned; he wants to take us back to the basics in Makkah and Al Medinah at the time of Umar, Abu Bakr and the Prophet- he cant do that! Why? Because theres a new psychology at work and in the phraseology of some people- today they say its the economy stupid. This is what the attitude and mentality of the people at that time was. They were concerned- nay- most of them were obsessed with the economic issue. During Uthmans time, there was an economic opening up; people felt that their markets were thriving and they were making money at the expense of al haqq and al adl, this justice and we saw the corrective movements that was led by what people today call the idealists. These were youth, young people who wanted to correct Uthman and many of these people in this last year of Ali gave up their lives. Some of them were not even young- Ammaar ibn Yaaser (radi Allahu anhu), who died at Siffin- some people who have their information contorted say that even though he was in his 90s when he was at the battlefield- he was still an idealist; he couldnt get the economic argument- the economic argument that lives on today. There was: Muhammed ibn Abi Bakr and

Bishr ibn Kinanah who were part of this corrective movement against Uthman who died in Egypt; Mohammed ibn Abi Hudhayfah who died in Ash-Shaam: ibn Harqus who died at AnNahrawaan and others who were part of this corrective movement against Uthman who are now gone. What is beginning to appear to us is the coming to life of Allahs word And the Arabians word say but we are committed Muslims; Say you are not committed, rather express yourselves as Muslims- as those who acquiesce (Surah Al Hujurat verse 14) They acquiesce to those who have power and being that the Committed Muslims at the time of the Prophet who were in possession of this power at the time when this ayah was revealed, hence they acquiesced. And still, this Imaan and commitment to Allah has not penetrated into your hearts (Surah Al Hujurat verse 14) We have the same type of appearance Muslims today- Muslims by appearance -and they can have any type of historical description you may want to give them- just because someone is a Sunni is not going to make him immune and just because someone is a Shiithey have an economic bug in their psychology; they are convinced mentally that they have to flow with the economic trend of the world. This is nothing new- if you detect these types of people today, we have detected them over 1,300 years ago. Unfortunately, what we have today in the Muslim public are people who can see the facts in history but they cant see them today and we have the other types of Muslims who can see the facts today but they cant relate them to the historical past.. In todays world, as was the case during the time of Ali- remember, towards the end of his life, when he was getting ready to take on the opposite camp, he said to these people who had the economic argument within them; (before that), remember, they said to him after the battle of Al Jamal and Siffin, these people who were looking out for the economic benefits of the war said that this Imam has made their blood halaal to us but have made their wealth, property and money haraam upon us. Who are these? Are these people in the caliber of Abu Bakr and Umar?! Are they in the mould of Bilal and Suhaib (radi Allahu anhuma)?! NO!!! True, these people go to the Masjid, they listen to the Imam (remember, we are speaking about an Imam who was with his people); we thought that this may not have merited any comment, but now, we think it does merit comment. We spoke about Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, the three of them, who never secluded themselves from their people- they were in the Masjid, in the public and with you and me, they were not attached with heavy guards around them; if someone voiced a comment of opposition to them, they didnt say throw him in jail!; they listened, heard and lived the particulars and details of the common Muslim man and Ali was in that mould. He wasnt excluded, secluded, sequestered or isolated; he was in and within the lively and daily condition of his own people. He was at the Masjid speaking to them, even though some of them were at the Masjid saying but you are a kaafir. Think about that for one minute- the leader of the Muslims standing up in the assembly, congregation and jamaah of the

Muslimeen and speaking to them about their vital issues and then some person or the other stands up and accuses him of kufr in the presence and within the attention of potentially thousands of people who were at the congregational assembly. He takes that in the sense that they have the right to express themselves. Think with us, (for a moment), of the freedom, dignity and rights that the Muslims enjoyed then and now, we dont even have a fraction of it- dare any Muslim anywhere in the Muslim world. If we had a leader who was one-tenth the leader that we are talking about that would stand up in front of public opinion and accuse the leader with the worst accusation that could come to mind- theres nothing worse than telling an Imam that you are a kaafir, and that was done- thats part of our historical self, our historical personality and historical facts. Today, we have military regimes, kill them and ask questions later, emergency laws, states of emergency, tanks and batons in the streets clubbing on Muslims when Muslims just want to express themselves. What a 180 degree reversal! The freedom that Muslim's had to speak their minds and conscience- even when they were wrong- were guaranteed. Today, when we dont have a leadership, we have something like a person who has been imposed on the Palestinians who is obviously doing everything that is wrong- everything- and his people want to demonstrate and express themselves against him and they send in the troops to clubber them infront of the cameras. Then, when they realize the cameras are there, they say you cant take pictures and you cant roll the film while this is happening. There is a qualitative difference between the Muslims of our historical self way back then and the Muslims of our contemporary selves now and here. (Take a look), this is supposed to be the land of freedom- where have we been for the past 24 years? In the street. This is the land of freedom?!?! They tell us you cannot go into the Masjid to pray inside the Masjid For certain, these Masajid belong to Allah- evoke none besides Him (Surah Al Jinn verse 18) But here, they have the power and the economy and Muslim public opinion that wants to flow with the power and the economy; they dont want to stand on their principle. (If you) speak to them about al haqq and al adl, they will turn the other way and say, but my livelihood is threatened by al haqq and al adl. And the Arabians word say but we are committed Muslims; Say you are not committed, rather express yourselves as Muslims- as those who acquiesce; And still, this Imaan and commitment to Allah has not penetrated into your hearts (Surah Al Hujurat verse 14) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We remind you that what we say and express may have an approximation of the whole truth to it; but it is not the whole truth and nothing but the truth as those words belong to Allah and His Prophet. Let us also remind ourselves that what we say about these issues in which we are using the words Sunni and Shii among other words are meant to have us outgrow the tribalism that has become the understanding of the word Sunni and Shii-

equally so. There are people who are dying or being killed execution style or through economic means because theres supposed to be some warfare as a natural relationship between Sunnis and Shiis. We say to these strategists with these Shaytaani minds that we will continue to deal with the roots of this problem until we are immune from anyone who comes our way- whether he prays in the Masjid or whether he is flying a fighter bomber- to try and instigate animosity among us, that he will fail. In the mean-time, do we need to improve? Obviously so. Lets give you one example- brothers and sisters- of how far behind we are. It was reported recently that the British Ambassador in Egypt went into a Masjid and how did the Muslims of that Masjid receive him? By chanting the words tala al badru alayna min thaniyatil wada; wa jabash shukru alayna maa daa lillahitha; ayyuhal mabuthu fina jita bil amril muta; jita sharraftal Medinah marhaban yaa khairada. These words were said to the Prophet, and now, Muslims in these types of Masajid have an Ambassador of a state that has a record of hundreds of years of colonialism and imperialism extending to this moment and he enters a Masjid and thats what he hears and you tell us that we dont need to improve!?

AL-YAHUD- YESTERDAY AND TODAY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen.... Allah says (We will reach the meaning of this ayah in a moment). Our struggle against zionist occupiers is not a flare up of a couple of weeks or months. This has been a contention of centuries. We are provided- through the sweat and blood of our vanguard Muslim generation- with the true nature of these enemies. Let us not confuse terminologies, which many times is the case- were not speaking about the jews; were speaking about the political agenda of yahud, which in our time is the zionist aggression, occupation, slaughter and warfare against ourselves in our homes, territories, countries and homelands. The problem is that we have a small proportion of people who claim that they are Gods chosen race. We have a rich experience with them; (but) it is our shallow mind that are to blame for not tapping in on this rich experience with these types of people. And remind them, because a reminder is of benefit for those who continue to be committed to Allah (Surah Az-Zaariyaat verse 55)

When this inclusive message from Allah was presented indiscriminately to all the peoples around in that geographical area in Arabia, there was a tiny percentage of people who could not accept the content of this Islam that we have and this Quran that is in our hands. They had problems with it and these problems are traced to their exclusive mentality and their discriminating psychology, in other words, their racism and nationalism. Islam could not fit into their racist and nationalist mindset, so they began having problems with Allahs Prophet. Remember, our history is a continuum- we cant dismiss this, especially these defining moments in our interactions and reactions that date back to those formative times. They realized the truth of this message and they presented Allahs Messenger with what they thought would be questions that are impossible to answer. The answers kept on coming to them from heaven above, but they, true to their nature, kept on rejecting Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims. When an Apostle came to them, to authenticate and verify that scripture that is in the possession of their very hands, a portion of those people who have been vouched-safe earlier revelation (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 101) What did they do? They rejected kitaab-Allah, this Quran or Allahs book (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 101) It wasnt a simple rejection. It was like they threw it behind their backs, pretending that they knew nothing about it. (Surah AlBaqarah verse 101) This says a lot. The meaning in this ayah delivers significant lessons if we just pause, (with our minds), to think of how they were acting in the time of Allahs Prophet and the way they are acting today. Dont you see? There is warfare; they launch a war and this war has the war the potential of claiming thousands and thousands of lives, and they act as if they know nothing about God or Prophets of Scripture- all of that, they try to confine to oblivion. We dont have to re-create these events, we can learn from experience- between us and them, there is over 1,400 years in which they have had plenty of time to explain themselves, but still, in encounters of goodwill and open minded sessions in which Muslims and yahud can express themselves freely, why have they not come-forth? Short of this warfare- this is the only encounter we know of with them- but before this, in the lapse of 1,400 years, why dont they come forth with their ideas about Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims. There are stations in history that need explanation. In our fertile history, during the time of Allahs Prophet, three or four encounters with the same forces that are now bombing, destroying, slaughtering and killing- they think that this is like a video game- theyre, (up there), in their cockpits in American manufactured F15s and F16s and they are pressing the button- as if Allah and all of this history does not exist, and therefore, (if we are not connected to it), as if we also do not exist.

The 1st explanation that we need from these types is (for them to) tell us How do you interpret your 1st violation of the agreement you signed with our Prophet? This is not signing an agreement with Yasser Arafat, Hosni Mubarak or king so-and-so or President such-and-such; this is a signature that they placed on a document with Allahs Prophetour Prophet; and if there is going to be any serious Islamic enquiry into their nature, the 1 st thing we ask them is OK- why is it that you violated the peaceful terms that both of us signed on to? In the incident of Bani Qaynuqa, this was a yahudi faction that was living inside Al Medinah- it wasnt on the outskirts like Bani Quraidha and Bani Nadhir- these were the closest. Theres something (here), for Muslims to think about. This is the area that many of us dont want to approach- well, time is burying us because we choose to turn off our minds when Allah and His Prophet are speaking to us. Why is it we ask, (if we know and we should know), that if Banu Qaynuqa were the closest people who were living among the Aws and the Khazraj; Al Muhajireen and Al Ansaar inside of Al Medinah. The friction and conflict did not begin with yahud who were living at a distance; it began with those who were living close by and it is one of those issues that come into our world today. It had to do with a Muslim woman and what can be called today the issue of feminism. Oh- cant you let us see your face! Youre charming, why are you concealing your beauty, and things along these lines, until there was an argument between this mercantile Qaynuqai present inside the Muslims market, inside an Islamic Medinah. This goes to show you also how people who have money and influence no longer understand where they are socially and geographically. So, they picked a fight with the committed Muslims, and since that time, we havent had an answer from them, because the type of Muslims we have nowadays in these inter-faith meetings go around and they just want to bounce amongst themselves words of flirtitude, massage each others egos and contrive artificial smiles. Whats the result? This is the result that you seein the skies, from the seas and on land! If we fail to ask direct and poignant questions, then they are not going to fail to drop laser guided and lethal bombs. Do you want it more stark than that?! Then, what happens? This is another area, where if we have had the certitude that comes from the company of Allah and His Prophet, we would pose another question and tell them come-on- yahud, you have some questions to answer. The other one is why did you contemplate and conspire to kill Allahs Prophet? That was their 2nd faction- Banu Nadhir. When the Prophet of Allah came to them, as was agreed upon in the document of Al Medinah, which yahud and the committed Muslims signed- this document says that if the Muslims, (who are the government of Al Medinah), are in need of financial assistance to defray a financial responsibility, then everyone in Al Medinah, yahud included, are to shoulder that financial responsibility. So, the time came when Allahs Prophet did not have the money himself, to pay for the diyah, that the blood-money, that is due when some Muslim accidentally kills someone else. Imagine the position that Allahs Prophet was in? This is Allahs Prophet, a Head of State, who needed some money. Wheres this money? Yahud had it. Yahud have signed the agreement of Al Medinah without anyone forcing and dictating to them; they obtained all their civil and

religious rights in this document of Al Medinah. But one of the lines or terms there-in is if the budget of Al Medinah needs money (and) because yahud are citizens of Medinah, they should pay their share. Allahs Prophet went to them- Ok, its time to pay. They say Ok- sit down; let us discuss this matter. They went and they were discussing how to kill Allahs Prophet. We need an answer for that question. Theyve had 1,400 years plus to answer that question and they havent answered it yet! Why? Part of the problem is weve not been asking it! How are they going to answer the question if Muslims are not asking the question? Why are we not asking this question? Because we have official religious clergymen or spokespersons who are instructed not to open these pages in our history. Allah condemned Bani Israeel because they through his book behind their backs! Well- how about us?! Are we not guilty of the same crime when Allah and His Prophet offer us all of this information and experience and we throw it behind our backs?! The same description that was placed on yahud in Al Medinah 1,400 years ago can easily be placed on the types of Muslims today, who are acting as if they know nothing about it! Where are the answers? Then, we had Banu Quraidha. This is another power centre of yahud in Al Medinah who was drawn into that grand alliance of Arabian Mushriks against the Islamic leadership, state and military in Al Medinah. In other words, they committed high treason and they havent answered us- Why did they do that? Its alright- brothers and sisters- if we go into a little detail concerning the internal thoughts of yahud that we have in this experience. When this last faction- Banu Quraidha- were convinced that there were other yahud who came to them from outside Medinah The 1st thing that we should realize is that even though Medinah was in a state of war, it seemed like transportation was free- there was no such thing like you have to get a visa to come into Al Medinah or you needed to have special permission to go, enter or leave Al Medinah- people were coming and going and some of these people who were coming and going were yahud of Al Medinah. They were communicating with their larger yahudi body or population in Arabia. This remaining Bani Quraidha were contacted by their co-yahudis who convinced them that now is the time to join the alliance against Muhammed and his Medinah. This was done at a time when the Muslims in Al Medinah did not know if they were going to survive or not- this was the war by the Mushrikeen to end all wars against Al Mumineen. Banu Quraidha were convinced and they committed a war crime which they have not yet answered or explained- why did they do that? We dont want to know this while we have daggers at their backs or fire-power aimed at their state, we want to know this in the calm and reasonable exchange of ideas between one group of people and the other. We just need a simple explanation. They havent given us any explanation at all and we havent been pursuing any explanation at all. Once again- we go back to the internal thoughts of Bani Quraidha. We want to know how they thought within the circumstances and conditions in which they knew that the Muslims had won this battle of Al Ahzaab, the combined forces of Arabia? Their leader, Kaab ibn Asad, said to his own people (i.e.) the remnants of yahud who are left in Al Medinah who are guilty of high treason and war crimes what are we going to do? I give you these options Number 1- our 1st option is we become Muslims. If

we do, we are secure in our lives, wealth and commercial activities. We become just like everyone else- this way, we will avoid this danger. The yahudi crowd said No- were not going to accept that. OK- The 2nd option... We will kill our wives, women and children and then, we- the men- will go out and make a final stand against Muhammed and the committed people around him. Here, we have to paddle slowly because they say Muslims are people who kill innocent people; Muslims are people who commit suicide, Muslims are this and the other- away from the tension of the war fronts and the spasms or war, we want to ask them in a cold and calculated way you were the ones who were speaking about acts of suicide and killing your own innocent people. Imagine- if they were thinking about killing their own children and womanhood and then fighting it off, (this was one of their options), with whatever men they had left until the bitter end- either they win or lose against the committed Muslims- then you tell us what type of psychology and frame of mind we are looking at when we speak about these types of people? They said No. This was a suggestion from their leader; this is one of the options that we have. They said No- were not going to accept that option. Then, they came to the 3rd option, that was, we will take advantage of our Sabbath. The Muslims know that we honor the Sabbath and we will not initiate war on this day, so to trick them, we will launch whatever forces we have against them on our Sabbath; take advantage of the surprise element and defeat them. These people who were listening said we dont want to accept that neither. They calculated that if they try something like that, they wont be able to get away with it, so what they decided to do is to leave it up to the Muslims to decide their fate. This would indicate to us that they had confidence in the justice of the Muslims and they were probably anxious for the Muslims to display a mercy that would exempt them from the obvious judgment of being war criminals who have committed high treason to their own country and citizens. The Prophet of Allah sent one of the leaders of Al Medinah to try to evaluate and also pass judgment on people that he knew very well. This person that the Prophet chose, who was (mortally) injured in Al Ahzaab, was the closest person to Bani Quraidha- they knew him very well and he knew them very well. After they exchanged words, questions and answers, it turned out that they were guilty of high treason and war crimes and they had to suffer the consequences. Remember, the other two factions of yahud- Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadhir- were expelled from Al Medinah. They were told you can go wherever you want, take with you whatever you can but you are not allowed to stay in Al Medinah; so, there may have been an internal notion among Bani Quraidha that this will be their judgment, but the ruling was in proportion to the crime, and 600 or 700 of the able bodied men of Bani Quraidha were executed. Does anyone have a problem with that? Did the Muslims do something wrong? Today, what type of punishment do these people who praise their civilizational standards and have these international laws have for those who commit high treason and crimes of war? Muslims are not being savage or reactive; Muslims are being balanced and just. All of this is experience for us. Right now, we have people who go and meet with the zionists; they go empty minded, as if none of this happened; as if we have none of this experience and as if we are facing the zionist for the 1st time! What happened? When we say we want to follow Allahs Prophet (and) we want to

learn from Allahs Prophet- it seems like no one is following and no one is learning! These yahud re-grouped in Khaybar. Thats another area- it doesnt seem like many Muslims who go to Hajj and Umrah want to go to Khaybar. Why? Is it a bidah for Muslims to go to Khaybar and see where they defeated the 1st Zionist encounter in our relationship with these types of people?! Here are the numbers Muslims were about 1,400 and they had 200 horses; yahud in Khaybar were about 10,000. Remember, when many of them left Al Medinah, they settled in Khaybar; and when they knew what was happening with the committed Muslims as they were gaining momentum in the Arabian Peninsula, they wanted to make their last stand in Khaybar; there were strings of fortifications around this agricultural centre. After about a little more than three weeks, Khaybar fell. Upon approaching that place, the Prophet of Allah said Khaybar is doomed. Is it a bidah for Muslims to go nowadays to Khaybar and say Khaybar is doomed? These are the Prophets words, but why are people behaving politically, socially and religiously as if none of this exists. In this battle of Khaybar, the Muslims suffered 50 who were killed in this war; yahud suffered over 200 casualties in this war before they surrendered. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- these are part and parcel of our being- we dont want to say our history or past. If we are in the presence of Allah, thousands of years can be collapsed into a lifetime. These events should mean, (especially in our days now), for us a significant lesson and a pointer of the direction in which we should be moving because yahud have blurred the line between a Zionist and a jew. It falls upon us to begin to draw that line. We cant have them hide behind a religion to justify the mayhem and mass murder that they are involved in. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We know that there is an affinity between false Muslims and die-hard zionists. This is nothing knew, (once again), the Quran tells us about this relationship. If these false Muslims are to encounter Committed Muslims, they say Oh- but we are committed too; were just like you; but then, if they are in confidential sessions with their Shayateen, they say were on your side; we are just putting up a show when we are with these committed Muslims. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) We have these false Muslims, (this is another way of saying a munafiq), today- if you want us to mention one of them who has come out with a fatwa... A false Muslim in Arabia, (the European -American influence has made it Saudi Arabia), who says in his fatwa that it is not permissible for Muslims to support, (he didnt even use the word Shia), his word is Ar-Rawafidh, that is a derogatory word that was used way back in history when Muslims were victimized by kings and despots which we spoke about previously during the Umawi and Abbasi dynasty. There were two derogatory words referring to Sunnis and Shiis; the Sunnis were called Nawasid and the Shiis were called Rawafidh. Now, we have a-cobweb-of-a-brain that is trying to inflame these ancient sensitivities as they have tumbled down to us through history, telling the Muslims, (if we wanted to be blunt about it), saying to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Ikhwaan Al Muslimeen or the rest

of the Muslims who are more-or-less involved in one way or the other at one level or another in an effort and a struggle against the zionist yahudi usurpers and thieves of the Holy Land- in the middle of all of this, when these zionists and imperialists have combined their forces to do what we see them doing everyday, we have this false Muslim in Arabia coming out with his fatwa; more than that, to take an ayah out of context, he says you Muslims (or down to the point), if you Sunnis, ally yourselves with these Shiis you are part of them, meaning you are no longer Muslims. This is how they take the ayaat out of context; the ayah is very clear in Surat Al Maaidah. They call this person a mufti, a religious scholar! It is the Riyaal and the Dollar that have made him a scholar, not sincerity, knowledge or experience that has given him that title! The ayah is saying O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah, do not designate political jews and political christians (which in the frame of our time would be zionists and imperialists) as your superiors and allies, for they (the zionists and imperialists; yahud and nasara) are superiors and allies one to another or of each other. And whoever of you have entered into that type of arrangement with them has become part of them. (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 51) If this self-proclaimed person, (by the way, theres nothing wrong in exposing a person who is involve in public policy; this type of fatwa is intended to influence political events and to shape public policy- when that is the case, there is no reason why his name should be hidden- ibn Jibreen- thats the name of that person), had his thinking straight and if he was looking at the meanings of the Quran and the precedents of Allahs Prophet, then he would be saying these words to his officials in that Kingdom- he would be telling the rulers in Arabia O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah, do not designate the zionists and imperialists as your superiors and allies, they are superiors and allies of each other. (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 51) It is his superiors in Riyadh and Jeddah who are the inferiors of their masters in Washington and Tel Aviv. (As for) Muslims who are on the frontlines- what is he doing for them? Brothers and sisters- al was-waas al khanaas; alladhi yuwaswisu fi sudurin naas is active in people who are inactive! These contemporary equivalents of the Mushrikeen and the Kaafireen are doing nothing in Arabia! After they feel the pressure from the Muslim people around, they say We are going to give the Lebanese government, as a grant, $1/2billion and we are going to place in the Lebanese Central Bank $1billion. The Lebanese government and Central Bank! How about the refugees, the hundreds of thousands of Muslims of Muslims who are now homeless (and) who sometimes find nothing to eat?! They dont exist?! NO! In the eyes of these types of people, the only ones who exist are their superiors, who in that land are the government and the Central Bank- thats another way of saying we are going to give the United States and Israel some money through its Lebanese channels and we care less about those who are sacrificing their lives,

families, time and possessions for this course of Allah (when we have some Muslims who understand who the enemy is). Think for a moment- what has brought to the fore these meanings? It is the fighting force of committed Muslims. If committed Muslims have no fighting force, many ayaat in the Quran will stay dormant. We will have no access to their vital, life and death definitions, but now, when we have a fighting force that comes from a block of committed Muslims- we dont take a look at whether some are Sunnis or some are Shiis this is a poison. We have people who speak of Hizbullah as Shiis and Hamas as Sunnis. Whoever puts the word Shii or Sunni when they are speaking on an Islamic Jihad concerning an Islamic enemy- an enemy of all Muslims of all times- are working and speaking on an American agenda, even if they are so-called scholars and professors- that doesnt mean a thing. (For) how long is our internal body and thoughts going to be poisoned by sectarianism and nationalism?! This should be a wake up call. We are confident that this struggle will go on to further levels as the days, weeks, months and years pass by; and theres going to be pressure that builds up inside Muslim people. This is a lesson for those people who right now can see that these Muslims in Lebanon have gained the confidence and moral support (at this point) of the Muslim peoples all around the world; the exception is that pocket of fanaticism in Arabia; but (from amongst) the Muslims everywhere, no-one is saying Hizbullah is Shii! Everyone is saying Hizbullah represents the expectations, aspirations, hopes and fears of all Muslims in the world. What are you (ibn Jibreen) going to say? (That) all of these people that we have who are designated Sunnis are satisfied with the governments that they have? (That) they agree with the government of Egypt, Jordan or Saudi Arabia and the rest of these governments that we have? This is one of those rare moments in history where you can see the polarization between the Muslims who want to belong to Allah and His Prophet and those who have usurped power and authority and imposed themselves on us (but) who dont belong to us. If this lesson doesnt come through very clear nowadays, youre going to have difficulties in understanding this lesson on its own, without the facts out there) in the field. Kindly take note, that there was an error in the referencing of the ayah: You think that they are together but their hearts are dispersed, scattered and divided (Surah Aal Imran verse 51) The correct reference is (Surah Al Hashr verse 14).

AL-MUNAFIQEEN
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of Imaan and Jihad.... We extract and multiply our motivation from understanding what Allah and His Prophet have to say to us. We do this in the context of the world that we, ourselves, have access to; we dont live in pre-historic or post-historic times; we live in the lifespan that Allah has given us as a matter of responsibility. It is within the co-ordinates of that lifespan that we are accountable for what Allah and His Prophet are instructing us. In todays real world, we have life and death issues and then, we have people who are turning our attention away from these issues, (its) as if there is a well thought out plan to annul the meanings that come to us from Allah and His Prophet so that we are unable to connect these meanings with these affairs around us- this is a very serious setback that we suffer from. Its probably on everyones mind except when Muslims enter the Masjid; at that time, no-one is supposed to look at the issue that is occupying centre-stage in the news (and) in what people are discussing and analyzing (with their thoughts, analyses and backgrounds) to (try in the best way that they understand things) explain the war that is taking place. Then, all of a sudden, when Muslims enter the Masjid, (its) as if there is a law that is enforced (without this law being written down anywhere) that it is haram on us to discuss these matters, contrary to the law of Allah that is written and transmitted in an impeccable form. One of the areas that they want to shut our minds down (when it comes to it), pertains to a segment of people or proportion of society that feels more comfortable in the

company of Allahs enemies than it does in he company of Allah and those who are committed to Him. The word that is used in the Quran and by the Prophet to refer to these types of people are a couple of words. One of them is alladhina fi qulubihim mard- those whose hearts are inclusive of a disease or whose internal psychology harbor an ailment. In the words of todays average language- those who are sick. Then, there is another word and that is alladhina naafaqu or al munafiqeen- this word refers to those who are comfortable in spreading their allegiance around (by) saying they are supporters of Allah and they feel equally comfortable when they say they are supporters of Shaytaan- thats how they feel and act. This particular type of people are supposed to go un-noticed by you and me when there is a barrage of ayaat that are shedding light on this portion of society. Before we muster the courage to look at these types in our world, let us look at them when they were in the Prophets world. An ayah in Surah Al Maaidah speaks about this human nature as it presents itself through the individuals and people around; in one of the explanation notes to this ayah1st, before we get to the meanings of this historical event, we have to explain what this ayah says O you who are committed, dont become allies and inferiors of the zionists and the imperialists because they are allies of each other; and, whoever places the zionists and the christians in this superior position has become part of them; for Allah does not guide those who do injustice in this form. Those who have a disease inside of them (this is not a physical disease; its a psychological disease), you will notice how they are quick to take sides with al-yahud and an-nasara and they say if we do not do this, we will wind up going in circles or we will be inflicted with damaging consequences. But then, dont they have an expectation of Allahs victory? Afterwards, they will regret what they had enclosed or concealed within themselves. (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51-52) OK- this is the general meaning of this. It should be properly understood that Muslims dont have the right or an excuse or any grounds if they think they can take the side of those who are opposed to the Muslims in the military, political and economic sense. You cant locate yourself with zionists and imperialists in any political or military position- it is not allowed, but what happens when we have some Muslims who do this? 1st of all, Muslims are not immune from this mistake. We will find that whenever there is an Islamic momentum and when Islam becomes something (that) you have to sacrifice for or something that is going to extract some effort, time or struggle from you, (when Islam becomes this), we are going to find people who are going to feel more comfortable with the enemy of this Islamic effort than they are with the proponents and supporters of this Islamic effort. This happened in the time of Allahs Prophet. If it happened in the time of Allahs Prophet, obviously, its going to happen in times when Allahs Prophet is not physically amongst us. What happened in the time of Allahs Prophet? We know that the 1st break between Allahs Prophet and the zionist/yahudi community in Medinah was with Bani Qaynuqa i.e. one of the three yahudi power configurations in Al Medinah. There was a person by the name of Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Sallul who, before the Prophet arrived in Al Medinah was very close to yahud; they broke bread together, they visited each other often- they were buddy-buddies. The 1st political fall-out happens in Al Medinah and Banu Qaynuqa stand guilty of treason! How does this person act? He comes to Allahs Prophet and he wants Allahs Prophet to show them mercy and clemency. He says to him arfiq fi mawali- the word mawali is

the same word in the ayah dont become allies and inferiors of the zionists and the imperialists. The Prophet tries to ignore him and then this type of person (were not speaking about one individual, even though he represents this psychology that we are speaking about; what we are looking at is the psychology itself and how it behaves within human beings), he comes to Allahs Prophet and says but I have these friends of mine- 400 of my friends (these are the ones from Bani Qaynuqa who are able and willing to carry arms and fight) are not armed and 300 others who are armed; you have to show them mercy. Remember, these are the types who are guilty (in todays language) of high treason and insubordination. Then, he puts his hand in the pocket of Allahs Prophet and insists upon him and the Prophet shows a more stern reply and he says to him (in todays language) lay off. Then, he repeats himself; he insists, (this is the way this psychology works), until the Prophet says they are yours. It ends up with these types of people having to leave Al Medinah because of their potential war-crimes. This psychology appears again in the Battle of Uhud. Here is where this same person along with 300 others abandoned the Muslim war effort. The Muslims were on their way to the war-front and they say, (speaking to Allahs Prophet), this is not what you should have done; you should have fought inside of Al Medinah; you shouldnt have listened to these enthusiasts and zealots around you; you should have listened to more mature people -like us. This reminds us of what is happening today- sometimes, when Muslims go out to discharge this military responsibility, we heard some voices very recently saying this is an uncalculated adventure or reckless risk. This was said and mark it in your mind- when those who have diseased psychologies and multiple loyalties said Allah and His Apostle only promised us what turns out to be a promise of vain glory- meaning what Allah and His Prophet are saying is taking us out on a limb (or) their promise to us is a false promise. Why? Because they see an enemy and their true character speaks at that time. This is a time where we verify how true people are to Allah. We cant verify how true people are to Allah just by going to the Masjidthats not a verifier, we cant tell; but we can tell when times like this are around upon us who is true to Allah from who is lying to Allah. These people appear with their character again. When Bani Qaynuqa were exposed they were there (and) they spoke their mind; when the Mushriks came from Makkah on a war mission to Al Medinah and the Muslims went out to counter them in the military sense they appeared again. Not only did some of them withdraw from this Islamic campaign in Uhud, some of them even went into this military campaign in Uhud and then (the psychology again) when rumor had it that Allahs Prophet was killed at Uhud, they were the ones who began to fuel the rumors about this event. This is a considerable amount of people. Unfortunately, because of the damage that was done to our history by dynasties, kingdoms, dictators and despots, we dont have a record of who exactly these hundreds of people were around Allahs Prophet! That has been one of the victims of our history, but what we do have is solid information of their significant presence at that time, in those critical years of struggle. Then, when Banu Nadhir, the 2nd faction of the zionist/yahudis in Al Medinah were once again brought to Islamic courts, Allah tells us how these Munafiqeen behaved. When Banu Nadhir were planning to assassinate Allahs Prophet, (nothing new for zionists- they will kill Gods Prophet and they demonstrated this once again- we have our history that bares this out), we had them coming to an Islamic court. OK- we probably covered some of this area previously, but what went on in the background? This is the area that many of these status quo Masajid, hired speakers and sold-out consciences dont want to speak about. Its not easy when we look at

our ownselves and find out that there are ugly images among us; but if thats what we have to do and thats what the words of Allah are telling us, then thats what we do and thats what we understand. Here He says- the Quranic words are carefully chosen to deliver to us the intricate and delicate meanings Those who expressed their allegiance to the Muslims in public but their allegiance to the anti-Muslims in private (i.e. these types of people who cannot concentrate their loyalty on Allah and His Prophet and then disburse it around to the Kafireen and the Mushrikeen) say to their brothers (Surah Al Hashr verse 11) Remember, these are the types who go to the Masajid and who do all of these daily personal responsibilities such as as-salaah and at-tashahud and Ramadhan comes along and they fast and you will find them around the Kabah frequently- thats where many of them lived; but when it came to this development i.e. Muslims are now a fighting force, a power to be reckoned with, a central authority and they have self-determination, self governance and self-rule, how are these types going to behave? Alladhina naafaqu say to their brothers, i.e. those who are in denial of Allah, but are people of Scripture (Surah Al Hashr verse 11) As far as we know, Allah did not refer to their relationship with the Muslims as a brotherly relationship, but he referred to their relationship with these enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims as being in a brotherly relationship- these are the words of Allah. This is how strong this relationship is or rather appears to be. So what did they tell them at this time, when Al Munafiqeen in Al Medinah are going through fits? Why? Because Muslims are gaining ground and their brethren- yahud in Al Medinah and the Mushriks from Makkah- are losing ground and they have a split position; they want to play both sides- in public, they pretend to be Muslims, but behind the scenes they are solidly with these Muslim killers. What do they say to them? What does Allah say to us? Hes bringing this information out to us. The Munafiqeen go to Alladhina kafaru min ahlil kitaab and they say If youre going to be expelled from Al Medinah (by this Islamic government or leadership), for sure were going to be with you and leave with you; we will not obey orders coming to us from anyone if its against you (Surah Al Hashr verse 11) This is what the Munafiqeen is telling their political sole-mates, so dont be surprised nowadays when you listen to what these Munafiqeen are saying- its been said before, (its there), and Allah has brought their internal thoughts out into public; we can read this and understand it- the problem is (that) many times most of us fail to apply it because of the smoke, smog and interruption that we have coming from these Masajid that are blocking our minds from coming into contact with these lively meanings. So, Al Munafiqeen say to zionists and imperialists when zionists and imperialists come under the power of Muslims And if war is waged against you, we will come to your support. (Surah Al Hashr verse 11)

This is what Al Munafiqeen are telling their political counterparts from the zionist and imperialist alliance. OK- this is what goes on- its been going on for all of these years and now we have a lively demonstration of this in the world around. What does Allah say about this? Allah bears witness that these Munafiqeen are liars. (Surah Al Hashr verse 11) When it comes to this level of sacrifice and struggle, they dont even have it within themselves to prove the honesty of their words with those to whom they own their honesty and alliance- even that they wont be able to do! (Do you want to listen to this ayah again?!) If we have established this, (maybe, now that we understand this general relationship, we should throw in When the Muslims were in a military mode on their way to Uhud, there was a yahudi force, (listen to thisthe zionists of Al Medinah put together a small force and said to Allahs Prophet we want to come and fight on your side against the Mushriks and Allahs Prophet said we will not ask the assistance of a kaafir against a Mushrik. This position and these dynamics will come to play in the coming years. The momentum of the conflict between the Muslims and the Mushriks may force the zionists to offer their assistance to committed Muslims. We dont know if Muslims are going to learn the easy way or the hard way?! Because right now, the way these events are presenting themselves, we find that the zionists and imperialists hand inside the camp of committed Muslims is significant. You can see this just from these past couple of days. Muslims from the war-front have brought the Israeli killing factory to its knees and we have another news item that is trying to eclipse that. They tell us that there was some-type of terrorist plot to blow up planes in the air. We say to them that this indicates to us how significantly advanced the Munafiqeen have become within some Islamic programs, whether its in Afghanistan, England, Britain, the United States or wherever it may be- this is how infiltrated some Muslims have become; they just leak out a-word-or-two (i.e.) that this was discovered because there was an informer or some other Muslims who told on these other Muslims here and there. Is it co-incidental that this type of development takes place when the zionist of today are taking a beating in Southern Lebanon and Occupied territories? But, when we withhold these Quranically developed meanings from Muslim minds that need this type of information, (and beyond that), from the public mind (Muslim or non-Muslim) that needs this type of informationbut this is where we are today. These Munafiqeen are located in the abyss of the fire- they will find besides Allah no one to support them (Surah An Nisa verse 145) It is because of this vicious, changing and back-stabbing nature that they have which we have to see through (and be able to do that guided by Allah and His Prophet.) Brothers and Sisters, Masharal Mumineen We have these types of people who are showing us their true-colors. Do you remember? Just one month ago, these types of carnival Muslims commented on the legitimate and long awaited capture of two or three zionists soldiers and the killing of others through legitimate warfare. What did these people who feel more comfortable with Ash Shaytaan than with Ar Rahman say? They said (that) these Muslims meaning Hizbullah and the Islamic Resistance should bare the consequences of their reckless and uncalculated act. For any student of the Quran, that

statement is reminiscent of the Munafiqeen who told the Prophet of Allah- Allah and His Apostle only promised us what turns out to be a promise of vain glory. What did they do? They had an Islamic summit and the Heads of State of Islamic countries go and meet in Malaysia a couple of weeks ago and not one of these Heads of State of Arab countries attend that summit meeting! Their true character is surfacing for those who are slow to learn. They send money and medical supplies to try to cover-up the horrendous crimes that they are involved in, because behind the scenes they are telling their zionists and imperialists political bedfellows we support you- go ahead and finish these Muslims of self-determination. They are upset (as to) why these Muslims are capable of All the states in Arab countries, with their militaries, have in the past 58 years of the zionist theft and occupation of the Holy Land could never withstand for 1 month the Israeli war forces! Here, a band of Committed Muslims not only withstood in defensive positions this so-called fourth military force in the world, but it has caused, (for the 1st time in history), that racist, expansionist, settler nation state to evacuate entirely one of its towns, Krietcsh Mona, on the Lebanese border. The authorities told everyone living in that town Leave! All the armies in Arab countries combined could not have that effect. More than 1-million people have been forced to leave their homes or to go into Southern areas of the Occupied territories for their safety. We dont know how many persons left Occupied Palestine- this is classified information. They dont tell us! They tell us thousands of Lebanese have left- no problem in explaining that figure, but how about (telling us) how many zionist Israelis are leaving? They cant have us believe that none of them are leaving (and) that they are super-heroes and courageous when we know that they are cowards! They are upset by the simple things that are done by a committed military Islamic force- this is the way Muslims are going to fight into the future; this is just the beginning! So they say what are we going to do? These Hizbullahis have trained donkeys to carry ammunition from one area to the next without being guided by a person i.e. the donkey walks on its own for who knows how many kilometers or miles with ordinance or weapons on it! They didnt expect Muslims to do something like that! They didnt expect Muslims to wear Israeli uniforms in military operations! What do they think- they want to occupy our lands, kill our civilians, dislocate us in the hundreds of thousands and steal our resources and wealth and were going to go on for infinity accepting their imposed governments on us?! For the 1st time, they see Muslims fighting back and theyre afraid- thats exactly where they and we belong- in these positions. They thought that theyre going to be able to knock out an organized or establishmentarian military force! They were not able to do that and Muslims are learning. This is the 1st chapter that we are learning from. We shall maintain these positions and the war-front will grow. They thought (that) they destroyed a Lebanese Islamic infrastructure- NO! Muslims have built an Islamic military structure. The more they destroy civilian parts of our lands, the more we are going to rebuild them with our military presence- thats the way its going to go not their way. They can meet with their chummy buddies- the Munafiqeen, in the Arabian establishment- at the United Nations, behind closed doors and they can polish their statements and do whatever they want to do, but the final words is the one that comes out of the gun- they know that and we know that!

UNDISTURBED THOUGHTS ABOUT KARBALA

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims This week, (during these days), the Muslims who are conscious of this historical occurrence remember it, memorialize it and recall it. We have our own view of how that is done- we dont think (that) its being done in the right way; we think (that) for hundreds of years its not being done in the right way. May Allah give these brothers and sisters the light and confidence to be abler to present this issue of Karbala as it should be presented; mind-to-mind (and) fact-to-fact is how it should be presented. We have covered, (weve lost count), in the past year or two years what may be called the pre-Karbala history- i.e. all the details that should be remembered on this day, but no one remembers them. Obviously, during this less-than-an-hour we cannot recover all of that territory; its up to you, (the listening Muslim), to have lived with Allahs Prophet (and) with those who were sincere to Allah and His Prophet after him so that when we come and speak about what happened on this particular day, we know that it is not a disconnected day- this day is a cumulative day- but itd not cumulative in the sense that Muslims

begin to hate other Muslims. Remember- brothers and sisters- throughout all of this discourse throughout the past couple-of-years- or so, we never came across this element of hate- NEVER! Muslims disagreed all the way to the war-front but they didnt have hate in them. This is up to you to look, reconsider (and) rethink- where did this Muslim hating another Muslim come or evolve from? You cant find one ayah in the Quran or one hadith from the Prophet or one reliable statement from noble and featured Muslims that would tell you to hate another Muslim. If you want to use that power of hate in you, you hate Ash-Shaytaan and his cabal i.e. the people who usurp power. (Now, we get down to the continuation of this), when Muawiyah, the 1st king in Islam and the Muslim society violated the ayaat of Shura, taah and adalah and committed this lethal political mistake and said I appoint my son, Yazid as crown prince of the Muslims there were, (obviously were trying to condense this history), four notable Islamic characters who strongly disagreed with this precedent- those were Imam Husein, Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Umar and Abdur-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhum). For the shallow Muslims who want to throw accusations left-and-right, especially during this time- its become like a shop in which to accuse other Muslims- they want to try and say that there has been a conspiracy by the Prophets companions against the Prophets family. In the best of our reading of this topic, we have to say with honesty and clarity that there is no such conspiracy. If you hear this from anyone, just take them in a very measured manner, (not necessarily in public, but on the side), and ask him Come explain to me how there was a conspiracy by the 1st circle of the Prophets supporters? How do you say that there has been a conspiracy? If there was a conspiracy the way you speak about it, then Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Umar and Abdur-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr would have been part of this conspiracyobviously, this would have been the time to crown this conspiracy. When Muawiyah did what he did, then they could have said now has arrived our day- they didnt do that. Maybe when we say these names we have to explain them a little Abdullah is the son of Umar ibn Al Khattab (radi Allahu anhu); Abdullah the 2nd is the son of Az-Zubair ibn Al Awwaam (radi Allahu anhu); Abdur-Rahman, the 3rd, is the son of Abi Bakr As-Siddique (radi Allahu anhu). These were the ones, among others, (who are familiar to those who are familiar with Islamic history from the names of personalities), who told Muawiyah what you are doing is wrong. We will not accept what you are doing. Hence Husein was not by himself when he was in opposition to what Muawiyah and Yazid were doing. This is a part of history that some people want to skin over. Obviously, Husein represented the foremost and most difficult challenge for Muawiyah, Yazid and the new unIslamic or anti-Islamic policies that they were trying to set into motion. Husein was in Makkah at the time when the issue of king and crown prince became issues of what is said to be (these are not accurate words, but youll find them in the books) Islamic governance. Obviously, there was support for a popular opposition to Muawiyah and Yazid. This support was found here-andthere among the Muslims after Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu) no longer had the consensual and

popular support in defiance of the instigation of Bani Umayyah and Muawiyah that can be traced back to the reign of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu). This is a new page in Islamic history- theres no longer a central authority or a popular figure or a populism that can stand up to the usurper of power- Muawiyah- and say we are opposed to what you are going to do and if this opposition id going to go to the extent of warfare, let it go to the extent of warfare. This is gone and Husein had to stand against this new political deviation in his own way, (because he grew up with the details of all that youve been listening to in the past couple-of-years), and he knew that something had to be done about this serious political misrepresentation of the Muslims. He knew that in the area of Southern Iraq there was support for his father and those who were opposed to those were consolidating their usurpation of power- this is when usurpation of power began- it didnt begin with Abi Bakr and Umar like some people want to think and believe. These people who think that Abi Bakr and Umar stole the leadership from Ali are looking at history as personalities. Brothers and sisters- history is not personalities; history is social movement. A little reference to Abi Bakr and Umar- they were not taking leadership from Imam Ali; they were trying to hold back what we see coming during the time of Muawiyah. They knew that there was a force in society, (itself), that is waiting for the day when the decision makers of Muslims become a family and even if it was going to be the Prophets family, they were willing to tackle that family during the time of Abi Bakr and Umar- they were not willing to wait until the time of Muawiyah. But what do you do when Muslims speak about this historythey speak about five or 10 personalities and forget about hundreds of thousands or millions of Muslims who have the un-Islamic tendencies, especially the political one, that are just beneath the surface? Hussein was aware and conscious of all of this. He was receiving communication from the people of Al Kufa, the center of his support population base that we will support you and we will give you whatever is necessary; we will do this and we will do that. To ascertain this and try be sure of them, (because he lived the experience with them), he sent his cousin Muslims ibn Aqueel to these people in Southern Iraq to see if whether these people are saying is genuine or whether they are just expressing political statements. This person was reluctant to go. He said I dont want to go, but once he understood that this was an Islamic duty and responsibility he left until he got to Al Kufa. In a discreet manner, obviously he didnt want himself known because at that time there were the supporters of the Umawis who were all around the place. He wanted to get a real sense- an in the field, down to Earth practical assessment of what type of support Husein has there. After contacting different people in the away-from-the-public manner that he did, he found out that as far as he can tell, there is a strong base of support for Husein. Then, he wanted to commit them in writing (i.e.) if you support Husien, say so in writing. This indicates to us that theres almost a loss of trust; when you come to people and they speak to you and you just dont take them at word value and you tell them can you put that in writing:, this means that there is a problem of trust- early on. Nevertheless, they did that. There was about 18,000 men who, (as we would say today), signed on to the course of Husein i.e. we will support him; hes the right person; we should undo all of this mess, etc. etc. As this is developing, of course there are informers, spies, turncoats and all of these types in the midst of all of this and word reaches Yazid. This is the 1st time this appears in the books of

history- Yazid consults Muawiyah used to have an adviser who was not a Muslim- a Christian adviser, his name was Sarjun; Yazid goes to this adviser and says what should we do here; this is whats happening in Al Basrah, particularly Al Kufa and the Southern Iraqi area. He says why dont you combine Al Basrah with Al Kufa? Why always have these two separate jurisdictions or areas? Make them one. The ruler of Al Basrah was Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad. Remember- Ziyad is the one who Muawiyah concocted as being his legal and biological brotherthis, (Muawiyah attributing Ziyad to his father Abu Sufyan), runs a long course in Islamic history. The son of Ziyad has become the governor of Basrah and orders go out from Yazid to this governor of Al Basrah saying now we have joined Al Kufa to your domain or jurisdiction- meaning that these supporters of Husein in Al Kufa are your responsibility; you better see to it that you take care of them as they should be taken care of. It should be said that there was a governor over Al Kufa, his name was Numan ibn Bashir, who knew Al Kufa was full of opposition to the king in Damascus, Yazid but he was (in todays language), a liberal- he gave the opposition an opportunity to express itself, move around and have contacts. When Ziyad was given this responsibility of Kufa he send a person by the name of Al Hurr ibn Yazid to Husein how has come to this area because the communication from Muslim ibn Aqueel was favorable. Against the advice of those who were close to him, Husein- Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) told him dont go to Iraq; if you want to go somewhere, go to Al Yemen. There you have supporters and you are far away from the supporters that you are going to encounter in that part of the world. Remember- he used to be the governor in Southern Iraq so he knows the people and past very well. Others of his relatives told him also dont go there; but he insisted on doing that because relying on the sentiments and political statements that came out of the people there he said this is the place where it is possible to face off against Yazid. When he was there, Ziyad sends Al Hurr ibn Yazid to him with 1,000 troops to take the pulse and these didnt find that they were in a position to oppose him. After they listened to Husein they were, (what we would say today), neutralized. Orders come once again from Yazid telling Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad you have to take this issue of Al Kufa more seriously. This issue is beyond the calculation of sending 1,000 men to Husien- get serious about this. Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad gets with Umar ibn Saad ibn Abi Waqqas and gives him a military duty- we all know Husein is in Al Kufa and there is a potential flare-up against us there that can potentially destabilize our authority and eventually threaten the central authority in Damascus so take this more seriously. This person came to Husein and he told him, (once again, were paraphrasing), I have orders from (of course he didnt use the word king- were going to use it) king Yazid to put an end to this opposition of which you have become its potential leader. Husien said why dont you communicate the following to your superior- tell him to let me go back to Makkah or directly to Yazid in Damascus or let me become an individual soldier in the Islamic armed forces at the war-front. This posed a serious problem. He wasnt expecting something like this so what is he going to do? He communicates these demands back to his commander-in-chief, the playboy, (as it were), in Damascus called Ameer Al Mumineen and the answer was carried to him by a person called Shimr ibn Dhil Jaushan and that answer had only one idea i.e. Husein had to submit himself to the authority of Yazid- no questions

asked! When this was expressed to Husein he said right now theres no other choice left; its a showdown between us and who did Husein have? He brought his family, cousins, relatives and a few other supporters to this battle and these people who were saying that we are in support of you, at this moment- where are they? Theres no one around! Preceding this was another important detail in Al Kufa. That detail had to do with Muslim ibn Aqueel who Husein sent to Al Kufa originally. What happened to him? After these people said that they are massively in support of Imam Husein, and after Ziyad was in hot pursuit of Muslim ibn Aqueel, (where is he? I want him?), he was in hiding in Al Kufa, staying at the place of a person in Al Kufa by the name of Hanib ibn Urwa. Finally, the government, (as they always do), gets to the person ibn Urwa who was giving refuge to Muslim ibn Aqueel. He summons him and says where is he? He says I have him. After a long give-and-take he says hes at my place; hes staying with me. This ruler, ibn Ziyad, goes and get Muslim ibn Aqueel. Remember- this is an area in which the population said they are in support of Husein. Its easy to express things by your mouth but when the real time comes (as it had come)- where are you?! What does this ruler do? He takes Muslim ibn Aqueel ibn Abi Talib, this cousin of Husein, and he beheads him. Brothers and sisters- is this Islamic behavior? Can we call this Islamic political character? (Do) you behead someone for what? What did he do? Where does he behead him? In his mansion. Then, he brings Hanib ibn Urwa and he kills him; and from the rooftop of that mansion he throws their bodies down; then he puts their bodies on crosses. Of course, that was a preview of todays rulers- now we can see from where todays rulers got their marching orders or what type political character they have adopted. The problem with todays Muslims is we have two attitudes: those who call themselves Shiis who dont want this information to touch the public mind because they have it at their Cultural Centers and they drown it in their emotionalism and then the facts on this matter cant be expressed just like were expressing them- anyone can express these facts!!! These speakers at the occasion of Aashura and Karbala should step up to the plate, (thats all that is required, nothing more, nothing less), the facts on the course of Husein, the injustice that inflicted him at the battle front and what happened to him and those who were with him will speak for themselves- they dont need emotionalism; people have been expressing these emotions for 1,200 or 1,300 years- what has become of it. Then, we have the other attitude- we have those who call themselves Sunnis. They really dont know what happened; they dont know what hit them then and they still dont know whats hitting them today. All it takes if for a learned/scholarly Sunni is just to take a look at what happened and express it in fact; step out of your comfort zone of silence and speak to this issue! Why are you afraid that if you to speak Yazid 1,300 and some odd years ago youre going to upset Abdullah in Arabia or the kings and Presidents in that part of the world today? What is it? Why are you afraid? Tell us what happened- these are facts. When the battle of Karbala began, (its truly tragic; it tends to ignite emotions and maybe this is another ploy that is used to try to limit it to a historical incident), 4,000 or so troops on the side of the Umawi rulers and those who are on the side of that campo and Husein with 72 of his followersthats it! Where are those 18,000 in Kufa who signed on to the support for Husein? They can fit comfortably in todays Cultural Centers all around; theyll find themselves at home there!

Theyre very emotionally supportive of Husein and when the time comes- where are you? What happened? What is going to happen in the course of that battle is very tragic, but look at from how some Muslims at that time were looking at it- we have hindsight and can look at it more comfortably, but there are some Muslims looking at it who see Husein or before that, they see Umar ibn Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, the son of the person (radi Allahu anhu) who fired the 1 st shot in Islam in war, (so to speak); this is the son of the person on one of the 10 who are said by the Prophet to be from the people in Paradise- Al Asharah Al Mubashireena bi Al Jannah; this is the son of a person who was a military commander of the Eastern flank of the expanding and growing Islamic flank and this was a person (meaning Umars father) who refused to get involved in the internal Islamic civil war and this was the 1st person to call Muawiyah Kingthe Muslims are watching and they see the son of this person is leading an army and then on the other side you had basically the Prophets family; you had Husein, his brothers- from his father because Imam Hassan (radi Allahu anhu), these brothers who are his half-brothers (by the way) have the name Umar, Abu Bakr ; his cousins, the children of Aqueel, the children of Jaafar Al Tayyaar, his sister Zainab (radi Allahu anha) the daughter of Fatimah (radi Allahu anha) the daughter of the Prophet and other extended family individuals as well as some of their supporters and some of the people who crossed the fighting line from the camp opposed to Husien into Huseins camp. Then the tragedy pursued; the blood letting of these 72 or 73 individuals who were martyred, (almost all of them on this occasion). Who after learning about this can say that there is a speck of truth and validity on the side of Yazid? Then, after it was all done they take the head of Husein to Yazid in Damascus and then we are told- in these history books- that Yazid took a stick and he began to poke the chin and cheek of Husein and there was a person next to him who said you shouldnt do that because right now, its as if I can see the Prophet when he was kissing his cheek. Even though this may, (and it does), solicit emotions, we should learn that this issue has to be presented rationally, objectively and factually to anyone who is willing to listen- Muslim or non-Muslim. Then, to top it all off, compare the way Husein died Of the committed Muslims there are men who are true to their pledge with Allah. Some of them have passed on and some of them are still waiting and in the interim none of them vacillated on their principles. (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 23) With the way we are told Yazid died. He ruled for only four years. There was so much tragedy and injustice at the political level in these four years and then at the end of them we are told he was riding his horse and chasing a monkey and he falls off his horse and never recovers- he dies. If only these facts can be presented in a warm and calculating manner to the Muslim public we can begin to identify 1,300 years of misrule and usurpation of power that continues because some Muslims want to be extremely emotional about this issue and some Muslims want to be extremely passive about this issue. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims

It is going to take an overhaul of the current psychology that we share as Muslims to begin to understand our past and present. Who do you think feels uneasy if these issues of ours were recalled in an accurate way to the Muslim public? Its almost like a barometer- the more uneasy a person feels about restructuring or rebuilding the facts of our ownselves in the past its almost automatic to sense that the more connected they are to the powers in this world. The more accepting the Muslims are of these facts the more they are the victims of these powers of today. Its almost like a general rule that you can apply or else what keeps a Muslim from expressing these facts? We are ordered, taught, instructed and indoctrinated that when something is wrong we point to it and say that it is wrong! OK(since) thats something wrong, why cant we point to it and clean our history from those who have stolen it? Those who are in power have stolen our history and those who are left out of power are reacting to that theft! We dont want to react and we dont want the thieves to get away with their act! Cant we do that? In all of these years, hasnt it dawned on our thinking Muslims that this is what has to be done? This is not a matter of trying to dig up sensitivities and allergic issues from the past- NO! Whats sensitive and allergic about this? It should be clear cut, clean and obvious- thats all. But then we have the attitude and this is another problem- some Muslims want to come and claim that this issue belongs to us. We have a problem with that psychology- this issue doesnt belong to us. Al Haqq is not a possession of anyone. You cant monopolize and individualize Al Haqq! It is there for the taking but where are the extended hands?!

IMAN, HIZBULLAH, JIHAD

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters of Imaan and confidence in Allah.... Any khutbah on this day and time anywhere that does not take into consideration the unfolding events is a contribution to the warfare against us. We have been, (in the past 10 days or so), living the meanings of our life through the prisms of our book. Allah says to us in some ayaat that are pertinent to these developments of warfare OK- what does this ayah mean? This is meant for Muslims who share the characteristics of Imaan (Surah As-Saff verse 10) We know that there are Muslims who dont share the characteristics of Imaan- there are Muslims who are Munafiqeen (and) Muslims who only have a verbal attachment to this Islam. Allah here is speaking to an elevated status of Islam; He is speaking to those who have a commitment and are secure in this commitment to Allah. This is important to understand because we read and recite this combination of words many times. Allah is saying to those who are of this quality of people

 Shall I show you a trade or commerce which will rescue you from a tormenting punishment (Surah As Saff verse 10) Some of the subtle meanings in this sentence is aladhina aamanu may be people who have an interest in this world- there is no necessary contradiction between committing yourself to Allah and being involved in the trade of this world. If you are in the worldly business Allah is saying that Ill show you a business that is more rewarding than the one you are in. What is that? You secure yourself in your commitment to Allah and His Messenger (Surah As Saff verse 11) You can look around in light of these words and figure out how many people do you know who feel that they are secure in their commitment to Allah? Many of these people who claim that they are from aladhina aamanu or Mumineen dont feel secure in this relationship with Allah; they need others to make them feel secure; but Allah is speaking to those who have acquired this quality. After you have garnered this security through your adherence (and) relationship with Allah and His Prophet what comes after that and then you struggle on to a course to Allah with your wealth and yourselves; with your possessions and lives (Surah As Saff verse 11) This is an ayah that is read and repeated but not with the required thought that goes with it- this we can entertain from what is happening now. We have committed Muslims who feel secure in their relationship with Allah and His Prophet because of their commitment to Allah and His Prophet and then they step forward as required per these Quranic instructions and struggle for Allah and His Prophet with whatever they have of material possessions and moral potential- all of that is used for Allah. this jihad (or) struggle is to your advantage or best for you; if you only knew (Surah As Saff verse 11) This is an ayah. No one can deny this ayah and it is an ayah with an established meaning; this is a muhkam ayah- its not one of these ayaat that needs more time to understand (and) more generations to develop, because there are some ayah in the Quran that are like that. This ayah is mature in its full meaning since the time it was revealed, but what do we have today? We have some of these so-called committed Muslims (and) some of these self styled mumineen who, (regardless of what Allah is saying and what the committed Muslims are doing), come and say but look at the type of destruction and losses that we are enduring because of what they call reckless acts or uncalculated risks. These words are taken from their mouths. We have a problem of definition. Are we permitted to say that these objectors, (lets be a little more precise about this), it is the Saudi Arabian government and people who are in the orbit of the Saudi Arabian finances who came out, (this is fresh we are not digging history), a few days ago- when this happened, the Israeli occupiers who are in violation of International Law, (we should

understand by reading the Quran and studying the Sunnah who they are), were on patrol in occupied Muslim territory- Palestine is occupied Muslim territory- and all of the media can go fly a kite because these are facts that are not going to go away just because they have power, technology and militaries. Even though there are these militaries and whatever weapons of death they posses we still are able to state the truth and not lose sight of the facts. They were patrolling in occupied Muslim territory and these committed Muslims go and engage them in a military encounter and eight of them are killed and two of them are taken captives of war. Exert your attention to detect how the media- those who speak for Ash Shaytaan- dont want to give the Muslims accuracy and credibility for what they did. They say Muslims kidnapped or Muslims abducted Israeli soldiers. You dont kidnap or abduct a soldier- you capture a soldier but because we either suffer a deficiency in understanding Allah or the mouth pieces of Ash Shaytaan this is put across to us as if we are supposed to submit to their characterization of these events. These were two enemy combatants who were taken through legal military warfare channels and became according to the Geneva Convention and according to our Islamic principles Prisoners of War. Whats the problem with that? The problem is not in our enemies- we expect them to do what they are doing (i.e.) flying planes and dropping bombs on innocent civilians, innocent populations and on the infrastructure that doesnt belong to the military- you can expect that from your enemies; but our concern is with those who are supposed to be the maintainers of Makkah and Medinah. Remember- these are the ones that some of us are playing diplomatic ball with, (and have been doing so for a good amount of years). The Saudis said legitimate resistance is one thing and uncalculated risks are another thing; meaning what these committed Muslims did in fulfillment of their Islamic responsibilities was an uncalculated risk. Then they said these types of adventures should be cleared with governments meaning themselves. NO! Who said they have to be cleared with governments? These who rule in Saudi Arabia are the inferiors of their masters in Washington who are the inferiors of their masters in Tel Aviv. What does this mean- When committed Muslims want to discharge their divine responsibility, they have to clear it with imperialistszionists- is that how you understand Allah and His Prophet? That is like telling Allahs Prophet if you want to go to Tabuk or Muata or engage these external enemies, you have to clear it with the Romans and the Persians of that time!? We, Muslims, who are bred and cultured with the Quran dont understand this. This is where it hurts; this is, (in a sense), what has given the Israeli zionists and their American empire builders in Washington the incentive to extend an encounter or a military clash that potentially would be over within days. They see that inside- we ourselves dont get along; theres a division among ourselves. This reminds us of this Islamic Center here. Over 23 years ago, when the Saudi Arabian embassy sensed that the Muslims in the Center themselves are not assembled around one heart they made their move and confiscated and nationalized this Masjid and Islamic Center. Now they want to do this on a larger scale because Bandar, (who used to be the Ambassador here), is now Head of National Security in Arabia; now he is no longer playing a limited role of an Islamic community in Washington DC; his role is now with populations, (hundreds of millions of people), in that Holy-sanctified region of the world. Lets take this a step further it Be aware of the committed Muslims insight because

he sees with Allahs light. Now we bring these self proclaimed custodians of the Haramain and ask them whats your problem? This attack is not against you! This attack is against those who are most ferocious in their animosity towards the committed Muslims, do you have a problem with that? Then we realize that they do have a problem. You see, brothers and sisters, in times of tranquility and peace if we say For indeed, committed Muslims are brothers to each other(Surah Al-Hujurat verse 9) Its an easy sentence to understand. Now, under circumstances of duress when there is a military warfront we want to say and prove that committed Muslims are brothers of each other. This is what Hizbullah and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon has done. You can say the Palestinians are our brothers like the Saudis say; we care for the Palestinians; their cause is our cause. OK- thats nice to hear and you can getaway with saying that in times where there is no war, but now when theres a war on these Palestinian brothers- a war that is attacking them in refugee camps (and) detaining them in a large prison called Gazawhat are the Saudi Arabians and the people who have these petroleum sources doing? Put your actions where your mouth is! If you say committed Muslims are brethren of each other then show your brotherhood to these Muslims who are going under these attacks, aggression and warfare by the Israeli-zionist killing machine. They havent done so, but when some Muslims in Lebanon who have gone beyond the hurdle of sectarianism, (because remember the Muslims in Palestine say that they are Sunnis and these Muslims in Lebanon- Hizbullah and the Islamic Resistance say they are Shiis and in this particular instance they proved that the fraternity of Muslims bypasses being a Shii or Sunni. We ask those who are running the show around Makkah and Medinah are you upset because there are Muslims who are capable of proving that they care for their brother Muslims beyond sectarian lines? Is this what has disturbed you so much? Now there is an axis-of-Satan in the area; the Israeli-Saudi and American government is the axis of Ash Shaytaan and in the midst of this warfare coming from this axis-of-Ash Shaytaan the committed Muslims who are listening to Allah when He says Muslims who share the characteristics of Imaan- shall I show you a trade or commerce which will rescue you from a tormenting punishment? You secure yourself in your commitment to Allah and His Messenger and then you struggle on a course to Allah with your wealth and yourselves- with your possessions and lives- this jihad (or) struggle is to your advantage or best for you; if you only knew (Surah As Saff verse 10-11) The family and tribe of Saud dont want to do this?! Havent they heard Allahs words and you struggle for the cause and on a course to Allah by your wealth? Allah didnt say you deposit your wealth in the enemys banks like you are doing. Brothers and sisters- how many of this Saudi clan that is ruling in Saudi Arabia dictator-style have you seen at these fronts fighting to prove that Muslims are brothers of each other? They have allied themselves with the enemies of the committed Muslims. Allah says, once again,

You- who are secure in your commitment to Allah, do not designate zionists and imperialists, yahud and nasara as your superiors and allies because they are the superiors and allies of each other (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) Zionism and imperialism go together, we have no place in that relationship! and if you- the committed Muslims- try to squeeze yourself in this relationship you become part of the zionist and imperialist faade and youre no longer committed Muslims (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) This is what we have today and these are the same rulers, kings and princes who are in control of thousands of Masaajid around the world. (Dont) you see- we reach this day (and) are now in the middle of a war that was prepared by these types of Masaajid who do not educate, inform and cultivate an Islamic determination that can survive these types of challenges. Allah says Permission, license or validation from Allah has come to those who are victims of warfare (Surah Al Hajj verse 39) These could be Muslims and non-Muslims- if they are victims of warfare, Allah has given them the legitimacy to fight back and certainly Allah not Washington not Tel Aviv it is Allah who is most qualified to give them the victory and the success that they seek through this war that they find themselves in (Surah Al Hajj verse 39) and then another ayah, the words of the Quran translated come back to us combat duty has been assigned to you, (this assignment comes to you), knowing that you dislike it but there may be things that you dislike that turn out to be to your advantage and there may be things that you like that turn out to be to your disadvantage and Allah knows and you do not know (Surah Al Baqarah verse 216) Who do we speak to when these ayaat are showing us the way? Why do we have Muslims in the world today who are even afraid to use the word HizbAllah? Go inside this Masjid and other Masaajid- Hizbullah are two Quranic words- why do we have Muslims who are afraid to use Quranic words? Theyve taken out of the Masajid and out of the brains, mouths and tongues of the khateebs, sheikhs and Imams who are in these Islamic Centers the word qital, jihad and everything that has to do with preserving our lives and protecting ourselves. Some of you may have been in this Masjid today and some of you may go to other Islamic Centers around on other Fridays; what do you hear? (Do they) bring the ayaat of Allah and ahadith of His Prophet to give us direction when we are challenged with an imposed war?! Some Muslims have been dumb down so much that they are afraid to use the word zionism or imperialism! Why? What is wrong with that? Theres no force on earth that has a monopoly on words but why do you voluntarily (do so)? Even some study groups- theres halaqat here alsothese are supposed to be more courageous then the public speaker in the Masjid but in these

halaqat or study sessions, (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly as they occur), why is there no longer in them the pertinent ayaat and the straight-forward ahadith that give us an answer when we are seeking a direction and a way and the imposed hostilities that we are in? Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims; this whole issue of these Israelis wanting to secure what they call a buffer zone in South Lebanon- as if this warfare began with a cross border attack by Hizbullah against Israeli occupiers? No! This warfare began by the Israelis when they stole our land, dislocated our brothers, imposed a military base in the Holy Land and when they confiscated our free will in the surrounding territories and countries- that is when it all began and it has been in the making for more then 57 yearsand we will say it with the confidence that comes from Allah and His Prophet. Our duty is to flush zionism out of the Holy Land! Should we say it again? We will flush zionism out of the Holy Land! We dont want misinformed and trouble making persons to come to us and say you Muslims are out to kill the jews or christians. Weve been speaking in the street here for more than 23 years and we consider ourselves a-drop-in-the-ocean of the Islamic conscience and the Islamic mind in the world; has anyone heard one statement saying that Muslims are out to eradicate jews and christians in the world? Absolutely not! There is nothing in the book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Prophet that make Muslims feel as if their life is contingent upon getting rid of jews and cristians in the world. This is a lie that is part of the psychological warfare that fits into the military warfare of which we- the Muslims of the world- are at the receiving end. They want to turn this around- they are the aggressors shedding innocent Muslim lives. (Take a) look at these past 10 days: the numbers we have coming to us, (from different sources), indicate that there has been around 400 civilian, (innocent people) in Lebanon who have been killed by indiscriminate and deliberate Israeli bombing of civilian areas in the country. We compare that to, (these numbers, once again, come from the potpourri of sources that are out there), there have been 16, (at least, because this was last night) military personnel and 15 civilians who have been killed. We have to confess that we- the Muslims- are not in possession of the most accurate ordinances that are around; these may be inaccurate rockets and missiles that are launched, but there is a deliberate and well thought plan on the Islamic side not to claim civilian victories on the opposite side; juxtapose that with what the zionist side are doing to the Islamic side. They dont know where the Muslims are in that territory i.e. 10,400 square kilometers of Lebanon so they go out hitting civilian non-military areas in the country and they are supposed to be civilized! Some Muslims who tune in into nonsense in the Masajid of today come out and listen to this engineered propaganda and believe it! We thank Allah that now the lines are defined more and we ask these brothers who have been cozying up to the Saudi Arabian government how do you feel today? (Do) you still have justification in your mental bag for the Saudi Arabian, Egyptian or the Jordanian government? Let us once again, (very briefly), take a closer look at their internal thoughts; brothers and sisters- this is what people who are running the countries of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan,

among others, are saying: we are afraid of a Shii arc that goes from Tehran to Baghdad to Damascus to Beirut. Afraid of what?! This- what they call a Shii arc has tried to mend its ways with them- there are Shii officials who go to Riyadh and Jeddah periodically from Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut (i.e. if we are to fall into your definition) and theyve been speaking and making it clear to them that whatever they are doing is to liberate Palestine, (then) whats their problem? They dont have missiles that are directed towards Cairo, Arabia or anywhere else; their missiles are pointed at legitimate targets in Occupied Palestine- why are they afraid of that?! Lets also walk them through their own mind and say if you are thinking that the choice is between taking the side of a Shii arc from Iran to Lebanon that is against the zionist occupation in Palestine and the other choice is to take the position of the American-Israeli government against these Muslims who are fighting for their rights and place in the world, then how do you justify taking the Israeli-American side? If these Shiis, (that extend from Persia to the Mediterranean), are not Muslims we ask you, in Arabia, then why do you permit them to come to the Hajj and Umrah? There is somewhere in you something that agrees that these are Muslims; they have another school-of-thought and another way of maybe explaining some issues but at the end of the day they are Muslims and, (at least some of), your policies attest to that but you are willing to take the side of yahud and nasara- the zionists and imperialists against Muslims who you permit with your own visas, regulations and politics to come to Makkah and Al Medinah- something is wrong with these Saudis?! Time has run out on them. Theyve not taken any corrective measures and they find that they have no supporters among the Muslims. (Take a) look today; in Cairo and Amman- tens of thousands of Muslims if not hundreds of thousands came out in support of Hizbullah and the Islamic Resistance- you see this with your own eyes and you find yourselves What do you? Do you want to go to your summer resorts in Lebanon; may we remind you and all of us- these filthy rich in Arabia have bought mansions and villas in Lebanon, (for the information of those who dont have this information), they purposefully sought to buy these villas and mansions in the christian areas of Lebanon and they throw the crumbs to the Sunnis of Lebanon in Beirut, Sayda and Tarablus to have them become your apologists. Even with that in mind these who you wanted to recruit for your strategy cannot speak up on your behalf because there is nothing that youve done to prove that you are brothers with the rest of the Muslims- they stand exposed; and we thank Allah generously, abundantly and liberally for the way they stand exposed. If they are able to weather the circumstances, (we dont know what the coming weeks will have), but if they survive these coming weeks and months then their termination at the end, (whether it is next year or generation), is going to be uglier and more repulsive than had they been terminated in these circumstances and within this military, political and Islamic climate in the area. Once again, everyone says at least in the traditional religious mentality that we have, that we want our sins to be obliterated; we pray for Allah to forgive us and here is where Allah is telling you how to obliterate your sins and how to gain forgiveness from Allah Shall I show you a trade or commerce or business that is more rewarding than the one you are in which will rescue you from a tormenting punishment: You secure yourself in your

commitment to Allah and His Messenger and then you struggle on to a course to Allah with your wealth and yourselves- with your possessions and lives- this jihad (or) struggle is to your advantage or best for you; if you only knew (Surah As Saff verse 10-11) If you do that; if you become part of a struggle then Allah will obliterate your sins (Surah As Saff verse 12) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Just a few points that stand out in the past 10 days: (number one) for the 1 st time since 1947 and 1948 there is a sort of balance of terror. Its not only Muslims, (who are not within their military responsibilities), in other words it is not only Muslim civilians who are leaving South Lebanon it has been reported that there has been 300,000 or so civilians who have left the populated areas of South Lebanon- that has occurred before, many times; but for the 1st time we have around one-million Israelis who have left their homes and lands in Northern Palestine- this has never occurred. With all the Arab armies, militaries, governments and budgets they havent managed to move a million yahudi-zionists as has occurred in the past 10 days. Another accomplishment: for the 2nd time in the past 57 years of this conflict an Israeli warship has taken a serious and direct hit; the 1st one was in the war of attrition in the late 1960s between the Egyptian and the Israeli government- that time there was a ship called Elat that was struck and damaged. This is the 2nd time; we are talking then about an army and a State and at the end of that there was a ceasefire; then there was Camp David and the surrender of the Egyptian Nation State to the Israeli and American dictat. Now the Israelis are keeping their troops at a distance and their naval vessels very far away from the shore and not like other times- remember 1982 they sent in tens of thousands of troops to occupy Lebanon- in the past few days they have been trying to send in their special most polished contingents of their military and they have been ambushed in the South of Lebanon suffering casualties and then retreating. This is a lesson for the Muslims who have been suffering from a broken psychology. You dont go around looking for victory in Washington; cant you learn this lesson in Arabia? You dont go around implanting Israeli military missions in places like Jordan, Egypt, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia and these other places- thats not the root and the way forward. Learn from what you are seeing; absorb the lessons that are unfolding and before and after that have an unshakeable confidence and reliance upon Allah.

FIQH: WHEN IT BECOMES DIVISIVE

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... To say the truth- we have been making up for lost time; the wars that have been raging in our lands, particularly in Iraq, are meant to undo our resolve. In the past couple of years, with the knowledge and access that has been given to us, we have been trying to diffuse, (in the grain of it), these attempts at having Muslims going at themselves in these types of wars. This type of coverage should have been done by us- not the individual, but we the Muslims- along time ago. Why should we wait until wars come our way before we begin take a more closer, calculated and sincere look at ourselves. This is who we are and something has to begin sometime and somewhere. We dont know if we are loners or contributors in this direction- the knowledge of that is left up to Allah in the coming years and generations to have the final word. Allah says Coming to us from Allah is a matter of light and enlightenment (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 15) (If) Muslims who do not sense this absence, obscurity, darkness and ignorance then theres not much that has come to them from Allah. Remember, (brothers and sisters), we are speaking as

Muslims are dying; its just a matter of geography that we ourselves are not dying, (so to speak). Besides the issue that we have been looking at in the past couple of years- which is an internal Islamic affair, we have the intra Islamic affairs. These intra-Islamic affairs show up quite frequently- you will encounter them at a Masjid, Convention, congregation, Jumah (or) Jamaah prayer and study groups when theres no necessity for this. We will give you some examples of what we are speaking about. In the Quran, Allah says If any human being dies, then the compensatory punishment for that is the death of the murderer or the person who caused that death (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 45) But then, (for those who have established the authenticity of the hadith), theres a hadith of the Prophet that says a father cannot be killed or executed or executed because of him being the cause of his sons death- meaning, (may Allah forbid), but in the rare conditions of the world, when a father with his full will causes the death of his son, then you cannot take the fathers life. We have an ayah that says A living being is to stand the punishment of death when he causes the death of another human being (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 45) Thats an ayah- we all submit to the meaning of the ayah. All Muslims, all the times- have submitted to the meanings of the ayaat of Allah in His Holy Book, but then when we come across a hadith that says in a particular condition, (a relationship between father and son), and the father is the cause of the death of his son in a pre-meditated way, then theres an exemption. So what do we do? Do we begin to fight among ourselves? Do we begin to argue? Why do some Muslims have this offensive attitude of beginning to argue with other Muslims when all of them submit to the meanings of the Holy Book and the Holy Prophet when stated authentically? Why do we have this attitude? We know that on the occasion of Bani Quraida, when all the Muslims in the presence of the Prophet heard him say no one should pray Al Asr except when they reach Bani Quraida. We know that some of them prayed Al Asr on the way to Bani Quraida and the others prayed when they reached Bani Quraida. We know that both these behaviors had their understanding and interpretation in what the Prophet said and we know that when this dual opinion or these two different interpretations were expressed to the Prophet when it was all said and done he didnt say one Islamic side is correct and the other side is wrong. We didnt notice that some of these Muslims showed an attitude vis--vis the other Muslims when they disagreed in the way that they understood Allahs Prophet even though both of them behaved in a way that was obedient to Allah and His Prophet! They didnt behave in a way that harmed, offended or touched on a nerve of the other Muslim that did not see it their way. This is the area and the point that many Muslims cannot understand in a behavioral way- its not enough just to understand this, you also have to behave it and we dont show that exemplary behavior!

Then, those of us who are involved in reading, researching or reviewing these types of matters know that there is a particular school of thought that says Az-Zakaat is due from grains. That would include wheat, barley, millet, soy, lentils, and whatever other type of grain there is but they dont say that Zakaat is due when it comes to fruit and vegetables. What are you going to do with these types? Are you going to show a superiority attitude towards them or are they going to show a superiority attitude towards those who disagree that Zakaat is only due when it comes to agricultural produce on grains? Let us take a closer look at this and let us be more specific because some of you simply dont know what were talking about in this general sense- were sorry that we have to go to this extent to detailing this matter, but this is where we are in todays world- Abu Hanifah said that if this hadith that pertains to grains is understood exclusively to be applied to this form of produce then it would be an inequality to exempt other farmers who produce other types of agricultural plants and greens. We understand Islam to be a matter of equality and justice Lets say an acre of Zakaat (for grain) is going to be $50 and the acre of Zakaat of the other person who produces fruit and vegetables is going to be $500. In effect, Abu Hanifah is saying why are we to limit the income of the needy Muslims because we have not the analogy ability to extend the meaning of the hadith to include all farmers and whatever they produce?! We have some Muslims who cant understand this and were stuck with these types of Muslims who are incapable of understanding the spirit of the hadith. What are we going to do? Are we going to show them a behavior that Allahs Prophet and the 1st generation of Muslims didnt show?! Where did this come from? Does it belong among us? Its another one of these contributing factors that is being fueled by the enemies of today, yesterday and tomorrow. Another matter that may seem trivial but in some places is a matter of division is the Salaat Al Jumah (when) the Imam is giving the khutbah and someone enters the Masjid- should they pray two rakaat or not? This has become a divisive matter. Ash Shafee and ibn Hanbal say you pray two rakaat even though the Imam is delivering the khutbah Abu Hanifah and Malik say no you dont; you listen to the Imam when the khutbah is being delivered from the Mimbar. Why does an issue like this begin to divide the Muslims? As a main answer to this questionit begins to divide the Muslims because Muslims have not liberated their minds to the larger issues of the world so they become encapsulated in these minor issues of what is called in the fiqhi books Shaaair and Ibaadaat! Who cares?! If a Muslim is expressing his conscience and heart, why is another Muslim more concerned with this person than this person is concerned with his ownself?! That degree of liberation and liberty we still have not assumed! We have another example of a historical issue- when the Muslims were out expanding their reach into the societies of the world there is an issue called Al Khums in the Quran or At Takhmees as it is called by some fuqaha. Theres new lands that are being opened and liberatedthe ayah says So you give one fifth of this war effort to Allah (Surah Al Anfal verse 41)

During the time of the successor to Allahs Prophet, he said that this fifth is applied to weapons, the food source and their hardware i.e. whatever was used as a matter of warfare against the Muslims. Other Muslims disagreed with him- they said it also applies to the lands; and one-fifth of the lands should also be distributed among the Muslim warriors that are on the front. Imagine if that would have happened?! We would have had a class of landlords in Islam at the beginning of Islamic history! Not that it didnt come into being a generation after that, nut it would have been earlier had it not been for this type of ijtihad that we should honor and appreciate instead of trying to score points without understanding the rationale behind it which is taken from the spirit of the Quran and the Prophet- this is where most of us are lost. Then, some Muslims get involved in these philosophical-abstract-hypothetical arguments (regarding) the ayah in the Quran says And Allah spoke to Musa in a conversational manner (Surah An Nisa verse 164) Then they come and ask you what does this ayah mean? Does it mean Allah expressed words the same way we are expressing words? Then they get involved in an argument about this and it doesnt stop with an argument that honors the logical and courteous elements of an argument; it goes on to generate bad feelings. The same thing with the ayah that says And Allah designated Ibrahim as a bosom or intimate friend (Surah An Nisa verse 125) They will tell you how can this be? Allah as a deity-divinity-God become intimately involved with Ibrahim?! Then they generate arguments about this that dont seem to want to capture the essence of the meaning as much as much as they want to capture an argumentative higher ground vis--vis the other opinion. Once again, where did this attitude come from? It doesnt belong among us! O People- evidence has come to you from your Sustainer and we have made accessible to you an obvious light (Surah An Nisa verse 174) We want to ask these types of people who try to score these types of divisive fiqhi points where is this nur or light in their hearts or minds when they express themselves. Take a moment and watch these individuals, (who are to be encountered almost everywhere), and as you watch them try to ascertain what type of insight or enlightenment are they trying to pervade! What are we going to do- pick on the body of fiqh?! Another example is when we say If any human being dies, then the compensatory punishment for that is the death of the murderer or the person who caused that death (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 45) Is this ayah in the Quran also applicable to a non-Muslim if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim or takes his or her life? Are they responsible for that death? Here, we also encounter different legitimate Islamic opinions. Why are these legitimate Islamic opinions a matter of dividing

the Muslims we ask? This division doesnt come from thorough understanding of Allah and His Prophet as much as it comes by trying to possess and own the meanings in the book of Allah and from the mouth of the Prophet. This is the problem- when individuals who may be scholars or novices, (whoever they may be), try to possess the meanings, thats when we encounter the problem. One of the companions who was living during the lifetime of the Prophet had to perform al ghusl to pray. You know what that means- when a Muslim has to perform a full bath to pray? He didnt; it was early in the morning and it was very cold and he thought if hes going to perform this ghusl hes going to die because of it. He led the prayers and then this incident was related to Allahs Prophet. What did he tell this person? He asked this person why did you do that? This person quoted an ayah from the Quran and said Dont kill yourselves (Surah An Nisa verse 29) Did the Prophet say you misunderstood the ayah or this ayah doesnt mean what you think it means? NO! He just heard him and he left it at that- which means what? This means that you, (the Muslim), who if you are thinking, you have the latitude to understand what Allah is saying. What Allah is saying is not a monopoly of an individual, a class of individuals or a religious class of people; it is meant for you, (the thinking human being). All of these examples come to us courtesy of Allahs Prophets life-time and even with this we show division; imagine if we didnt have these types of lessons?! During the time of Allahs Prophet, a person committed adultery. Whats the punishment for adultery in his case? 100 lashes. Some people came to the Prophet of Allah and said this person cannot tolerate 100 lashes- meaning if we are going to strike him 100 times, in all likelihood this person is going to die- so what do you do in a case like this? The Prophet of Allah told them you bring 100 strands of 100 whips and you strike him once. Does this mean that Allahs Prophet wanted us to escape the penalty? No. We have a human intellect that can understand what is meant by this; we can understand the conditions and apply them. If this is applied in a particular exception to the case why should people feel offended or feel that they are lesser Muslims? If we can understand these issues in their context we can understand how Allah wants us to behave towards Him, His Prophet and towards ourselves. Maybe some of you are not familiar with them, but we have people who come and say that the Prophets hadiths take precedence over the ayaat of the Quran. In affect, (they are saying that) a hadith can be in a position of naasikh and the ayah can be in a position of mansukh. Unfortunately- brothers and sisters- these types of people have a kingdom of money behind them and the problem is no longer one of a common understanding that Muslims should reach among themselves; the problem becomes a matter of trying to bring these types of individuals into the light of Allahs guidance to us. We should know that one of the stipulations of the treaty of Al Hudaibiyah is that if there were going to be Muslims

abandoning Makkah, Quraish and Al Mushrikeen and joining the Prophet, Al Medinah and the Islamic State then they should be returned to Makkah- this is the Prophets Sunnah; this is what he signed to, (so to speak), but the ayah in the Quran says that Women come to you seeking asylum then you accommodate them (Surah Al Mumtahanah verse 10) If we can present this type of understanding to these types of people and just solicit their feedback on this. Brothers and sisters- we have a population of around 2billion Muslims. This is looking at the hard facts of life- in this population of around 2billion Muslims, we have four predominant schools of thought, (Al Hanafees, Al Shaafiees, Al Maalikees and Al Hanbalees)if we are looking at numbers, these constitute the largest blocks of these 2billion Muslims. At a certain level, that says something, (were not trying to go into the history of this), the geography of Al Maalikees is Central, North and Western Africa; the geography of Ash Shaafiees is South and South East Asia; the geography of Al Hanafees is Central Asia, Turkey and the Indian Subcontinent; and then we have, unfortunately, the people who belong to the mind-set that we are speaking about who say that they are Hanbalees and who if we wanted to count them, (once again, were not looking at numbers but if we wanted to count them, but at a certain level this says something) they are probably less than half percent of the Muslims, but its not the numbers that is creating this division among the Muslims, its the financial power that they have. If it wasnt for the finances that they have, we wouldnt have seen these types of attitudes that co-mingle in the Muslim public and bring this holier-than-thou and screaming attitudes in the hearts of otherwise decent and Allah-loving Muslims. Its the financial power and it takes a word of advice and truth to try to bring them into the core of the meanings of the Quran and the Prophet. Brothers and sisters; committed Muslims on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem We are probably living a time like no other time when our relationships are strained; there are people who because they get signals from higher authorities preach a superficial or artificial form of Islamic togetherness. Left to their own consciences and without these gestures and gesticulations from these types of superiors they dont have the energy and octane to pursue an Islamic consolidation when we need it the most. Beware of these phony speakers who because they get instructions from Embassies or officials who are tied into larger interests and bigger policies they come around when the atmosphere is conducive to say fancy words about the unity of Muslims. The unity of Muslims can be proven- in fact- (take a) look at these people who peddle this type of division among Muslims, (number one), and then it goes on with some individuals to become hatred towards other Muslims. We all have a history of political accommodation, political opposition and political passivism- this is all in our collective character. What do we say to each other when we have, (the fact of the matter is, although some people dont want to say it, the fact of the matter is), some Muslims, (they consider themselves Muslims (but) whether they are or not is a matter that Allah will judge on the day of final

judgment), but we have these Muslims who are Ismailis, Duris, Nisairis, Aga Khanis, in whatever sense that is- but this is not the issue; the issue is how did our general being give opportunity for these types to be who they are and then continue to exist as they are?! Theres a type of official and popular- this is where it hurts the most, (i.e.) when the official and popular meet and try to make believe that these types of people dont exist! Well- these are the types of people, (if we wanted to refresh our history a little), who took Al Hajr Al Aswad from the Kabah and for around 20 years Makkah, Al Kabah and Al Haram didnt have a Black Stone. This is a serious incident that we, (ourselves), are responsible for, one way or the other. How come it doesnt figure in to todays average thinking of a normal Muslim? Why? Theres something going on here! Why are people incapable of shedding Quranic and Prophetic light on this type of issue? Theres something going on in the Muslim midst! Not only has it been continuing for generations, its become almost institutionalized. Its considered almost normal not to consider the other Muslim, because he doesnt fall into the category of Muslims that I belong to. If you are a Muslim, you belong to all of these Muslims regardless of who they are. When something goes wrong something has to be done about it; what are we doing about it; or are we letting these regimes who want to control our fate and future get away with it?

What happens in Gaza? This is a live issue; we have been speaking about minor issues that contribute to the live issues of today, thats what they want us to do- they want us to consume all our time so that we are not able to open up our eyes to the life and death issues of today. Oneand-a-half-million Muslims are bottled up in Gaza and then they are put at the survival level of life- thirst, hunger, deprivation- as if we are poor people and we cant afford to offer our brother Muslims who are in need! This is an example- there are many other examples- we are not able to offer them what they need for their survival?! They want us to continue in these Masajid, Jumahs, congregations and conferences that we have to spring up these issues of division and neglect these issues of life-and-death today. Where did this come from? We are not poor- some figures say theres $3trillion here, just from the Arabian Peninsula political configurations, (i.e. Kingdoms, Emirates and whatever they want to call themselves)! They have $3 trillion here and we have millions-and-millions of Muslims literally going under or dying because they cant support themselves!? How does this figure into whatever school-of-thought or Islamic persuasion you consider yourself to be from?! How do you square this?! How does this work if we are all supposed to be bond to each other?! Muslim women from Iraq (are) going to Syria to sell their bodies- thats what theyre doing (because) they have to survive! How do they survive? Then, you might have these literalists Muslims who dont consider any of the conditions come and tell you shes a prostitute- kill her! She has to be condemned, (first of all), by the war thats imposed on her and then this; as if shes doing this out of choice or this is what she wants to do; these are conditions; we left a gap in the Muslim public (that is) so wide that conditions or war are imposed with us being incapable of thinking about this with a Quranic mind and a

Sunnatic analysis! We are incapable of dealing with this war so they impose it on us and then the results of this war begin to take shape and we see it in Muslim women selling their bodies in another Muslim territory! No one wants to speak to these issues! Why? Because they dont fit into the marginal thoughts that they have and that we are suffering from today.

ISLAMIC REVOLUTION: IN HISTORY AND IN OUR TIME

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... These ayaat in Surah Al Qassas deliver the following general meaning As a matter of fact, the Pharoah had reached unprecedented heights in his rule or control of Earthly affairs. He rendered the populations of the Earth or land into factions, disempowering one faction of them, killing their sons and sparing their women; for indeed he was one who was responsible for spreading this corruption (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) And Allah says And We want to favor those who have been powerless on Earth and to make of them leaders and the inheritors and then to show the Pharoah, Haamaan and their military of

these powerless people what they did not want to see or what they were taking all precautions not to see (Surah Al Qassas verse 5) This ayah is familiar to some Muslims, at least, in its general meaning; but what many Muslims have difficulty with is the particular meanings of these ayaat. Allah says to us and we are required to learn when He teaches us- even though this ayah speaks about a particular ruler in Egypt at a particular time but the lesson extends from the particular event to the general condition. There fore we understand from this ayah that it is the policies, strategies and program of Firaun that factionalizes people. This is an area that because of our absentmindedness has not been developed. Some people think that it is natural for people to be divided. The implicit meaning in this ayah tells us that it is not natural. They way Allah created us and formulated the social life that we all share is that there is an affinity for people to be together. So why are they divided? Because there are policies and politics that are thought out by those who are ruling. In this case it was the Pharoah and in other cases they are the equivalents of the Pharoah. This Pharoah that is spoken about in the Quran applies to all those who acquire that position and accumulate that power. He rendered the populations of the Earth or land into factions, dis-empowering one faction of them, killing their sons and sparing their women; for indeed he was one who was responsible for spreading this corruption (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) The word jaala, (here), means there is a reciprocity- when the Pharoah wants to divide people, people are divisible if they are susceptible to that division; Allah didnt say wa shayya ahlaha. The word jaala, (here), means that there is a give-and-take for this division to occur or for these factions to become the divided factions that they are. Another ayah in the Quran says, concerning this Pharoah and those who demonstrate his political behavior. He took his people lightly and they obeyed him (Surah Al Zukhruf verse 54) He didnt think much of his own people and their obedience to him- both of these resulted in the divisions that became possible; this is equally true and applicable to societies, nations and people of our generation and time. When we have a Pharoah in Washington who acts like the Pharoah in Egypt we should collapse the time dividing the two. People dont have any worth or value to them; he takes people lightly and then people- themselves- subject their lives to the orders, legality, commands and strategies that emanate from the Pharoah and his elite. Many other ayaat in the Quran speak about Firaun wa malaih- Pharoah and his elite. The Muslim mind is guilty when it thinks these ayaat should begin and end back then in history and they have no functional value when it comes those who are imitating and copycatting the Pharoah today! He rendered the populations of the Earth or land into factions (Surah Al Qassas verse 4)

Once they become factions, he can choose whichever of these factions to render powerless. They can become slaves in every sense of the word- a slave is a person who loses any sense of power and this slavery becomes institutionalized. In the case of the historic Pharoah these were Bani Israeel. (Let no Muslim have any problems speaking about Bani Israeel). When Allah speaks about them very frequently in the course of the Holy writ, unlike some people today who say excuse us, we dont want to speak about Bani Israeel. Why? Whats wrong with them? Allah speaks about Bani Israeel! What has become of them? They cant think about the words that Allah is giving them? He out and out kills their new born sons (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) There could have been a crude policy of killing the baby when it was born with the technology and scientific advancement before they are born now. (Is there) any difference here? A killer is a killer! Why did they do such things? They are afraid of the fertility of those who are obedient to Allah- this is one indication that they fear this. then he spares their women (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) What becomes of the women who were spared and not killed when they were young and grow and they reach the age of marriage? Who are they going to marry? Their potential husbands were killed in the cradle and theres a generation of Gods people who dont have husbands to marry so theyre going to be forced to look for their second significant half in life from people who dont belong to Allah. We dont have these types of policies that are unfolding in our world just like they were unfolding in the world of the Pharoah of that time? The ayah point blank says that the Pharoah is a trouble-maker, spreading mischief on Earth and is responsible for spreading instability in the affairs of man (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) If Allah is telling us, informing us and providing us with the truth and the facts why is it that we Muslims are incapable of explaining what Allah is saying? What has become of people who are supposed to belong to this book and the information in it?! But they find it more convenient to be on the side of the Pharoah or work within the system of the Pharoah or to endorse certain candidates to become Pharoahs. In light of understanding this ayah and looking at the state of the world, these cantons that are called nation-states(and) this division of human society into almost 200 different entities is a demonstration of the power of the Pharoah in our time. Who said there should be 200 different factions of humanity? Where did this come from? It comes from deliberate thought-out and well executed policies of those who are in the highest positions of power- al aaleen fil ard. Pharoah was ala fil ard. Some people born into the mental slavery that they are in cannot find a relationship between the meanings in this ayah and the human condition in the world today. To have around 200 different factional societies in the world who are at odds with each other- are powerless and who go to war with each other;

causing infants to die either in the womb or cradle; sparing the women in society- is an unprecedented success! Only Allah knows the condition of these women in the future, because there certainly is no Muslim who is interested in the plight of these types who have become powerless! We have a stark condition of people who have this type of power and abuse it; then, we have billions of people in our world today who have no power at all. What are we to think of them? Allahs answer is in the ayah- He says He wants to favor those who are in this condition of oppression and lack of power (Surah Al Qassas verse 5) Meaning- Allah is on the side of these peoples who are the victims of those who are the wheelers-and-dealers of power in this world; Allah is not on the side of power! Hes on the side of those who have been denied, in a systematic way, that power. Even though they were vulnerable to it, beyond that vulnerability He still looks at the element in them and wants to rescue them from the imposed political, military and social condition that they have been placed in. Allah wants to make out of them leaders (Surah Al Qassas verse 5) You would be surprised to understand exactly what Allah is saying. Because people no longer have power they no longer have confidence in themselves; even though Allah wants to be with them in the behavioral manner that they are in, they fail to want to be with Allah. This is even demonstrated by some people who come from the condition of istidaa i.e. of not having power, being oppressed and the victims; some people learn and educate themselves and acquire degrees and a scholarly status, (but thats the extent of it), its an enlightened mind that sets on a brokenheart and a broken spirit- if you have confidence and trust in what Allah is saying, just listen to what Allah is saying. Out of this condition (and with) the way the power structure is set up, its automatic to dismiss certain types of people- in this society it is within the nature of the way the mind is conditioned to dismiss minorities. Who thinks anything of someone whos from a minority? If youre a black, (especially in this society), youre equivalent to nothing- lets be frank and speak the truth as it is; to a lesser degree, the same self man imposed rule applies if youre Latino, Pakistani, Arab, Iranian, Turk or whoever you are. Whats the structure doing? Its trying its best to bleed these peoples of the potential that Allah has given them. Our minds are anemic and we cannot even understand what Allah is telling us and apply it to the condition that we are in. (Were not speaking about we the average person, included in the we here are those who are supposed to be the Islamic scholars, learned persons and ulema.) What happened? They cant speak truth to power?! They cant express the meanings that Allah has given them to the power structure around them?! Allah wants to make out of this lot of mustadafeen leaders and inheritors. And Allah is saying

We want to show the Pharoah and Haamaan, (his prime-minister) and his troops and military everything (from this lot of mustadafeen) that they took precautions not to see coming from these mustadafeen (Surah Al Qassas verse 6) Saying and explaining this is one thing but having these meanings blend into our hearts and behavior is another thing. Muslims seem incapable of demonstrating the fact that they can look the power structure in the eye, diagnose its evils, describe its corruption and then have the confidence to say we shall overcome and defeat the Pharoah- historically, currently and in the future. Why? Because if we begin to think, (as is required), when reading an ayah (such) as this in the Quran we are going to have to think about struggle and sacrifice and some people just dont want to think about a struggle and a sacrifice. They think that somehow they are exempted from a struggle and a sacrifice; thats why they listen to Allah selectively. Things they want to hear coming from Allah they will zeroin on it and repeat it night and day and then they will dismiss or neglect other things that are said by Allah and never speak about it! In another ayah Allah says And what is it whith you that you do not fight on a course and in a direction to Allah and for the sake of those who are powerless, be they men, women or children? Those who say O our Sustainer, deliver us from this society whose people have become oppressors (Surah Al Nisa verse 75) Cant we see this type of human reality around us? Brothers and sisters- this is not fiction, these ayaat speak to the human condition around us; but what happens when we come across Muslims who dont want to be reminded of powerless and poor people?! Dont mention that to them, theyll turn their head and give you their back! We didnt create these ayaat! We nourish our souls and selves by the meanings of these ayaat. If some people have a problem and they say this is not a time to express these meanings- we dont know of an ayah or a hadith that says there is not a time to express what Allah says! If what you say is the truth i.e. that we should not speak what Allah is telling us, because the time is not right or whatever other excuse you have Bring your evidence if what you are sayi8ng s the truth (Surah Al Baqarah verse 111) and render for us a Wali, a Naseer (Surah An Nisa verse 75) This means that within these mustadafeen there is a consciousness that society has become oppressive- society has become oppressive because it has yielded to the Pharoah and his elite! Within this triple condition- the Pharoah and his elite; the society that yields to him and the mustadafeen who want a way out and render for us a Wali, a Naseer (Surah An Nisa verse 75)

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- we (the Muslims), (in the plural), are guilty of retreating from the facts that Allah is supplying us with. Allah says And remember when there was only a few of you- your numbers were very small- and you had no power in this world and you were fearful that people would (literally) snatch youthats how vulnerable you felt- but Allah offered you shelter or protection and He supported you with His help and victory and provided you from the wholesome things of life so that you may be thankful (Surah Al Anfal verse 26) Its the start-up- taking the 1st steps in the right direction- that is difficult. We ask Allah to shower us with the information that touches our hearts and enlightens our minds so that we are able to do His will regardless of what the material circumstances or the power structure may be. Once we place our trust in Him, at the end of the day, the rest does not count and does not figure in to our determination and reliance upon Him.

Dear Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims In light of the meanings of the ayaat that we tried to explain; 29 years ago- this week- a Muslim Imam or leader manages to defeat the Pharoah in his country. To be exact- Al Imam Al Khomeini (may Allah rest his soul in peace) was able to defeat the king of kings in Persia. You would think that in the course of these 29 years the Muslims year-after-year would gain more confidence, knowledge and determination to state the truth and celebrate and Islamic victory in which the power structure of the imperialists and zionists with their stooge who was ruling that land collapsed this week 29 years ago. (Take a) look around, (after 29 years), do hear people who have built up enough moral and intellectual courage to identify this step forward by the Muslims in our generation? This is not something we have to refer to history books to find out the information about what happened; it was a clear; the distinction was the distinction between night and day. A Wali of Ash Shaytaan collapsed and a Wali of Allah returned to liberate a country that he comes from. He did what was required- what else can you expect from an Islamic leader? He was not a person in religious attire- an amamah and abaaah- who was satisfied with the pedagogical activities, the learning and teaching activity that is unrelated to the true forces in life! The struggle that he led brought back a sense of direction for the Muslims and the oppressed peoples everywhere. What has been happening ever since he left this world into heavenly company? There have been ups and downs- whether it has been in the circle of Muslims who are in his country or in the circle of Muslims who are outside his country or in the circle of oppressed people who are outside of them. But Allah remains with us and those martyrs who gave their lives and blood- seems like its easy for people to forget; victory doesnt come cheap- there were lives that were paid for this victory and some people, even relatives of these martyrs, have almost forgotten what happened just 29 years ago. What shall we say from a position of responsibility

concerning people who are near, (nearer than others), to this event who want to be silent? Some of these people who come from the Iranian context consider it a virtue not to speak the language that we are speaking and not to explain the Quran the way we are explaining it and not to follow up on the jihad and the clash with zionism and imperialism that began in earnest with them. We dont subscribe to this. If we encounter them, we say come- we have Allah and His Prophet and we have the Imams- let us see what they say; do they agree with what you are doing or saying or do they agree with what we have to do and say? But we dont encounter them; they have a way of making themselves absent and they leave us in the street- that is their choice. If this is their explanation of brotherhood; if this is how they understand Islamic unity and if they find the company of the Pharoah more comfortable than the company of the mustadafeen they shall bear the consequences.

WOMEN, LEADERSHIP, SECTARIANISM

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims... The time frame that we are in is a time in which Muslims are preparing themselves, (even though they should have been preparing themselves months ago), but because of the legal restrictions that have reduced the Hajj to a single month instead of being a matter of three months) they are scrambling to make it to the Hajj; therefore, (in a sense), it is important for us to speak about the Hajj; but then, on the other hand we have been speaking for about 10 weeks about the issue of women and their rights and responsibilities (and) we find ourselves at a convergence between these two responsibilities. We will continue though we might combine these two matters, bi idhnillah, into our hour of devotion to Allah at this time today. One of the statements that have been used by some people, (more specifically by some Muslim men and non-Muslims- alike), as a battering instrument is a hadith that is attributed to Allahs Prophet. The meaning of the haditha society or people may not be prosperous or successful as the relegate their affairs to a woman. In some books of hadith this same hadith is stated in another way it says a society or a people cannot be successful once they rely in their affairs on a woman. In another hadith it says a society or a people cannot be successful when the possession of their affairs is in the hands of a woman. These translations are just to give you the thrust of the meaning and however way and which ever hadith, (these hadiths are quoted in what is supposed to be the most

reliable books of hadiths, and you should know in your mind what these books are), this has been taken to mean that a woman cannot assume responsibilities of the highest offices in an Islamic political order- this is how everyone understands these hadiths. Before we take a more calculated approach to this hadith, we would like to remind ourselves of the ayahWhenever we encounter a hadith, we try to understand this hadith with the Quranic momentum we have. This is so important that we are going to have to say it again- whenever we come across a hadith, in order for us to understand this hadith we need all the meaningful Quranic content and understanding that we have to understand the hadith. In the ayaat of the Quran that we have pertaining to the social, political and the otherwise activities of women, Allah tells us in an ayah that is beyond a question or doubt and that is equivocal and straight-forward in its meanings- this is not an ayah of tashabuh i.e. in which there is a range of possible meanings; this is a muhkam ayah- before we scrutinize the hadith, what does the ayah say? Some committed Muslim men and committed Muslim women or a proportion of them from both sides are awliya to each other i.e they are the allies and supporters of each other (Surah At Taubah verse 72) What do they do? The ayah says they have the power to establish the maruf and they have the power to dis-establish the munkar (Surah At Taubah verse 72) When we speak about establishing the maruf and disestablishing the munkar, we are speaking about all the layers, activities and details of what we refer to as social or political responsibilities. Do not be reduced by the non-starter words in the translation that say they enjoin the good and forbid the evil. This type of English wording of the meaning of this ayah aborts its political and social contents. This goes for both Mumineen and Muminaat; men and women- it is their responsibility per this frank ayah in the book of Allah. All of these details describing men and women who are committed to Allah are on an equal par; theres no more responsibility for men than there are for women. it is they who Allah is going to bless (Surah At Taubah verse 72) OK- so we have a sense, (and hopefully), with a sincere understanding we have been gaining a sense of how theres no discrimination between men and women in the Islamic perspective and practice of these responsibilities. As a reminder, (even though this has been mentioned before), but because theres so much conditioning Muslims have a problem with a reminder; what is a reminder once or twice a year in a khutbah going to do when there is a deluge of information in the opposite direction?! We tune in to the Quran and we listen to Allah when he praises a woman who is the ultimate decision-maker in her own society. My people- advise me concerning this affair of mine(Surah An Naml verse 32)

Her response is like, (what is in todays language called), an international correspondence between Heads of State- Bilkis and Sulayman (alaih salaam)- and she gets people around her to advise her on what she is going to do and how she is going to respond to this. Allah brings out a positive character in a woman for us to say what? (That) women cannot assume that responsibility!? If they qualify, (just like anyone else), they can assume that responsibility; if they disqualify- they dont. Allah speaks with condemnation of Firaun who is a man who is also making decisions in the highest office of the land. This is just like todays Heads of State with their super-power structures. O my people- I show you what I see and I only guide you to the right direction of maturity and development These are two individuals who are in that office that has become an issue of contention among the Muslims- not because of ayaat in the Quran but because of the hadiths that are not understood within the context of the Quran itself. Now, we come to the hadith, (we cant dispute the authenticity that has a historical claim on this hadith- thats beyond dispute; these are in books of sihah) what we can though take issue with is the understanding of the hadith. So how did this hadith come about? We are told, (in the same sources), there was a delegation of people who came from Persia to Al Medinah and the Prophet asked them, (in todays language), whos your ultimate decision-maker? The words- (to be exact), the Prophet said man yali amr Faris? The word yari belongs to the concept of wilayah; who has this wilayah over the affairs of Persia? That was his question. So one of them said a woman. As a reply to that, the Prophet said a society or people may not be prosperous or successful as the relegate their affairs to a woman. If we understand the hadith as it pertains to a specific people at a specific time with a woman leading them, then this is not that general statement that is taken by the rest of the Muslims and by which they disqualify and discredit women from that office. Besides, the ayah of the Quran says O my people- I show you what I see and I only guide you to the right direction of maturity and development This is another area in which we try to bring these types of hadiths that seem resistant to the general meanings of the Quran, (just like the one were talking about). In an Islamic configuration of politics and decision-making there is the central principle of Shura. The ayah which is very clear and which is on the tongues of any reciting Muslim say If youre in these positions, you seek the input of what other pertinent specialists, experienced people or people in the know have to say about issues (Surah Ash Shura verse 38) Its not absolutism. So, if we have a concept of Shura, whos involved in that Shura? When the Prophet used the word amr- the same word that is used in the Quran- so, we take a look; is the Prophet talking about societies in which theres going to be an absolute ruler or hes talking

about societies in which rulers diffuse their decision-making by involving others in it? Were not looking at a Queen or a King who are making decisions for Muslim people. This is what we understand- in other words, were looking at the institutionalization of the decision-making. If youre in these positions, you seek the input of what other pertinent specialists, experienced people or people in the know have to say about issues (Surah Ash Shura verse 38) This dispels that notion that were going to have an ultimate male or female who are making absolute decisions on their own- this doesnt exist! The problem with some of the Muslims who tried to give this some thought is that they conceded; they said OK- a woman can participate in legislative, judicial and executive affairs but the absolute highest office in the land is reserved for a man; but, (once again), even though this opinion has to be refined the question is where do you get that from? Besides why is there so much concern with having men occupy that position? (Take a) look now at who are occupying these positions in Muslim lands- with maybe one exception they are all men but are they the quality men that we want? In other words, would you prefer to have a man who is making the ultimate decision in your society who is an absolutist, an authoritarian (with) no shura involved and you feel theres no violation of Islam here but if you have a Muslimah who wants to rule on the basis of shura with the qualifications of any other Muslim then you say oh no this is a violation of Islam?! We cannot see something like this! Why are Muslims so sensitive to the issue of having a woman Islamic leader who may meet the qualifications of being in that position when now they feel very comfortable they now have all of these Kings and Presidents who are running around owing their allegiance to Ash-Shaytaan (and) violating every principle of Islam and to them OH- theres a man who is ruling. They are more sensitive to the gender issue than the shirk or kufr issue that they should be more sensitive to! Then, we have the regular-normal-run-of-the-mill Muslim or Muslimah of today who live with this, are content with this (and) are satisfied. We hope that we have spoken our minds in this- 1 st and foremost with Allah and His words and the Prophet and his words occupying the number one position in our hearts and minds and then after that whatever the opinions are of the fuqaha, ulema and scholars to be respected for their efforts and to be disputed if we find this is not in the flavor of the Quran and the hadith. They have their opinions- may Allah reward them for all of their opinions in past history and contemporary time; this is not the try to take away from their ijtihads; they are probably way ahead of us but the mindset, mentality and mental attitude that has gone to their opinions and caused the opinions of these scholars to eclipse the ayaat and the hadiths in context is what we have problems with. Brothers and sisters- a khutbah at this time should be remainder of taqwallah. We are trying to remind ourselves if taqwallah pertaining our women in these khutbahs. The general meaning (or) conference of these khutbahs is to say to you taqwallah pertaining our women.

Now we come to the issue that we, you and all of us cannot make belief that it doesnt exist- for (those of) you who have been with us in the past two years and more know that we were trying to speak about the final card (or) the Ace that the Mushriks and the Dhaalims are playing in todays world- that Ace that they have in their deck is the Ace of sectarianism. They are trying to fuel hatred and bitterness among Muslims on the basis of school-of-thought that they belong to; they wanted to begin this whole trouble making from Iraq. We cautioned (and) said whatever we could on this subject to try to clear the air and make the Muslims understand and feel that none of them have the justification to harbor hard feelings against the other Muslim from the other school of thought or from the other interpretation of history. Now- what we have are some of the details that are not coming to public attention. In Iraq in the past four years, (almost five years) there has been resistance to the occupation that is causing sleepless nights in the same quarters in Washington that thought that they could go over there and work this thing out to their advantage. There may have been some ground work preceding these four years for sure- we have reason to believe there was extensive ground work to have those who consider themselves Shiis work within the general scheme of this imperialistic plan in the area. We began to realize that may of these people who fall into this stream of politics were given visas very easily to come over here. Then we found that there are some programs that are aired on satellite TV to try to also feed into the sectarian frenzy that is an integral part of this program. Remember, (we remind anyone who doesnt understand what is happening in the world), we are in the street because the government of Saudi Arabia 27 or 28 years ago began to stoke the fire of sectarianism against the Islamic revolution in Iran and the leadership of Al Imam Al Khomeini (quddas Allahu sirrah); we were not playing politics saying that we are going to do this just because we hate the Saudi governments, (theres many other reasons to hate the Saudi governments for), we expressed ourselves because of principle and because we understand Allah and His Prophet to the best of our mind and thinking. Then we spoke for long years against sectarianism that emanates from Sunni quarters, (we use the word Sunni here very loosely to be parallel to the way they use it; by no means due to its authentic meaning understood in the Quran and by the Prophet); and we equally speak out against those who call themselves Shii (and) who have enlisted the same way their Sunni counterparts did in the Americanimperialist program. What do you think? (That) because some Muslim prays in a certain way were going to say OH- hes more credible then the other Muslim? NO! We dont look at people the way they pray; we look at where people have located their hearts and minds. If they have located their hearts and minds in Allah so that Allah and His Prophet is more important to them than anything else then we express that; and if they have located their hearts and minds in imperialist politics we will also expose that. Some of you may not be aware- in the last four years, because of the winding up of this sectarian tension emanating from Iraq those who were resisting American occupation by the use of arms also had the doors of officialdom closed to them in the surrounding countries, viz. those who are working in tandem with the Shayateen in Washington. Saudi Arabia says no- we dont want to hear from you; we dont want to see you. The Egyptian government would tell them the same thing, so would the

Jordanian government, the Syrian government and the rest- no-one wanted to see them. What happened? In around a year ago, all of these governments have done an about face; they were saying to them come on, we want to talk to you. One of the spokespersons for the Saudi Arabian government in Washington ran an article or opinion in the Washington Post, (to make the whole article one sentence, he said we are willing to support with finances and military means the Sunnis of Iraq. The Vice President, Cheney, (who lives a few blocks down that way), goes to Saudi Arabia and he speaks with King Abdallah for two hours, (you might want to take one hour out for translation- which means he spoke to him for about one hour), and as a result of that, we see that the Saudi Arabian government is in high gear to contribute to a sectarian massacre that will have proportions all around the Muslim world (by) claiming that it is the champion or the defender of the Sunnis in the world. Do you see how sectarianism feeds sectarianism?! When one of the major, (if not the major), figureheads in the Sunni context in Iraq wanted to speak to the Saudi officials two or three years ago, they would not let him come in front of the press to the country. He had to sneak in to perform the Umrah so that he would be able to touch base with some potential supporters there. Now, (its) yes- we want to speak to you; we have a lot to speak about; we want to make up for those years of artificially imposed silence on us. Then, also to feed into all of this, one of the most respected scholars, (if not the most), in those who consider themselves Sunnis (we pray to Allah that the time will come when we no longer classify ourselves as hyphenated Muslims), gives a presentation, (it seems that this presentation should not have been available to the cameras, but we dont know how yahud got their hands on it), in which he is saying that there are scholars in Iran who believe that the Quran is incomplete. He explains what he means by that- he says that what Surah Al Ahzaab is now in the Quran is not all of what it was when it was revealed; meaning theres some ayaat that are lost or taken out. To be honest to him, he said, (these are his words and we are transferring the meanings of what he is saying; rememberthis is being said in a larger picture that is stirring up sectarianism among the Muslims; this is not said in one of those scholarly meetings; because scholars speak these type of things to themselves and they can tolerate their differences, but what the enemies want of this is to distribute and circulate this among the rest of the Muslims so that Muslim can hate Muslim), not all the scholars in Iran say this, nevertheless, there are those scholars who believe that there is a Mushaf that belongs to Fatimah and that Mushaf in volume is two or three times the volume of the Quran. What is meant by using the word Mushaf here, (because some of you may not understand), is that there is a rival Mushaf to the Quran itself. This feeds into sectarianism- what does it mean when a scholar of such a stature stands up and communicates, probably to the influential members of Islamic society, (this was in Egypt- we are told), that Shiis dont honor the names of Umar, Uthman, Aaishah because none of their children have that name?! Imagine the imperialists, (and behind the imperialists), yahud watching this scenario unfold among the Muslims. They say OH- right now we are beginning to have feedback on the policies that we want the Muslims altogether to a brink of a war among themselves. There you are- these statements (are) contributing to this precipice of a war in front of our own eyes. Sectarianism is a disease and no-one is immune from this disease because

he/she says I am a Sunni/Shii. Rather, anyone who considers themselves a Sunni before being a Muslim or a Shii before being a Muslim, whether they know it or not, they will be used by these plans of warfare and these sectarian instigations that are given the green light by the zionists and imperialists and then they are bridged by those who wear the attire of the Prophet who are trying to infect with this sectarianism other parts of the Muslim world. You can only cast your vision on Lebanon- just like they have plans for Iraq, (they get a sectarian war going among the Muslims), they have plans for Lebanon so that they can get a Muslim/Christian war going. If is wasnt for the wisdom of Hizbullah, the leaders of Hizbullah and the Islamic Resistance the zionists and imperialists would have had a Christian/Islamic tension bordering on warfare in Lebanon the same way they have been working on Sunni/Shii tensions inside Iraq- because this is what they want going for them i.e. to have the Muslims kill themselves and have the Muslims kill the Muslims and let the zionist jew watch this comfortable theater from the luxury of their own offices and their behind-the-scenes confidential meetings. It is a sorrow and a regret to say that theres a lot of bodies in the empty Manabir and the vacated Masajid, but when they do not bring you and me up-to-date and up-to-par on these issues by drawing from the immediate information offered to us via the book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah, we will become the fodder of this war and the fuel of their war mongering. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Makkah, Al Kabah, Al Bayt Al Haram and Al Qibla no longer are functional- they exist but they dont function! We, Muslims, go there to satisfy our emotions; we dont go there to satisfy our responsibilities. We assemble there at a discounted rate- from over 1,5billion Muslims in the world, only 2million, (give and take some thousand), are permitted to go to this much needed expression of unity, solidarity, common purpose and common enemy. If we cant express our unity by combining our responsibilities during the time of the Hajj and Umrah it means that we have no Hajj and Umrah. This is a time when Muslims should be able to pronounce and accentuate their God-given duties from Makkah and Al Medinah but we have an instrument of zionism and imperialism (that) not only is it on one side stoking the ambers of sectarianism, but on the other side it is stifling the fervency of the Hajj. We are only allowed to go to the Hajj as individuals and as individuals we have to belong to a crowd of people under their supervision; with that being done, once we arrive we are not allowed to express what it means to repeat the ayaat of bara from Al Mushrikeen at that time and at that place. By Allah- who is served by this non-functional or dysfunctional Hajj except the zionists and imperialists. (For), how long are you, (Muslim- whoever and wherever you are), going to tolerate this? (For) how are the Saudis going to get away with their subservience to their imperialist masters here and their superheroes i.e. the zionist?

THEOLOGY VS IDEOLOGY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen... These times- this week- and the coming week after that is a time in which two cultures or two (what is called) religions come into contact within a religious confluence of holidays. In the Christian-Euro-American societies there is an ostensible celebration of Christmas; in the Islamic context there is the observation of (whatever is left of the meanings of) the Hajj; there are some clarifications in order within this time of convergence with two sets of minds or people trying to live up to their religious (as it were) standards. It is almost ridiculous to remind ourselves and whoever is listening that Allah is One- there is no duality or multiplicity about Him, whether that pertains to His Essence or Attributes- the fact is established. Say: It is He, Allah, the Singular, the Unique; the Independent, the In-defatigueable, Who has not given physical birth and Who has not received physical birth; And Who is not matched by anything or anyone, and is not similar to anything or anyone. (Surah Ikhlaas) There is no birth description or explanation to Him- all attempts, whether they are theological, philosophical, conceptual or mental in trying to place Allah in a position, (whatever that may be), vis-a-vis being given life or attaining life or begetting life is from Allahs words nonsensical and unacceptable. This is a given that all Muslims understand as a matter of fact. That being said, we, (Muslims), err; we make a mistake when we try to take those who believe erroneously in the concept of a trinity to task and begin to break our human relationships with them just because of this serious theological error. We dont know of Allahs Prophet, (he is our pace-setter), having any negative, acrimonious or hostile feelings or relationship with those who believe in a trinity-

this never appears in reading the Seerah and Sunnah of the Prophet. We know of his encounter with Christian clergymen and we know of the ayaat that Allah has revealed in the Quran pertaining to this fact i.e. Allahs Tawheed or Unity- the ayaat are abundant but they do not diffuse to us- on this political issue- a sense of hostility towards those who believe in one way, definition or another in a God that is not One. There is, (though), a development that occurs from this misplaced belief that the Christians have that becomes so serious that we cannot dismiss or diminish it- this development is the usurpation of Allahs Authority. This is a very serious sin and a very offensive infraction of the Tawheed of Allah. The serious infraction of the Tawheed of Allah is not their erroneous belief which we acknowledge and know; the serious violation of Allahs Wahdaniyah and Tawheed is that they usurp his Authority and claim it for themselves. This is where and when there is a notion of serious objection and even animosity towards those who have misplaced Allahs Authority and claimed it themselves. Allah says He does not withhold or forbid you from a relationship of virtue and fairness and equity towards those who are not fighting you because of your Deen or who are not waging war against you because of your Deen and who do not expel you from your homelands and who are not complicit in expelling you from your homelands and countries (Surah Al Mumtahanah verse 8) If we wanted to soothe the translation: the ayah and Allah is telling us that you should be as forthcoming, accommodating and courteous as you can be towards everyone except those who are involved in acts of war and hostilities because of your adherence to Allahs Deen and in the process they are rendering you refugees, expatriates, misplaced populations or they are a party to that process- this is what the ayah is saying; its not saying that we should show our political and military muscles to those who have a theological misunderstanding of Allah. To the contrary, if we are confident of the information and knowledge that Allah has privileged us with, we should feel sorry for them- not hostile towards them. If they are theologically wrong they need care- they need people who can show them the confidence and certainty that they dont have which comes from what we are supposed to have. With these ayaat on your mind, you (should) take a look at the world around us- are we in a behavioral sense exemplifying the meanings of these ayaat. Allah says Say (O Prophet of Allah): O People of Scripture (Surah Aal Imran verse 64) When we speak to Ahl Kitaab with the confidence and certitude that we have- by the formulation of the words Yaa Ahl Kitaab- we show sympathy towards them. Its not the psychology that permeates today among Muslims to try to curry favor with them. Theres a difference between saying Yaa Ahl Kitaab when youre psychologically inferior (as happens to be the case with many Muslims today), or when you are psychologically healthy and exude the confidence to feel sorry and sympathy for them, (as is appropriately the case). Allah says to us, in adjusting this relationship, as He says to His Prophet

Come to a word of balance, fairness, accommodation or an idea of equilibrium between us and you (Surah Aal Imran verse 64) What is this? Were going to notice that what is to follow is going to be a concentration on the meaning of Allahs Authority that we shall not conform to or confirm in our relationship anyone as Authority except Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 64) The word nabud is not the worship! This is what happens to our minds and psychologies when we borrow secular terminology to fill-in the meanings of the Quran And we shall not associate anyone with Him at this level (Surah Aal Imran verse 64) We have to remind a world that is burdened by the secular explanation of scripture that people tend to associate others with Allah as far as His Hukm (Surah Al Kahf verse 26) and Mulk (Surah Al Isra verse 111) are concerned and it took straight words from Allah to dispel this historical practice. Shirk by and large pertains to two descriptions- Al Hukm and Al Mulk. Do you need that to be broken down more? These are Allahs words- brothers and sisters And that none of us should designate others of us as- arbaab- Sustainers to the exclusion of Allah or in competition with Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 64) How much more explanation do Muslims need to have them liberated from the misnomers, mistranslations and misunderstanding when it comes to this relationship between those who say that they are Muslims and those who say they are Christians? If these people in the world around would honor their biblical Prophets and open their minds to these ayaat, they would have no choice but to say, (at least in theory and within their own way of thinking), that the Muslims are more Christian and Judaic than they are! But, it seems that we contribute to the problem of prejudice and discrimination that they have and we dont offer a solution to that problem because we reinforce it with the inaccurate and biased notions that we have; hence, we have Muslims who are trying to stir the pot of animosity because of theological issues and Allahs Prophet did no such thing. If there is going to be a polarization of positions- that should be because of the authority of Allah that they are violating and many of us are not able to stand up for. And that none of us should designate others of us as- arbaab- Sustainers to the exclusion of Allah or in competition with Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 64) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims The combination of when traditions become Islam and when customs and conventions become Imaan becomes a package that is very difficult to untangle. We grow up going to Masajid and

listening to khutab that have made many Muslims. We hear about this almost every religious season- some Muslims around the world attack Temples, churches or even synagogues. It is in the same direction that we have officialdoms, regimes and governments who try to intensify the theological differences so that they can get away with their political crimes. What harm is going to happen to any government if they can get Muslims and Christians to fight against each other and not have the common attention of good-willing Muslims and Christians against their high crimes and misdemeanors. It is in this vein that we have an understanding of Islam today that makes it a crime, (this was in the news just this past week) A British lady wanted to take the Bible to Arabia and she was told she cannot take the Bible to Arabia. Why? Because she was told this is the Islamic standard of things. Where did this come from?! The Bible was there during the time of Allahs Prophet; he didnt say you cannot have this Bible in Arabia. People had this Bible in the Southern, Northern, Eastern parts of Arabia and in Al Hejaz itself. There were Christians and jews who were reading their versions of the Bible in Makkah and Al Medinah. When the Prophet 1st received revelation- Al Wahy- he went to a reader of the Bible- ibn Nawfal; this was a Christian. When the Wahy began to flow later on to the Prophet, he didnt go and say you cannot read your Bible. It never occurred. Even with all of the difficulties that we have with the political impulse of the jews, especially in Al Medinah, Allahs Prophet didnt say to them you cant read or have your Bible. It never happened. When the Christians came to him from Southern Arabia he didnt say youre living in Arabia you cant read the Bible. Its unheard of. Anyone who understands Allahs book and Allahs Prophet will tell you that to discourage Christians from becoming religiously and morally Christian is a violation of the Quran and the Sunnah. An ayah in the Quran places the people of scripture under the standards of their own scripture; we are responsible for that and we cant be responsible for that by sending out the notion to these people that we dont permit them to read their Holy book in our Holy Land- this doesnt make any sense. (It is) true- the Prophet of Allah said two deens cannot co-exist in Al Jazeera or the Peninsular- the same territory and Holy Land that we are talking about; but deen is not a word that means religion, creed or belief; deen is a system or overall organization in a position of submission to Allah of worldly affairs; therefore this current government that is occupying Al Hejaz, Al Jazeerah, Makkah and Al Medinah is criminal by saying to people of faith and conviction that you cannot improve your faith and conviction by reading your Holy book; therefore according to the Saudi Arabian government, (for those who dont understand what were saying), it is haram to bring your Bible to Saudi Arabia but it is halal to bring bombs to Arabia. (Do) you see how they undermine this message of Islam?! It all goes back to the theological and the ideological; we are supposed to take a theological argument against Christians and jews according to the Saudis- not according to the Quran and the Prophet; and we are supposed to look the other way when it comes to ideology and the military; so we live satisfied with a false idea and understanding that no Bibles can go to Arabia but you can have militaries, military bases, weapons of mass destruction and areas that are occupied- all of that is permissible according to this understanding and false interpretation of Allahs and His Prophets words- this is where we are. For those who are going, on their way to the Hajj or already in Makkah and Al Medinah, this is the type of environment

and climate that you are honoring through your traditions. No one is supposed to speak the truth to this travesty of justice and express the ayaat and ahadith on these flagrant violations of ayaat and ahadith! Youre supposed to go to Makkah and Al Medinah silent; repeating words without meanings and meeting human beings that might as well be skeletons and mummies instead of being the coordinated and consolidated base that we are supposed to be i.e. Ummatan Wasata- an Ummah of centrality; instead we are not only divided in our societies, but we are also shattered in our concepts and ideas and they want us to remain shattered in our concepts and ideas. These people who are supposedly running the affairs of the Hajj and Umrah are the ones who are responsible for sowing the seeds of hostility in the world against innocent human beings and letting the big crooks off the hook, they themselves included. O Allah- expedite the day and time when they will be exposed along with their masters and minions.

ISLAM AND CULTURAL ISSUES

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims.... As we place the final touches on tracing out historical personality as compared with our current personality we quote Allah when He says That final abode We shall designate for those who did not want to be arrogant on Earth and did not cause or spread corruption in it and the after affairs belong to those who are conscience and actively behaving knowing that Allahs power-presence is predominant Brothers and sisters- we now have species of those who count themselves as Muslims who have confused the meaning of Islam with the particular traditions and customs that they developed either as a good effort to increment this understanding of Islam or as an ignorant deviation from the unpolluted understanding of Islam. When we spoke in the past couple of years about the divisions that set in among the Muslims because of a political deviation in the highest office of the land we never encountered the division that has become the defining matter of who the Muslims are or are not today! Sometimes these increments that have been tagged on to a pristine Islam handed down to us by Allahs Prophet and the struggling generation of Muslims with him have good intentions, (we are not trying to put intentions on trial; we are just trying to take a solid look at our real condition in the real world today). We go to some Muslim countries, to name a couple that we know about- Turkey and Libya. In the Masajid you will often find that there are masabah or tasbih (i.e.) the SubhanAllah beads that are placed in these Masajid. We try to ask what is this all about and they tell us this is to help a Muslim in counting his sentences of devotion to Allah- SubhanAllah; Alhadulillah; Allah-hu-Akbar. OK- what if we dont use that

method? Is there anything wrong with that? Unfortunately, in some tight corners in these traditional areas of the Muslim countries we find people becoming up-tight about this if you dont grab the tasbih or if you dont wear the skull-cap, ghatah, amamah, kufiyah or put something on your head then people begin to take this as the defining matter of how much or less a Muslim you are. This is an increment that has nothing to do with the practice of our conscience of being the Muslims that Allah intended us to be in this world. A similar case is what we wear. Some Muslims prefer to wear the long thawb or robe, the color to be white and to have a head rest that extends all the way to their backs; OK- thats an increment- but if someone wears or doesnt wear that are we to define a Muslim by the clothes he wears when we know from reading the ayaat in the Quran and listening to the hadiths of the Prophet that what is meant by clothes is to cover our private parts and give us an acceptable appearance; but in some parts in the Muslim world this type of issue has become a defining issue.

We have some people who come to us and tell us you should pray with your shoes on. We say OK- we understand that there is a hadith related to the Prophet concerning praying with your shoes on. We can understand when we are outside, (as we are today)- the surface of the Earth and the bottom of our shoes are equivalent. We can understand (that) in such conditions we pray in our shoes provided we know theres no najasah on our shoes and we know the general condition of the surface of the Earth is a condition that lacks this najasah. The Prophet of Allah says that the Earth has been rendered a Masjid so whoever wants to pray may do so- we understand that, but to come and say that we should go into the Masjid and pray with our shoes on in the Masjid is conflicting with our common understanding of what taharah and najasah mean. Then they come and say the Prophet and the Muslims who were with him used to do that! Yes- but the Masajid at that time were not like the Masajid today; there were no rugs, Persian carpets or elaborate floor accommodations, it was the simple sand or soil of the desert that they were praying on- thats how simple it was- in those conditions it was just like (we are) praying right now- where we pray our Jumah prayers in the street on the surface of the Earth. Some people come and say, in their incremental understanding of Islam, that we should pay our Zakaat Al Fitr only with barley or dates. If thats their understanding, there shouldnt be an arrogant psychology that confronts them. That final abode We shall designate for those who did not want to be arrogant on Earth and did not cause or spread corruption in it and the after affairs belong to those who are conscience and actively behaving knowing that Allahs power-presence is predominant If thats their understanding let them dispense with their Zakaat Al Fitr in such a manner; but when they come and want to impose that understanding on others who have a wider horizon of analysis, definitions or applications then room should be made- there shouldnt be this type of fanatical attitude that faces off against Muslims who understand Allahs

words and the words of Allahs Prophet in a manner that these types of people are incapable of understanding. In this traditional incremental build-up within Islam we have some societies, cultures and traditions that tell the son that belongs to a family son- you should marry so-and-so and this son hasnt seen so-and-so but the father and mother or both sides know each other very well so they want to arrange a marriage between a son and a daughter in which neither the son or the daughter has seen themselves. We dont know where this comes from but it exists in our traditional Islamic family structures; deep down in some areas of our Islamic societies this is a fact of life! According to this increment, which we could find no Islamic root for, this young man is supposed to marry another young woman on the authority of his father and mother without having seen the future half of his life! How can this be? Where did this come from? This happens! What are we going to say? Are we going to take a step back and say (that) just because we have inherited such a custom and tradition that it is Islamic or are we going to take a principled look at this and say actually this has no Islamic basis? The Prophet of Allah says to this issue that it is more appropriate for them, meaning the couple that is going to be married, to see and be familiar with themselves. But we have this in todays world- if we were to run through our minds the details of the 1st generations of Muslims, (that we spoke about in the past couple of years), none of these issues were presented by any Muslim; none! How come they have become the defining issues of our time?! Then, we come to the issue of women. We have some pockets in some areas of our Muslim lands that frown upon families that send their daughters to schools! It is said on good authority that when King Faisal in Saudi Arabia introduced the 1st school to teach girls in that kingdom, many of the occupants in the town in which that school was built abandoned that whole town! Where did this come from? We dont know?! This is a negative increment that has been tagged on to what is supposed to be an Islam of equality, understanding, tolerance, accommodation and justice. Some of you may not be familiar with this, (obviously we live in a country that doesnt have by-and-large- we see and do know of traces of this- but by-and-large we dont have it as concentrated as it is in some other areas), we have some clergymen, shuyukh and ulema' who dont want to see a face of a woman! We still dont know where this comes from?! This is not befitting our understanding of Allah and His Prophet. These same type of so-called scholars would have gone up to Allahs Prophet during baiah Al Aqabah Ath Thaniyah when there were two women who offered their allegiance to Allahs Prophet and said theres no need for these women to be around. To use their words or vocabulary, they word probably say this is a bidah for you to be receiving allegiance from two women! What would they say to Sulayman (alaihis salaam) who was communicating with a woman ruler in which Sulayman says to her Dont show any hubris towards me and come to me in a state of submission to Allah (Surah An Naml verse 31)?

This was a Prophet of Allah whose communication or contact with another woman has been recorded in the Quran for the Muslims to recite until the end of time. Theres no gender complex but how come we have some Islamic scholars presenting us with a gender complex behavior? In some quarters of Muslim cultures, traditions and societies we have something like a mandatory imposition of an-niqaab, i.e. the covering of the face of the Muslim women- for those of you who may not be versed in this area, much of this comes from those who raise the Hanbali banner. The enlightened of them say that it is better for a Muslim woman to cover her face but those who consider themselves to be strict, observant or orthodox, (we dont know the choice of word they may use- but something along these lines), say its mandatory for a woman to do that. In his book, ibn Qudamah, one of the major Hanbali fuqaha in Al Iraq, cites the hadith by Asma (radi Allahu anha), the daughter of Abi Bakr who said if a woman reaches the age of her monthly cycle it is only halal for her to expose this and these, and she pointed to her face and her hands. So where did this come from? We dont know how we have developed a sexual complex? In the Battles of Islam in the time of Allahs Prophet- in the Battle of Uhud when men were running away there were women who were defending him. In the Battle of Hunayn when men were running away there were women who were defending him, (the details of these battles are left up to you to refer to; go to your preferred historical reference or book of history and read about this subject), to the extent that some of these women came to the Prophet and said these men who deserted you should be executed. What did the Prophet say? If the attitude of these scholars of today was around theyd say what are you talking about? You should say no such thing- leave! By the way, youre a woman- why should you be out in public expressing your opinion! (Theres) no such thing; absolutely nothing whatsoever to this effectthats what we had then and this is what we have today?! Then we have the specifics that pertain to the Prophets wives. We do have some information that the Prophets wives were taken care of in a way that made them an exception to the other women in Islamic society. To get a sense as to why this was done for the Prophets wives- the ayah in the Quran says you are not like other women (Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 33) These are Allahs words pertaining to the Prophets wives. We can understand this in light of that, (we want to say), uncivilized but some people may not understand it correctly; (we want to say) uncultured but then we run into the problem with the word culture; (we want to say) primitive and that has its positives- the attitude that some people had in the Arabian Deserts (were that) they would express their minds. When it came to the Prophets wives, one man once said if Muhammed dies Im going to marry so-and-so of his wives. Obviously, we respect the Prophets wives because we respect him and we care for them and protect them as we care for and protect him; and we dont want any man to be contemplating these types of ideas and expressing them in public. Theres an order in the Quran that this type of internal thought does not become a type of social understanding ishaaatul faahishati fil lladhina aamanu- because of this, every measure was taken to try to have the Prophets wives dignity preserved lest these

types of individuals express their instinctual thoughts in public, which is not permitted. But, we cant extend this and make of it a general rule that has caused the degradation of Muslim women in Islamic societies until we have inherited a culture in which the issue of women has become a contentious issue. (Theres) no basis for that. Then, these people who want to divide the Muslims pick on what we may call minor issues or issues of ijtihad or issues in which they should learn tolerance and accommodation, not express hubris and animosity as is the case today. Remember, this was not an issue in the defining years of our social personality- they come and say what do you think about the Prophets father? Is he going to the fire or not? They hold that the opinion that the Prophets father is going to the fire and someone who disagrees with them is condemned- why? On this issue, Allah say to those who think, (for those who dont think, theres no use of speaking to them) We will not punish with the fire until we send a Prophet (Surah Al Isra verse 15) For people who think, it would mean that the Prophets father would deserve al adhaab if he rejected what his son was presenting; but he wasnt given an opportunity to accept or reject so how do people come and very easily condemn him to the fire?! If you disagree with them, then you become outside the pale of Islam. Right now, this is one of the defining issues; instead of being an issue of you see it you way and I see it my way and well know on the final day -that type of psychology and behavior is not to be detected in them. Remember That final abode We shall designate for those who did not want to be arrogant on Earth and did not cause or spread corruption in it and the after affairs belong to those who are conscience and actively behaving knowing that Allahs power-presence is predominant (Surah verse) Thats one of the issues that circulates with the power of money to divide Muslims. We dont find any legitimacy or grounds for these types of issues to be circulating. Another issue in Surah An Najm And he came and he approached until he was at (this is a borrowed expression) an arms length (Surah An Najm verse 8-9) Whos he referring to? The type of people we are talking about say that refers to Allah. (If) you come and say it doesnt refer to Allah, it may refer to Jibreel (alaihis salaam) or the Prophet because this is during the night of the Isra and the Miraj and then they come and tell you Noyoure on the verge of becoming a non-Muslim because you are saying that. Then they come to when the Prophet attacked Bani Al Mustaliq. They say the Prophet did not fore-warn them because every understanding of the ayaat and ahadith says a war has introduction and the introduction to the war is to present Islam to people. Then, you build policies (based) on how these people respond to the presentation of Islam. In the encounter of

Bani Al Mustaliq, they say the Prophet did not fore-warn these people and present Islam to them. OK- if they want to understand it like that, (which we dont), why cant they accommodate other Muslims who dont understand these issues the way they do? Think of the Muslims we were speaking about and the issues that made them who they were and look at the Muslims who we are speaking about today and the issues that make us who we are and remember Allahs words That final abode We shall designate for those who did not want to be arrogant on Earth and did not cause or spread corruption in it and the after affairs belong to those who are conscience and actively behaving knowing that Allahs power-presence is predominant (Surah verse) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims You can fill in the blank spaces by contrasting the high responsibilities, the deep motivations and the sincere character of Muslims who knew that they were going to disagree but they never thought (that) out of minor issues they are going to become enemies of each others as has become the issue today. Today there are minor issues such as the ones we just mentioned that have consumed our time; this is the subject, theme and issue, (one of many), that we should be looking at In the past five years, (next month, the imperialist-zionist invasion and occupation of Iraq will have reached the five year point. In five years, what has happened to the Iraqi population? Only in these five years- were not speaking of the years prior to this- about 1million of them have been killed; theres about 1,5million Iraqi children who have become orphans; and theres over half-a-million Iraqi women who have become widows. The Muslim mind, because of the issues that we just alluded to in the 1st khutbah, cannot move into this area because it is frozen and stifled by the non-issues; viz. (do) you or do you not put on your shoes when you pray- this has become a big issue; add this to the other similar tertiary issues and we are consuming our energies and dissipating our potential by hovering around these tertiary issues and increments that came into our midst and thus we render our ownselves incapable of stepping up to the higher responsibilities of justice and equality that we are held responsible for by Allah. How long is this going to continue? The issue of going to a grave- someone goes to visit those who are in their final abode in the cemetery; the words of ziyarat al quboor comes from the fiqhi generation of over 1,000 years ago and there is a consensus among the fuqaha that it is recommended or mandatory to visit these people who are deceased; across the board, there is an encouragement to do so and then, 1 scholar- ibn Taimiyah- comes along and he is afraid that going to these graves is going to generate a veneration for these dead people or is going to raise the status of these deceased people into intercessors with Allah- he doesnt like the idea. OK- fine; thats his idea, but now comes along all of this wealth that wants to take this issue out of its context, cancel the consensus of the fuqaha and discourage people from these reminders of the life to come. Now we have almost

(something) like a poison streak in the Muslim societies wherever this money is to be found, deterring Muslims from remembering al aakhirah. These are reminders; when dear people who were dear to us in this life took that step into the life to come- these just serve as a reminder; thats all. That reminder is a dhikr, Then, remind or conscientise them, as of a certainty, this dhikrah benefits the committed Muslims (Surah Az-Zaariyaat verse 55) But they have shattered and shredded the meanings of this Quran and the integrity at its core to a degree that they have satisfaction when we are argue the trivial and tertiary issues that we argue.

THE ILL-EFFECTS OF WEALTH AND POWER

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... There is a flaw in the way many Muslims understand their relationship with Allah and there is a left-over from previous generations- a general impression that because Muslims are who they are i.e. because of this religiosity among Muslims, they have become backward, stagnant, unproductive and, (generally speaking), an obstacle to progress and a better future. This understanding of what Islam means and what our relationship with Allah means cannot find a substantiation in what Allah and His Prophet tell us. Theres nothing in the ayaat and the ahadith that indicate that having a strong relationship with Allah is going to bring about a deterioration in our worldly responsibilities and in our Earthly endeavors; to the contrary, Allah says He has made to be your utility everything that is in the Heavens and everything that is on Earth All of that was made by Him for you. What do we do, though, when we have a remnant impression among certain people that the more religious you are, the more backward you are or the more Islamically observant you are the less likely you are going to have progress in your family, community, country and among your people? This is our responsibility (i.e.) to setback and unfold this impression once-and-for-all. We need Muslims who are committed to Allah (and) who can set the pace for those who misunderstand Islam and for those who dont understand Islam to begin with. Theres a notion amongst certain Muslims

(that) the more detached you are from the activities of life (like) working, toiling and laboring, the more Islamic character you have. This is a very serious misunderstanding and, (we probably can say), that this is an undermining of the true understanding of Islam. Allah tells us in His book- the ultimate reference- to pursue whatever we are doing in this life as being a portion of the life to come. (You know), the big issue in the mass media is a separation between church and state. There have been many people who have been divided around this issue; much less noticed is the separation between Ad Duniyah and Al Aakhirah. The same way we, Muslims, state forcefully and confidently that we do not recognize a separation between the decision makers in the political realm and the preachers or sermon givers in the religious realm- they should be one and the same- we also should reiterate to ourselves that we do not recognize a difference between our effort in this world and its echo in the world that follows; therefore, we should be living in both worlds. Just like we pride ourselves on having a unity of what is political and religious, we should also equally and more forcefully pride ourselves on having a unity between this world and the pending one. So, when we come and say that Muslims, (maybe, more than others), remind themselves of death- thats a fact of life. Why are people pessimistic about a reminder of a fact thats going to happen to everyone? Every living being is going to experience the aroma of death (Surah Aal Imran verse 185) But that doesnt mean that somehow we are dislocated- some of us make believe that they are living in Al Aakhirah and they forget their presence here and some of us disconnect ourselves from Al Aakhirah and think that this is everything that counts! This is not the way it should be; we should have a healthy and balanced understanding of who we are. The problem with the psychology, human tendencies and what we want and dont want to do is a matter of power and wealth. When we put these issues under our observational microscope, we find out that what interferes in this principle that we are speaking about viz. the unison of our livelihood and our relationship with Allah are these two factors- power and wealth. We have demonstrations of this in the time of Allahs Prophet. There was a person by the name of Thalabah who came to Allahs Prophet who came to Allahs Prophet and said, (in todays language), make dua for me so that I can become a prosperous man. Thalabah eventually became a rich and prosperous man but he said when he was still poor if I were to become rich and prosperous I am going to give to those who are in need. But when Allah has given them out of His privilege and abundance What do they do? they with-hold their hands and they become stingy The problem didnt end with them becoming stingy, then they began to turn away from Allah and then they go on a tangent in another direction away from Allah

Meaning- that this relationship that they should honor with Allah after they gain this wealth they no longer want to honor it.

In the ayaat that were recited before the khutbah- the problem with Qarun was not in him having the wealth, where-withal, riches and treasures that he had accumulated; Muslims can have as much wealth as they want provided they observe Allah (when) in the possession on this wealthAllah says and be generous the same way Allah was generous to you But once people reach that position of power and wealth, they think and the Quranic worlds encapsulate their mentality and emotions- what do they say? but Ive been given this power, wealth and resources that I have because of the knowledge that I have They attribute Ar Rizq not to Allah but to themselves. In todays world, where do we have Muslims with a Quranic heart and mind who can step up to these people who have wealth and power and not be influenced by the heritage, culture and traditions that have piled up throughout the centuries and misplaced Islam and became themselves a religion? There was a time when Muslims began to have some revenue in their treasury- some money was coming back; it wasnt much. It was in the time of Allahs Prophet and a person by the name of Abu Ubaidah Al Jarrah (radi Allahu anhu) had come back with some money from the Eastern parts of Arabia. The Muslims were in the Masjid of the Prophet at Fajr time (and) word had gotten around that Abu Ubaidah had come back and he has some money for the Muslim treasury. The Prophet of Allah realized how the psychology of the people around him was behaving when they heard that there was money around. He said this hadith that is rarely quoted in todays atmosphere because the people who are running the Islamic show today are the ones who have this money and power, (at least thats how they think of themselves.) The meaning of this hadith is (as we said, that was the context- people were ecstatic, they felt there was money in the air). Remember, this money was nothing compared with the concentration of money that we have in our days today. The Prophet said to them OK- good news has come and it made you feel jolly good as much as that may have been. Then he said to them I dont fear poverty over you or coming to your society or I dont fear you living a life of poverty. What I fear is that the world opens up widely and expansively for you i.e. when riches and resources come your way and you become affluent and wealthy- that is what I fear happening to you. As was the case with people and societies and nations that preceded you- then, what happens (is) your competition is going to be towards these Earthly resources; you are going to become rivals because of the possession of this wealth as has happened to these societies and nations before you. They did the same thing and they were obliterated. Remember, hes speaking to these people who are his generation, these are the people who grew up with him, fought along with him and who

breathe and walk the Earth with him- This mode of life will destroy you as it destroyed those societies that came afore-time. What do we have today- brothers and sisters? We have people who have this wealth and power and we have them behaving exactly as Allahs Prophet predicted they would behave. When wealth and money came their way, they forgot Allah and turned away from Him! (Take a) look at them in todays world- they are ashamed and a sore malignant growth on the condition of the Muslims in this world; they are a disgrace to everything that is said by Allah and His Prophet! Why dont they repeat this hadith in the Masajid and Islamic Centers around? We have among us, the Muslims, a psychology and culture of defeat that cannot find itself in the company of Allah saying and doing exactly what Allah expects and desires! NO- they part company with Him- and when do they part company with Him? After He has given them of the resources of this world in abundance, generously and to the trillions-and-billions of dollars that they have! If they were the subjects of Allah and not the creatures of zionism and imperialism they could bring this so-called Western civilization to a standstill if not set it into reverse- but who are we speaking about? Were speaking about princes, kings, rulers, governors and presidents whose only relationship with Allah is the cultural and traditional; rendition of As Salaah and siyaam and that yearly theatre in Makkah and Al Medinah that is run by culture and traditions and not executed according to the Quran and the Sunnah. Who do we have, (look around you; open your eyes and listen to what the speakers have to say), that steps into this global mess and can speak truth to power? Are we supposed to become specific and tell you by the numbers the flow of money that is coming into this political and economic structure, (here), that is used against us, the Muslims, everywhere? They spoke and they still speak about the miserable condition of the Muslims in Gaza- just one news item that has been circulating in the past few weeks- but they dont speak about the enablers of that economic and human misery of a-million-and-a-half people in Gaza because the economic enablers of their condition are their so-called brethren in Arabia. These are the main contributors to the tragic lively details of these people who are forced into pathetic human daily or even hourly conditions of survival. Why cant we see this larger picture? Because we are told from the Manabir of these types of Masajid that these are our brothers. NO- spare us this brotherhood. When Allah gives these people in Arabia who are doing all of this, the resources, we can apply to them the ayaat and the hadith of the Prophet that fits their condition- how can they become our brothers?! That is not to speak about the mayhem that they are financing in other parts of the Muslim world and theres no one who can raise a voice of truth against these evil human beings who cloak themselves in the image of Muslims; no one can see through their false clothes and their deceptive images?! Theyre not going to reach as far as Sulayman (alaih salaam) reached as far as his domain or dominion, wealth and the utility of even the animal kingdom and the natural habitat, (but) did he behave the way these people in Arabia are behaving? He said This is of the grace and abundance of my Sustainer to test me- shall I be grateful or shall I be in denial of Him

Contrast these two attitudes and behaviors. How can anyone, (whoever that person is), place themselves in a cordial relationship with these rulers in Arabia? What are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to play politics and say for the time being these rulers in Arabia are doing fine? These rulers in Arabia have been responsible for the past 25 years, (in one way or the other), for us being out, (here), in the street. Just a week or two ago, the person who used to dwell in the Embassy wanted to come and withdraw some of his holdings in the United States; he has some of his wealth placed in institutions here and they told him NO- you cant do that. Brothers and sisters- either we play a game of deception- at one time we are with them and at another time we are against them; or we maintain our good company with Allah throughout all of this stating the truth- the whole and exhaustive truth. If that means we have to point out to these renegades who have parted with Allah and His Prophet and who have taken a position against the interests of the Muslims and express that, we will express that until Allah puts an end to their behavior or He puts an end to our relationship with Him- by death or by any other means. Brothers and sisters Our commitment with Allah remains until the final moment in life. The Prophet says if the final day was to erupt upon one of you and you have a plant in your hand, go ahead and plant it. We dont know a moment, (even if its the last moment in our life), in which we do not do what we do and do it for Allah. It is sorrowful to look around and see that we have inferior types of Muslims who will never be able to get it- it seems like. Here, in this country we have an election fever that is just beginning and because some Muslims got burned in the last two elections are remaining silent- not that theyve changed their hearts or minds on this issue- NO- they still have their favorite candidate; other Muslims have drifted with the media. Theres a particular candidate- an African American one- who they think will make a difference in the course of this country. These people are just out of touch. There is an anti-Islamic animus- unmistakable deep down inside the political establishments of the West. For those who may be a little sensitive about the United States, take a look at distant Europe- in the past couple of weeks, (remember the outcry, fuss, commotion and pandemonium that was brought about concerning the images of our Prophet in the press in Denmark- when was that? A couple of years ago?), now observe the difference between what happened a couple of years ago and what is happening today. Today, 17 periodicals in Denmark and four major/mainstream journals or newspapers print these images- does this indicate that the West is understanding Islam more or that the West is increasing its hostility to a larger and more profound level than was the case before?! The Arch-Bishop, the leader of the Anglican Church, also just a couple of weeks or so ago comes out with what seems to have been an objective statement. Being that the Muslims are around two-million who live in Britain, it might be advisable to think about how to incorporate Islamic personal law into the British legal code such as is the case with Judaism and Christianity. Then, not only do members of his Church hierarchy turn against him, but also the mass media turn against him- does this indicate that there is some type of success in communicating our Islam with the powers that be?! A Muslim

Member of Parliament in Britain, (we reckon), his name is Sadiqh Khan, is having a conversation with a Muslim in-mate, (this is supposed to be in confidence), and then Scotland Yard or some other intelligence service in Britain was spying- they had a device and they were listening in on this confidential conversation between these two Muslims. Yet all of this is not on the Muslim public radar. 15 fascistic right wing parties meet in Antwerp, Europe, and what are they discussing? They are discussing promulgating new laws to make it impossible for Muslims to have a social presence in Europe. A billionaire from the extremist right-wing political spectrum in Europe is elected in Switzerland as a major figure, but whats on his mind? Laws such as Muslims can no longer build a minaret to their Masajid. You tell us- these developments in Europe are only the tip of the Iceberg or groundswell of the anti-Islamic feelings that are shared between Europe and its Governments and the government here, in Washington DC. If we can understand the climate that we are in and if this is the trend of the future, then why are they shining and polishing an African American, (not a phony African American), person to possibly become the future President of the United States which has some of our Muslim brothers, especially our African American brothers, emotionally involved?! This is a factlets not run away from a fact. Just like we had some of our immigrant Muslims eight and four years ago involved, now we have the African American Muslims involved majorlymore than the immigrant Muslims. You see- both of them are committing the same mistake. If it there was possible for Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar in Washington to use African Americans in the State Department- you saw Colin Powell and you see Condoleeza Rice and how they were used and what the results were concerning Muslims and oppressed peoples in the world. Now, imagine what they are thinking on and planning if they are placing an African American to be the President of the United States? Much more than what we have been seeing in the past eight years! That will serve a dual purpose at least; they have many fringe benefits to their decisions- a couple of them are that the traditional Muslims who are locked into cultures will say at least this person may have a soft spot in him for Muslims because remember, his father was a Muslim from Kenya, Africa, (imagine how much mileage that will have in the ignorant areas of Africa), and then he lived with a Muslim family in Indonesia, (imagine how far that will go in repairing the damage that the US has in that part of the world?) Then, if they are planning big stuff when it comes to wars in Africa and Asia on a scale that will pale Afghanistan and Iraq, then they will have a component of national unity in the United States because the African Americans community will feel less resistant to object to a President that is in its own image when he embarks on such hostile policies in the future. They need social cohesionyoure an American and the Afro American communities so come together. They dont want to see riots in the cities in the future and thats why much of this money is going his way. That is to be expected, but what is not to be expected is for the Muslims to fall for these types of gimmicks! But this is what happens and always will happen when we step out of the purview of the Quran and the Prophet and are consumed with the media and the opportunistic Muslims that feed off the general information in the mainstream media.

WHO WERE THE UMMIYEEN?

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... We would like to begin by saying that most of the times when we try to fulfill our obligation of the Friday khutbah and the Friday wajib, we feel that many times, from this position, we are forced to be on the defensive. It is not because we choose to speak about certain topics that that choice is our primary or priority choice. A person in this position is required to stimulate and elevate the Islamic consciousness of Allahs power presence, (in other words, the word that is used most often), At Taqwa. But we give-and-take when we talk and listen to you, (the average Muslim), we realize that there are gaps of information that have to be filled by individuals such as the one who is speaking- this is what we have been trying to do all along, particularly on the issue of sectarianism that has found a place in Masajid, Islamic communities here ad afar. We tried our best to clear the air on that subject; we did it as a matter of conscience and no as a matter of Sunni/Shii tribalism as it has unfortunately become; But in the larger context, if we try to understand Allahs Prophet, himself, we are going to have to understand the society that he interacted with. Many Muslims, to our detriment, understand the Prophet as an abstract and dont understand him as an integral part of the society that he was in. Without this type of understanding we lose a precious interval in our lives in becoming the duplicates of Allahs Prophet wherever we are. Our attempt is to give light to the social elements that were around the Prophet when he came to this world with the message that he passed on to us. Theres a vague notion among you, (the general Muslim public), about Arabian society. Allah says in His words of accuracy It is He, (meaning Allah), who has sent to Al-Ummiyeen, the scripture less people a Messenger of them (Surah verse)

Who are these Ummiyeen? We, (as a whole), in the years and decades that have passed spent much time and we still do on the personality and life of Allahs Prophet but we probably havent spent a fraction of a fraction of that time trying to understand who are these people into which he was commissioned to deliver this message. We know and hear Makkah and Al Medinah, (at that time it was Yathrib), At-Taif, Al Yemen, Al Hejaz, Najran, Khaybar etc. But when we hear these words, they do not deliver a satisfying social meaning so that we can appreciate who the Prophet was speaking to, the society that he was born in and the people who were opposing him(regarding) this part we just have a vague idea of. We are going to try to communicate to you, (still with a deep anchor in the meanings of the Quran) because Allah is saying It is He, (meaning Allah), who has sent to Al-Ummiyeen, the scripture less people a Messenger of them (Surah verse) We have to understand who these Ummiyun out of whom came the Prophet are. We say, (generally), that this society in Arabia was a jahili or ignorant society. Jahili society here is a byword of the other Qurnic word Ummiyeen. Lets take a closer look at what may define these Ummiyeen from the books of history that are available to us. First of all, we realize (that) before the Quran was revealed to the Prophet, there were, in Makkah itself, individuals who were Christians; to name a couple of them- Waraqah ibn Nawfal and Zaid ibn Amr. We know (that) when the Prophet 1st received communication from Allah when he was told Iqra, he went to his wife and both of them went to this Waraqah ibn Nawfal. For those of us that think that Makkah is somewhere in Najd or somewhere in the depths of the isolated Arabian Peninsula- our thoughts are going to begin modify themselves because Makkah was not in such an area of isolation. Another indicator that the people of Makkah and Al Hejaz had knowledge of Christianity and Judaism is the fact of the poets. There were a few poets who had mentioned in their pre-Islamic poetry their knowledge of Christianity and Judaism; one of them is Al Aasha (and) the other one is Zuhair ibn Abi Sulma and another one is An Nabigha Ad Dhubiani. If this society that the Prophet came to was totally ignorant of Christianity and Judaism obviously it would have been mentioned in the poetry of these Ummiyeen or scripture less people. We know that there was a Christianity presence in Southern Arabia- the African Christians of Al Habasha were in control of parts of Southern Arabia, (for a time period), today called Al Yemen. Also, in that same part which was considered a modernized area of Arabia compared to the Arabian Peninsula. We also know that in Yemen, itself, there was a jewish community and we also know that the people in Makkah, (where the Prophet was born), were in contact with Al Yemen and Ash Shaam. The nature of the society which can be encapsulated in to words- the religious/cultural and the commercial/financial center of Arabia or Al Hejaz. This is mentioned in the Quran. By the familiarity of Quraish in their winter journey to Yemen and their commericail journey in summertime every year to geographical Syria (Surah Al Quraish verse 1)

This doesnt mean that when we speak about Makkah we are speaking about a closed city that is buried in the middle of Arabia and cut off from the rest of the world. We are inaccurate to perceive of society and life into which the Prophet was born if we begin to fill our minds with this type of false information. Makkah was a hot-bed of culture and a center of trade. These were the two designations that Makkah had, into which the Prophet was born. In Makkah the word Quraish is a Quranic word- we just said it. So, when we say Quraish, who are we speaking about in that time frame? Quraish in Makkah, (youre going to be mildly surprise to know that they were parallel to the rulers we have in todays Arabia), were the privileged people- they were the ones who had all the rights, who could be called (in todays language) the upper class and, (if we wanted to bring this closer to your understanding), they are the original inhabitants or natives of Makkah. If we take a closer look within Quraish, were they all at one level? No! There was the upper class of Quraish- these were the most privileged, the richest people in that society in Makkah, they were the ones who could give orders to be obeyed and they were highly involved in commercial and entrepreneurial activities, (as the word is used today). Another lesser category of Quraish was, (strictly), the commercial one; these were the ones who had enough money to either themselves get involved in commerce or to hire some people who could get involved in commerce for them. Then there was the last category of Quraish- these were the ones who were, (what we call today), the poor people of Quraish- these were Quraishis- within Quraish. there was also a class of poor people who just make their day-to-day livelihood, not the types that had the deposits, money and wealth that goes into accounts, savings or money ventures- No! They were just making it from day-to-day. At the highest class categorization, all of these natives of Makkah were called Quraish. What do we have as far as the inhabitants of Makkah? Who else was in Makkah? There was another categorization of people who lived in Makkah who were call Al Ahlaaf. These were other Arabian tribes who came to Makkah and, (in todays language), they were sponsored by Quraish. Just like today, (when) another Arab wants to go to Arabia, the Saudis have sponsors. You have to be sponsored by them, therefore you now enter into their citizenry or civil life- they had that same arrangement at that time. There were other tribes who came to Makkah but could not trade or socially interact with the people until and unless they were sponsored either by a family of Quraish or an individual from Quraish- The same thing that is happening today in Makkah! Remember, these are the people that the Quran calls Ummiyeen; for those of you who think that this may be a historical discourse that is away from the QuranNO! This is an explanation of ayaat in the Quran in which the word Al Ummiyeen/Ummiyun is used. This is a focus on this group of people called Al Ummiyeen. Another group of people that was in Makkah was, (we think this word is accurate), those who were slaves; these were the people who were doing the hard-work, (just like slaves do everywhere), who had no rights, no civil standing in society- these were also part of Makkah- the Makkah and society that the Prophet was born into. Then, there were these odds-and-ends (so to speak) or the variety of people who may have come to Makkah as service people. They may have been something like what we call today money exchangers or people who were in the entertainment industry; they would serve liquor or be involved in what is called today the entertainment business- songs, music and singings and entertainment and the rest- these were from outside Makkah but they

would come (to Makkah). They were not part of Quraish they were not in the sponsorship of Quraish and they were not the slaves of Makkah- these were foreigners (so to speak), who would come and offer their services to that society. Whenever you hear the word Al Arab or Al Arab or Al Ummiyeen and you look at Makkah, this is the population or demographic shape of Makkah. Then we go to another city that is not far from Makkah called At Taif, there is something like the equivalent of Quraish in Makkah- those were called Thaqifs and they basically had the same features as the commercial class of Makkah (and) Quraish. They were involved in business. In addition to that they were also involved in some agriculture; Makkah had no agriculture to speak about. In addition to a class of traders and businessmen, At Taif also had a category of farmers in it. There was a peculiar relationship Makkah and At Taif or between Quraish and Thaqif. There was a relationship where they would visit each other, inter-marry among each other and relocated from here to there among each other. Then we had Yathrib before it became Al Medinah. Yathrib is different from these two other areas. (Remember- were talking about the time in which Allahs Prophet was born). First of all, Yathrib was at a distance from both Makkah and At Taif; Makkah and At Taif are closer to each other and Yathrib is withdrawn or is at a distance from them. Then, Yathrib, unlike Makkah and At Taif also had two tribes that had originally moved to it from Al Yemen. These are the two tribes that we always hear about, Al Aws and Al Khazraj. Yathrib was known strictly for its agriculture. When we come to the yahudi component of Yathrib, we have a degree of commercialism or business but the rest of the people of Yathrib were people who would go out to their fields and rely on agriculture for their livelihood, unlike the people in Makkah. Also, unlike Makkah and At Taif, Yathrib had a significant amount of yahud who were living there. These are the clans or factions who we later on in Islamic history identify as Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadhir and Banu Quraidha. Within this make-up and society, we had pockets of nomads who lived in the deserts outside of these three major areas viz. Makkah, At Taif and Yathrib. There were Arabian nomads who were in all of the rest of the Arabian Peninsula from Yemen in the South to Ash Shaam in the North. These were the ones who dont have a sense of culture, (when we say culture, we say it in the positive sense of the word; because sometimes culture appears in the negative sense of the word), meaning no degree on civility in them. These were the ones that the Quran spoke about, (speaking to them and the larger human condition), Dont kill your children because you fear poverty; We will provide for you and We will provide for them. (Surah Al Anaam verse 151) These were the ones who were killing their baby boys and baby girls because in their own minds they thought theyre not going to be able to live or survive with these children so its better to kill them for us to survive. In addition to what is called the economic factor in their mind, they also had the shame factor (i.e.) lest they be dishonored in the future because of this new born girl. They thought it was best to kill this baby. These were people who were known for their

tough, harsh and un-accommodating social life. That being said, (remember, Allahs Prophet was born into this social context), even though there were some Christian individuals around (only individuals), and even though there was concentration of yahudis in Yathrib and even though there was contact with Yemen that was previously under Christian/Persian hegemony and even though they were in contact with Ash Shaam that was also under previous Byzantine/Roman/Greek hegemony still by and large these tribes and centers were aloof to what Christianity or Judaism really meant or to what civilization or modernity in that time had to offer. This has to be understood accurately because sometimes some of our minds go to the extremes and sometimes it happens that we speak about one portion in Arabia and people generalize and they think it applies to all of it- there were nuances and subtleties here and we have to understand these to be better able and capable of understanding Allahs Prophet. A major question that arises is how did these Arabians think about government? What did government men to them? Theres a simple answer to that- they had no government as we understand it. Makkah was the most developed (so to speak) because of the significance it had religiously, culturally and economically and the best Makkah had was (that) whenever they had an issue that they wanted to discuss- whether it was an issue that affected Makkah as a whole of whether it was an issue such as the attack of Abraha and Al Ahbaash that came from Yemen in the year that the Prophet was born or whether it was an issue of personal animosity (such as) two individuals who cannot get along- (they would discuss) what they were going to do. They would meet in one of two places- they would either go to the Haram, Al Masjid Al Haram or they would go to Dar An Nadwa. The higher chieftains of Quraish would get together there, discuss the matter and leave after reaching some type of solution to whichever matter they had- that was the extent to which they would arrange their own affairs. Now, leading up the year in which the Prophet was born- in Makkah, (as we said), there was Quraish who had this commandeering position inside of Makkah; its like saying (today) it could grant citizenship to the people it wanted to who come to Makkah or it could give them green cards, (this is just trying to have you understand Quraish and its power position in Makkah with regards to todays issues or it could give visas to people who wanted to stay in Makkah temporarily. All of that said, though anyone who wanted to go to the Haram anyone who wanted to go to the Haram, Quraish itself could not impede access to the Haram- unlike what is happening today! There was a person who was born into Quraish- Abdul Mutalib ibn Hashim. What is peculiar about this individual is that he was known among his generation and peers to be an exceptional person in as far as his moral character and principles are concerned. The other Quraish notables were the commercial/opportunistic types; the ones who were out for profit and worldly centered. Abdul Mutalib was not known to be the same as those around him. It is said in the books of history that we have, (we are not trying to go into the details of the details), that Abdul Mutalib wanted to have zam-zam as a well. This wasnt an idea that just came to him; it is said that he was inspired to go to that particular area. There was an area that was known as the area of zam-zam- it may have been an area that was moist and undeveloped and he wanted to have it a full fledged well and he set out to do that. As he was digging of his own initiative-

Abdul Mutalib is from (what we say today), the lower class of Quraish- he took this upon himself because of the inspiration he received and then, as he was digging this well, he found a treasure and a hostility broke out as the other worldly people in Quraish said but this treasure doesnt belong to you. He didnt want to argue with them and he took this treasure and he vowed it to Al Masjid Al Haram i.e. to place it in the Kaba there-by no one owns it- that diffused that potential hostility. As he kept on going he struck the source of water and the water began gushing out. This same Quraish came to him to claim that this same water is theirs. Here, there was a problem and they didnt know how to solve this problem. It is said that both sides were set to have this problem arbitrated by a kaahin, a religious scholar, (we dont have the information as to what the details of this is). To abbreviate this portion of history, Abdul Mutalib at that moment felt that he was a weak individual in this type of society and he vowed to Allah that if Allah was to allocate children to his family, he will sacrifice for the children that Allah has given him. Allah granted him 10 children and it is said that the 10th child was Abdullah and the vow of sacrifice fell upon Abdullah- in other words, in order for Abdul Mutalib to be honest to his vow to Allah. He would have to sacrifice Abdullah who is to be the Prophets father. Then, Quraish intervenes and says dont do that; this is not the right thing to do. He says what do you suggest? They said take a vow with Allah- there was a way of drawing sticks (so to speak), if you draw the 1st stick and you draw Abdullahs name, then you sacrifice 10 camels. So, he kept on drawing for 10 times. The 10th time he drew Abdullahs name, which means he had to sacrifice 100 camels. Now, because Quraish had suggested this for him and he was a man of humble and limited means, they would have to bear with him this responsibility- which they did. It was during this time period that the Prophet was born i.e. when Abdullah became a man and was married, he went on a trip, a commercial venture to Ash Shaam and on his way back, in Yathrib, he died and the Prophet was still an embryo, (so to speak). That year, the force of Al Ahbaash who were in Yemen decided that they wanted to invade Makkah and finish this Makkah off. They put together a force and they came with this unparalleled force, with elephants to Makkah. Remember this Makkah that we are speaking about- this is not Sparta, it is not a fortress or military city- it doesnt have one fort to it- its an open city with the commercial/religious/cultural character that it has. These Quraishi people knew what was coming so what are we going to do? Abdul Mutalib said to them just leave your homes. What else are they going to do- they left their homes. Now, Makkah was open to invasion. Listen brothers and sisters- this history you are all familiar with; what is absent is your thoughts into this history. We have Christians who are coming from Yemen to put on end to what is called a pagan Makkah. Who in his right mind is going to object to that? If we understand Christianity to be a matter of rituals, then the rituals of Christianity are superior to the rituals of those people in Makkah who were worshiping idols and graven images; but if that force that is coming to defeat Makkah is, (in todays language), a colonial force, even though it has Christian religious figures in it, then we have something to think about. What happens in history? What are we told by Allah, in His book, concerning this event? (Regarding) this same event that we are looking at, not one does Allah mention that this force has anything to do with Christianity. These are Christians, at

least in the formal definition of whom Christians are, but not in their core. What motivated them was their aggressive military character- thats why Allah refers to them as Ashaab Al Fil not Ashaab Al Injeel. I hope you understand the meanings of this short Surah in the Quran and you are able to place it in the context in which it belongs. Allah is not defending the Mushrik or Ummi or Wathani character of Makkah, He is rather attacking the aggressive/occupational character of the force that is coming to occupy Makkah. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Allah has given us a guidance that we, ourselves, re acting irresponsibly with. If only we knew the extent to which human nature, human society and the human physical and mortal world is in need of what we have- if only we knew that much. Instead of tripping over ourselves with the mentality that we not have around us, when these mentalities and figures dont have the range of information that will make the guidance appealing to those who dont have it; when they dont have this what do they come around and say? This becomes their burning issue- the voice of a women is an awrah- imagine- this has become an issue to be argued back an forth- meaning the voice of a women is one of her private parts; just like you cant look at a womans private parts you cant listen to a womans voice! Brothers and sisters- billahi alaykum- is this our Islam?! Dhulm and adl are two features of human life; any human being understands what dhulm and adl are. Dhulm is a munkar that every human being, (Muslim and non-Muslim), understands. Al Adl is a concept and idea that every human being, (Muslim and nonMuslim), understands. Al Adl and Adh Dhulm are self evident; Al Adl is a maruf; Dhulm is a munkar. Why dont we have Muslim minds concentrating on these issues? Why dont we have Muslim minds telling us that there is a military in this world that wants to kill Islamic self-determination in the hundreds and millions of Muslims if need be? Why cant the Muslim mind move in that direction and open its eye up to such a destructive force and eventually defeat its strategy? Why cant we do that? We get tied up in these little home discussions; let us have you privy to some things that not many people will say to you in public- we are dying- but we are why cant we say or express the truth and understand who we are? In Egypt - we, Muslims, in the different organizations that we have, we have the right to disagree with each other, but that disagreement should not turn into innuendo, backbiting and character assassination, but thats what we have. We had an Islamic organization back in the 1970s, (theres enough time, we talking about at least 30 years), they come and say in their halaqah that Hasan Al Banna was a freemason. You tell us what better service to the enemy of Allah than to have an Islamic organization turn and say a person like that is a freemason or in another halaqah they come and say that shirk has creeped into Hasan Al Bannas thoughts. Ask them Why do you say something like that? (Because), he didnt say it was absolutely a sin to ask Allahs Prophet to ask Allah for forgiveness. This is called tawassul and Hasan Al Banna didnt categorically come out and say that theres something wrong with Tawassul and for that there is a creping shirk in him. Brothers and sisters- can you imagine how delighted our enemy would be delighted with these types of accusations! They can pay people for these

types of statements. We can agree and disagree on certain matters but what are these types of statements? What do you get out of this? You are two inches away from this takfir stuff that is going on; this is how it begins; it creeped it and now look at what we have- all of this comes from our failure to expand our thoughts and to relieve the strategy and the breadth of the Prophets effort; we cage ourselves into these types of accusations and nonsensical discussions.

25 YEARS OF JUMAH IN THE STREET

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... Allah says- these are the last ayaat in Surat Al Jumah and these ayaat were obviously sent to Allahs Prophet and to the rest of the Muslims after the Prophet had gone to Al Medinah. These ayaat carry the following meanings O You who are secure in your commitment, if the call for As Salaah goes out on Friday, then move forward to the consciousness of Allah and part with any market activity; that is best for you if you were in a state of knowledge. And then, when As Salaah is over take your course or spread yourselves throughout the land and seek of Allahs provision and remain in a state of intensified consciousness of Allah so that you may be prosperous. And if they see a commercial activity or entertainment they flock to it and they leave you (O Prophet) standing; say what Allah has is better than entertainment and commercial activity and Allah is the best of providers. (Surah Al Jumah verse 9-11) Obviously, these ayaat define what it means to be here on Friday every week. It is classified by all the scholars of Islam that attending Jumah prayers is a wajib. The 1st Jumah prayer was in the 1st week of the Prophets arrival in Al Medinah. Al Jumah, unlike the other salawaat or prayers is a prayer of jamaah- if theres no jamaah theres no jumah (but) you can pray Adh Dhuhr or Al Fajr it theres no jamaah. A little detail is what constitutes a jamaah? Linguistically speaking, and as adopted by some Islamic schools of thought, a jamaah is three persons or more; thats a plurality. According to more interpretations and better judgments there has to be at least 12 people to constitute a jama'ah; and still/yet, there is another point of view that says a jamaah is a jamaah when you have 40 or more individuals. We care not to split hair here by trying to give weight to one opinion against other opinions- that doesnt concern us. Allah in these ayaat has made it obligatory on Muslims who are able bodied, in full control of

their conscience and minds and who have reached the age of responsibility to attend this Jumah every week, per this ayah. The latter half of this ayah says and quit your commercial activity or transaction (Surah Al Jumah verse 9) Why is it that Allah is not speaking about other activities in life? The simple common sense response to that is it is the financial, commercial, trade and market activities and everything related to this that would sway a person away from responding to Allah when He orders us to attend this Jumah. that is best for you if you were in the know of these things. (Surah Al Jumah verse 9) And then, once As Salaah is over you disperse throughout the land (Surah Al Jumah verse 10) You can go back to what you were doing- if you were trading, you can go back to your trade; if you were studying, you can go back to your study; whatever you were doing, you can go back and resume with whatever you were doing. and whatever you resume doing, you do so asking for Allahs provision (Surah Al Jumah verse 10) You dont cut-loose from Al Jumah and then make believe that you are in another atmosphereNO! You take with you the character and the meanings of this Jumah and you pursue the activity that you are pursuing with that on your mind. and be highly conscious or exceptionally alert of Allah so that you may become successful.(Surah Al Jumah verse 10) And if they notice a financial or commercial activity or even entertainment they leave you (O Prophet) standing; say to them what Allah has is better than entertainment and commercial and market activities and Allah is the best to provide sustenance if thats what you care for and if thats whats on your mind. (Surah Al Jumah verse 11) (This is) provided this sustenance is made possible by the collective and brotherly cohesion of the Muslims who are committed to Allah; its not made possible when everyone is living in their world on their own- detached, unconcerned and unrelated to the other Muslim and what they are doing. This final ayah And if they visualize that there is some type of market activity going on or even entertainment, (such as some type of wedding in the making), they will leave you (Surah Al Jumah verse 11)

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- on the authority of Al Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmed and At Tirmidhi, all of them narrate concerning this particular ayah, that when the Prophet of Allah at one time was giving the khutbah on Friday, there was a caravan of goods that had arrived in town at that time i.e. when the Prophet was giving his khutbah. The Muslims, hearing the approach of this caravan that is loaded with goods, merchandise and the commercial goodies that human beings flock to- while the Prophet was delivering his khutbah, these Muslims walked out on him. It is also said that there was some preparation for a good time, (maybe someone was getting married). Then, to further inform us on this, these narrators of this hadith pertaining to this ayah tell us that only 12 men remained in the Masjid with Allahs Prophet. Unfortunately, they dont tell us who these 12 men were! One source of information just says that included included among these 12 men were Abu Bair and Umar (radi Allahu anhum)- thats the furthest we could go on obtaining information on who these 12 individuals were who stayed with the Prophet while he was expressing his ideas from the mimbar on Friday in the khutbah which constitutes part of salaat al jumah. If the information is accurate and correct, this presents us with some challenging concerns. The 1st one is the freedom that was given to Muslims. No-one came to them- there was no religious police or any type of government that was telling the Muslim as there was a khutbah being delivered from the Mimbar, you cant leave the Masjid; where re you going. Not only that, this wasnt only one or a few individuals leaving the Masjid, it appears that this was the majority of the Muslims leaving the Masjid. Still, with the majority of Muslims leaving the Masjid there was no religious police (such as we have today in the same are and city). There is this religious police; imagine if there is a person leaving the Masjid and lets say four-fifths if not mime- tenths of them left. In this case, thats exactly what happened; it wasnt one of these mediocre speakers virtually expressing nothing from the Manabir like we have today from our Masjaid today-this was the Prophet of Allah himself expressing himself from the mimbar and then we had the majority of people leaving. Another addendum to this is information or an extra sentence that said in addition to the 12 men who stayed listening to Allahs Prophet there was also 7 women who stayed listening to Allahs Prophet which evokes another concern; i.e. that women were inside the Masjid listening to the khutbah on Friday. We dont know this area, but some or many of them may have left during this time; but some of them, according to this hadith from these reliable sources remained in the Masjid. We dont know of any physical or monetary penalty that was imposed on these Muslims who deserted the Prophet during the khutbah and they come and tell you Islam is a religion that has no freedom in it! Well- maybe we can say that the official and misinformed understanding of Islam that exists in Arabia today has no freedom pertaining to what they do but (if) you take us to the sources- the book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah- and then tell us we have no freedom and we will understand that they are lying! What we have 14 centuries after the disclosure of these ayaat and the developments that took place in Al Medinah is practically those 12 people, (in our case here- in Washington DC), who are not distracted by the commercialism that not only attracts the Muslims when they leave the Masjid, but a commercialism that has so much of influence that it, (itself), appoints the administrations and individuals that run these Masajid.

That was a different time- the world at different times and places the world has its allurement, (theres no doubt about that; during, ever since the time of the Prophet, in our very time now and in the future), but in the time of the Prophet the market was not running the Masjid! Now, we have these forces that have isolated the individuals that remain with Allahs Prophet. Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims- what do we see today in reference to this ayah? (Take a) look around you- the world is inviting your attention, the behavior of man begs your thinking- what do you have? You have people who consider this jumah prayer a tradition. This, (what we have today), is not a jumah prayer in the mould and fold of Allahs Prophet! This is a jumah prayer that brings to it those who were just born into Muslim families, were fed some Islamic traditions and they live within what they consider to be an Islamic culture therefore they find themselves going to the Masjid on Friday. What do they do in the Masjid on Friday? Do they listen to a khutbah that is extracted from the teachings of Allahs Prophet?! Heres another observation- since the time Allahs Prophet arrived in Al Medinah and the time he left Al Medinah to Al Mala Al Ala, i.e. heavenly company, (which in agreement of all Muslims is around 10 years)- every year has around 50 jumahs in it; so we have over 500 khutbahs that the Prophet gave on Fridays. We ask you- brothers and sisters, committed Muslimswhere are these 500 khutbahs? What happened? Why dont we have a record of what he said during this time on Friday? Go to the books of Islamic sources of information that you rely upon and the best you can do is come up with 10 and 15 khutbahs and youre very lucky if you can dig that many out! Whatever happened to the other, (close to), 500 khutbahs that he gave? This is how we began to suffer from the re-possession of this Islam from inside the Masajid early on (and) until this day and we still have Muslims who are moved by their customs and conventions to spend (and many times- to waste), an hour or two on Fridays in these Masajid Ad Diraar Kufr Tafreeq bayna al Mumineen and irsaad li man haarab Allah wa Rasuluhu min qabl! Masjid of harm, kufr, to divide the Muslims and an outpost, watch-tower or center to be used for monitoring by those who were at war with Allah and His Messenger before (Surah At Taubah verse 106) Do we have the spirit of the Prophet of Allah that dwells in our hearts and bosoms on this day and time or is it just a matter of my commercial activity and commitments that have given me my conventions and traditions that I have (so) that I either show up on Friday or I find an excuse not to show up on Fridays?! On the other side, we also have a religious argument for not coming to Jumah. Thats a cop out! Allahs ayah is clearIf the call for Al Jumah goes out on Friday, then you make that effort and movement for the massive consciousness of Allah. (Surah Al Jumah verse 9)

Your absence from this activity and Friday salaah every week is contributing to those who have taken over this institution and they have a lock-hand over it- they can say and get away with what they want as we have witnessed them doing here for the past 25 years. Brothers and sisters, Muslims on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem This week, (a couple of days ago), those of you who have been coming here consistently have been coming here for over 25 years. During this time period we have seen some people come and go, we have heard some excuses and some less than coherent ideas about what it means to attend jumah prayers here. Some of the voices and the ideas that we heard say that times have changed. They may be correct- times have changed, but it hasnt changed the way they think it has changed. We dont know and they dont bother to explain exactly what they mean by times have changed. What has changed? Could they be gracious enough to tell us what has changed? Did these powers that are inimical to Allah and his Prophet viz. the Saudi occupiers of Allahs Holy Lands and Holy Masajid change? Did their patrons and sponsors viz. the imperialists and zionists that are lurking behind this issue changed? Nothing has changed except them! It is these same people who are saying times have changed who have changed! They played tricks on us. In these building behind us they had FBI agents. We welcome every type of agent in the world to come here on Friday and hear what we have to say. We have been and remain an open book; we have nothing to hide; we express our mind and conscience in public. They had a camera across the street in one of the air conditioning units. The FBI agent who was in this building behind us committed suicide and we never knew why; that air conditioning unit that concealed a camera in it is gone- we cant see it. You know (that) the society we live in is a society of racist- they placed a person inside the Masjid whose features appeal to a certain race so that they can have an attraction to get people to go and pray inside this Masjid. Theyve probably done much more than we know and the only thing we are doing is coming here on Friday as Allah tells us to do and because they bar us from entering the House of Allah we pray here in the street and some Muslims feel offended. Oh- how can I pray in the street; - thats the least we can do. What offends a Muslim from obeying Allah in public? Why? Are you ashamed of who you are?! Are we doing something wrong? Are we breaking any scriptural or secular laws by praying here? Tell us! Why do hear these words coming to us from 3rd and 5th parties? Why cant these people who are less than what they are supposed to be come and express themselves face-to-face and say whats on their mind? What are we supposed to do? Play dead? We dont exist? You, (the Muslims who come here every Friday in the street ), can also do that- we honor the freedom that Allah and His Prophet honored. Theres not one of you here who is forced to come here on Fridays. If you all go, there is no Jumah, there will be no khutbah and there will be no-one manifesting a Jumah prayer here on Friday if you wish to walk away. Whatever the quorum for al Jumah is- whether it is 3 as some fuqaha say or 12 as other fuqaha say or whether it is 40 as yet other fuqaha say- if that quorum is not met there will be no jumah prayer. This is not an individuals jumah prayer- we were not individuals inside the

Masjid and we are not individuals outside the Masjid; wherever we are, we are Allahs- thats what everyone should understand, especially those who are feint hearted and cant see themselves taking a stand for Allah- its the least they can do. These people who try to sing the songs of liberty and freedom- (take a) look at your liberty and freedom here, in Washington DC, when for 25 years you have been telling Muslims you cannot enter this Masjid. Compare that freedom with the freedom we have coming from Allah and His Prophet yet still we have some broken spirited Muslims who claim that theres more freedom in America than there is in Islam. Theyre mot comparing this America with Islam. They are comparing it with the Saudi demonstration of whatever they think Islam to be- and they may have a point on that, but we cant confuse what the Saudis say with what Islam is. Some of the individuals who were here 25 years ago have made up with the Saudis; they hub knob with them; they are buddies- what do we do? (Is) Islam a matter of changing times? Some of these Muslims also claim that they honor Al Imam Al Husein (alaihi salaam)- if they were living in his time, theyd go up to him and tell him times have changed; we understand more about this world than you do. This is where their tradition and culture diverges from the principles and foundations of Islam, the Quran, the Prophet and the Imams.

MASAJID ALLAHJUSTICE
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen... Allah says- this is an ayah that we cite every Friday at the end of this Jumah, particular and distinguished as it is; this is not a Jumah like other Jumahs in the Masajid; this is a Jumah on the frontline and in the midst of reality. The ayah as it turns out into English comes out as follows Who could be more offensive and nefarious on in violation of justice than those who bar or ban or deter a massive consciousness of Allah expressed as it is within Masajid of Allah and thus endeavor to destroy these Masajid; these types can only enter these Masajid in a state of fear, in this world their share is disgrace and humiliation and in the final life their share is a tremendous torment . (Surah Al Baqarah verse 114) This ayah in Surat Al Baqarah, (as we recall), is most apt to describe the people who are incharge of Al Masjid Al Haram and many other Masajid around the world, including this one here, which we have been blocked from for the interval of the past 25 years or a quarter of a century. This ayah should not ring hollow, particularly for those who come here every Friday. This ayah that is mentioned in Surat Al Baqarah is all inclusive within its meanings any human beings who act as if they have the right and power to exclude other Muslims from entering or from access to Al Masjid Al Haram, and to the Masjid in Washington Dc or to any other Masjid around or anywhere in the world. Allahs words, not ours Who could be more offensive and nefarious on in violation of justice than those who bar or ban or deter a massive consciousness of Allah expressed as it is within Masajid of Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 114)

The superficial retort or artificial response to this is Look- these people who run the Masjid show are not barring everyone from entering the Masjid; look- there are people who go inside the Masjid- you can watch them with your own eyes! Theyre within your own view! People are going in there! To have a further understanding of this ayah- we realize that it was revealed and presented to us concerning the people who we in control of Makkah at the time this Quran was disclosed to man and the people who were in control of Makkah were the Mushrikeen. Today, the same superficial Muslims come and tell us that this ayah does not apply because the people in control or in-charge of Makkah are Muslimeen. We tell them we identify and define people the way Allah identifies and defines them. When this ayah was revealed it was speaking about the Mushrikeen in Makkah who did not permit Muslims, when they gained power, to go to the Haram. Mind you- before Muslims gained power, they had access to the Haram. The Prophet of Allah used to go to the Haram when he was in Makkah; (its true that) he was humiliated, harassed and physically affronted in the Haram but no one was telling him you cannot come into this Haram. When the Prophet became a man of power and statesman and a leader (so to speak), at that time the Mushrikeen of Makkah began to turn the screws of control against the Muslims and tell them we will not permit you into this Haram- everyone else is welcome to come. These Mushrikeen in Makkah were people who were observing the Islamic rituals that traced back to Ibrahim (alaih salaam), the 1st Muslim, but yet Allah says these are Mushrikeen. Today we have a mentality and a mindset that cannot clear the air on this subject; we remain locked in a ritual-conventional-cultural-traditional definition of whom people are and these ayaat of Allah and the motions of His Prophet are trying to release us from this prison that we voluntarily lock ourselves up within! By reading, contemplating and re-thinking the words and meanings of this Quran we begin to understand that one of the descriptions of the Mushrikeen throughout time- the Mushrikeen who are not influenced by cultural definitions and who are not protected by false translations- are the ones who demonstrate their character and behavior by what they do. Allah describes shirk as Certainly Ash Shirk is a manifest, momentous and a monumental injustice (Surah Luqman verse 13) How come we now have a world in which operators of Shirk, crooks, culprits and criminals who are guilty of Shirk are cloaked in an Islamic garb and presenting themselves as the maintainers of the Holy of Holies; the protectors of Makkah and Al Medinah; and the Custodian of the two Harams?! How come we have these types of people who present themselves to us as being bona fide Muslims when they are in fact, by the words of Allah and the demonstration of the Sunnah Mushrikeen and it doesnt matter if they were born inside the Kabah, or in the vicinity of the Kabah- where do you think the enemies of Allahs Prophet were born?! It doesnt matter if they were drinking the water of zam-zam everyday and if they put it in their refrigerators and have it with every meal; it doesnt matter if they put on a show of Islamic rituals by going through their ruku and sujood in

Makkah or Al Medinah?! It doesnt matter if they wear what is called the Islamic thawb or cloth and claim to be men of that cloth! Who could be more offensive and nefarious on in violation of justice than those who bar or ban or deter a massive consciousness of Allah expressed as it is within Masajid of Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 114) The question here, is a rebuking question, meaning there can be no one who is more offending and nefarious than those who bar and ban the consciousness to be expressed in these Masajid (irrespective of) whether it is Al Masjid Al Haram in the time of Allahs Prophet or Al Masjid Al Haram during our time; or whether it is an isolated Masjid in Africa or Asia or a prominent Masjid in London or Washington DC- it doesnt matter. These people who are in control of these Masajid have made it impossible to have a functional and social consciousness of Allah take root in these Masajid. Therefore no one can supersede them in their dhulm. and thus endeavor to destroy these Masajid (Surah Al Baqarah verse 114) Life is a dynamic. Some people may think that people who have money and power, i.e. the finances and the military, can get away with what they want to do and there can be some type of limitation to the harm that they are doing. Allah says NO- once the ball begins rolling it has a snow-ball effect. By stifling and suffocating the Masajid from a massive social and functional consciousness of Allah what they do is they destroy these Masajid. The momentum becomes the destruction of these Masajid (which) doesnt mean the physical or material destruction of these Masajid. You can see- (take a) look at the stones, as elaborate and well constructed as they are- theyre solidly there structurally or physically, but when it comes to the human component, occupant or element of these Masajid, its in a state of deterioration until it reaches a point of ruin- barring an Islamic fervent consciousness of Allah in these Masajid will lead to their destruction and demolition, (one way or the other), if not physically then humanly. The names of these types of people are not very well known- the name of the person who runs the Islamic Centre is on the books, he cant hide himself; his name is well known but hes just a puppet in a larger scheme of things. This larger plan wants to immobilize and paralyze any potential reawakening that is born inside these Masajid. We have to say (and repeat as we did previously, because it merits to be mentioned again), these Shayateen bring a person in the Masjid who has African features. For what? This is not perchance; they know that the nature of the city that we are in, here in Washington DC and they know that racism runs bone-deep in this society, so they place an image in that Masjid who can try as much as possible, (at least if he has nothing to say from his head and heart, (throughout these years we have not heard anything of substance coming from his head and heart), so they leave him with his appearance- maybe that appearance will cause some people to continue to come to this Centre. Unfortunately, throughout these years we have seen that this, (to a certain degree), has had some effect. Even some brothers whom we have known for decades- because theyre African-Americans and the person appointed by the monster of the ages, (i.e. the colonialists of the past and the imperialist of today), is an African-

American, they cant see the larger picture. They say ah- hes a nice brother; lets go and pray in the Islamic Centre of Washington DC. Why have they been avoiding us for all of these years? Weve been here for over a-quarter-of-a-century, (25 years plus), and not once in these 25 years have we encountered any of them! (Take a) look- theres only 50 to 80 meters from where we are to where they are and after Jumah prayers those of us who are asking questions and those of us who are seeking answers linger on for at least half-an-hour to an hour after Jumah prayers; you would think that someone in their right behavior or just normally would walk in our vicinitynot even that occurred in these 25 years! Why? We dont have any weapons or any motivation to embark on a criminal or anything like that. They know probably as well as we ourselves know that we are Muslims of principle and the more these years pile on, the more certain they are that we are Muslims of principle- they cant just walk by and say Assalaamualaykum?! We wonder what the feelings inside of them are on this day every week. You calculate- every year is 52 and the Eids are 2- thats 54 times every year; multiply that by 25 years and not once have they come and just passed us by, which means that they are running away from normal behavior. If we are brother Muslims and they are brother Muslims, why are they hiding? On other occasions- and it was only 2 or 3 times that we know of when our brother speaker was invited to a certain activity, that person who occupies the Mimbar inside this Masjid today didnt show up in a couple of them and the one time that he did show up, he made sure that he left immediately and that he was not around. What is he going to see if he finds someone like us? Hes going to see his ugly conscience in the mirror. Doesnt it say that Allahs Prophet said a committed Muslim is a mirror of his brother? We dont know if we can stretch this hadith to include the person who is now satisfied with being in the position that he is in? If he sees any of us, hes not going to see anything good- not because we look bad, but because he looks bad! The ayah in the Quran says and if they are requested to come to Allah and to His Messenger so that they arbitrate the affair, you find that they are turning away (Surah verse ) Its been all along- weve lost our voice in the past 25 years saying to the people who have stolen the Islamic Center What is it? If we have some difference, this is Allah and His Prophet between us and you. What do they expect? What should anyone expect us to say? but if Al Haqq was on their side they would come to Allah and His Prophet (Surah verse ) No questions asked! But this ayah describes their nature and who they really are. They know that Al Haqq is not on their side so they dont want to hear about Allah and his Prophet. (It is) true that they have been experiencing good weather, physically speaking; we have been out in the elements in these Jumahs. Today happens to be a very good day, its not typical; in the winter time we are under the elements- theres snow, rain, freezing temperatures and biting winds- and we experienced that; we didnt do that because it was our choice! If we had access to the Masjid

we would be inside the Masjid- make no mistake about that- not as some rumor mongering individuals describe us (i.e.) H, they want to be out on the street. This is a land of freedom and they chose to be in the Street. That is absolutely a lie! We are not in the street by our own choice; we are in the street because of our own principle and they have been inside the Masjid with the heat in the Winter time and the air conditioning in the Summer time. In Summer we literally sweat. Do you think that all of this has been in vain? We thank Allah; we guard against Allahs corrective measures by maintaining this position of principal throughout the past quarterof-a-century. The clock is ticking; we are closely approaching the work that we have done. Theres an expression taken from Islamic literature from the Prophetic era- when a person dies they say qadima ala maa amil which means he has reached or approached what he has done; thats another expression for a person passing on. At that moment you meet what you did. In our lifetime we have a good amount of years doing what we are inevitably approaching and so do they- how are they going to answer when they cant reply to man! An average Muslim goes to them and asks We want to know why is there a Jumah in the street?! They have no answer accept fabrications- they cant speak the truth and here we are, we have the truth to say; we have nothing to hide. Some Muslims are afraid to speak the truth! Afraid of what?! What are they afraid of? Weve been speaking the truth here and we invite everyone to come and listen- if youre a Muslim or even if youre not a Muslim, please come and listen to the truth; if you are spies, informers, (and we know that there are spies and informers out there), confused, demoralized or whoever you are, we have nothing to hide; this is the hour of truth every week and we will not step down, back or out of expressing this truth. If the price of expressing the truth is that we are going to be thrown out to the elements- that may be the way that they see it. The way we see it is that its not that we have been thrown out to the elements as much as it is that we are accommodated by Allah. Brothers and sisters, Muslims on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem All the Muslims read about Prophets. We read about Nuh, Ibrahim, Yunus, Musa and all the rest (alahim as salaam). Reading is one thing but behaving is another matter. As an example, when Nuh was struggling for centuries with a society that displays some of the characteristics that are displayed in the society that we are in or that we consider ourselves part of, (you can take your own definition)- after a few years, they say Theres no response; lets go home; fold our activities; or let us satisfy ourselves with some ayaat or dua and thats the end of it. Where is the human effort, time and sacrifice that you offer Allah?! Its easy to do that, but when you do that and go home or to an Islamic Center that is, (once again), in the image of this Islamic Center, ask yourself what are you doing? The Prophets did not go home. These Prophets that we look at, and that are mentioned in the Quran did not build some Masajid and when the people gave up on them they went into the Masajid and began to raise their voices in some formula of dhikr; these Prophets were positioned deep down inside the facts and reality of the people around them. They could not go to places (to) which they wanted to go. These Prophets were Prophets of principal and they stood their ground and they honored their principal and pledged to Allah

and then, whatever happened after that Allah measured it to happen. When Nuh spent a life-time of hundreds of years, the end result of that was not retiring from Allah. The end result of that was that in those last years he oriented himself beseeching Allah I am overwhelmed am mistreated, have your victory and assistance take its course (Surah verse ) In all of these years he forgot himself. He didnt say to Allah give me victory. He just said have victory be youre course and youre cause and make it happen. We saw how the world around him sank in a deluge. We have no insight or no laboratory answers into how this works, but if people of principle dont capitulate or withdraw and if they are not neutralized or pacified and if they stay their principal things will happen once they are no longer themselves and become part of Allah. We know some minds just need a clarification on this statement becoming part of Allah- the Prophet of Allah says Allah says My subject continues to approach me with extra activity until I become his eye and his ear and until I become his hand and his leg. Of course Allahs not my or your hand or eye in the physical sense, (hence the clarification was needed); when Muslims devoted to Allah because of their principal reach that rank and degree things begin to happen. It hasnt been a long time- 25 years ago- when this power structure had us out in the street; (we look back at it as if it was 25 days or less), and this was a power structure where if someone sneezes in Washington DC someone else catches a cold in Africa or Asia- that was the type of power structure! What are we looking at today? The crumbling of this power-structure- we attribute that to the Muslims who live and die on their principal and we hope that we are included among them.

MASJID OF HARM, KUFR, TO DIVIDE AND SPY ON THE MUSLIMS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... Allah says in an ayah in Surat At Taubah speaks to us about an incident, (that was more than an incident), and remains to be a lesson for those of us who are able to connect the words of Allah to the work of men. This ayah was revealed when some individuals decided that they are going to build a Masjid in Al Medinah during the time of Allahs Prophet And those individuals, peoples or persons who have designated a Masjid of harm, kufr, to divide the Muslims and an outpost, watch-tower or center to be used for monitoring by those who were at war with Allah and His Messenger before; and these people who built this Masjid in Al Medinah solemnly swear that the only thing desire and intend from this Masjid is to do what is right and better; but Allah bears witness that they are indeed liars (Surah At Taubah verse 106) What, where and whom is this ayah speaking about? When the Prophet was forced out of Makkah and went to Al Medinah, he built a Masjid in an area called Quba which is at a distance of a couple of miles or so South of Yathrib or Al Medinah as it became known when he arrived. He stayed there between Monday and Friday when he arrived there and he designated a place there to be a Masjid and it is still called Al Masjid Quba until our very day today. We dont think it is still 2 miles South of Al Medinah with the growth of city we think it is probably inside the city. This Masjid called Al Masjid Quba was built by one of the factions or groups of Al Ansaar. It was in the area of Al Aws and they, (more or less), volunteered the place, land and

effort to build Al Masjid Quba. To some people who still had in them the nurah or self-centered pulse of Jahliyyah- remember, Al Aws and Al Khazraj had, both, in their majority become honorific people by the words of Allah and His Prophet in the Quran and the hadith, but that doesnt mean that all of them were like that. There were still diseased with al jahiliyyah. A faction of these diseased individuals registered that Al Aws had scored well with Allahs Prophet and therefore they should look for an opportunity to outscore Al Aws. There was a man in Yathrib whos known as Abu Aamir Ar Rahib or the monk who had become a Christian before the advent of the Prophet in Al Medinah. When the Prophet arrived in Al Medinah, the wasawis of Ash Shaytaan, the individualism of this person and his ego kicked in. He wanted or was expecting a high position, but when the Prophet arrived in Al Medinah he was eclipsed and he felt psychologically injured by the presence of Allahs Prophet in Al Medinah and he fled Al Medinah and went to Makkah. He participated with the Makkan Mushriks in their grand effort of warfare against the Prophet, Al Muhajirin and Al Ansaar and against the Islamic power base in Al Medinah. It is reported that he also participated actively in the war at Uhud against Allahs Prophet and he spoke to the people around him and he told Allahs Prophet theres not going to be any war against you except that I shall be a participant in it. Abu Aamir Ar Rahib was called by the Prophet of Allah Abu Aamir Al Fasiq. Were going to have problems with the superficial understanding individuals of Islam by saying how could Allahs Prophet change the title of a person from Abu Aamir the monk to Abu Aamir the degenerate? The problem we have with these types of Muslims is that they cant place themselves in the context of the times and understand individuals and people with their intents and actions. Its an accurate description who degenerated from his pursuit in understanding Allah before Islam when he became a Christian and now he has joined with the Mushrikin in their grand effort against the Muslims. It is later on reported that he also participated in the battle Hunayn, but when Hawazin lost the battle there, he fled. It is also said that he participated in the Arabian alliance against the Islamic base in Al Medinah known as Ghazwat Al Ahzaab or Al Khandaq. So, this person was an active warrior against Allah and His Messenger and he deserved to be called Abu Aamir Al Fasiq. When he was losing all of this military participatory effort against the Muslims he thought let me go North; and he did go North, all the way to geographical Syria and he joined hands with his co-religionists, the Byzantines. Obviously, as is the case, they would try to use him to implement their plans against Islam in Al Medinah and he also would try to take advantage of what they had to offer to make in-roads into the Islamic society of Al Medinah. It was within this context that this Masjid Ad Diraar was conceived. Abu Aamir being a Khazraji himself contacted some of these people from Al Khazraj- remember, these are now Muslims- and he said build a Masjid near Masjid Quba and he played on the subtle differences between Al Aws and Al Khazraj. He took the issue back in their psychology to the time when Al Khazraj felt that they did not participate as they should have in building a place for the Prophet when he arrived in Yathrib or Al Medinah. This is what we have- the information that we came across is that there were 12 individuals, (who are referred to as Munafiqin in the

mainstream books of Islamic history), who were contacted by Abu Aamir Al Fasiq and they were the ones who were receptive to this idea of building another Masjid. They built the Masjid. This was when the Prophet was preparing to go on his last military effort to Tabuk. It was exactly during that time frame that they built this Masjid Ad Diraar. They came to him when he was just about to leave Al Medinah to Tabuk and they said come and pray in this Masjid. He dismissed that because now theres a more important military effort that needs to be tended to. Thinking Muslims can plug the mouths of those people who right now say Muslims really dont enjoy any freedom or an Islamic society is a society without freedom by showing how people in an Islamic society had enough freedom to build a Masjid of their own when there was no need to build another Masjid. This brings us to the issue of building Masajid. If there is a Masjid in an urban center, community or society that is inclusive of the population there is no need to have another Masjid. The basis and foundation of a Masjid is to have one Masjid accommodating as many people as possible yet these people or individuals For youthinking Muslims- we dont have the names of these 12 individuals, which is a sad and negative remark on our own history- we should know who these people were. Theres only the name of one of them who appears later on after the Prophet passes away. This person, who was appointed to lead the salaah in Masjid Ad Diraar wanted to lead as salaah in Masjid Quba and the 2nd successor to the Prophet refused to have him lead the salaah there because he was the one who was leading the salaah in Masjid Ad Diraar and it took the intervention of other Muslims to convince the Muslim ruler that he didnt know that he was used; but besides this, we have no mention or names of these individuals who were inside Islamic society, subjects of an Islamic power and constituents of an Islamic order- we have no indication of who they were. These were the ones who were in contact with Abu Aamir Ar Rahib who was in Byzantium that was preparing its version of a war against Allahs Prophet. So who tells us Muslims dont have freedoms?! When the intentions are unknown, they can get away with doing things like this, but once they are exposed, they incur the rightful penalty. This Masjid of diraar, kufr, tafreeq and irsaad was exposed by Allah with this ayah in Surat At Taubah. This Masjid was built with the intention of spying on the Muslims, dividing the Muslims and with a plan of denying Allah and His Prophet and to inflict maximum harm from within an Islamic society through a Masjid. Of course, this is not one of the ayaat that people nowadays want to focus on and it is ironic because nowadays most of the Masajid can be considered Masajid Diraar! Wal Iyaadu Billah. What adds insult to injury is that these people who had this brilliant idea of building another Masjidnow, on the surface of it, whos the Muslim whos going to object to building another Masjid?! In later generations, we know of at least one school of thought- Al Maliki school of thought that says if one Masjid has the capacity to absorb the population within which it is built, then there is no need for another Masjid, (meaning- another Masjid is illegitimate!) Who dare say that today to people who dont care and who will come and build a Masjid a few blocks away from another Masjid?! Why? Because the issue no longer has the ingredients and the flavor that it had in those days. A Masjid today no longer means it is the headquarters of the Muslims; its just a place where you go, offer your prayers, make some

dua and just leave- and you can proliferate and have hundreds and thousands of them in a limited area and no one is going to object and say what is all this about, yet in the time of Allahs Prophet the issue was so serious that in propagating this Masjid they said we want this Masjid to be a refuge for the poor people, people who have no place to go can come to this Masjid, we will feed Muslims from this Masjid- this was the propaganda that went into building this Masjid of diraar- but the true intentions were lurking behind the scenes and they were connected all the way to the super-power at that time, to Byzantium. A Masjid in the heart of Islam can be traced and trailed all the way to Byzantium and the Quran, Allah and His Prophet helped us do so. The issue of a Masjid, according to the same school of thought, (anyone of you who want to review the meaning of this ayah, in tafseer Al Qurtubi can go back and do it for your self satisfaction), Al Imam Malik also went to the extent of saying even if you have one Masjid and As Salaah is performed in that Masjid as a jama'ah, you cannot have another salaah performed in that Masjid in another jamaahit doesnt work that way. But whos going to scrutinize the issue of Masajid with light in their heart and enlightenment in their souls?! Whos going to come to Allahs ayaat and understand them as they relate to the real world around?! So what happened? Allahs Prophet returns from Tabuk, the Masjid was still there, these 12 unknown individuals, (as far as we know), were still around and when this ayah was revealed to him and to us but Allah bears witness that these Masjid builders, these people who contributed to building this Masjid, these people who physically constructed this Masjid are liars (Surah At Taubah verse 106) it wasnt and issue of contention- lets debate this or let us go and see what were going to do with this, Allahs Prophet ordered that that Masjid be destroyed and Muslims happily went and destroyed that Masjid and not only that, they burnt it to the ground and beyond that, it was used later on as a place to dispose as thrash. If people had any thrash to dispose of, theyd bring it to that particular area and place it there. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- this is in our history; were not trying to take something theoretical or hypothetical, this is in our past, in our own character and should live with us in our time and life today so that if we see a Masjid Diraar, we identify a Masjid Diraar! What happens to this person, Abu Aamir Ar Rahib? He stays there with his masters and superiors in Byzantium where he belongs and he dies there in a Northern part of Syria called bin Nasrin. He passes away and is buried there. This has been a delicate issue of the Islamic reality and society of the time. Abu Aamir Ar Rahib had a son whose name in Handhallah (radi Allahu anhu). Handhallah is referred to in Islamic history as ghaseel al Malaaikah, the corpse that was washed by the angels because of his dedication to Allah. These are the facts- you see, when we speak about Al Aws and Al Khazraj and the subtleties there-in before the advent of Islam we speak about how human nature has the propensity to devote itself to Allah and His Prophets; how it also has the propensity to break away from to Allah and His Prophets and we speak about this type of enemy who was conspiring against the Islamic state from within the borders of a super

power. When we speak about this scenario, we realize that Allah has given us a purview of human nature, a preview of how this human nature may act and he has given us enough information to move forward with our responsibilities (being) ever watchful of these people who try to brew within our Masajid and destroy our unity, spy on us that doesnt bring Muslims together, it separates them from each other. How many of these Masajid can you point out to in the world, society and community that you personally are familiar with?! Brothers and sisters, Muslims on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem The ayat that we explained in an ayah that is so timely and pertinent to the world that we live in. The difference between our time and the time of Allahs Prophet is that during the time of Allahs Prophet these munafiqeen and their connections all the way up to the super powers of those days could not get away with this scheme and with their behind the scenes plans to undermine the Islamic pulse and the Islamic movements at that time. Today, though, they pre-dominate and they occupy these Masajid because they know that theres no one who is going to come and say these Masajid are under occupation. Isnt it quite accurate to say that most of the Masajid that we are speaking about have at least a trace of the four descriptions in this ayah- Masajid diraar i.e. Masajid that were meant to harm, Masajid kufr, (brothers and sisters, we know this is an unusual combination of words; not many of you listened to them, but this is the combination of words that comes from Allahs Holy writ i.e. dont many of these Masajid that we have around, at least in a passive way promote kufr? Masajid tafreeq bayna al mumineen i.e. dont most of the Masajid and Centers we have around act as places and centers to divide the Muslims? Look closely at the Masajid and Centers that that you personally know- are they a magnate for all the Muslims or if someone doesnt fit in he doesnt belong?! Its almost a universal fact that not many of you are willing to face in your heart and mind. We know- sometimes the truth hurts, but if were not going to express the truth whos going to express it?! If you dont listen to the truth on Fridays at Jumah from the Mimbars, then where are you going to hear it? Masajid irsaad liman haarab Allah wa Rasul min qabl i.e. these Masajid have become an observation point or centers for those who are at war with Allah and His Prophet aforetime. Meaning these places have individuals in them who write reports; they come to these Masajid and they write reports on who are the sincere Muslims. Where is this done? Inside- from the administration of these Masajid and they report these things to their superiors who report to their superiors. Most of these Masajid have governments who they consider their superiors and these governments report back here, (in Washington DC.) Just like we had Byzantium in the time of Allahs Prophet, right now we have a Shaytaani Buzurg or Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar, a satanic government here, (in Washington DC) and the reports come here about Muslims all around who were identified inside Masajid. Some Masajid dont want to deal with this- they dont want to do any reporting, so what do they do? They tell some individuals youre not welcome in this place; they may say that directly or indirectly. They dont want to get involved in that so just stay away. Muslims

around Allahs Prophet now have to keep themselves, their minds, their speaking and communication capabilities with other Muslims outside of these Masjid! Allah is expanding our thoughts and trying to give us insight into what is happening inside our Masajid and many of us prefer to look the other way and make believe none of this is happening. Brothers and sisterslook; because all this is happening just in the course of these past years in our lives, in Iraq 6,000,000 are displaced, 4,000,000 children are hungry, 4,000,000 others are injured in this war that was made possible by having these Masajid in the control of imperialism and zionism. This is all in the past 5 years only, were not speaking prior to that- 1,000,000 people have been killed and still we have people and administrations in all of these Masajid who cannot speak their Islamic minds, express their Islamic conscience and who cannot translate their Islamic hearts to the public! Dare any Muslim do so and he might find himself in the street, (as we have been in the past 25 years- as a lanah upon those who are participants and accessories to the curtailing of our minds and conscience).

THE MUSHRIKS IN CHARGE OF MAKKAH AND AL MEDINAH TODAY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen... In light what is happening to us, (literally) personally and in the larger sense of the body Muslims in this world, we consider the meanings of these ayaat. Allah says in Surat At Taubah It is not for the Mushrikeen to build or dwell in or put life or momentum into the Masajid of Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 16) All of these meanings are strung together. while they bear evidence of kufr against their own selves; they are the ones who have their labor and deeds aborted, cancelled and disregarded and in the fire for eternity. Rather, the Masajid of Allah will be built physically and humanly (i.e.) as a matter of construct and content or the ones who are going to construct and bring life to the Masajid of Allah) are those who are committed to Allah and the final day; standardize As Salaah or who make As Salaah palpable in human life and those who have the circulation of money institutionalized in society as a matter of purification for the wealth and resources in their possession; and they stands in awe of no-one except Allah and even hope remains that they become guided. Have you rendered or regarded those who provide water and lift matter concerning the hospitality of the Hajj on an equal par with those who have committed themselves to Allah and the final day and therefore exert, endeavor and struggle for the course of Allah and on a course to Allah? In the eyes of Allah (so to speak) they are not equal; and Allah does not

guide people who offend, transgress against, oppress or do injustice to themselves. (Surah At Taubah verse 16-18) This is in direct and clear words the transition of the meanings of the Quran to the language that we are speaking in. Now, from the general understanding of the ayah, let us pick up some information that pertains to the content and context of this ayah. During the time of Allahs Prophets struggle, the 23 years, that he spent in a night and day struggle against the occupiers, administrators, governors and rulers of Makkah, it was towards the end of this stretch of the last years of his lifetime that Allah sent down to him and to us Surat Al Bara or Taubah that begins with a disavowal and a severance of relationships between a (now) full fledged Islamic authority, (with the leadership of Allahs Prophet and its center in Al Medinah on one side and the Mushrikeen centered in Makkah on the other side. It was now, just a matter of time before Makkah is liberated; the liberation of Makkah when these ayaat were revealed was pending; everyone knew it was just a matter of a short time and Makkah was going to become free from these Mushrikeen. It is in this context that Allahs Prophet sent Aba Bakr and Ali to Makkah in the year before his Hajj. These ayaat were revealed to speak about the control and management of Al Masjid Al Haram. Even though they were intended for the listening and obeying Muslims, the larger society who were not Muslims were now listening to Allah, the Quran and the Prophet because they have become powers to be reckoned with! This wasnt the Prophet during hi s days of persecution in Makkah; this was a Prophet 20 years after those days and times. What is Allah saying, when Muslims are listening closely with their hearts and minds and the Mushrikeen and Kuffaar are also listening closely, but with their plots, deception and under handed behavior The ayah is saying You cant expect Al Mushrikeen to fulfill a role that is constructed pertaining to the House of Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 16) There are those with their legitimate qiraaat who said- ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) and others read this ayah in the singular instead of the plural; the other seven qiraaat had Masajid Allahthese Mushrikeen that Allah is speaking about who have been in control of this Masjid in Makkah since time immemorial, since ancient times going back to when it was constructed after Ibrahim and Ismaeel (alaihima as salaatu wa salaam). What Allah says- He doesnt describe them as millat Ibrahim. Those who were in control of Makkah were not millat Ibrahim; those who were running the affairs of the Haram were not Hunafa- a description given to Ibrahim; they were not called Muslims, (obviously). Allah gave them the accurate definition and meaning- they are Mushrikeen. Now, brothers and sisters, this khutbah is intended to speak to your mind and heart, (were not putting you to sleep as is the case withy these who occupy these Masajid)- in all of the Islamic literature that we have, (believe us, our humble speaker has not come across any details there-of), we dont have an accurate or detailed description of the rituals that were performed by these people who were running Al Masjid Al Haram, Makkah and Al Kabah. Approach any scholar and just ask them describe to me how did these people who were controlling and commanding

Makkah and this sacred area during and before the life-time of Allahs Prophet pray? If you are as fortunate as our humble speaker is, they will tell you that their prayers was an echo or a watered down or distorted version of the prayers of Ibrahim and Ismaeel thats as specific as it gets. OK- what were the prayers of Ibrahim and Ismaeel? We know that customs, traditions and cultures take their toll on societies generation after generation, but there doesnt seem like there was a serious departure from the religious character of these people (so to speak); but then, the question poses itself- they didnt have any serious, (and in some historical books, they said that before the Prophet Muhammed received revelation he used to honor and pray in the mode of Ibrahim and Ismaeel), if that is the case, it appears very clear that this sharp wording of these ayaat in the Quran go beyond the religious character of these individuals or that society- this is an extremely important issue to understand. In His meticulous, precise and accurate words says It is not for the Mushrikeen to build or dwell in or put life or momentum into the Masajid of Allah while they bear evidence of kufr against their own selves (Surah At Taubah verse 16) Even though we know what we know of them within their religious capacity, Allah was not fooled by their religious reflections or features. These Mushrikeen who are in-charge of Makkah, Al Makkah, Al Bayt and Al Haram were in their essence and life endeavor, (i.e. meaning in their social activities), providing evidence and proof (if proof was ever needed) throughout many long and arduous, extended and tortuous years against Allahs Prophet and those who were with him that they were in denial of Allah. they are the ones to have everything they do in life lose its value and in the fire they shall dwell forever. (Surah At Taubah verse 16) A little background or context to this ayah for (those of) us who dont get the right and critical information when we need it Immediately after the battle of Badr, one of the prisoners of war that was taken at Badr was Al Abbas, the Prophets uncle, at that time he was not a Muslim yet and he was on the wrong side of the issue and he heard the Muslims speaking about the Mushrikeen- those religious Arabians of Makkah- and how they were in violation of Allah and His Prophet. What more do you want than for them to come to war? Thats what these Mushrikeen did- they came from Makkah to Al Medinah to war against Allahs Prophet. He was listening to this and he says wait, listen- (his nephew, Ali ibn Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhu) was harsh on his uncle) you are mentioning those negative things about Makkah but there are positive things! Are we not the ones who are offering water to the pilgrims?! Are we not the ones who are the maintainers of the Kabah?! Are we not the ones who are the custodians of the Haram?! Almost the exact words that are used by the current Mushrikeen who are ruling over Makkah and Al Medinah! This ayah was not revealed immediately the when this was taking place; as if there was a staggered response to this concern of Abbas that came years later in the form of these ayaat in Surat At Taubah.

Because we know that traditions, customs and conventions have a religious grip on us and because this khutbah goes thousands of miles away, some people will ask what are you trying to say? Those who are in control and command of Makkah and Al Medinah- who pray five times a day, fast Ramadhan; offer water and food, give discount junkets and pay the round-trip tickets for those who want to go to Makkah and Al Medinah throughout the year, who give money to some Islamic Centers and charities here and there- (do) you mean to tell us these people are Mushrikeen? We dont mean to tell you anything! What we want you to understand is what Allah is saying to us- that is all that is required. These are ayaat; were not quoting some scholarly dissertation; this is Allahs final and eternal word to our transient and mortal selves. It is not for the Mushrikeen to build or dwell in or put life or momentum into the Masajid of Allah while they bear evidence of kufr against their own selves; they are the ones who have their labor and deeds aborted, cancelled and disregarded and in the fire for eternity (Surah At Taubah verse 16) Thats what Allah is saying- probably the heavy dose of tradition that bars your assumption of these God-given responsibilities that begin with the correct understanding is that it is very hard for us to see them in this light. Take it easy. Allah says And many of them do not commit to Allah except that they be Mushriks (Surah Yusuf verse 106) Now- come to terms with what Allah is saying. Brothers and sisters, honestly- some of the internal and mental instability inside the Muslim general public mind is simply taking place because we have not taken the time to think about what Allah is telling us. they provide evidence of their denial of Allahs authority and power everyday (Surah At Taubah verse 16) Whether you read about them from their own media or from Islamic more accurate media- it doesnt matter, the evidence keeps on coming in that they are deniers of Allah. Who are the brave souls on the Manabir of the world who can take a Quranic look at these people who have smothered Al Masjid Al Haram, Al Bayt Al Haram and Al Ard Al Haram and say now we understand who you truly are? they are the ones who have aborted everything that they do (Surah At Taubah verse 16) OK- they may give some money to some Islamic Organizations, schools and Centers from Washington to Makkah- they do that, we cant deny the facts, but does that make them committed to Allah or is this trying to cover their tracks through these contributions and donations that they give? Do you want to listen to Allah? We dont give up; Allah doesnt give up-

 and in the fire they shall stay in an ever lasting manner (Surah At Taubah verse 16) Those who are going to bring life to the Masajid of Allah are those who are committed to Him and the final day; and they make As Salaah a palpable part of social life (Surah At Taubah verse 17) (Its) not something you do behind closed walls! Its something that you are confident of doing so that it becomes part of the public discourse.

Do you think there is a zakaah in what they are doing? Most of the money that they make is polluted and foul. This is not zakaah that they give; this is like bribes because the people that they give to remain silent- in effect they have bribed them; Az Zakaah is not a bribe! Az Zakaah is a social concern for the rest of the Muslims! and they stands in awe of no-one except Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 17) Are these the types of figures we have? This darkness that is now coming out of Arabia; this ambiguity that is institutionalized with the help of these Arabians and this opaque mental world that they are in that is financed by the resources of that Arabia- ask them do they fear Allah? Some of you may be able to go into this Islamic Center because they will permit you, so ask them are you demonstrating your fear of Allah here every Friday? Is this a demonstration of a fear of Allah when you force Muslims to pray in the streets for a quarter-of-a-century or do you fear your superiors- in this city, from the executive to the legislative to the judiciary- who have placed you in this position? All the branches of At Taghut is who they fear- theyre not in fear of Allah! and even hope remains that they become guided. (Surah At Taubah verse 16-18) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims, the other ayah that we were supposed to speak about we have tried to explain in previous khutbahs Have you rendered or regarded those who provide water and lift matter concerning the hospitality of the Hajj on an equal par with those who have committed themselves to Allah and the final day and therefore exert, endeavor and struggle for the course of Allah and on a course to Allah? In the eyes of Allah (so to speak) they are not equal; and Allah does not guide people who offend, transgress against, oppress or do injustice to themselves. (Surah At Taubah verse 18) This is what is happening to us, (probably not us personally)- we ask Allah that we are not included among these people who equate the Saudis who offer water and a few facilities in and around the Kabah with those who Are in an arena and in a jihad. How do you equate these? How do you make them similar to each other? They are not! Rest assured that they are not! This

truth will develop and eventually present itself even to the most stubborn who are trying to resist it with all the carrots and sticks that are brought their way- this truth is going to manifest itself sooner or later. The last comment on the parallel between those who were in control of Makkah 1,400 and 1,500 years ago in control of it today- these Arabians today, present a character of finessed hypocrisy. At least at that time we had people who were true to what they say- even if they were enemies of Allah and His Prophet, they were at least in their enmity true to themselves- unlike today. Those at that time, when they used to go to the Hajj, some of them used to go to this Masjid Al Haram that we are talking about naked, (i.e. with) no clothes on. We said they were true to themselves; they confessed that they committed crimes and misdemeanors in those clothes so they didnt want to take those clothes and go around the Haram obeying Allah with what they considered to be part of the crime. When they used to do that in those conditions and in those days, they used to say Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik when Muslims today go to the Hajj, what do we say? The same thing Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. Then, they used to say, just like Muslims today, Labbaik La Sharika laka Labbaik. Remember, Allah is describing them as Mushrikeenthey used to say Labbaik to Allah; La Sharika Lak; Labbaik; then, heres the exception except for an associate of Yours who does not rule, but you are the One O Allah Who rules, Who is the Sovereign (and) Who is in control! With todays concentration of customs and traditions that have substituted for Islam you tell this to the average Muslim! Thats why this type of information doesnt come your way- because the people- these self-styled scholars of Islam who ascend the Mimbar every Friday- who know this know that if they are going to tell you this type of information, theyre going to have to explain a lot of things and the things theyre going to have to explain is going to get them into trouble and they dont want to be in trouble so they dont explain these things to you. By Allah and with Allah- if theres something you can expect from this time and place every week, its going to be the truth and nothing more or less. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We know the man-made and man-designated deities and what they are doing; we, (Muslims here and thousands of miles away), are not going to play dumb and bury our heads like an ostrich under the sands and pretend nothing is happening. They know that the Islamic reality has been born again so from time-to-time they try to occupy us with issues that will distract from them. The biggest issue now is the sectarian issue. They throw at us Sunni and Shii and some of us have fallen for it; some Sunnis have fallen for it and some Shiis have fallen for it. We tried to address this issue in an extended manner; then, more recently, (just a few days ago- we dont know if we should mention the name, we hope that you know this person- a very well known Muslim scholar in Qatar) someone brought him a question that said theres a power drink in the market (which) theyre selling in the shops and stores that has something like five portions of a thousand- that would be like 0.5% of alcohol in it- can this type of energy drink be consumed? Can we drink it? The answer was it is permissible because it is at a negligent amount and being

that it is not intended and cannot, no matter how much you want to drink of it, render you drunken. His opinion was it is permissible to drink this. Now, everyone and the other who wants to begin an internal argument amongst the Muslims is trying to capitalize on this (it was called) fatwa in the media to have Muslims begin an internal argument among themselves, saying this can lead to sin because there is no amount that is mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah and if you begin to interject an issue of what an amount is going to be, then this is a contentious issue that we can argue for an amount that is more or less and this will open the floodgates of sin to the rest of the Muslims. Now, they want to occupy us with an issue like this, and because Muslims are not trained in the Masajid every week to think and to see the larger picture, we get drawn into the details such as this and then, after a while, we begin to feel that we are divided. Let us not feel that we are divided when it is too late; let us think to pre-empt that division in the most appropriate manner, (thus), exposing those who want us to bleed our resources and potentials so that they can go ahead with their larger strategies and implement them on us and little do we understand or know that we are doing their will when we fall for these types of distractions.

A MARATHON STRUGGLE
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... We have a world today that has reached its extent in its attempts at marginalizing, if not obliterating, the guidance of Allah. We are human beings- subject to the pressures and dislocated information that come out way (may be) thousands of times a day. (That is not an exaggeration for those of us who keep a close look on things and are thoughtful of what is happening around us. Being that we have spent 25 years out in the street and forced to pray our Jumah prayers in the elements, public and in the public eye. It is good to remind ourselves, (especially during times of vulnerability and susceptibility to the words that are deliberately calculated to deflate or destroy our spirits), that we are not here as a matter of our own decision. Some people may say that we are out here by default and some people may think that this is an incident that is not related to what is happening, (out there), in the world at large. For these weaklings in the hearts and minds), we remind them that Allah said to Nuh (alaih salaam) We have as a matter of certainty, sent Nuh to his people (Surah Nuh verse 1) We should think about these few words and give them our God-given mind. Nuh was not sent to another people. Allah did not say La qad arsalna Nuh ila qawman aakharin; He said La qad arsalna Nuh ila qawmihi. Societies need a dynamic in and of themselves. This dynamic begins with Allahs mercy in dispatching to that society in the time of Nuh, (and in this society in out own time), individuals, a resolution and a resolve that can stand the course. This is something we should have assimilated many moons ago- Allah does not send preachers from one society to the next. We dont notice this trans-societal dawah,(as it is today), on the trail of the Prophets and Messengers of Allah- they were all the substance and material of their own people; this is the will of Allah and it is His decree as history and life flows. It had to be Nuh- own of their own to speak to his own people. Likewise, (in todays world), when Allah wants to take a society to task

it begins internally. From among these people Allahs words begin and His message is expressed. What is this? We sent Nuh to his people, then what? warn your people (Surah Nuh verse 1) Nuh could have expressed good news to them, but what we understand from the words warn your people is that the society that he was located in was approaching a danger zone and they need to be warned, put on notice- they have to understand that if they do not take corrective action and measures they will self-destruct. If we, Muslims, who are supposed to carry this ancient and current responsibility do not realize that this society that we are living in is approaching a danger zone after which it will destroy itself, then we dont qualify to understand what Allah is telling us and we have disqualified ourselves from understanding what reality is reflecting upon us. Nuh spent more than our lifetime; our lifetime is a meager, (maybe) 70 to 90 years; (if we are very lucky well spend 70 to 90 years in go.) Nuh spent around 1,000 years. (You can), compare the marathon that Nuh was in with the short course that we are in and then you have some people coming and complaining, Well, hasnt it been enough that you stay the course for 25 years?! Isnt that enough?! We dont know whats enough and whats not enoughthis is not of our making. We dont calibrate or calculate what is enough and what is not enough. If we were to do Allahs will, which is required of us, these 25 years may have been too much or too less- we dont know! We submit to the fact that we are ignorant of the fact of how long staying with Allah is going to take? What happens in the dynamic? When we speak about Nuh, of course, we are speaking about an extended struggle, but it demonstrates to us what is required. People around him began to look the other way or make fun. They said to him warn your people (Surah Nuh verse 1) So, are we going to say? Nuh was a failure?! Forget about 950 years that he spent amongst them, with todays mode of thinking some people- todays Muslims- if it were five years, they would look at Nuh or someone in the footsteps of Nuh and say Well, this is a failure! With all their objections and haranguing he stayed or continued within this society on this course towards Allah for 950 years (Surah Al Ankabut verse 14) When we take a look at the particulars of what happens in this long course of time, he says O my Sustainer, I have approached, spoken to, communicated with and delivered Your message night and day (Surah Nuh verse 5) Meaning, there was no recess period in this 950 years; it was a continuous attempt to have these people listen and come to their senses before it is too late. The 1st observation here is the intimate and heart-felt relationship between Nuh and Allah. He didnt look to other people and powers when things were not going the way he expected them to go. He turned to Allah and spoke to Him as if Allah was in front of/with/around/beside him.

 in all of this interaction for all of these hundreds of years this interaction with them only caused them to keep or increase their distance or flee from me (Surah Nuh verse 6) This dynamic that is supposed to bring them to You is causing them to run away from me! When we read these ayaat, place yourself in this weather, (the same elements, human beings, minds and psychologies that we had then we have today because these are human beings), that Nuh was in- they want to be left alone. Dont talk to us about God, punishment, the life to come and justice- GO away! Why? Because they want to maintain their status quo; the class of people who are making a lot of money want to continue to make a lot and more money; if there is a class of people who have just retired, they dont want to be bothered with this change in society that Nuh is speaking about. Again- this one-on-one relationship; where do you go when people begin to look the other way and make believe you are not saying anything or what you are saying doesnt count or theres not much value in what you speak or express. Is this something ancient or is this something that we find in the real world today? There are other details, (obviously, and maybe well have time in the future to cover these details), but one of the ingredients we have here is people who are running away from Allahs Messenger and thus running away from Allah Himself. Is the message that Nuh was explaining to them only one that speaks to them about what we call the fiqhi particulars of Islam? If Nuh was spending centuries with his people, what was he telling them? This is the way you clean yourself or this is the way you perform your Salaah?! Or was he telling them that if you continue on this social course- all of you, this society, (there may have been in his time hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands and the millions of you who are here today in our world), your administration, political hierarchy and influential elites then await Allahs judgment because you are going to be destroyed. This is the type of message that people who are in charge of social decisions dont want to listen to, but how many of us, Muslims, are expressing Allahs message in this range and towards this objective? We can say few of us and thats why the dynamic that we find ourselves in and around us and the transformation of society is pending. What happens to the society of Nuh at the end? It wasnt a war that put an end to them, it was a deluge or flood or (what they call today), an act of nature. Today, one of the successes that has been scored by those who run governments that are at war with Allah, (many of us cant see that we have governments, republics, blocs of nations and alliances that are at war with Allah), the question is Why are we deficient? Why cant we see this? Because the areas in our brains that are supposed to be receptive to Allahs words, information and data have been receptive to the data and information that comes from the contrarians to Allah and there they can look around and see the way this world is run with the wars that are taking place and the economic disasters. Right now, they speak even within their own vocabulary and control of things and say Look- the United States is running into an economic disaster. Then, they want us to take a look at just these past few years- this disaster is not only an economic disaster, this is going to be a combined disaster of probably unprecedented proportions if these politicians here continue to pursue what is basically and essentially the toppling of the attribute of the Authority of Allah- thats where all the problem began. The problem has been brewing for centuries. Just

like we look at the history of Nuh throughout centuries- social abandonment and then social opposition to Allah led by governments that have their militaries and think tanks- Allah is not looking the other way and saying none of this is happening! What do you think- do you want us to believe theres no upper/higher authority observing and noting a government that goes and drops all its military weapons of massive destruction on people thousands of miles? We are not fools; people who belong to Allah are not fools. We have an understanding and a sound sense of where this society is going and we can say you are doomed in the tradition and character of these Prophet if you continue in this path of inevitable destruction. Take a look, in describing his interaction with his people, Nuh is saying the more I speak to them the more they run away (Surah Nuh verse 6) You can see the same attitude if people are speaking the language of Nuh and Prophets today; you can see society that has been stolen by governments and illegitimate authorities behave the same way. They look and say Wait a minute, we dont want to listen to this; leave us alone; keep your distance; stay away from us. Thats exactly the meaning of this ayah. Then, what happened towards the end after Nuh did all he can? What do you want? Do you want Allah to give you 1,000 years? He gave uh 1,000 years or so- thats enough to be convinced of the results. There werent going to be any results coming out of that type of society. Some of you, (Muslims), who are out there may listen to this- it isnt a few years and some of you give up or this is not the right approach, let us infiltrate or make inroads or become members of the structure that is responsible for Allahs damnation! Thats how some Muslims behave today! (Its) a few years and they run out of scriptural gas to the degree that we hear some of them say dont speak about an Islamic State. Where did this come from? You are dedicated to Allah and Allah wants you to be the master of your own future and make decisions with your own Godgiven, God-oriented and God-guided will and you come and they come and say NO! This cant be done this way! This is a failure on our behalf if some of us come and say lets put aside this idea of having Islamic self-determination or an Islamic authority and (of course, this Islamic authority represents the word of Allah and the work of His Prophet). This is a sad comment on ourselves, but this is where we are and we cant just wiggle out of this just because some people say this whole effort is going no where! How do they know its going no where? On what basis do they make that statement? Unless they happen to be ignorant of the Prophets, their history, What Allah is telling us and even the final Prophet (himself); (you see, this is human nature), when the people around him who had been in the struggle for many years came to him and they asked him when he was still in Makkah cant you ask Allah to expedite this victory for us? They're just asking him a favor, this had been a long struggle (even though) this was at the beginning of the struggle, this was still in Makkah it wasnt Al Medinah yet and they come to him and tell him to hurry up and bring about this final victory that he speaks about. Then, he turns to them and says bear in mind- before you there were people who would stand their ground on principle in opposition to these abusive and concentrated powers around? What would happen to them? They would be tortured; their flesh and bones would be combed

with steel, in other words, they would be shredded alive. That didnt cause them to think O when is Allah going to bring about victory and that did also not cause them to step out of this struggle?! They remained or continued or were patient in adversity until Allah had the appropriate time arrive and His will was done. There may be a time, not after a very short amount of years, after an extended struggle with the status quo when we fee, (as human beings), that maybe nothing is going to come out of the society around us; Nuh felt the same way. After a lifetime of concentrated patience, he turned once again to Allah, (Do you see who he turns to? You dont turn to people who have money, offices and positions and you dont lose sight of who you are. You know that Allah is with you as long as you are with him; this is the dynamic here, he remains with you and doesnt give up on you unless you give up on him. After all of these years, when Nuh had reached the conclusion that theres no longer any hope in these types of people, (these were his own people, not some alien society or a culture thousands of miles awaythis was hi cultural, racial and national flesh and bones), and he said about them O my Sustainer- leave not a kaafir who will reside on this Earth or dont leave one resident kaafir in this World (Surah Nuh verse 26) That statement did not come quick, it came after hundreds of years and it came in a timely manner. Once again, Nuh in another ayah O Allah I am mistreated and overpowered therefore it is now Your time to declare Your victory Meaning, he had nothing to do with it. This is when our relationship with Allah bypasses and outgrows those petty thoughts and immediate moments in our life when we wish some things could happen quickly- but they dont happen quickly. What happened at that time? This is the convergence of the will of a Prophet of Allah with the will of Allah, (Himself). When these two wills coincided with each other, this contrarian hostile society that was in opposition to Allah and His Prophets was terminated. It wasnt terminated because these Prophets and these types of people had the power to do so- they didnt have the militaries and military technology but they had Allah on their side; and having Allah on their side facilitated the final chapter that ended these types of societies that we are in. When we speak about these societies, they are not ancient, they are contemporary; we have the same elements today- if only we could penetrate, (with Allahs guidance), the layers of misinformation and ignorance that substitute for being Islam and Imaan. Brothers and sisters We live with a body of information that is meant, (without saying this to us directly, but in the sum total of this information), for us to lose interest, momentum and faith in Allah. They tell us that there is some moral standards and foundations that people live by and they refer these moral values and behaviors to the Bible and they say they learn this from the Judeo-Christian heritage or history. We are supposed to be moral human beings. They say dont speak about

politics as if politics is an area that is exempt from this morality that they are speaking about. Today, (as has been the case in all of these years of our lives), they have been demonstrating with blood and intrigue how immoral they are. Have them account for their morality! What do they think? (Do) they look very moral here? Of course, we to them seem like we are just a few human beings in the street for the past quarter of a century- they can dismiss this, put on their radio or put up their window as they drive by. But there is a God who is watching; if they have a claim to that God, how do they answer to what they have been doing? This is in the heart of their Capital. Take a look thousands of miles away- what are they doing to other people? They show us their military and they bomb, kill, massacre and they have plans for ethnic cleansing that verge on genocide and they want to come to us and preach about moralitySHOW US YOUR MORALITY!!! But then, some of us where faith doesnt belong; instead of having faith in Allah, some of us have faith in these immoral Presidents, Prime Ministers and government functionaries of all ranks. They come and say were going to liberate you. Liberate us from what? (Do you) see same people here whose hands are dripping in blood go to these brothers in Iraq and say were going to liberate you. Liberate them from what? They were the ones who were occupying them; if they want to liberate them, they have to liberate them from their own selves! But these Iraqis have faith in the Frankenstein in Washington DC. (Take a) look at what theyre doing now- we spent around two years speaking on the issue that they have been working on i.e. Muslim kill Muslim. They wanted to stir trouble among Sunnis and Shiis and even though they have only been relatively successful in that regard (as) they did not accomplish what they were projecting. Now, they want to stir trouble among Shiis and have Shiis kill Shiis. What are we going to do now? Spend another two years speaking about differences between Shiis?! We cant be on this type of defensive forever; we have to respond to Allah when he calls upon us in a healthy mannerpointing to these criminals in high office. Once we have an abundance of Muslims who can identify these criminals in high office, whether they are in Washington, Tel Aviv, Riyadh or anywhere else, at that time we have a healthy relationship with Allah, short of that we will continue to learn- we have these lessons, if we can only open up the book that calls upon us. Weve been coming here for 25 years- we want to explain something in a very meek way. You dont come here because your brother is giving the khutbah on Fridays; its the other way around- this brother who is giving the Khutbah on Fridays comes here because you are coming here, (lets get that fact straight!) If you decide to move away from this Godgiven opportunity it is your decision. Let us remember that in the course of these past 25 years there were individuals who were inside the Islamic Center who have since passed away; and we are all on an expiration schedule, (we dont know- tomorrow, next year or sometime were all gone), We ask them how are they going to account for their religious crime on Embassy Road in Washington DC that is linked to their other crimes of warfare and against humanity in other lands of the world?

INTER-FAITH MEETINGS- THE STARTING POINT

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuhal Muminun... With the nature of todays worlds sophisticated yet subtle attempts at we, (the Muslims), especially with the not so observable preparations for a coming chapter of conflict that is being prepared, (as it seems), behind the scenes of the kuffaar and the Mushrikeen we think it is appropriate to anchor ourselves in the words of Allah. On this particular occasion Allah says after Musa (alaih salaam) takes 70 of his own people and they go up to the mountain, these 70 people ask Musa Let us see Allah. We can fit todays Israeli psychology on these 70 people; and we can take a glimpse at their faces and watch them rubbing their hands in anticipation of visualizing God Himself. The consequences of that were known. They could not bear to see God. In the moments after that and after they came back to their senses, they said, (we want you to listen carefully because its the same psychology that has reclaimed political and military power; it survived all of these thousands of years and now we watch it in bloody action. This Israeli psychology at that time said what? These are the words of Allah Assign to us in this worldly life a benefit and in the ultimate life a benefit for we have returned and repented (Surah Al Araf verse 156) They knew how they were mistaken about Allah; they have recovered from their mistake and now they are asking Allah for the good of this world and the good of the world to come because they say they have made our comeback to you.- meaning to Allah. What was Allahs answer to them? It follows immediately- He says here are these failing Israelis after their historical and institutionalized failures they turn to Allah and they ask Him and how does He answer? The 1st word that comes from Allah is I will inflict My torment on whom I will and My clemency or mercy accommodates everything (Surah Al Araf verse 156)

When Allah speaks about His punishment before He is speaking about His clemency, we know that He is speaking to Bani Israeel or else, when they asked Assign to us in this worldly life a benefit and in the ultimate life a benefit for we have returned and repented He could have said My clemency or mercy accommodates everything and I will inflict My torment on whom I will- but because we are looking at naughty individuals and a human nature that wants to play tricks with Allah, Allahs answer to them came as appropriate and as accurate as they are deceptive and crooked. Now, (you Children of Israeel and you Muslims who read the Quran), listen This mercy of mine I shall assign to those who are cautious, guarded and warned and alert concerning My power presence in their lives (Surah Al Araf verse 156) He said to them My mercy is not for anyone! thousands of years ago and today. We ask in light of these meanings from Allah, do these Israelis, (then and now), consider Allahs power when they plan their social activities, write their commentaries and analysis and when they plot their military strategies- does Allah figure in, (even though He spoke to them)? And those who administer their financial dispersion of wealth in an institutionalized way (Surah Al Araf verse 157) To the contrary; when we take a look at Bani Israeel we see that when it comes to money, all the institutions that they have is not to give money to where it belongs but to steal and dispossess others yet these others merit it more than they do. And to those who are committed to Our manifestations of power and authority (Surah Al Araf verse 157) The Israelis throw into the deep see anything that has to do with Allahs power or authority. We can see in light of these three qualifiers yattaqun, yutun az-zakaah and yuminuna bi ayaatillah- the Israelis disqualify themselves from Allahs rahmah because they do not honor any of these three qualities. The ayah doesnt stop here Muslims, if you havent been listening closely, now is the time to begin to listen closely. those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find to be recorded in their Torah and in their Injeel (Surah Al Araf verse 157) Allah is telling us that Al Yahud and An Nasara had information of certainty coming from Allah pertaining to the advent of Allahs final Prophet. If these Israelis had any mind in them and any relationship to honor with Allah, theyd take a look at this final Prophet because Allah tells us they had written/scriptural information pertaining to the coming and appearance of this final Prophet from Allah. If they were true to Allah, His Prophets and the Scriptures that were revealed to them, they would confess and go public with the fact that God had given them information and He broke good news to them about Ar Rasul, An Nabi Al Ummi. But what do

we have? (If) you go to todays Old and New Testament, (At Taurah and the Gospel) do you find any obvious or direct information foretelling the coming of Rasulillah? The answer is NO! So what happened to it? What do you expect from these people who omit and virtually cancel this type of God-given information to them? What else do they have coming from Allah describing this unlettered Apostle and Prophet? He orders them to establish and constitute and institutionalize what is self-evidently good, Al Maroof and he bans and prohibits them from establishing and institutionalizing whatever is self-evidently bad, Al Munkar (Surah Al Araf verse 157) A Prophet, leader, decision-maker and a statesman cannot do that without power! There cannot be Amr bil Maroof and Nahi An Al Munkar without power! They understand the character of this Prophet (probably) more than some Muslims understand. and he makes permissible to them the wholesome things in life and he makes illegal to them the toxic things of life and he relieves them of the burdens and restrictions they had imposed upon them by Allah(Surah Al Araf verse 157) Because of these peoples un-Godly behavior with Allah they had legal and moral restrictions that made life almost intolerable. In their law, if someone was murdered or killed, the murderer or killer or executioner or criminal face the death penalty; they had no such thing as diyah or blood-money or a type of relief from the death sentence. Even their dietary laws were harshly restrictive and burdensome. The Prophet came to relieve them of all of this. as for those who were committed with Allahs Prophet, believed in what he had to say, shouldered the responsibility of an adherence to Allah, supported and aided him and followed the light that descended upon him- they were the on-ward committed Muslims. (Surah Al Araf verse 157) Some people may think that these ayaat are speaking about something historical. No! Were not speaking about something historical; were speaking about something contemporary that has a historical accumulation to it. This is not just a page from ancient history, because now we have an Israeli psychology- that is doing what? This is not an Israeli psychology that is confined to synagogues and that says we want to separate synagogue from state; this is an Israeli psychology that wants to kill and it is not satisfied with killing individuals, it wants to kill populations. Should any Muslim be surprised? Some Muslims are just psychologically flat! They cant read and understand what Allah is saying. This is an ayah in Surah Al Araf; an ayah that is not from those that are called mutashaabihaat; it is clear, direct, defined and indisputable in its meanings. Ask the average Muslim, (many average Muslims go to interfaith meetings), does anyone of them say what Allah is saying i.e. you have the mention of Muhammed in the Torah and in the Bible? OK, show or explain to us what happened- of course, all of this can be said in a very friendly and at a low pitched, with calm words and no one being upset just placing the

facts out there, on the table in front of us; but the Muslim psychology today is so run down, (especially the individuals and persons who go to these meetings), they are so deflated that they cant take the truth and the words of Allah with them to these types of meetings. So, what are they expected to do? To massage the egos of Al Yahud and An Nasar when Al Yahud and An Nasara, (these are not words of emotion, these are words of fact and reality), are killing us in any way they can- from having military bases and weapons of mass destruction in our Holy Lands to placing spies and cameras in the Masajid and Islamic Centers we have. We want to ask you, (brothers and sisters- committed Muslims), if wanted to turn this around and we, (the Muslims), had our military bases here, in the United States, around the Vatican or in or around Tel Aviv, how would these people who call themselves Jews and Christians act and behave? Thats not the case- we, Muslims, dont have one measly truncated and abbreviated military post anywhere in those territories and areasno where at all; we dont have one camera, (not one), in their Churches and Synagogues; we dont have one informer or spy who goes into those Churches and Synagogues and they have scores swarming into our Masajid and Islamic Centers! Now, to put some icing on the cake, they burst out in public with the type of social self-satisfaction to defame and malign our Prophet; and before, during and after doing all of this, we, (Muslims), are the ones who are misbehaving and the zionists and Imperialists who have not only occupied the Holy Lands, (but have also occupied Holy Scriptures), with their court scholars and clergymen are the ones who appear to the unknowing eye to be modern and civilized. We are the terrorists and they are the keepers of civilization- this is what happens to a psychology that turns against God, Prophets and Scripture. Now, they prepare, (behind closed doors), their next round of war and warfare against us. You would ask and think where are those people who call themselves true Jews and true Christians? They dont have the equivalent of what we have- have you ever seen any where in the world a Jewish congregation that cannot go into a synagogue? No! We know of no such issue. Have you ever seen a Christian congregation that cannot go into a Church and is forced to observe its religious mass or service outside the Church- in the streets, on the concrete, in public night and day, Winter and Summer? We havent seen and dont know of any such development anywhere in the world, (even) in the most fanatic parts of the world. Jews can go into their Synagogues and Christians can go into their Churches. Now, the new development is (that) the government in Saudi Arabia is for the 1st time thinking seriously about having Christian build their own Churches in Arabia- which would be a qualitative improvement on their thinking if it werent for the fact that these Churches would become auxiliaries to the military bases that they have. Why cant they think? Why cant they sign policies that are in accordance with the spirit of the Quran and the Prophet? Why cant they say that we will welcome Christians to build these Churches in Arabia, but every time they build one Church they close down one military base?! That would seem like the right thing to do, but now, these inferior Muslims, (were being generous by calling them inferior Muslims), are reacting to their own fanaticism. 9/11 was a time in which their masters turned against them and said you have gone too far, (and), now you have to make up for those lost years (or) now is pay-back time; so the Muslims who govern and rule Arabia are beginning to tell

these people who they say belong to the Abrahamic faiths, (we dont think any imperialist and zionist belong to the Abrahamic faith- but because they havent been thinking for so long, they cant distinguish between an observing jew on one side and a zionist on the other side; they cant distinguish between an observing Christian on one side and an imperialist on the other sided). Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- this is what happens when Muslims fail to open their minds and welcome the meanings of the Quran into their hearts via their minds and these are the results that we have to live with! Once again, this ayah for those who read the Quran with their tongues but abandon the Quran with their minds Brothers and sisters, Maasharal Mumineen After locating our thoughts in Allahs reference book we come out and look at the real world and we emerge into reality and observe the following- there have been news items in the past week or two that the Mufti in Saudi Arabia, (remember- this is in light of what we just said), is contemplating, (according to some reports; and according to other reports), he actually has sent out invitations to zionist Rabbis to attend an inter-faith conference, (presumably to include those who represent Muslims, Christians and Jews)- more recently, (in the past day or so), the office of that Mufti disclaimed such news items saying No! that was not the case. In the meantime, their has been signals going from the Kings office, (the Holy Land is not supposed to be a Kingdom or a family controlled territory), that Yes, we will be willing to have Churches built in Arabia for the Christians that are there and in the meantime these zionists occupiers and imperialists, (and we certainly know the difference between an observing Christian on one side and a practicing imperialist on the other side; equally so, we know the difference between an observing Jew on one side and a practicing zionist on the other side; we are not delusional about this as is the case with the Heads of State in and around our Holy Lands) are going into a war mode. They are distributing their gas masks, recalling their reservists officers, mobilizing their armed officers and (in the next couple of days), they are about to undergo the largest mock military exercises in their history- now, you tell us that there is no connectional relationship between the inter-faith activity coming out of Saudi Arabia and the military activities taking place in Occupied Palestine? The Muslim mind that they require is a mind that cannot see the connection, nexus and network that is at work between and among zionists and imperialists and their subordinate Arabian inferiors. If they want to fool anyone, they should at least have the common sense to know that they have fooled us enough- and enough is enough!!! What do they think? They think and calculate that if they have some expiring Arab regimes on their side they are in a position to dictate to the coming Muslims who are on the horizon?! They will see- they will experience what they experienced the Summer before last in Lebanon of the will of a contingent of committed Muslims; they will see how in the future there will be waves upon waves and waves after waves of committed Muslims; the time is approaching and let them rely upon the physical and material instruments of Ash Shaytaan and we will refer to Allahs almighty, everlasting and sustaining power of Allah (and) the word of taqwa- the concept that is supposed to be prevalent in our minds and hearts this time every week.

ISLAMIC HISTORY; IMAM KHOMEINI AND ZIONIST MUSLIMS- PART 1

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... I would like to begin by thanking you personally for being here this evening. Im sure that some of you may have had other preferences and priorities so whatever you sacrificed this evening for being here, Allah will compensate you for that. I would like to also be more specific and thank the brothers and sisters who participated in bringing this program together and in particular the Management of the Islamic Center here and the resident Alim for allowing and permitting (what seems like a rare occasion nowadays), to have what used to be normal procedure 20 or 25 years ago which is an echo of what brother Shaikh Hashem said concerning how the voices have grown feint when it comes to the blessed memory of Al Imam Al Khomeini (qaadaasahu Allahu Sirrah). I, sought of received a little feedback; coming initially to speak exclusively for the full time that I have about the late Imam; it seems some of you would like to here a little about the Prophets lifetime or seerah and others would like to here a little about what may be called zionist Muslims today. Taking that into consideration, we will try to, maybe, amalgamate these three components together and hopefully, (after it is all said and done), we will have contributed in a brotherly but frank way about the information about these three segments of the presentation. First of all, we all agree and affirm that the Prophet of Allah is our uswat. Obviously, the ayah is very well stated, well beyond any human beings ability to state it. Indeed you have in the Messenger of Allah a behavioral model for those who are seeking Allah and the final day and those who remain perpetually, always or with a multiplicity conscious of Allah (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 20) Obviously, we have a certain, (almost), routine way of presenting the loft of the Prophet's lifetime; we're going to try to state the facts as we know them, but were going to go to do that in what may be a new light to you, (in other words, you probably never heard this before)- and this is what we need. We need to understand more closely and movingly what our beloved Prophet

went through and make the transition from there to understand what Al Imam Al Khomeini also went through and make the transition from their to understand where we are.

When the Prophet of Allah came to this world, (obviously we all know that he came to a scattered amount of people), who were living on the desert sands of Arabia; he came to human nature- he wasn't coming to people who were somewhat super-human or sub-human- he came to human nature as it is. Of course, this part of the world was withdrawn from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding, (what is called), civilized or modernized world- thats in reference to Egyptian, Persian and Byzantine or Roman/Greek civilization as it was called. It was a fringe area of the Arabian Peninsular that was in the margins of these surrounding civilizations- the Prophet came to these people. OK- lets take a somewhat closer look at who these people were to understand what the Prophet had to put up with. These people were called the Arabians and they had their culture, religious hierarchy, commercial enterprise, (as un-sophisticated as it may have been; because remember, once again, they were not in the middle of a cosmopolitan, flourishing and expanding part of the world); it was the ho-hum of the Arabian desert. He came to these people with a radical message which blew their minds and had the potential to blow away their life and culture. People have a culture- they had their culture and other people at the time had their culture and ever since that time we had societies that had their culture- today, theres the cultural issue. When the Prophet of Allah who is teaching us, (thats how we are supposed to understand the relationship in one of its aspects), came to this culture, he didnt immediately define either culture (and) he didnt take issue with the people and the way that they were carrying on in their everyday life. It wasnt only he who did this, it was all the Prophets of Allahwhen they spoke to their people, they said My people (Al Quran) So, here is where the Prophet was working on a medium of communication that was not hostile, he was trying to work on what was common, (meaning on this cultural norm that he knew hes coming to dismantle), between him and his own people. At 1st, the people just listened, but then, when they sensed how radical or revolutionary, (this has now become an endangered word- not many people use the word revolutionary any longer; its been just a few years, (were not talking about a lot of time), and what happened? The word loses its usage?!)- the Prophet came with a radical and revolutionary message but one that understood human nature. The society in Makkah into which he was born and to which he was speaking was a society that had its hierarchy; all of that hierarchy put together was called Quraish. When these chieftains of Quraish understood what this person- the son of Abdullah, by the name of Muhammed- was talking about then, the opposition began. We know the Prophet spent 23 years in his revolutionary struggle to replace this system of Quraish with a system that has come from Allah. (Were sorry that the younger ones here may not know these details, and we dont mean to offend the younger ones or speak beyond them, but if they ask you questions later on in the week, month or year, help them out on

this problem), the Prophet of Allah spent 23 years in a struggle in which the contradictions between him and his own people caused him to change his speech from saying My people to having the Quran describe them as kuffaar and mushrikeen. This is a very strong opposition that was shown to the Prophet and it didnt go away. You see- what we should learn from history is the Prophet of Allah managed to de-culturalize these people who became Muslims, but there own culture went underground. Here is where some of you should have a sense of understanding this history maybe a little better than other Muslims simply because other Muslims dont dwell on it very much and thats to their own loss because what would happen in the 30 years after the Prophet passes on (is that) the culture that was subdued in Makkah came back- this time, it came back with the political control of things; it didnt come back with its pre-Islamic idiom or its jahili values- NO. It had deep Islamic cover. These people that came back with the pre-Islamic political and economic culture came back this time but they were wearing the Islamic attire; they were giving khutbahs and leading the prayers. Well take a page out of our history books and remind you that Al Imam Ali had to deal with this released time reaction because when he was struggling against the usurpers of power represented by Bani Ummayyah he was also dealing with his own power base who began to show symptoms of yearning for that culture. These are those who in the books of history are called shiatu Ali. They, themselves, began to question- wait a minute- the wars that were fought by the Imam to withhold this cultural comeback or bursting out is called in todays language civil wars- the Muslims had civil wars- but we want to remind some of us, (we dont know you personally; some of you not al all, but as an assembly of people- please accept this as coming from a brother), Al Imam Ali had to contend not only with those who were threatening with military force and with the armies they had in Ash Shaam but he was dealing with a public opinion that was feeling that the tide is turning against you and why cant you have a feeling for the future and why cant you join this tide and, (if you are not versed in history); unfortunately some of you commemorate Aashura and Karbala but you miss out on what went into the making of Aashura and Karbala)- some of you should know that in this Southern Iraqi context of a proImam Ali population base there were those who went to this civil war. They went to Al Jamal and they sustained the casualties and sacrifices from this battle; then, they went to Siffin and sustained the casualties and sacrifices at Siffin- these were their own people; were talking about families against families; relatives against relatives and we were not talking about hate. Even though they went to the war-front in their disagreement, they didnt hate each other. This element of hate that some Muslims have against other Muslims, (even if their disagreements may take them all the way to the warfront), that element of hate was absent. How do we justify this presence in some people when we sense it in some people? Its ignorance, they dont even know there own history! Then there was An Nahrawaan- these were, (were going to use this word, but it doesnt fit here), what some people would call today the hyper revolutionary Muslims meaning they were more pro-Ali than Ali himself and they were the ones who turned against him. This is part of our historical personality; if we dont know this, we dont know who we are! Unfortunately, many times, if you go to commemorate certain issues, occasions, birthdates,

battles and wars all of this knowledge is absent. If this required knowledge is absent and if this is a continuum of who we were, then we ask you why do you commemorate Karbala and Aashura when you dont even know the roots of Karbala and Aashura?

Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) was his colleague, companion, confidant and comrade in arms of Ali; when he saw that the yide was turning against this Imam of justice he took 6,000,000 dirhams from the Basrah treasury and he went to Makkah. This was the person who had fought with sincerity, sacrifices and with no questions up until that last minute when he in his own mind realized that this whole issue is not in the favor of the Imam so he was willing to take this money and go to Makkah and not be involved in any of this. (Do) you see- were dealing with human beings; Allah and His Prophet were dealing with human nature with the propensity to do what is right and with the propensity to equally do what is wrong. Were dealing with human beings; human nature hasnt changed; of course we have a lot of material things around this Earth that has changed- we no longer have the camel and the horse, now we have the aero plane and the train; a lot of things in the material world has changed but our human nature hasnt changed. We still carry the same human nature that was there then that is here now. When Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) became the 3rd successor to the Prophet to make the highest decisions for the Muslims, he opened up the policies that were there before him. Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) had told the people of Makkah and Al Medinah you dont go outside to these other lands; you stay where you are. When Uthman came, he said No! Who said you have to stay where you are?! You can go wherever you want to go. And they went. They went to these rich areas and now they got a taste of what it is to be rich; now, they felt the affluence that they didnt feel before and inside of the Muslim society there was a social disease- what is called class today- the issue of class. Now, we have a combination- we have the cultural issue that centers around Al Asabiyyah, (We all, Muslims, know what the word Asabiyyah means- do we have to explain to you what Asabiyyah is? Asabiyyah is clannish solidarity. Even though Islam had put an end to it in the time of the Prophet, through that struggle and in those 1st years after that, but it had a way of coming back during the reign of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu). Now, Ali (radi Allahu anhu) had to deal with this; he stood for Al Haqq and Al Adl- when you stand for this, then these people who had a sense of the nationalism, (thats an Asabiyyah), and now they had a taste also of class, i.e. what it means to be affluent. When Muawiyah was given this assignment to go to Damascus, (you know, nowadays, when nation states want to appoint Ambassadors to certain countries, they place something like undesirable people to be far away), this was a good move at the time i.e. to have this person away from Al Hejaz so that he could not stir up Asabiyyah- so put him high up there (in the) North; in other words get rid of him. But what he did was he acquired this bombastic character that doesnt belong to Islam; it wasnt hard for him to acquire it because he was fighting against the Muslims for 20-odd years. When Umar went to Al Quds and Muawiyah was coming to receive him, he saw him wearing something no Muslim would put on; (it was) basically

something that people of protocol today (put on)- three-piece suit and looking fancy, tight and suit and Umar did not even want to see him. Muawiyah says Assalaamualaykum and Umar didnt answer him. The the people around Umar said he said Assalamualaykum and you didnt answer him?! Umar said who is he? What type of character is this?! Sometimes we get stuck on characters- the issue is not about characters, its way beyond that; the issue is that there is a social trend or movement in the opposite direction of Islam. That social movement came to a materialistic arrest when Makkah was liberated by the Prophet but it didnt go away; it just went underground and then, the 1 st window of opportunity it hadand it saw that 1st window of opportunity during the time of Uthman and it tried to break out of this isolation and make its presence known. Ali had to deal with that. Now, if we transit from that time, (we just hit on some points, but theres a lot of details involved here, of course we cant go into the details, but for those of you who follow the khutbahs online, we try to cover them in the Jumah khutbahs).

ISLAMIC HISTORY; IMAM KHOMEINI AND ZIONIST MUSLIMS-PART 2

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... We make the transition to the time of Al Imam Al Khomeini and we see the same thing- we see a revolutionary and radical transformation that set inside a particular culture and society that had its Asabiyyah, its taste of wealth- these elements were there. Al Imam, just like the Prophet (hes an Imam, thats a Prophet; were not saying the Imams a Prophet), but just like the Prophet, we managed to, on the surface of things, defeat these combined forces of class and nationalism. Nationalism is the twin brother of racism. He managed to defeat that, but does that mean that it went away or its gone? NO! It was there; what it did was just as it did 1,400 years ago, it went underground. It hid itself waiting for the opportune moment or a potential Uthman to come along and if someone like that appears, then were going to see the vicious comeback of these forces. Its not simple- theyre going to argue; theyre going to quote the Quran, the Prophet and the Imams to justify their position, Asabiyyah, nationalism and class status- its not lacking; they can take a look and put things out of context and say were Muslims, what are you talking about?! When the financial corruption in the state administration at him time began, he rationalized it; he said who tells me I cant give of what I have to my relatives? Where did that come from? Isnt there so much ayaat in the Quran about dha wil qurba? So what are you talking about; Im following the Quran?! He had an argument for that. Of course the argument was out of context and had no basis, but nevertheless he made an argument about it; they can do the same thing today. Give them the opportunity and they will do the same thing! They will establish and argument, quote you some ahadith, ayaat and some quotes from the Imams and there they are- they going to have the power- if they have the power, what are you going to do about that? If it was not for the Revolutionary guards and the Beseeg, (do) you think we would not see Uthman and his equivalents with Asabiyyah coming back?! (As we said, we know a few of you, and were trying to say this as brotherly as possible, who here denies that the Iranian people (are not doing the same), just like all other peoples- this is not something peculiar to a certain people; the Arabians manifested it 1,400 years ago or so and today it is manifested by the Iranian people. Theres nothing to say that they have a feather in their head.

And if you retreat or give up on this divine responsibility, amanah and imaan, then Allah will pass this responsibility to other people who will not duplicate your behavior (Surah Muhammed verse 38) Thats as simple as it gets, (if) you want your Asabiyyah, you can have it; but youre going to have it at a very very high price. We can learn form ourselves and our history- or we can repeat these mistakes all over again. Instead of, (at that time), the Arabians coming along and destroying an Islamic state with their Asabiyyah, were going to have Persians coming along with their Asabiyyah and destroying this Islamic state with their Asabiyyah- we didnt learn?! We can see that speaking to Muslims who come from a Sunni background; its true- they dont want to deal with that history at all; (so) the best way out of it is just forget it- so they just dont know; so we can see that if theyre going to fall into this mistake its (because) they never bothered to learn so were falling into the pit we fell into the 1st time, but youre expected to know better; then, if youre expected to know better and you fall into this same mistake- wayllul lakum; woe unto you- however thats said in Persian. Of course, we could quote a few names pertaining to the current problem of Asabiyyah but were going to leave that to your common sense and hope you can figure out who is concerned with (lets say), Im an Iranian 1st and a Muslim 2nd or- another form of Asabiyyah is sectarianism- Im a Shii 1st and a Muslim 2nd. How does that work?! Thats Asabiyyah in another form. We dont think Al Imam Al Khomeini thought of himself except as a Muslim. Of course, he was an Iranian and he was a Shii, (no-one denies that), and his message was gaining more ground and making more break-through when he was presenting himself as a Muslim 1st and all of those other issues come later- thats when he was appealing to not only Muslims but to the oppressed people of the world. They could identify with him, but when you come and throw these images and sometimes these stereotypes on him, youve isolated him from the potential world that he belonged to. Were sorry, but this is whats happening; some people think that doing this is doing exactly the right thing. they think in doing this they are doing the best thing they can do We have this- are we going to deal with it? It is only the enlightened leadership that we, Muslims, have that can see what is taking place and preserve what has been so far accomplished, (as mush as it could), with some of the drawbacks that we are familiar with. May Allah forbidbut if this opens itself up to Asabiyyah its going to be self-consumed; it will go off course and generations from now it will look back and think we had an Islamic attempt to regroup in Iran but the elements of Asabiyyah devoured it. Thats how it will look in generations to come if we are not careful, dont know, our eyes are not open and if we cant identify who is who.

When we speak about our common enemies- they love this; this is a dream come true. Why do you think the United States government -you cant keep count of these satellite stations they have beamed to Iran; they keep on reproducing like mice- dont have a fraction of that beamed to China. China has. Why dont they have 24 or 27 Chinese satellites beaming into China where the real threat is?! (Population wise, lets say Iran has 70 to 75 million people; China has 1 billion people). Right now, the big scare in the media is Iran is trying to acquire nuclear technology; China has had nuclear technology for, (we dont know), how many years; theyre talking about Iran has some oil wealth, China has around $1 trillion in its treasury, which it is holding to support the dollar- what if they just got rid of that?! The dollar would come crumbling down. What you have been listening to in these minutes, some people will just say this is something that should not be (expressed). Why shouldnt it be expressed?! If theres a law in the United States against expressing our mind on the political issues of the day, tell us where that law is! The last time we checked, we had a Constitution that had a 2nd Amendment that says theres a Bill of Rights that guarantees Freedom of Expression, Assembly, Religion and then some Muslims here still think they are living somewhere in the tin-pot dictators countries where you cant express these things. Of course, we know that right now, the United States is nervous- why is it nervous? Because the truth is beginning to catch up with it. Before, they used to lie and then it took about 10 years to figure Oh! That was a lie! Now, its not taking 10 years; between 10 days and 10 weeks, depending on what the lie is, people are beginning to figure it out; so their lies are catching up with them. They dont have that buffer of time they used to have so theyre nervous. OK- what do you want them to be? (Do) you want imperialism and zionism to be relaxed? No- we dont want it to be relaxed; we want it to be nervous. We dont know about this crowd- usually theres one-or-two bad apples and they go and tell there connections in the Feds or wherever this guy spoke about imperialism, zionism, Imam Khomeini, revolution. So what?! We do speak about them; (we dont know if this is going to happen or not), but if someone is going to come around and has any concerns about what is being said by yours trulyrefer them to us. Tell them thats what he said, go to him and talk to him about it, or have a disclaimer here- we are not responsible for the opinions expressed in the programs that are held here. If thats going to make you feel more comfortable, just put a disclaimer. So, when theyre taking that video and the video somehow gets into these hands, just put a disclaimer on it, and then youre free. Howard Zins, Chomsky, Amy Goodman etc. speaks against imperialism and zionism and theres a host of academics, professionals, activists- everyone speaks against it, but when it comes to us, Muslims, its speak no evil, hear no evil. This is who we are?! We cant believe this! Weve taken a dip from 25-to-30 years ago when this revolution was in its prime to right now, with come people thinking ?Its not wise to speak about this! The smart person is the one who stays silent. The hadith says he who remains silent pertaining to Al Haqq has the Shaytaan at his feet. To come to the 3rd segment of this presentation, i.e. Zionist Muslims. This sounds funny- but what are we talking about? Were talking about these types of Muslims who are Muslims by their traditions and cultures but zionists by their convictions and ideology. Theres plenty of

them, especially when you go up the ladder of power in Muslim countries and communities around here, in the United States. Our humble speaker was speaking to one of the brothers about this Annapolis Conference that was held in November a few days ago. The United States put together its clout and it came down to these nation states in the Middle East and it said to them Come to Annapolis. They came to Annapolis and there were people who were demonstrating against this. There were some zionist jews and anti-zionist jews who were out in front of the building, the Navan Academy, who were demonstrating against/for this conference and one of these Rabbis our humble speaker saw the following day said Im surprised; I didnt see any Palestinians who were demonstrating to somehow make their voices known. The speaker said Well Rabbi- some of these Arabs and Palestinians get their signals from the Embassies and power centers, (literally),and they follow these signals and they were not signaled to go to Annapolis. So, you have more Freedom of Conscience and youre doing the right thing. When it comes to the Day of Al Quds, some Muslims say Where are the Palestinians!? Is this a Palestinian issue? Is this an issue of Assabiyah!? If this is a Palestinian issue we dont understand our ownselves. If this is a Palestinian issue, (whether you know it or not), you just cast it in an Assabiyah configuration. This is not a Palestinian issue; this is an Islamic issue. If, (for one minute), the Muslim public mind/you were to think the occupation of Palestine is a Palestinian issue, we have, (more or less), surrendered this land to the zionist usurpers and occupiers of Al Ard Al Mubarak and Al Ard Al Muqaddas- its not; this is an Islamic issue. When Al Imam Al Khomeini spoke about Palestine and Al Quds, was he speaking about this as a Palestinian issue? What happened? Either we didnt understand him at the time and we were just going along because he is an Imam or we understood him and now that the Imam is gone, we have to flow with the current trends. What does it mean if these currents and trends give some type of merit to the Saudi and Egyptian government and thus the Palestinian Authority and the rest of these imperialist clients in the area? Are we some type of qaboos in the choo-choo train of imperialism and zionism? What defines our Islam and Iman is or justice motivated and justice centered convictions. If we dont have an obsession with justice, weve lost our Islamic course. We want to ask you, (well answer, dont worry), whats the crime or sin that Allah will never forgive? (Its) Shirk. What is Shirk? Allah defines what is Shirk. He says Certainly Shirk is a magnanimous or overwhelming or grand dhulm (Surah Luqman verse 13) You all know what dhulm is. (Its) injustice and oppression. In this world, whats the gargantuan manifestation of dhulm? (Its) imperialism and zionism. Can you have more condensation and co-adulation of dhulm in this world than zionism and imperialism working together? That is a Shirk no-one can miss, but when the word Shirk is used, none of us think of zionism and imperialism. What happened? Allah is not going to forgive this Shirk; Hell never forgive zionism and imperialism for what they are- now, we can break them down and talk about zionism and imperialism and what it does; how it plunders the resources and steals the

belongings of other peoples in the world and how zionism is racism and all of this, but to begin with they have usurped Allahs Authority and Power and allocated it to themselves; so, they have become competitors with Allah and they are competing with Allah so much that now we have to factor in the priorities of zionism and imperialism to the extent that we have to remain silent when they dictate that silence! Tell us that that is not dhulmun adheem! A last word on Zionist Muslims- we have jews who are zionists but somehow that can be explained in a contorted and tortured way. They come and say Oh No! All these people in the world have some land or territory that they live on and consider their homeland but the jews dont have a homeland in this world; so why cant this also be the case for the jews. So, they try to build a case for Zionism. Of course, they confuse the word homeland with the word nationstate. They use the word homeland to appeal to human sympathies and common sense, but theyre not looking for a homeland, theyre looking for a nation-state of a power center for themselves and that is the zionist state that they have. Then we also have the Christian zionists and that also has in a round about fashion its own explanation. They say Wait a minute, you read the bible and the Bible says that this land belongs to the children of Israel the Chosen People but when you come to a Muslim where does he get his justification for zionism and having a peace with the Zionist. (We dont know if you can remember, (this is about maybe 14 years ago), after Oslo and all of this there was this major drive in trying to have Muslims have some kind of peace agreements with the Israeli nation-state so the Egyptian government comes down on the Director or Head of the Azhar saying can you write a fatwa saying that it is alright to enter into a peace agreement with the Israelis? Yeh- the Egyptian government tells him do it and he does it- how do we describe this type of person? This past week there was a news item, (were going to tell you what the news item was, but after that if youve heard of this news item just raise your hand- thats all were asking because were just curious to know how many of you have heard of this (and) so that we can know how efficient the media is in trying to filter out some of these developments in the Muslim world), the British Ambassador in Egypt goes to one of the Masjids in Egypt, obviously in Cairo somewhere, and when he enters the Masjid the Muslims say talaul badru alayna min thaniyatil wada wa jaba shukru alayna mimma lillah hidaa (i.e.) what was said to the Prophet when he went to Al Medinah; they said this to the British Ambassador when he came into the Masjid. We gave you this news item- how many of you heard it? No one! (Do) you see how efficient they are in taking away something like this. It indicates or tells a lot- obviously they know if this news item was to be flashed to Muslim public opinion something is going to happen; so keep it away, dont bring it to their attention. Thats how they want us to be. What is this? Its only expressing the truth, which takes us back full circle right now as to the mission of the Prophet, the mission of Imam Khomeini and that is simply saying the bottom line is you simply express the truth; dont bottle it in; dont postpone it to another year or occasion when the truth has to be said you express the truth. There is no problem in expressing the truth on many issues around. You can step outside and see a tree thats blossoming and you can say there is a tree thats blossoming, it is green. No one is going to object to you. Is anyone going to put you in prison for that? Obviously not! You can step outside and see a 1991 or 92 Mercedes Benz and say theres a

1991 or 92 Mercedes Benz. Thats the truth; thats what you saw- is anyone going to object to you? No! You can express the truth pertaining to some issues in society. (Take a) look downtown- theres a street in which there is prostitutes and brothels and all of these, (almost every city has a street where there is brothels and prostitutes in that area), is anyone going to say anything? No! Thats the truth. Youve expressed the truth, but theres an area where you express the truth and everyone is nervous. Thats when you begin to say that a President of a certain country has invaded and occupied another country and he had no basis for doing that; he was lying and the people around him were lying- thats the truth. So why is it that we can express one truth and cant express another truth? Has the truth been subjected to the forces of the market? If it is profitable or workable we are going to say it but if saying this truth means that the FBI is going to make a record of it or I may not get a security clearance or a promotion or these other consideration then at that time I can no longer say the truth. This can be understandable concerning maybe a semi-educated person, but when it comes to those who are expected to pronounce the truth how can we understand this? When it comes go to the Ulema and the followers of the Prophets and Apostles examples and when they dont say the truth then there is something wrong- something is really wrong! What is wrong with them? When you that a very close look at them what is wrong with them is that they never understood that their mission is to set out and to see to it that justice is done. If the truth is not going to be expressed in its time and place justice will never be done; if our tongues are tied, if our minds are muzzled (and) if our conscience is clouded with the materialism of this world then we have failed our selves, our leaders, our Prophets and ultimately Allah. We hope our humble speaker did not get on anyones nerves; we tried as much as possible to communicate to you some of the ideas that should be, (we think), center piece in the discussions and presentations that the Muslims have. Just in case we have left some gaps that have not been clarified, (we know that some of these areas need a little more details), were here to try and clarify any of these points. May Allah forgive us if weve slipped in an area or subject and may He reinforce our convictions if in what we have said we have expressed the truth.

ISLAMIC UNITY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... This time of day, this khutbah, of every week has to be known for its taqwa character. The Imam or speaker is supposed to remind the Muslims, (and) listeners of Allahs ever vigilant power presence in everyones life at every moment. As this is the character of this time or slot every week, we, (Muslims), remind ourselves of Allahs corrective power presence in our lives. Allah says to all of us- Muslims- with the fine lines among us And hold firm to Allahs binding matter all of you- no exceptions- and be not divided (Surah Ahl Imran verse 103) This ayah in Surat Aal Imran is famous or is commonly quoted here, there and everywhere. and bare in mind Allahs provision, favor and privilege upon you when you (who are now Committed Muslims), were once enemies of each other and then He reconciled your hearts and familiarized and acquainted you with each other and then, due to this provision, favor and privilege you became brethren of each other (Surah Aal Imran verse 103) This ayah is very clear in its meaning, direction and objective. Now, we come to some of the issues that other Muslims run away from and we approach this issue with Allah ever present in our mind and in our hearts. (This is the area that the trouble makers have been chopping away at), we, (Muslims), of today, come we find that there are some Muslims who say that they are Sunnis and are other Muslims who say that they are Shiis. Brothers and sisters- sometimes people like to understand what they like to understand regardless of whats being said. We are saying some Muslims who are/consider themselves Sunnis and equally some Muslims who are/consider themselves Shiis come (and) among themselves, (let us take the Shiis 1st) theyll probably not express this publicly or not want to express this to some friends of theirs who are Sunnis but away from that, they (this is the average person), will express some harsh and sometimes some foul language concerning those who were in the company of Allahs

Prophet. We dont know exactly how long this has been going on for, but our sense of history, (that if it is in any sense correct), would have it in the hundreds of years that this has been going on. Now, we, (Muslims altogether, Sunnis and Shiis) have a problem- why? Because some people dont express whop they really are! If you cant express what you believe concerning some of the people who are around the Prophet freely, comfortably and without emotions and a grudge of some sort, then youre going to have to come to terms with yourself! Were sure- all other Muslims, (Whether theyre Sunnis or Shiis) in their Islamic mind are willing to help you. We can begin and throw the seeds out there in helping these types of individuals or people. Allah says, (this is the reference of all Muslims, regardless of what madhab, persuasion, school of thought or denomination they like to be called- the words of Allah are prime and come before anything and everything else), for all of us to listen, understand and then to behave- not with two personalities, but with one personality Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah and those who are with him have a strong position against the kuffaar and a gentle position towards themselves(Surah Al Fath verse 29) OK- some person has some problem concerning those who were in the company of Allahs Prophet. These are plain and easy words- its not difficult to understand- is there anything missing in your mind, (you the Muslim), who has some foul language concerning those who were with the Prophet of Allah? This doesnt mean that everyone who professed Islam in the time of the Prophet was with the Prophet. This is the grey area that we, (Muslims), bounce in and out of with our emotions, not thinking or being guided by Allah and His Prophet. There were Munafiqeen who were living during the time of the Prophet- who say that these are with the Messenger of Allah?! So let us be careful with what we are saying and how we say what we say. Besides, (we say this especially to those who think of themselves as Shiis), we remind you that on the way to the battle at Siffin, (this is prime history for you), this was largely characterized as a battle between the people of Iraq and the people of Shaam in general terms in the books of history. There were some people in the camp and company of Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu) who were saying bad words about these Muslims who they were going to encounter, fight and do war with very soon- they were speaking the same types of words that we hear today among the same category of people, but with a difference. Its a difference if you are saying harsh words against a governor at that time, viz. Muawiyah who was doing all he could do to gain power and de-legitimize Ali (but), still, listen to what Ali said to these people but look at the difference. They were not speaking ill about those who were in the company of the Prophet, they were speaking ill and using words that we cannot use in the khutbah against those who were in the company of Allahs Prophet and sincerely in his company. Were going to quote for you the words of Ali, and for those of you who have doubts, you refer yourselves to Nahaj Al Balagha. These are his words to these people who were using this type of divisive and sometimes hateful language- (people who use foul language and curse and cuss others). I dislike for you to be damning people. If only you were to describe what they do and mention their condition that would have been a more accurate statement and it would have served the

purpose of rationality and instead of you using, saying or vocalizing this cursing, cussing, damning, defaming and blaspheming language say O Allah save our blood and their blood and reconcile what is between us and what is between them, i.e. have this difference that we have among us reconciled; and guide them out of their waywardness so that he who is ignorant of the truth and the fact will become familiar and knowledgeable of it and he will be withheld from transgression and aggression. These are obviously words that are said by an Imam that is recognized as an Imam by all Muslims- if youre a Shii you say Imam Ali; if youre a Sunni you say Al Imam Ali; and if for some reason youre a new-comer to Islam (and) you dont know this, the only thing you have to do is review the Islamic literature in all the Islamic sources and youll find that this is the common title of this person- this is what hes saying to these people who are using this type of language (and) presenting a type of attitude and mentality that does not fit into the Islamic character. These sharp words do not serve to bring the Muslims together, they serve to separate the Muslims from each other. Those of you who also think/consider/ or say that you are Shiisbecause this attitude, these words and this type of language existed at that time as it exists today- when Imam Jafar As Sadique heard these types of people speaking and saying what they were saying concerning those who were in the company of Allahs Prophet, he said to them withhold your tongues from those individuals that you are bad mouthing. He also said Abu Bakr gave birth to me twice- that is in reference to Imam Jafars parentage that come down through the blood-line of Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu). Besides, when Talha, Zubair and Umar (radi Allahu anhum) died, Al Imam Ali eulogized them. OK- some of you say brother, youre using some words were not familiar with, i.e. he paid homage to them and said words in their funeral that praised them. He wasnt a laaan or a sabbab! He disagreed with them either mildly or all the way to the war-fronts. He disagreed with Umar in a mild manner and he disagreed with Talha and Zubair in a military manner, but he never said bad words to them. Do you hear that?! If you have any authority, reference or source for what you are saying- we are open minded and open hearted; with open arms we welcome the information which you have which we dont have. Weve never been fanatic about these issues and with Allahs help we never will become fanatic about these issues.

Another demonstration of what we are saying The time or day that is considered one of the most critical days if not the most important day in what has become know as the divergence in Al Khilafah and Al Imamah was the day the Prophet passed away. Its called in our common history yawm As Saqifah. Once again, (for the doubting Thomas, as it were and for those people who have so much tradition in their heads that they dont have the correct information where it belongs), we want to quote for you, (you can also go back to Nahaj Al Balagha and look it up for yourself), how Ali described that day and the sensitive moments in that day- an issue that some Muslims want to divide and break away from other Muslims because of. After you listen to what Al Imam said, youre not going to

have grounds to divide and split from other Muslims. These are his words, (sometimes we run into translation problems- we thank Allah that you dont run into translation problems here), the only thing that overcame, surprised, overwhelmed or intimidated me was the streaming thing towards Abi Bakr giving him the baiah. I (literally) withheld my hands, (but contextually it means) I checked myself until I saw this wave of people contracting away or stepping away from Islam, (this is in reference to what is known in Islamic history in a couple of years after this day that we are speaking about as hurub ar ridda). They were doing what? These people, the Arabians, who had become Muslims in their majority had, (early on, at that time), expressed their national or asabiyyah character and now they wanted to break away from Islam. What did he see? He saw two movements- he saw the movement of people streaming to give baiah to Abi Bakr and what followed that was he saw the movement of people trying to bring down the deen of the Prophet. I was apprehensive or sort of afraid that if I was not (in this context and with these dynamics that he just outlined), to come to support Islam and its folks or people that I will wind up seeing that now (literally speaking), there is a hole in Islam or an Islam that is destroyed. And now, I would wind up with a larger and more significant catastrophe or problem. (Do you see), when you read, listen and understand this position- he wasnt breaking away from Muslims or using bad words like some people do today! Why? Because he wasnt reacting; people today who break away from other Muslims or who use foul language are weak, they are reacting to the circumstances that they are in and they are proving that they are closer to this world than they are to Allah and His Prophet- thats all they are doing. If they had the confidence, moral strength and accurate information, they wouldnt be bouncing like we watch them doing. These are his words, if I were not to partake, now, in the established order- the khilafah of Abi Bakr, the khilafah of Umar and the khilafah of Uthman (radi Allahu anhum), and do my duty with these facts around, then this wilayah that (were obviously paraphrasing), I qualify more for than the others, the damage in me concentrating on my wilayah by being apart from the rest of the Muslims will bring about more damage than anything else. The wilayah which he calls, (we have to remind those who are going to have trouble with what we are quoting him as saying- these are not my words or someone elses words, but for those of the listeners who are going to have problems and trouble with this, refer yourselves to Nahaj Al Balagha, open the pages and read them with your mind; set your emotions aside a little), this wilayah is just a matter of an enjoyable few days, if that, it will drift away just like a phantom in the desert disappears or just like a cloud in the sky moves on, so I took a position within the event of these times until this structure of falsehood was moved away- Now, theres no longer the immediate danger that was there during the time of this potential early civil war in Islam, the 1st manifestations of which was this hurub ar ridda- and this deen of Allah has now settled in a somewhat comfortable manner. Compare these words and behavior with some of todays weaklings- what can we saypeople who use bad words and blaspheme Aba Bakr, Umar and Uthman when Ali who lived during that time did no such thing are weak; theres nothing whatsoever that we no of that is reliable that tells us that he used the language thats being used today or that he

broke away from the rest of the Muslims the same way some people today break away from the rest of the Muslims. (He did) none of that at all- he was in the middle of it and he wasnt reacting, he was doing his God-given duty and knowing what we know, he probably could not feel comfortable with the people of today who say that they are his followers, supporters and partisans by looking and watching them do what they do. They need the help of the rest of the Muslims; we need each other. When you understand who you are, then youll understand that we need the other complimentary Muslim- Sunni or Shii, it doesnt matter- you are in need of the other Muslim. Then, theres the issue of ad dhilah this is one other disturbing detail in our Islamic history. In some history books- to be frank about it, in those history books that are in the Shii writing of history- they say that Umar came to Fatimah (radi Allahu anha) and physically abused her- he hit her to the extent that one of her ribs was broken; not only that, some narratives go on to say that she died because Umar broke her rib. A closer scrutiny of this literature- when you read this history a little more, it will tell you that Ali was in this room in which Umar was, (literally), physically hitting Fatimah; the daughter of Allahs Prophet and the wife of Ali- what was he doing? Watching this?! Ali is known by all Muslims as Asad Allah; the lion of Allah, who in the course of every day in his life protected the Prophet of Allah and the family of the Prophet of Allah, but now, when this is happening in front of his own eyes he does nothing?! Something is wrong with this type of literature! He becomes a wimp! (When), you read this history, you think that at that moment, Ali has become a wimp and some people believe this! This is a problem- we can argue for believing or not believing it or we can argue against the divisive behavior that comes from this. Lets reverse this- sometimes, some people dont have what it takes. Some of the people who were in the company of Allah may have been correct on many issues and wrong on some issues- to come and evaluate them in a methodical and mental is way is one thing, (theres nothing wrong with that; actually that should be the responsibility of all of us), but to present yourself as a powerhouse of emotions and then destroy every logic on the way to your emotional climax and you demean these people It may climax in some persons mind that Ali was in a serious difference with Umar- this is in all books, (Sunni and Shii), of Islamic history; how do you explain to us that when the Islamic Jihad was at its peak in the time of Umar against the Persians, (those of you who come from a Persian background, dont feel offended- the fact of the matter is that they were not Muslims before Islam; the same way the Romans, Egyptians, Turks and Palestinians were not Muslims before Islam- but there was a war-front between the Muslims and the Persians at once time and it was during the time of Umar that he felt that he was going to go personally to the was front and fight, (as we said, this is an issue that is in all of these history books.) He goes to Ali and he consults him i.e. what is you opinion? I want to go and fight at the war fronts. Ali tells him No, I advise against it. Shift that into the types of divisive, separatist and isolationist type of attitudes that prevail! So when we say be on your guard against Allahs corrective punishment in relation to Rasulillah, the family of Rasulillah and the company of Rasulillah- we say this not as a blanket statement, we say this with the refinement of Allahs words and the Prophets model.

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims To some people, speaking about the defining era in our early Islamic history may sound like an academic exercise- but it is not. This is a matter of trying to bring home to you that we are going to have to close ranks and when we do, we will do so as enlightened Muslims. You can be a Shii or a Sunni to your hearts content- but you have to be an enlightened Shii or Sunni- and, an enlightened Muslim, (whether he is a Sunni or Shii), he always has his hand extended to a brother however he may think of these events. (As for) those people who put their hands in their pocket and fail to extend it to the other Muslim, they have broken away from Allah, His Prophet and the school of thought they think they belong to! This is the tragedy out of which todays wars are made and they are banking on this break-away attitude among the Muslims to continue their war-like policies and grand strategies. We can see Iraq- its a bloody and a current demonstration to what we say, and we can only look to the surrounding areas, countries and nation-states that are potentially or about to go up in fire and smoke because we have left these gaps and cleavages among us. When someone comes to speak about Muslims coming together, they do that because they were given instructions from some governments (that, now is the time to speak about Islamic solidarity. They dont listen to Allah and His Prophet, they listen to governments, departments, money and finances- when its profitable to accuse the other Muslim of kufr, they will do it; and they will quote the Quran and the Prophet, and when it is profitable to say that the other Muslim is a Muslim, they will do it, and they will also quote the Quran and the Prophet! Weve had enough years to expose these types and prove who they really areis there anyone left who cannot see those who speak the truth because they are the subjects of Allah and followers of the Prophet and those who are seasonal? If in this season they have to say something- they will, regardless of what Allah and His Prophet say! Havent we had enough experience and years to learn who those who speak the truth for Allah are, and those who speak the truth for At Taghut are?!

THE KUFR OF THE SAUDI REGIME-PART 1

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... I greet you with the greetings of peace and salute you with the blessings and providence of Allah. I'd like to begin by saying that the opinions and ideas that are expressed from the podium this evening may not necessarily represent those who organized this effort; I don't speak for any particular Muslim Student affiliation; I speak from what is considered some experience in life so the opinions and the information that is strung together this evening is the sole responsibility of this speaker- that's on the 1st count. On the 2nd count I also have to say that I'm appreciative to some of you who have the courage, (as it were), to initiate a presentation on a critical approach to the Saudi Arabian Government. For those of you who are from an Islamic commitment or background, you know that within Islamic circles it is quite a challenging if not an impossible task to speak against the Saudi Arabian Government in a public setting such as this. If there's going to be any criticism or any evaluation of the Saudi Arabian Government, much of it is done in very limited and in closed quarters. Of course this is not limited and this is not closed; this is a setting in which everyone has (out) of their own free will or choice the opportunity to be here without someone telling you "you can't be here or you shouldn't be here." Even though you have been exposed to those types of words or advice, you made the effort and came here and at east we should be thankful for your efforts. That being said I should also preface this presentation by saying that in my particular case, speaking about Saudi Arabia is almost like when a person is hungry and he comes across a very delicious meal; and sometimes when a hungry person is involved in trying to satisfy his hunger with an appealing meal it gets a little messy- so you may find that part of this presentation may get a little messy because there are so many things to be said in a limited amount of time to say it. I guess, (from my understanding of my communication with some of the organizers), this presentation will be followed by a Q & A session- you may ask your questions (and) we'll try to answer them. I think we should all take advantage of having our internal thoughts or our concealed interests being expressed so that we can interact with each other as it is expected in a university setting. After that has been said I'd like to begin to say that there's so many things that can be said about Saudi Arabia and I know the audience here is a little mixed i.e. I'm not speaking to one monolithic group of people- obviously it appears that not all of you are Muslims so I'm going to have to tailor some of this presentation to what we may call a "mixed audience." It doesn't matter- facts are facts- it's just a matter of the way of communicating these facts that we should be concerned with. Let me also add, (before I begin), another observation and that is sometimes Muslims, Christians and Jews maybe have an acrimonious misunderstanding of each other when it comes to speaking about governments; I know the case of Muslims- being a Muslim- that many Muslims have a very difficult time trying to express criticism about Saudi Arabia and this is probably equally true about Jews who have a

great deal of difficulty expressing criticism of Israel and because we live here in the United States and most of the population of the United States is, (at least in a nominal sense), Christian and some of these Christians have quiet a bit of difficulty in expressing criticism towards the government of the United States. Even though we will mention in the course of this presentation the government of the United States and Israel is not primarily concentrated on the United States and Israel- there's no way a person is going to talk about Saudi Arabia in an intelligent way and dodge or avoid speaking about the United States and Israel. For those who do not belong to the Islamic faith, hopefully this presentation will become a building block in the way they join faith, reason and politics together to give them a little courage, (maybe), if they are of the Jewish persuasion to speak up against Israel as a government and for those who are American Christians to also, (in a likewise manner), be bold enough to speak against the aggressive nature of US policies inside and beyond the United States. I think I've, (sought of), exhausted my introductory remarks- now let's try to focus our attention more on Saudi Arabia per se. Many people begin asking "why this presentation or type of lecture expressed against a particular government in the Muslim world? We are looking at between 50 and 60 other governments and the probably all fall into the same category of being un-Islamic governments, (more or less.)" I'm not going to take issue with that because that general statement is no doubt truthful, but the concern is that Saudi Arabia is the government that is in control of the two holiest places pertaining to Islamic conviction and commitment; these two places are Makkah and Al Medinah and any government that is going to be in control of Makkah and Al Medinah, (by definition and deliberation), is going to have the attention and focus of the Muslim mind on it. (You can) call it a geographical mistake or the by product of the nation state system that came out of the 1 st and 2nd world wars, (you can give it your own type of political description- I am not very much concern about that at this point ); my concern, (along with other thinking Muslims), is the area where the fact is Saudi Arabia is a government that rules over Makkah and Al Medinah (and) thereby applies policies to these centers of Islam that affect all other Muslims in the world and therefore we should be concerned. It's not a matter of "I'm a Saudi Arabian therefore I'm the only one who is supposed to speak about it "- No! "We're not speaking about Najd, Aseer and Naf'saa; we are speaking about Makkah and Al Medinah in particular when we're speaking about the Saudi Arabia and that is why there should be in the 1st instance much concern and thought given to what Saudi Arabia is doing particularly in these two areas. That's not to say, also, that Saudi Arabia has a significant amount of wealth and a significant amount of misinformation hiding behind that type of information that it shuffles within Muslim circles. It definitely has a network of Islamic Centers and Mosques throughout the world through which it exerts influence beyond its volume and capacity; so if you are living thousands of miles from Makkah and Al Medinah, (whether you know it or not), there is a type of Saudi Arabian influence that takes shape. You can go to your local Masjid or Jum'ah prayers etc. that has some type of Saudi influence or Saudi Arabian orientation in it. Even if you cannot extend you political thoughts to Makkah and Al Medinah (and) even if you just live a local life, you have, also, to be concerned with the intruding influence the Saudi Arabian government has through this nexus of Islamic Centers and Masaajid around. I think(and) in a sense I hope we can understand why we should be almost obsessed with taking a close look at what the Saudi Arabian government is doing as far as we Muslims are concerned. Whether you agree or disagree with it, the fact out there in the real world is that it is poking itself into the affairs of the Muslims globally and locally.

If we wanted to go back a little- I think we need this ingredient somewhat- into the Saudi Arabian historical make up of Saudi Arabia, we find that there is no legitimacy for a Saudi Arabia as a nation state as far as scripture is concerned. The Saudi Arabia government says that it goes by the Holy book- which is fine; that statement stands very perfectly accepted at face value, but a close look tells us that's not the case. Saudi Arabia is a nation state and the concept of an Islamic political order is a transnational concept that doesn't recognize national frontiers. On this basis, the concept of the Ummah consolidated as one political/economical/financial/military expression doesn't recognize these 50 odd nations that we have- the most important one being, for the purposes alluded to earlier, Saudi Arabia itself. Saudi Arabia, hence, gains a political definition (that is) not extracted from the Qur'an or Sunnah but (that is) extracted from the realities of the disintegration of the old world order that was made up before World War one into this new political terrain that we have today coming out of these inter war years. Saudi Arabia is one of these creations- so no one should come and say that Saudi Arabia has some kind of Islamic legitimacy as a nation state. (Number two)- I don't want to go into some of the archaic details of the feuds among the tribes of Arabia during the past three centuries, (particularly in 18th and 19th century), when these tribes consolidated themselves to become the rulers of Makkah and Al Medinah and therefore the primary political wave in the Arabian peninsula. There's a lot of skirmishes, feuds and battles between these different factions in Arabia and that doesn't concern us very much even though some of it is very ugly. What concerns us though is the British who came though in the aid of the Saudi clan began to favor this particular clan in disregard of the others (by) giving them moneyGBP 60,000 per year then GBP 120,000 as the years went by to consolidate their position. At that time the main concern was that this Saudi clan, (which today has become the royal family), becomes the dominant force in Arabia. With the little influence of a little cash into a barren land like Arabia the Saudi clan gained considerable prestige, (as it were), among these other tribes and it did so with an alliance with a religious trend inside of Arabia that can be trailed to Muhammad ibn Abdil Wahhab. This arrangement or sharing of power began between the Al Saud and what was referred to as the Ikhwan at that time eventually led, (in the course of the 20 th century), when oil and the American dollar came in and there was now a type of understanding between the British and the Americans on how to detail with promoting the Saudi royals in Arabia- some arrangement had to be reached between those who were more prone to secularism and those who had a fervent, (some would say almost fanatical), religious impulse in them. So, we had in the making in the past 100 years a type of balancing of power inside of Saudi Arabia between those who are the Saudis- to give you of sense (of what we mean) when we say Saudis/tribes/clans- one of the Sauds in the early last century was married to 22 wives and from those 22 wives this person had around 45 children; that's just a synopsis of the type of clannish togetherness that we are speaking about that was the genesis of today's royal family. Obviously they felt this blood relationship amongst themselves- they're very close to/related amongst themselves. The marital habits in that society is to be married to their family, (cousins marry cousins, etc.), so you have this clan solidarity that formed inside Arabia and likewise among the Ikhwan- the religious component- of this alliance in Arabia. This type of arrangement kept its

pace normally up until September 11. (I am skipping over some details here as some idea has to be formulated without getting distracted into these details). On September 11 something new happened to this alliance between the religious and secular faction in Saudi Arabia and that was (that) a major strain was placed on the Saudi government to try and distance itself from these "religious fanatics." (This is not my choice of words, this is how the strategists in Washington communicated this whole case to the Saudi royals). The Saudi royals felt here is where we have to do something about this and here is where we have the unraveling as we see right now happening in Arabia. We see there is a great amount of unprecedented tension between those who aspire for an Islamic state without any influence of this secular world around and those who opt for convenience and say "modernity is moving in a secular direction we have to move withwe can't stand in front of the world"- this kind of tension right now is playing itself out in Arabia with the details (that) you're probably all privy to when you read the newspapers. There is considerable amount of opposition that is growing in Arabia by those who almost "have had it" with the Saudi royal government. Before I come to this up to dated development inside Saudi Arabia I want to say something in particular to the Muslims who are listening closely and that is the Saudi Arabian government has put into effect policies pertaining to Makkah and Al Medinah, (as any Muslim knows these places are places of major pilgrimage once a year and the minor pilgrimages throughout the course of the year- Al Hajj and Al Umrah), the Saudi Arabian government has almost nationalized and destroyed the institution of the Hajj and the Umrah. We can quote for you some verses from the Qur'an for you- let us take one verse in which Allah says Performing the Hajj/ pilgrimage is a matter of known months (Surah Al Baqarah verse 197) These are Allah's words- it's not some scholar speaking or some think-tank that is working these things out- this is a matter of a direct approach from the Holy scripture, but what Saudi Arabian government has done is it has reduced the three months that have become a matter of consensus among all Muslims, (the months of the Hajj viz. Shawwal, Dhu Al Qa'da, Dhu Al Hijjah), to three weeks. You go to the Hajj in the last 10 days of Dhu Al Qa'dah and then after the 10th day of Dhu Al Hijjah you have to leave! Where is the legitimacy for all of this?! Yet, (due to getting into traditions and placing their mind on hold), no Muslim questions this. There hasn't been a significant movement in the Muslim world to question the Saudis on the legitimacies of what they are doing to Makkah and Al Medinah. Not only are they illegitimately in control of these places but they are also forcing Muslims to disobey Allah in matters pertaining to Makkah and Al Medinah. We don't think that this is going to continue forever; we have confidence that there are Muslims who are beginning to think about this matters and if they are not permitted to solve this issue by peaceful means, (it doesn't seem like the governments in the area i.e. the Saudi Arabian governments and all the other governments all the way to Washington DC are having the Muslims enjoy the freedom to express themselves in a peaceful manner and solve an issue like this. So what's left?! Muslims will be forced to go underground, organize and burst against these types of illegitimate policies/ procedures and anti scriptural laws. This is of course at a time when Saudi Arabia says that it is the maintainer of Shari'ah. This is probably one of the most misleading claims that the Saudi Arabian government says that "it is applying the Shari'ah. Saudi Arabia is not applying any Shari'ah in the true sense of the word unless we can say that the government

in Israel is applying the Taurah and the government in the United States is applying the Gospel to society over here- it's not interested in all of this. The qualitative difference in having the Saudi Arabian government in one hand and US Israel government in the other hand is the Saudi Arabian government is stuck with a forceful tradition of a society that tries to have its legal code conforming to the Qur'an. This is not the case in the United States; we don't have vocal/obvious influential Christians in US society who come and place a moral force/ pressure on decision makers in Washington and tell them "look you have to meet the standards of the Gospel!" It's not here; it doesn't exist. The same thing, even though to a lesser degree and to an arguable understanding, applies to Palestine otherwise referred to as Israel. Even in that land there is not a real/strong Jewish lobby to tell the Zionist lobby in Tel Aviv "look, you have to govern/conduct your policies according to the Old Testament or Taurah- it doesn't exist. In Saudi Arabia it does exist. There are scholars and people who expect the society to be run according laws/regulations/procedures that are outlined in the Qur'an; so Saudi Arabian government finds itself in a position where it has to apply these laws to a society that wants them- not that it necessarily believes in them. Anyone who trails the conduct/behavior of the officials of government employees and decision makers will tell you "these people live a double life." In Arabia they wear their thawb, the gown, they go to the Masjid and they do all of these obviously personal and palpable Islamic obligations but in their hearts of hearts they are not convinced of this because when they leave Saudi Arabia they will tell you that as they are flying on the plane some of these characters will undress themselves from the traditional Arab garb and put on this Western garb. Then, (when) you follow them as they take their course in Europe and in the United States- where do they go? They go to red-light districts in cities, casinos, brothels and all these other places. They are committing the same crimes for which the Shari'ah that they are applying in their own country was applied to them they would not exist or they would be walking around with amputated limbs. Yet, that being the case they will come and tell you that they are the maintainers of the faith, they are the protectors of the two Holy sanctuaries (and) they are the defenders of Islam. This is found in their literature, propaganda, books, school textbooks, media and in all of these. This is what they will tell you- they'll tell everyone this ad nausea and because of the convergence of interests and the multi layers of ignorance they get away with it.

THE KUFR OF THE SAUDI REGIME-PART 2

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... Muslims dont criticize them, but you know- its fashionable since September 11th for some people who were the most protective of the Saudis to criticize them. Let me tell you- this speaker has been taking issue with the Saudi Arabian government for the past quarter of a century- so this is not a fair, were not running away and were consistent. Dont confuse us with these same people who now for their own political purposes, weather its a plan for a New American Century or whether it is to expand the security zone around Israel, (whatever reasons they can have on their mind), to go out speaking against Saudi Arabia. Let me draw a line here- they are doing it for opportunistic purposes, we are doing it as a matter of faith and principle. Saudi Arabia claims, just like in Judaic-Christian history when you had the Pharisees in the time of Jesus (may the peace and blessings be upon him) who claimed that they were the preservers and promoters of Gods law and they were holier, knowledgeable and scholarly of Gods words than Jesus himself. If the people around Jesus at that time were to morph into a state today, that state would be none other then Saudi Arabia; yet we have very religious Christians who are willing to be silent concerning the enemy of Jesus who rule in Saudi Arabia today (and) protect them. I want to skip over (a number of details and come to) September 11th when the skies of United States were closed and there wasnt one plan flying. Let me tell you- on that day September 11 th 2001, Al Gore was in Austria (and) ex-president Clinton was in Australia- they couldnt fly back to the United States but you had 140 Saudis in the United States on that day who were flown out! Wheres everyone?! Why doesnt anyone ask these questions?! Whats going on here?! Everyone knew within those first few days, (this is another question- the knowledge is a question itself), that 15 of the 19 hijackers of those planes were Saudi Arabians and you have 140 of them leaving the United States?! Whats going on here?! This is a government of God?! We dont know what or who they are exactly- we are told that the bin laden family and maybe salt and pepper Saudis inside of the Saudi royal family were flown out in the 1st 48 hours after that. What is this?! Cant we ask ourselves what is this?! What is happening over here?! I dont care what type of principle/criteria you have- Jewish/Christian/Islamic- you dont have enough mind, conscience and integrity to ask why is this happening?! Whats the value of your convictions, (whatever they may be), if you cant ask bold and straight forward questions like that and demand answers for them! Up until now, where are the answers? Does President Bush have something to hide?! Is he covering up for his connections in the Saudi Arabian government? Whats this deafening silence?!

Besides this illegitimacy that we understand from reading scripture that the Saudi Arabian government has, (it doesnt have any legitimacy any way you want to spice it), yet why there is/there has there been and continues to be- without end in sight- this media protection from the Israeli government and the US government? You would think that these are warring enemies right?! Saudi Arabia- the bastion of the Islamic faith; the United States- the head of Western civilization and Zionist Israel- the avowed enemy of Muslims- in this triangular relationship, when it comes to current affairs, we dont find that there is a resonance of this conflict. To the contrary, we get the American and Israeli government, both, very upset if there are principled Muslims who are exposing the fallacies, crimes and the illegitimacy of the Saudi Arabian government. I ask you why is that? Why should the American and the Israeli government be upset about something like that?! But they are. We dont know what their position is going to be three or five years down the road- the fluctuations of politics may go in any direction. It may be in United States interest in the years after that to unseat the royals of Arabia and it can happen, but up until now theres every evidence to believe that the United States government is defending the Saudi Arabian government. Even some journalists and some American professionals who have gone to Saudi Arabia and theyve had a chance to speak with the American Ambassador in Jeddah and tell him look Saudi Arabia is a country of almost contradictions. Its crazy. IKEA, the Swedish grand department store opened a branch of theirs in Jeddah and its the 1st day of the grand opening of their branch, (they publicized this), and 15,000 Saudis go to that grand opening. As big as IKEA can be- imagine 15,000 people trying to park and get in and then two people die in that stampede. Muslims go to the Hajj every year and from year to year, (it never fails), you hear that 20/130, (whatever amount of) Muslims in the Hajj are stampeded to death. Maybe they should have a sign at the point-of-entries Attentionyou are entering the land of stampedes; there is the danger that you could be stampeded to death here somewhere on some occasion. But that still doesnt filter through; its not in the public mind. There are significant interests that are protecting this outlawed state and we point our hand equally at those who are in favor of the US, Israeli and the Arab political and military structure at the heart of which is the Saudi Arabian government itself. They team to skew our vision the other way from what the Saudi Arabian government is doing against Muslims, Christians and Jews. Because of some peoples concern for Islam, they think that it is natural that we should not be speaking against Saudi Arabia in front of none Muslims. I dont know where that comes from. The truth is the truth whether you are a Jew/Christian/Muslim- the facts and the truth are there (and) it doesnt serve anyones purpose to make believe they dont exist and say I am going to remain silent or in the best of conditions Im only going to discuss this matter behind close doors (and) were not going to go public with this. What purpose does that serve? None that I know of and I know of none that you know of- this doesnt serve any purpose. The Saudi Arabian government is wrong and its wrong almost on every score when it generates fanaticism. Let me

give an example, (this is not a matter of trying to curry favor with anyone or trying to score against Saudi Arabia- its a matter of trying to place the facts in Saudi Arabia) and even though this is the case it hasnt generated any reaction in the Christian world; let me tell you, in Saudi Arabia, Christians cannot even build a church. I dont know where this comes from- honestly! This is a person whos buried his head in a significant amount of Islamic literature throughout the years. How do you tell a Christian/Jew that you cannot have a place to worship in?! Is there an ayah or a verse in the Quran that indicates this meaning? Is there a reliable/authentic/well established/mainstream/rational hadith that has this meaning in it? Let me give an example of how the practical Sunnah of the Prophet condemns this Saudi policy. When the Prophet was in Al Medinah, there was a Christian delegation of 10 to 15 clergymen who came from what is now the area of Yemen- South Western Saudi Arabia. Theres no specifications of what ranks they were- bishops/priests/monks/a combination of them came to the Prophet himself in his Masjid/Mosque in Al Medinah. He didnt say what are you doing here! Some narratives have it that he took off his thawb/over coat, (as it were), and placed it in the floor of the Mosque as a gesture of welcoming them. Lets put our emotions aside for the moment- Im sorry, because sometimes this issue becomes a little disturbing- how do those right now behave in this manner towards Christians and Jews who are of their own faith/convictions/religious persuasions?! The spirit and understanding of Islam is to try to nurture that moral and religious character in Christians and Jews. You cant do that by telling Christians and Jews you cant have your temples/places of worship in Arabia. But there is something dangerous about the Saudi Arabian understanding, (if we can call it that); sometimes it becomes very difficult to speak about the religious institution in Saudi Arabia and feel that you are accurate and comfortable in defining them in certain words because sometimes they dont fit into the definition of certain words. If we wanted to say that they have an understanding, that is giving them more credit than they deserve because they havent worked out that understanding for the meanings of the Quran and the Sunnah and that is why they generate this fanaticism not only against Christians and Jews but also against Muslims; that is why they cannot tolerate other Muslims. This is part of the paradox of their own mind-set. They adhere to what some of them call a Wahhabi and what others may call a Salafi school of thought. OK- and this school of thought has it they dont belong to one school of thought- this is a positive development. They are as open to say that they are not confined in one madhab/fiqhi school/ religious school of thought. They should have this purview of at least the theoretical equality of the Muslims. They dont; they say if you dont belong to their way of thinking then you are a lesser Muslim. So Christians/Jews, you dont have to feel bad about this- if they are excluding you- I dont think that you have very much attachment to Makkah and Al Medinah they are excluding Muslims who have this attachment to Makkah and Al Medinah. Almost all other types of Muslims who dont fit their definition of who a Muslim is, is almost automatically a semi-Muslim or in the brave words of others heretics or kafirs. This is very dangerous for everyone. If its this lethal why arent people just shedding light on this fact? I understand some Muslim organizations get a little financial assistance from the Saudi Arabian government and theyre satisfied; they want to take a

little money and conceal a lot of truth. I strongly disagree with it. You can disagree with it or whatever; you can understand this dynamic at work. (Its the) same thing with the American government. You can go there and pump out 13 million barrels of oil a day if it needs that amount and the Saudi Arabian government obliges. Sure- we are pumping out 8-and-a-halfmillion but if you want us to go up to 13-million sure will do well do it as fast as we can. OKyou do this for us and then maintain a silence concerning everything you are doing regarding your internal contest or whatever else your policies take you. The Israelis this is where it is short. If youre tuned to the media and the way they represent the Arab-Israeli conflict youd think Wow Israel is going to be the 1st nation state in the area that is going to speak out against the Saudi Arabian government, (but) you dont find that to be the case- do you? There may be in the Hebrew press articles and some analysis on the Saudi Arabian government in a very critical way, but thats about it- it doesnt make it to the Jerusalem Post and the other pro-Zionist Israelis who are in the media all over the place whod begin to express this Saudi Arabian anomaly- you wont find it. Somethings at work here. Let me go back a little because sometimes some of you may read in a little extra into my words and I have to be a little more clear on this issue. Id like say back in the 40 years in the founding years of Saudi Arabia which is almost 200 years ago in the geopolitical realities of that time the Ottoman state was at war with the- mainly European- forces against it; the same thing was with Muhammed Ali Pasha in Egypt- these were powers that had more than they could handle as far as military defenses were concerned. In this context, you had the Saudi Arabians, (of course they werent called Saudi Arabians at that time), the nation-state hadnt come into existence at that time and it was just all this religion and tribes. With a Western proclivity this alliance of convenience there began picking wars with the Ottomans and the Egyptians. Some of you may think that the criticism of Saudi Arabia is because the way they think about Shii Muslims; this has nothing to do with Shii Muslims, it goes beyond that. There was once a delegation of Egyptian pilgrims who were going to Makkah and these types of exclusivist/self-centered/ego interpretations of Islam represented by these forces said were going to kill these people because they are bringing idols to Makkah and Al Medinah; and they went and butcher 40 Egyptian Muslim pilgrims. On another occasion they gave a religious justification for fighting against the Ottomans saying these are Sufis. They dont agree with this and say its an innovation/bida. They work up this frenzy to a degree where they justify killing other Muslims because these other Muslims dont see/read/understand the Quran the way they do. The Ottomans at that time had enough force and they sent a force to defeat this alliance of clans with this mind-set and they took ibn Saud, his Imam and the 3rd person was either his son or a close colleague of his and what did the Ottomans do? Im not saying what the Ottomans did what right, but it just goes to show how one extreme generates another extreme- extremism breeds extremism- the extremism in Saudi Arabian at that time was that it was saying the Ottomans are kafirs, mushriks and this-and-the-other thereby legalizing shedding Muslim blood. Whos happy about shedding Muslim blood? The enemies of Muslims. No Muslim can say this or be comfortable with saying this, but it happened in history. We cant run away from it; if were

going to run away from these lessons of history, were not going to learn. The Ottomans took, the Saudi commander at that time, ibn Saud and the Imam to Istanbul and they paraded them in the streets for three days. They took them around for people see, mock and do whatever they want with them and then after that they executed them. This is the type of darkness that comes out of Saudi Arabia.

THE KUFR OF THE SAUDI REGIME-PART 3

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... Now, to the make believe of September 11th and after September 11th- here we encounter a new phase in the subservience of the Saudi Arabian government to outside interests, viz. the influence of the United States and the Israeli security in the area. Let me back-track just a little- Id like to say (that) theres a lot to be said about September 11 th; I wish I could avoid it, (honestly), but if I want to be as frank enough as to express whats in my mind and heart I cant avoid it. September 11th was in the making for almost a decade- all the way back to Afghanistan. The persons involved in the making of September 11th, (if not at the core of it), were those from the Saudi Arabian government. In the late 70s and early 80s there was a ground swell of Islamic momentum in the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian sub-continent viz. Pakistan. The reason for that was the political and ideological fermentation that was taking place throughout Muslim lands. You can go back to those days- there was the assassination of the President of Egypt; the invasion by the Soviet Union and occupation of Afghanistan; the Islamic Revolution in Iran; the Islamic struggle inside Syria; the instability inside Iraqthere was so many things happening- in this context, the Saudi Arabian government along with the Pakistani government felt that they not be able to survive this internal agitation. So, what was done was, (in a grand plan), to have the Saudi youth along with the Pakistani youth find an outlet to express their revolutionary zeal (i.e.) instead of (them) taking it out on the Pakistani and Saudi Arabian government lets put them somewhere where if they want to shoot or fight or do all these other things, let them do it some other place where it will serve our broader interests. Most of the time Saudi officials dont think for themselves, (they have others to do their thinking for them), and in this case, the United States government came along or conveniently whispered in the ears of Saudi officials (saying) we know you have this problem and we know how to help you out of it. Theres this Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, (so), why dont you send these youth to Afghanistan and well set up a fund called the jihad fund for these youth and have them shoot their way to their future inside of Afghanistan. This sounds very reasonable (when) the government feels under a lot of pressure from its own population. They tell you that 65% of those 21 years and under are in Saudi Arabia. How do you get rid of this problem? Send them to Afghanistan (where) they can kill and they can be killed! They set up this jihad fund; Prince Turky ibn Faisal, (for those who know a little about the inside intrigues of the Saudi Islamic Movement), during the 1970s was, himself, the head of the underground Islamic activities in Saudi Arabia which gave him access to inside information on the make up of this structure. Theres a word for it which I dont want to use it-

those of you who know what Im talking about know why Im not going to use this word- its an operational word; those of you who dont know maybe it is premature for you to know at this time, (I dont know, this is an audience here, Im not talking one-on-one to individuals- for reasons that I will keep un-disclosed). Prince Turky ibn Al Faisal, (currently hes the Ambassador in London, to England), had this vast amount of insiders information and he was the one who was tasked with organizing and coordinating this jihad fund in Switzerland. This government that has trillions of dollars placed in banks outside its own country- much of it is here in the United States; it doesnt have enough confidence to place its own wealth in its own. This person sets up this whole operation and begins to channel the youth to go to Peshawar and then from there to go Afghanistan. Where do you think the operatives and agents of the CIA, Mossad and the intelligence services, (out there), of the Arabian governments, especially those who were on friendly terms with the Soviet Union at the time, were? In the Bahamas or the Caribbean or other areas of the world?! No- they were busy in Afghanistan setting the ground work for this scheme-up of Islamic activity, (as it were), or Islamic jihadi Movement; they were in the different groups in Afghanistan. The Saudi Arabian government set this stage for what happened on September 11th. Then, we had September 11th; and what a perfect time for the United States government to turn to the Saudi government and work on dissolving that historical tie between the religious establishment and the secular establishment in the country- youre either with us or against us. These are not my words these words come from the highest office in this land and the Saudis were listening- you are either with us or against us. They had to define themselves and say which side are we on? And it said it doesnt take much to figure out which side were on, we are of course on the American side. Saudi Arabian government officials, from Bandar ibn Abdul Aziz, their Ambassador the Arab guest in Washington DC, all the way to those who believe the Earth is still flat in Arabia said look- now we have to be on the American side in all of this. But what does that mean? Of course, the CIA, DIA and all of these intelligence agencies dont know who-is-who inside this Islamic Saudi Islamic House of combining the secular with the religious; that means that you are going to have to show and tell us who-is-who in here. To prove its loyalty, not to God but to the Pharoah in the White House, the Saudi Arabian government said alright well begin to point fingers. They began to point fingers- this is so-and-so; these are the plans of these organizations etc. Hence, the pressure grew inside this historical alliance in Arabia and we have what we have what we have today; shoot outs in Riyadh and Jeddah targeting those in the country who come from outside of Arabia, killing them on the streets and throwing explosives here and there. Bandar ibn Abdul Aziz in Washington DC is probably going to his godfather President Bush, (theres this description between the Bushs and the Saudis, they have a lot in common, whatever this cozy relationship is), Bandar is probably telling, in the mentality of an underling his superior, look- were proving were on your side. What more do you want? We exposed the whole gang of Islamic activists that we were associated with. Prince Nayef ibn Abdul Aziz, the Interior Minister who is the brother of King Fahd, (by the way, a King that you dont see because he is functionally dead. Hes brain dead (and) cant make any decisions so his other half-brother Abdulla, the crown-prince, moves in (to become) the functioning decision

maker in that country. A striking observations about these decision makers when they talk is 1st of all they dont appear in public very frequently because if they do the public is going to acquaint themselves with who they really are; these are not people on the level of making critical and enlightened decisions pertaining to oil and the distribution and investment of this wealththey are not made out of that type of material. These are people who have advisors- you do the math- if they are pumping 12 million barrels of oil a day and they are selling a barrel at, (lets make the math simple), USD50; 12 million times 50 and then multiply that result by 365 days a year. Millions of people wonder where is this money? You cant say oh we are going to have two floors of the Treasury Department in Washington DC occupied by Saudi Arabian functionaries to help out in the Treasury Department to see to it that the Saudi Arabian finances are put in the best investments here in the United States. I dont know if these people who are at the highest levels of the Saudi Arabian hierarchy can expand. Those of you who know Arabic, the 1st question I would ask you is how many times have you heard Fahd, the king of Saudi Arabia, or Abdullah, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, or these others speak? Can they stand in front of an audience and give a consistent, cogent and rational presentation to the people that they are talking to? No! Theyre behind the scenes because this whole show is not run by them. They are just figure heads that are put out there but other more sinister and more lethal decisions that are made by people that are running the Saudi Arabian show. All this run in the name of Islam and we, the Muslims, are supposed to believe that these are the defenders of the faith when they are doing all this. The tension that has developed inside of Saudi Arabia after September 11th is no simple matter. This is because, (I think people who are developing this policy in Washington and Tel Aviv and then their employees in Jeddah and Riyadh are miscalculating. Instead of these types of people giving freedom of expression to the average Muslim, (the freedoms that we take for granted here. You cant give a presentation like this in Saudi Arabia! Whats wrong? Has anyone heard any blasphemous statements or any bad words that were mouthed this evening? We may have been harsh and critical. As along as there is not an air or atmosphere in which people are given the right to express their combination of mind and heart to themselves that is only going to increase the pressure that will burst out in extremism. In this matter, Saudi Arabia is that political pressure cooker in which theres only explosions that will take place because these freedoms are lacking. As I mentioned earlier, that they are many Americans that had come in contact with the American Ambassador in Jeddah who said we cant afford to have a democracy in Saudi Arabia. Someone is lying; its either the American Ambassador in Jeddah or President Bush in Washington. President Bush said he has his master plan for democracy and freedoms in the Muslim Middle East and then the local/regional Ambassadors in that area tell peopleAmericans and Muslims- who see that something has to be done about this before things get out of hand. (You have to) get these people some freedom of expression, assembly, religion, the press, etc. or else its going to get out of hand. We cant control this thing (and) we cant have this because they say Osama bin laden is more popular in Saudi Arabia than the king himself. Well- cant you deal with that? Whats wrong with identifying, (first), and acknowledging, (second), the freedom for these people for choosing whoever is popular to lead their country? Is

Osama bin Laden more of a threat then Mao Tse Dung was? Or more of a threat than Gorbachev was in the bygone Soviet Union? Whats the problem? You could deal with Gorbachev and Mao Tse Dung but you cant deal with some one who is in a cave somewhere in Afghanistan, Pakistan or wherever this is? This is what happens when we cant concentrate our minds and thoughts on what is happening over there. There is no where to go with this. I can go on and on Ive probably consumed all of my time. At this point Id just like to make one final comment. One of the questions that came my way, (and I am not pointing fingers at anyone at all; I personally dont know anyone here in the audience), but one of the questions that came my way is that Muslims are sometimes so irrational and so phobic that they cannot work with Christians and Jews. I dont see it that way. (Im not speaking on behalf of anyone), but as far as Im concerned, if this presentation this evening were sponsored by a Christian or Jewish group on campus in addition to a Muslim group on campus Id have no difficulties with that; it doesnt matter at all. The problem is not with the name that you put on a piece of paper saying a Christian, Jewish or Muslim group sponsored such a presentation- I would think that would be a step forward and I would think a step to be followed is to reciprocate and have Muslim students sponsor Jews who are critical of Israel in the same manner that I was critical of Saudi Arabia. Can we have that as a follow up session or have Christians who are sponsored by Jewish and Muslim students who are critical of the government of United States and what it is doing. When we can reach that parity I think we will have reciprocated with each other the fraternal ties that are shared in the Old, New and Final Scripture- the Taurah, the Gospel and the Quran. I thank you very much for your patience and end with the greetings of peace: Asalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. We now enter the second session i.e. the Question and Answer session. It might be a little untraditional in order to stimulate more discussion and interaction. We will entertain comments and not just questions as long as no ones giving a speech. So if you feel that theres a comment, feel free to make that comment. I going to go over some ground rules for everyone- were all professional and were all academics and theres really no need for these rules, but just so that I have given the warnings and made the rules clear. Make sure you keep you questions concise and to the point; Originally I wont allow any follow up questions just because I want to give everyone the chance to make their comments and ask their questions, but as we enter the latter stages well have follow up questions; Make sure you have your hands nice and high so I can see them; I going to try and get everyone, but if I miss you its nothing personal, (it is difficult); We have paper and pen on both side of the room so write your questions down if you feel more comfortable writing than verbally but I am giving preference to verbal question;

Last few rules, no profanity; No speaking out of turn and Lets all be professional, I will ask you to leave if I feel its necessary. People are walking around with pen and paper so if you feel it necessary, feel free to write them down. At this time, anyone with a question please raise your hand and also feel free to introduce yourself. Its not necessary but if you feel you want to go ahead

THE KUFR OF THE SAUDI REGIME-PART 4 (Q & A)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... Q-When the Saudi government started pointing out people on request of the American government where did they draw the line? You said that Prince Turky was involved in these activities and obviously hes in a higher position. The other question is that you probably heard Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahhab and the Saudi family in Saudi Arabia have a lot in common, what are they doing and whats their role and position? A-In response to your 1st question, I think whats at the heart of the matter in trying to draw the line between those who are deemed insurgent Muslims, (I think this might come close to the type of communication that flows from Washington to Riyadh and Jeddah), on one hand i.e. those who aspire to a revolutionary type of change in the area and those who are willing to settle into an American sponsored status quo and democratic process that may take roots. High hopes are placed on stabilizing Iraq right now as a 1st phase in this generational project. So, obviously a person like Prince Turky who has been living inside both of these contexts and he was also Head of Saudi Intelligence for a good number of years, (I dont know if it was 15 years or a-littlemore-or-less but a very considerable number of years) had inside information on who, (to the best of his knowledge and assessment), can be defined as potentially an insurgent Muslim and who can be defined as potentially liberal or democratic Muslims. Wherever he drew that linewe can now see the consequences (in) the shutting down of the charities that are going on around the world- this has made a major internal negative impression within what is called the Islamic Movement throughout the world and on the other hand those other Muslims who right now are in favor of the Saudi Arabia government they escaped this dragnet that is taking place inside of Saudi Arabia and all round the world to serve American policies all around the area- they just escaped the attention of key observers of the scene on how the Saudi Arabia government has played a still continues to play a defining and critical role; therefore a violent back clash against the Saudi Arabian government down the road is to be expected. You can fight armies or regular and conventional wars and win in purview of what the United States government can do in that part of the area, (but) you cant fight a civilization or people/population for an extended amount of time (and with) the way the Muslims are equipped and then think you are going to come out winning in this process.

Now, as far as the 2nd question that you posed regarding Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahhab and his descendents- the Wahhabi religious trend inside of Arabia, (generally speaking- because even though I concentrated and spoke a lot about Saudi Arabia, I hope some of you have enough background information to realize that as I jumped to Saudi Arabia but you can tag on Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Yemen and all of these that make up the Arabian Peninsula because all of this influence is also in these areas and in these statelets around Saudi Arabia), as far as Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahhab and his offspring At one time, Aal AshShaikh and Aal Rashid assumed the mantle of this Islamic orientation inside of the tribal alliances in Arabia. As far as the Saudi ruling clan was concerned it was a hereditary affair, (and it continues to be a hereditary affair), so those who rule strictly rule because they were born into the family, but in the religious establishment, leadership and decision-making, (so to speak), changed hands between a few tribes there. Strictly speaking, Muhammed ibn Abdil Wahhab and his descendents who is not leading the religious establishment the same way the Saudi family was leading the governmental establishment. Q- Mr Asi I have a question for you on a comment actually- have you ever been to Saudi Arabia? My comment is, just before you answer the question, there are a couple things you said that I find are not even close to the truth. 1st of all for the Hajj visa- usually the Saudi Embassy issues a three month (visa) for every Hajj visa, so the hajji will remain in Saudi Arabia for three months and take advantage of the ten days of the Hajj and the rest of the days will be going to other places like Makkah and Medinah. Saudi Arabia is pumping 9,5 million barrels and thats supporting to the oil prices. You mentioned a lot of reports about the 15 out of 19 which is hoax of a fox purely because you have to understand that the 15 out of the 19 hijackers target is the best allies of the United States and you have somebody like whoevers behind this- like bin Laden- who is trying to target two nations which is close together you will definitely find the majority out of this- and thats all in the 9/11 commissioner report which was selected by President Bush, the cabinet was elected by President Bush and that President Bush is elected by the genuine American people. So, I refute, (as a Saudi Muslim OK), whatever commentary you said OK. My last statement to you is you didnt give us a brief history about what is your personal issue with the Saudis, why you were elected out of the Islamic Center from Washington DC by the Board of Director- so Im talking to a gentleman over here who is already taking a clout against Saudi Arabia and is coming and commenting against Saudi Arabia. We are the Saudi people, we are the product of the Saudi society and we, (here are my team), dont go to clubs in every country and thats not our main target OK. We are not into that so if you are trying to give us wrong statements about the Saudi people, and more than that, the Saudi government which has lasted 70 years now, will last 700 and 7000 years and will never be shaken ever, so check your statements and background very well and we will be more then happy to assist you in anything you would like to know about Saudi Arabia. Im done, thank you very much. A- Thank you very much for your comments and feedback. This is what makes freedom of thought and expression a valuable commodity in society- exactly what I expressed and what you

expressed coming from two different angles/perspectives is what gives vitality to a society like this in which we can express our ideas and thoughts. I wish we could speak like this in Saudi Arabia and let me tell you something. Q- Prince Abdullah issued a statement and they are meeting on a weekly basis to do it on a monthly basis- President- of the conference- Abdullah is hosting a Women Association and they are coming along and they are talking. We do talk like this in Saudi Arabia, but when we do talk, we talk with facts, reliable information, we talk from both sides and we dont talk with one side. I remind you, by my own research, youve never been to Saudi Arabia; youve never been exposed to Makkah and Medinah; you didnt meet, probably, enough Saudis; and probably you had bad experience, (and this could happen to anyone), but you never ever set a foot in Saudi Arabia. When you go and see Saudi Arabia and what the Royal family have done in Makkah and Medinah if you see- ladies and gentlemen- Saudi Arabia has an unlimited budget for Makkah and Medinah; if you have a project and this project would work and if it costs billions and billions and billions of dollars, Saudi Arabia would approve you. This is how Saudi Arabia is taking care of the two Holy Mosques and this is what Saudi Arabia has been doing for the Muslims. not bashing the Saudi Arabia for the genuine efforts to do whatever they are doing and they are comparing them to the evil(readers-please excuse this poor sentence insertionwere trying not to doctor it- even though its not making any sense), and so, Asi, please rethink and recheck and try to come to the truth because this is really affecting our image and you are nothing but a Muslim and fellow brother as we all are, but giving bad information about the Saudi people and the Saudi government is not helping in anyway and as long as we have strong foundation nobody can shake it- I mean nobody will shake it. A- Can I just ask you a favor - Im trying to respond to you- just listen to my response without breaking in like that. (I mean), I appreciate your enthusiasm and your point of view- and thats fine, but there has to be a little order here. Im not running this, the moderator here was so kind to have this and I encourage and have no problems with this, but obviously you come from another perspective and I come from almost a contrarian perspective compared to yours. I didnt want to bring this issue up but you are forcing me to speak about it. You alluded to some personal thing with Saudi Arabia; you said, (I dont know if), you used the word some investigation or research or whatever you did as far as yours truly here. As far as I know, (and I speak from what I personally know), I was issued a visa to go to Saudi Arabia in 1984 to perform the religious duty called Al Hajj i.e. the pilgrimage. The persons name, who issued the visa in the Counsel in the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in Washington DC, is Muhammed Ridha Abu Hamayee. He issued this visa- valid for 30 days, (I still have my passport at home; had I known I would be presented with an issue like this, I would have brought it along), I still have it and someone else might have the same type of visa but anyways, without going into this type of duplicity in dealing/giving visas to some people for 30 days/one month and to others for three months as you mentioned, (I dont know if thats going on), that has right now become another obstacle in all of this. So, I met all the requirements, (I cant remember exactly), but they you

should have a certain amount of money with you to go over there, you should present your round trip ticket, (which I did); I met all the specifications on the visa form and presented the form and the passport and obtained the visa. Then, the flight that I took was from Washington DC via Madrid, Spain on to Jeddah. (This is the whole truth and nothing but the truth; I have no reason to skew this information; Im telling it exactly as it is). When I arrived in Madrid, there was an Iberian airlines connecting flight from Madrid to Jeddah; when I went to catch the connecting flight and presented them with my passport, the employees of the Iberian airlines said we are sorry we cannot have you board the plane. I said why? They said we dont know why; the only thing we can tell you is that you have to check with the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Madrid. I said look, its about 0330 right now and Im going to have to go to a telephone right now and take this number and do all these other things- its going to take time, hes probably not going to be there (and) Im going to miss my flight. They said dont worry about missing your flight, well set you up in the hotel and after you check with the Saudi Embassy and they give you the permission to go on well board you on our flight- the next one out. Why is that? Its to follow up that theyre telling me. So I tried to call the Saudi Arabian Embassy and speak to the Ambassador, they said hes not in. I expected that. So, I went back to these people at Iberian airline and they said OK fine, well have you here, accommodation is on our bill and youll see the Saudi Arabian Ambassador tomorrow. So, the following day at the Saudi Arabian Embassy after waiting about six hours from about 0930 or 1000 in the morning to about 1500 or 1530 in the afternoon, we got a permission- I dont know what all this was about, I thought the visa was the permission to go- Im not speaking about the visa itself . The visa itself is another issue when going to the Hajj. Im not talking about that- (do) we need some human being to authenticate/authorize us to go to Makkah and Al Medinah?! But thats another issue. So after we get this letter from the Saudi Arabian Embassy- thank you very much... We were very polite and they were very polite. I was just happy- everyone is very polite, we were polite, they were polite- theres no tension in the air, theyre trying to work things out- (so its) fine (and) they give us this paper. (So, I said), lets go back to the Iberian airlines. We take the paper to Iberian airlines and they say well put you on the 1 st flight out from Madrid to Rome to Jeddah. So we went from Madrid to Rome. Then, in Rome again, trying to catch that connecting flight, again the person, (I still remember his name if you have some investigations/research of your own you want to do- his name was written right here, (i.e. on his badge)- hes name is Zuhdi Khidr Zabana. We presented him with our passport your ticket and everything and he said you cant go. (I asked) Whats the problem? He said you just cant go, theres no problem. You cant proceed. Then, at that I took out the letter I received from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Madrid (and said) OK- look we have a letter, cant we proceed? Cant we go? Isnt this what it states? It was in Arabic and Alhamdulillah we can read the language. OK read this cant we go? He looked at it like that, read it and said this is an Ambassador, I have royal orders that you cannot proceed. Now, what do you want to do? You want to go back or you want me to call the security? What do you want to do? If anyone of you were in my position what are you going to do? Force yourself on the plane? Had to go back! We went all the way back to the United States; we came back to Washington. I went to the Saudi Arabian Embassy and said look, this is

what happened. By the way, the employees name over there at the time, was Suad, (if you want to check on it go and check on it, I am giving you names- Muhammed Ridha Abu Hamayee, Suad, Zuhdi Khidr Zabana), The truth has to be said, she was very polite and very kind. She said please go and write us the particulars of what happened. I will forward this to our Ambassador and hell take it from there. I said OK fine. I go back home and place all this issues of what happened on paper and explain everything, (just like I am explaining it to you), and she said well call you. Three weeks (to) a month go by (and) no one calls. So I decide let me check with them, (bureaucracy has a way of gaining a life of its own), so I checked with them. They said Well-look the Ambassador hasnt come back yet, hes very busy and all of this but I assure you well call you eventually. So goes another two or three months and I dont hear anything from anyone. So here I go, (I dont want this bureaucracy thing to set in and ossify so let me call them. I called them and spoke to her, she said please dont call us; well call you. OK fine. The whole year lapsed till the next Hajj, the following year, 1985. I go there and said 1st of all, Im following up, is there any answer? 2nd of all, when I applied to go to Hajj again she said no you cant apply to go to Hajj again and by the way the ambassador has been so busy with this public affair. You know at the time there was this civil war in Lebanon and this Ambassador in Washington DC, Bandar ibn Sultan, was involved in this plot of arrangement- he was busy, (I dont deny that, the guy is busy- OK fine; is this a one man shop?! Hes busy, just give it to an assistant; its just a little matter of a visa to go to hajj. But no, they make it this way. So anyways No- you cant go to Hajj, well not issue you a visa. OK fine, let me go back home. I went back home; life goes on. The year after that, 1986, I said maybe things may have settled they may have come back to their senses; this paper may have been reviewed by someone; something may have developed; so I go back there- did anything happen, you know me and I know you. Im talking to the same person, her name is Suad by the way shes Christian, you know me and I know you, look what is happening in all of this. She said the only thing I can tell you is that we cannot issue/give you a visa; as far as that paper/report that you wrote about what happened to you in attempting to go to the Hajj has been forwarded and thats all I can tell you and I cant say anything else- believe me. She was speaking in a very honest way, albeit at face value. I said OK fine- three years have lapsed no ones doing anything. (Of course, in the mean time, Ill to go back to this later concerning the issue of what was going on in the Islamic Center in DC. T 4th year I go there and I said Im not coming for a visa this time, I coming for a simple explanation. Explain to me why as a Muslim I cannot go to Makkah and to Al Medinah- thats all I want to do. She said give me a few minutes. She goes back to the office in the back and after about five or 10 minutes she comes back to me and says look, we are only employees at this Embassy or Consulate and we have instructions and directives from the Kingdom, (Im trying to paraphrase her), and the Minister of the Interior, Prince Nayef ibn Abdul Aziz has instructed us not to give you any type of visa, whether its hajj, umrah, a visit or business, whatever- we cant issue you a visa. We are just employees and we go by whatever information we receive- do you understand? I said thank you for the explanation and then I just left. Since then I am not concerned and if they dont come to me with some kind of explanation what do you do? Do you beg these people for some type of explanation or a visa?

What do you do? You tell me, if you were in my position. I hope I answered that part. The other part has to do with

THE KUFR OF THE SAUDI REGIME-PART 5 (Q & A)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... A (cont.)- The other part has to do with you used the word unelected Imam. Let me tell you, I dont know where you get your information from?! (During) the last weekend in November it was the last Friday in November 1981 there was a congregational election at the Islamic Center in Washington DC; for the 1st time in the history of the Muslims of the greater Washington DC area we actually had an election to elect the administration of the Masjid- that's in conformity with the concept of baiah and shura. This did not go down very well with some of the Ambassadors, first-and-foremost with the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, which I have to mention at the time was in transition. Faisal Al Jailaan had just left his Ambassadorship and Bandar had just come in. From the best knowledge that we have, Bandar has assumed the culpability for all of this affair. After this elected body of people, (i.e. ten individuals were elected to administer the affairs of the Islamic Center), (and) after about a year and four months- it was March 5th 1983, Saturday, between 0430 and 0500 in the morning- all types of security forces come and dislodge the elected administration from the Islamic Center. You should have seen Massachusetts Avenue, thats Embassy Road, it was blocked in both directions, there was security forces- between 150 and 200- a person looking at this scene will think there is some type of explosion or existential threat in the area. The whole thing was that they wanted to take us to jail and they wanted to close this Islamic Center. To make a long story short, (there is a lot of details to all of this), the Islamic Center after experiencing its 1 st election experienced its first coup de tat. They came in by force, took over the Islamic Center and the elected Muslims were left out there in the street. We remain out there in the street performing our Friday congregational prayer every Friday on Embassy Road, (nowadays), between 1300 and 1430 and weve been doing this for the past 22 years. There have been many attempts and reconciliation years by objective/neutral Muslims who want to put an end to this who say this is embarrassing (because) you have a congregational prayer in the street, (here we are 30/40 people out in the street and they have about 300 to 400 people inside the Mosque every Friday.) This has been going on for so long lets try and put some type of end to this. To skip over a lot of these details, 3-and-a-half years ago a common friend knows me and knows the Head of the Religious Section, (at that time), in the Saudi Arabian Embassy, Majid Ash Shayyaan, said lets come and talk this thing out. We said fine. We have always been open hearted and open minded about this; they always been obstinate and stubborn about it- weve never been. He said lets go. I said sure, ok- lets go. Me and this common friend, (who knows me and them), went there and he said look Mr Ash Shayyaan, we feel sorry; sometimes they have sisters and children out in the street and this doesnt really look good. We want to rent an apartment for you (Im telling you exactly what he said) we want to rent an apartment for you; you can take your congregational prayer into that apartment and perform it there. I said Oh my God, is this for real! I turned to

my friend and said is this for real! Then, the common friend said look we all know brother Muhammad; Actually before I met him or got to know him I thought he was this weird radical, this fire in the belly extremist- but no; after getting to know him hes a very normal average person. If we cant communicate or reach an understanding with him then I dont know what we can do. So Mr Sayyaan turns to me and says what do you want? I said look, this is not a matter of what I want or anything; this is just a matter of behaving like normal human beings. This is an Islamic Center, it is a Mosque and we are Muslims I think we have the right just like any other Muslim in the world to go into this Mosque perform our prayers and be in contact with the rest of the Muslims- to be the average normal people. He said No! Youre not permitted to go inside that Mosque. I said is there any Quranic or Prophetic basis for what you are saying? He said I dont want to discuss it. Then, the friend/intercessor tries to lighten up the atmosphere; he said look, there has to be something that is fair to everyone here. You must be able to do something about this?! He said Yes. The bottom line is this He looked at me if you want to go into the Islamic Center on Fridays (Listen to this) we will permit you to go into the Center pray the Friday prayers with the rest of the congregation, but when the Friday prayers are over you have to leave immediately; no one can talk to you; you cant talk to anyone. I said What?! Where did this come from?! If this is something Quranic or in the Sunnah, I will except it. He said thats as far as I can go. I dont want to discuss it beyond this. This was about three-and-a-half years ago- it was the last and the most serious attempt at reconciling this act of interference by the Saudi Arabian government into the internal affairs of Muslims in this country. By the way, theyre even getting away with breaking the laws in this country. The laws of the United States say theres separation between church and state. You might agree/disagree with that. I obviously disagree with that, but this is the law of this land- we live in this land, we have to honor this law; you may theoretically disagree with it, but practically this is the law and you cant break the law of this land. In this case Saudi Arabia is breaking the law of this land. They have diplomat who is in charge of the Islamic Center, the person who runs the Islamic Center, Mr Khuj is listed. The State Department has a list of diplomats in the Embassies and Diplomatic Missions in Washington DC and he was enlisted at that time when he was appointed as the director of the Islamic Center as the administrative attach of the Saudi Arabian Embassy. How can a diplomat run a Masjid? As I said this in my presentation- the nexus/over-arching/ties with the United States government and the Saudi government are so strong that they are not only violating the values and principles of Islam, but they are also breaking the laws and the constitution of the United States. I dont want to labor this issue; we can go on and make another presentation here- its up to the moderator

Q: You are right about the accusations and the reality of the royal family in the Saudi Arabian government, but the truth is that a lot of governments have corruption. I mean even Kofi Anaans personal actions are being questioned. They are talking about his resignation. So in a world

where we cant really regulate government do you think any other government besides the royal family can do better in regulating the affairs of the Muslims? A: Yes, sister- I agree there is plenty of corruption in this world, especially in the diplomatic and political circles and the departments from the United Nations all the way down to the local municipality wherever you live. Theres a lot of this corruption- I wont doubt that. Acknowledging though, does not say that this type of corruption cannot recede. I will say to you, (and this is an answer, it cant be a lecture- but in abbreviating a lecture), that in the coming years, I think there is going to be a growing amount of people and an extending number of societies in the world that are going to be morally oriented; and I think this morality should not be subject to the manipulation of those who are in deed corrupted and occupying these offices. I think this moral character should have the confidence to assume these responsibilities, clean out these offices and do the right thing with a clean and clear conscience. This can be done. Everywhere in the world, I think the world is taking a turn towards what can be called the religious commitment and I think Muslims have a very central responsibility in all of this and this moral expansion of the Muslim character has a responsibility of assuming the control of Makkah and Al Medinah. It doesnt belong to a nation state, a ruling family or a king. It belongs to all of the Muslims in the world. This is not to say that to begin with we are looking at taking over Najd and the Arabian Peninsula and all of this. What we are immediately concerned with is freeing and liberating Makkah and Al Medinah and with the growth of this moral Islamic character I am confident that if these Muslims assume this responsibility then at least pertaining to the relationship of 1.7 billion Muslims in the world towards these areas we will not have the static, interference and corruption that we have nowadays represented by those who rule in Arabia. Q: You mentioned that the Saudi government isnt following Shariah Law and they dont allow it in their personal lives and the Hajj policies. I was wondering about interior politics and if there were examples of legislation/regulation in which they do follow the Shariah. Secondly I was wondering what you think the US government response or attitude for a Saudi Arabia nation will be? A: Well, the law of the land in Saudi Arabia is the Shariah, but for the Shariah to be what it was meant to be it has to be applied to everyone- you cant be selective and say Im going to apply the Shariah to the Somalis/Pakistanis/Africans/blacks/minorities and if Im going to catch them with a little amount of narcotics Im going to chop of their heads in the public square; meanwhile you have a Prince who is reported to have smuggled a plane load of narcotics from Latin America to somewhere else in the world and goes inside and outside of Saudi Arabia and he is not subject to the scrutiny of the same law- it just cant happen, but this is exactly what we have- the selective application of this Shariah. If youre poor/oppressed/laborer/a minority/deemed racially/ethnically inferior then the Shariah applies to you, but if you are a Prince/belong to the royal family/a big wig No- you are exempt from the application of the Shariah- this is not what Shariah was meant to be.

Thats number one. These brothers are familiar with the hadith in which the Prophet said that there were umam/ nations that preceded you that were destroyed simply because if one of their underlings stole they would apply the law to them but if one of their nobles stole they would exempt them it. By Allah, were Fatima the daughter of Muhammed to steal, most certainly I would sever here hand- this is not applied in Saudi Arabia. If the son of Fahd or the daughter of Abdillah to commit a crime are they going to apply the Shariah to them?! Obviously not- so lets not kid ourselves; there is double standard here thats being applied in Saudi Arabia; this is not the application of the Shariah. One thing that comes to my mind also, in this regard, is that inside of Saudi Arabia and inside of the Islamic atmosphere there is tolerance of another persons opinion. Whats happening in Saudi Arabia, (for at least the past several months if not the past year or two), is that there have been individuals from deep down inside Saudi societyprofessors at universities, very well known public figures- who are saying the following we want to have a constitutional monarchy Listen to this- theyre not saying that this monarchy should go or there should be some radical change in the country, all that theyre saying is that OK look- if you are the royal family (and) you have this tradition of ruling or being in sensitive positions in the country OK fine, well leave this royalty to you; but let us have some kind of functional constitution in the country. Because they said something like this, Im sure these brothers here are aware of whats happening to these individuals in Saudi Arabia- therere court proceedings, a few days ago some of their relatives wanted to go to the court (and) they, (relatives and friends), were arrested at the court, the legal proceeding has been given to another type of court in the country- Im trying to skip over these day to day details in a the way this prejudicial application of the law takes place inside Saudi Arabia. As far as what the position of the United States should be vis--vis Saudi Arabia- the United States has a very serious problem not only concerning Saudi Arabia, but concerning recognition of Islamic self determination in the Islamic hemisphere of the world. The United States government has not come to terms with the fact, (and theyve had a good 20 to 25 years of threshing this thing out in their heads), that the Muslim world is now on a course of self determination and they have to begin to accept that Muslims of this world should be granted that right. When it comes to Saudi Arabia- instances, (as I said), are plenty in which American officials whether they are in the Embassy over there or in the State Department over here or any where else will tell you we do not want Islamic self determination in Arabia because that will mean that the Islamic radicals are in and the proAmericans are out and we dont want that to happen. The United States government has to come to terms with the fact that Muslims have a right to determine their political future. Short of that, the United States policy is knocking its head on the walls of ancient history in that part of the world and the United States is going to lose. It has to change this orientation and these priorities towards Muslim peoples and the people of Saudi Arabia included. Let me make it clear, because (according) to one of the questions here, it may have seemed to some of you that in this presentation or criticism of the Saudi Arabian royal family and some of their immediate circle that somehow this criticism extends to the Saudi Arabian people- that is wrong. The people in Saudi Arabia are Muslims just like the people in all other

Muslim territories in the world and they have a right to determine their political future in a free and fair manner- I want that absolutely clear. Q: First of all that you applied and were rejected a visa in 1984 and then you were rejected again in 1985 right? The pocket conference was held in 1990 A: Youre talking about another conference. Im talking about the pocket conference that was dealing with the settling of the Lebanese civil war. Q: Yeah, it was signed in 1990?! Well, Im not concerned with the signing. I am concerned with the deliberations, preparations and the meetings that were going on. Im telling you exactly what they told me. If Bandar was not in the pocket conference, they were lying to me- Im telling you what they were telling me. Q: Ok- just one more comment. There is a Prince in Saudi Arabia that broke the law a while ago and he was put into death row and he was to be sentenced in two days until the family of the guy came and pardoned him- how do you explain that when you said of the Princes being exempt from the laws of the land. A: Yes- Ive heard of that and I dont contest it, its the facts, its the truth. I can also refer you to the beheading of one of the princesss back in the late 1970s who it was said had gone out with a boyfriend and committed this-that-and-the-other and according to Islamic law So there are instances, youre right, thats true but these are the exceptions; these are not the norm. Im looking at the norm. Q: You had said earlier on that ground swell right now in Saudi Arabia among Muslims who are not happy with the way the government is running things and with their policies. I was wondering if that ground swell was from the group of people who were previously named and in collusion with the Saudi government that are now being rejected because its the fashionable thing to talk about or if that ground swell was just a genuine movement by the people of Saudi Arabia due to what disillusion has and standing up to reclaim their country. I want to thank you for the rational point of views that youve pointed forward despite your personal happenstance. A: My understanding is that the opposition in the Islamic and otherwise non-Islamic opposition to the Saudi Arabian government in that country is not of one type, of even though the Islamic component of it is the strongest. This Islamic component itself is not made up of one strain- there are different varieties of Islamic orientations in this opposition to the Saudi government inside of Saudi Arabia. Part of this comes from those now who being disenfranchised and excluded. Let me give an example of this, (and I am sure these brothers who come from Saudi Arabia are aware of it), a simple example of this is where a couple of weeks ago during the assault on Fallujah in Iraq. There was a committee of 26 Saudi Arabian religious scholars who gave their opinion that it is an Islamic duty to participate, (Im just paraphrasing here), in anyway possible

in the protection or assistance of people in Fallujah. Then, the Saudi Arabian government, especially one of their Ambassadors in Europe came out and said these dont represent Saudi Arabia society, these dont speak for the Saudi Arabian government etc. etc. These are taken from what can be considered to be a cross-section of Saudi Arabian religious opinion who demonstrated their opposition to the official stance of their government on just this one issue, not to speak about the myriad of other issues internally concerning what is happening inside the country and externally now; because, (I mean), lets face, the world is a shrinking world. With the satellite and the internet, this information is coming to the attention of people who would otherwise be subject to the censors of CNN, BBC, Fox news and the rest of these outlets- the information now is flowing in such a way that it makes this opposition, (like I said), a coming ground swell against the Saudi Arabian government. Please, (if anything), dont understand that this opposition is one sided, controlled by one force or is represented by one person; its multifaceted, it is a healthy hodgepodge of Islamic opposition to the Saudi Arabian government. Q: I was wondering if you could give us a few extra sources that we could kind-of-track on a day-to-day basis concerning happenings in Saudi Arabia or the problems inside Saudi Arabia as well because I find that the US sources say nothing and I couldnt find anything on BBC eitherso if you have any recommendations for kind of just learning on what is going on there I would really appreciate it A: I just want to ask you a quick question- can you read Arabic? Q: Unfortunately not. A: That makes the answer more difficult. Regrettably, there are not many sources in English that I can refer you to, but for beginners I would recommend aljazeera.net; the other one is called Muslimedia.com. These are the only two that I could immediately refer you to. There is a Saudi Arabian opposition office in London, England called al islah. I dont know if they have anything in English; I know they have a lot in Arabic but its worth while maybe to Google the word al islah in London England and see if you can come up with some English format that they may have.

THE KUFR OF THE SAUDI REGIME-PART 6 (Q & A)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters... Q: Just a follow up to my last question in whish you were just saying that there are ways to overcome the Saudi Arabian government and a couple of times you used the word burst against or go underground; I mean is there a way to overcome these problems without Marxists revolution? A: Marxists revolution?!?!?! Justice is a very powerful force. Justice has to be done on earth as it is in heaven. If this justice doesnt take its cause in peaceful manners, (which I think everyone prefers- no one wants/tries to have justice done by shedding their blood, losing a limb or a life), I mean wed rather do it in any other way. The best way to do it is to open up our minds and exchange our thoughts and ideas in a brotherly civilized manner where you can listen to what Im saying and I can listen to what you are saying; we can refer our thoughts to the Quran and Sunnah, modify them if necessary (or) change them if that is what is required etc. until we finally bring a public opinion into what becomes a critical mass to change these people who are riding roughshod over us- so by all means I am open to suggestions if theres another way. (I mean), this is not a person who is trigger happy by any means. If there are forums/other channels for bringing about this transformation from the injustices that we are in right now to a world that offers us more justice, then I think), that would be the 1st choice of everyone, (myself included). The problem is, though, these opportunities dont come on our way. As I said we cant express ourselves like this in the original countries where (Muslims come from). My parents come from Syria and Lebanon, (let me follow up- some of these brothers think that theres something this guy has between him and Saudi Arabia), I cant even go to my ancestors land. Some of you can go to these places, but because, (I guess), a person who speaks his mind on the issues finds himself locked out of a lot of places- I cant go to Syria, Lebanon, places in Arabia. I dont want to, (you know), give you the list of places where I cant go, but (I mean), look- it would show how much a person like me appreciates freedom of opinion/speech/ideas/conscience/expression. Im not trying to say that United States government is terrific in this regard, but at least in comparison to the rest I can express myself here where I cant in some other places- Saudi Arabia is not the only place.

Q: You mentioned that in the Muslim land you said that Muslims cant have self-determination. I was wondering whats your opinion regarding non-Muslims in Muslim lands. Do you feel they should also be recognized within the government? A: Yes- absolutely, no doubt. With all of the ailments, deficiencies and oppressions that has characterized, especially, this past century, minorities living in Muslim territories, (relatively speaking), are a little better off then are the general Muslim population. It is not ideal, we havent

had the cantankerous history that has been the unfortunate lot of Muslims living as minorities in other lands; but once the Muslims reconstitute themselves politically and ideologically, definitely there should be freedom of expression even some sort of autonomy for those who are not by faith/persuasion/creed/religion Muslims. Q: I have a couple of comments to make- sort of a total correction from what Mr Asi has to say. 1st of all Mr. Asi, as you know Saudi Arabia is a Holy land; its like the Vatican. You cannot build a Mosque in the Vatican nor can you build a Church in Saudi Arabia. Theres Churches in Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, everywhere. You cannot build a Mosque inside the Vatican nor can you build a Church in Saudi Arabia, (thats number 1). (Number 2), every issue that has to deal with Makkah and Al Medinah, (and again because the majority of us here in the audience here are Muslims), every year Saudi Arabia takes all laws to the Islamic Summit that comes every year and it gets approved by the orders of the people, (I am talking about a country that I live in, come from and I actually visit in Makkah and Al Medinah). Also, the Shia has two representatives in what we call congress. You have to understand Al Jazeera is totally against Saudi Arabia and most of the Shia feel they have all their rights in Saudi Arabia and their rights have never been taken from. As far as the royal family- we are not saying we have the perfect country nor any country in the world is perfect- ok. However we do have some issues and the government is dealing with it. We have to progress. Im sure (that) we reached in 70 years something that probably no one country in the world will reach in that time- ok. My fathers father, (my grandfather), was a Bedouin uneducated- (I mean),yet we have students here studying in IT; thats an amazing progress. But we/our governments usually take things one step at a time and would like not to be westernized. We would like to be on our own values the way our people would accept it- not to follow somebody or to be like somebody. We have our own identity and dignity and thats why some of the brothers said that the members of the royal family do bring justice. If you did your research well- go and see how many times members of the royal family- if they have committed a misdemeanor- have been brought to justice and he actually punished them- the laws goes on everybody and everyone in Saudi Arabia. One more thing- if I were a country lets say, (Im a hypothetically speaking), I have somebody like your kind self bashing Saudi Arabia since 1981- why should I grant you the right to come to Saudi Arabia even if it happened to be our two Holy custodian Mosques in Saudi Arabia. Security is a major issue- we have people in Saudi Arabia who are bashing the United States in some sort of manner- they didnt see the post sign and they try do get a visa from the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia; the American Embassy doesnt give them a visa and they have every right. As far as democracy- if you want to do a democracy in the whole Middle East, you would know what it will end up like! It will end up like the Khomeini regime which you were part of the same

type Khomeini regime ok. We dont want that; I dont want my country to be ruled. I am happy with the way my country is ruling; other people are happy. Yes- we have problems, like any country; yes- we have crazy people who go and bar people- those people have been brought to justice and executed. Therell always be crazy people- the question is how can we bring a mechanism in order to do this- it just takes time and this is our right, so if you are coming from this stand point and trying to give all these elements, (you know), give the others time. It is not good to say the negative side, say the positive side of the government; see how Saudi Arabia is the 1st country to support people Islamic or non-Islamic or Christianity. We dont deny anyone their religion- Christians can practice their own religion in their houses or do whatever they want; jewish people, (if there are any), can practice their religion in Saudi Arabia. We respect every religion. However, if you are going to ask, and make the Christian and even the jewish audience think then why is there no Church in Saudi Arabia? When the time comes that we can build a Mosque in the Vatican, well be more than happy. Thank very much. A: Im just going to make a very quick comment on that. The Vatican is not a reference for Muslims to do/not to do something. 1st of all the Vatican is a city, its not a Peninsula and it doesnt have any binding authority on what Muslims should/should not do. Its their prerogative if they want to look for an area for Muslims to build a Masjid- its already cramped as it is. If they find a place and they are permitted to do that, thats up to them; if they dont, thats also up to them. We are held to a higher authority and that authority is the authority of Allah, God Himself. He tells us what we are permitted/not permitted to do and to the best of my understanding, there is no ayah in the Quran and no hadith that prohibits Christians and Jews from having their houses of worship, call them Churches/synagogues in the Arabian Peninsula. Theres a hadith, if I wanted to quote it, it would probably take half-an-hour to clear the air of the misunderstanding and the misrepresentation of that hadith, so Ill just skip over that for a minute unless it comes back and people insist and were going to stay here for an extra 25/30 minutes. The other quick comment I want to make is about if you disagree with a government then that government has a right to deny you a visa of going there. You referred to, (maybe), some Saudi Arabians who disagree with the American government and the American government doesnt give them a visa to come to the United States and therefore the Vatican in your 1 st example and the United States government in your 2nd example is a reference point-these are no reference points for any Muslim in his right mind and heart. Besides, I am not interested, (personally), in going to Ad Dariyah, Ar Riyadh or these other areas in Saudi Arabia. If I wanted to go to places in the Arabian Peninsula it would be Makkah, Al Medinah and exactly where the Prophet himself went. If he went to Khaybar- I want to go to Khaybar; if he went to At Taif- I want to go to At Taif; I am interested in where he went. Im very critical of the Saudi Arabian government, (youre absolutely right), youve had a portion of that this evening, but just because of that they say I cant go perform my Hajj?! I dont know where that came from and I dont think you know and I dont think anyone knows except if we take a closer look at how the Saudi Arabian government has become an instrument of US and Israeli interests in the area; thats the only reason you can give for a Muslim saying to him you cant come to Makkah and Al

Medinah to perform your Hajj and your Umrah. Thats all I wanted to say- theres a lot more to say, but its late at night and I dont want to tax the nerves of those who are here. Q: One question and Ill rest my case- Mr Asi, I have a court document; everybody can check it. How can you explain what happened during the Eid As Salaah on that day of July... A: Before you go on, I want a clarification, you said thats a court document; whats a court document? Q: Its documented by the court. A: What is documented by the court ? Q: The incident that happened on Eid Al Fitr of July 1983- right; (you know), when everybody showed up and the police showed up and all that. Ill continue- please. A: Ok- I know what youre saying now. Q: Well, how can you explain what happened during the Eid As Salah during that day which is, (again), Eid ul Fitr, July 1983. During that day, you along with 50 persons entered the Mosque and tried to take over by violence. They, (you guys), kicked the Imam who was doing takbeer and one of your gang took the microphone and started saying Al Asi is the Imam; Al Asi is the Imam which is a plan of you and your gang for victory as documented in the court document. You can go into the website and check- its all there as documented by the court investigations; but, Al Asi, in your website you mention only that you and 50 persons were arrested. So, basically, (with all due respect to you, trying to act , (you know), all this nice kind of stuff); we need our part of the bargain (i.e.) to know who we are talking to because we are very interested and we know the truth and we try to bring it the truth to those people. Anyway, why did you not mention that in your website? Obviously, because it is a shameful act. So, can you explain to us why the court order document has stated you and your 50 fellows actually took over the mosque and started takbeer for your right You can go to the website. A: On the website, I have put a link to the document that youre reading right now. So, to say that the website didnt refer to it is not true because the entire document Q: He referenced on his website that he was along with 50 people he did not reference that he, in a disguise, actually took the Mosque and took the microphone and kicked the Imam- this is what I am talking about. If he doesnt want to answer I wouldnt answer if I were you. Q:- Brother Asi, I dont know what to say(in the) 80 minutes, I heard some good points and I can stand by with you in it, but on the other hand you said a lot of negative points. I just want to say that talking in general; like you said in your talk Saudi, Saudi, Saudi- about drinking doing whatever. I mean its a big shock hearing it from you; youve never been to Saudi and youre generalizing; youre saying a lot of negative stuff about us. This is harsh and then I wonder if

you have evidence as per individuals. You cannot go in a podium like this in front of such a crowd and then say Saudi Saudi Saudi in all your talk. (Secondly), in your paper on your website, you always refer to us as Mushrikeen directly occupying Makkah and Medinah today ; the liberation of Makkah and Medinah from Mushrik control should be considered first; opposition to Muhammad (s) today, in Riyadh. (I mean), I want to know if youre referencing everything you take to the Quran, can you tell me how you can take the liberty and call us Mushrikeen? (Thirdly), in you paper search for a political presence in the Islamic movement, you are saying that youre dropping the concept of the People of the Book. Youre basically saying at the time of the Prophet they were called Ahl Al Kitaab, but now they are considered unbelievers which is referenced as kuffar; I was wondering how this connects in what you said in having Churches and Synagogues and whatever? And last two points- it was really hard hearing what youre saying about Hajj in Saudi Arabia because I know the Saudi Arabians are paying million and millions of dollars and you cant simply walk out and say they are controlling with visas, they are doing this and that and theyre making it a big mess for bringing in people and there isnt place for everyone; (I mean), you want to open the place to pelt Shaytaan up and have around 10 million people going up there and like making it worse. (I mean), Were living in times that are so complicated politically that you cant really open up. You want to take out visas? Is that what you want so that any person can go to Makkah anytime of the day and do Hajj and Umrah?! I dont know- the way I see it, its impossible, but thank you for whatever you said and I hope we can get to the level where we can really represent some good points and bad points. Thank you A: Well, theres a lot of things here, (1st of all- gee this goes back to a lot of mental work that I hope you can follow in these few minutes; the other thing I wanted to say is that), I repeat and I reiterate that when I refer to the Saudi Arabian governments and officials I dont mean the people who live in that country. I am making a very serious and accentuated differentiation between the two. I am strictly speaking about some of these Saudis who come to casinos, night clubs, red light districts and get involved in gambling and womanizing and these types of thingsobviously, Im not referring to the Saudi Arabian people; Im referring to these people who are supposed to be implementing the Shariah and they are violating it and getting away with it- that doesnt mean the 18/19 20 million, (depending on who you are reading), inhabitants of that country. If no-one understood anything, I hope you understand that I differentiate and discriminate between the two- thats on one level. On another level, we go back to the issue of the Islamic Center, which weve lived the details. I dont want to bore you with the details, but being that this brother mentioned going back to the issue of the Islamic Center, calling 50 of us a gang and saying that some of us were yelling that Al Asi is the Imam or however that was phrased- let me tell you, and weve learned this

through experience, when people, sincere and selfless Muslims, set out to try do the right thing, (whether it is our humble effort in Washington DC or whether it is a larger effort somewhere else in the world), what happens is that there are agent provocateurs who enter in the process and they try to either formant instability, instigate hostility or otherwise create a misrepresentation of what is going on. Precisely what happened on that day, Eid ul Fitr of 1983 we went into the Masjid. You have to understand (that) for three months prior to that, we were praying the Jumah prayers and other prayers in front of the Islamic Center. The Islamic Center, by orders from the Saudi Arabian Embassy, was locked/off limits/inaccessible to all of the Muslims of the area for three consecutive months. Without prior notice/notification/advertisement/anything they decided that one Eid ul Fitr day in July 1983 to open the Masjid that morning. You know, Eid ul Fitr prayers are early in the morning- at sunrise. They didnt tell anyone that they were going to open the Masjid. We were going there thinking that we were going to be praying in the street just like we have been praying there before, (in the past three months). They opened the Masjid- this was a very good development; Alhamdu lillah- lets go and begin the takbeerat inside the Masjid. We went inside the Masjid and began the takbeerat. As people were beginning these takbeeraat, (there were hundreds of people inside the Masjid), little did we know that there were five Ambassadors who were outside- they never came to Eid Al Fitr prayers, with the exception of one of them, the others were there and they were telling the people to leave the Islamic Center. We were inside saying the takbeerat; we didnt know this was going on outside. This is what was going on; they were telling them leave the Masjid and they were coordinating this with the police. They brought in the police and as they were doing this, there were some individuals who stood up and began saying what maybe considered as provocative words such as maybe Al Asi is the Imam or these types of things to create the atmosphere of instability. We werent saying anything, we were saying the takbeerat but these were trouble makers in the atmosphere that were fomenting this kind of thing on orders of who? I dont have any evidence- I have reason to believe its from whom, but I dont have the evidence. As we were saying the takbeeraat they brought in the police and they took us- they handcuffed us on Eid Al Fitr and we had to spend Eid Al Fitr in jail in Washington DC for saying the takbeerat in the Masjid for Allahs sake. Then, they took us to court for four months. These are two misdemeanors they charged us withfor disturbing a religious service, (we didnt disturb anything, we were saying the takbeerat) and unlawful entry into the Masjid. No one told us you cant go into the Masjid and we defied them and went into the Masjid. But for these two misdemeanor charges in court- we had families and responsibilities, but they wanted to break our morale- and they had the court in an abandoned building. They didnt have it where the regular court hearings take place- this was a building on the side and they had us go into there for four months. They brought a judge out of retirement- the judges name was Judge Sirell. This judge and the jury who were listening to this throughout these four long exhaustive months what did they have to say? After having heard and listened to all this he had to rule on the disturbing a religious service. He said from all I heard and know from these hearings, these 50 individuals did not disturb a religious service; and I ask the Justice Department to drop this case. There was the number three official from the Justice Department who was there and he told our attorney we will not drop this case against them.

So, there was one more charge and that was unlawful entry into the Masjid. I dont know what unlawful entry is. The jury went into deliberations- after full week of deliberations those 12 individual jurists came out and said we are guilty of unlawful entry into the Islamic Center and because of that we cannot enter/go back into the Islamic Center. We thought they were bluffing; (I mean), think about this for a minute- Cant go into the Masjid- (Dont you) see? This not a matter that pertains to Makkah and Al Medinah; just like I said, their tentacles of this Saudi government is all around the world. They come and tell a Muslim in the United States you cant go into a Masjid- thats what they are doing. So, one of our committed brothers said I dont think this is real. Im going to go. Lets see whats going to happen. Listen to this- he walked into the Masjid and all of a sudden the police arrested him and took him to jail- they werent bluffing, this is real. So we know theyre not bluffing so lets pray where we can pray. Weve been praying there in the street in front of the Masjid. Youre welcome to come down on Friday and see; talk to the people- may be talk some sense into them. Q: Im asking a follow up question- if there was a way of regulating Makkah and Al Medinah outside of the Saudi government who and how do you think it can possibly be done by? A: I would suggest that a body of credible Islamic scholars be assigned the responsibility of regulating the Islamic activities pertinent to Makkah and Al Medinah. I am sure in the Muslim world there are enough Islamic scholars who are able to do that provided that they are not employed by any government, not getting orders from any authorities and they try their best to administer these areas in fulfillment of the Quran and the Sunnah- that will be a very positive 1st step in maybe relieving the Muslims of potential violent reactions as Makkah and Al Medinah stay captivated as they have been for all these years. Before I go into that- I dont want to try to give the impression that I am skirting. I just realized that I wrote two notes- the brother had asked a couple of questions, one of them pertaining to the issue of how I referred in some of the writings to the Saudi government being on par with Mushriks, if not Mushriks themselves. That is a very good question. There was a telephone conference where I tried to answer this question, but Ill give a very quick answer to you. Obviously, the person who asked this question is very conversant in Arabic. There are two ayaat in the holy script- one of them says In this ayah, the last ayah in Surat Al Isra, it combines the word shrik and mulk. So, this word Ash Shirk which has been down sized in the literature of official Saudi-dom is pertinent to the affairs of Sovereignty and Dominion. The other ayah in the Quran says and Allah does not tolerate anyone to be a competitor or rival in His law, judgment and in His governance. So shirk pertains to these two issues- Hukm and Mulk. The way the Saudi Arabian government functions is that when it comes to decisions pertinent to Hukm and Mulk, it has placed the United States and the Israelis as intercessors with Allah thus committing the supreme sin of shirk.

The other issue pertains to you used the number 10 million people going to the Hajj This goes back to its almost impossible to have a floodgate of Hujjaj come through Makkah and Al Medinah to stand in Arafaat in 24 hours, the capacity of which is around 2 million, (which is the number of Hujjaj that are permitted to go there nowadays on one hand and then to perform the other subsequent/sequential rituals of going between As Safa and Al Marwah or At Tawaf or rami al jamarat. Imagine 10 million people there in a fixed time?! For those of us who are familiar with the conduct of the Hajj- the other responsibilities or stations of the Hajj besides waqf Al Arafaat can be done on different days; theres a latitude there. It doesnt have to be fulfilled in a particular time frame. The only thing that has to be done in a particular time frame is waqf al Arafaat, standing on Mount Arafaat. The question is how do you have if theres going to be numerous people coming to Hajj in the millions

ISLAMIC UNITY: WEEDING OUT DIVISIVE LITERATURE (PART 2)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Masharal Mumineen Once again Allah and hold firm to the fibre or bond of Allah, all of you and be not divided (Surah Ahl Imran verse 103) This ayah is mentioned in the course of a reminder of Allahs ever present power and authority Oh you who are securely committed to Allah bear Him in mind or be conscience of Him as the ever present corrective power in everything you do in life- that is what is due to Him and do not die except in a state of surrender to Allah (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102) It is difficult to be self critical of our own selves. Some of you may have listened to self criticism in the last Jumah. It may have been difficult for you to listen to self criticism and in this Jumah well pursue the same line of self criticism. We consider the Muslims we criticized last week and the Muslims that we are criticizing this week to be equally Muslims- we just need a tune up. Allah says Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those who are invested with authority from among you (Surah An Nisa verse 59) Then, there is whoever obeys the Apostle or Messenger certainly obeys Allah He says, also What-ever the Messenger has come to you with you take and whatever he has barred you from you abstain, leave alone or quit (Surah Al Hashr verse 7) There are other ayaat and hadiths to this effect. Our attachment to Allahs Prophet is unconditional and therefore we have the majority of Muslims who have emphasized the Prophets sayings or hadiths of Rasullillah, (as they should), but in this process were there any mistakes? Yes. Just as we quoted from Nahj Al Balagha last week to show how Muslims have gone off the deep edge with unmerited feelings and bad language towards Muslims, this week we will see how there are so-called hadiths that some Muslims just dont want to think about. Were going to quote this for you so that you can begin to feel that there is some detoxification process that has to take place in our thoughts. This hadith, (I dont think its a hadith and I dont think you should think its a hadith), but its a statement that you will find in Sahih Al Bukhari and Im going to quote it for you. OK- in Sahih Al Bukhari, ibn Abbas narrated that Umar ibn Al Khattab (radi Allahu anhuma) said in a khutbah that he presented from the Masjid of the Prophet during his last year as Khalifah. This is an honest translation of these words Allah has sent Muhammad with the haqq i.e. the truth, legitimacy, validity, facts and fairness and He has brought down to him the Holy Writ and

included in that which has been brought down to him is the ayah pertaining to stoning and we read, understood and reasoned it. According to this so-called hadith in Sahih Al Bukhari, Umar continues and says the Prophet of Allah stoned and we followed and did the same. According to this so called hadith sahih- he says Im apprehensive that if time passes on and as the years and generations go by, thered be someone who comes out and says By Allah we dont find an ayah concerning this issue of stoning in Allahs scripture. Thus they will go astray by abandoning an obligation that was revealed by Allah Still, these are the words as you will find them- anyone, (especially those of you who say you are Sunnis), are invited to Allahs Holy Writ and this quote in Sahih Al Bukhari in which, (the following words pertaining to the same khutbah), we are told Umar delivered in the Masjid of the Prophet in his last year in Al Medinah- stoning is due per Allahs Book upon everyone who is guilty of adultery, be it a man or woman if there is established evidence, a pregnancy or a confession to this adultery. Then, it is quoted in other books of hadith to which Muslims, who call themselves Sunnis, refer for information and guidance. They come and quote to us this ayah that we dont find in Allahs book and they say in the books of hadiths, (which means), a person who commits adultery and is at an advance stage his life, meaning or the assumption is that he or she is muhsal i.e. having been married and then committing adultery, then you stone them in an unqualified manner as a punishment from Allah. Still, in this same khutbah, we are told, (in what is supposed to be in an infallible book i.e.), Sahih Al Bukhari that Umar said and then, from among what we would read in the book of Allah do not desire away from your ancestors or forefathers because it is kufr committed by you to desire away from your forefathers, ancestors or predecessors. Brothers and sisters, thinking Muslims- is this compatible with what we understand from Allahs infallible book? Allah says in an ayah that all Muslims know, its common sense in Of a certainty we have revealed this written consciousness and of a certainty We will preserve it This is an ayah that all the Muslims, (regardless of whether youre a Sunni or Shii), refer to.

Now we encounter in some books of hadiths that theres an ayah that has been dropped out of Allahs book according to this hadith that we just sighted from Sahih Al Bukhari. OK- there was a lot of effort that was put into Sahih Al Bukhari; theres plenty of authentic, genuine and exact hadiths from Allahs Prophet, but does that make Sahih Al Bukhari on a par with Quran itself?! Theres nothing wrong in it?! Al Bukhari has become equivalent to Rasulillah?! Obviously not! So, if we see a hadith like this, (anywhere, in any book of hadith- we have no personal issue with Al Imam Al Bukhari), that is so obviously out of step with the Quran, it is disregarded. It is easy; (its) a rule of thumb for any Muslim- if you see a hadith that cannot fit into the meanings of the Quran you leave it aside.

We go to Sahih Muslim, (you can go; youre invited/welcome/encouraged to do it) and we find the following hadith We will quote for you 1st the original then the translation. OK- (whats) the background to this hadith; you have to understand whats going on? We are told in Sahih Muslim and in the books of history that Abu Musa Al Ashari (radi Allahu anhu) at one time invited Al Qurra, the Muslims who had memorised the book of Allah the Quran i.e. they knew the 114 Surahs in the Quran by heart, (a very good gesture/thing to do), and they came. We are told they were around 300. This is a hadith that is narrated to us in Sahih Muslim, We dont know how it is a hadith, but this is how it is projected), this is the quote word-by-word, honest to God. Abu Musa Al Ashari is saying to the Qurra crowd that were there we used to read a Surah which in its length and robust meanings was similar to Surah Al Baraa. I have forgotten it, except what I have memorised from it; now, hes going to quote for us what is supposed to be an ayah from what is supposed to be a Surah that is in the character of Surah of Surah Al Baraa that is no longer in the Quran. Listen to this- now, he quotes what is an ayah, (Surah Al Baraa is well over 100 ayaat and he only remembered one ayah), and this is the ayah he recalls, (supposedly) OK- what does this mean? If the son of Adam, (meaning we, the descendants of Adam), had two valleys of wealth and money, we would yearn/work for a third meaning a third valley that is full of money and wealth and nothing is going to fill the intestines/internal cavity of man except dirt. I dont know how many of you are familiar with the Quranic style, eloquence and fluidity of meaning and exceptional elegance. (But) anyone who is familiar, (you can) give him these words/two sentences and hell say this doesnt fit; this is not an ayah! But we, (those of us who read Sahih Muslim), will tell you this used to be an ayah. Not only do we have one problem, we have a complication of problems here. Then, it goes on and we are told still by Abu Musa Al Ashari we used to read in the years gone by a Surah which we found similar or a kin to Al Musabbihaat, (theres a sequence of Surahs in the Quran that begin with Sabbaha Lillah or Yusabbihu lillah, these Surahs are called Musabbihaat, they are not the long Surahs in the beginning and theyre not the short Surahs of the Quran at the end; theres a flavour and theres a format for these Musabbihaat), this is in Sahih Muslim, Ive been made to forget it (or) Ive forgotten it, except that I have memorised of this now absent Surah the following Were going to quote to you word by word again- OK- this is an ayah in another Surah; in Surat As Saff, Allah says Oh you who are divinely committed why do you say that which you dont do. It is a major offense against Allah to say what you dont do (Surah As Saff verse 2-3) OK- that ayah that beginning of the Surah and that whole ayah is something that all Muslims know, memorise and are familiar with; its part of Surah As Saff, but here, we are told in Sahih Muslim- they dont even say yauma turjaun. It would have been more in the flavour and character of the Quran. They could have tried to put a little bit of eloquence to it to make it possible in the attention of some people, but NO!. Whoever fabricated this flunked in fabricating a hadith. We are told that this now long gone ayah along with its absent long gone Surah that is no longer in the Quran says Oh you who are firmly committed to Allah why do you say what

you dont do, because it is going to be a testimony that you are going to carry as a burden on your neck/back and then you will be asked about it on the day of resurrection. Brothers and sisters- we think we (all) have enough understanding of Allah and His Prophet to know that we took one hadith from Sahih Al Bukhari and one from Sahih Muslim; these two hadiths contradict the book of Allah. So, when we have hadiths that are so obviously contradictory and contrarian to the Book of Allah, who says I or any Muslim has to accept this. We dont accept this! For the fanatics who are out there, (we do have fanatics all over the place or all over the parking lot- fanatics are to be encountered everywhere), and want us to believe that these are hadiths- even though they are mentioned in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, were not going to accept these types of so-called hadiths. Why? Because they violate the meanings we have in our possession that come to us from Allah via His divine Writ- it is that simple. Now, we run into an issue that has developed throughout time- it is easy to understand why we find some of these statements in books like in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim if we can consolidate the political information that we have and what happened during the time of the Umawis and Abbasis. When we recall that information, (and we know how governments behave when there are learned persons around), they can easily obtain a copy of a book even if it is a book of hadith and they can squeeze in the types of hadiths that will give them legitimacy in the eyes of the public or that well score against their opponents or enemies. One of these, (you know- we are not infant Muslims, we have a little experience to our credit, you and I know how fanatical Sunnis behave and how they speak; we also know how fanatical Shiis behave and speak, (let us give ourselves a little credit)- there are well established hadiths that are trans-denominational i.e. youll find them in all the Madhaahib of Islam. These hadiths speak to the character, credibility and qualification of Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu). What happens later on in history, (meaning during the time of the Umawis, there was a power and government that was against Ali, (we spent many Jumahs going through that), but as far as the books of hadiths are concerned, you can detect how these governments are not absent from the scholarly arena. You dont have to go far awayin our own time, there has been a translation of the Quran by Yusuf Ali and the government of Saudi Arabia did a job on that translation just in our life time- thats a very simple example of how they can get away with these things. So, here we have Al Bukhari and Muslim- they are not immune from what the governments of that time, for their own rationalisation, wanted to do. Were going to quote another of what we consider to be a fabricated hadith- there is quite a familiar book in the literature of hadith- its called Al Mustadrak by An Nisaburi. This Mustadrak, (its like youre saying), is an addendum to the Sahihain because the full title of the book is Al Mustadrak Ala Sahihain. In it we are told that the Prophet said, this is concerning Umar (radi Allahu anhu)- were quoting for you What are we saying here? What is this so called hadith saying? We are told according to this book that the Prophet expressed these

following words the 1st one to be embraced by Al Haqq i.e Allah is Umar and the 1 st one to be greeted and shaken hands with by Al Haqq is Umar and the 1st one to be taken by the hand and to be whisked into Al Jannah or Paradise is Umar ibn Al Khattab- this is supposed to be a hadith?! Anyone who has an understanding of the times can detect that this is the foul play of governments because this Umawi government had to balance public opinion. They were dealing with the popularity of Ali and they were dealing with a public opinion that is sympathetic to Ali, (with all that we explained through that subtle and confrontational history); they had to build up some character against Ali so they come and fabricate this type of hadith and they slip it in to one of these books of hadith and they want Muslims to get the impression that there is some type of rivalry, competition, bad feelings or even animosity between Ali and Umar ibn Al Khattab. Any Muslim, (whether youre a Sunni or Shii- it doesnt matter), if you think there was any enmity or hostility between Ali and Umar ibn Khattab, you have fallen victim of the government of that time. Were living 1,300 years after that particular regime and still youre a victim of what that particular regime was doing to the people of that time. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims There are ayaat in the book of Allah which we all read and understand that should bring to us the camaraderie, brotherhood and intimacy that belonged to a 1st generation of Muslims that had its weak points and strong points, (so to speak). The ayah that we quoted last week is likewise quotable this week Muhammad is the Messenger the Apostle of Allah and those who are with him are strong, uncompromising, harsh and robust against the Kuffar; they are compassionate, merciful and kind towards themselves. You see them rukkaan sujjadan; asking of Allahs provision (Surah Al Fath verse 29) Another ayah in the Quran you find saying there is an honorific title for The pioneers of the Hijra and the pioneers of the Nusra i.e. the people who were forced out of Makkah at the beginning of that Prophetic struggle and the people who supported the Prophet during the beginning of an Islamic order in Al Medinah (Surah At Taubah verse 100) Theres another ayah Allah is satisfied with the Committed Muslims who gave you their allegiance (Surah Al Fath verse 18) But does this mean that point blank everyone during the time of Allahs Prophet, (according to some definitions), everyone who saw the Prophet, believed in him and prayed with him almost becomes infallible?! Is this what or how we understand what Allah is telling us when He says

when time came to mobilize for war there was a segment among them who concealed that which they did not express meaning what they were saying in public was not how they felt in private meaning they were hypocrites The fanatical Muslims that we said are all around went to extremes- all of a sudden no one makes mistakes and everyone is virtuous- as if they dont read what Allah is saying in context; and then the other fanatics who say that there was a major treachery to the Prophet in his lifetime, on the day he passed away and for the coming generations. Brothers- committed Muslims and sisters- this is a mistake, a misreading of reality and a confusion of the facts.

OVERCOMING A CRIPPLED PSYCHOLOGY - PART 1

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We know that the words, guidance, meanings and light that come to us from Allah dispel the distractions, disinformation, disturbances and divisions that are so prevalent in our personal/family/neighbourly/community lives and in our social living. Let us be at the level that is required and remembered every week at this time and let us be at the level of rankness to point out the fact that many Muslims practise a lifestyle that smothers and curtails their ambitions and motivations. A Muslims was not born to be caged in a psychology that freezes and stultifies his will. Allah says, (to His Prophet) We have not brought down to you this Quran so that you may become depressed (Surah Ta-Ha verse 1-2) The Quran in a book of motivation; but there has been a generational psychology that stifles this motivation. The majority of Muslims find themselves unable and incapable of doing what has to be done. There are many things that have to be done. We have a psychology that chains us from doing things- theres nothing that is done! Allah, in this ayah at the beginning of Surah Ta-Ha, speaks to the highest exemplification of a Muslim, telling him This Quran in not meant to sadden you (Surah Ta-Ha verse 2) This Quran was not sent to you to take away the winds from your sail; this Quran is meant to be motivational and inspirational. So what happened? Why are we not inspired and motivated to do the many things that has to be done? Because we are lodged with a burdensome psychology that we are afraid to do something wrong. Lets face it- when you are to yourself, (just before you go to bed or the moment you wake up- these are probably the intimate moments you have with yourself), you think about your life and the massive life of Muslims all around and you find that we are on the receiving end of action. If there is a local or an international decision that is made, we are the receptors or at the receiving end; whether it is the media that broadsides us with all the negative imagery possible and we do nothing about it or if it is a war that is imposed on tens of hundreds of us, we bleed and die. We look at our numbers- MashaAllah somewhere between 1,5 and 2 billion Muslims in the world and nothing is done. Why? Once again because we have a psychology that is static, not motivated or inspired because we are afraid, (we are being frank with ourselves), to do something wrong. Allah wants to take this fear away from us. He says in another ayah in the Holy Book in Surah An-Nisa- listen, Allah is telling you and me who have been locked into inaction by this false psychology If you avoid the serious sins or the serious crimes that you have been advised not to approach (Surah An-Nisa verse 31) What are these serious sins? Murder, stealing other peoples possessions and belongings, plundering the resources of the world is a serious sin and crime- these are just examples of serious sins and crimes- who in the Muslim mentality is thinking of robbing the resources of

other peoples and populations in the world? It doesnt occur to us! Who in his normal, Islamic mind thinks about committing murder or homicide? No one! So, why do we have this psychology that bars us from doing what is right. Listen to what Allah says to liberate us from this negative psychology. If you avoid these kabuki we will efface your minor mistakes (Surah An Nisa verse 31) That means Allah is giving us the permission in the pursuit of the larger virtue in this world to stumble over minor mistakes. Not only that, we will have you enter an honourable entrance into paradise or what is good in life and the after-life (Surah An Nisa verse 31) This ayah needs to echo in the internal Islamic mind and to reverberate within the chambers of the internal Islamic heart. Then, because we lag behind with this load of a negative psychology, an individual will come up and say Well- youre just quoting one ayah from the Holy Book. We dont understand Islam this way. We respond to such a character and say Theres another ayah in Surah An Najm in which Allah exonerates those who are in pursuit of the massive good and virtue if in the process they fall into minor mistakes. These are Allahs word, (once again), and these words and meanings are supposed to feed our souls and our society. Those who avoid major crimes and shameful acts except for what is puny there-of or trivial there-in; certainly your Sustainer is of an expansive forgiveness (Surah An Najm verse 32) The problem, (though), is when we return to our internal selves and common psychology- no one pursues Allahs forgiveness because everyone is inactive. Still. If theres still any lingering doubts- and theres always going to be those who prefer not to do something and then pretend to be obedient to God. Obedience is through action (and) acquiescence to Allah is through the things we do in life, not through the things we do not do or being indifferent, withdrawn and passive. An Islamic character knows no such qualities, (if we can call them that). In another ayah Allah says Certainly, if those who are ever watchful of Allahs corrective power presence in their daily and immediate lives are influenced or moved by a passing influence of Satan, their conscience rebounds (Surah At Taubah verse ) This is very important to understand. What Allah is telling us is that we are always to expect to be influenced by Satan. The nature of life itself is that Ash Shaytaan has access to what we do, how we think, feel, plot and plan to execute our will- Ash Shaytaan is always going to have some input into that, but once those who are conscious in an active way of Allahs power-presence, (these are called Al Muttaqeen), sense that Ash Shaytaan is trying to influence what they are

doing, they rebound into a higher consciousness with Allah; meaning Ash Shaytaan causes them to be more aware and more sensitive to Allah. You have to realize the wording of Allahs words here- Ash Shaytaan has no control of Al Muttaqeen, doesnt impose on Al Muttaqeen or decide for Al Muttaqeen- Ash Shaytaan tries to do so and when he tries, these Muttaqeen rebound with an awareness of Allah that they did not have before. and now they can see (meaning- we gain our vision) (Surah At Taubah verse ) Through this consciousness of Allahs power, (and when we say Allahs power, we denigrate all other powers- military, financial, the power of the media and other human beings are reduced to nothingness). It takes that attempt, assault and interaction of Ash Shaytaan on you when you are thinking and working Allahs will is what gives you the vision to go ahead and see beyond today. There are other ayaat in the Quran that inspire and stimulate our will to have something done. The Prophet of Allah says guard yourself against the insight of a committed Muslim because he has the vision of Allah. Theres a hadith Qudsi, (the meaning is Allahs and the words are His Prophets words), a committed Muslim continues to strive and move towards Me until I become his arm with which he does things; his eyes with which he sees things; his ears with which he hears things and his legs by which he moves. All of these are meanings that are meant to activate us- not de-activate us. We have a materialistic world that has deactivated almost 2billion human beings and we ourselves contribute to that de-activation when there is nonsense preached from the majority of Manabir and these Masajid that render you, after you leave, in-active Muslims, (if theres such a thing). Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims The previous khutbah that you just heard is not a theoretical or hypothetical collection of words. It speaks to us, the Muslims- to be more frank about it, let us tune in to our ownselves. Because we have been suffocating in the psychology that we just outlined, we dont have Muslims who can speak loud and clear, with confidence and courage, without fear or favour when it comes to those who have hijacked governance among Muslims. We have, (from our own skin), people who pray with us, (more to the point), individuals who control Makkah and Al Medinah. This family has stolen a government. The administration and decision making in Makkah and Al Medinah are expected by every Muslim in the world to be Islamic and what we have are people- kings and princes- who are everything except Islamic and beyond that, they are enjoying a heightened ignorance expressed by you and me, the average Muslim, to get away their crimes that we are not expressing- this is how psychologically damaged we are. It doesnt occur to us to publicize and enumerate the magnitude, depth and range of that criminal syndicate that, now and for the past century, has been in control of the Holiest of Holies and extending that control into our backyards and into our local Masajid. There hasnt been a healthy Muslim with a robust psychology and motivated mind that can stand up and speak truth to power when it comes to ourselves because these kings, princes, their entourage and inner circles, (before and after everything), are classified as being Muslims just

like you and me. If we dont have the healthy, forward moving, inspired and motivated psychology to speak the truth, (no one is asking more than that- what has become of Muslims who are incapable and unable of speaking just the truth?) When Allah is opening up the doors for us to do something about the status quo that is not only against Muslims but against humanitythe proliferation of injustice is all around; but charity begins at home; if we cant clean our own house, other are not going to expect us to do a commendable job when it comes to their own homes. But what do we do when we have Muslims all around us who cannot imagine thinking the truth, (much less), expressing the truth, (and much more), consolidating an action that comes from that truth. O our Sustainer- we have done injustice to ourselves; for if you do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall most certainly become losers.

YAHUDI AGGRESSION SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Masharal Mumineen; brothers and sisters of the Islamic way Allah speaks to us- if only we were listening. He says, (this is in reference to those people who were with Musa (alaihi as-salaam). They, (these Children of Israeel) said weve been harmed before you approached us and weve been harmed after you came to us (Surah Al Araf verse 129) He, (meaning Musa), replied to them, he said it may be in this process or extended time period that it is Allahs will to ruin your enemy and cause you to inherit the land or to see what you will do (Surah Al Araf verse 129) We can follow what was in Musas internal thoughts, (so to speak). Here, we have a people, the Children of Israeel, who were going through a saga (or) an extended period of time- following their Prophet. As far as they were concerned, they were seeing no results, so they come out, (as they almost always do), and they speak their mind on the subject. Look- Musa, (this is putting it in the language of the people today), weve taken a lot, weve been persecuted and dislocated- everything has happened to us before you came to us; and also nothing has changed. Youre here, with us- we were expecting something to change but we still are suffering from the circumstances and quarters that we were suffering from before you came to us (Surah Al Araf verse 129) Now, these people are known to be liberal in their complaints. These were not people who would internalise an experience (and) who would learn from the days and years that went by. No! If things were not happening the way they expected them to happen then theyd come out and express their minds on the issue. Musa listened to what they had to say, but in his mind he probably new the type of people that he had to live/put up with. He said It maybe (that) in this time period or process that you think has extended on and on without any results that Allah wants to destroy your enemy and it maybe through this extended time period or process, with all the harm that comes within it, that you will become inheritors and then Allah will see what you will do when you reach that position of inheriting the affairs of the land (Surah Al Araf verse 129) Here, we have a people who were complaining to the Prophet of Allah- look we dont see any results; theres not much difference if we are to compare the times before you came to us and now, the time you are with us, we dont see much difference- this is what the ayah is saying in Surah Al Araf. Now, Bani Israeel, (and they pride themselves on being a continuum of their history- OK), if we were to fold all of these years in which they complain of a diaspora and in which they never seize telling us that they want a homeland of their own so that they can become the masters of their own destiny- isnt this what we hear from them? OK- now look, Bani Israeel, you have what you wanted; you wanted a tribal nation state- you have your tribal

nation state. What are you doing? You are acting worse than your persecutors; you are acting as if you are the new Pharaohs of age. Allah refers to your conduct and the way you are apt to act. This ayah in Surah Ahl Imran is a reference to this Yahudi character- a character that always complains and then when the time comes for this character to assume responsibility in the mould and within the standards of Allah, they violate and contradict all of what is expected from them. Some Muslims, some Christians and some others are afraid. Well, you cant blame the other people who lost scripture- they no longer have Allahs word with them, but we, the Muslims, who have Allahs words with us. Cant we listen to Allah when He is talking to us and saying regarding this foul attitude of people?! Indeed those who are in denial of Allahs ayaat and those who kill the Prophets without justification or basis for what they are doing and they kill those who demand institutionalised justice- be they ordinary people- pass on to them the good news of a tormenting punishment that awaits them (Surah Ahl Imran verse 21) Now, theres some words that if someone uses them, hes accused of being anti-Semitic. We dont care for all of this media and propaganda sounds that they make. If we are living with what Allah is telling us, they can fabricate any type of accusations they want- we have to listen to Allah closely. There are people who are God defiant, in God denial, objecting to Allah and taking issue with Allahs manifestation of authority and power (Surah Ahl Imran verse 21) Aah- dont speak to them about that; they are hardcore Kuffar ;they dont want to listen. Now, can anyone say these types of people dont exist in todays world? Obviously they do, but no one wants to identify them- why? Because the identification process is going to lead to these Yahud and not many people have the spirit and courage to point to these Yahud. Well- whats wrong with us?! If Allah has given us the correct information, we want to step out of our responsibilities and betray Allah just because so of us are afraid of these Yahud?! You stand in awe of them, whereas it is Allah whom you should stand in awe of (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 37) and they, these Yahud, will kill those who seek institutionalised justice (Surah Ahl Imran verse 21) Were not speaking of justice, adl- were speaking of justice when it becomes institutionalised, al qist. There are people who see the larger picture and recognise in this larger political and economic picture of things (that) theres an absences of institutionalised justice, so they are out to fill-in this vacuum; but here they run into this Yahudi animosity and this Yahudi Phiraunic character. Well- thats what we have in todays world. No one or barely anyone from the multitudes of speakers, opinion makers and decision makers will stand up for what Allah is saying. These ayaat are clear, but wheres the human being who will come to fill-in for these

meanings and express them?! Whos going to come in the political and media climate of today and say that Al Yahud are killers of Prophets?! Why are you afraid? Allah is saying this- we are not making things up and throwing accusations around; the only thing we are doing is we are reading Allahs words and placing them in the real world around us- thats all we are doing. And they kill ordinary people who are intent on institutionalised social justice These are not Prophets; these are people of all ages and generations everywhere. Why are Yahud tracing them? This ayah lends us information (and) teaches us that dont think that there are not people who are conscious and aware of alladhina yamuruna bil qisti min an naas. This is a segment of people who may go unnoticed, even by Muslims who are supposed to be reading and gaining meaning from this Quran, thereby gaining 20/20 vision into the social issues of manyoud expect that. This Quran is an open book for Muslims therefore they should be able to place its meanings in their own lives- but you find many Muslims are incapable of doing this; but then, the evil mind that is capable of understanding these meanings in its own diabolical way are these Yahud who Allah describes in this ayah. Havent we seen throughout the course of the past decades of our lives how there have been policies to kill individuals, ideologues, leaders and organisers whose objective in life is to bring institutionalised justice into society? Do we have to express the names of these individuals or theres an abundance of them that we need not go through the list of people who have been killed, scholars who have been assassinated and leaders who have been targeted by these Yahud? What are we going to say? Were going to tip our high hats to them and say what youre doing is right?! Look- youve been persecuted throughout thousands of years in history and now you have the right to act like the Pharaoh of the world?! Is this what is expected of us?! This may be expected of some, (maybe), de-scripturalised Christian or fanatical Zionist, but how can we, the Muslims, who still have, (at least in theory), a bridge between us and Allah i.e. the understanding of His holy Writ- fall into such silence or indifference to these vital meanings that tell us about this evil segment of humanity? Who are these people who had whatever human deviation from Allah to not only think but to implement the killing of Prophets? These are not fairy tale figures in history. These are plotters and planners. Werent they the ones who were involved in the killing of Yahya (alaihis salaam) and in the attempted killing of Isa and Muhammad (alaihima as salaam)? How come this type of history is inactive in our minds? It doesnt occupy a thinking area in our brains. This, once again, is attributable to the influence. No criminal wants to show that he is a criminal. So why do you permit these types of criminals to stand between you and Allah? Why do they interfere with your understanding of what Allah has to say about them? and they kill those who demand institutionalised justice of people (Surah Ahl Imran verse 21) Arent they the ones who draw up these assassination lists and they hide these crimes behind neutral sounding words. They dont come out and say we are going to kill! (Dont you) see? The word in the Quran describes them accurately- they kill; but they say no, we dont do that. So

what do they do? They say, (look at this word), they take out someone or they liquidate a person or a leader. They dont come and say they kill a leader. Theyve been in the historical habit of doing this anytime they have the influence, clout and power to do this. They dont even have a conscience in them to tell them stop; this is wrong; this is a crime. We dont sense a conscience in them. Yes- maybe youll find individuals scattered here and there, but we will not find a collective conscience and it maybe because of that that the in the ayah Allah says Condemned are the Children of Israeel who are in denial of Allah (Surah Al Maidah verse 78) By who? by the words, tongue, expression or language of Dawud and Isa the son of Maryam (Surah Al Maidah verse 78) Why would these Prophets be condemning the deniers of Allah from the Children of Israeel? that is because they, the Children of Israel, were disobedient to Allah and because they were aggressive or offenders (Surah Al Maidah verse 78) What does that mean? These Children of Israeel would never ever act in as social modality or character that rebukes the munkar- a munkar that they were responsible for (Surah Al Maidah verse 79) You dont see a social character within them taking issue with their own munkar. This is not a history lesson- brothers and sisters; this is a lesson that is applied to them today. Dont you see the crimes that they are committing? They can go to sleep and not feel that they are responsible for 6 million displaced people. It doesnt pinch their conscience! How true this ayah is to the munkar that they are responsible for in this world at this time! Show us an Israeeli social character. Were not talking about individuals far and in-between, were talking about a coalescing of individuals, a trend or a community of Bani Israeel that are opposed to the munkar that they, (themselves), are related to. Where do they exist? That is why they are condemned by the voices of Prophets! We say and learn from this- especially during this time when these criminals from out of history, (you would think theyd learn from history!) Havent they lived all of these centuries and millennia as strangers in the world, alienated and without a homeland? You would think they would be the last people in the world to inflict that type of suffering on other people; but NO! (You) give them a little power and see how they behave! This takes us back to the 1st ayah when they came to Musa and said They, (these Children of Israeel) said weve been harmed before you approached us and weve been harmed after you came to us (Surah Al Araf verse 129)

He, (meaning Musa), replied to them, he said it may be in this process or extended time period that it is Allahs will to ruin your enemy and cause you to inherit the land or to see what you will do (Surah Al Araf verse 129) We can follow what was in Musas internal thoughts, (so to speak). Here, we have a people, the Children of Israeel, who were going through a saga (or) an extended period of time- following their Prophet. As far as they were concerned, they were seeing no results, so they come out, (as they almost always do), and they speak their mind on the subject. We have suffered before you came to us and we have suffered after you came to us (Surah Al Araf verse 129) The response of Musa was it may be through this long and seemingly unending process of suffering that Allahs will destroy your enemy and relegate the decision making in the land to you and then Allah will look and see what you are going to do when you have power (Surah Al Araf verse 129) Let us fold of these centuries and millennia, (hundreds and thousands of years), and come to today where they have power- they have financial, military and every other type of power you can imagine- Musa said it is through this process that Allahs is going to see what you are going to do. (Take) a look at how they are behaving! The only thing you can say to people like this when you see them, (if they ever have the courage to appear in public), is to ask them how many Palestinians they have killed? That doesnt matter if he/she seems like a civilian because at one time in their lives they were in their criminal military- ask them how many innocent people they have killed? How do they shoot at children? How do they bomb civilians? How do they drive their tanks into bedrooms and living rooms of people? These are people who carry scripture? Are these the people who claim to be Gods chosen?! But what do you say- this is the area that we, Muslims, should be thinking about, but we are flat. Its not that we look at the mistakes of others and fail to look at our own mistakes- we dont want to repeat the mistakes of Bani Israeel. If theres a munkar, that we are responsible for, we will point it out. The Prophet of Allah pointed it out- this hadith, (it is a hadith Sahih), will shed light on why what is happening today is possible; (why) people like us, who have Allahs trust on our shoulders, are where we are and (why) people, (criminals), like them are where they are. Speaking to the people around him, the Prophet of Allah said do you know who a bankrupt or penniless person is? They answered and said as far as we are concerned, a penniless person is a person who has no money and no wherewithal. Listen to how Allahs Prophet replied to his own people- a bankrupt person from my Ummah is one who comes on the Day of Judgement and he brings with him his Salaah, Zakaah and Siyaam, (we know what that means), but then, along with that What does he bring with him?...he brings dirty language or accusations or killing or abuse against so-and-so- this is a bankrupt person. He has no assets on the Day of Accountability. Why? You ask todays Muslim- this person came and prayed all the time- hes

bringing his Salaah with him; he gave his Zakaah all the time- hes bringing that with him; he was fasting all the required Ramadhan in his life- hes bringing that with him; but he cannot show any of that because he bankrupted himself even though he had this because of his aggression against other people. These are the bankrupt kinds that we have today and Allahs Prophet described and defined them. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims The illegitimate nation-state of Israel is celebrating, (this year), 60 years of an international crime. It celebrates, not because it has the military wherewithal that it has; it celebrates because we dont have the relationship that we are entrusted by Allah to Him- thats why it celebrates! 60 years of bloodshed and now, this Yahudi cabal is drawing in the power centres of the world in which it has control to protect it from an up-and-coming Islamic self-determination. You can see this economy in Washington is going down the hole because of the Israeli dictates and not one, (you can listen to what they have to say), have you heard anyone of any stature stand up in public?! They may say this behind closed doors, but can they stand up in public- if they have a Jewish/Christian/Islamic conscience- and point to the evil in Occupied Palestine and expose the criminal character of the zionist in the world?!) We havent seen many of them around. (Take a) look at our Masajid and listen to the people who are supposed to ascend the Manabir saydo they think at the level of the instructions of Allah and His Prophet, or they want to smother the Muslim mind with non-sense of misplaced ideas, (at the best); we lack, (even), the formulation of coherent thoughts from these Manabir and, now, we have a network of rulers who report to their zionist and imperialist masters- they have our skin, language and appearance and they fool many of us because we are bankrupt as per Allahs Prophets words and this shall come to an end sooner rather than later. These Yahud/Zionist who have been preying off our weakness and feeding off our resources will see the Day of Reckoning with the hands, struggle and sacrificed of the Mujahideen in and around the occupied territories. Keep an eye open on the attempted Yahudi flare up of conflict to the North of Occupied Palestine- they want to light the fuse of civil war. They spent six years in Iraq and they didnt get the civil war that they wanted to spread from Iraq to surrounding countries and areas; now, they are going for option number two and the minds that are void of Allah and His Prophet will make the Yahudi scenario possible. As for us, who report to Allah and His Prophet- the only way they will have their way is over our bodies given to Allah in sacrifice and in Jihad.

WHO ARE THE AWLIYA ALLAH?

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen

Allah says in an ayah in Surah Yunus, (and) the human attempt in bringing these ayaat in English would be as follows Indeed and as of a certainty the Awliya of Allah shall not be burdened by fear nor by grief. Those who have committed themselves to Allah and those who have factored in the power of Allah, (into their minds, behaviour, hearts, emotions, social life and future), they are the ones who are going to have good news (or) glad tidings in their immediate life and in the final life; there can be no altering of Allahs words; that is indeed the supreme success. (Surah Yunus verse 62-64) This is the general meaning of the ayah, now to try to give it some operational meaning- Allah says For sure those individuals who are preferential to Allah or acclaimed, approved and favoured by Him (Surah Yunus verse 62) all of these synonyms, (excuse the English wording of it), dance around by the meanings of Awliya these acclaimed, approved and applauded individuals of Allah have no fear that they carry and they have no grief that weigh in on them (Surah Yunus verse 62) By default, you can know who excluded from this definition. You (can) go around in your Islamic surroundings and you have contact with certain Muslim individuals, but if you sense in them that they have a noticeable and significant element of fear in them then they are excluded from being amongst the Awliya Allah because Awliya Allah have no fear in them. They have no fear in them and they have no fear for them. The wording of the ayah means that you dont fear for these people of Allah which is the step beyond them having fear in them because when they dont have fear in them, they invite elements that make you fear for them and Allah says you need not (and) they need not feel this element- no one needs to feel that fear for them. Allah went beyond saying la khaufun fi him and they dont express or show any regret, guilt, sadness (or) grief because of their character (Surah Yunus verse 62) Allah takes us to the elementary elements of these individuals of Allah. How does He further try to identify them for us? Those who have securely committed themselves to Allah (Surah Yunus verse 63) If you are secure in your commitment to Allah then obviously theres an immunity from fear and from grief. This word Iman, because of the linguistic mutilation attributed to it by people using the word belief or faith or conviction etc. Iman is a matter of secure commitment to Allah. Allah describes Alladhina Aamanu by saying

they are the ones who have safety and security in their personal life and in their plural life and they also carry Allahs commitment to men The Prophet of Allah says a person doesnt have Iman if he does not have commitment. So back to the ayah in Surah Yunus speaking about Awliya Allah They have this element of security, the covenant and commitment that they carry enshrined in every fibre of their consciousness, facts and feelings, those who commit themselves to Allah, firmly and securely, and then were always on guard pertaining to Allahs power (Surah Yunus verse 63) This is an element- a deity/divinity/God- in the mainstream thinking that is not supposed to have worldly power. What are you talking about (when you speak about) a God (that) has worldly power?! Thats a creepy idea of who God is! This is- this is mainstream thinking and feeling belief. We, (the students and pupils of the Quran and the Prophet), should know better. We have the concept and idea of taqwa; we know (that) Allah has a power presence in our personal and public lives, equally. (Theres) no such thing as being an individual person claiming this description of Islam. they were always, (not one moment in life passes by with them being oblivious of the fact that Allah is present in His power here and now) (Surah Yunus verse 63) Thats a far cry from those who want to claim the title of Iman and then dont want to feel the security of Allah that comes from acknowledging the power of Allah that goes with the commitment to Allah. They are the ones who are in possession of the good news that comes from Allah in this world and the final one; there can be no one who is going to change the meanings of these words of Allah (Surah Yunus verse 64) Theyll attempt to do it; theres been many attempts- the most significant one is the brainwashing of millions of Muslims in the past 100 years at least. The idiom, vocabulary and words that have been used to turn off the original meanings of the Holy Text and holy Prophet- this is an attempt but the words are still there they cant change it or replace another ayah with one of their own; they cannot omit an ayah without the Muslims being conscious of it. Of a certainty We have brought down this consciousness of the Quran and of a certainty We are preserving it (Surah Al Hijr verse 9) this becomes the supreme success (Surah Yunus verse 64) In todays world, there has been an imperialist and zionist monkey-business as far as Muslims are concerned; they come with their secular minds and language and they impress on the Muslims how we should understand Allah and His prophet and unknowingly many of us, (still

with strong traditional attachments to Allah and His Prophet), have fallen under their spell and the proof is in the pudding. Listen to Muslim clergymen, lecturers, professors and learned individuals when they speak about Islam in the languages of the West- they speak using the same words, therefore the same concepts, therefore the same impressions that the enemies of Islam use. It is at this fundamental and core level that the Muslims have been defeated. Muslims need a cultural revolution to break loose from this mental instability that sits on the Mimbar (and) that controls the harams and that is 2nd and 10th fiddle to the kaafirs and Mushriks they want no good for the Muslims anywhere and everywhere. Take this same word Awliya or Wali or Tawalla all have the same garden variety meanings-even though, (brothers and sisters), we have tried to explain these things before and some people they listen but they just cant grasp what is being said, for another time (and) attempt, we shall try to cover this territory again. In another ayah in Allahs book in Surah Al Maaida Allah says- this is another one of these ayaat that as long as Muslims, themselves, are thinking with secular minds, they will continue to draw fire from these ayaat against we, the Muslims; we can avoid that from happening but we are going to have to take our vocabulary to another level so that they dont use Allahs words against us with our mental acquiescence. This ayah says Oh you who are firmly committed to Allah dont designate Al Yahud and An Nasara as your politically acclaimed, ideologically approved and militarily allied sponsors (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) You got that meaning?! It has nothing to do with their secular understanding of Allahs book that has invaded and occupied our public mind. Oh Allah, the damage would have been limited if only it was confined to individuals here and there, but the damage is wide spread because it is common usage and mainstream thinking. So this doesnt mean that Muslims cannot have Jews and Christians as friends. There are books and libraries and now the internet is full of sites and programmes that are intended to present the Muslim as if hes a friendless human being. If Allah is saying Al Yahud and An Nasara in their religious character are People of Scripture, and because of this religious character, Muslims are permitted to marry Christians and Jews; and marriage is much more then friendship. How come they turn around and they tell us NOMuslims cannot have Jewish and Christian friends? If we can understand this ayah in its political, military and ideological context, we know that Allah is telling us much more- if we want to use the word friend- we cannot befriend the political character of the Jews and we cannot befriend the political character of Christians. Do we have this straight? We cannot enter into alliances with zionists and imperialists. Can we understand this? for they are the Awliya, acclaimed, preferential partners, allies (or) bosom ideological cohorts of each other (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) We seem not to be able to learn- all of these meanings are demonstrated in real life at the expense of the flow of our blood and we choose not to understand what Allah is telling us and we choose not to understand what life is providing us. We have a problem- its like this If

you take a look at a Muslim and a kafir; nowadays, in this real world a Muslim is like a person who is sleeping in the light; he has all the light that he needs but he is sleeping and a kafir is a person who is groping in the dark hes awake, moving, walking, running (and) doing what he thinks he has to do but hes doing it in the dark while the Muslim has all the light that he needs and wants but we are asleep (and) in a deep slumber. If we cant understand the fresh words of Allah and the fatal facts of light when they come together we are sleeping, we are in a deep coma! and whoever acclaims these zionists and imperialists in this natural alliance that they have, (i.e.) whoever becomes their political adjunct or military ally (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) What happens? he has become one of them (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) Because of the mainstreaming of the secularization of Islam, we have a Muslim public mind that refuses to look at people with power in Muslim countries- why? Why are we blind and we cannot place people of power in Muslim countries in the definitions of the ayaat and ahaadith? Whats wrong? Muslims condemn a person who lies- a liar is condemned by Allah and His Prophet; a singular liar looses his worth, status and value, (especially if hes a habitual liar), within his family, neighbourhood, people he associates when this happens, but when we have a grand liar, (a person who lies and his lie means that hundreds of millions of people are going to suffer- either they are going to die or starve or be dislocated), because Muslims have been programmed and brainwashed throughout these years all of a sudden Allahs words and the words of His Prophets comes to no ones mind; no one can think about Allah and His Prophet when they are looking at a master liar. (Do) you want examples of master liars who are around? Theres plenty of them, but why cant we see them? Whats wrong? What happened? What has eroded our understanding and acidified our will? Ask yourself- why does this continue to go on in the systemic way that it does without the proper response from you, me and the other average, normal, run-of-the-mill Muslims and the majority Muslims who are around? A person who steals Allahs authority is unnoticed. The authority of Allah is the quintessential attribute of Allah around which there have been rises and falls of civilisations, (not the way secular history presents it), because individuals claimed authority and they rendered Allah without authority; when we see these types of individuals no one accuses them of shirk- and they are Mushriks in the best meaning of the word; but when someone else comes along who claims divinity, (whether this divinity has authority or not remains the function of the culture and the people that he belongs to)... Lets take a couple of examples and see for ourselves how the Muslim react to this. Many many years ago, there was an association in Bengal, (this was Eastern Pakistan), in which a certain group of people or assembly claimed that Nehru, the leader in India, was

a God. Of course, Muslims, (being the traditional beings that we have been and still are), distanced themselves from such a thing. I mean we look and say somethings wrong with the Hindu- look they claim a human being is God and they make fun of it. Actually, the mass media in Pakistan made fun of the whole thing because theres enough popular audience to make fun of this; they dare not make fun of a person who steals Allahs authority but as of person who is stealing Allahs divinity- yes they make a big issue about that and this divinity may have no authority to it at all. Nehru, who claimed to be a God, wasnt imposing his authority on any people in the secular or civic meaning of the word. The people in Bengal or Pakistan were not subject to Nehrus civic or secular authority. Its just that some people claimed that he was a God and they wanted to worship him. Then, theres the Aga Khan- this is a person, (not the current one), maybe this was his grandfather- hes buried in Egypt. During his lifetime, someone came up to him and asked is it true do you believe that you are a God? or the way it was phrased is do you believe that Gods spirit has settled into you and thats why your followers show devotion to you and they dispense of wealth in accordance to your weight? If a person weighed 100kg hed have to give 100kgs of gold as a religious duty. So, this person paused for a moment and then he answered the individual who came to him with this question- he said Well, Im more deserving of it. If these people are worshipping a cat, then it makes more sense to channel that devotion to a human being. Am I not more important then a cat? This is the type of information that stirs the Muslim mind- Oh this is a kafir We dont disagree, this person has gone off-the-deep-end. We know that Allah is Allah; there is no human being thats Allah; but compare and contrast that with the inability of Muslims today to identify those who have robbed Allah of His quintessential attribute and that is His authority. You bring this information to the Muslims and theres not much of a stir inside because we are speaking to Muslims who have traditions in them and the type of accurate information that we present them with from Allah and His Prophet does not find a location in them, so our responsibility is to plant the words of truth, the words of Allah, in the Muslim mind. We can no longer speak to these Islamic emotions and Islamic traditions that have placed us where we are today. We want to end this khutbah by quoting to you a hadith Qudsi- a hadith Qudsi is a wahi from Allah that is verbalised with the Prophets words. Allah revealed to His Prophet the following meanings, anyone who shows and does animosity or expresses hostility to my wali, (remember the definition to My acclaimed, applauded, approved, favoured, preferential or ally), then I declare war against him... Allah is saying and My subject cannot come closer to me doing anything except that which I have made mandatory to him i.e. the faraid that we do; and these faraid dont mean just the rituals that we do; faraid also mean the effortful faraid (i.e.) our struggle in life. Our going to work is a faridah just like our salaah is a faridah. When we begin to understand this we begin to move out of the traditional cobweb that weve been in. And My subject, (this particular favoured subject), will continue to approach Me or provide Me with extras along with the faraaid, (thats the meaning of nawaafil- you build on al faraid), till I love, admire, like and adore him Then, Allah says and when I love My subject I become his hearing by which he listens and his

vision by which he sees and his hand with which he clashes and his leg by which he moves, and rest assured, if he asks Me I will certainly give him and if he seeks my protection I will for sure offer him my protection. Listen brothers and sisters- Allah says I have never hesitated in doing anything the way I hesitate in recalling My committed subject i.e. Al Abd Al Mumin. My subject is averse to death and I am averse to offending him. Brothers and sisters We know this is a hot day and may Allah reward all of you for the hour or so that you spend here on Fridays in this and other types of weather. We pray and hope that this khutbah and devotion to Allah together is not going to be in vain, especially when we think of our presence with Allah. It seems, (to the materialists and the secular), that look at these people! They must be out of their minds. Its not the average person who will mock devotion to Allah. As Allah would have and calculate things, this is not just anywhere in the world; this is in the middle of and central to the convergence of the whole world in the form of their diplomatic missions, Embassies, their federal governments and all the power that they have. Allah has decreed that because what they, themselves, have done the word of Allah reverberates in the open every week for Allahs will to take its course. We dont think that natural catastrophes and social and political reversals as have been pounding decision makers and their affiliates in this city- only blocks away- is perchance and by happenstance. We are certain- in the core of our hearts and in the depths of our souls- that Allahs word is done through the sacrifices and struggles of the humble, meek and average Muslim, (me and you) through this faridha and the extras that come with this faridha.

THE SECOND DAWN OF ISLAM

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, respected ulema, those of you who are organising, co-ordinating or carrying what needs to be carried, driving the distance that has to be driven and all of you who made an effort of being here this evening, and I greet you with the greetings of peace, equality, justice and the Islamic way Asalamu Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

Theres an ayah in the Quran in which Allah says Of a certainty Ash-Shaytaan is an enemy of yours, therefore designate him as an enemy This is an ayah that is crystal clear in its meaning. Theres no word that tolerates the range of give-and-take. There are ayaat bayyinaat and there are ayaat mutashabihaat. This is not one of these ayaat mutashabihaat. This is an ayah that delivers its meaning directly and straight forwardly. When we look at ourselves today, (an observation was made during the courses of these presentations that Muslims are lagging behind), we dont have an industrial base to be proud of; we dont have a scientific legacy that we can refer others to; we dont have an Islamic civilisation, (in the accurate sense of the word); and the reason and short answer to that is, (of course, I have to be short- this is not the time to go into much details), that we dont have an Islamic public mind. We run around with individual ideas, (some of them may be great ideas and some of them may be much less than that), but when we look at ourselves, (around two billion Muslims- Im sure you seldomly hear this number because everyone wants to undercut, diminish or decrease our numbers in the world; feel comfortable that we are approaching two billion Muslims in the world; and that make the contrast even worse. Theres two billion of you Muslims out there in the world and youre not able to put together some type of unity of purposeyou dont have any political solidarity, an Islamic Commonwealth or economic market or any coordination in your defence policies or a common currency- what do you have? The short answer that Im giving you is that we dont have a public mind. When the day approaches when we do have a public mind that will be the 1st day on a course in the right direction of reestablishing our Islamic civilization as it was meant to be. Of course, the reason that begs a question is why dont we Muslims have a public mind? You have multiple answers to this and most of these multiple answers will be correct. You can re-think this question (and) youll come up with an assortment of answers- we can beat around the bush, but were not going to do that. The reason that we dont have a public mind can be attributable to the fact that theres a disconnect between our understanding of Islam today and the way it was understood when it became a civilization. Let me remind some of the hasty individuals around- a civilization is not built in a year or decade or generation; a civilization is in the making for generations and centuries. When we universities in our domain and when we had students coming from all parts of the world to those outposts of knowledge- whether they were in todays Iraq or todays Iberiathat was a cumulative effect of those building block years of who we are; and those building block years are the years in which the Prophet of Allah anchored- not defeatist understanding of Islam- but a forward moving understanding of Islam. When we take a look at Allahs Prophet, (I hope no one is going to argue, unless we have some stray individuals here-and-there, but I dont think any of them are here), no one is going to argue that Allahs Prophet is our reference, recourse, prototype and our model. Allahs Prophet, of course, had the Quran that was being revealed to him throughout the course of 23 consecutive years. Remember, were speaking about Allahs Prophet- were not speaking about me and you, were speaking about a person who was way ahead of all of us- when he was in his own society,

did he or did he not have enemies? Someone is going to have to think. Were going to accomplish something tonight, hopefully- and its going to be that we begin to think. Allahs Prophet is who he is- hes the beloved of Allah, the most honourable of Allah, the closest to Allah and all of what we know of him to be- and yet he couldnt help it- he had enemies. Anyone, (as primitive as you are in understanding his Seerah), you still know he had enemies and because of him having these enemies we have in his Seerah, (i.e. the study of his lifetime), ghazawat and sarayah. These were military campaigns, wars and battles that he either attended or supervised- this is our beloved Prophet. Now, because of the damage that has been done to our psychology, we have people who walk around with the appearance of Muslims- those whose who say that they are keen on following Allahs Prophet but they dont want to have enemies! How can we understand and square this?! How can we have leaders in todays world who want to be enemy free. You cant do it. If you are following Allahs Prophet, youre going to have enemies- thats the 1st fact that has to go into the making of our public mind. If you choose something else, be advised, that you have stepped out of the parameters of Allahs Book and Allahs Prophet. The 2nd issue that goes into the building of an Islamic public mind is that we have to define our relationships with each other. We have the type of Muslims who cannot make way for differences of opinion. I dont know if this is going to be a lot of study to try to get down to the nitty-gritty as to why Muslims cant tolerate another valid opinion? This is a type of disease that we have. Were not going to put together a Muslim public mind before we treat this disease. Once again, we refer to Allahs Prophet. Im going to refer to a couple of incidents that are very well known in Islamic history. The 1st one has to do with the Muslims after they were doing war with one of the factions of Yahud in Al Medinah. Al Yahud took the side of the grand Arabian alliance that had besieged Al Medinah, Im referring to what is known in Islamic history as Al Ahzaab, the Confederates or sometimes referred to as Al Khandaq, the trench. This is the well known battle in which the Muslims were under tremendous pressure and their very existential life was threatened by the convergence of all the hostile Arabian forces at the time. After the receding away of these forces from Al Medinah, the Prophet of Allah wanted to pursue this faction of Yahud faction who had signed an agreement with him- wathiqat Al Medinah- in which they had agreed not to side with the military enemies of the Islamic state of Al Medinah but they did. So, in this context Allahs Prophet said to the listening Muslims, none of you shall pray Al Asr except at Bani Quraida, everyone heard this. There was no dispute about this in any Islamic book of history you go to. You will find this quote. But how did the Muslims interpret and understand this statement? Some of them understood what the Prophet had said literary i.e. that were not going pray our Asr prayer until we reach the stronghold of Bani Quraidha which was at a small distance from Al Medinah and may have taken, in the atmospherics or war and with a calculated guess 45 minutes to an hour to get there. The other Muslims who listened to the same statement from Allahs Prophet understood something else. They understood the Prophet as saying make haste, go to Bani Quraidha as soon as you can but he didnt mean that you cant pray Al Asr on your way there. So, some of them prayed Al Asr on their way to

Bani Quraidha. When they arrived, all the Muslims were encamped in the vicinity of Bani Quraidha it appeared that when they went to pray Al Asr some of them had already prayed. Remember, these are people around Allahs Prophet, who were brought up with him, who do exactly what he said, so when this issue was brought to Allahs Prophet, he didnt say one side is wrong and the other side is right; as a matter of fact he endorsed both sides; which means that there is room for us, the Muslims, to understand, (whether it is a hadith or an ayah), to understand it without conflicting with each other. This understanding we dont have within us today; we find Muslims want to be holier-than-thou, meaning that if someone understands something in a certain way that means that is absolutely the only way of understanding it and there is no room for understanding it in another way. This has no basis in the conduct of Muslims who are committed Muslims to Allah and His Prophet. The other incident that I will draw on from the history of that building block generation of Muslims- these same mature, sacrificing and struggling Muslims around the Prophet went to draw water. There was a well and they went to throw their pails down to and draw water. Then two individuals got into a dispute because one wanted to draw water before the other and they got into a skirmish. Then, the one said Yaa Ahl Al Muhajireen which means Im calling on you, the Muhajireen for help and the other one said Ya Ahl Al Ansaar- Im calling you, the Ansaar for help. Muhajireen and Ansaar are Quranic terms and they are also a Prophetic designation of these two camps that supported Allahs Prophet meaning these are honorific words. Al Muhajireen and Al Ansaar are honorific words, but the mentally that one of these persons said wanted to tribalize the Muhajireen and the other one wanted to tribalize the Ansaar. The rest of the Muslims sensed this was not right; this was a violation of our togetherness and they took the affair to the Prophet and he understood this was a beginning of a slope into antagonism and he was surprised- how you do this while Im still amongst you? Im still here?! I brought you out of tribalism and you were given this honorific distinction and now you are falling back into that tribalism and taking this honorific title that was given to you? I can be very specific but I dont want to upset maybe some sensitive individuals- I can be very specific about this, and this tribalism is being done to ourselves by us, the Muslims. If you are a Sunni you want to give it a tribalistic definition and if you are a Shii you want to give it a tribalistic definition. Lets be frank- we do have these elements amongst us. Allah says Say oh you People of Scripture(Surah Ahl Imran verse 64) This is an ayah, (in fact there a few of them in the Quran). This is in reference to those who had received divine scripture before the Prophet of Allah- mainly the Jews and the Christians. We are saying that Allah is saying to His Prophet (and by extension He is telling us) to Say: Oh People of Scripture, come lets come to common understanding or word between us and you (Surah Ahl Imran verse 64)

If there is a type of tolerance built into the book of Allah that we are commanded to approach People of Scripture with trying to find some common ground; (yet) we have some Muslims who cannot approach their own counterparts with this same understanding. Its as if someone has to stand up and say Oh People of the Quran come to common terms between you and yourselves. Some of us have made the distance so far that it seems like the distance between us and Ahl Al Kitaab is shorter then the distance between ourselves. This is the public mind that we are going to have to reconstruct and Ive just given some examples. Now, Im going to make a transition from the time of Allahs Prophet to our time. We have an Islamic leader who 1st came to the people whom he was living with or who were living with him and his concern was to rebuild an Islamic society and Islamic State. Isnt that what Allahs Prophet did? He built an Islamic society and an Islamic state. We have been living for quite some time now without an Islamic State and we can almost say without an Islamic society. There have been Islamic movements in the world who have been attempting, in the past century, to put together this combination of society and state. Partial successes and partial failures; a step forward and two steps backwards; things have been going this way and that way for the global Islamic movement- in this context, a leader comes and he manages to put together an Islamic State in a geographical area called Iran. In doing that, he had to put up with tribalists, (the same type of people we were alluding to earlier), in addition to the avowed enemy that is coming his way from the outside. This well known enemy is Imperialism and zionism. When we begin to speak on this matter some Muslims begin to have difficulty- how come youre speaking about Imperialism and Zionism?! Well- because they are the facts of life! Do you want us to bury our heads in the sand like ostriches and make believe that these two realities dont exist?! These are forces that are at work and these are forces that are not leaving us alone. If Imperialism and zionism were some political entities at a distance from us, then we wish them the best- we wish their subjects and victims Godspeed in getting rid of this type of malignancy in the human condition, but it happens to be that zionism and Imperialism are located smack-down in our countries and territories. (Take a) look at the world- this is where we will have to grow up! The hard facts is that American Imperialism alone has between 700 and 1,000 military bases. Now, people who are conservative i.e. on the right of the political spectrum sort of feel proud that they are carrying Western civilization to the dark corners of the world; people on the left say this and they are critical of the American expansionism and hegemony in the world; but why is it that when it comes to the Muslims then Oh no! Youre not supposed to speak about zionism and Imperialism. Who said Im not supposed to speak about this? 1st of all, the laws that we have, whether were American, (Im an American), or whether we are Canadians, (which most of you are), theres nothing in the law that says you cannot speak about zionism and Imperialism. Show me that!? Maybe Im wrong and if Im wrong, Im open- you can correct me, but where does it say in the law that we cannot speak about zionism and Imperialism? It doesnt say, so we are going to speak about this and we are going to speak about them not just because we had come across some facts here-and-there, we are going to speak about them in a principled way. We have

ayaat and ahadith that point to these enemies. I cant be exhaustive over here; I cant mention all the ayaat and all the ahadith but just to is you an example Allah says in Surah Al Maaidah. What is this ayah saying? Now, most of you, (I know), are subject to mistranslations; I spent many, many years in the context and in the content of the Quran and the translations we have- believe me- are very inaccurate; as a matter of fact, some of these translations serve Imperialism and zionism very well, because some of these translations say Oh you who believe these are the mistranslations do not take the Jews and the Christians as your friends. Now, I ask you brothers and sisters, (very sincerely and cordially), is this what the ayah is saying? We cant have Christians and Jewish friends? Does anyone in their right mind understand the ayah to be saying that? Of course not!? Allah has given us the permission to marry people from Ahl Kitaab (Surah Al Maaidah verse 5). Marriage is the most intimate relationship- theres a conflict here?! Im going to have a very intimate relationship with my spouse who is not a Muslimah and I cannot have them as friends?? Of course, this is not what the ayah is saying. The ayah is saying Oh you who are securely committed to Allah (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) Not oh you who believe or oh you who have faith; these are all secular translations that need to be swept away from our minds, Dont designate Al Yahud and in this context it is the political character of the Jews which in todays world is zionism and An Nasaara is the political character of the Christians in todays is Imperialism as your allies (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) The word Awliya and la tatakhidhu has given a political definition to the words Al Yahud and An Nasara, not a theological or doctrinarian definition. If we cannot grow into understanding this practical meaning of the Quran, then of course were going to have problems. If Im going to speak about Imperialism and zionism then Im probably speaking ten years ahead of you and I dont want to do that; I want you to be with me- to understand what is being said. It is with this understand of Allah and His Prophet that the Muslims of this world anchored a state that is constructed on the basis of Islam. Then, all of a sudden we have these forces in the world who are threatening this Islamic state. That is, (I guess), a credit and certification of the authenticity and the genuine character of the Islamic State. Islamic movements in the world have been experimenting in relationships that have been going on for 30 or 40 years with Nation-states who are an extension or side kick to Imperialism and Zionism. Primary among these Nation-states is Saudi Arabia. It has been financing certain Islamic activities here-and-there, giving the Muslims the crumbs and some Muslims are satisfied with nibbling on the crumbs and then placing the overwhelming majority of its budget or treasury in the financial institutions of Imperialism. I ask you, (very brotherly and very calmly), is it Islamically justifiable to put around three trillion dollars i.e. three thousand billion dollars. This is what the Nation-states of the Arabian Peninsula have. Saudi Arabia and its tertiary Nation-states on the Gulf have. They have this amount deposited in the banks, financial institutions and trans-national corporations that are recycling this wealth in the form of military wars against us. How are we to justify that? We welcome you-

if someone has a counter opinion and can bring us ayaat and ahadith that substantiate and defend this Saudi position, please come- Lets see if we have a common ground here; I dont think so. I never heard of Allahs Prophet placing whatever currency- darahim or danareer- at that time in the hands of the superpowers, whether its the Persian or the Byzantine superpower of that timeit doesnt appear in any of our history books. So where do they get this justification from and why are they upset, wild, agitated and uneasy when someone tells them this and Imam Al Khomeini This is another thing that no one is supposed to speak about. Why? Whats wrong with you? Are you psychologically defeated? Lets say if he wasnt from Iran, if he was from Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Nigeria or somewhere else in the Muslim world- what are we going to say? Oh no! Were not going to support him because he has another school of thought? This is tribalism. We dont belong to this tribalism. We have to see the issues as they are. I know, (brothers and sisters), there are very sensitive issues. The last card that is being played by the imperialist/zionist and their subsystems in the Islamic East is the sectarian card. They want Muslim- Sunnis and Shiis- to begin kill each other. This is what they have been trying to do in Iraq and with the casualties and the very sad incidents that have occurred from time to time and place to place the imperialist/zionists have still not achieved their objectives. Theres not a sectarian/civil war in Iraq as close at times it came to that. Now they are trying to move their theatre of operation from Iraq to Lebanon. They thought, (this was the calculations of the zionists and Imperialists), that in Iraq theyre going to clear house in a matter of a year or so and set up a Shii regime- theyre not going to call it a Shii regime, theyre going to call it a democratic/secular/free/modern state in Iraq; theyll find all these fancy words to describe it. Their next step was to move it from there and undermine the Islamic state next door in Iran through the Hawza and the Islamic seminaries in Iraq. The American Imperialist think-tanks, powers of governments, military are all stuck- they dont know what to do now. So they think let us go to Lebanon and do the same thing; but in Lebanon they have another issue to deal with and thats Hizbullah. Thats another word that Muslims just cant have the composure to understand what they are talking about. Hizbullah is a fighting force in Lebanon- fighting against what? Fighting against occupation! It is sanctified by International Law. For those who are weak in their minds and hearts to hear what Allah and His Prophet are saying OK- run to International Law and hear what they are saying. International Law gives justification and legalities to fight against occupation and Hizbullah fought against occupation and defeated Israeli occupation for the 1st time ever since the existence of that illegitimate state on the dispossessed Palestinians and their lands. Theyre upset by that, so now, they are going to try and have a fight between Sunnis and Shiis commence in Lebanon and theyll go back and say look how unstable Muslim are. This is how they think they are going to recuperate from their losses in Iraq- Its not going to work. Now there is tension in Lebanon- for us who are living the events of the day, that tension will subside. I have confidence and faith in the Muslims. Theres probably going to be some incidents and events, but overall, thats going to subside. The Israelis and the Americans are not going to have it their way. When we say the Israelis and the Americans we mean the governments here. Im an American and I am against all of that kind of stuff that the United States Government is doing in Muslim countries and the Muslim hemisphere of the world. So

what are they going to do now? You beginning to hear- they are trying to target the Islamic State in Iran itself. Iraq hasnt got them anywhere and it doesnt seem like Lebanon is going to fall for their trap. In the last skirmishes that happened in Beirut about a month or a month and a half ago, there was a very serious argument between Tel Aviv and Washington. Washington wanted Tel Aviv to interfere in this fight in Beirut to spread the internecine warfare throughout the rest of Lebanon and they disagreed very seriously about this, so now they are turning the guns again to Washington and giving orders. You know- the Israeli Prime Minister always gives orders to the President of the United States and the President always follows through on these orders. The orders were OK-lets target Iran right now. Now theyre beginning to say that there were some Israeli manoeuvres and military exercises and all of this is intended to target some military instillations or bases in Iran. Then they talk about Iran trying to produce a nuclear weapon- you know the rest, we dont have to reproduce it for you; but the thing we must understand is that all this is not happening in a vacuum. Muslims have been able to anchor an Islamic State with all of the struggles and wars that it has been through- from hot military wars to the psychological warfare and new military threats that we are beginning to hear. Let me tell you that the Muslims of today are not the Muslims of the 17 th, 18th or 19th centurieswhen colonialism left the Europian shores and went throughout the lands of Africa and Asia and colonised the Muslims all over the place. Muslims are not in that type of world any longer. Muslims now are beginning to resume their responsibilities. And if Muslims have managed with Allahs supervision and with the leadership like the leadership of Al Imam Al Khomeini to establish an Islamic State, then this is our trust for us to be supportive of the Islamic leadership and the Islamic State in Iran doesnt mean that Im going to have to be a Shii. Lets get that out of our minds- you can be a Sunni to the full extent of the meaning and still be supportive of an Islamic State that is taking a stand against zionism and Imperialism and no one is going to say to you that youre a terrorist unless you are susceptible to that accusation. We hope that those days i.e. Im going to cop-out or dont accuse me of being a terrorist are behind us now; were not terrorists. Theres nothing in the book of Allah or in the quotes of His Prophets that make us terrorists. We dont have to be apologetic, defensive, inferior when the subject comes up and we dont have to be sycophant when they throw all of this defamatory language at us- not at all. Be as confident as you can and say Yeh, we Muslims now have an Islamic State in the world; of course we dont have it in other Muslim territories but it is coming. Whether they like it or not it is coming and it is going to come because we are going to have sacrifices and struggles. It is not going to come on a golden plate- here this is your Islamic State- thats not the way things are done. Theres an Arabic poetry verse that says red freedom has a door and the hand that knocks on that door is a hand that is stained with the blood of struggle, liberation, revolution and sacrifice; thats the hand thats going to open the door of freedom and liberty. Its not going to be Oh were going to go to the White House and plead our cause with the master in the Executive of the Government of the United States of America. Thats not how we are going to gain our freedom, liberty, Islamic Base, Islamic State and Islamic direction- thats not how it is done. Its not the Sunnah of the Prophet and the way he did it. Let me remind you- they came up to him;

there were attempts by those who were the enemies of Allah in Makkah. The said wait a minute, what do you want? Are you looking for position so that you can rule? If thats what you are looking for, we will appoint you the superior ruler over us and on the other hand, if you are looking for wealth and money, we will put together a tremendous amount of resources and well give it to you and then, if on the other hand youre obsessed by some kind of evil spirit, well try to call for you the best capable doctors or physicians of our time to take care of you. To some people, who come to the Masajids to pray and others who ascend the Manabir, theyd say wait a minute here, I think the Prophet made a mistake here. They told him look, if you want to become the ruler of Makkah, well make you the ruler of Makkah. What else do you want? He turned that down. What was he? An extremist or a fanatic?! Look- and they did this via his uncle- they told his uncle, go speak to your nephew. This is the offer. Whats more generous than this? Were practically giving him all he wants and in another narrative they said if you wanted young women well give you that too. So, theyre practically offering him everything a human being could desire. He said No. Oh uncle if they were to put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand in exchange for me giving up on this struggle or affair that I am commissioned with from Allah I will not do it until that day comes when Allah will have this affair supreme or I perish in doing so. The ayah in the Quran says about people who want to give-and-take with Imperialists, Zionists, Alladheenah dhalamu, Al Mushrikeen and Al Mustakbireen, they meaning the avowed enemies would love it (Surah Al Qalam verse 9) We had enemies in Makkah and we have enemies in todays world, and the ayah says about them Their ultimate desire would be for you is to equivocate so that you can equivocate or that you begin to negotiate and barter with them on these principles and these values so that they can do the same (Surah Al Qalam verse 9) They came to him and said to him, when they saw the tide of Islam moving, (just as they see the tide of Islam moving today), and then they begin to come up with some offers. Today they have offers- they go to the Islamic leadership in Iran and say What are you doing? Youre building nuclear technology- look, well give you this and the other. Theyre probably giving the Muslims all these offers so that the Muslims cannot consolidate the achievements and the successes that they have scored in these past decades. They came to Allahs Prophet and said wait, consider this. We can honour your Islam for one year and then you honour our deenour shirk- for one year. Now thats something that opportunists would salivate at. Imagine someone coming in todays world and saying wait a minute were going to have the Islamic system to work for one year in Canada and then well have the Canadian system work for the 2nd year. Wow! Many of todays leaders would jump at the opportunity. Thats a success story coming from heaven! Thats how some of these spokespersons or so called leaders would think today, but is that the way Allahs Prophet thought? No, one short Surah came to put an end on all of this. I guess that a Surah many of you have memorised- Surah Al Kaafirun. The word ibadah

here is not worship. Thats another obstacle in creating a public Islamic social mind. Ibadah means to conform or to comply. So the instructions here are saying Say (Oh Prophet): Oh you who are in denial of Allah, meaning in denial of Allahs Authority and the fact that Allah has a political program for humanity, I will not comply and conform to what you are complying and conforming to (Surah Al Kafirun verse 1-2) And the ayaat go on- which you all know. Suffice it to say- I know I have taken more time than I was allocated to, (they told me about an hour- Ive run over an hour Im sorry for that, Im not supposed to do that), but I think the subject matter is one that needs our attention and it needs someone to express the truth. One of the Islamic scholars in the years of Islamic scholarship and intelligent ideas said this, (Im not going to mention his name because some of you are sensitive to names), if a scholar meaning an Islamic scholar is going to be silent and the public or individuals are ignorant then when is al haqq going to emerge? Its not possible. So the 1st step in having the truth and the facts emerge is for there to be a freedom of expression where Muslims can express their mind and their conscience on the issues, the same way there are Muslims now are at the front lines who are expressing their mind and conscience on the vital issues of the day and then for the Muslim public and societies- you and me- to listen to the truth. Its enough for us to have this truth in gags for a vicious cycle of generations now; it is high time that we break out of this vicious cycle, identify what is right and we support it and we expose what is wrong and we deconstruct it to the best that we can. This is the new dawn and the new generation that is forthcoming. We can see it on the horizon and the writing is on the wall.

Its my distinguished privilege and pleasure to introduce Imam Muhammad Al Asi from Washington. He was born in the United States in 1951. At the age of 11 he moved to Lebanon where he completed his High School education. He then attended the Arab University of Beirut where he took part in extensive studies in the Arab language and other languages. In 1973 he returned to the United States and attended the University of Maryland graduating with a degree in Government and Policy in 1979. In November 1981 he was elected as Imam of the Islamic centre in Washington DC. He has contributed to a number of publications, the most recent being the tafsir of the Quran. He also has other numbers of books and pages of publications written in English and Arabic. Hes an advisor of the Human Rights Commission and one of the founding members of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought. Please join me in welcoming Moulana Muhammad Al Asi here to Calgary.

Im going to have to make some remarks at the beginning. Id like to say that 1 st of all, sometimes inaccurate information circulates and given the type of world we live in, we are keen observers of those who are makers and shakers of public opinion (and) its not a surprise to have skewed information about yours truly, (here), before my arrival, during the day that I was here and its probably going to linger on for some time for those of you who fall victim to the propaganda and the mouth pieces who are busy trying to malign and distort the image of those whose only task is to try to speak the truth and nothing but the truth- thats remark number one. Remark number two- (lets face it), we, (as a whole- I dont mean every individual), suffer from, 1st of all, the inability to express the facts as they should be expressed which is a very severe problem that we have; and secondly we dont even have the ability to listen to the facts if and when they are presented. This is a sad comment, but its a fact and the sooner we put this behind us, the better it will be for us, (ourselves), and for the coming generations of Muslims. The 3rd remark that Id like to make is that there seems to be Islamic Centres, (many of them as a matter of fact), that seem to have yours truly, (here), barred from access and they can administer their Islamic Centres the way they want to; but we pray for the day when Islamic Centres are opened for all sincere Muslims, especially those who have spent a lifetime or just about a lifetime in the service of the Muslims. People in this position either report to you- the common, normal, grass root- Muslim or they report to the pay masters wherever there may be. You can evaluate the way your Islamic Centres administer themselves accordingly. These are the remarks I wanted to clear the air with because I thought it was very necessary to mention that. The subject matter that we will try to concentrate our minds on, (and I know that sometimes we have a selective way of tuning in and then tuning out), may I request that I have your undivided attention for this time period and then, later on you can day-dream and do whatever you want to. Im going to begin this presentation, and Im going to try as much as possible to remain within the context of the Quran and the Sunnah- thats something we all agree upon and we all refer to.

AL QUDS MONTH: PALESTINE IS THE ISSUE

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims

We desire to expand and build on the designation of the day of Al Quds (designated by the late Al Imam Al Khomeini to be commemorated on the last Friday of Ramadhan in recognition of the suffering meted out to the Palestinians and the oppressed peoples of the world), and will be inshaAllah running a weekly additional Khutbah on Al Quds. We pray that Allah raises the awareness of people regarding the suffering of the people of Quds and the other oppressed peoples so that the designation of the last Friday to ensconce the realities in the lives of oppressed people in our minds will culminate into a daily occurrence. to all those who seek justice in the social affairs of men. As has been mentioned in the introduction, this week marks 60 years of Israeli, (the diplomatic word would be occupation of the Holy Land), a more apt description would be Israeli theft of the Holy Land. This issue has been simmering for the past 60 years and has created more misery in the lives of those who are on both sides of the issue and it shows no promise of an impending solution. Speaking at odds with the mainstream media is a difficult task because we have to deconstruct the lies that have been implanted with this lethal occupation and then we have to reconstruct the truth that has been deliberately and systematically excluded from this whole presentation. Obviously, this is not a task that we are upto in a matter of less than an hour, but we shall attempt some understanding of a problem that has the potential of drawing in the whole world on two opposite and conflicting sides. We say, (as is the title of this presentation), that Palestine continues to be the issue and Zionist Israel continues to be the problem. Were going to go through a quick time-line of this modern day problem

In 1897, (which is about 111 years ago), there were some individuals of the Jewish faith who met in Switzerland in what is called the World Zionist Congress and it seems to be that at that conclave of these conspirators that they settled on the idea of a future Zionist Israeli state. Here is where it becomes a little tricky because we have people and individuals of the Jewish faith who say that they are entitled to a homeland and we think, (whether we are of the Islamic or Christian or any other faith), that every human being and people in this world are entitled to a homeland, and that certainly includes people of the Jewish faith. We dont think any Muslim will argue with any Jew concerning the matter of a home-land- we think that is a given and therefore any/every Jew is entitled to a homeland. That being said though doesnt mean that any/every Jew in the world in entitled to what we have today which is called Israel i.e. a racist, expansionist, colonialist type of nation-state. We dont think that any Jew should be part of that project, and equally so; if we were to perceive of a Christian racist nation state, we dont think that any Christian should belong to it; and furthermore, if there is an Islamic racist, colonialist, expansionist nation state, we dont think any Muslim should have anything to do with that type of project. So, before you shoot from the hip or draw your daggers, pause of a moment and think of this common position/ground that unarms such states from their expansionist policies, aggressive politics and the type of discrimination that goes into their social fabric; therefore, we

find that it should be common ground that all people of all faiths, particularly the people of the Jewish faith because Zionist Israel purports to speak on behalf of people of the Jewish faith. We find no common denominator that should unite Jews and Muslims and Christians together against a hateful and an expansionist and militant nation-state as is the case with the one that we are talking about i.e. Israel. (As we said, were going to go through this timeline)- in 1917, (20 years after that conclave in Basel, Switzerland), we have the Balfour Declaration and here we have nasty politicians speaking with fork-tongues. They turn to the Arab occupants of Palestine, and beyond that, to the general Arabians in the Peninsular and they tell them in fact, we are going to win the First World War and were going to see to it that you have a consolidated state that extends from Arabia northward into the Levant including Iraq and with the same breath, they tell the Jewish population you are entitled to a homeland of your own in Palestine. They were lying to someone and as the years unfolded, it turned out that British colonialism was lying to the Arabs and trying to honour its word to the Jews. In 1947, (this was after and all of the details that go with World War 1, the inter-war years and now the ending of World War 2 we had a United Nations General Assembly Resolution that says, (these are words on paper), the Jews are entitled to 53% of British mandated Palestine and the Arabs are entitled to 47% of that same territory. A year later, the British leave Palestine and the Zionist Israelis move in and declare their illegitimate, illegal, unfounded, tribal, nation-state. There were skirmishes and conflict between the immediate victims, (i.e. the Palestinians), of this aggression and occupation and the new colonialists in the area who were to become the Zionist settlers who established this incompatible nation state in the Holy Land.

In 1949, there was a cease fire between both sides which resulted in the Zionists taking control of 78% of the whole of Palestine. Now, for the 1st time in the geo-political area of the world, the world itself has a problem. This is no longer to become a problem that is shedding the blood of two populations that is claiming one piece of territory, now, this division was drawing in forces from outside this area. In 1967, there was a breakout of hostilities- a war broke out. That war, (contrary to what you hear in the mainstream media), was launched by the Israeli occupiers and thieves who stole the Holy Land. 1st they attacked Egypt, then Jordan and then Syria in a matter of six days. Then, they occupy more territory. It wasnt enough- they were not satisfied with the occupation of 1948 and 1949; now they added another large chunk to their illegitimate body. They added the Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. This was a problem multiplier. In the Summer of 1967, the United Nations issued a resolution- Security Council Resolution 242 that called upon the politicians of Tel Aviv to withdraw immediately from occupied or the occupied territories, (depending on whether it was the French or English translation of that document). But who do

you speak to? Colonialists? Racists? Nothing doing. No one was going to withdraw from these territories. In 1982, Israel invades Lebanon. Remember, Lebanon is supposed to be, (in the diplomatic par lands of the time), a democratic Christian country in the Middle East with its mosaic of people, still it was considered something like a democracy and a pluralist society. But now, the Israelis are after Palestinian blood. They wanted to cripple or put an end to the Palestine Liberation Organisation and they sought it our inside of Lebanon. They didnt care! Kill whom they kill! Devastate whom they devastate! Those are no considerations. They went into half of that country with their military. The destruction that resulted was not any concern to them. One of the dynamics of that Summer of 1982 was the massacre of Sabra and Shatilla. 3,000 Palestinians were killed in these two refugee camps that were on the outskirts of Beirut. Of course, the force that was used to do that was the Lebanese phalange who were working in cohorts with their Israeli bosses and sponsors one of whom was the current debilitated Ariel Sharon. An independent Israeli Commission found that he was at least responsible for the massacre of these 3,000 Palestinians in a very gruesome and gory manner in Sabra and Shatilla. Nothing new to that General in the Israeli armed forces who was familiar with massacres going back to the early years of the establishment of that Colonialist/Racist state. Then we had 1993. You would think this was going to be a turning point in the history of these two peoples who are now interlocked in wars of death and destruction. 1993 brought us the Oslo Accords sponsored by the other Imperialist powers in the world and there were high hopes. At least some of you can recall those years in which there was shuttle diplomacy. One of the officials in the American administration who belongs to the Jewish faith, (at least thats was we are left to believe), and he kept on going back-and-forth and back-and-forth but nothing much was accomplished. The Palestinians were back to square one- the square of despair. In the year 2000, September, once again, Ariel Sharon, (who now sits on his death-bed, (not to be seen; we cant recall the last time there were some cameras around him. We wish there were some cameras around him the way there are some cameras around us), in a provocative manner walks through Islamic territory in an area called The Noble Sanctuary, Al Haram Al Sharif, better known to those of the Jewish faith called The Temple Mount, but in a particular area there to offend all Muslims in the world; a-billion-and-a-half Muslims in the world to be offended by this person today whos in a struggle with the angel of death which sparks what is called Al Aqsa Intifada, The Intifada of the Al Aqsa Mosque. Now, what do we have? What are we dealing with? Were dealing with a government and regime in Tel Aviv that has a military punch that doesnt want to listen to reason. We dont know how many people here, (obviously some of you come from a Jewish background and we dont know what that means to you), have been to the occupied territories of what some of you call Israel- have you seen with your own eyes how Palestinians are treated? They are treated as if they are not human beings. What type of justification do your co-religionists have for treating

other people as if they are beasts? There are 700 roadblocks in the West Bank, Palestine per se; military patrol sitting there at certain junctures- 700 of them in that tiny area of the West Bank and adjacent areas. For what reason, except to harass people and to convince people that life is no longer sustainable in their own country. What have you people who belong to Zionism done to other human beings except force them into a militancy that will not accept the harm, damage, death and destruction that you have come with and with all the military might that you think is shielding you? OK, (look), this is not a word that is said, (but we are here, in an atmosphere of individuals who think- you are students and a faculty), Israel is a nation state of a military mindset that has weapons of mass destruction. (Did) you hear that? Must it be repeated to you once again because no one dare express it on the nightly news and on the talk-and-show programs? The expansionist, racist and colonialist regime in Tel Aviv is in possession of weapons of mass destruction; Israel is a nuclear power. It is the only nuclear power in the Middle East. It is a nuclear power that is located in Holy territories; It is a nuclear power that refuses to accept inspections or to sign the nuclear non-proliferation agreements. Where do they get this justification from? How do they get away with this? Why arent there people with enough mental courage and enough moral fibre who can look these Israeli Zionists in the face, eyeball-to-eyeball, and tell them who do you think you are? Havent you seen how youve morphed from a David thousands of years ago into a Goliath today? Tell that to your acquaintances, (were addressing ourselves to those who belong to the Jewish faith because you come into contact with these types more frequently than anyone else), look them in the eye and say How do you rationalise and explain your status quo policies, whether they are the local brand such as having innocent children and women be humiliated in public? Where do you get that from? This is confusing! I dont know of any Scripture or word of God that condones that type of behaviour! Where does this come from? Explain to us?! Now, these Zionists who hide behind Jewish cloth have become the Goliath of our time and they think that just because they have all this money to buy politicians and shut them up with the finances every election cycle around. What do they think? Theyre getting away with this? This is a crime? They are responsible and accountable for crimes against humanity. We dont know where theyre going with this- any reasonable mind cannot figure out where these Israeli officials are going with this. What are their military policies, imposed occupation and expansionist schemes doing? Theyre just militarising more people. Cant they figure this out? Its simple! (Take) a look at the world30 years ago, you had what you yourself called rag tag Palestinian fighters- guerrillas. During the late 1960s and early 1970s you would scramble up into the sky the F4s and Sky Hawks that you had and chase these fighters in Southern Lebanon and the West Bank into Jordan. This is not ancient history; this is something that you know very well. What do you have today- 30 or 40 years later? Do you have rag tag fighters who are now on your borders or do you have a well equipped, well armed, dead serious core of fighters who are literally defying death and not budging one inch and not fearing one iota of military hardware that you have? Youve tasted the results of your own policies in Lebanon two Summers ago and that only a fore taste of things to come. Right now, in the ranks there are millions- and not only Palestinians this time around- of Arabs and millions of Muslims who are waiting to undo your tyranny and (theyre) not waiting

with shivers, but with a grand anticipation of encounter. Is this what you like? Is this what you want? What do you do? You find that you call yourself a democracy. This is the other complicating issue here- Israel is called a democracy in the mainstream media- what a democracy that is! You cause 5-7 million refugees to leave their homeland and you call yourself a democracy?! Why cant you think of permitting these refugees to return to their homes, orchards, villages and towns? What type of democracy are we talking about when the Zionist Israelis have destroyed 500 villages and towns in Palestine? Thats a democracy?! They destroy peoples lives and physical sites- why? They cant live with it and you rename it? You want to create a new imposed reality?! Those memories have not gone away; some people who left literally still have in their pockets, living rooms and refugee camps those crude iron keys to the door locks and knobs that they had when they left their original town and village. They cant destroy those memories. They can force people into refugee camps and theyve done that par excellence; they- the people who lived thousands of years in exilehave forced millions of people into exile. They must give us their explanation for these policies. If they give us bombs for those policies; Muslims, Palestinians, Arabs and oppressed peoples in the world are going to fight back. The solution doesnt come from bombs and bullets; the solution comes from explanations and answers; (since) they dont have explanations and answers to give, the tragedy continues. While the tragedy continues, the Israeli Zionists are very aware of the facts that as the years go by, they are going to feel more cornered in the nation state ghetto that they constructed. Its a ghetto. Just like they didnt learn from exile, they didnt learn from ghetto life. They left the ghettos of Europe- there were no ghettos to speak about in Muslim countries- and came in the fashion that they did, (with all the bloodshed that went with it and still continues), to the Holy Land, (which theyve desecrated and blasphemed with every decision that they made and still are making), and then they realised that they are in an area of hostilities all around them. These hostilities didnt come from no-where; these hostilities were a reaction to all of the misery and hostility that they brought with them and visited upon these peoples. Then, as they realised where they have located themselves, they began to build a wall or barrier around the country that they are living in- isnt this a grand definition of a ghetto and an accurate explanation of the psychology that we are speaking about? We dont know what its going to take... (Lets flip this for another tone of conversation- we hope those of you who are recording have whatever it takes to integrate or present all of this lecture without doctoring or censoring parts of it.) Look- we are human beings; if there are any human beings in the world who are unarmed as a community of people, its we, the victims of your policies. Why is it that when you have all of this power and military prowess that theyre so proud of, they cant come up as normal human beings and speak to the victim? Something is wrong here when people who have all of this power cannot act as normal human beings with the victims. Something is wrong at the psychological core of such people. Probably, its going to take we, the victims of the Israeli Zionists, to help them out. We have no compunctions about speaking; here we are speaking. We understood that there was something about Israel last week on this campus; (we werent here; we just heard that they had entertainment, music, food and whatever other activity it is that satisfies the instinct in man; but is it about instinct or is it about common sense and the exchange of

ideas?! If you have something to offer the public, come out with it; the public is willing to listen, particularly we, the Muslims. Those of you who are affiliated with the Zionist occupation of the Holy Land, remember, when you were persecuted everywhere in the world, where did you find refuge? Where did you find life to be semi-normal? It was among us who you have now made victims. (Its going to take) the populations of this victim-hood to once again extend its hand to those of you who are willing to receive an extended hand; but those of you who are still poisoned with your Zionist ideology, we dont know what to say to you- the only place we see you is at the war-front and the only thing we know about you is death and destruction. Weve experienced your discrimination and we know very well your racism. How are we to interact with you- you leave us no choice- Zionism has to go. Regardless of faith or religion, if you cant see that Zionism has to from the Holy Land, Occupied Palestine, the face of the map and planet Earth, then you are welcome. If you have an open heart and mind, then you are welcome to a conversation that makes sense. Dont be scared that sometimes you Israeli Zionists are going to encounter people and individuals who carry the bruises and injuries of the occupation that you are responsible for, but beyond that physical tar of the occupation there remains souls and minds who can speak truth to power. Thank you very much. We will end once again with the greeting that I opened with. We understand that tonight there will be a follow up and theres going to be a more calm presentation of the facts and an open air lecture like this is obviously better suited to the manner and the mode than which this presentation was given and we hope to see some of you or all of you this evening.

Q: During the Jordanian occupation of Jerusalem, could the Jews pray at the Western wall? Imam Al Asi: This type of question tries to put a person in the position of defending the Jordanian Government. You happen to be speaking to a person who happens to be as opposed to the Jordanian Government as he is to the Israeli Government. Q: Can a Muslim person pray in Al Aqsa Mosque today? Imam Al Asi: A Muslim can physically make his presence to Al Masjid Al Aqsa and be there except that we have to understand the conditions in which a Muslim goes to Al Masjid Al Aqsa. There are many days in the Holy month of Ramadhan in which Muslims who are over the age of 45 are forbidden from coming to Al Masjid Al Aqsa. The number of Muslims at Al Masjid Al Aqsa is another issue. If the number of Muslims exceed at times 20,000, or 10,000 or at other times 30,000 they are not permitted to congregate at Al Masjid Al Aqsa. There are instances in which individuals, only because they are suspected, (not going though a legal system or because there is evidence for doing so), they are told you cannot proceed to pray there by the Occupation forces around Al Masjid Al Aqsa. So- yes,

some Muslims can pray in Al Masjid Al Aqsa selectively and other Muslims are denied from being there deliberately. Q: Thank you for your words. My question is why, (in your mind), do people have to pay for crimes they did not commit in Europe? Why have these people been selected to pay for something they have not done? Imam Al Asi: That is an extremely important question and the reason I gave my presentation and continue to speak this way everywhere and anywhere I go is because those who are Zionist Israelis refuse to give us an answer on that question. If there was persecution in Europe and if there was dislocation of Jews, why are they having the Palestinian people pay the price for the peculiar history that they had/have? That is a question that remains unanswered and the answer should come from those who are of the Jewish faith and are affiliated to the Zionist establishment in the Holy Land. If we dont have for this, then as I said in the presentation- we can get somewhere if there are answers and explanations, but were not going to get anywhere if someone like me or the otherwhether hes a Christian, Muslim, Palestinian or Arab- asks a question and they answer us with bombs, further occupation and more dislocations. Thats not an answer. All you do is you beg for further resistance and recruit future warriors against you- this is what were trying to say to you. Sometimes we say it with a loaded heart because after all we are human beings and emotions are part of our humanity just like they are part of your humanity; so overlook the emotional content and zero-in on the rational content and produce an answer and explanation, not a bomb and a bullet.

AL AHZAAB- THE COALITION OF THE WILLING

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen Allah says-with meanings that penetrate our hearts, motivate our minds and activate out behaviour in Surah Al Ahzaab. The meaning of this ayah follows in the following manner Of the committed Muslims there are men who are true to their pledge with Allah; some of them have already passed and some of them still await, but they have not changed their positions or alterated their principle; or of the divinely committed Muslims there are

reliable individuals who are true to their promise or dedication to Allah (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 21) The word rijaal is the plural of the word rajul and the word rajul is linguistically extracted and related to the word rijl which is biologically or physiologically speaking a persons leg. A more accurate translation of the word rijaal is reliable individuals. The body relies on the legs therefore we have a rajul. So, in this context, the word is not excluding women if women are dependable or reliable individuals. they were true to their oath and allegiance to Allah and as a consequence of being truthful and dedicated to Allah, some of them have passed on by death or through war and some of them are waiting but they have not equivocated, changed positions/faces or attitudes, behaviours. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 21) This is the general linguistic understanding of the ayah; the contextual understanding of the ayah (along with) the preceding and the following ayaat in Surah Al Ahzaab were revealed on the occasion of the Battle of Al Ahzaab for which the Surah was given its name or the other name of the same battle is Al Khandaq or the trench in reference to a trench that was built around certain area of Al Medinah to protect the Muslims from the grand alliance of Arabian Mushrik forces that were coming to make a final assault against the Islamic leadership, authority, state and society of Al Medinah. In the course of this battle, the true nature of individuals appeared. There were those who were apparent Muslims- they would say what was required to be a Muslim and they would meet the bare minimum requirements to be a Muslim. If they had to pray the went to pray; if they had to pay some zakah they would pay some zakah; etc, but when it came to the true/testing time to give, potentially, their lives for Allah, then here is where we detect who is true to Allah and who is a fake. In the course of this battle there was a class of people who said Allah and His Prophet only promised us vanity or vain glory (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 12) In other words, what Allah and His Messenger promised us was basically, (in the language of the street), was a trick. The 1st thing we learn from this is that these types of people would not say this if they were not placed in the position to make the ultimate sacrifice. When it came time for them to pay with their lives (and) when it came to military duty being required of them, then, at that time they spoke these words- meaning if no such sacrifice was demanded of them they wouldn't speak these words; which also means the higher or more demanding the responsibility is, the more we discover the nature of individuals and peoples around us. If they are not offered this type of responsibility and obligation, we would not know the extent of who they really are. It takes a grand sacrifice or the time period of a grand sacrifice to divulge the true character of people. Now, we had Muslims- good and bad Muslims- faced with this existential threat; when Al Ahzaab, (the confederates of Arabia), closed ranks and moved in on Al Medinah they posed an existential threat to the Muslims and

here is where we begin to detect who the true Muslim is and who the false Muslim is. The false Muslims express themselves- and the ayah of Allah expresses their nature when they said Allah and His Messenger did not promise us anything except vanity, false expectations and no delivery of his words (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 12) When Muslims are in conditions like this they have no choice but to speak their minds and hearts, especially when they know that death is only inches away; but then on the other hand, theres another category of Muslims that Allah has paid tribute to Of the divinely committed Muslims there are reliable individuals who have proven the truth to their pledge with Allah (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 21) It is said that in this climate of the ultimate sacrifice of war on the outskirts of Al Medinah the Prophet of Allah consulted with the two Sa'ads of Al Medinah and he said why do we not offer one of these major factions, Al Ghatafan, of this grand alliance some of the produce of Al Medinah? The two Sa'ads, (Sa'ad ibn Muaadh and Sa'ad ibn Ubada (Radi Allahu anhuma) answered, we ask you Oh Messenger of Allah, is this something that you envision or suggest for us to do or is this something that Allah has revealed unto you for us to do? Then, the Prophet answered no. This may be a means in this war to deflate the concentration of their military power against us; we will have neutralised on of the main, if not the main blocks, in this alliance; but it is not an order from on high- meaning this is not an order from Allah to do, its a suggestion. They answered and said in our pre-Islamic days, we, (the people from Yathrib or Al Medinah), and they, (these Mushriks from the rest of the Arabian Peninsula), used share the same belief, standards and belong to the same background and now Allah has privileged us with you and this Islam- why should we be, (this is paraphrasing), negotiating our position away to them. Allah's Prophet understood from this that they were not willing to play what may be called a diplomatic line with the enemies of Allah; in our words they preferred a military encounter with Allah's enemies than to spend away some of their economy to diffuse one of the major concentration powers in this confederation of forces. And including them in this ayah unfold to its meanings. We know the unfolding of history during this time period. Now, we make a transition from those times and those reliable Muslims to our time- we come to our context. Obviously we don't have Allah's Prophet in flesh and blood dwelling in our midst as was the case then and there; but we do have the Prophet in his words, in the wahy that was revealed to him and in the struggle in his lifetime- that information those facts are available to us so no one can come and say that well my excuse in that the Prophet is not here! That's a dead statement because Allah's Prophet is alive in his behaviour, legacy, the details of his life, struggle, seerah and sunnah- all of that is available. Then, (for those who submit to this truth), the issue is that the Muslims of today also have a warlike confluence of circumstances and powers that are aired against them. Anyone can doubt this?! You can fill in

the blanks of the world around you in the past years, in our current minute and moments and also in the coming years. Who can deny that imperialism, zionism and their substructures in Muslim lands and territories are a confederation of forces that presents us with the challenge of whether we are willing to make or even contemplate making the ultimate sacrifice. This is where we have some individual Muslims run away; they don't want to face or confront, (at least mentally), this reality- they are a kin to the munafiqeen who said Allah and His Prophet only promised us vanity or vain glory (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 12) But, on the other hand we have Muslims who are sincere, truthful and uncompromising Muslims- who stand on principle and who die on principle; we also have these types who have not bartered away their oath and pledged with Allah in exchange for these worldly gains or expectations. From understanding this ayah, if we can reach its meanings in our time and in the world around us, we should have enough courage to point out who are failing Allah because they do not want to honour their word with Him. Who are they in today's world? This is where many Muslims get stuck- they don't want to take this extra step forward and say this is what Allah is saying and what He is saying applies to these types of people. This is where we are- we seem to be unable to take that step forward and say OK- we can identify them; OK- here we are, we have a confederation of forces, today, in this world- the Zionists, imperialists and their flunkies. Who are they? These are not nameless people; they have proper nouns. They are in Washington, Tel Aviv, Cairo, Ar Riyadh- they are not ghosts or phantoms that cannot be identified and characterised. Why are we Muslims letting them live in this gap or area in which we have not extended our minds to and say you, (the people), who are unwilling to face this confederation of forces today, you are the ones who the Quran brought your words out of your mouths. Allah and His Prophet only promised us vanity or vain glory (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 12) You are cowards who cannot say it but what speaks louder than your inability to pronounce these words is your behaviour and policy to activate these meanings. Has anyone heard a king, president, government, or a regime come out and say but Allah and His Prophet offer us false promises? They haven't said that. I haven't heard any king, president, ruler or governor express these words; what do they express though? What do they do? Doing is more accurate a definition of a person than what a person says. They come to the contemporary Qureish, the contemporary Ghatafan, the contemporary Qaynuqa Quraydah and An Nadhir, the contemporary Ar Rum, the contemporary Al Furs, the contemporary superpowers of today and what do they say? We need you to support, defend, arm, protect us; we need you for our survival. This is what they do and they do this with budgets, treasuries, our labour and resources. Who are you going to believe- their verbal or actuated character? How are you going to judge them- by what they say or the policies they are responsible for? This is the area in which the public mind has not moved into. Why? They don't we take a look at the Kings and Princes in Arabia and the Kings and Presidents in other Muslim countries and say Oh! We know who you are! Allah has spoken to us about you in your

founding generation (i.e.) the munafiqeen in Makkah. The difference is, (though), the munafiqun in Makkah were not the governors and rulers at the time. The leadership of Allah's Prophet prohibited that. Today, we have Islamic movements, organisations, parties, congregations and assemblies and none of them have shown, (with all the due respect that we owe to the struggle there-in), the strength and insight to expose these false rulers and false Muslims who are in control of much of our so called Islamic life. Are they not in control of Makkah and Al Medinah, Muslim countries Asia and Africa and Islamic activities thousands of miles away? Certainly, if a person wants to honour his word with Allah he has to speak the truth; and the truth is that many, (if not all), of these organisations report to the enemies of Islam today. So where is that quality? Where are these committed Muslims who are reliable individuals? Where are they? You (can) look around and let your memory go through the index of names and characters that you know If someone comes to them from the FBI Oh- they want to liaise with the FBI. If someone signals them from a certain Embassy overseas, they oblige and attend meetings with these officials overseas. Where are we, (the Muslims)? Don't we count? Aren't they not supposed to report to us? Aren't we not the ones who are supposed to carry these Godgiven responsibilities into the future? But thats not the way they behave. We, (the Muslim rank and file), don't have the finances- we don't have trillions of dollars, so we have some of these artificial leaders who speak nice words to our ears (with) Islamic meanings on occasions but in the real moments of their lives, (the moments that count), that's when they revert to people who have power and finances- this is not an Islamic leadership. Their failures have gone through cycles but there is no accountability. Remember- the Islamic personalities that we covered- when they assumed positions of power and responsibility they said you have to hold me accountable. I'm not the best one among you; if you see a deviant act by myself you correct me. These were their statements, but now we have people who have lesser power, theyre not a Head of an Islamic state, (these are just organisational figures), and none of them come to you and me, (the general Muslim public), and say look- I'm in a position to make some decisions for you; if I make the right decision help me and if I make the wrong decision, (then), correct me. You tell us, from the range of Islamic leaderships that we have, (are there) any of these leaders who come to their Muslim constituents and ask them, plead with them and speak frankly from heart to heart with them and say to them Im in a position to make decisions for you; if Im correct assist me, if Im not correct or wrong please correct me? They don't want anyone to say please correct me; they don't want anyone to correct them- they are not in the mould of Allahs Prophet or in the mould of the leaders who were in the image of Allah's Prophet, yet they continue to go around and pretend that they are the spokespersons, representatives and interlocutors of Muslims. Allah's Prophet says that at the turn of each generation or each century, Allah will send someone to this ummah to do what? to re-invigorate its affair. In the types of people today, (especially now that there is one crowd going out of circulation and another crowd moving in; for those of you who have did not understand; the salafis are on their way out and the sufis are on their way in, (this has nothing to do with the impulse of the Muslim public or the Muslim mind; it has more to do with the dictate and the order that comes from above with virtually no one around to challenge, discredit and expose these false orders that come from the

confederation of forces that are threatening the Islamic base, the Islamic will and the Islamic future. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims With the previous khutbah in mind- speaking the truth, (there-by), honouring our word with Allah and looking at the facts as they are- not with a blurry vision, not with our personal interests, not with our national interests- but with the God-given truth that is our responsibility we say, (and people who don't feel comfortable with this, (as the expression has it), can go and fly a kite), that in the coming week those of us who are living a struggle, (not those of us who are employed for a struggle or those of us who are in and out of it when they want), those of us who are involved are conscious that in this coming week it will be a matter of 19 years the late Al Imam Al Khomeini (rahmatullahi alaih) passed on to his Maker and his Creator. We would be amiss if we failed to mention that he was one of those few individuals who come only once every now and then and do not negotiate away the principles of Allah under the context of some diplomacy, national interest or sectarian bias. Yes- Al Imam Al Khomeini was a Shii Muslim, but has anyone ever heard of him in his public presentations or speeches making an issue about being a Shii Muslim? I dare and ask anyone, (especially those who can read his words directly- not through translations), of you listening or going to listen to these words in the many speeches that he gave- did he concentrate on or go in circles around being a Shii Muslim? The humble knowledge that this speaker has would answer this question in the negative. Never has he made un issue or concentrated on the facts or tried to present to the Muslim/general public that fact of his personal life. When he spoke, he spoke to the issues; when he addressed the public, he addressed them as either Muslims or oppressed people. Now, we have a failing generation that cannot even remember him as he was. Now, they want to put other hats on his head- some of them want to claim him with their sectarian bias (and) some of them want to identify with him because of their nationalist interest. We hope that this generation of prevaricators or this passing tide of opportunists will be, (however Allah wills it), exposed to their core for trying to use an Islamic personality and leader in a capacity that he does not belong to. This is a person who spent and gave his life for Allah and his Prophets and now we have people who say it is not wise to speak about him. Thats like saying it is not wise to speak about the Prophet/Prophets of Allah- this doesn't make sense; it is not acceptable to any thinking Muslim. They say if we want to speak about him we have to place it in a presentable manner. We have to shave off the Imam some of his features and characteristics (and), make him a presentable person. If these people could only listen to themselves and think about what they are saying! If anyone of you who are nationalists or sectarians about Al Imam Al Khomeini think that you are getting away with your hidden agendas you should know that there are people now who are struggling and when Allah wills it there is going to be a break through. The Muslims in Palestine, Africa and Asia are not looking for their economic well being; they are looking for justice done. You, (people), who think you belong to Al Imam Al Khomeini, listen- a mother has a six year old infant. They live in Jordan. The daughters life depends on surgery from an Israeli doctor and the mother says she will not accept any services rendered by any Israeli even if that means that her six year old infant is going to die. Are these economic Muslims? Some people are falling behind and some people are moving forward; the people who are moving forward are the ones who are in the line of the Prophets and the Muslim Imams and the ones who are falling behind are looking for an economic interest or raising their standards of living.

ISRA AND MIRAJ

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In the coming week Muslims, (those who are aware and mindful), will observe what is called the occasion of Al Isra and Al Miraj- the Prophets night journey from Makkah to Al Quds and his ascension to what is called sidrat al muntaha- the convergence of the end time and place. This occasion is most of the times remarked by Allahs opening ayah in Surah Al Isra when He says Extolled and Exalted is He who has taken his conforming subject on a night journey from Al Masjid Al Haram to Al Masjid Al Aqsa, the environs of which We have blessed so that

We may demonstrate some of our ayaat to him. For He (meaning Allah) is All Hearing All and All Seeing i.e. nothing escapes His attention and detection. (Surah Al Isra verse 1) The traditional approach to Al Isra and Al Miraj has omitted the struggle within which Al Isra and Al Miraj gained the pertinent significance that were meant for us and humanity; so, unlike the traditional speeches, Khutb or Jumah khutb, we will break with traditions as Allahs Prophet broke with tradition and we will say the following to have a better understanding of this critical moment in our collective and common history. The Prophet of Allah began a struggle- this is something that is almost unidentifiable when we speak about him; many people, (Muslims), quote Allahs Prophet, but in the majority of times they dont have a sense that we are speaking about a person who spent his lifetime in a struggle. The way this struggle began, of course, was to spread the word; and spreading this word began in the immediate life of Allahs Prophet, his wife, his cousin, his best friend, his step-son, (these are his immediate circle). The way this word was spread in the beginning was in an underground fashion; this had to be the case because the meaning of this word conflicted with the powers that be, unlike todays spreading the word which means to reconcile with the powers that be. The spreading of this word of Allah means that theres going to be a coming clash with governments, institutions, interests, false ideas and ideologies. The Prophet of Allah spent the 1st three or four years of spreading this word in a non-public way, (i.e.) he just spoke to his immediate circle and then, after there was some adherents, (probably no more than 50 in these three or four years of spreading the Islamic word), he went public i.e. let the people know what this Islam is all about. So, he went public with Islam to the rest of Makkan society and here is where the opposition, pressure and struggle began in earnest. Here is when the officials of Makkah were going to show the Prophet that they were serious in putting an end to what he was saying and what he wants to do. So, the Prophet of Allah and those few individuals who committed themselves to him in the course of this struggle in Makkah were to feel all the pressure that comes to bear by all the instruments of society and state against those who are opposed to that type of society and state. The years go by and the Muslims were tortured. The Muslims had no power or finances- they had nothing to speak about and the establishment was out to get them; it wanted to break the back of what the Muslims stood for (only in theory), at this time. They had nothing else and that this establishment of Makkah, as is the case with all establishments when they understand that there is a threat to their structure, invested interests, class advantages and their national and racial idiosyncrasies, (out of which we have nationalism and racism there and here and will continue to be the case). There wasnt much that we can speak about in the way of success. What was there that the Prophet of Allah could point to in the form of concrete/cumulative/comprehensive success? Virtually nothing! We cant say that this was a successful effort when we had a person like Bilal (radi Allahu anhu), (an underclass person who mainstream society doesnt pay any attention to at all), being tortured with the historical details that you should be aware of. What is this? Success?! Do you think Allahs Prophet was proud when he would pass by, know of or listen to the news coming to him

from other Muslims that his companions are being tortured?! You tell us- in the mainstream mind, what type of success are we talking about? The Yasir family- the 1 st individual to fall in the line of Islamic duty and lose their life belonged to this Yasir family. Ammaar and Sumayyah (radi Allahu anhuma) were tortured in front of the Prophets eyes. Do you think this is a success in the dictionary of the real and material world around us? The Prophet would say to them patience family of Yasir for your schedule or meeting place is Al Jannah. Whether people were in the under class of society of whether they were better off Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) came to Allahs Prophet and said Im giving you all that I have. The Prophet asks him what have you left for your family? He says I left them (in the care of) Allah and His Messenger. Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was another person who gave for Allah. When he decided to become a Muslim in the Makkan era and was whipped by his uncle to renounce this new orientation in life, he refused and wouldnt do it. This is a success story?! Saad ibn Abi Waqqas (radi Allahu anhu), whose mother struggled with her own son- my son- reconsider (or) rethink yourself. What are you doing? This is not the way to go. And his mother fell ill; it was a serious illness. What does her son say to his mother when the choice is between kufr and imaan? A son tells his mother Wallahi, if I were to see you dying 100 times and then coming back to life and dying again to have me denounce my deen- I will never do it! This struggle continued until society and state brought more pressure against the few Muslims- were not speaking about hundreds or thousands of Muslims in Makkah; were talking only about scores of Muslims. They isolate them in Shab Abi Talib for three years. The Muslims were subsisting or living at sub-survival levels throughout three consecutive years until finally from within Makkan society some young people got fed up with the policies of their own establishment and they went to the Kabah and they ripped this declaration of isolating Allahs Prophet and excommunicating those who were with him. You tell us- is this a success?! Allah works in His, (what is supposed to be to us), detectable ways. When all of this pressure was increasing on the Muslims from the organised society of Makkah i.e. its establishment and state, then we have personalities who are not marginal in that society who would come out and become Muslims, (such as) Humzah ibn Abdul Mutallib (radi Allahu anhu). In the middle of this organised, planned and pre-meditated strategy against committed Muslims- as few as they were; the issue is not numbers, the issue was quality, principle and values- was the Prophet an isolationist? This was the best time for those who want to develop an argument for stepping out of society. This was the best time for the Muslims to say We cant take it anymore. We need a break. Let us retreat from this pressure, regroup, become re-invigorated, catch our breath and step back into this society and challenge the headhantials of this society. What did Allahs Prophet- the Prophet that we say is our reference, pace-setter and example- do? He intensified his contact with this hostile society, environment and peoples around him- memorise that. He would go to the Kabah more frequently; he would establish with people who are at the Kabah and with people who came from distant lands to the Kabah; he would send some of the people around him to Africa; he himself attempted to go and re-establish a base in At Taif; he met with delegations that came from Al Medinah in what is called the three Aqabah encounters. He wasnt stepping out of this struggle; he was causing all of those who have the power in this world to react to

his position of power with Allah and weakness with man. Then, his two support persons in life- the person who offered him psychological and family care, (i.e.) his wife, passes on and then his uncle, Abu Talib, who offered him social and extended family support passes on. Here is a society with all the concentration of power and wealth in it that was now suffering an erosion, (thats how is perceived the effect of Islam and imaan). In all of these years, the Prophet of Islam won over to his side individuals, most of who were youth. Most or the overwhelming majority of those who became part of the Prophets party in Makkah were less than 40 years old; the overwhelming majority of this overwhelming majority were those who were in their teens and 20s- this speaks volumes about a person who is in his 40s and now beginning his 50s in life who had an overwhelming majority of people following him who were half his age. Wont we say that this message of Islam, with all that was going against it in Makkah, was losing ground? Well- a person who belongs to this dunyah would look at it and say I feel sorry for this Prophet. There seems to be nothing developing in his favour. It was at this time, as we see the whole world folding in on the Prophet in Makkah, that Jibreel (alaih salaam) comes to him and we have in our history what is called Al Isra wa Al Miraj. This is how we have to understand the backdrop and background to what other people would write books and volumes about (i.e.) the miracle of the Prophet going from Makkah to Al Quds. We want you, (the Muslim mind to think)- Al Isra was from Makkah to Al Quds; it wasnt from anywhere else in the world. When Muslims were at the end of their line, (this is the best way to put it in words), Allah opened a route for them from Makkah to Al Quds or from Al Masjid Al Haram to Al Masjid Al Aqsa. We dont know if Muslims today can even feel where they are, much less think and know where they are. This is a problem that has invaded Muslim societies and communities all over the world. We wish, hope, pray and beg the ability of Muslims to know where they are. Why cant we understand/realise that the way the Prophet in Makkah was living at the existential level, we are also living at the existential level? If we come to realise this, why cant we understand that Allah has given direction to His Prophet. When times like this develop, Allah shows us the way; but the analogy has to be accurate. The Prophet of Allah was in a struggle with his social self; Makkah, Al Medinah, Al Hejaz and Arabia was the Prophets social self- he was struggling with his social self and when his social self in the material world appeared to be defeating him, Allah showed him a way to Al Masjid Al Aqsa. Now- if we want an analogy here- we ask ourselves are we in a struggle with our social selves? If we are conscientious, objective and accurate we say, regrettably, we are not in a struggle with our social self. Our social self has claimed, nationalised and racialised our Islam. So, how can we make believe that we are on the course of Allahs Prophet when the years that have gone by have proven that we cannot even launch a jihad against our extended self the way the Prophet of Allah launched a jihad against his extended self? When that was not going well, Allah said and demonstrated to His Prophet, (and the rest who are on his course and orientation and towards his objective), in the 1st ayah of Surah Isra or Surah Bani Israeel Extolled and Exalted is He who has taken his conforming subject on a night journey from Al Masjid Al Haram to Al Masjid Al Aqsa, the environs of which We have blessed so that

We may demonstrate some of our ayaat to him. For He (meaning Allah) is All Hearing All and All Seeing i.e. nothing escapes His attention and detection. (Surah Al Isra verse 1) and in the other ayaat in Surah An Najm And, indeed, he saw him a second time at Sidrat Al-Muntaha (Surah An Najm verse 14) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- these meanings are not meant for some theological argument. We said at the beginning of the khutbah- we break with tradition. How does tradition have it? They come to a theological argument- they say was this Isra and Miraj a spiritual one (i.e.) the body of Allahs Prophet remained in the compartment that he was in, in Makkah or was this Isra and Miraj both, a physical and spiritual journey? Thats how they want to mislead and distract us from the essence of Isra and Miraj and its context of struggle. The Prophet of Allah leaves and comes back in just one night and he tells the around this is what happened- in the course of the last night I went from Makkah to Al Quds; and from Al Quds I went to Sidrat Al Muntaha, i.e. the convergence of the end time and place. Of course, society makes fun of this; they say are we going to listen to this character? When we go to Al Quds, it takes us 30 days one way and 30 days to come back the other way when we take our caravans and go loaded there- are you going to believe this person? He says he went there in one night and not only there, then he adds on to that he went from there above the seven Heavens. Society churned out its propaganda against the Prophet, making fun of him, belittling, accusing, maligning him and trying to falsify him. Even some Muslims said we dont want to take this anymore; we want to step outside this Islam; we dont want to be Muslims any longer. These are facts; this is what happened. What do we come and do? Make this issue a miracle? It is a miracle by any definition. Muslims dont even mention it as a miracle. Because detecting Allah should not be in the physical movement of the Prophet from Makkah to Al Quds to Heaven; it is in the details of the struggle that brought the Prophet to the point in which the transition was made by Allah from Makkah to Al Quds to Heaven and back- all of those details are the miracle that have been undetected by spokespersons and spokesmen of Muslims for so long. The time has come to arrest the traditional mind and to reinvigorate the Quranic thinking and Prophetic psychology. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Allah speaks about Al Masjid Al Haram to Al Masjid Al Aqsa and now, we have two synchronising regimes- one of them rules over Al Masjid Al Haram and the other one rules over Al Masjid Al Aqsa. They are cut from the same fabric- they are two theologies or religious creeds that are different in Arabia and in the Holy Land, but as far as behaviour and policies, they complement each other. The regime in Arabia is slowly, gradually and progressively eroding Al Masjid Al Haram and its environs. We dont just mean in the physical sense with the construction that is going on and with the finance and capital that is renting and leasing Al Masjid Al Harams environs. They want to make money out of Islamic tourism to that area. This

is besides the fact that the regime there has been like a termite in the House of Islam. They have been chipping away at any ideological fibre in Islamic individual entities or organisational entities. And, echoing these policies in the Holy Land, we have a zionist regime that is physically at work undermining Al Masjid Al Aqsa. What do you want brothers and sisters- committed Muslims? (Do) you want to wake up one day and listen to an elaborate news item that says Al Masjid Al Aqsa or Al Haram Ash Sharif or The Temple Mount has collapsed? Wouldnt that sound like something that is in the heart and at the middle of todays policies to strangulate Muslims who are trying to find direction and a way out of the injustice that theyve been living through for so long? (Let) truth be said- the passive, lackadaisical, indifferent and isolationist behaviour of individual and communal Muslims, Muslims who make believe that they belong to a society when they have none and Muslims who are affiliated to governments that say they are Muslim in some sense or the other all of this is towing the line of the imperialist locomotive that is moving at full speed to ruin and demolish our physical, mental and spiritual basis. Some Muslims brothers in Palestine have been ringing the alarm bells for so long (and) saying to the rest of the Muslims mind you, pay more attention- these Zionists are working night and day at the foundations of Al Masjid Al Aqsa. Just a few weeks ago, there were news reports that hospitals have gone on alert in the Holy Land and even in Lebanon because some seismologists are predicting a substantial Earth tremor that will cause many many casualties and injuries. Could this be the approaching information or the subliminal 1st shots in what they have planned to destroy what belongs to Allahs committed and conforming human beings. Remember- we said so, we expressed the truth- the responsibility is yours and the results are Allahs.

JIHAD
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims An individual Muslim is a human being that at times builds up a storage of dedication and expends a long period of dedication and motivation, but then, an individual human being has his lapses, moments of weakness and the temptation to step out of the fray. This is human nature that we all share. The Quran and Allah responds to this. This type of nature, as it displays itself, was around in the time of Allahs Prophet. There was an area outside of Al Medinah where there was shade, water, comfort and serenity. The society of Al Medinah at this time was in the midst of hostilities expressed from all directions. Medinah became the political, psychological, economic, social and military target of everyone else, practically, in the world. After years and years of the human effect of these combined policies and these co-ordinated strategies on the psychology that

we all share, theres bound to be an individual or some individuals who will say I need a break from all of this. I cant take this anymore True- there was a person who came to Allahs Prophet after contemplating and looking at what is going on and said how long are we going to take this? I need a breather. I need to step out of this. The discipline of a Muslim character could not do what human nature tempts him to do. Before going to Allahs Prophet and asking him permission to go to a shaded, watered, comfortable and serene area away from the challenges, the awkward circumstances, the threats and the military encirclement of Al Medinah and he goes to Allahs Prophet and he asks him may I distance myself from this social pressure that we are all in? Theres a place, (he referred to this place outside Al Medinah), where I can go for a break. Were going to quote to you Allahs Prophets response- not only to one individual, and not only to the relapse of human nature, but to everyone and every inclination of this type within similar circumstances until the end of time- he said to him dont do it. The status of one of you on a course of struggle towards Allah, The Exalted, is much preferable than a person praying in his own dwelling for 70 years. Do you not love for Allah to forgive you and to have you enter into Al Jannah. Embark on military campaigns for the sake/course and in the direction of Allah. Whoever is engaged in a combat effort for the sake/course of Allah, then Al Jannah is due to him or is his right. Remember, we are speaking about human nature and human nature needs a breather from time-to-time. If you have been listening closely to the sequence of these khutbahs on Fridays, you will have understood that the exertion that is required from us from time-to-time may drive some individuals into depression or may course some individuals to give up; this is not the character of those who are committed to Allah within circumstances that need the confluence of our efforts and the reinforcement of our struggle. (If) you need a break, there are social times that permit that type of break, but there are other social times that do not permit this type of contemplation. When we need each other, what is your excuse? I cant take it anymore!? If everyone was going to entertain that type of thinking and attitude, we will never have a consolidated Islamic effort to repel the aggression that comes our way. Remember, Muslims were not, out, aggressing against people as we see in todays world. There are forces, alliances and political/military/economic structures that are out to get us. Leave us alone! If the social atmosphere was that of leaving us alone, then this human nature that wants to take a break may contemplate something like that; but when we have the militaries of the world around Al Medinah and the survival of the leadership and the committed Muslims is at stake, and then we have some individuals saying I need to leave this. I need to step out of this Islamic social reality??? The Prophet of Allah gave that person and every person with those types of break away ideas or passive attitudes a response. He said do not do it. Then, theres an ayah in Surah At Taubah that shelters this hadith in which Allah says Do you put on a par with each other those who offer water to the pilgrims and who physically build Al Masjid Al Haram- the Holy Sanctuary in Makkah, with those who are committed to Allah and struggle for Allah? (Surah At Taubah verse 17-18)

Other Muslims may come and entertain their conscience, they may say serving the pilgrims and building the Masajid are acts of virtue and satisfy their conscience. Once again, if the social atmosphere was as laxed as to accommodate these good acts, then there is an argument for this type of statement, but when we have wars, combat, battles, fighting around us, youre going to satisfy yourself by saying Im going to build a Masjid or Im going to take water the Muslims in the Hajj?! The response- just like Allahs Prophet gave a response to a weakling individual or temptations of a weak character; Allah gave a response to those who dislocate themselves, emotionally and mentally, from the reality that we are inDo you put on a par with each other those who offer water to the pilgrims and who physically build Al Masjid Al Haram- the Holy Sanctuary in Makkah, with those who are committed to Allah and struggle for Allah? (Surah At Taubah verse 17-18) If anyone is confused as to the answer, the answer to that is in Allahs plain words In the eyes of Allah, they are not equal, not on a par and not similar to each other and Allah does not guide people who do injustice to themselves. (Surah At Taubah verse 17-18) What is this injustice that we are speaking about? (It is) the public perception that people who bring water to the attendees of the Hajj in Makkah and people who physically build Al Masjid Al Haram to try to have them as good as those who are committing their lives to Allah and shedding the blood for Allah. (Do) you come to tell us these are equal to those? This public perception is an act of injustice. This is not Muslims going out and occupying other peoples lands or stealing the revenue of their own budgets, this is only a public perception that has been registered in the book of Allah as an act of dhulm. If only we had Muslims listening to what Allah is saying. Therefore, we can understand why there is a world of hostility towards Muslims. With this type of understanding, Muslims cannot be indifferent. No one can come to a Muslim and tell him well, theres so much of corruption in this world its better for you to go and pray in your Masjid or its enough for you to do and offer your Salah in your Masjid- that should do it. People who are on top of things and who have studied Islam, (more than the Muslims have studied their own Islam), know that the true understanding of Allah and His Prophet makes Muslims active. They want Muslims to be either inactive or reactive- both ways, its fine with them; but if Muslims become pro-active thats the danger. If Muslims begin to take their own affairs into their own hands, then they are dangerous. They begin to call us terrorists; not because we are terrorists, (obviously, we know we are not), but the fact is, there is in the air a sense of terror that they feel and we begin to understand why. Because when Muslims begin to combine their morality to their power, that scares them! You can be a moral Muslim as much as you want, provided according to their standards and strategies your morality has no power to it. If that defines you as a Muslim, then they will support you with everything they have, they will honour you, speak good about you, and present you in their media, talk shows and everywhere they can because a Muslim who has those types of morals and doesnt configure in the element of power becomes a subject

of theirs and he no longer is a subject of Allah. Then, equally so, they are equally satisfied with Muslims who toy and dally with the idea of power but are disconnected from their Islamic moral standards. Weve had the secular types of Muslims in this world who are given power and look how theyve been behaving in the past 100 years. Theyve proven and they have a record that shows that they also are not the subjects of Allah but the subjects of those Earthly superpowers that give them the military hardware, protection and security that they need- these types they are also supportive of. The ones that they are not supportive of are those Muslims who can combine the elements of power and morality in their hearts and minds and societies- this becomes scary and thats why they feel terrorised; because they cant deal with this type of Muslim. These are no longer Muslims who are seeking power and throwing God out of their lives and these are no longer Muslims who are obsessed with a God who has no power to Him. These are different types of Muslims and therefore theres this terror that they feel and they want to spike this terror and come back to us and make us feel guilty that we have finally found Allah in the moral power and in the powerful morality that we have. This has become, right now, a guilt factor in many Muslims who want to step outside Islam. They want to find a refuge away from this struggle- if its a Sufi retreat or if its a new trend of Sufism in the United States and in the West, that is a way of stepping out of this struggle and this jihad. These are the plans that are being cooked for the coming decade and generations and we dont believe for one moment that they are going to be able to implement this plan because as much as they are trying to sponsor goofy Sufis in this country and in other countries and as much as they are trying to replace their old program that they worked out through their Saudi connections in the last 30 years, the fact of the matter is that they are recruiting by the millions Muslims who have found Allah and therefore the Taqwa of Allah comes before any of the escapist routes that they are plotting and planning for all of us. Its too late for them and they confessed to all of this. They said that their intelligent services were sleeping throughout the past couple of generations; they didnt have their deep down informers and spies when Islam was germinating among the dispossessed, displaced and the Muslims who lacked power and where-withal throughout the past 50-60 years. They were busy in their side show of Capitalism versus Communism and they consumed themselves in this managed political division of the world and in the meantime Allah had other plans and He had another strategy for the Muslims who are now in the tens of millions are the target of their warfare. So they have two front now- they have a warfront that is recruiting millions of Muslims to the course/struggle of Allah and they have this petty change here which they are trying to recruit individuals, (maybe hundreds), into their sponsored Sufi orders of the future. This is not to speak ill of At Tasawwuf of Sufism. We said it before and we are going to say it again- we said, just like the Imperialist regime in Washington and the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv were comfortable with using the Saudi regime and its Salafi extensions all around the world and they got nowhere except to divide Muslims and some of them coming out and accusing other Muslims of kufr and therefore justifying the shedding of Muslim blood and then the close supervision of Islamic activity in the West in the past 30-40 years. When that got them no where, now they are changing track; now,

theres a new show in town. Just like in the context of the Salafis there were sincere individuals misled by their superiors who could not break from the Saudi government/regime who could not break from the United States government/regime who could not break from Ash Shaytaans plans. Now, you are at the vantage point of seeing how they are beginning this effort all over again. Now, they want to absorb innocent Muslims- there were innocent Salafis in the past and now theres going to be innocent Sufis in the present and future who also are going to listen to their superiors who go all the way back to the Imperialist and Zionist thinking tanks; or else why give them a forum and the opportunity to speak in public? The answer is obvious- because they are part of the larger plan. If any of you have been disheartened by this, its because you are more affiliated and have more affinity to the gravity of this world than you are to the attraction of Allah. The goodness in your hearts can bring about the desired change; a spark can bring about a fire; a spark of imaan to the power presence of Allah can bring about a divine alternative to the mess that this world has become. To relate to you a hadith Qudsi- Allah and His Prophet saidAllah is saying I am where the expectation of My subject are and I am with him/her when they are conscious of Me. This consciousness of Allah and His power is what has been absent and lacking in our lives, therefore we go either in the Imperialist way in the past 30-35 years or we go the Imperialist way in the coming 30 years. If My conforming subject if conscious of Me in his-self, I am conscious of him in My-self. Now, you Muslims who have been fooled by the glitter of finances or military powers, what more do you want than Allahs statement? If you and conscious of Him in your-self, He is conscious of you in His-self. The wording is If he mentions Me in the privacy of his life, I will mention him in the privacy of Mine; and if he mentions Me or is conscious of Me in a public, I am conscious of him in a public that is better than that. Imagine how many Muslims are incapable or inferior as to be unable to be conscious of Allah in public. Why? Because that contradicts the mainstream understanding of God that you have to internalise God for that to be the God of the powers of this world. You cant go public with Him; and Allah is saying if you go public with Him, He will go public in a setting that is better than that public. And if this conforming subject of Mine approaches Me the width of a hand, I will approach Him the extent of an arm; and if he comes to Me with the stretch of an arm, I come to him with the stretch of both arms; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running. You cant approach Allah when you are passive, indifferent, isolated, inactive and reactive. All of these are conditions that place you off of bounds when it comes to Allah. You cannot access- whether you are an individual, organisation, congregation or movement- Allah through those attitudes and behaviours. Its a contradiction of terms- we speak about movements, how can you be an Islamic movement when you are indifferent or passive? Indifference or passivity doesnt generate movement. How can you have a movement when youre in isolation or inactive or reactive? Its impossible! It goes against the nature of things. Our hope and expectation is that we relocate Allah into our thoughts of power in this world within the larger program that Allah has given us, so that when we have power and we exercise power we do it with the limitations and license that Allah has given us.

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Allah is telling us in the ayah that was quoted in the 1st khutbah How dare we equate those who offer the services at the time of Hajj to the pilgrims who go there with those who are sustaining a commitment to and struggle for Allah? (Surah At Taubah verse 17-18) (Do) you know what that means in todays world? If you want a tafseer of this ayah, How dare you Muslims equate the regime in Saudi Arabia with the Islamic Resistance in Palestine and Lebanon? (Surah At Taubah verse 17-18) Thats what this ayah means in todays world. And, this is giving these people in Arabia a bushel of a doubt if we come and say they are offering services, nourishment or a physical construction of Al Bayt Al Haram. They are dwarfing Al Bayt Al Haram! They have high rises around Al Bayt Al Haram! They are destroying the Islamic history around Al Bayt Al Haram! The come to the house of Abi Bakr radi Allahu anhu and they want to build some type of business ventures- it could be a Starbucks, McDonalds or whatever it is. The house of Abi Bakr doesnt count anymore; Starbucks and McDonalds are more important! How do we have some Muslims saying that these are the Protectors of the two Harams when they are the destroyers- physically, mentally and psychologically- of the two Harams! How can any Muslim with a fibre of imaan in them equate these two together? The Saudis are politically sleeping with in bed with the kuffaar and Mushrikeen; and, (as the expression has it), the other Muslims blood is going to burst out of their hands for the course of Allah. We are a people who are guilty of this dhulm because there is a public perception that equates the religiosity of these Saudi criminals with the dedication and sincerity of the Hizbullahi fighters. This war is on every front, and the Saudis and their comrades in khiyanah or treason come crying to their masters in Washington DC you have to do something about this. In the news items they have, they say Hizbullah has tripled its fighting capability from two years ago; when during this time, the Israelis were being defeated by the 1 st fighting force in the Holy Land. Dont those Muslims around us who think for one moment that theres something Islamic about the treacherous regime in /Riyadh and Jeddah read the Quran? If were going to maintain this false and misleading perception, we are called Al Qawm Al Dhalimeen; and Allah is not going to guide Al Qawm Al Dhalimeen. Listen to Allah, what He has to say; understand His words and how they relate to todays real world.

SHIRK IN AUTHORITY AND LAW

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Allah says Or do they have shuraka the plural of shareek) who promulgate laws for them or who set for them their legal code or who legalise for them things that have not been authorised by Allah As you may anticipate, our 1st reflection on this ayah pertains to the word shuraka and the concept of shirk. As those of you who think will know, there is a financed interpretation of the word shirk that clamps down on those who attribute a son or companion to Allah; but as is

evident in this ayah and the ayaat in the Quran the gist and the thrust of the word shirk has to do with matters of authority and legality. These deniers of Allah, (who maybe ignorant or swimming with the tide), do they have shuraka They have legalised in matters of deen things not authorised by Allah. Any budding Muslim mind understands that shirk is found in the context of authority and legality which solely belong to Allah- not to anyone, any government, institution, regime, class or anything besides Him. Shirk and Shariah go together like two fingers next to each other- can we ever get this and understand this- shirk and Mulk, shirk and shariah. We would like to humbly like to add to the meaning of this ayah a consideration of how and who we are. There are many ayaat in this book of direction that expose those who steal or claim Allahs authority or those who have made it the law of the land to inherit authority or those who shot their way to the seat of authority. There are ayaat and ahadith that expose these usurpers of the quintessential attribute of Allah i.e. His Authority. If theres plenty of ayaat and ahadith, (as there are), then why is there a porosity and poverty of Muslim thought about these personalities and characters that come under the light of the Quran and Sunnah? Why does anyone think about them? Doesnt it become a crime to read what Allah and His Prophet is saying as He shades light on the dark corners of these legal thieves and authoritarian usurpers of power and then dismiss, neglect or ignore the meanings there in? Where did all of this come from? How did this happen? At the beginning of our Islamic struggle or at the dawn or early in the day of our Islamic history, we had individuals who claimed or acclaimed power and authority for and by their own selves instead of moving in the course and direction of Allahs Prophet. At every junction in Islamic history within Islamic society when matters of power and authority were brought up, those matters were referred to Allah and His Prophet, but then, only a few generations after that and that was no longer the case. Now, we had absolutist rulers and kings who did not want to hear about referring the affairs and the ultimate decisions of the Muslims to Allah and His Prophet. What happened here was an argument in Islamic history that has still not rested. That argument is (that) if you have rulers who are dictators who dont acknowledge Allahs authority and power, who do not refer to His Prophet and have gone out on an autocratic course in their governance, what do you do? Do you oppose them or do you remain quite? If you oppose them do you oppose them with a revolt or do you oppose them individually? Do you oppose them by speaking out against them only? Do you oppose them by speaking and writing against them? How do you oppose them? Or do you not oppose them at all? This issue has been in our history and it has made its effects and results into our time. Now, we have the same issue presenting itself all over again. When we have misprints who are ruling over us; those whose violation of Allah and His Prophet are very clear and because we have not settled this issue in the past it falls upon us to settle it- at least in our minds.

Those who argue against oppositions of tyrants and usurpers of power, their bottom line was that peoples opposition to governments, establishments and militaries are going to result in more instability, turbulence and commotion than is the case with the status quo. Listen to this- out of the plethora of ayaat and hadith, they used a hadith in which the Prophet says that there is going to be turmoil and instability in Muslim society which is attributed to these who rule, govern, impose their own legality and configure that into ad deen- our problems can be traced to that deviation. So, those who were listening to the Prophet asked him so should we oppose them by using the force of arms? And the answer to them was no, as long as they are responsible for the standardising of As Salaah. They took the reply as to mean as long as these leaders i.e. kings and presidents pray. How convenient an instrument of survival has that become? Imagine- a king or president knowing that Muslim scholars and populations are not going to oppose them as long as they pray- they can do whatever they want to do, but as long as they are praying they are guaranteed that theres not going to be any accountability; i.e. they are not going to be brought to account for their policies, decisions, laws and strategies. I mean if a king or president is guilty of policies of hunger, starvation, the dislocation of millions of Muslims, investing trillions of dollars in the economies of Al Yahud and An Nasara i.e. the zionists and Imperialists- if the crime level is that high of these persons in those positions wouldnt you think that they would want to protect themselves by praying? A mind that is so criminal cannot add a measure of protection by going through the motions of these prayers?! (Do) you think the Prophet of Allah was going to offer cover for this criminal lifestyle by giving them a veneer of protection through the mechanical and traditional motions of As Salaah? Has the Muslim mind deteriorated and become as defunct as not being able to understand the rest of the Quran and the Sunnah? Now, we have rulers who can look down at the Muslim masses and laugh- look how foolish and imbecilical these people have become and from the outside- those who arent Muslims, just using their common sense (they think look at these Muslims! They dont have it within them to hold their decision makers accountable because their decision makers are praying! This has lived with us for around 1,300 years; this mentality and explanation has lived for all of these centuries and now, when the cumulative effect of this violation and deviation of Islam has caught up with us, still we dont find Muslims, from their public forums, taking on this issue of holding rulers, kings and presidents accountable. Just to mention a few of the ayaat in the Quran that fly in the face of this trivial argument about giving a pass to these rulers. Allah says He is the Wali of those who are committed to Him, He takes them out of darkness and into the light; and those who are in denial of Him, their Awliya are these concentrated and disproportionate powers of Taghut (Surah Al Baqarah verse 256) What do they do? they take people out of light and throw them out in obscurity; and they will dwell in An Naar forever (Surah Al Baqarah verse 256)

Taghut means the concentration and abuse of power. Can Muslims in our time take a look when power is concentrated and abused? Allah says have them, (meaning those who are in these positions of abusing and concentrating power), stand the stand of accountability Why? because they carry responsibilities Can Muslims begin to think of this 1,300 year old immunised class of individuals who have been getting away with usurping Allahs authority and claiming the power that belongs to Allah? What do we do with a public? Much has been said in defence of kings and dictators, (ancient and current), but let us, (the Muslim public), refocus our attention upon our own selves. How about ourselves? Why cant we begin an enlightenment process or movement and change the quality and content of Islamic programs that are held weekly, monthly, seasonally and yearly? We have these programmes all around the place and why do they have the same regurgitating affects to them? Its as if youve attended a few of them youve attended the rest of them until the end of time. Theres no interaction with the real world; theres no response to the real issues. One of the real issues thats settling in is the election of a President to this country that we are part of. That doesnt mean that we are Imperialists, that we belong to a colonial history, or a Government that is lying and violating everything in scripture- it doesnt mean that. We belong to this country simply because we are located in it- the Prophets of Allah were located in such societies, what did they do? They approached the people and began a process of communicating with the people with the light that came to them from Allah. Is it possible for us to begin a process to shed light and expose those who are in the highest offices in this land? We have no money and we have no muscle and (as for) those who are looking for money and muscle by navigating the kufr in this society and then asking for justice from the White House, Pentagon, CIA or the rest -is it any wonder that at times like this they never mention Allah and His Prophet? They cant justify what they are doing by bringing you and me an ayah from Allah or a hadith from His Prophet; so why do they remain in those positions? Why do they continue to organise Islamic programmes and conferences? Why do they remain ensconced in these Manaabir and Masaajid? Because you and I have not yet developed the Quranic or Muhammadi mind that can respond and expose them and say the truth to their faces. Why dont we have a current of Muslims who can bring a qualitative change in the 1,300 year old officially sponsored status quo that we are fixated and cemented in traditions and in shaaair that camouflage the crimes against humanity and dedicated human beings? Were not even supposed to think along these lines. Right now, the big boogie or monster amongst the Muslims is that you are not allowed to speak politics in their Masajid. Are we allowed to have a Quran in our Masaajid? They say you can have a Quran in your Masajid- theres no problem. Are we allowed to read the Quran in these Masaajids? OKthats not a problem, you can read the Quran in these Masaajids. So where is the problem? The problem is when we begin to understand, analyse and adapt these Quranic meanings to the real

world- part of that is politics. Who can say there is no politics in the Quran (and) that there is no politics in the Prophets Sunnah and Seerah? We defy any Muslim to stand up to us and the rest of the world and say that. The problem is if we were understanding the Quran they would tell us you are not permitted to have a Quran in the Masjid; but because there is a disconnect, you can have the Quran you can go and recite the Quran and as long as you understand it Quran the way we want you to understand it without any of this politics, you can go ahead and do whatever you want to do. Then, we have Synagogues- you can go around the city or even around the world- many of these Synagogues have a sign in front of them that says save Darfur. Isnt that a political statement? They can say it and get away with it and no one is telling them anything- hey what are you doing here? Youre mixing religion with politics! They may say well, Darfur is a humanitarian issue. OK- fine; can Muslims look for a humanitarian issue? They say 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur in years of warfare. In Gaza theres 1,8 million Palestinians who are months away from genocidal death- no food, blockades, and an encirclement in every sense of that small area of the Muslim population; do the Muslims have a humanitarian pulse in them in which they put in front of their Masajid a sign that says Save Gaza. They come and say that is something political. No its not; its humanitarian- just like save Darfur is humanitarian, we can say save Gaza is humanitarian. We know that Save Darfur was not put up there for humanitarian purposes and they know that Save Gaza is not put up there for humanitarian purposes! But how come some people get to do what they want to do and why cant we the Muslims even attempt to think what we are supposed to do? This is the lag between us and them.

Now, we have this election that is coming in a few months and still Muslims here are expected to behave the way the establishment wants them to behave. How do they expect us to behave? They want us to vote in a certain pattern and many Muslims are falling into voting in that certain pattern. We just want you- with the Taqwa of Allah that is required- just want you to remind yourself and remember that none of all of this politicking, political statements and behind the scene manoeuvres that are taking place are anchored in Allahs Word or in Allahs Prophet- none of them. So, what do they want us to do? They want us to blindly go and elect a person who is getting all of this money, (from Allah knows who), and endorsed by Zionists and Imperialists and they want the Muslims to fall into yet another trap because this person is half AfroAmerican. Many Muslims will be led just like sheeple to this result and they will think at the end that they have done their Islamic duty. The final question that has to accompany your thoughts is why is it that the Quran and the Prophet fail- as presented to us as the financed, status quo and inferior type of Islam? Why is Allah and His Prophet unable to shed light on the elections that Muslims are prompted to vote in a certain way? Is the Quran and the Prophet is not viable and applicable to all times? Every Muslim says yes; Then, these people who are organising these Islamic conferences, symposia, conventions, weekly and fund-raising activities and those who speak from the Mimbar every Friday must explain to us if are we living an exception or

aberration of times? Why are they silent on what the Muslims should be doing in this time? Tell us- do we belong to this society around us? If we dont belong to it then tell us where do we belong and if we do belong to it, what our responsibilities? What should we and what should we not be doing? Tell us! Dont give us a Friday lullaby every week and dont give us these, (now, the trend of the future is a Sufi trend), these Sufi tracks or tariqas as a change of flavour from your Salafi sponsored status quo to a Sufi sponsored status quo. Brothers and sisters, ayuhal muminun As if we dont have a host of issues in this society to think about, we have another set of issues to think about in the society of traditions, customs and cultures that are across the oceans. One of these issues that has been making its rounds- obviously, this has been the case for years for now; it peaks at one time and descends at another time-is the Sunni/Shii issue that people love to speak about. One of the correspondence in the past week ago- it dawned on a Muslim who probably listens to this khutbah on the internet- that he discovered something that may be the answer as to why we are forced to pray on the street. What may this discovery have been? He says all of this may be attributed to Muhammad Al Asi being a Shii. This type of speculation and inaccuracy- this speaker happens to be a person who is accused by non thinking Shiis of being a Sunni and by non thinking Sunnis as being a Shii. It is an honour and a privilege to be accused both accusations by non thinking people. In this atmosphere, (that we are living), what has happened? We dont know if youve heard this or not, a couple of Jumahs ago, a prominent Sunni scholar (were sorry that we have to use these words, but this is how convention and news is related) in Saudi Arabia, (were sorry to use this word also), goes to a Jumah or wants to attend Jumah prayers in what is considered to be a Shii Masjid with a Shii Imam- and he goes. Then, after that, the Shii Muslims wanted to reciprocate, (considering this to be a gesture of goodwill and brotherhood they also want to go and pray in a Sunni Masjid), and then these mindless people, (its very hard to give them an accurate description- people call them fanatics, extremists, orthodox, Wahhabis or Salafis- whatever you want to call them), watch this unfold and then when the Shii personal want to go to the Sunni Masjid they say they are going to blow the Masjid up and there is going to be blood that flows. Brothers and sisters- it seems that these types of Muslims and this type of atmosphere, (I dont know where it belongs but), you can put it in Israeli history and not in Islamic history. What do you say when Muslims come to other Muslims and say you cannot go to a particular Masjid? Then, these Wahhabi or Salafi types, (thats what they call themselves; we are trying to be accurate here as much as possible), come and say Shi'ism is a bida and Hizbullah is not a front, faade or a show. Hizbullah really doesnt want to fight Israel its just putting up a show. What it wants to do is conquer Sunni territory. Brothers and sisters- how are we expected to interact with people who accuse before they think and who are trigger happy before they want to feel for other Muslims? We can understand Imperialism and Zionism dont like Muslims getting together but can we understand this from inside our own selves?! Obviously, this news item in certain quarters has circulated. We take no pleasure in repeating it in a Jumah prayer if it were not to show how internally we

have been eroded and eroding and so, these Shiis contacted these authorities to ask it is safe for us to go into the Masjid to pray with our Sunni brothers? They said no; we cant guarantee your safety. This is in the Holy land and this is only a peak at the emptiness that now masquerades as religious commitment by these types who run the show- were not speaking about an isolated incident somewhere on the sands of Arabia; were speaking about a psychology that has finances to stretch around the world. Thats nothing new- (take) a look at here- 25 years and still counting. You dont see any of them here after Jumah prayers. They cant even tolerate a Muslim going up to them, giving salaams, looking them in a brotherly way and asking them how have you justified this for 25 years? Have you ever wondered? None of them exist here after Jumah prayers. (Is) something bothering their conscience? Do they have a troubled history that they cant answer to? This is where we are and this is where Taqwa is required.

AL QUDS MONTH: DIMENSIONS OF CONTEMPORARY JIHAD

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters- As Salaamualaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh We desire to expand and build on the designation of the day of Al Quds (designated by the late Al Imam Al Khomeini to be commemorated on the last Friday of Ramadhan in recognition of the suffering meted out to the Palestinians and the oppressed peoples of the world), and will be inshaAllah running a weekly additional Khutbah on Al Quds. We pray that Allah raises the awareness of people regarding the suffering of the people of Quds and the other oppressed peoples so that the designation of the last Friday to ensconce the

realities in the lives of oppressed people in our minds will culminate into a daily occurrence. My presentation to you this evening concerns an area and a subject that has become a worldwide topic. The media has been playing football with the word jihad. They toss it around from one corner of the Earth to the other; they bounce it around from one Muslim community to the next and they try to make for it an explanation for their aggressive and war-like policies. The problem that we encounter as Muslims, (I dont mean probably you and I, but in the larger context of Muslims is that many of us at times turn apologetic when it comes to the word jihad, either because we dont understand what the word means in the Quran or we dont understand what the enemies of Islam mean to us or we dont understand both these issues; we dont understand jihad as it was meant in the context of this world and we dont understand what the Mushriks and the kaafirs are about in the context of this world. Clarifying this issue takes a little time and effort and well exert that effort in the time that we have. Theres an assumption somehow that the civilisation that is gearing up for a war against the Muslims and Islam is a benevolent, kind, caring and a civilisation of humanism to it- thats the impression that has leaked into our minds throughout the years and it is settled in our psyche. (If) you confront many Muslims, they will say to you, (by-and-large), well- whats wrong with Western civilisation? Cant you see it cares for the whales in the oceans, the animals that are on the verge of extinction, it cares for the habitat and the environment, and it cares and it cares and it cares. These types of individuals are confusing the forest with a few trees. It is true that this civilisation tries as best as it can to save some marine life or some wild life or other forms of life; but it has not shown us one instance in which it cares for one Muslim life and this is the crux of the issue. We are not dealing with a civilisation that is 20 or 200 or 2,000 years old, we are dealing with a civilisation that has its roots way back in Greek mythology and way back at the dawn of mankind. In this history and civilisation, it is natural for man to wrestle with God; it is natural in this civilisation for Gods to wrestle, fight, feud or duel with each other and maybe, if they can, kill each other- it comes normal in this civilisation. Today is Easter. Of all days in the year, were supposed to speak about Jihad and the clash of civilisations on Easter. Easter is a day in which this civilisation has given an interpretation to Isa, the Mesiah alaih salaam as a person or God or both or none or whatever explanation there is to this that he has died for the sins of those who believe in him or for the sins of mankind. But this civilisation, up until this moment, never had the courage to look at that government or authority that brought their God, (this is their interpretation, of course, not a Muslim interpretation), to the cross and then committed deicide- killing a Deity or a God. It is some what surprising and astonishing on an occasion like this, no one who is celebrating Easter concentrates on the authority that forced this individual- God or not- to be put on the cross. This is a defeat at the core of their own belief and their own religion the way they interpret it. They also have other precedents in their civilisation- they were instrumental in the death of John the Baptist, Nabi Yahya alaih salaam; they tried to kill Joseph/Yusuf alaih salaam- so the killing

instinct is very important in this civilisation. It is a civilisation of conflict and wars- if there is such a thing. Conflict is in their brains. The highest formation of European thought, (I guess those of you who may have had a brush with Marxism on campus, with some friend or whatever), Marxist thought is taken from Hegel who described existence and the developments in existence as being one of three components- the thesis, the anti-thesis and the synthesis. Now, in the choice of word, there is an element conflict. Of course, in the development of ideas, conflict is naturally there, but even in the choice of words there is conflict. Why should a person say a thesis and then an anti-thesis? In describing these two issues, they placed conflict inclusive in the words they used. Why couldnt they say a thesis and a co-thesis? Why did they have to say a thesis and an anti-thesis? Simply because the way they think is a warrior mentality. They think and express themselves in terms of conflict. They choose words that have conflict in them. This is the type of civilisation that makes it possible, (more than that, makes it), normal and natural to have man enslaved. If they are willing to dual and fight God; if they are willing to kill Prophets and Messengers, (this is part of their history and civilisation), in their own Holy Scriptures, there are descriptions of a Prophet wrestling with an Angel. If they have this at the core of their thoughts and beliefs and this is the way they think, of course theyre going to come to the larger world and behave in a like wise manner- theyre not going to have mercy on Africans or Blacks, theyre not going to care for Muslims, Arabs, Iranians or Turks- theyre going to put into process their killer instinct and go to work; and thats what theyve been doing. Then, if theyre going to have war to eliminate one-fifth of humanity because they say the resources of this Earth are limited. Were running out of resources. and they have to kill off one billion people through the process of war, that becomes normal too. If they trace themselves to the mythology of the Greeks and the duals and the wars of gods in the heavens, (if that is part of their civilisation), then sure, kill off onefifth or one-fourth of humanity to make room for the rest of us to live. But, the same way they dont want to think about the government and authority that took Jesus to the cross, they dont want to think about those rich and wealthy classes who want to maintain their profit, even if that means kill off a proportion of humanity. How do we approach a civilisation like this in which conflict is an integral component of its decisions and policies. Their own parliaments are an exercise of conflict management. Why do they have Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals; the Right and the Left? They dont have it for peaceful purposes or because they believe and their civilisation proves the belief that there is an element of co-existence and equality in creation. No! They have this because in their nature there is conflict and they have to manage the conflict; so they split the conflict up and they have a balancing act to this conflictthis is the civilisation that we are talking about. Now, how are we, as Muslims, going to approach this civilisation? Are we going to approach it by words alone? 1st of all, is it left up to us to try and figure out how to deal with this type of civilisation? Oh yes- we come and we invite them to Islam; we do dawah work among them; we tell them that Jesus is not the Son of God. They dont care whether Jesus is the Son of God, whether he is god or whether he is not god; its easy for them to become an atheist on one day and a believer the other day. They dont care about your argument, so dont spend time discussing whether

Jesus is the Son of God or is not the Son of God because their civilisation is not interested; for all they care, gods can kill themselves off; they dont care about gods, much less about your argument about whether or not a particular historical figure was a Son of God or not. Were talking about the mainstream of this civilisation; of course, youre going to come across individuals who do care about this issue, but let us not confuse individuals with their mainstream history. So, if they dont care and we right now are the victims of this civilisation, we have to take a look at our position as a civilisation. Where do we stand, as Muslims? What do we represent? If we can figure out what they and their policies are all about- go to any history book, and look what theyve done to the world with their conflicts; blood flowing left and right; killing and justifying their killing grounds. Theres a lot of commentaries and books written about this subject and at the end youll find Malthusian theories and all other theories that justify why there is war. War to them is justified in the name of conflict. So where do we stand in all of this? What are we supposed to do? They have slavery, (you (people), here in South Africa, even though youre beginning to move out of that phase, but the issue of slavery is still alive. Africa as a whole is an issue of slavery because they are robbing the resources of this continent- robbing it dry. The same thing can be said about the Muslims, they set up shop in the oil rich petroleum areas in the Arabian Peninsular, Persian Gulf and wherever there may be petroleum or natural resources and they also suck the land dry. How do you deal with these people? (Do) you go to them and say you have to believe that Jesus is a Prophet of Allah/God?! Lets not kid ourselves- whore you talking to? If theyre dropping bombs on you, you cant counter affect their bombs by dropping Qurans on them! Theyre not going to listen; its not going to do anything. So where do we stand in all of this?

We are a civilisation that can be summarised in two words; we are a civilisation of Rahmah and a civilisation of Taskheer. These are two Quranic terms referring to grace and mercy- Rahmah on one hand and then referring to utility- Taskheer on the other hand. The ayaat in the Quran are abundant, you can ask any Mullah, Imam or anyone around and hell snap the ayaat to you just like that; but does he know what hes talking about? Can he put them into context? What do these ayaat referring to Taskheer mean in the context of civilisation? It means Muslims dont have this attitude of conflict when it comes to life and existence around the same way the European man or the man of civilisation has this conflict. He goes to nature and deals with it as if hes at war with nature. Youve heard the expression were conquering nature. You seeonce again- the attitude of conflict; were conquering nature. Why? Is there some animosity between them and nature?! Why do they have to use the word conquer nature? Because thats the way their psychology is constructed- they have to conquer nature. Even their meteorologists, climatologists and weathermen, (you listen to them), they never say God willing, inshaAllah or something along these lines; theyll tell you emphatically, tomorrow is going to be 20 to 25 degrees. There shall be some showers. Theyre saying it as if they are positive whats going to happen and as if they are in control of nature- this is their attitude- and if theyre

in control of or have conquered nature, (of course), much less, theyve conquered you. So what are you going to do from a position of being conquered? Youre going to act within the description of your civilisation and i.e. the civilisation of Taskheer. If Allah has made for our service this nature and this world- absolutely everything in it is for our benefit as humanssakkharaha lana- He has made it a utility of ours (provided we are His). And then, Allah describes our mission as one of grace and mercy. Just like there mission is one of war and conflict, ours is a mission of grace and mercy. We sent you, (O Muhammed) as a mercy to all that exists. (Surah Al-Ambiya' verse 107) And it is due to the Mercy of Allah that you (O Muhammed) are lenient towards them (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 159) Almost everything we do, (whatever that it)- whether we are launching a missile or whether we are giving birth- Bismillah Ar Rahmaan Ar Rahim- theres an emphasis on this Rahmah. Obviously, their war and conflict psychology is against this Rahmah; if youre a person who has Rahmah in you, they interpret you as being weak- you invite conflict- but as you are inviting their conflict, you are inviting Allahs involvement because thats where Allah wants you to be. If we are put in this position, obviously we have two conflicting civilisations. As we are in this position, its not left up to us on how to deal with aggression. We await Allahs words and listen to Him to behave accordingly. And, if Allah says permission has been given to those who have been oppressed and Allah is indeed able to give them triumph and victory (Surah Al-Hajj verse 39) Then, we have permission to repel aggression and to fight. This is not something that is going to come naturally. Allah knew that fighting is not a natural thing that comes 2nd nature; its something that we have to do- thats the way we have to look at it. Fighting has been prescribed and We know that you detest it, (you dont like to do it), but it may be that you dislike something and its to your own benefit (Surah Baqara verse 216) Heres where we stand today, in todays civilisation with all of this aggression in the world against us. I want to concentrate on an area that seems to be an area of a lot of question and concern; and that area is but we dont have the ways and the means. We dont have the weapons and the equipment. We dont have the arms and the arsenals that we need to do this type of fighting; because, obviously, when youre looking at a civilisation that is very hostile and conflict centred and then, you look at us, with our civilisation, much of which we are mentally disconnected from, we begin to borrow even our thoughts of confronting the enemy from the enemy himself. We begin to believe that in order for us to defend ourselves or to repel aggression we have to have atomic bombs, ballistic missiles and everything that they have in order for

us to stand a chance to win- you encounter this among many individuals. This is in fact a negation of our Islamic mission, our historical veracity and our future verification as Allahs servants and subjects in this world. Our position in history is that we have to take issue with those who have more physical means, more power and more lethal killing instruments than we have- this is our position in history and this is our position in the future. Its not that we should deliberately do that- NO! We should try to muster all the means we can, but even after trying and doing our best, we are still, in terms of arms and armaments, going to have less than our enemy has. This was demonstrated in the wars of the Prophet, it was demonstrated in the history of the Prophets before him and in the history of the Muslims after him- this is a position that we have to withstand. One of the most important manifestations of this is that of Al Imam Al Hussein radi Allahu anhu when he went to battle- he represented this. The enemy had overwhelming power but he had barely any power. What do you do in this position? Do you say youre not going to fight? Or do you say Im going to fight; Im going to withstand the odds and have Allahs will take its course. This is Allahs will, its not yours. Remember, when we dual and when we fight, it is Allah Who is doing and Who is involved in our action- something the other civilisation doesnt have. God to them doesnt exist. Hes not in their army; Hes not in their hearts; Hes not in their military command- Hes no where to be found- the opposite of us; Allahs everywhere; Hes in our hearts, our military structure- Allahs in everything we do. So, if they drop a nuclear weapon on us, Allah is with us and were not afraid; but if a few individual Muslims go on a military operation and explode a couple of buses, they tremble as if an atomic bomb went off. Why is this? Whats the difference? Whats the discrepancy? Why do they feel terrorised by a simple military act? Theres nothing sophisticated about it- a few Muslims know that this is a military object- there are troops there- were going to confront these troops and then take them to Allah- and we do it and theyre afraid. In a matter of one week, they snap to attention; 27 or 30 of their Heads of State or their representatives assemble in Sharm Al Shaikh. Why? No atomic bomb went off?! They cancelled all their schedules; they had other priorities and other things to do, but they come there to discuss why Muslims are beginning to confront this spearhead of this civilisation- Israel is the spearhead of this aggressive, hostile and conflict civilisation with the racism, classism, genderism and all types of injustices in it- we confront it and all of them are crazy and mad! Whats wrong? Its because our act is loaded with the presence of Allah- thats the difference between our act and their act. What is it? Why dont you go out to war for the sake of the mastadafs... (Surah An Nisa verse 75) How many mustadafs do we have in this world? (Theres) plenty of them. There are plenty of invitations in this world for us to go out and defend the oppressed people, but it seems that we dont want to take that step- why? Those of you who are familiar with the linguistic structure of the Arabic language, were not speaking about someone who makes mistakes- the Prophet says

all the descendants of Adam alaih salaam are error prone-, were talking about someone whos automatically making. In an ayah in the Quran Allah says And those who commit a faahishah or do injustice to themselves, they remember Allah or become cognisant of Allah, and then, they do not insist on this wrong that they have discovered is wrong that they have discovered is wrong; and then they ask Allah for forgiveness. And then Allah says there shall be a Paradise underneath which rivers flow... And then what did He say? And how good a reward? For whom? For someone whos asking for forgiveness? No! Hes is not saying Im going to give this reward for someone whos asking for forgiveness. Hes is not saying Im going to give this reward for someone whos a perfect person! He says ... Im giving this reward to someone whos involved in action. So where are we in this clash of civilisations, when hostilities is looking us in the eyes? How much more do you want Muslims to bleed to see how vicious and hostile this civilisation is towards us? Do you want it to strike you right in the middle of your own family? Is that when youre going to wake up and say Oh! I think theres a hostile force out there?! Is that what its going to take, or are we considered as one Ummah i.e one extended family and whatever happens to some of us is actually happening to ourselves? So, if theyre killing off 50,000 Muslims in Chechenya and the World Bank and the United States is rewarding Russia for that by giving it $8-$10 billion for killing this Muslims (how can it be that) you go around the corner and you meet a Muslim who says this is a nice civilisation- you know; theres a lot of progress in it. Progress what?! In what terms?! In physical terms or in human terms?! What is a Muslim life or the life of an oppressed person mean in this civilisation? Nothing! They will think about wars; and they thought about wars- the wars in the Persian Gulf that were imposed on the Islamic presence in Iran and later on, on the system of mass destruction that they put in Iraq and they are afraid that one day this elaborate military system that they put in Iraq is going to become Muslim possession so they thought of wars and they killed in those wars just in the Persian Gulf area about 2million people in Iraq, Iran and in the adjacent areas and they are drawing the petroleum out of the land of the Haramain. They are drawing out our own petroleum and we, Muslims, dont get any of these benefits, Here we are, trying to figure out how to support the Crescent International- imagine how reach this Ummah is and we cant sustain a lone Islamic voice in this political and military wilderness because we say we dont have the means or we really cant do it. (Take a look) at us- whats wrong with us? Why cant we do it? Then, some of us go to Masajids in which these Saudis pray. These Emirs and Princes pray in some Masajid in the West, in Africa and other areas and they go and pray shoulder-to-shoulder with them! How can you do that? On one side of their Gulf- across from the Persian Gulf- theres the Indian sub-continent where famine and all types of problems exist and on the other side, The Red Sea and Africa, famine and all sorts of other problems exist also- on both sides of this rich land there are problems and then you go and pray shoulder-to-shoulder with them in equality. Wait a minute-

snap to attention! Look that person in the eye and tell them Whats going on here? If Im your brother and if we are in this together, why are you putting these billions of dollars and financing a civilisation of aggression thats killing us all of!? Theyre not only killing us off physically, they are also killing us mentally. The Israeli spearhead of this civilisation is the only component that has made it into the Muslim mind. Only the Israelis have Israeeliyaat in our history with the fabricated ahadith; they are inside our fiqhi books and tafseer- thats on one hand; on the other hand they are showing us their atomic potential over our headsthey are inside of our heads with their Israeeliyaat and they are over our heads with their atomic weapons! Is there a way out of this? Not if were left up to ourselves- if its only us that were relying upon, were going to lose. It is through the involvement of Allah in our actions that we will defeat them and that is our mission in life and this can only be done by an unrelenting jihad. Jihad simply means by all means necessary. Thats the simplest translation of the word- by any or all means necessary. Part of that, obviously, is the ultimate expression of all means and that is to give up you own self in the pursuit of Allahs course and the course of action- that is what has to be done. If you want to choose another alternative, just step out of the civilisation of Islam and dont call yourself a Muslim. Step out and join the other civilisations, but if you are a Muslim, this is the time and place in history that we are approaching- together with Allahs presence. This Israeli cancer and Jewish diabolic presence in our midst- in Muslim lands, Africa, North America, across the world and even in this part of the world has to be uprooted. Then, we come to an issue about what they call suicide missions. These are not suicide missions, these are military operations. Israeli society is not the normal civil society that we are accustomed to in other parts of the world. In this society, there are military personnel who walk in-and-out of shops, stores, malls and streets armed with sub-machine guns on their shoulders and bullets around their breasts- what is this?! This is not a civil society! If these Zionist Israeli Jews have a civil society, then get the military out of that society and put them on the fronts, dont let them walk in the streets of Jerusalem, Hebron, Al Khalil, Askalaan, Ashkelon or in other areas. But as long as they are there in the hundreds and in the thousands and in their settlements, then they are military targets and any strike against military targets are not suicide missions, they are military operations. We dont want to deceive anyone- they use fancy words; if they drop bombs on Muslims, they say if civilians are killed, that is collateral damage. We dont want to hide behind words and say that if civilians are killed in a military operation against the enemy that, that is collateral damage; we say if is their fault because they are bringing their civilian population into their military targets. But they wont get their civilians out- as the Quran says, ... They always fight from behind walls and fortifications (Surah Al Hashr verse 14) Thats the way theyre trying to fight us. Well, they can fight as much as they want, because we know and Allah has said to us about them

... you will find them the most attached people to life... (Surah Al Baqarah verse 96) Theyre afraid because were showing expressions to show signs that were no longer attached to this life and we are willing to go on. For those of us who are still feint hearted and have to work up enough determination, we hope that you understand that the position of the Muslims and the oppressed peoples in this world is a position that is moving towards a jihad. Theyre trying to wrap up all these other small conflicts; even here, in South Africa, theyre trying to diffuse what Apartheid had placed into the lives of communities and people; in Ireland, Central and South America and in South East Asia theyre trying to do the same thing, but when it comes to this particular area, theyre not really trying what they call a peace process. This is not a peaceprocess; they want us to surrender to their terms because they want us to acknowledge that if they have the weapons and the 5th army in the world supported by the rest of Western civilisation we should succumb and surrender. We only surrender and succumb to Allah; His Power and His Word is above their power and their word; but Allah is not going to come and do what has to be done. We are going to have to do it and we are going to have to get Him involved. This is nothing new- this is something that has happened and has been demonstrated to us during the course of our history and it is up to us and our responsibility to see to it that we can have it happen again. ...And Allahs decision shall surmount and overcome theirs, but many people do not understand this (Surah Yusuf verse 21) ... Aggression is due only tho those who are aggressors (Surah Al Baqarah verse 193) Wa Salaamualaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh

SALAATUL EID (ANNUALISED OFFICIAL CHAOS)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims .... Consider the mis-citing of the Day of Eid this Eid Al Fitr a re-occurrence of the mis-citing that happens almost every year. We would like to begin by saying the truth, (statements of truth are hard to come by on this occasion and on other Islamic occasions), we want to say that even though the Muslims are

forced to celebrate the day of Eid today, the actual and factual day of Eid is tomorrow. Muslims no longer have the freedom of conscience to express the truth on this occasion. Some Muslims no longer have the courage or stamina to question those who have imposed the wrong day on the Muslims to be the Eid. Regardless of how much money, influence and clout the Saudi government has, we are confident that Allah is going to catch up with their lies; and this is a religious lie when they come and tell us without being placed in a position to be accountable for what they are doing. Havent they listened to As Salaf As Salih? If I am correct help me; if I am in error correct me. What happened? They are now above making an error? (Its) not like they are making it once in a lifetime, (thats understandable), but they are systematically, from year to year, making the same error all over again. To this, we say Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims, do we understand what is being said by the words that we express on this day and at this time? This day is meant to be a day of happiness, togetherness, fraternity and equality. The Prophet of Allah said the Muslims are as equal as the teeth of a comb. No Arab has privilege over a non Arab and vice versa and no white has privilege over a black and vice versa except in the matter of being more on guard against Allahs corrective power. The only 2million Muslims who are permitted to go to the Hajj try to exemplify these meanings and behave in this manner, but have we become schizophrenic? We have two personalities? During the time of Hajj, everyone behaves as if everyone is equal to everyone else, but the moment people leave Makkah and Al Haram and come back to the real world, they assume that personality of either superior or inferior. Hajj doesnt even have its implications and ramifications outside the time and territorial zone that it is performed in, or else this message of equality and the spirit of brotherhood will live on until the next Hajj, and from the Hajj after that until the next Hajj, so that we can live a lifetime of equality and brotherhood. Brothers and sisters, not many people want to say this, but the fact of the matter is that these socalled Custodians of the Two Harams in Makkah and Al Medinah are responsible for discrimination, inequalities and hostilities among Muslims. If only we understood that when we are saying Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar we are saying this in the backdrop of these challenges; were not saying this in a vacuum- your mind should be present and you should be tuned into the reality around so that when you know discrimination is not obliterated in Makkah and equality does not step outside of this Hajj season you say, proclaim and amplify the meaning of Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Wa Lillahi Al Hamd- Allah is superior to these minions who try to impose on us inferiority and then they perceive of themselves as being superior. They want to impose on us and scare us with their powers and influence us with their authority and we reply by saying There is no power and authority- the two main attributes of a Deity and Divinity- except Allah. Then we say to these same sponsors of prejudice and bigotry we are not blind; we can see where the divisions of the Muslims come from and we say to them as Allahs Prophet taught us to say Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Who are

Muslims? Its you and me; and whos you and me? We are human beings; and there are times in our lives when we begin to think and conclude that theres nothing we can do about this. Thats true- if we are left to our own selves, theres nothing we can do about it; but when we are in the company of Allah, we know that Allah is going to do something about it- but hes not going to do something about it when we are sleeping, withdrawn, silent, passive, indifferent or playing diplomacy with the clear words of Allah. We say Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Wa Lillahi Al Hamd. We thank Him for whatever outcome materializes from our involvement- we get involved with our mind and feelings and whatever the outcome is, we thank Allah for it. If the result is a struggle, we thank Allah for it; if the result is what seems to be a loss of time and efforts, we thank Allah for it, because we know that beyond our human nature, everything and anything we do for Allah can never be a loss. Indeed, Allahs superiority is magnified; and Praise to Allah is numerous; and the Praise-Glory of Allah is imminent and continual from sun-up to sun-down; There is no power and authority- this is the main definition of Ilahexcept Allah Singularly and by Himself (He) will fulfill His promise and will support and offer victory to His subjects. Thats you and me- dont belittle yourself and think you are no one. This is what the power structure in the world- the one that is choking the Hajj (wants); it doesnt want you to have confidence in yourself. Allah is reminding you on this occasion that He has given pride to His troops, soldiers and combatants and He has defeated the enemies by Himself. There is no Deity or Authority except Allah and we conform only to Him expressing our gratitude and in-debtness to Him in sincerity even though the deniers of Allah hate this type of attitude that we are expressing and these types of thoughts that we are announcing. Theres going to be people who are going to hate it- what are you going to do? Are you going to run away from them? Are you in the presence of people or are you in the presence of Allah? We invoke Allahs peace and blessings on Muhammed, the intimates, companions, supporters and wives and the offspring of Muhammed with ever enduring and repetitive conviction.

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Some of you may ask, (and you have the right to ask), if this is not the day of Eid, what are we doing here? This question somehow comes up from time-to-time more-so in our absence than in our presence. We would like people who have this type of question to come to us and ask us why are we doing this Eid prayer when we are sure and know that today is not Eid? We are doing this and going through the motions of the Eid today as an expression that we have the responsibility to communicate the truth to whomever is willing to listen to it. This is an occasion or forum or opportunity to present this truth. The minds that ask this question would have asked the Prophet of Allah when he used to go to the Hajj and the Kabah; and around the Kabah there were naked people; the same mind today that asks what are you doing herewould have asked the Prophet what are you doing in the presence of naked people? These people who have the luxury to ask this type of question dont have the responsibility to communicate the message of Allah with

these other people around who come and go- whether they are Muslims or not Muslims doesnt matter. This Tawaaf continued; and they had a philosophy for it. When people do things wrong, dont think they cant justify it- they said they committed sins and wrong-doing and they did what is bad in these worldly clothes so when they want to go to Allah, they tried to take anything that is related to that wrong act off of them so that they go to Allah in a state of purity- (cant you) see theres a justification for it?! You cannot say that they were rationally wrong, they were; just like today, these people who come and say if you are not praying your Eid prayers, then either youre a hypocrite (in which case) wed say, (Astaghfirullah), the Prophet was a hypocrite in going to the Kabah knowing that what these people were doing was wrong, he was still present among them. Where did he introduce this Islam to them? For you who are afraid to bring your questions to us, when he was in Makkah, before he went to Al Medinah, and when he used to go to present Allahs word to people, where would he go? He would go to the Kabah. How were people dressed at the Kabah, (may we ask you)? That is why when in the 9 th year of the hijrah when the Muslims were on their way back to reclaiming Makkah, the message was sent to these people in Makkah by the Prophet of Allah after this day, no one will be permitted to perform the tawaaf in a state of nakedness. Up until that day, that was the way things were done; it was done in the wrong way, but the Muslims were not running away from it, they could have gone away from the Kabah and said we dont want to do that (but) they didnt do that. What do you think- because the Saudis have what they have theyre going to get away with it? After Jumah prayers in Riyadh last year, in one of the main Masajid, for the 1 st time, (this was not covered by any media, TV or radio that we know of; it was written here and there but we dont know if you heard about it- check your own self), Muslims in the Masjid stand up and say Maghbunun Maghbunun; la yasquti Al Nidhaam which means weve been cheated; weve been cheated; down with this regime. And they send in their troops, what is equivalent to the National Guard, the police and they try to abuse some of these brothers and a sister among them. This was hush-hush; even some of our sincere Muslim brothers who you would expect to express the facts also remained hush-hush i.e. dont talk about this. Why? Has Makkah and Al Medinah become a Saudi possession? If Makkah and Al Medinah is a Saudi possession, then we have nothing to do with all this world around us. Most, if not all of us, consider the Palestinian issue our issue, not because were Palestinians, but because we are Muslims and because the First Qibla, The Third Haram and the land of Al Miraj is there- the same is applicable to Makkah and Al Medinah. These belong to the Muslims, (you and me)- we cant just step out of this and make believe that nothing is happening. Then, (also last year), 22 scholars and scientists wrote a petition to the Saudi government telling them, (of course, they know how to phrase this in gentle language), please, reconsider your decision because the 10th of Dhil Hijjah is not Wednesday. No one could have seen the hilal when you claimed it was seen. Youve done this before. About 10/12 years ago, when you knew you declared Dhil Hijjah the wrong day, you reconsidered and stepped back from you mistake and you corrected yourself- do it again. So, brothers and sisters, Allah is our recourse in all of this. Live with Him and perish with Him (meaning in his company) and let the cookie crumble as it may

Brothers and sisters- a blessed Eid and a happy time to you and yours and with all the nuances and pressures that we have, rest assured that Allah, in His good time, will take care of these issues as long as we live and die for Him and with Him.

SLAVE MENTALITY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims It has and continues to be our endeavour to the level of understanding of what has become common words, repetitive ayaat and worn out ahadith; its been our effort, juhd and ijtihad to reinvigorate what has become lost meaning whenever ayaat or ahadith are mentioned to us. We know, in a general sense, from the social and propagandistic climate of our time that there is, (what appears to be), an unending reservoir of malicious, hostile and aggressive establishments, think-tanks and armies that are ever ready to pounce on the Islamic pulse that is rooted in Allah

and His Prophet. We have numerous Muslims who are willing to shift with the current. If we take a look at an ayah from Allahs defining book- He says in an ayah in Surah An Nisa, which speaks about one of those buried details in our history. At the battle or the 1 st clash at Badr, when the people, establishment and government of Makkah, (so to speak), had scored a victory against the Muslims, in front of public opinion, as they forced the Muslims out of Makkah i.e. the kuffaar and Mushrikun of Makkah were enjoying a propagandistic high and now comes the 1st clash of arms or war between Makkah and Al Medinah at Badr. (Dont be surprised brothers and sisters, weve seen other things happen.) When this 1st clash took place there were those few individuals who were Muslims in Makkah, (remember this, because this detail is buried in our history), who were overwhelmed and they were convinced by the Mushrikeen of Makkah to fight on the side of the Mushrikeen against the Muslims in Al Medinah at Badr. This was a time when Islam had not proven itself, and if the past is any indication, the Muslims may be defeated. So, these Muslims of limited resources who were residents of Makkah- in what is called later in fiqhi vocabulary, dar al harb, fought on the side of the Mushriks against the Muslims. To address this development, (and more than that_, to speak to this psychology which was not going to die after the battle of Badr, Allah revealed this ayah in Surah An Nisa Without doubt, those human beings who Al Malaaikah bring to death in a state of injustice and offence to their ownselves (Surah An Nisa verse 97) These expiring Muslims had done injustice to themselves. the angels ask these expired Muslims, What was you condition in life? They said, But we were defenceless and powerless in this world. The angels replied (to these expired Muslims who fought on the wrong side of the war), But wasnt Allahs land as expansive or extended to have you go forth into this wide range of Allah in the world? (Surah An Nisa verse 97) Isnt this world or globe of Allah as accommodating as to be receptive to you when you go out in it? What do you think- the whole world is Makkah and Hejaz?! What are they going to say? They cant say a thing after that, so Allah draws the conclusion here those types, their shelter is Jahannam, and you cant have a destiny worse than that. (Surah An Nisa verse 97) OK- the 1st thing we realise it that this particular detail in our history is not expressed in public nowadays, and we should understand why. Any Muslim with an average range of thinking will know that if Muslims begin to speak about this issue, then Muslims are going to realise that events that happened 1,400 years ago have their parallels and corresponding events today. OK- now we come to just the past century and we find that their were Muslims from North Africa who were fighting with the French Legionnaires against Muslims in their own countries and against non-Muslims in far away countries. What were Muslims doing with the French

Legionnaires who were fighting in Vietnam and South East Asia? What type of excuse do they have? Muslims from Turkey were fighting with the United States Imperialist forces in the Korean war- what were they doing there? Is their any justification for their combat duties from the book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, or does this ayah accurately apply to them? Then, Allah says to us in an ayah in Surah Hud, (remember- these ayaat only speak to thinking people; if you vocalise these ayaat in the absence of your brain, youve accomplished nothing), Allah is saying to you and me and the rest of the Muslims who, (if only they), could only listen to these meanings and understand the intent here Dont rely or place your confidence on Alladhina dhalamu or dont accept the support that comes to you from Alladhina dhalamu because the result of that is that you are going to be scorched by the fire and besides Allah you have no Awliya or supportive allies and then, be advised that if you do go and place your confidence and draw your support from Alladhina dhalamu, you will not be victorious. (Surah Hud verse 113) Alladhina dhalamu is a broad definition that needs its peculiar designation in every generation and era. Alladhina dhalamu in todays world, generation and era are the Imperialists and Zionists- these two words that have become officially banned from the Manabir and Masajid. The powers that be will permit a hazy pronunciation and a foggy impression of alladhina dhalamu, but they will not tolerate a timely and the immediate breakdown of who alladhina dhalamu are in our time and generation. If only we had Muslims who have the courage to state these facts and explain them with clear and clean hearts and minds; but what we have is, (were not trying to be sarcastic or facetious), Israeli Muslims. Israeli, (here), is a Quranic word and Muslims, (here), is a Quranic word. What do we mean by this? We quote an ayah from Surah Al Araaf When Banu Israeel-were living in the slavery of the Imperialist power of their time, and Musa (alaih salaam), causes them to by pass all the structure of that power into a land of potential freedom- crossed the sea, these wretched miserable Children of Bani Israeel encountered a people who were devoted to their asnaam or idols or graven images... (Surah Al Araaf verse 138) OK- here, you can summon all the historical information that you have about Bani Israeel- the cruel treatment, discrimination and political/social/economic slavery that they were living in for generations; you would think that people who were living the Imperialist Egyptian Pharoanic policies of killing off the male Israelis so that the mothers, daughters and sisters stay alive and endure that slavery would never want anything to do with it, so they were physically transferred Egypt of the Pharoah to another society of religious deviance and they saw a society and people who had their own religious system with its values and foundations, and what did they say? Listen to this, so that we are no longer Israeli Muslims

 they said Oh Musa, designate for us a God the same way they have their gods. (Surah Al Araaf verse 138) Now, in the strict sense of the word, this is Tawheed dressed up with Shirk! They didnt say to Musa OH Musa- designate for us gods the way they have their gods or deities similar to their deities. Listen brothers and sisters- at least understand what you read when you read it they said Oh Musa, designate for us a / one God (Surah Al Araaf verse 138) Musa was speaking to them about the One God; but what they wanted was something beyond that i.e. a one god that fits into the religious system of those who have other gods. (Its) the same thing with todays Muslims- you tell them but theres a lot of similarities between you and the Israelis. They tell you What are you talking about?! This is only one citation of the similarities or common denominator that exists between Israelis and todays surface Muslims. Musa replied to them and said indeed, you are a people of ignorance. This society that you desire to be like (Surah Al Araaf verse 138-139) This is what happens to inferior people- slaves are inferior people, (were sorry to say this, but its a fact and facts have to be stated)- this inferiority does not go away easily. Its true that Musa brought Bani Israeel out of the Egyptian slavery and now, they had the advantage of living a life of freedom and independence, but they didnt want that, they wanted to be like these other superior types. Just because a society has its embellishments and modernity, (so to speak), doesnt make it superior! And, (we can say to the Muslims), just because we dont have the modernity that others have doesnt make us inferior and the others superior! these are people who because of the circumstances that they are in, shall self destruct and invalid is what they are doing (Surah Al Araaf verse 139) They could have the best technology in the world, but Allah can invalidate it and bring them to and beyond the point of self destruction. Say: can there be any other Deity/Authority that I ask for you besides Allah, and in the meantime He has preferred you to the rest of the peoples of the world (Surah Al Araaf verse 140) Allah is preferring people who are living an inferiority complex. He wants to move them out of generations and centuries of slavery and here they are, they dont want to live outside of slavery. Theres something in them that drives them to live juniors to their slave masters. The hostilities that come our way, (as we said at the beginning of the khutbah), are coming from all directions. Theres an ayah that many of us have in our homes, on the walls- we decorate our walls with this ayah- the ayah says

Those who are in denial of Allah and His Prophet are on the verge of devouring you with their looks or targeting you with the way they look at you; as if the way they are looking at you are arrows that are coming your way (Surah Al Qalam verse 51) When does this happen? when they hear adh dhikr (Surah Al Qalam verse 51) What is adh dhikr? This is another word that many of us read and repeat- adh dhikr simply speaking are the facts and the knowledge that go to the mind and the confidence and justice that goes to the heart. This becomes a mental reminder and a conscience reminderthats why its called dhikr. Your thinking becomes conscious thoughts and your feelings and hearts have conscious levels. This is dhikr. Its not something you just remember. Anyone can remember anything, but its not going to be dhikr if it does not cause that change of mind and heart back to where its supposed to be! So, when people who have hostile looks cast their vision on the Prophet and those who are with the Prophet turn that way when we gain this dhikr i.e. when theres meaning in our minds and a conscience in our hearts. This reminds us, (some of you may be older to remember), when the Islamic change took place in Iran almost 30 years ago, there was an outburst or flood of words, essays, columns, commentaries and discussions about these ayaatillah in Iran. The way they described one of their own- an ayatollah- they said that he has twinkles in his eyes. The way they described another, the Imam of the revolution is he has sparks coming out of his eyes. (Take) a look at the difference! (Take) a look at how they send their arrows, spears and informational bullets to our perception and many of us are just consumers of this foul information and they will say (about the Prophet and about everyone emulating the Prophet), certainly hes crazy (Surah Al Qalam verse 51) The Quran, Allahs words, penetrates all of their propaganda; sometimes they come with measured words and sometimes they spread sweet introductions only to snare us in their conclusions; Allah by-passes their sweet introductions and their sour conclusions. All they want to say is Allahs Prophet is crazy (nastaghfiruhu wa natubu ilaih) and by extension, they want to say that we are crazy. (Did) you get the message? This will explain to you the events of the previous years when we are regaining the dhikr component of Allah and what He is saying to us. Another aspect of this inferiority character that dwells comfortably within us is when you see some people who come to a scholar, leader or a person of status in society- they want to discover what his internal thoughts are, so that if he asks them about something, they will tell him what he wants to hear. This is a disease in ourselves! We are not Allahs conforming subjects in this life and world to tell even our respected leaders what they want to hear if it violates our own God-given conscience and mind. Let us go back to the pace setting era in our history- at the battle of Badr, for the 1st time, Muslims had prisoners of war, (POWs), and Allah did not reveal as of yet to the Muslims what to do with prisoners of war. So,

the Prophet asks those who are with him what do you think we should do with these POWs? There were two distinctly opposite opinions, (without going into the details of this), one opinion says that they should be amnestied and made to return to Makkah and the other opinion said No; they were intent on killing us so they deserve capital punishment. All of this was a dynamic around Allahs Prophet, but, not in any of the books and sources that weve encountered were there at least one individual who was trying to figure out what does the Prophet want so that I can say what he wants. The Prophet solicited their opinions for them to speak their conscience and mind and when they spoke their conscience and mind, there were two conflicting opinions which would tell us that Allah and His Prophet have given our conscience and minds the freedom to contradict with each other; but what we have to understand as a qualifier is that none of them were speaking out of ill feelings or were trying to express a personal interest. Then, he tried to bring this to a conclusion. We know (that) in our history, we had the Moghuls who invaded and occupied the same land that is invaded and occupied today, i.e. Iraq. Once again, one of the issues that is six feet under in our history is how did this happen? Because many of us have this glamorous and infallible imagery of rulers, (who long before the Moghuls invaded had deviated from the standards and principles of Allahs Prophet)- one of these kings by the name of Khawarism Shah received, (what would be called in todays language), an Ambassador from Genghis Khan. To make a long story short, this Muslim king decapitates the Ambassador or kills him; that instigated all of this hostility that ended up with the occupation, invasion and bloodshed that we have in our history books. That was a tragedy- hundreds of thousands if not millions of Muslims were killed and injured. Of course, we know what happened after that- after only a couple of generations itself, the invaders became Muslims. But the issue is, (and we ask you), was this invasion more damaging and detrimental to us, Muslims, than those who early on in Islam, (because of the political corruption that set in), who were called Al Murjiah,who said that as long as there is iman, whatever you do does not count? Which was more destructive, the Moghul/Tartar invasion, occupation, bloodshed and warfare in Iraq or that idea that still lives on in the heads of hundreds of millions of people that if you have iman, then it is not necessary to consider what you do. One of their statements (was) iman is not necessarily related to a resultant action; this is the tragedy that has begotten all other tragedies from which we still suffer up to our day now and here. The Prophet of Allah on one occasion chose a person from Al Medinah, from Al Ansaar, to become a military encounter in a limited military expedition. This commander looked around was not satisfied or irritated by those he was commanding so he told them to go and collect some wood and to spark or kindle a fire. Obviously, they obeyed- they went and brought some wood and they kindled a fire. He said now you throw yourselves into the fire. Some of them said were not going to do anything like that or dont do it. Then, they referred this matter back to Allahs Prophet and he said if you were to enter this fire, you never would have extricated yourselves from it. Isnt this a lesson for those who want to blindly accept orders?

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Does anyone of you feel offended if you are in your Islamic and Quranic frame of mind if we say that we are living a time of inferiority? Muslims are inferior- theres no blushing about this fact (and) theres no apology about reality. If this is the case and this is the truth, it has to be stated. Just this past week, there were demonstrations, marches and riots in Gulf countries by people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike who are being paid petty wages for demanding labour, who came from the Sub-continent of India. Whos responsible for this? People who resemble us and share our religious celebrations and who attend our congregational prayers. The condition has become so dire that one of the religious figures in the Islamic movement in Jordan a few days ago expresses his mind to the people, governors, rulers and Emirs in the Persian Gulf to have mercy on your brothers (what he means is on Jordanians and Palestinians who are beginning to live conditions of starvation.) Who do you speak to when you speak to people who have all of this wealth, weather they are kings, Emirs or Presidents. A President in a North African country had his son arrested for two days in Switzerland, and then because of that, all types of motions and movements were done (such as) going to the Swiss Embassy, prohibiting ships that have a Swiss flag on them and not sending anymore petroleum to Switzerland. Why? Because for two days, the son of one of these Heads of State was taken along with his wife for interrogation because they were beating- on whom? They were not beating any Israeli soldier or any Imperialist black boot- they were beating two servants also from North Africa, Al Maghrib Al Arabi, and these two servants went and complained to the authorities and then all of this happened. These are the types of political criminals that we have all over the place and they get away with this because we give them the chance to get away with it; they see that we are inferior and they capitalise on our inferiority. If we just had common sense and we stood our grounds, they wouldnt be able to get away with any of this.

AL QUDS MONTH: PALESTINE- WHO IS THE REAL ENEMY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters- As Salaamualaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh We desire to expand and build on the designation of the day of Al Quds (designated by the late Al Imam Al Khomeini to be commemorated on the last Friday of Ramadhan in recognition of the suffering meted out to the Palestinians and the oppressed peoples of the world), and will be inshaAllah running a weekly additional Khutbah on Al Quds. We pray

that Allah raises the awareness of people regarding the suffering of the people of Quds and the other oppressed peoples so that the designation of the last Friday to ensconce the realities in the lives of oppressed people in our minds will culminate into a daily occurrence. At the beginning, I would like to thank you for being here this evening; I would also like to add to that my appreciation to all of the dedicated Muslims who put together this program and brought us all to this occasion and I hope that presenting you with some ideas would have proven worthwhile. The subject matter that I am, in a humble way, trying to partake in this evening has to do with a central issue, relevant to the lives of Muslims in this world, (whether they conceive of it in that way or not.) This central issue is not just central because we have political, military and other life and death developments that happen to occur on an expanding scale in the time frame that we are in, but it is central because Allah, from above seven heavens, has placed it in the Quran by which and through which we conform to Allah. Anyone who reads the Quran realises that there is a great deal of concentration on the history, details, particulars and the twisted and tortured nature of Bani Israeel. Let me say to you, (form this presentation this evening), as a matter of introduction, our history as Muslims and, (in a refined manner), as Arabs- not ethnic/racial Arabs but mental Arabs who communicate with the Quran as the language or lingua franca of the final scripture and revelation- have come to be involved in a characterisation that is alien to us and that is the Israeli characterisation. There are many samples of ayaat in the Quran that may exhaust the time frame allocated to me, but I will begin this presentation by concentrating of one particular sample from Surah Al Baqarah. I will not go into the ayaat verse by verse because that will take the time of translating them and then approximating the meanings of these ayaat; what I will do is relate to you the general meanings of these ayaat; theyre around 240 or so of Surah Al Baqarah.

In these several ayaat, theres a characterisation of Bani Israeel when it comes to doing fighting or sacrificing lives for the course of Allah. They say to a Prophet of theirs that they want to be given the order to go out and dual with the enemy; we want to fight with the aggressor. Then, their Prophet tells them well, if the order comes to you from Allah, will you hesitate not to do so? (Surah Al Baqarah verse 246) I mean- this is a very serious matter because once an order is issued from Allah, it becomes binding; so pay very close attention to what you are requesting and saying. Then, they say Yes, we will not hesitate; we will do what is required of us; we will go to the battle front and fight for the course of Allah. and why not, when we have been displaced from our own areas and lands and separated from our own sons and families...(Surah Al Baqarah verse 246)

Remember, these words and very reminiscent and descriptive of the conditions of the Muslims nowadays. There is a dislocation of Muslims on a very wide scale; theres a separation of the family unit- extended and even the nucleus- in many parts of the Muslim world. As a matter of fact, almost all of you here have a history of being dislocated from your original lands; and even if youre not dislocated from your original lands and displaced from your original family, many times you feel that you are alienated from the land that you are living on, (for reasons that we will skip over for the time being.) So, these lively issues were present in the Quran and remember were talking about an issue that was experienced thousands ago by Bani Israeel. The notions, feelings, thoughts and ideas that we share right now were shared by them and they felt it necessary that they go out to the battle front and get rid of this misery and replace themselves where they belong, i.e. in their own lands and among their own people. So, the order from Allah came and when the order came, there has to be a leader/commander and that commander was Talut; and they took issue with that. They asked and how can this person be our leader when we are more qualified to be the leaders than he is and besides, he doesnt have that much money/wealth ...(Surah Al Baqarah verse 247) This is nothing new; this is not a statement peculiar to Bani Israeel; and this is not a historical statement that we read in the Quran that belongs to thousands of years ago. It is an attitude that lives on. (If) you have a legitimate, authentic and qualified Islamic leader who comes to the presence of the Muslims, and then, some Muslims begin to say Well- how can this person be our leader, he doesnt have the wealth and means that we have; he is not one of us! This is a key word here- he is not one of us!- the undertones of nationalism, racism and ethnicism all playing a part in this statement; all of these are facts of life. I dont care what part or corner of the Earth you live in- these are the facts of life that we have today. We come and oppose someone whos qualified to be the leaders in regards to a military, political, ideological and confrontational affair such as the one that we are talking about. Then, after they get rid of this squabble- by some of them not following; they say we refuse to be enlisted while this person is our commander-in-chief- is this something new to the Israelis or is this something that is rehearsed in the Muslim crowd? It is something to be found in us also, and it is no wonder that the spot light in the Quran is placed on this issue that is exemplified by the history of Bani Israeel. Then, what happens as he becomes commander and as a segment of society that is peeled away and there is another segment that is left with them and they set out on this military journey? What did some of them say when they come to a river? He said to them do not partake/drink from this river ...(Surah Al Baqarah verse 249) Now, that doesnt make sense in military terms! If youre out on a military mission, obviously, to be prepared, equipped and physically able and capable of confronting the enemy, you have to be physically nourished. If youre out in the desert or at the fronts and you are thirsty and theres a river flowing with water, it doesnt make any military sense to tell the troops not to drink of that

water. Some of them said were going to drink from this water and then they peeled away. Do you see the objections as time goes on and as Allah begins to test the will of the people on this journey to the military front? A military front that is so obvious in the Muslim world today; and not only one front, but many fronts- the central front and the peripheral fronts are all over. Our history is moving us towards these military fronts but some of us are peeling away and deserting these military fronts; and it is the will of Allah that this occurs. So that Allah may verify those who are authentic of what they think and are committed to from those who are phoney, vicious and evil ... So, after what seemed an illogical command and after some troops objected to this, there were some who stayed the course and went on to face a superpower. Were talking about two military forces in which the balance of power is skewed towards Jalut/Goliath against Talut/Saul (as is the Latin word for these two historical figures. When the final confrontation happened, it happened between those who Allah had filtered out in this process. Theres a filtering process thats in action nowadays. There are those who are feint hearted- just cowards- (if) you show them a military front, they run away or they begin to excuse themselves with the excuses that Bani Israeel repeated a foretime. At the end, the confrontation is going to be between those committed few and that humungous, tremendous and seemingly overwhelming military power. Then, what happens at that time? and then they were vanquished by Allahs leave...(Surah Al Baqarah verse 251) Remember, in the final stage, those who Allah describes as Alladhina Aamanu stepped out of the military fray. They said how can this be!? Look at what they have and look at what we have. We cant. We dont stand any chance. This is the military attitude that we have towards the Zionists that occupy our First Qibla and our Third Haram. What can be more dearer to you than your First Qibla and our Third Haram. These have been stolen from you and you have all the rights in the world by the books of scripture and what is called International Law to regain your right, your Qibla or your usurped land. This is not an issue that belongs to some Palestinians or Arabians, this is an issue that is at the centre and heart of the Quran. It even lies at the centre of the Quran, itself, with its 30 juz; it is at the centre of our faith, and you have all the right in the world but then why are you negotiating away your right? Why are you enlisted in a so-called peace process when all of the evils in the world, (historically and in our time), are concentrated in that evil expression of Zionism called Israel? What do you see right now? An Israeli attitude trying to circumvent the inevitable and that is the impending clash between us in the Islamic civilisation and them in the counter civilisation. They have all the arms; they are the superpowers; we are the Davids and they are the Goliaths. But what does Allah say after this process that we are going through? and how many times does it occur that those who are numerically inferior overcome and defeat those who are numerically superior by Allahs leave. And Allah is with those who

withstand this course and dont desert or Allah is with those who are patient with the details and dont run away. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 249) Allah is with those who are moving towards this military front and dont abandon their base and positions. Right now, we have history all over again and we have the Quranic ayaat applicable once again. We have to understand where we are in this process. Allah says to us kill them wherever they have killed you and expel them from wherever they have expelled you ...(Surah Al Baqarah verse 191) The land of the First Qibla and our Third Haram has become a killing field in which Muslims are being killed brutally and savagely in an unprecedented manner. There was one Muslim person who was killed a few months ago, (this goes to show you that even though the Zionist Israelis try to present themselves in a humanistic fashion, they are to the contrary of that. After they kill a Muslim, then their nature comes out and they show us who they are), and after killing him, they pumped 400 bullets into his body. Once a person is killed, thats it- once we as Muslims kill an enemy, we are told and instructed not to mutilate the body in any way; but here they are- after killing a Muslim, they have no compunctions about mutilating dead Muslims. They pump 400 bullets into one body?! Not only that- the Israeli Zionist Jews are living in a frenzy of paranoia and right now, they are talking of bringing back as Defence Minister of that illegitimate entity Ariel Sharon- the butcher of Beirut and one of the engineers of the occupation of half of Lebanon during 1982, 1983 etc. So what? Once they kill, it doesnt matter what happens beyond that. Both sides of the Israeli government, whether it is Likud or Labour, have been involved in this killing ever since they established their usurping presence in the middle of our Ummah, so it doesnt matter if Sharon comes along. They say that one of the policies that he wants to put into practise to try to send a deterring message to the Muslims is that if there is a suicide bomber, they are going to put the body of that suicide bomber into a pig skin and bury him in a pig skin. They think that thats going to deter a Muslim from his Wajib and what has to be done! How ridiculous?! The Muslim is gone to Heaven and what happens to his body is a matter of personal respect for that person- its not going to affect that person or his whereabouts after his soul has departed from his body, but this one of the evil thoughts that go on in this evil state called Israel. So, we are in this for the long run and the long haul. This is not an issue that is going to be solved tomorrow, much to the disliking of some of our hasty brothers and sisters who would like to fold this whole affair and put it behind us. Of course, all of us would like that to happen, but that is not something thats going to happen tomorrow and it may not happen on my watch or yours; but it is going to happen according to a determined plan by Allah. We should understand in this regard that we are part of this plan. Allah says

 fight in Allahs course those who fight against you ...(Surah Al Baqarah verse 190) Obviously there are sources in this world who are waging war against us and were not going to say that these ayaat dont exist in the Quran and were not going to make excuses and negotiate away these meanings to take on the Israeli attitude of old. The position and the strength of the Israeli attitude and behaviour is that they have placed us in the historical position that they were in at one time. They confronted the same variables, elements and factors that we are confronting today and they did not go out to the war front to dual and do war with a superpower- they ran away from that and so, when they put the inheritors of scripture, (ourselves), the Muslims, in the same position that they were in at one time and they are observing what are we going to do. Are we going to confront this superpower, (all odd stacked against up us and die in/for this course), or are we going to begin to behave like them. Obviously, when we look at the broad Muslim Ummah, we find that some of us behave like the Israelis. It doesnt behove us to make believe that this doesnt exist; it existsits a fact of life. How many of you have encountered individuals who come to you and say Wait a minute, why dont we for the time being enter into some type of peaceful arrangement with these Israelis, and in the meantime begin to build up our military power until we achieve some type of military parity with the enemy, and then, at that time we can think of going to war with this superpower. Theres no doubt that the Israeli nation state is classified as the 4 th or 5th superpower in the world. They have nuclear weapons/bombs in the hundreds; they have chemical and biological warfare that they dont want to speak about and they have their agents almost everywhere an Islamic potential exists- thats what they are afraid of; and they have also enlisted the Arab governments- the ones who have taken on this Israeli behaviour, hence the Arab officials find many things in common with the Israeli Zionists but they really dont find many things in common between them and the Muslim masses- that is why you see that representatives of 13 Arabian countries go to Sharm Al Sheikh and meet with their Israeli counterparts and then they try to work out a common strategy to combat what they call international terrorism. A few individuals go on military operations in Tel Aviv, Ashkalan, Askelon and Jerusalem and then, all of a sudden this becomes a phenomenon of international terrorism. How about the Muslims who are the victims of genocidal policies in Chechenya, the Balkans, Kashmir and Palestine itself? The Israelis have death squads- theyre not going to come out to you in their own media and tell you the Israelis have death squads that roam the West Bank and Gaza looking for suspects, and then reach their suspects and kill them at close range with bullets primarily at the chest and head area! No one says the Israelis have death squads in contravention to International Laws. They occupy other peoples lands and they talk about a state of Apartheid. Right now, they have bypass highways that they are building, (this is nothing that is strange to you- you had these bypass thoroughfares in the state of Apartheid here just years ago, when I came to this country 10/11 years ago, there were these bypass highways, (I dont know right know exactly the detailshopefully, at least, as far as the physical structure of the country is concerned, this is part of the

past), that separate the white supremacist areas from the black African areas), these exact same structure right now in the West Bank and the occupied territories of Palestine, saying that the Israeli Jews, (who are playing the role of the whites), are building separate entities on one piece of land. They dont even want to pass through areas that are predominantly Palestinian- they want to have this super highway that goes over the area and where theyre off limits to the local and native population i.e. the Palestinians. These are the people who claim that they are the People of God and the Chosen People. They have brought all types of discrimination and injustices and created out of that mess what they call Israel. Then, what they try to do is go on the offensive against the Muslims in this world. Right now, theres a worldwide man hunt instigated, sponsored and financed by these Israeli Jews throughout the world. This Conference was one of their targets. Some newspapers spoke about it in the skewed and bias manner that they speak about everything Islamic in this world. Are they disturbed with Muslims because the Muslims are capable and able to stand up to their aggression and respond to them? All the discriminations that are known in the world fit into the Israeli nation state- class, race, gender- all of them are part and parcel of Israeli policy- the concept of goyim and The Chosen People. Then, they turn to Muslims, lets say on the issue of gender and say Muslims discriminate against their own women. Unfortunately we havent had enough bold thoughts to go into the Jewish context and see how the Jews discriminate against their own women- no one wants to speak about this issue. Well, let me tell you a couple of things if they bring this issue up. I understand from time to time this does occur and they try to bring the issue of gender up in the context of Southern Africa and they try to put the Muslims in a defensive posture when it come to an Islamic context. The accusations are clear, I have no need to repeal these Israeli Zionist Jewish inspired accusations. Let me tell you that the religious Jews require on the night of marriage for the wife to be to shave her head when she first encounters her husband during that night. Imagine if this was a requirement in Islamic Law, or part of the Islamic family regulations. What type of fuss would we have against this type of ugly treatment that Muslim males impose on Muslim females; but this is an area thats off limits to the public mind. No one is supposed to think that the Jews require that of their own women. Another area in which discrimination is very obvious by Jews against converts to the Jewish religion who happen to be females is that they have to walk naked in front of several Rabbis. Now, imagine if that was a requirement of a non-Muslim woman if she wanted to become a Muslimah; i.e. for her to walk naked in front of several Imams. Imagine what type of fuss the world would kick up through its media concerning this Islamic religion- talking about barbaric, savage, medieval and stone aged behaviour, take a look at what they have! But no one dare question this Jewish behaviour and tenet of their religion. No- no one brings this issue up. Why cant we think on equal par with them? Why dont they go to the Jewish Rabbis of this country and ask them how they treat their women? Why is it always the Muslims that they want to pick on? Because this is a war! This is part of the all out war- psychological, media and military- that they have imposed on the Muslims throughout the world.

Who is involved in the peace process that they are involved in right now, in Palestine or in the Balkans? Its the Jews in the United States State Department- the same ones who are involved in the so-called Middle East peace process. If they are so confident of this peace in the Balkans, Bosnia-Herzegovina, then why do they have 1,500 Jews leave Bosnia and Herzegovina and they ship them all to Israel, our occupied land? If theres peace that is dawning on the Balkans and if the future is bright for the population of the area, why did they ship out the Jews and place them in other peoples lands if they are working on peace in that real estate part of the world? There was only 50 families of Jews in Chechenya, now theres none! Is there going to be any peace in that part of the world when they are the ones who are calling the shots? Because they know these are areas of war against the Muslims, so they recalled their faithful, (the people of their religion), and now the war is our war against them. Theyre not going to fool us. Of course, the Serbs are the immediate fodder in this war; they are the people who are put to do the killing or pull the trigger, but the support system that they have doesnt fool us. It comes from the central position of the Israelis interfering in our internal affairs. Let me say to you at this time that if Muslims have surrendered or were to surrender to this Israeli occupation of their land, there wouldnt have had the problems that they have. This is one indication that the Muslims are in a phase of renewal. If the Muslims in Bosnia, Chechenya, Central Asia and in the Sub-Continent were to accept the presence and legitimacy of Israel, they wouldnt have these wars. The Kashmiri issue can be solved very quickly and so can the issue in Bosnia and other places- just recognise the legitimacy of Israel and we wouldnt have these wars. We wouldnt have the war in the Middle East if the people would recognise the legitimacy of Israel. But, because the people are at heart Muslims and dont recognise that so called legitimacy, there is these series of wars against us. Were not going run away; were not going to have any excuses; were not going to tell the source of the order to us the same way they told Musa alaih salaam go you and your Sustainer and do the fighting, we will sit here ...(Surah Al Maaidah verse 24) When Musa told them enter into that Holy Land that Allah has decreed for you and dont be vacillating in that process ...(Surah Al Maaidah verse 21) Were not going to say these such things, we will say just like the people around our Prophet said to him- go you and your Sustainer and do the fighting, because we will be fighting with you. This is the attitude that will carry the day and it will vindicate out history and verify our character. Anyone who wants to run away from this coming future is just acting ostrich and burying their head beneath the Earth/sand. The facts are there and they are staring us in the eye. This has been the case also considering the Ottoman state. The pre-Israeli Zionist Jews came to Sultan Abdul Hamid and tried to bribe him (saying) hey look, what do you need? Money? They had a good network of finances throughout Europe which they worked on for centuries and

now they had a good flow of cash coming in so they could afford to go with large sums in those days and offer the last Sultan of a political representation of Islam- what do you want? Well give it to you. Whats the money/price for Palestine? He said unequivocally to them No! It is easier for you to bring a scissor and cut off parts of my body than it is for you to take away part of the dominion that I am in-charge of. That was his statement to them. Thats a far cry from the quisling types of rulers we have in Muslim countries who are falling all over themselves right now to try to win the sympathy and support of these Israeli enemies of Allah, His Prophet, history and enemies of our own peoples. There they are, 13 representatives go to Sharm Al Sheikh to express their support for the Israeli government; and for the 1 st time at this levelHeads of State or Representatives of Heads of State go and meet. Before, it was some Foreign Ministerial Committees who would meet in Tunis, Spain or some where in the Mediterranean to discuss international terrorism; now, they brought in the big bosses, from Clinton on down to King Hussein. Why were all of them assembled there? Because theyre talking about Islamic terrorism. Well- how about the Russian terrorism in Chechenya? 50,000 Muslims killed in Chechenya in the course of two years; 200,000 killed in the Balkans in the course of four years- that is not terrorism? Thats not something to be discussed? Just 58 of the Zionists Israeli Jews were killed in some buses in what is considered to be legitimate acts of self-determination in occupied land and they consider that acts of terrorism and they bring the whole world to a Conference to boost their support to the fledging Israeli authority which they dont know if its going to be re-elected at the end of May or not and they bring along their surrogates/agents i.e. the kings and Presidents in the Arab countries. Now, the Jews are opening kosher cafeterias and kitchens in the Gulf area- Qatar to begin with, and they will do the same in Oman, and then, what will follow will be in the Emirates and Bahrain and all of these other areas. Right now, they have the Hebrew Press speaking about the statelets in the Arabian Peninsula- this is what they call them- progressive states. They want to undo and reverse Islamic history; the Prophet and his generation were able to expose the treason of yahud in Al Medinah and expel them from the Arabian Peninsula from Al Medinah, Tayma, Fadak, Khaybar, Ilat, (called Eilat at that time)- now, for the Jews to normalise relations with the, (heres what he calls himself), Custodian of the two Harams, they tell him that they want the Jews to return to where they were. Right now, they want to defeat in retrospect our Prophet and the Saudis receive them, shake hands, smile to them, sit with them and then these Zionist Israeli Jews dictate to them what to do- you have to finance this war against international terrorism, the euphemism for Islamic activism. And the Saudis are yes sir- certainly. How much do you need? Heres a billion and heres another billion. Whatever you need you may have just so that we may survive on our thrones. There are some Muslims, who because of the shallow political awareness are plugged in to this who scheme. Whether they know it or know, this is the case and the Saudis have their presence in the Masajid around and as the enemy is chopping our body or trying to chop our body of the Ummah one piece at a time, the Saudi type of preachers come to the Masjid on Friday and they speak

about their congregation about how you perform wudhu and Salah- elementary courses of which you here the 1st Jumah and the 1st year and the 1st generation Havent you learnt how to do wudhu and Salaah so far after all of these Saudi khutbahs? Isnt it enough to stand up and say wait a minute- weve learnt this; let us go on to something else. Something else we may learn about our destiny and what is happening to this Ummah in the world. Indeed, Mumins in this world are brothers/brethren (Surah Al Hujurat verse 10) If that is the case, whats happening to our brethren? Allah orders and commands justice (Surah An Nahl 90) What type of justice do we have when the Saudis and the other robe flowing Princes from the Arabian Peninsular place hundreds of billions of Muslim resources in the banks of these kuffaar who refinance and recycle all of this wealth in the form of bombs that are being dropped on innocent Muslim women and children? And here you are on Fridays with the khutbahs putting you asleep and you struggle to stay awake to preserve your wudhu! In the course of all of this, we cant forget that there is also in the Hebrew Press a concentration campaign against the Islamic State in Iran. In the past couple of years, the Hebrew Press in Zionist Israel, an occupied Muslim country, has been accusing the Islamic Revolution in Iran of being the sponsor and financier of all the Islamic Movements in the world. From time to time they bring up the issue of three little islands in the Persian Gulf, to try to stir up hostilities between the Islamic State on one side of the Gulf and these other statelets on the other side of the Gulf. They come up from time to time with an accusation that the Iran is forging American currency- $100 bills (to the tune of) $100billion out of $400billion circulating dollars around the world which is also an act of Iran which they may consider an act of war. The United States is upon a Presidential election and the Jews are top heavy in the United States administration. /for the 1st time in US history, four members of the US Cabinet are Jewish read Israeli Zionist at heart. The Head of the Central Intelligence Agency as well as the 2nd and 3rd ranking officials of the Central Intelligence Agency are Jewish read Israeli Zionist at heart. Warren Christopher is getting old and talks about not wanting to become the Secretary of State for another four years if President Clinton is re-elected. Right now, Madeline Albright, the Israeli Zionist Jewish representative of the United States government to the United Nations is barking for that position; she wants to become the United States Secretary of State in a new Clinton Administration. The writing/painting is on the wall; it is clear that there is a concentration of a conflict that has to do with our First Qibla and our Third Haram. The Jews have instigated to the Arabian governments in Egypt, Jordan, the Arabian Peninsula, Morocco, Tunisia and wherever they go to omit from the text books from elementary, high schools and even from the college courses at university level those lessons that have to do with Islamic/Jewish history; the history of the Jews in Medinah, the Arabian Peninsular and in the Quran . Bani Israeel and all of this may be in the Quran- if they could delete that from the Quran, they would do all that they could to do it, but

they know that they are not going to be able to do that so they dont want any explanation of these ayaat in these countries. There are very well financed Committees in Egypt that are going about this work to try to delete and omit any and all reference to Jews in their history in the Quran and as far as their history with the Prophet is concerned so that they may be able to sell this peace process to the Muslim public; but the Quran is more vibrant now than it was in the past and the Muslims are re-discovering this Quran and in the process they are getting ready for the encounter with these Zionist Israeli Jews. We have been open on many occasions, trying to invite any of these Zionist Israeli Jews to come and correct us if we are wrong, but this is one area they dont want to deal with. Have you realized that in all the literature and everything they say, they dont say anything about what the Quran says about them. Why? If we are in an era of enlightenment and if these are very smart Jews and if they are the scholars, intellectuals and pundits of this world, why are they avoiding what the Quran says about them? I would like to end, (I know Ive taken a little more time than I was supposed to), this presentation by 1 st khutbah that I gave here in South Africa about 10/11 years ago in which Allah says O you who are divinely committed do not ally yourselves to the political manifestations of Christians and Jews because whoever allies themselves with the political expression of Jews and Christians in this world has become one of them and no longer is one of us (Surah Maida verse 51) These rulers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and all of these lands are no longer part of us. The tafseer of this ayah has become very clear, especially in the past year for everyone to see. Anyone who still considers a Fahd or Mubarak who is making tawaaf around the Kabah and sajdah in the Haram and fasting during Ramadhan to be part of the Muslim Ummah has not understood the Quran. Wa Salaamualaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuh

WHY FIQH TURNS DIVISIVE?

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuhal Muminun Allah, in an ayah- that has been heard, quoted, explained, under-estimated and understood in a deficient way many times- says Oh you who are securely committed to Allah bear Him in mind or be conscience of Him as the ever present corrective power in everything you do in life- that is what is due to Him and do not die except in a state of surrender to Allah. And hold firm to the fiber or bond of Allah, all of you and be not divided (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102-103)

The meaning of these two ayaat and the following and preceding ones guide, order, instruct and teach us how we should be one co-ordinated, purposeful and productive group of people. There are many ways (in which) you can slice humanity; there are racial, ethnic, sectarian, linguistic and nationalistic divisions, but Allah has given us the character that brings us together regardless of the varying and ijtihadi interpretations that are allowed for us. We say this is the background and backdrop of what has been and continues to be a serious, unremedying and an unceasing grand and extended policy to divide us. Our division comes from our susceptibility to this division. The world, Ash Shaytaan and its mouth-pieces can speak all they want, and if we have an immunity, they cannot do a damn thing; but if we have the susceptibility to be divided then they can come and with very feint voices- it doesnt need much propaganda, public relations footwork- just a small whisper will do it and they can set into motion the divisions and subdivisions of Alladhina Aamanu who are supposed to be one body. We know that we have covered this territory before, and we know that as much as we revisit this subject and rejuvenate our ideas about it, we are still not doing enough to bring our hearts together and to block these ideological, military, sectarian and nationalist induced ideas and temptations to divide us. Because our vulnerability is internal, we want to try and clarify some of these internal issues that have worked for centuries to on dividing us when we should be consolidated. This is in no manner an exhaustive presentation of these matters, because they are beyond count, but to take several exemplifications of what we mean and what are these internal thoughts or notions that distance one Muslim from another and create gaps through which the enemies move in and separate us from each other? We want to have a feeling for these issues, (that are in fact in their normal and natural size miniature issues), that are not issues that should divide any Muslim, but these types of issues, (that we are going to cover very briefly in this khutbah), are the ones that eclipse this taqwa become so important that they eclipse this taqwa of Allah, (which is the determining factor in bringing us all together and that imposes on us Allahs presence and authority and that diminishes all other authorities and powers in this world and that concentrates our attention on Allahs power and authority. We have in our history such as a faqih, i.e. a scholar of Islam, who comes along and says that if a Muslim is found guilty of homicide against a kaafir or non-Muslim, then he deserves the death penalty. This is one of the issues in our common books of fiqh i.e. our legal references that we all have; theres an opinion like this. OK- so how does an opinion like this become an issue? Well- some people will come and tell you that NO- a Muslims life is more precious than a non-Muslim life or a Muslim life that is not free, therefore if a non-Muslim life or a Muslim who doesnt have his/her full freedom is are in whichever manner killed by this Muslim, then his penalty is short of the death-penalty. The Muslims who carry the latter opinion depend on a hadith and the Muslims who carry the 1st opinion depend on an ayah. If a nafs is killed, the punishment for the person who is guily of that act faces the death penalty (Surah Al-Maa'idah verse 45) The ayah is comprehensive and all inclusive. The word an nafs- it doesnt matter what type of belief or individual has lost their life. Of course, we are speaking here of an act of homicide in

civil society; were not talking about Muslims and non-Muslims at a war front. Why does an issue like this have to become an issue that divides Muslims? Of course, I kept out the names of the scholars, fuqaha and the people who have taken one of these two opinions in our history; but here we are, with these opinions, scholars, judgements and conclusions, (having access to both of them), why should I be separated from the other Muslims who doesnt agree with me on this issue. Theres no reason for this, of course, we take out of this equation and mode of thinking the issue of taqwa. Once we bury that issue, then these type of issues become issues that divide, generate bad feelings and that could lead to mis-understanding, tension and conflict. The same thing can be said about another, (its alright if we use the word trivial), trivial issue, (that can also be used as a matter of mis-understanding and polarisation among Muslims), of al fakhid i.e. is the area above a mans knee considered a private part of a man or not? Is it an awrah or not? We have different opinions about this. We cant run away from this; this is how our minds worked on the ayaat and ahadith that they had available to them and this is how they understood it. OK- we have one opinion saying its an awrah and we have another opinion saying its not an awrah- how do these two opinions weaken our brotherly relations and accommodation of each other? It happens when we take out of these fiqhi opinions the larger issue of Allahs taqwa. Muslims should be ever vigilant of Allahs Authority and Power here and now- thats what counts! How does this opinion have to do with Allahs Authority here and now? Is it a violation of Allahs Authority here and now as we face off with forces of impending disaster and death just weeks and months away?! How can this be cogently accepted by any fair thinking Muslim.

Then, (we dont use the word religion, but other people fall into alien definitions and concepts), we have Muslims among us who consider a Madhhab to be a religion. This is now the case. Al Madhhab is not a Deen. Al Madhhab, (whichever Madhhab that is), is a thought out ijtihaad of a particular qualified Islamic scholar. This thought-out ijtihad of a particular qualified Islamic scholar does not have any holiness to it. It is not the final word on that particular issue, no matter what that Madhhabi issue is. But because we have people who omitted taqwa from their lives, it became possible for them at that time and after that to elevate Al Madhhab to become a Deen. This is yet one of these internal vulnerabilities and susceptibilities that our social Islamic body continues to suffer from. This brings us to a critical issue that needs some thought, i.e. that Muslims do have their learned scholars?! Muslims should have their Mujtahids, Ulema, Fuqaha and Aimmah. Muslims who are short of that achievement are required to learn from those who have knowledge. The issue of learning and acquiring knowledge is a common, elementary or given among the pedestrian Muslim; and if that is the case, let us listen to Allah when He says, (and in that regard, giving reference and credibility to those who not only have knowledge, but who have a conscience with that knowledge.

Hence, ask the folks of dhikr if you are deficient in your knowledge (Surah verse ) One of the fine points and subtle details in this ayah is that Allah- Whose words are precisedidnt say fasalu Ahl Al Fikri in kuntum la talamun; then ask people of intellect if you are deficient in knowledge; He said Hence, ask the folks of dhikr if you are deficient in your knowledge which means that people who have the knowledge- (thats) not enough; along with that knowledge they should have a consciousness of Allah- you go to them for answers. Another ayah that refers us to those who are able to understand, analyze and draw conclusions for the rest of us says And if a development pertaining to security, insecurity, social fear or instability were to crash upon Muslim society (Surah An Nisa verse 83) Theres a category of people that will blurt their minds on the issue, i.e. they just say whats on their minds and Allah is taking these types of people to issue because they could not reference the issue of social fear and security to people who are qualified to do so. but if they were to refer these types of critical issues (that are in our contemporary language called social, security or behavioral science issues), to the Apostle and those who are authorized to make decisions, then those who have the pertinent knowledge would be able to make those decisions (Surah An Nisa verse 83) But, what we have is the vulnerable-Islamic-internal psychology that 1st of all cannot discriminate between Deen and Madhhab and 2nd of all, they dont recognize or appreciate a scholar of conscience when they have him and 3rd of all, they open up their spontaneous minds on issues with superficial information. Then, we encounter another gap in our thoughts. We have some individuals who come to us and say OK; fine- Muslims do have their scholars, Mujtahids, learned and intelligent individuals, but are these individuals supposed to think for us?! We dont know how to say this in slow motion and we dont know how attentive you are, but please follow this question because it comes up almost every time people, Muslims, ask this question- Muslims ask, Are these Islamic scholars supposed to think with us? The question itself imposes a wrong answer! The way to look at this issue is that we, Muslims, have issues and problems that have to be answered and solved by those who have the merits and qualifications to do that. So, the correct way of looking at this is that these scholars, qualified Fuqaha and Mujtahidun invite us to think with them- how can this be said in slow motion and how can it penetrate? Any of these scholars or Mujtahidun who are trying to make a living by disconnecting themselves from the public mind and from the people, themselves, places them outside the category of Ahl Adh-Dhikr. Then, when we take a look at the range of issues that we have- we were just fasting the month of Ramadhan- we all fasted, may Allah except from all of us our fasting during this month on Ramadhan, (this is just an example of the larger common issues that we have and the smaller varying Ijtihaads that we have. When it comes to breaking the fast at the end of the day, some of us break the fast immediately when the sun goes down i.e. at Maghrib time; others of us break their fast in the range of 15 to 30 minutes after the sun went down i.e. meaning when night commences. We are not saying that one is more virtuous than the other, we dont want to be

judgmental on an issue like this. In this area, you do your conscience. Look- the problem is that we spent 12 or 13 hours together fasting, (and), instead of looking at the 12 or 13 hours that united us, some people begin to look at the 12 or 13 minutes that differ at the time of iftar. Brothers- why do Muslims have this psychology?! They dont look at the long and common issues that bring them together, they look at the variation- and it is a legitimate variation to which they reconcile their hearts at the end of the day. This should not be an issue to divide. We can generalize from this one issue and look at the larger issue of legitimate scholarly opinions that we have; we 13 centuries of common opinion of Usul Ad Deen that unite us, but then we have varying ijtihad that can be counted in minutes and hours- why dwell on minutes of legitimate ijtihad of minutes and hours and throw down the drain 13 and 14 centuries of Imaan and Taqwa? Another trivial issue, (as we said at the beginning, this is only a sample of issues that the powers of todays world are trying to inflame the Muslim psychology so that we can have bad feelings among ourselves), during the time of Salaah, when the Imam is leading the Salaah, does the mamoon i.e. the follower praying in the 1st and 2nd and the other lines read any ayaat or Al Fatiha or doesnt he? Well- he does what his heart tells him to do! He read that this Mujtahid said this and that Mujtahid said that and at the end of the day, all these Mujtahids had equally valid opinions; so let this Muslim do what his heart tells him to do- hes not doing this in a blind manner, hes going to debate it, ask and after a give-and-take, questions and answers and maybe argumentation, (of course, in the Islamic behavior and character), hes going to decide whether hes going to read the Fatiha or not. Why should that become a measurement of who the Muslim is. Some of these differences come from the following areas- mental leisure. Some people and thinkers in these past 14 centuries had extra time, so they began to put into their thesis of ijtihad the extra mental or intellectual activity that they had; others may have had some rhetoric in the way they presented their opinions; other ijtihadi opinions May have been influenced during that particular age or generation with the government of the time and some of these opinions that we find in this literature of ours belongs to those who are scholarly enough, themselves, to give and take on the issue- it just doesnt belong to Muslims who are qualified in other areas. There are issues that have to do with the legitimacy of different ijtihads. There is a linguistic basis for different ijtihads. For example, the word and divorced women should spend a time period of three quru before this talaaq becomes consummated. (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) Some Islamic scholars said al quru is at tuhur and some Islamic scholars said al quru is al haidh meaning these three could be three clean periods of a women who goes through a divorced process or it could be not the period itself, but the flow of the monthly cycle- why are we going to be divided about this issue? How come people build on these issues and make them one to divide us?

Another issue is, (we know these issues can go on and on; we have to even abbreviate the issue that we came with), that of az zaani and az zaaniyah i.e. a person, male or female who commit adultery. The ayah A women, az zaaniyah, and a man, az zaani, who are guilty of adultery, then their punishment is 100 lashes (Surah An Nur verse 2) This is an ayah in Allahs book. When we come to our time, we have in our literature, two legal opinions on what the punishment of az zaani and az zaaniyah is. One opinion relies on this ayah and says whoever commits adultery, whether they are married or not married, their punishment is 100 lashes in public and in the manner that is detailed in these references; the other legal opinion comes and makes a distinction between those who are married and those who are not married. If the person is not married, then the punishment is 100 lashes, but if they are married, then they are stoned- this is what the majority Islamic opinion has gelled upon concerning this issue- they discriminate between those who are married and those who are not married. For those who discriminate between those who are married and those who are not married, we want to bring to their attention an ayah in the book of Allah that speaks about Muslim women who are in transition between Dar Al Harb and Dar Al Islam and they get married. If they remain in their moral Islamic character, nothing concerns us legally here, but if they violate their Islamic moral character, then the ayah in the Quran says that They are to endure half of the punishment or penalty that is due to them This will cause you and me to think- if married adulterers and adulteresses commit this violation of Islamic behavior and moral crime and if they are married, then the penalty that is due according to some ijtihads is ar rajm or stoning. How can you have half a stoning? It cannot be! Even though some of the Mutazilah and some of the Khawaarij had this opinion and only a few thinking individuals have surfaced with this opinion that ar rajm is not an Islamic punishmentwhatever the case is, we are not here to try to tip the balance one way or the other, we are here to make you think and we are here to convince you that after you think, these issues are not issues of division. At the end of the day, these are not issues that are going to divide us. Well end with this because theres so many of them and we have to end it because the time has run out-If you read our common references, you will find out that Al Faatiha was read and not read in As Salaat Al Janaazah. Al Faatiha was read in Salaat Ul Janaazah for those who did itout loud. ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhu, by the consensus of Muslims read Al Faatiha in As Salaat Al Janaazah out loud. What are you going to say? Ibn Abbas was wrong? Or were going to say the way ibn Abbas read it was right and the way the others read it was also right? Let us go beyond this- As Salaat Al Janaazah had seven takbeeraat to it by the generation of the Sahaba radi Allahu anhum and it had five takbeeraat to it by the generation of the Sahaba and it had four takbeeraat by the generation of the Sahaba, and now comes a Muslims and he says seven takbeeraat, today/in our world, (if some Muslim reads the salaah with seven takbeeraat, what are you going to say? Some people come up and say this is a bidad and here we go breaking the ranks and demolishing the lines separating the bodies of Muslims altogether! Why? Theres no

reason for it. The only explanation for these tendencies and bad explanation among the Muslims is theres no longer any taqwa in our thoughts and thinking. That is why the 1st ayah Be vigilant and on guard concerning Allahs power and authority as is due to Him and do not expire except that you are in a state of submission or yielding (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102) The word submission or yielding requires that we be cognizant of Allahs power. Brother Muslims and sister Muslimaat A khutbah as was just presented may appear to some people to be some-what theoretical and too much towards what the scholarly class of Muslims are involved in. But, thats not the case. What weve just expressed is directly related to the unceasing, periodical and cyclical attempts to instigate bad feelings among Muslims. We speak, but others perish- theres been sectarian tit-fortat that is part of a thought-out strategy to pulverize and vaporize and serious effort to bring together the hearts and minds of Muslims and have the Muslims relocate in a body of unity. When a news item speaks about Zionism and Imperialism, (at least, in the mass media in the Muslim world), the comments and the analysis about Zionism and Imperialism are dragged into a familiar tunnel and channel. You can almost predict what they are going to say, (many times without substance), against Zionism and Imperialism; but when an issue is presented in the mass media in the Muslim world, then we have them opening up unexpected issues to have each one feel that they are holier than the other Muslim. Sisters and brothers- any time you read a comment or what may pass as an analysis or a breakdown about an issue that pertains to Sunnis/Shiis (whether you are a Sunni/Shii doesnt matter, whoever you are), if after that you feel that you are holier than the other Muslim or the other Muslim is a lesser Muslim than you are, then trash that article. These are the types of words and notions that want to drill a wedge between us everywhere they can. Whenever the issue of Sunni/Shii comes up, all of sudden you have in the Arabic speaking mass media a tremendous input of commentary about this issuesome of the feedback is very negative, some of the feedback is very positive and much of the feedback is unenlightened in between- the fanaticism of those who are negative and the dreaming of those who are positive. We lack the presence of our minds when Allah and His Prophet are speaking to us- this is our problem. Our problem is not that we have different opinions, if we understand what Allah and His Prophet are saying to us, we honor the variations of ijtihad that we have. When are we going to have Muslims that can stand up and say Im a post Sunni/Shii Muslim?! Being that Sunni and Shii are defined by Imperialism and Zionism and those who run their course- this is what we are waiting for. A Foreign Minister in one of these Khaleeji countries, in Bahrain, (this is public news), suggests during the recent past that all the Arab countries in addition to Iran, Turkey and Israel should enter into some type of alliance. At the same time and in the same area of the world in which signals of tension are coming out - Sunnis against Shiis and Shiis against Sunnis- we have politicians who are thinking of bringing Zionism, Imperialism and the Munafiqeen into the house of

the Muslims and not many people are disturbed by that! When you bring our a Sunni/Shii issue it flares into emotions on both sides, but when someone brings up the issue of Zionism and Imperialism- Aah- dont worry about Zionism and Imperialism; Allah will take care of Zionism and Imperialism and we have to solve our Sunni/Shii issues with the absence of our minds and the overflow of our emotions. Is this what Allah and His Messenger are telling us?! Where do you tune into that in Allahs book or in the words and guidance of His Apostle?! But thats where we are and thats who we are and the remedy has to begin.

THE AMANAH BESTOWED UPON US

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Allah says to us- and the words are intended for our thinking minds and motivated heartsAnd in honour or by those who honour their trust and vow to Allah (Surah Al Mumin verse 8) There is a vast discrepancy between the 1st thrust of Muslims dating back to the formative years of the 1st generations and the shell-type of Muslims who live on today. Most of the times, we

reflect with our Allah-given abilities to try and figure out why there has been a failure on behalf of the Muslims to honour the trust that we are supposed to carry. Most of the times, we detect two reasons for this failure, one of them comes from the external or outside political, military, ideological and educational forces and the other is an internal one- much of it has to do with our ownselves- from those generations who built to our generation, today, that consumes. An erosive process set in. The result, in whatever proportion we may allocate blame is where we are today, virtually a burden on our own Islam- Muslims (are) a burden on their own Islam, (if such words can be combined and deciphered). We have reached a time when most of the words that are expressed in the Muslim public, whether its in a Masjid or another type of forum, dwell on issues that indicate how deep and steep our decline has become. In todays language of khutbahs, sermons, lectures and presentations we find people occupied with such issues, (the issues themselves defy common sense; we kid you not- these are issues for brain absent Muslims), the face of a woman is a private part. It is not permissible for a man to look at a woman and it is not permissible for a woman to show her face This is the type of nonsensical expression of what they think is Islamic and Islam centred. If we wanted to be as thoughtful as the Quran and the Prophet would want us to be, wed look at the world today and submit that there are external and internal factors that have eroded our trust in Allah and our ability to honour our trust from Allah; and so was the condition in Makkah with the Arabians to whom the Prophet was sent. There were external and internal factors simultaneously, and how did Allahs Prophet remake these human beings? There was a process, and in this process, was he concentrated on the external dangers and intrigue that were there? Anyone of us who bring our minds to the Quran and the Sunnah understand that that was not the case. He began with the people who were around him; he began with his social self. Then, we had the establishment of the 1st Islamic lively social order in the complete sense of the word, but then, what we had after that was an immediate failure at the political level. Even when some blank minded Muslims, (who sometimes dont even think of the consequences of what they express), read Islamic history, we are told that there are four khulafa rashidiyah and then, when it comes to one ruler in all of the years after that, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radi Allahu anhu) is called the 5th khalifah. So then, why do these same minds that dont think should be asked why is Muawiyah or Yazid called a khalifah? What are they? Another class of khulafa? If no-one else before or after him is called the 5th khalifah, then why do they continue without thinking of what they are saying, to call those other rulers khulafa? Which is another indicator that people, (even those who we assume should know what they are saying are empty headed, (empty headed all the way back to those years). In the time of Muawiyah, (say it- brothers and sisters- dont be afraid), whats wrong? We cant identify the 1st kings in Islam? The Prophet spoke about mulk adud and mulk jubri i.e. kings and dictators who are imposed on the Muslims. Have they not appeared yet? Are we still waiting for the end of history to project these types of rulers? But obviously, if Muslims are not thinking, (then wed think that), we havent had them yet. Weve had people who follow the religion of their kings since then- in the time/presence of this 1st king, (registered is the following statement in reference to Muawiyah), this person who wants to score some brownie points with the ruler who now rules over the Muslims because of a stream of blood says the commander of Amir Al Mumineen is

this one, in reference to Muawiyah; and if he perishes, then it is this one, in reference to Yazid; and whoever disagrees, then it is this one and he presents and shows his sword. This is not an incident in history that is plucked out of some extremist source- you can read it in any of the reliable books of history that we all commonly share. Now, you tell us- beginning from that day, with these types of statements and attitudes, did we not have a political flaw that had no be corrected which, still, up to this day has to be corrected? How are we going to honour this amanah i.e. trust, responsibility, covenant and commitment with Allah if we are unable to see the facts and then identify the responsibilities due to an unpolluted understanding of these facts? When are we ever going to bring in the human mind instead of being the Muslims who inherit this type of mechanical Islam? (If we use the word, some of you are going to be upset. We dont want emotions. The reason why sometimes we avoid using certain words is because it kicks in an emotional element that will destroy our thinking about the matter; and what we are trying to do is to summon your thinking), we have, a person who would stand up, (imagine this happening in our time! 1,400 years havent been enough to mature, grow up and be careful not to make suck statements, but here we have it), on the occasion of the Prophets birthday and say the Prophets father is in Jahannum. We dont know what type of person is capable of making that type of public statement? In the length and width of the Muslim presence in this world, we come across these types of individuals who want to tell the Muslims the Prophets father and uncle is in Jahannum. Take a look at where we are- we are in a time period when just a couple of decades ago, one of the Presidents in Muslim countries, (an Arab country), bragged that in one night he put behind bars 18,000 young Muslim men. One of the rulers in a Central Asian Muslim Republic, (its supposed to be Muslim, but its been subjected to Communism for almost a century), created techniques to torture between 8,000 and 10,000 young Muslim men. Now, do people who speak on these types of occasions listen to themselves! What type of Islamic idea or impulse makes a person- in contradiction to understanding Allah and His Prophet- say to the Muslim public the Prophets father and uncle are in Jahannum? This is sad. The ayah in the Quran says And We are not to punish by the fire anyone until and after they have been presented with a Messenger Whos the Prophet that came to Abdullah, the Prophets father, and presented him with Allahs word and Islam that he rejected so that we can classify him in the hell-fire, (such as some of these Muslim speakers do? What type of emotion and love do these people or individuals have for Allah and His Prophet when they express this type of nonsense? Absolutely nothing! If you think about it, they probably say, (in their own warped world of discussing things), the Mushrikun are in Jahannum. OK, fine- thats a very fair general understanding of Allahs Book and His Prophet; but who are they to say the Prophets father and uncle are Mushrikeen? Where did that come from? This is what happens when we have Muslims who are incapable

of thinking! Instead of us looking at the issues of the day and identifying what went wrong with us, they have us consumed in this nonsense. Another issue they make is they tell Muslim women you cannot go to the Masajid. In some parts of the Muslim world, this may not be an issue, but in other parts it is a very serious issue. Where did this come from? It certainly did not come from Allahs Prophets time (when) Muslim women used to have access on an equal par with men; so how come, now, we have distorted vision that tells Muslim women you cannot go to the Masajid. Where did this come from? Not only that, how does it become a central issue that people are going to argue against. Its the same thing with Muslims women going to the cemeteries- its established in the Seerah and in the Sahih of the hadith that Muslim women in the time of Allahs Prophet use to go to the graves and the cemetery, so how come now this has become an issue that deflects from rebuilding an Islamic reality. (Its) just consuming our time and effort in non-issues. This is the sad condition that we find ourselves in today. We are approaching the month of Ramadhan, and from the Manabir theres going to be that yearly regurgitation and repetition of if youve heard it once, youve heard it all the times; theres no mental contact with Allah and His Prophet- thats the 1st thing that is recognizable in todays Islamic forums. They insult Allah and His Prophet; and they do so systematically; theyve been doing so for generations and they are financed handsomely! Where are we- the struggling Muslim- in all of this who also go to these types of Islamic forums? (What we mean by this is inclusive of everything, whether it is a Jumah Salaah or a Conference in a University or any other place or occasion.) (If) you participate in that without objecting to it or trying to be a positive influence in it and if you go there and become another number, then youve solidified the problem and youve taken away the momentum of its solution. The Muslims of today have to be remade the same way Allahs Prophet remade the followers of Ibrahim alaih salaam in Makkah and Arabia. When he did that, he didnt focus on the superpowers that were all around, (they were the trouble makers that all trouble makers are when they become super-powers); but that wasnt his 1st line on concentration. Can we understand this?! His 1st line of concentration was on liberating Makkah and Al Medinah. How long is it going to take for Muslims to understand that the Moghul/Tatar occupation of Iraq was due more to our internal susceptibility that it was due to their penchant for occupation? How long is it going to take for us to understand that we didnt lose Al Andalus because there were European powers who had their schemes on the place, as much as there was a susceptibility in us for these European powers to come and do what they did? How long is it going to take us to learn that Palestine is under occupation, not because superpowers behave the way they do, (theyve always behaved that way), but theyre getting away with it now because in us there is a susceptibility for invasion and occupation? How long is it going to take us to learn that were going to have to begin a cleansing process inside our ownselves? This doesnt mean that were going to have to begin a cleansing process inside of our psychological self only, but inside our social and geographical self and the self of our hurumaat and Muqaddasaat. As central as this lesson is in the Quran and the Sunnah, is yet to be learned by you and me, the average Muslim. If

we dont learn this basic lesson, we will continue down the slope that we have been on for generations and centuries and we will still fail to honor our amanaat and our ahd. Dear committed Muslims The trivial problems and issues that are blown up into full fledged themes and disagreements were solved in a second or a gesture by Allahs Prophet. During his time, a person gets married and the Prophet asks him what was the dower that was paid in this marriage? The answer to the Prophet as to how much the husband is obliged to give the wife as a mahr was a certain disproportionate amount of silver. The Prophet of Allah responded in a manner that indicated that he was surprised, astonished or jolted by that and then, he said, (it would be like saying in todays language), do you think or consider that you can go this mountain and carve this amount of this precious metal out of it? Meaning, do you think this amount is available to everyone- and the issue was solved. There was no issue made out of what is made out of what is today called al mahr or as sadaaq- it was not an issue. You make it as easy as possible for Muslim men and women to marry- finish; no discussions, no themes, no discussions, no backand-forth in a tense matter- its over. Their minds were concentrated on the larger issues and this is what in todays world is prohibited. They dont want you and me- the Muslim public mind- to concentrate on the larger issues. They, (meaning the external and internal forces that have been working ever since), took possession geographically, physically and even theologically and conceptually- they took possession of Makkah and Al Medinah; they no longer belong to the Muslims. Makkah and Al Medinah, for all practical purposes, belong to the enemies of Islam. This is the qualitative change and vision that they dont want you to capture. They will have you argue endlessly about matters of sex, gender, rituals in Islam and they will have you sink into a sectarianism that will take the heat off these Tawagheet and this is what describes the current condition of we, the Muslims. Some of us greet people who are much worse than Muawiyah and Yazid, today. Some of us, (there numbers are lesser), can see a Muawiyah and Yazid of 1,400 or so years ago, but they cant see that Muawiyah and Yazid today in the same geographical area with more lethal weapons and protection from todays superpowers. Instead of shattering this myopic vision of things, some people prefer to drown in sectarianism rather than identifying the common enemy. We will continue to be baited by these jointed external and internal enemies as long as we dont honor our trust with Allah; and we will never honor that trust as long as we do not think of what He and His Prophet are telling us.

RAMADHAN WITH THE PROPHET

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Maasharal Mumineen Neglected during Ramadhan by the bulk of Muslims; but now, time has caught up with them. If you excused yourself on the basis, (which is really no basis at all if we were Quranic and Prophetic Muslims), of Ramadhan requiring an over emphasis in spiritualistic devotion, thats time and month has gone.

It was, recently, the month of Ramadhan- the month of Taqwahh; i.e. the central feature and the most important characteristic of that month was that of Taqwah. Oh you who are secured in your commitment to Allah, fasting has become your assignment as was the assignment of those who came before so that you may be on guard against Allah. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 183) in such a manner Allah makes apparent the traces of His power to mankind so that they may be on guard against Allah. (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 187) During this month of Ramadhan, in the 1st pages of our history, (remember- this is during the month of Ramadhan, (the meaning of which, in our day has been diluted and distorted), the Prophet of Allah and the Muslims who are fasting set out to obtain his and the Muhajireens financial and economic rights. There was a caravan belonging to Quraish that was on its way back from Ash Shaam, (geographical Syria), to Quraish in Makkah. There was over 100, (in todays language, they would have been called), wagons of commercial stuff and there were 30 men who were supervising this grand commercial caravan; and heading those 30 men was Abu Sufyan. Word arrived at the beginning of Ramadhan in Al Medinah that theres a caravan thats on its way to Makkah; because Al Medinah is North of Makkah, this caravan is going to pass in an area not very far from Al Medinah. So, the Prophet of Allah and the Muhajireen for Allah said this is the best time to recoup our losses. In todays Islamic psychology, (if we can call it that), and public mind, no one would think about going on a military mission to claim their rights that they forfeited or could not take with them when they were forced to leave Makkah. These people had rights, belongings, property and wealth that they were forced to leave behind in Makkah; now, (if we wanted to use another of todays words), they were like expatriates in Al Medinah. Al Muhajireen were property less, wealth less and they were people who were forced to dislocate from Makkah to Al Medinah. Now, they hear that these Mushriks of Makkah- who did not compensate them anything when they were forced to leave Makkah- (are nearby). How did the Muslims think in this month of Ramadhan? Did they think oh- wait a minute here, this is the month of Ramadhan, we have to intensify our shaaair, ibaadaat and rituals. Were not supposed to be thinking about an economic, commercial or financial activity; even though we know we have rights just like other people, but to claim our rights in the month of Ramadhan?!. Todays public mind and psychology within the Muslim rank and file behaves in that way; as if the month of Ramadhan is a damper, an impediment to thinking about our rights- these are the same Muslims who say the Prophet is their Uswah, Qudwah and example. If the Prophet is your example, - OK, open you eyes and understand what Allahs Prophet did, especially during this month of Ramadhan. When the news approached or arrived in Al Medinah and the Prophet knew that this caravan is going to pass at a reasonable distance to Al Medinah, he advised the Muslims with him that Quraish had this wealth in this stream of vehicles that it has, (at the time- we know what the vehicles were camels and horses), and we are going to go and (in todays language) claim our rights. Up until this moment, when they were told publicly we are going to go and claim our rights, no one was forced to go. Out of that community, almost 320

individuals proceeded to a place called Badr. That was a place where there was a well of water and there used to be a periodic market or a bazaar that was held there, at Badr. (Some history books said it was once a year, others said it was a little more than once a year, this is a minute issue in history), the Muslims, Al Muhajireen and Al Ansaar- went out to Badr. The 1 st observation is why are the Ansaar going out there? The Ansaar, the people of Al Medinah were not denied their rights; they didnt live in Makkah and were forced out of Makkah and left their belongings behind them in Makkah; some of them were very affluent people, yet they decided to join the Prophet and the Muhajireen and go to Badr- and they did. They all set out to that particular route that they knew Abu Sufyan and this caravan is going to be passing near by. As they did that, news reached Aba Sufyan saying that the Muslims had left Al Medinah and their target is the caravan that he has. He immediately despatched a courier to Makkah telling the people of Makkah look, this is your caravan; this is your merchandise and this is your wealth. Muhammed and d these Muslims in Al Medinah are out to confiscate what I have. This person takes off and he goes to Makkah. Remember, (am I going to have to say this every sentence?), all of this is happening, developing and unfolding in the month of Ramadhan. When the Muslims left Al Medinah for Badr, they left on the 8th day of Ramadhan. So, the people of Makkah quickly put together a fighting force with the weapons, ammunition, provisions and supplies that that are needed for a war and they are on the way to meet the Muslims. What are we to think about this happening in the month of Ramadhan, especially nowadays when there is a body of doctored, fabricated, maligned and twisted information saying that we, Muslims are terrorists abd warlike people? With all the shenanigans that they are trying to pre-empt our will with, they havent seen anything yet. With all of that, we still go back and learn from our Prophet and the Committed Muslims who were with him. Now, the Muslims, (in this month of Ramadhan), realize Initially they left Al Medinah and went to Badr to reclaim their rights by taking whatever sin this caravan, and its not going to be enough, but what they left behind in Makkah is much more than what this caravan has- so what they are reclaiming is part of their rights. Now, word reaches the Muslims who are camped in the area of Badr that a fighting force is coming from Makkah to fight, kill and do war against the Muslims. These are fasting Muslims- they are fasting during the day and they are observing their Islamic and devotion to Allah during the night- and they hear that these Mushriks have assembled a legion of armed forces to do war. Let us take a look at how the real psychology at that time- not what we have today, the shreds, bits and pieces that we find around- of the Muslims and the Prophet himself respond to this. When some of the Muslims who came out to Badr from Al Medinah knew that theres going to be a fighting force and they are now going to have to enter into a real war with the Mushriks, they felt reluctant; they re-thought themselves and said wait a minute, we left Al Medinah- not for a war; we didnt come prepared for a war- what we came to do was to take over this caravan and re-claim the rights that had been lost by the Prophet and the Muhajireen and the Prophet throughout all of these years. Were speaking about almost 15 years of dispossession of the Prophet and Al Muhajireen, so our hearts are not in it. We dont think that we should now be involved in a war with the Mushriks of Makkah. These thoughts were circulating within human beings and human nature within this month of

Ramadhan and the Prophet was among them. Of course, when the Prophet sensed that they are hesitant, he asked them what do you advise or think we should do? Individuals from Al Muhajireen, those who were with him spoke favorably. They said we are willing to take on this fighting force that has come to war against us from Makkah, but the Prophet was still hesitant because non e of the Ansaar spoke. One of those, Al Miqdaad radi Allahu anh, who did speak said -because they were not very far from the Red Sea, the commercial and caravan route was seaside, so he pointed towards the sea and he said to Allahs Prophet, and if you were to transit with us the Red Sea and if we were to go- he referred to a place in Yemen, (in todays language it would mean, (like), if you were to take us to the most difficult place or to the end of the world we would go with you and we will not say to you what the followers of Musa alaih salaam said to him; when the time of war came they said to him Banu Israeel said to Musa Go you and your Lord- you do the fighting, were staying right here, where we are; were not budging (Surah Al Maaidah verse 24) So, the Prophet was listening to all of this and he still didnt hear anything from Al Ansaar, the people of Al Medinah- who came to him originally and gave him the baiah, Al Baiah Al Aqabah- where in they pledged that they would protect him as they would protect their own families, women and children when he is in Medinah i.e. in their jurisdiction. But now, they are in Badr, and Badr is not inside of Al Medinah, so the internal thoughts, (so to speak), of Allahs Prophet was maybe they are not going to take a stand if we are going to take on the Mushrikeen who are coming from a Makkah in a fighting force, then Al Ansaar are not going to be with us- so, he was waiting, maybe some-one would speak for them. In those moments of silence, Saad ibn Muadh radi Allahu anhu, one of the noble personnel of Al Ansaar looked at Allahs Prophet and said its as if I sense that you want us to say something. He said yes. Then, he assured him once again, saying we will be with you wherever you go, whatever you do and decide, (were paraphrasing), rest assured that we will be with you every step of the way. When Allahs Prophet heard these reassurances coming from both Al Muhajireen and Al Ansaar, he made up his mind to engage the Mushrikeen of Makkah in war during Ramadhan. What we had was the battle of Badr with all its details, (now is probably not the most appropriate time to go into the specifics and details of this battle), suffice it to say that during the month of Ramadhan, we did not hear and read about any Muslim around, with, alongside or in the company of the Prophet who said well- this is the month of Ramadhan; we should be more concerned with praying our tarawih or with reciting the Quran! We didnt hear any such comment, as is the case when some one in todays world begins to think about issues that feed into this type of decision making that we saw Allahs Prophet central to. At the end, (this is in the month of Ramadhan, brothers and sisters- what we want you to understand is the principles and the standards of the committed Muslims with Allahs Prophet and committed to the course of Allah and His Prophet. After the war at Badr, what happened, (in this war that was fought in Ramadhan)? What happened after this was the Muslims who won this war was, (the odds were against them; 317 odd Muslims facing around 1,000 odd Mushriks and Kaafirs. As we said,

Muslims did not go out prepared for war, therefore they didnt have the ammunition, weapons, supplies, logistics and any of the other details that go into preparing warfare)- was these committed Muslims, both Al Muhajireen and Ansaar, began to quibble over the spoils of war. Some of them had taken prisoners of war and some of them had obtained armour and weapons and they wanted to claim this for themselves. They didnt want to claim this for themselves because they had a monstrous ego, they wanted to claim this as certification that they participated in this war, (in todays language), medals or awards of honor, but they showed division in this and Allah had to correct human nature in 1st rank committed Muslims, Al Muhajirun and Ansaar, were divided concerning how are they going to distribute or disburse these anfaal, (the word anfaal does not mean and cannot be translated accurately as spoils of war; the word anfaal simply means extras), during the Holy month of Ramadhan by saying The Muhajirun and Ansaar come to you (O Prophet) and ask you about the extras (Surah Al Anfaal verse 1) If we wanted to translate it literally, thats how it would sound. say these extras belong to Allah and His Messenger. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 1) Meaning none of it belongs to you- the issue has been settled in this month of Ramadhan, with all the sensitization that comes with observing a fast to Allah, still, we had this type of behavioral discrepancy- and not by anyone. This behavioral discrepancy was by Al Muhajireen and Al Ansaar. Muslims should take note of this. They were not impeccable, masoomeen and beyond human nature- they were just like you and me and all followers of Allahs Prophet. We peak in instances with our obedience to Allah, and with human nature being what it is, we may slide into our moments of weakness and the committed Muslims expressed moments of psychological weakness and Allah corrected this psychological weakness, not condemned them. Some other Muslims go to one extreme and they try to find something faulty about some Muslims and then they try to knock them down. Allah wasnt knocking them down, Allah was building them up. Allah says in the month of Ramadhan concerning these obedient and observant; how do these ayaat sum up the character of these the committed Muslims who bore the brunt of this war voluntarily- there was no one forcing anyone to do anything. They went there as a matter of freedom, their own choice and because they are committed to Allah and His Prophet Firmly committed Muslims are those who when Allahs name is mentioned their hearts pulsate or tremble with Allahs awe ... (Surah Al Anfaal verse 4) The contributing factor of the sensitization of the hearts of these committed Muslims is the month of Ramadhan and observing this month of Ramadhan; even where issues of life and death look them in the eye.

 and if Allahs ayaat are expressed to them- either the verbal ayaat or verses or the Quran that are revealed/recited to them or Allahs ayaat i.e. His illustration of power sequenced to them (Surah Al Anfaal verse 4) What does it do? it contributes to their imaan, intensifies their commitment, bolsters their devotion and boosts their dedication and they place their confidence and reliance on their sustainer. Those who construct the meanings that they recite in their daily salaah to Allah into the social fabric of their lives ... (Surah Al Anfaal verse 4-5) This is Iqamah As Salaah; and they spend out of that which We have provided them. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 4-5) Notice brothers and sisters- these are fasting Muslims, and in these ayaat pertaining to the anfaal which pertains to the Battle of Badr, which was unfolding in the month of Ramadhan, Allah does not refer to their act of fasting to Him. These were fasting Muslims, (i.e. whoever was fasting from among them, because they may have had the license to break their fast, but nevertheless, this Battle of Badr took place in Ramadhan), and in commenting and explaining the details and consequences of this war, Allah did not mention the fact of their fasting. Their pulsating hearts- thats the 1st description of them, and when Allahs demonstrations and illustrations are presented to them, their Imaan increases thats the 2nd description of them; and then These events contribute to the increase in their Imaan. Given the way we behave todays conventional Muslim mind that has layers and layers of ignorance and impracticality piled upon it would have been expecting, (thats assuming there is a mind- thats assuming more than is actually there), or asking well- why didnt Allah mention that these Muslims were in the month of Ramadhan and were either immediately before/during/after it observing the fast?! Here is once again the problem that we encounter- we simply dont have Muslims who think and can place these critical events in context and understand the dynamics as they relate to the overall body of responsibilities that we are supposed to be shouldered with as committed Muslims. they are in fact the truly committed Muslims, to them is a forgiveness and a generous reward. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 5) Brothers and sisters in Ramadhan As a matter of conscience and Taqwah, we cannot let an occasion like September 11 th, (which was yesterday), pass by without some words of truth. This is the month of Taqwah. We try to ward off Allahs corrective power- this is our Taqwah), we do this in the 1st instance by being able to think the truth and then to say the truth. In another supportive ayah, Allah says

O you who are securely committed to Allah, be vigilant of Allahs corrective power and express yourselves accurately; say what is precisely the truth (Surah Al Ahzaab verse ) On this issue of what is called the 11th of September, in which the mental, psychological and military progeny of those initial/ historical and archaic Mushrikeen and the kuffaar are trying to make a comeback to feed on our psychological inferiority, (I know- some people would say why do you say such things in public? What? Is the truth to be expressed in the private domain only?! The truth doesnt belong to be in the public?! Whoever is listening to us in the public, let it be; the truth has its way of breaking new grounds. When we express the truth and say September 11th is the work of the Mushrikeen and the kuffaar using some Muslims, then we express the truth. They have been drilling it for seven years now, and they want us somehow to feel that we have some type of affinity with what they planned, managed and executed and all of the consequences that flow from these types of unbecoming and evil acts- they pump into this figure of Al Qaeeda and Taliban a character that happens to be almost all around the world- bombs going off here and there; assassinations and in all of this type of phenomenon that they rooted in the jihad in Afghanistan that they supervised since those days when they infiltrated the crook and the crane of every cleavage they could find in the Islamic activities that was under their financial supervision, (they extend it even up to this day), and they want us to pretend that we dont even have the thinking ability to realize that not once has this sponsored phenomenon of theirs which they attack- to procure some affinity among the Muslims to it; this is a wild beast in this world, (if theirs such a thing that they are talking about)- then why hasnt it struck against the historical and living evil that is called Zionism? It finds its targets in everywhere civilian areas, whether these are in Muslim or non-Muslim countries- (is) this the conduct of war that we know as Muslims? Any alphabetical ABC Muslim will tell you that this is not the character of Committed Muslims, i.e. to wreak havoc and shed blood of innocent people/civilians, whether they are in Muslim or nonMuslim countries. They want to slap us with this invention of theirs. Have you realized that some of the media that highlights some of the statements belonging to some of these types of characters speak about these characters of Al Qaeeda and Taliban to attack the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon or the Islamic State in Iran. In the whole world, the only thing on their mind is the positive developments, (that Muslims the world over), have in these two areas of the world?! We dont have any other problems? Its a pity and shame that we have some Muslims who have become part of this Mushrik machination. Its reported that this Saudi Ambassador who used to be in Washington DC- was probably at the centre of all of this; his hand is drenched in Muslim blood all over the world (and who) got promoted after 911 is probably the point man of 911 became the Head of Security in the land of the Haramain in Jazeera Al Arab- has hundreds of millions of dollars going to this global monstrosity that is used as a boogey man to scare what would otherwise be rapidly approaching Muslims of self-determination. This guy goes around and gives money in the tens of thousands of dollars to those who call themselves Salafis in Lebanon, Pakistan and in other areas of the Muslim world- what does he want to do? He wants to foster an internal Islamic civil war? We dont know the extent of this because the

information trickles when it comes to this issue, but this point man i.e. Bandar ibn Sultan, the point man of the enemies of Islam is reported to have tried to put together an officer-core within the Saudi armed forces and the National Guard to overthrow his own king and uncle. This is what happens to people who have polluted minds and diseased hearts, (as this person has), who is working behind the scenes to bring about sectarian strife wherever it is possible. You hear the words Fath Al Islam in Lebanon, Jund Allah in Pakistan and others- you can trace them back to this character of evil. If, in Ramadhan, Allah and the Prophet were exposing to us the Mushriks and the Kaafirs by name, then we should have enough information in our generation to expose these Mushriks and Kaafirs by name. Allah didnt offer them any protection and camouflage and out ignorance should not act as their protection and camouflage.

THE MUSHRIKS IN CHARGE OF MAKKAH AND AL MEDINAH TODAY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen... In light what is happening to us, (literally) personally and in the larger sense of the body Muslims in this world, we consider the meanings of these ayaat. Allah says in Surat At Taubah

It is not for the Mushrikeen to build or dwell in or put life or momentum into the Masajid of Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 16) All of these meanings are strung together. while they bear evidence of kufr against their own selves; they are the ones who have their labor and deeds aborted, cancelled and disregarded and in the fire for eternity. Rather, the Masajid of Allah will be built physically and humanly (i.e.) as a matter of construct and content or the ones who are going to construct and bring life to the Masajid of Allah) are those who are committed to Allah and the final day; standardize As Salaah or who make As Salaah palpable in human life and those who have the circulation of money institutionalized in society as a matter of purification for the wealth and resources in their possession; and they stands in awe of no-one except Allah and even hope remains that they become guided. Have you rendered or regarded those who provide water and lift matter concerning the hospitality of the Hajj on an equal par with those who have committed themselves to Allah and the final day and therefore exert, endeavor and struggle for the course of Allah and on a course to Allah? In the eyes of Allah (so to speak) they are not equal; and Allah does not guide people who offend, transgress against, oppress or do injustice to themselves. (Surah At Taubah verse 16-18) This is in direct and clear words the transition of the meanings of the Quran to the language that we are speaking in. Now, from the general understanding of the ayah, let us pick up some information that pertains to the content and context of this ayah. During the time of Allahs Prophets struggle, the 23 years, that he spent in a night and day struggle against the occupiers, administrators, governors and rulers of Makkah, it was towards the end of this stretch of the last years of his lifetime that Allah sent down to him and to us Surat Al Bara or Taubah that begins with a disavowal and a severance of relationships between a (now) full fledged Islamic authority, (with the leadership of Allahs Prophet and its center in Al Medinah on one side and the Mushrikeen centered in Makkah on the other side. It was now, just a matter of time before Makkah is liberated; the liberation of Makkah when these ayaat were revealed was pending; everyone knew it was just a matter of a short time and Makkah was going to become free from these Mushrikeen. It is in this context that Allahs Prophet sent Aba Bakr and Ali to Makkah in the year before his Hajj. These ayaat were revealed to speak about the control and management of Al Masjid Al Haram. Even though they were intended for the listening and obeying Muslims, the larger society who were not Muslims were now listening to Allah, the Quran and the Prophet because they have become powers to be reckoned with! This wasnt the Prophet during hi s days of persecution in Makkah; this was a Prophet 20 years after those days and times. What is Allah saying, when Muslims are listening closely with their hearts and minds and the Mushrikeen and Kuffaar are also listening closely, but with their plots, deception and under handed behavior The ayah is saying You cant expect Al Mushrikeen to fulfill a role that is constructed pertaining to the House of Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 16) There are those with their legitimate qiraaat who said- ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) and others read this ayah in the singular instead of the plural; the other seven qiraaat had Masajid Allah- these Mushrikeen that Allah is speaking about who have been in control of this Masjid in Makkah since time immemorial,

since ancient times going back to when it was constructed after Ibrahim and Ismaeel (alaihima as salaatu wa salaam). What Allah says- He doesnt describe them as millat Ibrahim. Those who were in control of Makkah were not millat Ibrahim; those who were running the affairs of the Haram were not Hunafa- a description given to Ibrahim; they were not called Muslims, (obviously). Allah gave them the accurate definition and meaning- they are Mushrikeen. Now, brothers and sisters, this khutbah is intended to speak to your mind and heart, (were not putting you to sleep as is the case withy these who occupy these Masajid)- in all of the Islamic literature that we have, (believe us, our humble speaker has not come across any details there-of), we dont have an accurate or detailed description of the rituals that were performed by these people who were running Al Masjid Al Haram, Makkah and Al Kabah. Approach any scholar and just ask them describe to me how did these people who were controlling and commanding Makkah and this sacred area during and before the life-time of Allahs Prophet pray? If you are as fortunate as our humble speaker is, they will tell you that their prayers was an echo or a watered down or distorted version of the prayers of Ibrahim and Ismaeel thats as specific as it gets. OK- what were the prayers of Ibrahim and Ismaeel? We know that customs, traditions and cultures take their toll on societies generation after generation, but there doesnt seem like there was a serious departure from the religious character of these people (so to speak); but then, the question poses itself- they didnt have any serious, (and in some historical books, they said that before the Prophet Muhammed received revelation he used to honor and pray in the mode of Ibrahim and Ismaeel), if that is the case, it appears very clear that this sharp wording of these ayaat in the Quran go beyond the religious character of these individuals or that society- this is an extremely important issue to understand. In His meticulous, precise and accurate words says It is not for the Mushrikeen to build or dwell in or put life or momentum into the Masajid of Allah while they bear evidence of kufr against their own selves (Surah At Taubah verse 16) Even though we know what we know of them within their religious capacity, Allah was not fooled by their religious reflections or features. These Mushrikeen who are in-charge of Makkah, Al Makkah, Al Bayt and Al Haram were in their essence and life endeavor, (i.e. meaning in their social activities), providing evidence and proof (if proof was ever needed) throughout many long and arduous, extended and tortuous years against Allahs Prophet and those who were with him that they were in denial of Allah. they are the ones to have everything they do in life lose its value and in the fire they shall dwell forever. (Surah At Taubah verse 16) A little background or context to this ayah for (those of) us who dont get the right and critical information when we need it Immediately after the battle of Badr, one of the prisoners of war that was taken at Badr was Al Abbas, the Prophets uncle, at that time he was not a Muslim yet and he was on the wrong side of the issue and he heard the Muslims speaking about the Mushrikeen- those religious Arabians of Makkah- and how they were in violation of Allah and His Prophet. What more do you want than for them to come to war? Thats what these Mushrikeen did- they came from Makkah to Al Medinah to war against Allahs Prophet. He was listening to this and he says wait, listen- (his nephew, Ali ibn Abi Talib (radi Allahu anhu) was harsh on his uncle) you are mentioning those negative things about Makkah but there are positive things! Are we not the ones who are offering water to the pilgrims?! Are we not the ones who are the maintainers of the Kabah?! Are we not the ones who are the custodians of the Haram?! Almost the exact words that are used by the current Mushrikeen

who are ruling over Makkah and Al Medinah! This ayah was not revealed immediately the when this was taking place; as if there was a staggered response to this concern of Abbas that came years later in the form of these ayaat in Surat At Taubah. Because we know that traditions, customs and conventions have a religious grip on us and because this khutbah goes thousands of miles away, some people will ask what are you trying to say? Those who are in control and command of Makkah and Al Medinah- who pray five times a day, fast Ramadhan; offer water and food, give discount junkets and pay the round-trip tickets for those who want to go to Makkah and Al Medinah throughout the year, who give money to some Islamic Centers and charities here and there- (do) you mean to tell us these people are Mushrikeen? We dont mean to tell you anything! What we want you to understand is what Allah is saying to us- that is all that is required. These are ayaat; were not quoting some scholarly dissertation; this is Allahs final and eternal word to our transient and mortal selves. It is not for the Mushrikeen to build or dwell in or put life or momentum into the Masajid of Allah while they bear evidence of kufr against their own selves; they are the ones who have their labor and deeds aborted, cancelled and disregarded and in the fire for eternity (Surah At Taubah verse 16) Thats what Allah is saying- probably the heavy dose of tradition that bars your assumption of these God-given responsibilities that begin with the correct understanding is that it is very hard for us to see them in this light. Take it easy. Allah says And many of them do not commit to Allah except that they be Mushriks (Surah Yusuf verse 106) Now- come to terms with what Allah is saying. Brothers and sisters, honestly- some of the internal and mental instability inside the Muslim general public mind is simply taking place because we have not taken the time to think about what Allah is telling us. they provide evidence of their denial of Allahs authority and power everyday (Surah At Taubah verse 16) Whether you read about them from their own media or from Islamic more accurate media- it doesnt matter, the evidence keeps on coming in that they are deniers of Allah. Who are the brave souls on the Manabir of the world who can take a Quranic look at these people who have smothered Al Masjid Al Haram, Al Bayt Al Haram and Al Ard Al Haram and say now we understand who you truly are? they are the ones who have aborted everything that they do (Surah At Taubah verse 16) OK- they may give some money to some Islamic Organizations, schools and Centers from Washington to Makkah- they do that, we cant deny the facts, but does that make them committed to Allah or is this trying to cover their tracks through these contributions and donations that they give? Do you want to listen to Allah? We dont give up; Allah doesnt give up and in the fire they shall stay in an ever lasting manner (Surah At Taubah verse 16)

Those who are going to bring life to the Masajid of Allah are those who are committed to Him and the final day; and they make As Salaah a palpable part of social life (Surah At Taubah verse 17) (Its) not something you do behind closed walls! Its something that you are confident of doing so that it becomes part of the public discourse. Do you think there is a zakaah in what they are doing? Most of the money that they make is polluted and foul. This is not zakaah that they give; this is like bribes because the people that they give to remain silent- in effect they have bribed them; Az Zakaah is not a bribe! Az Zakaah is a social concern for the rest of the Muslims! and they stands in awe of no-one except Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 17) Are these the types of figures we have? This darkness that is now coming out of Arabia; this ambiguity that is institutionalized with the help of these Arabians and this opaque mental world that they are in that is financed by the resources of that Arabia- ask them do they fear Allah? Some of you may be able to go into this Islamic Center because they will permit you, so ask them are you demonstrating your fear of Allah here every Friday? Is this a demonstration of a fear of Allah when you force Muslims to pray in the streets for a quarter-of-a-century or do you fear your superiors- in this city, from the executive to the legislative to the judiciary- who have placed you in this position? All the branches of At Taghut is who they fear- theyre not in fear of Allah! and even hope remains that they become guided. (Surah At Taubah verse 16-18) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims, the other ayah that we were supposed to speak about we have tried to explain in previous khutbahs Have you rendered or regarded those who provide water and lift matter concerning the hospitality of the Hajj on an equal par with those who have committed themselves to Allah and the final day and therefore exert, endeavor and struggle for the course of Allah and on a course to Allah? In the eyes of Allah (so to speak) they are not equal; and Allah does not guide people who offend, transgress against, oppress or do injustice to themselves. (Surah At Taubah verse 18) This is what is happening to us, (probably not us personally)- we ask Allah that we are not included among these people who equate the Saudis who offer water and a few facilities in and around the Kabah with those who Are in an arena and in a jihad. How do you equate these? How do you make them similar to each other? They are not! Rest assured that they are not! This truth will develop and eventually present itself even to the most stubborn who are trying to resist it with all the carrots and sticks that are brought their way- this truth is going to manifest itself sooner or later. The last comment on the parallel between those who were in control of Makkah 1,400 and 1,500 years ago in control of it today- these Arabians today, present a character of finessed hypocrisy. At least at that time we had people who were true to what they say- even if they were enemies of Allah and His Prophet, they were at least in their enmity true to themselves- unlike today. Those at that time, when they used to go to the Hajj, some of them used to go to this Masjid Al Haram that we are talking about naked, (i.e. with) no clothes on. We said they were true to themselves; they confessed that they committed crimes and misdemeanors in those clothes so they didnt want to take those clothes and go around the Haram obeying Allah with what they considered to be part of the crime. When they used to do that in those

conditions and in those days, they used to say Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik when Muslims today go to the Hajj, what do we say? The same thing Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. Then, they used to say, just like Muslims today, Labbaik La Sharika laka Labbaik. Remember, Allah is describing them as Mushrikeen- they used to say Labbaik to Allah; La Sharika Lak; Labbaik; then, heres the exception except for an associate of Yours who does not rule, but you are the One O Allah Who rules, Who is the Sovereign (and) Who is in control! With todays concentration of customs and traditions that have substituted for Islam you tell this to the average Muslim! Thats why this type of information doesnt come your way- because the people- these self-styled scholars of Islam who ascend the Mimbar every Friday- who know this know that if they are going to tell you this type of information, theyre going to have to explain a lot of things and the things theyre going to have to explain is going to get them into trouble and they dont want to be in trouble so they dont explain these things to you. By Allah and with Allah- if theres something you can expect from this time and place every week, its going to be the truth and nothing more or less. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We know the man-made and man-designated deities and what they are doing; we, (Muslims here and thousands of miles away), are not going to play dumb and bury our heads like an ostrich under the sands and pretend nothing is happening. They know that the Islamic reality has been born again so from timeto-time they try to occupy us with issues that will distract from them. The biggest issue now is the sectarian issue. They throw at us Sunni and Shii and some of us have fallen for it; some Sunnis have fallen for it and some Shiis have fallen for it. We tried to address this issue in an extended manner; then, more recently, (just a few days ago- we dont know if we should mention the name, we hope that you know this person- a very well known Muslim scholar in Qatar) someone brought him a question that said theres a power drink in the market (which) theyre selling in the shops and stores that has something like five portions of a thousand- that would be like 0.5% of alcohol in it- can this type of energy drink be consumed? Can we drink it? The answer was it is permissible because it is at a negligent amount and being that it is not intended and cannot, no matter how much you want to drink of it, render you drunken. His opinion was it is permissible to drink this. Now, everyone and the other who wants to begin an internal argument amongst the Muslims is trying to capitalize on this (it was called) fatwa in the media to have Muslims begin an internal argument among themselves, saying this can lead to sin because there is no amount that is mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah and if you begin to interject an issue of what an amount is going to be, then this is a contentious issue that we can argue for an amount that is more or less and this will open the floodgates of sin to the rest of the Muslims. Now, they want to occupy us with an issue like this, and because Muslims are not trained in the Masajid every week to think and to see the larger picture, we get drawn into the details such as this and then, after a while, we begin to feel that we are divided. Let us not feel that we are divided when it is too late; let us think to pre-empt that division in the most appropriate manner, (thus), exposing those who want us to bleed our resources and potentials so that they can go ahead with their larger strategies and implement them on us and little do we understand or know that we are doing their will when we fall for these types of distractions.

INTER-FAITH MEETINGS- THE STARTING POINT

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuhal Muminun... With the nature of todays worlds sophisticated yet subtle attempts at we, (the Muslims), especially with the not so observable preparations for a coming chapter of conflict that is being prepared, (as it seems), behind the scenes of the kuffaar and the Mushrikeen we think it is appropriate to anchor ourselves in the words of Allah. On this particular occasion Allah says after Musa (alaih salaam) takes 70 of his own

people and they go up to the mountain, these 70 people ask Musa Let us see Allah. We can fit todays Israeli psychology on these 70 people; and we can take a glimpse at their faces and watch them rubbing their hands in anticipation of visualizing God Himself. The consequences of that were known. They could not bear to see God. In the moments after that and after they came back to their senses, they said, (we want you to listen carefully because its the same psychology that has reclaimed political and military power; it survived all of these thousands of years and now we watch it in bloody action. This Israeli psychology at that time said what? These are the words of Allah Assign to us in this worldly life a benefit and in the ultimate life a benefit for we have returned and repented (Surah Al Araf verse 156) They knew how they were mistaken about Allah; they have recovered from their mistake and now they are asking Allah for the good of this world and the good of the world to come because they say they have made our comeback to you.- meaning to Allah. What was Allahs answer to them? It follows immediately- He says here are these failing Israelis after their historical and institutionalized failures they turn to Allah and they ask Him and how does He answer? The 1st word that comes from Allah is I will inflict My torment on whom I will and My clemency or mercy accommodates everything (Surah Al Araf verse 156) When Allah speaks about His punishment before He is speaking about His clemency, we know that He is speaking to Bani Israeel or else, when they asked Assign to us in this worldly life a benefit and in the ultimate life a benefit for we have returned and repented He could have said My clemency or mercy accommodates everything and I will inflict My torment on whom I will- but because we are looking at naughty individuals and a human nature that wants to play tricks with Allah, Allahs answer to them came as appropriate and as accurate as they are deceptive and crooked. Now, (you Children of Israeel and you Muslims who read the Quran), listen This mercy of mine I shall assign to those who are cautious, guarded and warned and alert concerning My power presence in their lives (Surah Al Araf verse 156) He said to them My mercy is not for anyone! thousands of years ago and today. We ask in light of these meanings from Allah, do these Israelis, (then and now), consider Allahs power when they plan their social activities, write their commentaries and analysis and when they plot their military strategies- does Allah figure in, (even though He spoke to them)? And those who administer their financial dispersion of wealth in an institutionalized way (Surah Al Araf verse 157) To the contrary; when we take a look at Bani Israeel we see that when it comes to money, all the institutions that they have is not to give money to where it belongs but to steal and dispossess others yet these others merit it more than they do. And to those who are committed to Our manifestations of power and authority (Surah Al Araf verse 157)

The Israelis throw into the deep see anything that has to do with Allahs power or authority. We can see in light of these three qualifiers yattaqun, yutun az-zakaah and yuminuna bi ayaatillahthe Israelis disqualify themselves from Allahs rahmah because they do not honor any of these three qualities. The ayah doesnt stop here Muslims, if you havent been listening closely, now is the time to begin to listen closely. those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find to be recorded in their Torah and in their Injeel (Surah Al Araf verse 157) Allah is telling us that Al Yahud and An Nasara had information of certainty coming from Allah pertaining to the advent of Allahs final Prophet. If these Israelis had any mind in them and any relationship to honor with Allah, theyd take a look at this final Prophet because Allah tells us they had written/scriptural information pertaining to the coming and appearance of this final Prophet from Allah. If they were true to Allah, His Prophets and the Scriptures that were revealed to them, they would confess and go public with the fact that God had given them information and He broke good news to them about Ar Rasul, An Nabi Al Ummi. But what do we have? (If) you go to todays Old and New Testament, (At Taurah and the Gospel) do you find any obvious or direct information foretelling the coming of Rasulillah? The answer is NO! So what happened to it? What do you expect from these people who omit and virtually cancel this type of God-given information to them? What else do they have coming from Allah describing this unlettered Apostle and Prophet? He orders them to establish and constitute and institutionalize what is self-evidently good, Al Maroof and he bans and prohibits them from establishing and institutionalizing whatever is selfevidently bad, Al Munkar (Surah Al Araf verse 157) A Prophet, leader, decision-maker and a statesman cannot do that without power! There cannot be Amr bil Maroof and Nahi An Al Munkar without power! They understand the character of this Prophet (probably) more than some Muslims understand. and he makes permissible to them the wholesome things in life and he makes illegal to them the toxic things of life and he relieves them of the burdens and restrictions they had imposed upon them by Allah(Surah Al Araf verse 157) Because of these peoples un-Godly behavior with Allah they had legal and moral restrictions that made life almost intolerable. In their law, if someone was murdered or killed, the murderer or killer or executioner or criminal face the death penalty; they had no such thing as diyah or blood-money or a type of relief from the death sentence. Even their dietary laws were harshly restrictive and burdensome. The Prophet came to relieve them of all of this. as for those who were committed with Allahs Prophet, believed in what he had to say, shouldered the responsibility of an adherence to Allah, supported and aided him and followed the light that descended upon him- they were the on-ward committed Muslims. (Surah Al Araf verse 157) Some people may think that these ayaat are speaking about something historical. No! Were not speaking about something historical; were speaking about something contemporary that has a historical accumulation to it. This is not just a page from ancient history, because now we have an

Israeli psychology- that is doing what? This is not an Israeli psychology that is confined to synagogues and that says we want to separate synagogue from state; this is an Israeli psychology that wants to kill and it is not satisfied with killing individuals, it wants to kill populations. Should any Muslim be surprised? Some Muslims are just psychologically flat! They cant read and understand what Allah is saying. This is an ayah in Surah Al Araf; an ayah that is not from those that are called mutashaabihaat; it is clear, direct, defined and indisputable in its meanings. Ask the average Muslim, (many average Muslims go to interfaith meetings), does anyone of them say what Allah is saying i.e. you have the mention of Muhammed in the Torah and in the Bible? OK, show or explain to us what happened- of course, all of this can be said in a very friendly and at a low pitched, with calm words and no one being upset just placing the facts out there, on the table in front of us; but the Muslim psychology today is so run down, (especially the individuals and persons who go to these meetings), they are so deflated that they cant take the truth and the words of Allah with them to these types of meetings. So, what are they expected to do? To massage the egos of Al Yahud and An Nasar when Al Yahud and An Nasara, (these are not words of emotion, these are words of fact and reality), are killing us in any way they can- from having military bases and weapons of mass destruction in our Holy Lands to placing spies and cameras in the Masajid and Islamic Centers we have. We want to ask you, (brothers and sisters- committed Muslims), if wanted to turn this around and we, (the Muslims), had our military bases here, in the United States, around the Vatican or in or around Tel Aviv, how would these people who call themselves Jews and Christians act and behave? Thats not the case- we, Muslims, dont have one measly truncated and abbreviated military post anywhere in those territories and areas- no where at all; we dont have one camera, (not one), in their Churches and Synagogues; we dont have one informer or spy who goes into those Churches and Synagogues and they have scores swarming into our Masajid and Islamic Centers! Now, to put some icing on the cake, they burst out in public with the type of social self-satisfaction to defame and malign our Prophet; and before, during and after doing all of this, we, (Muslims), are the ones who are misbehaving and the zionists and Imperialists who have not only occupied the Holy Lands, (but have also occupied Holy Scriptures), with their court scholars and clergymen are the ones who appear to the unknowing eye to be modern and civilized. We are the terrorists and they are the keepers of civilization- this is what happens to a psychology that turns against God, Prophets and Scripture. Now, they prepare, (behind closed doors), their next round of war and warfare against us. You would ask and think where are those people who call themselves true Jews and true Christians? They dont have the equivalent of what we have- have you ever seen any where in the world a Jewish congregation that cannot go into a synagogue? No! We know of no such issue. Have you ever seen a Christian congregation that cannot go into a Church and is forced to observe its religious mass or service outside the Church- in the streets, on the concrete, in public night and day, Winter and Summer? We havent seen and dont know of any such development anywhere in the world, (even) in the most fanatic parts of the world. Jews can go into their Synagogues and Christians can go into their Churches. Now, the new development is (that) the government in Saudi Arabia is for the 1st time thinking seriously about having Christian build their own Churches in Arabia- which would be a qualitative improvement on their thinking if it werent for the fact that these Churches would become auxiliaries to the military bases that they have. Why cant they think? Why cant they sign policies that are in accordance with the spirit of the Quran and the Prophet? Why cant they say that we will welcome Christians to build these Churches in Arabia, but every time they build one Church they close down one military base?! That would seem like the right thing to do, but now, these inferior Muslims, (were being generous

by calling them inferior Muslims), are reacting to their own fanaticism. 9/11 was a time in which their masters turned against them and said you have gone too far, (and), now you have to make up for those lost years (or) now is pay-back time; so the Muslims who govern and rule Arabia are beginning to tell these people who they say belong to the Abrahamic faiths, (we dont think any imperialist and zionist belong to the Abrahamic faith- but because they havent been thinking for so long, they cant distinguish between an observing jew on one side and a zionist on the other side; they cant distinguish between an observing Christian on one side and an imperialist on the other sided). Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- this is what happens when Muslims fail to open their minds and welcome the meanings of the Quran into their hearts via their minds and these are the results that we have to live with! Once again, this ayah for those who read the Quran with their tongues but abandon the Quran with their minds Brothers and sisters, Maasharal Mumineen After locating our thoughts in Allahs reference book we come out and look at the real world and we emerge into reality and observe the following- there have been news items in the past week or two that the Mufti in Saudi Arabia, (remember- this is in light of what we just said), is contemplating, (according to some reports; and according to other reports), he actually has sent out invitations to zionist Rabbis to attend an inter-faith conference, (presumably to include those who represent Muslims, Christians and Jews)- more recently, (in the past day or so), the office of that Mufti disclaimed such news items saying No! that was not the case. In the meantime, their has been signals going from the Kings office, (the Holy Land is not supposed to be a Kingdom or a family controlled territory), that Yes, we will be willing to have Churches built in Arabia for the Christians that are there and in the meantime these zionists occupiers and imperialists, (and we certainly know the difference between an observing Christian on one side and a practicing imperialist on the other side; equally so, we know the difference between an observing Jew on one side and a practicing zionist on the other side; we are not delusional about this as is the case with the Heads of State in and around our Holy Lands) are going into a war mode. They are distributing their gas masks, recalling their reservists officers, mobilizing their armed officers and (in the next couple of days), they are about to undergo the largest mock military exercises in their history- now, you tell us that there is no connectional relationship between the inter-faith activity coming out of Saudi Arabia and the military activities taking place in Occupied Palestine? The Muslim mind that they require is a mind that cannot see the connection, nexus and network that is at work between and among zionists and imperialists and their subordinate Arabian inferiors. If they want to fool anyone, they should at least have the common sense to know that they have fooled us enough- and enough is enough!!! What do they think? They think and calculate that if they have some expiring Arab regimes on their side they are in a position to dictate to the coming Muslims who are on the horizon?! They will see- they will experience what they experienced the Summer before last in Lebanon of the will of a contingent of committed Muslims; they will see how in the future there will be waves upon waves and waves after waves of committed Muslims; the time is approaching and let them rely upon the physical and material instruments of Ash Shaytaan and we will refer to Allahs almighty, everlasting and sustaining power of Allah (and) the word of taqwa- the concept that is supposed to be prevalent in our minds and hearts this time every week.

MASJID OF HARM, KUFR, TO DIVIDE AND SPY ON THE MUSLIMS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims... Allah says in an ayah in Surat At Taubah speaks to us about an incident, (that was more than an incident), and remains to be a lesson for those of us who are able to connect the words of Allah to the work of men.

This ayah was revealed when some individuals decided that they are going to build a Masjid in Al Medinah during the time of Allahs Prophet And those individuals, peoples or persons who have designated a Masjid of harm, kufr, to divide the Muslims and an outpost, watch-tower or center to be used for monitoring by those who were at war with Allah and His Messenger before; and these people who built this Masjid in Al Medinah solemnly swear that the only thing desire and intend from this Masjid is to do what is right and better; but Allah bears witness that they are indeed liars (Surah At Taubah verse 106) What, where and whom is this ayah speaking about? When the Prophet was forced out of Makkah and went to Al Medinah, he built a Masjid in an area called Quba which is at a distance of a couple of miles or so South of Yathrib or Al Medinah as it became known when he arrived. He stayed there between Monday and Friday when he arrived there and he designated a place there to be a Masjid and it is still called Al Masjid Quba until our very day today. We dont think it is still 2 miles South of Al Medinah with the growth of city we think it is probably inside the city. This Masjid called Al Masjid Quba was built by one of the factions or groups of Al Ansaar. It was in the area of Al Aws and they, (more or less), volunteered the place, land and effort to build Al Masjid Quba. To some people who still had in them the nurah or self-centered pulse of Jahliyyah- remember, Al Aws and Al Khazraj had, both, in their majority become honorific people by the words of Allah and His Prophet in the Quran and the hadith, but that doesnt mean that all of them were like that. There were still diseased with al jahiliyyah. A faction of these diseased individuals registered that Al Aws had scored well with Allahs Prophet and therefore they should look for an opportunity to outscore Al Aws. There was a man in Yathrib whos known as Abu Aamir Ar Rahib or the monk who had become a Christian before the advent of the Prophet in Al Medinah. When the Prophet arrived in Al Medinah, the wasawis of Ash Shaytaan, the individualism of this person and his ego kicked in. He wanted or was expecting a high position, but when the Prophet arrived in Al Medinah he was eclipsed and he felt psychologically injured by the presence of Allahs Prophet in Al Medinah and he fled Al Medinah and went to Makkah. He participated with the Makkan Mushriks in their grand effort of warfare against the Prophet, Al Muhajirin and Al Ansaar and against the Islamic power base in Al Medinah. It is reported that he also participated actively in the war at Uhud against Allahs Prophet and he spoke to the people around him and he told Allahs Prophet theres not going to be any war against you except that I shall be a participant in it. Abu Aamir Ar Rahib was called by the Prophet of Allah Abu Aamir Al Fasiq. Were going to have problems with the superficial understanding individuals of Islam by saying how could Allahs Prophet change the title of a person from Abu Aamir the monk to Abu Aamir the degenerate? The problem we have with these types of Muslims is that they cant place themselves in the context of the times and understand individuals and people with their intents and actions. Its an accurate description who degenerated from his pursuit in understanding Allah before Islam when he became a Christian and now he has joined with the Mushrikin in their grand effort against the Muslims. It is later on reported that he also participated in the battle Hunayn, but when Hawazin lost the battle there, he fled. It is also said that he participated in the Arabian alliance against the Islamic base in Al Medinah known as Ghazwat Al Ahzaab or Al Khandaq. So, this person was an active warrior against Allah and His Messenger and he deserved to be called Abu Aamir Al Fasiq. When he was losing all of this military participatory effort against the Muslims he thought let me go North; and he did go North, all the way to geographical Syria and he joined hands with his co-religionists, the Byzantines.

Obviously, as is the case, they would try to use him to implement their plans against Islam in Al Medinah and he also would try to take advantage of what they had to offer to make in-roads into the Islamic society of Al Medinah. It was within this context that this Masjid Ad Diraar was conceived. Abu Aamir being a Khazraji himself contacted some of these people from Al Khazraj- remember, these are now Muslims- and he said build a Masjid near Masjid Quba and he played on the subtle differences between Al Aws and Al Khazraj. He took the issue back in their psychology to the time when Al Khazraj felt that they did not participate as they should have in building a place for the Prophet when he arrived in Yathrib or Al Medinah. This is what we have- the information that we came across is that there were 12 individuals, (who are referred to as Munafiqin in the mainstream books of Islamic history), who were contacted by Abu Aamir Al Fasiq and they were the ones who were receptive to this idea of building another Masjid. They built the Masjid. This was when the Prophet was preparing to go on his last military effort to Tabuk. It was exactly during that time frame that they built this Masjid Ad Diraar. They came to him when he was just about to leave Al Medinah to Tabuk and they said come and pray in this Masjid. He dismissed that because now theres a more important military effort that needs to be tended to. Thinking Muslims can plug the mouths of those people who right now say Muslims really dont enjoy any freedom or an Islamic society is a society without freedom by showing how people in an Islamic society had enough freedom to build a Masjid of their own when there was no need to build another Masjid. This brings us to the issue of building Masajid. If there is a Masjid in an urban center, community or society that is inclusive of the population there is no need to have another Masjid. The basis and foundation of a Masjid is to have one Masjid accommodating as many people as possible yet these people or individuals For you- thinking Muslims- we dont have the names of these 12 individuals, which is a sad and negative remark on our own history- we should know who these people were. Theres only the name of one of them who appears later on after the Prophet passes away. This person, who was appointed to lead the salaah in Masjid Ad Diraar wanted to lead as salaah in Masjid Quba and the 2nd successor to the Prophet refused to have him lead the salaah there because he was the one who was leading the salaah in Masjid Ad Diraar and it took the intervention of other Muslims to convince the Muslim ruler that he didnt know that he was used; but besides this, we have no mention or names of these individuals who were inside Islamic society, subjects of an Islamic power and constituents of an Islamic order- we have no indication of who they were. These were the ones who were in contact with Abu Aamir Ar Rahib who was in Byzantium that was preparing its version of a war against Allahs Prophet. So who tells us Muslims dont have freedoms?! When the intentions are unknown, they can get away with doing things like this, but once they are exposed, they incur the rightful penalty. This Masjid of diraar, kufr, tafreeq and irsaad was exposed by Allah with this ayah in Surat At Taubah. This Masjid was built with the intention of spying on the Muslims, dividing the Muslims and with a plan of denying Allah and His Prophet and to inflict maximum harm from within an Islamic society through a Masjid. Of course, this is not one of the ayaat that people nowadays want to focus on and it is ironic because nowadays most of the Masajid can be considered Masajid Diraar! Wal Iyaadu Billah. What adds insult to injury is that these people who had this brilliant idea of building another Masjid- now, on the surface of it, whos the Muslim whos going to object to building another Masjid?! In later generations, we know of at least one school of thought- Al Maliki school of thought that says if one Masjid has the capacity to absorb the population within which it is built, then there is no need for another Masjid, (meaninganother Masjid is illegitimate!) Who dare say that today to people who dont care and who will come and build a Masjid a few blocks away from another Masjid?! Why? Because the issue no

longer has the ingredients and the flavor that it had in those days. A Masjid today no longer means it is the headquarters of the Muslims; its just a place where you go, offer your prayers, make some dua and just leave- and you can proliferate and have hundreds and thousands of them in a limited area and no one is going to object and say what is all this about, yet in the time of Allahs Prophet the issue was so serious that in propagating this Masjid they said we want this Masjid to be a refuge for the poor people, people who have no place to go can come to this Masjid, we will feed Muslims from this Masjid- this was the propaganda that went into building this Masjid of diraar- but the true intentions were lurking behind the scenes and they were connected all the way to the superpower at that time, to Byzantium. A Masjid in the heart of Islam can be traced and trailed all the way to Byzantium and the Quran, Allah and His Prophet helped us do so. The issue of a Masjid, according to the same school of thought, (anyone of you who want to review the meaning of this ayah, in tafseer Al Qurtubi can go back and do it for your self satisfaction), Al Imam Malik also went to the extent of saying even if you have one Masjid and As Salaah is performed in that Masjid as a jama'ah, you cannot have another salaah performed in that Masjid in another jamaah- it doesnt work that way. But whos going to scrutinize the issue of Masajid with light in their heart and enlightenment in their souls?! Whos going to come to Allahs ayaat and understand them as they relate to the real world around?! So what happened? Allahs Prophet returns from Tabuk, the Masjid was still there, these 12 unknown individuals, (as far as we know), were still around and when this ayah was revealed to him and to us but Allah bears witness that these Masjid builders, these people who contributed to building this Masjid, these people who physically constructed this Masjid are liars (Surah At Taubah verse 106) it wasnt and issue of contention- lets debate this or let us go and see what were going to do with this, Allahs Prophet ordered that that Masjid be destroyed and Muslims happily went and destroyed that Masjid and not only that, they burnt it to the ground and beyond that, it was used later on as a place to dispose as thrash. If people had any thrash to dispose of, theyd bring it to that particular area and place it there. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- this is in our history; were not trying to take something theoretical or hypothetical, this is in our past, in our own character and should live with us in our time and life today so that if we see a Masjid Diraar, we identify a Masjid Diraar! What happens to this person, Abu Aamir Ar Rahib? He stays there with his masters and superiors in Byzantium where he belongs and he dies there in a Northern part of Syria called bin Nasrin. He passes away and is buried there. This has been a delicate issue of the Islamic reality and society of the time. Abu Aamir Ar Rahib had a son whose name in Handhallah (radi Allahu anhu). Handhallah is referred to in Islamic history as ghaseel al Malaaikah, the corpse that was washed by the angels because of his dedication to Allah. These are the facts- you see, when we speak about Al Aws and Al Khazraj and the subtleties there-in before the advent of Islam we speak about how human nature has the propensity to devote itself to Allah and His Prophets; how it also has the propensity to break away from to Allah and His Prophets and we speak about this type of enemy who was conspiring against the Islamic state from within the borders of a super power. When we speak about this scenario, we realize that Allah has given us a purview of human nature, a preview of how this human nature may act and he has given us enough information to move forward with our responsibilities (being) ever watchful of these people who try to brew within our Masajid and destroy our unity, spy on us that doesnt bring Muslims together, it separates them from each

other. How many of these Masajid can you point out to in the world, society and community that you personally are familiar with?! Brothers and sisters, Muslims on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem The ayat that we explained in an ayah that is so timely and pertinent to the world that we live in. The difference between our time and the time of Allahs Prophet is that during the time of Allahs Prophet these munafiqeen and their connections all the way up to the super powers of those days could not get away with this scheme and with their behind the scenes plans to undermine the Islamic pulse and the Islamic movements at that time. Today, though, they pre-dominate and they occupy these Masajid because they know that theres no one who is going to come and say these Masajid are under occupation. Isnt it quite accurate to say that most of the Masajid that we are speaking about have at least a trace of the four descriptions in this ayah- Masajid diraar i.e. Masajid that were meant to harm, Masajid kufr, (brothers and sisters, we know this is an unusual combination of words; not many of you listened to them, but this is the combination of words that comes from Allahs Holy writ i.e. dont many of these Masajid that we have around, at least in a passive way promote kufr? Masajid tafreeq bayna al mumineen i.e. dont most of the Masajid and Centers we have around act as places and centers to divide the Muslims? Look closely at the Masajid and Centers that that you personally know- are they a magnate for all the Muslims or if someone doesnt fit in he doesnt belong?! Its almost a universal fact that not many of you are willing to face in your heart and mind. We know- sometimes the truth hurts, but if were not going to express the truth whos going to express it?! If you dont listen to the truth on Fridays at Jumah from the Mimbars, then where are you going to hear it? Masajid irsaad liman haarab Allah wa Rasul min qabl i.e. these Masajid have become an observation point or centers for those who are at war with Allah and His Prophet aforetime. Meaning these places have individuals in them who write reports; they come to these Masajid and they write reports on who are the sincere Muslims. Where is this done? Inside- from the administration of these Masajid and they report these things to their superiors who report to their superiors. Most of these Masajid have governments who they consider their superiors and these governments report back here, (in Washington DC.) Just like we had Byzantium in the time of Allahs Prophet, right now we have a Shaytaani Buzurg or Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar, a satanic government here, (in Washington DC) and the reports come here about Muslims all around who were identified inside Masajid. Some Masajid dont want to deal with this- they dont want to do any reporting, so what do they do? They tell some individuals youre not welcome in this place; they may say that directly or indirectly. They dont want to get involved in that so just stay away. Muslims around Allahs Prophet now have to keep themselves, their minds, their speaking and communication capabilities with other Muslims outside of these Masjid! Allah is expanding our thoughts and trying to give us insight into what is happening inside our Masajid and many of us prefer to look the other way and make believe none of this is happening. Brothers and sisters- look; because all this is happening just in the course of these past years in our lives, in Iraq 6,000,000 are displaced, 4,000,000 children are hungry, 4,000,000 others are injured in this war that was made possible by having these Masajid in the control of imperialism and zionism. This is all in the past 5 years only, were not speaking prior to that- 1,000,000 people have been killed and still we have people and administrations in all of these Masajid who cannot speak their Islamic minds, express their Islamic conscience and who cannot translate their Islamic hearts to the public! Dare any Muslim do so and he might find himself in the

street, (as we have been in the past 25 years- as a lanah upon those who are participants and accessories to the curtailing of our minds and conscience).

YAWM AL EID AL ADHA

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of commitment, conviction, hard work and a struggle.... On this day we express the recognition that has been usurped by people in power, who abuse this power. For us this is only temporary; we lived before this, we are living through it and we will live after it. We

know that we progress into a future that Allah has promised His devoted ones and Allah does not forsake His subjects and servants and His promise is the truth. Brothers and sisters- it may be true that in our human terms we have occupation, invasions and wars, but this is not the end all of things. We are not slaves of our moment. When we say and announce Allahu Akbar we mean that Allah is greater then these conditions and these temporary circumstances; our psychology has not gone down; we are not defeated in ourselves. One of the meanings that they want to take away from this occasion, day and annual meeting of the Muslims- this is what they want us to think- that when we say Allahu Akbar, it does not pertain to the issues of power that are causing all of these miseries in our world-wide body. We say to them you will come and you will go; before you came and after you go- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar. No amount of military campaign, budgets, treasuries, spying and informants are going to take away one iota from our confidence building and jihad because when we say Allahu Akbar, we say that from the portion of us that belongs to Allah and Allah is not defeat able and Allah is not destructible- Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We know that we say this while there are crying children, misplaced peoples, families and even societies, but this is not going to diminish the psychology that comes from Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We have enough courage to look at reality and not run away from it because we are in the company of Allah. Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar How many invaders have come last hundreds of years? Where are they now? Where will these new waves of invasions be when our descendants will stand up on this day every year and proclaim to those who want to silence us that Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We are not going to be bullied by such impositions as the Saudi government that has been (in all of these years) aborting this Hajj with fast pretences, lame excuses and flagrant lies. We can see through all of this because we say with confidence and assurance Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar We feel sorry and we have pity for some of us who accompany the royalty that has been undermining Islam and trying to cripple our Imaan. We feel sorry for these brothers and sisters who are in the payroll of their cashiers. We say to them also Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar and let the facts speak for themselves. Makkah, Al-Bayt Al-Haram is declared in the open book of Allah as an inviting city. Do you hear thisyou the occupiers, usurpers, thieves who have stolen Makkah and Al-Madinah from our hearts; then you stole them from our minds and now you are stealing them from our bodies. Even though we know what you are up to; and even though we dont have the physical or material power and wherewithal to confront you in an immediate sense, behind all of this, our psychology, morale and spirits rebound and say to you Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar. This is a time when Muslims want to go to Hajj. These are some of the facts that speak for themselves The Saudi Arabian government- that administration of evil- tells Muslims from China (Brothers and sisters Muslims from China go to obtain their visas from Pakistan- maybe not many Muslims know this) hundreds of them were told No- we will not give you visas to go to the Hajj. You go back to China and get your visas there. What do you- the Saudi

criminals- think? That youre going to get away with this and not many Muslims are going to observe what you are doing; (or) by the way who are these Chinese Muslims to begin with?! In reply to your attitude we say Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar. Then, around 300 Muslims in Germany who want to go to the Hajj- you tell them No you cannot proceed. This was just a few days ago and we dont know what the outcome of that has been but you (Saudis) certainly are ugly. Your character is ugly (and) your behavior is unbecoming when you do this to Muslims who have a God-given right to access Makkah and Al-Madinah. For those of you who come from Africa- you know how the Saudi regime treats Africans or African Muslims. In this particular occasion- in Ghana 1,000 Muslims want to go to the Hajj and they are told you cannot proceed. What do you mis-rulers in Arabia think? Youre going to get away with this? You who are standing in the way of Muslims who want to go to Allahs sanctuary to fulfill their heart felt obligations! In the meantime, what are you trying to do? With the same breath and with the same hand in which you are barricading the way to Makkah and AlMadinah, inside the Muslim house you are trying to spark and spike sectarianism. You are falling exactly within the schemes of Al-Mushrikeen and Al-Kafireen which you have misidentified. Instead of looking at the real Kafir and Mushrik in the world, you turn the word around and you want to Muslims of being Mushriks and of being kafirs! We invite you- if you ever listen to these words- to an open in-house debate among the Muslims to identify and define who the true Mushrikeen and true Kafireen in this world are. But you dont want that to happen. Why? Because you get your orders from your masters! You dont have one master who is Allah; you have many masters in this world who are the true Mushrikeen. And to this we reply Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar

You want to build a wall- you are taking your queue from the Israeli Zionists. They are building a wall of separation between people. But we can understand the Israeli Zionists; they are enemies and they feel insecure because of their guilt and their crimes, so they are building this 400 to 500 mile wall- we can understand that. But you want to build a wall among the Muslims. You want to erect a barrier between the Muslims in Arabia and the Muslims in Iraq. We see what you are trying to do and we live on by answering you with Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar You come up with an all time bida saying that theres a quota to the Hajj. Oh Muslim- brothers and sisters- whenever (and) from wherever has somebody designed a scheme to limit the number of Muslims who go to Makkah and Al-Madinah for the Hajj saying for every million Muslims we are only going to permit 1,000 Muslims to come to this Hajj?! And you Saudi Arabians officials, government personnel and administrators of dhulm- you are not even consistent with your own quotas. You give some people more then that quota. For example- by everyones common sense, the number of Muslims in the United States is around 8million (more or less, depending on whom youre talking to) so the quota should be in this case 8,000 Muslims who go to the Hajj. For every million 1,000 (thus) 8million=8,000. Why is it that the number of Muslims from the United States who go to Hajj are around 12,000 and sometimes 15,000- we are told from the press. Why dont you Saudis who are issuing these visas and acting like little Gods on earth- who told you that we need your permission to go to Allah and His Prophet?! Where did this come from? Why do you (Oh Muslims everywhere) accept this Saudi dictate? Arent these playing the role of God? Naudhu billah wa nastaghfirullah To that we add (and let it echo in their private sessions and their closed governmental decision making meetings) Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar. We say to you- corrupt Saudi officials, decision makers, politicians and diplomats- from our deep down

convictions that we stand by the word Allahu Akbar and even though you stifle it during this time of year every year, Muslim awareness is growing. We say to you- Saudi lackeys and clients of Mushrikeen and Kafireen the Muslims are coming. We dont mean the kind of Muslims that you treat like cattle. They say these are the guests of Ar-Rahman- in their media, they say the pilgrims, the Muslims, who go to Makkah and Al-Madinah are dhuyuf Ar-Rahman because they are the toys of Saudi laws and regulations. We dont mean these Muslims are coming, we mean the Muslims who are pronouncing and announcing Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar- these are the types of Muslims who are coming. Now, you have something like a play boy- not like you dont have plenty of them- but now you thrust this type of character to be your representative here in the United States- your ambassador. Weve had worse than him, (like) the person who brought him to your Embassy here in the 1st place (and) who has now been promoted to more or less engineer a civil war amongst the Muslims. We can see all of this and we can respond to all of this with the coming determination of committed Muslims who say Allahu Akbar and mean Allahu Akbar. Brothers and sisters We know that if we wanted to take a close look at our condition, there is more grief in it than there is joy. This day is meant to be, (as much as we can), a day of happiness, a day in which we visit and contact each other- family members, neighbors, relatives, distance relatives, even our folks who are thousands of miles away. This is the time when we should honor this day- actually tomorrow- when the true Eid is. How many more years are the Saudi officials going to get away with imposing the wrong day on the rightful Muslims? How many more years are we to suffer from this pain of a prescheduled Eid and a prescheduled calendar that does not seek to satisfy Allah? This day is a day of comfort; a day of solace and a day of togetherness. Express that as much as you can; be forthcoming to those who are in need; give to those who do not find necessities in their lives. This shouldnt be a one time event during the year, it should be an attitude that extends from this occasion and day to the rest of the year and the rest of the Muslims and the rest of the mustadhafeen. Act as Allah and His Prophet expect of you towards your loved ones, your dear ones and towards those who dont find what they need in life. Kullu aamin wa antum bi kheir. An Eid that is blessed; an Eid that is accepted and may the following Eid in the coming year regain its true meaning when we live up to our responsibilities and behave in the mode of Allahs Prophet. Wa asalamu aleikum

REFLECTIONS ON SHI'ISM
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhamdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims whose intentions become the will of Allah.... With reliance upon Allah, we try at this time every week to have our thoughts and minds concentrated on relevant issues. Sometimes these relevant issues have a historical depth- as is the case in the lives that are

being lost, particularly in Iraq. Not a day passes by without some explosion going off in some place or with some people being denied their freedoms. Much of this is meant to instigate and antagonize Muslims against each other. They try to go with this all the way back to uncertain times in history, and then, finally, the final product that they want us to understand from all of this is that this is a Shi'i versus Sunni warfare. In the past months, we've been attempting to shed light on the foundation and roots of this type of issue so that we will not become willing participants in this theater of the obscene. We took a close look at our psychological, historical and madh'habi beginnings in the context of how a government was stolen from the 1st Muslim generations and that theft has continued up until this day. We took a look at the different myriad or formations of Islamic political opposition. There were those who were called AlKhawaarij, Shi'is, Mu'tazilis, Murjiah, Ahl Al-Hadith or As-Salafiyyah An-Nususiyyah or literal salafisall of this was part of our trial and error and struggle with our sense of responsibility that we have as committed Muslims. O you who are committed to Allah, respond to Allah and His Messenger if they call upon you for the sake of energizing you and bringing you more meanings of life; and be aware that Allah circulates between a person and his innermost feelings and that you are eventually returning to Him (Surah Al-Anfal verse 24) It is in this broad response to Allah that we had this type of history. There's no reason for this history to come back and haunt us in the form of what are being plotted as civil wars. It is only our enlightened minds that will make it possible for us to avoid deadly errors. One of the opposition movements in Islam that we probably haven't looked at from a particular perspective is called At-Tashayu'- that means showing a partisan position, and what is meant by this partisan position is the support for Imam, Khalif or Emir Al-Mu'minin Ali (radi Allahu anhu) and those who belong to his extended line. Did this particularly group solidarity come into existence on Yawm As-Saqifah, the day when the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) was being buried and Muslims were trying their best to avoid a comeback of nationalism. You see, some of think that Muslims we're really involved in trying to appoint a leader. This is an artificial understanding of the facts of the time. Most of them were pre-occupied with avoiding the return of nationalism that they were combating in Makkah for over 20 years- this is what they were concerned with- number one. There was a group solidarity- people who were listening to the Prophet closely as the Prophet, during his lifetime, was nominating Ali to be the leader of the Muslims. This group solidarity expressed itself with Ali during the time of the Prophet, the day the Prophet passed away and for the years and the generations to continue after that. This is what we can say about this meaning in general. What we have to say about it in particular is that oppression and state authority leave- almost all the time, if not all the time- a particular reactive mode on the people that are being oppressed, in this case, the Islamic opposition. Included in that are those who consider themselves Shi'is- they felt the brunt or the weight of the state. You can take todays climate- Islamic movements that are in the opposition feel the weight of this opposition of how governments, militaries and what is called security agents, police forces etc. are after them. This generated a pronounced mental confrontation with those who were in power. Those who were in power, we spoke about this early, they claimed without any Qur'anic or Prophetic justification, that they were representing Ahl As-Sunnah Wa Al-Jamaa'h. Instead of being very clear on this issue, the opposition lumped together the masses of people who had nothing to do with the government with the government- the Umawi and Abbasi dynasties- particularly the Umawi one that we are looking at in the formative years. What came out of this is referred to in the books that we read on this subject and matter as An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyyah. In the mainstream Ithna Ashari Shi'i

recollection and confrontation with the powers of those who usurped it, they came out with what is called An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyyah. What is meant by this is simply that "the Prophet has quoted and so did his legitimate followers, the Imams, by virtue of their statements and by virtue of their assignments allocated the responsibility of leading the Muslims to particular individuals, known ass the Imams." But let us be more Qur'anic and more Prophetic about this. I know that we are going to venture into some sensitive issues and an area in our collective mind that has been almost monopolized by certain individuals. When we take a look at this, we realize that there is no Nass and no Wasiyyah in the way they are interpreted by latter generations, coming from the Prophet or Ali. These are the hadiths that are used to substantiate what is called An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyyah. The 1st one is at Ghadeer Qhum. After the Prophet performed his Hajjah Al-Wada', his farewell pilgrimage- he left and on his way back, he stopped at a spring of water with hundreds, if not thousands of Muslims around, and he said to them, in public, "'Whoever's Mawla, guardian, I am, Ali is his Mawla.". This is agreed upon by every Muslim, of whichever fiqhi persuasion they have- no-one disputes that. There is some give-and take among Muslims, which has nothing to do with Sunnis and Shi'is, because even among Sunnis, there is some give and take on "O Allah! Be the protector of those who protect him and be the tormentor of those who torment him." This is taken by those who have structured An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyyah to mean that the Prophet stated, unequivocally, that the ultimate leader of the Muslims, after him, is Ali. The hadith, in all fairness, does not explicitly say that. It infers that in a very strong way, but it does not state it categorically. This is the area in which Muslims begin to work themselves up into opposing positions. Why Muslims?! Whether you're a Sunni or a Shi'i, whatever you consider yourself, why do you work yourself up into a opposing position with the other who is taking this either as a strong implication or as a affirmative statement. There's no need for that, but what we can say after agreeing to this amicable understanding is that this is not an unequivocal statement saying to all the Muslims- Ali is your Imam after me. Once again, we have to remind you, that the Prophet is not short on vocabulary. Had he intended that this be an assignment perse, he would have said "Whoever's Imam I am, Ali is his Imam" and left no question mark in the mind of the listeners. But the word (Imam) wasn't used, therefore we have to realize that this is not a verbatim, direct appointment or assignment of a person to that position. That hadith is called hadith Al-Ghadeer and the other hadith that is used is called hadith Al-Manzila. The Prophet turns to Ali and says to him "You are to me what Harun was to Musa except there is no Prophet after me." This was meant for the Muslim public- you and me- once again, this was a strong indication and was meant to nominate Ali for that position.

Then, the 3rd hadith that is used to justify what has become known as An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyyah is called hadith Ad-Daar. This was reported during the early years, the 1st or 2nd year, of Islam, in which the Prophet pointed at Ali, who was very young at the time- he must have been at the beginning of his teens, if that- and said about him, "This is my brother, my assignee and my successor to you." Remember in the context of the time- we're not in Al-Medinah, we're in the 1st year or so in Makkah. There was no state, government or Islamic society- there wasn't even an Islamic Jama'ah perse- so the context in which that was said takes away from the argument that this is a statement that is selecting, appointing or positioning Ali to be the leader of the Muslims.

Once again, we remind you and ourselves, that this is a very sensitive issue to some people, butBrothers and sisters- if we are not going to open up these issues that have become very sensitive to us and understand them in light of the Qur'an and the hadith, then we're not going to get anywhere. We're just going to have common enemies step into this mess and instigate these sensitivities and raise them to the level of hostilities. We can't permit that to happen so we have into walk this territory. Besides, if what is called in the latter day fiqh of the Shi'i madh'hab, particularly the Ithna Ashariyah Shi'i Madh'hab, An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyya, was stated categorically, frankly and directly from the time of Allahs Prophet, then we question the followingWhy did the Muslims and those who were of this group solidarity around Ali- Abu Dharr, Al-Miqdad, Salman and the rest, (radi allahu anhum)- who were known to be very close to Ali and even Ali, himself, if they were aware of this Nass and Wasiyyah then why did they go to Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), even though Ali staggered in going to him- he delayed that for days or even months- because all of this is in our history. Whichever time period you agree upon, to your ownself- finally, there was a bai'ah to Imam, Khalif or Emir Al-Mu'minin Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu). If there was this Nass and Wasiyyah, then we ask why is there this bai'ah?! It's a clear violation of this understanding. But, it's because it wasn't what the oppressed Muslim opposition interpreted it to be in the following generations. Then, when Imam, Khalif or Emir Al-Mu'minin Hasan (radi Allahu anhu), with the conditions and the understanding that was there, stepped down for Muawiya to become the ruler of the Muslims, if there was what was called later on An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyyah, why did he do that? All of the Muslims could have come to his father and to him and said- what is this about? But, his father, he and the rest of the Muslims at that time understood the social, political and military forces that were waiting for the moment to trounce on this type of Islamic governance. In other words, they understood the social, political and military forces that wanted nationalism to take its course regardless of what the Qur'an and the Prophet say about justice and equality- they wanted to minimize all of that and take power for themselves. Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma), with the question mark about the latter half of Uthmans (radi Allahu anhu) reign, these government authorities were not nationalist. This is the area in the Muslim mind that still has not developed. Muslims still cannot see this with a clarity. But then, nationalism came with a vengeance due to he Umawi rulers and then the Abbasi rulers, etc. They had no problems with pointing to the deviations of Muawiya and all the kings that followed. So, where does this An-Nass wa Al-Wasiyyah come from, if it's not in the Qur'an, it's not in the hadith and it's not even, as far as we know, in Nahaj Al-Balagha?! There's no such thing as this An-Nass wa AlWasiyyah, you can read it- page-by-page, word-by-word, you'll not find it. So where did this come from? (We are subject to errors and if we err, it's your responsibility to come and say- wait a minute, the correct information on this subject is such and such)- but after reading and going back to references and books, the best we can tell is that this type of interpretation and understanding began with a person called Hisham ibn Al-Hakam who was a peer with Imam Jaafar As-Sadique (radi Allahu anhu). That's when we 1st begin to realize that there is something that is being codified and a new structural understanding is being extended or having retroactive effect to the time beginning with the Prophets death. Before that, there was no such thing. Then, further, even if we try to follow the literature of the 12 Imams, it's only in the lifetime periods of three Imams- Al-Baqir, As-Sadique and Ar-Rida- that we have this type of information coming at us from the books and the literature that were written during their lifetimes. This is an Islamic legitimate opposition to a government that has gone off course, we can understand, especially when you take people who want to take an armed position against misruling and injustice as was the case during that reign and dynasty when they told people, "You cannot carry arms." There were people who

were carrying arms and they were opposing this. Some of them were Shi'is, or considered themselves Shi'is and others were not- there were Az-Zaydis and Ismailies, who up until today still consider themselves fervent Shi'is, but they had their own revolts, but in this particular context, revolting was suspended. Jaafar As-Sadique has a statement (this is the rough translation of it), "Banu Umayyah are acting very big and if the mountains were to take on Bani Umayyah ,Banu Umayah would act bigger than these mountains. So, it is not permitted for anyone to revolt, meaning carry arms, against them. The opposition can continue- you can have a psychological, intellectual, and all types of opposition to them, but to carry arms- No! that is not permissible, at least, within that context until Allah finishes them off or takes care of them in his own way." This statement was taken by following generations to literally mean that armed opposition against these governments shall no longer be part of our day-to-day life. Here is where, in the course of history, Muslims begin to develop two parallel sets of confidence. Those who call themselves Sunni Muslims, their confidence was in the process of Shura and the consolidation of the Ummah. But, we had no Shura and we had no Ummah. Brothers and sisters- when we say we had no Ummah, this is a very bold statement and we know that probably it doesn't appeal to the conventional mind, but Allah says In fact, this is your Ummah when it is one Ummah (Surah Al-Anbiya' verse 92) But we have been missing that one Ummah ever since the rulers divided us. As much as we want this Ummah to be and as much as we are anxious to hold on to its meanings, our divisions have taken away the vital meanings of this Ummah if we reference ourselves in this ayah. This can only be an Ummah of yours when it is one Ummah, And I am your Sustainer, be power conscious about me. (Surah Al-Mu'minun verse 52) In another ayah, And I am your Sustainer, so comply and conform with me. (Surah Al-Anbiya' verse 92) Because those governments went off course, we were no longer this Ummah that we were supposed to be and we no longer had a Shura. The Shura was done away with after the khulafa'- we had no Shura. So, the Sunnis, who placed their confidence in the Ummah and the Shura no longer had it. Parallel to that, the Shi'is who placed their confidence in the Imam and this sequence of Wasiyyah, also no longer had it. After the year 256 after the hijrah, the 12th Imam is no longer around. So, both wings of the Muslims no longer had what it would take to rebuild this Ummah and this is where we stand today. After this historical sojourn, we find ourselves- you can call yourself whatever you want to call yourself, but whatever you are, there's no Imam who is of the assigned Imams and there's no Shura and there's no Ummah as we understand them from the Qur'an and the Hadiths. What took place in the Sunni context of this history was that every time there was a military success, the individualistic rulers, kings and monarchs would feed this military success to the Muslim public to have them confident of whom they are. This is expressed very clearly in the defeat of, As-Salibiyeen, the crusaders when they tried to annex the holy land to their history, geography, culture and religion and eventually they failed. The failure of these colonialists of the time, almost 1,000 years ago, was recycled by these kings as a matter of Islamic pride to Muslims who had nothing to go on. This could partially be said of other rulers in other territories. In Muwahhideen, in Morocco, they did the same thing. Every time they scored a military victory over the military forces that were moving in against the Muslims in Al-Andalus, they'd recycle that as an element

of confidence to the Muslim public. We didn't need these types of political attempts to rejuvenate our psychology or to give us a type of Islamic glory- what we needed was the Shura, the Bai'ah and the legitimate and authentic ruler. In the Shi'i course of history, a type of fiqhi, religious school of thought took hold in which the followers were told the issues of government, authority, state, social, military, political and economic affairs are suspended or frozen until the return of the 12 th Imam. But, what do you do in the meantime?! Do you mean to tell us that we have to hold back on the Qur'an, the hadith and everything we have learned and have come to us from Allah until some futuristic date somewhere?! What do we do as the centuries went by, the status quo was going from bad to worse. In this context, there were scholars, Maraji' and Ulema who said "No! we cannot do this!" In the vocabulary of this fiqh, there's something called Al-Wilayah Al-Khaassah and Al-Wilayah Al-Aammah. So, there mainstream of this fiqh said that our scholars are only to concern themselves with Al-Wilayah Al-Khaassah, the religious affairs of Muslims. This is more or less equivalent to the suspended fiqh of the Sunnis, because the Sunnis closed Al-Baab Al-Ijtihaad a long time ago, but here we had an Ijtihaad that continued, but only within the circle of religious and personal issues, those political, economic, social and administrative issues, that is called Al-Wilayah Al-Aammah can wait. Some scholars came and said "No, this cannot wait! We have to begin to assume our responsibilities." Some of these scholars, one of them is called Ash-Shirazi, this was in the past 100 or 150 years ago, came and said "No. We have to activate our social character. We no longer can remain subjects of the status quo." (Another is Na'imi and a few others), until finally, Al-Imam Al-Khomeini came and he made it final that Muslim scholars are to assume these responsibilities and there cannot be, any longer, a justification for being indifferent in the affairs of the world. So, they assumed their responsibilities- in the mean time, the Islamic movement that has been fermenting for the past 50, 60 or 70 years still has not come our with a clear statement on these authorities giving themselves the responsibility to deliver us from the deviation of governments that we are living in today. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims As the days and generations go by, we will be more keen on understanding how important it is for us to elevate our thoughts so that we can begin to tackle political issues, understand the economic schemes and evaluate what is happening in the world around us. Without this Islamic political mind, we are left in the whirlwind of trouble makers and war mongers who are like deadly sharks in treacherous waters. It seems like every once and then, they have a subject to hold onto because we have do not think in a political way. The recent one is, and reference was made to it last week and we have to say it again this week because of the type of feedback and questions that are circulating. A person who was born in a Muslim family in Afghanistan decides that he wants to become a Christian- do we apply capital punishment and sentence such a person to death? Absent the political mind, the automatic traditional answer to that is that the person deserves the death sentence. But, thats the wrong answer! He doesn't deserve the death sentence because he has not committed treason. The death sentence is used for those who are guilty of treason. In an Islamic society, because there is Shura- you and I are participating in the political process, we are involved and we know sensitive information, we come to the Masjid and discuss our economic, political and military decisions, if after that, a Muslim decides that he wants to abandon this commitment and allegiance, then he or she is guilty of high treason. But, when Islam is just a matter praying, fasting and these individual responsibilities, and then one day a person decides, Allah knows the reason, up until now, we still haven't heard why this person decided to become a Christian instead of a Muslim, but there are people in this world and there has been

all along who are Muslims who become Christians, it's not as many as those who are Christians who become Muslims, but this is part of history and part of life- many times, when Muslims decide to do so, it's because of poverty. It's because they want to survive and live. So, the question is "Why have they been reduced to the survival level, if it is not for these oppressive governments throughout the ages that we have been speaking about, to force these types of individuals to abandon the faith?" (This is probably what happened). Instead of saying "we want to execute this individual for becoming a Christian, we should say we want to execute the government that forces these types of governments that force these types of individuals to reach this decision." But, no-one is able to say that because we don't think politically. We shrank and have been reduced to thinking as individuals, so they throw an issue like this out at us, and then they have us arguing night and day and we will continue arguing night and day, within the parameters that they have set for us, because we don't have the courage to step outside these parameters and think in the political horizons of the world that Allah created for us. When we don't have that boldness we turn defensive- defensive is the description of those, today, who are trying to feel questions pertaining to this individual. This individual spikes a larger question in our mind and our heart if we are living with the meanings of Allah and His Prophet, but only a few are doing so.

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Masharal Mumineen

Whether we know it or not we, (the general Muslims in the world), are at a crucial or critical developing stage. There are confluences, trends and internal and external challenges that have placed us in a position that we are going to have to work out for our own selves and much of this is going to have to rely on our mental integrity. The word mental or rational is a word that scares many sincere Muslims. We dont know how this came about, exactly, in our time, especially in this part of the world where there are no official and no local imposed restrictions on this Godgiven endowment that we have- meaning our ability to think. Allah says, condemning those who refuse to think- at the time of Allahs Prophet there were also a large block of people, (so large and so ingrained in society), that Allah reveals this ayah, not only to expose them and their inability to think but to expose their types in all societies that were to follow including the one that we are in. What is this ayah saying? And when they are told follow what Allah has reveals or brought down to you in the form of this Quran and His Prophet (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) What was their reply? they said rather we will follow what has become familiar to us from our forefathers, previous generations or ancestors (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) Now, brothers and sisters, sometimes we try to be calm as humanly possible, but sometimes championing the words of Allah has a way of working up a persons nerves against those who refuse to understand Him, especially when these types are located within our communities, societies and our larger Islamic presence in the world. This ayah is not obsolete. It also speaks to those who cling to Islamic or Muhammadi rituals the same way in which this ayah speaks to them. This is what you say to the people around you today- these hang on to your ritual Muslims when you say to them come let us consider what Allah has revealed and then follow; they say no, we are only going to follow that that is familiar to us which has come via our ancestors. Now, remember these people around the Prophet also belonged to a religion in which there were rituals they were performing. They claimed to be the inheritors of Ibrahim and Ismaeel. Unlike today, when we have, also, followers of rituals and ceremonies saying we are following the Prophet, the Sahaba and the Aimma; its the same thing all over again. Whats required in the midst of all of this is for us to liberate our selves from the occupation of Islam by traditions and traditionalists. Cant we do that? Then, Allah says to these types- 1st, (we, the Muslims), are speaking Allahs words to those who are around us and then they reply and then we answer- and the reference in all of this is what? It is reasoning. do they want to do this even though their forefathers and ancestors had no reasoning for doing what they are doing? (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) This is the parting line between those who are Muslims by traditions and those who are Muslims by reason and the qualitative step forward for us is to make this transition from traditional to reasoning Muslims and we do so per Allahs instructions. If this is agreed to-

and its going to take a lot of effort to try to carrel these types into the worlds of Allah and His Prophet that is accessible via thinking and reasoning. We come to the same types who are abundantly around, (via their publications, lectures or whether you meet them personally), and unfortunately they have a lot of money that goes with them- what they do is they confuse what the Prophet says with what Allah says. This has to be explained. 1st of all, there is no confusion, incompatibility or contradiction between Allah and His Prophet- none whatsoever. Allah says Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah (Surah An Nisa verse 80) If we wanted to place the meaning of this ayah in the phobic mentality that they are in, the ayah itself becomes repelling. How do you say whoever obeys the Prophet/ Messenger obeys Allah? Now, you cast their mindsets, (if they have that), on this ayah, which is a known ayahnow one disputes any ayah in the Quran and then you come up with their words- this is shirk. Brothers, sisters open up your minds this is not shirk. Unfortunately the way trouble makers approach these types of meanings, they then have Muslims pitted against Muslims and then Muslims spilling the blood of Muslims. Allah is not elevating the Prophet to a deity, all He is saying is if you obey him, you are obeying Allah. This is extended in their type of mindsetthey take the Prophets words and then they subject to it whatever they may attempt to understand from the Quran; and their attempt to understanding is a minimal because they never exercised their minds. This is supposed to be the other way around you take/understand and apply your mind and reasoning to what Allah has to say and then step number two is you begin to understand how the Prophet explains it. An ayah in the Quran says Any blessing that comes to people or whatever Allah opens up of a blessing to a people, there can be no one who can freeze or stifle it and whatever Allah withholds, theres no one who can extend it after He has done so Then, the Prophet comes and says Oh Allah there can be no one who gives from what you have withheld and no one can withhold from what you have given. The hadith fits very comfortably into our understanding, reasoning or thinking of the ayah. This is the hadith that blends into our hearts and minds. Some people, (this is another hazard), who began to turn on their minds began to discover that there are hadiths that just sound unacceptable, illogical or even contradictory, so they came and said for that reason we are going to have to do away with all the hadiths. You see- this is what happens one mistake breeds another counter mistake; and both of them are involved or related to each other. The types who have elevated the types of hadith beyond the Quran generated a reaction in people who wanted to discard the hadith altogether- this we have in our midst. Not only do we have them as groups of people but some of them are very well financed and some of them are well connected to governments and establishments. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- we have a body of hadiths that have been agreed to by all the Muslim scholars and all the Muslim populace from the time of the Prophet to our time and no committed Muslim can dispense with the hadith- lets make that very

clear, or else how would we be offering our Jumah prayer? Theres no detail about Jumah and daily prayers in the Quran? How would we be fasting? How would we go through the details of the Hajj if it werent for the agreed upon the verified hadiths that we have shared for all of these centuries and generations? (Its) impossible! And this is how we are going to demonstrate this Allah says in an ayah in Surah An Nisa Allah advices you in matters of inheritance- a male has two shares and a female has one share (Surah An-Nisa verse 11) Are there any other details concerning this broad/general inheritance rule? Yes. Another hadith by the Prophet says a murder has no inheritance rights. Do we or do we not need hadiths? Another ayah in the Quran says unlawful as far as your dietary regulations are concerned unlawful is carrion, dead meat and blood (Surah verse) The ayah is clear; some words in the Quran may tolerate a range of ijtihaad, but here, it is very clear, it is haram, impermissible, illegal or unlawful for Muslims to consume dead meat and blood but then the hadith comes and it says there are two types of dead animal that can be consumed; one of them is fish and the other is grasshoppers and there are two bloods that can be consumed; one of them is the liver and the other is the spleen. This is the Prophets hadith, there are exceptions. If these exceptions are made, what does it mean? We consider, even though it is permissible to be consuming these types, should we be considering them as a delicacy or something that we always have? When there are exceptions it is because of the human condition that we are in. Allah says A male thief and a female thief you amputate their hand Now, we were hesitant to mention this ayah because obviously the point could be made without mentioning this ayah. One of the factors that makes a person hesitant sometimes is because theres a bunch of informational pollution in the air that comes and says look at how barbaric the Muslims code of life is? When someone steals they cut off his hand. These sources of accusations dont say this in a vacuum. Its true in our time there is a sense of uncivility to what is happening. You have a pauper or a person in need who steals something in Arabia and then you have that government that claims to be Islamic chopping off the persons hand in the public square. Brothers and sisters, what we have to understand is the laws that are in the Quran are laws that are applicable to a society of a very high and exceptional moral standard. These laws are applicable to a society that is void of this very high and exceptional moral standard. We have today a society in Arabia that is no where near where it is supposed to be for these types of laws to be applicable. Nevertheless when we have people that dont think, (what we are saying directly and frankly is that), we have rulers in Arabia and religious establishments

that are their sidekicks and both of them with all the individuals involved, the majority of them do not think of what Allah and His Prophet are telling them. The Prophet of Allah explained to us more in what he did and less in what he said. For the applicability of such an ayah, 1st of all theres a nisaab or a certain monetary value in this moral society that has to have been stolen for the law to apply. If there is not the moral society that the Prophet constructed before these ayaat were revealed many, many years later- the legal ayaat in the Quran were revealed many many years after the character ayaat in the Quran- so when this law applies, it applies when there is this Islamic moral and social character- an Islamic character of justice and compassion togethernothing that you will find in the Arabia of today even though they come along with these Islamic legalities and apply them out of the context in which the Prophet himself applied them- thats number one. Number two- this severe law in a compassionate Islamic moral society does not apply if the person who stole is considered in any way poor. If this person is living under what has to be identified as in an Islamic society at the poverty line, then this law doesnt apply to him or her. It doesnt apply to a person who is trying to regain his lawful possessions from which he was dispossessed. All of these are outlined not only in the words of Allahs Prophet but in the twenty-odd years that he spent struggling to put together this type of society that now becomes a mockery because of people who havent engaged their minds and their thinking ability with Allah and His Prophet. Allah says Weve never sent to a society a Prophet who warns them except that we have a higher crust of elitist of that society who respond but we are in denial of that with which you have been sent with Meaning- we are opponents and enemies of the scripture, your person of a Prophet and whatever you have to present us from that with which you call your deity and authority in heaven. This is an ayah- everybody understands it, its clear but something, a very important element that is absent in this. You have a Prophets hadith in which he tells us that we are prohibited from drinking or using utensils made of gold or/and silver and men are prohibited from wearing silk or for silk to be used in a liberal way. The hadith is there; no one denies it. Its a shared, unanimous (and) consensus hadith; but when this hadith is quoted as it is done by people who put their minds behind them, they disconnect this hadith from the ambiance of the ayah to which it belongs. Society has a way of generating a class of spoiled people who are known as in todays language as the filthy rich. So, the Prophet, to put brakes on Muslims before they tend in that direction advised them and us not to have these types of amenities- whether they are utensils, jewellery or whatever they are-we cant be using them in a liberal and a free fashion. So, it turns out we cant do it- it is only permissible on a very limited scale and basis; but we wont understand this relationship between the ayah in which Allah mentions al mutrafeen which turns out to be the most hostile element or segment in society whenever Allahs word of truth and justice is presented. This is what happens when we dont have minds that blend with Allah and His Prophet. They discriminate, (even though) they dont come out and say or express the fact;

they dont look at themselves and the consequences of their type of thinking and then have the courage to say what are we doing or what have we done?! But this in fact is the final resultthey come out and Muslims begin to feel now that there is a difference or disconnect, (at the best), between Allahs words and the Prophets words and we cant fit them together. We call upon these types, (who have in most instances as much money as they want), to reconsider this absence of thought and this alienation of mind from Allah and His Prophet; and because they have a monopoly on Islam in our time, the average you and me dont even have the climate of the fuqaha. There was a mental climate when the genuine thinkers of Islam used to think; there was a statement that they all shared, which now because of the type of selective presentation of a warped understanding of Islam, no one says it. But now, lets say it. Lets say what these fuqaha used to say among themselves. They used to say the bases of the transmission of the Prophets hadiths is our minds, ability and willingness to think, understand and reason what Allah and His Prophet say to us. The next time when you come across or come in contact with themunfortunately they run away from this speaker and they dont welcome him in their midst- of course, in the Islamic spirit, (we here may express ourselves very strongly because we feel and think very strongly), remind them of the ayaat that incubate the ahadith and remind them that ahadith that are quoted and presented outside the climate of the Quran could be very easily misunderstood or manipulated as has been the case for a long time and remind them of this golden rule among the fuqaha. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We have been unable, for all of these years, to put into practical effect the combined understanding of Allah and His Prophet. Obviously, were going to have jumbo difficulties in trying to understand the real world around us. People in this country and the world are looking towards or anticipating an election that is going to take place in this country months from now. We, Muslims, have been battered with two bitter experiences in the past. No Muslim with a living mind can forget the frenzy, (this is no exaggeration), that was displayed 8 years ago when the Muslims thought they had it right and they (who are the positions to do so) began to say to the rest of us i.e. the masses of people vote for George Bush, the son of course. That turned out to be a disaster. The 2nd time around they reacted to their own selves. The 1st time they never thought of what they were doing- you tell them wheres your justification to tell us to vote for George Bush from Allah or His Prophet? 1st of all, there were not many Muslims asking for justificationwhich is a sad comment on our inability to think, once again. The 2nd time around, 4 years ago, reacting to their mistake they said vote for Al Gore and once again no justification from the book of Allah or from the Sunnah of His Prophet. Where are they this time? The 3 rd time is a charm. The 3rd time- even though we pity Muslims who are from African descent who have been taken in by the colour of skin of person whos running for that office who has been politically strip teasing. It took Yasser Arafat 30 years to commit political striptease; this person has done it in 30 weeks. He has committed political strip teases and now the Muslims have one of two approaches. Either they think, (with all the evidences to the contrary), that theres some hope in an African-American poodle of the zionists and imperialists who will go into the highest office in the land and globe- we have that sentiment amongst Muslims. Ask them wheres the Quran and the Prophet in all of this? and theyre blank minded. Then, you have

those who have run out of steam; the same ones who were all over the show 8 and 4 years ago are hiding behind silence. Ask them, still their 3rd around, is there any justification for your silence from Allah and His Prophet? and they still dont present any answer. With all of this, we continue to be the consumers of their ignorance and inability to think. What do you expect if theres no stimulation of thought from the House and Haram of Allah and from the Mimbar of Rasulillah? Where is it going to come from? How long are we expected to continue along this tortuous path to nowhere?

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM- PART 2

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Maasharal Mumineen, Committed Muslims Before I begin, I know the temperature is very hot today so Ill try to make this a shorter khutbah. We, (meaning the general body of Muslims in this world), have misplaced the meanings of Allah and His Prophet and weve done so in such a way that we have damaged our own selves. Were going to explain what we mean by this. There are some ahadith or statements that the Prophet said, and well give you an example of them. (Allahs Prophet says and), the meaning of this hadith is be content with what Allah has allocated to you and you will be the richest person or the wealthiest of people. Another hadith that comes to us from Allahs Prophet says- this is a very strong hadith, but unfortunately it is misunderstood or understood out of context (and) has had miserable results- damned is ad dunya and damned are those who are in it except for the consciousness of Allah and those who are on the side of Allah and a scholar and a person who is in pursuit of knowledge. Another hadith from Allahs Prophet says whatever is little but sufficient is better than that which is numerous but distracting. These are undeniable ahadith from Allahs Prophet, but they are not meant, (as they have been channelled through our public mind throughout the ages, with the particular cultural slant that they have), to inhibit our ambitious God-given responsibilities; they are not meant to take us out of our roles of responsibility allocated to us by Al Khaliq Al Bari; but this is how some people understand it. (Take a) look, you listen closely to Allahs Prophet, he says be satisfied with what Allah has given you and then youll be the richest of all people. This does not mean that however much you have in this life is going to take you away from the ambition of having Allahs will and His word materialise in this life. Let us give this a little more context and sense; this is what many Muslim speakers refuse to do. They will quote you these ahadith, but if these ahadith jar or jam with the words of Allah, then they will play dead and roll over. Listen to this- these are the words of Allah in the book of Allah, to be understood by the subjects of Allah, (you and me) Listen to what Sulaiman alaih salaam, (a Prophet of prominent stature), says and try to reconcile this to the status quo, defeatist, regressive and reactionary understanding of Allahs Prophet. O Allah, forgive me and grant me a dominion or estate or domain that does not behove anyone after me; for you are the one who will give generously (Surah verse) Sulaiman wasnt saying I am content with what I have or this is as far as I can go in life. There was always that burning ambition that doesnt only belong to Prophets, but is also a possession of followers of Prophets. Why is Sulaiman asking for the control of resources and land and territories that shall never be accessible to anyone after him? This is not a psychology that understands that you should be satisfied with what you have and you should be thankful for the crumbs that come your way. This is where we are in the real world; they, (meaning people who are in power, who make the laws and people who provide us with their values and standards), say. You, (Muslims), are created with your Allah-given ambition to have Allahs

word and will superior in this world and life; (and) no one should interfere with this understanding by quoting Allahs Prophet out of context. What happened? Sulaiman appealed and begged Allah for control, governance, regulation of land, resources, territories and estates. What was Allahs answer to that? Did He say No! You should be content with what you have! Did He try to interfere with this ambition of Prophets?! He said This is our generous offering to you, now you can give with favour or you can withhold without any accountability. Ane he, (meaning Sulaiman), has with Us, (meaning the Divinity and Glory of Allah), a position of proximity and closeness; and a final destiny of perfection. (Surah verse) But this ambition of Prophets that is the inheritance of Allahs subjects is lost on the broken psychology of Muslims today who have no ambition of Prophets. They were born into generations of submission into Colonialism, Imperialism and Zionism and they are brought up with these broken psychologies- as if they dont read Allahs book. Then, the governments that sponsor and nurture these broken psychologies throw in, via their employed religious officials quotes from the Prophet out of context and dare any Muslim to place these ahadith in the context of which they belong and in the context of Allahs book. Then, if we wanted to go to other ahadith- this is something we rarely venture on without the canopy of Allahs book- but there are some hadith, (for those of you who dwell in this literature more than you dwell in the book of Allah), on the narrative of Ayub alaih salaam. Hes another Prophet. According to this hadith, Ayub was taking a bath and then, what came his way was butterflies of gold. One of these butterflies escaped him and he went running after a butterfly of gold. And, (according to this hadith), Allah says to him, O Ayub could I have not sufficed you instead of running after a golden butterfly. How was Ayub to respond? Was there a limitation to his ambition? He said answering the divine voice that he heard, but I cannot do without your barakah. Was he content, saying well, Ill be content with what I have?! What is it? One golden butterfly flies away. Once again, we encounter a psychology that is not broken and a character that is not shattered, (unfortunately), as is the case with the numerous broken psychologies and shattered characters that make up the bulk and the mass of the character of who we are today.

Another ayah from the book of Allah to try to size up and firm the ahadith that are misunderstood Yusuf alaih salaam, (another Prophet of Allah), who was released from captivity; what did he say? This should be a psychology that people who go to prison and who spend long years behind bars (should adopt). The system wants to break them and wants them to come out and dissolve into the status quo. If we take a closer look at Yusuf, we find that he was not a person who came out of a long period of detention or imprisonment with a broken psychology saying oh, Im going to be thankful for the crumbs that come my way or I should

appreciate the physical freedom that I have. This is how todays governments want us to feel, behave and express. They dont know that there is a generation of Muslims who are emerging from an understanding of Allah and His Prophets, (and) freeing themselves from the shackles and chains of this psychology of centuries. What did Yusuf say when he left prison, (to put it in todays language)? He said to the ruler of that land, who had him, (because of the system and laws of that land), behind bars for all of these years, Render me as the qualified person who will be in charge of the treasury and budget of this land or of the world. (Surah verse) He sought a very sensitive position in the administration of human affairs. Before some of the individuals that carry a mind that is screwed onto this broken psychology say look- Yusuf wanted a position in the government of the Pharoanic land. This issue is that Yusuf was not a Prophet like other Prophets who had the normal life of integration and assimilation into his own folks, people and society to carry the dawah and the balagh of Allah the way it should have been carried; that was aborted early in life when he was dislocated. But that abortion, dislocation and add to that his imprisonment did not take away his Prophetic ambition. This is the point that is lost that is lost on most of us, Muslims, in todays generation and time. They want us to repeat the ahadith with which we began the khutbah, (listen to this), to be thankful and appreciative of the status quo that we are in. Yusuf said Render me as the qualified person who will be in charge of the treasury and budget of this land or of the world. (Surah verse) And then, Allah says It is in this manner that We had Yusuf positioned in a state of power in this world... (Surah verse) But how can Allah firm up our position when we, ourselves, have a psychology that is not susceptible to Allah? How can this be? It is in this manner- with this robust, healthy, vigorous and motivated psychology- that Allah makes it possible that Yusuf, the Prophets of Allah and those who carry the legacy, responsibility and ambition of the Prophets. This brings us back to the ahadith that we are speaking about and the ayaat that we quoted- what are these ahadith speaking about, when we say Allahs Prophet says be satisfied with what Allah has given you and youll be the wealthiest of people. What this means or what Allahs Prophet is saying to us is that, (all other Islamic things considered, because were speaking about a program and a deen), after you exert your efforts, and you find that in the physical world you are lacking what you need, then content at this time behoves you. We are not gluttonous for the material aspects of this world; here is where the ahadith are speaking to the greed of men. We are not greedy, avaricious, selfish and sinful and these are what the ahadith are meaning- damned is ad dunya and damned are those who are in it except for

the consciousness of Allah and those who are on the side of Allah and a scholar and a person who is in pursuit of knowledge. These are instructions from Allahs Prophet to weed out the greed, attraction to the lust and pitfalls in this world from our psychology. Greed is one thing and ambition is another thing. Our God-given ambition is outlined and explained and it tolerates no troublemakers who are trying to abort the ayaat with dislocated and misplaced explanations of ahadith as we have abundantly in the real world around us. Allah says to a person who is probably considered the Rockerfellar of all times or the richest man in history. The Quranic description of this character Qarun in this ayah in Surah Al Qassas speaks about the individual who has the finances and is living within the government that has the power and to add more complications to this matter, this richest man relates to the poorest classes in the world. So, if he comes from Bani Israeel or the people of Musa, his money classified him as belonging to the power structure of the time. So, what does he do? How does he spend his life? in aggression against his own people ... (Surah Al Qassas verse) What are we going to say- that just because Qarun is from the people of Musa, Allah is going to look the other way? This person is responsible for high crimes and misdemeanours and the justice of Allah is not going to exclude him from public attention until the end of time. We wish we had the psychological nerve to look at the Qaruns of our time who say they belong to the people of Muhammed. This person went out into the dunyah, not with the ambition of Musa, but with the greed of Phiraun and Allah gave him the fortunes and treasures of which just the keys to have access to them will bear down heavily on any mode of transportation. His people told himunderstanding the events within context- dont be happy, Allah does not like those who are happy within these types of times, with these types of terms, within your condition and within what you are doing(Surah Al Qassas verse) So, here we have the imbalance and the polarisation of greed and ambition and advice comes to him from people who dont have a broken psychology. Lets face it- we, Muslims of today, have a broken psychology; if theres a Qarun among us, were not willing to say what Bani Israeel said to one of their own. We cant even give advise. So, what are the words of advice that come from normal human beings or common sense people? The response to these types of Qaruns, (we have plenty of them), Seek with that which Allah has given you- all this wealth and resources- the final abode or the end-life and dont forget your share/portion of the world (Surah Al Qassas verse) Your ambition should be ad daar al aakhirah; and absent mans greed, you dont forget about obtaining what you can from this world because when you do, you invest it in your final accounts.

 and be generous the way Allah was generous to you... (Surah Al Qassas verse) These people who have hundreds of billions of dollars in their own accounts- the Qaruns of our time- and not one Muslim is willing to ascend the Mimbar and point to our own Qaruns. Tell them, give to the degree of perfection or be as generous to others as Allah was generous to you... (Surah Al Qassas verse) Not give the crumbs to others; Not destroy their societies and shatter their psychologies and have them bow down in your temple of this status quo. What do we do with shattered Islamic individuals who are happy to nibble at some crumbs? This is not the ambition that comes through the Book of Allah and the struggle of His Prophet. and dont seek policies of destruction on Earth ... (Surah Al Qassas verse) The ayah is making it very clear to us, people who have this type of wealth are inevitably and unavoidably involved in policies of worldly corruption and social decay. Where are the free spirits, the motivated minds and the activated intellects who can stand up to these facts and persons around us and speak these Quranic words of truth and inspiration. If you dont have the consolidated psychology that it takes, we can quote hundreds of ayaat followed by hundreds of ahadith and your mind may be able to grapple with the meanings of these ayaat and these ahadith, but if you dont have the consolidated psychology all of these ayaat and ahadith will not register in reality. Brothers and sisters- Committed Muslims In light of these ayaat and these properly contextualised ahadith, we are advised/ordered, (as a matter of taqwa i.e. observing and honouring Allahs power presence in our world and life), to take a look at those who are in the highest rungs of governmental hierarchy, especially those who are responsible for decision making in Makkah and Al Medinah, (when we speak about them, that doesnt mean that there are scores of others who fall into the same description). Because the king of that country himself and his ruling family are the quintessence of the shattered psychology that we are speaking about; in order for them to get some legitimacy in public opinion, they are sponsoring with Muslim money and Islamic resources, not with the labour of their hands and bodies, inter-faith conferences in Spain. They want to open up to those who they accuse in their own books as being Kaafirs; and the Kaafirs that they use in their own books are telling them to get their act together. To please these Kaafirs, they will open up their schools, educational systems, Masajid and the Hurumaat of Allah for inspection and approval by these Mushriks and Kaafirs; thats after they gave them all the military access to our Holy Land. All of this is done on the shoulders and backs of we, the Muslims, who suffer from a disjointed psychology. They wouldnt have been able to get away with any of this if it wasnt for how awkward our own internal thoughts are. Brothers and sisters- if we can look at the political

horizon that we refuse to look at, (were absorbed in the small local that they want to cage us in), what will we find these types of rulers in Arabia and in Arab countries doing? They are knocking on the doors of these Kuffaar and Mushrikeen- we need you help. Help us build nuclear capabilities. Zionist Israel has invaded, stolen, occupied, shed the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings, dislocated tens of millions of human beings and built its own nuclear arsenal with all intents of hostility throughout the past 60 continuous years and none of these rulers in Arab countries felt that they were under a mandate to match fire-with-fire and to protect themselves from a cancerous Zionism and its supportive imperialist body; now, an Islamic country is working on developing its own independent nuclear potential and these Heads of State and their tribal inner circle feel now that friendly Muslims are gaining what Muslims should have had many years ago, they feel the urge to protect themselves from Muslims! They didnt feel the urge to protect themselves from Imperialists and Zionists- what does that say to any average thinking Muslim? It means that they are part of the Zionist/Imperialist club and they needed no protection and when they are enemies of committed Muslims they go to their masters for protection; this is what we can see if only we had the solidified psychology that has been absent from our societies for so long.

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM PART 3

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Brothers and sisters- Muslims on as Siraat Al Mustaqeem As much as we have tried our best to dispel or pre-empt notions, feelings and thoughts of division, these trends that seek to separate Muslims from each other seem to be at work at it once again. In other words, this whole basket of issues roughly referred to as Sunni/Shii sectarianism just doesnt go away. We alerted you a few weeks ago that there is a behind the scenes tension behind the scenes between scholars that come from Sunni/Shii backgrounds. We regret to say that as much as we hoped that this issue could drift away, simmer down or somehow come under control, but it seems like (thats not about to happen any time soon. You are on the cutting edge of information, (so to speak), we try to say what other khutaba and speakers from the Mimbar dont want to say- thats one of the problems that we have. Some people dont want information to spread, especially information that comes to the well being and progress of Muslims. We are not the types who like to dig up issues- we think that consolidating ourselves on the basics that unite us and exposing the common enemy that is shedding our blood regardless of who we are- when these enemies prepare and launch wars against us, they have no more respect for a Sunni than a Shii or no more respect for a Shii than a Sunni. To them, we are all Muslims, but there are some individuals within our own house of Islam who either do not have a sense of where we are in todays world, or they miscalculate what they say within these sensitive times and they begin to open up, (what we may call), a can of worms when they say what they say concerning the other Muslim. Let us say that in this type of tension and conflict which may 1st begin as some statements and then, the positions begin to solidify on both sides, and when the psychology is set on a confrontation course, then we are all the victims. If we can learn something from history, that (would be that), in this type of conflict, no one wins. We dont care how you read history and we dont care what types of books you go to, these types of conflicts- whether they were 1,400 years ago, or whether they are today- no one wins. So, let us try to get to the bottom and have a sense or feeling for the area in which these types of issues germinate or for the soil that is fertile for these types of issues to cause what the kuffaar and the Mushrikin want them to cause with our hand in it. This issue that is called the Sunni/Shii misunderstanding or irreconcilability or sectarianism begins with what Im going to bring to your attention from Islamic sources, references and history. You (can) follow and try to have your conscious/mindful/Quranic/Islamic self be the judge of the trivialities and small stones out of which they are trying to make mountains. It is said that there is a notion among some Muslims, (were sorry- brothers and sisters- that we have to collapse into this level of common thoughts and psychologies that we have), they quote this as being a hadith from the Prophet- they say that the Prophet said- this is a hadith that if you go to Sahih Al Bukhari, (remember, we are beginning to clean house in our ownselves), you will find that some of the Sahaba (radi Allahu anhum) said that the Prophet said that the deceased person, i.e. a person who has just died and is being buried or has just been buried in the cemetery is going to be tormented because of his folks crying for him or her. We kid you not; were not trying to forge issues- this is what some Muslims consider to be a defining issue.

(If) you have someone in your family who dies or passes away and theres a funeral and you take that body and bury it in the cemetery, and of course, that person has a family and people who knew him or her very well, and as a matter of that intimacy that is lost, people cry. So, we have some hadith somewhere saying to some Muslims that youre not supposed to cry when someone who is dear to you dies or passes away. When we begin to express ideas like this, theres another part of the Muslim mind that somehow feels it has to take revenge or it wants to make a statement that Sahih Al Bukhari has to be trashed. That is wrong and not accurate; that comes from some psychological disease that entered into the Muslim body somewhere in Islamic history and was not present in the time of Allahs Prophet. We refer ourselves to the time of Allahs Prophet, not to a time particular time of disease in Islamic history. So, with a disease free heart and mind, looking at the information that we have had for over 13 centuries, you find this hadith, and then, we are told in the same book that Aaisha, Ummu Al Mumineen (radi Allahu anha), was approached. Some people were concerned and they came to her and said did you actually hear the Prophet say the deceased person, i.e. a person who has just died and is being buried or has just been buried in the cemetery is going to be tormented because of his folks crying for him or her? She said no. No. That was not what he said. This is what he said Allah will increase the torment of a kaafir with the crying of his folks for him. Theres a significant difference here; theres almost a world of difference here! You can understand the difference- if a Muslim dies, the Prophet is not saying you cant cry for a dear Muslim that has just passed away, hes saying when a kaafir dies and his own folks express their emotions towards him, those expressed emotions towards a kaafir are going to be a form of suffering for him. What a world of difference!? How did all of this issue become an issue to define who a Muslim is or is not? When we have some of our zealous types who come and say look at these Muslims- theyre not supposed to be crying for the deceased. Where did they get that from? We happen to be a crowd of people who are not versed in our own literature and we are not steeped in our own fiqh and therefore we have these broad statements, generalizations, accusations and judgments by some Muslims against other Muslims on this particular issue. This type of issue becomes a building block for trouble makers within the Muslim house who want to divide Muslims and trouble makers from outside the Muslim house who are dreaming of the day when Muslims can be consumed by these types of issues. Besides, for anyone who says Im going to accept what Aaisha says and not what the Sahaba said or Im going to accept what the Sahaba said and not what Aaisha said and create confusion, Allah says in an ayah Theres not going to be an individual whos going to be burdened with the sins or mistakes of someone else So, why do we have mouth-pieces in our time who are trying to make these types of issues defining issues? We go to another issue, (this is also for those of you who are keen on referring to the books of the Sahih hadiths, in Al Bukhari, we have a narrative that speaks about at tayammum. We know what at tayammum is. We have an encounter between two individuals from the Prophets

generation- Abdulla ibn Masud and Abul Musa Al Ashari (radi Allahu anhuma). Abul Musa Al Ashari asks Abdullah ibn Masud lets assume that a Muslim doesnt find water to perform wudhu for one full month- what do we do; (these are assumptions that fuqaha make- theres nothing wrong with assuming something). ibn Masuds response to him was if he cant find water, then he doesnt pray. Then, Abul Musa Al Ashari responds to him and says well- what do you think about the hadith of the Prophet to Ammaar in which he says if you dont find water, you place/strike your hand on a non polluted surface of the Earth or on top soil, and this is what you do (and the Prophet went through the motions of rubbing his hand over the other- 1st the right over the left and then over his face. He said thats what you do when you dont find water. We dont know exactly the details of this encounter that becomes to Muslims later on an issue that is going to define how Islamic you are or are not. But, theres an ayah in the Quran that settles this; Allah, in His words settles this then take to the pure Earth (Surah An Nisa verse 43) These other issues, (that did occur and there were questions later on), OK- what if there is ice water and the person is going to be harmed if he takes wudhu in ice water? Can we take that as the presence of water? Theres give-and-take on that issue. So what?! If a person in the presence of ice water makes tayammum and another person makes wudhu, who are we to judge the sincerity, devotion and obedience of these two Muslims who are trying to follow what Allah and His Prophet say?! But, this is another issue that we have to live with- not live under. We have to outgrow these types of issues. Theres another occasion, (this is also in the books of As Sihaah, in Sahih Al Bukhari- for those of you who may have some 2nd thoughts, we re-iterate, the book of Sahih Al Bukhari is a book of Sahih Hadiths, but that doesnt mean that in the book there are not hadiths that are not compatible with what we understand Allah and His Prophet to have said), in a certain narrative, it says that some people were praying As Salaah Ad Duhha in the Masjid, (its a known and a given among all Muslims that theres something called As Salaah Ad Duhha- a salaah thats performed maybe an hour or two after sunrise), then, they asked Abdullah ibn Umar (radi Allahu anhu), what is this? Brothers and sisters, this is his word-he says this is a bidah. We know that to be incorrect; so, if we say one of the sahaba of Allahs Prophet made a mistake? Does that mean that we have taken away from his virtues? No! Were all human beings and stand to be corrected. He said something like that- he made a mistake. Why is that going to create misunderstanding among us? Why is that going to make me a pro or anti Sunni/Shii person? Why is that going to bring a civil (in which) Im going to kill that person because hes name is Ali/Hussein/Zahra or Im going to kill that person because his name is Umar/Uthman/Aaishah? ibn Umar, himself seid, (as is in the Sahih books that we have), the Prophet went on Umra four times and one of those times was in Rajab. Some curious Muslims came to Aaishah again, and they asked her did Prophet go on Umra four times and one of those times was in Rajab? She said he never went on Umra in Rajab. OK- so thats a disagreement between Aaishah and ibn Umar- what do you and I and we all have to do with it?!

Is this going to create some type of tension and animosity among us? Come-on Muslims- let us grow! Theres not going to be an individual whos going to be burdened with the sins or mistakes of someone else (Even though this was mentioned once before, well mention it again), in Sahih Muslim, its mentioned that the father of Allahs Prophet will be tormented in the fire. We dont know of any hadith that the Prophet himself mentioned my father is going to be in the fire. The people who make this type of statement say the Prophets father was a Mushrik and the Mushrikeen are going to be in the fire. The ayah in the Quran says And We, (in reference to Allah), will not torment until or unless We send an Apostle or Messenger Then, the dynamics set in i.e. those who agree and those who disagree- those who violently or by warfare, in theory and practice, ideologically and militarily disagree become Mushriks so theyre going to find a tormenting result in the after life. Does the Prophets father meet these criteria? Who brings these types of issues up to try to create one opinion of disagreement versus another opinion of disagreement among the Muslims? Also, in Sahih Muslim, theres a hadith pertaining to breast-feeding. (This is Sahih Muslim; because I know some people are programmed to think in certain ways- this has nothing to do with Shiis- were speaking strictly about Sunnis here.) All the followers of the Hanafi and Maliki school of thought do not accept this hadith in Sahih Muslim; what are you going to say to them? Youre no longer Muslims?! The problem is not in the narration of the hadith, the problem is in the verification of the hadith. We know that this are is not covered by very many people and we know that there are not very many people who are well versed in this area that were speaking about, but this is the area that gives rise to the sectarian problems that people, institutions and governments are trying to bring these problems inside our social lives, Masajid and countries. For those of you who are not familiar with this are, let us tell you that there are ahadith ahead. Some people say the ahadith ahaad are ahadith that have only been narrated by one sequence or (what is called in the literature), one chain of people. All of them are reliable- no one is accusing any character in this chain of narration, so the issue is do we accept these ahadith? There are ahadith ahaad that say Al Muawwidatayn, (the last two Surahs in the Quran, (i.e. Qul a udhu bi Rabbi Al Falaq and Qul a udhu bi Rabbi An Naas), dont belong to the Quran. You and I and any average Muslim knows that that is nonsense, but its a hadith. Were looking strictly at hadith literature- its a hadith ahaad in the bulk of this literature. What are you going to do? You cant say anyone of those characters who narrated this hadith has a flaw, or is disqualified, but theres no other chain that substantiates this kind of hadith, so we can dismiss this kind of hadith. Theres another hadith ahaad that says that Surah Al Ahzaab was the length of Surah Al Baqarah. The discrepancy in that length is that Surah Al Ahzaab is about six or seven pages of the Quran that you are reading and Surah Al Baqarah is about 40/45 pages of that Quran that you are reading- that discrepancy of more than 35 pages is due to

naskh i.e. the ayaat were abrogated or cancelled. We also know that thats nonsense! Theres a hadith ahaad that says if hail was to come into your mouth, its not going to invalidate your fasting. We know that that also is nonsense. Hail, just like snow and rain is considered to be water and any amount of it that enters the mouth and then the digestive trap invalidates as saum. So what are we going to do?! Make it an issue or conflict, fighting and war among the Muslims because we find that there are these types of ahadith in our literature?! This becomes a matter of Im not going to speak to the other Muslim because hes reading these types of ahadith?! Theres a segment of Muslims called Ahl Al Hadith. These Ahl Al Hadith elevate the ahadith to such an extent that some of them say that the hadith can be a nasikh to an ayah in the Quran. Although these types are not frequently encountered and are not the around-the-corner Muslim, but this condition and mindset exists and it has to be dealt with. They even say in a weak or fragile hadith is the aroma of wahy or revelation. How can that be?! Thats what they think?! What are we going to do? Are we going to turn hostile or are we going to approach this issue with confidence and knowledge?! If it has been established beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Prophet said something, then we listen and we obey, no question, but the problem is, (in fact), in verifying what other people said that the Prophet said- the issue is right there, in that area. We have these people who cling to the hadith fanatically. They come and say that Al Qiyas,or analogy i.e. one of the instruments that thinking Muslims have is to be dismissed. Of course, this is also an issue that really shouldnt be opened up, but to give you an example of how silly they are when they say Al Qiyas is an intruder within the relationship between a Muslim and Allah and His Prophet,- these people know that when in an Islamic setting or order the adhaan is given, any market transaction commencing after this is baatil or null and void. OKwhat if there was an agreement after the adhan begins, there was an agreement between two Muslims about renting an apartment? Is that null and void? Can that agreement be compared to a financial transaction? Al Qiyaas thinking says yes. So whats wrong with them? Dont they want us to think? These can be approached with correct information and a thinking mind. No Muslim is required to show any fanatical reaction to fanatics. An issue in the Hajj that can become an issue among Muslims is rami Al Jamaraat i.e. when Muslims throw those pebbles against Iblis or Shaytaan. Many Muslims hold to the literal understanding of Allahs Prophet having done that after sunset (to mean) that you can only do it after sunset. Now, with the number of Muslims there and with the time limitations that they are put in, if everyone wanted to do this after sunset there will be Muslim casualties from that being done within that strict understanding of what the Prophet did. The Prophet says whatever I have forbidden you to do, dont do it; and whatever I have told you to do, do it as much as you can.We know that rami Al Jamaraat is part of the Hajj, so is there something wrong if we do it during the day time to avoid casualties? If what is meant by rami Al Jamaraat is were going to kill other Muslims?! Of course not, but this is the type of mentality and understanding that causes friction among Muslims.

Another hadith that they say the Prophet said is the Angels are not going to be in the company in the group of people who have a bell. Obviously, that bell is in reference to the religious or church bell, but some people, (in their unpolished rusty minds), take this to mean any bell, even the bell of the home. If someone rings your bell, they say Oh- the angels are not in this home because this home has a bell in it. What do we do with people like this? Brothers and sisters, were sorry to say that we are dealing with true life issues; this is not some fairy tale; were not speaking about some meander falls that may not have known better in ancient history, were speaking about people who live among, with and around us. One of the Sunni fuqaha- ibn Taimiyah- who is well known to many Muslims, (far and near and here and there), disagrees with all the fuqaha, virtually, when he comes and says at talaaq al badee is invalid. This means that if a husband comes and tells his wife Ive divorced you three times, its invalid i.e. you cant say it three times in one breath and then the whole talaaq is over- thats not right or valid or acceptable. What do you come and say? In their instability of thoughts, some people come and say well, he was influenced by the Shiis in this regard. We dont think he was influenced by the Shiis, we think the person was speaking his mind and anyone who looks at this issue and thinks through this issue knows that you cannot pronounce in three sentences at talaaq and fold three months within three seconds- that cannot be done. So, we have this material. This is the type of material that people take to their congregations, audiences and schools-of-thought people and then they begin to spread bad feelings against other Muslims. This emphasis on the ahadith without looking at the verification of the narration and this emphasis on human mind to try to filter the hadith with a strong understanding of Allahs book have come down to us in most recent times- these are the names of the people, (for those of you who want to become more familiar), who took a look at the ahadith and tried to give it a rational content void of conflict in the past century- As Sanaani in his book Subul As Salaam; Ash Shawkaani in his book Nayl Ul Awtaar; Syed Saabiq in his book Fiqh Us Sunnah, Sadiq Khan, Albaani and the others who tried their best to fill in a gap in their own way- much still has to be done. The other personalities who took the rational approach in trying to salvage the body of ahadith are Muhammed Abdou, Muhammed Rashid Rida, Mahmoud Shartout, Muhammed Abdullah Diraz, Muhammed Al Bahi, Muhammed Al Madani, Muhammed Al Khouberi and Muhammed Abu Zuhra, for those of you who want any follow up in your own time to get a better understanding of how Muslims try to bridge this area that we are talking about so that the sectarians of this world dont come in and throw wars at us and we are like combustibles ready to go up in flames. Those of you who want a head start in this, let us tell you that you will encounter some rational attempts from a position of sincerity to Allah and His Prophet like Muhammed Abdou who had a rational input in trying to explain Al Malaaikah, the Angels- not the way a conventional or traditional person understands them. He may have been wrong in what he said, but that does not eclipse his sincerity ion trying to clarify what this word means to people who hadnt been thinking for a long time. Another person, Muhammed Abu Zuhra, (whos also a graduate of the Azhar), felt uncomfortable and annoyed with the penalty of rajm in Islam- he didnt sit comfortably with this concept. Whatever the case is and whatever he did was in full obedience and sincerity to Allah and His Prophet.

Brother and sisters, committed Muslims After having taken a look at the raw material that goes into the friction and tension that is unjustified in todays world and life that we share today- in the middle or way beyond all of this, we have the comments that are trying to solidify. The comments that are made i.e. that Muslims should respect their convictions; i.e. if youre a Shii Muslim, you should respect the convictions of a Sunni Muslim and if youre a Sunni Muslim, you should respect the convictions of a Shii Muslim- up until here, its fine. We think that any Muslim who is devoted to Allah and His Prophet would honor this standard, but what if the other Muslim wanted to discover the other Muslim and really wanted to get into their internal thoughts, mind and hearts? This happenswhat are you going to say? That you dont have the right to do that?! This doesnt make sense! No Muslim can tell another Muslim, (regardless of who is doing the telling and who is doing the listening), You cant understand the other Muslim better. We should know each other better. (We say this and not many Muslims will say this to you)- what happens when we begin to know each other better is that this causes alarm bells to go off in many scholarly heads. Some Muslims who were born in Shii families and who understand Sunnis more may become Sunnis- does anyone feel offended by that? Why should anyone feel offended when a Muslim of a particular type becomes a Muslim of another particular type? Hes still a Muslim. Likewise and similarly, if a Muslim who was born in a Sunni family begins to understand a Shii better and decides to become a Shii- who feels offended by that?! If anyone has a problem with this issue, theres something wrong with their understanding on Allah and His Prophet. This doesnt happen only with individuals, it happened with populations. At one time, the population of Egypt was a Shii population- practically, all the Egyptians were Shiis, then they became Sunnis- that didnt cause them or other Muslims a problem. The population of Iran at one time was a Sunni population practically and then they became a Shii population- does anyone have any problems? Theres no problems. If you are an enlightened Sunni or Shii, you can be both of them at the same time and theres no contradiction. Its the fanatical understanding within being a Sunni or Shii that causes these problems. (Take a) look at today, and if you generalize and look at areas that are not Shii areas in the Muslim world, youll find that Zionism and Imperialism find a shelter in areas that are considered to be Sunni areas; where are the American military bases? In the Gulf and in the Peninsula. Who are the rulers in the Gulf and the Peninsula? Why do they accommodate the forces of kufr and shirk there? Are we going to generalize and say that because we have king, president or emir so-and-so who were born in Sunni families, that all the rest of the Sunnis in the world are rotten? Thats what they want you to say! Thats what they want you to think! Thats where they want you to go! The same thing you can say in Iraq. Who are the people who are trafficking with the Imperialists and Zionists who are ruling in Iraq? These are what the media calls Shiis. What are we going to do? Are we going to generalize and say that all the Shiis are bad because we have a class of traitors that are ruling in Iraq. You cant do that, but thats where they want you to go and this is what happens if we dont draw a clear line between those who are sectarians and who want

the rest of the Muslims to fall into their sectarian plots and ditches and those who understand Islam coming from Allah and His Prophet.

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM PART 4

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims- Masharal Mumineen

We will continue to be honest to you and the issues- the Prophet of Allah says you can sum up the matter of ad deen in the word an-nasihah i.e. counsel, advice, words of wisdom, sincerity and direction. As we are assembled at this time- the jumah prayer on Friday- there is an issue that is being poked; those who are poking the issue are trying to take advantage of the practical absence of thinking Muslims as well as the ideological absence of sacrificing Muslims. This is not to say that Muslims are not sacrificing, exerting efforts, dying and bleeding; to the contrary, we are at the beginning of a new era of Islamic self-determination and it turns out that some people are nervous that Muslims are beginning to stand up and be counted- that makes some people nervous. They shouldnt be nervous, but they are; and this explains why there are voices, propaganda, mis-information and inaccurate quotations that are meant to divide the Muslims. One of the issues that is utilised to try to drive a wedge between a Muslim and his brother Muslim is the issue of ijtihad of Muslims who are in scholarly positions to think through what Allah and His Prophet say to us and then to focus those meanings on the affairs the keep of developing in our lifetime and in our subsequent generations. A note about ijtihad is that it is an integral and central part of our Islam. Whenever we fail to live up to the responsibility of ijtihad, we fail to function as a purposeful block of people in the world. (If), you take away ijtihad from the Muslims, its like taking away their public mind; (if), you bring back ijtihad, to the Muslim public, you give them an enlightened direction in life. We should be proud that at one time in our history, we had a vibrant ijtihad; an ijtihad that produced scores of Ulema and Mujtahideen. That, though, no longer is the case in our time and day. It is ironic to say that when Muslims in the 1st centuries of Islam were energetic in thinking through- this is ijtihad, i.e. you exert your utmost and optimum thinking capability to understand the meanings of the ayaat and ahadith, (when that was the case, and we had many and multiple ijtihads, we did not express the weakness of unity that we express today, when there is no ijtihad to speak of. Ijtihad is an honour and a rank of respectability to Muslims who honour it. For those who have forgotten and eliminated it from their lives suffer the consequences. The Prophet of Allah is reported to have said whoever exerts or mobilises all of their mental capability to reach a sound conclusion, (thats another meaning of ijtihad), and is right and correct has two rewards, and whoever does so and is wrong and incorrect has one reward. What does this mean? This means that the Prophet of Allah, (who can understand Allah and His book more than him), is encouraging potential thinkers and scholars to bring their minds to Allah and His Prophet, to understand them, and to move that understanding a mile forward. What is there? How can any Muslim who listens to Allah and His Prophet say no- I dont want to think about what Allah and His Prophet are saying and how that relates to our real, challenging and begging world. We know that when it comes to issues of ijtihad, we encounter, sometimes, different opinions and these different opinions are generated by honesty. When the fuqaha, ulema and scholars of Islam stated their opinions, they stated these opinions as a result of their honesty and integrity- none of these happened haphazardly and could be at a variance with what we call scientific facts. You have the human mind reaching a conclusion concerning planet Earth; that scientific conclusion is that planet Earth is spherical i.e. it has the shape of the sphere. We may have some Muslims who are supposed to be scholars who come and say no- the Earth is flat; its not a sphere. Theres

an area of give them the benefit of the doubt. A person can say that the Earth is a sphere but also, it has the condition of being flat; because the Earth is so big, it cannot be round because, if it were, (in their minds), we would be falling off the earth. We can understand how some people may commit this type of mistake; this type of mistake maybe considered an ijtihad, but it is obviously an ijtihad that is incorrect or wrong. Another type of ijtihad has to do with a judge in court who is presented with two sets of information called the evidence. One set of information may be more convincing, preponderant and clear than the other set of information, so the judge rules according to the set of information that is more weighty than the other set of information; that is an ijtihad. Even, the Prophet of Allah said it may happen that some of you may come to me with some evidence and his challenger will come to me with another set of evidence and I may rule on the weight of the evidence that is presented to me more clearly or factually and that ruling or judgement may be a mistake. The Prophet of Allah is saying that he, himself, (he is Allahs Prophet, i.e. a masoom of Allah), is vulnerable to making a mistake because of the information that we, humans, may bring him in what we call a court of law. This is due to what? It is due to an ijtihad. We know that this doesnt sit comfortably with some people, but the Prophet himself says that he is only a human being. We dont want to go into the details of Allahs Prophet interacting with Allahs subjects- the narrative is the whole Quran in this interactive relationship where, if the Prophet was, in his ijtihad, less than perfect, it wasnt because of him, it was because of the people around him. This is a point that the trouble-makers in our time move in to divide the Muslims on. Another issue of ijtihad that becomes a trouble-makers playing ground Were taking a simple demonstration that harkens back to the issue of ijtihad- from reading and understanding what Allah and His Prophet say to us, we know that the ayah says we wipe our heads (Surah An Nisa verse 43) Some fuqaha or mujtahideen said a partial wiping of the head suffices. What do you say? We dont want to accept fuqaha who say that because the understanding of the ayah and the observation of Allahs Prophet do not exclude this type of ijtihad or explanation, can we not make room for ourselves and grant ourselves a latitude in understanding that is due to us? What is expected of us is to listen and obey. We listen to what Allah and His Prophet say to us and we obey what they say to us; but, between listening and obeying theres an area of understanding and we should grant ourselves the area to disagree on what is disagreeable and after we grant ourselves that right, we should not become divided. When we had scholars and mujtahideen who had different opinions, they respected themselves. Weve never heard any of these fuqaha or scholars who disrespected themselves when they knew that they had different opinions; there was no disrespect among them. How come we, (who are supposed to be following these opinions), have disrespect for the other Muslim that doesnt carry the same fiqhi opinion that I may carry. Where did this come from?! In the time of fervent ijtihad, (when we had many thinking Muslims), some of these rulers came to these thinking Muslims and said well- Im

going to adopt your school of thought and make it the official school of thought of the state that I rule; and the particular faqih would say No! I will not accept that. Because many of the people who lived around the Prophet had scattered into many areas of the world, therefore I do not have the final word on the matters that I judged. Compare the humility and meekness of scholars who publicly went on the record and said they do not want their well thought-out reasoning to become the official school of thought of all the Muslims with some of todays scholars in images who are anxious to impose their reasoning on the others. Theres a vast distance between the scholars who were dedicated and devoted to their scholarly responsibilities back then and the types that we have today who probably know only a proportion of what was known then, yet still want to impose their way and understanding on others. Because, (as we said at the beginning), this area is right now being built up into areas that divide the Muslims. Were not using the words Sunni and Shii or sub-divisions of Sunnis and Shiis in the khutbah because that is going to interfere with your thinking. Were going to take these words out; we may use the names of some personalities or figures in our Islamic history, but they cannot be classified and cannot fit into todays definition of a Shii or Sunni. One such demonstration of how Muslims accommodated the other opinion in our common Islamic history during ayyaam at tashreeq or the time of the Hajj, when Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was the leader of the Muslims and when he was supposed to pray As Salaah Qasran or abbreviate a four rakaat salaah into two, he prayed the whole four. In all our common history books of reference, seerah and sunnah, we know that Abdullah ibn Masud (radi Allahu anhu) disagreed with him and he had a large Muslim public opinion who disagreed with Uthman because of what he did. They told him this is not how the Prophet did it. Yet, when Uthman was leading the prayers- these were four rakaat that the Prophet prayed as only two rakaat- ibn Masud who took issue with Uthman followed and he prayed four rakaat. This wasnt an issue that was dividing Muslims at the time; this was an issue in which there was a difference, but this issue did not turn into disrespect and bad feelings the way we have disagreements playing out today.

Another issue that we have among the fuqaha in the Hambali school of thought- one of the details there-in, which people want to try to remake into a big issue or an issue that separates a Muslim from a Muslim; as miniature as this issue is, some people want to latch onto it and make it divisive. In the Hambali school of thought it is said that al hijamah i.e. drawing blood from various parts of the body for medical purposes), invalidates wudhu. O- thats an opinion; whichever way, if you agree or disagree, theres a reasoning for agreeing/not agreeing with it.we have this, (this is part of who we are). Can we Muslims just grow 1,000 years in our minds and inherit what we all have, (as we said, this is only a sample), so someone came to another Islamic scholar and they told him what if someone was leading the prayers after having drawn blood? More to the point, the Hanafi school of thought says that if theres running blood flowing out of the body, that also invalidates the wudhu. So, what if people who think and reson

this way encounter other people who dont think and reason this way? Are they going to be praying with each other? They all prayed with each other! This is a sickness that we have in todays world where disagreeing Muslims cannot pray with each other. You may have not seen this, (but), in some Muslim countries, that same salaah (for example), if you go for as salaah adh dhuhr to a particular Masjid, and you find that the same salaah is prayed two or three times by two or three Imams because they say that he belongs to one school of thought and the other person belongs to another school of thought. Where did this come from? Why do we have this type of attitude in us? You can draw this type of behavior all the way back to people who call themselves Sunnis and Shiis today. These are the types of issues that are being trumped up to divide us. We dont see movement of people who may consider themselves Shiis, (you may find individuals on both sides, we grant you that, but you dont find them), as a movement or a considerable amount of people comfortably partaking in the way other Muslims i.e. Sunnis are praying and vice versa; where do you see Sunni Muslims going to a Masjid in which the prayers are led by a Shii Imam and comfortably, (sometimes a Muslim may find himself forced into that position and he doesnt feel comfortable- why? Whats wrong with you? When you dont feel comfortable that means there is something deficient in you. You have not acknowledged the other Muslim as a full Muslim. When Imam Ash Shafi was in Baghdad, he goes into a Masjid in which the Hanafi school of thought was dominant and the Hanafis dont have Qunoot in the Fajr prayers and Ash Shafi prayed in this Masjid following a Hanafi Imam without the Qunoot. It went against his own conviction but what is important than his own conviction is the unity and uniformity of the Muslims on particular occasions like this. Which is more important- my individual reasoning or Allahs clear command?! As the Prophet said, a committed Muslim in his relationship to another committed Muslim is like a solid structure; one part of it reinforces the other. Not one part of it causes the decay of the other as is the case today with those who right now are being conscientised that they are Sunnis/Shiis before they are Muslims. This is the trend today.

Even those these words are sometimes kept within scholarly circles, (it is not our habit to withhold information), so were going to walk you through something that is more serious than what people may consider fiqhi subtleties. Please brothers and sisters- we know that information such as this gets tossed around and maligned at the end- listen carefully and if you are to repeat this type of information, do so for the unity of the Muslims and not for their division, because there are people, (when many Muslims are silent of Fridays and from the Manabir), investigators, think-tanks institutions and budgets allocated to try to use the type of issue that were going to express to you to divide the Muslims. We all know that al khamr is haraam. We know how that happened in our Islamic history. It was a gradual process of condemning and outlawing intoxicants in an Islamic social order. Al Khamr, though, (for those who dont know), literally, technically and linguistically is the intoxicant that is drawn from the grapevine. In the Hanafi school of thought, (remember, this is also just one

demonstration of other equivalent issues that could become explosive and radioactive among us, the Muslims), when the Hanafi thinking and reasoning took this issue and said al khamr is the fermented and intoxicating drink that is made out of grapes, then that is what is haraam. Whatever else is intoxicating, made out of other substances, it is haraam bi al qiyaas, (meaning) by analogy to a grape extracted intoxicant being haraam, therefore these others become haraam. But, these others, (lets say we made an intoxicating drink out of apples; any intoxicating drink out of apples is haraam according to the Hanafi school of thought; but, a small amount that is not intoxicating is not haraam. We know that this is in violation of all of the other reasonings and understandings of all of the other fuqaha of Islam. So, what if we had a literal Hanafi going by the word and the technicality of his school of thought, (which even nowadays those who follow the Hanafi school of thought dont even know what that is all about and sometimes, ignorance can become a blessing), but if there were those who were to understand exactly what is being said would say fine, we could drink a little of whatever intoxicant there is that is not extracted from grapes and as long as we do not become intoxicated ourselves, that is not haraam. It may be makrooh but its not haraam. This turns out to be one of these issues, (this is just an example), that is exploited in a sectarian way by those who think they are holier than the other Muslim. What am I going to say if I disagree with the other person who has this type of reasoning and this type of reasoning satisfies his heart and mind, Im not going to say youre a kaafir or youre not a Muslim! Im going to say I strongly disagree with you; I think you are wrong; you may be bordering on the issue of fusuuq; your nature is breaking away from Allah, but its not going to violate our Islamic unity. These are the types of issues that we have deep down in our minds and within our history. These are the types of issues that Muslims are silent about, but there are others who are sharpening their knives against Muslims who are looking with a microscope for these types of issues to implant them in a diseased Sunni/Shii division that in the end will not serve anyone who thinks that they are a Sunni/Shii. So, from understanding this issue that stands out like a sore thumb as being wrong, if you, (whatever school of thought you affiliate with or consider yourself a part of), take this issue that contradicts the rest of the consensus of the Islamic scholars, (know that), all of these schools of thoughts have these types of issues in them- let us place or juxtapose with the consensus of the Muslims so that we can come together. Disagree with each other without being disagreeable! Isolate our fringe opinions without losing sight of our common consolidating opinions. We know that what we speak to you is not the trend in these Masajid around, (were fully aware of that), but this is the truth that has to be said, explained and understood so that we can close ranks- and not in a superficial way- we close ranks when our hearts come together, and when we understand that the other Muslim is trying to obey Allah and His Messenger with his/her best understanding with both heart and mind involved. After that is done, we have to make room for these valid differences that we have. Remember that our solidarity is precedent and more important than the fiqhi reasoning and understandings that we share; they exist and we acknowledge them, but they never ever should violate the feeling of our togetherness and brotherhood.

Brother and sisters, who repeat ihdinas siraat al mustaqeem, siraat alladhina an amta alaihim ghair il maghdubi alaihim wa ladhalleen It is not in an uncalculated manner that the information in the previous khutbah has been presented to you. There is a climate in todays world that is fanatical, obsessed and driven by any means that they can find or get their hands or minds on to find any thing that will separate Muslims from each other. As we have said previously, there is some concern on behalf of some scholars that an internal Islamic problem is in the making. They are trying to speak out about this problem before they think it is too late. Instead of looking around the countries that they are living in and the hurumaat that belong to the Muslims and opening up their eyes and seeing that we- the almost 2 billion of us- have become slaves and inferiors of superficial, imposed powers and authorities, (in other words deities and gods); and, instead of taking a look at the disease that has been infested our bodies for such a long time and diagnosing this disease and ailment and motivating all the Muslims together to get rid of these military bases, economic exploitation and the dislocation of hundreds of millions of Muslims in the world as we share this life together, they come and say theres an internal problem that we have because there are some Sunnis who are interested in becoming Shiis or they may say that there are some Shiis who are interested in becoming Sunnis. To them (because they cant think any better or outside the box), they begin to look into these areas that have virtually gone and are now being resurrected. Some of them may be speaking out of the sincerity that is in their hearts because they dont want Muslims in other places of the world to be a replica of what is happening in Iraq today. But, what is happening in Iraq today did not begin with scholars in Iraq, it began because there were elites who sold their souls and government to Imperialism and Zionism- they did so scores of years ago and they did so just several years ago. Both sides, whether it is the Sunnis, (were sorry to say this and to use this word; sometimes this word is used not because of what it originally means- it has no Quranic or Prophetic definition to it in the context of our times- its just one of those other asabiyaat that it has become), but these who are in Iraq, who consider themselves Sunnis, why were they going along with the Imperialist and Zionist agenda when the Baath were ruling there? And, today, why are those who are in Iraq who call themselves Shiis following the Zionist and Imperialists? Does this have anything to do with the Imams and fuqaha that they supposedly belong to? Of course not! Any Muslim of sound reasoning and judgment can see that; but no! Theres this type of asabiyyah that draws a person (and) he feels a type of affinity with the agents of Zionism and Imperialism just because of whats supposed to be their school of thought! How irrelevant is a school of thought and a body of fiqh to their subservience, (to the letter), and to the blood shed of innocent lives on Muslim lands and in the vicinity of Holy territories. That is why we speak to this issue; because we want to go to the areas that they are looking for and pre-empt them in these fiqhi areas so that they dont use these types of details to bring us into convoluting meanings with each other.

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM PART 5

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims With all the discrepancies, deficiencies, drawbacks and retreats, Allahs enlightening words to us remain a step forward for those who can carry their meanings OK- let us invite our mind to

listen to what Allah is saying to us, and after that, let us place our attention on ourselves to compare what is being said by Allah and what is being done by us, the Muslims. He says to us and have this relationship of communication with Allah as your life standard (Surah Ar Rum verse 30) Wa Aqeemu As Salaah- this is not simply the run of the mill understanding of and pray; that is not even an accurate or semi-accurate understanding of what Allah is saying. This salaah which is a communicative relationship with Allah, (if we wanted to be a little more mystical about it), this communicative relationship with Allah, in which we speak with Allah and in which Allah speaks to us as salaah- has to be the standard of life. and dont be counted among Al Mushrikeen. (Surah Ar Rum verse 30) Al Mushrikun are those who have attributed authority or divinity to people, sources, figures and institutions besides or in exclusion to Allah. (Do) you see?! There is a contradictory relationship between iqamah as sallah and Ash Shirk, if only we could grasp the genuine and weighty meanings in these words from Allah. OK- what transpires when we have Mushrikeen- this feature in social life? They divide or split this Deen of Allah... (Surah Ar Rum verse 31) It compartmentalizes things; it says ideology is one thing and religion is something else; what belongs to God belongs to Him and what belongs to Caesar belongs to Caesar; religion is a matter of a personal relationship between an individual and his Lord/God and politics are a matter of social consensus (however way that is described). and the result of that ... (Surah Ar Rum verse 31) By the way, theres another qiraah- wa faaraqu deenahum. As a matter of Shirk, they parted with their God-given Deen. Whether they part from the Deen or whether they part this Deen farraqu or faaraqu- what becomes their description? they become splintered groups; every party in this context is very delighted with what it has... (Surah Ar Rum verse 31) Now, this ayah has a much more extended application to the matters that we are going to be looking at that serve the division of the Muslims. Our problem is weve become divided and in this division some of us have become of ill will towards the other Muslim. We are going to look at the manifestation of this psychology that is not formed by Allah and His Prophet- a psychology that dwells among us and is financed by budgets, treasures and treasuries. We find, (this is as an extension to what we have been saying previously), some Muslims who are sick we use this word without any hyperbole or exaggeration- why? Because they think that their personal/national/sectarian understanding of Islam is superior and the other Muslims understanding is inferior. Brothers and sisters- ittaqu Allah! This is a sickness! How does this demonstrate itself? This is a general statement and we have to break it down How do we become splintered groups; every party delighted with what it has on a miniature level? As dispersed as disintegrated as we find ourselves, how does this play out? How do we

observe it in our lives? One of the observations of this Holier than thou understanding of Islam comes from the confusion between what is Allahs Deen and what is the opinion about Allahs Deen. These are two different things. Allahs Deen is sacrosanct/inviolable/holy/impeccable but mans legitimate opinions about Allahs Deen is just that- legitimate opinions. Theres nothing infallible/sacrosanct/holy about them. They may be correct or wrong- some of them may be more correct than others, but they are not Allahs Deen. This disease that we carry in our social self is because some of us believe that what we are convinced of, (we have all the freedom to believe in what we are convinced of, but that doesnt give us the behavior or character of discriminating/excluding/denigrating other Muslims. This psychology has become a mania among certain ultra types of Muslims and here are the examples These types seem to be imbalanced when it comes to Al hadith An Nabawi i.e. the Prophets ahadith. They find a hadith and say that az zakaat al fitr can only be paid or given with wheat and barley. OK- they have all the right to be convinced that thats the way that it is done, but there is another ijtihad that says no- az zakaat al fitr can be paid with that monetary equivalent of that wheat and barley. So these are two opinions that have lived with us all of these years- if someone accepts one of these opinions why does he have to make a lesser Muslim of the other Muslim who accepts the other opinion. This is not only about az zakaat al fitr but az zakaat in general. They come to the issue of agriculture and some of these individuals who have a less than thought out understanding of the ahadith come and say when it comes to agriculture, the zakaah that is due is on grains and maybe lagums, but its not due on vegetables and fruits. If they want that type of understanding, they are entitled to it, but the problem is when they do not grant the other Muslim the understanding of let us look at this in context. In the time of Allahs Prophet, the type of agriculture that was there excluded the abundance of fruit and vegetables- obviously, its an arid/desert area of the world (and) you dont have orchards, acreages and miles-and-miles of fruit and vegetables. Can it not be said that what is applicable to grains and lagums is also applicable to fruits and vegetables. Imagine if we were to take their opinion that the only type of zakaat you can pay has to do with grains; anytime people wanted to pay their zakaat, wed need trucks and freights and all of this going around the city/neighborhood/town just to deliver the zakaat; we cant deliver it with its monetary value. Its sad to say that we have these types of people who live among/with us who share the Masjid/Islamic Center/Congregational area where we meet. The problem with these types of people is that they have bordered on being zealots and bigots! When you cant accommodate the other Muslim, what are we going to say about you? How are we going to define you except by saying that you are in the area of being a zealot and a bigot?! Do we not have these types of people who are in our vicinity or day-to-day contact with other Muslims? Then, we have what we may call ill-will. Theres no goodwill that you can detect in this context of people. You can take another issue that is probably more practical. We have Muslim women- our sisters, mothers and daughters who want to go to hajj. (We are approaching (that time) and in another month or so people are going to begin to go to hajj. We have one of the opinions, (that is taken from a hadith), that have lived for us for a long time i.e. that it is

prohibited for a women to travel without a mahram. (If) someone comes to us here and there sister or one of their womanhood in their family wants to go to hajj, (probably in the company of other Muslimaat and Muslims), so they ask is it permissible for this Muslim sister to go to hajj? We have, once again, that type of mentality and psychology that looks literally at the hadith and they say no, she cannot go to the hajj unless she has a mahram with her. OK- if thats their opinion, the extent of their conviction and how they feel comfortable- alhamdulillahthey can live, behave and go by that understanding- we have no problems; but what if you tell the Muslimah- you are going with friends, acquaintances, relatives and what is considered to be secure company but there is no mahram in that secure company? You can go to hajj we tell her, theres no problem with that. Then, these types who are holier-than thou come to us and say but how did you say that? This is against the sunnah! You come and tell them brothers and sisters listen- you understood the Prophets ban on Muslim women the way you understood it- its a literalist and generalized understanding, but we want to understand it in context; and in context, this means that a Muslimah cannot travel without a mahram when there is social instability and danger zones. Then they come and tell you where did you get that opinion from? because they dont think that we can think (and) we need to rely on some scholars way back then when fiqh and Islamic scholarly efforts was at its height! You tell them well, Imam Malik and Imam Ash Shafi interpreted this and understood it, so if we understand it like that, were not the new people in the world who are understanding Allahs Prophet the way we think with Allahs God-given mind in us. Another simple thing, (alhamdulillah, we, (at least yours honestly here hasnt come across this in foreign territories, but youll find it somewhere where there is an agitation of this holier-thanthou attitude), we read ayaat from the Quran, (as we always read ayaat from the Quran before the Jumah here, ayaat from the Quran were recited). After these ayaat were finished, as is customary, the reciter of the Quran says sadaqa Allahu Al Adheem or sadaqah Allahu Al Alleeyyu Al Adheem or sadaqah Allahu Maulana Al Alleyyu Al Adheem (or whatever combination of sadaqah Allah and one of the attributes of Allah.) the holier-than-thou person jumps up and says this is a bidah. You cant say that, because the Prophet of Allah did not say that! We say OK- we may not know of a particular case where the Prophet said that, but can we not say that? Were not saying that as a matter of reciting the Quran?! No one is saying this is an ayah from the Quran. Its just at the end- what may be considered a sentence of tabarruk.. Whats wrong with that? oh you cant do that! Why cant we do that? Where does Allahs Prophet say that when someone finishes reading the Quran a statement of tabarruk cannot be said? (If) someone comes up to the reciter of the Quran and says to him may Allah bless you for your beautiful rendition of the Quran, is that a bidah? If we wanted to express the truth thats in our hearts about such matters, does this become prohibited? Another issue that is used to divide Muslims in some places- this type of wave is in the makingif we find it in just a few places, its going to be in more places in the future if we dont begin to think about what we are saying and doing. In some Masajid we have tension between Muslims

because some Muslims men are praying with their heads covered and others are praying with their heads not covered. Why is this going to be a matter of bad feelings among the Muslims? Some people who think that it is mandatory to cover your head as a man in as salaah begin to make this an issue of bad feeling. (But), its easy- just approach these types and tell them the Muslim mans head is not an awrah or private part so if its exposed its not going to a null their salaah, (end of the issue), but then, if you want to wear something on your head, all the best; if you dont, Allah is going to accept, maybe with a little less reward than the other that has something on his head- but this is not a matter of division and bad feelings among the Muslims. This attitude reminds us of the person in the time of Allahs Prophet. Allahs Prophet was distributing some of the Islamic or Muslim resources in the Masjid, and this person, (who exemplifies the holier-than-thou ignorance and ego that is combined in these types of so-called Muslims; may Allah deliver them to a better understanding), comes up to Allahs Prophet and tells him be fair or do justice- Oh Muhammed- thats what hes telling Allahs Prophet. When you think of these characters and this types of behavior, you know that there are two things that are inter-playing each other- it is ignorance and ego. What does a person like that think? He wants to prove himself, make a show and display a character that is more fair than Allahs Prophet- whats wrong with this person? This is what we say to these people who come to us with their particular individualistic/personalized understanding of the ayaat and ahadith- do you think youre more of a Muslim than the other Muslim? The Prophets reply to a person like thissizing him up in the moment, (its like saying in todays language), Oh! Or Wow! Who is it that is going to be fair or do justice if I am not fair or if I dont do justice? We have these character- the problem is we dont have them scattered around here-and-there; we have them in bulk quantity with Masajid, Islamic Centers and with their egos and ignorance combined. They see another Muslim doing things another way (and say) Oh! Hes not one of us! Where did this come from?

Take another issue- when we pray, some Muslims pray with their hands in front of them (while) other Muslims pray with their hands to their side and this has become in certain areas and centers a definition of who the Muslim is. We only want to speak about this from one angle- at one time, this flares up; its like a wave- there are years in which this becomes like a very defining issue and then it recedes and is not a big issue. We dont know where this issue is flaring up, (we hope it never flares up in our area), but for those Let us take this on another level, (because) we know that some of you who are not very familiar with Islamic fiqh think about Sunnis and Shiis. We want to even take you out of thinking about Sunnis and Shiis and think about Sunnis and Sunnis. In the French speaking parts of Africa, (meaning the areas in Africa that came under French colonialism), it happens to be that most of these areas are from the Maliki madhhab. In the Maliki madhhab, the Muslims pray with their hands to their side. Then, in other parts of Africa, the Middle East or Asia, other Sunnis who pray with their hands in front of them. Then, they bring this issue to scholars; they come to Ulema (asking) can you settle this issue for us?

Where do you put your hands? How do you pray? A scholar like Imam Ash Shafi believed that you should pray with your hands in front of you, but he believed that that is one of the (what is called in fiqh language), hayah i.e. if you deliberately do or dont do it, its not even a matter of performing as sajdah as sahw, (as it is called in this fiqhi literature). So, (in other words), what he is telling you and the rest is whether you put your hands in front or to the side of you, is so trivial, it doesnt count. But whos listening? We have a psychology and mentality that just doesnt want to listen and accommodate other Muslims. Take another hadith of Allahs Prophet Allahs Prophet says in another hadith whoever peeks or sneaks a look into other peoples residence or homes without their permission, then the people of that home have the right to pluck that persons eye out and as a result of that, theres no legal action, no compensation to be paid and theres no penalty. We haveunfortunately- the Muslim mind that thinks in the past and we cant even take this hadith and think in our time or into the future. We are just regurgitating the thoughts of others, (some of them who took this literally), in the past and said that can be done; thats what the Prophet says; listen to the hadith. If thats the amount of their understanding, were satisfied with that. If thats how they want to apply this meaning in certain jurisdictions where they have these types of lawyers who understand this hadith in that meaning, they have the freedom to do that; the problem is where these types dont want to give freedom to others who understand this hadith in another sense i.e. that the Prophet did not literally mean that they can take his eye out without any penalty because we all know that privacy in Islam is sacrosanct. Regardless of what their opinions are, all Muslims (agree) that privacy is sacrosanct. You cant violate other Muslims privacy, but lets say that that same house in which a person took an un-authorized look into and that same person went into the house and committed the act of zina. The punishment of zina is known, but has anyone ever said that in addition to the punishment of zina that same person is going to have his eye plucked out? No! No one ever said that- so the onus is on these types of people either to answer this type of thinking or to say we a null our minds and we dont want to think any longer. Whatever the case is, what remains in this relationship among Muslims is what is due to the other Muslim i.e. regardless of his school of thought and his mujtahid is that we should respect the other Islamic opinion and the Muslim other; this is what is due upon us and this is what does not exist in our Masajid and Islamic Centers as it should. Another issue that these literalists latch onto is the issue that Muslims can wage war on the kaafirs without notifying them of this state of war and they take the incident of Bani Al Mustaliq- this was a raid by the Muslims against some kaafirs and Mushriks. The way these particular literalists understand this is that the Prophet did not tell them of the time that he is going to attack, therefore Muslims can attack their enemies by surprise. This is true to a certain extent, but in context. Obviously, when you have an enemy, youre not going to tell him of the exact day and hour that youre going to attack, but that does not mean that you do not put your enemy on notice that we are at war with you and you are at war with us. But, what do you do with the literalist, holier-than thou mind who mix ego with ignorance? Its like these people

who are more concerned with the hadith than with the ayaat of Allah have memorized thousands of ahadith and then they place their own understanding on the ahadith and then nothing else counts when this is done. Its like a person who has 100 guns but he doesnt know how to shoot; he may kill innocent people and even himself with these guns if he doesnt know how to shoot; but people who only have one gun and know how to use this gun are better than these people who have all of these ahadith but dont know how to think them out. This is an analogy of what we have; its become so ridiculous, (well repeat this for those of you who heard us before), this divisive difference has caused some people to ask, (lets take the Hanafi and Shafi schools of thought)- those who follow the Hanafi school of thought asked can we marry a Shafi lady? The answer was No you cant marry a Shafi lady. May we ask why? The Hanafis, (are good at thinking their answers out), said Yes, because the Shafiis doubt their own Imaan.( May we ask) and how is that? (The answer), they say I am a Mumin if Allah wills it- which means they have doubt in their own Imaan. Then, the more generous Hanafis come along and say No, you can marry a Shafi lady as a matter of Qiyas i.e. if you can marry a Christian and a Jew, then because of this way of analyzing things, you can also marry a Shafi lady. Brothers and sisters- isnt this a type of sickness and disease. The other favorite retort or response Some scholars or students came with a question to Shafi scholars (saying) what do we do if we had some food that was contaminated with some drops of wine in it? The answer was you throw it to a dog or a Hanafi. Brothers and sisters- this is a disease, but this is what happens when people are self-centered, arrogant and, (not only that), when they are frank with themselves; at least these people had the frankness to expose who they are; what we have to day is this disease minus this frankness. Brother and sisters on as siraat al mustaqeem These details that were discussed in this khutbah are only a sample of many other details that are being put in a package to 1st of all divide Muslims according to their madhaahib or school of thought. The general division can begin with Sunni versus Shii- thats the 1st step; the 2nd step is that we begin to divide Muslims within these categories; i.e. if youre a Sunni, youre not supposed to remain there- youre supposed to be divided more. Who or what type of Sunni are you? Are you a Shafii, Hanbali,Maliki or a Hanafi and if you are, theres supposed to be tension among you; youre not supposed to be comfortable with each other. The same thing is applicable within the Shii context. What type of Shii are you? Who is your Mujtahid? Do you believe in an Islamic Authority or Governance before Al Imam Al Mahdi or not? Are you an Ithna Ashari, Zaydi, Ismaeeli or Khoja Shii? What type of Shii are you? Youre not supposed to be on good terms with the other Shii. This keeps of going; from here they can go into breaking these categories even more, (into), geographical location, nationalities, national origin, races, color and languages, but the 1st step begins with that ignorance and ego- combine them together and you have a formula for the division of the Muslims. This formula is being paddled, financed, supported and enhanced by these budgets from Saudi Arabia. People dont want to say it in the khutbah- ittaqu Allah ayyuhal Muslimun. When the Saudi Arabian government is

wrong, we say it is wrong! (Since) when has the Saudi Arabian government become a Masoom government that has no mistakes and crimes?! The taqwa of Allah that we are supposed to remind you of on this day and time forces us to point at these criminals who are behind these programs who want to divide us. There are some people who have made peace with the thieves in Arabia! There are some people who are reconciling with the wrong Muslims instead of finding brotherhood and solidarity among the Muslim peoples and masses, they find solidarity and unity among officials, crooks, thieves and usurpers of power- the ruling classes in Muslim countries have become their friends. Be careful and honest- our days are running out! What do you think? Youre going to live here forever?! Its going to be another few or however amount of years and were going to the other sidelets go with a clean conscience and an open mind, and if other Muslims need our support, let us lend them this hand of support so that they can make it, also, with us. If there are fanatical types who have become bigots and zealots with the mania of division that rests in their minds and hearts- we dont subscribe to that. We have an open hand and open heart and if we can save them from their errors, we shall try.

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM PART 6

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Allah says

O People- evidence has come to you from your Sustainer and We have brought down to you an obvious light. (Surah verse) We are thankful to Allah beyond description that He has placed His confidence in our human nature. There are many failures that we have produced in our history as human beings and as Muslims that will make a person wonder at the trust that Allah placed in us. Regardless of these failures, we still live with the ambition to fulfil this trust that Allah has given us. O Allah, We are thankful, grateful, appreciative and humbled that You have said about us And We have indeed honored the descendants of Adam (Surah Isra verse 70) This remains our hope and expectation beyond our reversals and above our failures. Part of this body of failures (is that) we remain to have an intolerance where we should honor a tolerance among ourselves. A quick reminder (is that) part of our historical character could not tolerate the other Muslim; we have had in bygone and current generations Muslims who are ready and willing to accuse other Muslims of kufr and when we observe these types Muslims wielding the most serious of the accusations against other Muslims, closely, we realize that they do that because they themselves dont understand human nature, why there may be deviations in human nature and why when these deviations in human nature belong to Muslims fall short of that prime accusation of theirs. We also had, in our ancient character, and we still have in our contemporary character Muslims who have belittled and diminished the worth of effort and labor- to them it was and continues to be equal i.e. whether a person commits a crime or does as salihaat is marginal in comparison with what a person says! We carry the burden and weight of these two extremes in our historical body and in our living life and they still have their impact and influence upon our social and public existence. Brothers and sisters- to be more down to the point, they take a few ayaat, (we will explain that it is permissible to understand these ayaat with a latitude and a range of difference that does not spoil and poison the relationship between one Muslim and another Muslim). Allah says in an ayah that is to be recited until the day of resurrection And Allah spoke to Musa in a form of speech. (Surah An Nisa verse 164) You (along with) hundreds of millions of Muslims listen to this ayah and if you were to place this ayah in the fiber of your mind or in the currents of your thoughts or in the fabric of your rational being and you understood that Allah spoke to Musa (alaihi salaam) in the human words that human beings use and understand- thats your understanding! If you do the same thing and you run this ayah across all your faculties of understanding and you understand this ayah to mean that Allah communicated to Musa meanings that bypass the normal human communication of meanings via the medium of words, then thats also your understanding! But why should there be conflict or any distance between a Muslim who understands it one way and another Muslim who understands it another way, when both of them are doing their honest best to understand what Allah is saying to them and to us?!

In another ayah in the Quran, Allah says And Allah has taken as His close confidant Ibrahim (Surah An Nisa verse 125) Now, what does that mean? Does that mean that Allah is a friend of Ibrahim (alaihi salaam) the way a human being is friends to another? If you understand it like that, then be it; if you understand this to be a human relationship that penetrates the fact of divinity and deity, (because the word khalil is a word that carries within its meaning penetration- takhlil al asabi (i.e. the intertwining/penetration of the fingers of both hands between each other). So, if Allah has penetrated the human life of Ibrahim, and thus, if this relationship is one of penetration instead of one that is defined by friendship- then so be it. Why should there be any distance and friction between one person who understands this ayah to mean friendship and another person who understands this ayah with the emphasis on penetration?! Another ayah that lends itself to a range of understandings is faces on that day, (this is in reference to the day of accountability and resurrection), are glowing looking at/seeing their Sustainer (Surah An Nisa verse 125) OK- whether it is looking at their Sustainer i.e. Allah or whether is seeing Him, this ayah opens itself up to this type of human understanding and reasoning. Why should anyone get upset if another Muslim understood it in a complimentary way, (because theres no contradiction here)? Both these attempts at understanding the meaning of this ayah are honest attempts. The attempt thats saying human beings cannot see Allah is an attempt at glorifying Allah beyond human capabilities and theres nothing wrong with that; and those who are saying that this ayah means human beings are seeing Allah is an honest attempt at having human beings within the range of accessibility to Allah and theres nothing wrong with that. Brothers and sisters- it is when human nature goes sour that Muslims begin to have difficulties with themselves and then, they begin to quote these ayaat to justify their incapability of acknowledging the other Muslim- this is where they and we go wrong. Some people who have this self-centered righteousness, (this reminds you of racism- racism is a form of excluding the other; you can have that same mentality cloaked in some ayaat and some ahadith). They come and tell you- let us be upfront about this because most of this exclusionism comes from the dictators in Arabia; weve been living this exclusionism for 25 years, (look- theyve proved it!)- what is it in their understanding of Islam, the ayaat and ahadith of the Prophet that explains to us the division of Muslims that they have been living with in our area for at least the last 25 years?! What is the basis to rationalize two jumahs in the same place? These are the types who call themselves salafis; theres nothing wrong with the word, but theres everything wrong with them. They may call themselves Ahl An Nass i.e. the folks belonging to the text; theres nothing wrong with the text but theres everything wrong with these folks who claim to belong to it! These are the ones who call themselves Ahl Al Hadith; theres nothing wrong with the hadith but theres much more than everything wrong with these types who claim that they have a monopoly on understanding and

explaining the hadith! We kid you not- these types have generated among themselves- just like racism within Judaism have caused them to be divided and splintered endlessly- the same mentality within the House of Islam to produce for us the likes the likes who say we are not allowed to look at pictures or a TV set because they say that pictures are haram in Islam! We say that thats their understanding and we can lived with it, tolerate it and we can try and remedy it with a spirit, attitude and behavior of including them in Islam; contrary to that, they cannot live with another opinion that says theres nothing wrong with pictures. These are the same types who make fun, ridicule and then deny facts that are well known, whether they are geographical facts, facts pertaining to astronomy or other well establish facts. They mock these facts and we have, (we say this with humility and meekness), an understanding of Islam that will still include them within the definition of being Muslims and being honest to Allah. For those of you who think this is some new development, the way the Saudi sponsored religious exclusionism, fanaticism, self-centeredness and egotism think this is something new, lets go back to the 3rd and 4th centuries of Islam. These who are the pre-dominant types in the Arabian Peninsular because they have a lot of wealth (were like) those who were the pre-dominant types in Baghdad. Baghdad at that time was the center of the Islamic domain. What would they do? These are the so-called followers of Imam Ahmed ibn Hambal- there were blind people in the Masjid in Baghdad and they would turn to these blind people, give them sticks and tell them when we tell you a Shafii has come into the Masjid, you beat the daylights out of him. Thats what they literally did. They would see walking in the streets of Baghdad a man with his womenfolk or children and they would go to him and say you are not supposed to be walking with women and children. This type of fanaticism is not new; this type of behavior is not the product of the Saudi government, even though the Saudi government nowadays is its number one promoter in the world among Muslims. This is the way Al Hanabila are treating other schools of thought. Theyre picking of the Shafii school of thought, yet Ahmed ibn Hambal was a student of Imam Ash Shafi. When Imam Ash Shafi passed away, he likened the death of his teacher to the absence of light from this world and health from the human body. those are his words. Then, you have these so-called followers of his who because they disagree with other people from other schools of thought using force, sticks and stones to break their bones just because they didnt agree with them. Where did this come from? Why does it still live among us, Muslims? Brothers and sisters, it is a normal feature of our life for us to have different understandings within what has been established to be the parameters of these differences of understanding- let us understand this- the problem comes when some people have power (and) they want to impose their conviction and understanding upon others who dont share that same understanding and conviction- this is where the problem begins. We lived with this problem- we had administrations, dynasties, regimes and governments who would try to enforce a particular or peculiar school of thought on the rest of the Muslims- that need not be the case. Why is it that if a particular administration some where is convinced of a particular point of view that that be generalized and imposed on the rest of the Muslims when the rest of the Muslims dont agree upon that matter? Unfortunately, in our Islamic literature and history we have whoever is in

power imposing their school of thought on the rest. They may have been what some people today refer to as pious Muslims. Yusuf ibn Kashifi in Northern Africa imposed the Maliki madhhab on the area that he ruled and Imam Malik who is the head of that madhhab rejected and turned down the request that came from the seat of power in Baghdad to impose his madhhab on the area ruled by the governor or what is called the Khalifah/king in Baghdad. He didnt want that! But then you have these generations that have now substituted scholarly opinions for the deen itself! Lets take an example from the lifetime of Allahs Prophet. Were not going to mention the name, because the name interferes with your thinking- one of these individuals during the time of Allahs Prophet went on a military journey at a distance from Al Medinah and has a wet dream and he woke up and he wanted to pray As Salah As Subh or Al Fajr. There was cold water, (you know), in the desert in winter time the water turns extremely cold. So, is he going to pray Al Fajr either after taking a full bath in ice cold water or is he going to do at tayammum using the surface of the desert- running his hands over each other and then his face and then leading As Salaah? What did he do? He did the latter- he did at tayammum and then he led As Salaah. This whole issue was brought to the attention of Allahs Prophet and Allahs Prophet asked this person why did you do that? Didnt you know that you need a full ghusl to lead the prayers? This individual did at tayammum and led the prayers. Tune in to the communication among Muslims- this is the highest person in the land who is asking an average Muslim who became Muslim towards the end of the Prophets mission why did you do something like that? What is he going to answer? How is anyone going to answer? He answered by quoting an ayah from the Quran which means do you want to have yourselves perish for indeed Allah has been merciful to you. His understanding of this ayah explained to his conscience why he did at tayammum; he feared dying from a cold bath in the early morning. The Prophet didnt say noyour understanding was less than correct. He didnt rebuke him or say you should have understood better than that or anything. He smiled and it was left at that. On another occasion from the lifetime of Allahs Prophet a man who was very weak and fragilephysically speaking, he was not healthy- this man committed adultery and the issue was brought to the attention of Allahs Prophet and he was asked what are we going to do here? Were afraid that if were going to whip him 100 times hes going to die. The Prophet of Allah says you take 100 strands, bundle them up in one bunch and strike him with it. They did that. Some people would do such things to take advantage and find loopholes to circumvent- no one in these examples is trying to bypass, circumvent or pull-a-fast-one on Allah and His Prophet; they were all doing this out of a sincerity of heart and mind and they were acknowledged by Allah and His Prophet; how come if we- out of the goodness of our hearts and mind- want to understand Allah turn against each other when we are trying to do our best to approach Him with sound minds and hearts? An answer to this could be an ayah As for those who exceed their limits due to an accumulation of power and have a preference for the life of this world, Al Jaheem becomes their resting place, refuge and

return; but as for he who fears the status and station of Allah and commands or is incharge of his nafs, nature and inclinations, then Al Jannah is his return and refuge ( Surah Al Infitar verse 13-16)

HUMAN DIGNITY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We have been through an extended period of self-reflection, particularly concerned with our susceptibilities and tendencies towards misunderstandings and the potential schisms and divisions that are displayed from time to time by individuals here-and-there but more significantly by those who have a larger plan; their plan is to have us remain in a state of abject slavery. To them, having us feel that we are pious Muslims- offering our salaah and private rituals- and then, dismissing our responsibilities and potential in this God-given world of

taskheer or utility. We will try to take a breather and re-position ourselves where we should be, (at least), in our minds and internal thoughts, ambitions, expectations and hopes. It doesnt shame us to say that we have been and still are living in miserable conditions. We have lost sight of Allah and because of that He has caused us to lose sight of ourselves (Surah Al Hashr verse 19) We have no problems juxtaposing facts with facts and diagnosing our reality with the truth that has come to us from Allah, and for starters, Allah says, (remember- brothers and sisters- this is where we should be, not in the artificial corners of piety or in the isolated areas of life we wish we had the Muslims of the world listening); listen to what Allah is saying to us and watch how we behave- He says and His words are the diagnostic truth And We have, as a matter of fact, dignified the descendants of Adam and We have carried them through lands and seas and We have provided for these descendants of Adam of all the wholesome provisions of life and We have preferred and privileged them far above much of what We have created (Surah Al Isra verse 70) OK- this is our God-given, God-defined and God-designated position; the descendants of Adam, by virtue of having being created by Allah have, by nature, a measure of dignity. This is exhaustive and inclusive, which means that all the descendants of Adam (alaihi salaam) are due their God-given dignity and respect. We are responsible for this; in other words, we are responsible for the dignity of humanity. These descendants of Adam throughout the past and in times to come have been allocated by Allah- The Creator, Shaper, Fashioner and Maker- this dignity; that means black and white, rich and poor, male and female, those who do and do not understand the language of Scripture; those who acknowledge and affirm Allah and those who are yet to acknowledge and affirm Allah- there is no exception to the basic dignity of mankind. Allah didnt discriminate and say If a person/community is not going to understand Me Im going to withhold My provision or sustenance from them. As a matter of their God-given rights, they are due the dignity that belongs to them. Of course, later on, when some human beings develop their powers and authorities to defy Allah, then, even though they began with the basics of dignity, they will have robbed and denied and excluded themselves from this dignity by their opposition to Allah. (If), you listen to what Allah is saying and then you look at the faces, images and features of human beings who are teetering of the precipice of starvation or death (were not speaking about a few individuals or a trivial arithmetic number; were speaking about hundreds of millions, if not billions, of human beings who are sub-surviving- this is a fact of life. What are you going to do? Are you going to run away from the facts of life?) you see with your eyes the inhumanity that has been clenched upon their lives? You see with your eyes what contradicts your ears when you listen to Allah.

And We have given dignity and respect to the descendants of Adam (Surah Al Isra verse 70) What do you do when you discover what Allah is saying contradicts what man is doing? This indignity, disgrace and humiliation of human beings is not normal and natural.; something happened and interfered with the way Allah created us and offered us this minimum dignity in our societies and populations. With all their races, colors, languages and ethnic origins And We have given dignity and respect to the descendants of Adam (Surah Al Isra verse 70) Allahs statement lives in the form of guidance and direction but their statement is applied in the form of policies and politics; we have deliberate, standard and militarily protected policies from ungodly powers and authorities that say to us we have humiliated the descendants of Adam. What are you going to do about it?! At the end of this ayah, Allah says and We have raised their status above much of the other forms of life that We created. (Surah Al Isra verse 70) Oh yes?! (Take a) look at the real world and listen and understand what Allah is saying. In the real world, we have animals- cats and dogs- who are living better lives than the descendants of Adam! What do you do? You dont see the discrepancy here? You dont see the difference between what Allah is saying and how He is guiding us on one side and how invading authorities and occupying powers are contradicting in practice and by habit the words and meanings that come to us from Allah. Allah says in another ayah Status belongs to Allah, His Apostle and the Committed Muslims. (Surah Al Isra verse 70) What do you see in the real world? You see some individuals and organizations who claim that they represent Islam and they are the true believers in Allah- (this is what they say). Do they have the esteem and status that belongs to Allah, His Messenger and the committed Muslims? Esteem and status dont come from words; they are to be measured by behavior. Who do you find among these self decorated Muslims- who decorate themselves with words and verbiagewho carry this status and esteem that is shared by Allah and His Messenger? A kaafir comes to them and says so many things and they submit to the kaafir instead of submitting to Allah. This is yet another discrepancy and defection from Allah; this is an instance in which Allah is describing the committed Muslims as they are supposed to be and we look around in life and we watch the theatrics of Muslims who are trying to claim that role for themselves, but when it comes to behavior, they expose their reality and true selves. Do we have enough understanding of what Allah is telling us to see through the layers and compounds of propaganda and publicity that they cover themselves with? Allah says

 and We, (in reference to divine authority), want to favor those who have been powerless in life (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) Allah says one thing and its as if these people who have stolen the vestiges of power understand exactly what Allah is saying and then, they reverse it. and God wants to favor those who have been oppressed in the world, but the powers that are opposed to Allah want to continue their systematic centuries old practices of humiliating powerless people in the world. We listen to what Allah is saying, and not only that, He further says that He wants to show those who are in the highest offices in the land and their assistants and their military forces what comes out of powerless people (Surah Al Qassas verse 5) Who speaks for powerless people? It certainly is not coming from a recognizable quarter of Muslims; we had leftists and socialists and humanists and every type of secularists who have been speaking for people who dont have power, resources and the where-withal in life; what happened to us? Its as if Allah is not speaking to us and weve never heard these ayaat. Where are the Islamic champions of these meanings? Allah says in a hadith qudsi O My subjects! I have rendered injustice, inequity, wrongdoing and offenses haram upon Myself and I have rendered this dhulm to be haram, unlawful and illegal among yourselves, so do not be party to dhulm. We live in a world that is unmistakable for its inequities, malthiessence, wrongdoings, oppression, unjustness, injuries and offences to others, in other words, a world that is filled to the brim with dhulm and then we behave as if none of this exists. Remember how we ventured into the weaknesses in ourselves in the previous khutbahs thats where they want to relocate us. If a Muslim is discovering that he is a Shii Muslim or another Muslim discovering that he is a Sunni Muslim, (they want them to), get involved in that so that they are unable to see this engulfing and consuming dhulm; theyve been giving you sleeping pills every week in the Friday congregation so that you are not able to open your eyes and see for yourself the dhulm that has penetrated every layer of life and society. Why dont they quote these ayaat and ahadith and explain them to the Muslim public so that we can carry and walk with our responsibilities to our God-given destiny?! The Prophet of Allah whoever dies defending his deen, family or folks, life and possessions and what is his is a shaheed. There are some Muslims who want to take these meanings away from people who are fighting for their lives, families, homes and homelands. Why? What purpose does that serve? Once again, the powers that be i.e. those who occupy the highest offices around want the Muslims to carry on in a language and vocabulary that doesnt understand its responsibilities and destination. The Prophet of Allah says adh dhulm is darkness, opaqueness, un-enligtedness, obscurity. gloom and doom on the day of Qiyamah; and whoever hoards food for 40 days has disavowed or disclaimed Allah and Allah has disavowed him; 40 days! Weve been living this dhulm of people who have money, resources, agricultural produce and the lifeline of life hoarding and monopolizing all of these for 40 weeks, 40 months and 40 years and generations! Has anyone tried to identify them? Are they supposed to remain nameless and featureless individuals? We have to identify the problems so

that we can identify the perpetrators of the problem. If iftikar i.e. hoarding and monopoly are a problem, (and by all means, if we are reading Allahs book and His Prophet, we know that they are a problem), how come this problem doesnt have human beings to it?! Once again, because theres an establishment of power around that wants to block our senses from reaching these individuals by name. How long are we going to continue like this. And if there is a local or neighborhood in which one person suffers from famine and hunger, then all of them are disavowed by Allah. (Take a), look at the condition of the oppressed people and the Muslims of the world- many of us are hungry; we have geographical neighbors that are rich?! The way the conduct this business of Islam in the Masajid, Islamic Centers, congregation prayers and the hajj and umrah itself is meant for you and me not to identify these culprits and criminals. These are ayaat and ahadith, (obviously, there are other ayaat and ahadith), and we listen to these ayaat and ahadith just as weve just listened to them; there were people around Allahs Prophet who were also listening to these ayaat and ahadith- what did they say? Were just going to give you three quotes to show you that their understanding of Allah and His Prophet generated statements unlike our understanding of Allah and His Prophet that generate diametrically annulling statements. Listen to this brothers and sisters- this is not some wild-eyed leftist radical who studied Marx and these other characters of this past generation speaking Umar (radi Allahu anhu), the 2nd khalifah who was listening to Allah and His Prophet said dont strike at people because you humiliate them; dont deny them or take away what is rightly theirs because denying them will make or turn them into kaafirs; since when have you made other people your subjects knowing that their mothers gave them birth in liberty and freedom. - tell this to the intelligence agencies and the power structures, regimes and governments that are imposed upon us because this is what the governments and class of power is doing to you and me in the world today! a statement of tabarruk cannot be said? Where do we have people today who are supposed to be studying the book and the Prophet of Allah expressing this understanding of the Quran and the ahadith? Another one of those who was, with the Prophet, listening to scripture being revealed and to its explanation by Allahs Prophet was Al Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu) says, (there are different ways of translating this, one of them is), when you have affluence and you are in an alien society i.e. a society that you dont belong to, but if you have affluence, you feel at home; affluence becomes your homeland when you are in a strange land and if you are poor and you live in your own homeland, you become a stranger; and what poverty does is it causes a bright person to lose his reasoning when righteousness is on his side. A person may be right, but sometimes, because he is poor, even if hes a bright person, hes a bright person, hes not even able to express himself cogently in defence of his rights and a person who has no means is alien in his own hometown. Another person who lived in the company of Allahs Prophet said a person who is considered to be powerful in society, as far as I am concerned is weak, fragile and feeble until I extract what is due to others from him and a person whos considered by society to be weak, as far as I am concerned, hes a strong and powerful person until I give him his right or what is due to him. These are people who understood these ayaat and ahadith; this is where we are supposed to. They try to put us on the defensive and get us involved in bickering, quarrels and argumentations among ourselves,

but we shall refuse to be trapped in their pitfall; we will continue to understand Allah and His Prophet free from the inherited weaknesses that we have and from the imposed plots the that they have. Brother and sisters, committed Muslims Now that the euphoria of these elections that took place during this past week has dissipated- we have had some Muslims who were super charged with the affinities of race and color who thought and they were left to think, (if theres no guidance coming from the Mimbar and Masajid, then they will go on thinking cluelessly, with their emotions or in a reactive mode). We know some of these brothers, (very well), who think that there is something to be gained by a black person occupying the White House! We say to these surface Muslims, as deep as their sincerity may be, that this is yet another ploy and trap. The 1st indication of this is the handlers and fixers of the occupant of the White House who are turning out to be Israelis almost as thoroughly and consummate as anyone could be. These are the ones moving into the higher positions in the new regime that will commence in January. Muslims are left to consume information that comes their way from a media, think tanks and commentators who want us to think on their terms. If we had a substantive and significant body of information from Allah and His Prophet, we would see and know- this wouldnt take lectures and khutbahs to explain- that these powers who have been at work for many centuries, (this is not a new administration; this is just another painting or gloss to the ugly face that we have been watching for hundreds of years of colonialism, imperialism and Zionism) have this new game in town because they are forced to have it. They were forced by Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Islamic Revolution in Iran and by the Islamic Resistance to American and Israeli occupation in Muslim countries and territories and thats why they brought a black man into the White House; they want to whitewash four or eight extra years of trying to connive and deceive the average Muslim who is not equipped with the ayaat and ahadith that immunize from these tricks. Brothers and sisters- brace yourselves for the shenanigans and chickenry of this new team of Zionists and Imperialists who may now have a few faces that may have Muslim names to them.

HAJJ
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen These days, Muslims have come from far and near to the Holy precincts of Makkah and Al Medinah to observe the rituals of the Hajj, but they have done so in a mindless and (we dare say) spiritless manner. Compare what Allah says with the behaviour of those who go to the holy sites in Makkah and Al Medinah. The words are clear and straight forward in their meaning.

And make public the call among people to come to Hajj... (Surah Hajj verse 27) Is this what Muslims really do? This call of coming to the Hajj is a required one to be delivered to all people, not to a segment to Muslims here and there; this is an open call for everyone to come to the Hajj. This is a scary scenario because there are well thought out plans of limiting the number of Muslims who go to Hajj. Imagine if we were to place the call of going to Hajj in the context of peoples of the world? They talk about the absorption capacity of Makkah and Al Medinah (and that) its impossible to have several million, not to speak of tens of millions of people being in Makkah; (and) now you want to open this call to Hajj to all people of the world?! Its not you and I who determine that; it is Allah who determines that. Allah is not short on His choice of words Say: I seek refuge in the Sustainer of Mankind (Surah An Naas verse 1) You and I know an naas to be the species of humans on planet Earth; is anyone saying Qul audhu bi Rabbil Muslimeen, Malikil Muslimeem, Ilahil Muslimeen?! Has anyone reduced the word an naas to become only Al Muslimeen as is practiced today on this occasion of Hajj i.e. as if Allah is saying Wa Addhin fil Muslimeen bil Hajj. The words are clear And make public the call among people to come to Hajj... (Surah Hajj verse 27) This will frighten those who are responsible for todays planning and organization of the Hajj. This is a nightmare for those who are the administrators of Makkah and Al Medinah (whod say) you mean to tell us that Allah has a global invitation for people to come to Makkah and Al Medinah?! We only mean to tell you what the Quran, Allahs eternal words are saying! If they assume the responsibilities of devoting themselves to Allah and accepting the rituals of Hajj, no one can tell them you cant come to Hajj! But this is diametrically opposed to their policies of even thinning out the numbers of Muslims who go to the Hajj. How many times do we hear this ayah and how many times is this ayah recited to us, but how many are mindful of its meanings, and further yet, its implications? when this call to the annual assembly takes place, people will respond coming from remote distances of the Earth and far away lands (Al Hajj verse 27) How will they come? theyll come walking, riding (Al Hajj verse 27) Theyll come in vehicles and by all means of transportation. When you read and think about the meanings of this ayah, you would visualize highways from all paths of the earth; major thorough ways- 16 and 20 lanes- from the North, East, South and West all converging on Makkah because this is the force that is embedded in the Muslims to go to Makkah. We dont have that?! We barely have four lane roads or at the best six lanes leading into Makkah! What have we done?

Are we not responsible for this miserable state of affairs that Makkah is in? When Allah is saying they come from every distant crevice of plane Earth... (Al Hajj verse 27) So, there should be routes from every direction that facilitate this movement onto Makkah- thats not the case, once again. In the 1st instance, they dont want this to be an open invitation to the rest of the people of the world; they dont even want this to be an open invitation to the rest of the Muslims in the world. There are inhibitions, restrictions, limitations, terms and conditions placed on Muslims that the words And make public the call among people to come to Hajj... (Surah Hajj verse 27) Have been reduced to call upon those who are privileged or the elites who can make it to make it to Hajj! They restricted the flow of people to Hajj in that respect. They turn around and restrict the flow to Hajj by cutting it off transportation wise, from the rest of the world! You (can) ask yourself why isnt there a major airport outside of Makkah or at a close distance from Makkah? Why isnt there a main route that links Makkah with a major sea port on the Red Sea? Why isnt there major highways leading to Makkah from different directions? None of this exist! Allah is saying it should exist because people want to flow into Makkah at this time from everywhere in the world but they have other plans. Allah has His plan and they have counter plans to Allah. Think of what you recite and read in the Quran; think of what Allah is telling us and even on the most vulnerable means or weakest forms of transportation (Al Hajj verse 27) OK- we see how Allah is opening up the avenues to Makkah in the meanings of this ayah and we see how the administrators in Arabia are closing and blocking the avenues to Makkah as far as their policies and restrictions are active in our lives today. And make public the call among people to come to Hajj, and when this call to the annual assembly takes place, people will respond- theyll come walking, riding on the most vulnerable means or weakest forms of transportation- coming from remote distances of the Earth and far away lands (Al Hajj verse 27) For what reason? So that they may witness, watch or observe what benefits them (Surah Hajj verse 28) When these people from the different continents of the world converge into that area of Makkah, they anticipate to be witnesses to that which benefits them. What are the benefits that they witness there, when they cannot even express their heartfelt and thought-out feelings and ideas? What do you anticipate and expect to be advantageous and beneficial to you when you cant do such a thing? (Its) as if Muslims are criminals (and) if theyre going to say

something, they going to say something wrong, so you cant say anything. If you want to meet your brother Muslim in the Hajj, you are a conspirator or plotting evil ideas, so you cant meet your brother in the Hajj! If you cant speak your mind and your Islamic conscience in the Hajj, and if you cant extend you hand of brotherhood to your brothers in Hajj, what advantages are there in the Hajj?! Allah is saying So that we may witnesses to our own benefits in the Hajj (Surah Hajj verse 28) And their policies say you are there to witness no benefit at all! This is live coverage of how Hajj is nowadays. and that they evoke, during this season of Hajj, the name of Allah for having given them the lesser lives of existence (Surah Hajj verse 28) Once again- because we are not accustomed to thinking when we read or translate Allahs words, we pass by this ayah and these words without feeling the position of responsibility that Allah has placed us in when we go to His holy sanctuary in Makkah. (Do) you know how much honor Allah is giving you when He says you evoke His name because He has placed you at the receiving end of lesser forms of life (Surah Hajj verse 28) Hes not telling you of what He has given you of cattle or livestock- as this word is translated; but He has given to your service (Oh man who have assembled in Makkah), the lesser forms of life. The sub-human forms of life are at your service. Does anyone feel or understand that when they are in Makkah. You are honored and privileged to be in Makkah on such a day and on such a time and Allah is raising your status and understanding but the humans who are calling the shots there- these Saudi administrators of Makkah and Al Medinah- have for all practical purposes emasculated the meaning of this ayah and other ayaat in the Quran therefore these people who go to Makkah and Medinah and returned have only done the mechanics of what they are supposed to do and their minds and hearts are absent from these mechanics. Once again, listen to these meanings from Allah Number 1- An Naas... Allah is saying as opposed to the selected group of people who make it thereafter meeting certain criteria and conditions; (Number 2)- they come to you walking, bare footed- This occasion is so motivating that Muslims have the determination and will power to go to Makkah even if they are bare footed, provided they have guaranteed the two stipulations (i.e.) az zaad and ar rahilah; they have taken care of the affairs of their immediate family for whom they are responsible and they have taken care of securing their ability to go and come back. If they have the strength and the stamina to go to Makkah, they will do so rijala or mutarajjileen i.e. by foot. With all the barriers that are placed around Makkah, youll not see that as part of those who want to go to Hajj because

the motivation to go to Al Hajj by these types of people is defeated by the official policies that strangulate Makkah to become the zombie and irrelevant image that it has become. Makkah is vibrant, healthy, motivating and uniting! Not so say those who are responsible for it, because you go there and you come back exhausted. Instead of coming back recharged, youre exhausted. You go there to sympathize and show expressions of support with your brothers and sisters, at least, but you come back as detached as when you left! (Number 3)- so that they may witness or see with their own eyes or so that it becomes tangible to them the benefits they gain from coming together in Makkah- (its) true (that) physically they are together but mentally they are worlds apart. All of this we can trace to the deliberate policies that have strangulated the Hajj and choked off Makkah from the Muslims. We challenge those who are near and far to show us what are these manafi or benefits that are manifested or become observable in Makkah and so that they have the feelings of responsibility over the lesser forms of life? Muslims are barely feeling responsible for their ownselves, how can they extend this feeling of responsibility to other forms of life on this planet and elsewhere? Were leaving the khutbah in its original form, but you can use the example of Kosova a decade ago as being synonymous and reflective of many areas of the world, including today where Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. reverberate and beg attention and solidarity. Now, to add insult to injury, we had hundreds of thousands of Muslims who are out of their homes and dwellings and even out of their own countries in the Balkans. The official figure was 250,000 (as they told us), but inside information is that theres a comfortable 600,000 to 700,000 of these Muslims in Kosova who are no longer in their homes and homeland. Will anyone have the courage- youre supposed to feel secure and at home in Makkah; if we are aliens here or strangers there, and not wanted here and there at least in Makkah we should feel at home- but is there any Muslim who goes to Makkah who feels at home and confident enough to stand up and say there are brothers and sisters of ours in the past weeks and months who have been displaced in the hundreds of thousands with killings, massacres and genocide taking place? The obvious answer to that is that is forbidden! (With) the way the rituals of Makkah are described and practiced nowadays it is forbidden to make such public statements! This is a statement of brotherhood and care- isnt the message of Allah at the heart a message of love, care, mercy and affection? The Prophet of Allah says a Muslim is a brother to another Muslim, he doesnt oppress him nor lets him be humiliated and a Muslim to another Muslim is like a building or structure, each part of it reinforces the other. Are we not expected to show our love, concern and affection and care for our brother Muslims in Hajj?! Of all places, we are forbidden by official dictate to do so in the sanctuary of Allah where Allah says it is supposed to be a recluse and retreat for Muslims where they feel secure to express their heartfelt feelings and ideas (Surah Al Baqarah verse 125)

But it is not. Even in Makkah we are not secure. What do you say about an Ummah that is not secure in Allahs holy sanctuary; where prior to the advent of Muhammed even criminals felt secure. The Abrahamic tradition offered those who were social criminals security and a place of safety around the Haram and these who rule today over Makkah do not even meet the standards of jahiliyyah. They are sub-jahili people who do not offer decent Muslims, dedicated Mumins and devoted Muttaqis an Islamic forum to express Islamic care and affection for Muslim brothers and sisters and you have people who say that they have performed the Hajj. We will have people who will be returning from Makkah saying that they are pilgrims. Indeed, they are, but alas mechanical and automotive type of pilgrims who have gone mindless and spiritless and returned mindless and spiritless. For this we ask Allah to expedite the day in which Muslims will regain their affection, brotherhood, solidarity and common destiny in Makkah, Al Medinah and also in Al Quds where we are free to speak our minds and hearts at Maqami Ibrahim, Masjid Al Haram, Mina, Muzdalifah, Safa and Al Marwah, Rami Al Jamaraat, Al Miqaat and at the other places in this Holy of Holies (i.e.) Allahs sanctuary. Brother and sisters, committed Muslims This week, (we have been forthcoming and candid on this affair of the Masjid and barring us from entering into the Masjid), some of the Muslims in this area have once again expressed an eagerness to conclude this ongoing barring of the Muslims from the Masjid for over 16 years now. They have written a statement that all of you should be aware of, (a statement that we have given to a couple of you). All of us will have to consider their attempt to solve this issue. There are details that accompany this effort and if you are willing to know these details, I am at your service. We have been through this for the past 16 years and well continue for another 16 years and another 16 years and however long it takes. What is lacking though, on behalf of their intermediaries is their approach in almost covering up for the other side- even though some of them may have sincere intention at ending this schism that they have evolved throughout these years. Tomorrow, the Muslims in Makkah will be celebrating Al Eid Al Adha, and once again, a word for the wise. Tomorrow is the 9th of Dhi Al Hijjah; tomorrow, the Muslims are supposed to assemble at Mount Arafat, not today; but there are no Muslims who take issue with the Saudi order in Makkah and tell them that we are not standing at Arafat when you tell us to do so on the 8th of Dhi Al Hijjah. Because of that, they force us to pray Al Eid tomorrow, even though tomorrow is not the 10th of Dhi Al Hijjah. This happens almost every year- it is rare that they have Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha on the correct day and it is rare that Muslims have the courage to challenge them on their erroneous dictate of when Eid is! We look forward to being here, (with Allahs permission and leave), tomorrow, for Salat Al Eid at about 10 o clock and we ask Allah who is aware of their intentions and contrivances to have a committed band of Muslims who have the courage and husn At Tawakkul ala Allah to tell them that they are wrong when they are wrong- not as a matter of revenge or personal reaction to them, but as a matter of expressing the truth when and where the truth is lacking.

YAWM AL EID AL ADHA

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Muslims of commitment, conviction, hard work and a struggle.... Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar. Allah is Akbar! Even though it may appear that the forces of those who are the enemies of Allah, opposed and antagonistic to Allah are greater. Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar.

The Prophet of Allah said Allahu Akbar when the forces of those times appeared to be superior to the Prophet and the Muslims who were with him, but that did not mean that they were not going too face the fact that remains embedded in every Muslim mind and enshrined in every Muslim soul. Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar - Allahu Akbar It is true that we have worldly centered Muslims who think, calculate and suppose that there are forces that are greater than Allah and in the time of our Prophet there were also the same forces that were at work. On this day and at this time of the year, hundreds of thousands, (theres supposed to be tens of millions), of Muslims. Theres a place in Makkah that probably not many Muslims pay attention to; that place is where the opponents of Rasulillah met, discussed, deliberated and exchanged opinions on how to defeat Allahs Apostle. Not many Muslims want to go to this place and not many Muslims know the name of this place. Its called Dar An Nadwa- where the conspiracies against Islam and the Muslims were hatched. They discussed placing the Prophet under what we call today house arrest- that idea didnt go through; they discussed how to put the Prophet into permanent asylum- that idea didnt go through; they discussed how to kill the Prophet and they agreed to that idea. The forces that were at work against the Prophet were there from the 1st day; (this) was not because the Prophet was a diplomat or politician in the sense that is understood today- he wasnt! He had the word/book of Allah to render to the rest of Mankind and so they decided in their hostility to Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims to assassinate him. You would ask when Muslims go to the Hajj, why cant they ask where this Dar An Nadwa was?! Or, are there the powers that be who have eliminated it, saying it would be some type of bidah to go and look at the place where the animosity to the Muslims was centered and located? Is there anything wrong with that? This hostility to Allahs Prophet continued unabated; they didnt succeed in their assassination attempt or in the other attempts against him, but their hostility and animus to the Muslims continued until Allah finally- (because of the experiences that the community of the Prophet went through)- they had agreements with Ahl Al Kitaab and Ahl Al Kitaab sided with the Mushriks against the Prophet; they betrayed their agreement with the Prophet; the Prophet signed an agreement with the Mushriks themselves at the Treaty of Hudaibiyah and the Mushriks betrayed this agreement; all the forces around were betraying the Prophet every time he entered into an agreement with them- this pattern had to come to an end and it came to an end in the Hajj! This is a feature of the Hajj that is absent from the majority of Muslims who go to Makkah to perform their Hajj! Where is the Baraah from the Mushrikeen in Makkah we ask?! Answer the question- where is the Baraah from the Mushrikeen who stab us in the back every time Muslims sign an agreement with them?! An ending to these types of agreements between Allah, His Prophet and the Committed Muslims (on one side) and the Mushrikeen (on the other side) (Surah At Taubah verse 1) Does this bother anyone to have the Muslims in the world cut-off the relationship with those who are stabbing the Muslims in the back- theres plenty of them The murderers of Muslims emanate

from this city and what are Muslims doing having relationships with these people (who rule) in this city?! Does it bother (anyone to say to) the Saudi Arabian governors, politicians and diplomats to say to them you are treacherous to Allah and His Apostle because you honor the contracts and agreements that are spilling Muslim blood all around the world! This Baraah is not the signature of a Saudi official some where; it has to be declared publicly, (out loud) A declaration from Allah and His Prophet to the people on the great day of Hajj that Allah and His Messenger are free from these types of agreements with the Mushrikeen (Surah At Taubah verse 3) In our days, when we say Allahu Akbar and when we know quite well what the forces are around us, we mean that Allah will carry this affair to a better day. We havent ended our thinking ability and our efforts for Allah in this world. We know from the Book of Allah and from the Sunnah of His Messenger what it means to cut off relationships with Mushriks who are responsible for quite a few things Number 1- stifling this central message of the Hajj. We ask, on this day while we say Allahu Akbar and while we know that Allah will bring to nil their policies in stifling the Hajj; but we say to them we know these Saudis are protecting themselves, because the Mushriks are protecting them; and they dont want the Muslims to come to Makkah and realize that theres a globalization of policies against the Muslims. They dont want the Muslims to reach the Quranic and Sunnatic conclusion that there should be no dependency relationship upon any Mushrik or kaafir bloc in the world. But, in the meantime, (we remember how just a few years ago) the Mushriks went to them and said we are being hurt when the prices of oil go up; you have to do something about it. This was being done during the days of Hajj this is the irony of it- when these Saudis are saying with their mouths Allahu Akbar in Makkah, they are saying with their works and deeds Amrika Akbar in Washington! And you want to continue to fool the Muslims?! We say Allahu Akbar knowing that these dynamics are at work. These Saudi officials went to the rescue of the Mushriks instead of coming to the rescue of the Muslims! They should be exposed to the rest of the world, beginning from Makkah all the way to Washington. They think that they are going to ride the tide of ignorance among the Muslims?! That tide is come to an end! Let us demonstrate to you how ignorant Muslims are All/most/the overwhelming majority of us know what a gallon of gasoline costed (back then)- $1.80 or $1.90 a gallon. But, they dont tell us how much the Saudis and their cartel- who are in the service of the Mushriks- are selling a gallon of oil for; they tell us how much theyre selling a barrel of oil. We dont know how much a barrel costs over here and were dont know how much theyre selling a gallon over there! Between a barrel and a gallon they want to take the Muslim mind for granted- as if we cant figure out and as if it cant become public knowledge and information how much we were selling a barrel of oil. Muslims were selling a barrel of oil in the world for around $9. A barrel of oil is 159 liters, which is roughly about 40 gallons. With a simple mathematical process/equation, you (can) divide $9 by 40 gallons and you come up with something like $0.25 for a gallon of oil that these Saudis and their

cartel were selling to the kaafirs whos policies are draining the Muslims of their blood. Due to the effort of some more enlightened Muslims within this cartel, the price of oil has gone up in the market here, to $1.80, (depending where you are and what gas station you go to etc.). (Back then), the price went to around $32 a barrel. (Once again, if), you divide- we should not continue to be ignorant Muslims. The Saudis and their group were selling to the Mushriks- who Allah is telling them to cut relations with and to depend upon themselves- for $0.80. So, whats this $1.80 doing at the gas pump? Wheres this extra dollar going? Is there any Muslim around to think about this? There were truckers who were protesting as to why oil had gone up to that price? Yet, its still a miniscule of what its supposed to be! Theyre still robbing us dry of our resources and these Saudis and their company still have more relationships with the Mushriks. What are they doing in the Hajj?! Where is Surah Al Baraah?! How does it fit into the contemporary world? These Mushriks betrayed and were treasonous to the Prophet and so, this type of agreement had to come to an end. There is no question in Islamic history about the 9 th year after the Prophet went to Al Medinah when Surat Al Baraah was revealed and the Prophet sent two of his companions to the Hajj in Makkah and he said to them to declare to the rest of those who were coming that the Muslims were now terminating all these types of agreements with all the Mushriks around. If it was an indefinite agreement, there are four months to lapse and that indefinite agreement is over; and for those timed agreements, when that time period lapses, there would be no renewal of these types of arrangements. Here we are- look at the arrangements they have. One of these other states, the Emiraat in the Gulf, signed a $6billion contract with the American military industrial complex to buy 80 F16s. This means they will depend, (the key word is they will depend), on the Mushriks for their own protection. Allah doesnt want this dependency relationship and the Mushriks will take them to the bank because these planes need maintenance expenses, training, military bases and these Muslims who go to Makkah and say Allahu Akbar come here and pay homage to the Mushriks and Kaafirs and depend upon them for their survival. Where is the meaning of Hajj in all of this?! Where is Baraah in all of this?! It is conveniently swept aside and eliminated from all aspects of being in Makkah. This was not done by chance; this was not a natural evolution of things; there were evil minds that took this Baraah from the Muslims in Makkah, and now they have a free-for-all with the Mushriks. They are more in tune and comfortable with the Mushriks than they are with the Muslims in Makkah. We realize this, and even though this is the case, there[s no dent in our determination; we will go on like the Prophet himself and say Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar. Allah is greater than all that they have on their minds. Allahu Akbar because tomorrow is going to be better than today; Allahu Akbar because we have Muslims around the world who Allah is nurturing and guiding to a better tomorrow. We know what is happening to us; we see that the policies of these Mushriks that have the Saudis and their company addicted were causing 8,000 infants to die daily in the Muslim land of Iraq. Do they think that we dont see and dont know this?! Do they think that we dont see and dont know what they are doing to the Muslims in the Caucuses, Algeria, Southern Sudan, Europe, and the United States?! They have occupied and subverted Masajid, Makkah and Al Medinah and only a few Muslims have the mental courage to see

through the propaganda and rumors engineered to enter into our subliminal being and too see through this faade and realize that theres not really much difference between the Saudi rulers in Makkah and Al Medinah and the Yahudi rulers in Al Quds! Both of them are serving the same interests; both of them are relaxed and comfortable with each other and both of them are trying to combat our consciousness and adherence to Allah and His Prophet- we know theres a war in process and because of that and regardless of that we say Allahu AkbarAllahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar. We will continue to say Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar and let these Saudis and their company stew in their conspiracies against the Muslims. The day shall come and the time shall approach when they shall be held accountable for what they are doing. They hide behind closed doors and have security around- why? Dont they feel equal with the rest of the Muslims? Why dont they come out? We have no security, our securer is Allah; we do they hide and not listen to us and then speak to other people behind our backs? If they have the courage and integrity of Islam that is demanded of every Muslim, then come and speak to us heart-to-heart; man-to-man and face-to-face. Dont speak about us behind closed doors and in the company of your Mushrik superiors. Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar. Theyre afraid of Allahu Akbar, but theyre not afraid of it if it is automatically said in Makkah; they are afraid of it when Muslims know what it means and to behave Allahu Akbar. That is what they are afraid of and their day is approaching and we continue to reverberate, say and echo with our brothers and sisters and committed Muslims anywhere and everywhere in the world Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar- Allahu Akbar. Kullu aamin wa antum bi kheir. An Eid that is a motivated Eid with the meanings that belong to it in the hearts and minds of all of us and unto a better Eid in the coming year.

AHL SAUD- SELF STYLED CUSTODIANS OF THE HARAMAIN!

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen These ayaat are from Surat At Taubah and these ayaat deliver the following meaning, (as much as the English language can deliver in so much words), It is not to be expected from the Mushriks to tend to/maintain/construct the Masajid of Allah while they testify against their own selves a testimony of kufr; they are the ones who have their deeds aborted and they are to dwell in the fire forever. Rather, those who are to

tend to/construct the Masajid of Allah are those who are committed to Allah, who standardize and socialize As Salaah and those who distribute Az Zakaah at a systemic level and they stand in awe of no one and no power except Allah; it is they who are expected to be guided or considered from al muhtadin. Have you placed on a same par/level/footing those who offer water to the pilgrims and those who are in the physical maintenance of Al Masjid Al Haram with those who are committed to Allah, the final day and who struggle and sacrifice for Allahs? In the eyes of Allah or from Allahs perspective they are not the same or not to be equated with each other; and Allah does not guide people or a society who inflict the injustice- of equating these two categories of people together- on themselves. (Surah At Taubah verse 17-19) This is the meaning of these three ayaat in Surat Al Baraah. Here is where we need to bring these ayaat into the context and details of todays world. As we should know, Al Mushrikeen is not a historical word, meaning we can only understand this word during the time that it was disclosed by Allah and we cant understand it in todays world. We have to understand it in todays world. Dont expect Al Mushrikeen to have the Masajid of Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 17) Who are these Mushrikeen? They are the ones who equate other authorities and powers with Allah. Allah says to us And He, (meaning Allah), does not involve in matters of His judgment/judicial affairs/governance/matters pertaining to His rule any other power or authority (Surah Al Kahf verse 26) Al Mushrikun are people who draw in other authorities and power to either crowd out Allah or to rival Allah. So, these are the types of people who are ruling in the Arabian Peninsula today. It is a negative comment on Muslim public opinion to exclude these rulers from the description that Allah has given them. It is not anticipated of these Mushrikeen who figure into their decision making and form of governance other powers and authorities that are inferior to Allah to tend to the Masajid of Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 17) If we understand that the rulers of the Holy Land are Mushrikeen, then we can understand that they will not bring to life, enhance the status and revive the mission that belongs to the House or sanctity of Allah; this is in reference not only to one Masjid in Makkah- Al Bayt Al Haram- or in Al Medinah, it is reference to all the other Masajid that are supposed to be as Allah wants them to be (i.e.) Masajid that belong to Him and that are not controlled by lesser powers and illegitimate authorities. If we understand this ayah, then we can understand the normalcy of the practice of non-Islam in Makkah and Al Medinah- a place to which hundreds of thousands of

Muslims are going to during this time to try to practice what is supposed to be the meanings of the Hajj or be it that these meanings are absent from the way the Hajj is executed nowadays. while these Mushrikeen with their own selves, by what they are doing, are testifying to the fact of kufr or denying Allahs Authority and Power (Surah At Taubah verse 17) They dont deny Allahs presence and theological Oneness- no! They spit out words and ink out pages glorifying the theological Oneness of Allah, but they never ever speak about the Authoritative Oneness of Allah. It makes sense that they do not bring up the issue, because if they do, they are going to show their true character- so why bring it up?! Let the Muslims drown in the argumentations about wahdat As Sifaat and wahdat Adh Dhaat i.e. Allahs unity in attributes and essence. This is where they have the Muslim mind preoccupied; but when it comes to Allahs Unique, unrivalled, singular and unified Authority, this is where they go silent. Whether they know it or not, they have involved other powers and authorities in an area and precinct that is exclusively Allahs. This ayah condemns them! their works, plans and projects have no content to them, they are about to collapse (Surah At Taubah verse 17) Brothers and sisters- it doesnt matter if they have a treasury of trillions of dollars, (which some of us should know doesnt belong to them); they cant even claim what should be rightfully theirs- why? Because the same powers and authorities that they practically attribute to Allah, (they dont verbally say so and they dont confess to the practical Shirk that they are guilty ofno! Never!), but the facts of life are stronger than the propaganda and public relations firms that are at their disposal. These words of Allah are much stronger than the publicity faade that they hide behind. and in the fire they are forever. (Surah At Taubah verse 17) It takes a heart that is connected to Allah and a heart that is related to Allah see through this transient life and costumes that they hide in. So, who is it who is expected to bring life to these Masajid of Allah from Makkah all the way to these Masajid in Washington DC and all the Masajid to the right, left, North and South? You can expect those who are committed to Allah and committed to the social authoritative and financial system of Allah and those who stand in awe of no one and nothing except Allah to bring the Houses/Masajid of Allah back to life and their throbbing hub character (Surah At Taubah verse 18) If we can only listen closely to how Allah is bringing us this information, in this ayah He says and not fear except Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 18)

When you think in the context of this ayah and then bring these meanings into the real world, who/what do people fear? There are two things that we tend to fear or succumb into fearingthose two things are power and authority. No one fears something that has no power and authority! Have you ever, (in your life, when you track back to the moments that you feared something)- if that something didnt have any authority or power to it, you wouldnt fear it. So, these Mushrikeen are exposed by the powers and authorities that they fear in exclusion to Allah. The ones who will bring back life to the Masajid of Allah are those who fear none except Allah. No one else and nothing else! it is they who have the chance of becoming guided (Surah At Taubah verse 18) Bothers and sisters- we have a run down of sorts for you to fill in some of the information that goes with the general understanding of these ayaat. Because many people dont fear Allahs Authority and Power, they dont express these facts and truths to the Muslim public in the Masajid of Allah, at times belonging to Allah such as this Jumah prayer. These rulers in Arabia began their enterprise, (we cant even call it an enterprise or project) or (rather) their power grab as an alliance between the family of Saud and those who were convinced of what is called the Wahhabi understanding of Islam. This was over a couple of centuries ago. Some of what has been said about them pertains to our time. Weve witnessed two massacres of Muslims around the Haram by these Mushrikeen. The reason why this type of government and this type of royal family slaughtered some of their own almost 30 years ago was because the royal family had to report to its real power and authority which is in Washington and Tel Aviv. Because of that they had to slaughter innocent Muslims in and around the Haram- that is Number 1. Number 2- Why did they slaughtered Hujjaj/pilgrims, (this was almost 20 years ago), who came to perform their duties around the Haram in Makkah. Because once again, these Mushrikeen in Jazeerat Al Arab had to report to their seniors and commanders in Washington and Tel Aviv. This is what we, (especially those of us who are old enough to remember these incidents), know. What we do not know is that at the beginning of the 19th century, there were some Muslims from Egypt who were going to the Hajj and around 40 of these Muslims who were going to the Hajj were slaughtered in cold blood- why? Because we are told that these self-imposed rulers on the Hejaz, Makkah and Al Medinah were afraid that these Egyptians were coming with the concept of false idols to Makkah to perform their Hajj. Of course, the Egyptian government is so weak and itself has to report to the same masters and gods of power and authority that this whole issue is buried in history books and doesnt live in the active memory of Muslims today. In 1926, this same gangsters of rulers heard some Hujjaj who were coming to Makkah playing some musical instruments; once again, because this did not meet their self-defined details of the Hajj, they also killed some of them. In the year 1902, there was still a struggle in Arabia as to the power family/tribe that is going to rule, and this family of Saud fought in Riyadh against its rival, (which of course they won), they decapitated their enemys heads and put them on the gates of Riyadh. This is just over 100 years ago; this is not ancient history. Weve seen, heard of and know of decapitated Muslims over 1,000 years ago in Arabia. Weve had the history of Yazid

and Hajjaj and other brutal rulers who were in the area and these continue in the same traditionif they disagree with a Muslim, theyll lob off his head and they take pride and pleasure in doing that. Why? Because theyve displaced the meaning of Shirk and kufr and instead of looking at themselves of being guilty of kufr and shirk, they throw this description and definition on innocent Muslims who do not know better. Here we come to the petroleum age. These types of rulers have been given all of this wealth, (we dont know how many of you know, because this is not an area of information that is supposed to be expressed in public), but some of the princes belonging to this so-called royal family are paid automatically- just because hes a prince- $100 million every year. This is the higher class princes that they have; an ordinary prince who has, (lets say), two wives and two children gets paid $260,000 every month. Many of these have dozens of wives and scores of children. Some people, (some of who are Muslims and some are not Muslims), who did some research and investigation about this royal family found out, (we didnt ourselves do this investigation or research), that King Fahd (who now is six feet under- but still, he lived in our time; this king just died a few years ago), had 100 wives or another way of putting it is he was married to 100 women. Brothers and sisters- remember, these are the family that controls Makkah and Al Medinah as if it is their family business. Hes dead now, but he had a palace worth $3billion- just one of the palaces that he had. This is the person who is referred to in an indirect way in the khutbahs in Al Masjid Al Haram- they say during this time on Fridays wansur imamana i.e. O Allah give victory to the Imam, in reference to this king that we are speaking about. When he was a younger person in the 1950s and 1960s, he used to make his rounds in the casinos, nightclubs and brothels in Europe and the United States and it was normal for him to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in a gambling spree. In 1962, when he went to Monte Carlo, in one night he lost $8million. In the 1980s, this same king goes with an entourage of his to a place called Mabella, Spain and they spend every day around $5million. Remember brothers and sisters- these are the ones who control Makkah and Al Medinah and report to powers and authorities that they have aligned with Allah. This is what Ash Shirk means. On a private holiday, this king takes a fleet of 8 aircraft with him, including five Boeing 747s, accompanied by 400 retainers, 200 tons of luggage and he brings along 25 Rolls Royces and limousines. Brothers and sisters- are these individuals and this ruling royal family included in the ayah Rather, those who are to tend to/construct the Masajid of Allah are those who are committed to Allah, who standardize and socialize As Salaah and those who distribute Az Zakaah at a systemic level and they stand in awe of no one and no power except Allah (Surah At Taubah verse 18) or do they belong to the ayah It is not to be expected from the Mushriks to tend to/maintain/construct the Masajid of Allah while they testify against their own selves a testimony of kufr; they are the ones who

have their deeds aborted and they are to dwell in the fire forever. (Surah At Taubah verse 17) Now we have another king- because of this current king, some Muslims have gone soft hearted and they dont want to expose his character also because they say there is a difference between him and the previous king- his half brother. It is reported that this current king- Abdullah- was complaining why millions of dollars were diverted from a state project to renovating and reconstructing a Masjid in his own kingdom. He complains about that, (but) he doesnt complain about the excesses of his nephews and his brothers. One of them (is) Prince Nayef, the Interior Minister, who gives out orders that certain people can come to Hajj and certain other people cannot come to Hajj- as if Makkah and Al Haram is his backyard! On one occasion, this brother of his who right now is also in line, (one of these brothers is dying somewhere in the United States (they dont tell us which city hes in), because he has cancer- the Defense Minister has cancer); but this other one who is the Interior Minister we are told by those who were stooping in on his telephone conversations that he gave instructions to the police not to divulge to another department called the Committee of Amr bil Maruf wa Nahi An Al Munkar the names of clients of prostitutes. Why? Because some of those clients belong to the royal family! In 2003, (just five years ago), some of these royal family individuals were in California; they took what amounts to a suitcase of tens of thousands of dollars to do what? To buy Viagra! Then, after that they go to the red light districts of the areas there and they spend their time with strippers and prostitutes! Why shouldnt this information become public and why shouldnt Muslims know the character of those who are occupying Makkah and Al Medinah, especially at this time when the Islamic world and Muslim attention reverts to Makkah and Al Medinah because of the Hajj.

They have an Ambassador here who used to sip brandy, smoke Cohiba cigars and play tennis and racketball with the officials in this government! Why cant we know these facts?! (Hes) a person who comes on TV sand brags about being an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency. Why doesnt this information circulate in the Masajid of Allah? Because the Masajid of Allah are controlled, smothered, suffocated and choked by these Mushrikeen and Allah says the truth when He describes them. Brother and sisters, committed Muslims In this week and in the coming weeks, as is the case every year, only 2million Mare permitted to go to Makkah and Al Medinah. This has been the case for the last 20 years. Can you believe that in the last 20 years only 2million go to Hajj every year, (on course give-and-take a few thousand here-and there). But, in a population of an Islamic population that was 20 years ago numbered to

be around 1billion to 1,2billion to and Islamic population today that is at least 1,8billion- and we only have 2million going. There hasnt been an increase in the willingness to go to the Hajj proportionate to the increase in the Islamic population in the world?! We have to have dumbdowned minds to think that 2million people going to the Hajj each year is the number of Muslims who are willing and capable of going to the Hajj each year; but when our Masajid are mentally destroyed, emotionally skewed and physically inactive, then we live with accepting the imposed status quo upon us- not realizing that Makkah is in chains and that the Muslims are restricted. Yes- here in the United States you dont feel it and you wont realize it, but go to other places in the Muslim world where the populations are 100/200/300 million people and observe how many Muslims find hurdles and barriers that make it impossible for them go to Makkah and Al Medinah.

SURAH AL FIL- DRAWING THE PERTINENT LESSONS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen We stand on this Friday, (a few days before the culmination or climax of the responsibilities that are performed by devout and sincere Muslims during this time of year and season of the Hajj. At

this time, we recall and bear in mind Allahs words describing those who are there and who run the affairs of the Hajj And they, these people who are in charge there in Makkah and Al Medinah deter from Al Masjid Al Haram and they, (who are by they use of force controlling Al Masjid Al Haram), are not its custodians; its custodians can only be al muttaqun i.e. those who stand in a lively and conscious fear of the Power and Authority of Allah; although most people are ignorant of these facts. How true can this ayah be as it sheds light on those who today have taken possession of Al Masjid Al Haram and thereby control the movements and even the emotions of those who come to fulfill this lifetime duty of the Hajj from year to year. Let us try to understand this ayah by understanding another Surah in the Quran. This Surah is a short Surah. Our belief is that most of the Muslims have memorized this Surah, and if not that, most of them are familiar with this Surah. This Surah begins with Allahs words Have you not seen how Allah has dealt with the army of al fil. (Surah Al Fil verse 1) This is a way of describing an army. In years to follow, we are familiar with Ashaab Al Jaml or Waqad Al Jaml. This was at a time when Muslims faced off in what may be considered the 1 st outbreak of the most concentrated form of confrontation between one segment of Muslims and another segment of Muslims. Brothers and sisters- when we explain the meanings of the Surah, we want to demonstrate for you that the absence of the meanings of this Surah to todays dictatorship and control over Makkah and Al Medinah. Allah is saying and His words are the most accurate words that can be expressed by a human being. Have you not considered how Allah has dealt with Ashaab al fil. (Surah Al Fil verse 1) Who are these Ashaab al fil? Before we begin to explain to you the meanings of this Surah, what do you know about Ashaab al fil? Just for a moment, go through your mind and try to recollect from your memory what you know of Ashaab al fil. Now, after trying to remember from your minds who Ashaab al fil are, now we will try to bring to your mind, reasoning and attention information that hasnt been there. The absence of this information is what is making it possible for these types of people to impose their god-defying will on the Muslims who want to go there and express their obedience, affection and their gratitude to Allah on this occasion at this time every year. Ashaab al fil is not just an army that came to Makkah out of nowhere. Theres a history to this military movement of people against Makkah and the people of Makkah. What is this history? This history can be distilled in the following wayIn Yemen, which is a geographical area no very far away from Makkah, there was a ruler/king, Abu Nuwas, who had persecuted the Christians. You see- when we read Have you not considered how Allah has dealt with Ashaab al fil. (Surah Al Fil verse 1)

And when we try to think out its meanings, (we can comfortably say that the way Muslims are hypnotized by nonsensical preachers in the pulpit, this information in not recalled; but this is what comes with understanding the status and history of Makkah. This king in Yemen who persecuted the Christians in Yemen was followed by a ruler in Yemen who was called Abraha who came to the support of these Christians. His support was so significant that he built, (what may be considered in the atmosphere of those times and in the conditions of that generations), the largest church in Arabia. He built that church which was called Al Kalees or Al Kullais in Sana. This church was meant to be a challenge to the centrality of Makkah in the lives of these Arabians who constituted the populations of Hejaz, Najran, Al Yemen, and of all of Arabia. These people who were living in all these areas understood that this imposition of an Ethiopian Christian church on their history, geography, culture and religion is a challenge. Compare the lively response of the peoples of those times! One church in Arabia that was meant to be an outpost! Theres nothing wrong with having churches in Arabia- dont get carried away with this type of mentality that governs in Arabia today- this church was meant to substitute or eclipse and diminish the Kabah and the people there understood the purposes of this church, meaning its purposes was to go beyond a religious place of worship to become a social, political and economic attraction and magnet of the people and hence Makkah recedes and loses its original Ibrahimi (in reference to Prophet Ibrahim alaihi salaam) and Ismaili (in reference to Prophet Ismail alaihi salaam- his son) attraction. The people of Arabia were incensed and moved to do something and a person did something. A person from the tribe if Qinana, (remember, this is in the year 570; 40 years before Allah revealed His revelation to His Prophet Muhammed. This Qinani person goes into this church/outpost- of Ethiopian/African intrusion and foray that was understood correctly for its abusive and trouble making character among the remnants of Ibrahim and Ismail- and he grubbily and in a loud voice begins to abuse the purposes of this church so that the rest of the people can see and hear what is going on. This person is identified by the Islamic information that we have in the context of the Quran as being in violation of Al Ashhur Al Hurum. Al Ashhur Al Hurum (was) something that the people of Arabia honored and were conscious of. Al Ashhur Al Hurum is something that we are not conscious of today. We live through Ash Shahr Al Haram but none of us are aware of it! Remember, these Arabians were living through Ash Shahr Al Haram and they were keenly aware of it; the consciousness of the people at that time was a degree and a quality above the consciousness of the people of our time! They saw one church with a military, political and cultural character to be an offense to them. Todays inhabitants and occupants of that part of world geography of scores of military bases that are occupying Arabia and are a political, cultural, religious and military affront to everything Muslims stand for! Like the same Ethiopians that are now showing hostility to Muslims; you read about Somalia a failed State, piracy, civil war, American Imperialist/Zionist military bases on land and in the sea- that was the same background to 570, Ashaab al fil, Abraha, Abdul Mutallib and the birth of the Prophet of Allah! What does this Abraha do? He sees that this attempt at minimizing Makkah and the Haram has been challenged by what he perceives in his mind to be an Arabian commoner. Who is this person who comes into this grand church and then

insults us? Where does he come from? He is told, (as is the case with those who are in the highest positions in the land who have their advisors and consultants), this person comes from Qinana. And Qinana is a tribe that can be traced all the way back to Makkah. He said Oh. Thats the case huh- well, lets go to Makkah and lets show these people what we are going to do. So, he puts together a military and hes on his way to Makkah. In this military, there were new types of arms- al fil, these elephants, (maybe in todays world they would be like the most advanced type of warfare, whether it is supersonic jets or the type of tanks (i.e.) T72s or Abrahams tanks or whatever they are- this was the fighting force that was coming to destroy Makkah. Some of you may have seen images in the Zionist-Yahudi-Israeli press or whatever with airplanes reminiscent of 911 striking the Kabah. If we were aware of our own history, wed know that theyve been through this cycle of attempts before. They bring this force and Abraha positions this force with all of the advanced military hardware that it has at a place called Al Mughammas. This is another thing that is absent and that they deliberately vacate our mind from this vital information. We ask you- how many of you who have gone or been to Hajj, Umrah, Makkah or those areas know where Al Mughammas is? You would think that this is one of the places that all Muslims would be aware of- this is the area from which that military was going to launch an obliterating blow against Makkah and the Kabah. What more do you want? Shouldnt we know where this place- which happens to be on the outskirts of Makkah towards At Taif- is? But here we go in the hundreds of thousands and in the millions every year to Makkah and barely anyone knows where this position is. We ask why is this piece of information taken away from our living mind and thinking selves? Because it has to do with the two issues that figure into the core of our commitment; those issues are the issue of power and authority that are referred solely to Allah. (We can say comfortably), no one who goes to the Hajj and Umrah is aware of this area. Were not saying that this area should become or be incorporated and introduced into the activities of the Hajj- dont misread or misunderstand us. Were not saying that; we know the stations of the Hajj- the Kabah (itself), As Safa and Al Marwa, Jabl Arafah, Al Muzdalifah, etc- but what we are trying to say is that in knowing our history and in identifying the meanings of this Quran, were not creating this. This is an ayah/Quran yutla ila yawmil qiyamah i.e. a Quran that is recited and sequenced until yawm al qiyamah- why should we not know this? Just like they dont want us to know where Khaybar is because that has to do with the issue of power and authority- its off the Islamic map of Arabia. Why? Theres a Quran munazzal that details, informs and brings us up-to-date on the history of Allahs Prophet and the history of the sacrificing generation with him that pertains to Khaybar- a history of tears, sweat and blood. Why can we not go to Khaybar? Who says we cannot go there?! But thats not what Muslims do- you go to Hajj and Umrah and you try to go to Khaybar! Before this slips our mind- the motto this year of going to the Hajj by the Saudi, (we dont like to even call it Arabian) government- this is what they are saying, these are there words no Hajj can be performed without a permit! A permit from whom? A permit from this Saudi family who rules this sacred and sanctified area of the world. Not only are they the ones who impose on us where and when we are physically permitted to be there, they, (through the nexus/network of Masajid and Islamic Centers that they control), they also impose on us to think and what should

be dropped from our thinking. One of the things that should be dropped from our thinking is that we should not be permitted about Al Mughammas, where Abraha stood his army ready to attack and destroy Makkah. Were not supposed to think about Khaybar and many other areas that are live with this history. If history was irrelevant, then Allah would not be opening our minds on the history of Prophets before Allahs Prophet. He wouldnt say to us Do they not stroll throughout the globe or World to see for themselves the consequences of those who tried to falsify what comes from Allah or who tried to belie Allahs Prophets and Messengers. (Surah verse ) Here is a place which is in our minds a non-place- we just dont know it and this is a short Surah with this history. Ashaab al fil are unknowns; the best word that comes across is Ahl Al Habasha. No one is permitted in todays Muslim mind to think of what Al Habasha is doing to the Muslims today. This line and continuity of hostility towards the Muslims demonstrates itself today in a very dehumanizing way. We have conflicting signals out of Al Habasha); Al Habasha had a ruler that was sympathetic towards the Muslims and we acknowledge that because we are people of truth. Were not blind to the facts; but that is not a blank cheque! If there was a ruler in Al Habasha that was sympathetic towards the Muslims, that doesnt mean that there is a statement until eternity that these people in that part of the world are not oppressing Muslims or interfering in the internal affairs of neighboring Muslims or permitting military bases to be positioned in that general geographical area to be used against committed and coming Muslims. We have to see the facts as they are. When the Prophet of Allah said in that area, (meaning Al Habasha), there is a king, potentate or sovereign under whose rule people are not oppressed or offended doesnt contradict with the fact that at another time from that same geographical area a person by the name of Abraha who came with expansionist intentions and with a military scheme to destroy Al Masjid Al Haram, Al Kabah Al Musharrafah and Makkah Al Muharramah. But if you are thinking the way the want you to think, then all of this is not supposed to make a sequential sense out of itself. This Abraha began to communicate with Abdul Mutallib, being that the Hashemis were in charge of the affairs of the Kabah and this persons target was the Kabah itself. After a give-and-take between Abraha the enemy and Abdul Mutallib (and what was left of the practice of Ibrahim and Ismail), Abdul Mutallib simply says to his own folks, family and the people of Makkah at large leave Makkah. We dont know on any other time in history when the people and the population of Makkah had to desert it. Makkah became a deserted city because, (at least they had common sense in them), they saw that they were not able to fight this force. They knew what Makkah was and they knew that Makkah had a Sustainer and a Lord that can take care of it. Abdul Mutallib said this sanctuary has a Sustainer that is capable of defending it. How does this compare with the rulers that we have today? They dont even believe that this House, Sanctuary, Temple or Haram of Allah has a Sustainer that can protect it. What do they do? They go to these same forces that wanted to destroy Makkah and they say come and defend us. Theyre not even concerned with defending Makkah, they want to defend the royal family! You tell us- who is on a higher level of

commitment? (Is it) those who were ruling Makkah at that time or those who are ruling Makkah today? If the people and the administrators of Makkah at that time were living in the minds and hearts of Ahl Saud today and there was a force coming from Al Habasha or from another power coming to destroy Makkah, they would go to another power in the world for protection! If the danger was coming from Habasha, theyd go to some European, American or some other country who they perceive to be a superior military power and say we need your protection. They didnt do that, but does this difference or discrepancy between those who ruled Makkah then and those who rule Makkah today very obvious today? If it is not very obvious in our minds, do we really understand what we are saying when we recite or read this short Surah from the Quran? Have you not considered what your Sustainer Allah has done to Ashaab al fil. Did He not turn their conspiracy into a wayward policy? (Surah Al Fil verse 1-2) Makkah was an empty city, (thats what it was), people left! Then, Abraha and his superior forces began to attack Makkah. What was the result of that? Allah sent tayran ababeel against them. There have been many attempts at our human mind to understand what tayran ababeel means. Ababeel means swarms. Tayran is where we have much give-and-take in what it means. In the straight forward meaning of the word, it simply means birds or the type of animals that fly, but it also could mean any living organism that travels in the medium of the air. So, whatever your final conviction of the meaning of tayran ababeel is, it is of a certainty that Allah inflicted upon this raiding and marauding army a form of punishment that caused them to be destroyed. You would think that if these feather brains of Arabia today were tuned in to what Allah is telling them, they would place their confidence in Allah and take their confidence out of the Mushrikeen. But they dont permit this focus of attention and thats one of the reasons why these rulers and controllers of Arabia prohibit a massive millions of voices of Muslims from declaring Al Baraah from Al Mushrikeen on this day. They see the contradiction and they see that if Muslims are going to re-enact and re-characterize the Sunnah of Allahs Prophet, then Muslim state structures are going to be forced to sever their dependency relationships upon the Mushrikeen and then the issue of power and authority are going to occupy the centre stage of Muslim attention. So, what happened? This rant and super force that came to destroy Makkah was itself destroyed. In the books of history they tell you that this tayran ababeel inflicted, (what is called today), a form of small-pox on these warriors. Most of them were killed; some of them returned and their leader, Abraha, fell ill right there in the area of Makkah and then rode back to Al Yemen, Sana where he died in a very short time. But, what do these dynamics need? They need our involvement. If we just read and dont understand and dont reconstruct and rebuild these meanings in the circumstances and the facts of life to which they belonged, then were not going to be able to read this Surah today and then extend its meanings to the facts of life in our real world around us where there is still an Abraha and inimical forces to Islam and when there are still intentions to destroy the Kabah and its meaning. After destroying it emotionally and psychologically, they want to destroy it with all of the

military and political potential that it has. In that year, Allah decreed that His Prophet would be born. We dont know the exact day that this happened because there are many references to when it may have happened, but it seems like this military onslaught against Makkah was attempted during the month of February in the year 570 on the Gregorian or Western calendar which may have been, (according to some reliable sources), almost 50 days before the birth of Allahs beloved. Brother and sisters, committed MuslimsThe meanings that come to us from Allah are meanings that are pertinent to our lives, activities and to the physical and real world around us. In our time, (excuse the blunt word), we have some crooks who claim that they are the Custodians of the two Harams. These are the ones through which we, (the rest of the almost 2billions Muslims in the world), have to report for permission to discharge a faridah and a rukn of Islam. This is unheard of. Its like saying I need permission to fast Ramadhan! We know thats crazy! No one asks permission to fast Ramadhan. Its like saying I need permission to discharge my Salaah! We know this is ridiculous! No Muslim should ask for permission to perform their Salaah. If we are not asking for permission for the four other foundations of Islam, why are we asking for permission to perform the 5 th foundation of Islam. Thats what we have been doing! We ask these people who speak a lot about shirk, (the way they do), is this not shirk to ask you for permission to show our loyalty, affinity and obedience to Allah? When you come across them, ask them what is this? This is what has just appeared in the past 24 hours. This same government that rules there said the following, (this is in writing in the media), the Saudi government has issued 1,7j each year; but when our Masajid are mentally destroyed, emotionally skewed and physically inactive, then we live with accepting the imposed status quo upon us- not realizing that Makkah is in chains and that the Muslims are restricted. Yes- here in the United States you dont feel it and you wont realize it, but go to other places in the Muslim world where the populations are 100/200/300 million people and observe how many Muslims find hurdles and barriers that make it impossible for them go to Makkah and Al Medinah.

HAJJ- LEST WE FORGET TILL THE NEXT SEASON

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims The institution of the Hajj as it is supposed to be is no loner what it is. Even the original meaning of this Hajj has been in the Muslim mind obliterated. We say this- (we dont feel comfortable saying it, but the

facts have to be stated, as uneasy as they may sit in our minds and hearts. We are going to have to reconstitute and put together again what it means to have a Makkah, a Qiblah, a Hajj and an Umrah- all of these meanings have been assaulted in the course of time by those who have stolen power and as a consequence have stolen Makkah and the Hajj and rendered it an exercise in futile rituals that cannot even motivate a common will to come to the support of those who are supposed to be brethren in faith- sharing the same Hajj, Haram and occasion. We will begin by trying to root the meaning of Makkah and the Hajj from scratch. Obviously, we cannot reconstruct this whole institution in one khutbah, especially when the time is shorter than it usually is and the weather is a little colder than it usually is. We know that Makkah was founded by Ibrahim (alaihi salaam). But how did this happen? This is the information that does not go into the Muslim shared mind. The ayaat in Surah As Saffaat outline for us how this whole meaning of Hajj was planted in humanity. Before Ibrahim founded his way to that one particular area in the world, what was the background, motivation that led to Makkah? The words of Allah in Surah As Saffaat fill us in on these if only we could resonate with these meanings! Ibrahim lived in a land that is now Iraq- the same land that the world is witnessing a war in- that is where the Hajj originated. The people, society, power structure and leaders in this Ibrahimi area of the world in Iraq were fed up with him, (unlike todays Muslims whose Imaan does not even attempt to disturb the minds of the status quo), Ibrahim was so sincere to Allah that he disturbed the minds of those who were in-charge of the status quo; so, when they were fed up with him and had enough of him, They said let us now build a structure for Ibrahim and throw him into this structure of burning fire... (Surah As Saffaat verse 97) Remember- brothers and sisters- this is what led to the building of Makkah. These opponents and enemies of Ibrahim wanted to build a structure to incinerate Allahs Prophet they wanted to plot and plan a conspiracy of sorts against Ibrahim and Allah says we rendered these plotters and planners to be the losers. We made them the inferior party. (Surah As Saffaat verse 98) As this real life scenario unfolded- there were real enemies, (his own people, nationality, ethnic group, folks), were the ones who wanted to destroy him to death! What happens after this clash of wills? He said I am setting out on a course to my Sustainer fore he will guide me or I am going to my Lord who will show me the way. (Surah As Saffaat verse 99) This is the backdrop to Makkah- persecution and attempted murder of Ibrahim. He says He said Im going somewhere where Allah will shed light on this issue. My Sustainer, grant me of the virtuous or do-gooders. (Surah As Saffaat verse 99) Brothers and sisters- sometimes our minds race ahead, but we have to take a moment with Ibrahim here because not only is he leaving a land, he is also leaving his social self; these are his people, his blood and society and this is where he was born, brought up and raised; this is his own family- he is leaving all of that. (If) you want to put it in todays words, hes leaving his ethnicity, nationalism, race and whatever social years were in his past- hes parting with all of that, and when he fears that hes doing all of that, he knows hes going on a course of becoming a stranger in the world, and at that moment he says

My Sustainer, grant/give/provide me with those who are virtuous. (Surah As Saffaat verse 100) As Saliheen- this is a description that does not know the divisions or racism, nationalism and tribalism. Thats what he was looking for! The quality of people. The details of the journey of Ibrahim from that land in Iraq, (that today is occupied by these ferocious forces), and the journey that took him to other places, territories and lands in the course of this lesson is bypassed and we come to a moment in Ibrahims life when Allah responds to his loneliness in this world and says We gave him the good news of a birth of a lad who is genuine in his honesty, gracious in his manners, tolerant where intolerance is the impulse of human nature. (Surah As Saffaat verse 101) After almost a lifetime of having no children, Allah gave the lonely Ibrahim in this world Ismaeel (alaihi salaam). Also, a time period in Ibrahim and Ismaeels life lapses without any details and Allah brings us to a moment in their lives when He says When this lad, Ismaeel, reached the age of sharing the effort of livelihood in life with his father (Surah As Saffaat verse 102) Which means Ismaeel is old enough to assume the responsibilities of a livelihood, which is probably in his teens, i.e. at that time when Ismaeel is becoming the budding/blossoming son to his lonely father in the world, the father says to his son You see, because the political facts are separated from the religious history that we have, here is where the mind is foggy and it shouldnt be, because the facts are presented to us. When this only person in the life of Ibrahim, (i.e. his own son who diluted the alienation of Ibrahim, because now he has a granted son from Allah), who can share in this grand responsibility, there comes a vision/dream to Ibrahim- the dreams of the Ambiya/Prophets are a form of revelation; they have no false dream. He says to him O my dear son, I see in my vision that I am sacrificing you. (Surah As Saffaat verse 102) The fathers speaking to the son- now, consider this- what do you this about this? A Prophet father speaking to a future Prophet son, and what was the response here? He said He said O my dear father, do what you have been told to do, you will find me included among those who are patient. (Surah As Saffaat verse 102) Brothers and sisters- that was the 1st hijrah that we know of in the history of humanity. Ibrahim performed the 1st hijrah from Iraq to Makkah. Later on, the last Prophet of Allah is going to be forced to go on a hijrah from Makkah. Ibrahims hijrah was to Makkah- with that background of excluding himself from the nationalism, self-centeredness, false ways and from the tyranny of his people! Ibrahim was to leave and find solace and comfort in that area that was to become Makkahthat area where all of this is happening the facts of which should come to our minds today! Makkah should be the slaughter house of nationalism, racism, ethnicsm and tribalism if we read and understand our history. The problem is we dont! People dont go to Makkah realizing that this is the place where nationalism, racism, discrimination, prejudice comes to an end- that is why Ibrahim went there and thats why Muhammed left there. The two hijrahs to and from Makkah was because of this! When Ibrahim was forced out of his people and social self, and he was given the

solace and comfort of his own son joining him on this journey to Allah- now his own son has to be sacrificed and his own son tells him

O my dear father, do as you have been told to do, you will find me patient. (Surah As Saffaat verse 102) Right now, theres 1,000 arguments that we, in our lapsidasical minds, can place between Ibrahim and his son, and the most significant argument is that it doesnt make sense for a person to sacrifice his own son, (given all of these elements, background and lifelong history that we are looking at). When both of them, father and son, yielded to Allahs order (Surah As Saffaat verse 103) Remember, (this is very important to remember), that this meaning of sacrifice his son that came to Ibrahim did not come via a direct wahy. There was no direct wahy from Allah in a direct way to do this. This was an indirect way, the same way nationalism, racism or whatever division ism there is takes a grip on human soul and mind, to counter that, Allah indirectly through al manaam, i.e. this vision, (which is true in the case of the Ambiya; it never is wrong), is telling him that this is what you are going to have to do. So, when both son and father understood what Allah is saying, (even though it seems like it doesnt make sense), they yielded to Allahs order. When Ibrahim placed his son in a sacrificial position, (just like when an animal is placed in the position the moment before the knife strikes the neck, Allah says We called upon him- O Ibrahim, you have verified that visual dream; it is such a manner that we compensate those who seek perfection. This is the true ordeal. (Surah As Saffaat verse 104-106) Now, collecting all of these meanings together, who goes to the hajj today to say that I am extracting my personal self from my social self?! Does Makkah impute these meanings on those who are going on the Hajj today, in previous years and in the coming years, or are these meanings lost to us, Muslims, of today?! Yeh- some of us take off the clothes that give us our personal features and we dawn the ihram, i.e. the white garb that is peculiar to the hujjaj. Thats what some of us do, but thats only the physical/surface meaning of the Hajj; how many of us take off our psychological social selves and are liberated there (to know) that the only world there is Allah and the presence of Allah in our own selves? How many of us reach this meaning when we are performing this Hajj, the same way Ibrahim reached this meaning when he gave up everything he had?! The only thing left to him in this world was himself; his obedience and his subject status to Allah and the words coming from Allah and he had to shed the dearest thing to him in life which had multiple, doubled and extrapolated meanings. And We substituted for Ibrahim the sacrificing of his son with the sacrificing of a slaughtered animal. (Surah As Saffaat verse 107) What does the slaughtered animal mean? When we go and sacrifice these animals, how many of us understand that instead of literally sacrificing the nationalism and racism- which are not and cannot be human beings- these are meanings; but meanings turn into human beings and we cannot sacrifice a personal self that is not guilty of these meanings for the social self that is guilty from it. It cannot be done, but what can be done is to substitute that. Instead of sacrificing or being able to

sacrifice that racism and nationalism that is causing much of the problems of today i.e. the ego of the social self. We come and say we are going to sacrifice this is the form of providing what is needed to people who are in need; (brothers and sisters, committed Muslims), in this context we say Allahu Akbar. Allah is greater than these emotions and attractions to nationalism and racism. But no, we are not permitted to go with these meanings to the Hajj! The Hajj itself and the control Makkah have reverted to the tyrannical, nationalist and tribal types of people who were in the time of Ibrahim in Iraq- but now, its a family who owns in many ways Makkah and Al Medinah. Makkah is supposed to be a place where you go and find refuge from nationalism and now, nationalism is occupying Makkah and it will continue to occupy Makkah as long as we are not conscious of these meanings. These occupiers of Makkah and Al Medinah continue to have a network of clergymen and Masajid in the world that every Eid every year they fail brilliantly by taking away these meanings from us so that we go to Makkah as individuals and never as a reconstructed Islamic character. Brother and sisters, committed Muslims As miserable and as rock bottom as this human condition has gone- Allah is greater than it! We recognize and know where we are, and even though we have hit rock bottom, we still have the clarity of sight to repeat with confidence, until the last breath in our body and with a loud voice Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. We know that these people who have stolen Makkah and Al Medinah permit who they want to go there and they bar who they want to go there and regardless of what they are doing and getting away with now, our voice comes from the future and it says to them Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. In the past few weeks, 3,000 Muslims from Gazzah wanted to go to the Hajj, (and, like you can see here for the past 26 years), these same authorities and regimes are interfering in the duties of Muslims. Were not talking about individuals- blocs of people; 3,000 Muslims who are under occupation in conditions of hunger with no food or medicine for there families wanted to go to the Hajj, and there was an elaborate scheme between the Zionist Israeli government and governments in Arab countries, particularly the one in Egypt along with the Saudi government who made it impossible for them to go to the Hajj, and then they turn around and want to blame sincere Muslims for this! They say Hamas is responsible for this! Hamas is not responsible for this; an Islamic Movement with Islamic characters trying to impede Muslims from going to the Hajj?! They may fool a non-Muslim and Western public opinion, but they cant fool us! How much is it going to take? When these same rulers in Arabia had this Conference in New York last month and when the king belonging to that family that has usurped Hejaz called for this conference, some news items told us that his country and government paid the expenses of those who attended this conference, among them the Israelis. Coming along with this crowd as an offence to all of us Muslims- and we say Allahu AkbarAllah is greater than this offence that they throw at us at this time of year- is the Sheikh of the Azhar. (Do), you know what they call him? Al Imam Al Akbar- thats his title i.e. The Grand Imam. He comes with the Egyptian delegation and he shakes hands with the war criminal of the Zionist entity- Shimon Peres- and then, later on when this picture comes out, they ask him dont you know what you are doing? He says No, I didnt recognize the person! That is an excuse that is worse than the crime! Youre called Imam Al Akbar and you didnt know who youre shaking hands with?! Then, when some of the media cornered him on this issue, he said so what? Hosni Mubarak- the President of Egypt shakes hands with him! Why isnt anyone making a fuss about that? Why is everyone making a fuss about me doing it? Well- the problem with Sheikh Al Azhar doing it is that youre not supposed to be a nationalist! Mubarak is a head of a nation-state (i.e.) a

nationalist! He does what his social nationalist character does; hes gone to the Hajj but he never shed that! He never went through the meanings of Hajj! This Sheikh Al Azhar is supposed to be an Islamic character and his supposed to stand for what Muslims are supposed to do and Muslims are not supposed to be shaking hands with war criminals! All of this is done in the season of the Hajj and none of this circulates in the Muslim mind because thats part of the way they want us to lose track with our history and the continuity of our history and who we are. We know this and we say above and beyond our knowledge of this Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. Brothers and sisters- we know that our social presence in this world is bleeding and some of us are hungry and our responsibility is to try to provide for those who are in these adverse times. We know that this is a day of happiness and we have mixed feelings. We want to be happy with those who are immediately with us and we want to share with those who are distances away; with this, we will try to do our best.

ISRAELI AGGRESSION IN GHAZZAH

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Brothers and sisters; subjects of Allah on a path and course to Allah Allah has spoken to us and differentiated what is factual from what is false. How many times has He presented to us the evil, pernicious and vicious history of those who have made it their historical habit to assault innocence and the truth when innocence and truth are combined to do Allahs will. Allah has said to us concerning Alladhina Kafaru min Bani Israeel, that they had the deviant nature and they had the false logic to justify for themselves qatl Al Ambiya i.e. the attempt to kill the Prophets of Allah. This is a Quranic fact that many of todays limping Muslims cannot carry in their minds and lives. A straight out-and-out ayah speaking and

exposing this criminal social, political and military behaviour. This fact is a Quranic statement that lives on until the end of time. This ayah is saying Condemned are the deniers of Allahs authority and power from the Children of Israeel that is due to the fact that they demonstrate their disobedience and aggression. They are in the habit of being disabled when it comes to a social or collective repudiation of the munkar (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78-79) Their character is one that is incapable of assaulting the munkar that they are responsible for. condemned are the acts that they are responsible for. (Surah Al Maaidah verse 79) Its easy to read an ayah like this and its easier to confine its meanings to history; its much more demanding and difficult for some people to bring the meanings of this ayah to current affairs. Why are Muslims unable to bring the meanings into the affairs of this world now and here- why? What happened? We have from those who define themselves as the Children of Israeel who are in denial of Allahs power and authority- these are Alladhina Kafaru. We dont have a common mind that we can put together and zero-in on these deniers of Allahs authority and power; how longer do we have to bleed and die to wake up to the meanings that are given to us and that have been sustained for us by Muslims who gave the most precious that they had so that we are in possession of these meanings. Id anyone afraid to voice and amplify what this ayah means? This is an ayah from Allahs divine self and no Muslim should be apologetic, diplomatic, shy or embarrassed to publicize the meanings of this ayah. Damned are alladhina kafaru from the descendants of Israeel. (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78) Can we, (1.8 billion Muslims in the world), not roar with this meaning and beyond that, can we not focus our minds on this ayah and the other supportive ayaat to understand the nature of the enemy? One of the characters that we have in this world is that some Muslims are afraid to say that we have enemies- we have so many of them who are so vicious and they are doing everything against the book and violating all types of laws- and after all of this some of us cannot even see that we have enemies! How long is it going to take to put this word into our daily vocabulary and behave socially and responsibly with the facts that are killing us? Condemned, cursed and damned (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78) This is a word- Luina; and who is malun? Is it the Sunni? Is it the Shii? Is it the other Muslim? If we can just bring our common mind and focus it on the common enemy and repeat with one voice. This was expressed by Dawud/David and Jesus the Son of Mary (alaihimas salam). Some people have some hangovers and difficulties with this? Come and tell us? We want to see, face and interact with those who are upset with the facts. Lets not take the words of Allah out of context and not add or subtract from them- lets be accurate

Those who deny Allahs power and authority from the Children of Israeel are damned and condemned (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78) Wed like to see any Jew or Christian in this world who has an argument with this statementcome and let us talk about it! Why is it that we dont see them around? They dont want to talk to us about the facts and they want to bomb us into submission away from these facts! Why? Its not because theres no reason or background to this!? Its not that they didnt deserve it! Theres a rationale and purpose for it. that is due to the fact that they are in opposition to Allah and in aggression against Allah, His Prophets and the subjects of Allah (Surah Al Maaidah verse 79) Until who knows when in time?! Can anyone, (especially in the course of the events that we are in today), look the other way and say the Israelis have no aggressive feature to them?! They are peaceful people the media and the loud-mouths all over the place tell us; they say this is a peaceful, beleaguered and besieged nation-state. We dont see it that way; we see that this is a nation-state that is armed to its teeth, with the latest that technology has to offer and with stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction that has bouts and cycles of human beings who are liberal and reckless in using whatever is at their disposal against the Palestinians, Lebanese, Egyptians and Jordanians- these are their immediate neighbors geographically- and against Muslims and Christians who are opposed to their nation-state. Havent we lived with these facts in the past years of our lifetime. Today, we have a military assault that began by these people who say that they have a Jewish state; this is another one of these media fabrications! They have a Jewish state and they began aggression on the Sabbath- last Saturday, six days ago they began this aggression. You would think that if they were Jewish, observing the Sabbath, they would not begin a war on the holiest day of the week, which they did. Then, what do they do? They bomb people in refugee camps! When you see these images and pictures of Muslims who are dying everyday because of the weapons that these enemies of Allah and humanity have, does it not remind you of Condemned are the deniers of Allahs authority and power from the Children of Israeel that is due to the fact that they demonstrate their disobedience and aggression. They are in the habit of being disabled when it comes to a social or collective repudiation of the munkar (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78-79) Does it not remind you of what Dawud and Isa ibn Maryam said? They were in the habit of never taking a public or social or consolidated position against the munkar that they themselves have committed (Surah Al Maaidah verse 79) We read and understand what Allah is saying to us, and then we look around at some of the Muslims, and then were surprised- theres a world apart! Allah is saying some things and teaching us the nature of our enemies; they are not going to take issue with the crimes that they are responsible for- then, we have Muslims nowadays picking up microscopes and telescopes and looking for Yahud/Alladhina Kafaru Min Bani Israeel and wanting to be on their side to

take collective issue with mistakes made by their own. Now, either this establishment of lies around us is correct and theres some redeeming feature in those who call themselves Bani Israeel/Israelis and therefore the Quran and Allah are wrong or Allah and His words are correct and the truth and there is something wrong with the way that this information is presented to us!? We cant continue to live a dichotomy, but this is precisely the real world that we are in! Some weakling Muslims go to international organizations- the United Nations, the Arab League, this-that-and-the-other legal set-up in this world and they want condemnation against these atrocities, massacres, mayhem and bloodletting that is attributed and can be traced all the way to its Israeli sources; we dont need that anymore! It is enough for us that Allah has condemned them! What is left is for us to act. Allah is not waiting for a resolution from the United Nations! Allah and His Prophet are not expecting anything out of the Organisation of Islamic Conference Nation-states- the OIC! What hes expecting is our response to him in circumstances like the ones like we find ourselves in today. We have a world of fabricated and contrived statements that want to tell us that, (this brings back memories of just two-and-a-half years ago), HAMAS are the troublemakers. The media in the Arab world, (some of you may not be aware of this), but there is a cavalcade and a barrage of statements coming out of the official media in Arab countries that say that HAMAS are launching these Qassam rockets against cities, towns and civilian centers and therefore they are responsible for triggering the massive response of the Israeli Defense Forces against the Palestinians in Ghazzah. You would expect this type of propaganda to come from propaganda to come from enemies, not from friends! For the past year-and-a-half or so, these Muslims in Ghazzah have been in starvation conditions; no-ones giving them anything! Oneand-a-half million Palestinians are in an area thats about 150-square miles- and that has been for one-and-a-half year been neglected by world public opinion and those who are supposed to be their cousins! The same people that they belong to! Then, there was a ceasefire that extended for the past six months that was not renewed a week-or-two ago, (with the nature that they have and with the information that we have about them from Allah- their Creator and Maker), they send in their warplanes and drop their bomb on this brave population that has withstood the challenges of the past year-and-a-half, (not to speak about the years and years before that)- what do you do? Do you tell the Palestinians in the name of civilization, United Nations resolutions and public opinion, you have to starve to death?! You have to die because of the siege that has been clamped upon you by the Israeli war machine! Is that what you people in those conditions? Or isnt it their right as human beings to fight back against aggressors, occupiers and people who stole their land and want to legitimize their presence in other peoples countries just because they have a military that they think is more awesome than Allahs power and just because they have media, government and finances that they think can substitute for Allahs authority- these are Alladhina kafaru min Bani Israeel by the definition of the ayaat of Allah! So, these Muslims under duress who are sub-surviving launch the limited rockets and missiles that they have to the areas that are within their reach; these Muslims dont have F15s and F16s and all of this other

stuff- they have these Qassam rockets- so why, (we say with our Muslim minds and hearts), are those in the media, especially in Egypt saying that the Palestinians are somehow provoking the enemy there-by rationalizing and legitimizing what the enemy is doing! Why are they so subservient and slavish when it comes to the Israeli masters that they are not even able to open the borders and have aid, support, merchandise, medicine and foodstuff go to these people who have been in a mode of a slow death in the course of the past couple of years? They dont even have that in themselves! Then, some Muslims want to express how they feel in other countries and you say to them youre not even allowed to express yourselves! Demonstrations were supposed to have taken place after Jumah prayers in Egypt itself, but those who are called lawenforcement came out en masse- when can these individuals who have arms and weapons use them against the enemy and not against the self?! Imagine if, when something like this happens, we had news items in which the F15s and the F16s that are resting on the sands of Egypt and Arabia were sent and they were bombing the military bases and the legitimate targets in Occupied Palestine! What are they good for? Theyve been purchasing and spending all of this budget- hundreds of billions of dollars in all of these years- and when the time comes and you are expected to use this, you do nothing of the sort?! It hasnt been a week yet, and you see Muslims, over 400, have been killed on their watch and over 2,000 children, civilians and innocent people have been injured- youve seen their pictures. What do Alladhina kafaru min Bani Israeel say? They said Oh- its natural! In war there are civilian casualties. Thats the way they dismiss it. Imagine if their were planes that were bombing Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jafa civilian centers in that territory and land and there were hundreds that were killed in one week and over a couple thousand of them injured within one week- would we find the public dismissing this as well with in war there are civilians who are killed?! This is the grand munkar that these Israelis are responsible for. Then, the Israeli sidekicks in Cairo and Ar Riyadh, (among other places), point the finger of accusation against HAMAS. They were pointing that same finger of accusation against Hizbullah two-and-a-half year ago! When it was Hizbullah, they would say Oh- these are Shiis and so they wanted to distance public opinion from Hizbullah by using sectarian language! What do they say about HAMAS?! Is HAMAS Shii?! HAMAS and Hizbullah are fighting the same enemy! To their credit is the virtue of fighting that same enemy, which should be acknowledged by and decent and level minded human being! What are they going to say against HAMAS? That HAMAS are Sunnis? This vocabulary doesnt work! They are exposed by their own words! Some people want to show their opposition to the Israelis in, (of all places), the land in which the Prophet was born and to which scripture was revealed and the authorities- the Arabian sidekicks to the Hebrew/Israelis are acting as if they are preserving the Israeli national interests! They tell Muslims you cannot come out and express yourselves in public. Where in Allahs book or by Allahs Prophet is it stated that Muslims cannot express themselves in public?! The largest expression in public is the Hajj and the Umrah, but they try to gag the Hajj and the Umrah! They dont want that to be a public expression! Say your prayers silently or repeat formulas that have no meaning as you go through the motions of the Hajj and the Umrah. (Cant you) see- this is what happens when they take away from us our public

expression of ourselves- they can drop bombs upon us, kill and slaughter us wholesale en masse, and then, at the end of the day they will get away with it. Why? Because we have this network of Masajid n the whole world that in the past years have led us to the bombings that the Israelis are doing today. Its a shame on those who are making decisions in Egypt to tell the Palestinians who are bleeding in Ghazzah and who have no food in Ghazzah you cannot come into Egypt! When there was starvation and war in Africa, 4million nonSudanese went into Sudan. They werent told you cannot come into Sudan! This was a humanitarian issue and it went un-noticed under the radar. In the same area, when about 1million Muslims in Africa were suffering and they crossed into Arabia, Yemen and Hadhramaut, no one told them you cant come here! Why? (Because) its a humanitarian issue; and now, we have 1million (or so) Palestinians who need as a matter of survival food and medicine, and then the government is Egypt is acting to protect the government in Tel Aviv, says no- you cannot come! Stop where you are! In the past couple of days, the Egyptians are massing their troops in the Ghazzah area- not because they are thinking about action against the Israelis- but because they are thinking of how to prohibit and block any movement of Palestinians out of Ghazzah and into Egypt. Then, some of these, (what are we going to call them), generous individuals want to send help to the Palestinians. Qatar is one of the countries that send some help to the Palestinians via Egypt, and then, at the borders between Ghazzah and Egypt- by the insistence of the government in Qatar upon the government in Egypt- they were given permission to pass on a little help towards the Palestinian people, and the Qatari Ambassador (who was) at the border was watching the Egyptians changing the emblems on the boxes from the flag of Qatar to the Red Crescent! What is this? What type of world are we living in when people are dying and then theres petty issues like the Egyptian government not wanting the Qatari government to take credit for giving a little assistance to some Muslims in Ghazzah, and rips off whatever is attributable to Qatar and places the Red Cresent or Red Cross or whatever other emblem there is on these boxes. This is the misery that we are in when it comes to our own well being and survival. These are the facts on the ground. Allahs words remain eternal Condemned are the deniers of Allahs authority and power from the Children of Israeel by the tongue of David and Jesus due to the fact that they demonstrate their disobedience and aggression. They are in the habit of being disabled when it comes to a social or collective repudiation of the munkar (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78-79) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims May I remind you that prior to this military attack by those who are condemned and damned by Allah, there were 3,000 individuals from Ghazzah who wanted to go to the Hajj, and they were not permitted to go because of the same forces that are now bombing them, participating in this overall campaign against them and who are complicit in these crimes against them viz. the government in Al Qahira, Cairo and the government in Ar Riyadh, Arabia. This government in Arabia cannot see and tolerate Muslims who want to support other Muslims who are in these conditions that we are talking about today! Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- the

question that is moving ever closer into the minds and hearts of Muslims all over is that should we continue to focus our energy and resources on the Israeli/Zionist/Occupiers of the Holy Land, or should we focus on the Arabian sub-Imperialist, sub-Zionist occupiers of the Holy Land? This is a question that does not sit comfortable with many individuals, but the events are going to force those people who feel uncomfortable with this to begin to answer this question. The Prophet of Allah has given us a methodology; he could have picked on any number of enemies in his time, but he dealt with his own (social) self, and we are going to have to deal with our own (social) self! There are news items that say that there are contacts between these rulers in Arab countries and the Zionist regime, and these rulers, officials, kings and presidents are cheering the Zionists to finish HAMAS off. The language has now been synchronized between officialdom in Occupied Palestine and the officialdom in Occupied Arabia! When will we be able to see this with reason and thought? When will we take action against this reason and thought?! You may/may not have heard some of the khutbah that was given just now from this occupied Masjid by a womanizer who is speaking about the New Year. Cant this person who has been dislocated in time and place speak about the real issue, or is it going to hurt him, his masters and their masters?! Muslims get what they deserve! If you feel comfortable with lackadaisical khateebs on the Mimbar, thats what youre going to get! For how long are you going to continue to be at ease with these occupiers of the Mimbar who are accomplices to the occupiers of the Qiblahs and the Harams in the Holy/sacred Land- in the land of Palestine and Arabia? Can this occasion not make you see that there is no real difference between the king in Arabia and the Prime Minister of Israel? IsraHELL is what it is!!!

THIS IS ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP?!

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashar Al Mumineen Our minds lag behind when we try to tune in and practically understand what Allah tells us pertaining to His supreme authority and unrivalled power. We are in possession of a memory that is yet to regenerate the information relating to those who claim- in exclusion to Allah or in collaboration with His divinitythe authority and power that are exclusively His. Today, (meaning in our lifetime), we have kings and rulers under different titles who, (to be out-and-out about it), have pushed Allahs authority aside and claimed that authority for themselves. If we were keen and conscientious readers of Allahs words, we would not tolerate this type of thing happening. Not only has this happened, but it has become entrenched in our societies and countries, therefore we revert to Allahs guiding ayaat and we try our best to regenerate our thinking ability when He speaks to us with our full attention and senses. Brothers and sisters- before we begin quoting some ayaat, ahadith and some precedents in our history, today we have a such of rulers who are imposing, dictating and enforcing upon us their ways, understanding and whatever

else may be imposed on them. Some of these come under the title of kings, (kings can also be extended to those who call themselves Presidents), if we take a look at this dictatorial positions, (this is one of the lamentations concerning our social reality today- not many people are willing to take a look at this! Theres something wrong with the Muslim mind and heart that cant combine themselves together to take a look at these people who should be within out sights and placed within the boundaries, confinements and definitions that come to us from Allah. Whats wrong with us when we cant see and cant take a Quranic look at those who impact our lives. Something is wrong with us! When Allah speaks about these types of rulers- theres an ayah in the Quran in Surah An Naml Verily, when kings or dictators enter or take hold of a society, culture, civilization or any level of these urban social realities (Surah An Naml verse 34) What do they do? they corrupt it or cause it to disintegrate or bring decay to it (Surah An Naml verse 34) What else do they do? and they cause the noble segments of that particular society, (on whichever level it is), i.e. the normal people, individuals or folks in that society to become humiliated; this is their modus operandi, the way they act or this is their nature. (Surah An Naml verse 34) So, this is a negative and a disgraceful of those who function as kings and dictators. Remember- these other titles of Presidents, Prime Ministers or whoever has the ultimate power in a nation-state today- if all of them meet the criteria and cause the decay of society, (we should be mature Muslims; when we are speaking about the disintegration of a social order, that doesnt necessarily mean only a moral disintegration like todays tamed Muslim cultural individuals think; this is a deterioration at every sense of the word)- thats what they cause! You see the economic, political, military, educational, psychological and every type of deterioration that you can think of can be traced back to them! But, something is wrong when we are incapable of tracing this to them. This is the lost link in the way we think! Another ayah in Surah Al Kahf to condemn these types of despotic rulers says Behind or beyond the owners of these ships, (these were young individuals), there was a Malik (Surah Al Kahf verse 79) Once again, we encounter that autocratic position of rulers! What does he do? he used to confiscate or take against the will of the owners what belongs to them. (Surah Al Kahf verse 79) How come the Quran condemns people who are individuals or ruling classes that are called today monarchies or kingdoms but we dont have this condemnation in the psychology of Muslims? Something is very wrong! On this day of Jumah, all who speak from the Mimbar are supposed to remind and advise the listeners of Allahs taqwa. Allahs taqwa should be so strong in ourselves that we should not feel any compunction or fear to express the truth when it comes to these muluk! A commoner, (as it were), comes up to Allahs Prophet and the Prophet sees this person shaking, nervous and fearful, (thats how the

average person behaves when you put them in front of the President or King of the land); and, the Prophet with his insight and keen observation realized that this person was not normal. What did he say to him? He realized why he wasnt normal- he thought wow- this is another one of these grand rulers. He says to him take it easy, be calm. Im not a king, Im not a despot. The Prophet wanted us to have the right psychology. Allah wants us to have the right mentality when we look, (directly or indirectly), at these despots and dictators. Al Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu) said to the Muslims, in reference to his opponents and political enemies if they were to become your rulers they would behave towards you as if they were the Heads of State of Byzantium or Persia. Thats how they would behave! Now, we have over 1,000 and a few hundred years to realize how they are behaving towards us, but how come theres an insufficiency and a deficit of attention, thought, analysis and of realizing who these rulers are? Something is wrong in the Muslim mind and psychology when we are no longer able to see these people for who they are! The word jabbaar, which means someone who viciously assaults others, refers to people who have illegal power and illegal authority and then try to practice this power and authority viciously against their citizens, constituencies and subject- which is happening today. The word jabbaar in the Arabic was used synonymously with the word malik. The ayah in the Quran that refers to official behavior that is vicious, unrelenting, barbaric and savage against the average you and me says and when you viciously attack and assault, you do so with a vengeance and viciously This is quite an accurate description of how the official classes behave towards Muslims whose guilt and crime is to say our Sustainer, Sole Authority and only Power we recognize is Allah (Surah Fussilaat verse 30) Weve seen at the beginning of our common history, when this attitude began to appear on the political and official level of Muslims, we saw and heard, (we repeat because we said this before, many many khutbahs ago), when Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) goes to Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), he says to him woe to you o Uthman! Have you not seen the Messenger of Allah and Abu Bakr and Umar behaving the way youre beginning to behave. This is where the observation of totalitarian and authoritarian behavior was beginning to appear in Islamic society. Unlike today, where rarely do we encounter individuals that can speak like Abi Dharr, at that time, we had plenty of them. He says cant you see or consider the political and official behavior of the Messenger of Allah, Abi Bakr and Umar and the way they were politically expressing themselves and the way you are behaving towards me by the abuse and vicious application of power. Theres also something wrong with a Muslim memory that cannot dig up the facts in its own history after theyve been buried by centuries and generations because of the way that we are ruled. When we think about the Arabia of that time, (the information that comes to us has it), we think that there was this Makkah and Al Medinah and then there was the two superpowers of the time (i.e.) there were the Byzantines and Persians and the other power structures in the area are vague. We dont think that when this message of Islam came and when the Prophet began his God given responsibility to change, not only the psychology of people- but from the psychology of people all the way up to the decision making of people. None of us really have a clear impression of the power structure around Makkah and Al Medinah. Little do we realize that there was a type of government in Iraq- Babil; in, (what is today called), Ash Shaam- Al Ghasaasinah; in Yemen and there was a type of government in Makkah and Al Medinah, (at that time, before it was called Al Medinah it was called Yathrib). Not only are these power structures effectively absent

from our shared memory, but we cannot think of the development and implosion of that social order when Islam took root in the presence of these power configurations in and around the birth place of Islam and the Prophet. The way we think, (we have to say for the 100 th time- when we say we, it doesnt mean you personally or we individually; it means the collectivity of Muslims in the world), and when we try to recollect this information about something called our history, we cannot with a clarity of mind see that there were power structures that were opposed to Allahs Prophet which in todays world is equivalent to governments, authorities and states. The Prophet of Allah had to deconstruct these power centers around him and he wasnt about to that only in the psychological realm and he wasnt intending that in a theoretical sense only. Yathrib (was) where the Prophet 1st found the concrete and potential support that he needed. Yathrib was, (to put it in todays words), something like a Yahudi/Israeli influenced society. This may strike some people as odd. If it strikes you as odd, its because theres a vacuum in the information that you have about that time! The Prophet of Allah was expelled from his own national, cultural, ethnic and tribal context which was Makkah, the Mushriks, Mala and power structure of Makkah and where did he find support? In an area that was predominantly influenced and indirectly controlled by Hebrews/Israeli/Yahud. Now, how does that sound in todays world? Imagine Islam being on the run and Muslims are looking for a place to deconstruct the world around them and reconstruct it in the image given to them by Allah. Once again, here, the common mind that we have is going to run into some difficulties. Why? Because there are notions of nationalism and cultural issues that extend for over 1,000 years. There was a king named Dhu Kilaa, (one of these power figures we are talking about); he belonged to Himyar. Himyar, as you know is the Southern part of Arabia. During the rule of Abi Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), he came with an entourage of over 1,000 people to Al Medinah- thats besides his inner circle. They all came to Al Medinah. It was the talk of the town- Islam was now the power in Arabia (so) lets see who this Muslim ruler is? So, he came to Al Medinah and at that time, Abu Bakr was the ruler of Al Medinah and he saw a humble, average, regular and normal individual; nothing with pomp and pride about him- just a normal person. He was so impressed by this normalcy that he took off his own royal/regal attire and he wanted to dress just like a normal person. The people who came with him said what are you doing? Youre going to embarrass us in from of these people in Al Medinah. Youre a king! He said I was a king before I became a Muslim with all of the pomp, pride and regalia that belongs to kings. I was a king during the time of ignocracy; I am not a king when I become a Muslim. All of these words and much more, (if only we can dig into our past and understand our beginnings), we say, (with humble pride), belongs to us. These rulers of today have been getting away with their fiats and dictates because we are mindless of this history that we share. If we can just regain this vital information, they will begin to disappear- one king after the other! But we assure you- from the humble understanding of Allah, His Prophet and the history of mankind- that they will continue to thrive and kill and their policies of eradicating those who belong to Allah if we remain ignorant and mindless of these vital facts. Subjects of Allah- stand consciously aware of the power and authority of Allah This taqwah should supercharge every Muslim on this day every week, (at least), to have the moral strength and mental insight to speak truth to power. It is not only historical despotic kings that are to be condemned, it is also contemporary and living kings and their equivalents who are to be condemned. It was, (at one time), derogatory in the Islamic mind and language to say that someone is a king! Today, we have Muslim speakers and speech writers who are generous in making reference to some royal highness, monarch and king here-and-there who live within our societies and then impose the will of the

kaafirs and mushriks upon us. They have become conduits for Zionism and Imperialism and the absence of taqwah explains why we dont have speakers who have the moral where-withal to speak against these kings and their Zionist and Imperialists masters and gods! Wheres the taqwah?! (Are) you nurturing taqwah on Fridays?! Where are you, (hundreds of millions of you), Muslims of the world who cannot roar with one voice against these despots and dictators? You say the word king as if it is an honor and title of privilege that belongs to some special individual on the highest levels of society when he belongs underneath the feet of the social order that he is trying to rule. Bankrupt and weaklings we are when we cannot express the information given to us by Allah! But, these are the facts of life?! What are we to do?! Dance around, dodge and ignore these facts?! Or to express them as they are?! In the past couple of weeks, some Muslims who were leaving and they have to leave because of these kings! Who says Muslims have to leave Makkah and Al Medinah? Where do find anything like this? But now, its the law of the land and the world- you, Muslims, cannot stick around or stay in Makkah and Al Medinah for weeks, months or for the rest of your lives! Where did this come from?! These are people who are in violation of Allah and His Prophet. Theres a graveyard called Maqbarah Hawwa South of Jeddah and some Muslims wanted to go and honor that graveyard and then they send their troops. How cowardly!? They send their troops against the Muslims, but cannot send their troops against the Zionists who are occupying, (all around), not only lands but minds and families! Its a shame on us, Muslims, in the world when things like this happen. That was in the Qaruni land. To the East of the Red Sea is Qaruni and to the West is Firauni! They have an intelligence chief- a previous military officer- (the Muslim mind is incapable of working things out; we speak about morality and being good. How can you be good when theyre coming down on you with death and destruction?!)- who says to his Israeli counterparts decapitate Hamas! They speak this type of thing among themselves. They say (Take) look at the Muslims; we have them under control. (Take) a look at these Masajid, Aimmah, speakers and khateebs on Fridays, Eid, and all the Conferences and congregations that they have all around. Theyre all empty. We can say these words and we can do it! And, we better begin doing it before it is too late! Thats how they speak among themselves, and the same criminal comes to a Masjid and the Muslims think theres something special about him! There is something special about him, but not the way Muslims are thinking! Hes special not coming up, but going down!

ISRAELI AGGRESSION IN GHAZZAH

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen, Brothers and sisters- committed Muslims In light of what is happening, (i.e. issues and developments that the whole world is aware of), thats in reference to the two week continuous bloodbath and blood feast that the Israelis are responsible for and in light of the day-to-day details that are coming out from this massacre and mayhem by the Children of Israeel, (or those who define themselves as such), we take another closer look at how Allah defines them and how many of us are incapable of understanding them. We know, (as a matter of just watching and witnessing the bloodshed and attack of innocent people with the killing of over 800 individuals so far and the wounding of over 3,000 other individuals- all of this in the course of just two weeks- as these events unfold, we want to understand, take a closer look and digest the meanings that are brought to us courtesy or divinity. When Allah speaks to us about this war crime behaviour, He says about these individuals and their types- this is a discourse of ayaat and meanings presented to us in Surah Al Jumuah and it brings to light the deep down feelings and the root character of these people today who have the instruments of war

and who are shedding innocent blood and are doing so under the pretext of their security which is a fantastic lie. Say: O you who claim or are of the Jewish faith (Surah Al Jumuah verse 6) This is in reference to the definition that they have placed upon themselves- thats how they want to be known. Many of them dont want to be referred to as Zionists; their public mouth-pieces, at times, dont want us, the gentiles, to think about them as Israelis. OK- so how do they want us to speak about them and characterize them? This is not left up to some speech writer, philosopher or politician to come to us and tell us how we should describe them; these are heavenly words that speak to their true selves. With all the layers of cover and camouflage that they have surrounding them, these ayaat pierce these layers and go to the heart of the matter. OK- so if theyre hiding behind a religious gloss, then were going to speak to them with this gloss that they use to present themselves to the public mind and public world. The word qul (means) say, express, go public, vocalize or state to them. (Its) as if Allah knows that in our time were going to have weaklings who dont dare speak to them using their own words to pry open their collective character! This word qul or say exposes the weakness in us. Even though this is addressed to Allahs Prophet, by extension, it is also addressed to all of those who say that they are the disciples, students and followers of Allahs Prophet. if you claim that you are Gods preferred people (Surah Al Jumuah verse 6) We understand what Allah is telling us, but we also understand the words that they deploy. Using their words and understanding what Allah is telling us- if they claim that they are Gods chosen people, (those who live today are incapable of detecting the words that come out of their mouths when they say that they are Gods chosen people) to the exclusion of other peoples, (if thats who you say you are), then prove it by your desire for death if you are true to what you say. (Surah Al Jumuah verse 6)

This makes sense- if they say that God has chosen them and preferred them above the rest of humanity and mankind, then show us how intent they are on dying if what they say is the truth. Thats trueanyone whos making that type of claim and believes in it knows that the only thing separating them from Allah is death! If theyre chosen by Allah and they feel that they are better than the rest of mankind, then the only thing left for them to do is to desire this death so that they will be with God! If only todays Muslims could understand this meaning, then they would force these Israelis to come to the area of death! The best place that verifies the truth of what they are saying is the battlefield because that is where they will potentially and inevitable encounter death! If we are to understand these words from Allah, then we can act as a catalyst for these words of Allah by bringing them to the moment of death. We saw how they ran away from death in Lebanon two-and-a-half years ago. They couldnt stand it (when) they were brought to the moment of truth and verification and they sued for peace 34 days later; and today, the same scenario is repeated in Ghazzah, they are being brought to within a time period in which they are going to have to prove that they are anxious to die. Then, what does Allah tell us about them- for the doubting Thomas that are out there They will never be anxious to die (Surah Al Jumuah verse 7)

Does this information that comes to us from Allah factor into the politics and policies of the weaklings and the defeated psychologically who have their mouth-pieces and media speaking today (in these circumstances and conditions)? Why will they never desire death? Were not left high-and-dry! Theres an answer why they dont desire death. they dont desire death due to the fact of what their hands are doing (Surah Al Jumuah verse 7) What are they doing with their hands? How do their actions speak? (Take a) look at them- this is what their hands are doing; theyre scrambling their air-force into the air; theyre moving their naval vessels in the sea and they are motioning their armed forces on land to kill innocent people- thats why they dont desire death. Because behind the false and fabricated propaganda that they spew into public opinion, (as they have been doing in these past couple of weeks at an accelerated rate)- behind all of this lurks the fact that within themselves they find a sense of guilt and that acts as a barrier making them unable and incapable of advancing to the moments of death in life! and Allah knows best when it comes to their types who are dhalimeen. (Surah Al Jumuah verse 7) If we wanted to enhance and present these ayaat, meanings and ideas to the Muslim public through the Mimbar or Masjid at the Haram during the times of Al Hajj and Al Umra, or at Islamic Conferences and at the different assemblies of Muslims in the world, we will be told that what you are saying is not wise. Were not saying anything! This is Allah who is speaking; we have nothing to do with this; the only thing we are expressing are the meanings that have been pulled out of our minds for a long time and discovering these meanings and probing their actual applications and indications in our current life. Why do they tell us you cant do that? Because they are part of this military attack and invasion! This military occupation did not come out of the blue. They had to have set the ground work for all of this; and it took years, decades and generations to set the groundwork for what they are doing today. If we have a Quranic and Prophetic vocabulary and they dont mean anything in the world today- if you say the words Bani Israeel or Alladhina Haadu- and it does not equate with real people in the world, it means that they have managed to break the link between us and Allah- thats why they are doing what they are doing today! If we use the words Al Munafiqeen or Alladhina naafaqu or Alladhina fi qulubihim mard, (these are Quranic and Prophetic words), and they dont indicate, define or point to real people around, then once again, that means that they have been able to break the link between us on one side and Allah and His Prophet on the other side. They have been successful in breaking this link for so long that now they are trying to reap the results of this severance of relations between us and Allah and His Prophet- this is how all of this happens! Even when we are in the thick-and-thin of these massacres and holocaust- the victims of a holocaust are now becoming the perpetrators of another holocaust and they want to scare people from saying these things because of their scare tactic called anti-Semitism! Its not anti-Semitic to say the truth or to point to Zionist/Israeli war criminals! We know nothing of the sort if Allah sheds light on their criminal nature, then we will focus our attention of that criminal nature. What are they going to do or say?! You dont see these supporters and loud-mouths who have been praising Israel and its criminal class of politicians and its criminal class of military brass around- where are they now? We dont see and encounter them! If they have something to say in justifying the criminal conduct of these war criminals of theirs in Occupied Palestine, let us hear what they have to say about this?! Why have they gone? Its not enough to only address ourselves to them; we also have to address ourselves to their sidekicks- these so-called Muslim preachers and teachers who roam the land and at times like this, they are incapable of bringing out, (in

light of what Allah and His Prophet are telling us), the true nature of these war criminals who are responsible for crimes against humanity. We can understand why a Zionist/Israeli/Jew doesnt want to speak out against his/her counterparts in Tel Aviv, but we cant understand why Muslims are not able to do so! How did this happen?! Why cant we- the sons, advocates and adherents of Allah and His Prophet say the words of truth at times like this? Does it satisfy anyone to have demonstrations as a reaction to the facts on the ground- thats what we have; we have demonstrations all over the place, (were not trying to knock down people expressing themselves- they have all the right and might to express themselves with their Islamic conscience and minds; contrary to what some of these scholars for dollars in Saudi Arabia say). Just a couple of weeks ago, after this savage bombardment of Ghazzah commenced, you had a person by the name of Al Hydaal- a big wig scholar in Saudi Arabia come out and say demonstrations are impermissible and should not be allowed! Why? Because he says they accomplish nothing and they may lead to a fitnah i.e. a disturbance of the stability of society! These are in a nut-shell what he was saying. If that is what he is saying, we say fine, we arbitrate this issue to Allah and His Prophet; when do they say that public expression of a Muslim heart and mind may cause instability in societywhere does he find that? He doesnt find that it. He has no ayah or hadith to substantiate what he is saying; so he is countered by another scholar from that same country who supports the right of Muslims to express themselves in demonstrations and rallies and that shows us the internal confusion in this ruling family and its insider circle and class of clergymen; it demonstrates to us how conflicted they are! But, besides that, the Muslims have a right to express themselves; but what Muslims should not be doing is reacting and this is our comment on these demonstrations- they come out as a matter of reaction! Therefore, when the course is gone (and) lets say they stop bombarding the Muslims next week or next month- we hope this issue continues until Allahs words are proven and these Zionist/Israeli/Jews run away from death as the ayah describes- then we no longer have any demonstrations or any public momentum or any common mind that can focus on the common enemy- we are not meant to be creatures of our moment! We can take a look at the distant past and understand our present in light of that and then we can work for a better future by combining our past with the present. We are not supposed to be second-fiddle to the developments of the day. They tell us today, after Jumah prayers there have been massive demonstrations for the Palestinians and they tell us the countries noted for these massive demonstrations are Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey among other places that is fine, but after this everyone went home! What is accomplished? Everyone wants to touch base with their own Quranic mind and conscience, but when the Quranic mind and conscience are empty, they go back to an emptiness; but, if they were supplied by accurate and precise information from the Masjid and Islamic Organizations that are around, then we would have a momentum that would lead to taking action; and taking action is the lost component in our social lives. We tell Yahud/Alladhina Haadu/Bani Israeel/the Zionists/the Israelis you have been so far relatively successful in pacifying the Muslim public, but you know and we know that you are running out of time and we know that part of the decision that you made to attack, bombard, besiege and inflict the maximum harm and damage on the population of Ghazzah was made because you feel despair and that you are running out of time and you know that the future is not on your side! We know that we have been reborn, (let us say it to them as blunt as we can), you claim to be smart, the intellectuals, (we know all of that- but let us put it to them as frankly as we can), you have relocated yourselves from every part of the world, and where did you settle? You didnt settle in a periphery of Muslim territory- you chose to settle at the heartland of Islam. You are surrounded by oceans, multitudes and masses of Muslims all around! What do you want to do? Ask yourselves with all the cleverness that you claim- what are you going to do

when you are living dead-centre in the heartland of the Muslims?! Do you think that the more you bomb us the more we are going to retreat?! NO! Youve mis-calculated! The more you bomb us, the more we are going to do to bomb you back and you will see and live to witness these words that come from the future. You will see- if you kill one member of a family, that whole family is going to turn against you; if you kill a family, that whole neighborhood is going to turn against you; if you kill one people in one country, all of the other peoples in all of the other countries are going to turn against you. Some people were told by others (Surah Aal Imran verse 173) In this case the Palestinians, Muslims and the Islamic leadership are told well, you have an alliance of forces, governments and militaries against you. They say that- so what? They want to scare the Muslims. therefore you should fear them or be scared of them (Surah Aal Imran verse 173) That was not the effect- it boomeranged and backfired! They want to put all of these militaries against us, that only contributed to their commitment to Allah i.e. to go all the way to the war front; and what they said to this propaganda and publicity stunts all over (was) enough for us is Allah- there can be no one better than Him to refer our affairs to. (Surah Aal Imran verse 173) The outcome of this is that, with Allahs provision, theses committed and combatant Muslims will turn out in a better condition and in better shape than the one that they are in currently. We dont just repeat these words; we live and die by them and we are willing to die unlike these Zionist/Israeli/Jews who are not willing to do so. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We know its cold out here, (but) there are some Muslims who are enduring conditions that are much much worse than these conditions (for which) Allah will amplify your rewards for; bear with us for another few minutes. In the course of reading and understanding what Allah and His Prophet tell us, there is a class of people called Al Munafiqin and this class of people at times like this becomes evident to the rest of us. The rulers in the countries that are supposedly pro-Palestinian are- behind closed doorsencouraging the Israeli/Zionist/Jews and the Imperialist masters to finish off Islamic self-determination in the occupied Holy Lands. Their behavior bespeaks their character- there has been, (this is only part of the news that comes to us), around 100 physicians from different places in the world- Muslim and nonMuslim countries- who said we are willing to volunteer our time to go and help the wounded and hospitalized Palestinians who dont have doctors to tend to them. And, the doctors who are already tending to them are running out of time, equipment and effort; theyve been tired throughout all of these nights and days! A new team of physicians wants to go in and help for humanitarian reasons and then the government in Egypt tells them you cannot go into Ghazzah. this was in the past week; then, the Egyptian government feels the crunch of all of its decision and then it permits 20 or around one-fourth of these physicians and says well- you can go in. Foods and supplies that are sent to these people at these times of duress are not permitted to go inside except for a trifling amount of the hundreds of trucks that have all the necessities that are needed. At times like this, the government of Egypt says we will permit a few trucks to go in! A million-and-a-half people and a few trucks is equivalent to several shelves in your supermarket! What is that going to do for a-million-and-a-half people?! (Some) people, (especially

some individuals who feel that they are more Egyptian than they are Muslim), feel incensed and offended is someone comes and says that Mubarak has the definition of the Quranic word Munafiq. Hes not Hosni Mubarak, hes Hosni Munafiq! Why should any Egyptian feel offended if we are trying to match the word with the character? Then, what becomes more problematic is tearing off the false labels from those who claim that they are the custodians of the two Harams. Last week, the king in Arabia was visited by a delegation of internationally renowned Islamic scholars led by no one less than Ash Shaikh Allamah Yusuf Al Qaradawi and they had a setting, sitting and discussion with the King, and the King tells them, (they should have known better), but they were the ones who remember, when Fahd died and Abdallah comes in and Abdallah is a better person and this-that-and-the-other; they gave him a flowery image and this same Abdallah tells these Islamic scholars HAMAS are irresponsible, leading us to a dead end and are unreliable. We will not support HAMAS. We will support the Palestinian people, but we will not support HAMAS. We are willing to contribute medicine and food to them, but dont ask us for more than that Now, you tell us- that comes from a person who says that he is the Custodian of Makkah and Al Medinah, this is added to the act of prohibiting 3,000 Palestinians from Ghazzah from going to the Hajj just last month. We cant see all of this?! These rulers in Muslim countries dont even have the decency and dignity to stand by people who they see- in front of their own eyes- going under! Muslims- listen to what these duplicitous characters say- the Foreign Minister of petroleum Arabia in the United Nations a couple of days ago says to all and sundry petroleum is not to be used in this issue of Ghazzah. This Saud Al Faisal, the son of his late father; his father was the one who after the 1973 war said we are willing to cut off petroleum supplies if thats what its going to take to liberate Jerusalem, Al Quds. It seems like this son doesnt even belong to his own father! He says No- no one (should) mention that or think about that. These are the characters that we have! In Norway, all the way up there near the North Pole, (theres not a Muslim government there and these are not on the frontiers of Palestine), their trains came to a two minute stop in remembrance of the victims in Ghazzah. Muslims dont even have a humanitarian pulse in them any more when they are ruling over their own populations!

AL MUNAFIQEEN
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen; Committed Muslims Allah says, (this is in the last quarter of Surah Aal Imran), the meanings of these ayaat not only describe the context to which they were revealed in Arabia explaining to us some of the dynamics of the Battle of Uhud, but they also explain to us the same dynamics that are at work anytime the Islamic effort and the Islamic jihad reaches what it reached at the time of Uhud. Allah in these ayaat is saying the following What has inflicted you or what you were exposed to on the day when the two fighting forces came to meet at the battle field happened to you on that day by the calculation and permission of Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 166) Because we have some runaway psychologies that want us to believe that things are much better when they are done on their terms (i.e.) not when the call of duty arises. In this instance, it was a call of dutywhat do Muslims? They are threatened by their enemy; their enemies have more fire power than they have and their enemies are coming to finish them off. Do they go into hiding? (Do) they try to reach some type of diplomatic solution? (Do) they negotiate their way through these hostilities? They stand up for who they are, even if that means that they have to go to war and sacrifice endlessly with whatever they have. Dont we learn? (As happened then and as is happening now),

Whatever happens to you at the time when these two inimical forces show up or when these two irreconcilable forces meet in war whatever happens is determined to happen that way by Allah and so that Allah will verify those who are committed to Him (Surah Aal Imran verse 166) (Dont you) see, the verification of alladheena aamanu did not come through the number of rakaat in a Masjid, or fasting or going to Umra and Hajj; the verification of those who are truly committed to Allah come at times like these so that Allah will verify those who have dispersed loyalties(Surah Aal Imran verse 166) Theres no way we will be able to figure out those who are committed to Allah if we dont have these sets of circumstances coming our way and without our patience in adversity and our perseverance through these types of circumstances; well never be able to know who is true to Allah from who is faking it with Allah. ... those who are told come and fight on the course to Allah on the cause of Allah or take defensive positions in support of those who are fighting (Surah Aal Imran verse 167) These are clear words, they did not come to expose one personality that has been dead for more than 1,400 odd years or so- ibn Ubaiy the head of the munafiqeen. All of this Quran that was revealed (and meant) to be applicable and current until the end of time is frozen to one munafiq in the time of the Prophet and does not apply to his spiritual, mental and behavioral kinfolk who exist in our time?! (Its) ridiculous! It came to apply to everyone who gains this definition. We have to fill you on this? Look at todays world- theres an attack on the Muslims- committed Muslims- were not talking about nationalists, socialists or secularists, we are talking about Muslims who are committed to Allah and who have the flavor of this ayah in them, and then the ayah is talking about those who are opportunists and who want you to believe that they are on the Islamic side of the issue but in reality they are in the counter Islamic side of the issue so that you may know them (Surah Aal Imran verse 167) People expect us to be moral, (and we are moral and we dont brag about it), and morality dictates that we are concerned with orphans, widows and people who have been put in starvation conditions deliberately by other individuals, rulers, politicians and decision makers. What we see in Gazzah is not an act in nature, it is an act of man and this man who is responsible for this is a criminal man! Why are we not able to put this criminal man behavior in light of what Allah and His Prophet have imparted to us via these meanings of the ayaat that we are quoting, (and that should be quoted in the widest way possible all over the Muslim lands and the world)? At times like this these multi loyalists who are around put on a show that they are loyal to Allah and that performance is done by executing their salaah, siyaam and Hajjthats a show and a cover for their real character and self in their grain. The words of Allah shine light on the personality that they hide because in times like these where are they? When duty calls, do you see them around? To the contrary, whatever they are saying and doing serves the cause of those who are killing- with their armies and militaries- innocent people. If we can say that Abdullah ibn Sallul, the grand Munafiq of the Prophets time, is a Munafiq, (no one can say ibn Ubaiy wasnt a Munafiq), then why is it that today when we have individuals who have the political, propaganda, military character of ibn Sallul, why cant we say Mahmoud Abbas, Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah ibn Aziz are the

contemporary/current ibn Salluls? Whats wrong? We cant think any longer? We cant put one-and-one together? We cant figure out what is happening to us? This is the time when they are told come defend the Muslims. Allah has exposed their political personality by saying what they say hundreds of years in advance of what they are saying now. these Munafiqeen of all times said/say, if we knew there was going to be a serious fight we would follow you (Surah Aal Imran verse 167) ibn Sallul said this to exempt himself from Uhud; he didnt want to go and fight so he said if you guys were serious and if we knew there was going to be a substantial fight that was going to happen we would be with you or fighting with you. This is another way of saying youre an insignificant fighting force, you dont stand a chance in fighting that enemy who has all of what he has. (Its) the same thing that they are saying today. Mubarak, Abbas and ibn Abdul Aziz Aal Saud all say HAMAS is not a fighting force, they are trouble makers if we knew that they could put up a fight with their enemies we would be participants in that fight. What else do Muslims? (Do you) want more guidance and guidelines about people and decision makers like these? You have it- just read the book that you have and understand what Allah is telling you so that these criminals and crooks who are committing crimes- war crimes and crimes against humanity- dont get away with their act. What does Allah say about these types of people who express themselves? Theyre not short in expressing themselves. at times like this, these people who speak like this are closer to kufr then they are to imaan (Surah Aal Imran verse 167) They cant hide behind some rituals; they cant fool the Muslims by substituting words for action- none of that is going to play. Allah from above seven heavens shed light on their clandestine character. they say with their mouths what is not in their hearts(Surah Aal Imran verse 167) If Allah is telling us this, why do we still have some Muslims who are fooled and are taken on a journey by them into the territories of unknown and the ambiguous? The answer is simple- we dont listen to Allah. Even at times like this when Muslim blood is being shed for the whole world to see, we have Muslims who give lullaby khutbahs from the Manaabir. What are they speaking about in these Masaajid? They no longer have the mind and heart that can speak Allahs words when they are needed. Their propaganda- words that they say in public is not how they feel inside of them- these rulers, kings and presidents are closer to kufr than they are to iman. These events and developments prove it. Then, Allah tell us what they are saying is not what is in their hearts. They tell us they are going to have a summit meeting. They had a summit meeting of the Gulf states, and what do they do? The breaking news is that two of these countries that have clandestine and behind the scenes relationships with the Israeli eternal enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the Muslims Mauritania and Qatar decided to freeze their relationship with the Zionist usurpers and thieves of the Holy land and the Holy territories. They dont even have the human quality to say that we are going to sever relationships with the Zionist state. Bolivia and Venezuela, who are a thousands of miles away, (they are not at the borders of Gazzah and Occupied Palestine), have enough decency to expel the Zionist diplomats and close down their Embassies in those countries; and Egypt and Jordan, (who are supposed to be kinfolk of the Palestinians and the Gazzawis), still have the Israeli flag flying in their capitals! What do you say concerning these types of rulers? We say theyve been successful at duping and doping the Muslims for the past 30/40/60 years since the

Zionists stole the Holy land and now they say we have an ignorant Muslim public that only comes out in demonstrations. At times like this, no one today is speaking about turning off the spigots of oil. They tell us dont even think about this. (Take a) look how courageous they are in their baatil and look how we have become cowardly in our haqq! If we dont know who we were at the time of Uhud, then we dont know who we are now, during the time of Gazzah! If we dont know where we were going at that time, then we dont know where we are going today and short of understanding these words of Allah and His Prophet we will continue to these types of circumstances pounding on our attention until we are finally able to understand the words of Allah and the words of His Prophet. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims It is high time that we are able to see through the layers and the pile-up of lies that are calculated to mislead us, especially when it comes to our internal and social selves. How long are we going to continue to tolerate ignorance, (and we say this meaning every particle of the word), coming out of the Masaajid; an ignorance that has piled up the course of all of these years that has made it possible for these Yahudis/Israelis/Zionists to get away by ruling us directly through occupation and indirectly through occupation by proxies? How long is this going to continue? As long as Muslims are not able to say that when Allahs proof is coming to them and when current affairs is explaining it to them they are not able to say Mahmoud Abbas, Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah ruling in Arabia along with other ruling clowns are the equivalents of the Munafiqeen who were living, breathing, acting and conspiring during the time of Allahs Prophet. If we cannot bring them to light they will continue to stab us in the back. During the 1st week, (its been three weeks, now were beginning the 4 th week of this aggression), of this war on civilians and children, how many orphans, widows, broken families and refugees do we have? If people tell us religion is morality then come show us the quality of your religion and morality when you are creating this human catastrophe that is bordering on genocide; show us how compassionate you are as a Muslim or Christian or Jew. Now is the time to prove to us the value of the religious self because thats what you call yourselves; but when we want to take a look at the moral issue in the context that it belongs to, you say no! You are extending yourselves into politics. Were not over extending ourselves into politics, we are observing reality and the reality of the issue is that you have restricted and inhibited yourselves from the scriptural values that you claim to adhere to you; youve abandoned all of that and you have gone into a bloody offensive that has produced a human tragedy, and above all that you tell us we cannot speak about the political and military dimensions of the issue! We have nothing at all to hear from you; you claim that you are civilized, look at your civilization and what it is doing? Where in the Judea-Christian context can you justify the war and bloodshed that you are responsible for today? Because of that, they dont want us to take a look at ourselves? Were not taking about them in Washington and Tel Aviv; were speaking about people of our own flesh and cultures- were not supposed to say that they are Munafiqeen? Do you understand the Quran, the Seerah and our history better than we do? Of course, behind the scenes, you do say you know better than we do because you have your agents in these Masaajids and you have your agents occupying our holy of holies and you say we can dismiss these Muslims- they dont understand what they are talking about. We want to be able to mature and to point to those who are traitors to Allah and His Prophet. In the 1st week of this aggression, Mahmoud Abbas didnt say anything- why? He was expecting are resounding victory for his comradesthe Zionists- against his own people, the Muslims and then he calls for an international force. Why doesnt he tell his Zionist interlocutors to have this international force that he is speaking about within their territories? Why do we have to have international forces in our lands? We have been reduced even in

our ambition- at times like this Muslims should be thinking about arming hundreds of millions who live in that area. (Take a) look, we live in this country- they speak about the freedom to carry arms here; theres no occupation here, there no jets dropping bombs on us and they speak about freedom to be armed or to carry a weapon; what do you say about people who live in skies and territories of occupation? Dont they have a right to be armed and to carry weapons? Why dont we, the Muslims, come out; we the Muslims who are supposed to think for ourselves, (no one is going to think for us), if we are going to think for ourselves and understand what Allah and His Prophet are telling us wed say we have the right to bear arms to liberate ourselves from the occupations that have become the nation states that we speak about. Whats wrong with hundreds and millions of Muslims carrying arms and moving in a systematic way to liberate their Qiblah- whether its the Qiblah in the Quds or whether its the Qiblah in Makkah? Whats wrong with that? (Does) anyone have any issue with this? This Qiblah in Makkah doesnt belong to Imperialist America and the Qiblah in Al Quds doesnt belong to Zionist Israel; but can we think? No! Theyve frozen our minds because they have deactivated the key words coming from Allah and His Prophet in light of which we understand the life and death issues around us. And yes, part of this we are responsible for. What do you think- people who go and pray in Masaajids like this, (count how many millions like these are around the world), no wonder the Zionists and the Imperialists behind the scenes are banking on their agents- the Munafiqeen- that we are unable and unwilling to identify- this is the problem!

ALLAH WANTS TO FAVOUR THE POWERLESS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen Allah says in this ayah that we are all accustomed to hearing discloses the will of Allah. It tells us, (and whoever is willing to listen and whoever is listening while involved and engaged in the facts of life)- this is Allah who is speaking; the Most High says We want to favor those who have been disenfranchised, dispossessed of power or who are powerless in the World (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) Allahs attention is on those who dont have power because He wants His will to come to fruition among these types of people. Allah wants to privilege those who are powerless in the world. This is not an ayah that is peculiar to the Arabians of 1,400 years ago; this is not an ayah that was revealed to us about the status of Bani Israeel when they were in Egypt and had no power; this is an ayah to speak about those who were powerless in Egypt thousands of years ago, those who were powerless in Arabia hundreds of years ago, those who are powerless in our generation and lifetime and those who are powerless in the years to come. Allah says to this powerless of segment of humanity that He wants to favor it and He wants it privileged. But, we have a problem with those who read this ayah and then, after they read it,

they dont want to take note of the mustadafs or powerless people in the world. There are people who read this ayah and the other complementary ayaat in the Quran and they dont want to be reminded of the powerless people in Africa, Asia or here, in America. They want their attention where power is and Allah is placing their attention where there is no power! When Allah is saying this to you and me- us who have no power- He means it. He meant it to the Muslims who 1st heard these ayaat- they were powerless nomads in the Peninsular who did not know the difference between camphor and salt! People who did not attract the attention of anyone else in the world; no one wanted to think about them. In the world of those days, (when) you speak about the Arabian of the Arabian Peninsular, and its a non-subject; similar to speaking nowadays about, probably, the Tutsis in Africa; in that gobbled and besotted mind of the materialistic individual, thats not an issue that he/she wants to listen to, but thats where Allahs attention is. These unknowns in the public mind and these people who are struggling from day-to-day just to existAllah is saying He wants to favor them. In what way? What does this ayah go on to say? We want to render and make of them- through their own efforts (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) Allah doesnt make of anyone anything if they are watching or if they are away from the challenges and hardships of real life! leaders and inheritors when they are involved. (Surah Al Qassas verse 4) So, when the 1st Muslim generation listened to Allahs words, they wanted to become involved and listen to Allah only; everything else was noise. They listened to Him in such a manner that their behavior stands to dictate as a model. As an example to how they were listening to Allah and were not listening to the noise around; (in the time of) one of the successors to the Prophet, there was a delegation from one of the neighboring countries in the Arabian Peninsular- a high powered delegation (with) officials of high standards and rank- and they wanted to come and speak to this Muslim ruler and they were told you will more than likely find him in the Masjid. You have to realize that they went there with power; they had military forces, money, striking power and political power- they went to meet this ruler of the Muslims and they approached the Masjid and asked for him. Someone pointed out that is he. They looked at that human being who had just taken off his garment, placed it under his head and was lying down. They said wheres his guards?! He had no guards! (They said) where are the officials around him?! He had no officials around him. They wanted to speak to him and as they were in this discussion among themselves, he woke up and said who do we have? Who are you? They replied who they were. Imagine a delegation nowadays from America going to a Muslim leader (as they style themselves), who is the Muslim leader who is in the Masjid sleeping on his garment? We want to ask are these models that were produced by the 1st generation of Muslims who were listening to Allahs words? Can they be duplicated? 20 years ago, we had a thrust of Islamic determination say yes- it can be duplicated. A leader of the Muslims had nothing but his mat, his little radio transmitter or receiver and humble possessions around- nothing much to speak of; and, we have a ruler in the Arabian Peninsular itself Remember- these 1st prototypes of Islam came to our attention from that 1st generation of Muslims around the Prophet; this model was not listening to whats in the public mind and how youre supposed to look when dignitaries, (you see, theres cracks in the language that they use; they want to draw your attention away from what Allah is drawing your attention to), Dignitaries! What dignitaries! These are not dignitaries, these are crooks and thieves! What do you say about the ruler in the Arabian Peninsular- Kind Fahd himself whos wealth is estimated to be $20 million! Compare that ruler to the rulers that the Muslims had in the 1 st generation of the Prophet. In the year in which the Muslims were affected by a year of drought, in which there was

scarcely any rainfall, and there were Muslims who were hungry; if the Muslims were hungry on the public level, that means that their leader should be hungry at the state level. He said if the Muslims are eating that, that is what I should be eating. He compared himself with those whop he is ruling; those who he is ruling are setting the standards for him! He went for 6 months eating exactly what the normal Muslim would eat. Where do we find Muslim rulers today who feel the condition of the Muslim subjects and want to live at that level? This is what happens when Muslims are listening to the Quran as they were in the generation of the Prophet and when they are not listening to the Quran as they are today! Some of them dont even want to listen to the Quran and the Prophet when you remind them of what the Quran and the Prophet was saying i.e. when ash shahadah was the ideal possession of any Muslim. Today, barely anyone wants to mention ash shahadah. We can remember during the imposed war during the 1st chapters of Islam reproduced in our generation and time. Lets give you a concrete example of what we mean In the time of the Prophet, when there was voluntary recruitment to go to the war front, we had young Muslims- meaning in their early teens- wanting to go to the warfront and on occasion the Prophet would exclude them because he would tell that that youre too young. One of them, ibn Abi Waqqa who was in his young teens tried to hide behind the others as they were preparing to go to the warfront and he was brought to the Prophet. The Prophet to him you are exempt; you are too young; you dont have to go to the war front. Listen to what this young lad says, (this happens when Muslims listen to Allah and dont listen to the distracting sounds around), he says ash shahadah is a privilege and honor, and I want to be privileged by becoming a shaheed. Why should anyone deny me that privilege and honor? This was politely saying to the Prophet why should you O Prophet of Allah be denying me something that is offered to the rest? I want it also. And, as tender as the heart of the Prophet was, he didnt say to him but you can gain it later; wait a few years. He saw the sincerity in that person to go and give his life for Allah and he permitted him to go and that individual became a shaheed- the same thing took place in our lifetime. There was a war front and there were young individual Muslims going to the war front, but why did we have the noise around? The mainstream media- aswaat ash shayateen- what were the Shaytaani mouth-pieces saying? Look at how savage Islam is! Young people are dying at the war front! YesIslam is savage if the world is everything; because that person lost his life- thats how they think. We dont think like that?! We know that going to the war front is a stepping stone to eternity and ever-lasting life. And dont consider those who have died for the cause of Allah as being dead, for they are alive in the presence of their Sustainer, with the privileges and the honour, and with the sustenance that is offered to them. (Surah Ahl-Imran verse 169) But you see, Allah is presenting us with an offer, and because we have in our make-up too much materialism and jahiliyyah that flows in our conscious and subconscious that some of us begin to think yes- well, dont they have a point when they say such things!? When these kuffaar churn our their negative propaganda against probably or of the best human beings on earth. The Prophet in this regards says I would wish to have become a shaheed and then resurrected again to go back and be killed again and then resurrected again to be killed again. Why? Because of the value and accomplishment of this; and today, because of this noise, propaganda and publicity against shahadah This was not an idle concept in the course of the imposed war on the Muslims. Make no mistake about it- there is a war on the Muslims today- what do you say (about) yesterday (when) the Secretary of State of the United States goes

to the Mayor of Washington DC, and they discuss how to fortify and protect and secure the State Department at Washington DC. Why would they be discussing security at the State Department in the heart of the Capital in Washington if it were not for their belligerent attitude towards the Muslims? Why would they be recalling their nationals/civilians from Ethiopia and Eritrea if they dont have an extended war on their mind in that part of the world? They had recruited the government of Ethiopia and Eritrea in a war at different sorts and levels against an Islamic determination in Sudan. Their puppet, Ethiopia is considered on the American side and Eritrea is considered on the Israeli side. Theres more American influence in Ethiopia and more Israeli influence in Eritrea and both of these were/are considered at a state of war against Islamic determination in Sudan. They are the types no one wants to look at- just like the Arabians 1,400 years ago; no one wanted to look at them; just speaking of them would harm a persons esteem and lower his prestige and thats what we have today. If someone wanted to speak about Islamic reinstatement, determination and revival in Sudan, Iran, Southern Lebanon or Occupied Palestine, then thats an issue not to be breached in public. If you want to speak about these people, you speak about them in private, not in public. In the meantime, there are politicians, diplomats and agents and a whole world of activity that is spelled out in bloodshed in countries in Africa, Asia and even where Muslims exist in Europe- geography is no protection for Muslims- their blood is shed also on European soil. A few years ago we had the saga of Bosnia, then we watched a tragedy unfold in Kosova; should we go far away? Even in Washington DC, Muslims are not permitted by the force and power that they have to go into the Islamic Centre and if there is a neutrality or no bad feelings towards Muslims, then why come and tell some Muslims you cannot go into the Islamic Center in Washington DC as has been the case for the past (26) years, (starting 27 years next month; we fall into that category of powerless Muslims). But, we are proud to be powerless Muslims in the eyes of this world and powerful Muslims in the eyes of Allah- thats where we are; this is our status. To them, who are these on the side of the street? To some of them who are inebriated- almost intoxicated as they go byour voice may seem like a frog- thats how far away they are. Even though they are physically just a few yards away, but on the other hand, there is Allah who keeps watch over those who are powerless. In the Battle of Muta, (there was) around 3,000 Muslims, (thats there number, no more than that), were facing between 100,000 and 200,000 of the enemy. The Romans had come with their arms, divisions, battalions and all the rest of this, and here were the Muslims, (take) a look at them and their bodies- theyre weak; were not talking about muscular individuals in the Arabian Peninsular or images of Hercules; were talking about those who would be dismissed as flesh and bones and then, 3,000 of them see all of this force. (Figure in your mind 3,000 watching around 150,000 troops with the latest weapons) and here you are, you only have your determination- theres nothing else- its your determination to listen to Allah and have Allah listen to you- thats all there is. Then, the leader or commander of this Islamic armed force Abdullah ibn Rawaha (radi Allahu anhu) look s around and he needs advice. Should he enter into a war of disproportion? He listens to the troops that are with him, and they say yes, Islam never gained as foothold, victory or triumph because of superior numbers or military weapons- never. This is our role in history and it is our predicament and destiny provided we are listening to Allah when he says. We want to favor those who have been disenfranchised, dispossessed of power or who are powerless in the World and We want to render and make of them- through their own efforts- leaders and inheritors when they are involved. (Surah Al Qassas verse 4)

This is how we qualify to be Aimmah and Al Waaritheen. Theres no short cuts or dodging this issue, we have to step up to these positions the way that favored generation stepped up to those positions and we have to know that Allah is with those who are with Him. Allah protects those who are committed to Him (Surah Al Hajj verse 38) Allah wants to establish and stabilize our foot steps on this Earth and in this World (Surah Al Qassas verse 5) This is done when all the odds seem to be against us. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to take a position in which youre only listening to Allah? When thats your state of mind, they call you a fanatic and you become a terrorist, fundamentalist and every negative word that they can dig out of their dictionary, but in the eyes of Allah you become His servant, subject, combatant and the repository of His will. Then, the physical power around the Pharoah of thousands of years ago of today and all their support systems, functionaries, officials, agents, informers, spies, commanders and military commanders will see what they didnt expect or what they were cautious about not to materialize of actualize by these bare hands (Surah Al Qassas verse 5) These are not abstract ayaat, these are ayaat that have their extended meanings in the condition of the Muslims today, whether they are in Occupied and usurped Palestine, or an aggressed upon Lebanon, or an imposed civil war in Algeria or a combination of multiple states in the Horn of Africa, or the Islamic Republic in Iran; and, the forces that have been wishing for (30) years now and saying, praying and propagating and spreading all types of information that has (in their words) written off this revolution. The more we stay this course of Allah, the more Allah will have things happen in His due time and according to His schedule. Praise and thanks is due to He Who gives victory to powerless people and He Who humiliates those who are arrogant. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We thank Allah from the depths of our existence and from the bottom of our hearts for having blessed us with His care. There is nothing that can be done to us that will have us disconnect from Allah- nothing. They can kill us- and certainly, that is what they are doing now; they can plan elaborate plans to rob us of our resources- theyve been and still do it; theyve even disregarded their own laws when it comes to usprofiling and secret evidence which violates due process and the Amendment and the Constitution that they have. All of these are at work against a rising commitment of Muslims who are not criminals. (Humbly stated), we are (all in all), probably the cleanest people around. Theyve tried to buy some of us off, but are they succeeding or are we succeeding? Is it they who feel that they are running out of time or is it we who feel we are running out of time? We are secure with all of these evil ideas against Islam and devout Muslims in the world. Officials should be thinking of building a security zone around us here. We wouldnt accept it even if it came from them. We know Allah had a stronger security zone than theirs; we dont walk around with fear and we have no weapons that can match theirs! We dont tell them in our lands that they are not permitted to go into their Churches and Synagogues, but in their occupation of our lands in Palestine and in other lands, they tell Muslims not go into the Masjid and in their own lands,

when they have everything and the where-withal, they still tell Muslims here not go into the Masjid. We are not an isolated pocket of Muslims, we draw our support from Allah. We have confidence and reliance in His judgment, and through the hell-on-Earth that we are going through, we maintain our stoic and determined march to gain the satisfaction of Allah and nothing else. This is not a demonstration or protest on Fridays; this is not sectarian or racial- this is obeying Allah and it has been given all types of characterizations by those who want to distract from Allah. We only join our brothers and sisters around the world who have the same words from the same sources and in unison with them, we ask, plead and beg Allah to offer us one of the two promises that he has given- ash shahadah or an nasr.

GHAZZAH WHERE TO FROM HERE?!

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen Now that the emotional heightened condition of the Muslims is beginning to recede- as is the case most often following the dastardly, cowardly and savage attacks by Allahs enemies, the enemies of His Prophet, committed Muslims and humanity- now is the time to put together the mental pieces in the calmness after the storm. We saw how the Muslims were assaulted, (it could have been any Muslim, its just a geographical mistake that we are thousand of miles away), it could have been any one of us who lived through the hell and the blood-letting that characterized over three weeks of the Israeli Zionist military assault with disproportionate fire power against those who have been caged and imprisoned in Ghazzah for almost three years since the Muslims were elected by their own people to run the affairs of that territory. Many Muslims dont like to speak when the time for them to speak comes; they dont want to tell you and me the truth of the magnitude and range of meanings of what went into the 22 days of unletting attacks on a civilian population. We will begin by saying with guidance from Allah This lesson is taken from the 1st assault on the Muslims in Al Medinah by the Quraish in Makkah and the Mushrikeen of Arabia. Allah says in Surah Al Anfaal Dont have those who are in denial of Allahs power and authority them think that they have won this race or dont you the committed Muslims think for a moment that these kafirs are ahead (Surah Al Anfaal verse 59)

With all certainty, you who are reading and communicating with Allah should know through these Quranic words for certain they are incapable. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 59) For some people, it is hard and so difficult to understand what Allah is saying. They hear these clear words from Allah, (the meanings are clear), but they take these words and meanings and then they take the real world (with) bombs coming down, lives being shattered, fires from the skies, missiles from the seas, tanks from land and a military moving in and then destroying the physical aspects of that society and then they say or conclude that this is an awesome force; i.e. this power that is wreaking this havoc cannot be opposed. That is not what Allah is saying. Your impressions, processing of this information and watching of these events comes out with the wrong conclusion! Thats not how you should be thinking! The best individuals that demonstrate these facts and conclusions are those ruling us. To them Allahs words are remote. What are you talking about? Look at who and what we are. Who are we going to listen to? Who are you going to agree with? Dont let your mind take you on a mental endorsement of what Allah is saying because every Muslim in his right mind does not take issue with what Allah is saying, but more to the point is how you behave. Do you behave according to the projections, diagnostics, insights and the secret information, (as it were), that is revealed to you by Allah? Does your behavior comply with that or is your behavior one that is subjected to the theatrics and the 1 st impressions that come to you from the status quo? Where are you in all of this? This ayah came to speak to the forces that came from Makkah to the committed Muslims of Al Medinah and their leadership because they wanted to destroy it; because they looked around and figured out now the Muslims who just a few years were persecuted in Makkah are now a power so theyre going to have to defeat this power and they are going to have to make out of this defeat a resounding victory for them to make everyone think twice before approaching this Islamic power base in Medinah. These details are exactly what the Israeli/Imperialist combination of power were meant to do with the Muslims in Ghazzah. This Foreign Minister of the Zionist entity who went to Paris just a week or so says that, (of course we are rewording her, but giving you the meanings of what she said), this is not an attack against HAMAS per se, its an attack against Islamic fundamentalists wherever they are and it is a 1st step to recovering the lost territory lost to them. They begin to realize that socially theyve lost control over Muslims and mentally they are losing control over the populations in Muslim countries (so) the only thing left for them is the military option. They said OK- if were beginning to lose these Muslim peoples because of this Islamic program that has been gaining popularity and momentum and progressing incrementally throughout these years at our expense (See, Muslims now are beginning to see through the layers and the accumulation of lies, distortions and fabrications throughout all of these years), so their solution to all of this is to use their military hardware and weapons of destruction to try not only to set the Muslims back, but to eradicate this Islam and they chose to do that by targeting HAMAS in Ghazzah. They had a meeting of experts from all corners of the world in Tel Aviv two or three months ago; they descended upon the Zionist capital to discuss and find ways and means against what they called Islamic fundamentalism, and after they solicited the brains of the world on the subject and the information went to their political establishment, it found the final decision was made by their Zionist military command to do what we saw in these 22 days. We hope and orient ourselves to Allah that this campaign of theirs- as damaging physically as it was- was constructive in the physical and mental sense of the word. They didnt take away from our determination; they did not behead HAMAS. They had the green light from the rulers in Muslim capitals telling them

you are fighting on our behalf. Remember, all of these details and day-to-day developments are available to us for us to place in light of what Allah is instructing us to do. Dont let these combination of forces that are deniers of Allahs power and authority in Makkah 14 centuries ago and today, as well as their Zionist affiliates and Zionist and Imperialists supporters 1,400 years ago and today think they are ahead in this race (Surah Al Anfaal verse 59) Dont you think that they are ahead in this race! they are incapable of achieving the results that they are setting out to achieve. Surah Al Anfaal verse 59) This is what Allah is saying and this how that we be reading and combining the meanings of the Quran with the developments of our day. Then, the ayah goes on and Allah says And muster/rally/obtain/accumulate/prepare/procure everything in your capability in terms of arms, forces and war monks; by doing so, you will terrify the enemies of Allah who are your enemies (Surah Al Anfaal verse 60) These words came to the vulnerable and exposed Muslims of Al Medinah. Theres nothing much that they had; they couldnt go out in military parades and celebrate their might; they could not brag about a military power that they had that was on par with the superpowers of the time; they had none of that, as a matter of fact, they were described by Allahs words Allah gave you victory at Badr when you were a humiliated assembly of people (Surah verse ) If we dont appear on the radar and in the think-tanks of those who calibrate power in the physical sense and definition of the word, that doesnt mean that we dont exist and we cannot be effective and thus victorious. OK- we take this ayah and we want to understand it in light of the societies and people of that time and the societies and peoples of this time. The Muslims did all they could to obtain the weaponry and weapon systems that they were able to do at that time. Allah is not going to ask them to do more then they are capable of doing. Allah doesnt burden a soul or individual except according to the capacity and tolerance level of that individual (Surah Al Baqarah verse 286) The same can be said today, Allah expects us to husband/marshal/rally/tally as much weapons and weapon systems as we as able to do; the question here is who is doing this? Who is trying to put weapons and weapon systems that are not depended on the enemy? The lesson of bloodshed in those 22 days of carnage and genocidal policies should bring this question home! Who in the world of Muslims is trying to procure and produce the weapons that are necessary to fight these vicious enemies who are in our lands and countries with their military bases? When you scan the Muslims from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean- you look at all of these Muslim governments, establishments and decision makers, who are the ones who are procuring and manufacturing weapons that belong to them? It certainly is not the governments in Arabia! None of them throughout all of these years are able to manufacture revolvers- just pistols! They cant even make those! You would think these types of governments learn from the continuous and seasonal wars

that have been erupting in their neighborhood on their borders, but if they cant produce or manufacture their military hardware independent of the governments and the Imperialism and Zionism, then you would think is this Quran speaking to them?! Think about just for a minute- not only are these rulers that we have guilty of participating behind the scenes in this war against innocent Muslims who have been caged for three years in a 150 square mile prison called Ghazzah, but they are also guilty of not being able to provide their own peoples and populations with a military industrial base which they are required to do if they are listening to Allah. Are they doing that? The obvious answer to that is no, they are not doing that! So, if they cant build a military industry for the Muslims and on the other hand they are incapable of leading the Muslims in their salah Scan this same area- the same people who fail and are not able to build an Islamic military industrial base are not even capable of giving khutbahs on Fridays! What are they good for? How come they still rule? Some Muslim inferiors- those who are skillful at contriving apologies- quote this long hadith (that we have quoted many times in the past) that we cannot take issue with them as long as they are responsible for iqamat is salah. (They have to) prove to us that they are responsible for iqamat is salah when they cannot follow the instructions of the Quran and build what is required for our survival and explain to us their iqamat is salah when they are incapable of leading as salah in the Masaajid throughout Muslim lands and countries! Do you see them doing that? But when you do scan this same area, you do find that there are Muslims who are building a military capability that is independent from the world powers. Where are these Muslims? Youll find these Muslims in the Islamic order in Iran, you will find these Muslims trying their best in places like Lebanon and like to whichever degree that is possible in Occupied Palestine and this is whats driving these hostile forces nuts. How can this be? Theyre beginning to show fear, panic and anxiety and thats how they should behave because the ayah tells us thats the way they are going to behave. you will terrify Allahs enemies who are your enemies (Surah Al Anfaal verse 60) Thats why they begin to speak about some Muslims who are acquiring nuclear technology. They give us conflicting signals on how they feel about nuclear technology that has been acquired by one of their client governments (i.e.) the one thats in Pakistan but what we are sure of is that they see the wave of the future and the coming generations of Muslims in Pakistan who will eventually be in control- independent of them- of this nuclear technology that they have and you can expect in the coming years that these kaafirs will move heaven and hell to try and impede a coming generation of Muslims in that country from acquiring the war monks and the means of force and power that does not respond or answer to them in Washington and Tel Aviv. Muslims should be proud that when they embark on their self generating and independent war industry programs that the kaafirs are turning scared, fearful and terrified because of that. this way of panic and anxiety shall go beyond those who are the upfront/obvious enemies of Allah and the committed Muslims and there are still others that are hiding behind the scenes who are also terrified (Surah Al Anfaal verse 60) They are not shaking and shivering in front of the cameras, but they are shaking and shivering behind their closed doors and in their secret meetings. This way of terrifying these enemies goes that deep and now it is exposing these superficial Muslims who are beginning to express their own panic and anxiety.

At the end of the ayah, this military industry that we are talking about it needs money, resources and finances and Allah here is speaking to us- come on lets think. The time of listening with our emotions is gone, now is the time to think with our rational self. If Allah expects us to build a military industry that doesnt rely on anything from these hostile forces, were going to need the money to do that. whatever you spend of anything you shall be compensated of it and you shall not be wronged in any way. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 60) Here, Allah is drawing our attention to the wealth and the money that we have. We are not poor. In the latest financial fiasco in the last several months, officials from the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf confessed that this financial problem in the world has cost them the loss of, (we dont know if this is accurate, this is what they are saying), two-and-a-half trillion dollars. Money that used to or supposed to belong to the Muslims- they are the ones who have stolen this wealth and now after stealing it they lose it! Money can buy everything; you know what money can do! It can buy the best scientists from all around the world. If they had the brains and had the dedication to Allah, they would have set aside twoand-a-half-trillion dollars for building an Islamic military industrial base, but no, they prefer to go to Washington, London and these other capitals and sign on the dotted line for contracts of weapons and these are not one of the most recent weapons, these are the last generation of weapons or the generation before that- it all comes from our resources and budgets. When you place this money on this course, Allah is going to compensate you, but when you have burnt two-and-a-half-trillion dollars, what compensation are you going to get? What acknowledgement do you have? Its enough taking advantage of sleeping Muslims on Friday; how long is this going to go on? Where do these people go for their salah? Where do they congregate? Are Muslims dead? What belongs to us is no longer ours! They kill us with their militaries, they rob us with their client regimes and at the end of all of this we are not supposed to think back! Thats how they want us, they dont want us to think back! They dont want us to begin to explore the possibilities of pooling our resources close together (and) uniting against this common front of Zionists and Imperialist of this world. They want to take the words Zionists and Imperialists out of our Islamic discussions, khutbahs and discourses and theyve been doing this for so long. They tell us- and we are supposed to accept all of this- oh Muslims, you have to be moral Muslims. How moral do they want us to be when our blood is spilling?! Intellectually they have decapitated us! Physically they have dismembered us! Spiritually they have intoxicated us and after all of this you want us to be as moral as to submit to your aggression, occupation and expansion?! If we could only read what Allah is telling us when we are looking at the hard facts of life. Brother and sisters, committed Muslim Allah tells us innocent glory and pride belong to Allah and His Prophet and the committed Muslims We dont belong where we are- this is the most serious dislocation in our history. When Allah expects us to be at one level- lofty as it is- and we find ourselves at another opposite level- as debased as it is. One of the contributing problems to this is that we have a network of governments who have been fooling us on Fridays, religious occasions and during the Hajj and Umrah. They go on fooling us as we go on accepting to be fooled. We thank Allah. Imagine how robust an Islamic psychology is, (that) regardless of all the bleeding in our body (and) regardless of all the dislocations that have taken place, we still are thankful to

Allah above and beyond the inflictions that we endure; and not only that, we are thankful that we can see and identify the major problem that has been weighing so heavily on our lives and existence. Just yesterday, the previous Ambassador, (that was here quite briefly compared to his predecessor Prince Turki), says in the Financial Times that the United States has gone too far in its support of the Zionists. Oh! Now that hes feeling the heat he says the United States has gone too far. Hasnt he gone too far in dumbing down the Muslims?! Thats where youve gone too far! The United States and the Zionists are acting as they should act- we dont expect anything else from them, but we dont expect those who call themselves the protectors and the custodians of the two Harams to behave this way. Now you feel the threat that is coming your way from an Islamic public opinion that can no longer tolerate your second fiddle position with our superior and master kaafirs in Tel Aviv and Washington! Then, we have a silver lining to some of these events in this past month. The Islamic opposition in Syria, (most of which takes its queue from the Saudi Royals), decided to suspend their opposition to the regime in Damascus. They had their own explanations and justifications for doing that in some saying that they dont want to damage the cause their brethren are having in HAMAS and the Islamic oriented in Palestine. If the Muslims are going to prioritize the liberation of Palestine, they have to know that parallel with that goes the liberation of Makkah and Al Medinah. King Abdullah of Arabia receives a letter from the President of Islamic Iran saying that you should be more helpful and more forthcoming towards the victims in Ghazzah. Just today, one of the well recognized scholars in the world gives a khutbah in Ad Doha, Ash Sheikh Yusuf Al Qardawi, and he berates and attacks Arab rulers without naming them. (Cant) you see- we are still incapable of placing names on definitions, but still, this is a step in the right direction and we hope and pray that there is more vitality, resistance and confrontations with those who steal the Holies of Holies in Arabia and in Palestine so that we can dispose of them in the garbage can of history.

YAHUDS TREACHEROUS WAYS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In light and in the heat of events that have come to public attention and moved individuals and societies closer to realizing the nature and truth about the Zionist occupation and usurpation of the Holy Land it is only proper for us to extract meanings and therefore mould behaviors in the context of what Allah tells us in the context of this confrontation and these hostilities. He says to us and His words are the everlasting truth; these ayaat at the beginning of Surat Al Hashr, the 59th chapter of the Quran are not a comment on a detail or a chapter in the life of Allahs Prophet, these ayaat are a diagnosis, an insight and an exposure of the types of politicians, military commanders, policy makers, decision makers and executors who belong to this toxic segment of humanity. This particular group of people want us to believe that our differences began in 1947 and 1948 when the stole the Holy Land. Obviously they were and have been ever since a great and sizable irritant in our social and contemporary existence; but our differences go back with a depth of thousands of years. Our differences with them goes back to the time when they parted company with Allahs Prophets. Being that we are the last repositories of Allahs will and responsibilities we find ourselves at the side of Allahs Prophet opposed to this toxic behavior and poisonous presence that they represented then and they represent now. These ayaat in Surat Al Hashr or Surat Banu An Nadhir. Somehow, as time lapsed, some of these Surahs lost certain descriptions- Surat Al Israa is known by that name and is not known by the name Surat Bani Israeel; Surat Al Hashr is known by that name and not by Surat Bani An Nadhir. We dont know if they had a hand in trying to defuse the central themes of these Surahs by taking away the names of these Surahs that point to their hostile character.

Glorifying Allah is what is in the heavens and what is on earth, it is He Allah Al Aziz Al Hakim who has extracted or expelled those who deny His authority and power of those who say they belong to scripture and forced them to leave their dwellings, their place of residence and their homes for what is going to be the commencing of their assembly, evacuation and expulsion (Surah Al Hashr verse 1-2) Brothers and sisters- listen to these words from heaven shedding life on the darkest characters on earth. Who are these alladhina kafaru min ahlil kitaab? This ayah and this Surah were revealed in the 4th year of the Prophets hijra to Al Medinah. It was obviously after the two major military campaigns that put the Muslims on the political map of the time- after Badr and Uhud. So, why did it develop or happen that these types belonging to the faith, ideology, world view and the political orientation that they belonged that they were forced to leave Al Medinah? OK- here is where the average and normative Muslim mind goes blank! Who are these people that we should be familiar with if, (for no other reason, they are dropping bombs on us; this is real- there is life and death; blood and tears- this is a real issue.) Should we not know the types of people who have been opposed to us from the dawn of history until the birth of our own lives? We know that the Yahudi inhabitants of Al Medinah were of three blocks of people and we are familiar with these names that refer to these three blocks or three Yahudi factions in Al Medinah- Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Quraidah and Banu An Nadhir. Some of our history books tell us that Banu An Nadhir and Banu Quraidha straddled more years of presence in Al Medinah. We are told in these history books that these are cousins who date back to the time of Musa (alaihis salaam) and who were from the descendants of Haarun (alaihis salaam)- the brother of Musa. And it so happened in that early history, just like they broke from Allahs Prophet in Al Medinah, they broke from Allahs Prophet in the Holy Land- North, in Palestine. Musa sent the ancestors of Banu An Nadhir and Banu Quraidha on a military mission against Al Amaaleeq- the Amalik- and during that operation Musa passes on. These people who were charged and given orders in, (what is called today), the West Bank upon hearing that Musa died returned from their military assignment or mission. They didnt want to do anything with it any longer and they came back to their homes. Today that place is known as Aryha, (known in the Latin/American/English languages as), Jericho. When they returned home short of discharging their military responsibilities they were told by their own people you have not lived up to fulfilled your responsibility given to you by Musa, you are not wanted here. So they leave, and where do they find a place to settle or live? It is in that area in Al Hejaz in Arabia, in what was called Yathrib at that time. The years, generations and centuries go by and Allah determines the last Prophet. Here they are once again in front of what amounts to the current and the last scripture that came to them in the time of Musa. When Allahs Prophet came to Yathrib, he signed an agreement with the different social, religious and political groups in Yathrib and its immediate area. These Yahudi factions entered into a social agreement with Allahs Prophet and the most and the least that can be said about this agreement is that they are not going to show hostility to Allahs Prophet; they are not going to act like a break-away faction in society; they are not going enter into military and political hostile alliances against Allahs Prophet, his leadership, the Islamic state and society in Al Medinah. They signed their names to that agreement and then after the battle at Badr when the Muslims were triumphant, these Yahud in their inner circles said to themselves this must be the Prophet that was foretold in the Old Testament, so they felt somewhat comfortable with the agreement they signed with Allahs Prophet; but then, something happens at the military encounter in Uhud. The Muslims were not were not triumphant like they were at Badr and Yahud were watching these developments. So, now they felt more comfortable distancing themselves from the Islamic leadership, decision makers and rulers- in particular the Islamic ruler in Al Medinah. Now, they reconsidered their internal thoughts after saying that this could very well be the Prophet that is foretold in the Old

Testament they said wait a minute here, it seems like the Mushriks in Makkah have an upper hand lets try to communicate and reach a type of understanding with the Mushrikeen in Makkah. So, a person who represents Bani An Nadhir, (this Surah is a spotlight on Bani An Nadhir), by the name of Kaab ibn Al Ashraf goes with 40 other mounted individuals from Al Medinah to Makkah to try and see how things can be worked out with the military force that is at war with the Prophet and the committed Muslims and society in Al Medinah. He meets with Abu Sufyan and they reach some type of cozy relationship. Then, Kaab ibn Al Ashraf returns to Al Medinah with those who accompanied him and the Prophet of Allah knows of this development. Now, someone has to bear the responsibility of treason. You see- because Muslims in these many years have not elevated the meanings of this Wahy and when someone comes and says theres a fact of life that developed during the lifetime of Allahs Prophet and that someone committed treason against him this is not something that circulates regularly and often in the public Muslim mind; think about the act of treason. In the books of seerah, it is well known what happened to Kaab ibn Al Ashraf. A person by the name of Muhammad ibn Maslama (radi Allahu anhu) was tasked by the Islamic leader and leadership in Al Medinah, (were going to use the words of todays vocabulary), to take out Kaab ibn Al Ashraf and thats exactly what happened. On orders from Allahs Prophet- a treacherous person paid the price for his treachery. Does anyone have a problem with that?! People of conscience, morals, manners and civilization- do you have a problem with a person who commits high treason and treachery paying by his life for that treason and treachery? We dont have any problem! So now, this Bani An Nadhir faction that is living among the Muslims- no one showed any hostility towards them or any discrimination; theres nothing that we know in any history book that says so. In todays world, we know what discrimination and segregation means- we dont have any inkling, evidence or proof to say that they were discriminated against or they were segregated where they were living within the Islamic society and state of Al Medinah; but when they commit treason they have to carry the consequences of that treason. This is one demonstration of their political and psychological behavior towards us. Another one in the context of this ayah and in the surroundings of this dynamic There was a Muslim by the name of Amr ibn Ummayah Adh Dhomari who was taken captive. Then, he was released. On his way back to Al Medinah, he comes across two individuals who belonged to the power tribe that took him captive. So, what he did was- being through what he had been through (and) fighting on the side of the Muslims and seeing what the enemies of the Muslims are doing to the Muslims, what he did was, (as we would say in todays language), he took the law into his own hands and he killed two individuals from a power faction called Banu Aamir and he went on to Al Medinah. When he arrived there, the news spread and was brought to the attention of Allahs Prophet. According to the agreement that was signed by Allahs Prophet, the Islamic authority and Islamic state in Al Medinah what was due now to the power faction to which these two murdered individuals belonged to was blood money called ad diyah. The Muslims were poor- the Islamic state, the Prophet of Allah, the Muhajirun and Ansar were poor- at least they didnt have in their budget; they may have had a lot of possessions as individuals but in the budget/treasury that they had, they didnt have enough money to pay what was due to the power faction from which two individuals were killed. So according to the agreement that the Prophet of Allah had had to go to Bani An Nadhir, the Yahud factions of Al Medinah and tell them to help in this regard this becomes a financial responsibility of all the inhabitants, citizens or constituents of Al Medinah and they signed that they will share in these financial responsibilities. So, when the Prophet went to Bani An Nadhir they said let us think about it. By the way, (for your knowledge), the Yahud of Al Medinah lived in what is today equivalent to suburbs. So when the Prophet left Al Medinah central, (so to speak), and

went to the suburbs, and as he was waiting for them to reach a decision he was told that they are conspiring to kill you. It wasnt enough that they were going to Makkah and behind the scenes trying to work out an arrangement with the Mushriks against the committed Muslims, now they actually wanted to kill Allahs Prophet. We have nothing to hide in our history, but they want this history to be buried and kept away from your mind and memory. They want to kill this off- why?! Because in this way they can begin a new beginning; they can then say oh! Our difference, conflict and clash with the Muslims began in 1948 when they usurped and occupied the Holy Land. Wait a minute here- we have much that they have to answer to. Come- give us answers! This is not buried history! This is real! This is true! So then what happened? When they realized that now the Islamic leadership and authority in Al Medinah is going to take them to task for not only entering into a political and military understanding with the Mushriks of Makkah but also for a type of conspiracy to kill Allahs Prophet? Are you going to let people like that go? Of course with the type of Muslims that exist today who cannot live the refined information that we have available to us in Allahs book- this doesnt come from nowhere; it doesnt come from some historian writing some events. These are events that necessitated Allahs words to come down to shed light on their criminal behavior. It is by Allahs decree and direction that those who denied-Bani An Nadhir in this instance and occasion- be expelled from Al Medinah (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) Muslims did not come and say you cannot live with us any longer because you are not honoring your word, Allahs Prophet told them in effect you have forfeited your right to be on an equal par with everyone here as citizens and constituents of an Islamic state. If they behaved themselves none of these would have happened; but the fact is they did not. There is something in their character, politicians and military plan that looks at us with hostility. Muslims you are going to have to come to reason with this! You cant live in a dream world thinking that if you are peaceful then they will be peaceful with you. (Take) look at this- they have starved the Muslims, a-million-and-a-half in Gazzah- they cut off everything to them. Wheres the decency? Wheres civilized behavior? Wheres the People of Book and scripture? Where are all these fancy and flowery descriptions that go around? How does that go? After they also tried to work a relationship with the Munafiqeen of Al Medinah- they had their meetings with Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salul the headhantial of the Munafiqeen and he told them there are 2,000 of us who will come to support you. They had their arrangement with the Mushrikeen in Makkah and their other contacts with other power factions in Al Hejaz, but when the Muslims went to them as a fighting force no one came to their rescue. These Yahud could not rely on people they thought were on their side. Remember- when Kaab ibn Al Ashraf went and met with Abi Sufyan in Makkah, they met around the Kabah. This is also one of the details that is conveniently omitted from the public Muslim mind. Not many people want to speak about these dynamics because then the pieces of the puzzle are going to come together- something that the Zionists and Imperialist hand dont want to happen and something that the Islamic faithful in Zionism and Imperialism go along with. So, when the Muslims presented themselves militarily to this treacherous power faction of Yahud in Al Medinah, they said but can we pay our way out of this; can we reach some other type of arrangement? The answer was a straight forward and a clear one, NO! you committed treachery and youre going to pay for it. You leave! Every three families were given one camel to put whatever they can on that camel and leave; and thats what they did. Where did they go? Some of them went to Khaybar and others went up North, to where they originally came from- Palestine. This is one thing that Muslims are not capable of defining nowadays. There are many actions and motions of inter-faith get-togethers, conferences and meetings oh you are Ahl Al kitaab.

Allah is telling us there is a strong proportion of these Ahl Al Kitaab who are who are kuffaar/Kafirs and this ayah explains to us who they are and they come to light in the military context that defines them. We have a military context today why doesnt anybody want to make the connection between the military context today and Quranic context or words that we read? Whats wrong? Allah is saying to the committed Muslims even you did not think this was going to happen (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) Why? Because these people were fortified. They had six or seven fortresses in the Al Hejaz. Probably the most famous one that everyone knows is the one in Khaybar; not many people know that they had one in Yathrib called Az Zahratu. They had fortresses and fortification; they had money and millionaires. Kaab ibn Ashraf, the person who was taken out was, (in todays language), a millionaire. Another person by the name of Assamouan/Samuel, ibn Abi Al Huqaiq- these were millionaires, but they dont register. (If) you come to todays run-of-the-mill Muslim and say OK- Yahud are rich today and we can point out some of their characters in todays world; OK- they were rich at the time of Allahs Prophet; they had agriculture and trade, they were very prosperous- can you point the millionaires then? And we are empty minded. All of this has contributed to presenting the issue the way they want to present it, not the way we want to present it! Why dont they speak to us about their crimes? No one wants to speak about their crimes, but why dont we ask them about their crimes? Because we dont have the information! ... you never thought that they will be expelled (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) You never thought itll come to this, but it did. and they thought that the fortifications that they had was enough to keep them safe (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) (Cant) you see? Security- the buzz word in their society today was a buzz word in their psychology thensecurity, security, security. Theyd kill for security; theyll rob nations for security. This is what they did then and this is what theyre doing now, but we dont have the full picture together. ... but Allah came to them in an area that they were not prepared for (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) They were making all these preparations, but they never thought that their allies are going to give up on them; they never thought that the Muslims are going to be so forceful against them with the limited potential or the limited wherewithal that they had. They looked at the Muslims Ah- this is not really a fighting force. Just like today, they look at the Muslims and they say HAMAS is not really a fighting force. Their lie is being exposed ... Allah came to them from an area and direction that they were oblivious of (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) They never thought that they are going to be hit and struck the way they were, and He struck terror into their hearts (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) Thats what happens when Muslims- with the limited resources that are available to us- do what we are supposed to do- these dynamics begin to work; they begin to manifest signs of being terrorized. (But),

then Muslims want to run away. We have nothing to do with the terror the way it is designed and implemented and executed by the CIA. We have nothing to do with the terror like in 9/11 thats not how it works. When we face them as is required in the field with what may be limited military means and they may have unlimited military means but what comes to them- the terror they live with. Have you realized that in the past months there have been legal motions against these criminals and they dont want to divulge the names of their officers and military personnel who were involved in implementing these acts of terror? Theyre afraid- you dont see them around- look! But see the Muslims- what can we be afraid of?! This is a day of Jumah and Taqwa; and Taqwa means that we factor in and are conscious and certain that Allah is the power and authority; all of these other powers and authorities dont appear on our radar. these Zionists of old and now are destroying their homes with their own hands and with the hands of the committed Muslims (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) You can see this happening! They take all these precautions, they build this military might and they employ a superpower to do service for them. They think they are the strongest people in the world militarily and the economic termites have been destroying their infrastructures, institutions and worldwide presence. Allah comes to them in directions that they havent yet figured out and they participate in destroying their own structures. That is what happened to them then. And what happened to them after they left Al Medinah? They dont appear anywhere except for Khaybar which they also had to leave because of the same behavior and then they ask why they are who they are?! Their behavior and hostility to Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims is the answer. The Prophet of Allah says one of the factors that goes into the victory that Allahs Prophet was given is the fact that they are terrified. Theyre not terrified because we have nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction or because we are ahead of them in the military industry or complex, they are terrified because we fight on principle. We dont negotiate away our principle and we dont barter our principle for some worldly interest or power. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims There are very few Muslims who when they see the war crimes of the Israeli nation state and military forces and when they watch crimes against humanity live on their TV screens or on the internet who can say this is dejavu! Weve seen these pictures before. Why? Because the original picture of what these Yahud were doing in our 1st generation- in the Prophets generation against Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims- has been virtually erased. So, whatever is happening now seems to some novice Muslim as new developments. These are not new developments. This type of character has been there for thousands of years and, when some people begin to fit the pieces of this puzzle together and begin to see that there is a continuity here (and) they are behaving today the way they were behaving 1,400 years ago and 3,000 years ago- they havent changed in their behavior. In the buried portions of our history, Kaab ibn Al Ashraf met with Abu Sufyan in the Kabah in Makkah to conspire against Rasulillah and the committed Muslims in Al Medinah. Is it surprising if someone tells you that the Israeli Prime Minister goes to Saudi Arabia, (of course this is not going to be reported), and he meets with officials there or the Saudi officials go to meet with the Zionist officials- for what? What are they meeting again for? What brings them together? Their common enmity and the historical hostility towards Muslims today. Who are in the image of Allahs Prophet and have the character of Allahs Messenger? Who are they? Hizbullah, HAMAS, the Islamic State in Iran, other Islamic movements and organizations- they are scared. What do

we have that makes them scared except this truth and principle? But, we also have some Muslims who want to trade off this truth and principle; they want to negotiate it away in political forums and in multinational discussions- this is where we are in the real world today if only we could open our eyes and identify the facts without this element of fear. Fear doesnt belong to us, fear belongs to the false party that is out there. We have religious officials in Saudi Arabia- the country of Islam that now has a family name- we have a religious person come out and say demonstrations are haram. In effect he is saying it is haram for Muslims to show social and public support for their brethren Muslims who are bleeding, starving and being killed in Ghazzah. He said this is a type of fasaad, corruption on earth. We ask this person. (who were sure has read some history books but he still cant make the connection between then and now), when Umar ibn Al Khattab and Humza ibn Abdul Mutalib (radi Allahu anhuma) went in a demonstration of peoples and numbers to the Kabah to publicize their Islam, what was that? Fasaadun fil ard?! Was that a distraction from our responsibilities as you say Mr Lahedaan or youve become the ventriloquist of the Zionists and Imperialists who want to score against us through your religious image? Youre not going to fool us, neither are your equivalents going to fool us.

YAHUDS OPPURTUNISTIC WAYS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuhal Muminun/Muminaat, Brothers and sisters, carrying Allahs trust and an unflinching commitment to Him In light and in the heat of the past several weeks, its only appropriate for us to understand Allahs guidance in the aftermath of the behavior we have been exposed to viz. the Yahudi/Zionist as well as the subservient and inferior behavior of those who say they are committed to Allah. By that we mean those who have a disease in the core of their selves and a pathology and pathogen in the substance of their hearts. These are those who fashion themselves as the rulers/governors/policy and decision makers in Arab countries. To do this, we are going to have to take a step back, to evaluate the behavior and policies of these officials in Arabdom as they are serving masters who are inferior to Allah; they are taking orders from commanders who are lesser then Allah. Allah says and the ayaat continue- the meaning of these ayaat And there are people who say we are committed to Allah and the final day or we honor our covenant and trust with Allah but they dont do that. They try to fool Allah and the committed Muslims (but) they only fool their own selves, but they dont feel or they have no sense for what they are doing. In their hearts theres a pathogen/ailment which Allah increases with more ailment and more sickness (Surah Al Baqarah verse 8-10) Then the ayah goes on to say, (were skipping a few sentences here and there because of the gravity of it all), And if they encounter those who are in fact committed to Allah they say but we are also committed to Allah, but when they are in private company with their Shayateen, they say we are with you; we take very lightly our relationships with these committed Muslims. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) This is another take on the full meanings of this ayah

 we mock at this relationship with these committed Muslims. Allah mocks/belittles them and has them extend their ploy in this dark age of theirs in the abusive of this excessive power that they perceive to have. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14-15) OK- this general meaning is established; this is the general meaning of the ayah, now, let us be a little more specific. If it wasnt for our mind or thinking, we cannot be specific. We are required to think about what Allah tells us; we are required to apply the meanings of what Allah tells us to our lives/societies/power structures/classes of people that are outlined to us by Allahs words. Forgive us Allah and forgive us Prophet of Allah, (we know that some people will say but why are you asking Allahs Prophet for forgiveness?) The imbalanced people who conclude that this is a form of shirk. No! This is not a form of shirk. In this ayah, why is Allah saying obey Allah and obey His Prophet (Surah An-Nisa verse 59)? The same trend of thought would say this ayah is a form of shirk! But what do we do with people who cant think, Oh Allah and oh Prophet of Allah! Sometimes we have to speak things that are very hard to speak about; we acknowledge and honor the struggle of Allahs Prophet- a struggle that has eclipsed/thwarted/frustrated those elements/individuals/under currents that had no good intentions to Allah and His Prophet. Our Islamic history has consigned to oblivion the traces/trails of al jahiliyah, but these ayaat came to speak to people who still had some of their lives in the previous jahiliyah. The Prophets success had made the 1st generation of Muslims- Al Muhajirin and Al Ansar. But who were the Ansar? This is an area that we will have to consider so that we can take a close look at todays rulers and strategy makers who have a hand in helping the Zionists and Imperialists of todays real world. Before the society in Al Medinah became the supportive base of Allahs Prophet, (known as the Al Ansar), they were known as Al Aws and Al Khazraj. There was no Ansar or Islam and Allahs Prophet was in Makkah in his teens and 30s before he became Allahs Prophet. The occupants of Yathrib, (the pre-Islamic Medinah) were the Aws and the Khazraj- this, many Muslims know; but many Muslims do not know what the relationship between Al Aws and Al Khazraj was with Yahud who were in Yathrib or pre-Islamic Medinah. This is the area not many of us know; were not very comfortable digging up this history, but in order to understand our current times, we are going to have to understand this history. There were skirmishes/clashes/confrontations/battles/feuds among these tribal factions in Yathrib, to the outskirts of Yathrib, Hejaz and in Arabia- that was the nature of that society. There were no world wars or sophisticated wars like the wars that take place today, but they were serious enough, (at the scale and range that tribes were at), to be called battles. There was this ongoing battle between the Aws and Khazraj- they couldnt get along. So what was the relationship between the Aws and Khazraj with Yahud who were in Yathrib? It turns out that the Aws had a stronger relationship with Yahud than the Khazraj did. OK- what other information can we come up with about this? It also turns out that the Aws were more prosperous economically and politically influential than the Khazraj. It also turns out that Yahud maintained a good relationship with the Aws because they were considered in the economic scale of things better to do than the Khazraj. But as is the case with Yahud, they are always on both side of the issue. So who do we have? We know the Yahudi factions in Al Medinah were three- Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Quraydha and Banu Nadhir. So, in the alliances of Yahud and the preIslamic Arabians of Yathrib, Banu Qaynuqa had taken the side of Al Khazraj and both Banu Quraydha and Banu Nadhir were on the side of Al Aws in the feuding and conflicting atmosphere at that time. So, let us go into this jahili history because we have most of this jahili history today, if we could only see and combine the facts of those days with the facts of our days. There was a bout of hostility between the Aws

and Khazraj known as Ayyaam Fijaar and in these skirmishes during these courses of hostilities, it so happened that at one time that when the Aws and the Khazraj were in a battle amongst themselves, because the Khazraj could not pay the blood-money that resulted in the skirmish- three individuals of the opposite side were killed- they ransomed three of their own to the Aws and what happened when the Aws took this ransom, (which in todays world would be called a form of guarantee of security), they killed them, (these were three young men), which contributed to the bad blood between the Aws and the Khazraj. Now, the Khazraj were gearing up for a revenge and they did so with the alliance with Yahud of Yathrib. Remember Yahud are on both sides of the issue. They are concentrated with the prosperous sidethe Aws- which they are doing today, in todays real world. So, the Khazraj, with the leadership of Abdullah ibn Sallul, (remember this character after the Prophet arrives in Al Medinah), gear up for a final thrust against the Aws. As is the case most of the time, those who are more prosperous economically, financially, politically and socially are more vulnerable militarily- this applied to this context in Yathrib. So the Aws were weaker militarily than the Khazraj and the Khazraj attacked the Aws and this attack took place in the vicinity on the outskirts of Bani Quraydha- the allies of the Aws. The Aws were almost finished and they felt that the severity of this defeat that they contemplated and thought (remember this is the information that has been taken away from you because if you cant understand that history then, then you cannot be able to understand the current events now), about moving away from Yathrib altogether. They also thought about entering into an alliance with Makkah itself. This was when the Prophet was only in his 20s and 30s when these events- Ayyaam Al fijaar and Harb Buaath- were going on. So being in an inferior economic, social and political position, the Khazraj felt, (even though they had scored against their arch-enemies, (the Aws), because their alliances and confederates were of weak tribes in the area at this time and they didnt have the support of Yahud at the time- the same way some of todays rulers feel if they are not on the Israeli and American side they are weak- the same atmosphere/dynamics were at work at that time. So, the Khazraj felt more inclination to this person years later. The reputation of Allahs Prophet in Makkah was going to spread in Al Hejaz and Arabia and it was going to find a more substantial listening component in the Khazraj in Yathrib. From here on, (with this information that you can place into the body of your information which we all have about the Prophets appearance and move to Yathrib after which it became to be known as Al Medinah,) there was no longer now this Aws and Khazraj dynamic- its gone. The presence of Allahs Prophet and Allahs Book made those recent developments distant history. Now, the Aws and Khazraj are known as Al Ansar and Yahud could no longer play off the extremes and thrive on the hostility and animosity that Aws and Khazraj had between themselves. Now, there is a new social order. So how goes Yahud behave in this new society? They still wanted to have influence in the Islamic society and state that came to be virtue of Allahs Prophet. So what do they do? They have their insiders. Its only this past generations and the current generation that Yahud were on close terms with Al Aws and Al Khazraj who now are no longer Aws and Khazraj in Islamic terminology and Islamic life; these have now become Al Ansar. But Yahud continued to interact with those old connections and that old relationship that goes back a decade or two to the time of Al Aws and Al Khazraj. Yahud even encouraged some of these individuals to become Muslims so that they can become insiders and obtain the necessary information that is required by the Zionists of that time. OK- if we can understand this and we should understand this, it is not some confusing/ambiguous/befuddled history no! This should be made very clear so that we can understand when these ayaat were revealed how it was exposing the true in-depth nature of these types of people, this type of social behavior and those types of political and military decisions that were made at that time- the echo of which is made in our time. So now, when we read Allahs words at the beginning of Surah Al Baqarah.

And if they meet the committed Muslims they say we are also committed (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) This sub-class of Muslims at that time that was reporting to Yahud- Bani Quraydha, Bani Nadhir and Bani Qaynuqa, come face-to-face with the committed Muslims they say we are also committed we are just like you. They pray, fast and do all the private/individual/personal obligations that is required of every Muslim- they show up at every Jumah, they pray in the 1st line of prayer attendees, they break their fast with the rest of the Muslims; they do everything that makes a person the ritualistic Muslim. but when they secluded with their Shayaateen/demons (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) And this is in reference to Yahud in Al Medinah. You may have a tafsir at home- go and review what your tafsir says about these Shayaateen/demons. If this sub-class of hypocritical and dual loyalists Muslims have a confidential meeting with their demons they say What does Allah tells us? if they are in these behind the scenes meetings with these demons they say we are with you (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) This was and continues to be a fact of life. As much and as hard as we would like to think that there are no Munafiqeen around- they exist. They played their role then and they are playing their role today. You tell us there are no Munafiqeen today who come and say but we are committed Muslims!? And then they have these meetings with todays Bani Quraydha, Bani Nadhir and Bani Qaynuqa call them today the Zionists. They go away from the camera, away from the public eye and mind and they sit down with them; what are they discussing/saying/plotting and planning as they sit down together? Allah gives you the answer. You dont have to be there or go to their meetings or have security clearances- you dont need any of that. At the time of the Prophet, these Munafiqeen did not have the power to make final decisions, there was an Islamic state, an Islamic leadership and an Islamic society all intact with the struggle and sacrifices that were present in that time and generation, but these Munafiqeen were not on top; but now theres been a change. Theyve climbed to the highest level and theyve become the rulers who give us the policies, ideas and propaganda of what is called a Middle East peace process or Camp David or the Oslo Accords or shuttle diplomacy or confidence building measuresall of these have been the hallmark of the past 20 or 30 years. Allahs words are still accurate and still penetrate the false propaganda that is trying to shield them from us. Did you hear that? Did you hear where their real character is? This ayah tells us that they are speaking two languages. When they come to the committed Muslims they say we are with you or part of you- we are committed Muslims ourselves but when they meet their superiors, (in todays words with their Zionist and Imperialists sponsors), they say were with you; we are faking our relationship with the committed Muslims. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) So they are expressing themselves in two contradictory and opposite meanings. Where are they? Are they with the committed Muslims or with the committed kafirs- the Zionists and Imperialists of today. Come on we can make the leap; were not mentally handicapped; we can understand treachery and treason 1,400 years ago and treachery and treason in our day and time- these ones are described by the words of Allah that are the eternal truth on the matter and the final word. They are described as being with their demons and demons here are also in reference to todays Zionist officials and Imperialist commanders. Anyone

capable of saying these are Shayaateen? What happened to Muslim courage? Some Muslims find that they have accomplished something if they are given a meeting/audience/accessibility to these Shayateen they get a kick out of that- Oh now they are speaking to us! Oh now you feel confident?! Do you feel that you are someone now that these war criminals who are committing war crimes against humanity want to speak to you?! And you feel now that you have accomplished something? We do have these types around- brothers and sisters. Open your eyes and listen to what Allah is telling us. Once again for the, ayah to penetrate When they come to the committed Muslims they say we are with you or part of you- we are committed Muslims ourselves but when they meet their superiors, (in todays words with their Zionist and Imperialists sponsors), they say were with you; we are faking our relationship with the committed Muslims. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) These are the ones who bought and sold guidance but their commercial and financial transaction was profitable. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 16) (Cant you see), even the wordings of these ayaat speak to us about the financial/commercial/Bazaari/Souqi definitions about these types of people. They look at it as a matter of profit not a matter of principal. They are the ones who bought misguidance in exchange for guidance (Surah Al Baqarah verse 16) Allah used the word ishtarau, He didnt say baddalu ad dallal bil huda i.e. they altered guidance for misguidance- He interjected into this larger meaning their specific attitude and motivation. Brothers and sisters privileged and favored with Allahs responsibilities and duties defined and outlined by His Book and by His Prophet. In todays world, the meanings of these ayaat are very pertinent to the struggle and the long encounter with the Israeli nation-state, occupation and warfare in our midst. When there is a difference between some Arabian countries and other Arabian countries, we can expect Yahud to be on both sides. Theres nothing in their history or our history that precludes this, but we have some Muslims who are shortsighted- they cant see this fact. They are on one side of an Arabian issue against another side of an Arabian issue. This is also the case when it comes to the Palestinians themselves. When the Palestinians are divided, then the Israelis are going to try their level best to locate themselves on both sides of that divide. The only time the Israelis cannot find a foot step or a location is when the Muslims assume the positions of responsibility and decision making and this is what scares them. They couldnt find in roads into Hizbullah- they are afraid of Hizbullah. They couldnt find any penetrating route inside of HAMAS- they are afraid of HAMAS. They couldnt find any access inside of the Islamic State in Iran so they want to bring down the Islamic State. As for the rest of the players from Washington to North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula to the Southern Asia, the road is wide open. They have their spies, Munafiqeen underclass, informers and intelligence agentswhatever they need, they have, but when it comes to the solidified Islamic base they know it is off limits to Zionists and Imperialists and that explains to us why they are nervous. They are so nervous now that they are showing incapability in putting together a government after the so called election that they had. You watch them; keep your eyes on them and see how tortuous the process is going to be in the

coming weeks as they try to put together a government. In the meantime, dont lose sight of these Munafiqeen in Cairo, Riyadh, Amman and other places of how they are serving Tel Aviv and Washington. When they were spilling Muslim blood in Ghazzah, the Muslim peoples were in Ghazzah and the rulers in Muslim lands were in Tel Aviv. Of course, we werent there physically, we were there with our hearts and minds, the same way rulers in Muslim lands were in Tel Aviv with their hearts and minds. Dont let the appearance and rituals deceive you as concerns the true character of these people who say we are committed. They think that they are tricking us, but Allah will eventually turn the table and the rules of the game against them.

30 YEARS OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashar Al Mumineen, Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Allah says- and His words are the everlasting truth, the penetrating light and the obvious guidance- to us (and) these ayaat in Surah Al Fajr which were revealed in Makkah speak to us about powers- this is an area and idea that has been extracted from the Muslim mind; in other words the way the religious establishment of our time- the Islamic one included- that reports to the powers and the establishments of the world want you and me to think of Allahs words in a way that excludes power centers/figures/establishments/militaries/governments. And, as to knock onto our brains, these ayaat are telling us Do you not consider how your Sustainer has dealt with Aad? (Surah Al Fajr verse 6) To an average/above average person, (if) you say to them can you think about what Allah did to Aad? What did Allah do to Aad? The average/subservient/less than normal mind cannot figure out how Allah collapsed the civilization and the society of Aad! Were speaking about an earthly power; not some village/hamlet/isolated pocket of people in history; this is a full fledged super power of its time and Allah is focusing your mind on how He dealt the deathblow to a super power in its own right and time. This was a super power that had itself well established (Surah Al Fajr verse 7) Dhaat Al Imaad in todays language is like speaking of a power that has a substantial and grounded infrastructure. The equivalent and the likes of which have not ever before been created in a country. (Surah Al Fajr verse 8) Today, people speak about superpowers/big powers/hyper powers. (In) todays mind we are speaking about trends of thought- the way people think; the person who ascends the Mimbar to speak with the Muslim public, (were speaking about his mind and about the public mind that is supposed to be the recipient side), when you speak to this combined mind today, it cannot put these ingredients together; it cannot see Allah as He dealt with previous superpowers. In todays world, its nothing new when they

describe themselves and give themselves these titles; they engineer this mental construct and then they sponsor/feed/expand it until it comes to us, our Masaajid, (what we call) our learned scholars and governments and it predominates to a degree that we are incapable of understanding Allah in how He is addressing wayward powers on earth that are digging their own graves. Another super society/hyper power- but it doesnt ring a bell, (to use the metaphoric expression of the language that we are communicating in). These people were the 1st to construct, (what may be considered in our time), the most advanced architecture that mankind has experienced. Another gage/indicator of the advancement of a civilization/culture is its architecture. A primitive society has primitive architecture; a developed society has advanced architecture. By the way, this civilization existed almost in the centre of our Holy Lands. If we consider our Holy Land to extend from Makkah to Al Quds, Thamud was in the middle of this distance which is today an area that as much as we are ignorant of our own history we are also ignorant of our geography. No one is able to know this power that existed, which Allah is speaking about, that has become ruins because of its excesses and offense against Allah in civilizational pursuits. You would think that if we Muslims belonged to this knowledge that Allah has foreclosed to us in the Quran, we would be going to these places to consider. Do they not travel through the land to take in consideration what happened to those who tried to falsify Allah. (Surah verse) Lets be frank with ourselves, we dont do that! Has anyone ever seen or heard of a program in our time sponsored/financed/represented by the myriad of Islamic organizations and parties and whatever we have today to go into the far and distant lands of the world to investigate the collapse of civilizations? If we do show/tell us where does this program exist? Allahs ayaat are pounding on our heads and minds. Then, we come to the Pharaohs superpower and super civilization with that pegged structure referred to today as the pyramids. Thats also one of the indicators of the bygone and expired power and society that Allah wants us to focus our conscientious upon and we have trouble focusing on this because we have occupied Manaabir that speak to us with occupied minds and hence we become 2 nd fiddle to a phenomenon of occupation and we dont have this freedom of understanding Allah when He speaks to us about these issues. They say what are you saying? You are speaking about civilizations and superpowers? We are not speaking about anything; these are ayaat tutla from Allah until time vanishes. This is what Allah is saying not what we are saying! So why is it that when Allah is focusing our minds on errant powers, aggressive structures and merciless leaders and rulers that have now become a lesson for those who can think and understand what Allah is telling them- how come now we are blank? We read these ayaat and we walk around as if we are zombies. We dont have these meanings running in our conscience and circulating in our minds! These civilizations and these God denying structures that fancy themselves as superpowers- now they have become part of the trash can of history. Yes! They are nothing compared to the power of Allah. Theyre gone! Theyve been gone so pathetically that the superficial Muslim mind today cannot detect them. If it wasnt for Allahs reference to them, they would go undetected. No one knows who they are. Your history books in your secular curricula or school syllabi dont mention any of this to us- part of the master plan to devoid us of this critical information What did the Pharaoh and his grand system do? They showed abusive and excessive power (Surah Al Fajr verse 11)

Doesnt that ring a bell? Muslims come to Allah; He is showing you what happened to those who behaved when they had power (and) abused it. (Do) you think this will not happen to others who abuse power? Its a sunnah/law from Allah- this is what will happen to them. The Phirauni system was a faade multiplier. (Surah Al Fajr verse 12) When they began a process of corrupting their society/human being/population, this corruption began to spread exponentially. Doesnt this sound like what we have today? A system that abuses power; it begins the process of decay and that decay begins to spread like a plague- the economic decay that we are watching and the financial decadence that we are seeing should be an echo of what happened to similar structures of powers that Allah is speaking to us about. Allah poured/unleashed upon them torrents of torments. (Surah Al Fajr verse 13) Where do they think they are going with all of this? They have all of this power/might/forces, but where are they going with all of this? They are going into their graves- 6 feet under. We dont say this because we brag; we dont say this because we are demagogic; we dont say this as an expression of empty rhetoric- we say this because it is the truthful and validated statement that Allah has given us- to look and to see what happens to these powers. Aad and Thamud- these two civilizations that are now historywerent brought down because some human opposition to them was as strong enough as to bring them down. The human opposition to them was weak but they still were brought down in a way from which they never could recover. Thamud were destroyed by a natural phenomenon and Aad were destroyed by a cataclysmic phenomenon; but those natural destructions did not take place in the absence of a weak opposition to this Taghut. Which tells us- as much as we are or seem to be weak, Allah still expects us to show our ardent/uncompromising/principled life long opposition to these Tawagheet. What you think? Allah is going to do our responsibility? Hes going to sit in for us? Weve become so important that we have to sit on the fence and wait for Allah to do our work? This is the behavior of some people (they say) Oh- let us take a back seat and let the mess work itself out or for a savior to come. What is this? We have annulled ourselves; we have cancelled our characters; we have destroyed our responsibilities when we begin to behave like that and (its) as if we are not reading anything and as if Allah is not communicating to us these words. Here they are once again for you to begin to understand and it doesnt stop at understanding but also to begin to behavior as Allah expects you to do. This ayah is saying Indeed they cannot avoid or dodge Allah (Surah Al Fajr verse 14) And if you Muslims want to relinquish your God given responsibilities, then Allahs will is going to be done by others who do not have the mould of history upon them and who are not weighted down by traditions that have stifled them. And if you step away from these higher responsibilities then Allah will exchange you for another people who will not repeat the type of behavior that has condemned you. (Surah Muhammed verse 38) Ayyuhal Muminun/Muminaat It is when we Muslims begin to understand the full meaning of Allahs text that we can begin to speak with confidence and comfort about our own selves. On this occasion, (we are not here in a vacuum, we dont express these ayaat in a detached manner), we recall these Quranic guidelines and divine words on

the 30th occasion of the success of the Islamic leadership in the geographical area called Iran- its been 30 years, it doesnt seem that long. When you think about it closely it would appear as if it was just a few weeks ago, but here we have 30 solid years in which we have been honored- Muslims who can see straight, not the Muslims who have been taken on emotional roller coasters as we have seen in these 30 years- but we Muslims who can see straight with our opened minds and our fertile conscience can see and appreciate an Imam and leader when we have an Imam and a leader. Some Muslims, (its been 30years), we have millions of individuals who still cannot come out in the open and state the fact comfortably and forthrightly. This day is a day of Taqwa- we remember Allahs power presence- the power that has taken away the superpowers and civilizations forever; the power that can bring in other God observant powers and civilizations forever and we still have a crippled Muslim psychology that cannot come out and say we express the truth where the truth is due, and the truth in this matter is that the Muslims of the world have been privileged and honored to have an Islamic leadership that has got the whole range of these ayaat. These are not some blind minded individuals in Arabia who argue that the world is not round or that man has not gone to the moon?! That type of leadership, (if we can call it that), does not deserve to be in positions of power. Imagine if they were in power what they would do to the rest of the Muslims and the rest of the world! We have a leadership that throughout the course of these 30 years has demonstrated, (as is humanly possible- lets not smother ourselves with exaggerations), there were/are mistakes and this is the nature of man, but a mistake here and there does not cancel the fact that the Muslims have an Islamic reference an Islamic leadership for the past 30 years. What more proof do you want? Ash Shaytaan has been conspiring against it (and) mobilizing all the super structures that Ash Shaytaan has in this world. The current day Aad, Thamud,Phirouns, Mushrikeen and kaafirs with all their stripes and colors spreading poison in everyones mind until we have Muslims who say ah these are Shi'is in Iran- we have nothing to do with them. This is the extent of the poison that has gotten deep down inside the brain tissues of some people. What do you mean? Whenever was the time that we categorize Muslims because of their school of thought? Is this how we measure Muslims? And on the other side, those people who have the sectarian bug trying to isolate this Islamic accomplishment and success, we have inside that body of this Islamic accomplishment and success those now who are riding their own egos and saying cant the other world understand that we have accomplished what we have accomplished because we are the followers of Ahlal bayt and because we are shiis? Cant you listen to your egos when you say that? This leadership has been victimized by those who say they belong to it and by those who say they dont want anything to do with it; and youve had 30 years to watch this unfold. If you cant see this in 30 years you dont have light in your heart and objectivity in your mind. It is not the visions that go blind it is the hearts in the bosoms of men that go blind. During the course of these 30 years, this Islamic achievement and awareness has gone ahead of the rest of the Muslims and looked at the world and understood the world in the area that has been absent from the public Muslim mind. It defeated its powerful enemies. In the course of these 30 years, (if) something happens somewhere in Tunisia, they point the finger of accusation at the Islamic leadership in Iran; (if) something happens in Lebanon they point a finger to the Islamic leadership in Iran; (if) something happens in Central Asia, (the same thing happens), they point the finger at the same source. They keep on doing this- why? Because they are showing us that they understand this leadership more than we understand it. They dont care whos a Sunni/Shii- that doesnt register with the CIA unless this can divide these Muslims that are potential power bloc of the future. Oh at that time Sunni/Shii thing is very convenient. You Sunnis- play up the Shii cord

in your Masaajid and you Shiis, play up the Shii cord at your Masajid- at that time they recognize that theres a Sunni and a Shii; but you tell us, when they drop these bombs, assassinate and kill, are they looking if a person is a Sunni or Shii or are they looking at the extent of this persons understanding of Islam to roll them back and out of our lands and minds. At that time we have targets. A year ago this week, they targeted a Muslim in Damascus and they did so because of the cleavages inside the Muslim rank and file. We dont have time to go into the details, but we gave them the opportunity to do what they did. The Zionist and the Imperialist power structures- remember these are the equivalents of Aad/Thamud/Phiraun that Allah speaks about- tried and thought carefully taking into consideration everything to attack this 30 year old accomplishment of the Muslims and then they began to dispute this issue amongst themselves and they came out with a solution- well, if we cannot attack the source, then let us attack its extension in Ghazzah and we saw 22 or 23 days of warfare against these Muslims in Ghazzah and it so happened- as Allah would have it in His divine calculations- that this blood letting and blood feast happened to be at the same time as Karbala' and Aashura. Anyone who lives the real world and is not somewhere in an ivory tower and is not locked up in the corner of some Masjid somewhere, (but) someone who lives the real life and the real issues- these two events coincided. You had Karbala and Aashura and you had the bombing in Ghazzah at the same time and you have two categories of Muslims. Anyone who has a clear mind and can think straight witnessed for their own selves, (you dont have to go way back into history this happened a few weeks ago), you saw for your own selves; those of you who were commemorating Aashura and Karbala could not even bring into that commemoration the equivalents/ingredients/elements/basics of Karbala and Aashura that were unfolding in front of your own eyes! Something is wrong with you! And you others who were looking at this blood flow in Ghazzah were watching how innocent people were being killed by those who have power and force and (you watched) the abuse and concentrate of that power in front of your own eyes and you couldnt see Karbala and Aashura at the same time! Something is wrong with you! We have Muslims who cannot see reality in the past or we have Muslims who can see the past but cannot see todays reality in it! This is where we are! Do you want us to dream? This is the fact! This is where we are! This road/journey of bringing the Muslims together, (from history to now), with their different denominations in our current times is not traveled by many people; it is lonely at times and if it wasnt for Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims, individuals will not be able to travel the distance of this journey.

The Islamic Ummahs Strategic Plans in Confronting the Challenges of Unity

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims There are some elements and definitions in this presentation that have to be clarified. For a long time now, words have been used in an absent minded way; and clichs have taken on a life of their own. I would like to be conscious and thoughtful about what I am saying when we are speaking about an Islamic Ummah, strategies and unity. But before commencing this task of clearing the air I would like to say that even after all is said and explained, there is a historical and traditional momentum that cannot be stopped by one or two presentations, annual conferences, or well researched papers. These are all necessary no doubt. But the fact of the matter is that social change will only occur when ideas become principles, and principles are channeled into policies, and policies are adhered to by a popular will, and that popular will takes its course in altering a status quo into a much better future by what will eventually become a struggle. And this struggle will vary from time to time and from place to place from a strenuous effort to an energetic attempt to achieve something to an open clash between two opposing groups. It is in reference to this fact that as much as we scholars, intellectuals, and activists try our best to shed light on issues, it remains the responsibility and the task of those who are on the front lines of what may be described as the Islamic homeland who carry with their sacrifices the supreme honor of bringing down the challenges and raising up the edifice of Muslims everywhere. With the above said, I would like to clarify the meanings of some words. The first word that has to be elucidated is the word ummah. This word is used in the Holy Quran to refer to a consolidated body of people. Some may say a homogeneous body of people. But how does this apply to us? How should we understand an Islamic ummah? And the answer is stated in the Quran of guidance when the Almighty says: And indeed this ummah of yours is one ummah and I am your Sustainer... (Surat Al-Muminun, ayat 52) The lost meaning in this ayat by which I mean the meaning that no longer comes to mind is that Allah (SWT) is saying that we, the Muslims, have an ummah when we are politically and economically and militarily united. In other words, when we have a central authority that we refer to in matters that concern our relationships with other powers or states in the world, when we have a coordinated economic plan that distributes the wealth and resources among the total Muslim

population, and when we have an interconnected military arrangement that repels and defeats aggression and invasions of hostile and evasive powers at that time we have an ummah that meets the divine definition given to us from on high.

When we look at the hard facts of todays world we notice that none of the above applies to the one billion and eight hundred million Muslims who exist nowadays. Therefore, if we were precise in the choice of our words, we would say that in contemporary times there is no ummah. There is a nostalgia about an ummah. There is wishful thinking of an ummah. And there is a strong and indispensable hope for reconstituting an ummah. But for all practical purposes we do not have an ummah. What we do have are cultures, nation-states, and religious affiliations that fashion themselves as Islamic or that genuinely think they are Islamic to the point of being the true Muslims but nonetheless none of them are an ummah at the political, economic, and military level of things. No doubt, there is an Islamic Culture. But an Islamic Culture cannot substitute for an Islamic ummah. Therefore, when we speak about an Islamic Ummah we speak about something that exists in the less-than-precise understanding of traditional thoughts or public sentiment. The other issue that has to be made crystal clear is the word wahdah. This word is translated as unity. But what do we mean by unity? How far are we going to go in integration or assimilation to have unity among the Muslims? Here again the general discourse on unity keeps relatively silent about what this unity means. Sometimes some scholarly persons and academics speak about unity in a way that dispels or negates diversity. Does unity mean an absence of acknowledged linguistic groups of people? Does unity mean a monolithic culture that has no room for innocent etiquettes and accepted practices? Does unity bar the coexistence of schools of thought and legitimate ijtihad? And here again, unity has to be considered in matters that are economic, military, and political. When we elevate our thoughts to this level of activities we make room for our particular persons and circumstantial communities. Hence, unity does not mean forcing a language, a denomination, or an acculturation upon hundreds of millions of other bona fide Muslims, who have their own language, who are satisfied with their own school of thought, and who are comfortable with their particular development at their particular stage of being. In light of the clarifications above I would like to proceed with my thoughts on this theme of strategy, Islamic Ummah, challenges, and unity. I will not use the same sequence of words, though. With the purpose of being action or result oriented, I would say that we have to identify the reality that we are in and then identify the resources or the potential that are available to us. All this of course in light of Allahs guidance and HIS Prophets guidelines. The Challenge The first area of concern is the area of challenges. And what we mean by challenges are demanding and stimulating situations. Obviously, every thinking Muslim knows that the Muslims peoples of the world [notice I did not say the Muslim ummah] share multiple conditions of adversity, affliction, difficulties, hardships, and emergencies. Political subservience to inimical powers, economic reliance upon advanced industries and technologies, and military inferiority to superpowers and nuclear powers all these have resulted in the misfortunes under which hundreds of millions of Muslims and others are toiling every day

of their less-than-productive lives. Some of these adverse conditions such as belonging to European blocs or wanting to belong to the European Union, or the host of military forces in Muslim countries being trained by their enemies or having enemies build military bases on their lands or buying old-generation military hardware and equipment from imperialists and zionists all these may have occurred by a culture or a self-inflicted alienation away from Islam due to historical and/or traditional heritage. This area has to be dealt with subsequent to the remedy of the larger issue that has these circumstances imposed on Muslims throughout the world. The larger issue is that of imperialism and Zionism. Without going into details, and without trying to dump our miseries on outside powers, we can say with all the news items of our time that imperialism and Zionism are working night and day to stop an Islamic population in the world that is approaching two billion from awakening to the military, economic, and political responsibilities that come from being Islamic. Have we not seen the zionist spearhead lunging its military into the heart of Ghazzah with the connivance of trans-national imperialism and with, I may add, the complicity of Arabian ruling classes who have shown us on many bloody and non-bloody occasions their affinity with imperialism and Zionism and their aversion to Islam and the committed Muslims. The first step in the right direction is to concentrate our Islamic public mind on our common enemy. Some Muslims have no choice but to do that; like the Muslims in Ghazzah and in Palestine who have their minds concentrated on the zionist enemy. Naturally, that is because they are its immediate victims. But they should not be doing this by themselves; all other Muslims everywhere should be of the same mind and of the same conclusion: the zionist enemy is the central enemy of all Muslims everywhere. It is not that simple though. Zionism is cloaked within the status quo of a larger international system that has in effect dehumanized oppressed people, and is now busy trying to demonize awakening Muslims of all schools of thought and of all ethnicities and national origins. Zionism and imperialism are two inseparable bodies of interests when it comes to the Muslims of the world. Hence, Muslims are going to have to think at this level. Muslims cannot go on picking fights with themselves on flimsy charges of ritual, historical, or fiqhi variations when the world is picking wars with them because of their coming of political age. The way the world is operating today due to Zionism and imperialism places the Muslims who are nationals and citizens of other nation-states in civil jeopardy where they are suspect, or assumed guilty until proven innocent! In some countries Muslims are second and third class citizens! And none of this has to do with a Muslims school of thought or his country of origin or his mother tongue. (On occasions though, there is a hyper-sensitivity to a Muslim who is a Shii, or another who is a Wahhabi or yet another who is from Pakistan, or Iran, or Syria, or Palestine, etc... depending on the particular heightened threat level that is in circulation at the time due to developments in the Islamic East.) Muslims are required in this context to raise their awareness about the nature of hostilities that are imposed on Muslim peoples all around the world. There can be no argument with the fact that knowledge is power. And the necessary knowledge we Muslims need in our time is the knowledge pertaining to the zionist and imperialist enemy who occupies our Holy Lands, who invades our countries, who loots our resources, who builds his military bases on our lands, and who poisons that atmosphere by hiding behind a mission of civilization and democratization. Words and academic papers are not enough to bring this fact home. Words and academic papers and research are required. But if there is no actual men in the field who can fight for their dignity, go to war for their independence from Zionism and imperialism, and stand up for their liberty and freedom all we say and discuss are mere words that have no effect in reversing injustice and destroying tyranny.

The Strategy The term strategy refers to the means that decision-makers choose to attain desired ends. Strategy is, in effect, a course of action, a plan for achieving specified goals. Although the term can be used to describe a plan for applying means to attain ends in any realm of political life, it will be used here to refer to a strategy to obtain Islamic cohesion, solidarity, and wholeness. When used in the realm of social and political Islamic integration, strategy should refer to the art and the wit of bringing about an Islamic common purpose in other words an Islamic ummah. While the goal of this strategy may take some time to achieve, it should not be relinquished because some individuals do not have the marathon spirit to reach the final aspiration and ambition of an integrated Islamic ummah. There are some considerations to be contemplated by the Islamic State and the Islamic Movement towards the formulation of this strategy. One such consideration is the institutions that already exist. There are international forums and legal entities that are already in existence. Some of the obvious ones that come to mind are: the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Arab League, etc... There are some people who think that something can be accomplished by these types of organizations. We have a record that speaks for itself. In the course of the past century we the Muslims have had a myriad of heavy-weight political, military, and economic problems. All of us are familiar with these problems that extend from the Moroccan Sahara to the Moro intractability in the Philippines and everything in-between. All of these life-and-death issues have been erupting on the watch of these types of organizations with nothing, I repeat: nothing, being done that would alleviate the pain, suffering, and dislocations that are increasing as the years go by. The litmus test is occupation of Palestine. Here again none of these organizations have been able to step in and relieve the victim populations of occupation, invasion, and dislocation. I present to you my conviction that these are spent forces of the past. If we are serious about a strategy to integrate an Islamic ummah we are going to have to consider the alternative. And the alternative is the Islamic State and the Islamic Movement. The Islamic State is the authority and governance that the Muslims have in Iran. The Islamic Movement is the assorted political parties and blocs throughout the rest of the world. A practical strategy would mean that there has to be a meeting of political minds on matters of priority that have to be sorted out by the decision makers in this range of Islamic assertion. The best starting point in formulating this strategy is to have a convergence of priorities regarding the liberation of the Holy Land. The details of such a strategy will have to be hammered out by the respective representatives of the Islamic State and Movement. Obviously, there are issues of financial support, logistical support, social support, emergency support, and military support that will have to be discussed and agreed upon. The Islamic Ummah

This obviously leads us to the following sequential the Islamic ummah. Short of being an Islamic ummah in the political sense of the word as we discussed above, we will have to work our way up. Towards that end there is an Islamic common denominator that brings together the Muslims of the world. That common denominator is the Islamic Culture (al-Thaqafah al-Islamiyyah). The harbingers of an Islamic ummah, once again, are going to have to be found in the Islamic State and in the Islamic Movement. These pioneers will have to concentrate their future planning on merging and streamlining the Muslim populace. With the current political and nationalist barriers that divide the Muslims all over the world, the only realistic hope left is to reverse the nationalist political divisions by rehabilitating the Islamic qiblah. I will say this for the umpteenth time, we cannot have an Islamic ummah without having a Makkan qiblah. Makkah is where the Islamic peoples congregate to express their brotherhood and equality. Makkah is the place where Muslims from all over the world come during Hajj and umrah to express their baraah [severing of political ties] with the mushrikeen [Zionism and imperialism and their agents]. The Holy Sanctuary in Makkah is described in the accurate Quran as mathabatan li-al-nas wa amnan [a peoples place for retreat and security]. How can we put this ummah back together again without our Islamic freedom, our Islamic fraternity, and our Islamic actuation and propulsion from Makkah itself? The Hajj and the Umrah should become feeders for this re-composition of the Islamic Ummah. There is something wrong with some Muslims who are incapable or unwilling to designate Makkah and Medinah as the political, economic, and military seat of power to which all other Muslims from all corners of the world come throughout all times of the year to be as mature as to care for themselves and express their compassion and love for their fellow-Muslims who are game and war material for the mushrikeen of our time. Unity This brings us to the last segment of this presentation. Unity is a word dear to every Muslim. And there have been attempts at different types of unity in the past. At one time there was an attempt at unity during Muslim rule in al-Andalus (Iberia). And as history would show us that unity was temporary and reactive it did not have the necessary components to sustain it. In times before that there was an impermanent unity between Egypt and Syria which last long enough to liberate the Holy Land from European occupiers. In recent times there have been many attempts at unity, especially in Arab countries. (In the late 1950's, early 1960's there was a unity between Syria and Egypt called the United Arab Republic, that was followed by frustrated attempts at unity between Egypt and Iraq, Egypt and Yemen, Egypt and Libya, Libya and Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt, the Maghribi Unity an endeavor to bring together North African states, minus Egypt...etc... All, regrettably failed.). We also witnessed the unraveling of what used to be East and West Pakistan. Under the nationalist friction between the two sides of Pakistan, Bangladesh declared itself a full fledged nation-state. All these breakups can be attributed to the absence of a populist Islamic polity. All the above nation-states are secular with an Islamic veneer. And that is a formula for trouble. Even todays nation-states that do not have Islamic leadership leading the people out of the secular wilderness and an Islamic populace generating a confidence in the leadership without this we can expect more of the same; i.e., nation disintegration, civil wars, failed states, and further occupations of Islamic lands.

1379

Once again, the leaders and scholars in the Islamic State and Movement are going to have to show the rest of us the way to unifying our objectives, priorities, and procedures. There is going to have to be a worked out plan by these leaders and scholars that will give the coming ummah its established order of importance and urgency. We have many problems to solve. Our problems are increasing. These problems have to be sorted out and placed on a scale of most important to least important. And a tightly knit and cohesive pan-Islamic strategy for unity has to evolve from the meeting of Islamic minds and hearts in the person of ulema and experienced members of the Islamic State and Movement. We live in a time in which much ado has been made about fiqhi distinctions or what some may call aqeedi differences. This aberration has to go. And it will go once we settle on the fact that the goal of Islamic political, economic, and military unity by necessity needs social, ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity. Centralizing a government does not contradict decentralizing its administrations. Muslims have to be diffused with the knowledge that they can have a political, economic, and military seat of power in Makkah while simultaneously having their own cultural, national, and denominational freedom in their own geographical region. And between these two accomplishments there shall be no segregation, discrimination, or exclusion. Conclusion A strategy for Islamic togetherness does not evolve in a vacuum. There are circumstances and developments that have to be taken into consideration when thinking through the details that go into an Islamic strategy of that range. An immediate shortfall which we have to confess to is the fact that we have not come together to size up our problems, as numerous as they are and as enduring as they have become. Some of the problems that occupy our time and effort are the following: 1- Military occupation of our lands: Palestine, Kashmir, some areas in the Balkans... 2- Political subservience by the governments that rule over us: virtually the whole Muslim world. 3- Economic strangulation of our natural resources: petroleum and gas and precious metals are a few commodities... 4- Educational and cultural inferiority complexes demonstrated by the adoption of secular and unGodly curricula and programs... 5- Refugee and human dislocation problems, primarily in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, etc... 6- The absence of free and fair elections virtually everywhere in the Islamic hemisphere. If elections are held they are a sham and a ploy. 7- Malnutrition and starvation in a number of areas in Africa and Asia (the Horn of Africa and the Indian sub-continent stand out). 8- A high level of illiteracy and in some cases a lack of common sense plague many of our societies too many to be recalled. 9- A brain drain. Many highly qualified Islamic scientists and scholars remain in non-Islamic countries simply because their own country of origin does not provide them the infrastructure necessary for them to be helpful and productive if they ever wanted to go back to their Islamic countries of origin. 10-The drug trade and drug crops. There are regions in the Muslim world that are known for growing, cultivating, and exporting illicit drugs and narcotics, such as Afghanistan. 1380

There are many other chronic and acute problems that we have not put on a list of priorities. The result is that we do not have a collective effort to tackle these problems one by one on a scale of most urgent to least urgent. And because we do not have such a worked out plan we cannot pool our human and natural resources and capabilities to solve these problems, or at least to decrease their severity. And once again, as much as some people would like to skip over this fact, the issue is that we need to have our qiblah. Makkah can no longer remain a city off limits to the leaders and scholars of the Islamic State and the Islamic Movement. When will the time come when any Muslim and every Muslim is free to travel to Makkah, to attend Islamic Conferences in Makkah, to convene Islamic conferences (such as this) in Makkah, and even to settle in Makkah [if he or she is able to do so]? It has been a waste of time and energy to have the past generations of Muslims stream through Makkah for a couple of weeks and then be virtually forced out of it as if it were forbidden territory! The facts on the ground compel us to turn to the leaders and scholars of the Islamic State in Iran to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility in giving direction and momentum to a strategy for Islamic Unity. This, obviously, can only be done with the active and unflinching cooperation of the different wings of the global Islamic Movement. Thus, we also call upon the leaders and chairmen of the global Islamic Movement to step up to the responsibilities of our time and place their hands in the hands of their brethren in Islamic Iran to sort out the priorities on our joint way to Islamic solidarity and unity. If an Islamic State and government had been successful in Egypt or Turkey or any other country we would have said the same thing. This is not a matter of superiors and inferiors, Arab and Ajam, nationalism or sectarianism. This is a matter of Islamic survival. Every year that passes without concrete and demonstrable steps towards closing our rank and file will be a year of division, reversals, and tragedy. We have already seen in the past months how the collaboration of imperialist and zionist forces brought death and destruction to the exposed and vulnerable Palestinians in Ghazzah. If we have a repeat of that the blood of the innocent will be on our conscience... The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown and proven throughout the course of the past years its sincerity and devotion to the central issue of the Muslims worldwide: the issue of occupied al-Quds and occupied Palestine. What remains is for the rest of the Islamic Movement to acknowledge this fact and behave accordingly. And this does not mean that the Islamic Movement is going to be taking orders from the Islamic State as much as it means that the Islamic Movement is going to have to align itself with the Islamic State to do what has to be done. We pray to the Almighty to guide us all on a course devoted solely to HIM, and on this course to HIM to bring our hearts together and to bring our minds together and to bring our actions together. We ask the Almighty to deliver us from these trying times and to dissipate all the calamities and misfortunes that have inflicted us for the past century or so. We also pray and beseech the Almighty to guide and protect the Islamic leadership and the Islamic State and Movement from all conspiracies and enemies foreign and domestic. We salute the unending efforts of all the members of the Majma al-Taqrib Bayn al-Mathahib alIslamiyyah, first and foremost among them the two honorable Ayatullahs Waez-zadeh Khorasani and Mohammad Ali al-Taskhiri. 1381

Our heartfelt greetings to all the Muslims who are on the front lines who are teaching us the alphabet of Islamic togetherness and unity. It is they who are ahead of us and we are feeling our way in light of our thoughts and minds to be with them and to make it possible for the eventual movement of the whole ummah to be with them in unison as we all correct the wrong which is the brutal occupation of our Holy Lands. If you strive to support Allah HE will support you... (Surah Muhammed verse 7) Our wholehearted congratulations to all Muslims on this gracious occasion the birth-week of Allahs beloved Prophet Muhammad (P) and his grandson al-Imam Jafar al-Sadiq. Qul in kuntum tuhibbun Allaha fa-ittabiuni yuhbibkumu Allahu... [Say: If you [the committed Muslims] love Allah then follow me [Muhammad] then Allah will love you... (Surat Aal-Imran verse 31) By the virtue and grace of this time of year and the birth of these divinely beloved we invoke Allahs mercy and compassion to bring us all together in the spirit of ithaar [selflessness]. For HE has the power to do what HE wills. And may the blessings and mercy be upon the shuhada [martyrs] who have preceded us and paved the way for us to be here together today. Their lives and their death were never in vain. We honor them from the bottom of our hearts and with the fiber of our soul. We will never forget them. And we pledge to be with them on the Day of Truth. Wa al-Salamu aleikum wa Rahmatu Allahi wa Barakatuh. With the peace, grace, and blessings of Allah.

1382

RESURGENT ISLAM
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Inspired by the combination of Allahs guidance and the lessons from mans trials and errors we concentrate our minds in the real world with the painful details therein (and) we concentrate our minds on Allahs words within the circumstances and the social conditions that we are in. Bearing in mind that the Muslim body in this world has survived wars of genocide, military campaigns, occupations and internal deviations that has been set into our reality for hundreds of years- it has survived all of this in the past and it will survive the echoes, parallels and equivalents of those in the present and into the future. Allah diagnosis the human history and the interaction of peoples and societies in one of the ayaat of the Quran in which He says What is this ayah in Surah Al Baqarah saying? It says And if it wasnt for Allah having people defend themselves the world or earth would have decayed or become corrupted (Surah Al Baqarah verse 251) Another extraction of the meaning from this ayah If it wasnt for the fact that Allah has societies integrate with forces that are repellant then this world would have disintegrated (Surah Al Baqarah verse 251) Another take or transfer of another meaning of this ayah If it wasnt for the historical law of human beings repelling each other, then the world (as we know it), would have decomposed, it is though that Allah has a privilege given to the worlds here-in or within life. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 251) The problem with us, Muslims, who read the Quran is that we skip the meanings of this ayah. Another synonymous ayah in Surat Al Hajj in the Quran says- once again the same wording If it wasnt for the fact that Allah has people throughout history or throughout the societies of the world in positions that they are in defense and being repelled by each other, then there would have 1383

been many temples, synagogues, places of worship, churches and Masaajid that would have been destroyed (Surah Al Hajj verse 40) Come on- invite your thinking mind into these meaningful ayaat! All of these structures that are devoted to Allah would have been destroyed; these structures in which Allah name is a matter of conscience, memory and awareness. We have to repeat this ayah again so that it can penetrate and touch base with the faculty of thought in human beings. and Allah of certainty will support and will come to the victory of those who support Him; for Allah is of a certainty All Mighty and beyond their reproach. (Surah Al Hajj verse 40) Today, we have some remnants of the age, time and generation of the seculars, the God deniers, the atheists and the ritualistic types denying and trying to convince- Alhamdulillah, they are against the tide, the future is in one direction and they are in the opposite direction- even after these years in our own life time when the trend has turned and people are feeling, finding and focusing their way towards Allah we have these types who want Muslims to feel guilty, (thats how they want you and me to feel), if we dare open our mind and eyes on the Allah given facts to us and observe what is happening in the real world. It is a common feature for the human race to have conflict- this is the meaning of these ayaat. What do they want us to do? (Do) they want us, Muslims, who are privileged with the information that Allah has given us to look the other way when Allah is coming to us with this information?! (Do) they want us to eliminate these ayaat from the only scripture that has survived history? (Do) they want us to close our eyes to the fact of conflict in the world that is concentrated in our own body of people?! (Take a) look at where the wars, occupations and invasions are taking place in the world? (Do) they want us to dismiss all of this and make believe that none of this exists? Is this what their policies, strategies and programs all about? We, Muslims, have survived and we are growing and this is an ache, pain, anguish and a distress to those who cannot reconcile themselves with the All Mighty. This is information that is available to everyone- this state, the cowards killed 1,412 (it depends on the piece of information you refer, to you can add/subtract a dozen, a-little-more-or-less), the Israeli Zionists with the killing nature of their policies have caused the death of 1,412 individuals. When we look at this fact, we look at it with the information, meaning, history, scope and range of where we belong- we are not atheists or secular, therefore when we look at this we dont look at it as do the people in CNN, the BBC or other news sources; we look at this in our continuum as Muslims accountable to Allah. It comes in the regular course of this fact that is stated in the Quran, we look at this event in the context of this history, scripture and the behavior of human societies and we say, (more-or-less), this is not odd! What do you expect from those who have a military rooted in racism- thats the Zionist killing machine. It has a military rooted in racism and religious bigotry and we Muslims know who we are. We are the anti-thesis of what they stand for. If they are racists, we are anti racists! If they are religious exclusivists, we are Islamic inclusivists! Obviously there is going to be a clash/force that attacks and a force that counter attacks. Who launched this war that we just watched? Its still burning in our memory, is it we, the Muslims, who launched the war? Let us be honest and frank- no! We did not. They are the ones who used disproportionate power and committed crimes against humanity and can be classified as war criminals.

1384

If it wasnt for the ability, (in this case and instance), of the Muslims to defend and repel aggression then the world, (as we know it), would collapse (Surah Al Baqarah verse 251) Were not speaking about the laws of nature, (even though this may follow), were talking about the social laws, the social equilibrium, the social integration and the social co-existence of man, humanity and human societies. If it wasnt for our capacity to expel, repel and then to defeat this aggression this world does not continue to honor Allah in salawat, bia and masaajid where Allah should be honored by spirit and mind (Surah Al Hajj verse 40) They killed 1,412; most of them innocent- children, infants and women. In the meantime, the portion of the news that does not make it to your attention and the attention of the public mind is that during the same period when these Yahudi Zionists were dropping bombs and using internationally prohibited weapons against a civilian population, there were 3,700 babies who were born in those circumstances. They kill 1,412, (thats what they take away), and Allah gives around 3,700 babies in these details and conditions of war. What are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to say Islam is a religion of peace and the Israelis can come in with all the might they have to take over?! Is this what the ayaat in the Quran and the Prophets instructions teach us? The Prophet of Allah says there will come a time when the nations of the world are going to converge upon you, (meaning the Muslims), the same way beasts converge upon a prey. The Muslims didnt say wait a minute here, our religion is a religion of peace, how come we are going to reach a position in which the military forces of the world are going to come at us from all directions? No one asked then why is this happening when we are the peaceful, passive and uninvolved types. No! Everyone was surprised. If todays mentality were represented by those around the Prophet- who understood Allah , His Prophet, the Quran and the Sunnah- they would have asked the Prophet but we are peaceful people, why would everyone be attacking us from every direction? They didnt say that; they didnt exclaim or question in that manner; they were surprised and they ask Allahs Prophet is it because theres just a few of us? They didnt question the character of a fighting Muslim, they questioned the numbers of fighting Muslims. Are we going to be just a few of us? He said no, to the contrary, there are many of you. Look at todays world- we are approaching about 2 billion Muslims in the world, theres a lot of us but the fact is there is no fighting spirit in this almost 2 billion count of people. Theres no fighting spirit in us because we dont read the ayaat that nourish that spirit and if we read them, we dont understand them. Now, theyre trying to take them off (and) away from the Manaabir, Madaaris, school books and teaching material (saying) take these ayaat away, dont speak about these ayaat and we have complying preachers (and) obedient servants of theirs who follow their instructions and who leave the Muslim public without a fighting immune system. We cant defend our own selves. Allah, in an ayah, says You have been assigned the task of fighting even though its to your distaste (Surah Al Baqarah verse 216) This explains the Islamic psychology. Its not like Muslims are the terrorists that they speak about in this world. You see, this is what happened. 9/11 was one of these plots by Shayateen Al Ins wa Al Jinn to try to impose on the Muslims a character that doesnt fit and belong to them. Are we a fighting force? Yes we 1385

are, and we have all the right in the world to be a fighting force given the imposed wars, battles, confrontations and clashes that have come our way. The central issue of Palestine Because we live in a country such as the United States, let us rehearse this for people who are Americans and tell them following (You) see, were not allowed to go on a brave course of thinking with the affects of being bold in our thinking- they always want to drop an issue on us and they always expect us to react to them. They dont expect a Muslim to drop an issue on them and then expect them to react- that is changing the rules of the game, and Muslims are not permitted, even though we are the victims, to change the rules of the game. They say the Jews are a minority in this world, they need a home-land and therefore Palestine belongs to them and you know all the details that go into this. OK- youre saying this, so how does it feel when another presentation says to you that parts of the United States can be occupied by intruders and foreigners. For your information, the Chinese can come to this country and take whatever portion of this country they want to. Why? Because the Indians are the original inhabitants of this land. Now, theres a discrepancy about the argument they have and the argument that were going to present to them but just to ride the current information that they have in the mainstream, we counteract them by saying (their racist mind is at work again), if the Indians are yellow or red or Mongoloid or oriental all of this takes us to China and the Orient. OK- theyre coming and reclaiming some of this land for them, what do you say about that? But not much of this type of thinking goes through the Muslim mind. Why? Because the Muslim mind is not encourage and stimulated to think about these exact issues within the perimeters of Allahs words and His Prophets words, so we have a bunch of Muslims in this world waiting for catastrophes to happen. Its not primarily because we are not armed, even though, thats obviously a strong component of it, its primarily because we do not think. When is the last time that you went to any one of these occupied Masaajid or any of the Conferences that are sponsored by the tails of Imperialism and Zionism who have Muslim names and features and they stimulated your mind to think about these real issues? Oh no they dont want this type of issue, ayaat or discussions taking place because its contagious; if it begins somewhere, it will catch on it will keep on spreading and then the Muslims are going to become a thinking component of this world and thats what theyre afraid of because with our thoughts we will begin our long journey and without thinking we are just marking time. OK think Where are the speakers, spoke persons, lecturers, teachers, preachers and the clergy who are focusing these ayaat on the timely and deadly issues that live in our body? Allah, in another supportive, (so to speak ayah) says they will continue to fight against you, to launch wars against you until you renounce your deen if that is at all possible for them to do But, once again, if we dont have this ayah making its rounds in Islamic societies and communities its just ink on paper. Another definition of deen is it invites wars. The way deen is translated or used today it refers to a set of beliefs, ceremonies, rites and rituals- thats what deen is. But where in the world do a set of ceremonies and rituals invite wars? Where have you ever seen something like that? Look at the real world around you today, who goes to war because another society worships in a certain way? Does this describe the war that we find in Palestine, Iraq or Afghanistan? Are these perpetrators of these wars launching these wars because we are fasting Ramadhan or because we are making wudhu or praying five times a day? And the obvious answer is no! Theyre not doing it because of that, theyre doing it because they want to rip us away from our 1386

deen. And a deen is a system of allegiance to Allahs power and authority and God forbid Muslims affirming Gods authority and power- they will fight with all that they have before the Muslims are capable of asserting Allahs authority and power. It is their character, nature, history and current imposed wars that give us the meaning of this ayah that can only be absent from the Muslim heart, conscience, mind and intellect because there is a systemic and planned effort not to present this information and these facts to the living Muslims today. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims One of the transitions that is required is that we update the facts of the Seerah, the struggle of the Prophet, the military, political and ideological contents of the Quran to our current times. We dont want a talkative class of people to dislocate us (and) take us back to ancient times and bury us in details of history that are irrelevant to our life today- we dont need these types of people, they are unwanted; and we dont need another class of people that tries to explain to us what is happening around today, but they are cut off from Allah and His Prophet- these are also unwanted. What we need are the qualified, sincere and insightful Muslims who are able to place the struggle of the Prophet in our time and at the same time to place our time in the struggle of Allahs Prophetthats what we need. You can take this as a measuring stick and measure with it the people you are listening to. If theyre speaking about todays world and they cannot place it in the context of Allah and His Prophet they are apt and they will go on tangents and they become irrelevant; and if you listen to people who speak about Allah and His Prophet but are unable to fuse Allah and His Prophets teachings, words, instructions, guidance and guidelines into todays world, then you also are in no need of them and you can give them a flanking degree. Weve lived, (just in our life, and this is a very quick demonstration of what we are saying), you take the change that occurred in Egypt. 30 or 35 years ago the Egyptian government surrendered to the kafir structure in the world, it capitulated and gave in. What value does it have after it was the center of attention when it was in a fight against the Israelis with all the deficiencies and mistakes that accompanied the years from 1948 to 1978 when Camp David was imposed on the Egyptians, Palestinians and the rest of the Muslims in the area? What is the value of an Egyptian nation state in todays world? Does it have any guidance from Allah and His Prophet in what it is doing? Now, after 30 years plus of surrendering to Zionism and Imperialism, it has become an errand boy between HAMAS and the Israelis. Oh take this message for us, this is what we want to tell them, deliver this message for us- this is what we want to tell the other side. A country with a history, potential, demography and background because it disobeyed Allah and His Prophet became what it is today- a shame to any Muslim whos living the real world. By contrast, in the opposite direction, a country like Iran who just 30 years plus ago was the lackey and the plaything of the Zionists and Imperialists took the opposition direction of the Egyptian government, threw off/out/away the inferior ruling class that reported to the Zionist and Imperialist masters in Tel Aviv and Washington and began an Islamic course into the future- these two changes happened roughly at the same time in Egypt and Iran- and look at today and try to measure one with the other. One of them as we said the Egyptian government has become a courier- deliver this message and that letter to the other side back and forth; no military industry, no civilization accomplishments, not even an economy that can offer its own citizens the jobs and opportunities that they await; (theyre) living off the hand outstwo-and-a-half-billion dollars given to it by the regime in Washington. It comes to Washington with open 1387

hands, pay us, we need your money and support; and opposite to that, an Islamic orientation in Iran that now has to be recognized by its enemies before its friends. Why are they building a nuclear capability? How do they launch a satellite into space? The United States pays the Egyptian inferior ruling class two-and-a-half-billion dollars every year to keep it going with the other perks that go along with it. The same United States government has been in economic, military warfare through proxies, in propaganda warfare and a psychological warfare against the Islamic Republic in Iran for all on these years and now the US government is trying to find ways of approaching the decision and policy makers in the Islamic State in Iran. They tried everything- the United States doesnt even figure in the Egyptian rulers because it takes them for granted- it can give them orders and they will obey. Now, the Imperialist and Zionists are relying on a class of traitors, spies and informers, (some of you who think this is going too far, this is not even scratching the surface). There were spies and informers in Makkah, Al Medinah and the Arabian Peninsula when Allahs Prophet was on earth- we can speak about spies 1,400 years ago and its haram to speak about spies today?! This is the tragedy and dichotomy that we are living. In the course of these past years, they have contacted many Iranians; some of them have been caught in the act spying for their Israeli masters. Even in Lebanon, theyre trying to make in-roads. Just in the past week, the alert Muslims in Lebanon found a spy who was selling Hezbollah cars and these cars had detection devices built into them. These are the types of Muslims that are required in our time- alert, attentive, wise, insightful, up-to-date and up-to-time, not Islamic relics that belong in a museum and dont belong in the real world. (Take a) look at the set of information we have today and the ayaat and ahadith of the Prophet to see how one speaks to the other; this is what is lacking but absent and at the same time (this is) what is required and necessary for us to gain (in order) to put this ignorance and this sleep through the Jumah and sleep through the Hajj programs that they have behind us.

1388

THE EARLY WAHY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuhal Muminun, Committed Muslims Muslims are always growing up, because we are located where Allah wants us to be i.e. our minds and hearts are with Allahs words, guidance and the Prophets practical example and our work and labor in the reality of life with all its variances around- we continue to grow and mature and as we do so, (in this manner), we take a look at those who have denied themselves this growth and maturity; and they are at an abundant lot, there are plenty of them. Let us take a thoughtful reconsideration of some of the areas that display a lack of mental growth and experiential maturity. We and the bulk of the majority of Muslims have something like the 6th image of the initiation of Islam and the Quran to Allahs Prophet. Simplistically or immaturely there was contact between the arch-Angel Jibreel alaih salaam and the Prophet, and from there ayaat descended upon the Prophet throughout the course of the coming couple of decades and a few years. One of the 1st ayaat, (if not the 1st ayah), that the Prophet listened to is one of the areas that we almost immaturely listen to; but before this ayah was revealed from on high, there was a moment that is a breath taking moment, Jibreel appears to the Prophet and he says to him you are Muhammad and I am Jibreel I have come to transmit to you the message of Allah. This obviously was going to mean that a significant/radical change was going to take place that the Prophet understood, if not in its details, then in the general meaning of this message. And he goes home to his wife, and then these details, (which are still not thought of very well in our mind and as we will explain to you will indicate how much condition has its influence on the way we perceive such critical things and such historical defining events which give course to history. When he goes home and tells his wife Khadijah radi Allahu anha of this event and he more-or-less takes a human break from the divine responsibility that he has just sensed. Then, what does Khadijah, in a position of a responsible wife do? She knows the character of her husband i.e. he doesnt lie or play any psychological tricks; he speaks his heart and his mind at the same time; the 1st thing that comes to her mind is to go to the person that she thought would be most knowledgeable on this subject. She goes to her cousin Waraqa ibn Naufal- a learned elder in that society who didnt belong to the religion or traditions of that society; he was of the Christian faith. As a Muslim, especially if you have a build up of traditional information on your mind, one of the 1st questions that should come to your mind is that the Prophets wife, the mother of his living children had a cousin who was a Christian and she thought of him so highly and so respectfully that when the most important news came into her life, i.e. the Prophet coming from Hira and telling her what he had experienced, she goes to a Christian. To the traditional Muslim, that would mean that they are in a defensive position! Whats so defensive about this? Christianity was not as corrupted, adulterated and polluted as it is today. He was a Christian in more-or-less the righteous meaning of the word, and the Prophets 1 st wife and mother of his only children goes to a Christian. We say this in anticipation of the coming few weeks when Christians will be in another religious season of the year they will be celebrating, (in whatever way), Easter. Why should any Muslim think defensively or nervously when Christians are mentioned, 1389

especially the Christians of nowadays who have gone off course. We have enough confidence and knowledge in what Allah has given us to take a comfortable and confident position towards them. When the Prophet was 12 years old on a journey to the North i.e. Bilaad Ash Shaam, he encountered another Monk, a Christian called Bahira. Why should any Muslim feel any negative feelings about these particulars in history? But somehow somewhere throughout time something sank into the Muslim mind and psyche to take a non-confident position towards those who say that they are Christians when theologically speaking nowadays they have nothing to go on. Allah has given us His words and His responsibilities and we should ask whats there to feel nervous about this? There is nothing nervous/apologetic/defensive about. Then, one of the 1st ayaat to be revealed to the Prophet, and compare the meaning of this ayah Oh you who are enwrapped or enshrouded (Surah Al Mudaththir verse 1) Whether it is in the garment that you have on or the nature of the isolation of the Arabian Peninsula at that time- theres no contradiction in meaning here; which will indicate to us also the weakness of thought. If someone wants to give a particular meaning to an ayah and someone else wants to enhance this meaning, some conventional Muslim mind begin to think there is an incompatibility about the meaning- there is none, they compliment each other. Whether he is in himself in the physical sense or in himself in the social sense, whats the contradiction? Take a public and social position (Surah Al Mudaththir verse 2) Thats the meaning of qum; it doesnt mean a simple stand up. The Prophet was standing up all the time; he wasnt cripple or handicap for Allah to tell him to stand up. It means to take a public and a social stand. And then what? Remember these are one of the 1st ayaat that came to him and said you have some critical news to publicize. (Surah Al Mudaththir verse 2) But you and I know that the Prophet of Allah is described by the words of the Quran as a Mubashshir and a Nadheer Oh Prophet, we have sent you as a person who bears witness and communicates the good and the critical information (about the world and about the coming one about peace and about justice about Mumins and about Mushriks). (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 45) If the Quran was agreeable to the public impression that we have today, it would have said Yaa Ayyuhal Mudaththir; Qum fa Bashshir. Thats what the public mind has today in itself i.e. that this message of Islam is a message of glad tidings- and it is, but Allah did not say to the Prophet communicate the good news to the people around. He said communicate the critical or the bad news, because everybodys willing to listen to something good. If you are going to tell them somehow you will be going to paradise and you come to them and shake hands with them and you dont let your hands leave theirs (or) you pat them on the shoulders (or) hug them (or) you may even rub them on their beards or tug a little on their thaub- this was not the approach of the Prophet. Allah didnt say to His beloved one Qum fa bashshir, He said Qum fa Andhir. The Prophet was in the middle of human beings, a human society and a human condition, just like we are; were in the middle of human beings, human societies, human 1390

conditions and circumstances- we share the same things and we all say we follow in the footsteps of the Prophet, but when Allah is presenting to us this ayah with these meanings and selection of words, He expect us to listen, understand and foremost to do and implement what we have understood. We all say we are the followers of Muhammad, (but), what we say is one thing and what we do is another thing almost incompatible altogether. After this communication that came to the Prophet and after Khadijah, his wife, went to Waraqah ibn Naufal and was assured, (after he took a couple of hours reviewing his information, book and knowledge), he came to her and said if what you are telling me is the truth then what came to him is An Naamut Al Akbar or something like the great spirit and he will be persecuted by his own people the way Musa was persecuted because Musa was also been approached by An Naamut Al Akbar and Waraqah who is a Christian, (underline this in your mind), i.e. that the person who gave confidence to the Prophets wife Khadijah was a Christian; and remember, while youre thinking of that, that he wasnt the type of Christian that was undermined by European history i.e. a Christianity that came afterwards that was racialized, Imperialized and nationalized. This person had no racialism, nationalism nor Imperialism in him. He says to her indeed he is the Prophet of this ummah. After the Prophet heard this, what did he do? Did he isolate himself from the people? Immediately when he heard these words from Allah he went to the Kabah that is the place in all of the Arabian Peninsula where theres the most concentration of people at any time at any day. People would come from all around because of the traditional significance of the Kabah. They would come for religious, financial, economic, mercantile, literary or, (what we call), intellectual reasons- it was a magnet for people and when the Prophet heard these 1st words from Allah, he went to where the people were. He didnt have the 23 years of the Quran that we have from Surah Al Faatiha till Surah Al Muawwadataynthese were not in the possession of the Prophet; he only had a few ayaat from Allah and he went to the hub of society and he would tell them from that time on Conform to Allah in everything you do. Not only is ibadah worship! Worship Allah is a destruction of the meaning. Conform to Allah in your rituals, inter-personal relation, family life, trade, profession and in whatever you do Conform to Allah, you have no other Authority and Deity besides Him. And it so happened after going to the Kabah for a few times, he sees Waraqah ibn Naufal again and he tells him of the message that he receives from Allah. What does Waraqah (a Christian- a Christian that hasnt be polluted by the history of Europe (and) whose theology was not one of the trinity that is dominant today) tell him? He tells him you are going to be persecuted, accused of telling lies, to be expelled from where you are and you are going to endure a war imposed on you. Are these words of some Christian who have separated Church from state? These are words of a person who observes the undiluted and unpolluted meanings of Christianity (and) who understood Allahs message; the way Christians are supposed to understand it, not the way the Europeans defined it. For those of you who know Arabic he was saying this with the strongest use of language and the strongest emphasis on words the laam at the beginning of the word and the nun al muaqqidah at the end of the word. People who have todays traditional understanding of Islam who dont want to take the Nadhir personality of the Prophetall they have is rosy information, good news; theres nothing that defies evil in life, when the 1st instruction came from Heaven to Earth to the Prophet to expose and oppose the forces of evil at least by 1391

saying the truth about them. Now, you who say you are in the footsteps of the Prophet, that he is your example, role model or prototype- you hear these kinds of notions and you confess to that and then you are not able to do what the Prophet did only in the verbal sense, are you courageous and brave enough to take a public and social stand against the Munkar that is prevalent in the world? If you have that courage then you have joined the Prophet in the 1st step of communicating this word of Allah; if you dont have that courage, then there is a dichotomy in what you say and what you do. You claim to be following the Prophet but your behavior proves that you are not following the Prophet; and the long-and-short of it is that this is the crisis of the Muslims nowadays who say one thing and they act out almost the opposite. Why? Because Muslims have a mentality and psychology of a rush to power. They want, (number 1), things to be done immediately and quickly, and this is human nature, and then on the other hand they dont want to be patient about this whole affair. And at the end of this sequence of ayaat Allah says And to your Sustainer- endure. (Surah Al Mudaththir verse 7) Have patience! Wheres this gone? Allah is not an issue that we can toy around with. Allah is supposed to be assimilated into our hearts and characters so that we prove to Him and to ourselves that we deserve Him. When our ultimate victory comes, its not going to be beamed by CNN, CBS, NBC, the BBC and the rest of these more-or-less anti Allah mouth pieces. No! When the Prophet received this message from Allah he was confident and sure of Allah. The people around him were the weakest people in society. His wife who 1st accepted him was a woman. Women are characteristically, (at that time and even up until now, with all this talk about womens rights, they are still a victim of the power structure in society), Khadijah was no exception in the society that she was in. Then, a lad; a 10 year old cousin of his, Ali radi Allahu anhu, willingly accepted this responsibility. What todays public mind would refer to as a kid. A woman! A kid! And then there was Zaid ibn Haritha radi Allahu anhu who was later called Zaid ibn Muhammad and then when the ayah came, it was readjusted. In those days and the society of that time he was a slave. A female, a child and a slave- were using the power terms that indicate where our minds are today. Then, there was another individual who you probably cant remember because the power structure throughout 1,400 years has eliminated her from the scene. Her name is Umm Ayman Al Habashiyyah radi Allahu anha- the mother of Ayman the Ethiopian. She was with the Prophet (and) from the household of the Prophets father when he was born. Why? Because, once again, in todays society she was the collection of all of these characteristics of powerlessness and weakness. She was a woman, black and a slave. And because of the pile up of traditions, our Muslim minds today dont even have her in our minds. This critical information that the Prophet was instructed to communicate were to those who were around him first- the family or tribal atmosphere at that time that he was in. He had an uncle- Abu Lahab; this was the Prophets uncle, but because the Prophet was critical, his uncle disavowed him and was at war against him. The other area that your mind cannot pick up in this Islamic history is when his nephew, Muhammad was born Abu Lahab freed one of his maids in his home because of the good news that Muhammad, his nephew, was born. Abu Lahab married off two of his sons to two of the Prophets daughters- Utbah and Usayma the two sons of Abu Lahab were engaged to two of the Prophet daughters, but when the Prophet was communicating the news of justice, equality and the evil 1392

structure around this uncle of his became an avowed enemy of his who is condemned in one of the Surahs of the Quran that the Muslims recite until the end of time. We said that we mature and grow up when we live the details of the Prophet. The next time he is mentioned think twice about your character and think hard when you say you are following him because the facts around dispute that many of us are following him the way he was instructed by Allah. If we do follow him and we find the presence of Allah in our life, Allah will not forsake us. Sometimes it is nature for us to think that Allah is far away from us, but as long as we continue enduringly, patiently and strategically to work for Him and be with Him, He will work for us and He will be with us, and the comforting words of the Prophets wife to him were that Allah will not forsake you, Allah will not abandon you because of the high character that you possess. He was not a mad man; even though when he was in the Kabah he was accused and told whats wrong with you Muhammad? Have you gone mad? Who among us is drawing this kind of comment?! Whats wrong with you Abdur Rahman or Mustafa or Ali or Abdullah or Ahmad? You have gone mad. When was the last time you heard that? The Prophet used to hear it always, and if youre not hearing it always reconsider your character and reformulate it in the image of Muhammad. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims As is the case and should be in the khutbah this time of the week, there are issues that have arisen in these past days to attention testing levels. Almost everyone who is trying to think of the destiny of the Muslim has heard about what happened to the Kurds. As Muslims the Prophet said we are a brotherhood. We are brothers in the Masjid, at home, in the work place, in the park, in cities and in countries- we are brothers wherever we are. If that is the case why have a people among the Muslims, (and they are not the only people but because they have come to our attention), feel that they are aggrieved by Muslims? Thats how they feel. This is not the time to judge their feelings, let alone having them feel that way towards Arabians, Turks or Persians, (but) this indicates to us that there is a historical revenge at work. Almost 900 years ago, Jerusalem, Al Quds/Palestine/Al Ard Al Muqaddasa was cleansed from the forces of tyranny, occupation, usurpation and injustice by a commander who happened to be from these types of people- a Kurd. Kurd in what? In language (but) Muslim in character. They say Europe is secular; religion no longer figures into their decisions. If that is the case then why did the French commander after World War One, when he went to Damascus go immediately to Salahudins grave- this Kurd commander of 900 years ago who liberated Palestine- and kicks the mausoleum and says today, Salahudin, the crusades have come to an end. As we have foreign tyranny, Imperialism and Zionism who have denied Muslims their freedom and rights in the Holy Land, we have governments and administrations who have denied the Kurds their freedom and rights in their land on an equal par. That is how extensive governments have left their impacts on our lives when we have abandoned the impact that the Prophet had on our lives. This is not any propagation of any nation state, the Kurds included. Muslims know nothing called nationalism, racism or sectarianism- these are intruding forces in our midst and the right resolution to it all is an Islamic solution that begins in the heart and at home and then it extends into the other parts of the world. People who have been visited by oppression and injustice i.e. Palestinians, Kurds, Balkan Muslims, Kashmiri Muslims and others have a God-given right to fight for their freedom and their right. 1393

Permission to fight has been to those who have been aggressed upon because they have been denied their freedom and right (Surah Al Hajj verse 39) This is not an issue that is limited to the population of that area geographically called Kurdistan but is a larger issue that has to do with all of us Muslims in coming to terms with who we are- as individuals and rulers. For all of this, we need and we seek Allahs guidance and words of wisdom; we do so in our engagement, involvement, commitment and conviction; we dont do so by wishful thinking and fancy words; we do so when we sweat and bleed; we dont do so in comfortable armchairs and offices and at this time we direct ourselves towards Allah and ask Him.

1394

UNITY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We read and hear many ayaat and ahadith that explain to us our compassion to, care for, comfort with and our contribution to each other. The ayaat and ahadith that you are going to listen to are ayaat and ahadith that you have heard before; but hopefully if we can present them within the relationships of Muslims or people to each other, they will gain another dimension that may not have been there previously. Allah says In fact, committed Muslims are brothers/kin to each other (Surah Al Hujuraat verse 10) Oh people, We have created you from male and female and rendered you as (shuuban) derivatives of each other and (Qabail) correspondence to each other (Surah Al Hujuraat verse 13) For what reason? so that you may mutually come to know one another each other the other; the most honorable of you as far as Allah is concerned is the one who is most conscious of Allahs power presence, power immediacy. (Surah Al Hujuraat verse 13) The Prophet of Allah said mumin vis-a-vis or corresponding or in his relation to another mumin is like a structure; each brick in that structure reinforces or supports the other. As we said, these ahadith and ayaat have been quoted to you in your life time numerous times; so many times that you have no recollection of how many times youve heard these ayaat and these ahadith. There are, of course, a sequence of other ayaat and other ahadith that corroborate these general meanings, but now the difficulty is to try to bring these meanings into our real life. One of the problems we encounter is that persons/individuals just like you and me, (who are Muslims- and we ask Allah to accept from them and guide them further), who want to understand these meanings only in as far as it may apply to individuals. They speak about brotherhood, compassion, solidarity and fraternity as this applies to you as an individual and another Muslim as an individual. We have not experienced the elevations of the meanings of the ayaat and ahaadith to include the solidarity of hundreds and millions of Muslims. Dare anyone think along any one of these lines, they become a threat; therefore the policies, planning and directives that are ingrained in todays Islamic programs, (as they are called by some), are deliberate in omitting this level of thinking. Now, before we take on todays violations of these meanings, let us look at ourselves, (we know this to some people may be a sensitive issue), but Allah calls upon us to learn from our mistakes or past. Did He not say concerning previous generations, societies and civilizations- (this is like an order to us- if the Prophet is saying something to us we listen and we obey1395

Say to them- travel around the world or make in-roads into societies or transfer yourselves to other cultures or overcome the divisive obstacles in an effort that will take you to new places For what reason? so that you can know or identify how previous defyers of Allah came to an end. In our early history, (were talking about the 15th year after the Hijra- thats relatively early), when the Muslims began to carry their worldwide responsibility into other directions of the world, the 1st observation is we dont sense that when the Muslims understood Islam and the Prophet they had this sit back attitude. The Muslims in Arabia in Al Hijaz could have said, look, we have Islam here in Arabia and we are satisfied with it, and if other people in the world want to be guided here we are. If they are willing we will have cultural exchanges or they can send us some of their scholars and we will send them some of our scholars; why carry this burden of the world on our shoulders?!- they could have done that, but we all know they did not do that. Why? Because, this nature of our relationship with Allah extends itself to the rest of humanity. We are not here like they want to say exporting a revolution; revolutions are not business items, we dont import and export these type of things; they are not subject to the forces of the market; but we have a responsibility to take this privilege, endowment and honor from Allah to the rest of the peoples in the world and the Muslims at that time were aware of the world, (as isolated as Arabia may have been in as far as civilizations are concerned), nevertheless people living there knew that there were powers in this world. They were familiar with the Byzantines, Persians and Ahbaash/Ethiopians/Abyssinians because all of these were on the peripheries of Arabia. So what do you do? Here you have an Islamic God-given responsibility, what did they do? They said ok, were going to take this Islam to the rest of the world. They began taking it in a northward direction towards Byzantine, in a westward direction towards the Egypt, Abyssinia and Africa and in an eastward direction towards the Persian Empire and this is what concerns us here. We may speak in the future about our Islamic endeavor and jihad as far as taking this message to those who we now call Europeans or Africans; but what we are concerned with here feeds into the larger policies that are being applied in the Iraq, Arabian Peninsula and Gulf area. The Muslims set out, (as they are required to do), to take this Islam to the people East and North of Arabia. Just like in todays world, there are powers, governments, regimes and militaries that dont want this message of Allah to touch base with the populations that they control; in todays world, theres are real military and political structure that wants to freeze Islam, if not defeat Islam in its cradle. So, the Muslims began to prepare for the encounter with the Persian superpower at the time. The Persians at the time were the number one or number two superpower- depending on the history books that you read; (and were not going to enter into a futile debate and argument about this point). Remember- brothers and sisters - if we, the committed Muslims dont begin in a mature and responsible manner to shed light on these issues, were going to have Shayateen Al Ins Wa Al Jinn come in and tell us who we were and what we did and therefore how we should behave today, trying to bypass and personalize the ayaat and ahadith that we mentioned. So the Muslims prepared an armed force, unless they are nationalists to the bone and sectarians in their marrows, we dont know why anyone should be disturbed if we say that the Muslims set out and encountered a Persian superpower?! We who have distanced ourselves from the Arabian Abi Jahls, Abi Lahabs and Abi Sufyans can also distance ourselves from the Persian Abi Jahls, Abi Lahabs and Abi Sufyans and there were plenty of them in the superpower 1396

structures of that time. So why does anyone have any problem?! The Muslims put together a fighting force that numbered around 30,000; 70 of them were participants in the Battle of Badr, 300 of them were from the companions of Allahs Prophet 700 of them were their children and 300 of them were the ones who participated in the liberation of Makkah. All of this happened at the time of the 2 nd successor to Allahs Prophet- Umar ibn Al Khattab (radi Allahu anhu). This is not a time when there was a dynasty, a ruling family, royalty or regime that has gone off its Islamic course. Then, the Persian superpower put together a force of 120,000 warriors and there was about 80,000 extra personnel involved in this encounter and they met in an area today which is about 18 or so miles or km away from Kufa- a place not very far from Al Najaf. Remember- brothers and sisters- if the media is peddling soft on the Iraqi issue, the brains are working full time on this issue. The sectarian and national troublemakers have not gone away! They will be coming back with their strategies to try to bleed us when we are supposed to be brothers of each other. So, they meet in this place called Al Qadissiyah which was and has been tarnished and hijacked by Arab nationalists. Remember, if we can speak against Arab nationalists, we can speak against Persian nationalists; we dont have any problem with that because we are Muslims first and everyone should understand this. And the battle began with this type of force- the Persians had brought in a weapon that was unfamiliar to those who were fighting on the Islamic side i.e. those that were about 33 elephants. The 1st day of this warfare went in favor of the Persian superpower against those who are fighting on the Islamic side. The 2nd day went by in the favor of those who were fighting on the Islamic side against the Persian superpower- they even fought through the night. Night warfare, which was unfamiliar in those times and areas. The Persians sustained over 10,000 dead in this encounter. On the Islamic side, they tried to come up with a defense against the Elephants that were used on the Persian side so they put a construct over a camel to make it appear as a counter force to the Elephants. After the details, (were going to have to skip some of the details), of this military encounter, the Persian superpower was defeated; their top commander, Rustum, their king and the rest of this ruling class was defeated. Does this defeat cause someone to feel that they have a score against the Muslims?! If it does, then we have a nationalistic problem! If any Muslim who comes from Iran or Persian speaking areas of the world feels that the Muslims who fought against the Persian empire were wrong, we have a problem and youre going to have to explain yourself! And dont go to the years of Muawiya and Yazid to explain this; Muawiya and Yazid have no decisions in this encounter and Muawiya and Yazid are condemned for their political usurpation of power. We did not shake from condemning them in the past nor in the future, but lets not confuse the issues. A Persian and a Byzantine superpower were defeated by the committed Muslims. And all Muslims should feel the honor of these accomplishments. In the course of this encounter as was the case with the beginning of most of the wars of those who belong to Allah and His Prophet, they had to express themselves 1st to their enemies, so they went. Before the Muslims sent an emissary to the commander of Persian army, they sent a delegation and emissaries to the king. The Persian king didnt even want to see them. He said if you had not been emissaries I would have finished you off, in other words, hes honoring political protocols. We dont care if diplomats were sent to negotiate or speak to you; so in todays average wording of it, he said, get out off my face I dont want to see you; you Arabians are below us. Of course, these were Muslims these werent Arabians. Kings, sometimes if not most of the time are slow to wake up to reality. So, the Muslims before this war began sent a person to speak to the commander, not to the king but to the military commander Rustam, and they meet and the Muslim says 1st of all, the Muslim could not sit with the commander and the elite of this superpower because he is considered inferior. They told him stay 1397

were you are you dont come here and mix with us and what do you have to say?! So he says, (in effect), that Allah has sent us with this responsibility and we find ourselves as an obligation from Allah to extract people from the conditions of injustices and oppression that they are in and have them live in conditions that behoove human beings- conditions of brotherhood, equality and justice. OK, we want to cut this short- he was asked what do you mean by conditions of equality and justice? He said what I mean by that is that what I have seen here is that you have forbidden me from speaking to you with equality; I cannot even come up to your area, you have me speaking to you at a distance because you think I am inferior; the equality that we come from equalizes human beings- there is no superior and inferior. And they understood what he was saying and they dismissed him, they said ok you go, this is war between us and you. It is said after Mughirah ibn Shuabah left, in their private councils they said we dont know this equality this person is speaking about therefore we are going to have to fight because this fight is going to be for our survival- the same way elites all over the place speak. The war was over and Islam went its way as we know from here on and we come to our time, today. This a day of the week and a time in this day that we have open hearts and open minds and Allah as our observer and witness- (we dont care what language you speak or what school of thought have), we the Muslims have problems with our own selves. (Take a) look into your own context or circle and can you find that you have nationalists or sectarians in it? We have more-than-enough sectarians and nationalists; we have so many of them that we are unable and speak just like we are speaking about a battle and war that took place 1,400 years ago to speak about the reversal of that battle. If there are Muslims who are committed to Allah and His Prophet in that same country and context that is called Persia or Iran and if we have an Islamic orientation, movement and direction that is coming from that same population base, why cant people in the same spirit, principles and Islam come out and say there is an Islamic leadership that wants to follow the course that was followed when the Persian empire was condemned?! Its because nationalism and sectarianism weigh very heavily on the Muslim mind and on Islamic perceptions or perceptions that are supposed to belong to Muslims that we have the inability to say look, we have an Islamic direction there and this Islamic direction is suffering from its own types of nationalists, sectarians and a historical nationalism and sectarianism. What is wrong if Muslims want to identify with the Islamic leadership in Iran? Does anyone have any problems with it? If you have problems with that, its a kin or similar to the problems other people had when Islam 1st began its march outside the Arabian Peninsula- human beings are still human beings and human nature is still human nature and the same forces are still at work. It is in this context that a person in Iran comes along just in the past 10 days or 2 weeks and says concerning Bahrain- which is a very small place- he says something to the effect well it has always been considered to be part of Iran or at least this is how the news items projected his words. Of course ,theres problems with that! If we speak about an Islamic solidarity that is one thing, but if we are beginning to reclaim areas of the world that belonged to a Persian empire or nation state or an Iranian nationalism or even a Shii sectarian solidarity we are going to have problems with that. We dont know the exact wording of this and we dont dismiss the possibility that there are individuals who can mis-speak themselves or even more then that there may be individuals in todays Islamic direction in Iran on certain levels in the government who harbor nationalistic or sectarian tendencies. In the time of Allahs Prophet and the Khulafa after Allahs Prophet, there were individuals who had nationalistic and sectarian tendencies. What does that say? We didnt have an Islamic state then and therefore we dont have an Islamic grand effort 1398

that has lasted 30 years to have an Islamic structure today? There are people who want to say yes its easy for us to dismiss- there never was an Islamic state. If there never was, there never is and there never will be an Islamic state. This Islamic awakening requires us to accept ourselves for the best in our struggle. We dont accept ourselves for our laziness or the traitors among us or for the deliberate and thought-out deviations nor do we accept ourselves for selling our destiny and future to Ash Shaytaan and the superpowers of today- NO! These dont belong to who we are. We accept our selves for who we are in our struggle and our combined efforts and therefore if we are speaking an Arabic language or a Persian language or any other language, we accept this for whom we are and theres nothing that is going to violate our Islamic commitments because of that. We accept ourselves for who we are even if we are Sunnis or Shiis. Can we mature to do that and not come and think less of the other Muslim because he is not a Sunni or Shii- this is precisely the grand plan that is at work to undermine the coming together of the Muslims to resume their responsibilities on a worldwide scale. Its not an Islam of isolationism, retreat, non engagement, an indifferent or passive Islam or else Islam would have remained in the Arabian Peninsula (and) we wouldnt have had what we have today. It is our responsibility to breathe life and we dont mean just understand what Allah is saying but behave what Allah is saying. Brothers and sisters, these are not ayaat that are individualized or personalized. These are ayaat and ahadith that address us in the hundreds of millions. All of these divisions of language, ethnicity, race, color, (what is called), national origin geography, school of thought, denomination combined should not violate this togetherness, cooperation and solidarity of the Muslims everywhere. The question is why do we see the opposite of what is happening? Why is it that Allah is uniting us and we are dividing ourselves. Maashar Al Muminin A Muslim in his right mind and healthy heart cannot understand why Muslims begin to fight in or around Al Masjid An Nabawi, the Prophets Masjid in Madinah Al Munawwarah. This defies the meaning of the Islamic compassion, togetherness, respect and honor for each other. We still dont know the exact details, but the information that has come our way indicates that there were some Muslims 1 st (hopefully and Shiis 2nd hopefully), who came to the Prophets Masjid, and as is their reverence for Allahs Prophet, trying to go to his grave; saying a dua there. There were other (hopefully) Muslims 1st and then Sunnis 2nd who began taking pictures of women who are in this Shii cluster of people. Here is where the picture becomes unsettled. Something happens and both sides go against each other and they are only at a short distance from the Prophets grave. Altercations, physical abuse some words that should not be said or heard and then, (what is called), the security forces comes in and this develops and some people are arrested and others wounded and injured- all of this happening where? At the vicinity of Allahs Prophet. You tell us- if you were in any of these groups of people, how can you justify this type of almost shedding blood in the vicinity of Allahs Prophet? How can this be justified? There is something deeply disturbing about the psychology of these types of people., especially those having power instruments in their hand and can inflict harm and injury on the body and lives of other Muslims who dont have arms in their hand. There is a gap between these Muslims; they dont appear to show a willingness to understand each other. The ayah says litaarafu- Allah is speaking about ethnic, racial and national stocks of people that have so much bearers between them and telling them that you are going to have to mutually, cooperatively and willingly come to know each other. If He is speaking about blocks of people with 1399

this apparent built in differences, how about we the Muslims? We are supposed to be as integrated with each other as to at least have familiarity with each other, but we behave as if we are pre shuub and pre Qabael. We behave as we are aliens towards each other! This didnt just happen in a day, this has years and centuries built into it. We dont know how true these news items are because everyone wants to present these issues to favor their side and not favor the truth and objectivity. Were not saying this is true, but nevertheless it was stated and was circulated- this could have been a reaction of people saying this. Imagine this Shiis (were sorry to use this word, but this is the way many people characterize themselves, they think theyre Shiis 1st and Muslims 2nd or last), they are assaulted by people who have guns; machine guns, grenades and what not. So being that they themselves are not armed they want to try to take their frustrations out against those who are attacking them and they begin to use foul language and bad words along the lines of curses to those who consider Aba Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) as their awliya. What is this going to serve? What is this going to do? Are we contributing to a solution or a problem here? Once again, we dont know if this is correct, but given what human nature is and that weve heard some of these things behind the scenes, we cannot dismiss that some people want to express themselves in this way; but dont they listen to themselves when they say these things? Theyre contributing to a problem. If we cant just reference ourselves in Allah and what He says and the Prophet what he did we will continue to see these Zionists and these Imperialists stoking this ignorance of our own selves- this is what it comes down to; they play on our ignorance of our own selves. You can see this Masjid and the thousands of other occupied Masaajid in the world are either playing make belief none of this is happening and that there are no strategies in this world to have Sunnis and Shiis break their heads against each other and spill the blood of each- as if none of that is happening. They are comfortable in giving khutbahs as if they are living in a time of Islamic golden age i.e. Muslims now have a civilization on top of the world, we have no problems no occupation no military bases in our lands we have nothing of the sort and they carry on speaking about issues like divorce, brushing your teeth and these other non issues when our blood is streaming.

Occupied Masajid And Manabir

1400

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims on their way to Allah These ayaat at the end of Surat Al Jumah express to us very clear meanings- theres nothing difficult to understand here. Oh you who are committed in a secure way to Allah, if theres a public announcement for the Jumah prayer in the day of Jumah, then you make the effort to go to the consciousness of Allah and you part with your commercial activities (Surah Al Jumah verse 9) You leave your job, employment and whatever worldly activities you are in. that is best for you if you have this knowledge or are versed on this fact. If the Salah of Jumah is done or over, then you spread back into your territory or turf (Surah Al Jumah verse 9- 10) If you came from the market you go back to the market, if you came from your shop you go back there, whatever trade you may have had before coming to al Jumah, you go back and resume it. and you seek of Allahs abundance. (Surah Al Jumah verse 10) At that time (if) you want to make money- you make money, (if) you want to make a profit, you make a profit. and remain intensively aware of Allah (Surah Al Jumah verse 10) Which means you may physically leave al Jumah and all the congregational fact of Al Jumah, but you dont leave the consciousness of Allah- that stays with you and increases and is amplified so that you may be successful or prosperous. But if they see a favorable transaction or the entertainment of life you will see them attracted to it (Surah Al Jumah verse 10-11) The meaning here is the consciousness of Allah has a tendency of withering away because of our human nature. and they leave you to stand up for these facts that are just explained; say to them: what is in the possession of Allah is best compared to this overwhelming transactional/commercial absorption of yours and what Allah has is better than what you consider to be the entertainment of life or the good times (as some people would refer to it) and these attractive profit-making financial profit making transactions; and Allah remains the best provider. (Surah Al Jumah verse 10- 11) So, if you take your Allah-awareness with you to the market or the good times, that is a reason for more provision of what Allah has- whether its in what you seek in this life or what you
1401

anticipate in the afterlife. This ayah is clear- does anyone have any difficulty with this ayah? But this ayah is not a floater or at a historical distance; this ayahs meanings, motivations and quintessential is here-and-now, so lets bring these meanings to the here-and-now. Oh you who are firmly committed to Allah, if the public announcement to the Jumah prayers is done on Fridays, then you make the effort to go for these prayers (Surah Al Jumah verse 9) OK- here we are making an effort to come for this Jumah prayer and you see what happens. There are Shaytaani powers in this world that tell Muslims you cannot come into the house of Allah. We are not making this up, this is not one incident, and time has passed it by; this is a recurring fact that has been itself for the past 26 years. On March 5th 1983- this was 26 years ago There are some human beings, (therere no ghosts over there), theyre true human beings who share the rituals that we perform, who go through the habits and mechanics of Islam (but) who say to other Muslims, (with the power, force and finances that they have), you cannot come into the Masjid. This has been the policy and practice of the Shaytaani occupants of not only this House of Allah but also the Grand House of Allah in Makkah itself. They permit and ban whomever they want and to the limited human being, they seem to be getting away with it. What does Allah say concerning them? These are some ayaat from Allahs historical, contemporary and future record about this issue. Some people subscribe to a lazy translation of these motivating ayaat. Allah says Make your presence visible inside and at every Masjid and call upon Allah with a sincerity to your deen Deen here is not religion! Deen here is Allahs construct of life itself. But what do these agents of Shaytaan do? Exactly in reverse to the meaning of this ayah, they say no! You are not permitted to interface in every Masjid. This is a place where you are not allowed to obey these meanings from Allah and theyve been doing this on a continuum of 26 exhaustive years. In another ayah in Surat Al Anfal, Allah says and why shouldnt Allah torment them when they are a barrier to Al Masjid Al Haram in Makkah or the sanctimonious or inviolable Masjid in Makkah. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 34) This is a miniature crime of theirs, their monstrous crime is their behavior- they duplicate their crimes and what they are doing here on a limited scale they are doing in Makkah Al Makarramah on a global and unlimited scale. So dont be surprised if Allah is tormenting and causing pain to be inflicted upon them- it comes with the territory. This is another ayah in which Allah says They are the ones who take issue with Allahs authority and power and they are the ones who bar and ban you from access to Al Masjid Al Haraam. They did this at the time of Allahs Prophet and they were accurately called Al Mushrikeen and they do this in our time and they are inaccurately called Al Mumineen. The same behavior,
1402

policies, human nature and political conduct- different individuals and the description got lost between a space of 1,400 years. Allah also says They are the ones who have designated a Masjid to be of damage, denial, division pertaining to the committed Muslims (Surah At Tawbah verse 107) They tried to build a Masjid that deflects and retards from Allah in the time of Allahs Prophet and the do so today. Allahs Prophet had the authority and the power to physically destroy that Masjid. Allahs Prophet brought down a Masjid- theres nothing automatic about brick walls that have a dome and a minaret to them with a mihraab and a minbar to them- you (could) build something like that and it can be destructive and be harmful to society- it could be a matter of dirar, kufr and tafreeq. What do you think this Masjid is all about? Its exactly playing these three roles dhirar, kufr and tafreeq baynal muminin. What does Allah also say about these characters? Who could be more oppressive, in violation of justice or unfair than those who restrict and prohibit these Masaajids of Allah from an awareness of Allah that pertains to His Authority and His Power... (Surah Al Baqarah verse 114) This Masjid and its likes in the tens if not in the hundreds of thousands in the world are void of an Allah with an authority and power. ... as a consequence of a structure that has no awareness of Allahs authority and power is its destruction and failure (Surah Al Baqarah verse 114) Whether this pertains to its physical destruction or every other meaning of destruction attached to it, these Masaajid, (in the plural, these numerous Mosques), that extend from Washington DC to the Arabian Peninsula, the overwhelming majority of them are in a state of failure and disintegration, (not because we say so), but because we understand what Allah is saying to us. Another ayah that is a reflection and definition of these usurpers, occupiers and thieves- there are thieves in these temples- another ayah that condemns them It is not expected of the Mushrikeen or it is not in the nature or character of the Mushrikeen to build the Masaajid of Allah (Surah At Tawbah verse 17) Its not in there nature or character to build these Masaajid physically or with people inside or by motivating the attendees of these Masaajid- these are not our words or the words of some human being who is trying to score against someone else; these are the factual, accurate and objective words of Allah that apply to reality and real human beings. they bear witness against their own selves to the crime of kufr (Surah At Tawbah verse 17)

1403

And the final ayah in which Allah says And indeed, Masajid belong to Allah, therefore do not report to anyone besides Allah or do not approach in these affairs pertaining to these Masaajid any powers or political structures or anything else besides Allah. (Surah Al Jinn verse 18) These Masaajid are not some domain of someone who have an ego, interest or ambition; these Masaajid are Allah's Masaajid. This fact has to be established inside the depths of our conscience; it has to go and settle in our sub-conscience so that we don't have crooks and criminals who come and say that they can posses or control these Masaajid. Brothers and sisters, many of you are not new to this affair- You know (that) we have begun 27 years of praying every Friday and Eid in the street. This has been an enriching experience; we pity the Muslims who have denied themselves this experience and other Muslims who used to be here (but) who now rationalize themselves not being here. We have pity on them; we just feel sorry for them. This is an opportunity that comes their way and they turn it down. With the moment of taqwa at this time, what do we say? Is there taqwa in the powers who flex their muscles against those who are supposed to be their own brethren? What do you say of these occupiers of these Masaajid who for 26 years and beginning the 27th year have barred and banned you and me- the committed Muslim who comes here- from going into this Masjid? Are these the types who are observing Allah's power? 26 years multiplied by 12 months for every year multiply that by 365 days for every year- not once have they had the moral courage just to bump into us, (that's all), outside the Masjid in the cold here in the street! We linger on after Jumah prayers for an hour, (sometimes a-little-more-or-less), what are they afraid of something? Are they afraid of us or do they have a troubled conscience? Theyre afraid of being faced with a cumulative mistake that they keep piling on- jumah after jumah. We have no problems seeing, meeting, interfacing or speaking to them and weve never had problems, but we have people who are committing crimes who have these problems- what do we do with them? Besides that, this is a growing Islamic presence in the larger Washington DC area- what do we have, its anyones guess? A few hundred thousand Muslims- 300,000 Muslims in this area? More than that? Where are they? They make believe that none of this is happening? If they don't want to be here physically on Friday, where are they to speak about these people who are occupying the Masaajid from Washington DC to Al Hejaz And from there to the Pacific? Do they no longer have common sense? The issue of brotherhood?! This issue has also brought about the quality, mettle and fiber of Muslims in all of these years. We say that we are brothers OK- if we are brothers, how do you express this brotherhood? Do you express it by words and you are satisfied or do you express it in behavior, presence and in what counts in life? And if you do, then why, (some of who have lived this issue), at the beginning of this issue when we were still inside the Masjid, (this is a reminder for those of you whose memory may have lapsed), were there individuals who were attending Jumah prayers who would come and say the khutbah from the mimbar on Fridays doesn't sound much different from the khutbahs that are given in Saudi Arabia. Astaghfirullah Al Adheem. They weren't saying this to themselves, they went around trying to make this a fact. Of course, they were slapped in their face when the Saudis themselves came and said this is too much that is coming out of this minbar, let's force these Muslims outside of the Masjid. Some individuals who are no longer around, (we don't know what hole they went into, we don't know where they are), they pointed an accusation at yours brotherly and said that hes nothing more
1404

than a Wahhabi in disguise- we've also heard that in these years. When an average or regular Muslim comes here and says what is all of this about? Why are these Muslims praying in the street? we also heard from people, (especially from the Bahais and Wahhabis inside this Masjid), say after trying to understand what this person's background is- if this person's background is a Sunni, they have a pre-fabricated answer; they'll tell him these are Shiis out there in the street- trouble makers and if the same question was asked by a Shii inside the Masjid, they are told these are Palestinians and pro-Palestinians outside, nothing more than trouble makers. That's who we are in their eyes- we amount to either Shii trouble makers or Palestinian trouble makers. This is a time and day of taqwa and most of these questions were asked to them at this time on this day and these are the lies that come out of their mouths. We've lived for a long time with this issue and may Allah increase our determination. Many people use the word sabr OK- this is sabr; this is no reactive/inferior/accommodating sabr, this is sabr on principle. be patient for Allah is with those who are in this position of patience. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 153) Not the artificial/idealistic/isolationist patience or the patience of withdrawal (but) the patience where principle is to be honored. Let no one fool you- its our right as Muslims to have access to the House of Allah here, in Makkah and to every House of Allah everywhere in the world. If you want to live and die on principle then, in between you are required to have this affirmative sabr. Be patient for Allah's promise is true and valid. Be patient in circumstances like this for that patience is related to Allah This is not a patience that runs out of time or a patience that is angling for some personal or private or ego related objective. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims the basic reason why these earthly powers are exercising their Shaytaani ways is because we Muslims- whether we are here or the extended body of Muslims everywhere- want to have ourselves involved in the affairs of the Masjid, (and) the diplomats and Ambassadors can go back to their offices. They say this is the capital of democracy- Washington DC is where they want fair and free elections; why don't they permit it in the Masjid? They have violated their own laws and constitution and they continue to violate it every week and we are witnesses to that. When they speak about democracy, they can't lie to us; theres no democracy here- we know this first hand every week but what happened? Muslims in Gazzah also elected their representatives just like Muslims in Washington DC 26 years ago elected their representatives in the Masjid; Muslims in Gazzah elected their representatives to their own parliament in Gazzah and what happened? Just a couple of months ago we saw all hell breaking loose against Muslims whose crime it is in the eyes of these Shayateen that they elected those who represent them. This is a NO! NO! It has been a NO NO ever since the time of Al Imam Ali radi Allahu anhu, beginning with Muawiya. Its been a NO NO for Muslims to elect in a free and fair manner their representatives anywhere. They want this type of history to continue and we know this kind of history is coming to an end.
1405

Brothers and sisters committed Muslims In the course of the past 26 years, the original individuals who participated in this division of the Muslims, (remember brothers and sisters- it's always there weaker party who is to blame), say we are dividing the Muslims! How can we be dividing the Muslims? We are the ones who want to go inside the Masjid and be with other Muslims (and) they are the ones inside the Masjid with their bosses, superiors and masters who are dividing the Muslims. Look at this issue power free. Just because they have the power doesn't make them right! Just because we don't have power make us divisive! We stand on principle and no one can argue with us- that's why they haven't been around. Have you seen something like this happen to Christians or Jews? Imagine if Jews were not allowed into their own Synagogues and if Christians were not allowed into their Church! The media would be all around the place. The world would know about it, but because were Muslims, they want to make belief that nothing is happening- Oh everything is alright meanwhile the criminals inside this Masjid- one Bahai and one Wahhabi are taking themselves to court for the past couple of years. In dragging themselves in the court system that has put them inside and has put us outside, they are beginning to show their dirty laundry to the public. One of them, the Bahai says in defense of himself because the charge in court against him is that he embezzled $435,000 well, he took some money, but the money he took he was spending on the mistresses of the khateeb, Imam and prayer leader inside this Masjid and its been dragging through court for the past two years or so; and we have some Muslims comfortable going inside the center and offering their religious services when it is polluted with this type of behavior and these types of individuals. Why doesn't this information circulate? Why don't more people know about this? Ask these Muslims who go and pray behind a person who we still don't know what the facts are, but we know one thing for sureboth sides are lying! We know that for sure! The details of their lies we leave up to Allah but we don't thin k all of this is in vain. (Take a) look at this country and government. Some of you may not have been here in the 1st 12 years of this episodic unfolding aggravation and violation of human rights. For the 1st 12 years they had police cars all over this place; they still have one right there (and) another one just turning there- they have them coming and going- why? What are we doing? Are we breaking any law? Theyre breaking the law- we should be inside the Masjid. (They) had them here for 12 years parked- our tax money is going to this establishment that is trying its best to bury this issue and in the meantime look- when we begun over 26 years ago, this was a so-called super power; we have been watching it going down the drain in a sinkhole. What do you expect from a government that doesn't allow Muslims to go into a Masjid? It will sink further into new depths and we have these types of officials going back and forth on this street. We are not here in a remote area like Iowa or Arkansas, we are on Embassy Road- this can be considered the thorough way of the world where diplomats and decision makers go and come and all of them have been putting on a show for the past 26 years as if none of this is happening and they can continue with their acts and play but we know that Allah the Observant the Watchful is present and He sees this. For those of you who have stood on principle and stayed the course during these years, may the All Mighty contribute to your patience in this struggle; for those of you who have been in and out, we ask Allah to give you the firmness of purpose so that you do not vacillate in and out and for those of you who are still not here, we beg and beseech Allah to open your eyes so that you can stand on principle and not be the verbal and apparent reflexive Muslims that you have been.
1406

Understanding The Imperialist European Psychology

1407

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Muslims of Commitment, dedication, duties and responsibilities As a gesture of enlightenment and mercy to us in the many ayaat that are meant to teach us and have us mature and understand, Allah says in an ayah towards the end of the Surah Al Baqarah; it was preceded by another ayah which says Combat duty has been assigned to you knowing that you are averse to it, but it maybe that there are things that you are averse to that may turn out to your benefit and there are things that appeal to you but may be to your detriment and Allah knows and you do not know. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 216) Then, the ayah goes on to speak about the sacred or sanctimonious months. Is there fighting in it? Yes- there is fighting in it; theres denial of Allah's Power by those who are opposed to Him that will occur during these months; the violation of Al Masjid Al Haram may occur during this time zone that is supposed to be secure. Then Allah mentions this statement or sentence they will continue to fight against you until they cause you to renounce your deen if they are able to do that (Surah Al Baqarah verse 217) This ayah, (especially because we live in the type of world we are living in), should be present in everyones heart, psychology (and) thinking mind; anywhere where theres a consciousness by Muslims, this ayah should be present. This ayah has been true throughout hundred of years, it remains true throughout our life time and will remain true until the end of life as long as we have committed Muslims who are what they are supposed to be and we have these enemies who have proven their nature, character and their aggressive policies. Before we place this meaning in the dynamics of our time, we ask a simple question- why are we the targets of their aggression, wars, hostilities, bloodshed and genocidal strategies? Of all the peoples of the world, why are we the ones who they come to with their militaries and cause all this stream of blood throughout time as it continues today? There's no simple answer to this question, but we can generalize in the perimeters of accuracy to say that these established orders, military hierarchies and regimes from the time of the Muhammad of Arabia until our time, these powers have a combination of disregard for human life and a self centered walled view that rationalizes for them the dehumanization of we- the Muslims. On this day, six years ago (this week), the full swing of the combined military might of these historical and current powers that have aligned themselves against us were invading and occupying Iraq. If only we could only combine Allahs words and meanings against Shaytaans hostilities and acts of war and aggression! Before we come to the current character of these capitalist criminals, we should take a comfortable look at them in a previous chapter of the discordant history that they have expressed towards us- which falls within the ambiance of this ayah they will continue to wage war against you to the extent of having you denounce your deen (Surah Al Baqarah verse 217)
1408

Deen here doesn't mean acts of worship and ceremonies of the Masjid; deen is our human effort to organize and coordinate life itself as a matter of our fealty to Allah. These powers who right now have their world policies centered around the usurpation and military aggression that they have had for 60 years plus in the Holy Land are an echo of their policies yesterday; and these events of yesteryear or of a thousand years ago are more-or-less unnoticed and forgotten by the average Muslim! What happened? Is this new? What we see today- the occupation of Iraq, Palestine and other numerous Muslim lands in whatever form- in military, economic, political, (whatever the case is), all around is not new because it is a derivative of the meaning coming to us from Allah. Their methods of warfare are not limited to the military- even though the military is the most serious part; and even though our collective body has suffered from their military wars and aggression, some of us are oblivious to what happened to our own selves. As a refresher- European armies came to the Holy Land over 1,000 years ago and occupied it and its vicinities for around 200 years. The calendar that most of us work with is the Western one- you come an ask even enlightened Muslims when was it that they came and occupied Jerusalem the 1st time, and because we are conditioned and programmed to be oblivious of these life and death facts, unless he is a highly acclaimed historian who deals with these numbers, facts and times on a daily basis. No one will tell you because no one is tuned in and these facts are not expressed to the public on Friday. At three o clock in the afternoon on 15 July the year 1,099 these forces came from Europe- a Europe that was never moved by the Christianity of Isa (alaihis salaam). Europe was never Christianized; it was only Christianity that was Europeanized, because before this hallmark in the common divergent history that we have with them, these Europeans also had wars. Before these Europeans who turned Christianity into their own image (and) molded a religion to fit inside of their own body of interests came and did what they did to the Muslims, they did the same thing to Christians who were living in that part of the world- these were not Muslims yet. In the five-to-six centuries before Islam was to become the popular and the populist way of life of people in that part of the area, many of those people were Christians and yet the European Christians expressed their hostilities and combat character to what was supposed to be fellow Christians in and around the Holy Land. So, when they came to that area in their campaigns that are referred to as the Crusades and they encountered the Muslims, what did they do? They slaughtered us. (So), slaughtering Muslims today in Iraq and Palestine is nothing new to them and we can understand why they want to forget this history- because it is an embarrassment and a blot on their past but we can't understand why the Muslims do not remember this history, especially in light of ayaat that beg for explanations, details and facts. This ayah has life to it in the history to these warriors, war makers and war imposers. They come to, (what is supposed to be), the Holy of Holies- Jerusalem by any account and according to any denomination of Christianity is supposed to be Holy- a sacred city but here we have them. What type of conscience do they carry? They're coming in hoards and then doing what? In only a span of a few days they butcher and slaughter only in Al Quds itself, 70,000 Muslims. By the recollection of their own historians, they had Muslim blood flowing to their knees in some of the alleys or streets of that Holy city. We say this because we don't want Muslims to be surprised when they launch these wars against us; some Muslims say this doesn't belong to a civilized character, people or society. Any Muslim who comes out with these types of thoughts or ideas doesn't understand what Allah is saying and what happened in history. When they took over Al Quds, they converted all of the Masaajid of Al Quds into Churches; we don't know of any example in our Islamic history
1409

and in our relationship with those who say they are Christians where we took over by military force one of their cities and then at a genocidal level of things annihilated Christians. Can anyone bring any example in the history that we have of such a thing happening? Masjid Qubbatus Sakhrah in Jerusalem- the Masjid that most of us see in the pictures with the Golden Dome; many of us, (once again because the necessary information is not presented to us), confuse Qubbatus Sakhrah with Al Masjid Al Aqsa. This Dome of the rock Masjid with the Golden Dome was taken over by them and was made into a Church. Part of Al Masjid Al Aqsa itself was converted into a Church and another part was used as a barn where they would bring in their horses and a third part was used as a storage area or something like a warehouse. This is only a detail of that history; this is not the full history and the full ferocious force that accounts for the occupation and the theft of the Holy Land by European Imperialists masquerading as Christians; they were hiding behind Christianity and religion to commit these atrocities, massacres, mayhem, dislocations and genocidal policies that explain to us the ayah. Today, we hear in the news that theres piracy off the African coast, the Somali coast. They tell us that there are pirates who are threatening the international lanes of the commercial vessels that traverse that maritime area, but, (when we hear this), none of us recall that 1,000 years ago, these Europeans were pirates in the Mediterranean, Red and Arabian Sea- basically in the vicinity of the Arabian Peninsula and they were expanding their threats, (not only were there threats on land, they were also threats in the sea), and not were they thinking of it one time, (this may also come as a surprise to some people or to many of us simply because we are not supposed to recall these facts when we read and understand what Allah is saying to us). they will continue to do combat against you hoping that they will be able to cause you to renounce your deen however much they can do that (Surah Al Baqarah verse 217) It comes to some peoples minds that these Europeans who were disguised with Christianity were thinking about taking the Prophet's coffin, (as it were), his holy body from Al Medinah to Europe and then if Muslims wanted to pay respect to their Prophet they would have to go to Europe and be charged a tax to have access to the Prophet's grave. Of course, they never got away with this, but this fact being mentioned in the history books is enough for us to understand the true nature of these enemies who didn't go away. The ayah is still fresh and vibrant. You see what's happening today? (Its) almost the same policies at work, but now they are more sophisticated. Instead of physically removing the grave of Allah's Prophet from Al Medinah and taking it to Europe, (why should they bother with that, they leave the Prophet's grave where it is and then control that area by their clients, surrogates and their political slaves as represented by the family Kingdom of Saud- that's what they have. They have come a long way in understanding how to de-fuse, divide and distract the Muslims and they are getting away with this- why? Because there's no timely knowledge that is imparted by the Ulema' who are responsible for this knowledge to the Muslim public itself. OK- we have a history that is replete with numerous acts of war against us- (forget about history for the moment), today, in our real world, armies, militaries, spies, politicians and diplomats from all around who are active night and day in pursuing these acts of war against us and dare anyone point the finger of truth to these war criminals and characters! No, we Muslims are supposed to be silent about what is happening to us. They don't want you and me and almost two billion Muslims waking up to the facts that Allah is saying to us. They don't want us to be free in the full meaning of the word, so they turn
1410

around with everything we have and they accuse us of being guilty against freedom! Can you believe this? We are against freedom?! We don't want freedom?! This is a structured and financed lie and propaganda! They are the ones who are out to deny us our freedom, independence and sovereignty and all the proof is in the current affairs, the historical past and the words of Allah. To answer the question at the beginning of the khutbah, why do they do this to us? And to generalize once again a summary of the answer is it is because, (we say this with all meekness), in all of the world, the only place where there's a confluence of conscience and justice is this area that they are targeting- that's the best general answer that explains to us why we are on their historical and current wanted list! (Its) because in us, theres a potential for the combination of conscience and justice which we access by our devotion and commitment to Allah and His Prophet. We don't suffer from the extremes that the world suffers from- on one side of the world there is a consuming materialism and on the other side there is a consuming spirituality; in one extreme of humanity there is an emphasis on morality and on the other extreme of humanity there is an emphasis on legality- we don't suffer from these extremes; in one class of humanity there is a reverence for the individual and in another class of humanity theres a reverence for society- one of them at the expense of the other. We do not fall into these extremes and they understand this fact and they sense that we are able to give the world the balance it needs and the reason we are capable of that is because we still have the line of communication accessible to Allah and they want to get away with their monopoly on power and authority and they dont want to see a part of the world break loose from the polarization that they have been suffering from, hence the genocidal wars (and) the dehumanization that come our way and we remain Allahs. We have weathered the history, we will weather the present and we will deliver a better future. Brother and sisters, Maashar Al Mumineen In this timeframe that we are in, (it was mentioned in the last khutbah that we delivered here), it was this month in the year 1983 that these Shayateen could no longer tolerate a free and a thorough expression of Islam from the Mimbar in Washington DC. We are supposed to learn from the world and events; we know some people may feel uneasy with what were going to say, but we mean to learn from the Shaytaani mind behind all of this. In this Islamic Center here, it transpires throughout these years that the political, ideological and conceptual masters who made the decision of occupying this Masjid brought in- as you can see, the person on the Mimbar has African features- in other words in a city that is predominantly African American they want to use race to disguise their plans. They didnt bring in a Caucasian/European looking person to the Center- there are brains and minds behind what they are doing. OK- this is a fact, can anyone deny it?! But its a fact that relates to social realities, just like, (to remind of some areas that have not probed by the Muslim mind), in the year in which Allahs Prophet was born, (today we have the Byzantines of our time who are in control of this Masjid using their proxies and puppets), at that time the Byzantines used Abraha, another person with African features. They used color and race (in) instigating Africans against Arabians. This was a person who put up a military force to physically destroy the Kabah. Racism wasnt around?! Racism has always been around. They are using the same tactics in Darfur. They say this is an African area that is being exploited by Muslim Arabs- whether you are in this Islamic Center in Washington DC or whether you can go
1411

back to the way they used the race card to serve their purposes 26 years ago when they brought in the Manager of the Islamic Center- what they had on their mind was race; and just a couple of months ago, they put into the White House another person who serves the same purposes. When can people see through what they are doing and combine what they have done in the past with what they are doing today to understand they havent changed? They blast themselves with civilization and culture- those are cosmetics. We have to see through their lies and pretensions and it is only Allah and His Prophet that will have us see through the complexity and confusion that they spew into the public mind.

Overcoming A Crippled Psychology

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.
1412

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Sometimes it is problematic for the average Muslim to understand the historical responsibility that he or she shoulders. The difficulty in understanding this is because of the traditions that we all carry- some of us more than others. Some of the difficulty also comes from the interference that play a role in our lives; an interference that come from the inaccurate information that keeps on intruding on our minds. The issue can be simplified- we, the Muslims, carry the responsibility of the Prophets. Can we put it simpler than that? The Prophets had a history- each prophet had an individual history with his own society and power structure and they had a combined history. All of these Prophets throughout time were of one mission or objective. One way of summarizing or simplifying their mission is conform to Allah or acknowledge and affirm Allahs power and authority and part with At Taghut (Surah verse) Because the contentions concerning Allah, (as you may discover or observe), has to do with Allahs power and authority; it has nothing to do with Allahs mercy. (If) you meet a Christian, Jew or people of other religion, they dont argue with you that Allah is merciful that Allah loves His creatures that Allah is compassionate. They may use the word Allah they may use the word God, Khuda Deity, Divinity or any other combination of words and no one has any bone to contend in this regard; so where do we have our dissimilarities? We have it when it comes to Allahs authority and power. Here is where we begin to develop a divergence of concepts, opinions and policies. This is where our responsibilities kicks in. We are to stand-forth, affirm and re-iterate Allahs authority and power and here is where the others no longer agree with us. They could be men-in-he-cloth, their own religious ranks, etc, (and) they come and say what do you mean by Allahs authority and power? And here is where we are supposed to explain to them this historical message that was represented by all Allahs Emissaries and Apostles You conform to Allahs authority and power and you break away from mans concentration and abuse of power and authority (Surah verse) This is what makes us, the Muslims who we are, and this is what distinguishes us from other faiths, religions, belief systems and people of creed. When we take a mindful look of who we are and what defines us, we begin to realize that we are people who are concerned with justice. This is a word that has been thoughtfully and in a premeditated way excluded from the definition of who people who are committed to Allah are. Allah in an ayah also capsulizes the history that we are part of i.e. the history of His Prophets and Messengers. We have send our Emissaries/Messengers, (from Adam to Muhammad), with evidence and we have allocated to them divine information/scripture and a criterion (Surah Al Hadeed verse 25) For what reason? so that people are able to function with institutionalized justice. (Surah Al Hadeed verse 25)
1413

What happened though? Something happens when Muslims behave/act daily, weekly, monthly, yearly in their stretch of this life in the absence of this justice. This institutionalized justice is central but it no longer configures in the bottom of our hearts and inside our minds. Where is justice? A person today can be born a Muslim, spend a traditional life of praying and fasting and then die with all of these years without the consciousness of this justice. This places us, the committed/thinking Muslims, in a position that no other community in the world has. If we can recognize and live this fact, we begin to realize from the commotion in the world that surrounds us that there is a flagrant and global assault on justice; this is an offense to us wherever it takes place- it offends the definition of who we are, but many Muslims watch it with their eyes and live with it throughout their lives and theyre not offended! How can this be? Theres something terribly wrong in the root understanding of who we are! To bring the character of the Prophets of Allah into todays world- the Prophets of Allah were in the opposition because the governments of their time were institutionalizing injustice. Of course, this has a conceptual background an ideological content to it; but to skip the details of concept and ideology, the fact of life was that justice in their time and age was being stabbed in the heart and back and their mission was to set out and take the lethal weapons away from people in power so that human life can have a modicum of justice or qist in it. When todays Islamic organizations function and when they draw their plans, they dont think of themselves as being in the opposition. They want to gain favor of the Taghut i.e. the concentrated power and wayward authority that they are supposed to take issue with- this applies across the board. Some Muslims who spent the past 20/30 years in recognizing this fact who should have a better understanding have caved in! They want to become buddy-buddies with those who have physical and material power. They feel it is their Islamic duty to reach an accommodation with the political and military establishments that are at war with justice and the victims of injustice all around the world. How can this be?! Where can they produce for us an example in the lives of Prophets where this was done? There is not one citation of this, but here they come along and plot and plan and go ahead with being part of the establishment, status quo and capitulation to these usurpers of authority and power that belong only to Allah. In our internal Islamic house and mind, this confusion begun early in our history. (We know that some of us carry a load/cargo of traditions in us, but I am going to try to be careful here- with Allahs help and assistance), when the Prophet of Allah passed away, that very day there were tendencies in individuals and in the tribal structure of Arabia that had their eyes on power, authority, governance and ruling and Allahs ayah and His Prophets ahadith are still fresh in their minds. Oh you who are committed in a safe way to Allah- obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who have the trust of authority among you (Surah An Nisa verse 59) This was an ayah that was on everyones mind but every one was a human being, these werent angels. We are dealing with human nature, human weakness and human being who just a year ago became Muslims; were not dealing with utopia or an angelic society. The society of Muslims in the time of Allahs Prophet had people who committed crimes or who were felonsthis is how society works and how human nature behaves and the Prophet passes away. On that day the inside psychology that was beneath the surface when the Prophet was there began to surface. We know from elementary Islamic history that Al Ansaar are Al Aws and Al Khazraj. Al Ansaar on that day began to discus the matter of meeting the Muslims. These were the same
1414

Ansaar who offered the Prophet his 1st base of authority and power and the discussion among them was to the effect that we are the ones who are qualified to lead the rest of the Muslims. Among the Ansaar, the attention was upon Saad ibn Ubada (radi Allahu anhu), the head of the Khazraj faction of Ansaar. (if you want to call it that). There was a drift by these Muslims to motion the leadership of Saad ibn Ubada to lead the rest of the Muslims. What is this treachery? No! Is this kufr? Astaghfirullah- no! This is the best these human beings could be. They were not thinking with evil in their minds; they were trying to think out how they can best carry this responsibility and these were their internal thoughts that they were expressing on the same day that Allahs Prophet past on. Other Muslims, who were the Muhajirin were tuned in and they realized what was happening and they wanted to motion the Islamic leadership away from the Ansaar to their own circle of the Al Muhajirin, so they presented their case (i.e.) we were the 1st to suffer and to struggle with Allahs Prophet. Now, it was a matter of public loyalty- how to keep this Islamic house together lest it begins to fall apart. (We know, maybe were going too fast for some of you, but take a moment/breather), the question is, was it possible for this early generation of Muslims to lose their unity at that time? We know many lecturers, khateebs, sheikhs and leaders dont want you to take a measured and rational look at these critical moments, but why not? If we are equipped with Allah and His Prophet in our minds and hearts, we can take a look at this. Theres not one ayah in the Holy book or in the hadiths of the Holy Prophet that says we cannot take a look at ourselves at these moments- this is ourselves, who says we cannot take look at ourselves. Of course we can. So, we find that in between these two internal thoughts/trends, the popular drift that is capable of maintaining the togetherness of these heroic Muslims and these yesterday Muslims (this is not an Islamic monolith. In the past year there were tens of thousands of people who became Muslims because Islam was the wave of the future; they didnt become Muslims because they sacrificed, expelled from their country or because they lost a life or limb at the warfront- this wasnt the majority of Muslims, so now you have an Islamic population that can come apart- how are you going to maintain the glue within this Islamic population?) So, when the drift was towards the Muhajirin, people went up to the 1st successor to Allahs Prophet and they expressed their fealty and loyalty to him. Does anyone have any problem with this? If you think about the circumstances and the details in which this happened, then youll know why this happened. When this was happening, (this is the part of history that many people want to jump over and dont want to consider or think about), in those hours of that day, there was a cluster of people of Umawis around Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) who wanted him to become the leader of the Muslims; there was a cluster of people around Sad ibn Waqqas and Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf (radi Allahu anhuma) from Bani Zahra, who because of the blood lineage wanted either of these two to become the leader of the Muslims; there was a cluster of people from Bani Hashim around Al Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu) who wanted him to become the leader of the Muslims- these are facts. Whichever way some people want to skew history, let us be as fair as to look at the facts that belong to our 1st generation of Muslims (and) to our historical self. The majority of Muslims came, (we know, in this context, we get the majority and the minority argument and counter argument. Notice, up until now, were not saying someone is absolutely right and someone is absolutely wrong; this is not a simple black-and-white issue. It is said and written that after the baiah was established for the 1st successor to Allahs Prophet, Saad ibn Ubadah, (who you may recall from just a few minutes ago), was just about to become the consensual leader of the Muslims; with that decision reversed, he did not give his baiah to Abi
1415

Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), the 1st successor to Allahs Prophet. We havent heard anyone anywhere, (we say this from the humble position of having delved into these portions of history), and we havent come across any statement that says he is a non Muslim, (we have to use a buffered word). (Theres) no statement what-so ever, and this is a person who didnt give baiah. We have in todays generation of Muslims people who come and say if a person doesnt give baiah, hes a kafir and they cite a hadith in this regard; but withholding a baiah from an Islamic leader the way Saad did, did not place him at odds with the Islamic State. He still owed his allegiance to the Islamic State with his reservations about the leader of that Islamic State. For your further information, during the time of Hajj, Saad ibn Ubadah, died almost four years after Allahs Prophet died, did not join the rest of the Muslims in performing their rituals, but did so on his own. No one said hey look- you cant do this! This is a break from the Islamic consensus because they knew he didnt break from the Islamic consensus. He still had the Islamic character that he always had- he attended all the wars with Allahs Prophet; he was one of the 12 naqibs/leaders who on baiah al Aqaba Al ula came to Allahs Prophet and said we are your supporters- come what may. This gives us, at least, the rational to say that we may have our reservations about a particular leader that was put in office by an Islamic popular wave, (so to speak), but this does not place us outside of our Islamic political character. Now, this is an area where some people cant maintain their minds. Ali refused to give his baiah to the 1st successor to Allahs Prophet. We have different history books telling us different things. Were trying to be fair to the subject- some history books that after some days he gave his baiah to Abi Bakr; other books say it was four months later that he gave his baiah and other books say it was six months after that that he eventually gave his baiah. He gave his baiah after two things happened. The 1st one was of the passing away of Fatimah Az Zahra (alaiha as salaam), his wife and the Prophets daughter and the 2nd thing that happened was there was an act of war. There was a declaration of war by those who renounced their political Islam. They didnt renounce Islam- they were praying, fasting and doing everything but when it came to economically prove that they are loyal to the Islamic leadership they said no! We are not going to pay our Zakah, Sadaqa or financial dues to the Islamic treasury- thats a declaration of war and a renunciation of Islam. When these two developments occurred, Ali went and he gave his pledge of loyalty to the leader of the Muslims. This whole issue, (without probably much of the details that have been emaciated), is taken out of character of whether Muslims can assume their role as an oppositions to injustice- wherever that injustice may come from. Injustice can come from within and from outside an Islamic social order; wherever it comes from, it is our character and conviction to oppose that injustice. But the word opposition is not supposed to sink into the Muslim psyche. (Its become something like what do you mean opposition? Yeh- we are an opposition. Muslims are born or programmed, (so to speak), to be the opposition that they are and have always been, but we have Shayateen Al Ins Wa Al Jinn who want to make it accusatory to become an opposition. When some Muslims in todays world are waking up to who they really are and want to oppose tyranny, injustice and the dislocation of power and values in this world, they want to make these opponents look like they are terrorists and no Muslim wants to look like hes a terrorist so we dont want an opposition!? If our opposition to tyranny and despotism means that were going to be terrorists, then no forget about it, we dont want to be an opposition; thats one way of vacating ourselves from whom we really are. Another way is
1416

OK- you want to be an opposition, you can be a loyal opposition. Sign up for your opposition and the powers that be i.e. the anti Godly establishments will define for you want it means to be a political opposition and this is what many of these Muslims are standing in line to do. They want to sign up to become the loyal opposition- heres where we are in time. It is a carrot-andstick approach; the stick is you cant be an opposition because you become a terrorist and the carrot approach is OK, you can be an opposition but you have to sign on the dotted line and go by our definition of what an opposition is. This is where we are and as simple as this fact is, but why cant Muslims live this fact? Many of us come from broken cultures and inferior societies; we dont have the breath of freedom to breathe! Whats wrong? Some people around us are very sincere in their opposition- theyre not terrorists and theyre not considered to be that loyal tamed domesticated opposition- theyre average human beings who with the criterion placed in human nature are against the status quo. No one says theyre terrorists but when it comes to us, they say oh no! If you Muslims if you want to criticize/critique or show the deficiencies and corruption in the social order around, you cant do that and because some of us come from the types of backgrounds that we come from, we fall for this. This is exactly where we are- we find ourselves in the ditch or hole that we are in, not because, (may Allah forbid), the information we have is incorrect its the psychology that we have that is incorrect. Allahs Prophet says one of the best forms of jihad is to express the word of justice and truth in the face of a tyrant or a despot. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims A brotherly and frank word to you, (not to you personally, but to you as the Muslim public), sometimes a person in the meek position that yours truly is in finds it difficult to speak to a Muslim public when the information cannot be sustained within an Islamic thinking mind. The problem is we have Muslim minds but they cannot sustain Islamic information or to put it in a more understandable way, we have minds in individuals who consider themselves as Muslims, (but) who are not capable of handling Islamic information when it comes to them. This is the position that this brother of yours finds himself in this week. 30 years ago, there was the infamous capitation of what is called Camp David and theres much information to be expressed on this occasion, but theres nothing much that can be said when theres no receptivity to this information as there should be. Egypt is an integral part of the Muslim hemisphere. Egypt is dear to Muslims- not the Egyptian government, establishment or regime. We have seen in these past 30 years how Egypt has been reduced to a political pauper or nothingness. This was the Egypt that defeated the Tatars/Moguls fi Ayn Jalut. That fighting force that came to Iraq and killed tens of thousands of Muslims and occupied that land; it moved on to Syria and the Holy Land and occupied it. Theres a lot of details to this history similar to what we see today (with) some officials who want to genuflect at the altar of Imperialism and Zionism and other struggling Muslims who want to be excluded from that devotion to tyranny and to the disestablishment of justice. It was at that time in history almost seven-and-a-half centuries ago that these proud people of Egypt destroyed that killing machine in the battle of Ayn Jalut in what is today Occupied Palestine.- that was an invincible army and there are details to this history, something you dont think anyone in Egypt will do today. Just an example for you- Ulago the king of these blood thirsty hoards who claimed hundreds of thousands of Muslim lives in Islamic Asia sent five diplomats/emissaries to the ruler of Egypt and the morale at that time was very low. They
1417

were speaking about an army from the Far East that was never defeated. Were sorry to say theres a strike of inferiority at that time and today that is shared by many Muslims- they say how can be beat such an armed force, we dont stand a chance the same thing we hear today. The ruler of that time brought these, (this is against all protocol and were not here to defend a ruler, but we are looking at these issues in the context of their time), and what he did was he beheaded them and he placed their bodies in public. This was considered to be an act to try to defy the inferiority complex that is deep down in the psychology of the Muslims who dont have the courage or confidence to say we can win, we can have victory over our enemies. This was a time when the rulers were reduced to the status of the common man- something that hasnt been present in many parts of Islamic history. All of these details are buried; not even Muslims who read a lot of history are aware of many of these details. This type of Egypt now is hammered with information to make the people there believe that they are incapable of doing what has to be done. This inferiority plague is nothing new- if we conquered it once or twice we can conquer it again. There is no reason for anyone to feel inferior. When youre on the right side of the issue and when you stand firm and tall with justice- something everyone can relate to.

The Children Of Israeel Have Morphed Into A Pharoah

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

1418

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Muslims of integrity, truth, understanding and responsibility This Jumah on this day falls between two holidays that are not observed by Muslims, of course, but are observed by those who say they belong to the Jewish faith and those who say they belong to the Christian faith. Yesterday and the day before, the Jews began to observe a week long remembrance of what they call Passover i.e. in reference to their exodus or Passover from Egypt to the Holy Land and in a couple of days, those who say they are Christians will be will be observing Easter and that brings to their mind what they call the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus (may Allahs peace be upon him). We know, (by the privilege of Allahs revealed information), that these observances by these two groups of people are a deviation from the scriptural norm. We shall say at the beginning that for those who are sincerely devoted to God, from whichever context they come from- whether they are Jews or Christians- our heart felt and warm congratulations goes out to them in proportion to their sincerity on these two days because, as many Muslims are supposed to know, these developments inside this history belong to us because we belong to Musa and Isa (alaihima as salaam). Any Muslim who understands his/her history from Allah and the Prophet know that there cannot be from those who just because they claim that they are Jews or Christians put a distance between us and Musa and Isa. To reference ourselves correctly pertaining to these two groups of people, we shall quote an ayah from the book of Allah. This ayah from Surah Al Zukhruf has the following meaning And when Isa/Jesus came with undisputable evidence, he said I have come to you with wisdom and to clarify for you some of the issues that have become disputable or controversial among you, so be aware of Allahs power presence and be obedient. For Allah is my Sustainer and your Sustainer- thus conform to Him; this is the straight path. But then the factions disputed the affairs after him and woe to those who have done injustice to themselves and to others from the torment of a very punishing day. (Surah Al Zukhruf verse 63-65) Allahs Prophet Isa was sent as we understand from this ayah to straighten out the affairs that had rattled and separated the people of Israeel. This shows us, (if we care to tune in to what Allah is saying to us), contrary to the impression that many people/Muslims have that Bani Israeel are somehow united. Allah is telling us that in their history and in this particular time with Isa, they are divided. We know from the extended ayaat in the Quran that the history of these Children of Israel i.e. this nationalist congregation of people, this tribal consolidation of families and this racist cabal of individuals that they turned their back and pointed fingers of accusation on Isa. Of a certainty, Allah is my Sustainer and your Sustainer, therefore comply with or conform to Him (Surah Al Zukhruf verse 64) This is not a matter of just God is the Creator therefore worship Him. This is a false or misleading representation of these words. Isa is saying to Bani Israeel and to all scripturalists who think and behavior like Bani Israeel
1419

Indeed, Allah is my superior authority and Sustaining power and He is also your superior authority and Sustaining power, therefore conform to Him (Surah Al Zukhruf verse 64) That means that every thought, feeling, effort, policy and plan that you are responsible for in life has to be influenced, guided and stimulated by Allah and directed towards Allah. These are serious words for serious human beings who can think. this is the straight forward way to Allah. (Surah Al Zukhruf verse 64) Now brothers and sisters- you have listened to this servant and this meek brother of yours on previous many occasions quoting the Quran and Allahs Prophet concerning the shifting, deceiving and misleading character of Bani Israeel, and some Muslims who are far away from our history and current affairs like to take it easy on themselves and feel like yours truly is blowing things out of proportion or is unduly emphasizing a matter that more-orless belongs to the past. Some Muslims who fall in this frame of mind are influenced by the gigantic reality that sits with its weight on mind and heart who listen to the mainstream media more than they listen to Allah and His Prophet. For a change of tone, we want to try to quote for you statements by those who have no Islamic affiliation who have come to identify this character that has broken away from God and does with the world what we can see with our own eyes, understand with our own minds and evaluate with our own hearts in the real world today. Im going to quote for you what other people who are not Muslims said (and) who give a meaning and a tafseer to the ayaat that are in our possession that speak about the criminal character of this court ere of people who have a historical record and policies and plans today that are wounding, if not trying to kill, the Islamic determination in our age and generation. Because they have been poisoned by the mainstream Yahudi controlled media, some people cant speak in the khutbahs, Masaajid and in an Islamic congregation and gathering about 9/11. OKlet us have others who are not Muslims tell us what their minds say about 9/11. What did a police report concerning the arrest of five Israeli intelligence operatives after they were seen filming the destruction on that infamous day say? This is not a Muslim; this is not an Islamic Organization; its not a wild eye radical; it is not a fundamentalist extremist orthodox terrorist organization speaking. What did this police report about the crash into the twin towers in New York and these five Israeli operatives who were taken out of the public eye, extracted from public attention and sent back to the occupying regime in Palestine say? And we quote these five Israeli operatives were seen by New Jersey residents on September 11th making fun of the World Trade Center ruins and going to extreme lengths to photograph themselves in front of the wreckage. When Allah says to them in history and today Do you dress what is the truth of the matter with a disguise of falsehood and then you suppress the truth while you are aware of it? (Surah Ahl Imran verse 71) This is what they are doing in this particular incident. They know whos behind 9/11. They know who planned, plotted and executed that whole affair, but they turn it inside out. Instead of telling the whole world that they are behind this whole thing, they give it the appearance that the Muslims are responsible of this whole thing.
1420

What did this elected Israeli Prime Minister (who is) known for his war mongering proclivities and blood thirsty tendencies say concerning 9/11? This doesnt come from Islamic sources- no Muslim had anything to do with these words. We quote for you word by word what he said regarding what took place in 9/11 well its very good. Well its not good, but it will generate immediate sympathy for Israel. We want you Muslims who dont have the Quranic anticipated courage in you to say the truth like none Muslims express it. An American Senator said the following and we quote for youremember, this is not a Muslim- Israel controls the US Senate (Take a) look, we are saying this in the street in public. What do they want us to do? (Do) they want to take us to jail for quoting an American Senator? Israel controls the US senate. Around 80% are completely in support of Israel. Anything Israel wants, it gets. Jewish influence in the House of Representatives is even greater. The Senator is William Fulbright and this statement that is at least 20 years old- which means after 20 years there is more truth to what he said then. (Do) you want more brothers and sisters? These words come from the Yahudi crowd itself. Let us give you this on the occasion of it. These are comments of an Israeli worker who was sent to Indonesia following the Tsunami in 2004 to prevent the bodies of dead Jews from being defiled by being buried in mass graves with non Jews. What does someone like that say? Their words expose them and you weakling Muslims who cannot speak the truth about this matter- if you dont want to listen to other Muslims who can speak truth to power- then listen to the Jews quote we Jews are in a state of panic. Given the fact that dead Jews are precious and deserve a special burial, the fact that five to ten Jews might be lost among 125,000 Gentiles is pretty horrifying. As we are sure you can see- five to ten Jews are considered more precious than 125,000 others that are not Jews. Were not saying this; its not a fanatical Muslim who is saying this; these words come out of their own mouths. We were witnesses to the Yahudi power structure in this world rendering Ghazzah an open prison for the last at least two years and not many of us care to probe a psychology that can put a million-and-a-half people in the conditions of Ghazzah for two years and then launch a war or massacre against them. What does their Holy Book, The Talmud say? We quote for you- no Rabbi can ever be punished in hell. It was these Rabbis who were telling the Israeli troops when they were killing innocent people in Ghazzah that this is a religious war; thats being quoted in newspapers here-and-there.

A Priest, (not a Muslim), by the name of John Shehad said the following every time anyone says Israel is our only friend in the Middle East I cant help but think that before Israel we had no enemies in the Middle East. Allah says concerning the animosity that these Yahud have who are thrilled by perpetual war against the Goyim every time they stoke the fires of war Allah extinguishes them (Surah Al Maaidah verse 64)
1421

Every time Bani Israeel stokes these fires of war, Allah puts them out. This is true in history and it will remain true until theres no longer living beings in existence. Back to 9/11 and the dislocation of the truth and the presentation of false information to the public by these movers and shakers of our time and were quoting once again a person by the name of George Friedman- the Director of a site strikefor.com a pro-Israeli think tank who commented on 9/11. The big winner today, (meaning in the aftermath of 9/11) is the State of Israel. There is no question that as a result of these attacks, the Israeli leadership is feeling relief. Some Muslims who are satisfied with Islamic personal hygiene, personal prayers and all other Islamic personal obligations and therefore cannot see beyond that the higher responsibilities that come with being committed Muslims, we say to them and we quote the Talmud, one of the Holiest Yahudi books in circulation among them, to take a peak/glimpse of their psychology. Whosoever disobeys the Rabbis deserves death and will be punished in hell by being boiled in hot excrement. These racists, nationalists, egotists and selfish Children of Israeel are condemned by their own words. This humble speaker of yours had an occasion to meet one of the Yahudis who used to live here, in the Washington DC area. He wrote a small book and we quote to you his words, his name is Jack Bernstein. Once again, I want to point out that it was the same group of Ashkenazy Jewscommunist, socialist, Bolshevik Jews- who migrated from Russia to Israel, gained control of the Zionist movement and have dominated the government of Israel ever since its being in 1948. Brothers and sisters- many of us are mature and old enough to know how sensitive the Capitalist-Imperialist establishment in the United States was during the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s towards everything that was Russian, Socialist, Eastern European, Soviet or Communist- all of us know this; how come they were not hyper and sensitive towards these Yahudis who came from the depth of that geographical and social milieu that they were so sensitive toward? Why were Yahud the exception? How could they get away with this without a consolidated thought and mind on this subject? Yahud are celebrating or commemorating this week as a week that they were saved from the tyranny of the Pharaoh and they were only to emerge thousands of years later in Palestine to become the Pharaohs of our time. We quote for you the words of Moshe Sharet, their Foreign Minister who then became their Prime Minister in the 1950s- these are his words- the State of Israel must invent dangers and to this it must adopt the methods of provocation and revenge and above all, let us hope for a new war with the Arab countries so that we may finally get rid of our troubles and acquire our space. Today, you hear and read the rumblings and noise that come out of Zionist occupation of the Holy Land and the message is we are planning a war with the Islamic Iran. You listen to Allahs words and you understand them by the behavior and policies of men. We saw the carnage, massacre and pogrom inflicted by Yahud and now they are planning something much more on a larger scale. Then, we refer to a statement in their Holy Book that says and we quote again, for the feeble Muslim who are incapable of understanding what Allah is telling them in the Quran and also incapable of going to the enemies Holy Book and reading what is said in it. These are the words, word-by-word- if a Gentile hits a Jew, the Gentile must be killed. This is not a statement these are not words of an Islamic terrorist and fundamentalist, these are their own words that come out
1422

of their own books that are expressed by their own mouths that become the policies of their own militaries. For Allahs sake, cant you see this! Theres another area that Muslims want to ignore i.e. the relationship between Imperialists Capitalists interests in America and Zionist racist/expansionist/murderous policies in the heartland of Islam. We quote to you the words of their Prime Minister who is vegetating now and who has been excluded from the cameras, media and public notice. What did war criminal Ariel Sharon say? Were quoting him- no one should be upset we are quoting the Israeli Prime Minister. He is speaking to his college Shamon Perez who is currently the President of that warrior/expansionist/murderous nation state and tells him I want to tell you something very clear, dont worry about American pressure on Israel, we, the Jewish people, control America and the Americans know it. In the back of their mind, some Muslims think these words are not supposed to be said. Why? If you think the Israelis are leading the world crowd, were quoting their previous Prime Minister. The founder of Zionism says the anti Semites will become our most loyal friends; the anti Semite nations will become our allies. (When) you think about the contrived, fabricated anti Semitism, (as they call it), in the West, Europe and the United States and somewhere inside that crowd, there is a Yahudi hand that moves this hatred and hostility to Yahud whenever it serves the purposes of the racist/criminal/expansionist Israeli nation state. This can be applied to Nazi Germany, the Ku Klux clan and other such organizations. The previous Head of Mossad says why should the Americans have trusted us. We are a bunch of socialist Russians. But that is exactly what happened and that is exactly what is happening today. There is an unbreakable/undilutable relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv that bothers us, Muslims, every time we travel. Now, they stop us at airports. Why? Because we are armed with the truth. We have no weapons; we dont even know how to shoot, but because they have their Mossad agents in some Western countries, we are all suspects because we are beginning to understand what Allah and His Prophet say to us. (Regarding) this relationship between Al Yahud and An Nasara at the religious level of things, we quote again the Talmud. The books of the Christians must not be rescued from fire but must be burned. Some of you Muslims need to listen, not run away from the facts. Some of you are so weak avoiding the real issues that you understand what is happening when it is expressed by a non Muslim. A Christian Palestinian Bishop of Jerusalem says Arab Palestinian Christians and Arab Palestinian Muslims lived side by side for the past 1,400 years and for anybody to say that the Arab Palestinian Christians have been persecuted recently by Muslims is absolutely another big lie, like the big lie that spoke about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

An American, Western Christian journalist goes to Palestine and sees the deliberate thought out planned atrocities and he says children have been shot in other conflicts I have covered, but never before have I watched soldiers entice children like mice into a trap and murder them for sport. Are these Gods chosen people?
1423

Another Senator in the United State Senate back in 1982 had this to say, it is interesting, but not surprising, that in all the words written about the Kennedy assassination, Israeli intelligence service agency, the Mossad, has never been mentioned and yet a Mossad motive is obvious. On this question, as on almost others, American reporters cannot bring themselves to cast Israel in an unfavorable light despite the fact that Mossad is as plausible as any of the other theories. That was Paul Findlay. We, Muslims, want to think very positively and very optimistically of Ahl Al Kitaab, but we get two issues confused. A person who belongs to Ahl Al Kitaab that has nothing to do with the military, government, corporations, the banking system and then those who say they are Christians and Jews but are defined by their Capitalist, Corporate, racist or nationalist character. If someone tells you that Muslim blood is flowing and this someone is not a Muslim, what does he have in all of this? He is not saying this because he has some relatives who have been killed or some family that have been massacred! The same American journalist- Christopher Hedges says (regarding) his observations in the occupied lands- the land that today and in the past weeks some Israeli Zionist zealots are trying to claim Al Masjid Al Aqsa. This is going on away from being mentioned in the Masaajid and in Muslim congregations. This journalist says the Israeli soldiers shoot with silencers. The bullets from the M16 rifles tumble end over end through the childrens slight bodies. Later in the hospital I will see the destruction, the stomachs ripped out and the gapping holes in limbs and torsos. Yesterday, in this spot the Israelis shot eight young men, six of who were under the age of 18; one was twelve. This afternoon they killed an 11 year old boy and seriously wounded four more; three of who were under 18. We dont know what those who belong to the Jewish faith celebrate when they leave Egypt as oppressed people thousands of years ago and today they emerge as oppressing people. It is reported that Isa, speaking to the son Hadran, the Yahudi religious hierarchy, the senior Rabbis said to them you snakes! You brewed vipers! How will you escape being condemned in hell? Therefore I am sending you Prophets and wise men and teachers- some of them you kill and crucify, others you will flog in your Synagogues and pursue from town to town; and so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth- from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah. These are Quran words; they kill Prophets and they kill people whose lives are for institutionalized justice (Surah Aal Imran, verse 21) Brothers and sisters Muslims on As Sirat Al Mustaqeem towards Allah- some of us ahead of others some of us trailing

Some people may ask but the presentation of this information is highly and disproportionately political. We cannot but feel sorry and responsible for these types of comments. These are not meant to be strictly political. If there are Muslim minds who can understand the range of these meanings from what is psychological all the way up to what is political- all the better; but if we have some Muslim minds that despite the systemic conditioning and occupation of our Masajid and Islamic activities by the tools, instruments and agents of Yahud can only understand the psychological content of what we said then thats a step in the right direction. When we speak about militaries that are now planning wars for the future isnt it wise for we the Muslims
1424

to preempt and to think of the coming months and years, or are we condemned only to think about the past and if we are fortunate to understand the present? Are we supposed to stay in that position unable to figure out what is coming from those who have shown us their true colors for thousands of years? If you can only understand that we are dealing with immoral people, then thats a beginning but that immorality goes beyond personal and private violation of morals and mannerisms- theres a larger context to that and we want this human Muslim mind to blossom into this larger context so that when wars are declared against us and the time comes when we are victims of these Yahud and their agents, we dont take a reactionary position and begin to say how vile and vicious they are. Allah has supplied us with the necessary information to shed light on the future we are responsible for. The Prophet says be warned, cautious and on guard concerning the insight of a committed Muslim, because he see with the vision of Allah and we cant see with the vision of Allah if we are always looking backwards. The conventional khutbahs that are endorsed by officialdom and the ruling classes of today always want us to look back (and) never to look forward. An ayah that is the construct of the hadith that was just quoted .. in these are messages of power from Allah for those who are endowed with insight (Surah Al Hijr verse 75)

INTROSPECTION
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.
1425

Committed Muslims This day in particular is a day in which we are instructed to be highly sensitive of Allahs power presence. It is agreed upon among all Muslims that during this day and especially at this time, the khutbah of the Jumah should emphasize and reiterate this taqwa of Allah. From this position, taking all things into consideration and looking at where we are- at the flux and the flex of developments, issues and matters around us- we realize there is a determination- even though it may still be in its infancy or beginning- to have Islamic self and social actualization; and opposite to that there is a counter determination not to have Islamic self and social actualizationthis is a fact of life. The arguments that go back and forth, the media war that is in progress, the military warfare that terminate lives and destroys societies is also a fact of the life around us; so when we take a closer look at this polarization between those who want Allah as authority and power- the two main attributes and names of Allah- that are denied by the ignorance of people and the exploitation and misleading of people and on the other hand the committed Muslims who are just beginning to resume their direction and pursuit on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem. The issue here is the issues of Allahs authority and power. On this day and time of taqwa and from within this khutbah of taqwa, we are required to speak truth to power. Oh you who are firmly and safely committed to Allah, bear in mind Allahs power presence and speak precisely and accurately when expressing yourselves (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) So, we have no secular powers to report to; we have no worldly chains on our thoughts and feelings, therefore we should be able to speak to this issue which has been taken out of public discourse and is being prevented from coming back into public discourse. Just as a reminder- the words of Allah to His Prophet therefore remind them (or) conscientize them (Surah Az-Zaariyaat verse 55) This is not just a mental reminder; this is a reminder of information that moves the conscience (and) which activates behavior. They tell us, (and theyve been living off of this mispresentation of the facts), what does Allah have to do with our affairs here on earth? And we tell them Allah has everything to do with our affairs here on earth. The domains of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah (Surah Al Maaidah verse 120) This is something they dont want us to bear in our social mind. What are you talking about? All of this belongs to Allah?! Yes, it does. Nothing of it belongs to us; we are transient here; we are temporarily in charge of some material possessions that will not last. This is the correct perception of who/where/why we are. Once again, we respond to the mentality that wants to omit Allahs authoritative and power presence in our lives; Allah says Have you not considered your own semen? Did you create it or are We the Creators? (Surah Al Waaqiah verse 58-59) These are pushed aside either as issues that are only peculiar to laboratory science or issues that have to do with sexual affairs (or) in the way sex is presented in todays society; but to attribute
1426

this to Allahs power and authority is something thats not supposed to be in someones mind and consideration. Have you not seen or cant you pay attention to the water that you drink? Are you the ones who source or bring it down from its ecological channels or are We the One who do that? (Surah Al Waaqiah verse 68-69) Dont you consider your agriculture? Who is the One who brings the final fruit, produce, vegetation and food consumption or who is the One who is in charge of the cycles of this that ends up with you consuming it? (Surah Al Waaqiah verse 63-64) Its the Authority and the Power of Allah. Oh yes- you may have a little hand in these processes, but you are not the originators of them- this belongs to Allahs authority and power. Dont you pay attention to the fire, fuel and combustion that you use? Are you the originators of this source of livelihood and energy or is it We? (Surah Al Waaqiah verse 71-72) In todays fast lane of thinking, these are issues that go unnoticed. Why? Because they are specific to Allah as authority and power and of course they want to dismiss Allah as authority and as power so they dismiss these issues that refer us to His Power and to His authority. We, Muslims are not supposed to be arguing this point; we concede. This is a major argument between Muslims who are committed to Allah, (as they should be), and the seculars/atheists/God deniers/Mushriks/Kafirs who are opposed to Allah, (as they should be). But what happens when the tide of denying Allah moves into our own selves? Some of us begin to doubt these facts! We can live comfortably as Muslims; why should we be concerned with Allahs power and authority? When we use the word politics, governance, ruling and legal, they trigger some type of perception or concept that is prefabricated by those who are opposed to Allah to interfere with this direct and clear communication from Allah to us; therefore well try to avoid that. We can speak about a required discipline from Allah for us to be responsible for. (Does) anyone have a problem with the word discipline? Just like an individual is required to be disciplined; a society is required to be disciplined but were not ever going to be able to discipline a society if we dont refer to Allahs authority and power. Can we get this? A society in which ever level and with whichever function will not be able to acquire this discipline absent of Allahs power and authority. In light of this we listen to Allah saying and those who dont manage their social affairs in accordance with what Allah has revealed, then they are in denial of Allah. (Surah Al Maaidah verse 44) and those who do not manage their societal affairs in accordance to what Allah has revealed then their relationship with Allah has deteriorated, degenerated, spoiled (Surah Al Maaidah verse 47) But- brothers and sisters, what happens when we want to express these facts to ourselves and speak the truth, (bearing in mind Allahs corrective power in our lives)? (When) we come to the Muslims and present them with these facts and ayaat- with the current array of powers and authorities that have clamped their laws and values on us, (let us be honest with ourselves), we find in todays world that Muslims are, (generally speaking- this may not be in a very mental
1427

sense, but at least in a psychological and sometimes social sense), not reconciled with the status quo and this is an indication that we as an Islamic potential have not surrendered, gone under or given up because were not reconciled with the status quo wherever that is; this is an indication that theres still life in us. Now, we want to channel this potential. We dont want to be negative, passive or defeatists. We dont want to say like previous generations referring our negative, defeatist attitude and faith in life to Allah saying if Allah willed, we would not have coupled with or tagged to or associated with Allah other powers and factions (Surah Al Anaam verse 148) It is because Allah willed that that we are where we are?! This is not an Islamic behavior or psychology. There is a hadith attributed to Allahs Prophet in which he is reported to have said my ummah shall not have a consensus pertaining to a mistake or deviation or waywardness. OK- if this hadith is true, (and we dont doubt its authenticity), then can anyone, anywhere gage the consensus of the Muslims? Tell us- do we have enough freedom and the social instruments to get the pulse for the consensus of the Muslim world? And the obvious answer is no we dont! Why dont we? Because we have between 50 and 60 different powers and authorities that interfere in this process. How are we going to know? This is an Ummah, (at least in the social and psychological sense of the word- not in the political sense; we dont have an Ummah in the political sense), but in the social and psychological sense can you go out and give us the feeling or thought of between one-and-a-half to two-billion Muslims in the world? We are not able to do that, meaning we are not able to reach the conclusion of the Prophets hadith that this Ummah is not going to have a consensus pertaining to a mistake or a dhalaala. Why is that we may ask? The answer is within ourselves; its at home. Forget about one-and-a-half to two-billion Muslims in the world we Muslims have different Islamic Organisations, Islamic political trends or partiestheyre all over. We know (that) in your mind you can name a few of them (but) there is much more than a few. When you come to the whole rainbow of these Islamic Organizations and Movements, you realize, (were not going off on a tangent here because its pertinent to the ayaat and hadith that we have just quoted), that if someone who belongs to any of these Islamic groupings make a mistake- it could be a major mistake- it is minimized within that own group and if someone else who makes the same mistake, but belongs to another group, that mistake is blown out of proportion; it is maximized. This is not how we are supposed to be. We are supposed to observe Allahs corrective power in our lives. A mistake is a mistake with the same magnitude, regardless of who is in charge of that mistake or deviation. In other words, why cant we tolerate critiquing ourselves across these either cultural, national, political or sectarian lines? Why arent we able to do this in a healthy disciplinary character that belongs to us? Were not going far away from the Quran itself. Let us tell you that Allah corrected the Muslims meaning the Muslims of the 1st generation who are considered to be the cream of the crop of all Muslims of all times on different occasions. Allah is correcting and amending, in other words critiquing and criticizing even the Prophet himself when there was an inclination in the wrong direction; and this was done when the Muslims were in their happy days when they felt they were on top of the world and this was done when the Muslims were in their worst days when they felt the whole world was against them. Let us quote for you the ayaat and the occasions in which Allah corrected us when we were not within the disciplinary character that He assigned to us.
1428

In the Battle of Badr, (we cant go into all the details, we hope you have enough information about this 1st military encounter between committed Muslims who were physically and materially vulnerable and weak and their enemies who were materially and physically strong and powerful.) The Muslims set out on this military journey to Badr from Al Medinah and what does Allah say to these Muslims who were just about to score the 1st resounding military victory in the history of Prophet-hood. The meaning of this ayah which sheds light on the breakaway tendencies and thoughts of the Committed Muslims i.e. Al Mumineen As Allah causes you to leave your residence meaning Al Medinah to Badr in accordance with Al Haqq, yet indeed there is a segment of Committed Muslims who dislike this. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 5) They dont want to go to war; it doesnt stop here, Allahs corrective words penetrate this issue. They argue with you oh Prophet of Allah concerning the Haqq, after it has become clear to them as if they are being driven or led to death while they are watching with their own eyes (Surah Al Anfaal verse 6) Now, is this is not a critique, criticism, evaluation or corrective? Yes it is and the Muslims took it. The Committed Muslims didnt say whats going on here? like todays Muslims who belong to the different Islamic Organisations that you now have around. Then, because of Badr when the Muslims scored a victory there they thought that that victory was attributable to them; this victory is because of who we are. Allah said no dont think like that; He says in the ayah when the Muslims wanted to claim victory to themselves He told them no, you dont claim victory for yourselves. You werent the ones who killed your enemies it was Allah who killed them... (Surah Al Anfaal verse 17) And even the Prophet himself this is Allahs Prophet and the Muslims are watching and they are listening what Allah is saying to His own Prophet it wasnt you who was taking aim and firing, it was Allah who was taking aim and firing... (Surah Al Anfaal verse 17) This was when Muslims were living a military victory against the Mushrikeen. Now, let us listen to Allahs words when Muslims are living the results of Uhud which was not a military victory for the Muslims. They said how can this be? When the Muslims were attacked and the Prophet was injured; the most physically damaging day in his life was on that day when he was bleeding; when he fell, was hurt, was injured and he was in pain. The Muslims said how can this be? Arent we committed to Allah? Arent these Mushriks the well known enemies of Allah? So how can this happen? Allahs answer to them (was) an answer that todays Islamic Organisations dont want to listen to. say: this semi defeat comes from your own selves (Surah Aal Imran verse 165)

1429

If this was Bani Israeel, they would say this is too much! God is criticizing us when we are winning and God is criticizing us when we are losing! This is the difference between the mettle of the Committed Muslims and the mettle of wayward Israelis! That was never heard. When the Muslims had their differences about the spoils of war, Ubada (radi Allahu anhu), one of the Sahaba of the Prophet said our differences were to such an extent that our manners and our morals were spoilt when we were arguing this. Then, Allahs correction was revealed to them and that put an end to that. The Muhajirun and Ansaar come to you (O Prophet) and ask you about the extras? Say these extras belong to Allah and His Messenger. (Surah Al Anfaal verse 1) They were not screaming, squirming, squirmishing and quarrelling against Allahs final word on the subject. When the Prophet of Allah decided at the end of the Battle of Badr to ransom the prisoners of war and this was obviously after a shura and the opinions of Muslims were divided on this and the Prophet of Allah made the decision that there was going to be a ransoming of the prisoners of war, the ayah from on high to the Prophet and said It does not behoove a Prophet to take prisoners of war until there is more of a substantive and substantiated Islamic presence in world affairs. (Surah Al Anfal verse 67) You dont take prisoners of war when there is battle that is of a local nature, (in other words), and this was a correction to Allahs Prophet. The Prophet of Allah wanted to have a meeting with the nobles of Quraish that excluded the lesser committed Muslims and Allah says to His Prophet no you dont do that He frowned and turned away because he was approached by the blind man. And how do you know that he might be purified or receive admonition that might profit him? As for him who thinks hes self-sufficient, to him you attend. What does it matter to you if he doesnt get purified? But for him who came to you running, and afraid of Allah you neglected and diverted to another (Surah Abasa verse 1-10) When the Muslims were preparing to go to Tabuk, (this was the last major and one of the most substantial encounter between Islam and Imperialism at that time). 30,000 to 35,000 Muslims were under arms against 200,000 Byzantines and they met in what is today Northern Arabia and the Southern Levant, and there were some Muslims who didnt want to go and fight. Remembersome people think this is a generation of impeccable people. These types dont read Allahs words and theyre not aware of their own history Allah says to these reluctant types, just like we have reluctant types we have today; this is human nature brothers and sisters. Whats wrong with you? If you are told to mobilize for the cause and on a course to Allah, you gravitate towards the world or the world becomes your magnet or you are sluggishly slow or reluctantly slow in responding. Are you satisfied in exchanging the world to come for this
1430

world? If you wanted measure the time of merriment in this world with the time of merriment in the life to come, there is no comparison. (Surah At Taubah verse 38) Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims, these ayaat (and) these words from Allah were accepted by those Muslims, (at least the majority of them), and those who did not accept this were exposed. Today, Muslims who dont accept this are under deep cover; they dont have the sincerity and transparency to come out and say we stand accountable to Allah. My dear Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims There is nothing wrong with taking an internal look at ourselves. Some people think this is not warranted and is not necessary. We beg to differ with that opinion. Its probably the most important issue that we have to confront. Some of these self immunized Islamic figures dont even have the courage and the taqwa that we speak of this day. If whats on your mind (and) in the depths of your heart is the taqwa of Allah i.e. your sensitivity to Allahs power presence, then you shouldnt have any 2nd thoughts about expressing the truth about those who have commercialized Islam to a good number of the Islamic movements of the world. What we mean by those who have commercialized Islam is those who have the finances, bank accounts and the cheques that they write to keep the potentially active Muslims passive or marginalized thus they cant speak out against Saudi Arabia as an example. We have 50 odd governments and militaries; all of them are trained not to see the light of day of Islamic self and social determination and yet we cant express ourselves. (Take a) look, we have no bullets or bombsjust words of truth and we cant say them guided by Allah and His Prophet. In this past week, the king of that family kingdom called Saudi Arabia honors- this type of information should be all around, there shouldnt be just one or two individuals in the world who speak about this as a matter of taqwa on Friday- and gives a Yahudi physician doctor what is considered to be the Arab Noble Prize for his research and medical accomplishments. He invites this person who lives in California to come to the kingdom so that he will be given $200,000 in cash. He sends his passport to the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles. They have no problem with that! They see the visas of the Israeli government and next to that they put the visa of that kingdom of satanic Arabia. These are the ones who blow hot and dry on the issue of being opposed to Israel. More than that- he takes his wife, (we dont know- one of three children), of his to accompany him and the wife was born in Israel and has an Israeli passport. They think they are doing this far away from public attention and because they have personalities in the Islamic movement on their leech, they are certain that this information will not spread far and near. The Saudi Arabian government began in the past couple of weeks to deport Egyptians. The Saudi government is beginning a policy of deporting Egyptians (and) sending them by force to Egypt accompanied by guards to make sure that they land, stay in Egypt and dont go back to Saudi Arabia. Most of these are laborers or low scale professionals. What do they say? Why is someone doing something like that? The answer from the Saudi Royals and their regime is they are living illegally in Arabia. Brothers and sistersthis is the country of Al Haramayn. How can you be illegally in Makkah, Al Medinah and Al Hejaz? Who gave them the power and the authority to say that Muslims- whoever the Muslims are; whether they are from Egypt or any other place in the world- you are illegally somewhere
1431

between Makkah and Al Medinah. They get away with this because theres no one around to speak truth to power.

Where Are The Mujtahids?

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.
1432

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We know that it is difficult to correct ourselves; one of the easiest things to do is to correct the other and one of the most demanding things to do is to correct yourselves- and it is more difficult to correct our social self because it takes more effort to do that. You may be able to correct your individual self, because thats within the parameters of your own potential and abilities; but if you want to stretch your potential and abilities to correct a larger body of people who share the same identity, have the same history and have lived through the same background and consequences, then the task at hand becomes more demanding. One of the issues that yours humbly tries from time to time to shed light on- the light that Allah has favored us with infact a light from Allah has come to you(Surah Al-Maa'idah verse 15) In light of this (or) with this light, we try to put own hand or finger on our own aliment, pain and disease and the issue here is that we Muslims have two things that are infallibleAllah and His Prophet- this is something we all agree on. Allah does not make a mistake His Prophet doesnt make a mistake and that means the book of Allah and the consensual (and)the agreed upon historical communication of this truth from Allah and His Prophet are no doubt beyond reproach- they are the final words on the issues of life. But what did we do? We had in our history, (especially in our early history), individuals/human beings who became scholars, fuqaha and intellectuals who began to explain the words of Allah and His Prophet to us within the set of circumstances in their own time and they should be thanked and appreciated for what they did. The problem with us is we took their opinions from their generation, conditions and times and we made these opinions holy or infalliblechoose the word that you like. So when we refer to them in the leftover traditional mind that we have, we are referring to something that is holy; and this is not the way it was meant to be. We need in our time those qualified, learned. Experienced, sacrificing, patient, Islamic ulema and amileen who can produce for us within the circumstances, conditions and developments of our time the ijtihad that is required to understand what Allah and His Prophet expect of us- this is what is needed. Unfortunately what we have today (is) the type of self styled scholars who have memorized the Quran and hadith to whichever extent, but they dont understand the applicability of what they memorized to the real world around us simply because they are not involved in the real world around us. There is nothing that demeans Muslims when we begin from scratch, which we have to do today with whatever minds and merits we have to re-institutionalize this ijtihad that has been absent for over 1,000 years. We have to have enough confidence in ourselves to say that we are capable of having a body of learned scholars who can relate what Allah and His Prophet are telling us to what is happening in the world today. To put it in other words that some people can understand quicker- today we have an aliment in ourselves and it needs to be cured and lets say the Quran and Sunnah are the medicine- we have the medicine, its the Quran and Sunnah, but we dont have the physicians who understand the medicine and the disease- thats absent in todays world. We have people who dispense the medicine, but they dont know where to put this medicine or the correct dose for this medicine and thats why we have what we have in
1433

todays world where ever you look around. It really doesnt matter, its all over the place. We have minds and people who have cloaked themselves with the imagery of Islam who will not take this Islam beyond the certain 1,300 year old ijtihaad. (If) you ask them whats wrong? If we say that Islam is made for all times and climes, then why is it that you cant take this information to the time and area that you are in? Whats wrong? It is not the presence of Allahs guidance that is responsible for the conditions we are in today, it is the absence of us- we are absent from this formula that is why Allahs guidance is not working. Lets be a little more specific about this. We know (that) many of you have heard or we hope that some where along the way in your life, in the past 20 or 30 years that you have heard this hadith at least once. It is one of the indications of the diseases in our social self that given the conditions and realities of today that we havent heard this hadith more frequently because its meanings are so applicable and meaningful in the world that we are in. What does this hadith say? The Prophet is saying that the time is quickly approaching when the nations of the world are going to converge upon you the Muslims. This convergence of nations from all directions upon you is similar to hungry people who are coming to feast on whatever food is available Now listen to this- when you take the 1st portion of this hadith, the Prophet is speaking about the political, military and economic facts of life today, but because we have frozen Islamic minds that refuse to bring this hadith into the conditions and circumstances of the real world today, they say because you are going to begin to speak politics, economics or military issues. Were not speaking anything; were just trying to understand what Allahs Prophet is saying to us. We see forces of Imperialism- the United States is the primary and central figure in Imperialism in todays world. (It) has 1,000 (or so, give-and-take) bases in the world, (depends on your definition of a military base). Where are most of those military bases? Here is where we begin to enter a grey area because it is not meant for us to understand the Prophets hadith! Imagine if the information that is generated by thinking Muslims is going to identify the majority of these military bases in Muslim countries? Then, the Prophets hadith is going to come to life; but because we dont have minds that want to activate the future meanings of the Prophets hadith in our life its just left within its general context. No one wants to be a little bit more specific about this. These hostile nations have descended upon you the Muslims as starving people would descend upon a table spread to eat to eat/devour/consume/plunder. Obviously, Muslims at that time didnt have the disease that we have today because the Muslims were not quoting saying Abu Haneefa said this, Malik said that or such a scholar said this and such a mujtahid said that they were living directly with the events and with the words coming from Allah and His Prophet. They asked; these were not dumb down Muslims who dont ask; these were Muslims interacting with meanings; their question to the Prophet is it because we are numerically few at that time? He responded frankly No; youre not (Take a) look at us at this time. The meanings of this hadith explain the time frame that we are in. Are we numerically few? The Muslims in the world are not in the hundreds; were in the millions and billions- theres a lot of us. The Prophet clarifies this even more- rather, the truth of the matter is theres a lot of you. If youre speaking about numbers, you have high numbers in your side; but you are like the foam on the current of water... Cant you see how foam is? It cant resist the water; it doesnt have an independent direction of its own- it flows. World events are flowing is one direction and we, the Muslims, who are like foam (with) no weight, no independent character (and) no independent direction; we flow with the current and look at the currents today. At one time, when Fascism was big in Europe we had Muslims who cant think independently with ijtihad who began to
1434

build an Islamic argument for Fascism. Then came Socialism and then Muslims began to flowing with the current; Muslims began to build an Islamic (mind you) argument for Socialism. Then we have Capitalism- the remaining worldwide current and we have Muslims constructing an Islamic argument for Capitalism. The Prophet of Allah told us before and now that we are in the middle of this- where we are. and Allah is going to extract from the hearts of your enemies the aura that you have... Muslims have an aura and status, but thats going to be taken away; meaning when this time comes no ones going to be thinking about Islamic power, Islamic militaries, Islamic self determination, Islamic independence, Islamic sovereignty- all of these are gone because we dont have the Islamic aura that belongs to us. (Take a) look at where we are today. If it wasnt for Islamic resistance, struggle or sacrifices Weve realized how they dont care much about Muslims. Just several years ago, when the Muslims were like a zero on the leftthey dont count or figure in to the policies of this world, (so) go and steal their petroleum. Who cares! Muslims dont care. Theyve been stealing it. Put most of these military bases in the world in Muslim territories- who cares? Whos factoring in Islamic will, Islamic independence Islamic social and political self determination? The Communist, Capitalists and Zionists were not doing that and now all of a sudden they have a new factor to reckon with. and Allah is going to strike into your hearts something called al wahn. People were listening to this and they didnt understand this word al wahn and they asked and what is this wahn- ya Rasulillah? He answered literally speaking- the love of this world and the dislike of dying. Thats the problem right there- the love of this world. (Take a) look at today- whats the love of this world? We can say consumerism is the main definition of the love of this world. Because of our absence from the real world. Just by memorizing ayaat and ahadith is not going to bring you to the presence in the real world that you are responsible for. Allah says describing us By nature you are the best Ummah (Surah Aal Imran verse 110) OK- do we have more information (about) what makes us the best Ummah? Allah gives you the answer provided you are interacting with people (Surah Aal Imran verse 110) Not isolated from people; not indifferent to people; not defeated by people- that makes us the best Ummah i.e. when we are interacting on a social level. Were not talking about individuals, groups and cults; Hes speaking about our general or sum presence in this world, but weve been converted into consumers. We take whats given to us! Were not on the initiative- interacting with the other societies in the world. These other societies themselves have the initiative and they have converted us to reactionary type of people; we consume what they want to sell us- the consumers that we have become. We Muslims have a lot of wealth. We can buy the best watch in the world. $50,000! Were not speaking fiction here. The rich Muslims in the world go and buy the best watches in the world. They pay handsome amounts of money for it and they put it on an unemployed wrist! What do you want the watch for? Youre not reporting to a time schedule! You are not conscious of production! You dont have an industrial base that works on time schedules- what is all of this about? The irony is in front of our own eyes. This is where we are because we refuse to have Mujtahideen who are born in our world (and) who understand the circumstances, details and subtleties of the societies that they are in- these are absent and in the real world out there we dont have a vacuum- theres no such thing as a vacuum.
1435

Another hadith from Allahs Prophet, (and you probably never heard of this hadith). Why? Because it brings to mind the political, economic and military facts of life that are supposed to be expelled from an Islamic mind and mindset. Allah Prophet says Allah has folded (so to speak) or has brought into focus the world for me and Ive seen its Eastern-most regions and its Western-most regions and my Ummahs dominion shall extend to those areas of the world from the furthest East to the furthest West and I was given the two treasures- the red and the white. This is in reference to the natural resources that are found in territories within which Muslims live... (Take a) look at todays natural resources in the world. Wars are being planned and are in the making because of the natural resources that are geographically located within the Islamic hemisphere of the world. And the Prophet of Allah says and I asked my Sustainer not to destroy this Ummah by a natural or consuming catastrophe... This could be like a general drought that continues for a long time or any other manifestation of a serious natural calamity. and that Allah does not impose upon them an aggression from outside of themselves meaning that Allahs Prophet is asking Allah not to have foreign enemies destroy his Islamic Ummah. that will psychologically cripple the Muslims. And My Sustainer said Oh Muhammad if I were to decree something it shall never be revoked. I have given you to your Ummah not to destroy them. I will not destroy them with this comprehensive natural disaster We know from reading Allahs words that there were other civilizations and societies that their opposition to Allah triggered natural disasters that ended such civilizations and societies- this is not going to happen to us. and I will not impose upon them foreigners/others who will attack and militarily destroy them and psychologically cripple them- this is not going to happen. We can see todays wars and occupations are not crippling the Muslims; they are generating a positive response. regardless of the combination of forces coming from the different areas of the world- thats not the way we will succumb; the inference here is we may succumb due to our own inabilities. We are the ones who are capable of bringing down our own selves! That is why it is very important- its the issue of the hour- to open up our eyes, minds and conscience to our social self so that we dont succumb to the decisions that we are making and to internecine warfare that will bleed us into oblivion. Allah says and be conscience of Allahs corrective power presence as much as you can (Surah At Taghabun verse 16) Allah is not burdening you; He is not placing a weight and burden over you that you cant tolerate (Surah Al Baqarah verse 286) Have you seen he who designates his desires as his own deity or divinity (Surah Al Jaathiyah verse 23) Whether these are personal, racial, sectarian or national desires- Allah says who could be more off course than he who follows his own desires (Surah Al Qassas verse 50) Brothers and sisters on a As Sirat Al Mustaqeem
1436

We all repeat Guide us to or on the straight approach, path or course (Surah Al Fatiha verse 5) This is an imagery of movement. As Sirat is a course of action and movement. We dont ask Allah for so theoretical guidance or some abstract guidelines, we ask Him for what can be integrated into our life. A course that we are moving on and shall expire. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims who are on this motion- the assaults and attacks on our freedom of thought and conscience have come from within us and from quarters and places beyond us. They dont want us to think and combine the knowledge that we should acquire to assume and resume our God-given responsibilities and objectives. To them, a Muslim society in slumber and napping for hundreds of years is a dream come true. It bothers those who are misinformed and misleading (but) who have our names and outward religious identity very much when we can begin to say OK- we want to interact with our blocks of people in this world as we are required to. You are by nature or by being the best ummah (Surah Aal Imran verse 110) But there is a proviso or another issue here. you are best when you are interacting with other (Surah Aal Imran verse 110) This interaction can be a friendly/amicable interaction or it could be an interaction in which force is used. Brothers and sisters- its not we, (the Muslims), who cannot tolerate the others; its the others who cannot tolerate us. If we take the facts of todays world and reverse them- lets say an Islamic State in this world had 1,000 bases (and) the majority of these bases, (lets say 700 of them), are in the Christian or Jewish world. How do you think they would be conducting themselves regarding us? Would they tolerate that? No one can regardless of their religious definition- Muslim, Christian or Jew forget about that for a moment- any decent human being with a measure of dignity and self respect cannot tolerate forces of occupation in their lands. (Its) impossible! Why are we supposed to do that? Why are we supposed to remain silent about that? Then, when some other Muslims in the world begin to combine their commitment to Allah with the acquisition of the technology of the time, then they become global enemy number one! Dont you see (that) some people have a problem with an Islamic base in this world that is acquiring nuclear technology- why? The rest of the world has nuclear technology! Between the United States and Russia there are thousands of warheads; no Muslims have nuclear warheads! And when we are just combining our Islamic commitment to Allah with living in the real world, they turn all the tables against us and they stir all their vocabulary to defame us- why? Thats nothing new- the Prophet of Allah was living his commitment to Allah and the real issues of his time and the same thing happened to him; we are not better than Allahs Prophet. We have to expect these accusations to come our way. Let us have the taqwa of Allah at this time on this day during these moments of devotion to Allah (and) let us have the courage to say that we are sick. OK- let us be up front about this. There are some differences between those Muslims who say that they are Shiis and those Muslims who say they are Sunnis- there are differences; but these differences should never ever become an element of division. Why do we have people nowadays who are presenting themselves to the public who are repeating the word Sunni so
1437

much times in their presentations and we have reactionary people who are repeating now, (more than anytime in the past), the word Shii to their congregations and listeners. We wish that they were invoking these words in an enlightened manner, but they are invoking these words in a divisive manner. This is the disease that we have in our body. We know (that) some people who claim to be the custodians of Sunnism and some people who claim to be the custodians of Shiism are not going to feel comfortable with this and let them not feel comfortable with this; if this is the truth let it take its course. Where is there in the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, the established history of the Sahaba and the Aimmah a justification for division, internecine warfare (and) civil wars? Where does that come from? It comes from people who are right now hatching their plots so that Muslims cannot resume. The Muslims are on the brink of recapturing that Quranic description you are best when you are interacting with other and now they are scrambling all over the place. The President of Egypt says that Shiis should not be interfering in the national security affairs of Egypt. Theres no Shiis who are interfering with the national security affairs of Egypt! The Saudi government is going to launch a TV service in Jeddah in Persian- when were the Saudis interested in Persian? But they want to cover this up so were not doing this in Persian only were also going to add Turkish to it, and in the distance future we will add the Malay language i.e. the language of the Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia and add Urdu also to it. Thats a very nice smoke screen for their intents and purposes. Now, there are people who have all of a sudden discovered, (due to the poisonous and divisive words of clergy who report to secular governments), Oh, I know what a Sunni means right now. And what is a Sunni supposed to mean? It means that I am supposed to be an enemy of a Shii. These are the official things that are going on now behind the scenes. Officials are meeting from artificial nation states in Arabic speaking countries with their Zionist cohorts/equivalents and saying look- both of us are threatened. Our common danger comes from Iran. Whenever, however and wherever do the Muslims find the justification to clamp their hands with the Zionists and say that other Muslims are their enemies?! The hysteria has become so high that one of the major Islamic personalities of that land- the Mufti of that land says that Muslims should go in the hundreds of thousands if not millions to Al Quds. What happened to this philosophy of boycotting the Israelis? Why do they want hundreds of thousands of Muslims to go to Al Quds with Israeli visa stamps on their passports? Muslims are going to Makkah and Al Medinah and what are they able to do? If they go to Al Quds, what will they be able to do? Your Eminence- the major scholar in Egypt- explain to us?! But this is what happens when we cant think right and think through what Allah and His Prophet are telling us.

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM PART 7

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.
1438

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We ask Allah the commitment and security of belonging to Him and we plead for His assistance and protection from those who dont belong to Him, in saying, expressing and explaining His words and guidance. Brothers and sisters, there is a confusion of a topsy-turvy nature in the Muslim community, character and generally speaking in the Muslim domain. People are told, many times on many occasions, from different individuals that this Islam of ours is an Islam of ease, comfort, and coexistence; and these statements are generally true. We will bring you to the ayaat and ahadith that will explain where we locate the truth about these statements, not as they are presented to us by employed clergy or financed functionaries. There are many ahadith that are quoted; you and we know that we cant exhaust all the ahadith; we brought to you a sample of them. One hadith that is often quoted says this deen is strongly structured/compact- each part of it reinforces the other part of it, therefore approach/ enter into/penetrate it with ease/composure. A person who over does it does not travel a distance and does not maintain his mount- which means the analogy here (is) of a person who tries to approach, comprehend, absorb and work the meanings of this deen is similar to a person setting out on a journey; he has his mount and so if you overload or place too much on this mount of yours it could be a vehicle, camel, horse or whatever you have, then youre not going to go a distance and youre not going to have the mount that you have that was working in tiptop condition i.e. by overloading himself he doesnt still have the mount that hes supposed to have and by overloading himself, he cant go a distance. This is one hadith that is very much quoted in the realm of trying to convince you and me, the regular, average run-of-the-mill Muslim that look, this Islam is easy going or comfortable. In another hadith, the Prophet is saying to them and also us- I caution you lest you become ghulu The word ghulu has a shade of meanings- let us come down to the organic or root meaning. Al ghulu is to over extend the meaning of this deen. The Prophet is saying I caution you, do not over extend the meanings or intents of this deen because what destroyed those who preceded you who were also the recipients of scripture, revelation and deen was their over extending of the meanings of deen. Al ghulu also has the meaning of petty, small or phobic mindedness; it has the meaning of fanaticism to it. We dont like to use the word because its being loaded in our age and generation with connotations and denotations- theres a slur of meanings to this, but the Prophet of Allah is saying to us dont over extend the meanings that come to you in a comfortable manner. Remember, people who speak about how we should be relaxed in a turbulent world that is against us quote ahadith and well come to the ayah and explain how its out of context; but another hadith that is often mentioned in this regard and direction is related to Umm Ul Muminin Aaisha, she says whenever the Prophet of Allah had a choice between two options, he would choose the less demanding or taxing as long as there was no infraction involved in that choice. OK- these are samples of the ahadith that are coached to the general Muslim public to have them feel that you shouldnt be concerned with any higher responsibilities. Theres one ayah or maybe two in the whole Quran that they try to place in this mix. The 1st ayah is taken from Surat Al Baqarah and it says

1439

 Allah wants for you what is easy and accessible and does not want for you that which is prohibitive, demanding, difficult or inaccessible (Surah Al Baqarah verse 185) Now any Muslim who has multiple years of mature experience and consciousness should know that this ayah belongs to the context of fasting. When we fast the month of Ramadhan, theres a cluster of ayaat in Surah Al Baqarah that speak about and explain the devotion of fasting. In this context, Allah is saying that He doesnt want to overburden any of us if we dont fall within the definition of tolerating the fast; so this ayah belongs to a context, and that context is if someone is going to fast and that act of fasting is going to be debilitating to him, his health or wellbeing to his survival, then he/she is exempted. You cant come and say that the ayah and the words is meant as a general rule that is to be applied to all of the year and generations and (are) to be applied to such an extent that the higher responsibilities of Islam are omitted, ignored or neglected. The other possible ayah that some of these wizards in reverse quote to us is Ta-Ha. We have not brought down this Quran and its meanings upon you so that you may suffer. (Surah Ta-Ha verse 1-2) Ash Shaqaa here is equivalent in todays words to depression. This Quran was not meant to cause you to be depressed. (Surah Ta-Ha verse 2) Now, this is where the dislocation occurs. They take these ahadith basically- their thrust is in the area of ahadith and then, along with that they trail these ahadith with this ayah or these two ayaat, (we couldnt find any other), they bring these along to say to you, I and one-and-a-half to two-billion other Muslims in the world that look, take it easy; be calm or cool it (to use the lingo in the street), whats all of this about? You people are hyped up! Theres no reason for all of this. OK- we say to them you are correct in as far as Muslims should be calm and not be hyped up, but these are in such matters that pertains to such issues as As Salah, At Taharah, Al Hajj, As Saum- this is where we shouldnt be suffering from signs of depression; this is where we should be tolerant; this is where all these ahadith apply. Dont take it out of context. Which means what in practical terms? It means you- the Muslim whoever you are- the way you perform your salah should accommodate the way the other Muslim performs his/her salah- this is where this applies. Have you ever come across people in the Masjid who are very tight/narrow minded/spirited because the another Muslim doesnt have his toe touching the other toe of the Muslim beside him? This is the hype that Allahs Prophet cautioned us about. This is where al ghulu is. Have you ever come across Muslims who turns fanatical because a person in his ruku is not at a 90 degree angle? Brothers and sisters- the generation of Muslims that were with the Prophet of Allah had aches and pains in their bodies; (do) you think all of them were at a 90 degree angle in their ruku? They were bruised, injured and bleeding and here we have those ghulaat or hyped Muslims who overextend the meanings to judge other Muslims because of their toes and whether the angle of their torso is 90 degrees or not. This is ghulu. Then we have the time of Ramadhan (with) Muslims watching each other on the minute after the sun goes down to judge whether the Muslim is accurate, pious or his siyam is acceptable in the course of the 30 or 40 minutes after the sun goes down- this is al ghulu- this is where you shouldnt be hyper. Have you seen some Muslims wash their feet for wudhu and others wipe their feet for wudhu and you have this disease of
1440

al ghulu which runs narrow deep in the minds and hearts of some Muslims who say that type of wudhu is not acceptable; this is the ghulu that the Prophet of Allah was cautioning us about. They took these meanings, misplaced and took them out of context and they said we have become extremists when we read Allahs book when it says If there are twenty of you, you can defeat two-hundred; and if theres one-hundred of you then they can defeat one-thousand (Surah Al Anfaal verse 65) What do you individuals who go around trying to either hypnotize or anesthetize the Muslims say here? You spend your time telling the Muslims in fact and in practice oh dont think about these higher responsibilities. They want to draw the Muslims into a conflict of mind and thought because here, the Quran conflicts with each other; how can Allah say that He wants you to opt for what is easy and to avoid what is hard (Surah Al Baqarah verse 185) and then in another ayah He says if there are twenty of you they can overcome one-hundred, and if there is one-hundred of you they can overcome one-thousand (Surah Al Anfaal verse 65) Is this yusr?! (Cant) you see- the Quran begins to contradict itself?! The Quran doesnt contradict itself; its these individuals who contradict themselves. If we place these ayaat in context, we discover theres no contradiction but they dont place it in context. 1 st of all, they dont come to the Quran to begin with- the Quran is secondary; they rely on some ahadith- some which are valid and some that are less then valid- and then, as an appendage they bring in an ayah or two, to do what? We wish they were doing all of this in the right direction because theyre doing it in the wrong direction! They want to neutralize the Muslims so that you, I and the rest of us dont have a consolidated and collective effort in this world; they want to divide and decimate us on these basis and they do this on the manaabir in the Masaajid week-in-and-week-out; from conference to convention from one country to the next- all over the place. Is it any wonder that we are where we are now? This is tough talk, this is not easy. You may listen to this in a khutbah, but in many places these types of khutbahs are banned from being expressed from the mimbar because these khutbahs are 1st and foremost anchored in the book of Allah and then in the guidance and direction of Allahs Prophet, not like these people who get their signals, (if we wanted to be frank about this- and lets be frank about this), they get their signals or directives more or less from the Saudi government and from other governments that are in the orbit of the Saudi government- that is where it all begins. Then, they begin to configure how they are going to express this to the congregation, jamaaat and ijtimaat- well, let us find some ahadith around which we can build a presentation, and then if we can throw in some ayaat- all the better- this is how it works. The Saudis are the ones who show them the direction and then they go squirming and scrambling for ahadith here and there, and then if they can find an ayah out of context, (like we just demonstrated), then they will throw in the ayah- this is how it works and this is what you the average Muslim have been listening to in all of these years and reality is catching up with them, especially these Saudi big wigs. These Saudi bosses that are running the
1441

Islamic show in Bilad Al Haramain Ash Sharifain as well as in immigrant/foreign far away lands as is the case here in Washington DC. Who are the Muslims of independence and integrity who can stand up to these corruptors of Islam and say to them the word of truth in a time when the word of truth is wanted dead or alive; at a time when everything we hear are lies about Islamlies from the mimbar. These are strong words, but its the truth! Whos going to stand up and diagnose this truth. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims What we express is not a matter of academic free time. This is a matter that pertains to what is happening to us and why it is happening to us. The news out of the kingdom of darkness in Arabia is that they are having a royal difference (or) an argument concerning whos going to rule after the current king- this is the world we are living. In is it going to be one brother or the other? Is it going to be the old generation or the new? The world is falling apart all around them and this is what consumes them. Right now, they have their moral police, hayat al amri bi al maruf wa an nahi an al munkar- in last weeks performances by these moral police, they went into a hotel lobby and found some actors and actresses. We dont know if it was one actress or more, (cant remember that little detail), and they say this is a non mahram meeting. Dont complain, dont yell and dont shout. We are going to detain you. This is not the only thing, the other issue is we have one of the Royal brothers, Talal- whose been known to be outside or not favored by the other brothers. During the 1960s, in the heyday of Arab Nationalism, he had to go to Egypt because he didnt agree with the policies of his brotherly controlled kingdom. Here, he has his daughter-in-law who wants to drive a car and so they begin to make noise that we want to have women driving in Arabia. Brothers and sisters, this is what happens when these corrupt leaders of a passive Muslim public begin to implant the meaning of extremism pertaining to issues like tahara, salah and shaaair and what is called ibadah- it comes back to haunt them! Where is it in Allahs book or by the Prophets words that you find a prohibition on Muslim women being able to go a distance without walking or she has to be chauffeured to where she is going? Where did this come from? Either you chauffeur her to her destination or she has to walk to her destination- where in the book of Allah and in the Sunnah of His Messenger do they find the verification for this violation of the dignity of our mothers, sisters and daughters? And they get away with this. Why is the world looking the other way? There are human rights organizations, civilized society and industrialized nations who tries to find a little mistake in an Islamic movement and then splash it all over the place; their mistakes are flagrant and obvious to the blind and you have the world establishments silent! What makes them silent when you violate Islam and what puts them in an echo when decent Muslims want to obey Allah? The irony is the average Muslim cannot see this. Throughout all of these years, theyve been getting away with personalizing, individualizing and turning the Hajj and Umrah, (for that matter), into a function of their own regime, which is only an extension to the regime here in Washington DC and we cant speak about this? They had a Summit recently and they come out empty handed, (with) nothing to offer and Muslims are not speaking about this! Some brothers asked why cant you speak about issues like this Summit in the khutbah? We say we pray for the day when we can speak about these issues in a khutbah to answer the questions in the Muslim mind rather than to evoke more questions after the khutbah than were answered during the khutbah. It is the dua of this
1442

humble person to see the day when we can elevate our understanding of Allah and his Prophet to speak with enlightenment about the political crimes that they are responsible for in light of the Quran and Sunnah without causing a mental confusion in the Muslim public. We hope these years have contributed to a foundation of the necessary information to expose these criminals in the name, appearance, garb and rituals of Islam.

The Central Ummah

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.
1443

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashar Al Mumineen, Committed Muslims Allah says It is in such a manner that We have rendered you a central Ummah so that you may become witnesses over other peoples and so that the Messenger may become a witness over you. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 143) The word Ummatan Wasata defines our location in the massive populations of the world. We are supposed to be central, but a point of fact, (if we just look at ourselves), we find that were in the peripheries or margins; we are no longer central. If we were who we are supposed to be we would be central to other nations and societies of the world. The normal translation or transfer of this meaning by people who read the Quran minus the combination of mind and experience say that this is an Ummah of the happy means or this is a moderate Ummah or this is a middle Ummah. All of these misses the intent and purpose of the ayah- a central Ummah. OK- let us part with those identify with Allah and His Prophet in theory and rituals but have abandoned Allah and His Prophet in practise and procedure; if we were located in a central position in this world where other nations, states and authorities are influenced by our frontline position, we would carry with us the experience of previous states, and societies. If we were in this location, (where we belong), obviously, Muslims now do not constitute a political Ummah, we are not an economic Ummah- we havent been a central Ummah for a long time, but that doesnt mean that we cant understand who we are supposed to be! Allah and His Prophet are still speaking to us- when you are central by definition you are interacting with the others around you; youre not central and isolated- youre central and interactive. You can only become witnesses vis-a-vis other societies when you interact with other societies. Muslims as a social entity have been paralyzed. Theres no longer this interaction. The reason why we begin this khutbah with these ayaat and remarks is that if we were interacting with the real world, we would realise that the real world today, (less so than in the past), is observing what is called Labour Day. We dont subject ourselves to the theories and speculation of ideologues and philosophers who were and are concerned with labourers- that is a peculiarity of their distance from Allah; but we have something extra that they dont have and that is that when we look at these issues that have locked human society- people are concerned for the poor, deprived, labourers and those who sweat to gain a living; there are real human beings who are concerned- it turns out that we are supposed to be concerned but we are not. We live a vacuum and other people, societies and states move in to fill this vacuum. This social dynamic that Allahs Prophet is outlining for us no longer exists among us; he is saying to you and me to build social cooperation and social responsibility which doesnt exist among us. Rest assured; this doesnt exist among us! It should but its not there. Allahs Prophet says clearly whoever has extra provisions/extra food should give that extra to one who doesnt have any and whoever has an extra ride/lift/energy/power (all of these are included in dhahr; of course you cant translate this literally! (Meaning) whoever has an extra back, no one has an extra back! We all have one back.) What is meant is whoever has something extra in the form of
1444

energy/transportation should give that extra to whoever does not have it. Obviously, some quarters/organisations/governments dont want this type of hadith to become the discussion of the hour. Why? Because they say this feeds those who are on the left of the political spectrum; this can be given a socialist interpretation or this may lead to communism. We say to them nonsense! When we dont have our own character or social structure or when we are not socially whom we are supposed to be, then yes, theres a danger of some people whoever has a hidden agenda picking up this hadith or an equivalent ayah and then utilizing it for their objectives and purposes, but we are not empty headed and empty hearted; we know who we are and when we quote Allah and His Prophet we dont need to lend any credibility to those who have their own programs and philosophies. To honour those who work, the Prophet of Allah says it is better for one of you to take a rope and to obtain some wood and then sell it than to ask other people who may or may not give. We are conditioned to understand these ayaat and ahadith as individuals, but thats not what is intended. We want to out grow this conditioning and understand these ayaat and ahadith as they apply to millions of people. We want an Ummah that is self sufficient. We dont want an Ummah that relies on the give-aways, charities and crumbs of those who have military aggressive policies and bases in our countries. So, when we elevate the meanings of these ayaat and ahadith, we find that we are not self reliant and self sufficient. Can those who are making decisions on their elevated seats of power and authority hear Allahs Prophet? Its better for you to take a rope and become self sufficient than to beg in International Conferences and to run behind political phantoms as you have been doing throughout these decades and centuries and in the meantime you have been putting the Muslim public to sleep because you individualise and personalise the ayaat and ahadith and you dont permit the Muslim public mind to understand the horizons and expanse- interactive and inclusive as they are of human society and human existence. It falls on a person like yours faithfully to have you understand the context of these ayaat and ahadith. When Allah revealed these ayaat and when His Prophet spoke these ahadith, we had an Arabia that looked down on those who worked, just like todaywe have Arabian elites. We dont have a geographical Arabia now, we have a cultural Arabia that is cloaked in Islam and that tries to follow the materialistic masters in the world and in the process it dehumanises Muslims and it dehumanises in particular those who are working. When we say Arabia at that time had this snobby attitude i.e. looking down on workers and labourers, theres a couple of examples that we can bring into your attention. The 1st example is the relationship at the time before the Quran and the Prophet. Makkah was a commercial society and cultural centre, (by and large). There was nothing in Makkah that was agricultural or industrial at that time, and if it was it was insignificant. This type of society used to look down in a condescending way on the society of Yathrib which was to become Al Medinah. Why? Because there was a good proportion of agricultural activity attached to Yathrib. We dont want to use the buzz words that are used in certain political literature; we want to understand what we are talking about (and) not to be thrown off with these words, vocabulary and terminology. Its nice know this fact. We should also know that when these words of heaven and the Prophet of heaven were expressing themselves, Arabia was a rural area of the world; it wasnt urban; besides Makkah and Yathrib, there was nothing there that was urban; the rest were nomads in the desert and this also created that condescending view- those that lived in Makkah or Al Medinah looked down on those who are roaming the desert. There was also this
1445

discriminatory description between those who considered themselves cultural and those who were working the maritime routes, in other words those, who were seeking their living by going out to sea. As an example, Bani Tameem looked down at those who belonged to Bani Azd because they had cousins living in todays geographical Oman who used to go to sea- that made them automatically 2nd and 3rd class citizens. Anyone who had a skill, profession or a job was of the lower classes in society- the same thing that we have today. (Take a) look at Arabia today! After 1,400 years of what is supposed to be an educating and uplifting Islam, (take a) look at them! They still have the same thing- if theres someone who has a profession or who works with his hand The Prophet of Allah shook a mans hand and he realised that it was a hand that works because of the scars, skin and flesh of a worker and he said- if only todays hijackers of Islam in Arabia listened the Prophet of Allah- this is a hand that Allah and His Prophet love. You cant tell that to them! They think (that) if you express a hadith like that youre subversive, a radical, and an extremist. Were not expressing the hadith, were just quoting it; we didnt manufacture a hadith- listen to what Allahs Prophet is saying for Allahs sake! Brothers and sisters- you have it, its all over the place. We dont know all the geographies of the world but we can tell you from experience that some people in Lebanon look in a condescending at labourers who come to their country from Syria; some people in Syria look down on some people who come to their country as workers from Palestine; some people in Iran look down on people who come to their country as workers from Afghanistan- this is only a sample and an example of what were trying to say, can anyone deny this? Where are our social values and Islamic standards that we understand and should behave but we dont? When Abu Jahl, that enemy of Allah and His Prophet, who was killed at Badr said a couple of statements that demonstrate this issue i.e. how the arrogant/rich dehumanise and look down upon people who just work- its all they do, they work. This is an honour, but not to them. Listen to Abu Jahl in those minutes, (maybe a couple of hours) as he was expiring/dying after he was struck a death blow; he said, (which roughly means) if only it did not come to this, i.e. a low life worker killing me. He didnt regret dying, he regretted that someone who was just an average worker would kill him and within that time span as he was dying he said to Abdullah ibn Masud (radi Allahu anhu), a personality that we are all familiar with who used to tend to the sheep i.e. who used to take the animals to the pasture, (so to speak). He said to him you have come a long way you shepherd punk. Abu Jahl stood for opposition to Allahs authority and power (so) thats expected, but how do you comment on policies like this, (not words), coming from those who perform all the Islamic personal responsibilities- not social, economic, political, military- just their personal responsibilities?! All those other responsibilities they have relieved themselves of; they are not responsible for anything Islamic that is social, military or economic, (for the moment), relieve them of all of that, so here they are performing their personal or selfish obligations as Muslims and their policies express the words of Abu Jahl as he was dying at the warfront!

In another incident, (that we think is important for you to know), the people around the Prophet one day saw a young person who was very strong, athletic, vital and robust running to his job. Remember, these are people who are living with the Prophet and they commented on this. They
1446

said if only all of that potential and vitality in that young man were to be placed jihadan fi sabeelillah i.e. placed at the warfront and these are the words of Allahs Prophet correcting this type of inaccuracy; he said to them if he is on his way expanding his efforts to care for his small children, then that is fi sabeelillah and if he is going out to do his job/labour in life to support elderly/vulnerable parents then that is fi sabeelillah and if he is going out to do his work to chastise his own self or to protect his own self from falling into sin, then that is fi sabeelillah. Labour Day- (if youre) speaking about labour and those who are toiling, sweating and giving it all of what they have to make a living; this is the description of Allahs Prophet. He used to plant the palm trees with his own hands; he used to sow or stitch his own clothes with his own hands; he used to fix, (what you would call today), his shoes with his own hands; he used to milk whatever dairy animal he had with his own hands; he used to tend to whatever means of transportation that he had with his own hands; he used to feed the animal that he had with his own hands; he used to serve his guests with his own hands; he even served the people who were serving him with his own hands. That is labour. We think that if todays official Muslims were to see Allahs Prophet they would dehumanise him. They would have treated him the way they treat Africans, Indians, Pakistanis and other oppressed peoples around them. One of the servants of Allahs Prophet, Anas (radi Allahu anhu) -remember this is Allahs Prophet (and) the people around him wanted to help him. One of the people who was most helpful in his company was Anas and he said this after ten years of being with Allahs Prophet. I accompanied him for ten years whether we were at home or travelling, (and) I tried to help him and serve him and in the process of this interaction it turned out that he helped and served me more than I did him. Once again, (brothers and sisters), dont place these ayaat on an individual personal level; place these in a social and aggregate level. Where are we Muslims serving each other?! Just as a reminder to these people who are drunk with wealth and power- we remind them that Prophets of Allah are chosen by Allah. There are many people in this world; there are philosophers, thinkers, scientists, those who belong to the noble classes and noble bloodlines etc. (but) Allah chose to carry the divine responsibility of all people in the world those who at one time or the other were all shepherds; i.e. people who, (if we were to look at them through societies eyes today), we would not even pay attention to- Allah chose these people to carry His word. As a reminder, Prophet Zakaria (alaihi as salaam) was a carpenter; Prophet Dawud (alaihi as salaam) was, (what you would call), a blacksmith; he used to make shields and swords. Musa (alaihi as salaam) was a servant i.e. something like a maid. Remember the ayaat in the Quran in Surah Al Qassas, the daughter says to her father, rent him or father have him work for us in compensation for his labour and work you pay him. (Surah Al Qassas verse 26) He was an ajeer. The last Prophet of Allah was a shepherd who used to take the herds outside of Makkah and he was paid, (if you cared to read the literature), what was called qarareer. This word in todays language means chump change. What can we say in todays world where Muslims are absent? We are absent and theres a condition out there (with) people losing jobs. You dont have to go far, look over here- were supposed to be living in one of the most affluent and prosperous societies in the world and people are losing jobs in the millions. (Take a) look at where the unemployment rate is. (Theres) the protest against taxes; (take a) look at what is
1447

happening. Where is our input, feedback (and) practical knowledge that come from Allah and His Prophet regarding these issues? It is in such a manner that We have rendered you a central Ummah so that you may become witnesses over other peoples and so that the Messenger may become a witness over you. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 143) We can only bear witness when we are involved in this issue and not involved as one or a few individuals; when we reach the degree and rank of getting involved as an Ummah among the Umam of the world. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims Saying what we have said and understanding what is happening in todays world, we confess and submit that as an Ummah we are not where we are supposed to be. Let us take a look at a couple of meanings or manifestations of the discrepancy that we are living. The discrepancy is we sing the songs of Islam but we live the life of counter Islam- that is the discrepancy that we are. We pray and plead with Allah to expedite the time and the process so that we can elevate our understanding of Him and His so that we can take on the issues that have been, (by intent and purpose), omitted from our (meaning the general Muslims of the world) public discourse, khutbahs and public presentations. (In) just this past week- you think the internet is a place for open discussion and open thoughts?! A Muslim person from Egypt using the internet- a certain site- made a suggestion during the Israeli war on Gazzah; that was a war that demonstrated with military bloodshed how ugly/dehumanising people can become. Were not skipping subjects, this is related to the previous khutbah. This Muslim suggested on the internet to the Egyptian government that Muslims should be given the freedom in Egypt to go and fight with the Palestinians in Gazzah and he explained that the Egyptian government has nothing to fear because if the Muslims score a victory against the Israelis then the Egyptian government can take credit for that because it permitted Muslims to go and help their Palestinian brothers in Gazzah and on the other hand if the Egyptian Muslims are killed in Gazzah in defence of the Palestinians then the Egyptian didnt lose because it got rid of one element of opposition in its population- both ways it cannot lose. That site was closed down! A person is not supposed to think like that, much less express these types of thoughts for a larger audience so they yank that site out of existence however ways they can do that. Another demonstration of how isolated and frozen we are; were not interactive, were not Ummatan wasata, we dont live with the dynamics of what is happening beyond our personal selves- theres talk in the air that the United States foreign policy is seriously considering recognising the Islamic Republic in Iran as the regional power in all of that area; in other words no more Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Turkeythese were the pillars of US foreign policies in the area. The US now is showing signs that it is willing to dump the Saudis, Pakistanis and Turks as governments and recognise Iran as the central power of that region of the world. The Saudi Arabians who were in town en masse this past (few) week made their rounds over here in Washington and they showed that they were nervous. Why are they nervous? They explained themselves and said to their American Mushrik masters what in effect can be boiled down to two points- they said to them if you recognise Iran as the regional power and eclipse us, we will no longer be in power in the future to support you. Its going to be a catastrophe on us; and on the other hand, if the Israelis have their way
1448

and you the United States are going to bomb Iran the fall-out from bombing what is called nuclear installations and bases in Iran is going to be the population of the Persian/Arabian Gulf. Both ways- we lose. We wish that we, the working/toiling Muslims could think at this level of things (so that) these statements (will) not be dropped on us like bomb shells and (we will) be surprised at whats going on when they take away from their books, Masajid and everything they have the information that is necessary for us to understand these statements when they make them.

1449

INTROSPECTION PART 2
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims The ayah that is hard for many of us to come to terms with, (even though many of us may read and translate it), but the practical meaning of the ayah that were just about to quote is extremely difficult for us to assimilate and produce the right behaviour by understanding and applying its meanings in our life. In a short ayah in Surah Al Qiyamah Allah is saying I shall not express an oath pertaining to the Day of Resurrection nor an oath pertaining to the voice of the conscience. (Surah Al Qiyamah verse 1-2) This voice of the conscience, (as it were), when someone does something wrong or falls into sin or is guilty of an offence or crime, theres a voice in your conscience that comes out and wants to sting you from inside. This feeling of guilt inside ourselves is a major component of the Islamic character. Muslims are not dead people if parts of us die; we have a limb, hand, leg, foot, eye, ear or any other part of our body that doesnt work (when) people have incidents or accidents in life that result in the disability of the physical body, but if we are true to Allah, never will we have a disability in our conscience. The fact of the matter is the Day of Resurrection/Accountability are live in our feelings and thoughts and because of that, we maintain a lively, sensitive and responsive conscience. If you come across a person with a dead conscience, you have come across a person whose Islamic character is nil/void- (the two) cant be combined. You cant have an nafs al lawwamah and a carefree, hardened, insensitive, passive, and indifferent Muslim- this does not blend with an nafs al lawwamah. On the other hand, an nafs al lawwamah doesnt mean we are suffocated by feelings of guilt. Were not habitual wrongdoers or cultural violators of Allah and His Prophet- whoever has such type of personality in life is outside the realm of yielding to Allah. So, if we are located in the waves and forces of real life, (we dont live in a society that doesnt have sin or crimes in it or in a society that is against Allah and His Prophet, (its all around us), so how does our conscience react to that? The problem becomes one in which when many Muslims reach the age of understanding and thinking and begin to develop deep thoughts, they join Islamic Organisations, Associations, Parties and Movements; they become member s in these and that (as it appears and sounds) is a step in the right direction. Muslims are required to come together, consolidate their efforts and move forward; this is the beginning of what is supposed to be an Islamic effort with a pay-off somewhere along the course of life or here-after, but what happens is we have individuals, (you may be one of them or related to one of them or know one of them- Allah knows best), whose conscience and mind is vibrant (who) joins an Islamic Organisation of whatever rank or background, (this seems to be a broad statement that is inclusive of all, if not all of them), i.e. once this an nafs al lawwamah enters that crowd of like-minded and similar individuals, it begins to lose its lustre and negotiate its conscience and we have a problem. Then, when we begin to put these different
1450

Organisations together, we begin to have complex problem and we dont know where this comes from! If we wanted to go back to Allahs Prophet and understand some of the moments that are indicative of this an nafs al lawwamah, we take him, himself (or) a moment in his life. He wasnt shielded by a party or a person who would give orders without the motivation of those who were around him and he is the impeccable or al masoom. Al one time, these most important personalities of Quraish wanted to speak to him. They said OK- youve been speaking all of this talk throughout all of these years, let us sit down and try to reason all of this affair out, but when we speak to you, we dont want these lesser human beings around. It would be like saying in todays world, (we dont want to use the N-word as that would probably give you the meaning of how they were speaking to Allahs Prophet), we dont want these inferiors or bums or coloured people around; its just us and you. Can we just sit and try to discuss this matter? Some of us may have heard this and others not. Information such as this is usually taken out of discussions. Think with us- the Prophet could have gone to these poor people around him, i.e. the ones who dont count in the eyes of the elites/big shots and said look- the Islamic interest dictates that you stay out of this meeting. If we can convince these decision makers, officials and policy makers of this Islam then you would have the reward because you didnt attend the meeting. I would be able to speak to them, but theyre not going to speak to me in your presence; he could have done that, (but) he didnt. Just by thinking this- he didnt do it, but just because it was an idea, Allah addressed an idea before it became an idea dont exclude those who are calling upon Allah early and late or who are seeking and striving for him (Surah Al-Anaam verse 52) And Allahs Prophet never excluded what is called this riff-raff of society and Allahs Prophet was transparent, unlike the type of Islamic Parties and Organisations that we have. In the 1st instance, they are not transparent. There may be some limited issues that leaders only have the right to know, but not the program itself! We have Islamic programs in which the Islamic base is unaware of! Is this an ayah or hadith or the Sunnah and Seerah of Allahs Prophet? You have an Islamic Party, Orientation or Program, but the average person who belongs to this particular orientation doesnt know anything about it! The only thing they know is that they belong to this type of Islamic (whatever you want to call it.) (We dont want to get into names, because were sure that you have enough knowledge to know what were referring to because theres plenty of them out there and you cant go wrong. Just think of a few of them and youre right!) Within this (what is supposed to be) an Islamic Action Group, some Muslims feel the pangs of their conscience and the sting of their better judgement inside of them- what do they do? This has happened all along and its still happening; they leave this Islamic Party/Organisation or whatever it is because they cant live with the pinch of their conscience everyday when they know there is room for improvement but the people theyre supposed to speak to are impervious; you cant penetrate them with advice or criticism. This comes from having an nafs al lawwamah. Our Islamic decision makers dont have an nafs al lawwamah. They dont have the voice of their conscience that will tell them to open up and listen to what other Muslims have to say. This is a degradation of other Muslims and their potential (which is) something we didnt see in the days of Allahs Prophet. In the days of Allahs Prophet, we had the same approaches, types of personalities, inclinations and reservations that we find in human nature everywhere, but these were people who were working together. They had the freedom to express their conscience
1451

and if they were wrong, they were corrected. Today, we are supposed to believe we dont have the freedom to pursue the direction of our conscience; were supposed to be bottled up within a particular Islamic Organisation. This has no Islamic foundation, no Quranic rationalisation and no Sunnatic precedents- it doesnt exist! (If) they wanted to do something, they were encouraged to do it, and if they did something wrong, the encouragement from all around was to correct them; but nowadays, theres one pf two attitudes. If you are encouraged to do something and you do something wrong, they make an example out of you so that no one else will have the courage to try and do what his/her conscience is telling him/her to do, or you cant express yourself to begin with. You have to bottle that up and true/sincere/motivated/sacrificing/struggling types can only bottle that within them so much and after that, they say Im leaving. Theres been an attrition rate in these Islamic Movements and Organisations because of that and it goes back to the fact that weve made these Islamic Programs and Parties like tribes. Weve tribalized Islam i.e. if you belong to my tribe, (read) Islamic understanding of things, then we belong together in this, but if you belong to another Islamic understanding of things, then somehow theres a rivalry that may turn into a misunderstanding that may develop into conflict because we dont have an nafs al lawwamah. If we- leaders and led- carried this with us, the assortment of Islamic Programs and Movements in the world would complement each other and welcome the other Islamic view. This doesnt necessarily mean we are going to adopt it 100%, but we are willing to listen to it, consider it and if theres a type of agreement that it is better than our opinion, then we will adopt it. The Prophet of Allah realised that even among the people who were being educated, thoroughly influenced and remade by him had within them tribal instincts. It was always the we in exclusion to the others. We are supposed to be altogether, but at one point, it was about to break out into hostilities. This is down the road in building the Islamic character; this is not the 1st couple of years of Islam. Let us tell you- in those 1st years in Al Medinah, when Islam became what it had become, some of those who were outside of the Islamic circle would make fun of Bilal (radi Allahu anhu) and call him that black crow. (You) see- this information doesnt come out because if it begins to come out, then were going to begin to sense that just like we have discrimination in our societies, there was also words and individuals in the society of Allahs Prophet who echo the discrimination, ethnicism and racism that we have in todays world; but no! Were not supposed to link the Prophets world with our world today- thats a NO! NO! in todays Islamic discourse. In the time of Allahs Prophet, when after he put all of these years in building the character of these committed Muslims, one of them says I call upon you O Muhajireen- come support me; and the other one says I call upon you Ansar- come support me. Wait a minute here- arent we all Muslims?! Youre calling upon the Muhajireen as if the Muhajireen are going to be opposed to the Ansar and vice versa- where did this come from?! This indicates that deep down in the Muslim psyche- even in the presence of Allahs Prophet who was still there, he didnt pass away- them trying to tribalize the innocent and complimentary concept of the hijrah and the nusrah i.e. the Muhajireen and the Ansar are supposed to complement each other, (but) here by the expression of these two Muslims- one of them belonging to the Muhajireen and the other one to the Ansar- theyre supposed to conflict instead of complement with each other. We began by speaking about an nafs al lawwamah i.e. a persons psychology that has a voice of conscience, and then, Allah says in another ayah, to build on that
1452

Certainly, if those who are ever conscious of Allahs corrective power in their lives are as much as influenced or touched by Ash Shaytaan (Surah Al Araf verse 201) Shaytaan has his way of insinuating, tempting, gradually drawing in a person in the wrong direction, planting disturbing thoughts, working on the instinct of man and flaring up the passions in human nature- there are many avenues that Ash Shaytaan has Allah is saying if those who are ever watchful of Allahs corrective power presence catch wind or merely sense Ash Shaytaan is having an effect in/on their lives or if a fleeting influenced of Ash Shaytaan comes their way, then they are conscientised (Surah Al Araf verse 201) They go back to an nafs al lawwamah; the voice of their conscience comes alive. Some people say what do you mean?! Ash Shaytaan doesnt intend it that way, Ash Shaytaan wants to cripple you and smother you in sin and crimes, but Ash Shaytaan has no access to your conscience; your conscience has a 6th sense and it knows when Ash Shaytaan is approaching so it re-doubles and what happens? the result of that is that theyve gained more insight or can now see more clearly. (Surah Al Araf verse 201) But you tell that to people who think its better to maintain the status quo, dont rock the boat or dont express your deep felt voice of conscience to Islamic decision makers and (take a) look- weve been where we have been for so long because of this. Mind you- these Islamic programmers, (who are writing and implementing whatever type of boy-scout programs that they have), are comfortable speaking to the FBI; theyre not comfortable listening to the conscience of Islamic individuals who are with them, (supposedly in the same boat in the choppy waters of jahiliyyah that we are in); they feel more comfortable speaking, communicating, sitting down and listening to At Taghut- functionaries of Imperialism and Zionism. OH- they can do that, its alright, but to listen to what the average you-and-me have to say because our conscience is telling us to say that and we may improve the performance of our Islamic program, (then) they dont want to hear it. What type of Islamic Organisation is that? Wheres the transparency and confidence? What have they accomplished? An nafs al lawwamah is what we need and thats what qualifies decision makers to be in the position they are in, (i.e.) when they have an nafs al lawwamah; not when they dont have it. Most of those who are now making decisions dont have an nafs al lawwamah and they prove it from year-to-year and incident-to-incident. Then, Allah says Certainly, if those who are ever conscious of Allahs corrective power in their lives are as much as influenced or touched by Ash Shaytaan are conscientised and the result of that is that theyve gained more insight or can now see more clearly. (Surah Al Araf verse 201) Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims... The ayaat and the Seerah of the Prophet become our reference points and after so many years of Muslims of inferior thoughts/feelings its time for us to open our eyes to the reality of the world that we are in. We have people who are making decisions for us (which) are impacting our own lives and who have sold their souls to Satan, (whats wrong? Does anyone have any problem
1453

with expressing the truth?) If we are being burned by a God denying society and system, we dont have the vitality of conscience to express it. Because of the co-ordinates- psychological and physical (and every other sense of the word)- that we are in, we begin to react. The Zionists are digging under Al Masjid Al Aqsa, and if they continue like this and theres no proportionate and appropriate response to this, Al Masjid Al Aqsa is going to collapse. Theres nothing that we know of from the Quran and Sunnah that says that Al Masjid Al Aqsa is a structure that will never collapse. There are physical laws in this world and they work everywhere in the world, including Al Masjid Al Aqsa, so what do you expect? These Zionists who have been busy digging under the foundations of Al Masjid Al Aqsa and we are busy looking the other way. They wouldnt have been able to do this to Al Masjid Al Aqsa if they didnt do it to other Masajid around the world. Theres no spiritual or mental foundations to these Masajid; if they take the mental Islamic content out of these Masajid, then they are able to take the pillars away from Al Masjid Al Aqsa. If they are able to control, administer and do whatever they want to with Makkah and Al Medinah, then why cant they get away with doing what they want in Al Quds, Jerusalem? Why cant Muslims bring themselves to look at what is happening? Thats all that is required- just open your eyes and look at what is happening. These Arabians is something that is also not spoken about! Before the Quran and the Prophet, the Arabians on the Peninsular used to attack each othertribes, clans and extended families used to go into skirmishes with each other. The tribe that would launch hostilities was the strongest, so theyd prey on the weakest and victimise those with lesser powers. When this Islam came, (one of the miracles that we dont speak about, and theres not enough light shed on it is), the understanding by these same Arabians transformed them from a people who would attack the weakest when they were pre-Islamic Arabians to a people who would attach the strongest. When they became committed Muslims, they were not afraid to take on the super-powers and the mega-powers of their time; but what do we have today? We have pre-Islamic Arabians who will take on and look for a fight with those who they perceive to be weaker than they are. Were back to Al Jahiliyyah; and those who are stronger than them? NO! These are super-powers- lets buy weapons from them and lets invest in their economy. One thing we can say of Abu Lahab, Abu Jahl, Abi Mueet, Abu Sufyan and the rest of that crowd that we cant say of the current mental and psychological (and probably) physical descendants of them is that that generation of war against the Prophet didnt go and invest their money in Byzantium or Persia; they were not buying weapons and relying on the two superpowers of the day- Byzantium or Persia- for their survival. Brothers and sisters, (we know that were going to be swimming against the tide), we speak a lot about the occupation of Palestine/Al Quds/Al Masjid Al Aqsa, and theres no two Muslims who in their right mind are going to argue about this- thats a given; our problem is not with that, our problem is with the buffer that the Zionist Occupiers have! Our problem is with the Occupiers of Makkah and Al Medinah. Can we ever wake up to this fact? These are the ones who just this past week heard some of their own people at The SAR Foundation and IIIT had an ongoing court battle that said that the authorities violated their rights when they carted off everything they had at their offices, and when to their homes and physically abused some of them and got away with it. They said lets take them to court, What did the court tell us day before yesterday? The court authorities had all the right to do what they did! Why did the authorities do what they did to these types? Remember- were speaking about there (being) no nafs al lawwamah and no (one from among) those who are ever conscious of Allahs corrective power and when they are
1454

touched by Ash Shaytaan they are conscientised and the result of that is that theyve gained more insight or can now see more clearly. Since this is absent, their pay-masters point the finger of accusation at them and theyve been living the consequences of this throughout all of these years. We yearn for the day when Muslims can be independent of this Saudi regime and all that it has caused. We pray for the day when these Muslims- who share a commitment with Allahwho have been victimised by this Saudi regime can be liberated from its dependence and it can stand on its own; and if that means they have to be in the street, then thats the 1 st step and theyre in the right place or do they prefer the hundreds of millions of dollars coming their way out of which weve seen no concrete results? We wish theyd listen to Allah. OK- theyve lived the experience of the past 20/30 years of dealing with Ash Shaytaan in his Islamic clothes, can they not learn from that experience and can we not learn from their mistakes?

1455

AL MUNAFIQEEN PART 2
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Ibaad Allahi Ikhwaana We live in a time in which we find that the people who are supposed to guide/teach us with the correct information are not willing to do so; in some instances, this is attributable to sheer ignorance, i.e. they simply dont know, but we think this is not the overwhelming majority of cases. We think that most of these people who are in a position to express the truth and the facts and to expose the lies and the fallacies can identify what is good from what is bad and what is right from what is wrong, (but) the problem is that they are not willing to express their minds whish are supposed to be influenced by Allah and His Prophet and the issues of the day. So, what do they do? They recede into a shell/enclave of what they consider to be safe information, i.e. information which (after they express it), they feel they are safe and no-one is going to come down against them- this is the nature of the time that we are in. (They say) we are only responsible for our own time. Dont hold us responsible for thousands or years ago and dont hold us responsible for the next generation/century, i.e. we are responsible for the time-frame and place-frame that we are in, therefore, on this day and time of Taqwa, we try as much as is humanly possible to discharge our responsibilities in providing the truth to the public, where some of our colleagues have been deficient/disabled from doing so. Let us remind ourselves of Allahs power-performance in our social/global lives and let us step out of our individuality prison that we have been locked into for so long, and take a deep breath and fresh air in looking at what has to be done on the scale of life/existence/the world and universe- we belong on that order of things, not in the phobic self where we have been located with the measured and truncated information that come our way. Allah says It is Allah who has engrained/sprouted you in this world (Surah Hud verse 61) This tears down those barriers that are artificially imposed on us. He didnt say Huwa Alladhi anshaakum fi qawmikum- He has brought you into your own people because in the free sense of existence and being, we dont belong to an ethnic tribe or a Nationalist collectivity; we belong to an expansive world into which we were born, from which we were created and for which we are created. But, because we have a structured body of information that wants us to think inside the box, when this ayah is quoted/voiced, we dont feel/breathe the range of it because there are barriers and impositions- Oh- you have a citizenship; you need a visa! This is not the way Allah created this world. This world was created without these artificial political barriers. He has sprouted you or given you rise out of this world and has tasked you with the responsibility of building it (Surah Hud verse 61) When an average Muslim reads an ayah like this, he doesnt get this expansive meaning. /why? Because his mind has been tied and his thinking ability limited and theres a distance to go
1456

between where we are with our deficient thinking and what Allah is telling us. Allah is telling us this whole world is our responsibility, and this cuts across ideological, political, religious and whatever other barriers there are- were responsible. Allah says We are here to build this world (Surah Hud verse 61) Now- explain this to the individuals that we have who listen to khutbahs every week or who out of the force of tradition go to weekly ceremonies most of (whom) have a nationalist/cultural/sectarian content to them and we find theres a far cry from what Allah is instructing us to do and be and where we are in our wrapped up, smothering, suffocating individual/ethnic/nationalist/sectarian selves- none of this has any validity if Allah is communicating with us and we understand what He is saying to us! This pleases those who have the combination of power and authority in todays world. They stand guards on our inhibitions, limitations and frustrations and they dont want us to break out of our cages that we have built for ourselves by the accumulation of traditions, customs and conventions. We have people who are in the highest offices in the world who stand guard, making sure that we remain divided and making it impossible for us to step out of our individual selves and become the universal subjects of Allah that we are meant to be. Dare anyone run afoul of official authorities, especially when it comes to this matter! What happened to those, who in the time of the Pharoah acknowledged the validity, legitimacy and truth of Musa (alaihi salaam) and they by-passed worldly authority? They werent considering anymore the superpower status of the Pharoah of the time and they expressed their belief, conviction and adherence to Musa and the Sustainer of Musa. They said we have committed to the Sustainer of Musa. (Surah Al Araf verse 122) This annoyed/vexed the superpower authority of that time, and what was the response from the highest authority of the land? How dare you commit yourselves! (Surah Al Araf verse 122) These are the specialists/advisors or the cream of the crop of modernistic society- when they saw the truth, they never had any second-thoughts/reservations/fear- forthwith, they committed themselves to the Sustainer and Lord of Musa. This troubled the authority around. This is what the ayah is saying. How dare you commit yourselves to him before I give you permission to do so (Surah Al Araf verse 122) This is how the superpowers stand sentries/guards on the parameters of phobic thinking/feelings that we have. Anyone who thinks of him/herself before/after thinking of him/herself as a Muslim in this universal position that we are in is serving the Pharoah and is not serving Allah. The only thing we want is freedom to express ourselves. They speak about freedom all over the place, and (take a) look at how much of freedom we have?! We dont even have a freedom to go into the Masjid. We know as a matter of guidance and guidelines from Allah that there is no-one who is going to be forced into Islam- it doesnt exist.

1457

There is no coercion when it comes to the matter of an overwhelming conviction or commitment to Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 256) When you choose your life program, you are free to choose what you want. This is an integral part of the communiqu that come to us from Allah, but these people who have the power and authority to plan 10/50/100 years into the future know what we are about. The irony of it is that these selective elitists know what we are about and we have the Islamic scholars in their majority who know what we are about and then we have the overwhelming number of Muslims in the world who, (because of these two groups of people), dont know what we are all about. Theres a common denominator between those who are in the highest offices of kufr and shirk in the world and are plotting and strategizing against us and the Muslim speakers who are hiding in a cloak of relative silence about this affair and the victim of those who are planning our future and those who remain silent about our future from among us that has resulted where we are today. We have some Muslims who saw the light 20/30 years ago, and now they want to tell us that we have matured and are now more reasonable and thoughtful. No Muslim is going to be able to do that when all the information that is brought to our attention has to do with our private parts, bedrooms and kitchens! Zionism is not in the bedroom/sink/commode! Our minds are not going to grasp these responsibilities if we remain the recipients of information pertaining to the etiquette of Islam. There are budgets- we dare say in the hundreds of billions of dollars- that are invested in us remaining in the prison of our own sects. Do those of you who consider yourselves Sunni before Muslims of Shiis before Muslims hear that! There are budgets/expenditures/treasuries galore that want you to think/feel that way; when are we going to expand our thoughts to put behind us these divisions that feed the hostile policies of our common enemies? It is said that the current President of Egypt in the early 1960s was an officer in the Egyptian armed forces and he was sent to Algeria. (You have to rebuild a little); at that time, there was a state of war between Morocco and Algeria concerning the Western Sahara (in) what is called the Polisario Issue. This officer Muhammed Hosni Mubarak- along with other officers were sent to that zone of war between Morocco and Algeria to help the people of the Western Sahara to become free of the Moroccan Kingdom and he was caught and imprisoned by the Moroccan Government. In 1965, the King of Morocco, (the father of the current King- Al Malak Al Hassan), received an invitation to visit Cairo from the President of Egypt at the time- Jamal Abdel Nasser. When the King went to Egypt, he brought prisoners of war with him to Egypt as a gesture of goodwill to the Egyptian Government and one of those prisoners of war was the current President of Egypt. What happened? Was he at the time crazy? He was an officer who was caught trying to help people decide their political future in the Western Sahara and now he has become a modern/thoughtful/shrewd leader. Can people see? 30 years ago there was an Islamic Revolution and there were people at the war front fighting for political/social/ideological self determination. How many in the ranks of those people look at their past the same way the President of Egypt looks at his past? He looks at himself 50 years ago and says I was immature/reckless. That was the revolutionary surge in my life; thats a period in my past and now I have more experience and diplomacy. What does that experience and diplomacy mean? That you make your sajdah in the mihrab of Zionism and Imperialism? Do we have these types now who are in the making who want to convince us and the Muslim public that there is no longer an Imperialist or Zionist Shaytaan, especially when it come to the Israeli thieves and war criminals. This is where it is all at! This is how people are judged. Those people
1458

who are opposed to Zionism are (referred to as) the crazies of the past!; or these are people who really havent developed a civilized approach to conflict resolution. Thats how they speak. Where are we in all of this? (Do) we suffer from amnesia? (Have) we lost our memory? These Zionist/Yahud didnt come from nowhere! They didnt land in Palestine without a previous history! They didnt come from another planet! We lived with them and they lived with us; what are we going to do? (Are we) going to throw our history away and say it never happened? Just to reminder you of one chapter of that history very quickly The Prophet of Allah/?Islamic State in Al Medinah had to pay diyah/blood money because one of the individuals belonging to this power structure of Islam in Al Medinah killed an individual belonging to the hostile powers against the Islamic State in Al Medinah and it was due upon the Muslims to pay. The Muslims were poor, so according to the document of Al Medinah, the Yahudi residents/citizens of AL Medinah were going to have to share in paying what is due upon the Islamic treasury, so the Prophet of Allah himself went to Bani An Nadhir on the outskirts of Al Medinah and he reminded them of their civic/legal/constitutional responsibilities i.e. look- we signed an agreement together and this has happened and we are all going to have to share the responsibility. Youre going to have to pay your share of this. They told him Ya Aba Al Qasimwe will not frustrate you; you will be pleased with our performance, but give us some time to discuss this. Then, they went into their secret meeting. The Prophet was there and some of the companions of the Prophet were with him, and then they said, (to use todays language), this is the best time to take out this man; this opportunity is not going to present itself again. Here he is- hes on our territory, and we can get rid of him- whos going to do that? Whos going to volunteer to get rid of this man? And someone volunteered. Allahs Prophet was informed in those dangerous minutes of their intentions to kill Allahs Prophet. What they said (was) its a simple thing. Someone take a large rock; ascends the wall- because Allahs Prophet was sitting next to the wall- and drops this rock on him. Brothers and sisters- this is our history. These are the same people right now who are dropping bombs- illegal warfare- killing civilians, babies, women and senior folks without any compunctions. They dont have any second thoughts about this. These are the types of people we are speaking about. They want this history forgotten and the plans that they have dictate that no Muslim public speaker is to open up these issues. We can understand them- they are the criminals and they want to hide their crimes. They killed Prophets and we have that information fresh from Allah- what are we going to do? Do you commit to some of Allahs book and do you reject or deny other parts of Allahs book? (Surah Al Baqarah verse 85) (Are we going to) say to ourselves we dont read these ayaat and we dont understand what Allah is telling us?! What do you want to be? Do you want to be the neo-Yahudis/Israelis? You take part of the Quran that suits you, and the other part that has global responsibilities, ideological contents and military duties doesnt really go with civilized behavior?! Well just skip over these ayaat and Surahs in the Quran! Allah speaks to Bani Nadhir who were contemplating and in the motion of executing a plan to kill Allahs Prophet- they have to answer to that! If we had Muslims who speak with one voice and are capable of bringing these facts into todays world, wed tell them face-to-face and eye-to-eye come and answer these questions that weve been carrying for 1,400 years; not since 1948. We have a history. (Ask them to)
1459

answer these questions. Whats wrong! But they wont! It was Banu An Nadhir that was strategizing. Brothers and sisters- if you put yourself in the mentality of Yahud its not easy; (they figure) look, these Muslims now have taken the historical divine trust from us, in other words, God has abandoned us and now Hes given that responsibility that we have carried to these Muslims! When Bani Israeel were five/ten individuals The Children of Israeel/Yaqub (alaihi as salaam)- figured out that their own father was abandoning them in favor of one of their brothers, their thoughts turned criminal! How do you expect them to behave when they think (that) God Himself has abandoned them?! Thats what we have in todays world; thats why they drop bombs on us (and) we are dehumanized. You can kill millions of Muslims and youve done nothing to appear in the court of law- thats how theyre behaving. Allah has confronted them from a direction and area that they did not factor in or were not thinking about (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) If we were to understand these ayaat today, because these ayaat are not frozen in time, when Yahudi sense that they have political and military power, they will repeat their folly and mistakes. Ever since the Israeli/Zionist/Yahud of today usurped the Holy Land, they had a policy of relying on the parameter states around the Arab countries- those were Turkey, Iran and Ethiopia. They were working on nationalism in these three areas against (what to them is called) a common enemy, so the populations around were pincered between an Israeli occupation in the middle and these states around. Inside this same body of opposition to Zionism, the Muslims in the Arab countries relied on minorities- whether they were religious/ethnic- Allah is telling us in this ayah Allah has confronted them from a direction and area that they did not factor in or were not thinking about (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) These Yahudis spent 60 years trying to secure nationalisms and sectarianisms that will work for them; they didnt think that these areas were going to turn on them. They relied on Persian nationalism against Arabian nationalism. Allah approached them from an area that they thought was secure. Iran and Turkey- (take a) look at whats happening in todays world! The two areas that they thought they secured. Allah is coming to them from these two areas that they thought was secure. They relied on minorities- the Shiis in Lebanon are a minority. and He has struck terror into their hearts (Surah Al Hashr verse 2) Reports are saying today that when these Yahudis are sure that the Islamic State has harnessed nuclear capabilities and Hizbullah has become the multiplied fighting force that it was three summers ago in 2006, there are 800,000 Israelis who have obtained non-Israeli passports, basically American and European passports and are ready to leave. Allah has thrown terror into their hearts; they are destroying their own dwellings- whether they are civilian or military- with their own hands and with the hands of the committed Muslims that are appearing from areas that they never calculated (Surah Al Hashr verse 2)
1460

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims One of the areas, (this is in light of what we have just said), that remains a stronghold and stranglehold for these Zionist/Israeli/Yahud is the Fifth column i.e. the Munafiqeen that we are inflicted with. They rely on Kings, Presidents, Heads of State and Rulers, especially the ones who are within the House of Islam to do the dirty work for them. We know that not many or barely anyone says it in a khutbah on Friday, but their number one line of Munafiqeen- just like the number one line of Munafiqeen in the time of Allahs Prophet was ibn Ubayy ibn Sallul and they used to confer behind the scenes with them, they are re-enacting those details be re-enacting behind the scenes with the Munafiqeen who are now in control of Makkah and Al Medinah who speak to the Muslims in one language and who speak to their Zionist and Imperialist bosses in another language. And if they encounter those who are in fact committed to Allah they say but we are also committed to Allah, but when they are in private company with their Shayateen, they say we are with you; we take very lightly our relationships with these committed Muslims; we mock at this relationship with these committed Muslims. Allah mocks/belittles them and has them extend their ploy in this dark age of theirs in the abuse of this excessive power that they perceive to have. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14-15) When these Munafiqeen of today who occupy Makkah and Al Medinah are in seclusion with their Zionist and Imperialist Shayateen/demons, they say to them but of course, we are with you; we take very lightly what we say to the committed Muslims. They communicate very effectively with both sides and the Muslims who are supposed to know better take their word and money! Is it any surprise that we have been marking time and going nowhere because of the spell that these opportunistic Munafiqeen have and that is why liberation has been delayed and deferred- because we dont have free souls and free minds that can look at these issues in the context and scope that they are in. You should go to sleep when you go to the Masajid; there are programs for you there to either entertain you or to reinforce the points/issues of division. We pray for the speedy and immediate destruction of the power base of these Munafiqeen who have the history of pointing the finger of kufr against the Muslims and raising the hand of support for the real Kafirs and Mushriks who they describe as Ahl Al Kitaab- what a wonderful service to Zionism and Imperialism when virtually all Muslims are Kafirs and virtually all governments in the Judeo-Christian context are Ahl Al Kitab. When is the Muslim mind going to mature and when is the Muslim conscience going to have the confidence to speak, explain, discuss and expound on these issues?

1461

INTROSPECTION PART 3
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashar Al Mumineeen, folks of Imaan In this day/time/hour of taqwa, what is there to say about Muslims who say the word taqwa and who pronounce the oft repeated phrase ittaqu Allah who mentally consider or rather traditionally enlist themselves as muttaqeen, but they dont observe its meaning, not even a scintilla of it? What can we say about Muslims around us- our friends, contacts, acquaintances, relatives- who are living at a distance from Allahs power presence; as if they are aliens to Allah? Brothers and sisters- what can we say when a world is preparing and has been active in a war against us when almost all of us are incapable of expressing our minds and conscience about what has been done and is going to be done to us? Allah says to us- this ayah youve heard many times- our problem is not hearing and listening to ayaat, our problem is understanding and actualizing the meanings of these ayaat; thats our problem. Allah says to us with the penetrating truth of the matter. We know youve heard this ayah at least hundreds of times and you probably heard its translation hundreds of times, but what does this ayah mean with all other things considered? A more-or-less accurate way of understanding the meanings of these words- and we know youve probably not heard this translation before; and the reason youve not heard this translation before is because seldom do we have Muslims who live the meaningful contents of the ayah at the same time that they are living the meaningful conditions of life! This ayah is saying Allah does not change the internal affairs of a society or people until they change (and heres the key word to which the Muslim mind i.e. our current speakers do not express themselves) their social psychology. (Surah Ra'd verse 11) Societies/peoples/cultures have a social psychology. There are certain givens that are established in certain human contexts. An American society has its social psychology; a traditional Muslim society has its social psychology; historical societies of the past had their social psychologies and it will continue until the end of time that a homogenous group of people will have their social psychology. Allah- whose word is final on the matter- says dont expect to have change in your the internal conditions (Surah Ra'd verse 11) We complain a lot about our internal conditions. We look around and see that we are dividedthats an internal condition of ours and we hope, pray and wish that this condition of division goes so that we can become consolidated i.e. a solid bloc of people; thats an internal condition of ours which we want to change from the worse to the better. Another internal condition that we see is that our efforts dissipate. There are many Muslims who are learned (and) educatedscholars (and) professionals who can contribute to the well-being of society, but their genius, labor, efforts (and) lifetime goes into supporting other structures that are not Islamic. We are not
1462

lacking in our mental abilities, but Imperialism, Zionism and all other structures in life have robbed us and stolen from us that which should belong to us. This is another internal condition that we have. We look at this and we say, (were not short on dua neither), O Allah, can you change this condition for us? Can we make better use of the scholars, scientists and the productive elements in our society who should belong to us? Could we have a better utilization of them in our own surroundings? Thats another condition we want to change, but we are incapable of changing it. You can count many other similar and equivalent conditions that we want to change. Racism/nationalism is a problem; there is a long list of problems that we want to see altered, but theres nothing going on. Theres no significant change happening. When we listen to Allah, He says to us in this ayah Allah is not going to change these internal conditions that we have (Surah Ra'd verse 11) Many of them are destructive (and) corrosive, but theyre not going to change! Why? Because we do not change; we are not working at changing our social psychology. until we change our social psychology. (Surah Ra'd verse 11) Allah is not speaking about an individual psychology here or there or individual Muslims in their hundreds and millions here-and-there! He is speaking about the change in a social psychology that may be limited to hundreds/thousands of people, but at least its a social psychology, and that is where change begins. If we dont have this social psychology and we cant even think of having this social psychology, then (as the expression has it) we can hang it up; theres not going to be any change because Allahs words guarantee us that. Now, lets take another ayah from the valuable book of Allah. He says in an ayah in Surah An Nisa Allah is not going to give a position of access and dominance to the kaafirs over the committed Muslims. (Surah An Nisa verse 141) These are Allahs words. Kafirs cannot have a position of hegemony over the committed Muslims. (Surah An Nisa verse 141) The ayah is beyond a doubt in its meaning; it doesnt contain any shade of a doubt to its meaning. OK- do we have Mumins in todays world? Ask yourself- are there Mumineen in the world today? If there are, then the kaafir power-bloc will not be in a position to dictate to these committed Muslims! Once again, were not speaking about that fragmentation perception of individual committed Muslims; were speaking about a social clot of Committed Muslims. (Take a) look at todays world- you have an expansive world in front of you, consider who you have. Do you have a coagulation or a coalition of Committed Muslims over which there is not a kaafir form of hegemony? Ask yourselves! The problem with you and me the average Muslimtoday is we cannot place ourselves where we belong. Many of us want to think of ourselves as impeccable- making no mistakes! If you think of yourself as a human being that doesnt make mistakes, go join the Angels! You dont belong here on Earth. Allah mentions Istighfar and Tawbah; you (can) go back to the Quran and count how many time Allah mentions Tawbah and
1463

Maghfirah and the derivatives of these words in the hundreds of times. Why? Because its in our nature to make mistakes. We all say we want an Islamic environment, society and state. Everyone has his mind set on the objective but between here and reaching that objective, theres going to be some mistakes- not intentional/cardinal mistakes; human nature or innocent mistakes (if we may phrase it as such)- and if we do make these mistakes, we take a step backwards and correct ourselves. Why? (Are) we so special that we cant correct ourselves? Allahs Prophet (and who do you want more immune and protected from making mistakes- Al Masoom? No one! By the agreement of all Muslims, the people who were with him made a mistake. He told them stay in your military positions; dont leave your military position whatever happens. As the battle unfolded and they began to sense that they were winning, they left those positionsthats a mistake. Say : Obey Allah and obey the Messenger/Apostle (Surah An Nisa verse 59) Well- that was a moment in our life in which we slipped- it wasnt intentional or criminal- our human nature slipped. We thought the battle was over and its time to collect the spoils of war. Thats human nature. And then, when that mistake resulted in an inconclusive victory for the committed Muslims, they asked how can this be? Imagine yourself in the presence of Allahs Prophet and you are fighting fi sabeel Ilah, and you are giving it all you have and you could not score a resounding victory? Imagine if it were you today- youre not in the presence of a leader or a unique Muslim in our time- youre in the presence of Allahs Apostle and you see that you did not score a clear and conclusive victory; what type of thoughts are going to go through your head. How can this be?! And thats what they asked. Those are the internal thoughts and feelings that they entertained during the time of war; a time that (in todays language) is called emergency laws. They asked how can this happen/be? And the answer came and is still with us say/answer them (O Prophet): its because of what you did or have inside of you or the social psychology that lingers inside of you (Surah Aal Imran verse 165) Thats what happened- and when we take a thinking/mindful/attentive look at the Seerah of Allahs Prophet, we find that those who became Muslims later on- in the last few years of the Prophets life- were not like those who committed to Allah and His Prophet from the beginning. There was a difference- those who committed themselves from the beginning and proved themselves were distinguished by the words of Allah. He says in Surat Al Hadid. This is an ayah. This is not left up to a historian to come up to us and say Oh Im going to tell you this person/these people are better that person/those people. This is a Quran yutla i.e. a recited Quran until theres no longer life on Earth. He says You cant consider them to be equivalent. Those who spent and fought before the liberation of Makkah stand out in rank and stature as opposed to those who spent and fought after the liberation of Makkah (Surah Al Hadid verse 10) The Prophet of Allah gelled together a social psychology that withstood the social anti-Islamic forces that were around. One of the successors to Allahs Prophet, (I think we should be frank about this), the second successor to Allahs Prophet says Im not going to consider those who
1464

fought with the Prophet of Allah as being the same as those who fought against the Prophet of Allah. You can take this statement and apply it to the scant history of those times that you know or to the voluminous history of those times that you know. They were aware of this social psychology. What do you do in todays world about Muslims who are absent-minded about this social psychology? Today, we have a qualitative enhancement of the Islamic condition and that is represented by having an Islamic leadership, an Islamic form of orientation and an Islamic form of governance (yet) we have Muslims today who want to look in the other direction. They want to fool themselves and say nothing like that exists! Some of us can remember just 10/20/25 years ago (when) there was a famous dua that you and we (and some of you who were around at the time were repeating); where is it? What happened to this? Why doesnt anyone say it anymore? Lets not kid ourselves- theres been an erosion of this social psychology the same way there had been an erosion of the social psychology during the time of Allahs Prophet. Theres no difference (because) they were human beings and were human beings. Some of us are strong and some of us are weak; some of us are Muslims by principal and some of us are Muslims by profit and so, today we have a layer of people in society who cannot withstand the responsibilities that come our way. Just like in the time of Allahs Prophet there were those who couldnt stand the pressures; there was pressure just like there is today. There was threats with military buildup; there was propagandistic wars- all of these elements were there. Where are you? Where do you live? How come some of us have memorized history very well? We can go back to that time and then go down the list of these developments in the time of Allahs Prophet, but when we want to transfer those developments to today, we get lost! No one can put those developments in todays world. And, on the other side, we have the secular types who are psychologically lost but mentally astute who come and look at todays world and will give you a very accurate description of it. Well- tell them can you place this description in the time and age that is supposed to be our standard age of guidance? and theyre lost! They cant do it. Heres where we are- thats a fact of todays life! Only (a) few are those who live, understand and behave in these two contexts and do so without fear and intimidation. Its going to take a healthy, vibrant and robust social psychology that considers Allah to be the One to deliver us from what we are in. Dont feel vulnerable, weak, depressed, gloomy and by extraction, dont think with fear motivating your thoughts and under the pressures of life into a reactive and defeatist mentality when you have the upper hand (Surah Aal Imran verse 135) Theres a proviso or condition here, and that is When you are committed to Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 135) Its going to take a social psychology and people who can see through the thickening of the plots that are constructed against us to take us forward in this Jihad and struggle. The Prophet of Allah says a committed Muslim is not stung from the same source twice. How many times have we been stung just in our short lives here? How many times have we been fooled? Today, theres a new game in town- they come to us with smiling voices, sweet words yet their military, economic and political psychology is still the same. So what? Are you deceived by their words? Some of us are deceived and fooled and they go along and think theres a new chapter here!? Can they prove themselves? As a gesture of goodwill- can they close down the military bases in
1465

the Islamic hemisphere of the world? That would be a strong indicator that theres a new psychology at work. We havent seen any of that at work! Have you seen any of that? To the contrary, they are increasing their military presence. (Take a) look at whats happening nowthey move their war from one country to a neighboring country and theyre causing more Muslims to die in the process. All of this is unfolding in front of our own eyes, but we dont have a social psychology. We have individual psychologies (where) one person can see it and 100 cannot! Theirs is not a binding of similar Islamic psychologies together to form the social psychological clot that is needed to withstand the threats and the real war that is coming down on the lives of hundreds of millions of people in this world and most of them are in us. Whats wrong? Why have we become incapable of putting into gestation a social psychology that can withstand even wars of renouncing Islam. If those Muslims of principal stay with Allah, there will be Muslims of convenience, opportunism and multiple loyalties who will want to break away from the Islamic base. For those of you who have a feel for what is happening, you should understand exactly what we are pointing to. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We will rely on all the information that you have and then say that there was a base of committed Muslims around Allahs Prophet that made it possible for an Islamic society and an Islamic worldly order to survive and then to continue to positively influence the world with all the internal break away tendencies (and) with all the external wars that go into hundreds of years of our common history. This was due to the fact that there were principled Muslims around the Prophet. If it wasnt for these principled Muslims around the Prophet, Islam would have been annihilated because of the counter and anti-Islamic forces of the time. Today, we have a repeatwe have an Islamic consolidated effort to live by and for and with the principles of Islam. They are going to be expected, (and we count ourselves among them), to withstand the breakaway tendencies and trends inside the House of Islam and all the strategies of war coming from outside the House of Islam- these are two facts of life. This is not theatre; this is not play number one or act number one and then we go to act number four or act number ten; this is living our life as explained to us by Allah and His Messenger- we dont want to do nothing more or less. Some prominent and reliable voices in the last couple of weeks have been saying that there is now a grand conspiracy to unleash the pent-up traditional misunderstandings among the Sunnis and the Shiis. We have been pointing in that direction for years now and this is their ace in the hole. This is the final card that they want to play to try and destroy the Muslims from within and there are some takers. There are some people who have enlisted in these types of programs; there are now some Muslims who feel that theres something positive about the government in Iraq, and this has to do with sectarian tendencies. There are Muslims now (and theyve always been there; this is not a new development), who consider the Saudi government to be the stalwart/champion of Sunnis in the world. Both of these misunderstandings have no Islamic basis at all. If people had their ideas straight, they would understand that these two regimes to be employed by Zionism and Imperialism- if you cant understand them like that or if you have reservations understanding them like that, then you have a sectarian bug in you. You have to be detoxified and decontaminated from this sectarian virus and disease. The problem is how many people speak like this to the Muslim public? Because theres not
1466

enough individuals who can speak their Islamic mind and marrow on the issue, we do not have the social psychology that is referred to in the ayah. Allah does not change the internal affairs of a society or people until they change their social psychology. (Surah Ra'd verse 11) Sectarianism and nationalism are an internal ailment/disease that we have in our body. When was the last time that you tuned in to an informed Muslim speaker who wanted to cleanse your body from this sectarianism and gel together an Islamic social psychology?

1467

Obama: Where Kufr And Nifaq Converge

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims Our time and the nature of the forces that are working to the detriment of the committed Muslims oblige and make it mandatory upon us to speak the truth about these dynamics that are around us. 1st of all- we retreat into Allahs guiding instructions and words. There came a time when Allahs Prophet was assessed by his antagonists and detractors as being a simpleton of sorts. There are some ayaat in Surah At Tawbah refer to this fact. These ayaat around (61 and 62) tell us the following this ayah is speaking about a type of people who have no respect for Allahs Prophet Among these types of people are those who do harm to the Prophet; they saying that the Prophet is (if we wanted to take the literal translation) an ear (Surah At Tawbah verse 60) What does this mean? It means that Allahs Prophet used to listen to everyone who used to come to him. He wouldnt turn anyone back saying he is too busy or theres a more important matter to tend to; he was accessible and would listen closely to whatever is being said to him. This is telling because this type of character was ridiculed by these types of people and when this dynamic and expression of human nature cannot observe a modicum of respect towards the Prophet was highlighted for us here because Allahs Prophet- beyond being the physical Prophet of his time, is also the model Prophet of the rest of times and these types of people who were making fun of him at that time are also going to have their extensions in coming times; in other words, the ayaat are explaining a constant in human life and behavior. And among them are those who would blemish/insult/maltreat/offend/harm the Prophet; they say this is a nave person (who) listens to everyone who comes to him (Surah At Tawbah verse 60) This is another assault on inclusive human nature (and) this is another expression of those who are nationalist and racists in their ideology and form of governance- it all begins with this type of psychology. They expected Allahs Prophet to be more selective; (this is how they rationalized it in their own mind), they expected Allahs Prophet to be more refined (and) distinctive in those he holds counsel with (and) speaks to- thats what they expected Allahs Prophet to be! So, when Allahs Prophet did not meet their expectations, (which by the way comes from what is called the higher culture of mans scriptural societies), they said huwa udhun. Its very hard to bring the equivalent out in the English language, but the connotation is he is very nave, hes a simpleton, hes not refined. Then, Allahs response to these trouble makers is Say : He is receptive for your own benefit (Surah At Tawbah verse 60)
1468

Hes not this simpleton who you are speaking about; hes a person who listens to honor and acknowledge you- whoever you are. We want you brothers and sisters to think about this sentence from here on. Allah is speaking about His beloved Prophet (and) defending him from the organized and structured body of information that goes with the power elites in society who when they express something it has the potential of being so damaging that it takes Allahs rebuttal and response to them to undo what they are trying to do! Allah, towards this end saysregarding this Prophet who they want to dismiss as being so uncultured as to listen to everyone who comes to him, see how they make fun of an inclusive nature and how they belittle the honor of the Prophet in recognizing others who come to him he is committed to Allah and committed for Al Mumineen (Surah At Tawbah verse 60) This demands our attention- we always say yuminu billah. How many times have you read and still read in the Quran yuminu billah, aamanu billah and aaminu billah? This is a constant. It is there many times/frequently, but when Allah says regarding His dear Prophet he commits himself for the benefit of those who are committed to Allah (Surah At Tawbah verse 60) So, his imaan goes beyond the generic imaan that we have. We are committed to Allah, but he in addition to being committed to Allah is committed for you! and he is a mercy for those who is committed from among you; and those who want to do harm to the Messenger of Allah will have an excruciating torment/a painful punishment (Surah At Tawbah verse 60) Brothers and sisters- when we speak the meanings pf these ayaat, we do so with the confidence that you can conjure and remember the events that pertain to Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims that we have been living in the past years. Do we have to remind you of the psychological and mental descendants of this class of people that these ayaat in Surah Al Baraah are speaking about? Do we have to remind you that they tear Allahs book and throw it down the toilet or flush it? Do we have to remind you that some of their spokespersons and even their clergy poke fun at Allahs beloved Prophet saying that he married a nine year old girl. And, the recording goes on and on and on. It is our shortfall that we cannot couple Allahs guidance/meaningful ayaat with these policies, programs, procedures that tend to assault and insult the Messenger of Allah. This is the following ayah These types of people will swear to Allah so that they can satisfy you (Surah At Tawbah verse 61 This is how they try to cover their tracks. After being culpable for what they say and want to do, they turn around and want to sweet talk you- the committed Muslims! They invoke Allahs solemn name so that they can make inroads into you psychology and access your hearts and if they truly wanted to solicit any satisfaction, they should not be addressing themselves to you, they should be addressing themselves to Allah and His Messenger and trying to please Allah and His Messenger (Surah At Taubah verse 61)
1469

What we have had in the past couple of days is a show/theatre. In light of the ayaat that we just read and according to these meanings, we have a President of the United States who goes to a Muslim country and he tries to sweet talk us into believing what he said! He speaks as though there are no armies, militaries, fighting forces, combat contingents and spies belonging to their Central Intelligence Agency and their MI6 and then the army of recruits that they have- who owe them their allegiance and dont owe their allegiance to Allah and His Prophet- just in the past few weeks, 40 plus spies in a little land like Lebanon have been discovered/exposed. What are they doing there? Who are they working for? Why dont we have the pertinent God-given information that comes to us via His Prophet to be aware of these types of people who live, dine, socialize and die with us?! How do you speak this language in Cairo, saying the United States is not at war with Islam? Obviously, Islam is an abstract! You cant send planes and tanks against an abstract; why dont they tell us, (if you were true to your words), that you are not at war with Muslims? Because you cant! Obviously you are! (Take a) look at the hundreds of thousands of troops you have, the hundreds of millions of Muslims that have been displaced and the orphans?! If he wants us to believe that there is a good intention in the structure of Imperialism and Zionism, then why dont he just tell their militaries to pack up and leave our countries and lands? Is that impossible to do? We dont have militaries here- wheres the Islamic military base in North America? Can anyone show us an Islamic military base here? But, it is this intention to harm Allah and His Prophet that he has these militaries all over our lands! We cant even begin to count the numerous and plethora of military bases, installations and outposts that they have planted in the Muslim part of the world from the Atlantic to the Pacific and then he comes and says there is a violent group of Muslims. Whos the violent group of Muslims? Why doesnt he tell us who they are? He mentioned Al Qaida and Taliban; what we know from these previous years is that these types were the ones who were sponsored and recognized by their proxies in Arabia and in the Sub-Continent. They created an enemy and they want Muslims to feel guilty for the enemy that they created! NO! Were not going to fall for this. Who are the violent Muslims? (Is it) the Palestinians or the Iraqis? They tell us we cannot speak about the holocaust- we dont know why?! That conflicts with Freedom of Expression- freedoms that are enshrined in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We cant speak about a historical issue that is now over 60 years old! Isnt there a holocaust in Iraq? Isnt there a slow motion holocaust in the Holy Land in Palestine? Why did he not refer to the violence of the Israeli Zionists? Was his tongue tied? Or was his historical information lacking? Or is he not programmed to speak the truth? We see these Yahudi supervisors around him; (but) why dont we see any Muslims supervisors around him? He went to an Islamic part of the world- where were the Islamic supervisors around him? (His Zionist supervisors) didnt even give him the accurate pronunciation of words! He couldnt pronounce zakaah, he said zakah! He couldnt pronounce hijaab, he said hajeeb! He stands exposed! you will recognize them from the words that they utter (Surah Muhammed verse 30) Who do you want? Do you want us to believe your sweet words? The ayah says They invoke Allahs solemn name so that they can make inroads into you psychology and access your hearts so that they can satisfy you (Surah At Taubah verse 61)
1470

He can use as many platitudes and flowery descriptives as he wants, but we are not going to be fooled by that- actions speak much louder than words! Their bombs that are exploding in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Occupied Palestine and in other parts of the Muslims world have drowned all of the rhetoric expressed in Cairo. And he goes on to Europe to bow down for those who were killed in the Second World War, and he doesnt have the human nerve to go just next door Egypt- to Gazzah- to see the fresh blood and flesh human beings who were killed by the weapons that you supply to these enemies of ours. He says he wants a new beginning. Where is it? (When) we look around, we dont see anything new about him? The policies that have been sanctioned and legalized by his predecessor are still enforced today. Theyre still spying on the Muslims; trying to recruit informers from among the Muslims; trying to provoke Muslims into acts that dont belong to an Islamic character- his up to no good. We still havent seen or sensed a cessation of his intention of hostility, provocation and aggression against us. We read Allahs words and we are not silly enough to think that Allahs words are no longer applicable. These ayaat speak about you and your handlers and managers just like they speak about those individuals who were in the life and proximity of Rasulillah. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims This week marks 20 years since the passing away of our dear Imam (may Allah rest his soul in eternal peace). When we speak in the Quran about Alladhina Aamanu, we remember him; when we read about the awliya, we remember him; when we recite in the Quran those who have the power to authorize institutional justice among people (Surah Ahl Imran verse 21) we remember him; when we read the ayah Of the committed Muslims there are men who are true to their pledge with Allah; some of them have passed on and some of them are still waiting and in the interim they have not vacillated or changed their position (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 21) We look around and we find that there are some Muslims who will change their position on a turn of a coin! This Imam spoke about this regime here in Washington and said it is Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar- it is the grand/hyper/megalomaniac Shaytaan. And we have 20 years that prove the nature of this Shaytaan. Absolutely nothing has come out of this Shaytaan that is positive for the Muslims anywhere- let them not fool you when they say they sent their troops to Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan. Wherever they sent their troops they shed innocent blood and killed innocent lives on a large scale. This is no friend of the Muslims! How long is it going to take for we, the Muslims to understand what Allah is telling us? You would think that by now, 20/30 years have passed by and we are beginning to wake up to the truth and fact, but some of us continue to absent our minds from Allah and His Prophet. Its an ache to hear that the Azhar University in Egypt had something positive to say about the President and regime that is actively and accurately described as Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar! You would expect the Ulema/scholars to know better (or) to know a crook and a criminal when they see one- and this is no petty crook/criminal; this is a crook/criminal on a global scale. What were they deceived by? His color?! They cant see through color? Now (do) you understand why they need a black
1471

President for the United States? A white person would never ever be able to pull the act that we saw at Cairo University which was sponsored by the Azhar in addition to Cairo University. By listening and understanding to what is said by these self-styled scholars and by listening and understanding what Allah tells us, we know that we have a distance to go. That distance we will go; the future is going to be brighter. We dont know what the other acts will unfold in the coming three/four years, but what we do know is that because of the sincerity, sacrifices and jihad of the committed Muslims- not the ones that they sponsor, but the ones that are outside of their control and who they have no influence over is the very reason why this person was elected and went to Cairo and brought us and him to where we are today. Were not going to be fooled by this political act of Hollywood proportions- never ever.

1472

UNITY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Allah says to us O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah: Obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who are delegated authority from among you (Surah An Nisa verse 59) This ayah has suffered the centuries of assault and power obfuscation of its meanings. All Muslims agree (that) we obey Allah and His Messenger- theres no two Muslims who would argue this fact. Obedience is due to Allah and obedience is due to His Messenger and there is no contradiction between Allah and His Messenger. Another ayah in the accurate Quran says Whoever obeys the Messenger (meaning Muhammed) has obeyed Allah (Surah An Nisa verse 80) The meaning of this idea has never opened up a Pandoras Box of Shirk. No one has come before and said O- you obey the Messenger of Allah therefore you are a Mushrik because youre supposed to obey Allah. This never happened. Both of these sources of guidance and information are mutually supportive of each other. The problem begins when we follow the next portion of the ayah that says and those who are delegated authority from among you (Surah An Nisa verse 59) Here is where we have centuries of misunderstandings, imposing aliens meanings to this (quite) explicit ayah. Brothers and sisters- please pay attention to the wording of this ayah. O you who are committed to Allah: Obey Allah and obey His Messenger (Surah An Nisa verse 59) Allah did not go on to say and obey those who are delegated authority from among you. The ayah does not say Ya Ayyuha alladhina aamanu- atiu Allah wa atiu Ar Rasul wa atiu ulil amri minkum (Surah An Nisa verse 59) That 3rd atiu is not there. Theres two taaat- ita Allah and ita Rasulihi- obedience of Allah and obedience of His Messenger. The absence of using the word atiu a 3rd time is to infer that endorsing human beings in positions of power is contingent on them obeying Allah and His Messenger; in other words, they are expected to be an extension of Allah and His Messenger and not independent of Allah and His Messenger. We know (that) most of the
1473

listeners cannot grasp what the word minkum means simply because most of the listeners dont have a native and fluent understanding of the language of the Quran. What we can say to you in the English language is that Allah did not use the word alaykum. Had he used the word alaykum, it would have meant that our obedience to those who are in power is due to them simply because they gained power by means of force, coup de tar, born in a Royal family- however way they made themselves Heads of State, their obedience in mandatory; thats not what the ayah is saying, but that is the way many Muslims throughout 1,400 years deviated from the text and word of Allah in the Quran. Let us be frank with you- we have, today, those who describe themselves as Sunnis who dont question the Governments, Authorities, Establishments, Regimes and Rulers who are imposed upon them and theres no excuse/explanation/rationalization for this social and political behavior ah in the Book of Allah nor in the Sunnah of His Prophet. We, who stand mind-to-mind and heart-to-heart with Allah and His Messenger refuse the legitimacy of powers that are imposed upon us- that should be the correct behavior of any Muslim in his Quranic mind and Prophetic behavior. Now, we move to those who describe themselves as Shiis and we read this same ayah. O you who are secure in your commitment to Allah: Obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those who have been delegated authority from among you who are committed Muslims (Surah An Nisa verse 59) Brothers and sisters who describe yourselves as Shiis- listen- the ayah did not say fi kum. Had the word fi kum been used, then that would have foretold what has become, (without any basis), an automatic series of Islamic rulers. This is not what the ayah is saying. The ayah is telling us that theres no legitimacy for those who gain power by the use of force or for those who are considered to be Islamic leaders because they are born to a certain lineage on Imams- thats not what the ayah is saying. Theres no alaykum- for those of you who say you are Sunnis; and theres no fi kum for those of you who say you are Shiis. Minkum means that those who are in charge of making decisions for an Islamic society and governing body are to be contracted and endorsed by Alladhina Aamanu i.e. those who are committed to Allah. We havent had that endorsement since the early time of Islam. Without going into all of the history details that at one time we tried to cover- during the periods of the four successors to the Prophet, we can say that the endorsement of Islamic leaders began to falter during the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu). There was no longer in the Prophetic model relegating and delegating power by/for/to Alladhina aamanu. We had Muslims who tried to speak their mind on this issue. As a reminder, Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) who spoke his mind on the political waywardness of Uthman (and) criticized what was beginning to become a social deviation in that a new class of people began to appear; i.e. the people who were accumulating wealth. This was not there before this time or it wasnt at the degree that it had become. He began criticizing why are we having people who are now making decisions for the rest of the Muslims who are showing favoritism and nepotism to their own family and relatives. This was something that was not there before, i.e. during the time of Allahs Prophet and the Successors after him. What happened here? When a person early in Islamic history began to express his Islamic mind and conscience on this issue? He was forced into exile; 1st from Al Medinah to Damascus, and then back into exile from Damascus into Al Medinah and then back into exile to an isolated area called Ar Rabdah i.e. a distance of three days stretches from Al Medinah. We ask ourselves- was
1474

this warranted and legal for an Islamic authority to do something like this? We take the example of Abu Dharr to avoid the complications and stereotypes that have set in, in the past 1,300 years (plus). That shouldnt be the case. Muslims should be guaranteed to express their mind and heart on these issues. Weve had, (in a more obvious and pronounced manner), a more thorough usurpation of power by the Umawi dynasty and with all of these years- how long has it been? Over 1,300 years! Cant we recollect our common sense, (take a) look at what happened and say something went wrong in the highest office in the Islamic government- this thing should not have been happening. There is no baiah- baiah is the official delegation of power or the official social and political contract that the society of Committed Muslims gives the right for an individual to stand for its interests and to politically behave as is required by an obedience to Allah and His Messenger. But we havent had any of this going on for almost 1,400 years. Its been a matter of one Crown Prince inheriting a father King- this is not Islam. Listen at this time of taqwa- brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- we havent had a free expression of the social conscience of the Muslims for 14 centuries now; weve had some fuqaha/scholars whove expressed themselves on this issue; one of them said you cant expect a baiah from a person who is coerced. This is the way government was passed down from generation to generation. The public was coerced to agree to a certain person being the leader of the Muslimswhom they called a khalifah. This wording also has to be corrected- when is the time going to come when we have enough Islamic political maturity to take away this description who have ruled ever since that time? As obvious as this is, we ask, (and we want this question to go beyond the listeners), why hasnt the public conscience among the Muslims settled today around the fact that we need to do some political correction in our Islamic view of those who are ruling. Theyre not above the book, impeccable or the royalty that cannot be questioned- we dont know any of these concepts as Muslims. They are people who are supposed to be socially contracted by Alladhina Aamanu. If we Muslims were as vibrant as we were supposed to be, we would have the social institution of Al Amr bi Al Maroof and An Nahi An Al Munkar. Today, in Arabia, we have committees that call themselves Al Amr bi Al Maroof and An Nahi An Al Munkar and what do they to? They try to figure out if a person is illegally with another person i.e. if a womans status/right is being violated by some man or they go around making sure that when the call for As Salaah is public, people rush to the Masjid to make their Salaah! This is how what is supposed to be an institution of what is supposed to be Al Amr bi Al Maroof and An Nahi An Al Munkar has collapsed into this triviality. If we had Al Amr bi Al Maroof and An Nahi An Al Munkar functioning at the proper level that it is supposed to be, wed have the attention of the Muslims upon the rulers because Al Amr and An Nahi are functions of government. Its not spying on people or this intrusion into the lives of individuals who are walking in the street or public and asking them show me youre identity cards (in order) to establish whether a female in the company of other men belongs to the same families. Is this what Al Amr bi Al Maroof and An Nahi An Al Munkar has become?! The Prophet of Allah describes this (when) he takes Al Amr bi Al Maroof and An Nahi An Al Munkar to its proper context. He says (and) this is the healthy understanding of Al Amr bi Al Maroof and An Nahi An Al Munkar. What does Allahs Prophet say? Allahs Prophet is taking us step-by-step. You shall indeed authorize or command from a power position Al Maruf i.e. what is self-evidently right; (this goes beyond legalities and speaks to common sense and human nature that by-passes religions, national entities and the other separations of peoples in the world today), and you shall delegitimize/disestablish/criminalize Al Munkar i.e. what is in and of itself by the standards of
1475

human nature repugnant and offensive; and you- the Committed Muslims/Muslim public/Islamic society- will place a hand of control over an oppressor Allahs Prophet is telling us that we, the Committed Muslims who are not in government i.e. just the citizenry, have the command and control position over those who are in the offices of power and authority but who have gone in the wrong direction. Their Regimes/Governments/Administrations are known for injustice/offenses/oppression/crimes. If Allahs Prophet is saying we have this type of control over rulers with the criminal nature that they have, you (should) ask yourself why dont we have that control? What has happened to us? Why have we become powerless? (Why can) we no longer correct a ruler who has gone off in Imperialist and Zionist directions? Thats what we have in todays world- theres no correction coming from us and Allahs Prophet expects that to come from us. and you will limit him to the proportion of al haqq/truth/legality/justice (Take a) look around you- where are the Muslims who are doing/fulfilling this social character? and you, the Committed Muslims, (who today seem to be nothing), will frame him. Allahs Prophet is telling you you are going to put this person in the frame of the haqq i.e. hes not permitted to step out of it. Todays rulers are running everywhere they can outside this frame of the haqq and Allahs Prophet is saying you are going to put this person in the frame of the haqq. Were not doing that- the facts speak for themselves, (take a) look at the real world and our society around. The Prophet of Allah says and if you dont do that, whats going to happen? Allah is going to have our psychologies, hearts, internal thoughts, expectations, and hopes clash and jam into each other or else These rulers are running rough-shod over Muslim populations all over the place; they get away with murder, mayhem and massacres, and were not behaving obediently to Allah and His Prophet as Allah and His Prophet dictate, so (take a) look at how are hearts are on a collision course with each other. (Take a) look at how these Nation states and policies clash and there are wars (with) Muslims fighting Muslims and the rationale is nationalism, sectarianism, classism or whatever it is. The Prophet of Allah summed it all up, Allah is going to have our psychologies, hearts, internal thoughts, expectations, and hopes clash and jam into each other or else He will condemn or curse you as He did to those preceding you. That is in reference to the ayah Condemned are the deniers of Allahs authority and power from the Children of Israeel due to the fact that they demonstrate their disobedience and aggression. They are in the habit of being disabled when it comes to a social or collective repudiation of the munkar, condemned are the acts that they are responsible for. You will see many of them ally themselves with kufr power-centers in the world (Surah Al Maaidah verse 78-80) They consider the kaafirs with their powers to be their superiors! This is the diagnosis of our condition today and this happens when we no longer have a consideration of Allahs power in our internal thoughts and at the core of our social responsibilities. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims If these, (what we consider to be), facts that we are going to express were pertinent to another people and population, we would not hesitate to express them. It is only Allahs calculation that they happen to be in the people and area that they are (in). And Allah knows best of where He locates His message. There were elections in the Islamic country in Iran. These elections, (if we can understand ourselves in our historical age), are an extension of the freedoms that have been
1476

absent in our lifelong history except for those beginning years on Islam in Al Medinah. If you can follow what were saying, youll understand exactly what we mean We thank Allah for these elections have brought to our attention, (if we are using our intelligence), some salient facts, some of which are the following. If we can recall, (and a Muslim who is true to Allah and His Prophet does not live in history while he is disconnected from today nor in his today disconnected from his past; only a healthy Muslim is capable of bringing yesterday into today i.e. experience into reality). Brothers and sisters- it doesnt take much- you can see that there is a popular proportion of people, (this is our generation, its not something 1,000 or 10,000 years old- its in our lifetime), who are saying we want to improve our economic conditions. If we were aware of our mistakes in the past, we would not be falling into them again! (Cant you see the atmosphere and what youre listening to these people- some them having beards and wearing the hijab- say; they say we want to improve our economic conditions. This is exactly what was said when it all began during the time of Uthman. There was a current in society that was saying we want to improve our economic conditions. Some people today are saying- these are people who pray regularly and do not violate any of the personal wajibaat of Islam- we are Iranians 1st. We heard this statement before, almost 1,400 years ago when there were people who said we are Arabians 1st. There are people who want to make money, accumulate wealth and have a vibrant market and bazaar- we saw this in the early generation of Muslims, its nothing new. We also see those who can speak the truth about this matter. Talha and Zubair (radi Allahu anhuma) are well known personalities in Islamic history. After the Prophet passed on, they were concerned with improving their economics and raising their standard of living and expanding their wealth. Today, we have the counterparts of Talha and Zubair and the person comes out and mentions names. For those of you who have been following these electioneering campaigns in the past couple of weeks should know the names that have fallen behind because they are more interested in the accumulation of wealth. Is it halaal to (take a) look at history and say these people went off in the wrong direction and the same personalities today are going off in the wrong direction and no one has the courage to come out and speak the truth? We thank Allah that there are people and individuals who are still capable and willing to speak the truth. In the time of Allahs Prophet, and with the Prophets insight into the future, he said about one of these individuals, (the reason we mention his name is because he doesnt fall into the polarization of stereotypical history) there hasnt been a shade to a shadow or a load on land that is more truthful in its expression of the truth than Aba Dharr. It was only some years after he began to express the truth on the matter that what followed was his alienation from mainstream society. Abu Dharr in his sincerity was considered a Badri i.e. a person who participated in the Battle of Badr after the Prophet passed away; but he didnt, because he had not yet moved from Makkah to Al Medinah when the Battle of Badr took place. He was to endure official discrimination; he had to put up with the policies that come from combining power and wealth until he died in exile. When he died, the only one present at his death was his daughter. We ask- is our history a preview of our future? Are we condemned to have the voices of sincerity thundered out by the cacophony of the combination of wealth and power? Are we privy today to a tomorrow that is going to repeat the mistakes of our historical past? Is a person who supports the less fortunate in society going to be rail-roaded by the interlocking interests of capital and power? If those in the Islamic country of Iran vote for the mistakes of the past, then they will be condemned to live the mistakes of the past, and its not going to be enough to say Im a Shii; I respect Al Imam Al Husain. What did Al Imam Al Husain (radi Allahu anhu) say? Im an Arabian 1st?! Im
1477

concerned with the economic conditions of my people 1st and foremost?! Allah is not going to judge you by your rhetoric, customs or traditions; hes going to judge you by the deliberate and thought out decisions that you vote for, endorse and agree with. Its not according to your wishful thinking or the wishful thinking of those who have received scripture aforetime; whoever commits himself to an erroneous course shall bare the consequences and when there comes a time and he looks for support from Allah, he will not find support or refuge from Allah. (Surah An Nisa verse 123) Let us pray that we dont repeat the serious mistakes that we have been living with when we are given the opportunity to by-pass them.

1478

INTERFERENCE IN ISLAMIC AFFAIRS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims With the after effects of this past week and with the ongoing potentials of this past week, we recall what Allah says to us and you will of a certainty listen to those who were vouchsafed scripture before you and from those who equate powers and authorities with Allah i.e. Al Mushrikeen to the extent that it is going to do much harm to you (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) This is going to bring to yourselves much/multiple harm. We remember this ayah in the space of developments that have been going on in the past weeks. We confess- we dont know much about the subtleties and details of the differences and potential disagreements that may exist between/among those who were running for the highest office in the Islamic state in Iran. Our humble speaker doesnt know Persian (and) therefore disqualifies himself from entering into what may be the philosophical, ideological, political, pragmatic and practical differences that set one candidate aside from the pother; with that being said, it doesnt mean that we dont have our minds and that we cannot understand, (at least), in a general sense what is happening. We can read what is happening through what we see/watch/hear/listen to from the kufr centers of power who dont give up and cannot show a neutrality in an election that takes place 6,000 (or more) miles away. Weve been listening to them and theyve been causing us considerable psychological damage, mental anguish, social confusion and political ambiguity; this has been going on for a long time (but) it just peeked in the last week. We are here on a day of taqwa- this is Friday; we are here in an hour of taqwa- this is a khutbah; we are here in a time of taqwa and so, were not concerned with the projected military power of those who show that they are more concerned with the elections in Iran than they are with the elections in the United states. We ask every free thinking individual to ask themselves as much as they want to give us the impression that they are educated, knowledgeable, informed and experts why is it that this gang of peopleAl Yahud, An Nasara and Alladhina Ashraku i.e. those who are the secular, materialist or atheist types- who dont accord Allah His full power and authority show a concern for an election that has nothing to do with them? Theres not an election taking place in the United States! For anyone who is aware of the media, propaganda, mis-information and distorted data that they present to us, it is obvious that they are interfering in the internal affairs of Muslims. Brothers and sisters- this is a time of Jumah and we dont want to sound like the loud mouths that are in and all over the media. We take an Islamic look at out own selves, and by doing so, we cannot avoid the following

1479

If we have a history of 1,400 years (plus) of trying to maintain and regenerate an Islamic political/ideological/social and every lively aspect of self-determination in our mind and conscience, we cannot but honor the freedom that was given to Muslims to go and express their political preferences at the poll. Brothers and sisters- this is something that we have not had for hundreds of years, and now, this is something that a very small portion of the Muslim world has. Muslims have it in that country with total freedom which is reminiscent of the freedom in the 1st years of Islam. Muslim had freedom to express their agreement/disagreement with the person who was going to head and become the leader of an Islamic government. When Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) became the successor to Allahs Prophet and the leader of the Muslims, there was dissent. Saad ibn Ubdah (radi Allahu anhu), a major figure who supported Allahs Prophet disagreed. He said I disagree. Im not going to give Aba Bakr my baiah. What happened? Did they throw him in prison? Did they tell him you dont have the right to express your conscience on this matter? He had the right to express his conscience and he did. No one forced him to do something one way or the other. This climate of freedom only a couple of score years after that was gone. From Muawiyah on, Muslim history had Kings, Monarchs, dictators and despots who took away this freedom. We even saw the vestiges of this freedom in the time of Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu). There were some who were even more Alawi than Ali and they turned violent. He said to them were not going to tell you you cannot come to the Masjid of Allah as long as you do that; were not going to withhold from you the benefits or finances or revenue of the Islamic State as long as your hands are with our hands... To break this down for you and explain it a little more, that means as long as all of us are facing a common enemy- and the common enemy of that time was the superpowers of that time- or as long as we agree on facing our common enemy outside, then our revenue is common and it is to be shared by the loyalists and the dissenters. and we will not use force or fight against you unless you initiate such a confrontation. These words come from a time when Muslims enjoyed the fairness, freedom and justice that is due to every Muslim in an Islamic society and political orientation. Now, we have this break over 1,000 years and we havent witnessed such a free political expression of Islamic social consciousness until now. Now, we have an Islamic direction in Iran and we have the freedoms that come from that generation and time and its given to the people. How do they behave? Some of them go to the polls and they vote, which is something which we in the United States still dont have. When this media speaks to us about voting, (especially those of us in Washington Dc, in lying! They are so concerned with votes 6,000 miles away, but they will not let us vote in the Islamic Center in their back yard! We cannot avoid the fact that these mouth pieces are liars in their marrows and core. So, the Muslim people in Iran went to the polls (three) weeks ago in a free manner- no one is forcing anyone to vote in any way; you can vote which ever way you want. Even Muslims in the United States, Muslims who have the citizenship of that country went to vote, and it turns out that (after thrashing all the media reports that went out about what happened three weeks ago), what happened is very simple. Skip all the Imperialist, corporate and self serving information that they plugged in- the poor people voted for Ahmedi-Nejad and, (were simplifying this, theres a little bit more nuance), the upper class people voted for Mr Mousavi- fair and square. Were not going to go into the differences between Mr Ahmedi-Nejad and Mr Mousavi- as we said, we disqualify. We want you to know that our humble speaker doesnt speak/understand the (Persian) language and cannot go into those details, but what we can tell you as an honest/close Muslim observer is that most of the people who voted for Mr Mousavi were disappointed and frustrated because
1480

their nominee did not win the election and so they also took advantage of the freedoms there and put together demonstrations in the streets to try and convince public opinion that as they are saying, the elections are rigged meaning there was no honest count of the ballot all across the country. There are legal means to pursue that claim. If thats what they are convinced of, there are courts of law and institutions there, to which they can take their complaint/gripes in the proper channels and try to see for themselves where the truth is. Remember- brothers and sisters- in all of this, no one is telling us whats the number of the under classes/poor people in /Iran. If everyone agrees that Ahmedi-Nejads popularity is among the poor, religious and country side people, could they please tell us what proportion of the voting population came from these areas? Wouldnt you think that a fair estimation of that population is twothirds of the voters?! And, thats what he got! He got about two-thirds of the ballot, so why are they upset? And, they have the right to be upset! If they had high expectations, and then their candidate did not win, of course theyre going to be upset! But, cant they see the people who are upset with (along with) them? We ask why are the Zionists and Imperialists governments in the world upset (along) with them? Can they answer us? Is there something between those who lost in this vote and the Zionists and Imperialists who are also beginning to look like they lost in this vote?! There was an election just four weeks ago in Lebanon, and the pro-Islamic or pro-Hizbullah vote managed to secure 57 seats in parliament. Their opposition i.e. the pro-American or pro-Zionist members in that parliament secured 71 seats in parliament. Lebanon is a confessional society and there are many religions, denominations and sects in that country. What many people do not know is that if you wanted to count those who voted for Hizbullah and its allies as a percentage of all those who voted, it was 53%. 53% of the voters in Lebanon could only get 57 seats in parliament! Why? Because its a confessional system; its not proportional voting. If there was proportional voting in Lebanon, Hizbullah would have had more than half the seats in parliament. If the parliament there is 125 seats, Hizbullah, with 53% of the voters got only 57 seats- no one is complaining. In other words, the Islamic trend/direction in Lebanon, (by any measurement), lost, but there was no sorrow losers in Lebanon who took to the streets to demonstrate how this election system is not fair, but when it came to the Islamic Republic in Iran and those potential supporters of the Zionists/Imperialists program lost, then people became nervous in the United States and Israel. They became so nervous that we began hearing from them, (these are their words), that there are people from HAMAS and Hizbullah that are ganging up with the Pasdaar or Revolutionary Guards and the Basij or mobilized popular forces to beat back the population i.e. these demonstrators. These are sorrow losers. This is not happening, but this is how much they are hurt, because when Muslims have the freedom to express themselves, they express themselves in a direction that disturbs US/Israeli policy. This reminds us of several years ago, when the Rand Corporation came out with the study of how to deal with Islamic radicalism or political Islam. They took a statistical/data look at radical Islam or at the condition of the Muslims and they categorized the Muslims into four categories. We cant remember their exact words, but it goes along the following lines There are those who are the extreme radicals, then there are those who are traditional and then, there are those who are moderate and then there are those who are more or less secular.. So, they suggested in this study that the policies of the United States should be concentrated on eradicating the top tier i.e. those who are classified as radical extremists and
1481

if that means that US policy should support those next in rank, meaning those who are less radical and less extreme, then thats what they have to do. This applies to the election in Iran. They consider Ahmedi-Nejad to be more radical and they consider Mr Mousavi to be the less radical and obviously, who are they going to support? The less radical to get rid of enemy number one. They do all of this with the fanfare and sophisticated media structure that they have around the world, to have even some Muslims convinced that there is some rigging of the election in the Islamic State. This is a lie! They dont want to see another four years of a ruler who can speak to the people; he comes from the people and hes not acting like a bureaucrat/aristocrat; hes acting just like everyone else, (so for them) this is a bad example- they dont want to see four more years of this. Whenever someone speaks about Islamic affairs and does not speak of the Zionist hand that tries to interfere in our own internal affairs is not looking at the scope of the issue. In Islamic language, there are Yahudi hands in the election that took place last week. There are some people who are living in the Islamic State who have their contacts in Europe and the United States who had weapons and they want to take advantage of this atmosphere to instigate a serious division among the Muslims who are enjoying the freedoms that all Muslims everywhere should be enjoying. Now, they want to terminate a good example! The Islamic orientation in Iran has become a good example, and there are rulers in Arabian countries, Zionists Israel and Imperialists capitals around the world who are bothered that a popular person rules in Iran with Islamic guidance and goes to the people and sits down with the average person- they dont like to see that. It is reported that one of the Heads of State in one of the Arabian states complained to the Iranian official. He told the Iranian official we dont like Ahmedi-Nejad. The Iranian official asked him Why? Hes not in your country, hes in our country. (The Arabian Head of State) says Yes, but he has popularity among our people. He reminds us of Jamaal Abdul Nasser who had so much popularity that we were afraid of his populism and popularity. You have to do something about him Why? Are Muslims not entitled to a popular leader? Can we only be stuck with those leaders who owe their allegiance and political programs to the Zionists and Imperialists? Are we condemned to a history that repeats itself? and you will certainty listen and be swayed by those who were given scripture before you and those who do not honor the full authority and power of Allah to your own detriment (Surah Aal Imran verse 186) How much more self-inflicted damage are we going to do to ourselves before identifying sincere and selfless Muslims who are in the service of other Muslims when they are in the service of Allah? Brothers and sisters, on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem (In) our 1st re-iterated observation about people, especially here in the United States, (who) are in the media who are so concerned about an election that took place in the Islamic Republic in Iran thousands of miles away, we say to these people in the United States who are expressing their sympathy with the demonstrators and protestors there, you are hypocrites and liars. Weve spent 26 years attesting to their hypocrisy and lies. If theyre so concerned with elections, then why cant Muslims have elections here- in Washington DC? That is number 1. Number two- we and you have had election fraud, what could you do about it? You had people voting through a
1482

computer system die baled and there were accusations of voter fraud and your courts were unable and unwilling to look into these claims of election fraud because the way you set up your voting systems in some states, was that once the votes are tabulated and tallied, they cant be counted again. Cant you see how superficial and exposed you are when you say that you are supporting people thousands of miles away to recount the vote there when you were unable to recount your own votes in the areas where there were accusations of electoral fraud. This government belongs here, not in other peoples countries and internal affairs- we watched the same media and mouthpieces when there were elections in the Ukraine, Georgia and Venezuela and in other areas of the world. When your Congress wants to vote- we say your Congress because (what happens is), these words go out to the evil Zionist mind who say (take a) look at Muslims here, they dont even consider themselves Americans. Thats not the issue- its their system that doesnt consider Muslims to be Americans- we want to face them with the facts! They are discriminatory in the laws that they have when it comes to Muslims, therefore in response to their legality to us, it is their Congress! Their Congress was voting in support of the protestors in Iran today; what business do they have? China, Russia and other countries in the world were not very interested in the elections in Iran- its an internal Iranian issue (and) theyll take care of it by themselves; how come the United States is so concerned with the elections there? We know why? Weve been following and tracing them along with their military occupations, bases, invasions and exploitations for all of these years, so we know why theyre so concerned. Because thats the only place in the world where if Islamic self-determination breaks out, they will pack and come back to where they belong! Only people who have suffered from their policies understand who they are; and theres a growing proportion of people in the world who are beginning to understand who they are and theyre on the wrong side of the issues and history. Another attribute of what has happened in the past weeks is that it has brought history to us. Some people in Iran have said weve had enough. We want to normalize our relations and we want to improve our standard of living. Brothers and sisters- this is what was said early in Islamic history. People did not want to go out into the world to pursue institutionalized justice; (they said) weve had enough and now we want to settle in and raise our standard of living. This is nothing new. What do those people who consider themselves Shiis say about this? Listen- brothers and sisters- we bring this up because it is very important and as we said previously and well repeat it today If this was occurring in a part of the world that is considered to be Sunni, we would have been asking this question from their historical perspective; but being that we are speaking about an Islamic and historical breakthrough in an area that considers itself to be Shii we ask them what Shii justification do they have for policies that say that Iran comes 1st? That all of this talk about Palestine, the Palestinians, Hizbullah, HAMAS- leave it to other people; dont get us involved. This is a notion and idea that is around. What justification do they have for that if they look back at their own history? Who said that? Does this come from Al Imam Ali or Al Imam Hussein or Abu Dharr or Bilal (radi Allahu anhum)? Therefore, have you realized that there is a Shii argument that is absent? These people who want to extend- remember they tried; the Dialogue of Civilisation was an attempt to extend their hand to this vicious Imperialist/Zionist West- can they report what was the outcome of that? And, why is there a Shii dimension that is absent in explaining these policies? We want to listen to answers from those who are big on being traditional Shiis- oh yes, theyll cry on Aashura and theyll pound their chests night and day, but when it come to these real issues, wheres their Shii
1483

character/mind/orientation? Theyre silent; what happened?! And, for those of you who are not aware of this dimension- there are many Muslims in the world who want to contribute to the right side of this issue but they are locked out; there are many Muslims who are struggling/fighting/jihadi/informed/sincere Muslims (who) realize that if they fall into that category, theres not much input they can have into elections like this- why? Does everyone feel comfortable with this, or is there some type of (even at this level), discrimination against other Muslims who cant participate in the affairs of what is supposed to be and Islamic state, not a nationalist or sectarian state. Why are good proportions of Islamic self-determination in the world locked out of an input into this? We know our history; we have a problem and much of that problem is that the people of Iran, (and they have all the right to this), maintained their national and linguistic character- thats fine. And, a manifestation of Allahs power presence is the creation of the Heavens and the Earth and in the variation of your languages and colors. In this variation, you have the presence of Allahs power- but for people who are knowledgeable and aware of these facts (Surah ArRum verse 22) But what happens to that bridge of the Quran and the Prophet that should bring in other Muslims? Why is it not there? Is it our fault? Is it being institutionalized? We dont know, but we are confident that those who are making the ultimate decisions are making it for the betterment of the people who live in that geographical area and for the betterment of the Muslims who are living outside that geographical area- that you can rest assured of.

1484

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS?

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha An Naas Allah says Moral excellence or virtue, (or what some people may call piety) is not in facing towards the East or West (Surah Al Baqarah verse) Muslims and other religious people are satisfied by having a habit of coming to Mosques or places of worship; as if by doing that they have fulfilled their religious duty or ritual obligation; and Allah is saying that is not the case. There is no moral excellence or higher moral quality in an automatic turning on and off when it comes to rendering your obligations towards Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse) But this has become the frame of mind and custom of peoples all around. They think that by coming to the Masjid or by turning their faces towards Makkah and then going through the robotic/automatic motions- ruku, sujud, wuquf, julus- they are gaining and Allah is telling them there is no virtue, morality or higher character that you can gain from this. Do we listen to what Allah is saying? How many hundreds of millions and billions of people have this description? They are religious machines when it comes to Salaah, Zakah, Ramadhan, Hajj, celebrations and ceremonies from time-to-time and from season-to-season. We have religious machines and Allah is speaking to these religious machines and saying you have no moral quality to gain from your mechanized motions whatsoever. That is not invalidating As Salah, Hajj, Az Zakah, Ramadhan, Makkah, Jerusalem or Al Medinah- no! These places, occasions, rites, rituals and religious duties are obviously (and) unquestionably valid, but it is the human being who is performing them who is disingenuous (or) worthless as we have become! So what is it? Moral excellence, quality, virtue and righteousness are gained by a pledge or commitment to Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse) That makes us alive when we approach Allah (and) not dead when we approach Allah. When people go into the Masjid or Salaah go into a trance which is meaningless (and) which lacks in emotions and thoughts. This is the time when our emotions and thoughts should be excited. When we are in this Salaah, Masjid, Hajj, Umrah and Ramadhan, we should become alive not (be) the Zombies that we are. Take a look for your own selves at the congregation of the
1485

Muslims that have become a large number (but) an irrelevant statistic that have become detached from each other when they are next to each other! Where is this commitment to Allah that has you realize what you are saying when you say it? Dont we all in the presence of Allah at this time every week say You alone do we conform to and from You alone do we seek assistance. (Surah Al Fatiha verse 4) But when we verbalize these words, our minds are absent and our feelings are in a deep freeze; because the facts of life say to us neither do we conform to Allah nor do we seek assistance from Him. In other words we are verbalizing misstatements. Who comes alive with the meanings of the final day i.e. when there is final justice in a time when we are living in a world full of injustice? We just verbalize some words just like parrots. You can tell a parrot to verbalize words and it verbalizes them; but parrots and animals have not been given the faculties of understanding and depth of meaning that we have been given, so we should begin to think and feel what we say. you are committed to Allah, the last day, the angels, the scripture and the prophets (Surah Al Baqarah verse) (In) the world that we believe in, (and) even though there are people who say these words for public consumption (and) dont mean what they say because Allah doesnt leave us here, He says if you are true to your commitment you build your Salah (Surah Al Baqarah verse) You dont just go through the motions of ruku and sujud, this is not building As Salah. Your Salah has to become tangible, palpable, detectable, seeable (and) sensible. No one feels the Salah of the Muslims, so they have not built any Salah. The word aqama is used for physical and material things. The ayah in Surah Al Kahf says Musa (alaihi as salaam) and the sage found a wall within that town on the verge of collapsing and so he the sage rebuilt or reconstructed it (Surah Al Kahf verse) How are Muslims constructing or building their Salah? They are not! Theyre just performing physical motions. In another ayah in the Quran, Allah didnt say fa waylu li alladhina yuqimuna as salaah. This is an oxy moron; it cant be. You cant be constructing, building or actualizing your salah and at the same time be absent minded of it; but you can be going through the motions of as salah through these automatic/habitual/customary/traditional/conventional rukus and sujuds- a fact that is happening that no one can deny. (Take a) look- you had a few hundred people over here and in many other places at this time every week who are zombies and robots during their salah. Woe to those who have mechanized or render their salah as if they were machines (Surah Al Maaun verse 4) (Inside) this (Islamic Center) is a mechanical Jumah and these are mechanical Muslims; this is not limited here we probably dont know 99% of the people who go inside or to the Hajj but it
1486

doesnt matter- the fact remains Jumah prayers as is the case with all congregational prayers, (this is not limited to Muslims; this is limited to the human being- Muslim, Christian, Jew Buddhist, Hindu, whatever), Allahs deen becomes a shell; its fossilized and doesnt evoke the deeper sense of responsibility in us. Is it any wonder that whilst colonizing Egypt, when a British official heard some Muslim in Cairo or Alexandria, Egypt calling other Muslims to Salah, (i.e. the adhaan that we all hear and are familiar with), asked someone who understands the language and culture from one of his advisors whats going on? Whats this loud voice I hear in public? And he is told this is a person who is called the Muadhin who is calling people to pray. He says is there anything in those prayers that would be a threat to our interests? And he was told no. A factual statement- when Muslims are mechanical Musalleen i.e. attendees of prayers who act as if they are machines of prayers, of course there is no threat to anyones interests; so the reply came from this British official let them pray as much as they want. In other words, when Allahs words of justice, mercy, peace, equality and brotherhood are meaningless- let them pray as much as they want. This is the attitude that we have in todays world. It is not the motions and the mechanics of As salah and Az Zakah- the part of this. Allah didnt say wa dafaa az zakaah or sarafa az zakaah i.e. to just pay your zakah- no! The word aat az zakah is there is a feeling of responsibility that induces the Muslim to give to those who are in need (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) These are Allahs words, but whos conscious or thinking of them? and this commitment to Allah induces you who have pledged this commitment to Allah to distribute what is theirs to (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) To who? even though we are attached to wealth, money, riches, property and possessions, we are induced beyond all these attachments to give to those who are in need who are related, the fatherless, motherless, orphan parentless (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) If Allah is speaking to us about orphans, at least we should have an idea of how many orphans are around; but because we never thought about what Allah is telling us, none of us have taken the effort just to identify the fatherless and motherless people around i.e. children, infants, babies. Where is this being done- tell us? Where are those who are in positions of responsibility taking heed of those who are identified by Allahs words. Whether they are related to us or orphans, (which no one is counting), those who are in need but dont ask (Surah Al Baqarah verse ) How many of us have gone through the process of thinking of those who are really in need but because of their innocent attachment and pride to Allah, they dont ask? Then you have what is literally the son of the street- the wayfarer, displaced, homeless or refugees (Surah Al Baqarah verse )
1487

Has anyone made the effort to identify these people? Allah is talking about them (and) you are reading about it? If you are, why can't we begin to put our minds together and think who these people are? Now, we have a flood of refugees, displaced and homeless people; whos giving of Allahs wealth? This doesnt belong to us, were in charge of a few million/billion dollars as Muslims in this world, were not a poor lot of people. A recent report has it that even before the price of oil, (this is a commodity that affects us before anything else), has declined. One report has it that the Saudi family has stashed away in the financial institutions that are busy maligning and killing us $ 450billion. Arent these typical/prototypes of what Allah is saying in this ayah? They dont miss one salah! But what type of salah are we talking about? Were talking about a mechanized salah which is meaningless. They wake up for fajr, they go and pray dhuhr in the Masjid and al Asr, al Maghrib and al Isha; they go to Umrah and Hajj so many times that they have lost count of it! But what happens when the time comes to verify their pledge and commitment to Allah? Theres no verification. There are millions of refugees all around and no one wants to count them; no one wants to listen to what Allah is saying or follow up what Allah is saying so the refugees go unnoticed. The powerless people in the world are inflicted with calamities and catastrophes and the powerful people in the world pile more of their sins and mistakes and they too go unnoticed because no one is listening to what Allah has to say. There is no iqamat us salah and there is no ita uz zakah; there are mussallun and muzzakkun i.e. there are mechanical prayer attendees and there are mechanical payers, but theres no one constructing/actualizing as salah and theres no one inducing the circulation of wealth so that it reaches those who are in need of it- (theres) none of that and they enjoy the titles or they claim to be the defenders of Islam and they get away with it cause no one is thinking of what Allah is saying. and those who are true to their word if they give their word (Surah Al Baqarah verse) If you give your word/pledge to Allah, you are expected to honor it; but you are not honoring it when your salah, zakah, hajj, fasting and the rest of these are done mindlessly and emotionlessly which characterizes the lot and the plenty of the Muslims and those who say that they are religious people. What Allah is saying in this ayah is it is not the geography of Al Bayt Al Haram or the location of Makkah or the stones/walls/sands of the Qiblah that give it its value and worth; (just like) it is not the clothes that we put on that gives us our value and worth; it is this commitment to Allah in us that give the clothes that we are wearing its value and worth! It is the responsibilities and duties that are observed in Makkah and at the Qiblah that give it its centrality, power, meaning and worth. With the types of behavior and attitudes that predominate today, it is as if we are approaching Allahs words and direction in reverse i.e. as if. if you go into physical motions ups and downs you are going to gain moral excellence. Allah is telling us no! That is not the way it is. Do you equate giving water to the pilgrims and decorating Al Masjid Al Haram with those who have pledged themselves to Allah and the final day and then are involved in this struggle for Allahs cause? (Surah At Taubah verse 17) This is part of the reality that we are all in. These are not some kind of fairy tale presentation. These are real life people and institutions that are responsible for the calamities of today. (Just
1488

like we had Kosova), it is not perchance that we have Iraqi, Afghani etc. Muslims who were displaced with most of the warfare that is conducted is in their own lands. The bombings are going on in their lands; mass destruction is going on in their land and they are forced to leave. What do we do? You tell us?! What are the rest of the Muslims doing? What can they do when they have been rendered (zombies) throughout all of these years. All of this took preparation and future chapters that will repeat such incidents took preparation. (If) you rob the Mimbar of its worth and you flush out the meanings of the Quran and the Sunnah and you have nominal Muslims as we have today, then they can begin the military completion of a job that began as a mental assault against the Muslims and opt with military attacks against the Muslims. All of this is related and none of it is haphazard or coincidental. We ask Allah Who watches, observes and knows all to expedite our understanding of His huda/ advice of the way to Him out of the scenarios that we find ourselves in. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We Muslims in this world- whether we are in this community environment that we may be able to relate to more thoroughly than the larger context of the common destiny that awaits us all should take stock of the fact that they are classified as a minority. It is very dangerous to have another minority victimized when you know that if they did this to a similar minority somewhere, one day they can turn around and do it to you because they got away with it the 1 st time around. The Muslims in Kosova are not a minority and still they are subjected to the cruelty, inhumanity, savage, horrible and heinous acts that you and I are watching. We cant watch this in a neutral way even if we wanted to because there are others who have their sight set on us; who in one sense or another consider themselves the majority. They can take a look after some time and say well there are no other Muslims who are doing anything about this, so if it was done to them in the Balkans it can be done to them in North America. This is a dangerous precedent. Even though some Muslims are lobbying and breaking bread with politicians, has any of these politicians stood up, reassured the Muslims and said you should not be troubled with this in the future? Has any Muslim who has gone to the extent of defending these politicians solicited any guarantees, assurances or public statements for the record that Muslims will not be put in the positions that their brethren are in today? Has any American Muslim or representative of Muslims extracted official statements from decision makers here saying to the rest of the Muslims here you will not endure another Bosnia, Palestine or Kosova in North America? We have something to worry about. We cant wait until the time comes- it will be too late. That is why silence from the Masjids and Mimbar is tantamount to participation in the injustice and bloodshed of today because they are paving the way for the injustice and bloodshed of tomorrow. You have the freedom to go around to other Jumahs and Masjids and listen to other khateebs and Imams- what do they tell you from the Mimbar knowing this news that has filled the mind and the air? How do they address it? Especially when Allahs guidance is available to us and they say nothing of it, they have complicated their error and multiplied their sin and they should be held responsible for that. But that will never come about if we fail to become the responsible and thinking human beings that Allah expects us to be

1489

RACISM
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Mashara Al Mumineen Many times, if not the overwhelming majority of times, we take things for granted, not knowing that the information, principles, teachings and values that we have are not shared by others who are not in the fold of Islam. How many times, (we all know that there are innumerable times), when we listen to the words of Allah O people- guard yourselves against Allah Who has created you out of one nafs and out of which He has created its double or mate or couple and out of which He has dispersed many men and women; guard yourselves against Allah and you are aware of this human to womb relationship for Allah is watchful over you, your thoughts, actions, impulses, interaction with others and the way you behave as individuals and societies. (Surah An Nisa verse 1) These words have a slight, average, condensed or more concentrated meaning to Muslims, whichever category they may be in. Another ayah that we take for granted is Oh people, We have created you from male and female and rendered you as (shuuban) derivatives of each other and (Qabail) correspondence to each other so that you may mutually come to know one another each other the other; the most honorable of you as far as Allah is concerned is the one who is most conscious of Allahs power presence, power immediacy. (Surah Al Hujuraat verse 13) Allah (who is) the focus of our attention not only at the times (that) we are at Salah or Namaz or prayers but Allah who is our focus of attention in whatever we are doing has said that He has rendered us into peoples (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) Or some would say ethnic groups or races of different colors and different languages; some of us are derived from others- whether this is ethnically, racially, linguistically or whatever. The western, secular, alienated mind says that the meaning of this ayah is peoples and tribes or races and tribes Shuuban wa Qabail doesnt mean a stagnant and stifled people or race. Shab for those of you who are familiar with the language of the Quran is derivatives of other people. People are derivatives of others which doesnt permit a racial or racist idea to penetrate. When we think about ourselves as derivatives of others theres no longer room for racism,
1490

nationalism, ethnicism or these other problems that are causes for wars, hatred, battles and bloodshed. He has rendered us derivatives of each other and correspondents of each other (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) Some of us are derived from others and some of us correspond to others, but (if) you go and pick up any (translation of the) Quran and try to understand the meanings, you will encounter the ethnic or racial mentality trying to relate to you this meaning of the Quran which in many cases undermine the meanings of this ayah itself. ... so that you will mutually come to know each other (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) You see- the construct of the verb litaaarafu; its a collective effort that generates the knowledge of each other. We have heard these ayaat (and) we have heard the Prophet of Allah when he said all of you are the descendants of Adam and Adam is made from dirt- soil and clay. There is no privilege of an Arab over a non-Arab nor for a non-Arab over an Arab; there is no privilege of a white over a black nor for a black over a white except if it be for a conscious guard against the wrath and anger of Allah and doing the implementation of doing what is right, virtuous and correct. You can come across this information, (at least some of it), in some Masajid, Islamic meetings, conversations or presentations here-and-there; though, what is never brought to our attention- which is why many times we take these ayaat and ahadith for granted- is that we live in a world that doesnt recognize this. Its easy for us to theoretically uphold certain standards or values- thats not a very demanding task; what is demanding though is to place what is theory into practice and let us see if we can behave with equality, respect and justice. What do these ayaat and ahadith say when we look at other human beings who dont abide or accept these ayaat and ahadith? You have European-white-Caucasians Muslims who were attacked; their homes were burned to the ground; their towns and villages were bombarded (and) they were forced at gunpoint to leave their dwellings in the millions. Yesteryear it was in Bosnia (and) Kosova and tomorrow it will be in somewhere else. There is a peculiar type of people that cross religious lines (and) who want to equate race with religion; we ask these racialist religious people if religion and race were synonymous, then how come now we have a few million white European Caucasian Muslims who have been living for thousands of years in those lands displaced? This is a lesson for religious people who are turned off or on by the issue of race; it drives home a lesson that bigotry and hatred of religion runs deeper than bigotry and hatred of race. Their race did not vouch for them- they look just like any other European person. You can take any Bosnian or Kosovan and drop him/her in any other country in Europe- France, England, Germany or Italy and you wouldnt distinguish the difference, but because they were Muslims, (and mind you, they were only nominal Muslims), it stirred the pot of hatred against them. This has a flip side to it. There are
1491

black Christians in Africa. Do you feel that in what is being said or done around you that there is any care for black Christians by the white establishments in Europe and the United States? Here is where race interferes with religion. If there were white Christians in Africa then you would have much of what is being said in the media today concentrate on events in Ethiopia, Eritrea, East Africa, West Africa, South Africa, Central Africa and North Africa; but no, thats not the case. Weve lived through the past few years (where) millions of Africans who were amenable to Christian missionary work could be slaughtered in the hundreds of thousands in Burundi and no one cared much about them. We have rendered you derivatives of each other and compliments of each other so that you will mentally and mutually come to know each other (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) This is the difference between a Muslim and his psychology and a non Muslim and his psychology. When we Muslims take a look at individuals who are not Muslims or who are not in their appearance or mode similar to us, we begin to think of that person (and) we begin to evaluate with our minds the worth or worthlessness of that person by what they do, stand for and by whom they are. And through that mental contact, the evaluation process kicks in and we eventually come to realize the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah are those who are consciously on guard as to Allahs presence (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) This is the way we behave. On the other hand, you have the European type of man who when they see someone who doesnt agree with their color, ethnic stock or racial origin; they look at that person with their emotions; they dont see with their brains or minds. All of a sudden there is this hatred in them because someone doesnt agree with the features they have in their mind. They can take a look at nature and the universe with their mind; they can take microscopes and telescopes and behind the lens theyll have their minds at work but when they come and look at human beings they cant look with their minds; they look with their gut feelings and the hatred they have against those who disagree with them racially or ethnically. the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah are those with an elevated consciousness that protects them against Allahs anger and wrath... (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) Here we have, (in light of these ayaat and ahadith), a world of hatred- this is wrong, unqualified (and) uninhibited hatred. What does it take to stir the Muslim pot? In front of your own eyes you have seen hundreds-of-thousands of Muslims forced out of their homes, valleys, farms and countries. If they can do this and get away with it in this bloody chapter in the Balkans, they will turn around, go somewhere else and do it on a larger scale. What are you and I going to do about this? Isn't this enough? Every time this occurs, (we dont think it is by chance), at the same time that we were having an agony and tragedy in Bosnia, we were having blood shed in Somalia; at
1492

the same time we were having agony and a tragedy in Kosova we had bloodshed and war fare in Ethopia and Eritrea. (Its) as if Allah at the same time and within the same time frame wants you to think- this is a lesson for you to begin to understand how they operate. If they can get away with this and the governments that we have can continue to put the Muslims to sleep until the next week then, we can expect more versions of Kosova somewhere else in the Muslim world a few years from now. If there was any dignity and decency in the Muslims, every time something like this would happen, we would see a government in one of the Muslim lands crumble. Remember, the Christians in the Middle East- Eastern Right and Orthodox Christians- are in their majority related to the Christians in the Balkans; why haven't we heard from our kinsmen i.e. Christians who belong to our race, ethnicity and language group, (but don't belong to our religion of course), commenting on this bloodshed? Why can they get away with silence as they've been? Theyve done it through Bosnia and Kosova. Why can't the establishments or the religious hierarchies that we have in our countries go to these men-of-the-cloth and tell them to comment in public for the record about what is happening against the Muslims in the Balkans? It didn't happen in the past seven or eight years when the mass slaughter began in Bosnia and when theres a mass exodus of Muslim people from Kosova and further, the public Muslim mind is not encouraged to think in this direction. Allah in this ayah is stimulating us to think constructively, thoughtfully, progressively and, (if need be), offensively and not go from one slumber Jumah to the other slumber Jumah. Muslims who listen to the conventional khutbahs in the Masajid are brain dead. Allah says litaaarafu and the Masjid makes them brain dead. Many bloody instances, extended chapters and lessons of bloodshed are brought to our attention and we manage in the Masjid to bury our head in the sand because of the type of Mimbars and khateebs we have on those Mimbars. The world is not oblivious to us- they can tell when we think and when we are thoughtless and now theyre taking advantage of our mental comatose and they plunge their swords into our bodies. Where is there a public sense of who is atqaa among us i.e. who is most conscious and aware and hence who is guarding themselves against Allah's punishment the most? This issue of course touches on race, ethnicity and nationality as they are defined by the secular and western mind; it touches on and if it does, then why can't we brace these concepts and expose them, (if thats what we have to do)- especially in times like this? If they can't speak up at times like this or if they do speak up at times like this, then what do they say? They praise the American policy for going there on humanitarian mission. When the American policy was presented to the public as being on a humanitarian missions in the Balkans, it was dropping bombs on Iraq and still had its sanctions this about medicine and food. The US government had relieved the restrictions on exporting medical supplies and food to Iran, Sudan and Libya- that was a smoke screen. There is a persecution of expressing Islam freely by the government of the United States. Don't be fooled by what we will come to realize in a few years. Through the Yahudi lobby here in Washington, the United States is supporting its Generals in Ankara and Istanbul. It has entered into an alliance with the Israeli Zionist Jewish government, so if they are
1493

doing them a favor now they will expect Turkey in a few years to do the Israelis a favor in Muslim lands; it could be in Iraq, Iran, Central Asia, Syria or anywhere around the area. Tit-fortat; this-for-that; a-pay-for-a-pay-back, but you wouldnt not know it if youre going to Masjid that gives you Anastasia each week and this is the tragedy that we are living in if we can't express ourselves from the Mimbar and Masaajid and our Makkah and if we continue the way we are. The conventional khateebs i.e. the traditional leaders of prayers were praising US policy (and) we wouldn't be surprised (if) in a couple of years they will be praising Israeli policies. The Israelis had accepted a hundred or so refugees from Kosova; they sent their medical team with a Center that they set up at the borders and in due time if they are consistent in what they are saying they would be praising the Israelis in a few years- courtesy of us not being able to establish mental with the words of guidance and light that Allah has given us. So the next time when you hear these ayaat and the Prophet's ahadith and other ayaat and other ahadith, think of them in the real world that we are living in; think about the implications of the choice of the words and how they address the reality and the facts around us and step out of a smothering tradition and a suffocating custom and breathe the fresh air of these ayaat and ahadith. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We thank, praise, appreciate and glorify Allah knowing where and who we are. It is least expected in conditions like this to repeat and reiterate giving thanks to Allah, but we do. They can take away our homes- which they are doing; they can steal our lands- which they are doing; they can divide our families- which they are doing; they can render us refugees- which they are doing, but they cant make us lose sight that we belong to Allah and will revert one day to Allah. For this fact we thank Allah; we havent lost sight of this and we never will. We know how racism and religion is entangled in their thoughts and emotions. (If) you take a look at what happened, when there was terror in the Rockeys(about ten years ago), when people were shot and after ten days they were still speaking about it as the number one news item; if this was to happen in a minority area, ghetto or in one of the Metropolitan areas of the United States, it wouldn't have had the coverage that it had which is another indicator of what makes them tick or what really shocks the upper, middle or upper-middle class in the heart of white America, (as it were), away from the image of New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles. We know how things are presented there? This is only the beginning. Now, theyre questioning their whole culture. A Muslim didn't say this. Were going to say to you what the Secretary of Justice said. If a Muslim said this by him/herself they would say listen to that radical or demagogue ranting. This is not the ranting of a radical or demagogue; this is a person responsible for your whole justice system. What did she say? She said Its dangerous growing up in the United States. That's an understatement. The culture that they have woven around themselves has become the fabric of their own generation. You want to show them the killings on TV and on the wide screen. Before that shooting in Colarado, the Gore family, (the ex-vice President of the United States), spoke highly of one of these wide screen movies The Matrix; a movie of violence that
1494

portrays the culture that is rearing its ugly head in mid America and then they fell silent after the blood was presented to them on their own TV sets. When Muslims tell them reconsider this culture of yours they act as they usually do- either they want to shut off automatically as if what a Muslim says doesn't count or they want to take arm rage with a Muslims statement and say look, hes a terrorist. Well, if they don't listen to the Muslims, (they should) listen to themselves. Can't they hear what they are saying and see what they are doing? A Muslim who has the heart and vision of the world- because he is in Allah's presence- doesn't only see the tragedy and agony that befalls him, but also the tragedy and agony that befalls mankind. Within all of this, we still maintain our confidence in Allah and our reliance upon Him for He will deliver us from their war machine and culture.

1495

ALLEGIANCE
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Mashara Al Mumineen These ayaat should be the guiding light of Muslim affairs in our time and generation. The Most Knowledgeable/The Authority on how human nature behaves on a political level says to us O you who have pledged yourselves to Allah, dont adopt or position yourselves in regards to Al Yahud and An Nasara as your allies or any position of alliance- superior, equivalent or inferior; proportions or segments of them (meaning Al Yahud wa An Nasara) are allies or in alliance to other proportion of them or segments of them are in alliance with other segments of them (meaning Al Yahud wa An Nasara) (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) We dont enter into this formula. If there was a place for us in this formula, Allah would have instructed us to that place. and whoever from among you enters into alliance with them (meaning Al Yahud and An Nasara) becomes one of them (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) And this alliance supersedes the rituals, meaning your rituals are not going to vouch for you- you can pray, fast, pay your zakah, go for Hajj and repeat the Shahadah a million times, its not going to save you from the consequence of this alliance. Any Muhammad, Ali, Umar, Uthman, Abd Ar Rahman, etc. who enters into an alliance with them has become part of them. His name should no longer deflect from this fact. But even though Allah is telling us this, the question is how many of us think, behave and feel with Allahs words? This is what Allah says to guide or show us the way but how does the average Muslim think or feel about this? They say but the person/brother prays or fasts. Where does Allah or the Prophet say that if you pray or fast it is going to annul the meanings of an ayah in the Quran? These are Allahs words. (Cant) you see how segments of them are in alliance with other sections of theirs? The present day demonstration of this ayah is the NATO alliance. (Cant you) see how differing factions of them come into a common purpose? (Cant you) see how Al Yahud and An Nasara are allies of each other? Who can separate Israel for the United States? There are some Muslims who actually think that they can work, lobby on the political level and speak with this diplomat and the other and at the end they think that this type of contact is going to unglue a relationship that is reinforced by the facts of life, history and the contemporary shedding of Muslim blood. Then, Allah says (irrespective of) whatever the overt justification is for any Muslim who enters into a political arrangement of a strategic nature with them becomes part of them (Surah Al Maaidah verse 51) Should we elaborate a little more? We have Islamic Organizations and they are increasing; (we have) some Islamic or Muslim Political Action Committee here and some Muslim Council there
1496

and they are intensifying their efforts because they say these are Ahl Al Kitaab or People of the Book. If they were Ahl Al Kitaab, which book/scripture says that they have the right to kill us and at the same time Muslims are trying to co-opt them. (There was) a simple visa issue that has to do with the State Department. A representative of a Muslim country should have come here to Washington DC but was not given a visa to come from New York to Washington DC in-spite of almost 12 years of so called lobbying efforts by the Muslims in Washington DC. If after 12 years they cant secure a simple visa- a stamp on a piece of paper- isnt this enough for them to begin to understand what Allah is saying? During the time of Allahs Prophet, the powers of Makkah came to him- he didnt go to them- to enter into their decision making process. He wasnt lobbying the Makkah establishment for Islamic clout or influence or positions inside that hierarchy, much less he wasnt thinking about placing Muslims in the establishments of those days i.e. the major superpowers of those days- Persia and the Roman Empire. You have read some of the Prophets history, could anyone (find) from anything in his history that indicates anything that it was within the range of intentions of the Prophet to have Muslims sitting in the government in non Islamic establishments (in) Rome or Persia? No! We challenge anyone to present to us evidence from the Quran or Sunnah to justify this approach to these pronounced foes of Allah. There is no evidence! Muslims have put themselves into these position because they do not want to think independently; before you act independently you have to think independently. They want something to support themselves with, so they find an easy way out of it by saying these Yahud and Nasara are Ahl Al Kitaab/People of the Scripture and theres nothing wrong in having these types of relationships with People of Scripture. Well, if these People of Scripture respect and honor their own scripture, we may have had a range of discussion, but what People of Scripture? What do they honor of scripture? Does scripture tell them to go around the world and drop lethal weapons on innocent people around the world? This is what theyve done. They go around the world with their transnational Corporations- you see, people who have money are permitted to be transnational and were supposed to stew in our nationalism and racism. They are trans-racial, trans-national, trans-ethnic, trans-historical and trans-geography but we no! Were not permitted to think outside our neighborhood neither are we permitted to think inside of our Masjids and here they are going around the world as if it was three blocks. The whole globe to them has shrunk into a few blocks and our whole world has become just the neighborhood that we are living in; we cant think beyond that. When you come to these Muslims who peddle good intentions and ask them but why are you doing this? Why are you busy building bridges with those who have Muslim blood on their hands? This is not a figurative form of speech, (its) literally so. They tell you well, you see, we have to be practical, we have to acknowledge the facts that we are not a superpower and theres a superpower in this world that we have to interact with in a civilized manner. This is the civilized manner in which they are interacting with superpowers. (If) you look behind their statement, the Saudi Arabian government had $450 billion invested (just a decade and a few years ago.) It went down to $420 billion dollars. They lost $ 30 billion of their investments in kafir banks and financial institutions. No one felt it. When you go to the Masjid, do you feel what is happening in the Muslim world? You dont feel it! Even if we bring it to your attention from Jumah to Jumah you barely feel it because the influence, propaganda, brain washing and selection of information that is presented to the public will have you think the way they want you to think. So, we have no recourse except what Allah is telling us. Then, we have statements coming from those who are supposed to be enlightened
1497

Muslims praising the butcher of Muslims for rescuing refugees in Kosova. Were we supposed to be blind to everything that the United States government is doing to the Muslims and the oppressed peoples in the world and look at one instance/development?! When a government is dropping bombs on Iraq, placing sanctions on several other areas in the Muslim world and robbing the rest of the world of its resources and when it does something that appears to be humanitarian, it should be suspect. You shouldnt be free with words of praise on this one occasion and make belief that nothing else exists and nothing else is going on. Why do these lobbyists do such things? Even if there is a humanitarian effort- which is very questionable- by the United States in the Balkans whats wrong with us? Do we need some other power to come and defend us? What are these governments in Muslim countries doing outside of the war zone on the borders of Kosova? They are setting up soup kitchens to feed the hungry. This is a humiliation. We should defend our own. We should be the ones who are trying to think of an Islamic solution to this problem. Are we doing that? Where are the Muslim leaders and decision makers who are thinking about a final solution to this alliance of aggression against us? (Yesterday it was Kosova and Bosnia today it is Iraq and Afghanistan) and tomorrow it will be another area and the year after it will be in another area and then we go limping from one catastrophe and tragedy to the next. So you ask them why? Whether its a diplomat, politician or one of these sincere Muslims that have placed themselves in a position to lobby the Kuffar, Mushrikeen and Munafiqeen. They say to you what the Quran says to you. If youre listening to Allah you need not ask them They say but we are afraid that the circumstances may turn against us (Surah Al Maaidah verse 52) As if Allah doesnt exist. Whos the Sovereign and the Sustainer of life, existence and the circumstances and conditions within that life and existence? it is only hope in such circumstances that victory or a breakthrough in these circumstances will come from Allah (Surah Al Maaidah verse 52) Not from Washington, the United States or Europe they have their own interests. They have abandoned God many, many years and generations ago. We havent. Were the only link and hope that is left and we shouldnt demean our selves as these spokespersons are by giving any type of creditability to those who have proven their satanic pulses. This is why much hope for Islam here in the United States is concentrated on those who understand the United States and what it stands for. There are African Americans and minority Americans (as they are called) who understand the United States more than there are those Muslims who read the Quran and are supposed to know better. Non Muslims here understand the ways the methods, means and manners of Ash Shaytaan than the Muslims who were given information about this Shaytaan in their holy book. This is what we see and what we have. Then, these people who come from across the ocean, because they know the language of the Quran, try to present themselves to Muslims and potential Muslims here in the United States; as if they know the Quran because they know the language of the Quran. If you know the language of the Quran, it doesnt mean that you know the Quran. If you know the language of Shakespeare that doesnt mean that you know who Shakespeare was! If you know the English language it doesnt mean that you know who Milton was or you automatically understand the Bible if you know the language of the
1498

Bible. So if anyone who knows the language of the Quran that doesnt mean that he automatically understands the message of the Quran. These people who know that language have a lot to learn from the Quran itself and from the expressions, facts and descriptions of the Quran in the real world around. Then, what happens after that? they regret what they have done (Surah Al Maaidah verse 52) In the five/ten/fifteen years to come down the road, these people today who are lobbying and having discussions with this Shaytaan are going to regret it. We cant wait for them to see their mistake and regret- theres no room for that. We have to go on, proceed and work Allahs will. Had the Prophet given us the rational to do what these types are doing we would surrender to that fact, but that rational is not there. The Prophet did not choose this course. Now, there is a clash of ideas which the Prophet endured for 13 years in Makkah until they came to him and said why dont you join us for a year and then we will join you for a year? Imagine if the higher officials of the United States government were to come to the self styled representatives of Islam in the United States and tell them look, you join us and do what we do and accept who we are for a year and well adopt your Islam for a year. These will not believe their ears! They couldnt imagine the highest officials in the land coming to them and saying we will share the management of this society/country one year according to our laws and regulations and another year according to Islamic laws and regulations. The Prophet did not say lets discuss or think more about or lets see if we can work this out. He was instructed by Allah to say to them You have your Deen and I have my Deen. (Surah Al Kaafirun verse 6) Its impossible to infuse Al Haqq with Al Baatil. Theres no knit, coexistence or working relationship between the two and now weve been enduring for the past 25 years this effort of trying to go to the United States and talk some sense into them. (Its become) full time jobs of Muslims to go to the State Department today. They National Security Council, State Department and the administration were them that they are thinking of employing more Arabs and Muslims. Imagine if we have a handful of Muslims in the State Department, National Security and other places and the government still continues to do what it is doing to the Muslims around the world?! Thats going to be complicating the problem for some of our brothers and sisters who have missed the message of Allah and the Prophet all together. Oh we have Muslims there! Its better for us not to have these complications, but they know it will serve their purpose thats why they are sincerely and seriously thinking about it. Some Muslimsunfortunately- are eager to see a few Muslims on Capitol Hill, Pennsylvania area, Foggy Bottom and if it happens theyll think that Islam has made a breakthrough over here. No! Islam hasnt made any breakthrough. Thats not where Islam and Muslims belong. There are people who are calling out for Islam and they are certainly not in these positions. They are in places where many Muslims dont even want to go to. Thats where they need and want Islam, and thats where Islam will work. The question is whos willing to communicate this Islam to those who are in need of it? Granted- there maybe some desperate souls on these other levels, but all our concentration and thoughts are placed on having Muslims on that level?! Whats wrong with us? Why cant we think out our own Islamic program? Whenever there is going to be elections in this country and people- not Muslims just the average American citizen- who is fed up with Democrats and Republican because they know now its the same. Whether its a
1499

Democrat or Republican in the White House running the affairs of this government- there is no difference. Why cant Muslims develop their own Islamic political program and have it compete on par with these other programs that have been robbing the people dry. The issue of racism is a real issue here; how do the Democrats or Republicans solve the issue of racism? Theyve been exchanging/playing musical chairs in the White House for hundreds of years and still the issue of racism hasnt gone away. Now, they have other complicating issues- drug addition, crime, pornography sex, homosexuality, HIV and a host of other issues- what types of solutions do they have? Then, when elections comes around and everyone is exposed to some theatrics or serious arguments on the surface between the Republican and Democratic candidate, in the heat of the moment you would think that there is some type of competition or race for the White House; (but) when the dust settles, everyone realizes theyre back to square one. They proceed with their killer policies overseas they retrench their polarizing and exclusivist policies at home. Nothing is being done, (and) where are the Muslims in all of this?! Lobbying! Telling us become a Democratic Muslim or a Republican Muslim. Has anyone ever heard of a Mushrik Muslim or a Kafir Muslims? Is anybody listening to what Allah is saying? Allah says Oh you who are committed to Allah dont adopt My enemy and your enemy as an ally when they are opposed to what Allah has given you of the truth and the fact (Surah Al Mumtahanah verse 1) They are opposed to it not very much by what they say. They are clever not to take on the issue of Islam verbally and publicly. They take on the issue of Islam behind the scenes and far away. Theyve gained enough experience with that to have fooled many Muslims, but they cant fool those who stay the course and understand Allah and His Prophet. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims As we have stated from this position in previous Jumahs concerning the Islamic Center that they have barred/banned us from entering- they said during the course of the intermediary discussions with them, that they are willing to find a place besides this Center for us to pray in or have our Islamic activities in. Then, upon pursuing their offer, they tell us no! But we are only willing to rent for a few hours a week for you on Fridays to conduct your Friday prayers and services acts. These are the types of people who dont speak from heart-to-heart. They speak because of their interests. We dont know- Allah knows better- the type of conditions and factors that are at work that led them to make an offer of that nature, but it is becoming clear that somehow time has become an issue to them. This is one thing a committed Muslim doesnt feel that he is running out of thats time. If you are committed to Allah, every day that passes you are approaching your destiny and goal not getting further away from it; you are approaching and becoming closer to it- this is how we see where we are; but thats not how they see where they are. The more time we invest the more satisfied we are; the more time that lapses the more dissatisfied they are. We repeat- if Allah means for us to spend the rest of our vital and healthy life- as long as we have the energy the physical, mental and spiritual determination and power to express ourselves at this time on Fridays- whatever the circumstances, we have committed to Allah and we dont take this commitment lightly.
1500

Dont betray your trusts (Surah verse) Our trust with Allah will not be betrayed. This is not a market/bazaar; we are not here to negotiate principles. Wherever we are, we are not there at the expense of our principles. We know that and whether they know it or not is irrelevant as long as we are sincere to Allah on this regard.

1501

ISLAMIC OPPOSITION DURING THE TIME OF UTHMAN (R)

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Allah teaches, guides, nurtures and cultures us to be frank, honest and haqq centered. There is no negotiations, diminution and swerving from this fact. The Authority on how human nature behaves on a political level says to us There shall be of you and Ummah that calls towards prosperity, authorizes al maruf and disestablishes the munkar (Surah Aal Imran verse 110) This is a very difficult task when corrections have to be done within the House of Islam. Its very easy to speak about al khair and expound about al maruf with action and denounce al munkar with action, but it is not that easy when this has to be done concerning the internal/Muslims around us who in their own minds thinks that they are right, but need to be corrected- this assumes another character. Its much much easier to take ad dawah ila al khair, al amr bi al maruf and an nahi an al munkar to territories and people who are outside the territory of Islam, but its much more difficult to do it inside the domain of Islam. Here is where we have todays world and Muslims and we have the world and Islam of those who pioneered this course 14 centuries ago. Let us begin by saying that it is very difficult to speak about internal Islamic affairs; what makes it that much more difficult is that there has been an air of silence about this affair by some Muslims and then an air of emotionalism about this affair by other Muslims. And, whether it is silence or emotionalism, it is hard to look at these facts given these layers of century-compounded silence and complex emotionalism, but this is what were going to have to do. If we are in the company of Allah and His Prophet, theres no difficulty- we take these tasks head-on. This may be a refresher to some of you, but the 1 st internal attempt to correct what had become a serious departure from the norms and standards of Allah, His Prophet and the two Successors to him. The 1st serious break from these standards and values came during the time of Uhtman (radi Allahu anhu). Heres where we say be cautious because of 1,400 years of relative silence and emotionalism on this subject. During the time of Uthman, we had an Islamic opposition; that is because when Uthman assumed the office of Chief Executive of the Muslims (as it were), he began to pursue policies that were contradictory to the 22 years before him. If our reading of history is in the area of accuracy, it appears that the 1 st six years of his reign were years of tolerance; which means that Islamic public opinion showed a degree of tolerance towards his departure course from his predecessors. That doesnt mean that there wasnt any opposition, (just) there wasnt any mass opposition to him. Then, in the following four years were years of public displeasure or discomfort with his policies; and then, the last two years of his administration was when opposition gained a popular momentum that ended up with his death. As we said, it is not easy to speak about this issue for the reasons stated. We have those
1502

who call themselves Sunnis who have been silent about his administration- this is not right; and those who call themselves Shiis have been emotional about his administration, and this is not correct neither. Both of them are off the mark. There are some things that we need to take a look at, and we can only take a look at them in a successful manner if we adhere to Allah and His Prophet; if we choose some other course, we will go off course. The 1st thing we have to realize is that at the beginning of this brotherly internal Islamic opposition, some things happened that do not meet the standards of scripture or Sunnah. There were three individuals who all Muslims agree to their loyalty to Allah and His Prophet who became the main opposition figures in this era. They were Ammaar ibn Yaaser, Abdullah ibn Masud and Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhum). As we said, 14 centuries of Islamic traditionalism has placed practically all the Muslims in one of two positions; either there is a silence or an emotionalism about these three individuals. We want to bypass these 14 centuries of these two approaches (if we can call them that), and state the facts. The 1st fact that should be acknowledged by everyone is that for the 1st time in Islamic history is that those who hade power would not broke dissent and would not tolerate another valid Islamic opinion. A closer look at those who had power and we had the 1st serious and centuries-lasting repercussions was that we had the combination of power and wealth. This was not a character of Allahs Prophet. Allahs Prophet had power but he didnt have wealth. His 1st successor, Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), had power but he didnt have wealth. He used to have wealth, but he gave it all for Allah, so when he assumed power, he had no wealth. The 2nd successor to Allahs Prophet, Umar (radi Allahu anhu), had power, but he didnt have wealth. (We beg you to bypass your silence and emotionalism- whichever Muslim you are out there and acknowledge the fact), for the 1st time now, we had an Islamic Head of State who combined power and wealth- this should never be. We have Muslims today who can comfortably read history and then speak out against this, but they cant see those same historical characters- not their names, (but), their descriptions- today. Today, we have some people who combine power and wealth, and they have an Islamic rank somewhere. Summon your information; you have enough information to understand what we are pointing to. So what happens here? Allah is saying And if We, (meaning Allah/Divinity), wants to demolish a social order, He addresses Himself to its wealthy class (Surah Al Isra verse 16) If Allah wants to demolish a social order, He combines the wealthy and the ruling classes together. Both qiraaat- amarna and ammarna- and valid and substantiate each other. So what happens? they, (meaning the wealthy and ruling class) cause that social order to disintegrate (Surah Al Isra verse 16) The problem with us, Muslims, is our inability to take Allahs words of guidance and judgment of history and then apply it to whomever. We come and (although) we dont say it this way, this has been our 14 century behavior; we indirectly say that the generation of the Prophet cannot make mistakes. Who said this?! Who said the generation of the Prophets cant make mistakes!? These are human beings. These are not super-humans! These are not masums! These are not infallible people! They are just like you and me (i.e.) subject to their own mistakes. During the time and reign of Uthman, we encounter these serious human mistakes. In light of our
1503

understanding of Allah and His Prophet, we ask why did we have a combination of wealth and power for the 1st time? This is our mistake. You would think that we have had enough time to study this mistake and then to bar it from happening again. If you care to free yourself from your silence or emotionalism, you would find that the three major figures of opposition during the rule of Uthman were subjected to, (what we would consider today to be), the violation of their rights. In some of this history, we read that Ammaar ibn Yaaser was beaten so much that his skin ruptured and according to another rendition of this history, that he became herniated. Why? Because he had another Islamic point of view? What justification do we have when all of us, Muslims, agree to his status and esteem? OK- he had a fallout and difference with Uthman, (but) what gave those who were in power (i.e.) Uthman and those around him the right to injure an Islamic political opponent? We dont find any justification for that. OK- if they had their political qualms and quarrels with him, take him to court. Muslims are not in a judicial wilderness, (that) if someone disagrees with you, you use your power against him, but this is what happened. On another occasion, Abdullah ibn Masud, another major figure of opposition to Uthman was physically ejected from Al Masjid An Nabawi. Do you think that these people who run the Masajid came from nowhere? No! Theres a history here. We ask those people who are supposed to be knowledgeable, especially those who are supposed to be Ulema, who are hiding behind their silence today what justification is there for kicking a person outside of the Masjid and getting away with that? You see- we have approximately 1,400 years of that administration during that time getting away with kicking one of the Sahaba of Rasulillah outside the Masjid, and it wasnt that simple. (In) some of the historical reports- were speaking about mainstream Islamic history, were not going to an odd book in Islamic history; At Tabari- not only was Abdullah ibn Masud kicked out of the Masjid An Nabi in Al Medinah, but in the process they broke his ribs. Now, you tell us what ayah and hadith do you have to cover up this violent act against what you may call an Islamic dissident? Have we had our respected Islamic scholars come out of their silence to tell us wait a minute here- we have a very important and serious violation of our Quranic and Prophetic rights?! Then, we had Abu Dharr who spoke his conscience on the emergence of this new class of people who have combined power with wealth. Is there anything in the Quran or Sunnah that tells Muslims you cannot speak your conscience on the combination of power and wealth? We find no such ayah or hadith. So he spoke his mind And those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it on the war course of Allah, then part to them the good news of the excruciating torment that awaits them (Surah At-Taubah verse 34) (For) those of you who are wondering where this is in the Quran, its in Surah Taubah/Baraah, ayah number 34. Abu Dharr wasnt expressing a wondering mind on the subject, he was expressing his Quranic conscience on the matter. And, when he was asked why are you speaking out against the Khalifah/Uthman? His response was a sentence that is direct and not difficult to understand. He said it is easier for me to please Allah and in the process displease Uthman than it is for me to displease Allah and please Uthman. If Uthman has placed himself on the wrong course and I understand what Allah is saying, then theres nothing wrong with
1504

expressing what Allah is saying and explaining it, and if that means Im going to incur the wrath of the highest office in the land, then Im not going to reverse this or try to assuage Uthman himself. These are his words; Im not going to try to assuage Uthman and in the process incur the wrath of Allah. You would think that an Islamic order and Islamic thinking people would welcome this Islamic conscience, but No! We had, especially amongst those who conveniently rank themselves as Sunnis and some of the Mutazilis trying to explain away Uthmans position. These are exactly the words you will find. They say the leader has the right to punish. OK- no one is arguing that, but wheres the method and character here. If people deserve to be punished, bring them to a court of law and let the court of law and the measurement of justice take its course, and if after that punishment is due, then punishment is due; dont pre-empt the process. We were pre-empting the process. All of us carry this with us. We dont care who you are; its part of our historical character, but why are we today so oblivious to this? In our common history, we had Uthman responsible for the official appointments that he himself endorsed. One of these appointments was a Governor who was found drunk. Brothers and sisters- as we say to you, step out of your silence and emotionalism and take a look at this with a responsible conscience and mind. We had a Khalifah to the Prophet of Allah who appointed a drunkard to be a Governor of the Muslims! What do you think- this did not tarnish his image? Of course it did. What do you think about a ruler who is in the position of the highest office of the Islamic domain (who) gives (someone such) a positionthere has to be a vetting process and some mind that looks at those who are qualified to assume these responsibilities. Then, what did we have? We had the popular/everyday/average Muslims in Egypt, Basrah, Kufa and Arabia begin to say wait a minute here- what is Uthman doing? This indicates what? It indicates that there was a live and living and Islamic popular conscience. They were not subdued into humiliation and their voice was not suffocated by the power of officialdom. We had live Muslims who could express their minds and hearts and we had the tragic end of the 3rd successor to Allahs Prophet. Why? Because political mistakes have a way of consuming their actors. This is what happened, but we cant see it if we say we- this has never been written down, but the fact of the matter is that some people impart to the 1st generation of Muslims infallibility. We have our educated opinion about it, but this is what we have today. Try to speak about it in a calm and informative and Quranic manner and you will find that from nowhere and everywhere eyebrows arise, shoulders shudder and then, because you belong to Allah and His Prophet you begin to look like the odd man out. Why? No one is accusing anyone or judging anyone. The only thing we are trying to do is to look at these facts so that we will not repeat these mistakes once again. So, the people of Egypt, Arabia and Iraq came to Al Medinah to correct the accumulation of these political mistakes. The came and went to Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu) for him to go to Uthman and speak to him; maybe hell listen to you. He did and the conversations took place, but there was no change in policy. The policies that were on the wrong course continued. He put people who were his family in the highest positions in the Islamic administration and combined wealth with power- all of these are NO-NOs in the Quran and Sunnah; and we still live with the consequences of those early years and some of us continue to assault them with their emotions and others continue to deflect from them with their silence and we attest to Allah that we dont belong to this group or that group. Brothers and sisters, committed MuslimsOn this day and time of taqwa when we observe and honor and vocalize the authority and power that are Allahs and (that) are due to Allah and that
1505

shall be the final word of Allah on all matters; and borrowing the dissident voice from those early years of Islam, And those who accumulate, store and stuff for their own selves gold and silver and dont spend it in the course of Allah, part to them the good news of an eternal suffering provided for them (Surah At-Taubah verse 34) If we had free Islamic souls and minds, they would look at the cumulative wealth of people who have billions and trillions of dollars and currencies who are not even thinking and considering for the moment of spending these for the course of Allah. If we had Abu Dharr speaking directly to Uthman- maybe this part is absent to most of you; you may think that someone here is speaking with a vengeance or attitude of an enemy. This wasnt an attitude of an enemy. Abu Dharr wasnt taking revenge on Uthman. He was speaking his Islamic conscience as all Muslims are required to do. Why cant Muslims today look at people who today have stashed away all these treasuries and fortunes and name them? If Abu Dharr was speaking directly to Uthman, why cant we have multiple Abu Dharrs today speaking to Bani Saud? Why is it clear then, but not clear now? Whats wrong? We dont have in our history apartheid walls. Today, Saudi Arabia is in the process of building a dividing wall. Instead of the money that they have going fi sabil li Allah- and we have many channels in which they can spend this God-given wealth, belonging to God-serving people- (we have) it misappropriated by God-defiant rulers. They contract a European company in following in the footsteps of the Zionists and their apartheid wall and following the Imperialists in the United States in building a wall between Anglo and Latin America. Thats what they want to do- they want to build a wall between Arabia and Iraq costing $12 billion and we dont have capable Muslim minds of putting this ayah into todays social and political reality. Whats wrong with saying this ayah to the Saudi criminals when they infer its meanings and stand for the violation of Allah and His Prophet. Another one of the evil ideas that is circulating in the evil mind in Arabia is saying and youve heard in the past months about the swine flu- now, theres a new twist on it. The government in Arabia is now saying- we dont know if this is going to be applied as real policy yet, but they have the guts to say it- that infirm Muslims should reconsider coming to AL Umrah and Al Hajj this year. The major umrah is during the month of Ramadhan where 1,5million to 2million Muslims go to Makkah and the Hajj follows. This year it is going to be around the end of November. Theyre telling us if you dont feel good and have a cough, fever, are very old or have health problems, you should not go to the Umrah and Hajj. They even sparked a debate among Islamic scholars to issue fatwahs asking Muslims not to come to the Hajj because a pandemic can break out if some infected Muslims go to the Umrah and Hajj. All of this takes place and we are Quranically absent. They can say this and put it into policy if we remain passive and dont speak to these issues. The next thing well know in a year or two from now is that were going to have to pass a medical exam to go to the Hajj and these are the people who speak about bidahs. When has it ever occurred that Muslims need a health certificate to go to the Hajj. This is the direction that theyre taking us in and because of the silence of the majority of us and the emotionalism of the minority of us theyre getting away with it. Wheres Abu Dharr, Ammaar, ibn Masud and the Muslims of conscience who can break from their monopoly of Islam, wealth and power and speak truth to this evil class of Saudis and their extensions all around the globe?

WHAT IS TAQWA?
1506

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims This khutbah is intended and meant to centre around the taqwa of Allah. Taqwa is a central idea and behavior to a Muslim and to committed Muslims that it cannot be left to the seculars and non-Muslims to impose on us its meaning. What taqwa means is simply to avoid; thats what it means. Taqwa is avoidance. So, when someone tells another ittaqillah, it simply means avoid Allah. In some peoples mind, this may cause some confusion or meanings that conflict i.e. why should I avoid Allah someone may ask. Isnt Allah to be sought and approached?! Then why are you telling me to avoid Him?! Why is this word and the ayaat in the Quran that have this word in it saying I am to avoid Allah?! We will come to these ayaat shortly. The fact of the matter is that Allah is to be approached and sought, but at the same time, Allah is in everything we say and do; and if there is a tendency in us to say and do the wrong thing, Allah is there when and where we say the wrong thing- but because Allah is overwhelming and Allah is before and after the wrong thing we did and Allah is present inside and outside of the act of that wrong thing that we may do- the fact of the matter is that Allah is Just and if we do the wrong thing Allah is going to correct us in His own way and that correction can be painful and an extended one, and that is why it is necessary for us to factor in this taqwa or avoidance of Allah when we tend to or do the wrong thing. This brings us to a selection of Allahs ayaat that speak about this taqwa. Before we take a look at the combination of taqwa and Allah, when these two words meet in His impeccable book, Allah says to us O you who are committed to Allah: (Surah At Tahreem verse 6) Qu- comes from the same derivative of the word taqwa that we are concentrating on. protect yourselves and your folks from a fire (Surah At Tahreem verse 6) Both the words waqa and ittaqa carry in them an accompanying two meanings. The 1st one is to avoid and the subsequent one is to shelter. By avoiding the wrong act, you shelter yourself from the correction that follows that wrong act. This is extremely important to understand because the majority of Muslims- were sorry to say this- have lost touch of the Quran, Allah and His Prophet and this is a lost meaning that doesnt dwell any longer in their conscience and behavior. Allah says Dont vouch for yourselves, He is most knowledgeable about a person who has tqawa or in a state of avoiding Allahs corrective measure. (Surah An Najm verse 53) So, at taqwa by the understanding of this ayah elevates people and Allah is saying to you and me

1507

You need not elevate yourselves or you dont need have to speak favorably about yourselves, He knows very well those people who are conscious of His corrective measures/procedures in history and in your social lives. (Surah An Najm verse 53) For those of you who like to keep score of these ayaat, the 1st ayah is the 6th ayah of the 66th Surah- Surah At Tahreem; the 2nd ayah is the 53rd ayah of Surah An Najm. Now, we come to an ayah and please listen so that you can understand. Correct behavior comes from correct understanding. OK- for those of you who keep count, this is Surah Al Maaidah ayah 65- it says what? If only People of Scripture committed themselves to Allah and avoided the harm that comes from violating Him, We would obliterate their sayyiaat (Surah Al Maaidah verse 65) Some of us who dont have a functional understanding of the words of the Quran- this is a general meaning, but for some of us who want to have a more practical understanding of the words of the Quran, we detect in this ayah that Ahl Al Kitaab- Christians and Jews- were to commit themselves to Allah per His guidelines and if they were to have the appropriate behavior of taqwa i.e. meaning Allah as a power. When you want to shield yourself and acquire this taqwa, you do so because you know Allah is a power. If you dont consider Allah a power, then what is this taqwa about? What are you protecting yourself from? Theres no power, so you need no protection. The inclusive meaning of taqwa is that power belongs to Allah, and this power can be used against me if I do the wrong thing. (Take a) look at the power that they have; they have militaries, the power of information, the power of knowledge, the power of science and all aspects of material power that you can think of or even imagine, and Allah is saying to them if only they had these two features i.e. imaan and taqwa, We would obliterate their sayyiaat. We invite you to an observation- notice that Allah did not say la kaffarna anhum dhunubahum, because imaan and at taqwa appropriately applied exclude us from accumulating dhunub, which are a more concentrated form of accumulating sayyiaat. So, by gaining imaan and taqwa, we and they may still have our own mistakes, but they are not of the magnitude of dhunub. But, we notice that they dont have any imaan- do you detect any commitment to Allah in what they do? And, we detect that they dont have any taqwa- do they factor in Allah as a power in their plans and politics? The raw answer to that is NO! Thats all they would need. Forget about Ahl Al Kitab, another ayah that pertains to societies in the course of history in the past and societies in the present. An ayah speaks to generic human societies If societies were to observe the required imaan and taqwa, We would have opened all the doors and gates of blessings coming to them from every direction in Heaven and Earth. (Surah An Najm verse 53) This points to a serious deficiency in human societies. These human societies dont express a commitment to Allah and they dont pursue policies in which they know that Allah is a power to be reckoned with. Dont be fooled by a society that seems to have affluence, power and modernity- these in the context of these societies become the indicators of doom that is pending. Another ayah in Surah Al Araf says The aggregate of people that has taqwa to it (Surah Al Araf verse 201)
1508

Were not speaking about an individual; we have to make reference to this because many people think about these ayaat in the scope of a person. Allahs not saying inna alladhi at taqa (Hes) speaking about a social order that has gained this feature of taqwa. if they are only influenced by a touch of Shaytaan or if there are Shaytaani ideas to contemplate or even a pulse to do a Shaytaani act, this public consciousness of taqwa causes them to contemplate or reconsider what they were about to do under the influence of Ash Shaytaan (Surah Al Araf verse 201) This is how precious it becomes to have a public opinion that has taqwa in it. this dynamic of having a public taqwa that aborts the work of Ash Shaytaan results in them gaining more insight. (Surah Al Araf verse 201) When you, (as a Muslim aggregate), are about to do the wrong thing, but the fact that you have the element of taqwa in you causes you to correct your direction and then to gain more understanding of the events. Another ayah in Surah Aal Imran number 120 says and if you were (Surah Aal Imran verse 120) Once again, you n the plural, not you (as) in the individual Muslim- grow out of that! and if you were to have collective, social and congregational patience and if you were as a society, community and a collective cohesive body of people were to have taqwa along with that sabr, youre not going to be harmed by the enemies strategies, conspiracies, ploys and schemes. (Surah Aal Imran verse 120) What do we have here? We have committed Muslims who show social sabr and social taqwa that belong to Allah as opposed to the plans and the strategies to take action against us; Allah is saying dont mind whatever types of power they have if you remain on a cause of sabr and taqwa for Allah. So, theres two powers here; the power of Allah and the power they have. Where do you belong? Wheres your taqwa? (Do) you want to avoid the power that they have, or do you want to avoid the power that Allah has? Ayah 186 from Surah Aal Imran (says) In circumstances of war, when theres a lot of schemes and strategies against the Muslims, sabr and taqwa becomes one of the most demanding tasks. Remember, you have powers that outnumber you, has more technology and more of everything of this world, and in the face of that, what do you have to do? You have to be patient in adversity and sure that you are shielding and protecting yourself from going wrong with Allah. Nowadays, many people go wrong with Allah because they consider worldly powers before and more important than Allahs power. We also want to draw your attention to Surah Ash Shuara where you will find the (following) sequence of ayaat Their brother Nuh said to them- his society- cant you factor in Allahs power and avoid its corrective measure in life. (Surah Ash Shuara verse 106) Another ayah with the same wording
1509

Their brother Hud said to them- his society- cant you factor in Allahs power and avoid its corrective measure in life. (Surah Ash Shuaraverse 124) Another ayah with the same wording Their brother Salih said to them- his society- cant you factor in Allahs power and avoid its corrective measure in life. (Surah Ash Shuaraverse 142) Another ayah with the same wording with another Prophet Their brother Lut said to them- his society- cant you factor in Allahs power and avoid its corrective measure in life. (Surah Ash Shuaraverse 161) Another ayah with the same wording with another Prophet Their brother Shuaib said to them- his society- cant you factor in Allahs power and avoid its corrective measure in life. (Surah Ash Shuaraverse 177) These historical Prophets were saying the same thing to their people cant you factor in Allahs power and protect yourselves from Allah's power applications? (Surah Ash Shuara) If were to bend Allahs Book and ayaat to todays Muslims and the way they understand Allah, the Quran, the Prophet and the Sunnah, it would be idh qala Nuh ila qawmihi ala tabudun, ala tuminun. That wasnt the case; because there are people who try to conform to Allah by their rituals and there are people who try to be guided, but none of that has any substantial meaning if they dont understand Allah as the substantial power. In Surah At Talaaq, And whoever is conscious and hence avoids Allahs corrective power, Allah will show him a way out. (Surah At Talaaq verse 2) This taqwa that is supposed to be presented to the Muslims every week at this time during the khutbah on Friday is absent. Some people may use the word in an almost robotic way; they will say ittaqu Allah because according to some of the fiqhi classifications/descriptions of the khutbah on Friday, one of the basis of the khutbah is to remind the Muslims of taqwa Allah. They will say Yaa ayyuha Alladhina aamanu, ittaqu Allah But what does that mean? Its as if the person who is saying it doesnt know what it means and the person listening to it doesnt know what it means! It was a common expression when people knew what it meant for a Muslim to say ittaqi Allah yaa Abdallah or factor in Allahs power and therefore avoid it if you do something wrong you subject of Allah. But how many people do we have today who can stand up and know what the taqwa of Allah is and quote the Prophet when he says in fact, if people see a dhalim and do not take corrective measures vis--vis this dhalim, it is only a matter of a short time and Allah will engulf them with a punishment from Him. We dont have many preachers, khateebs, speakers and lecturers who will come and bring the issues of our time into the scope of Allahs taqwa. (Do) you mean many Muslims are going to think about Allah as a
1510

real power in the current issues of life?! Yes! Thats exactly it! Thats exactly what taqwa means or else you are biding your time in almost a meaningless sense until you expire! Another observation that is due here is when we all read in Surah Al Fatiha many times Guide us to the straight and direct course. (Surah Al Fatiha verse 5) This is an imagery when we say we are on a path/course that puts us in motion. The wording could have been Oh Allah guide us to You; but here Allah is putting us in a picture of movement. When you are on a path that means there is an effort and direction and we are in motion. Then, after Surah Al Fatiha- remember the word guide us- in Surah Al Baqarah, (in) the 1st line, Allah is saying in reference to this scripture- the QuranThis is a guidance (Surah Al Baqarah verse 2) (But) not for anyone. but for those who know that Allah is a real/present/involved power (Surah Al Baqarah verse 2) So if anyone perceives that they are on a straight forward course to Allah but in themselves they cannot configure in Allah and perceive of him as a power, then their perception is a figment of their imagination. Dear brothers and sisters If we were to integrate the meanings of the taqwa that we are speaking about in our lives we would be way ahead of where we are today. Its not a historical mistake that much of the Muslims in this world are where they are today. There are social laws at work; just like there are physical laws at work, there are also social laws at work. If we fail to honor the social laws that have been given to us by Allah, we will suffer the consequences. One of the social laws we have failed to honor is to speak the truth knowing that we answer to Allah. Some of us dont want to speak the truth. Why? Because in their minds there is some other power between them and Allah. You can figure out whatever that power is. There can be manifestations of it- it could be a government, a pay master, an institution of whatever sort, a self interest i.e. someone who has almost deified his own ego- many of these issues. Whatever it is, theres something intruding between the ability to speak the truth and Allah. (If you) take an obvious example of this Those who rule Makkah and Medinah. Were not trying to pick on them. Some people think that our reference to them many times has become a matter of trying to single them out; no! If Makkah and Al Medinah were placed in some other country, we would be speaking about the power structure in that some other country in which Makkah and Al Medinah are located, but it happens to be that these particular rulers are occupying Makkah and Al Medinah and they have no taqwa in them. Dont think for one moment that (because of) this religiosity that they display and this mechanical Shari application that they have in their society that applies to certain people out of which their ruling class is exempt they have a trace of taqwa in them. The best demonstration of the absence of taqwa is that they come like cry babies to their masters in Washington and in the West and with money that belongs to the Muslims they want to acquire protection. Protection from what?! Who are they protecting themselves from?! They cannot even speak their religious
1511

language with the graduates from their religious institutions; they throw them in prison. This is part of their own selves. We never saw this in the news, (but) a few weeks ago, there was a savage act that occurred which was carried in their own news paper, not in the Washington Post, or on TV and you didnt hear about it. A person who had a shop in Al Medinah- one of their cities- takes an eleven year old and sexually abuses him. This may happen and then the father comes and suspects that the owner of this shop has done something with his son and he wants to look for his son inside this persons shop. This person comes with an axe and hacks the father to death. This is supposed to be in an Islamic society. It appears after some investigation by the law authorities in that area that the owner of this shop not only physically abused the eleven year old but he was also taking video recordings of this sodomy with this eleven year old. So they bring the person to court. Dont think theres any mercy by anyone towards a criminal like that, but here is where they say they want to apply the law of Allah to this person. So what do they do? Remember, this is about the same time that all the cameras in the world were concentrating on elections in Iran. (Take a) look at the serious violation of what they consider to be human rights. They take this criminal and this is how they describe it in their own newspaper, (anyone who has doubt about this can review Al Medinah newspaper- one of the Saudi mouthpieces almost a month ago. They say in the newspaper that they killed this person and they crucified him. Remember, were living in the 21st century and you would think when you use the word crucifixion youre speaking about something that was happening way back in history. Here it is taking place currently and we are watching the media in the world focused on election that was by and large a fair election. They were obsessed with it so much and they dont speak about something like this (i.e.) what they consider to be a major violation of human rights- a crucifixion! Where did this happen? Can you tell us more? No! The media, cameras, and commentators- everyone was absent. You dont think the ruling family is not involved in sexual crimes?! But they can get away with it and no one can speak about this because of the absence of that one word that the Quran, Allah and His Prophet speak about At taqwa. If we were to have Islamic speakers around, they would not fear anything or anyone except Allah and if the truth has to be said and expressed, those are the facts (they would) express them (and) not be silent about them. But because they can trace themselves to worldly powers and not to heavenly power; therefore they answer and report to the Mushrikeen and Dhalimeen to Imperialists and Zionist and Allah doesnt factor in. Allah the Power?! What are you talking about?! Oh you come to tell me Allah is a power?! Excuse me the powers are in the Pentagon, the CIA and Tel Aviv. Thats how they think. They use and repeat the word taqwa, but they dont understand/observe/behave it. Cant we see that? Then, they are given the authority and legality to run and control Makkah and Al Medinah. By this definition, if we were to face them with the truth, we would say you are Mushriks. We are not in the habit of trying to use these words the same way they use them. Its easy for them to take a look at the Islamic contexts and say Oh, these are Kafirs and Mushriks. They do this quiet frequently and officially; they look at Muslims, you and I, and say we are Kafirs and Mushriks when we are trying to observe Allah the best we can in our lives and extend it into our social being and here they are fragrantly, for everyone to see, associating other powers with Allah and trumping the authority of Allah by the authority of these other powers. Doesnt that exactly meet the definition of Shirk? But they can get away with their false definition because they have a treasury full of finances and so they spread their wide brush into Muslim areas here and there and pollute and poison the Muslims with this Shirk and Kufr interpretation and
1512

definition and they dont have the courage that comes from taqwa observing Allahs power to say that those who are guilty of Shirk and Kufr are the power masters and power projectors of Imperialism and Zionism. Not one word of Islamic terminology is used against these false powers in the world. Thats where we live brothers and sisters.

1513

ALLEGIANCE
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Ma'shara Al Mu'mineen These ayaat should be the guiding light of Muslim affairs in our time and generation. The Most Knowledgeable/The Authority on how human nature behaves on a political level says to us O you who have pledged yourselves to Allah, don't adopt or position yourselves in regards to Al Yahud and An Nasara as your allies or any position of alliance- superior, equivalent or inferior; proportions or segments of them (meaning Al Yahud wa An Nasara) are allies or in alliance to other proportion of them or segments of them are in alliance with other segments of them (meaning Al Yahud wa An Nasara) (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 51) We don't enter into this formula. If there was a place for us in this formula, Allah would have instructed us to that place. and whoever from among you enters into alliance with them (meaning Al Yahud and An Nasara) becomes one of them (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 51) And this alliance supersedes the rituals, meaning your rituals are not going to vouch for you- you can pray, fast, pay your zakah, go for Hajj and repeat the Shahadah a million times, its not going to save you from the consequence of this alliance. Any Muhammad, Ali, Umar, Uthman, Abd Ar Rahman, etc. who enters into an alliance with them has become part of them. His name should no longer deflect from this fact. But even though Allah is telling us this, the question is "how many of us think, behave and feel with Allah's words?" This is what Allah says to guide or show us the way but how does the average Muslim think or feel about this? They say "but the person/brother prays or fasts." Where does Allah or the Prophet say that if you pray or fast it is going to annul the meanings of an ayah in the Qur'an? These are Allah's words. (Can't) you see how segments of them are in alliance with other sections of theirs? The present day demonstration of this ayah is the NATO alliance. (Can't you) see how differing factions of them come into a common purpose? (Can't you) see how Al Yahud and An Nasara are allies of each other? Who can separate Israel for the United States? There are some Muslims who actually think that they can work, lobby on the political level and speak with this diplomat and the other and at the end they think that this type of contact is going to unglue a relationship that is reinforced by the facts of life, history and the
1514

contemporary shedding of Muslim blood. Then, Allah says (irrespective of) whatever the overt justification is for any Muslim who enters into a political arrangement of a strategic nature with them becomes part of them (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 51) Should we elaborate a little more? We have Islamic Organizations and they are increasing; (we have) some Islamicor Muslim Political Action Committee here and some Muslim Council there and they are intensifying their efforts because they say "these are Ahl Al Kitaab or People of the Book." If they were Ahl Al Kitaab, which book/scripture says that they have the right to kill us and at the same time Muslims are trying to co-opt them. (There was) a simple visa issue that has to do with the State Department. A representative of a Muslim country should have come here to Washington DC but was not given a visa to come from New York to Washington DC in-spite of almost 12 years of so called "lobbying efforts" by the Muslims in Washington DC. If after 12 years they can't secure a simplevisa- a stamp on a piece of paper- isn't this enough for them to begin to understand what Allah is saying? During the time of Allah's Prophet, the powers of Makkah came to him- he didn't go to them- to enter into their decision making process. He wasn't lobbying the Makkah establishment for Islamic clout or influence or positions inside that hierarchy, much less he wasn't thinking about placing Muslims in the establishments of those days i.e. the major superpowers of those days- Persia and the Roman Empire. You have read some of the Prophet's history, could anyone (find) from anything in his history that indicates anything that it was within the range of intentions of the Prophet to have Muslims sitting in the government in nonIslamic establishments (in) Rome or Persia? No! We challenge anyone to present to us evidence from theQur'an or Sunnah to justify this approach to these pronounced foes of Allah. There is no evidence! Muslims have put themselves into these position because they do not want to think independently; before you act independently you have to think independently. They want something to support themselves with, so they find an easy way out of it by saying "these Yahud and Nasara are Ahl Al Kitaab/People of the Scripture and there's nothing wrong in having these types of relationships with People of Scripture." Well, if these "People of Scripture" respect and honor their own scripture, we may have had a range of discussion, but what People of Scripture? What do they honor of scripture? Does scripture tell them to go around the world and drop lethal weapons on innocent people around the world? This is what they've done. They go around the world with their transnational Corporations- you see, people who have money are permitted to be transnational and we're supposed to stew in our nationalism and racism. They are trans-racial, trans-national, trans-ethnic, trans-historical and trans-geography but we no! We're not permitted to think outside our neighborhood neither are we permitted to think inside of our Masjids and here they are going around the world as if it was three blocks. The whole globe to them has shrunk into a few blocks and our whole world has become just the neighborhood that we are living in; we can't think beyond that. When you come to these Muslims who "peddle good
1515

intentions" and ask them "but why are you doing this? Why are you busy building bridges with those who have Muslim blood on their hands?" This is not a figurative form of speech, (it's) literally so. They tell you "well, you see, we have to be practical, we have to acknowledge the facts that we are not a superpower and there's a superpower in this world that we have to interact with in a civilized manner." This is the civilized manner in which they are interacting with superpowers. (If) you look behind their statement, the SaudiArabian government had $450 billion invested (just a decade and a few years ago.) It went down to $420 billion dollars. They lost $ 30 billion of their investments in kafir banks and financial institutions. No one felt it. When you go to the Masjid, do you feel what is happening in the Muslim world? You don't feel it! Even if we bring it to your attention from Jum'ah to Jum'ah you barely feel it because the influence, propaganda, brain washing and selection of information that is presented to the public will have you think the way they want you to think. So, we have no recourse except what Allah is telling us. Then, we have statements coming from those who are supposed to be enlightened Muslims praising the butcher of Muslims for rescuing refugees in Kosova. Were we supposed to be blind to everything that the United States government is doing to the Muslims and the oppressed peoples in the world and look at one instance/development?! When a government is dropping bombs on Iraq, placing sanctions on several other areas in the Muslim world and robbing the rest of the world of its resources and when it does something that appears to be humanitarian, it should be suspect. You shouldn't be free with words of praise on this one occasion and make belief that nothing else exists and nothing else is going on. Why do these lobbyists do such things? Even if there is a humanitarian effort- which is very questionable- by theUnited States in the Balkans what's wrong with us? Do we need some other power to come and defend us? What are these governments in Muslim countries doing outside of the war zone on the borders of Kosova? They are setting up soup kitchens to feed the hungry. This is a humiliation. We should defend our own. We should be the ones who are trying to think of an Islamic solution to this problem. Are we doing that? Where are the Muslim leaders and decision makers who are thinking about a final solution to this alliance of aggression against us? (Yesterday it was Kosova and Bosnia today it is Iraq and Afghanistan) and tomorrow it will be another area and the year after it will be in another area and then we go limping from one catastrophe and tragedy to the next. So you ask them why? Whether it's a diplomat, politician or one of these sincere Muslims that have placed themselves in a position to lobby the Kuffar, Mushrikeen and Munafiqeen. They say to you what the Qur'an says to you. If you're listening to Allah you need not ask them They say but we are afraid that the circumstances may turn against us (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 52) As if Allah doesn't exist. Who's the Sovereign and the Sustainer of life, existence and the circumstances and conditions within that life and existence?
1516

 it is only hope in such circumstances that victory or a breakthrough in these circumstances will come from Allah (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 52) Not from Washington, the United States or Europe they have their own interests. They have abandoned God many, many years and generations ago. We haven't. We're the only link and hope that is left and we shouldn't demean our selves as these spokespersons are by giving any type of creditability to those who have proven their satanic pulses. This is why much hope for Islam here in the United States is concentrated on those who understand the UnitedStates and what it stands for. There are African Americans and minority Americans (as they are called) who understand the United States more than there are those Muslims who read the Qur'an and are supposed to know better. Non Muslims here understand the ways the methods, means and manners of Ash Shaytaan than the Muslims who were given information about this Shaytaan in their holy book. This is what we see and what we have. Then, these people who come from across the ocean, because they know the language of the Qur'an, try to present themselves to Muslims and potential Muslims here in the United States; as if they know the Qur'an because they know the language of the Qur'an. If you know the language of the Qur'an, it doesn't mean that you know theQur'an. If you know the language of Shakespeare that doesn't mean that you know who Shakespeare was! If you know the English language it doesn't mean that you know who Milton was or you automatically understand theBible if you know the language of the Bible. So if anyone who knows the language of the Qur'an that doesn't mean that he automatically understands the message of the Qur'an. These people who know that language have a lot to learn from the Qur'an itself and from the expressions, facts and descriptions of the Qur'an in the real world around. Then, what happens after that? they regret what they have done (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 52) In the five/ten/fifteen years to come down the road, these people today who are lobbying and having discussions with this Shaytaan are going to regret it. We can't wait for them to see their mistake and regret- there's no room for that. We have to go on, proceed and work Allah's will. Had the Prophet given us the rational to do what these types are doing we would surrender to that fact, but that rational is not there. The Prophet did not choose this course. Now, there is a clash of ideas which the Prophet endured for 13 years in Makkah until they came to him and said why don't you join us for a year and then we will join you for a year? Imagine if the higher officials of theUnited States government were to come to the self styled representatives of Islam in the United States and tell them "look, you join us and do what we do and accept who we are for a year and we'll adopt your Islam for a year."These will not believe their ears! They couldn't imagine the highest officials in the land coming to them and saying"we will share the management of this society/country one year according to our laws and regulations and another year according to Islamic laws and regulations." The Prophet did not say let's discuss or think more about or let's see if we can work this out. He was instructed by Allah to say to them
1517

You have your Deen and I have my Deen. (Surah Al Kaafirun verse 6) It's impossible to infuse Al Haqq with Al Baatil. There's no knit, coexistence or working relationship between the two and now we've been enduring for the past 25 years this effort of trying to go to the United States and talk some sense into them. (It's become) full time jobs of Muslims to go to the State Department today. They NationalSecurity Council, State Department and the administration were them that "they are thinking of employing more Arabs and Muslims." Imagine if we have a handful of Muslims in the State Department, National Security and other places and the government still continues to do what it is doing to the Muslims around the world?! That's going to be complicating the problem for some of our brothers and sisters who have missed the message of Allah and the Prophet all together. "Oh we have Muslims there!" It's better for us not to have these complications, but they know it will serve their purpose that's why they are sincerely and seriously thinking about it. Some Muslims- unfortunately- are eager to see a few Muslims on Capitol Hill, Pennsylvania area, Foggy Bottom and if it happens they'll think thatIslam has made a breakthrough over here. No! Islam hasn't made any breakthrough. That's not where Islam and Muslims belong. There are people who are calling out for Islam and they are certainly not in these positions. They are in places where many Muslims don't even want to go to. That's where they need and want Islam, and that's where Islam will work. The question is "who's willing to communicate this Islam to those who are in need of it?"Granted- there maybe some desperate souls on these other levels, but all our concentration and thoughts are placed on having Muslims on that level?! What's wrong with us? Why can't we think out our own Islamicprogram? Whenever there is going to be elections in this country and peoplenot Muslims just the average American citizenwho is fed up with Democrats and Republican because they know now it's the same. Whether it's a Democrat or Republican in the White House running the affairs of this government- there is no difference. Why can't Muslims develop their own Islamic political program and have it compete on par with these other programs that have been robbing the people dry. The issue of racism is a real issue here; how do the Democrats or Republicans solve the issue of racism? They've been exchanging/playing musical chairs in theWhite House for hundreds of years and still the issue of racism hasn't gone away. Now, they have other complicating issues- drug addition, crime, pornography sex, homosexuality, HIV and a host of other issues- what types of solutions do they have? Then, when elections comes around and everyone is exposed to some "theatrics or serious arguments on the surface" between the Republican and Democratic candidate, in the heat of the moment you would think that there is some type of competition or race for the White House; (but) when the dust settles, everyone realizes they're back to square one. They proceed with their killer policies overseas they retrench their polarizing and exclusivist policies at home. Nothing is being done, (and) where are the Muslims in all of this?! Lobbying! Telling us "become a Democratic Muslim or a Republican
1518

Muslim." Has anyone ever heard of a MushrikMuslim or a Kafir Muslims? Is anybody listening to what Allah is saying? Allah says Oh you who are committed to Allah don't adopt My enemy and your enemy as an ally when they are opposed to what Allah has given you of the truth and the fact (Surah Al Mumtahanah verse 1) They are opposed to it not very much by what they say. They are clever not to take on the issue of Islamverbally and publicly. They take on the issue of Islam behind the scenes and far away. They've gained enough experience with that to have fooled many Muslims, but they can't fool those who stay the course and understand Allah and His Prophet. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims As we have stated from this position in previous Jum'ahs concerning the Islamic Center that they have barred/banned us from entering- they said during the course of the intermediary discussions with them, that "they are willing to find a place besides this Center for us to pray in or have our Islamic activities in." Then, upon pursuing their offer, they tell us "no! But we are only willing to rent for a few hours a week for you on Fridays to conduct your Friday prayers and services acts." These are the types of people who don't speak from heart-to-heart. They speak because of their interests. We don't know- Allah knows better- the type of conditions and factors that are at work that led them to make an offer of that nature, but it is becoming clear that somehow time has become an issue to them. This is one thing a committed Muslim doesn't feel that he is running out of that's time. If you are committed to Allah, every day that passes you are approaching your destiny and goal not getting further away from it; you are approaching and becoming closer to it- this is how we see where we are; but that's not how they see where they are. The more time we invest the more satisfied we are; the more time that lapses the more dissatisfied they are. We repeat- if Allah means for us to spend the rest of our vital and healthy life- as long as we have the energy the physical, mental and spiritual determination and power to express ourselves at this time on Fridays- whatever the circumstances, we have committed to Allah and we don't take this commitment lightly. Don't betray your trusts (Surah verse) Our trust with Allah will not be betrayed. This is not a market/bazaar; we are not here to negotiate principles. Wherever we are, we are not there at the expense of our principles. We know that and whether they know it or not is irrelevant as long as we are sincere to Allah on this regard.

1519

RACISM
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ma'shara Al Mu'mineen Many times, if not the overwhelming majority of times, we take things for granted, not knowing that the information, principles, teachings and values that we have are not shared by others who are not in the fold of Islam. How many times, (we all know that there are innumerable times), when we listen to the words of Allah O people- guard yourselves against Allah Who has created you out of one nafs and out of which He has created it's double or mate or couple and out of which He has dispersed many men and women; guard yourselves against Allah and you are aware of this human to womb relationship for Allah is watchful over you, your thoughts, actions, impulses, interaction with others and the way you behave as individuals and societies. (Surah An Nisa' verse 1) These words have a slight, average, condensed or more concentrated meaning to Muslims, whichever category they may be in. Another ayah that we take for granted is Oh people, We have created you from male and female and rendered you as (shu'uban) derivatives of each other and (Qaba'il) correspondence to each other so that you may mutually come to know one another each other the other; the most honorable of you as far as Allah is concerned is the one who is most conscious of Allah's power presence, power immediacy. (Surah Al Hujuraat verse 13) Allah (who is) the focus of our attention not only at the times (that) we are at Salah or Namaz or prayers but Allah who is our focus of attention in whatever we are doing has said that He has rendered us into peoples (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) Or some would say ethnic groups or races of different colors and different languages; some of us are derived from others- whether this is ethnically, racially, linguistically or whatever. The western, secular, alienated mind says that the meaning of this ayah is "peoples and tribes or races and tribes" Shu'uban wa Qaba'il doesn't mean a stagnant and stifled "people or race." Sha'b for those of you who are familiar with the language of the Qur'an isderivatives of other people. People are derivatives of others which doesn't permit a racial or racist idea to penetrate. When we think about ourselves as derivatives of others there's no longer room for
1520

racism, nationalism, ethnicism or these other problems that are causes for wars, hatred, battles and bloodshed. He has rendered us derivatives of each other and correspondents of each other (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) Some of us are derived from others and some of us correspond to others, but (if) you go and pick up any (translation of the) Qur'an and try to understand the meanings, you will encounter the ethnic or racial mentality trying to relate to you this meaning of the Qur'an which in many cases undermine the meanings of this ayah itself. ... so that you will mutually come to know each other (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) You see- the construct of the verb lita'aarafu; it's a collective effort that generates the knowledge of each other. We have heard these ayaat (and) we have heard the Prophet of Allah when he said all of you are the descendants of Adam and Adam is made from dirt- soil and clay. There is no privilege of an Arab over a non-Arab nor for a non-Arab over an Arab; there is no privilege of a white over a black nor for a black over a white except if it be for a conscious guard against the wrath and anger of Allah and doing the implementation of doing what is right, virtuous and correct. You can come across this information, (at least some of it), in some Masajid, Islamic meetings, conversations or presentations here-and-there; though, what is never brought to our attention- which is why many times we take these ayaat and ahadith for granted- is that we live in a world that doesn't recognize this. It's easy for us to theoretically uphold certain standards or values- that's not a very demanding task; what is demanding though is to place what is theory into practice and let us see if we can behave with equality, respect and justice. What do these ayaat and ahadith say when we look at other human beings who don't abide or accept these ayaat and ahadith? You have European-white-Caucasians Muslims who were attacked; their homes were burned to the ground; their towns and villages were bombarded (and) they were forced at gunpoint to leave their dwellings in the millions. Yesteryear it was in Bosnia (and) Kosova and tomorrow it will be in somewhere else. There is a peculiar type of people that cross religious lines (and) who want to equate race with religion; we ask these racialist religious people "if religion and race were synonymous, then how come now we have a few million white European Caucasian Muslims who have been living for thousands of years in those lands displaced?" This is a lesson for religious people who are turned off or on by the issue of race; it drives home a lesson that bigotry and hatred of religion runs deeper than bigotry and hatred of race. Their race did not vouch for them- they look just like any other European person. You can take any Bosnian or Kosovan and drop him/her in any other country in Europe- France, England, Germany or Italy and you wouldn't distinguish the difference, but because they were Muslims, (and mind you, they were only nominal Muslims), it stirred the pot of hatred against them. This has a flip side to it. There are black Christians inAfrica. Do you feel that in what is being said or done around you that
1521

there is any care for black Christiansby the white establishments in Europe and the United States? Here is where race interferes with religion. If there were white Christians in Africa then you would have much of what is being said in the media today concentrate on events in Ethiopia, Eritrea, East Africa, West Africa, South Africa, Central Africa and North Africa; but no, that's not the case. We've lived through the past few years (where) millions of Africanswho were amenable to Christian missionary work could be slaughtered in the hundreds of thousands in Burundi and no one cared much about them. We have rendered you derivatives of each other and compliments of each other so that you will mentally and mutually come to know each other (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) This is the difference between a Muslim and his psychology and a non Muslim and his psychology. When we Muslims take a look at individuals who are not Muslims or who are not in their appearance or mode similar to us, we begin to think of that person (and) we begin to evaluate with our minds the worth or worthlessness of that person by what they do, stand for and by whom they are. And through that mental contact, the evaluation process kicks in and we eventually come to realize the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah are those who are consciously on guard as to Allah's presence (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) This is the way we behave. On the other hand, you have the European type of man who when they see someone who doesn't agree with their color, ethnic stock or racial origin; they look at that person with their emotions; they don't see with their brains or minds. All of a sudden there is this hatred in them because someone doesn't agree with the features they have in their mind. They can take a look at nature and the universe with their mind; they can take microscopes and telescopes and behind the lens they'll have their minds at work but when they come and look at human beings they can't look with their minds; they look with their gut feelings and the hatred they have against those who disagree with them racially or ethnically. the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah are those with an elevated consciousness that protects them against Allah's anger and wrath... (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) Here we have, (in light of these ayaat and ahadith), a world of hatred- this is wrong, unqualified (and) uninhibited hatred. What does it take to stir the Muslim pot? In front of your own eyes you have seen hundreds-of-thousands of Muslims forced out of their homes, valleys, farms and countries. If they can do this and get away with it in this bloody chapter in the Balkans, they will turn around, go somewhere else and do it on a larger scale. What are you and I going to do about this? Isn't this enough? Every time this occurs, (we don't think it is by chance), at the same time that we were having an agony and tragedy in Bosnia, we were having blood shed in Somalia; at the same time we were having agony and a tragedy in Kosova we had bloodshed and war fare
1522

in Ethopia and Eritrea. (It's) as if Allah at the same time and within the same time frame wants you to think- this is a lesson for you to begin to understand how they operate. If they can get away with this and the governments that we have can continue to put the Muslims to sleep until the next week then, we can expect more versions of Kosova somewhere else in the Muslim world a few years from now. If there was any dignity and decency in the Muslims, every time something like this would happen, we would see a government in one of the Muslim lands crumble. Remember, the Christians in theMiddle East- Eastern Right and Orthodox Christians- are in their majority related to the Christians in the Balkans;why haven't we heard from our kinsmen i.e. Christians who belong to our race, ethnicity and language group, (but don't belong to our religion of course), commenting on this bloodshed? Why can they get away with silence as they've been? They've done it through Bosnia and Kosova. Why can't the establishments or the religious hierarchies that we have in our countries go to these men-of-the-cloth and tell them to comment in public for the record about what is happening against the Muslims in the Balkans? It didn't happen in the past seven or eight years when the mass slaughter began in Bosnia and when there's a mass exodus of Muslim people from Kosova and further, the public Muslim mind is not encouraged to think in this direction. Allah in this ayah is stimulating us to think constructively, thoughtfully, progressively and, (if need be), offensively and not go from one slumber Jum'ah to the other slumber Jum'ah. Muslims who listen to the conventional khutbahs in the Masajid are brain dead. Allah says lita'aarafu and the Masjid makes them brain dead. Many bloody instances, extended chapters and lessons of bloodshed are brought to our attention and we manage in the Masjid to bury our head in the sand because of the type of Mimbars andkhateebs we have on those Mimbars. The world is not oblivious to us- they can tell when we think and when we are thoughtless and now they're taking advantage of our mental comatose and they plunge their swords into our bodies. Where is there a public sense of who is atqaa among us i.e. who is most conscious and aware and hence who is guarding themselves against Allah's punishment the most? This issue of course touches on race, ethnicity and nationality as they are defined by the secular and western mind; it touches on and if it does, then why can't we brace these concepts and expose them, (if that's what we have to do)- especially in times like this? If they can't speak up at times like this or if they do speak up at times like this, then what do they say? They praise the Americanpolicy for going there on humanitarian mission. When the American policy was presented to the public as being on a humanitarian missions in the Balkans, it was dropping bombs on Iraq and still had its sanctions this about medicine and food. The US government had relieved the restrictions on exporting medical supplies and food to Iran, Sudanand Libya- that was a smoke screen. There is a persecution of expressing Islam freely by the government of theUnited States. Don't be fooled by what we will come to realize in a few years. Through the Yahudi lobby here inWashington, the United States is supporting its Generals in Ankara and Istanbul. It has entered into an alliance with the Israeli Zionist Jewish government, so if they are doing them a favor now
1523

they will expect Turkey in a few years to do the Israelis a favor in Muslim lands; it could be in Iraq, Iran, Central Asia, Syria or anywhere around the area. Tit-for-tat; this-for-that; a-payfor-a-pay-back, but you wouldn't not know it if you're going to Masjid that gives you Anastasia each week and this is the tragedy that we are living in if we can't express ourselves from the Mimbarand Masaajid and our Makkah and if we continue the way we are. The conventional khateebs i.e. the traditional leaders of prayers were praising US policy (and) we wouldn't be surprised (if) in a couple of years they will be praising Israeli policies. The Israelis had accepted a hundred or so refugees from Kosova; they sent their medical team with a Center that they set up at the borders and in due time if they are consistent in what they are saying they would be praising the Israelis in a few years- courtesy of us not being able to establish mental with the words of guidance and light that Allah has given us. So the next time when you hear these ayaat and the Prophet's ahadithand other ayaat and other ahadith, think of them in the real world that we are living in; think about the implications of the choice of the words and how they address the reality and the facts around us and step out of a smothering tradition and a suffocating custom and breathe the fresh air of these ayaat and ahadith. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We thank, praise, appreciate and glorify Allah knowing where and who we are. It is least expected in conditions like this to repeat and reiterate giving thanks to Allah, but we do. They can take away our homes- which they are doing; they can steal our lands- which they are doing; they can divide our families- which they are doing; they can render us refugees- which they are doing, but they can't make us lose sight that we belong to Allah and will revert one day to Allah. For this fact we thank Allah; we haven't lost sight of this and we never will. We know how racism and religion is entangled in their thoughts and emotions. (If) you take a look at what happened, when there was terror in the Rockeys(about ten years ago), when people were shot and after ten days they were still speaking about it as the number one news item; if this was to happen in a minority area, ghetto or in one of the Metropolitan areas of the United States, it wouldn't have had the coverage that it had which is another indicator of what makes them tick or what really shocks the upper, middle or upper-middle class in the heart of white America, (as it were), away from the image of New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles. We know how things are presented there? This is only the beginning. Now, they're questioning their whole culture. A Muslim didn't say this. We're going to say to you what theSecretary of Justice said. If a Muslim said this by him/herself they would say "listen to that radical or demagogue ranting." This is not the ranting of a radical or demagogue; this is a person responsible for your whole justice system. What did she say? She said "It's dangerous growing up in the United States." That's an understatement. The culture that they have woven around themselves has become the fabric of their own generation. You want to show them the killings on TV and on the wide screen. Before that shooting in Colarado, the Gore family, (the ex-vicePresident of the United States), spoke highly of one of these wide screen movies "The Matrix"; a movie of
1524

violence that portrays the culture that is rearing its ugly head in mid America and then they fell silent after the blood was presented to them on their own TV sets. When Muslims tell them "reconsider this culture of yours" they act as they usually do- either they want to shut off automatically as if what a Muslim says doesn't count or they want to take arm rage with a Muslims statement and say "look, he's a terrorist." Well, if they don't listen to the Muslims, (they should) listen to themselves. Can't they hear what they are saying and see what they are doing? A Muslim who has the heart and vision of the world- because he is in Allah's presence- doesn't only see the tragedy and agony that befalls him, but also the tragedy and agony that befalls mankind. Within all of this, we still maintain our confidence in Allah and our reliance upon Him for He will deliver us from their war machine and culture.

1525

EID KHUTBAH
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad, his Noble Companions and Family. Glory be to Allah. Allah is greater, more important, more central, more magnanimous, more significant than all that distracts us from Him. Fasting the month of Ramadhan raises the conscience of a Muslim to altitudes beyond the distractions and distortions of the Kuffaar and Mushrikin. Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. This is a Ramadhan in which the Muslims are brought to the forefronts and fighting front to prove, (not by words, but by actions), what they say and mean. so that you may magnify Allah for the guidance that He has given you (Surah Al Baqarah verse 185) Not so that you may magnify the Kaafireen, Mushrikeen or Munafiqeen; but so that you may amplify and magnify Allah. Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar.

In today's world, Muslims blood flows; in yesterdays world, Muslim blood was sacred. Allah intended this month ofRamadhan on proving to ourselves that Allah dwarfs all other considerations that mislead us away from Him. and if My subjects query you about Me, I am near (Surah Al Baqarah verse 186) Can this ayah be speaking about those who want B52 and B1 bombers and American Apache helicopters andF16s to protect them? Is this what is meant by the month of Ramadhan? Is this what is meant by your fasting? Is this what is meant by Allah's words? There is no shred of taqwa in the officials in Muslim countries who bow down and prostrate themselves to the Kaafirs and Mushriks and then they turn around to the Muslim public and they recite ayaat from the Qur'an. O brothers and sisters- Muslims of As Siraat Al Mustaqeem- don't be fooled by what they say, even if they are reciting, repeating and vocalizing theayaat of the Qur'an. They say what their mouths what they contradict with their hands. They pronounce the words of the Qur'an which they contradict with the words of their official policy. There is no authority or deity or power except that which belongs to Allah Himself. No one else! He will honor His word to you. What is His word? What has He promised us?

1526

Allah has promised those who are committed from among you to Him and who do (what is right) (Surah An-Nur verse 55) Not who say what is right! These people who occupy our Manabir, Masajid, lands, Holy cities and our Harams inMakkah, Al Madinah and Al Quds, (all of them together), say as salihaat but they are not involved in being activelysaalih in this world. To the contrary, they are responsible for this instability in the world at large and particularly in those areas that are supposed to have Allah as their superior as we are thought in this month of Ramadhan. What do they do? They try to inferiorize Allah for the guidance that He has given us. You can see this in the policies, their inferior psychology, in the way they speak to the world. Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar. How many times have you heard them say these words? They've said it through their microphones, broadcasting stations, on camera and all the time. And when they said it, they came here, to Washington, and they pledged allegiance to theKafirs and Mushriks. They don't pledge allegiance to Allah. Allah has promised you- who are committed to Him- and who act out your commitment (Surah An-Nur verse 55) You express your commitment by your hands, not by your tongue alone. If you do that, Allah has promised you- who are committed to Him- and who act out your commitment that you will inherit the affairs of this world (Surah An-Nur verse 55) He supports His subjects. He doesn't support the Kafirs, Mushriks or Munafiqs who come and go to the Kafirs andMushriks and beg them for help. It is in a bloody sense obvious how the IsraeliZionists-Jews have schemed and now are trying to turn Palestinian against Palestinian. The Palestinian Authority- the watchdog of the Kafirs andMushriks- turns around and goes to those who want to mean what they say i.e. Islamic Jihad and HAMAS and they close down 16 or 20 of their offices and centers. Have these been fasting? Do these listen to the words of Allah or do they listen to the sermons of the Saudi appointed clergymen who are peddling the policy of Ash Shaytaan Al Akbar courtesy of the relationship they have with the Munafiqs around. Where are the Muslims of conscience to stand up and point to these servants i.e. the Palestinian Authority, the government in Saudi Arabia,Egypt. These governments have been disturbed by Muslims who have found a way to deliver explosive dynamite to their enemies (by) carrying these explosives on their bodies. They thought that if they could withhold the delivering systems, tanks, machine guns, revolvers, etc. from the Muslims, then the Muslims are not going to be capable of fighting back. Then, the Muslims in this position that they are in discover that they can deliver explosives on themselves and go and encounter the enemy of Allah, the Prophet and the committed Muslims- which they are doing; and why should the governments in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the rest of the area be disturbed by this? You would think that the only one who should be disturbed by this are the rulers in Tel Aviv and their extension in Washington, but then you have those who are
1527

fasting and who are supposed to be sayingAllahu Akbar, (you hear them), how do these Muslims around who are listening to all of this permit these officials to go into this Masjid? How to you permit to place your conscience in the middle of this turmoil and then pray to Allah? Are you praying to the same God as they are praying to? There god is the god of materialism here in Washington. They pray and worship physical might! They don't worship Allah, even though they may say words to the contrary. Don't judge them by what they say, judge them by what they do. Allah gives glory and pride to His troops. When was the last time you heard of one of these armies in our 57 odd nation states- every generation we hatch another new nation state when we're supposed to be one Ummah- have their pride coming from Allah? They watch as the Zionist-Israeli-Jews slaughter the Muslims in the month of Ramadhan. The Muslims are saying Allahu Akbar in Makkah and Al Madinah and theSaudi, Egyptian and the rest of these rulers are watching and they don't even have the courage to say "we don't even want our diplomats to meet their diplomats." At least Egypt and Jordan have the courage to send their diplomats back and forth, (but) the Saudis do it behind barriers and curtains to meet with the killer of Muslims. Would you think and believe that if Allah's Prophet was here would he be negotiating a cease fire with those who have displaced millions of people, stolen the Haram and who say one thing and do something else- all the way from the Israeli butchers to their sidekick Abdullah. so that you may magnify and amplify Allah for the guidance that He has given you (Surah Al Baqarah verse 185) What guidance? Do our respected clergymen have guidance? Do they give you guidance in this Masjid? What did you hear in this khutbah today and the rest of you around who have clergymen who can be traced all the way back to Rabit Al Alam Al Islami or some seminary department of the Saudi government? How many of you have heard guidance coming out of the mouths of these people who are supposed to communicate the words of Allah and their meanings to you. They don't even know how to speak about a political issue. They can't look at a political issue straight-forwardly with their brains and minds. How can they magnify Allah for the guidance He has given them? Then, their Ambassador who has nationalized this Masjid; they usurped this Masjid just like they usurped Makkah and Al Madinah- they relied on the lies that came to them from the British. Before World War One, the British told them "you'll become the rulers South West Asia- Arabia and the Levant." They were lied to then and they are being lied to today and for thousands of times they accept this lie. If there was any integrity in the Muslims around, they would see that Bandar, (the ex-Ambassador to Washington), would be held accountable. Where does he pray his Eid? Do any of you know? He lives in this city, and some of you feel elated sometimes to be in the presence of these Saudi officials; don't feel elated, feel the responsibility of telling them "do you understand what we are saying on this day of Eid!" Does any Muslim have the moral high ground that is given to you by your Maker, Sustainer and Creator to face off against this flesh and blood image of a person
1528

called Bandar ibn Sultan ibn Abdul Aziz? Who is he? He's become a little deity around here? He dictates to the Muslims what to do and what not to do (and) what to say from the Mimbar! Who is he to tell the Muslims what to say from theMimbar of Rasulillah? Why do you stare? You haven't heard words of truth and honesty coming your way?! Or isBandar and his crew, people and employees above the Qur'an and Sunnah? He goes on television and he prides himself for being with the Kafirs and Mushriks. He's on the side that is dropping bombs. How long is Bandar ibn Sultan ibn Abdul Aziz going to live? Maybe another 30 years if his lucky and if there's not a Muslim that has some pride in him and who can pack him off to the Maker before that time. How long is he going to live? 30 or 40 more years? Will see him on the other side of this issue and dotted line. Half of our lives are already there anyway and we'll look forward to that day. What is he going to bring with him? His petroleum? His henchmen? His Afrikanerguards? He brings South Africans to guard his residence in Washington DC. We know about him just as much as he knows about us; and Allah knows more about us and him. Muslims, don't be receded inside of you. Feel the izzahthat Allah has given us. Feel the responsibility that Allah has imparted to us and make the qualitative change from feeling this inferiority towards these Saudis. The African-American community is the community that is being preyed upon; they victimize, brainwash a few of them and send them to Saudi Arabia bring them back here to create divisions among the Muslims. They don't want us to hate our common enemy i.e. the Israeli Zionist Jewsand everyone in their circle. They want us to hate ourselves. They want us to be self-hating Muslims. They took a page of out of Yahudi history. Instead of having self hating Yahudis, whose conscience turn upon their evil ways, we can have self-hating Muslims so we can dissipate our potential and be of no consequence to them. EspeciallyBandar, the head of all of these feelings that are going on. How about other Muslims in their congregational,jum'ah, and Eid gatherings having the courage to speak about this enemy from within who is lubricating all of these wars against us and take them on mentally, spiritually and physically if need be. He's not above the Qur'an, Sunnah and the law, but he acts as if he is. We are sure that within the rank and file of the Prophet's people, there are those who have the dignity to expedite that day of glory and pride for you and I and the rest of the oppressed people. Brothers and Sisters When we look at our condition today, we should look at it with the purified and noncontaminated senses from the month of Ramadhan. We can acknowledge the fact that there are bombs that they are dropping on innocent people in Muslim lands. This is equally true in Palestine as it is in Afghanistan and other areas of the Muslim world. But we don't see this as a matter of saying "look- we should further negotiate with our enemy." Where do you find the basis for this. Imagine if Allah's Prophet was here now, would he be entering into these types of negotiations that we are hearing about nowadays? (Need we remind you that) from the days when Arafat- the proxy of Western hegemonistic interests- delivered a speech to the Muslims in the Holy Land, what did he say to them in effect? (That) "Muslims have been undoing
1529

the Oslo process and he wants all of us Palestinians and non-Palestinians- back in that process and in that regard there is no room for HAMAS, Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah and all the rest who represent what they say." Let's not be hypocritical. Arafat used to go into the Masjid and sayAllahu Akbar and he comes out and says "Israel is Akbar!" That was how he acted and believed! He wanted the Muslims back to begging the Israelis to concede an inch here and there while that belonged rightfully to his own people! He didn't learn. He became senile and was not able to learn from the past years of prostrating himself at the niche of Zionism, but he wanted to teach Muslims a lesson! He was doing that on behalf of his sponsors. His sponsors would not let him go to Ad Doha, Qatar to attend an emergency session at the Organisation of Islamic Conference. Sharon told him bluntly "do your job here, meaning in the Occupied territories, Gazzah and the West Bank, 1st and then we'll permit you to go elsewhere! But if you don't do your job, you stay set right where you are!" Is this the psychology and character of a Muslim? If Arafat was saying, meaning and acting Allahu Akbar, he would not have been 2nd fiddle to the diktat of the Israeli-Zionist-Jews in Tel Aviv whisking in thoroughly and obviously. This was not someone who was saying and meaning Allahu Akbar. This is what they want to do with us and then, they are offered this protection by the Saudi, Egyptian and the rest of the governmental system throughout the area. This is the protection they have, and we are left to Allah. If you don't emerge from this month of Ramadhan realizing that we can only depend and rely on Allah, you have shed all the benefits of your fasting and you have squandered all the advantages that come to you from observing this fast during the past 29 days of Ramadhan. We understand that we are required to pay dearly for our commitment to Allah and we will, and these lies and distractions will go nowhere. They will rebound upon those who pronounce them who will be exposed year after year and generation after generation and from one so-called bilateral/multilateral agreement to the next. In the meantime, we will remain faithful to what we say. We do not say these words on Eid to satisfy our ears. We are not repeating these words today just because this is a tradition. We are an extension of the Muslims who mean what they say. If the Kafirs want to call them careless, radicalism and all their dictionary words to defame us, they can go ahead and do that (because) we are located with Allah, based in the Qur'an and influenced by the Prophet and they can go on and regurgitate their propaganda time after time after time.

1530

AL QUDS DAY
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslim whose destiny is in Allah's care He- the Exalted, the Almighty- speaks to us and says Permission has been granted for those who have been aggressed upon or become targets of combat for reasons pertaining to their maltreatment and injustice inflicted upon them and certainly Allah is well capable of affording them triumphant and victory. (Surah Al Hajj verse 39) On this day the worldwide day of Al Quds Jerusalem we bring to bear in our minds and lives these vital meanings of the Holy Writ. Those who have been forcefully uprooted and taken out of their residence, territories and lands and ripped away from their possessions and wealth (Surah Al Hajj verse 39) For what reason? Because they have what it takes to qualify in the eye of the enemy as being unimplacable. Who needs permission? Concentrated with me- this ayah says udhina li alladhina yuqataluna bi annahum dhulimu it didn't say udhina li al mumineen or udhina li al muslimeen bi annahum dhulimu. It says generally Anyone/everyone who has been granted human life and dignity by Allah and then is aggressed upon, oppressed and has been dealt with injustly has been given the permission to fight back by Allah (Surah Al Hajj verse 39) This permission is not needed from man. We don't have to go to the United Nations and International Organizations to seek and beg for International legality to live as decent and equal human beings with all the rest who are around us. This permission comes from the source of legality, value and human standards. Who has now been objects, targets and subjects of aggression and combat? It has happened to Muslims. You've lost your sanity just because there is an international chorus of lies, fabrications, claim and accusations against us; you've lost touch of Allah and you've lost sight of the trust you've been given (and) you can't stand up and say our Sustainer is Allah?! When we have become the systemic victims; as if we were born into victimhood! (Can't you) see the plight of the Palestinians, among others in the Muslim lands that stretch from one ocean to the other; and then we have our respected shuyukh around who can't even develop a sound argument based on theQur'an and Sunnah that can see the day of light and take on the innuendo and fabrications that are thrown at us. Before they drop their bombs on us
1531

they throw/hurl these accusations against the Muslims and then the people who are supposed to have the moral attitude to say "No. We don't accept these accusations. You can repeat them a million times everyday- we don't accept them." How can we equate criminals with those who are committing themselves to Allah? How can we say "there is a fair and equal argument between the Zionists and the Palestinians?!" How can this be? These people were ejected by force in the millions from their homes and then they come and say "Israel is a democracy in the Middle East?" This is the way the future trend is developing with the deafening silence from the Mimbars around the word who cannot even speak their heart and minds on this issue. What are these so called scholars doing? Aren't they preparing the way? If can't understand and realize the meanings of these ayaat, where's their triumph and victory going to come? Is it going to come from BarackObama? The United States or European governments? What happened? People don't read and understand theQur'an any longer? indeed it is Allah who is able to provide them with victory. (Surah Al Hajj verse 39) Ordained for us is combat duty (Surah Al Baqarah verse 216) What are you going to do? (Are you going to) run away from these ayaat? These are ayaat from the Qur'an. (Do) you want to runaway from the meanings of these ayaat just because they have the media speaking about a terrorist Islam? You can't even stand up for the words you are reading? There is no use in you reading them if you can't do so! Combat duty has been ordained upon us while we dislike it (Surah Al Baqarah verse 216) We are not trigger happy or blood thirsty Muslims like they want or make us to be in their fabricated media all together. We know that if we go to the warfront, we are going there because it is the ultimate duty that has to be done. (It's) not like what we have with many other forces. Today is the global day of Al Quds; on this day, (take a) look at the Palestinians. For the past 61 years what have they been trying to do? They've been slaving it out with politicians, diplomats, government and international officials going from one place to the next. They went to the United Nations from 61years and they begged for their course. They went to the NonAlignment Movement many times. They tried to play the Cold War issue (with) one superpower against the next. They went to the Arab league, the Organisation of the African Unity- they went all around the world (and) what did they get? More misery. More oppression. More aggression. The more they believed in that approach, the more of the same was coming to them from these ZionistIsraeli-Jews. Finally, they've been convinced and there has been changes that have taken place that made them reach this conviction i.e. the only way to communicate with the Israeli-ZionistJew is to exchange power with power, force with force, fighting with fighting, shooting with shooting. That's the only language they understand. What did the Palestiniando? What do Muslims or non Muslims in these conditions do? They don't have the military delivery instruments and machinery to match F16s with F16s and American made Apache helicopters
1532

with other helicopters. They don't have tanks. They have none of that, but they can find some explosives. And the only way they can deliver those explosives in a very primitive system is to place those explosives on their bodies because they've been excluded. Remember, they've been enslaved for the past 61 years. The world is trying to celebrate that it has left the age of slavery and we have placed people in the Holy land in the condition of slavery. The Israeli, American, Europeangovernments (and) the governments is Arab countries don't want to listen to them. They tell them directly and indirectly "you are condemned to live as a Palestinian slave and if you don't like it we will kill you or throw you out of this land altogether." What are people/human beings to do when they are placed in such conditions? (Do) they say "we accept the diktats of these Israeli-Zionist-Israeli/American interests duo? We accept that we and our future generation become slaves?" Or do they say "no. We don't accept that. We've tried to speak to you in the past 60years plus and none of you were listening. Now is the time to take you on directly and if that means we are going to place explosives on our bodies and try to target a military installation of the Zionist-Israeli-Jewish occupiers and usurpers of our lands and rights, and this is the only bitter results and choice that we have." It's not like they have many other choices. That's the only choice they are left with, and here comes the mouth pieces of Ash Shayateen around the world and they say "these are suicide missions and operations."They are lying and fabricating. These are not suicide missions and operations. These are legitimate military missions and operations. Have they given the Palestinians the instruments of warfare, planes and tanks and they didn't want to use these planes and tanks and they wanted to go on these so-called suicide missions? No. So what is left for them? What is left for them is to place these dynamite sticks around their bodies, walk to a military target and try their best to have military personnel their goal. In the meantime, things can happen. You can have security agents (and) vigilante Zionist Jewish settlors who are armed day and night who if they suspect a certain person is carrying some explosives (they'd kill him). What are you to do? (Do) you raise your hands and give up and surrender? Or placed in such conditions and circumstances, he ignites the explosive that he has and goes on to Allah. Don't be fooled by this Israeli society. This is not a civilian society this is a military society. How are we going to come and say that Israeli citizens and nationals who serve in the war forces in their country, who have blood of innocent people on their hands, who are every year recalled for reserved service (for) between a month and a half and two months and who serve other military related industry and offices during the remainder of the year are civilians. TheZionist-Israeli-Yahud have blurred the line between a civilian and a military person in their own artificial society. (It's) not for us to weed them out. They have to draw that line and if they don't draw that line, then they can accept more of the same. Allah has transacted a business with those who are committed to Him (Surah At Taubah verse 111) What is this transaction?
1533

 he has bought from them their lives and wealth. And in exchange for that He has given them Al Jannah or paradise (Surah At Taubah verse 111) So what are the details of this transaction? How can we give Him what He has bought from us and we can receive what we bought from Him? We fight. When we reach conditions such as the conditions that we've reached, we fight! We're not going to turn around and say "there's nothing in Islam that has to do with fighting and warfare." There's plenty of ayaat and ahadith that detail warfare- its standards, rules, regulations, laws, code of conduct- all of this is in our Holy scripture. they do combat for the cause of Allah and consequently they kill and they are killed; and this is a truth from Allah in the Torah (the Old Testament) in the Injeel (the New Testament or Gospel or Bible in general) and it is also stated in the Qur'an; who can be more of His promise than Allah? And consequently as a result of all of this receive the glad tidings and good news of this transaction with Allah and that is the triumph supreme. (Surah At Taubah verse 111) Where are these ayaat in today's world? You would think everyone around would be quoting these ayaat when the forces of shirk, kufr and the munafiqs with them are dropping bombs on us around the globe. What happened? We have some domesticated Ulema who come around and then apologize for their Islam(saying) "Oh No. Islam is a religion of mercy and peace." We all know Islam is a religion of mercy and peace- they don't need to formulate a khutbah about that, but don't they know the circumstances and conditions we are in? They're preaching peace and kindness to us! We've been so peaceful and so kind that we've been taken to the international slaughter house! They should preach that peace and kindness to our enemies. They need those types of khutbahs but we don't need them. We need khutbahs by which we can defend ourselves and by which we can build confidence of who we are. Don't plant the seed of suspicion and doubt in the Muslim Ummah like these Saudi administered, financed and sponsored Masaajid and preachers around the world do. We don't want that. The Prophet says (and others also with him repeated this), in onehadith, (just to quote for you one hadith), after one of these battles in those formative years of an Islamic reality in the land of Arabia said I wish I would have had the opportunity to have been killed for the cause of Allah at the battle front and then be given the chance to come back to life and be killed again and again and again. This is the izzah/pride of a committed Muslim that has been lost among the committed Muslims. This is what the Muslims of today need. We don't need these soft spoken mouth pieces that face the camera and turn apologetic about everything in Islam that has to do with living and dying for our rights. This is a world that has found common purpose against us. This is not the time to soft peddle these issues, especially the central issue is of Al Quds, Jerusalem, the occupied territories, the Holy Lands and the usurped Haram. Our harams are stolen from us in Makkah,
1534

Al Madinah and Al Quds. Please- brothers and sisters- grow up and mature so that you can see that the government in Saudi Arabia and Riyadh is as criminal as the government in occupied Palestine and Tel Aviv. If you are short sighted, undeveloped and immature they will take advantage of this imbalance and wreak havoc in the Muslim rank and file because of that. We don't have the leisure to permit them into our rank and file and begin to play us off against each other because we think that the Saudi Arabian government is less evil than the Zionist government or the Zionistgovernment is less evil than the Saudi Arabian government. None of them are less evil than themselves. They are equally evil; they are surpassingly evil. That is how we are supposed to understand how we got to where we are today. If you are out there trying to bring victory to Allah, He will be there trying to bring victory to you (Surah Muhammed verse 7) This will never happen by those who are sitting on the fence or those who are comfortably ensconced somewhere behind four walls and artificially feeling that they are in some communiqu with Allah. This is not the real world. This is not the Sunnah of the Prophet. These are not the teachings of the Qur'an. (If) you want to feel that you are in touch with Allah go out to the real world carrying with you the inspiration that comes to you from theQur'an which will never come to you when you are withdrawn from this world. Subjects of Allah In the past weeks, Allah's enemies, the enemies of the Prophet's and the committed Muslims viz. theZionist-Israeli-Jews have embarked upon a very dangerous course. In as much as they, (for all practical purposes), have launched themselves into an undeclared effort to transfer the Palestinian population out of theWest Bank and Ghazzah altogether. (Being) the cowards that they are, they haven't come out and said frankly and publicly that this is what they are intending to do. But any Muslim who has lived the bloody chapters of the past few decades of Zionist plundering, savagery and massacres in the land can ascertain that this is what they have in mind. What are the governments in Arab countries doing? Nothing. This day of Al Quds i.e. the last Fridayin the month of Ramadhan, that was designated as such on by Al Imam Al Khomeini should not be just a day in a year (when) we see you come out of the wood works. Where have you been before now? These people who have occupied this Masjid belong to the same system that have occupied the Holy Lands. Can any of you go to the Holy Land i.e. to Palestine to do your duty there? They say "no. That's not practical." Wellcome over here on Fridays. This Masjid is under occupation. Where are you? Going to sleep in another khutbah in the area somewhere?! And that satisfies you?! (Do) you think you have done your duty by coming here the last Friday inRamadhan and you discard your duty towards the liberation of Al Quds, Jerusalem, the Holy Land- Palestine. (Do) you think this the way the world operates? You can go back and we won't see you for another 51 weeks and we'll see you again. But in the meantime, be advised of your responsibility and trust that Allah has given you
1535

cannot be fulfilled by a Friday every year or by some type of tradition/ceremony that you go to every once and then and you are this perfect Muslim that very comfortably looks askance at the other Muslims, especially those Muslims in Palestine. (Countless) families no longer have a roof and ceiling over their head. They're in the open- homeless. (Do) you think Allah is closer to them or to the artificial and crocodile tears that you generate in your so-called moments of devotion in your traditional ceremonies? If you have enough wisdom, then you'll know what we're talking about. Our Islam is not an occasional/ceremonious one. If you had enough of it, we'd see you here every week. But we complain to Allah. There's no word that has been stated in this khutbah that has to do with anyone of you personally, but those who feel the pain and anguish of their brothers and sisters who no longer have homes- this is not limited to one areabut because this is an area that we can all agree upon- at least let us agree upon it.

1536

THE CHAINING OF SATAN (THE MUNAFIQS CONFIDANT) IN RAMADHAN

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters in this month of Ramadhan One of the benefits that is acquired during this month of Ramadhan is to have the insight that comes with parting from worldly pleasures; an insight that is cultivated by distancing ourselves from our intimate desires and an insight that grows by gaining the company of Allah and losing the attraction of the world. In our continuing effort to throw light on our Islamic maturity, we will consider, (with the help of Allah), some of what the Prophet demonstrated to us with the advantage of Ramadhan. The Prophet's behavior is our Sunnah; the Prophet's actions become our objectives. So let us observe the Prophet in some of the defining moments of his exemplary life. We spoke about the Jews/Yahud and their attitude i.e. what defines them when Islam is the order of the day. Obviously, we did not exhaust the details of their awkward and hostile approach to Allah's Messenger and probably what will sum it up is a sentence that was expressed by one of the leaders of these Yahud on the day of divine justice on earth. WhenBanu Quraidha committed high treason and deserved the death sentence for it, Huyayy ibn Akhtab- the person who was in those four-to-five years after the prophet arrived in Al Medinah busy trying to put together a force against the Muslims. This in not something that is irrelevant. Today, Islam has its base and there are Yahudis who are frantic, who from within the Muslim hemisphere go about trying to coble together a force against the Islamicbase in our time. When Huyayy ibn Akhtab was brought to Al Medinah to be executed, his hands were tied to his neck and the Prophet is taking time to think about this- the Prophet could have been absent from the administration of the death sentence to (between) 600-to-700 Yahudis, but he wasn't absent. He was there to see that justice be done. When Huyayy ibn Akhtab walked in front of the Prophet, he looked the Prophet in the face and listen to what he said to him; and then he turned to his own people i.e. these other Yahudis who were waiting their turn and said some words to them i.e. he said it is the fate of Bani Isra'eel/Israelis to endure this tragedy. But what did he say to the Prophet? That sentence of his that sums up the psychology and mentality of the Jews concerning the Muslims. He was a person who is tied and he's only moments away from receiving the sentence that he rightfully deserves. He says to the Prophet's face, (in a rough translation), I have not blamed myself one moment for being hostile to you; meaning he didn't have any qualms about anything he did! He had no regrets about going all around the Arabian Peninsula, putting together a military alliance that showed up in AlMedinah and besieged it- during those terrible times when
1537

the tide was turning against the kafirs and Mushriks;meaning if he had another life or more time, he would continue to show his hostility to the Prophet and the IslamicState in Al Medinah. With the insight of Ramadhan, we should not for one moment dismiss the presence of theMunafiqeen in Al Medinah. In the 1st instance we should realize that there were no Munafiqs in Makkah. In those 13 years of Islam- a struggle, the persecution and torture of the Muslims and there was no Nifaq in Makkah. Not even one of the ayaat that were revealed during those 13 years referred to Nifaq or Munafiqs, but then when the Muslims finally gained a power presence in Al Medinah; they gained the power and authority to do, implement and apply the standards, values and morals of Islam in real life and in the social order of people around- here is where Allah opened the eyes of the Muslims on a reality of life called an nifaq which is represented by human beings in flesh and bones. When the Muslims scored their 1 st military victory in Badr, these Munafiqs and Yahud were not the same Munafiqs and Yahud before Badr. They felt the impact, presence, power and aura of Islam and obviously they went into a higher gear and accelerated mode of hostility to the Muslims, the Prophet, the Islamic State and anything that represents the power presence of Islam. They knew that Islam had gained not only foot-hold but a base from which it will grow and expand. So who are these Munafiqs? The most familiar character that appears throughout the books of history, Seerah, bibliography and the rest that we have is Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Sallul.This was the person who was about to become the leader of Al Medinah. In the year when the Prophet arrived inAl Medinah, the people of Al Medinah were preparing to crown him their leader; and then all over a sudden the Prophet comes to Al Medinah and he becomes the leader of the Islamic State in Al Medinah. This Munafiq, ibnSallul used to stand up in the Masjid on Fridays before the Khutbah and the salah and he used to speak words of praise for the Prophet telling the people this person has come to you with guidance. You have to honor, support and be with him. But what was his real character? You, I and no-one else would have known what his real character was if it wasn't for the power practice of the Muslims. When the Muslims had the power to face up to their enemies, along with that came the advantage of exposing the Munafiqeen inside the Muslim rank and file. When the 1st faction of Yahud- Banu Qaynuqa's treachery was exposed, this Munafiq came to the Prophet and said to him be kind to my allies. Show them the good part of you. Why should someone like that come to the Prophet, (who he should acknowledge as being the supreme leader), and begin to make a case for the Jews? He said to the Prophet there's 400 of these Jews who don't have weapons and there are 300 of them who are armed. They protected me from all types of danger. What does this have to do? You can detect thisMunafiq from his ego. So what if before Islam they did protect him from all types of danger? Have they not committed treason? Why don't he look at the facts as they are? But this is how these Munafiqs are exposed.

1538

This same character at the time of the 2nd battle between the Muslims and their enemies at Uhud, when the Prophet convened a meeting and he asked those who were present should we fight these enemies who are coming from Makkah to Al Medinah inside Al Medinah or should we go and encounter them beyond Al Medinah? And there were two opinions. The Prophet's opinion was they take on these Makkan forces inside Al Medinah because it will offer obvious advantages. The other people are not familiar with the terrain in Al Medinahbecause they're coming from Makkah and the people in Al Medinah know it very well. They'll know how to ambush, surprise and strike at sensitive areas from sensitive positions. But the majority of the Muslims from whom the Prophet solicited an opinion said no. We'll go and face the enemy from outside Al Medinah. This Munafiq in the meeting agreed with the Prophet. He is a Munafiq and he agreed with the Prophet! No. We should fight the enemy from inside Al Medinah. Why did he do that? Maybe because he wanted to polarize (and) make the spit amongst the Muslims more serious? Whatever the case is, as they go to Uhud- because the Prophet in demonstrating a real shura to the Muslims said let us arm ourselves, leave Al Medinah and meet them outside Al Medinah. As they were going that distance outside of Al Medinah, ibn Sallul- this same Munafiq- saysMuhammad has listened to inexperienced people, (i.e.) the young the zealous types. He didn't listen to experience. Why should we go out and virtually kill ourselves outside Al Medinah? What did he do? He left and deserted with onethird of the Muslim army, i.e. those who were going with the Prophet outside to fight against the Mushriks at a distance from Al Medinah. This is called treason. We know what the battle was. The Muslims did not score a victory at Uhud. Other people would say "the Muslims lost the battle at Uhud." Once theMushriks returned to Makkah, would it not have been in the order of Islamic, Divine and Qur'anic justice to bring this Munafiq and a third of Al Medinah who deserted to justice i.e. to put them in a court of law and ask them why did you desert (when) under arms at a time when you were needed the most? That could have been done, but what would that mean? It would mean an internal Islamic war at a time when Muslims are at war with the external enemies from Makkah and the other parts of the Arabian Peninsula- that's the 1st issue that we should be aware of. Munafiqs may continue to dwell among the Muslims and they will only be exposed when the Muslims escalate their activities to this degree of commitment, struggle and sacrifices. These people wouldn't have been exposed if there was no Badr and Uhud. ibn Sallul didn't end there. In the years to come when the Muslims were going to one of the final battles in the lifetime of the Prophet of Allah i.e. to Tabuk, this Munafiqdeserted the Muslim army for the 2nd time with 80 plus of the Muslim warriors and went back to Al Medinah. Once again, you ask why weren't these types brought to justice. Not only that, we should also ask, (and this is a very important question), who are these one-third of the Muslim army who deserted in Al Medinah? Why don't we have- in the books that are accessible to us- the names of these people? This is a very serious, important and critical thing to know because there are some Muslims who say "all the people around the Prophet who saw, spoke, conversed or communicated with him are all Sahaba." If all of them are, then why
1539

did one third who broke away or deserted the Prophet at a time when he needed them most? Let us pose this question to the scholars and Ulema'(i.e.) the learned people among us. We all know ibn Ubay and the role that he played with Yahud and the enemies of Islam at the same time pretending to be a Muslim. But why do we only know one figure? Why can't they bring out the names of those others in the hundreds who were with him at that time? They didn't disappear. They lingered on. They lived into crucial years to come. Why don't we know anything about them? We say this after reading the books that are available to us where none of these names are mentioned. Why? This is an issue that the Muslims should be aware of. It's obviously an issue that our enemies- whether they were 1,400 years ago or today- don't want us to know about. There is also this organic relationship between Munafiqs who are inside the Muslim social body and Yahud and the Mushriks who are outside of the Muslim social body. The last thing they want us to know is the relationship they have growing between them. In our day and time we have opportunities. One of these opportunities was the apprehension of 13 Jews in Iran because they were playing the lines of treachery. Whether the court of law will incur the death sentence on them or not is yet to be seen, but because they were on these lines of treachery i.e. playing these channels of treason- just like we observed in the time of the Prophet when Yahud was playing the same role what their penalty was. During this time, who are the Munafiqs like ibn Sallul in our times? Who is going to go up to the Muslim officials in the IslamicState of Iran and tell them "show your better character when you pass your judgment on these Jews." There's bound to be those internal connections within the Muslim social body that are going to feel that they are obligated to express their ideas and try to move the decision makers to show clemency for these types of traitors. This may not become public knowledge and this is one of the benefits that comes from the Seerah of the Prophet. This was not classified information as it was happening. Everyone knew about it. All Muslims had information about it at that time. It is a pity that this accurate information did not live on and wasn't transmitted to us today so that we could look back and weed out those initial Munafiqs in the Islamic society of that time so that we can further understand what happened after that. They didn't give up. This activity of owing their allegiance to the enemy of the Muslims and then pretending, (on the surface), to owe their fidelity to the Islamic State wasn't limited to one character and it wasn't represented by a couple of instances. They worked very hard in trying to have the Muslims convinced that the Prophet's wife Aa'isha (may Allah be pleased with her)- as she is the Prophet's wife- is somehow an adulteress; known in Islamic history as hadith ifq.As if our Prophet was married to an adulteress?! And after that he remained married to her. If she had committed an unbecoming act, he could have easily parted with her and have her go her own way, but they wanted to instigate this idea amongst the Muslims. Why? To have the Muslims lose their relationship with the Prophet.

1540

They went on to build a Masjid called Al Masjid Ad Diraar. They built a Masjid to be a base for their operations. They've come a long way now because now they have more than one Masjid. They even have Makkahand Al Medinah. Why? Because we've spent 1,400 years not taking a close look at who they really are. So they moved in. Surah At Tawbah is replete with eye-openers concerning these types of people. Can't you consider those who are Munafiqs who say to the kafirs from Ahlil Kitaab... (Surah Al Hashr verse 11) When Banu An Nadhir tried to kill Allah's Prophet by dropping a rock on him, the Prophet encircled their neighborhood in Al Madinah and when these Yahud were in difficult times, the Munafiq came to them and told them don't be concerned or worry about it. We are with you and if you're forced to leave Al Medinah, then we're going to go with you (Surah Al Hashr verse 11) What happened after that? Banu An Nadhir was forced out of Al Medinah but the Munafiqs continued to live in Al Medinah, which means they can't even keep their word with their true superiors? These Munafiqs that we have in our midst can't keep their words with their superiors when there is an Islamic force/power that is found in the land. They can't keep their word because they shift to where ever their interests is. How does Allah describe these types of people whose positions shift with the way they conceive power? If these Munafiqs meet, encounter or come across alladheena aamanu, (this is supposed to be you and I), they say we are committed/true believers/faithful, but then when they are in their private sessions/meetings/discussions with their Shayateen, they say to them but we are with you (Surah Al Baqarah verse 14) Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims In this month of Ramadhan, we should remember that Allah has chained the Shayaateen. We should be aware of the fact that because of our love for Allah we have parted with food, water and the pleasures of our appetites. Why do we do this? So that we may gain a presence with Allah we should try our best, (at least in this month of fasting and observing Allah), to filter our daily lives of practices or inclinations that are not satisfactory to Allah. Let us hope and pray that if we do this during this month, we will have the momentum to do it throughout the coming months, so that our proximity of Allah becomes tangible to our hearts and minds. Invoke AllahHis name and His presence- during this month, during the times of day and night so that we are no longer the type of ritualistic Muslims that are led from time-to-time to the slaughter house and from year-to-year into massacres. (It's) as if every Ramadhan, Muslims are on an appointment with a massacre somewhere or military aggression in the Ummah. Go, (and not only that), bring into your mind the presence of Allah so that this can no longer become the routine in the years to come. If we can deliver ourselves from our lusts in Ramadhan, as
1541

Allah commands, we will be able to deliver ourselves from the attacks against us that Ash Shaytaancommands.

RAMADHAN AND THE WEALTH FAST

1542

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha Al Mu'minun We've been fasting for almost 14 days. Even though the affects of this month of Ramadhan are diluted- still the month of Ramadhan has in it for those who are conscious of what they are doing; not the habitual Muslims or the mechanical believers- (but) the conscious and conscientious Muslims observing the act of fasting in the month ofRamadhan have two issues that they should be keenly aware of. The 1st issue is the issue of hunger, (which we spoke about earlier in the previous khutbah). The 2nd issue is the issue of wealth and money. When we read theayaat about as siyaam in Surah Al Baqarah about fasting that begin with ayah 183 upto ayah and after we finishbehaving and socializing these ayaat- (i.e.) these ayaat were not meant for a private person, a secluded individual or some singular human beingthese ayaat were meant to inspire a social attitude and a collective behavior. After this social and collective behavior gel and come together, Allah says at the end of these ayaat, specific as they are to as saum And do not consume money/wealth/possessions among yourselves illegitimately and then you approximate yourselves with this wealth towards those who are ruling, (kings, presidents, governments, whatever description these rulers may have), and in the process you consume a proportion of the wealth of people in a criminal and sinful manner while you are knowledgeable or you have gained knowledge. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 188) This gaining of knowledge comes from where? (It) comes from the observance of Ramadhan as it's supposed to be observed. If we observe Ramadhan, we know what hunger is. We can relate to people who are deprived. If we observe Ramadhan we are also supposed to be aware of the role of wealth, money, capital, investment, distribution, monopoly (i.e.) all of the issues that come with or accompany the facet of finances in life. The consciousness in Ramadhan towards the issue of wealth- either the abundance or the lack of wealth. The consciousness that we are speaking about centers around the word amwaal which means finances, money, riches and wealth. This word amwaal and its synonyms or derivatives is mentioned 85 times in the Qur'an. You would think that a word that is mentioned 85 times in the Qur'an is something the Muslims have a good understanding of, but it turns out in the real world no one wants to speak about money. Allah speaks about money in 85 different locations in the Qur'an and we have preachers and teachers today, (who, at least have the appearance of Muslims), but they don't want to speak about money. This is astonishing knowing what Ramadhan is and tuning into this ayah, we know that the month of Ramadhan tames our human nature, disciplines our behavior; more to the point, it sensitizes our feelings so that we can identify with those who don't have and it sensitizes our feelings and sparks our thoughts regarding people who have too much.
1543

If we are almost 14 days into our Ramadhan, how far are we on probing our relationship with money? Have we spent these days and nights thinking of people who have and don't have money? Or are the Muslims scared because there was a generation of a century of Leftists,Socialists, Communists, Marxists, Leninists, Trotskyists and the rest of this crowd who came along and stole the attention of the world public (by) speaking about these issues? Are Muslims- even though they are fastingRamadhan- so scared of the issue because of what happened in the past 100 years that they are incapable of thinking about it? Today we have a money issue that's filling the atmosphere. They speak about the melt down, break up and coming apart of significant financial institutions. (A year ago)- they were speaking about LehmanBrothers- the fourth largest bank in the country that is over a century-and-ahalf old going belly up! They're speaking about the gyrations on Wall Street. They're speaking about certain people having a run on certain banks. They're speaking about countries/industrial giants in the world who are moving in to this financial condition to try to rescue the monetary system of the world. All of this is happening on our time. As Allah has timed it, all of this is unfolding in the month of Ramadhan in front of our very eyes and yet Muslims have a psychology that is so weak, they don't want to speak about this subject. Allah is saying in these 85 ayaat, (if we were to quote to you these 85 ayaat, they would consume the whole khutbah just quoting them and translating their meanings), but in 85 different areas in the Qur'an, Allah speaks about finances, capital and wealth and here we are in the month of Ramadhan incapable of venturing into this areas with minds enlightenment by Allah and His Prophet. With the depth of Ramadhan we should realize that wealth is a matter of appetite. We're not mixing economics with nutrition; what we are saying is that the same way man has an appetite for food, he has an appetite for amassing wealth. If we only had the Muslim minds that we are supposed to have! Allah says And you are infatuated with the love for money. (Surah Al Fajr verse 20) And (in) another ayah which brings us to the core of this issue, Allah says- if only Muslims were in the psychology of RamadhanMade appealing to people is the love of the lust for women, manpower and to have a stock pile of gold and silver (Surah Aal Imran verse 14) (Can't) you see? This is where the issue lies deep down in the psychology of man. We have an attraction to wealth, besides the other attractions that vie for our attention, the pertinent issue here is our infatuation with wealth. This month of Ramadhan comes along (and it's) as if we don't have Ramadhan. Honestly- for people who understand the meaning of fasting in Ramadhan and then compare that the meaning with the practical meaning of the day-today lives of people around- Ramadhan barely exists, if it exists at all.We have individuals who contain an appetite for wealth that cannot be conquered. You can't speak to them. Their garrison of information and their engineered news items are meant to deflect us from this issue;
1544

add to that- and this is the straw that breaks the camel's back- the fact that there are muadh, khutabaa and aimma who are incapable of speaking truth to wealth and power because here in this ayah there's a relationship and connection between the accumulation of wealth and its movement to the quarters of power. And do not consume money/wealth/possessions among yourselves illegitimately and then you approximate yourselves with this wealth towards those who are ruling, (kings, presidents, governments, whatever description these rulers may have), and in the process you consume a proportion of the wealth of people in a criminal and sinful manner while you are knowledgeable or you have gained knowledge. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 188) Once again, an Islamic conscience can detect this relationship in other ayaat in the Qur'an. And if We want to destroy a social unit/order or society (Surah Al Isra' verse 16) What happens? We have the wealthy class becoming the ruling class (Surah Al Isra' verse 16) Maybe some people are incapable of understanding the meanings of the Qur'an, but can't you understand what is happening in the real life? Can't you see with your own eyes how the wealthy class is the ruling class? (Take a) look at today's world- what's happening? On the front pages of the newspaper, the 1st news time on the front pages throughout the month of Ramadhan has been exactly about this issue. How are we going to avoid an illegitimate circulation of money? How are we going to avoid the combination of wealth and power? Once these are combined together, whichever society is located in that combination is doomed per the ayah And if We want to destroy a social unit/order or society, We have the wealthy class becoming the ruling class (Surah Al Isra' verse 16) (In) this month of Ramadhan we are supposed to be conscious to the fact that the wealth that exists. Whoever has it (and) regardless of who's in possession of it, a proportion of the wealth that exists belongs to those who don't have the means in this world Allah says in another ayah- if only reading these ayaat was not in the mechanical tarawih prayers, but with minds that are open and receptive and in their wealth and finances there is a known/defined proportion (Surah Adh Dhariyaat verse 19) For whom? for people who ask and for people who are in need. (Surah Adh Dhariyaat verse 19) People who ask are people who are in need and people who are denied are those who are living in poverty. We ask you- brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- do we have a
1545

healthy Islamic psychology that grows during this month of Ramadhan and matures enough to realize part of the wealth that those people have, (whoever they are; Muslims or non-Muslims), belongs to people who are hungry, in need and populations that are starving. It is their right. It's not something where we have some billionaire/millionaire and he gives a few dollars here and there. This is not an act of charity. These dollars or this money that goes to those who are in need goes to them as a matter of their own right! It belongs to them! Who is observing the fast and building up this meaning in his mind and in his self? Brothers and sisters, committed Muslimsunfortunately we have a pot-shotted psychology that cannot sustain these meanings. People observe this month of Ramadhan and they go through the physical denial that is part of this month, but as far as psychological growth and mental maturity, (it is) only Allah that we complain to concerning this obvious discrepancy and deficiency by we the Muslims. The Prophet of Allah sent Muadh ibn Jabal(radi Allahu anhu) to be the Governor of Yemen and after administering the affairs of Yemen, Muadh ibn Jabalsends to Al Medinah the money that was paid by the Muslims of Yemen. When Allah's Prophet received this revenue from Yemen, he communicates with Muadh saying but I sent you there to distribute the wealth of that society within that society, meaning before you send any of this wealth to Al Medinah, make sure that the society you are responsible for doesn't have people in need of this wealth. The response came to the Prophet of Allah that it was because there is no one here who is in need that I sent this surplus of wealth to Al Medinah. Yemen at one time had a surplus in which they sent whatever extra money they had to the Muslims who were in need in Al Medinah. Today we have a reversal of roles, but we don't have a reversal or reciprocity of behaviors. Today, Yemen is one of the poorest of countries and Arabia- precisely where Makkah andAl Medinah are- is the richest Arab country, bar none; do you see or hear of the same behavior that Allah's Prophet succeeded in building the characters around him? Do you observe that in today's real world, even though there are millions of people in Arabia who are observing the physical fast? In another time in Islamic history- almost 100 years after Allah's Prophet, the same thing occurred. Money was given by the Muslim public to the Muslim treasury but there were no takers. There was no one among the Muslims who was in need. These are real moments in human history that have their bases, psychology and sociology. This is not a dream that we are speaking about. These are facts and this is the real world. Compare and contrast what we are capable of with what we are guilty of. The Muslims in these (Islamic) Centres- as lavish as they arethrow iftar meals. They spend, (in some cases), thousands of dollars on an iftar meal, and in the meantime there are real hungry Muslims in this world. The Prophet of Allah used to have his iftar on some dates and water. If he was lucky, he would have some milk, bread and maybe every once and then some meat. It is very difficult to speak about Muslims who don't have any of that and other Muslims who throw away whatever they cannot eat to the animals. Literally, this is what is happening as we are observing Ramadhan. The Muslims spirit- when and where there is supposed to be a Muslim spirit- cannot live up to the responsibilities and the standards of Ramadhan! We should feel guilty. We should
1546

have nafs lawamabecause of the facts that almost condemn us for what we are doing or not doing. The month ofRamadhan is known as a month of giving. Let us make this more obvious for those of you who may have some difficulties in grasping what is meant by Ramadhan. We physically abstain from food, water and the sexual appetite in Ramadhan during the day, but that is not what is meant by fasting. That's the means towards the end; the end that is meant by Ramadhan is that our hands abstain from stinginess (and) our hearts abstain from ill feelings and fowl emotions. Have we accomplished this during this month ofRamadhan? (Take a) look brothers and sisters- this is only a miniature demonstration of the fact and this demonstrates it very well. This is the month of Ramadhan, (and) if these people who are running this Masjid were observing the month of Ramadhan, then what justification can they quote or express for having Muslims pray in the street for over 25 years? Is this an act of Ramadhan? They are the ones who have the money, wealth and finances. This is only a small proportion of the larger reality that we are supposed to be conscious of during every day and every waking hour of this month; i.e. that Allah's words remain the fact of life. They have their human representation. Listen to Allah and think of them Made appealing to people is the love of the lust for women, manpower and to have a stock pile of gold and silver (Surah Aal Imran verse 14) Listen to Allah and think of them And you are infatuated with the love for money. (Surah Al Fajr verse 20) Committed Muslims This is not an issue that usually comes up during this month of Ramadhan but unfortunately it is one that has gained traction in the past Ramadhan. This issue has to do with the sectarian bias or bug that we encounter every once and then. This is yet one of those times where there are some Islamic scholars who want us to be consumed by the issue of Sunni and Shi'i. To be more frank with you, an Egyptian magazine ran an interview with a prominent Islamic scholar- Sheikh Yusuf Al Qardawi. In the interview he made some comments that could be understood to damage Islamic togetherness, brotherhood and solidarity. The two most offending statements had to do with, (number one), what he called sabb as sahaaba, which means the defaming or cursing of as sahaabaand the 2nd issue had to do with proselytizing of Shi'is among Sunnis. This means that there are two red lines which he considers to be off limits. The 1st red line is no Muslim or Shi'i in particular should use fowl language or nasty words when speaking about the sahaaba- this he considers to be an offense to Muslims. The other one is what he calls missionary work by Shi'is within Sunni societies i.e. to convert Sunnis into Shi'as. These were the two basic issues that raised the antennas of many concerned Muslims that made their rounds in the newspapers and media. There were responses to these statements by other Islamic scholars and learned personalities. Of course, this is not a time to open up this issue as we have dealt with it probably throughout the course of a couple of
1547

years through what we consider to be objective and reasonable presentation of the facts when it comes to Sunnis andShi'is. (We think) the issue though is much more sensitive than referring to what has become a tradition in some Muslim societies or a culture in other Muslim societies. The issue is that we are living in a time period in which almost all the world powers want us Muslims- whatever school of thought we may have- to scramble all the negative moments in our history and then focus on all the disturbing traditions in our time. All Muslims have historical traditions that have nothing to do with Allah and His Prophet and almost all Muslims living today are guilty of misunderstanding the other Muslim, but who is it going to serve? What purpose does it serve to bring this issue up in this manner in a public forum in front of Muslim public opinion within these types of critical and war like times? It would have been more in the character of anIslamic scholar to open up the subject matter to those who are in positions of influence and authority in theIslamic realm. There are many Muslims scholars who meet yearly or semi annually on different occasions and this issue could be presented to them and be dealt with in the best possible way to avoid the circumstances and bloodshed that may result from further misunderstandings among us. This is not the time to bring up a Sunni/Shi'iissue;. When there are Imperialist and Zionist policies that are working on Sunni/Shi'i civil wars in Iraq, Lebanon,the Gulf, the Peninsula, Pakistan, Afghanistan (and) all over the place, does anyone take comfort by expressing publicly these types of statements? We hope that this is going to be on its way out very soon and not many Muslims are going to pay much attention to these types of comments. This doesn't mean that we, Muslims, don't have our legitimate or exploitable differences- we certainly do- but the way to deal with them is not to lend them to our enemies so that they can provoke among ourselves more bloodshed and more war. We have enough problems as it is (and) we don't need this additional problem.

1548

ZIONIST AND IMPERIALIST PLOTS TO SOW DISUNITY

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha Al Mu'minun, Ayyatuha Al Mu'minaat- Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We know you've heard the general theme of Islamic togetherness/solidarity/unity, (usually these words are used interchangeably). You've heard these words many times. What you have not heard many times is the understanding of this theme in our historical past and our current present as they relate to each other. This is one of the problems we endure. Some Muslims have a good recollection of history. It is so good that they no longer are able to assimilate our current issues into that understanding. And, we have some Muslims- masha'Allah- who are well versed on what is happening in today's world, (so-much-so), that they have a scant understanding of our experiences of the past. Some ayaat in our book of guidance that we will quote for you in this regard Allah says to you and me- remember, these words are to you- maybe they should go directly to the combination of your intellect and sentiments. They should not fork out and be divided (with) some sense of it going to your mind and another sense of it going to your heart. These were intended for the combination of your heart and mind together. don't be of the Mushriks- of those who have divided/dissected/diluted their deen; they wound up being divisive/splinter groups, each party there-of becomes ecstatic with what it has. (Surah Ar Rumverse 31-32) Another ayah says Those who have dissected/splintered their deen and thus became divisive groups of peopleyou (O Prophet) have nothing to do with them (Surah Al An'aam verse 159) Another ayah which is in one of the short Surahs that you should be familiar with- Surah Al Bayyinah- says (listen to this ayah) And those who have been given scripture were not divided until evidence came to them. (Surah Al Bayyinah verse 4) We can understand division in the absence of evidence, but in this case, we are looking at human beings/nature/scripturalists who became divided after having received guidance and evidence from Allah. Which means that evidence alone is not enough to maintain and preserve the cohesion and togetherness of those who would be committed to Allah. We want to remind you because this is from one of the short Surahs that almost all of us are familiar with. So it's not
1549

enough just to have information to maintain a unity and togetherness of the Muslims. Another ayah in the Qur'an mentions individuals who go astray even though they are in possession of knowledge. Allah refers to that type of character and personality and Allah caused him to go astray or lose sight or diverge from Allah even though he's on the basis of knowledge... (Surah Al Jaathiyah verse 23) There can be dhalaal in the company of knowledge because knowledge alone is not enough! In anotherayah, Allah says- these words, (to put it in human language), are personal words from Allah to you Don't be of those who were divided and began to dispute among them after evidence had come to them from Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 105) Are you beginning to get the picture?! Allah does not want us to be divided/scattered in our social being. This doesn't mean that there's no room for legitimate differences, but these legitimate differences should not place us at a distance from ourselves. If we read these and similar ayaat in the Qur'an, we realize that these do not tolerate our division. But on the other hand, it tolerates our legitimate differences of Ijtihad. This is something we have to look at in light of the age of over 14 centuries. In addition to thinking of ourselves in our individualistic/personal lifespans, (which are around 70/80 years), we should also think of ourselves in our social lifespan which is over 14 centuries. When we take a look at these ayaat that were revealed over 14 centuries ago and then we look at those who were receiving these ayaat over 14 centuries ago, we find that they had their legitimate differences. They were not divided, but they had their differences. They had this unity and these differences in the time of Allah's Prophet and in the 1 st generation after Allah's Prophet, and from there-on we began to have a widening of this gap and a misunderstanding of this whole issue. Without going into the details that we covered many khutbahs and years ago, let us mention to ourselves on this day of taqwa when we figure in the power and authority before anything else. In the time of Allah's Prophet, the Muslims had a leadership. Allah's Prophet was the leader of the Muslims- no one could dispute that. There was a struggle; this was not an academic/theoretical leadership. It's not one of those cozy, manicured and democratic processes that we see in the so-called Western civilization around us. No! This was a struggle and a radical change that sprung from within the human condition with the work of Allah. The Prophet of Allah has Muslims, (just like you and me), around him. These were not Angels. They had all the potentials that we have of gaining a proximity to Allah or placing a distance between humans and Allah. there is a direction of acculturation or refinement pertaining to this human nature and human disposition and there is an opposite direction of disintegration and destruction (Surah Ash-Shams verse 7-8)
1550

In this growing crowd of Muslims around the Prophet, we had individuals who were listening to Allah's Prophet. They weren't reading books- Sahih Al Bukhari, Muslim, Al Kulaini- they were listening directly to Allah's Prophet with all the senses that Allah had given them. Even when that was the case, they had their own legitimate opinions. As an example and a reminder said to them, (and they all heard him), none of you should pray Al Asr except at Bani Quraydas. This was in the direct/immediate of the after affects of what is known as Al Ahzaab, i.e. when Al Madinah was under siege by what is known as the coalition of forces of Arabia. When these Mushrikeen began to retreat and leave Al Madinah, and the Muslims were declaring a day of victory and they were on their way to deal with the treachery of the Yahud of Bani Qurayda, some of these Muslims understood Allah's Prophet in a literal sense, i.e. we can only pray Al Asr when we reach the outskirts of Al Madinah when we are physically in the territory of Bani Quraydah. Other Muslims who were also listening to Allah's Prophet with their own ears said no. The Prophet did not mean this in a literal sense. What this statement means is to make haste (and) go there as soon as possible, but we can pray on our way there. What goes un-noticed in all of this is the military atmosphere of it all. This was a war and existential threat to the Islamic social, political, ideological, military being in Al Madinah on their way to Bani Quraydah, (which could have taken half-an-hour or whatever it may have taken in the condition that they were in). (But) no. Others delayed it until they arrived there and prayed there, literally. What did the Prophet say? He didn't say "one group of Muslims is more correct than the other." He conceived that it was within our human nature as long as we are sincere- and all of them were sincere- this latitude of ijtihad is permissible and legitimate and it should never ever be a reason for division and disputes among Muslims. If we Muslims were to borrow our own deteriorating thoughts or minds in the submerged condition that it is in today, and take it back to that time, we would be asking "why didn't all of them pray Al Asr behind the Prophet?" He's the Prophet of Allah. Today, people argue "are we going to pray behind that Imam or that Imam or by ourselves or in jama'ah with others and all of these other minute technical fiqhi issues" that jump in that wasn't existent at that time. No one said "you have violated the jama'ah. Some of you prayed before reaching Bani Quraydah other prayed before."They never brought that issue up, but today, we bring up these types of issues! Why? We have all the evidence- theBook of Allah the established model, pattern and system of Allah's Prophet are in our possession- but how come after this bayyinaat/evidence has come to us from Allah we remain divided. A Shi'i doesn't want to go into a Sunni Masjid and a Sunni doesn't want to go into a Shi'i Masjid?! On what basis? Have we ever looked at these ijtihadsand conceded that these are legitimate ijtihads?

Because many problems are generated from within what is perceived as the "Sunni" world, (we say this not because of the average Muslim who considers himself a Sunni, even though there's a lot of work to be done on him; but because of the governments that are breathing, living and
1551

kicking in territories that are predominantly"Sunni" Muslim). Ok- what problem do the very religious Sunni character have? Do you have a problem with a Shi'iwho in the adhaan says hayya ala al khair al amal? Why should that be a problem? If you did your "religious" homework, you would find that that is a legitimate, established and authenticated form of the adhaan. We don't want to take the flip side of this and ask the Shi'i "what's wrong with you that if a Sunni doesn't say haaya ala al khair al amal in the adhaan you begin to feel that there is a distance?" Can't we just outgrow this? This is a legitimate area of ijtihad. Both of these are correct. Don't place your ego in the middle of all of this and say "one is correct and the other is wrong." This is where our problems begin. Before we go to another level, the fuqaha' themselves i.e. those who founded these schools of ijtihad didn't have any hostility towards each other. They didn't say "my word is the final word on the subject." They met and studied with each other, but they had diverse/legitimate opinions. It didn't cause them to be divided. It was a common rule and statement among all of them, they all would say the following: my ijtihadi opinion is correct as far as I can tell, but it may be or is vulnerable to a mistake and the opinion of the other Islamic scholar is incorrect but it may be or there's a chance that it may be right. Do the Muslims (that) you know around have this healthy attitude? Unfortunately, in the majority of cases we don't have this healthy attitude. We have a disease in our social and public relations because each one thinks that they are the best; and that's fine- but that should not degrade the other Muslim; or else how are we doing to get out of this rut that we are in. Now, to take this to another level- one that seems to be more serious to many Muslims (and) if we want to talk about it, we talk about it in by intensifying and widening the gap. No one can speak about this in a way of brings Muslims together, and if there are individuals like that, they are far and in between and their voices are not heard. We take the issue of those 40 years after Allah's Prophet. We want to say- and Allah is our witness- from what we know and from the information of our books of history and our reliable references, there was a difference between the four rulers who ruled after Allah's Prophet. But were these differences as serious as to divide us emotionally, psychologically (and) in our group contacts? If we read and understand their relations with each other we find out no. When they had their differences they did not have their divisions. There were differences between Abu Bakr andUmar (radi Allahu anhuma). There were differences between Umar and Uthman (radi Allahu anhuma). No one speaks about these differences so we have less divisions of this forum. The major issue comes when we speak about these three- Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman- and Ali (radi Allahu anhu). Here is where we begin to encounter the emotional distance, observe the division of the Muslims and where the ego kicks in. People have egos here. With all of this we can see that there were differences of legitimate opinions between these "two sides", (if you want to look at it that way). But we ask you "was there any hostility here?" Of course, we have the books that belong to fanatics, but this speaker and this khutbah does not concentrate on these fanatics; if you go to the margins,
1552

you'll find contradictions and inconsistency. We don't go into that area. We stay within the collective mind and heart of the Muslims through this stretch of time- 1,400 years. So if you consult the book that you consider to be your reference on these matters, show/express to us where these types of differences turned into hostilities? They didn't. Did they hate each other? As much Sunni/Shi'i as you are, do you really think there is hatred between (them). And this is what it boils down to. There was a polarisation with Umar on one side and Ali on the other side- you think they hated themselves? If that's what you think, we don't know what you`re reading or where this information comes from and it contributes to the divisions that are weakening our body today. Some of you and both sides are on opposite ends and they instigate each other. One side says that there were no differences are all. To spell it out for you, these in the mainstream are Sunnis. They make believe that there were no differences; everything was hunky dory/perfect- that's not the case. Then, the other extreme says "oh no. It was a life and death issue. There was almost a matter of kufr and iman between Umar and Ali." This didn't exist. Both these opinions are inaccurate, unfounded and they feed in to the divisions that we are suffering from. When will we encounter a fresh spirit (and) a new beginning of a generation of Muslims who can arrest these polarised conceptions? That's what we are looking for- the Muslims who that can step up to the facts of this and thus not be divided. These issues that contribute to this division are in violation of the ayaat that were quoted at the beginning of this khutbah. don't be of the Mushriks- of those who have divided/dissected/diluted their deen; they wound up being divisive/splinter groups, each party there-of becomes ecstatic with what it has. (Surah Ar Rumverse 31-32) Another qira'a of this ayah is not only did they divide this deen (farraqu), but they also departed from their deen (faaraqu). This type of division is tantamount to dividing this deen and departing from it. We know it is our obligation to stay together and any notion or secondary idea that is taking 1st place or any marginal feeling that overwhelms the feeling of togetherness is a violation of Allah's words. So any history that you are reading that violates the unity of the Muslims is in violation of the meanings of the Qur'an. We know from experience that the follow up concern will be "is it possible for Muslims to reach a point of disagreement in which they are going to have to correct themselves by the use of force?" The answer to that is yes and this happened. When the Umawi royal family took over, (so to speak, we're bringing history into today's wordings), then we're going to have to think about the use of force to change a deviation that occurs. So, we are capable of expressing a serious deviation that has to be corrected by the use of arms, and still the Muslim rank and file has to maintain its cohesion and togetherness even when those who are at the highest helms of power go in the wrong direction. If they go on the wrong direction and they want to buy and influence some of us it's going to happen. If we are
1553

going to learn from our history, it's going to happen and then we bare the responsibility of a corrective measure/action because people who are intoxicated with power do not respond to Allah's words and to the brotherhood/fraternity of the Muslims when they constitute an Ummah. Allah's prophet says in a hadith that you all know the equivalent of the Muslims is like one body, they care for themselves, they feel for themselves, they have sympathy to themselves, they show compassion towards themselves, if one part of that body aches, the rest of the body feels the pain. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims We try to bring in to play this as it is expressed. Some of the elements in the 1st khutbah will shed light on what is to be said in the 2nd khutbah, which pertains to the real world. The reason why we are out in the street is because we are in the real world. Those who want to release their fancies and take off with their imagination can go into these types of Masajid that are controlled by the status quo- they don't report to Allah they report to their Mushrikmasters. In today's real world, what is happening to Islamic togetherness? It is being shattered on a certain level and on another level it is being constructed. We have those who are trying to break this Islamic commonality and those who are trying to join it. If we were just common sense people able to deal with the real issues of life, we'd take a look around and we'd see that we have a layer of rulers who are not concerned at all with the solidarity of the Muslims- they could care the least. They cannot justify their character/policies by referring to Allah and His Prophets. What they will do is rent some scholars for some years who will try and throw a smoke screen between the Muslim masses and those who are leading/trying to lead the Muslim masses to the abyss. This is what we have. (Take) a look at the real world around. In the past two or three years, they (meaning the Zionists, the Imperialistsalong with that layer/stratum of treasonous rulers who have the images of Muslims but the content of kafirs) tried to break the backbone of Islamic togetherness in Lebanon. They gave it all they had. They threw in their militaries. They used the most advanced weapons in their possession and after 33 or 34 days they were frustrated because they could not accomplish their mission. And they went at it again less then a year ago in Palestine, in Ghazzah and they gave it all they had. After a few weeks, they were visited with the same emotions and ideas of frustration that they experienced in Lebanon. They (meaning the Zionists and Imperialists) wanted to divide the Lebanese. These words (Zionists and Imperialists), are words that are forbidden from the majority of khutbahs in the world thereby giving room for speakers who want to divide the Muslims. We have a serious division in this world. It's not among the Muslims; it is between the Muslims on one side and the Zionists and Imperialist on the other side. No one says that the Zionists include all the Jews of the world and no one says the Imperialists include all theChristians of the world. Their war still continues. They couldn't divide the Lebanese or the Palestinians so now they take their war to Yemen. They say OK. If we couldn't succeed in Arabia North, we are going to succeed in ArabiaSouth. A war has been in progress for years, but it has been intensified for
1554

months now, once again to try and drive a wedge among the Muslims in that part of the world and the Zionists and Imperialists are going to be frustrated and dismayed once again. In this atmosphere, don't think that their expressions of hostility towards us are only on military expressions. The United Arab Emirates has been in the course of the past weeks and months expellingLebanese who are Shi'is and Palestinians who are Sunnis from the United Arab Emirates in the thousands. Some of them have been there for 20 or 30 years. Now they are served notices to the effect, (we're going to use loaded words), "you are no longer wanted here, get the hell out of here." Why do they do something like that? Is it in the nature? We here are a mixed crowd of Muslims. Some of us come from that part of the world some of us come from other places. When you meet a person from Lebanon who happens to be a Shi'i, do you feel so uncomfortable that you have to tell "them go back to your country?" (If) you meet Palestinians who are Muslims who are Sunnis,do you feel so uncomfortable with them that you have to tell "them go back to your country?" By the way, where is their country? We ask the decision makers in the Emaraat "do you want people to go back to their country?" Give the Palestinians their country so that they can go back to it! Work on the origin of the problem! We ask, "where's all this coming from? Is it coming from Allah and His Prophet? Is this what he expects us to do? We can't tolerate any longer any other Muslims in our midst as our neighbours, immigrants and lawful citizens?" This is what happens.At the same time (and) in the same context, the Zionists are tightening their grip and control on Al Masjid Al Aqsa. Well- if the Saudi regime has broken new grounds by tightening their grip on Makkah and Al Madinah, then it is not surprise that their masters in Washington and Tel Aviv would have their eyesight set on Jerusalem, Al Quds and Al Masjidul Al Aqsa. Is all of this taking place in a vacuum? No! The minds have been conditioned and the Masaajid around the world are centres for conditioning the Muslim public mind to accept these types of policies or to look the other way when they are being implemented. Al Hajjis approaching. In less than two months from now, we will be honouring, observing and celebrating the annual Hajjand Eid Al Adha. We ask you, as we are moving into this time towards this coming holy season, is it in ourselves to demonstrate/solidify division among ourselves. Where do you find that? Our words are addressed at those who have the armies, intelligence services, structures and institutions that want to eternalise these artificial divisions. We don't want to listen to their mouth pieces and their media. We listen to Allah and we understand by listening to Him that division doesn't dwell among us. Therefore every backdoor idea, whether it is a fiqhi idea or a historical narrative, that feed into that division do not belong in the Muslim heart or the Muslim heartland.

WHY IBADAH DOES NOT MEAN WORSHIP

1555

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ma'shar Al Mu'mineen, Committed Muslims In our own communities, congregations and countries, we have Muslims who have yet to engage Allah and His Prophet in a conscience sense and at an active level. Let me try to explain what this means. All of us sing the praises the Prophet's seerah, model, actions and words. We quote Allah's Prophet quite extensively. If you were to listen closely, you would realize that we quote Allah's Prophet more than we quote Allah. You can use this as a measuring stick: listen (the) next time you attend an Islamic lecture that is presented by one of the Shuyukh; spokespersons or one of the scholars of the Muslims and count how many times in that lecture/sermon/khutbah that person quotes an ayah as opposed to the times he quotes a hadith. You will find that in the overwhelming majority of times the quotes of hadiths far out number the quote of ayaat. Now, that being the case, we the listeners who consume these presentations ask ourselves "from all of these sermons and Prophetic statements that are quoted for us, how many times is the Prophet interacting with his opponents." This is a very legitimate question and concern. The Prophet said this and he said that- OK fine; could they quote for us the Prophet's words when he was interacting person-to-person and face-to-face with people like Abu Jahl, Abu Sufyan, Al Mugheera and the rest of these characters inMakkah? Come-on we've been listening for a long time to the Prophet's words from you, but we want to ask you"could you, who are very fluent in these hadiths, bring to us the dialogue or words that were exchanged between Allah's Prophet and these major figures in Makkah?" Here's where we're going to run into an obstacle because when it comes to this area, these fluent khateebs, shuyukh, ulema', scholars and clergymen are almost blank. We try to be as accurate in expressing the facts as we understand them. We're speaking about a struggle that continued for almost 13 years. (Do) you mean to tell us the Prophet, in all of these 13 years, did not have encounters with these individuals? One of them was his uncle. Why don't these speakers, preachers and clergymen in Islam quote for us the Prophet's hadith? Don't we "sing the song" so to speak of hadith? OK- why don't they bring us a hadith in this area? We've heard the many ahadith pertaining to sanitation and hygiene, but when it comes to this area, where are the hadiths we ask? For a person who wants to trace trail this legitimate question, you will find that the information that we Muslim actually have on this area is scant, which forces us to think. Has there been a hand in our history that was trying to minimize or delete this vital information that we need? We say Alhamdulillah; we thank Allah that these attempts could not have their affect on the book of Allah. The Book of Allah is still pristine. It's not polluted or contaminated with these human efforts that have rendered us what we are today. Listen brothers and sisters- we say this because it is an area that has not been worked on. We
1556

understand why salaried scholars don't work on this area. Because they may find their livelihood threatened. There are governments and regimes that don't want the Muslim to wake up to their relationship with the status quo and the institutions around them. Let us focus our mind on an ayah. The ayahis there. No one changed it. but governance is exclusively a divine issue or authority belongs to no one except Allah (Surah Yusuf verse 40) Listen to the ayah carefully. OK- we don't think any one is going to take issue with that if they are enlightened and well read; but listen to what follows when Allah says He orders or commands that you do not conform to anyone except Him (Surah Yusuf verse 40) We tried as much as possible to put/fit the original meanings in the English language, We have, right now, the mentality that does not want to discover the personality of Allah's Prophet as he interacts with the forces of his own society. We have this mindset today that will tell us that the latter part of this ayah means He orders that you worship no one but Him. That's how the damage has been done. There's no such thing. Allah in this ayah is connecting two things to itself: Hukm and i'badah. If today's understanding of Islam by today's Muslims was correct, then whenever we have a thinking mind, it would say "but this ayah should have been rephrased. It should have been this way: instead of Allah saying in al Hukmu illa li Allah, He should have said in ad dinu illa li Allah; because in today's contorted way of thinking, religion and worship go together. So, according to this understanding, the wording of this ayah should have been in ad dinu illa li Allah, Amara an la ta'budu illa iyyah or we take the flip side of this- we say in al Hukmu illah lillah, Amara an la tatahaakamu illa ilayhi, Amara an laa tushri'u illa li Allah. Allah didn't say that. He purposely juxtaposed these two words al hukm and al i'badah. But this doesn't fit. Just the elementary/basic understanding of this ayah doesn't fit into the conventional/current Muslim mindset. Why? Because it has been alienated from Allah's Prophet and his understanding of Allah's ayaat, book and words. (We're borrowing words heres, we don't like to use this), the gap between what is religious and what is political has been substantiated in the way Muslims behave today. We dare not say the way they think, because when you look around, you realize that they are lacking when it comes to thinking. We are not thinking Muslims. (That's a) major problem. If we were, we would have tried to put these words together. We would try to synchronize them. We would try to assimilate them when we listen to this ayah. Therefore, for any of you who encounter individuals or members of this inaccurate mindset, ask them "how do you reconcile the meanings of these words coming to you from Allah?" It doesn't stop here. When we have Muslims who are incapable of understanding what Allah is telling them and when we have Muslims whose history leaves a lot to be desired If a person wants something like a biography and (he) wants to understand the life time (or) the life of the enemies of Allah's Prophet, he's not going to be able
1557

to do that. Can any one of you- especially you who are out there in the larger audience/congregation of Muslims- refer us to books that will give us the details of the lives of the chieftains of Makkah or the enemy of Allah's Prophet at the golden time of our history that we always refer to? Something is missing here. If we don't have information pertaining to this characters and personalities, we have a very important part of our history that is missing which gives opportunity to the trouble makers to come in and reformulate this time in our history according to their understanding which they've been doing for a very long time. That's why we have the type of Muslims who can't think straight; who when given an ayah or a short surah from the Qur'an, they cannot put the pieces together. (Whilst) speaking of a short Surah in the Qur'an, we're all familiar with this surah. We hope we all are. But that's not the issue. The familiarity with the surah is not the issue. The issue is the understanding of the surah that is the issue. There are three words in this surah that we want you to think about. This is a matter of gaining the taqwa i.e.the corner-piece of every khutbah on Fridays. There are key words in this surah that have to be understood in light of the Qur'an and the struggle of the Muslims themselves. The 1st one is kaafirun, the second one ista'abudun and the last one is deen. In the fossilized understanding of the key words of this surah, it turns out that the word kafirun means disbelievers, which should be dropped from the vocabulary of every Muslim. The word ta'abudun means worship- also another word that should never be used by any. The 3rdword is deen which almost all Muslims think means religion. Let's try to, (so to speak), dynamize this surah by concentrating on these key words. Say (Oh Prophet): Oh you who are kafirs. (Surah Al Kafirun verse 1) One of the meanings and this is the reason why many people are dying today i.e. because Muslims are brandishing this word of kufr and if the disagree with someone, they throw this accusation against him/her saying "you're a kafir." This, once again, is a diagnostic. It's a tool by which we understand that we ourselves don't understand what Allah is telling us! This probably is not the time to exhaust defining the word kafirun because as is the case with many key words in the Qur'an, they have a contextual meaning. There's not one fast-and-lose meaning to the word as we are led to believe. But what concerns us is trying to capture the essence of the meaning in this context when Allah is telling the Prophet to say to those who deny Allah's authority and power - that's basically one of the major meanings of the word al kafireen. The word kafir can be related to another ayah in the Qur'an that says and those who do not judge, legislate or execute authority and power according to what Allah has revealed have become deniers/ kafireen. (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 44) It is easy to express this in one sentence, but it is very difficult to have the Muslims of this world re-understand this original definition. So if we are speaking about kafireen in matters that concern power and authority, after that Allah says
1558

I am not in conformity with that, that you are in conformity with (Surah AL Kafirun verse 2) And conformity means the conviction and commitment of the mind and soul to Allah in matters pertinent to power and authority. So Allah is speaking about these issues, and it is repeated a few times in this surah. Thesurah ends by saying You have your deen and I have mine. (Surah Al Kafirun verse 6) How can deen mean religion? There's nothing in this surah that refers to matters of creed or matters of customary or conventional obligations of a ritualistic nature. Nothing! So why does the Muslim mind today understand deen to mean religion- we're not speaking about a few individuals here-and-there, we're speaking about a mass phenomenon of the vast hundreds of millions of people who are dislocated from these meanings- how did this happen? Did it happen all of a sudden? We woke up one morning or one generation and we found ourselves alienated from Allah?! Or was there a process? The fact of the matter is only for those who are going to begin to open their minds and think will realize that there's been a process. Historical erosion has been taking place until we now find ourselves today in the rut that we are in i.e. Muslims satisfying their mind, (whatever is left of it), by going to the Masjid and through the motions of the salaah and Hajj. These motions have substituted themselves for reality. Where's the real Muslim? Absent! Why? Because he doesn't have the mental tool to be present. A Muslim doesn't think therefore he doesn't exist. Is that hard to understand for those who want to feel soothed by going to aMasjid because they are fulfilling a tradition? That is what happens every week, every year and every season. We've been through the season of Ramadhan, Muslims have gone through the mechanics of Ramadhan,but where's the realities/spirit of Ramadhan? Let's be honest, we don't find much of it around because we're satisfied with the status quo and the Prophet of Allah and all the other Prophets, (if anything), were never satisfied with thestatus quo. They came to change it. When you think about it intensely, you realize at the bottom of all of this there's a lack of confidence. Muslims don't have the confidence to change the status quo because they don't have Allah. If you have Allah, you have confidence automatically- no question. But when you don't have Him, of course you're not going have the confidence. Psychologically you are invilant. You're handicapped mentally. You're disabled physically and that's where we are. There's no shame in looking at ourselves. How are we going to remedy or treat ourselves if we can't diagnose our illness/maladies. All we're asking is for understanding. If we understood the meanings of just these ayaat, the line would not be blurred between those who are committed to Allah and those who are committed to be against Allah. In today's world, the line is blurred. Brothers and sisters committed Muslims
1559

The previous word was expressed because of the dynamics of the day. Today, on Capitol Hill, here in WashingtonDC, there are Muslims who have put together an effort of having Jum'ah prayers on Capitol Hill. We don't know the internal thoughts of these people, but we do know that for some time now, an effort has been en vogue to convince the shaytaani system of this country that we "Muslims are qualified to become what they call the civil servants or the official functionaries of this nation state or regime here in Washington DC." We would pray for the day when we can encounter these organizers in an open, free and fair discussion about this matter. We will ask them "in this world is there such a thing as dhulm and Kufr? Do they exist? We want an answer." If they don't exist, then maybe we can live in the utopian world that they are thinking of; but if they do exist, then how come the line that is blurred between us and them? Where is it in the history of scripture and Prophethood do we have Muslims who are committed to Allah trying their best to becomes part of the anti-divine structure on Earth. Show/quote for us ayaator ahadith. We know that they will try to say "Yusuf (alaihi as salaam) was an example of this" and we tell them, (if they could only read scripture, the Qur'an and history), "Yusuf was an exception. He wasn't the norm." The reason why he was the exception was because Prophets came and addressed their own people. They were born and raised in a society and they tried to save and salvage that society i.e. their own. Yusuf didn't have a society of his own. He had to move and it wasn't his choice. The asabiyyah of his brothers forced him into a diasporic history out of which he assumed responsibilities without any strings attached. We parted unto Yusuf a knowledge of governance and also general knowledge as we do with those who seek perfection in what they are doing. (Surah Yusuf verse 22) Yusuf was not the Musa (alaihi as salaam) among Bani Isra'eel and he was not the Isa (alaihi as salaam)among Bani Isra'eel. Yusuf was not like the other Prophets Hud, Shuaib Lut, and Salih (alaihim as salaam)who were speaking to their own people. He was outside his people, country and society, yet he was a Prophet who was responsible for the objectives of Prophets. If we take this understanding and we ask these people- they don't know themselves if they belong to a society or not! What society do they belong to? If they belong to American society, then their responsibility is just like the responsibility of Prophets who belonged to a society and had the responsibility of changing it into the right direction. If they don't belong to this society then what society do they belong to- the Iranian, Turkish or Egyptian society- so we can define who they are. Or they don't belong to any society? If they don't belong to any society then how can they claim to have followers? The prophetic gestation that was part of every Prophet's history is a fact that goes unnoticed by those who are assuming Islamic responsibilities in our time. Therefore they find it very convenient to go to Capitol Hill and to tell the Abu Sufyan, Abu Lahab, Abu Jahl, Utbah and Mugheerah of today's time that "we want to be part of you. Accept us." Where did
1560

this happen? Did Musa go to Phiroun and say "I want be part of you. Accept me and the society will become better. We can change this system and make it a better one?!" What is wrong with you how do you judge affairs (Surah Al Qalam verse 36)

ISLAMIC SELF DETERMINATION

1561

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ma'shar Al Mu'mineen Those who are committed and who are secure in their commitment to Allah need not despair with what is being said about the result of this commitment. Those who Allah has made their positions firm on earth standardize their relationship with Allah- it becomes the standard of society- and they systemize the distribution of wealth and they have the authority to command the common good and they have the authority to dispel the common evil and with Allah rests the conclusion of these affairs. (Surah Al-Hajj verse 41) At this time and generation that we are in, we are just beginning this process. By no measure are the Muslims of now and here, (i.e. the 30th year of the 15th century of the hijrah or the 10th year of the 20th century in the common calendar- within this time frame), of those who Allah says Those who Allah has made their positions firm on earth standardize their relationship with Allah- it becomes the standard of society- and they systemize the distribution of wealth and they have the authority to command the common good and they have the authority to dispel the common evil (Surah Al-Hajj verse 41) It's just the beginning of that process that we are in now. Even though it's the beginning, we have accusations, innuendo, false alarms and character assassination of any Muslim who is part of this process and its beginning. We can only leave it up to our imagination what will happen as this process gains momentum, flourishes and becomes the order of the day. We need not circulate among ourselves what is circulated in public about us i.e. terrorists, revisionists, anarchists, reactionaries and the rest of the known record. We know that to be nothing related to the truth. Our civilization is the only civilization that has a moral quality and edge to it. All the policies of the counterIslamic modernity lack this quality. How can anyone accuse us when we can refer to positions in our civilization that they don't have in theirs? The Prophet of Allah is the prime example of what Muslim behavior is when we have the power of iqamatis salaah. Iqamatis salaah needs power. Just like ita uz zakah, al amr bi al maruf and annahau anilmunkar need power. When Muslims are powerless in today's world there is no iqamatis salaah. Yes- there are individual Muslims praying but that does not constitute iqamatis salah! There are individual Muslims who pay the due, but that does not amount to ita uzzakah! There are individual Muslims who are supportive of al maaruf but that is not amr bil maruf! There are individual Muslims opposed to al munkar but that is not nahyun anil munkar! You and I know the type of years Allah's Prophet spent before he obtained the requisite power that was needed for the meanings of the Qur'an to come alive. Finally, when he did obtain that power and he returned to Makkah after 21 years of persecution, harassment, intimidation, character assassination, excommunication,
1562

isolation, attempt at thwarting his effort. That would be enough to make a normal individual seek revenge. 21 years of what can be described as "the worst moments of a human's life." He returns to Makkah and stands in front of the Ka'bah or at the gate of the Ka'bah with 10,000 strong/warriors. He returns to Makkah and he tells those who have caused him to suffer through wars, military campaigns, a social engineering of Al Jahiliyah against him (and) a heightened attitude of hostility and animosity towards him throughout all of these years what do you think I am doing now to you? And they said we consider you a brother and a nephew. This is how people who are not Muslims who find themselves without power deal with Islam or with committed Muslims when they have power? He says to themyou are not to be held accountable for your past collective behavior. You may go. You are free. This is what happens when committed Muslims enter into a domain that is hostile to them. They didn't enter (and start) killing left and right, (or) destroying the infrastructure of society (or) expelling people from their homes. This is the model we look forward to. How can someone around and say "Muslims are savages" as they systematically do nowadays?

In the battle of Uhud, the Prophet had one of his teeth broken. He was cut on his face. He was bruised and he was injured. His uncle became a martyr. There was a person who was called Wahshi who killed the Prophet's uncleHumza (radi Allahu anhu) and Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, took Humza's body, cut open his chest area and took out his heart and chewed the Prophet's uncles heart. Years later, when the Prophet returned to Makkah, Hind andWahshi, who had offended the Muslims by their unbecoming behavior were there and when Muslims gained the upper hand and power they now said they are Muslims. What did the Prophet say to Wahshi who killed his uncle in war? There was no revenge or killing spree. He said to him you may dwell among us, but if you could- stay at a distance so the sediments of human nature are not antagonized. Is this unbecoming behavior? Is this savage behavior? Can you detect any savageness in this model deportment of the Prophet and the people around him? When they were at their worst times, the people around the Prophet would come to him and say why don't you evoke the help of Allah against these enemies? And he said I was not sent to insult them. Oh Allah guide my people because they do not know. Their knowledge is lacking. This is the strategic endurance that is required of us. That wasn't limited to that time-frame. It is a characteristic of our civilization that our adversaries know better than we know.

There was a governor in that immediate generation of the Prophet over Lebanon by the name of Ali ibn Abdillah ibnAbbas who behaved like any governor or ruler would do when there was opposition by certain factions in that country against the stability of Islamic rule. To break up or dilute this opposition, he relocated some of that opposing population, which today are called the Maronites. There was a scholar/faqih by the name of Al Awza'ee who wrote a letter to this
1563

ruler and told him what you are doing has no basis in the book of Allah or in exemplary model of the Prophet. And this ruler rescinded his policy and back tracked on trying to dilute the concentration of opposition toIslamic rule in the area called Ash Shaam.

Muslims entered and assumed the position of power and they were paid by the none Muslims a form of tax for their protection. But when the Byzantines regrouped in that area and they became a threat to the Muslim power Khalidand Abu Ubaida (radi Allahu anhuma) both went to the population of Hims and Damascus and they gave them back the money that was paid to them because they were not sure that they would be able to protect them. Do you have an equivalent of this behavior in Western civilization? Absolutely not.

In Samarkand, during the rule of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, there was a military commander by the name of Utayba who had entered victoriously into Samarkand in Central Asia and Islam became the military force in that area, but the population in that city had not become an Islamic population base and they were opposed to the presence of anIslamic military in their city. So they sent a delegation that represented them to the capital of the Muslims to protest this Islamic presence. After they did, this Muslim military received orders from its hierarchy to retreat from that city- not to relinquish control of it, but not to have a military presence in it. There are other examples in the history of the Muslims, but what do we have when power is in non-Islamic hands? We have had ugly representation of the excesses and atrocities of that power all around the Muslim domain. Colonialism and Imperialism in Asia and Africanever behaved even remotely the way the Muslims behaved towards those who were not Muslim. On that occasion in Damascus and Hims, the people there who were not Muslims then said we regretfully take back our money. We feel more secure with you Muslims even though we are not Muslims than with the Byzantines even though we are Christians and they are Christians. Now we have the area of acquiring this power. This is an area where the Muslims should pay close attention to. Once we obtain this power, we behave the way the Prophet of Allah behaved. We are not intoxicated by power. We do not abuse power. We don't take revenge when we have power. In one of the military expeditions, the Prophet of Allah came across a lady that was killed from the opposing side at the military front and he took the Muslim military commander to task. Why did Muslims kill an opponent of Islam at the frontline of battle? Because she's a woman, female or lady. (Take) a look and compare these standards of those who Allah has made their positions firm on earth (who) standardize their relationship with Allah, systemize the distribution of wealth and have the authority to command the common good and dispel the common evil to what they are doing to the Muslims today. Specific orders were given by a successor to the Prophet when they go out on their military assignments to respect all clergy men of whatever faith they belong to; to consider their houses of worship
1564

sanctuaries- churches, synagogues, temples; not to cut down any trees, vegetation or destroy any agricultural source of income; not to harm any women, child or infant. But what do we have today when war is on our turf (and) when they are doing war in Muslim lands. This polished image that they have while contaminating the image of the Muslim's, they give themselves a civilized status. We don't see anything civilized by them. When they go to the Holy Land- this is supposed to be the HolyLand, not to speak about other areas that would consume more time that many of us should be aware of- and tell the Muslims who have been living there for centuries upon centuries, "if these Muslims have been living in the area of Al Quds and if they leave that area for some period of time- several months or a year or so- they no longer have the right to reside in Al Quds." They go to Muslim sources of water, Artisian wells in the West Bank and they draw water for their own dwellings and they spill 10-15 times as much water as is allocated to the Palestinians, Muslim and Christians in that area. These are the Jews in that area who are supposed to be super civilized (or) God's chosen people/race. There are orchards of fruits, grapes, olive trees, figs (and) citrus fruits (and) these Yahud go there and they raze down to the ground this vegetation/agricultural base of livelihood that belongs to the Muslims and then they spring out of this looking pretty, as if they are cultured, modern, cultured and civilized. What goes along with that in this public imagery is that "the Muslims are behind, barbaric and savage." The United States,with the military power that it has, is concentrating some of this power in Muslim lands and at the same time that it is killing off Muslims in multiple masses in Iraq and conniving with other enemies of Muslims around the Ummah, it wants to project a friendly image of rescuing the Muslims- like it did in Kosova andBosnia. Because Muslims have not developed a capacity to think for themselves and to reference themselves in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, some Muslims believed that there was something friendly about the United States in the Balkans. Don't be deceived. There has never been a humanitarian pulse to any contemporary policies, especially foreign policies of the United States when it comes specifically to Muslims. Don't confuse the jungle for the trees. If they were trying to say that "they are in the Balkans for humanitarian purposes", then what are they doing in other parts of the Ummah? What is so humanitarian about their policies in Iraq, Kashmir, Algeria, North Africa and around the Ummah? Nothing! (There was a time- ten years ago- when) the United States closed down five of its diplomatic missions in Africa. Why? If a person has a humanitarian mission that he's on, he doesn't close down his shop. There's nothing to worry about or fear. When you begin to worry and fear, it means there's no humanitarian element in you. Now, they are bracing for the 1st anniversary it is almost a year now The two diplomatic missions in Africa disintegrated. You don't have to be a nuclear scientist or have a PHD to understand how governments act. Governments are no deity. These are blood and flesh human beings. They have the same thoughts and feelings and that you and I have. You know that when a criminal is guilty he takes maximum security to protect himself and this has become the behavior of their government. They're taking maximum security to protect
1565

themselves. At one time they closed down another FBI building here, in Washington DC. Why? They have some type of information indicating that there maybe some kind of action taken against them. They don't even feel secure. Not only are they in the United States, but they're in no ordinary building in Washington. It's the center of what is supposed to be the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They had to close that down to the tourists because they don't feel that they are acting in a humanitarian way. Contrast that with Muslims who don't have any of the fire power that they have, but who behave normally, peacefully in a civilized and cultured way. We honor our treaties, word and agreement when we enter into them (Surah An Nahl verse 91) but they don't and this is the difference we us and them. We have the moral authority that works at all levels of our behavior- individual behavior or official behavior. Historically and presently. They don't have any of that. They have expelled God from their minds and societies and this is the way they begin to behave.

Brothers and sisters We thank Allah, even though people who are absorbed into materialism will not be able to provide this the way a humble and sincere Muslim does. It may seem to a worldly person that everything is falling apart, but it will appear to a person of Allah on earth that everything is coming together. We can't doubt the nature of the society that we are living in. It's a society of crass materialism. It's a society that denies God- and denies Him with a vengeance. What do you say of a national publisher of one of these porno magazines that are readily available to anyone and everyone when he comes to a Catholic University? We don't have anything againstCatholics- some of them are good people and others are not- but he is invited to come and speak at GeorgetownUniversity here in Washington DC and he says to his audience, (this is the type of society we are living in), that "the church has had its hands on the American crouch for a long time." This pornographic publisher, Mr Flynn, looks like he is disintegrating in himself- I still don't know in my mind and we hope this is the case with every Muslim mind not even to exert the effort to correspond him with his published filth. How many times have we heard what magazine he belongs to and still in my mind I don't know what pornographic magazine he belongs to? Penthouse or Playboy or the others is it? In my mind the energy to correspond him with his filthy magazine. What do you expect from a society that invites such a person to say such words and be listened to by such people? How do we describe the human race or the type of human beings that are around. This nation was shocked by Colombine- the High Schoolmassacre in Colorado. There was another massacre by an individual in Atlanta, Georgia. With the type of information in your head, if you would encounter him in a restaurant, street, mall or any public place, you would think this person
1566

would be the last one to go on a killing spree and do what he did to his family and in his work place. But still, with all of this disintegration of human nature a Muslim stands up and says Alhamdulillah- a statement that delivers a Muslim from his immediate moment and surroundings and places him in the larger picture of things. When the state of Maryland declared an emergency, they said that "they are living in drought conditions the likes of which they hadn't seen for the last 30 three years," (according to some or), "the last 70 years"(according to others). As the disciples of the Prophet and as the graduates of the Qur'an, we should know that there is a direct relationship between the decisions they make in their society and the environmental or atmospheric circumstances that come into their lives. We know this from those who preceded us and we know this now from the society that we are privy to. This is not perchance. We stand up and reiterate in the midst of all of this Alhamdulillah.

1567

THE BATTLE OF HUNAIN- DRAWING THE PERTINENT LESSONS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters You are familiar with the pressures, the distortion of the facts and the larger schemes that are at work. Much of it is expressed in a way that floods our senses, (probably you'll only hear this here), in particular there has been and continues to be a well thought out program to have Muslims lose interest in their independence and future. We want to go back to Allah's Prophet and see if we can scoop from his lifetime enough confidence that will recharge us and have us as stable as mountains when it comes to the poisonous information that circulates in public and private. We are going to go back to a particular incident (which is) very important in its details in the Prophet's life. First of all, we will take the ayaat from Allah's guiding book that pertain to this event. He says to us in Surah Al Faadiha, (in other words), Surah Al Bara'ah or At Tawbah in the ayah 25 through 27. What are these ayaat saying? Here is our attempt to bring to you the meanings in English- Allah is speaking to you as He was speaking to the 1st Muslims who were listening to these words- Allah says Allah has given you help until victory on many occasions, and on the day of Hunain you were impressed by your numbers, but your numbers did you no good and this expansive earth turned phobic on you- you felt like you were suffocating with all the numbers you had- and then you began to retreat. And then Allah brought down upon His Messenger comfort and composure and He did so upon the committed Muslims and He brought down reinforcements that you could not see and He tormented the deniers of Allah's power and authority; and that is the recompense of these deniers. And then Allah will forgive after all of this whomever He wants and Allah is ever forgiving, very merciful. (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 24-27) OK- these are the three ayaat in Surah At Tawbah- what are these ayaat speaking about? What's the context, history (and) the human variable in these ayaat? OK- here's where you should lockin on these particulars. The Prophet and the committed Muslims with him had just liberated Makkah. This is the 8th year of the hijra in the month of Shawwal- that's the month that follows Ramadhan. The Muslims who came from Al Madinah and other areas in AlHejaaz to liberate Makkah were about 10,000. Now, Makkah itself was liberated- finally- after all of these years and warfare by the chieftains and citizens of Makkah. Finally, Makkah was released from the forces of Kufr and Shirk; but as Makkah succumbed, its twin city, At Taif, was gearing up for
1568

a final and probably the last significant confrontation in Al Hejaz between the power and State of Islam and whatever is left i.e. the remnants of Shirk and Al Kafireen. So the Muslims heard about this impending military affair and they, with the leadership of Allah's Prophet, decided to go and take on this last stronghold of opposition and animosity to Islamic selfdetermination and Islamic independence.At Taif is about 75 miles, (or 115km or so), away from Makkah and it is located in a mountain area. It was like what we would consider today a summer resort. People who were affluent or well to do would go to At Taif. There were family relations between At Taif and Makkah. There were also commercial connections between At Taif and Makkah.So when Makkah fell At Taif felt it. Here, the Muslims, for the 1st time had a force of 12,000 warriors going fromMakkah to At Taif. The original army that was made of 10,000 now had an extra 2,000 who have tagged along from Makkah to At Taif. The Muslims had entered into one of these valleys/areas called Hawaazin- that is why this same military issue is referred to as Hunain and Hawaazin. The day was called Hunain and the area where the two opposing forces confronted each other was called Hawaazin. And during the last portion of the night when the Muslims were beginning to decamp in this particular area they were attacked. (There was) a surprise attack upon them from all directions. They didn't know what to do. This was a surprise attack and this was the hour or so beforefajr. It was night time and all of a sudden arrows, spears and whatever other forms of weapons were used against them. And what happened to all of this number of Muslims? Here they were with this type of number which they never had before when they were encountering their enemies. The Muslims were few and the enemies had the numbers, now it was the reverse- the enemies were fewer and the Muslims had the numbers. Here is where the meanings of these ayaat become pertinent. Allah has given you help and triumph on many occasions and on the day of Hunain when you were exalted because of your multitudes, it did you no good (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25) When the committed Muslims and the Islamic armed force of the 12,000 was attacked, they began to run away. scurrying in every direction, they began to retreat and this expansive earth with all the extended regions to/in it began to feel as if you were suffocating in your own selves (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25) You i.e. the committed Muslims, the Islamic armed forces! And then you began to retreat, to abandon your positions and responsibilities; and then, in the middle of war and in the midst of hostilities, Allah brought down upon His Apostle comfort, calm (and) composure and He also brought down this serenity and tranquility upon the committed Muslims (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25)

1569

What are these ayaat speaking about as far as the details of this military encounter? When the Muslims were surprise attacked and they began to runaway, Allah's Prophet didn't run away. Remember- brothers and sisters, this is extremely important to think about and analyze we, (of course, we weren't born then, but as a continuum), had 12,000 of ourselves around the Prophet and they knew that they were much more than this enemy, but when they were attacked, they couldn't stand their ground so the Prophet began to call the defectors back to frontline positions (and) dangerous areas in this war. And out of 12,000 only about 100 responded in that 1st hour when the test between the two sides was crucial. These 100 were from the Muhajireen (radi Allahu anhum) and Ansaar (radi Allahu anhum). Please drill this into your memory. You can go through the books- ibn Is'haaq and other books of Seerah- go to whichever book you like (and) you're going to find that there's 100 who responded to him or in another book you will find 80 of them responded to him and then in the peripheral books, this is where it gets disproportional, they tell you only eight-to-ten responded to him. This is what you're going find. The most generous is 100 from these Muhajireen and Ansaar, which tells us that latter day Muslims i.e. those 1000's who became Muslims only in the past few months and couple of years could not withstand the heat of war. They were Muslims just like you and me, but when the test came "wait a minute, this is too much; we're leaving." And that's what they did. So back to the ayah- in this dynamic in these circumstances you felt like the whole earth was choking you (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25) This is a big place/globe/planet but you felt like you were suffocating and then you began to run away, break rank or desert (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25) Within this psychologically challenging time that Allah brought down an air of stability and tranquility upon His Messenger (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25) The Muslims regrouped and they turned the tide of this battle. the pain, agony and torment was turned around and it inflicted alladheena kafaru (Surah Al Bara'ah verse 25) What was the mechanism that turned this whole episode around? It was the Prophet and those 100 out of the 12,000 who fought with valor, honor and distinction against those who are deniers of Allah's power and authority. Now, we come to an important addendum to this. When alladheena kafaru themselves began to retreat- some of them went back to At Taif (and) others went to a place called Awtaas- but they were fleeing. When this happened, the Muslims had spoils of war. What you have to understand, (and what we didn't mention a little earlier is), when the inhabitants of At Taif came to this final clash with the Islamic force, they brought with
1570

them their women, children and their wealth. Their commander by the name of Malik ibn Awf thought that this was a smart military thing to do. He said I'll bring their wives, sisters and daughters to war and they are going to be forced to fight to defend their own families, honor, womenfolk and wealth because he also brought what amounts to roughly, (the Islamic terminology is), 4,000 uqiya. Each uqiya of silver is about 119 grams, so we're speaking may be about 40 kgs of silver (or whatever 4,000 uqiyahs come to). All of that was at the warfront, now when the men who were under arms fled, of course the children, babies, wives, mothers, daughters and the weaker ones couldn't run away and Muslims had spoils of war. They had a human factor/element and the wealth/possessions/silver and the Prophet wanted to distribute this among those who were there at the battlefront. One of the details that we think you should bear in mind (is) Let's go back there were 2,000 who had joined the Islamic force from Makkah who joined the 10,000 from Al Madinah. Those 2,000 were virtually tulaqa' i.e. the ones that the Prophet upon liberation of Makkah released. He told them you're free. There were no prisoners of war, captives (and) courts for these lifelong enemies of the Prophet. He said you may go now, you are free. So, 2,000 of these were in this force and among these 2,000 was Abi Sufyan and his two sons Muawiya and Yazid. When the time came to disperse the spoils of war- and the Prophet waited about two weeks, it wasn't like we would do it right now. He was hoping that many of these defeated occupants of At Taif would reconsider/think themselves through and say "we want to go back and claim what is ours. We will become Muslims." But they didn't do that. So after these two weeks of waiting with no response from the people of At Taif, the Prophet of Allah began to distribute whatever that was there i.e. camels, sheep, donkeys, silver and he gave Abu Sufyan 100 camels and (if we can recall correctly) 400 uqiya of silver. This was in the presence of all the other Muslims who were seeing this. Abu Sufyan did not participate in this battle. He was an observer. Neither did his children. And it doesn't stop here. The Prophet gave him this because of the channel of zakah calledal muallafati qulubuhum to try to win over their hearts. Remember, these were people who had power and status and (when) Makkah was liberated they no longer had power and status. Allah's Prophet wanted them to become Muslims with dignity, so he dispensed this amount to them. Al Muhajirun did not complain but Al Ansar did.Why's this? This person was an enemy of Allah and His Prophet all of these years and he just, in the past few weeks, became a Muslim and the Prophet gives him this?! Maybe the Prophet is abandoning us and going back to his own people i.e. the people of Makkah. These are the type of internal thoughts that they had. They didn't feel good about this, so they told Saad ibn Ubada (radi Allahu anhum), one of their leaders, speak to the Prophet. Express to him how we feel. And he did. You see- they weren't hiding anything from themselves. There was no social courtesies, mujaamalat, ta'araf and all of these other things that we encounter in culturalIslamic life. So the Prophet, after listening to Saad ibn Ubada asked him how do you feel about this? He said I'm only one individual of Al Ansaar meaning I am one of them I basically understand what they are saying to you even
1571

though I am expressing it. He said OK- call them. And he called them and they had a meeting with Allah's Prophet and Allah's Prophet explained to them that the wealth and the spoils of war that were dispersed to al muallafati qulubuhum are the material things of this world. It has an impact on them- it can win them over, but you have me. Who do you prefer to have? Me or the material and physical things of life?They said no. We prefer to have you. And the Prophet of Allah said a du'a to bless the Ansaar, the children of Al Ansaar and the grand children. It was only a few decades after that and the sons and grandsons of Quraishwere going to massacre and violate the honor of the children and grand children of Al Ansaar at a place called AlHurra outside of Al Madinah when they rose up against Yazid whose uncle, father and grandfather were from almuallafati qulubuhum. There were others- plain Munafiqeen in the words of the Qur'an- who objected to the Prophet. A person by the name of Dhu Al Khuwaysira said this is not fair. When you think about it, your mind can understand what he is saying, not your heart. The heart and conscience remain with the Prophet and therefore the mind, but this person came and said you haven't done justice. He said Ya Muhammad- without any respect. He didn't say ya rasullula ya nabiAllah; he said Ya Muhammad you have not done justice. So what's his rationale. He says the people who were up there- in the hazards of the war, potentially going to die- deserve this booty, not the likes of Abu Sufyan, his sons and these. They were there physically, but they weren't fighting so why are they receiving some of the leftovers of this war? So, there was a campaign. It didn't succeed or go anywhere, but nevertheless it was there to try to erode the decision of the Prophet. If Allah and His messenger decree a thing A committed Muslim or Muslimah have no choice but to except (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 36) So why these objections? But that's what we had. In the middle of this Allah will forgive whoever he wants to forgive, Allah is oft forgiving and He is merciful (Surah At Tawbah verse 25) This is who we are. This is part of our history. If it wasn't for the Muhajireen and Ansaar- those early committed, struggling and sacrificing Muslims- we wouldn't have known how the course of this encounter would have gone. You can't prove a negative. Who knows?! But they responded to the Messenger of Allah when he called on them to resume their military positions and responsibilities.

Brothers and sisters, When we assimilate into the information that comes to us from Allah and His Prophet, we begin to understand our potential and weakness, our expectations and frustrations. The model/behavior of Allah's Prophet and the explanation of all of this in Allah's book brings us to where we are today. Three years ago, those who had all the man power, technology, weapon system, arsenal
1572

and whatever humanity possesses of weapons of mass destruction obviously we're speaking about the Israeli Zionists. They turned all of what they had against Muslims who did not have the multitudes. Remember what the multitudes did to the psychology of the Muslims on this occasion. It practically made them forget that victory comes from Allah. With all the numbers, masses and multitude of people that they had on the day of Hunain, they skipped over that fact. They forgot Allah for a moment. Three years ago, we had Muslims who demonstrated that they are not going to forget where help and victory comes from. They withstood their military positions and military grounds with all hell broke lose against them. Where was everyone else? It's this like the attitude that they had at that time? "Oh no, this was a surprised attack and they are carpet bombing, so let us get out of harms way." This is the attitude of many Muslims today. Many Muslims today also give it a veneer of sophistication and civilization, i.e. "Oh they are political. They understand things much more than others who are out there in the field." All of this is a cop-out. They run away from facing the issues face-to-face and eye-to-eye. We have an enemy- let's not run away from the fact; and we have an enemy who has many colors. It has a Zionist color, an Imperialist color, the color of the Munafiqeen- they come in many colors. We can't run away from this fact, but how many of us can relate/combine the facts and experience of the past with those of today? You can go to the Masaajid and khutaba' who will lullaby you to sleep in these conditions. We also have today people/individuals who have the Islamic appearances, rituals, rites, celebrations and ceremonies who disagree with their leader just like we had Muslims disagreeing with their leader at the time of Allah's Prophet. If the Muslims today can understand (and) move these meanings from the Qur'an to the everyday developments around them, they will also understand that they have a leader. This leader is not hiding. Some people with an Islamic pulse have disguised, undisclosed or absent leaders. We don't know where this comes from, but it's a fact, so they don't want to speak about the issues and they begin trying to undermine and erode the leader that we have. They do this and they sound reasonable- just like Dhu Al Khuwaysiracomes to the Prophet and he sounds reasonable i.e. why are you giving this money to people who didn't even break a sweat in this war, and other Muslims were bleeding and they barely got anything compared to what Abi Sufyan and his two sons? (It) sounds reasonable, but is the Prophet doing something out of course? He's looking at one war, Allah's Prophet is looking at the larger picture! He doesn't have confidence in his Prophet? He thinks he knows more! We, the Muslims, give the responsibility of leadership to a particular person and then later on some of us come and say "we know more than he knows" and it sounds reasonable. This is what's happening today. Yet (and) this should be the talk of the town i.e. what the Saudis are doing. You heard it here. First theSaudis are trying to limit the number of people who go to Hajj. Remember, (we mentioned this previously), they're using the excuse of what is called "the swine flu pandemic" and they're telling people, (this is official); what happened was in the past few weeks. The Ministers of Health from Arabian countries met in Cairo and they discussed and deliberated. After their sessions they came out and said "they endorsed the Saudi government taking
1573

measures to preclude a serious outbreak of the swine flu pandemic during the time of Hajj and the major Umrah which takes place during the month of Ramadhan." OK- so what does that mean in practical terms? The Saudigovernment it's getting away with all that it is getting away with, so what type of power are you giving it now? They say "well- those who are over 60 years of age will not be permitted to go to Hajj this year. Those who have serious health issues such as diabetes, serosis in the liver, any ailment in the vital parts of the body such as the heart, i.e. high blood pressure" We kid you not. This is what has been discussed and approved " or in the kidneys or children who are younger than, (can't remember the exact age, but guess it was), 12 years old or it could have been 14"all of these are now by the force of law prohibited from going to the Hajj and major Umrah. These are supposed to be Ministers of Health. You would expect that they have a bare amount of knowledge of the information that circulates which says that "the swine flu does not affect the elderly as much as it affects the younger ones" ; did all of these honorable and eminent Ministers of Health not understand basic information about this? Why are they telling people "if you're over 60 you can't come to Hajj." But they get away with it because we are absent. No one wants to speak about these issues. They are in control of Makkah and Al Madinah and now they can say "it is halaal for someone to come to Hajj and it is haraam for others to come to Hajj." This is a matter of a persons own conscience. Obviously, if a Muslim has a communicable disease, his conscience will tell him or her "I don't belong to Hajj, I don't want to pass on this ailment to other Muslims" and they would stay home. We don't need the Saudigovernment to act as our conscience and tell us whether we can or cannot go to Hajj. But this is happening. It is happening because we have headless Masaajid and brainless Manaabir. That is why it is happening. We contribute to the problem not to its solution.

1574

SURAH AL FIL- DRAWING THE PERTINENT LESSONS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ma'ashar Al Mu'mineen, Committed Muslims As we inch ourselves closer to the high days of the Hajj, it would be relevant to try to build an understanding of thisHajj and of Makkah so that if Allah provides us the opportunity to fulfil this obligation, we do so with the power of reasoning along with the power of motivation to be there. To better contribute to our understanding of the centrality, the significance, the status of Makkah and Al Bayt Al Haram, (we shall with Allah's assistance), reflect on a short Surah that hopefully is in the memory of all of us. This concise Surah brings to our attention, (we're supposed to read these Surahs with all the mental capacity we have), Allah says and His words are the guiding truth and the enlightening facts of life- present and the future- He says Have you not seen how Allah dealt with the companions of Al Fil? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) In another understanding of this ayah, Do you not consider what Allah has done to the companions of Al Fil? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) In the 1st understanding of this ayah, the 1st explanation of the word tara is the physical and visual consideration of what happened to a military force that wanted to invade, occupy and destroy Makkah. Remember these words, (i.e. invasion, occupation, destruction), are not easily used by contemporary Muslims, even though this ayah contains the meanings of these words. Remember, these are words that are used in today's vital language of what is happening concerning militaries, war fare and combat. So, if we understand the meaning of the word tara Have you not seen (Surah Al Fil verse 1) Of course, the Prophet was not born when this happened, so how could he see it when he was not born?! (But) still, the meanings stand as such because it has been said that there have been visual evidence of what happened during that year that was called the year of Al Fil, and those visual evidence were in the stones and rocks that are around and in that area and in two individuals who stayed behind in Makkah and did not perish as a result of this military campaign (where) enemies (were) coming to Makkah. At the time of Allah's Prophet, they were beggars, blind and disabled so the traces of that assault to obliterate Makkah and the Ka'bah were there during the time in which thisayah was revealed. This Surah was revealed in Makkah. (It is) one of the 1st 30 Surahs to be revealed in Makkah.
1575

The other meaning Do you not consider what happened (or) how Allah dealt with the companions of Al Fil? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) OK- who are these people/As'haab il Fil? What happened? What is the background? What is so important in human history and in relations between societies and powers at that time that a Surah from heaven was revealed for us to dwell on/recite/consider/think about/learn from until the end of time? What is it? Where did these As'haab il Fil come from? Here is the information that we should have when we concentrate our minds on this ayah. Sometimes we just say words and pass by. We're going to take a step backward- concentrating our minds is exactly what thestatus quo Muslims and their mental secular/Allah denying super structure in the world want us not to do. You read/recite/chant or even sing the Qur'an, but you are not allowed to think about the Qur'an and this is exactly what we want to do. We want to reverse this classification that we have been in. Who are As'haab al Fil? What is the background information about this Surah? As'haab al Fil is a military force. We repeat they were a Military force, just like today's military force, who came originally from Africa. We know (that) this is going to get on some nerves of some people who think everything about Africa is positive. Some of them may have racial inclinations- whatever the case is- continents, races and peoples have the good and the bad. In this case, we are looking at what is bad- coming out of Africa; a force that came out from what is historically called Al Habasha. This force came to Yemen,the South-Western corner of the Arabian Peninsula and by the use of force they conquered and occupied that area/country. And what did they do after that? They built a centre/Church that was called Al Kalis, (or in some other books) Al Kulais (or in some other books) Al Kullais. The word, Al Kalis may have been Arabized and entered theArabic language as Al Kanis or Al Kanisa. In some other parts of the area it could have been called Al Kalis which refers to the temple of worship of those who belong to the Christian religion of the time. They not only brought with them a military force, but they also brought in a religious orientation and they built on a high area of San'a- the major city in Yemen- this centre of theirs. Their political, ideological and therefore social ambition was to eclipseMakkah and to have people's attention drawn away from Al Bayt Al Haram so now they can go for their pilgrimage instead of to Makkah to San'a in Al Yemen. This is what they had on their mind and how they were thinking. What happened in this time period with these dynamics (was that) there was a person from Kinana, one of the well known tribes in the Arabian Peninsula, who caught wind of the plan that outside forces had for this area. This wasn't a Muslim. The Prophet was not born yet. It may have been out of his own tribal motivation or historical motivations- that area is not very clear. This Kinani goes to this Imperialist area, (it's OK brothers), we can borrow words from today and place it in that time frame so that we can understand that ancient enemies are not really ancient they are also current/contemporary. This person (did this) during what is called Ash Shahr Al Haram. Remember, before theQur'an was revealed and the Prophet was born there was
1576

an Ibrahimi tradition- just like today, there's an Islamictradition around, during that time there was an Ibrahimi tradition that honoured the sacred and secure month zones of the year. But the way some of them would honour it is called an nasi'. This is a Qur'anic word. What they would do is change the months around the year. If this month is Rajab, (for example), they would switch Rajab with another month of the year. This is called is a nasi. The switching of months during the year is an addition of Kufr/denying Allah (Surah At Tawbah verse 37) That became a tradition. So this person, during this time period, goes and he expresses defiance to this Church that was supposed to replace Al Bayt Al Haram and he stirs the Asabiyah i.e. the clannish solidarities amongst the people in that area against the foreign Imperialists presence/occupation of that part of Arabia. This person i.e. the AfricanHabashi ruler in Yemen called Abraha You see, the way we read our history, especially those of us who want to interject race into history always have the quote of the Prophet when he sent one of the early Muslims to theHabasha. This same land that produced Abraha produced An Najashi. We are fair- if a person is just and righteous, we grant that to him; but if a person is aggressive and vile, we also identify that in him. It doesn't matter it comes from Africa or anywhere else in the world- race is not an issue. So Abraha takes offence and he wants to go to the source of the problem which he and maybe his advisors and consultants identified it to be Makkah itself and Al BaytAl Haram. So he puts together a tremendous military force that outnumbers and had more weapons than the inhabitants/nomads who are in Makkah and its surrounding area and he embarks on this military campaign/objective to virtually destroy Al Masjid Al Haram, the Ka'bah or the structure of Ibrahim and Isma'eel (alaihima as salaam)and after that, all the attention will revert to San'a- his capital/conquered city. So he takes this tremendous force toMakkah with what is considered, in those days, the latest fighting technology i.e. the Elephants, (that is why the word Al Fil is used). We don't want to get into any trivial details (of) was it one Fil that Abraha was riding in this military campaign and therefore they were called As'haab Al Fil or was it eight or 12 or more or even 1,000. All of these are mentioned in the books that we refer to. These trivial details don't matter; they were a superior military force and they camped outside Makkah in an area on the road from Makkah to At Ta'if in a place called Mughammas.We and everyone of you should know (that) if you have ever been to the Umra or Hajj, that's not a place anyone would know. We ask ourselves "why?" It's an important area. Imagine- there was going to be a war that was going to destroy Makkah (that was) launched from that area. Why shouldn't we be aware of it? Why should it be buried in history? We could even drive/pass by it and not be aware that this is the last stop that the enemies of the coming Muslims had before they wanted to level Makkah to the ground. But that is something none of us know or even want to know because of the engineered flow of information or (rather) disinformation/de-information that characterises today's Islamic speaking and thinking. Then, we are told in these history books about a
1577

communication that took place between Abraha the commander/chief/head/chief executive in the power of Yemenbetween him and Abd Al Muttalib, who after seeing the disparity/vast difference between the Makkans who virtually had nothing to defend themselves. This wasn't a military society. It's not Spartan. It's nomadic Makkah that had its cultural and economic character but not a military character. Remember, the history books never mentioned AbuSufyan or Abu Jahl who were main characters in Makkah. The only thing these history books tell us is that this communication was between Abd Al Muttalib- who was the keeper of the Ka'bah and the custodian of the Haram-and Abraha. After this communication Abd Al Muttalib realised (that) there's no match between the two forces, so he advised his extended family as well as all the people of Makkah to leave, abandon and vacate Makkah. This is the only time we know ever since Makkah came into existence when Ibrahim and Isma'eel built the Ka'bah that Makkahwas evacuated. It was when this military force was on its outskirts. In fact they went to adjacent mountains and hills for cover. No one was left in Makkah. Allah says Have you not considered what your Sustainer has done with the companions of Al feel? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) The word As'haab al Fil, even though it is translated in the mainstream fashion as "the companion of the Elephants"for those of you who can understand both languages, it really doesn't mean that. What it means is like the superior force. Later on, in our history, there was another clash between Muslims themselves and it was called As'haab AlJamal. This one was called As'haab Al Fil. It's like saying in today's language "Elephant times." The Elephants at that time were like saying an F15 or an F16 in our time. Al Fil, for those who dig deeper, is a cause for optimism; "we're going to win" because we have this force juxtaposed to Al Khail, another reference in the Qur'an to a military description. Everyone in Makkah had left so there was no one there and we have this superior force. The orders are given and they march on Makkah, Then Allah says Has He not turned their conspiracy into a cul-de-sac or into a dead end? He sent swarms of moving elements in the air. (Surah Al Fil verse 2-3) The conventional understanding is (that) these moving creatures in the air is simply birds- which could be. No one's denying or affirming, but it could be other things that were sent in the air. Whatever it was, It targeted this fighting/hostile/disproportionate military force which was pelted with elements of sijjil. (Surah Al Fil verse 4) Once again this has an open interpretation. Could it be small pebbles and this was a physical miracle in the biblical sense of the word or was it something like bacteria virus, etc. that came upon this fighting force and destroyed it. They couldn't conquer Makkah nor destroy the Ka'bah. Many of them were killed and the remaining remnant force along with Abraha, who fell ill,
1578

returned to Yemen where many of them died as did Abraha himself. We hope and think we all have memorised this Surah, but do all of these military details come into our minds? Allah is speaking about al kayd i.e. a thought out conspiratorial strategy. And then He rendered this military force as if it was a field of harvest/wheat/grains that was burnt/incinerated. (Surah Al fil verse 5) This is our Makkah, not just that Black Stone and that cubical form of the Ka'bah that everyone goes to with their emotions and what is called piety and then everyone dismisses or is ignorant of this vital information pertaining toMakkah. There are a couple of issues at least that this small Surah should bring to our attention and mind. The 1stthing is we know is that an enemy/fighting force that was sent to Makkah was destroyed itself- this Surah tells us so. But on the other hand, the Prophet of Allah went to Makkah with a fighting force and Makkah was liberated. InSurah Al Fath, an ayah says Allah has verified for His Messenger, His Messenger's vision in accordance with the truth: you will indeed enter Al Masjid Al Haram in a state of safety and security (Surah Al Fath verse 27) Which happened after that. Therefore Makkah can attract hostile forces as well as forces of liberation as is demonstrated by the ayaat in the Qur'an. But who is reading Surah Al Fath and Surah Al Fil or Surah Alam Tara, (it is called both ways) at the same time? This is where we reflect on ourselves and we find that we are deficient. We still/yet have to coordinate and consolidate the meanings of this Qur'an so that we can carry it's message in the world that we are in. Brothers and sisters of the Islamic way/As Siraat Al Mustaqeem We just quoted some ayaat of a military nature and this military nature is not frozen in history. There's also now extensive military activities that are taking place in a ring around Makkah i.e. to the South, East, Northand West- virtually. This is no exaggeration or hyperbole. Makkah is in the centre of military forces all around it and this is a time when our minds have gone A.W.O.L. Our minds are absent from this fact. What is the power that has occupied Makkah- this is an occupying power,(is anyone ashamed/afraid to say that?) The protection of this occupying power comes from its imposed perception upon us about it. How many hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars has this illegitimate government in Arabia spent on its forces since the time when the petrodollar began to flow into its coffers? We don't have a count of that because it's beyond arithmetic! How many wars? All of them agree, (they won't disagree with you in a conversation/debate), that the enemies are the Zionists that are occupying Palestine. OK- what have they done about that with all of this? How many generations of weapons have they bought? The 1 stgeneration that now is ancient. The 2nd generation that is now too old. The 3rd generation that has
1579

become obsolete. The 4th generation that is being replaced with what is called modern weaponry. None of it that they can build! They're not interested in building an industry so they can protect yourselves. They want to depend on the Mushrikeen and the Kuffar for their own protection so they accumulate all of this weaponry and hardware on the deserts of Arabia. How many wars (have there been) since 1973? That's when we want to begin to count them (because) before that they may classify themselves at that time of being poor nomads in tents. OK- but after that time they have a cash flow that we cannot even count, what have they done? There was a war that the Zionists launched, but where were you? In 1973, Egyptand Syria were doing the fighting, (but) where were you? In the beginning of 1980 and 1982 the Zionists,(who they say are their foremost enemies), invaded Lebanon and occupied half the country for some time and continued their occupation of the South of that country until it was liberated in 2002 by Islamicforces, but where were they? What were they doing? Nothing! Today, for the 1st time in their contemporary history, they send their warplanes and artillery to fight against Muslims in Yemen. Was that the reason they were created? To use their armed forces against Muslims? They can't use their forces when they are much in need against an avowed enemy? We see these facts if we understand/think about what we are reading. We are reading military details in the Qur'an, but why can't we bring the meanings out of the Qur'anand into our current affairs, issues and developments. What has happened to us? And they still want to get away with being called the custodians of the two Harams in Makkah and Al Madinah. They are not it's custodians/premiers. They are by the words of the Qur'an you repel by your policies, administration, consulates Muslims from going to Makkah and Al Madinah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 217) Without any conditions is the way Muslims are supposed during the Hajj and Umrah there to Makkah and Al Madinah.No conditions, terms or stipulations! Why do they contrive all of this and at the end of the day they want to be called "the custodian of the two sacred Masjids in Makkah and Al Madinah." They don't fool us, because Allah has enlightened us and we pray for the day when this enlightenment touches the hearts and the minds of the rest of the Muslims in the world because after Makkah is liberated, (this is a historical task), the liberation of Al Quds, Jerusalem will be, (in simple language) "a piece of cake."

MAKKAH'S ESSENCE
1580

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We are approaching the time of Hajj and it is only appropriate and befitting to begin to give serious thoughts to this yearly obligation that speaks to every Muslim and beyond that, it's supposed to have an impact on every other human being. For us to fulfil the obligations of what a khutbah is supposed to be i.e. means of communication and explaining that taqwa of Allah i.e. the authoritative presence of Allah in man's life, we will begin with some remarks or commentaries pertaining to Makkah and Ibraheem (alaihi as salaam). A Surah that may be committed to the memories of many Muslims is Surah Al Balad or Surah Laa Uqsimu- it has these two designations/names to it. It begins by saying in the literal translation Allah is revealing His words I shall not mention this town in solemn terms (Surah Al Balad verse 1) Or a step below that I will not express an oath pertinent to this town. (Surah Al Balad verse 1) This is in reference to Makkah and yet a degree below that I shall not swear by this town. (Surah Al Balad verse 1) This is more or less the literal translation of these ayaat. The more engaged meaning of this is that Allah will- even though the literal translation of it, (as may be understood), by unengaged minds is in the negative i.e. I will not; but in the practical and the thought out understanding of this ayah, Allah is saying I will mention in solemn terms this town. (Surah Al Balad verse 1) We don't want to enter into a philosophical debate about whether this is an affirmation of an oath or a negation of an oath. Allah is saying I will not mention in the most solemn of terms this town while you (Surah Al Balad verse 1) This (you) is in reference to Allah's Prophet. The meaning of the word hillum here is you have become an exception to its laws (Surah Al Balad verse 2) This needs a little explanation (as to) what is meant by it. We want you brothers and sisters to understand this, because if we don't begin understanding this then the status quo is going remain running us over from year to year. Allah is saying that He will not or He will (depending on your ability to understand) mention in solemn language Makkah itself while His Prophet in
1581

contravention to the laws as of this day and time has become open season to his Mushrik enemies. If you begin to understand the meaning of this ayah, you begin to realise that there is more to this than catches the eye. Makkah in its history and when Allah's Prophet was born into it was known as a city/zone of security. The Haram or place that was established by Ibraheem and Isma'eel (alaihima as sallat wa as salaam) was meant to be a war free zone. This character of Makkah was consolidated. You could not kill game/animals in Makkah. You could not even cut the trees. This was observed for generation and generation for hundreds of years by everyone who dwelled/lived in that city. And here comes Allah's Prophet, and what did they do to Allah's Prophet? They said we shall shed his blood. What happened? All of the force of history has been violated. The traditions that they spoke about and the personalities that they identified with i.e. Ibraheem andIsma'eel are turning upside down and they want to kill Allah's Prophet? It is in this meaning that capsulated in theseayaat. He will not or He will mention in solemn language Makkah itself; while His Prophet in contravention to the laws as of this day and time has become open season to his Mushrik; and by a progenitor and what he has given birth to or by father and son. (Surah Al Balad verse 13) Father and son is in reference to Ibraheem and his son Isma'eel and the sons/generations/offspring/progeny that came from Ibraheem and Isma'eel meaning the occupants/inhabitants of Makkah itself. Let us go over these ayaatagain. Allah is saying, (in another understanding of the word hill) I shall not mention in the strongest solemn language this city of Makkah while you (O Muhammad) are resident in the imposed and extraordinary circumstances that you are in. (Surah Al Balad verse 1-2) Indeed we have created man in a condition of hardship and exhaustion. (Surah Al Balad verse 4) Let us review our historical mind i.e. what thinkers, scholars and Ulema' said about this ayah. Unfortunately we live in a time when Allah speaks, we close our mind; but there was a time when Allah spoke and there were Muslims who were thinking of what He is saying- that's where we're supposed to be. So, we had fourteen centuries in which we were supposed to think of what Allah is telling us. Some of these thinkers took a look at the sanctity of Makkahand they began to say whether the ihram i.e. the attire/garment that Muslims wear to enter Makkah is mandatory to everyone who enters Makkah or is it mandatory only for those who are going to Makkah for the purposes of Hajj and Umrah. And you have the different opinions here and there. People who thought out these opinions had their own circumstancespolitical/military/social developments and dynamics. We live in a world that has its own developments and dynamics and so when we think about this Surah that was either revealed in Makkah or Al Madinah- this is not a conclusive and a final statement on where this Surah was
1582

revealed. Some people say it was in Makkah- and these are not average people. These were people who gave it their minds and thoughts, but this is what we have inherited. And we have other people saying no. It was revealed in Al Madinah.We're not going to enter into these types of back-and-forths. Thinking about the established meanings of these beginning ayaat of Surah Al Balad, we think about the accessibility of Makkah. This in something that never occurred to the minds of the people of that time, because no one was telling them "you can't come to Makkah!" So, they would not address an issue that was never there. But today we have something new that wasn't there; neither in the times of jahiliyyah i.e. the preMuhammadi, pre-Islamic pre-Qur'anic times, nor was it there in the 1sthundred/thousand years after the Prophet, but it has become, (now), the fact of our life. Ibraheem fled from, (what is called today), Al Iraq because of persecution and he found refuge and a place where he can trust his future generations to live. And bear in mind that Ibraheem said "Oh my Sustainer, have this town or designate this area to be one of security (Surah Al Ibraheem verse 35) These ayaat are all around the place, but they are just decibels/sounds in the air. There's no minds that is latching on to the meanings of these ayaat. If we had millions of Muslims who understand what Allah is saying, we probably would not have the exceptional and the odd conditions that are imposed on us today. and give me and my descendants a distance from conforming to idols or to idolise figures to figurative statues. (Surah Al Ibraheem verse 35) Brothers and sisters- Ibraheem said Oh my Sustainer make this town a town of security and safety. What do we have today? We have military bases (and) hundreds of thousands of military personnel, advisors and combatants who are in the vicinity of this area that Ibraheem- in his du'a to Allah- wanted to become an area/zone of security and safety. Today, we have real people whose interpretation of security is to bring in forces that are inimical to Allah and His Prophets! Can you see the contradiction? And not only that, these Saudis, (some people don't want to use these words), why? What's wrong? We didn't give them that name, they gave themselves that name. This feudal ruling royalty has interjected into the history of Islam and into the midst of the Muslims alien forces and hostile militaries in contradiction and contravention to the words of Ibraheem and after all of this, they claim, (with the propaganda at their disposal), that they are the followers of Ibraheemand they can add to that claim and they do that they are the descendants of Ibraheem, and Allah- whose words are a cure to their diseased minds and their poisonous politics- says in Surah Aal Imran Did anyone listen out there, especially those who are going to be flocking as a matter of habit and tradition into Makkah and out ofMakkah in the coming month-and-a-half? Listen when Allah speaks
1583

Those who claim/say that they belong to Ibraheem are those who follow him and this Prophet (in reference to Muhammad) and those who are committed to the authority and power of Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 68) What do we have now? If you read and understand what Allah is saying and it is clear, Bear in mind Ibraheem when he said: "My Sustainer, render this town a town of security and safety." (Surah Al Ibraheem verse 35) Ask the Saudis, who are in illegitimate control of Makkah and Al Madinah, the definition and the practical implications of what this is in today's world! We don't say this because we are scoring against this or because we are getting personal. We say this because we are trying to understand what Allah is saying to us and how they are violating what He is saying to us. Indeed we have created man in a condition of hardship and exhaustion. (Surah Al Balad verse 4) Some of these scholars who come to the word insaan in the Qur'an, according to their ijtihad, they say that manyayaat in the Qur'an that have the word insaan in it is referring to those who are at odds with the Muslims or to use their own words "it refers most of the time to the kafireen." Obviously, if we can recall these dynamics, we begin to understand that man lives in conditions that are trying to his nature. Let us ask ourselves- this is a legitimate question. If we are interacting with what Allah and His Prophet are saying to us then doesn't it become a valid question to ask: were there any obstacles for Ibraheem in going to that area there? There was noMakkah there. It was a piece of sand/desert. Did anyone tell him "you can't come here?" The only time we find that Makkah is a repelling force that wants to push people away from it was in the time of Allah's Prophet. They could no longer tolerate his presence. All of their laws, legal systems, values and traditions said that there cannot be bloodshed in Makkah and here they were thinking about spilling the blood of Allah's Prophet in Makkah itself. And when the Muslims became a consolidated force in Al Madinah,Makkah did not want them. This is an exception in the history of that city and we should understand how Makkah is presented nowadays. Is it a welcoming city? Is it an embracing area? Is it an accommodating society? Is it a melting pot of people who go there as has been all along? Or has it become difficult to go to Makkah? Makkah is no longer a place that integrates its fans and lovers i.e. the people who are attracted to it no longer can assimilate in this city. What happened? There is something that is in the works. Frankly speaking- only a few people, (if that), are able and willing to express and explain that to the public/everyone who is willing to listen. We don't know there is no page in history that tells that Ibraheem or Isma'eel or the generations after that "Makkah is off limits to you." So how come today we have these family rulers who come tell all the Muslims- not verbally, you are not going to find this in their laws, regulations, newspapers and books. It is a policy that they are applying to the rest of the Muslims off the record because they
1584

can't justify this. But here they are and they need the help of others. Brothers and sisters- it is quite interesting to note that the person that they elevate so much, i.e. Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab, explained in some of his writings that "the people in the Arabian peninsula are worse than the Mushrikeen during the time of Allah's Prophet." Why don't they highlight that statement by their guru, (as it were)? Why do they selectively want to take some statements and miss other statements? They are afraid that their own mentors own words can be used against them. And in fact, that is what is happening. Some of those who can themselves "Wahabbis and Salafis" have discovered in the words of their primary scholar, statements and sentences that delegitimize the ruling family in Al Hejaz and Arabia. (Take a) look at them. These "Wahhabis and Salafis" are not a monolith. Some of them consider the ruling family to be a God-send. They are God's shadow on earth in the words in Westernlanguages, not in the technical meaning of Islamic vocabulary. Then, there are those same types of people who refer to the same books, sources and references and then they say "the same ruling family are the enemies of Allah and His Prophet." This is what we get/have. We're not stuffing the issue against anyone. We are simply stating the facts that look us in the eye, especially during these weeks as we approach the season of the Hajj. Those who can rightly belong to Ibraheem are those who follow him (Surah Aal Imran verse 68) Not those who were born in Makkah and Al Hejaz, and not those who can trace their grandfathers all the way back to Ibraheem and Isma'eel. It is those who are in the character of Ibraheem and Isma'eel not in the chromosomes of Ibraheem and Isma'eel. This Prophet of Allah who broke with these traditions that are used to legitimise illegitimate rulers. and those who are committed to Allah (Surah Aal Imran verse 68) Not committed to the military enemies of Allah and to the racism of the enemies of Allah. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims One of the major impediments/obstacles that we experience in not expressing the true and in not wanting to listen to the true is the element of fear. People are afraid. Muslims are afraid. Fear is a component of human nature. In certain circumstances it is natural to fear. If someone is experiencing bullets and bombs around them, they fear- that's natural. But it is not natural to fear expressing and explaining the truth- that's not normal. It doesn't come with human nature. We ask ourselves what's wrong with us that we are incapable and unwanting to express the truth because there's a fear in us. Where did this fear come? Impose this question on yourself: why do you fear? We are not doing anything wrong. We are trying to get to the truth. Why should anyone fear trying to obtain the truth? But this is, regrettably said, a common feature amongst many Muslims- they fear this. Those people who ascend the Mimbar on Fridays are afraid to say the truth. Some people who know what the truth is will tell you "I will not say this in public. I
1585

will discuss this with you. I'll have a conversation with you about this matter, but I won't go on the record for everyone to hear expressing the truth." Some people want to comfort themselves and so, what they do is coach their ideas in general terms. They don't want to be specific. They have a net conscience that says to them "you should say something." So, when they say something, they leave it very general and sometimes vague. Thereafter, they convince themselves that they said the truth. This is a fact of our life. You should ask these types when you speak to them or when you have an opportunity to have a few minutes with them "where did this personality that fears expressing the truth come from? Has there been any Prophet of Allah or any of Allah's righteously guided people who were afraid of saying the truth?" Obviously, they will not have an answer to that or they will just terminate the session. Who was afraid? Ibraheem was afraid?! Musa (alaihi as salaam) was afraid?!As we said, fear is a part of human nature and maybe some of these Prophets and Messengers of Allah may have felt in their life the emotions of fear, but never was that the case in expressing the truth in public. What happed to us? There's a lot of work to be done so that we can have an average/normal/regular human being, (that's all we want), who can speak the truth. What are they going to say/do? What the worst thing that is going to happen? They'll put someone like me in prison or they'll contrive an incident or bend the laws and terminate someone's life because he's expressing the truth?! So be it. It's better to live with a free conscience and a mind that is settled in Allah and His Prophet and as a consequence of that pass on than to live the low life of sub humans who are incapable of saying and expressing the truth, especially when it comes to those who are running the show in Makkah and Al Madinah without qualms/second thoughts. They have been riding on the indifference and the disengagement of the Muslim public and that should come to an end sooner rather than later.

OSTRICH MENTALITY
1586

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and Sisters, Committed Muslims There are two Surahs in the Qur'an, (among others), that can be described as military Surahs. We know that this wording is not comfortable with the image makers and the propagandists in the world around us, but the truth has to be said. These two Surahs are Surah Al Fath and Surah Muhammad- military/combat Surahs. It's alright. Those who are going to be disturbed and nervous about this, so be it. If they have any other ideas/comments, let us hear from them, (but) no one's around. One of these small discourses in Surah Muhammad says the following Be informed/advised that there is no deity/authority except Allah and ask for forgiveness pertaining to your mistakes and for the committed Muslim's- males and females; and Allah knows your equivocations, conditioning, vacillations, abiding and status quo. (Surah Muhammad verse 19) Please bear with us as we try to explain this ayah. Remember, this is a military atmosphere. We're not speaking about Muslims who have confined themselves to a few square feet in a Masjid/place of worship. We are speaking about people who are thinking about sacrificing their limbs and lives and who are potentially going to die giving the most precious that they have for Allah. So, it is to be expected, according to our reading of this ayah, that committed Muslims would want clarifications on some of these military issues. Those who are committed to Allah will say: if only a Surah is brought down to our attention (Surah Muhammad verse 20) So that they will know what to do in the circumstances of life and death that they are in. and if a Surah with clear meanings that doesn't tolerate a range of interpretations (Surah Muhammad verse 20) The meanings are clear, direct, explicit and explained. a Surah in which issues of combat decisions, efforts and sacrifices is brought to their attention (Surah Muhammad verse 20) They now understand its meanings. you will see those who have a disease in their hearts look at you oh Prophet of Allah as if their eyeballs are turning in their eye-sockets because of the fear of death which behooves them or which is how they initially react anyways. (Surah Muhammad verse 20)
1587

Is anyone out there tuning in to these meanings? Once again, because these meanings are absent (and) their applicability is not explained in today's tons and volumes of Islamic expressions, literature and public discourse. This is natural as the circumstances begin to unfold in a war atmosphere. Tell us, are we not living in a war atmosphere?Whoever of us in today's current events doesn't feel and sense that we are living in a war atmosphere may be living in another planet somewhere or is not in full control of their senses and common sense.OK- we ask for direction from Allah. We ask Oh Allah could you reveal to us information concerning the circumstances and challenges that we are living in? And then, when a discourse of information/ a Surah is made accessible to them having no questions about it i.e. a compact a clear set of meanings that they can understand. This is not a Surah Mutashabihah. We're not speaking about some ayaat that are going to be explained in the span of coming time or that give our intellect/faculty of thinking room for reasoning or a range of meanings. No! There's a direct/incontrovertible/solid meaning to the directions and meanings that they were asking for in which fighting, combat or warfare is mentioned, you will see those who have a pathology in their psychology and a disease in their hearts doing what? When these ayaat in which there are answers to their questions, i.e. they were asking for clarifications. Allah is giving these clarifications, i.e. if you have an enemy you fight your enemy. Then, they are startled and they become nervous and they feel that they are at the end of their lives. Their eyes begin to turn. The way they are looking at you is as if it's a dying person. There's a distance here. There's no more a connection. When a person dies, you see that they are no longer in contact with you. They begin to disappear. You can sense that by looking at their eyes. This is the way they are looking at you Oh Prophet of Allah and everyone who speaks the language of Allah. What else could you expect from them? This comes from them naturally. It's the 1st thing they express. We're not speaking in an Ivory Tower somewhere, we're speaking in the real world. What is this ayah saying to the real people around i.e. those who brag about being Muslims? OK- let's look at ourselves. We are Muslims in this world. There's been a recent poll; they counted (and) there's 1.68 billion Muslims in this world and they are still counting. We don't believe their count anyways, but this is by their own tallying of the Muslims in the world. (There's) almost 1.7 billion Muslims in this world and they say"they were surprised that there are so many Muslims." They tell us also that "there are about 2.2 billion Christians." We don't know how they came up with these numbers?! The most fertile areas of the human population in the world are the Islamic territories and areas- we have been this way as long as we can remember. And the least fertile is those who call themselves Christians, and they still outnumber the Muslims?! They're still playing this number game with us. But this information comes from them and then we make believe that we don't have any enemies. (For) how long can we continue to fool ourselves? (For) how long is it possible when we have wars in our lands, military bases all over our countries (and) Muslims being killed left and right? When we come toJum'ah prayers, listen to the khateebs, attend lectures, sermons and presentations all over the place, for how long can we continue to avoid mentioning the fact we have enemies? This is an
1588

elementary truth and we've been avoiding this all along. If we can open our eyes up, and look at how we are bleeding. Can anyone deny that Muslims are bleeding? Of course, this was not in the front page of the major newspaper, but in the course of the past couple of weeks almost, there have been a couple of hundred of Muslims forced to be inside Al Masjid AlAqsa, and around Al Masjid Al Aqsa are those Israeli/Zionist enemies of Allah, His Prophet and the committed Muslims. This is supposed to be the 1st Qibla and the 3rd Haram that we have by the consensus of all Muslims. What are we doing about this? The Israeli Zionists eternal enemies are building tunnels under Al Masjid Al Aqsa and as these developments are going from one stage to the other, practically all the speakers from the Manabirs of the world make believe as if we don't have enemies?! What is it going to take for a Muslim to personally feel that he has real and bloody enemies? Do you want that enemy to come personally to your home and displace your family and relatives so that you can begin to think that you have an enemy? It's not enough that they have done this to the tens of millions of us? When is it going to dawn on us that we have enemies and we need Allah's directives and directions to deal with these enemies? So when this information comes to us from Allah some of us begin to reflect the image of a dying person. Well- what's wrong with you? Everyone wants to go to Al Jannah but no one wants to die. Have you thought about it? You say you want to go to Al Jannah. We hear about all of these ayaat and ahadith about Jannah but you don't want to die? This is our problem. So, when this critical information comes to us from Allah saying well you going to have to fight- there is no other way to deal with this type of blood thirsty, blood letting, bloody enemy, you see those who have an ailment in their internal selves begin to reflect the impressions/picture of a dieing person. As they should. It takes this type of responsibility/level of sacrifice to expose these types of peoples. Brothers and sisters, we have real enemies and we don't want to be silent anymore. This silence is literally, practically and generationally killing us. From generation to generation from country to country we are physically liquidated/killed and we are silent about this because no one wants to say that Muslims have enemies. Allah is telling us these facts, we read this but no one wants to understand it. The example of Al Masjid Al Aqsa is only one example. How come these Muslims in Palestine go up and face very sophisticated war machines with their bare hands. They don't have much. They have stones. This is at a time when people are speaking about Islamic solidarity. The wordIslamic solidarity was coined by the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. In the 1st Zionist attempt to destroy Al Masjid Al Aqsa, there was a fire there. This is about 40 years ago, so this King called for an Islamic conference that would result in Islamic solidarity for the purpose of Al Quds and Al Masjid Al Aqsa. What do we have today? We have his brothers- these rulers in that same country/ piece of land do what? They are busy going to the night clubs and the night life of the casinos, gambling and fornicating areas of the world. Do you think that these people think they have enemies? They buy weapon systems and never use it. They pay for these weapon systems that cost the Muslims. They pay out of the
1589

budget, treasury of the Muslims themselves. From the 1960's, (to the 80's to the 90's to today), how many weapon systems have they bought and have become obsolete which they never used? And if they ever thought about using it, it would be against us! Do these people know who their enemies are? And if you try to put them in order/shape (and) bring them to the meanings of this Qur'an, then you will see the way the begin to look at you. (It's) just like the way the ayah describes them with their eyeballs turning in the eye sockets, (It's) as if they are in the throes of death. (Surah Muhammad verse 20) With all the news that comes from that part of the world as if it is news that comes from the darkest corner of planet earth. Such as the son of the late King Fahd, Ameer Faisal. What's the news about him nowadays? He wants to buy a football team in the United Kingdom called Liverpool. Liverpool has a debt of almost half a billion dollars, (about $400 million). He is interested to go and buy that football team that is going under financially. Can't that wealth/money be used in more brotherly causes/interests? (It's) as if nothing is happening in Palestine/Yemenor in the Muslim world. The 1st thing in his mind is to go and buy a football team. This is the type of news that comes out of that country. (Do) you want to know another news item that doesn't make the headlines here and there? A Saudi individual appears on television and he begins to speak about his sex life and it was broadcast on Arab satellite stations. One of them was LBC, (the Lebanese Broadcasting Coporation), and then when it becomes a scandal in that Kingdom-they do the same thing he is doing, but he's not supposed to say this in publicwhat do they do? They say we're going to lash this person 1,000 lashes and we're going to put him in some kind of confinement /prison/house arrest for three years or whatever it is. This is the type of news that comes out of there. Another news item that comes out of that land of darkness- it's a land of light but they have rendered it a land of darkness- is that they inaugurated a university just a few weeks ago. That university has students who are males and females and they begin to have a protest. How come males and females are coming to the same university or class room to obtain knowledge? You begin to wonder how do these people think?! You begin to think all their minds/thinking is in the private areas! There is nothing else in the world except the private area of the human being!? That's the type of news that comes out of that forsaken family government. At a time when the enemies of Allah Ask their scholars "aren't Bani Israel/Zionists/Israelis the eternal enemies of Allah?" Verbally they will tell you "yes." But practically what are they doing about this? They have in that same Arabian Peninsula, in the statelet to the East, the United Arab Emirates, (maybe one day you will begin thinking, instead of coming to these khutbahsto these sermons half awake, half conscious or half minded; these things are happening on our own watch), theUnited States government has a Consulate in Dubai and what does it do? It gives visas to
1590

those who want to come to the United States which is what Consulates do anyways. But what is this particular one doing? It is looking for Iranians who can inform and spy on their own people, country and government. So it interviews some of the people who want to come to the United States and if it finds that they are willing to cooperate, they give themvisas. But the United States is beginning to feel an economic crunch. They're thinking of closing some of theseConsulates in the world. So one of the Consulates they want to close is the one in Dubai. The State Departmentthinks that this is no longer something they want. They want to save some money. Then, the CIA moves in and argues against that and says "no. This is an important Consulate because through this channel we are recruiting some spies to the national interests of the United States." You tell us: these are not people who are working against us? What do they want spies for? Why does the United States as a government/military establishment want to become enemies of Muslims? We're peaceful people. We don't have 10,000 nuclear bombs and warheads. The only thing we have is an Islamic government and system that wants to gain peaceful nuclear technology and all hell breaks out because that is the case. These are not dummies. There's a plan (and) strategy. (For) how long are we going to continue to be deaf, dumb and blind to the plan and strategies that they have? Why is it that some Muslims begin to faint or show symptoms of death when they are told by Allah- not by some strategist, think tank or ijtihad- that the only way to deal with this is by fighting. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims You would think that we, the readers of the Qur'an and the behavior duplicates of the Prophet have more important issues that we need to deal with than reacting to our ownselves! This is what we're doing. Basically, thekhutbah that you just listened to is a sad comment and an explanational reaction to our ownselves. Another piece of information that may not be well known and that shows you the difference between where the layer of parasites that have grown on the body of Muslims in the world i.e. the rulers are and where we the average/normal/regular Muslim is. During the time of Yasser Arafat, when he was Head of the PalestinianAuthority, the Foreign Minister of Turkey by the name of Ismail Cem comes to him and he says "I want to speak to you personally. I don't want anyone to listen or know what I am going to say to you except for the translator."So Arafat who was playing Tutsi dancing with the enemy dismisses everyone politically. So the Foreign Minister ofTurkey says "I have come to you with an offer and that is to permit the Israelis to build a small synagogue on the area of Al Haram Ash Shareef i.e. what the Israelis call the Temple Mount. Just permit them to build a small synagogue there and in exchange for that, you will have whatever is requiredindependence, sovereignty, the financial help will be coming to you from all directions, no more settlements, no more refugee problems. All these issues are going to be solved. You just permit them to build a small synagogue virtually next to Al Masjid Al Aqsa."As compromising as Arafat was, (and we've spoken about him and these issues in that time frame, so no one come and say we're trying Yasser Arafat) he said "I'll accept. We have no problems with that provided
1591

I ask you to go back and consult your own people. If the Turkish Muslim people accept to have the Israelis build a synagogue on this area that you are speaking about where Masjid Al Aqsa and Al Kubbat Us Sakhra is, then I will accept that."Then, the Turkish Foreign Minister said to him "consider this conversation never took place. I never suggested anything to you and you never responded to me." And the whole issue was over. This is the distance between those who rule and those who are being ruled. The dictators, tyrants and despots who are getting away with all of these political shenanigans and we who are building our self determination block-by-block and step-by-step with reliance upon Allah. Word of this Jum'ah went out, (and we don't know how far it got), (it was) supposed to have been dedicated to Al Masjid Al Aqsa and Al Quds by these Palestinians who are under siege. It reminds us very much of the condition over here. They have the overwhelming force and they put us outside the Masjid; that's what they want to do to the Muslims in Al Quds. They have the overwhelming force and they want to put the Muslims outside of the Masjid forever. How many people do you think responded to this call/SOS by the Muslims inOccupied Palestine and in the Holy Land? We don't know, but we know that its determination to move ahead has just begun. This is the climax of our time. Those who refuse to see these facts, the United States military and its government have been sinking deeper and deeper in Iraq and Afghanistan because they refuse to acknowledge the climate of the time, and we continue to build one step/effort at a time and Allah will be with us as long as we are with Him. Allah will support us as long as we are supportive of Him.

OSTRICH MENTALITY PART 2

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.
1592

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha Al Mu'minun It's not enough that we- the humble and struggling Muslims- have to endure the adverse and challenging circumstances and strategies that are at work against us, but at the same time we have to outgrow and progress beyond the status quo that we have inherited. Those are very general introductory words to the ayaat that we are about to quote. These ayaat are specific to the happy-go-lucky psychology that we should all be too familiar with i.e. a psychology that refuses to acknowledge that it has its enemies who are bleeding us to death on a large scale and wholesale. We want to mention to you and everyone who is going to listen to or read this khutbah that the word enemy and its derivatives is mentioned in Allah's accurate book around 65 times. Obviously, you and I know that we cannot cover 65 (or so) ayaat in one khutbah, so we've decided to select some of these ayaat (and) just maybe some of these ayaat will penetrate our conscience, hearts and thinking process. The 1 st ayah that we're going to quote to you (is one in which) Allah says and we said: descend from it. Some of you are enemies of others (Surah Al Baqarah verse 36) This is in reference to the expulsion, (if we can use that word), of our common father and mother from Al Jannah. The word enemy is an integral part of this ayah. We can understand from this that in the course of human relations, here shall be some people who are enemies towards other people. Another ayah says In the course of the Prophetic struggle, these ayaat were speaking to the 1st generation of Muslims and to every generation that comes after it. And make preparations against them of whatever you can muster/husband/procure pertaining to the means of power, the application of force and the instruments of war and the latest (Surah An Anfaal verse 60) We're going to borrow a word from today's world to explain the word al khail. and the latest technology; in such a manner you will terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy (Surah Al Anfaal verse 60) Are you tuned in? Once again we encounter the word enemy. Another ayah that is almost in the middle of Surah Al Kahf says and as we said to the angels: prostrate yourselves or show respect to or be humble to Adam, and they did except Iblis; he was incognito/not recognizable to his peers; i.e. his nature was not obvious to the rest of the angels; he degenerated away from Allah's order; do you
1593

consider/designate him and his offspring as your allies/authoritative superiors? What an awful alternative oppressors have. (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) We want to take a moment from the main discourse of this khutbah with this ayah. The ayah says that Iblis, the motivator of evil, was not known by the heavenly company that he was in. Of course we also want to recognise the other understanding of this ayah i.e. that Iblis was technically, physically and literally of the species known as Al Jinn (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) This is another understanding of this ayah. Of course, no one's going to have the final word on this because we don't have any laboratory access to finalise the word of what Al Jinn in this context ultimately and authoritatively means. But in the range of our human understanding, it tolerates both meanings and they are not conflictual. We are not going to draw a final line on this on going subject and debate here. Once again, to recoup the meaning of this ayah and bare in mind the time when we said to the Malaaika: show respect to Adam (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) And also here, like we did with the word Al Jinn, we also don't want to be condescending towards the literalists who said "sujud here is the literal and technical sajda" because that's another understanding of the word. and they did (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) These angels obeyed Allah and they either went into the physical sajdah towards Adam (alaihi as salaam) to show respect for him or they showed respect without going into the physical posture. except for Iblis, who is considered either to be of the species of the Jinn or his true nature and character was in disguise (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) (Meaning) you couldn't see him in his true self or you can see him in his appearance but you couldn't know who he actually is. and therefore he broke away or he tore himself from Allah's order and command (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) Here is where we want your attention concentrated. do you rank him and his offspring as your superior allies? (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) Once again, we have the literal mind that says "just like human beings have children Iblis has children." We want to recognise this understanding. We don't want to deny this understanding, but we want to go a step beyond it and say that Iblis can have a portion of the birth process in our
1594

human lives. (That is) because when we look at the political, military and ideological world of today and when Allah is speaking to His subjects- whether they are theAngels or human beings who are expected to yearn for an Angelic height- one of the understandings of this ayah is that Iblis himself has a character in the human beings that Muslims themselves in today's world have as their allies and authoritative superiors. You see- the word adh dhalimeen is used in this context. Allah didn't say bi'sa lil kaafirina badala or bi'sa lil mujrimeena badala or these other familiar words in a negative definition in the Qur'anthat you know. Allah chose for purposes of our understanding bi'sa li adh dhalimeena badala. how awful an alternative have these tyrants chosen. (Surah Al Kahf verse 50) If we want to understand this, this can extend into a racist argumentation and that is going too far. This evil is not of a particular race or nationality. Now we go back to the main course, lest we lose direction. We Muslims have enemies. We cannot even go into the rest of the ayaat that we put together over here. There are some moreayaat which we wanted to go into, but we can't. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- if we are to be reminded of taqwa, (i.e. the overwhelming and unmistakeable presence of Allah in our lives), on this day, then we have to realise (that) we have enemies. Why do we choose to runaway from acknowledging? (That's) all we are asking: acknowledge this fact. We didn't create/fabricate/imagine enemies. Allah's words come to us fresh to disclose the facts of our lives. We have enemies (but) we have an incapability of coming to terms with this fact. (If you) mention/give this to Muslims, they want to run away (saying) "why do you want to speak about enemies."We're not speaking about enemies from our own self. All we're doing is shedding light on the reality that is bleeding us into extinction in some areas. What's wrong with that?! Don't you want to appreciate the life that Allah sheds on the facts of life?! Come on, let's say it to our own selves- "we have enemies." It is these enemies who are picking a fight with us; it's not like we are going around the world and picking fights with other people. They are coming to our lands and countries and they are responsible for the bloodshed and warfare that have become geographically limited to the Muslim parts of the world. Where are there real wars? (It's in) the Muslim and oppressed parts of the world. We know (that) some of us are hesitant or even afraid to come out in public and state, understand and articulate these facts in light of the real world that we all know of. It's a fact. Are we to be ashamed of expressing these facts? Why should we be ashamed? Where are the military bases in this world concentrated? In our countries! Where do we have hundreds and thousands of men in arms in this world? In our countries! Where do we have forces that are telling us, Muslims, we cannot go to Makkah, Al Madinah and our own Masaajid? Where is all of this occurring? It's not occurring in our dreams/imagination. It's occurring in our down-toearth current lives. Makkah and Al Madinah are supposed to be open cities for all the Muslims in the world. There's this worldwide campaign about Swine Flu and a government, (just to name one of these governments), the Tunisian government has made it official- "it doesn't want its citizens to go to the Hajj." Can we say this is a friendly government? By the policies and
1595

decisions of this government, it has become hostile. This is a measure and it is proof that there is an enemy out there (which is) interfering in our own affairs. During the course of this past week, it's also made official that Muslimahs in Egypt are not allowed to enter the premises of universities if they are wearing the niqab. It's not that we personally agree with wearing the niqab. To be frank, we disagree with wearing the niqab; but that doesn't mean that we have to impose our opinion on the other Muslimah whose heartfelt conviction and thoughtful ideas convinced her that this is Islamic conduct and character. Grant her that freedom! (But) no. We have a government who wants to express its animosity to us, the committed Muslims, So what do we do? Do we say "oh we have a friendly government?! This government is not our enemy?!" We can't do that. We have the concept of enemies. They want the Muslims in this world to live 70-80 years of mature lifetime thinking that we don't have enemies. If we were to reverse the dynamics/events of this world where we have Imperialist America with hundredsand-thousands of its military personal in Muslim countries What are they doing in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan? What are they doing there? (Are they) feeding people? Are they coming there with economic help, concerned for the people and needy? No! They come 1st with bombs and weapons of mass destruction. What do we say? (That) these are our friends? We'd be crazy if we said that these are our friends. For those who are having difficulty in understanding this, we are going to put the shoe on the other foot, (as it were). Let's say the United States has a military force of occupation and invasion in Mexico, Canada, throughout the American continent and the Northern and Southern hemispheres; there are elements in the United States that are receiving hundreds, if not billions of dollars; there is a fleet called the Fifth Fleet and the Sixth Fleet roaming theAtlantic and Pacific shores and the Gulf of Mexico and let's imagine that the United States doesn't have military weapons but these military powers that are threatening the United States have nuclear weapons- what do you we want to say to the American people/listeners? Would we say "hey listen- these are friends. These are not enemies. The occupation and invasion forces in Canada, Mexico and in the waters that surround this country are friendly forces. These are not enemies?" The average man will tell you "you're crazy. What are you talking about?"If a common sense person can tell you that they can identify an enemy when the enemy is meddling in their internal affairs, is occupying and has military bases all around, then how come they expect us Muslims to say that we have no enemies?! How can this be? Almost anywhere (that) you go to in Muslim countries, there are poor/needy people. If you go to areas in Africa, South East and Central Asia, (we don't want to be particular), you know (that) there's many geographical areas around the world in which Muslims are displaced (and are) wandering from place to place. They have no means to support themselves or their families. We're not talking about chump change. We're talking about massive numbers- hundreds of millions of people. And add to that the SouthernHemisphere i.e. the oppressed part of the world. This is not a natural disaster, this a social disaster that has been thought out and
1596

implemented by evil minds and ruthless bloody militaries. They want to dumb us down and say"we have no enemies?" The Zionist-Israeli occupation force encircles Al Masjid Al Aqsa and tells Muslims- you and me- "if you are under 50 years of age, you are not permitted to be in Al Masjid Al Aqsa." What do you want us to say? (That) "these are our friends?!" The way we define our friends is they are the ones who wouldn't let us to go into Al Masjid Al Aqsa?! These are friends?! Why go far to Al Masjid Al Aqsa- here, in Washington DC we have an administration and power structure that tells Muslims "you cannot go into the Masjid/Islamic Centre." What do you want us to say? These are our friends?! We've been in the streets for 26 years. Why can't we see them? We consider them Muslims. We don't say they are not Muslims. They are Muslims with faults/crimes who should be set a straight, but where are they? They run away from us. We haven't see them. For the past 26 years, we dare one of these administrators to come out and say "let's speak/talk as Muslims are supposed to be." Are we not we not brothers? But indeed committed Muslims are brothers of each other... (Surah Al Hujurat verse 10) So where are they? Come on- let's see them. Let's talk. But there's something in them that tells them "they should not talk to other Muslims. They should bar other Muslims from access and entry into the House of Allah."When Allah says And indeed Masaajid belong to Allah; don't invoke other powers or authorities besides Allah (Surah Al Jinn verse 18) What do you do when you read the words adu, aa'da, aduwakum, aduwi and aduwahum 65 times in the reverentQur'an? (Do) you by-pass by these words as if it has no history, context or definition? What's wrong with you? Brothers and sisters on As Sirat Al Mustaqeem If it was possible for a human being to avoid having any enemies, that human being would have beenRasulullah; but if you wanted to understand our history, you would realise that the Prophet of Allah had enemies. One question (that) you should ask yourself when you read the Seerah or the Qur'an and its meanings (is regarding) these people who speak a lot about the hadiths of the Prophet and quote them profusely. Ask (yourself) how many of these hadiths do they quote in which Allah's Prophet is defining, delineating and pointing to his own enemies and how many times? Take this question with you to future conferences and future speakers who would be speaking left-and-right about the Sunnah and the Seerah of the Prophet. If Allah's ayaat has 65 references to the word the enemy and the hadiths of Allah's Prophet are supposed to explain these ayaat, then you would think that there are hundreds of hadiths of the Prophet that mention the word enemy in them to explain these ayaat. We challenge you and every Muslim out there to tally, (in the coming months and years), how many times these public scholars and khateebs are going to explain these ayaat and the word "enemy" as an explanation of Allah's Prophets to these ayaat and these references in Allah's impeccable scripture? Because
1597

we've been carrying this concern for many years, (and if you want to benefit from your humble brother's experience); then you will find the answer to the question that was just presented is that it is extremely rare that the spokespersons about Islam will come out and explain the ayaat or the ahadith of Allah's Prophet in light of these ayaat pertinent to today's world. When these khutaba' snooze, their audience sleeps. And this is what's happening. When they climb the Mimbar, it's as if when their body ascends the Mimbar, their minds descend. There is no longer any content in what they are saying that is relevant to the real world. Just carry this question with you into the future and judge for your own self.

OSTRICH MENTALITY PART 3

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

1598

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims It is one of the pillars or basics of today's khutbah and every jum'ah khutbah (i.e.) a reminder of our power relationship with Allah, in other words our taqwa character. Ittaqu Allah is a sentence that should go well beyond the verbalisation of a few words. It should become- not only an individual trait but- a social character of the Muslims. The problem with today's Muslims is that we don't have a social character (with) hundreds of millions of Muslims who consider Allah's power above all others and dwarfing all others. This may be considered a continuation of what we said previously- there are a few individuals here and there, but that is an exception to the rule; the problem we have as hundreds of millions and billions of Muslims (is that) we consider ourselves without any enemy. This is a flaw, fault and failure in our collective selves. As we mentioned previously, in scores of times in Allah's reverent book, He opens our eyes to the fact that we do have enemies. Of a certainty Ash Shaytaan has been your enemy, therefore acknowledge, recognise, affirm or designate him as your enemy (Surah Al Fatir verse 6) Now, you come to the Masjid-going, run of the mill, very "pious" Muslim and you tell him listen to what Allah is saying and he will say "yes; of course. Those are Allah's words." Then, if you want to know him a little more and ask him "if Allah is saying indeed Ash Shaytaan is your avowed enemy therefore consider him as such your avowed enemy, who is this Shaytaan?" They will tell you in the overwhelming majority of cases, "well, Ash Shaytaan is Iblis." i.e. that historical figure, undetectable entity or biblical entity. We say biblical because much of theIslamic concept of this frontline enemy can be traced to biblical literature. So, we follow up on that and ask this Muslim, (as sincere as he may be- no one is trying to write off the sincerity of many people), "does that have any practical meaning? How does it relate to the real world around us?" Here is where you're going to find a blank or confused answer and there's plenty of them. But when we go looking for answers, we look for them in Allah's words. Allah says And in such a manner have We rendered to every Prophet an enemy (Surah Al An'aam verse 112) The demons of Al Ins and Jinn! So, the 1st practical answer to the relevant question about these Shayateen is thatevery Prophet had an enemy. There is nothing funny and confusing about this ayah. (For) the Muslim who is burdened with historical and traditional misconceptions and misperceptions, here is a clean break from that. OK- Allah tells us, (this is a fact. No amount of media propaganda is able to erase it.) Allah says in His own words
1599

And so, in that manner, we have designated to every Prophet an enemy (Surah Al An'aam verse 112) This is the 1st discrepancy between us and the models or fore runners that we are supposed to honour and emulate. Many of us don't have enemies. We can go through scores of years not sensing or being conscious of the fact that we have enemies. Our enemies have us as their enemies. They have no doubts, questions or problems with that- they can see us as their enemies and they work on that basis, but we ourselves, who are victims (and) who have become the worlds fore most refugees and basket case receiving all this aid from all of these centres of hostilities around- they feed us to kill us! They rob us to give us charity from our own resources (and) from our own countries. If you want to identify an enemy, these are easily identifiable as enemies; yet we just don't wake up to what Allah is telling us. Are you better than all of these Prophets? You managed to live your life enemy free- feeling and thinking you have no enemies?! We're not speaking at a time where we can see an argument to this i.e. when Muslims reach the pinnacle of civilization and progress, they think of themselves at a time of psychological weakness that they are on top of the world and thus they have no enemies. There may be, (and there have been), times when Muslims occupy the summits of human achievements; in those years we can see how human weaknesses can explain that we have no enemies i.e. we're on top of the world! But today, when we are at the bottom or in the pits in the world so-much-so that our enemies no longer feel free to speak about how firm they are in control of our own future. They don't tell us how many military force personal they have in Islamic countries and territories. They have plenty of them. Most of them in the world are (in Islamic territories). Why don't they tell us how many military bases, outposts or settlements they have? Because this is how an enemy behaves. They will not come out and speak the truth. These are facts. These numbers should not be concealed. We should be aware of them before anyone else. We can't wait to listen to our enemy to tell us how many military bases they have in Africa and in Asiaand the commands that they are setting up. They won't do that. They are smarter than that. We don't want to dwell on their character and features; we want to dwell on ourselves. Let's build ourselves. Why are we ignorant of these facts? Why don't they circulate so that the average Muslim knows the flagrant, in-your-eye occupations and invasions of Islamic territories? In addition to that, they are dispersed all over the place. There are spies/informants going around to areas of the country where Muslims are concentrated and they're recruiting Muslims to work on their side and because some Muslims go to these traditional Masaajids, they are not well informed. They think that they'll probably be doing themselves a patriotic service (by) fighting against terrorism. That's how they've planted the idea in the public mind (that) when Muslims stand up, ask, demand and sacrifice for what is rightfully, legally and morally theirs, then all of the media apparatus in the world goes into high gear and takes on a strategy of a generation to convince the whole world that these Muslim victims- whose lands are occupied (and) where military bases are all over the place, (even close
1600

to our sacred cities), are terrorists and when we meet our Muslim brothers and friends and ask them "do we have any enemies?" And his 1st impression and whatever words he speaks imply"no. There isn't really any enemies around. There are some trouble makers here and there but everything is fine. Don't remind me of enemies. Don't speak about enemies." If we can't speak about enemies now, when can we speak about enemies? Are you more religious/Islamic/devoted to Allah then the Prophets themselves? All of these Prophets, by the words of Allah, had enemies. These enemies were not fairytale or historical enemies of the past. They were real lifeblood and flesh- enemies i.e. according to one understanding. All the Prophets had enemies that were Shayateen/demons of Al Ins/humanity wa Al Jinn/the other species. (Surah Al An'aam verse 112) In another understanding of this, Allah did not say Shayateen Al Insaan wa Al Jinn; He said Shayateen Al Ins Wa AlJinn which means we have demons who have a social acquaintable character and we have Jinn/Shayateen that are concealed or behind cloak and dagger or underground or undercover. (Surah Al An'aam verse 112) All of these are inclusive of the word Al Jinn. Just like we have political, social and ideological demons, we also have those who work behind the scenes and these have been since the beginning of time and until of time the enemies of Allah and those who belong to Allah. Let us, (for a moment), consider the extent of the cover that these Shayateenhave. They are very comfortable seeing that the Muslims will never in a short period of time, (this is what appears to us as the way they are thinking), be able to blow the cover off of these Shayateen. They look around the world and they see that there are probably hundreds of thousands of Masaajid under their supervision and these Masaajid have preachers khutaba' who are not interested in explaining the vital issues that are affecting us. You tell us: is Allah and His Prophet not concerned with our lives when we have a virtual civil war. In one of the areas that is in the newsthe 1st news item- concerns Pakistan. There's a war there that is turning out to be, (they don't want to use the word, but we have enough information to use our own words before they use their words that serve their interests), a civil war. If we had vibrant/relevant khutbahs in the Masaajid that explain Allah and His Prophet to you and me- the Muslim public- then, if we did have a civil war, we would never have it in the magnitude it is in now. (But) because key words in Allah's book have been nullified or neutralised (Take a word) like the word Al Kafireen which is a key word in the Qur'an. It occurs with its derivatives probably hundreds of times, yet the regular Muslim mind is absent in its meanings and who moves in to give it a definition? Those who want to render other Muslims kafirs. This is how active the enemies are. (They tell you) "you have all these words about kafirs in the Qur'an. (Take a) look around, who are the kafirs?" And then a Sunni begins saying "a Shi'i is a kafir" and a Shi'i begins saying "a Sunni is a kafir"and the common enemy is looking at this in progress and
1601

laughing all the way to the Pentagon or Langley Virginia-that's how they feel inside of themselves. Without the information that comes to us from Allah, we will remain fodder for the military structures that they have. Another point to demonstrate what we are saying that has been in the news in the past couple of weeks and that pertains to us This is how Allah's words should become relevant and germane to our real world. The Sheikh of theAzhar got upset by seeing a Muslimah wearing niqab. We said previously and we're going to repeat it: we don't agree with the concept of niqaab, but that doesn't mean that we agree with the Sheikh of the Azhar. He got so irritated/infuriated by seeing this, that he told her personally "to take the niqab off" and then he said what amounts to derogatory words and he said it in colloquial. He says "I know more about Islam than you and those who gave you birth" but it was in a derogatory combination of words and then he was so furious about this whole incident that between him and the government he belongs to, they enacted a law that said that "Muslimaat that wear the niqab are not allowed to enter university premises." These are the ones who are already registered in the universities: "if they don't take off this niqab off their face, they are not allowed in the university." We ask, (and we think all thinking Muslims should ask), "why was the Sheikh of the Azhar so upset and so moved by this encounter that he managed, in cohorts with the government that employs him, to motion a law that tells Muslimaat that if you cover your face you are not allowed to go into the university." And, in all of these years and still, there are Egyptian Muslimahs who go to the universities wearing something that looks like miniskirts! If this Sheikh had so much concern with thehurumat/values/morality of Islam and with the honour of Muslim women, why didn't he say before, during and after this incident that Muslim women attendees of the universities who are wearing short dresses and exposing their arms and legs are not permitted to enter the universities?! Who does this (new law) serve? Why is this happening in front of us and we cannot put the pieces in this puzzle together when Allah is providing us with the critical information to understand the larger picture of what is happening when we do have enemies? Some of these enemies work for the international machine that runs over populations and grounds them into ignorance; and the consequences of that we are living with- courtesy of some of these preachers and so called Imams who are incapable of addressing these vital issues in light of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.What's going on? Then, the Mufti of that same country, Egypt, comes to Washington DC just this past week and he does his rounds. We're not interested with what we don't know because we seek not to speculate on the unknown, but in one of the interviews and in some of the comments of the Grand Mufti's visit here, (it could have been a couple of weeks ago), we now know that there are efforts to bank on the reputation of the Azhar and Egypt in teaching Muslims i.e. the future generation of students in a way that will exclude them from becoming radicals. What does that mean? Can you tell us who a Muslim radical is? Is it someone who is understanding Allah's Book and Prophet in context contemporarily? Do such people qualify to be called and defined as
1602

radicals? Come on! Come forth and explain to us. There is an Islamic College that is going to be launched in the United States and it is working in this context of almost neutralising this future momentum and spirit of Muslims. Brothers and sisters- don't think that if we are concentrating on some of our weak areas that we don't have strong areas/features that are coming of age. We do and that is why they are squirming all around and this is why they are going to be exposed as the enemies that they are i.e. by what they do in addition to what they say. Then, listen to this. We're going to quote an ayah from Surah Al Qasas and we want you to understand it and compare its meanings with the artificial wave of the future that is being induced by some Muslim accomplices to the wider program of hostility towards Islamic self expression and self determination. Allah says (and) this ayah refers to the mother of Musa (alaihi as salaam) when Allah inspired her to place her infant baby on running water so that these waters will move this suckling to the shore where he will be picked up by an enemy of Allah and an enemy of his and Allah has placed love and affection upon this baby to be "custom made" (as it were). (Surah Al Qasas verse 7-9) Now, these are Allah's words and every Muslim submits to Allah's words. Allah is speaking about a baby/an infant and he describes that this baby infant is going to be claimed by an enemy of Allah and an enemy of this baby. This is where there is a jarring between the conventional way (in which) the public thinks- Muslims included- and the way our thoughts should be generated by Allah, His words and information. The public mind will tell you "why do you speak about a baby having an enemy?" If defined by the public mind, Allah could have postpone speaking about the enemy of Musa until Musa became a young/robust man or a rebelling character. Why speak about a baby having an enemy? We didn't word this! No human being put these words together. It was Allah who phrased this ayah. Tell us that we don't have enemies? That our babies don't have enemies? That our future generations don't have enemies? (For) how long are we going to live on borrowed time? How much more blood are we going to spill to be able to understand this precious information that comes to us from on high? Ayyuha Al Mu'minun Ayyatuha Al Mu'minaat, dear Brothers and sisters We are approaching the time in which Muslims begin to pack and ready themselves to go on a journey to Makkah, AlBayt Al Haram and the 1st Islamic base in Al Madinah. We know that we should be able to open up our hearts and minds on this occasion and we should have plenty of time to do that, (at least we should know that much), but on the other hand, what we are jarred with is that we are segregated in the Hajj; we are given a short period of time and then we have to leave and we are not free to go to the areas that Allah's Prophet's went to during his lifetime. What type of Hajj is that? Have we been reduced to cattle and livestock? They herd us into two places Makkah andAl Madinah and then we have to leave on their watch. Where did this come from? When are we going to be able to hear each other and communicate with each other? What
1603

an irony! In the Hajj, everyone takes off his or her regular attire and puts on the clothes of al ihram. This means that when we go to the Hajj we bring down all the historical, cultural, traditional, ethnic and national barriers. OK- we bring down these physical barriers as far as the eye can see, but did we bring down the psychological barriers with it? Why are we hypocrites? Why do we physically harmonise our appearance but are incapable of emotionally and psychologically harmonising our psychology? This is what happens when people have a superficial understanding of Allah and His Prophet. Who says that when we go to the Hajj we have to be segregated? Who says that in the rules and regulations to go to the Hajj to begin with you have to be in the company of some others? Where did that come from? In the time of Allah's Prophet, did he tell those who were with him if you want to go to the Hajj, Makkah, Al Madinah, Al Bayt Al Haram and Al Masjid An Nabawi you have to be in the company of other people? Where did this come from? Why is this permitted to happen when we participate in this crime against the Qur'an and the Sunnah? This is a crime and no one speaks a word; and if there are voices, they are voices in the wilderness and they continue to bleed us in every sense of the word. Not only do our bodies bleed, our minds also bleed.

TAQWA AND ITS AFFINITY WITH SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

1604

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims Allah says to us Oh you who are firmly committed to Allah: avoid Allah's corrective inevitable power presence and say/state/verbalise what is accurate, precise and correct. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) We want to observe this ayah/sentence and detect that, (generally speaking), it has three parts. The 1st part is (that) it is Yaa Ayyuha Alladhina Aamanu not Yaa Ayyuha An Naas or Yaa Bani Adam or Yaa Bani Isra'eel or any other social components that comes after the article that call upon different types of people in the course of theHoly Qur'an. The designation that comes after Yaa is Ayyaha Alladhina Aamanu. Allah expects from us, AlladhinaAamanu,(and our prayer is that we be included among them), an accurate, practical, behavioural, psychological and social embodiment of the meanings that are going to follow. The 2nd segment of this sentence is ittaqu Allah. Remember, Fridays is a day of taqwa. Jum'ah is a heightened hour of a heightened day of taqwa. Allah, here, is telling us to avoid Allah- His punishment, His power presence- as it will turn against you if you disobey Him (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) The 3rd portion of this sentence (says) and express a statement that is accurate/factual. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) With our God-given capacity to think, we observe that we have some of those who in the world of talk belong to us- they conveniently place themselves under the title of Alladhina Aamanu- but they don't say/express the truth or what is accurate and factual. Allah knew that we are going to have human beings who have a tendency which becomes policy which gains an argument or a sort of justification for them not to say what is actual/factual/truthful, so Allah prefaced the last portion of the sentence with two reminders Al Iman andAt Taqwa. So if we come across individuals who paint themselves as Alladhina Aamanu and then they are unable to express what is accurate and precise, then we realise they have a flaw in their Iman and a gap in their taqwa. You can't combine Iman and Taqwa and be incapable of expressing the truth! OK- now we have some what of a healthy understanding of Allah's word. The Prophet of Allah says the best form of jihad is expressing the word of truth/facts in the face of a tyrannical ruler/oppressive governor. How many of these mascara Muslims who decorate themselves with the words of the Qur'an and the Sunnah have you seen recently in your lifetime who had enough backbone to express the truth in the face of those who administer injustice, who systemise oppression towards their subjects/populations/citizenry? It is in this tradition, with this understanding and with this freedom of mind and conscience that we have those who were educated and raised by Allah's Prophet express some statements that have fallen within the cracks of officialdom's history books. We want you to pay close attention to a couple of these statements that are in the mould of the ayah and hadith. The reason why these statements that you are going to listen to 1605

verbatim i.e. as they were said and then their meaning inEnglish is because those who have been in power and continue to be in power do not want an Islamic vibrant conscience and an Islamic throbbing mind to express themselves. They carry meanings that we should have learned from. We mentioned earlier that Umar (radi Allahu anhu) the 2nd successor to Allah's Prophet had applied, (what amounts to), an overall policy to continue in the direction and orientation of Allah's Prophet after Allah's Prophet passed away. As a reminder, those three elements of his policy (were): (number one) the newly acquired territories belong to the Islamic territory and not Muslim individuals. The 2nd feature of his policies was that the Muslims who had gained status by living with and by struggling with Allah's Prophet should not go to the other areas of the Islamic domain fearing that they will acquire unnecessary power for themselves i.e. power centres that may gain breakaway tendencies. The 3rd policy that he administered was that those who were given authority or placed in positions making decisions for the Muslims should be austere i.e. they should have a personality and a character that does not indulge either in power nor in wealth. These policies were implemented strictly and forcefully upon everyone, the 1st of whom was Umar himself. This wasn't a person who was ruling saying "I'm going to apply some policies upon someone else and I'm going to be exempt from these policies." He 1st of all applied these policies to his own self, something of which we cannot say applies of those who rule the Muslims today. We have those who rule in Saudi Arabia who apply policies, (for example), they say"they are applying the shariah to a Nigerian, Bangladeshi or some other impoverished Muslim if he steals something" Who knows, he may be "stealing" to support a family, so they bring that victim of circumstances to what they call their Shariah court and they chop off the person's hand or in extreme circumstances they chop off the person's head! They, themselves, steal the resources of the Muslims- they are not petty thieves; but that petty thief they bring to the execution square, but these who are mega thieves steal the natural resources belonging to the Muslims and the Shariah does not apply to them! Where are they from Umar? And they evoke the name of Umar a lot with sectarian undertones. They don't do so with a rational mind because if they did and if they knew what they were saying the sword would come down on their necks/hands. In one of these instances in which we had a thinking personality from around Allah's Prophet, he says this statement that pertains to governance and rulership to Abdullah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu). Those are his exact words, now what is he saying in the language that we all understand? Umar is speaking to Abdullah ibnAbbas who is the cousin of Allah's Prophet and these words have to do with government, authority, decision making, officialdom and running the affairs of state issues (that) no one wants to talk about because when Umar speaks about these issues, they don't even want to quote Umar?! He is saying to Abdillah ibn Abbas people do not favour you- ibn Abbas, your family, your extended family, the family of Allah's Prophet. If we wanted to bring it in today's language, public opinion does not favour that you combine both An Nubuwa and Al Khifalah. You had a Prophet from among you and public opinion disfavours that because the Prophet came from among you, that you yourselves should also become rulers. They can't reconcile these two things in their social/public/collective minds. This is a very important observation of the way people at that time were politically thinking and today's mu'adh as salatin i.e. the court clergy Ulema' or the establishmentarian scholars. They don't want us to quote political statements of the Sahaba (radi Allahu anhu) "Oh no. You can't do that because you are going to be planting seeds in the Islamic public mind." That's why probably many of you may have not heard this statement. He said Quraysh chose for itself, and in its own measure or way of seeing things, it 1606

shows what was right. We know the differences that had existed between the Prophet of Allah on one side and the people ofQuraysh in the other side. Then, Umar is saying to ibn Abbas, (listen to this because it is a political statement that has been deliberately taken out of political discourse, text books and the public mind, never to be mentioned from the Mimbar on Fridays with the element of Allah's taqwa in the public mind of the listening Islamic congregations of the world), and I have seen/observed/watched the Prophet/Messenger of Allah who deputised other people and left you, meaning the Prophet of Allah was not giving/employing in government positions or as decision makers his own tribe/extended family i.e. Bani Hashim. He wasn't doing that. Why can't we observe that? Why can't we see that? And then, he comments on this By Allah, I don't know. He dismissed you from these positions and excluded you from this type of status while you are qualified for it or was he afraid that you are going to gain supportive influences from society just because you are his relatives or your status/positions vis--vis the Messenger of Allah and when you, yourselves, begin to have these power centres around you, you are going to be criticised by public opinion and there's no way out of this. This is one of the most sensitive statements that indicate how the public political mind of that time was thinking. For those of us who come from the Shi'i tradition, (which unfortunately has become a tradition in many cases), have you ever thought (that) if people from that time, (being who they are, and we've covered this territory many times in the past and we tried to get a feeling for the public- Alladhina Aamanu as opposed to those who were nominal Muslims as opposed to those who are hypocritical Muslims. We've visited this subject i.e. what the make-up of that society was, during the Prophet's time in Al Medina, during the battles of the Prophet with his enemies at Uhud, Hunayn, and on other occasions. We now have a sense of how strong/weak that public opinion was towards Allah's Prophet himself.) Let us say that Allah's Prophet's family, (however way you want to define/describe them), were to assume positions of leadership given the facts of life that were around- what would have happened to them? Were we to expect miracles from them? Allah's Prophet was there. Was he able to change public opinion or was there always Munafiqin i.e. those who had other loyalties besides and in contradiction to the loyalty of Allah's Prophet around? The Harakat Al I'tidad i.e. those who denounced, (what is today called), political/ideological/official Islam once the Prophet himself passed away imagine, what would have happened in these types of circumstances with not much of a solid base of what we call solid public support if then Allah's Prophet's family was going to assume responsibilities? Un-traditionalise yourselves and ask yourselves this question. But we don't have a culmination of a thinking Muslim mind and therefore these types of questions don't occur to us. Another very important political statement that was expressed by the person who was the closest person to Allah's Prophet- they say he's the shadow of Allah's Prophet- was Ali (radi Allahu anhu) speaking to Uthman (radi Allahu anhu). He says, (and we're going to say it to you verbatim, once again, and then we'll deal with its meaning in English.) When things began going in an un-satisfactory direction during the reign of Uthman, and public opinion was going against Uthman what are these few sentences between Ali and Uthman? Uthman used to designate theDeputies and Governors who were going to assume positions in wealthy territories of the Islamic domain. Ali says to Uthman, it was the practise of Umar that he used to "step on the ear" of everyone he deputised. That's the literal translation of this, the English meaning of this is that Umar had every Governor that he appointed on his leash. He was in full control and if Umar was to sense that anyone of these Deputies or Governors was gaining even a fraction of what did not belong to them, he would inflict on them the most serious of punishment, but 1607

you're not doing that. You've become weak and sentimental towards your relatives.Remember Allah's words Oh you who are firmly committed to Allah: avoid Allah's corrective inevitable power presence and say/state/verbalise what is accurate, precise and correct. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) And remember the words of Allah's Prophet the best form of jihad is expressing the word of truth/facts in the face of a tyrannical ruler/oppressive governor. These Prophetically educated individuals had these words in their hearts and minds. Then, Uthman turns to Ali and says but they are also your relatives. That's true. Banu Ummayyah, of course, were closer to Uthman because they came from the same grandfather, but they were the cousins of Bani Hashim, so they are also relatives. It's not that they are foreigners of some distant tribe. They come from the same clannish sources. Ali says of course. Their womb is close to mine/ours/me, but those who have the merits are others, meaning not them. They are not meritorious. They don't qualify for the positions that they are in. Then, when Uthman came to renew the tenure of Muawiyah, meaning he wanted to extend his governorship of Ash Shaam, Ali comes to Uthman and says I remind you of Allah. Do you know that Muawiyah used to fear Umar more than Umar's servant, (a person by the name of Yarfa') used to fear Umar himself? Then, Ali goes on to say, but now, Muawiyah is taking things into his own hand and doing these things without you and he is telling people "this is what Uthman wants" and you know that but you're not doing anything about it. (Do) you listen to these statements that have been withdrawn from public circulation? No one wants to mention this because no one wants the Muslims to think for themselves and learn from our ownselves. This is a learning experience. What they want us to do is to quote these things to become sectarians, i.e. I'm going to hate that other Muslim, and that other Muslim is going to hate me because the way we understand this is that there has to be animosity in this. No. There doesn't have to be any animosity in this. This is a learning experience. In their narrative there is a lesson- a moral lesson, a political lesson (Surah Yusuf verse 111) This applies to Prophet's and those who follow Prophets. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Due to the fact that we have not had a learning experience from our own mistakes If we consider ourselves the Prophet's Ummah and if we know that we are only human beings capable of making mistakes and correcting our mistakes- the Prophet of Allah says all the descendants of Adam are prone to making mistakes and the best of those who make these mistakes are those who repent and regret and repair those mistakes. But, they take away this vital information from our public mind and we become ritualistic, automatons, (and) cultural creatures and so, when vital/important life and death issues take place around us, our Islamic mind cannot relate to this. That's how they want us and that's how we allowed them to have their way; or else, if we did have an Islamic mind it would have shed Qur'anic and Prophetic light on the issues of our time. We can't comfortably speak and breach these issues as we should, but had we consolidated our historical experience, we would be able to look comfortably and confidently at such issues as what is happening in today's world. What is happening in today's world, which our institutionalized/government controlled Islamic preachers and Centres are incapable of addressing. Issues like the attacks on Masajid. We've suffered for 27 years from this. They attacked 1608

this Masjid and they took it over. They begin at the peripheries. OK- they can do this in Washington DC; Muslims are not the majority of people and there is no Islamic Movement of selfdetermination to speak about. There's a few enlightened Muslims around, but that's about it- that's in the best of descriptions. They take over and they get away with this. They took over Makkah andAl Medinah wholesale and institutionalised there dead-beat Islam there. There's nothing coming out of there. It's a dead area. (They) don't fool us with all of the media that they have. Now, in just the past day, they burn a Masjid in the West Bank. The Zionists, (these are also prohibited words from the Mimbar. Dare any of these speakers use the words Zionists and Imperialists from the Mimbar. That's another symptom of them taking away our political thought), go into a Masjid not far from Nablus on the West Bank and they torch it. What is this? They're taking the pulse for what some news items are saying is their plans to take over Al Masjid Al Aqsa sometime this comingMarch? There's been some words that have been leaked to that effect. There are these rabid/fanatical Zionists who want to physically control/occupy Al Haram Ash Sharif. What is this right now? This is a trial balloon- let's burn aMasjid near Nablus and see what are the Muslims going to do? This may be followed up by another act of aggression towards he Muslims while the Zionists are on their way to their final goal i.e. Al Masjid Al Aqsa, what they call TheTemple Mount and the rebuilding on the ruins in that area. Along with that, just like they threw the words al qawl as sadeed and prohibited it from Makkah and Al Madinah, and Islamic Centers around, there are satellite TV stations around that they want to plug off the air. They began with Al Manaar and now they're trying to follow that up with Al Alam and Al Aqsa. These satellite TV stations are known for their outspoken, truth and support for the Palestiniansagainst the Israelis. Then, word is circulating that the Shin Bet, that's the Israeli equivalent of the FBI, is now looking to recruit and employ Persian speaking individuals in their service to counter what they call the Iranian influence and penetration more closer to Israel than they ever were. As all of this goes on, we have the Palestinian Authority i.e. the Palestinian secular, un-Islamic Authority in the West Bank, (remember, all of these circumstances. We need not mention everything in detail, that is left up to your thinking mind, but put all of the pieces together), that is sponsoring a contest for a Palestinian pageant i.e. who is going to be Miss Palestine with her bathing suit and all of this other stuff that goes along with it. In these circumstances and conditions, why is all of this and much more happening? (Listening and thinking Muslims), the Egyptian government begins to bad mouth Al Barade'i who used to be the Head of the IAEA, for defending the Iranian nuclear program and for defending Syria against the Israeli attack of what was called the nucleus of a nuclear program in Syria. But all of this does not appear on our mental radar because they unplugged the necessary Islamic ideological-political-authority information that is included in the Qur'anand Sunnah and this is where we are and this is how we need the taqwa of Allah today more than any other time.

SURAH AL QURAYSH- DRAWING THE PERTINENT LESSONS

1609

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We shall continue, with Allah's help and guidance as much as is possible, to develop our conforming minds and developing character to pursue the end of fulfilling our responsibilities as outlined by the Almighty. As we said previously, we are quickly approaching the time, the high holy days of the Hajj i.e. the pilgrimage to Makkah and the sacred territories. One short surah that most of the Muslims have memorised, and even though it is memorised, it still doesn't seem to be understood in the context and with the motivation embedded in it. This short surah that we have faith most of us are very acquainted says This surah was, by the majority of analysis and considerations, revealed in Makkah. (It is) one of the 1st 30 surahs to be revealed in Makkah. It has 4 ayaat to it; and as is the case with an open Qur'an speaking to a receptive humanity- there are those who said that "its ayaat are five ayaat." This is not the time to enter into the quibble/quabble about whether it is five or four ayaat. It is called surah Li ila fi Quraysh; those are the 1st words in the surah. Many surahs in the Qur'an are designated by the 1st words in them. It is also called surah Al Quraysh. Many surahs in the Qur'an are designated by a particular feature or designation in the surah. In this surah, it is obviously Quraysh around which the meanings of this Surah are constructed. There are some surahs in the Qur'an that compliment each other. surah Ad Dhaka and surah Alam Nashrah compliment each other. surahs Al Mu'awwadhatayn i.e. surah Al Falaq and Qul A'udhu bi Rabb an naas compliment each other. suratAl Anfal and surah At Tawba compliment each other. In this case, where we are, surah Al Fil and surah Al Qurayshcompliment each other, (so much so), that for those of us who are familiar with the literature, we know that they were read together by the 2nd successor to Allah's Prophet in the second rak'ah of as salaat al maghrib in one of the times when he led the salah after the Prophet. This is one of these scholarly issues that we are not for the purposes of our khutbahs not going to delve in. We are going to go to an area that is off limits to the Muslim mind even though it is part of understanding this Surah. Allah is saying in this surah For the purpose/reason that Quraysh is familiar with/frequent/on the routine of going on two commercial journeys, Southerly and Northwards from Makkah. One of them during the winter time and the other one during the summer time. Due to this year-to-year biannual commercial activity that Quraysh know very well. They should conform and comply with the Sustainer of this sanctuary, (in the reference of the Haram in Makkah, Al Bayt Al Haram); Who has offered them subsistence to avoid hunger and offered them security to avoid fear. (Surah Al Quraysh verse 1-4) OK. This is the general meaning of the surah, but what does it mean to Quraysh who were listening to it when it was revealed and what does it mean to us? Obviously the Qur'an is full of meanings for those times, our time and future times. The background information that is needed to understand this surah is that Quraysh is a word that is the diminutive of the word qarsh which means a vicious shark. Therefore Quraysh becomes the reduction of that word:qarsh... Quraysh. That was the label that was given to one of the grandfathers of Allah's Prophet and it merited to be registered by Allah in His book for eternity the purposes of us understanding what the significance of this surah is. We don't want to go into 1610

the designation of which grandfather of Allah's Prophet incurred this name; (but) suffice it to say and to know that it's one of his grandfathers. What's so relevant about this person and the about the tribe ofQuraysh that dominated Makkah at that time? Here is the background information that most of us don't have. It's just missing. We read the surah, but we don't accompany the necessary meanings that go with it. Makkah, at one time, was a place, (even though it's a cultural centre and a historical area for the inhabitants of Al Hejaz and theArabian Peninsula), that hit hard economic times. This surah has an economic flavour to it. The Sustainer of this Haram has provided them with food and therefore negated them hunger and provided them with safety and security thereby negating vulnerability and fear. (Surah Al Quraysh verse 4) The backdrop, (that was understood very well by the people who were listening to Allah's words when they were revealed for the 1st time upon His Prophet) to these ayaat were saying Because you Quraysh- the maintainers of Makkah (and) the custodians of the Haram- are so familiar with this commercial twice a year voyage from Makkah Southward towards Al Yemen and Al Habasha in Africa and Northwards towards Ash Shaam or the Holy Land in general, you should comply with and conform to Allah. (Surah Al Quraysh verse 3) So what does that mean to the person at that time who was listening to this and what does it mean to us who are supposed to learn from this? Makkah had, (in one of its chapters of history), ran into tough economic times (and) it was in dire economic straits. (Listen to this brothers and sisters and remember it when you read this surah of four or five ayaat). Remember, this is at least two or three generations before Allah's Prophet. There was time in Makkah(when) because of hunger, there was something in society called al i`tifaar (and in some reference books it may be called i`tifaad or i'tifaa- we're not going to go into linguistic subtleties), but suffice it to say that there was a social issue in Makkah that caused starving families and was forcing the hungry, deprived, malnourished, starving and thirsty families in Makkah to pitch a tent outside of Makkah. Imagine this. And what would that family do? It would expire; it would spend its last days of its survival in the tent and die together. This is a fact of life. Of course, someone people don't want us to think about these facts of life because if we begin to think about the economic and social welfare of the people in Makkah before Allah's Prophet, we are going to be forced to relocate those conditions that are related to us via the words of Allah into on our world today. These people who have power today don't want us to do that. So, there were people in Makkah who were physically dying in the presence/view of the other inhabitants and occupants of Makkah. At one time, one of the nobles of Makkah viz. Hashim, the brother of Abdul Muttalib as mentioned in some books, summoned the people and said "this has gone too far. Something should be done about this i'tifaar i.e. our people dying in front of our own eyes because of adverse conditions." He said to them "we the people in Makkah are honourable people but this i'tifaar or expiration of families in this fashion is humiliating us. We the people of Makkah are a massive populous" (meaning if you wanted to compare Makkah to other areas/centres of people in Arabia at that time, Makkah was a considerable concentration of people, but now they are losing their numbers because they are losing their numbers due to this i'tifaar.) He said to them"something has to be done about this." So, he is the one who initiated what the Qur'an/Allah's words say. In other words, there was a policy that was initiated by the Makkan decision makers to begin a 1611

commercial, financial, economic and monetary journey to areas of affluence around them. At one time, they would go to the South and at another time they would go to the North. Thus the commercialisation of Makkah became a fact of life. (This is another area that is a grey area in our minds/collective memory). There were ships that used to come from Africa,port at Jeddah and then release all the merchandise to these Arabians in Al Hejaaz. This certainly doesn't figure into the average Muslim's mind and thoughts, (but) which is necessary for our minds and hearts to understand if we want to move forward with the meanings of this Qur'an. So what happened? As this began from year-to-year, there were commercial caravans going out of Makkah and coming back with merchandise and profits. The policy dictated that the revenues and profits that came back from these two journeys were to be dispersed i.e. when a person who has gained from his venture to Al Yemen, Al Habasha or Ash Shaam came back, they would have to distribute this among their own social family or clan solidarity of people. So what Makkah had, because of this, is what is called economic prosperity. Makkah that in yesteryear and in previous generations suffered from this phenomenon calledi'tifaar where people- these were families- were dying at the outskirts of Makkah because they had no food/sustenance/rizq turned into a policy that in the course of time brought Makkah prosperity. So when this surahis revealed, Due to this routine commercial voyage Northwards and Southwards that you (Quraysh) are familiar with, you should comply with or conform to Allah, the Sustainer of this Bayt/Haram in the Makkah that you live in. Your Sustainer- Who has given you food and Who has given you security thereby negating hunger and insecurity. (Surah Al Quraysh verse 3-4) This surah puts us in the atmospherics of an economy, the decision makers in that economy and the consequences of that which was now to become a thriving Makkah. That is why this surah is linked to the surah before it. As we said at the beginning of this khutbah, surah Al Fil and surah Al Quraysh are one supplement. One compliments the other. Remember the last ayah in the surah previous to or just before this surah. This is a minna and a favour from Allah upon the inhabitants of Makkah. An enemy came to destroy the host city and in particular the Ka'bah in it And they were reduced to a killing field of corpses as if they were incinerated. (Surah Al Fil verse 5) And then, Allah is reminding you- (He is) now shifting from the military favour upon them by repelling As'haab Al Filto the prosperous/productive times that they are living in. A remark about these meanings, (from last week to this week) about these two surahs i.e. surah Al Fil and surah Al Quraysh. Remember, in the ayah in surah Al Baqarah, Ibraheem (alaihi as salaam) says: My Sustainer render this town/area to be one of security and provide its inhabitants with sustenance and subsistence. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 126) This was hundreds of years before the commercial activity of Makkah that added to its cultural, religious and historical significance and the prayer/du'a of Ibraheem was fulfilled. The people and those who dwell in Makkah were to be provided with sustenance and subsistence. Add to that the fact that towards the time when the decision makers in Makkah decided that they wanted to kill Allah's Prophet and he was forced to leave to abandon Makkahand go to Yathrib, which was to become Al Madinah; in those circumstances, after 13 years of opposition, hostility and all the forms of persecutions and harassment, the Prophet of Allah said concerning those who live in Makkah Oh Allah have them suffer years similar to the years 1612

during the times of Yusuf. This is in reference to the harsh economic, agricultural (and) health conditions that Yusuf had to deal with in Egypt. You just listened to whatIbraheem said: Oh Allah render this a town of security and provide its inhabitants with fruits, produce vegetation (Surah Al Baqarah verse 126) And then, Muhammad said Oh Allah have times change against the same occupants of Makkah as are equivalent to the times of Yusuf. Are we looking at a conflict of meanings or should we be considering the dynamics and context in which Ibraheem said Oh Allah render this a town of security and provide its inhabitants with fruits, produce vegetation (Surah Al Baqarah verse 126) as opposed to the time and the context in which Allah's final messenger said Oh Allah have times change against the same occupants of Makkah as are equivalent to the times of Yusuf. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims If, when we read Allah's truthful words, we are required to understand them (if that is the case), why can we not understand Allah's truthful words as they apply to the echoes of yesteryear. This surah, Al Quraysh Because of their familiarity with the commercial winter and summer journeys. They should comply with the Sustainer of this Holy Sanctuary. (Surah Al Quraysh verse 2-3) We can't upgrade the meaning to those who are in control, (and we dare say), in occupation of Makkah today? Do they not also have lucrative relations with prosperous and economically advance parts of the world, just likeQuraysh had its secure commercial ties with the regional economic areas to the North and the South (in) winter and summer. So does today's rulers of Makkah and Al Madinah also have the same secure ties and it behoves them to comply and conform to Allah the Sustainer of the Haram, Bayt Al Haram in Al Balad Al Haram in (as we are today),Ash Shahar Al Haram. They call themselves the family of Saud. If we were to use the Qur'anic approach to them we would call them Suayd and we would remind them of the words Of surah, Al Quraysh. Li ila fi Quraysh could also be li ila fi Suayd, but it takes thinking minds to elevate these meanings to the realities that are challenging us. We sure have many problems. Recently we have been having local issues here (with) the United States government moving or motioning itself to try to close down certain Islamic Centres or Islamic Schools. To us it's nothing new. They have done this over 27 years ago over here. It didn't surprise us a bit. It shouldn't surprise any of you who've been in the street all this time a bit. This is an immediate pain. When the US government moves and tries to do what it is trying to do it's like pain in your finger/hand but our disease is in our heart! Our Makkah is occupied by a structure ofImperialism and Zionism and sub-Imperialism and subZionism demonstrated by the rulers, Kings and Monarchs in the Arabian Peninsula. We want to have a heart that pumps vitality. We want to liberate Makkah. We don't just want to be yearly traditional Muslims just going there and automatically/mechanically going through motions and then coming back home (with) nothing accomplished (except that) the status quo is reinforced. We don't want that. 1613

SURAH AL KAWTHAR- DRAWING THE PERTINENT LESSONS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. 1614

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims (We have just passed) Eid Al Adha or Eid An Nahr or Eid Al Qurban, we will bi idn Allah try to focus our God-given thinking ability on the shortest Surah in the Qur'an, (which we hope everyone has memorised). Surah Al Kawtharthis is the shortest surah in the Qur'an if you wanted to count the words or letters of the Qur'an. It has the least words in comparison to all other surahs in the Qur'an it is the equivalent of two other surahs if we are counting theayaat of the holy Qur'an. There are three ayaat in this surah and there's also two other surahs in the Qur'an that have three ayaat in them: surah An Nasr and surah Al Asr. So what does this short surah say to us? What are we to understand when we read this surah? We hope all of us have memorised it and we recite it in our salah and from time to time. What is Allah saying to us in this surah? Of a certainty we haven given you (Oh Muhammad, what is called) Al Kawthar. Therefore communicate with Allah and perform the sacrifice pertaining to the sacrificial animals during the time of Hajj. Also of a certainty he who hates you, (is what is called) al abtar (which means) someone who is deficient or incomplete or lacking. (Surah Al Kawthar verse 1-3) This is what the surah generally says. Now, how does this surah pertain to the life of Allah's Prophet and by extension to our lives? What does this mean as far as our responsibilities in this life and in this world? Here is where we will have to understand this surah in context. When we look at what was written and said about this surah i.e. was it revealed in Makkah or Al Madinah, we find one of the most seriously polarised opinions about these suwar in the Qur'an. Many people who are qualified to speak on this issue say this surah was revealed in Makkah and likewise many other qualified people to speak on this issue say it was revealed in Al Madinah. What we do have as a point of reference in this regard is a hadith pertaining to the Prophet in which he says to those who were with him do you know what al Kawthar is? They said Allah and His Prophet know better or have more knowledge in regards to this issue. Obviously they did not know what al kawthar is and then he said to them, (and his words are the truth), it is a river which Allah most Extolled and most Exalted has promised me. To this flowing river belongs or is attributed untold abundance, is overflowing or is plenty, to which my Ummah will flock or go to on the day of resurrection. This hadith was revealed in Al Madinah, and the Prophet of Allah, (before stating thishadith), said to the sahaba (radi Allahu anhum) around him, do you know what was just revealed to me? So if we add this to the polarised opinions of where this surah was revealed, we tend to state that it was revealed in AlMadinah. What were the social and psychological background and dynamics that pertain to the meanings of thissurah that should always be present in our minds when we verbalise and mentalise this surah? Allah is saying to His beloved Messenger Indeed We have given you Al Kawthar. (Surah Al Kawthar verse 1) This would seem as "a matter of fact" statement or sentence. Of course, Allah is going to honour His Prophet/Messenger, but it comes in a context in which this Messenger of Allah was ridiculed, harassed, offended and abused by the people of Makkah. There's a history of hostility to Allah's Prophet that generated in Makkah and remained in Makkah throughout his lifetime. Thus, when we understand the 1615

meanings of this surah in that context and those dynamics, we begin to appreciate what it means when Allah says to His Prophet Indeed We have given you Al Kawthar. (Surah Al Kawthar verse 1) There is also another element to this and that is (that) on one occasion/time when the Prophet was still in Makkah,before the hijrah, he used to go to the rituals of the Hajj. Remember, during the 13 years before the hijrah inMakkah, he used to attend the Hajj that was celebrated and controlled by the Mushrikeen. There was no Islamicadministration in Makkah at the time (and) the Prophet was an individual under pressure and duress under the establishment of Makkah. Still, when the people used to go to Al Bayt Al Haram, that did not bar him. Knowing all that he know and experiencing from these avowed enemies, he didn't say "I'm not going to the Al Ka'ba or Al Bayt Al Haram"; much less, (and this a point that needs to be pondered), these Mushrikun were not telling him "you cannot come to Al Ka'bah or Al Bayt Al Haram." It never happened. As much as there was animosities, hostilities and differences between the Prophet of Allah and the established regime and order in Makkah, no one was telling him or other Muslims "you cannot come Al Bayt Al Haram or you need a visa." So, one of the times or occasions over 14 centuries ago when the Prophet of Allah went to Al Ka'bah during the time of the Hajj, (the time period that we are in), there was an exchange of words. The Prophet was speaking with the mannerisms, morals and standards of a Messenger and Prophet and his adversaries and foes were speaking their language of intimidation with the arrogance that comes with power. One of them, ibn Aasi ibn Waa'el, who happens to be the father of Amr ibn Al Aas (and) the grandfather of Abdillah ibn Amr ibn Al Aas said about him a derogatory word. After leaving the Prophet of Allah and encountering his own types (i.e.) the equivalents of Abi Jahl, Abi Lahab and Abi Sufyan. They asked him who were you speaking to? He said I was speaking to that Abtar. This is a word that has been etched into the memory and mind of all Muslims until the end of time due to the fact that it was mentioned in this surah. So Allah is comforting this person who is beloved to Him, His Messenger. In another way of expressing it, (if we want to come down to our average day to day language), Allah was saying, "don't mind what they are saying about you or don't pay much attention to their foul language or don't be overwhelmed by their psychology and propaganda for certainly We have given you Al Kawthar." There is something to look forward to. Al Kawthar is not in Makkah orArabia. It's there in the coming days/future towards which we all are moving. That being the case, maintain this communicative relationship that you have with your Sustainer with your Lord and also participate in sacrificing during the time of the Hajj. (Surah Al Kawtahr verse 2) Brothers and sisters this is an area that we think you should grasp with your understanding and reasoning WhenMakkah was in control of the Mushrikeen and these Mushriks would go through the motions/mechanics of the Hajj, there was no spirit of Tawheed and Wahdaniyya in them. These were people who were out for their worldly interests. (It's) the same that we have occurring today concerning those who control that exact place/area. Should we who are devoted to Allah participate with those who only have semblance/appearance of Islam? Because the people at that time who were running the show in Makkahclaimed that they were following Ibraheem; these rituals could be traced back to Ibraheem and Isma'eel(alaihima as salaam). No one denied that. The same way today we have Muslims who trace these rituals to the Prophet and to Ibraheem and Isma'eel- the same 1616

attitude, behaviour, policies and propaganda. Understanding our Prophet, should we participate with them knowing very well that they are in contravention and contradiction of Allah? The answer to that is yes. We should participate in this with our orientation towards Allah- The All Mighty; The One- even though many of those who are participating the same rituals of the Hajj (their) orientation is away from Allah- The All Mighty. This in particular is applicable to those who have power as it was then, it is now. This reminds us of another similar occasion. When Muslims who were around Allah's Prophet were so sensitised to the difference between them and the kafirsand the Mushriks, that they felt uneasy jogging between As Safa and Al Marwa. Why did they feel uneasy? Because there were two idols there, one called Asaaf and the other called An Na'ila. How could Muslims who now are clean of idol worship and who have purged their lives of the previous jahiliyyah run between two idols?! To some people this doesn't sit comfortably in themselves. Allah once again, just like He is saying in this surah to His beloved Prophet You perform your salah and you do your nahar in accordance with the information and the instructions from Allah. (Surah Al Kawthar verse 2) even though those who are around you are not doing it in accordance to the information and the instructions that come from Allah- Al Khaaliq Al Baar'i. They couldn't/didn't want to run and jog between As Safa and Al Marwa and the ayah came to them Indeed As Safa and Al Marwa are emblems/symbols belonging to Allah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 158) There is meaning there. This is what it is saying. We don't go there absent minded or without thoughts and thinking. therefore anyone who goes to the inviolable House/sacred sanctuary of Allah and Al Bayt Al Haraam carries no burden of an offense/sin/mistake if he were to jog between these two places (Surah Al Baqarah verse 158) This means our responsibilities and attraction to the House of Allah is not going to be and should never be impeded by those who are controlling it according to their personal, self interest. Verily he who hates you is the abtar/incomplete/lacks things/deficient. (Surah Al Kawthar verse 3) Which brings us to the issue of some Muslims. Remember- brothers and sisters- this is Allah speaking about the complete man. If there was ever a complete individual or a perfect persona in this world, it is Allah's Prophet, and then Allah is saying Verily he who hates you (Surah Al Kawthar verse 3) Allah's Prophet had those individuals and folks who hated him. You (can take a) look around- is there anyone who hates you because you are committed to Allah or doing the will of Allah? (Does) anyone hate us for being in the image of Allah's Prophet? Some people think that their perfection of Islam is to avoid other people hating them. Well, that is partially true. We don't want Muslims to hate Muslims; but we definitely want the Mushriks and Kafirs to hate committed Muslims. This is the position and personality that belongs to us because it belonged to Allah's Prophet. How many of 1617

us, though, transfer these relevant meanings from a lifetime of sacrifice and struggle by Allah's Prophet to our lifetime? How many of us see ourselves in that light? How many of us can detect these elements and these details in our lives? When our minds are put to asleep as is the case with many of these Masaajid (where) they want you to come to congregational prayers so that they can put you in a coma. There is no thought or thinking that takes place there. There's not a spark in the Jum'ah and Jama'ah and so we have what we have today. We have Yahud who are the obvious avowed enemies of the committed Muslims wanting to fill in this vacuum. Someyahudi scholars say to Muslims "Al Kawthar means kosher." For those who are familiar with semitic languages, there is an interchange sometimes between Hebrew and Arabic concerning some of the letters of the alphabetwhether it's the seen and the sheen or the thaa and the seen or the jeem and the gamal, etc. So, they take this superficial knowledge of Hebrew and this much more artificial knowledge of Arabic and they want to tell us what this surahmeans. But who is out there, from among us, in their thinking field who can take them on and anticipate what they are going to say about us? Why do we always have to be on the defensive? They launch their innuendo/accusations and then we go on the defensive becoming apologetic as we have been, continue to be and it will be the case into the future as long as the people who speak in our Masaajid are not willing to give thought to the words that come to us from on high. Brothers and sisters on a As Sirat Al Mustaqeem Allah says to us in so many enlightening ayaat throughout the course of a 23 year old Qur'an in maturity that theMushriks and the Yahud are the obvious the most intense, visceral and avowed of our adversaries. In one ayah that summarises this Allah says the truth, and this truth is a historical and a perpetual truth. It was true in the time and the days of Allah's Prophet, it continued to be the truth in the 14 centuries that have lapsed, it is the truth today and it will remain the truth until the end of time. You will find those who are most intense in their animosity to the committed Muslims to be Al Yahud and Alladhina Ashraku (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 82) Alladhina Ashraku during the time of Allah's Prophet did not fool him by their rituals and Alladhina Ashraku in our time should not fool us by their rituals. Or else, have them explain the intelligence services of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordanand the Israelis meeting in Amman as the Muslims have been flocking in the hundreds-and-thousands in the past weeks towards Makkah? What brings them together? Why are Al Yahud and Alladhina Ashraku (meeting)? Even though these Mushriks appear to be in Islamic attire, what makes it halal for them to meet in our own territories to speak about our own affairs, to conspire against our own countries and peoples? They are free to do that and we are not free to express our minds and hearts to each other in Al Bayt Al Haram in Makkah during Ash Shahr AlHaram! Something is amiss here! They who are in the garb of Muslims in Arabia launch a war of aggression against freedom fighting Muslims to their South and because the Muslim mind is sleeping no one, (that we know of), has brought them to task for launching a war in Ash Shahr Al Haram. This is the month of Dhu Al Hijjah. Last month wasDhu Al Qa'ada. These are Ashuhr Al Hurum. These are secure months and the Arabians of shirk in the days and times of jahiliya used to honour these Ashhur Al Hurum. They don't even honour them anymore! They flagrantly and blatantly violate the core of our Islam and our Iman and then they parade themselves throughout the whole world as if they are "the Custodians of the two Haramain Ash Sharifain in Makkah and Al Madinah." Last week theHead of 1618

the CIA meets the King of Arabia and they exchange words of platitudes (with) each one praising the other. Can't we see (that) the Qur'an, Allah and His Prophet offer us a vision into these meetings and these political behaviours. Where are we? What goes on in this past (two) weeks? Two soccer teams, one from Algeria the other from Egypt, go to see who is going to qualify for the world match that is going to be held in South Africa next year. And then these two governments get worked up. They go into a frenzy because of this soccer match. In the mean while, their policies and politics are saying "to hell with the Muslims in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of these Muslims; they can bleed to death. We want to enjoy and have global fun in these soccer games." And some people attack other people- Egyptians and Algerians. And Ambassadors are recalled. And Sudan is thrown into the midst of all of this because the match was played in Umm Dhurman, Khartoum. Where are we? Are we located in Ash Shahr Al Haram?Are we located in a season that goes towards Makkah? This is what happens and continues to happen and will perpetuate occurrences as long as we don't think. These Masajid are constructed so that you go (there, but) leave your mind when you enter the Masjid- outside of the Masjid. Allah says But what do you do with those who want to qualify as Muslims through traditions and rituals? Oh Allah You see our condition; Oh Allah You know our appearances and You know what we do not disclose; You know what is public and You know what is private; You know what is propaganda and You know what is classified; You know their secrets and their intentions; and You know where we are and we will be satisfied with whatever comes our way- coming from You. Allah says in another ayah, the same way He says to the Prophet Of a certainty we haven given you Al Kawthar. (Surah Al Kawthar verse 1-3) He says And certainly you (Oh Muhammad) will shortly be the recipient from your Sustainer that which will please you. (Surah Ad Duha verse 5)

EID AL ADHA
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. 1619

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims And proclaim/pronounce for the general public the gathering for the pilgrimage in the Hajj and they will come to you on modest means of transportation; they will come to this assembly walking (Surah Al Hajj verse 27) What is Allah saying? If this call/the adhaan for the Hajj goes out to all the people then they will respond by coming to Makkah and Al Madinah on their feet and meager resources. Vehicles or modes of transportation to get them to that destination. they will come from very distant and remote areas of the world. (Surah Al Hajj verse 27) What is meant by this ayah? Makkah and Al Madinah are open cities for the committed Muslims from around the globe. Allah is saying that this is an open invitation to an open Holy destination for everyone who is able to come toMakkah and Al Madinah. That is what Allah says and intends, but what do we have here? (We have) the humanisized deity who impose themselves on this ayah and contravene the meaning in this ayah. They say "no! This is not a call to all Muslims." Then, they begin to exclude Muslim on a numerical basis. They say "out of every 1,000,000 Muslims we're going to permit 1,000 Muslim." Does this agree with the ayah? This is an uninhibited Hajj, but the Saudigovernment has made it a restricted Hajj in violation of the clear meanings of this holy text. This officialdom that rules in the land of the Haramain- Makkah and Al Madinah- says that Muslims have to go there within a couple of weeks and then leave immediately. When did this ever occur? Where do they have the justifications for this in theQur'an and Sunnah? When committed Muslims assemble in the vicinity of Al Masjid Al Haram they are supposed to be witnesses to advantages/benefits/good that comes on their way. What type of manafi' or benefit are Muslims witnessing in and around the Kabah except that the expression of their brotherhood is stifled and we're supposed to go there and make believe that we satisfying the obligation of the Hajj when we are not even supposed to communicate to each other what it means to be Muslim brothers in today's world of hostilities and animosities! What type of manafi' are Muslims witnessing in this type of Saudi definedHajj? Who (else) says (that just) like the Saudis are saying "we have to go there in a couple of weeks and we have to leave in a less than a week." Where did this come from? Allah says in unambiguous words and plain language Al Hajj is a matter of known months (Surah Al Baqarah verse 197) Three months of Hajj! Why have the Saudis gotten away by reducing/crippling the Hajj to only three weeks of Hajj?

We- the couple of million- say Imagine- out of one-and-a-half-billion Muslims in the world- because of the policies of restriction and the regulations to stifle this Hajj, we have 1,4 million Muslims coming from outside the ArabianPeninsula and another 800,000 or 900,000 coming from inside that Peninsula! What happened to the rest of the Muslims? Why can't they go to the Hajj? Why are these restrictions? We say this so that you can bring, (at least in the mental sense), these people to accountability for what they are doing. Who says if we are going to Hajj we cannot communicate with ourselves? Where did 1620

the Saudi government come with this mammoth bid of all times from?! Muslims cannot communicate there with a Muslim who is injured in Palestine or maimed in Afghanistan or handicapped in Kashmir or an invalid from the Balkans! This Muslim body that reassembles itself in Makkah is supposed to make believe that we cannot communicate with each other?! What is the meaning/value of brotherhood if we can't express our brotherly feelings to our own selves inside of our own body? This is the type of hollow/empty Hajj that is performed by individuals nowadays! Is it true that we are responding to/resonating with Allah when we say "Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik?" Many of these officials who go there are supposed to be saying these words. But (take a) look. Their tongues say these words, but their hands express the opposite meaning. They don't place their confidence/resonate/respond to Allah; they place their confidence/resonate with the Shayateen of the world i.e. those who have super imposed themselves upon the power of Allah in the minds and hearts of these officials Muslims who read the Qur'an, pray and fast, but that's all they have of their Islam- motions, and a figure/image of a Muslim but the content is anti-Islamic.Or else we won't be in the conditions that we are in today. This is a Masjid here that held its Eid ceremonies today. Do they speak to the issues? Do they have the confidence that comes from reliance upon Allah- a reliance that is expressed on the model of Al Hajj?"Labbaik Allah humma labbaik" They don't say and mean it! They say that because it is a religious and traditional ritual that is inherited from previous generations; meanwhile they violate every meaning/sentence that is expressed in the Hajj by everything they do. They are men of every season and they are slaves of every master, especially when it comes to the European white man. They are their inferiors because they can't express their independent Islamic character, strategy and objective. Didn't the Prophet of Allah despatch Aba Bakr and Ali (radi Allahu anhuma) to Makkah during the 9th year of the hijra with the 1st 29ayaat of Surat Bara'a? This surah represents the severence of dependency relationships on the Mushrik and Kafirs. Allah is expressing the disavowal on His behalf and on behalf of His Prophet to represent the rest of the Muslims in the world there shall be no longer any dependency relationship upon the forces of Shirk and Kufr in this world. (Surah Al Bara'a verse 1) But what do we have? We have exactly that! We have the Saudi and all of these governments imposing their decisions on the Muslims. We have them relying not on Allah, but relying on lesser gods, false deities (and) fallacious powers. This is not the meaning of the Hajj. If there was a true Hajj there would have been a movement of Islamicindependence from kufr and shirk expressed in Makkah. These are the benefits that are supposed to generate fromMakkah and Al Madinah at this time. We are not even able to express these benefits that come from disclosing our feelings/thoughts to each other. What do they want? Us to go to Hajj like we are the living dead on earth? We are supposed to be human machines that go around the Ka'bah or to Arafat or to Muzdalifa or Mina? We are supposed to be brainless/emotionless! What do they expect us to do? After all of this, why are many of us doing this? Why do many of us lack the courage to say to those who are misrepresenting Islam and trying to choke Islam in its cradle in Makkah and Al Madinah that "they are wrong when they are obviously and outrageously wrong." Why can't we, with reliance on the Qur'an and Sunnah that we have, say to them that "they are wrong when they are obviously and outrageously wrong." The way this Hajj is performed- this may be shocking to 1621

some of you- is a munkar. And whoever sees a munkar is required to change it... Who is willing to say "the way this Hajj performed is a munkar?" Let us have regenerating Muslims and revitalized thoughts that are embedded in the Qur'an and Sunnahthat can come up to these enemies of Allah and the Hajj i.e. the Administrators, Rulers and Governors in and aroundMakkah and Al Madinah and say to them "you are responsible for this yearly mis-performance for the Hajj." This should be changed by what we do. OK- these officials have the money, but we have Allah. And if we have Allah they can have as much money as they have. What does that mean? If we have Allah we can go and say "who says today is Eid ul Adhaa in reference to when they erroneously declare the day of Eid on the 9th day of Dhu Al Hijjah." Often it is not the 10th but the 9th day of Dhu Al Hijjah but they impose on all the Hujjaj/pilgrims who go to Makkah to stand on Arafat on the 8th day and no Muslim is taking exception to this mistake. There's not even a committed core of Muslims in the Hajj who can come to the public and say "no! it is not the right day to stand at Arafat on the 8 th. Muslims are not supposed to be standing on Mount Arafat on the 8th and tomorrow is supposed to be the accurate/correct/precise day of Eid." They are getting away with the aftershock of their controlled Hajj in Makkah.This is not a fleeting mistake or something that occurred once in a blue-moon. This is (almost) systematic/recurrent/annual. Every month they begin their lunar month on the wrong day so they have our Eid and ceremonies on the wrong day. They have been getting away with this munkar. Once again, why do you, Muslims, let them get away with this munkar? OK- at this time, we can't go to Makkah and Al Madinah and reorganize the mass of Muslims altogether to stand on Arafat on the right day and then to perform their Eid ceremonies on the right day- we know that, but we can go the 2nd expression of opposition to the munkar. Whoever cannot change this munkar i.e. performance of the Hajj the way the Saudi government and its masters have it, the least we can do is to express the adjustment of this whole affair with language, words, communication, ideas. This is what is supposed to be done until they are exposed to the light of day. This is a time/occasion of sacrifice. It's going to take some sacrifice to do this. Today, we are supposed to be celebrating the sacrifices that we give as Muslims on our path/journey to Allah. Ibraheem (alaihi as salaam) wanted to sacrifice his son for Allah. And we have an official in the US government- here in town, around the block somewhere- who says this religion of Islam (Take a) look at when the Saudi instrument take over, how the kuffar and Mushriks come out and express themselves. We are living in a Saudi time because the Saudis are more-or-less in control of Islamic activities around. So we have these officials coming and saying "(take a look, Islam is a religion that requires you give/sacrifice your son to God and Christianity is a religion in which God gave his son for you." OK- (hasn't) Mr Ashcroft heard what Ibraheem did with his son? He says it's Is'haaq, we say it's Isma'eel (alaihima as salaam); nevertheless, both of them are sons ofIbraheem. Didn't he want to sacrifice his son for God? Now, does he want to distance himself? We understand that he is a religious man- he should go review his religious text. He should go back to scriptural history and see whatAbraham did. Did he not want to give his son to God? What is it? He's so stingy that he doesn't want to give his possessions, life and part of himself to the God that has given him everything?! He is that parsimonious?! This is a time when we are celebrating the meanings of sacrifice and this is a time when our hands give. Our language saysAllahu Akbar. Allah is Superior to all of these instruments of war. Why pick on the innocent/oppressed Muslims of the world? Why are they picking on us? Leave us alone in our Masaajid, Makkah, Al Madinah, our homes and families. We are not going to their religious sanctuary and placing military bases around them! We are not concocting laws that turn against decent and innocent human beings just like they are doing. They are going on the offensive and then they turn 1622

around and use these fancy words to getaway, not only with murder but to get away, with presenting yourselves as the forces for freedom and democracy in the world. They cannot even tolerate a step of democracy in the Islamic Center in Washington DC. Don't these people in the JusticeDepartment know that we've been for 26 years. Why? Because we want elections and democracy in this little area here in Massachusetts Avenue in Washington DC. This is not a country. This is not hundreds of thousands of square miles and kilometers. If in a limited Islamic Center they don't want elections, yet they want to come again and tell the Muslims they "are for elections and democracy in such areas asAfghanistan and different parts of Asia and Africa." They're trying to lie to us? We've been living their duplicity and hypocrisy for the last two-and-a-half-decades at least and we have been witnesses in this street every year to their lies. They prefer to look the other way. Imagine if this was an erroneous presence on the street in Washington DC. They'd have their media, journalists, TV crew and everyone around saying "(take a) look at how the Muslims are in the streets. (Take a) look at how backward they are." But they can't come with their media and mouth pieces because they know they are going to look at this issue as "we (meaning the American government) placed these innocent and decent individuals in the streets for what reason?" Because they want elections in the House of Allah. We don't want a Monarchical arrangement that comes from Saudi Arabia to impose on the Muslim congregation in the central Masjid in Washington DC as to who the Director/Imam/ Administrator of this Islamic Center should be. All of this is done with the support and courtesy of the United States government that is loud-mouthing "that there's an Islamic predicament in the world." We say to all of this Allahu Akbar. We mean what we say. In past years, they'd go by and say "these are rowdy Muslims on the streets." But now, because of what is happening in different parts of the world, they are beginning to say "this may not be rowdy after all. There may be having something to say." They're in that phase/state of mind now. We don't care what state of mind they are in, we continue to say Allahu Akbar. They continue to lie and we continue to say the truth! What shall be the outcome of all of this? They drop bombs on Muslims and they say "they released their ordinances" and they don't want to appear to be criminal in what they are doing. Imagine if they were saying "we are bombing/exterminating/expunging/destroying.." They don't say that and that's what they are really doing. They are saying "they are releasing their ordinances" and then they're saying "they have smart bombs." They are saying all of these fancy language to conceal all the war crimes that they are committing against innocent and decent human beings in this world. We are not the only ones here in Washington DC. Their criminal activities extend around the globe. They are intoxicated with this power and they think no one can defeat them. We say to them Allahu Akbar.Allah is able to defeat them. Brothers/sisters- you tell them "we have a difference of religious orientation or scriptural interpretation, (we can see that and you know that), but beyond that, we are brothers and sisters in humanity and we tell you "(As long as American support is not moderated for Israel -which it is the obvious and pronounced utmost and premier utmost terrorist establishment and entity in the world- then await Allah interference. It's not us. You and we know who we are; we are the small David and they are the Goliath. You and we know this fact, but we know something beyond what our eyes and senses tell us. We know that Allah is Superior, more powerful, overwhelming and above whatever means that you may have." To this we say Allahu Akbar To all of you and to all the Muslims on this day and within the circumstances that we are in, we ask Allah to replace these adverse conditions with conditions that are more favourable and to give justice 1623

its course in the common human society that we all belong to and to isolate those who have evil minds and powers that are at work, wherever that may be. For that we say, every year, should we observe this occasion with more blessing and prosperity: Kullu aamin wa antum bi khayr. Wa Assalaamualaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh. Eid Mubarak. Even though this is an expression that we exchange on this time and we know the barakah is coming from what we do for Allah, not in what we say. As a reminder, today is Friday and the Eid has occurred on Friday, and because when the Eid occurs on Friday it eclipses the congregation of Jum'ah prayers, we shall release ourselves from re-appearing here for the Jum'ah weekly obligation because of Eid occurring today. May Allah be with you in this day and in the coming days and until we surrender our responsibilities and lives to our Maker and Creator. May Allah's peace, blessings, presence and support be with you (during) every moment of your life until that moment is released to Allah.

SURAH AL FIL- DRAWING THE PERTINENT LESSONS

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. 1624

Ma'ashar Al Mu'mineen, Committed Muslims As we inch ourselves closer to the high days of the Hajj, it would be relevant to try to build an understanding of thisHajj and of Makkah so that if Allah provides us the opportunity to fulfil this obligation, we do so with the power of reasoning along with the power of motivation to be there. To better contribute to our understanding of the centrality, the significance, the status of Makkah and Al Bayt Al Haram, (we shall with Allah's assistance), reflect on a short Surah that hopefully is in the memory of all of us. This concise Surah brings to our attention, (we're supposed to read these Surahs with all the mental capacity we have), Allah says and His words are the guiding truth and the enlightening facts of life- present and the future- He says Have you not seen how Allah dealt with the companions of Al Fil? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) In another understanding of this ayah, Do you not consider what Allah has done to the companions of Al Fil? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) In the 1st understanding of this ayah, the 1st explanation of the word tara is the physical and visual consideration of what happened to a military force that wanted to invade, occupy and destroy Makkah. Remember these words, (i.e. invasion, occupation, destruction), are not easily used by contemporary Muslims, even though this ayah contains the meanings of these words. Remember, these are words that are used in today's vital language of what is happening concerning militaries, war fare and combat. So, if we understand the meaning of the word tara Have you not seen (Surah Al Fil verse 1) Of course, the Prophet was not born when this happened, so how could he see it when he was not born?! (But) still, the meanings stand as such because it has been said that there have been visual evidence of what happened during that year that was called the year of Al Fil, and those visual evidence were in the stones and rocks that are around and in that area and in two individuals who stayed behind in Makkah and did not perish as a result of this military campaign (where) enemies (were) coming to Makkah. At the time of Allah's Prophet, they were beggars, blind and disabled so the traces of that assault to obliterate Makkah and the Ka'bah were there during the time in which thisayah was revealed. This Surah was revealed in Makkah. (It is) one of the 1st 30 Surahs to be revealed in Makkah. The other meaning Do you not consider what happened (or) how Allah dealt with the companions of Al Fil? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) OK- who are these people/As'haab il Fil? What happened? What is the background? What is so important in human history and in relations between societies and powers at that time that a Surah from heaven was revealed for us to dwell on/recite/consider/think about/learn from until the end of time? What is it? Where did these As'haab il Fil come from? Here is the information that we should have when we concentrate our minds on this ayah. Sometimes we just say words and pass by. We're going to take a step backwardconcentrating our minds is exactly what thestatus quo Muslims and their mental secular/Allah denying super structure in the world want us not to do. You read/recite/chant or even sing the Qur'an, but you are 1625

not allowed to think about the Qur'an and this is exactly what we want to do. We want to reverse this classification that we have been in. Who are As'haab al Fil? What is the background information about this Surah? As'haab al Fil is a military force. We repeat they were a Military force, just like today's military force, who came originally from Africa. We know (that) this is going to get on some nerves of some people who think everything about Africa is positive. Some of them may have racial inclinations- whatever the case is- continents, races and peoples have the good and the bad. In this case, we are looking at what is bad- coming out of Africa; a force that came out from what is historically called Al Habasha. This force came to Yemen,the South-Western corner of the Arabian Peninsula and by the use of force they conquered and occupied that area/country. And what did they do after that? They built a centre/Church that was called Al Kalis, (or in some other books) Al Kulais (or in some other books) Al Kullais. The word, Al Kalis may have been Arabized and entered theArabic language as Al Kanis or Al Kanisa. In some other parts of the area it could have been called Al Kalis which refers to the temple of worship of those who belong to the Christian religion of the time. They not only brought with them a military force, but they also brought in a religious orientation and they built on a high area of San'a- the major city in Yemen- this centre of theirs. Their political, ideological and therefore social ambition was to eclipseMakkah and to have people's attention drawn away from Al Bayt Al Haram so now they can go for their pilgrimage instead of to Makkah to San'a in Al Yemen. This is what they had on their mind and how they were thinking. What happened in this time period with these dynamics (was that) there was a person from Kinana, one of the well known tribes in the Arabian Peninsula, who caught wind of the plan that outside forces had for this area. This wasn't a Muslim. The Prophet was not born yet. It may have been out of his own tribal motivation or historical motivations- that area is not very clear. This Kinani goes to this Imperialist area, (it's OK brothers), we can borrow words from today and place it in that time frame so that we can understand that ancient enemies are not really ancient they are also current/contemporary. This person (did this) during what is called Ash Shahr Al Haram. Remember, before theQur'an was revealed and the Prophet was born there was an Ibrahimi tradition- just like today, there's an Islamictradition around, during that time there was an Ibrahimi tradition that honoured the sacred and secure month zones of the year. But the way some of them would honour it is called an nasi'. This is a Qur'anic word. What they would do is change the months around the year. If this month is Rajab, (for example), they would switch Rajab with another month of the year. This is called is a nasi. The switching of months during the year is an addition of Kufr/denying Allah (Surah At Tawbah verse 37) That became a tradition. So this person, during this time period, goes and he expresses defiance to this Church that was supposed to replace Al Bayt Al Haram and he stirs the Asabiyah i.e. the clannish solidarities amongst the people in that area against the foreign Imperialists presence/occupation of that part of Arabia. This person i.e. the AfricanHabashi ruler in Yemen called Abraha You see, the way we read our history, especially those of us who want to interject race into history always have the quote of the Prophet when he sent one of the early Muslims to theHabasha. This same land that produced Abraha produced An Najashi. We are fair- if a person is just and righteous, we grant that to him; but if a person is aggressive and vile, we also identify that in him. It doesn't matter it comes from Africa or anywhere else in the world- race is not an issue. So Abraha takes offence and he wants to go to the source of the problem which he and maybe his advisors and consultants identified it to be Makkah itself and Al BaytAl Haram. So he puts together a tremendous military force that outnumbers 1626

and had more weapons than the inhabitants/nomads who are in Makkah and its surrounding area and he embarks on this military campaign/objective to virtually destroy Al Masjid Al Haram, the Ka'bah or the structure of Ibrahim and Isma'eel (alaihima as salaam)and after that, all the attention will revert to San'a- his capital/conquered city. So he takes this tremendous force toMakkah with what is considered, in those days, the latest fighting technology i.e. the Elephants, (that is why the word Al Fil is used). We don't want to get into any trivial details (of) was it one Fil that Abraha was riding in this military campaign and therefore they were called As'haab Al Fil or was it eight or 12 or more or even 1,000. All of these are mentioned in the books that we refer to. These trivial details don't matter; they were a superior military force and they camped outside Makkah in an area on the road from Makkah to At Ta'if in a place called Mughammas.We and everyone of you should know (that) if you have ever been to the Umra or Hajj, that's not a place anyone would know. We ask ourselves "why?" It's an important area. Imagine- there was going to be a war that was going to destroy Makkah (that was) launched from that area. Why shouldn't we be aware of it? Why should it be buried in history? We could even drive/pass by it and not be aware that this is the last stop that the enemies of the coming Muslims had before they wanted to level Makkah to the ground. But that is something none of us know or even want to know because of the engineered flow of information or (rather) disinformation/de-information that characterises today's Islamic speaking and thinking. Then, we are told in these history books about a communication that took place between Abraha the commander/chief/head/chief executive in the power of Yemenbetween him and Abd Al Muttalib, who after seeing the disparity/vast difference between the Makkans who virtually had nothing to defend themselves. This wasn't a military society. It's not Spartan. It's nomadic Makkah that had its cultural and economic character but not a military character. Remember, the history books never mentioned AbuSufyan or Abu Jahl who were main characters in Makkah. The only thing these history books tell us is that this communication was between Abd Al Muttalib- who was the keeper of the Ka'bah and the custodian of the Haram-and Abraha. After this communication Abd Al Muttalib realised (that) there's no match between the two forces, so he advised his extended family as well as all the people of Makkah to leave, abandon and vacate Makkah. This is the only time we know ever since Makkah came into existence when Ibrahim and Isma'eel built the Ka'bah that Makkahwas evacuated. It was when this military force was on its outskirts. In fact they went to adjacent mountains and hills for cover. No one was left in Makkah. Allah says Have you not considered what your Sustainer has done with the companions of Al feel? (Surah Al Fil verse 1) The word As'haab al Fil, even though it is translated in the mainstream fashion as "the companion of the Elephants"for those of you who can understand both languages, it really doesn't mean that. What it means is like the superior force. Later on, in our history, there was another clash between Muslims themselves and it was called As'haab AlJamal. This one was called As'haab Al Fil. It's like saying in today's language "Elephant times." The Elephants at that time were like saying an F15 or an F16 in our time. Al Fil, for those who dig deeper, is a cause for optimism; "we're going to win" because we have this force juxtaposed to Al Khail, another reference in the Qur'an to a military description. Everyone in Makkah had left so there was no one there and we have this superior force. The orders are given and they march on Makkah, Then Allah says 1627

Has He not turned their conspiracy into a cul-de-sac or into a dead end? He sent swarms of moving elements in the air. (Surah Al Fil verse 2-3) The conventional understanding is (that) these moving creatures in the air is simply birds- which could be. No one's denying or affirming, but it could be other things that were sent in the air. Whatever it was, It targeted this fighting/hostile/disproportionate military force which was pelted with elements of sijjil. (Surah Al Fil verse 4) Once again this has an open interpretation. Could it be small pebbles and this was a physical miracle in the biblical sense of the word or was it something like bacteria virus, etc. that came upon this fighting force and destroyed it. They couldn't conquer Makkah nor destroy the Ka'bah. Many of them were killed and the remaining remnant force along with Abraha, who fell ill, returned to Yemen where many of them died as did Abraha himself. We hope and think we all have memorised this Surah, but do all of these military details come into our minds? Allah is speaking about al kayd i.e. a thought out conspiratorial strategy. And then He rendered this military force as if it was a field of harvest/wheat/grains that was burnt/incinerated. (Surah Al fil verse 5) This is our Makkah, not just that Black Stone and that cubical form of the Ka'bah that everyone goes to with their emotions and what is called piety and then everyone dismisses or is ignorant of this vital information pertaining toMakkah. There are a couple of issues at least that this small Surah should bring to our attention and mind. The 1stthing is we know is that an enemy/fighting force that was sent to Makkah was destroyed itself- this Surah tells us so. But on the other hand, the Prophet of Allah went to Makkah with a fighting force and Makkah was liberated. InSurah Al Fath, an ayah says Allah has verified for His Messenger, His Messenger's vision in accordance with the truth: you will indeed enter Al Masjid Al Haram in a state of safety and security (Surah Al Fath verse 27) Which happened after that. Therefore Makkah can attract hostile forces as well as forces of liberation as is demonstrated by the ayaat in the Qur'an. But who is reading Surah Al Fath and Surah Al Fil or Surah Alam Tara, (it is called both ways) at the same time? This is where we reflect on ourselves and we find that we are deficient. We still/yet have to coordinate and consolidate the meanings of this Qur'an so that we can carry it's message in the world that we are in.

Brothers and sisters of the Islamic way/As Siraat Al Mustaqeem We just quoted some ayaat of a military nature and this military nature is not frozen in history. There's also now extensive military activities that are taking place in a ring around Makkah i.e. to the South, East, Northand West- virtually. This is no exaggeration or hyperbole. Makkah is in the centre of military forces all around it and this is a time when our minds have gone A.W.O.L. Our minds are absent from this fact. What is the power that has occupied Makkah- this is an occupying power,(is anyone ashamed/afraid to say that?) The protection of this occupying power comes from its imposed perception upon us about it. How many hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars 1628

has this illegitimate government in Arabia spent on its forces since the time when the petrodollar began to flow into its coffers? We don't have a count of that because it's beyond arithmetic! How many wars? All of them agree, (they won't disagree with you in a conversation/debate), that the enemies are the Zionists that are occupying Palestine. OK- what have they done about that with all of this? How many generations of weapons have they bought? The 1stgeneration that now is ancient. The 2nd generation that is now too old. The 3rd generation that has become obsolete. The 4th generation that is being replaced with what is called modern weaponry. None of it that they can build! They're not interested in building an industry so they can protect yourselves. They want to depend on the Mushrikeen and the Kuffar for their own protection so they accumulate all of this weaponry and hardware on the deserts of Arabia. How many wars (have there been) since 1973? That's when we want to begin to count them (because) before that they may classify themselves at that time of being poor nomads in tents. OK- but after that time they have a cash flow that we cannot even count, what have they done? There was a war that the Zionists launched, but where were you? In 1973, Egyptand Syria were doing the fighting, (but) where were you? In the beginning of 1980 and 1982 the Zionists,(who they say are their foremost enemies), invaded Lebanon and occupied half the country for some time and continued their occupation of the South of that country until it was liberated in 2002 by Islamicforces, but where were they? What were they doing? Nothing! Today, for the 1st time in their contemporary history, they send their warplanes and artillery to fight against Muslims in Yemen. Was that the reason they were created? To use their armed forces against Muslims? They can't use their forces when they are much in need against an avowed enemy? We see these facts if we understand/think about what we are reading. We are reading military details in the Qur'an, but why can't we bring the meanings out of the Qur'anand into our current affairs, issues and developments. What has happened to us? And they still want to get away with being called the custodians of the two Harams in Makkah and Al Madinah. They are not it's custodians/premiers. They are by the words of the Qur'an you repel by your policies, administration, consulates Muslims from going to Makkah and Al Madinah (Surah Al Baqarah verse 217) Without any conditions is the way Muslims are supposed during the Hajj and Umrah there to Makkah and Al Madinah.No conditions, terms or stipulations! Why do they contrive all of this and at the end of the day they want to be called "the custodian of the two sacred Masjids in Makkah and Al Madinah." They don't fool us, because Allah has enlightened us and we pray for the day when this enlightenment touches the hearts and the minds of the rest of the Muslims in the world because after Makkah is liberated, (this is a historical task), the liberation of Al Quds, Jerusalem will be, (in simple language) "a piece of cake."

1629

ABU DHARR (R): SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Committed Muslims 1630

The time period that witnessed the most radical and significant change in human society which impacted the generations of Arabia during that time and continued to have an influence and a remarkable impact on other societies in future years- extending to our time and into centuries and generations that will follow us- had to it some components that the Muslims themselves are incapable, (even after over 1,000 years), to learn from that experience. People prior to the Prophet, the Qur'an and Islam were living in a time period in denial of Allah. This was true to Arabia and was true to every other part of the world. Allah is the ally of the Committed Muslims, He takes them out of times, mentalities and societies of obscurities and darkness into times and societies of enlightenment (Surah Al Baqarah verse 257) What happened to them was a transformation from times, mentalities and societies of obscurities and darkness into times and societies of enlightenment. Brothers and sisters- we have to learn and we're going to have to regain and recapture the character of taqwa i.e. that we only factor in Allah's power and authority. That's the only thing that counts. This is the bedrock of taqwa. Don't give us this power, influence, government, ruler, dynasty and all of this that) has been polluting our minds as well as disturbing our societies until we have reached rock-bottom today. We can't go further, so isn't it high time that we open our eyes and turn on our minds? Let us take a look at our self. Let us do this with objective, honest and open minds. Let's not get involved in emotionalisms that divide, fanaticisms that clash and an egotistic self righteousness that excludes. We've been in that rut for so long and it's accumulated so much that we're no longer capable of looking at our own selves (and) if one of us is correct- appreciate and honour it; and if one of us is wrong, we can recognise, express and try to correct it. That's what we have to do. A Muslim to another Muslim is like a structure, every part of it reinforces the other. We're going to try to look at some of us in the 1st generation around Allah's Prophet, and hopefully we don't approach this subject with the build-up of traditions and stereotypes that have put some of us on one side and the other of us on the other side- and both these sides have been incapable of working with each other. This time of the week, as is supposed to be all times of the week), is a time of taqwa. We are only concerned with Allah's authority and power and no one else's. That being the case we'll take a look, (as much as time will permit), upon some of the vital issues and an important person in that context. During the time of Prophet, when he was born and lived in Makkah, the Arabian Peninsula had pockets of religious people who were not technically Mushrikeen or who could be excluded from the general description of Mushrikeen.These pockets were pockets of Yahud and Nasara. Some of them were in Al Madinah, Yemen, the Northern parts of the Peninsula and we had another pocket of inhabitants called Al Hanifiya- this is the leftover practices that survived from the time of Ibraheem and Isma'eel (alaihima as salaam) throughout the ages and was adhered to by some or a limited amount of individuals/people here-and-there in Al Hejaz and Al Arabia. One of those tribes that was included in that Hanifiya was the tribe from which Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) hailed. It so happens that that tribe could not honour the tradition of Ash Shahr Al Haram i.e. the four sanctified tension/war free months of the year have been established way back in the time of Ibraheem and then, they were rededicated afterwards with the disclosure of the Qur'an. Indeed, the number of months in the sight of Allah is twelve; so it was ordained by Allah on the Day when Allah created the Heavens and the Earth, of which four are in-violable; that is the straight way (Surah At Taubah verse 36) 1631

But what happened is that this particular tribe violated Ash Shahr Al Haram. They were free souls; just like if we were to bring the dynamic into today's world, we'll find that a political tribe called Saudi Arabia violates Ash Shahr AlHaram and many people just go with the drift. Many of us are not even conscious of Ash Shahr Al Haram, but at that particular time, Abu Dharr, his brother and mother were sensitive to this issue, so they left their own tribe. It's just like in today's world- if a sensitive Saudi citizen began to wake up and realise that the tribal authority that he belongs to is in violation of Allah's commands and orders- he'll leave. He doesn't want to belong to that type of structure any longer and this is what happened to Abu Dharr. He was as sensitive as not wanting anything any longer to do with his own clannish solidarity. This takes courage. It's not any person who can do this. Some people may realise what is happening but they will not take that extra step to live with a free mind and conscience. It was during this time that something was stirring in Makkah. This was outside Makkah, in an area North of Makkah. There was something happening in Makkah. Word was circulating in Makkah, so Abu Dharr sends his brother Anees to Makkah to go and see what is happening there. He goes and he picks up information to the fact that their society is sayingthere is a troublemaker in Makkah. They had a name for this "troublemaker" Muhammad- (called) as sab'i. To bring this word to today's vernacular, when somebody in that society says "you're a sab'i" it's like saying "you are an apostate." It has the same flavour. So Anees, Abu Dharr's brother, arrived and began to get a feel for what was happening in Makkah, he asked around who is this person? And some people would say oh he is a sahir, kahin, kadhib or majnoon which means this person is involved in sorcery or lost his wits or gained some type of religious liturgy for some where and these types of general dismissive accusations that tend to deflect from the content of what this person is saying. So Anees returns to his brother and he explains to him exactly the mood that was inMakkah i.e. a mood that the Makkans themselves did not want to expand beyond Makkah. They wanted to contain it. They didn't want people to know about this. This many times happens. It happens in our world today, if you can only open up your eyes. When the powers that be sense that there is a stirring of truth somewhere, they want to stifle it with mis-labels, mis-names, mis-characterisations and silent everything they can to localise the truth and fact that was pronounced by Allah's Prophet and his likes everywhere/anywhere. When Abu Dharr listened to his brother explain about what was going on in Makkah, he said I'm going to go to Makkah and see for myself what's going on there. He went and stayed in the Ka'bah itself. We don't know or haven't read, (as much as we try to read about issues during that period), or come across any information- absolutely not one scant of information- that said Makkah and the Ka'bah was not accessible to anyone who wanted to go to it. And we have a demonstration of that fact- Abu Dharr (was) a person who wanted to reach out, look for and find out the truth of the matter. He was there in the Ka'ba watching, observing, taking note (and) monitoring. (With) whatever faculties he had, he wanted to know what was going on. After the details of this presence for a full month and some narratives tell us that he lived for that month on the water of zamzam. This is how sincere a person was in trying to obtain what he thought was something of merit. (He was) just drinking ma' zamzam. He had no one there and survived until he finally met Allah's Prophet, became a committed Muslim and a beloved person to Allah's Prophet. We know (that) when we say these words, we are moving through mental areas that have been stuffed with polarised information throughout the centuries. As we said at the beginning, we have to look at these issues with our minds and brains, not with traditions and emotions. When you read about this person/sahabi of Allah's Prophet, you find that Allah's Prophet honoured him in a very special manner. At times, when he would be sitting with those around him, and he would notice that Abu Dharr is not present, he would ask where 1632

is Abu Dharr? There is a honorary hadith of Allah's Prophet in which he says there hasn't been a tree that gave shade to nor a land that gave set to a person that is more frank than Abi Dharr. This hadith cuts cross all lines. It's not a monopoly of some sects, madh'hab,Mujtahids or fuqaha'. It cuts across all. Everyone is in agreement on this. Abu Dharr gained amongst his peers/equivalents the nick name as sadique al lahjah which means in today's words a person who is blunt in expressing himself. Then there's another occasion that we think should be mentioned here, and that is when the Muslims were preparing themselves for their 1 st encounter with the superpower in the North, the Byzantines. When the Prophet, himself was preparing to go on this military mission, information was coming to him from people close to him. They said so-and-so is not coming. It seems like so-and-so did not show up and these type of expressions were made and he would answer if a person was going to come out of his own volition, then all the best as he would be participating in this war effort- self motivated. That was the implication of the Prophet's words, if we understand them correctly, and for those who are not going to show up, he said Allah will have relieved us of their presence because you can't drag a person into war if he is not in and of himself willing to participate in such an effort that may cost life and limb. As the Muslim contingent of force begins to leave Al Madinah Northward towards Tabuk which in today's geographical political terrain an area in contemporaryJordan i.e. North of the Arabian Peninsula, (adjacent to the Holy Land), the Prophet of Allah realised that Abu Dharrwas not present. And at a distance, as these Muslims in the thousands had left Al Madinah towards Tabuk, they see an image of something moving towards them (or) trying to catch up with them. And then, before anyone knew who that person/moving object is, the Prophet of Allah said let it be Aba Dharr. And sure enough, after a short while as he was catching up, it was him and the reason for him being late to join in was because he couldn't find what was necessary for him to join in. So he packed whatever he had and he came walking/rushing to be with this honoured military responsibility. There's much more to add, but this person was going to live on after the Prophet passes away. He was going to live on with those who shared the responsibilities of this Islamic struggle during the time of the Prophet's life, but what are we going to notice? Brothers and sisters- please put traditions and the dividing/polarising information aside. This is an hour of taqwa. We observe Allah's Power and Authority in saying what we say and in you hearing what you hear. During the time of Allah's Prophet ,when Abu Dharr and the rest of the Sahaba (radi Allahu anhu) was alive, there was no, (what is called today), class divisions. The Prophet of Allah was the Imam/leader/decision maker/authority of all the Muslims without dispute and he died as a poor man. After him came the 1st successor, Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu), and even though before Islam he was a rich man, when he died, he also died as a poor man. Some references tells us even the budget of Muslims at that time i.e. when Abu Bakr died, only had one coin in it. Whether is was a dinar ordirham- it was only one coin in the Islamic treasury at the time. Muslims were involved in their limited geography there. There was no expansion of Muslims into rich areas of the world. They were still on the sands of Arabia. During the time of the 2nd successor to the Prophet, Umar (radi Allahu anhu), is when we have the Islamic presence extend into rich/wealthy/resourceful areas. Misr, Al Iraq and Ash Shaam and here is where the Muslims were going to be tested for the values, principles and standards they had like no other previous time, but Umar managed to keep the potential problem of wealth under control. He did this by following a policy that can be reduced to three areas. One of them had to do with the acquired wealth coming from the new territories or fertile lands that became part of the Islamic terrain. He kept these 1633

newly acquired lands as a possession of the Islamic treasury. There was no individual coming and saying "this belongs to me." No Commander, Captain, General or wealthy person (was) saying "I claim this land that belonged to the general Muslim public." The other aspect of this policy that kept the Muslims within the standards, values and principles of the Prophet was pertaining to influential people i.e. the 1stgeneration of Muslims or Sahaba/companions of Allah's Prophet. He had a policy that told them you cannot leave here. You stay in Al Madinah and Makkah; you don't go to Ash Shaam, Al Iraq and Misr. They stayed because he was afraid (that) if they were to go out, their popularity is going to cause them to be victims of their own images as the companions of Allah's Prophet and he did not want that to happen because there could have began what is called in today's language "power centres." So that did not happen. The newly acquired lands in these wealthy areas of the world especially compared to the scarcities of the desserts of Arabia belonged to the Muslim treasury. The 3rd general policy that was applied was one of zuhd and takashu' which means he imposed on Muslim decision makers, officials, representatives and deputies a lifestyle that is synonymous with the lifestyle of monks. So the Islamic social condition, (generally speaking), continued as it was during the time of Allah's Prophet and AbuDharr was living through all of this. Then came the time of Uthman. Here is where Muslims begin to go haywire. They are incapable to look at this objectively (even though) we all belong to it. Someone's mistake is carried by all. During this time what happened was that for the 1st time Muslims began to see that there is a widening gap between the haves and the have nots.(For the) 1st time, these deputies who were placed in these new frontiers of Islam were beginning to act selfishly and what exacerbated the matter more is that they began to acquire unprecedented wealth. Now, saying this does not mean we should turn vile/foul in our language like some individuals do and it doesn't also mean that Muslims just because they belong to that 1st generation of the Prophet arema'sums/impeccable (and) they do no mistakes. Abu Dharr was living this reality. For him and those who lived then, this is not history; for us it's history from which we can learn. He began to see that some people were becoming super rich and other people have been reduced to the status of paupers. He found out that this is not right and he had his encounters with this new class of Muslims. This is the area in which some Muslims cannot learn the total lesson. There's always going to be a tendency towards corruption. Power corrupts. We saw this in our own history, social selves and representative governments, but how do we deal with it? Do we deal with it by looking the other way and saying "nothing is happening?" That wasn't the case with the frank and blunt Abu Dharr. He saw this happen and he took issue with it. You can go back and refer to the history books on this- there are plenty of them and they come from the "left and right" and the Sunni and Shi'i references that indicate to us that yes. Indeed there was a class of rulers who began to obtain unwarranted, unjustified and un-Islamic proportions of wealth. This happened to acclaimed Sahaba- Az Zubair, Talha, Abd Ar Rahman ibn Awf all of them (radi Allahu anhum) and Abu Dharr reminded these rulers of the prophet's hadith in which before passing on to heavenly company he said to them the best one of you is the one that I will meet on the other side i.e. on the Day of Judgement or the Afterlife in the same way I parted with them here. But they did not stay that same way. When they were around the Prophet they were humble, of limited resources and poor- say it as it is. They were poor, but some of them in years later acquired so much wealth that they became questionable and they have to account for it. Here is where the Prophet's two hadiths How come the Prophet of Allah, his 1stsuccessor and his 2nd successor die having virtually nothing? His 1634

3rd successor radi Allahu anhu) died having so much wealth that it is probably better for us not to make comparison. Something went wrong and remained wrong until this day when we are incapable of looking at this with a heart and a mind of objectivity and sincerity. (In) the other hadith of Allah's Prophet, he says not committed to Allah is the person who goes to sleep on a full stomach while his neighbour goes to sleep on an empty stomach and he knows about it. Brothers and sisters on a As Siraat Al Mustaqeem In today's world we have an obvious or in-your-eye class of people who have amassed such wealth and resources that have rendered the overwhelming majority of us in Asia and Africa malnourished, undereducated, overwhelmingly illiterate. We're supposed to be the Ummah of iqra'! The 1st word to come from heaven to earth is the word iqra'. You would presume people belonging to this 1st word from heaven above would be an enlightened, educated, intelligent and progressive Ummah. When we look at ourselves, we find that we are at the bottom of the totem pole in the world! Why? Because of this division and polarisation between the haves and the have nots! We have a financial class or ruling elite that has become above the frankness of Abu Dharr, the austerity ofAbi Bakr and Umar and they defend themselves by taking the Prophets ahadith pertaining to social justice out of circulation. Dare any Muslim establish mental contact with Allah's Prophet when he speaks about social justice! Why have we Muslims become dumb-founded, dumbed-down and incapable of pointing the finger of truth at those who stand accused of stealing the resources that belong to us? What has happened? You ask yourself if truly you adhere to or honour the taqwa that you are supposed to honour on this day and time when it is supposed to be said to you ittaqu Allah. Where did all of this go? No courage! No Islamic foundation! Just drifting with the winds of the powers that be! We should be able to- especially at this time of going and coming back from the Hajj, even though the Hajj itself has been voided of the meanings of justice and equality which are supposed to be exemplified and practised there- have the consciousness that has been buried by centuries of traditions, customs, habits, conventions, robotics and mechanics, all of which have annulled us of the spirit of taqwah. Why isn't it possible for a Muslim to look at this manifest, institutionalised and centuries old deviation and call it what it is? We need Allah for that task, and only servants and subjects of Allah will move in to fill this vacuum.

ABU DHAR (R): SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER PART 2

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha Al Mu'minun Allah and His Prophet has made this day a day of taqwa. Avoid Allah's punishing penalty as is due to Him, as your only Authority and Power (Surah Aal Imran verse 102) 1635

Avoid Allah as Power and Authority and say/express what is accurate/right. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) The Prophet of Allah says with the motion of his hand pointing to his bosom, the fact of the matter is you will find at taqwa to be located here. It is sad to say that many people have lost this sense and relationship of taqwawith Allah. It is going to take, (us to go with you- the listening, conscientious and willing Muslims), some time to try to get a hold at when and how the unravelling of this taqwa set into the Muslim public/masses throughout the course of time as our common history unfolded. This is going to take a little patience and much tolerance to try to sort out why we no longer observe in a practical manner this taqwa which we are supposed to recharge every Jum'ah at this time. Everything cannot be said in one setting, therefore we are going to have to muster everything that we have said and listened to in the past with what is being said now and in the coming weeks and months to try to have a sense for the reasons for the absence of this practical/functional taqwa in today's world/Muslims. Another observation is that we can't go into every detail- this is impossible- so there has to be a process in which we try our best with Allah in our minds, hearts and selves to try to trace this unravelling of the practical taqwa that belongs to our character as singulars and plurals. This humble speaker of yours is trying his best to put his hand on the beginning of the undoing of this necessary feature of taqwa that belongs to me, you and all other Muslims. In our recourse and reference to Allah and His Prophet, we mentioned the ayaat, (and there are many other ayaat), that instils in us the character and the necessary interactions in life that come from taqwa. We said that Allah's Prophet referred in the presence of all of those who kept close company with him to the veracity, frankness and outspokenness of a personality that was sharing the company of Allah's Prophet with the rest of those who were sharing his company. That was Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu). In reference to Abu Dharr, the Prophet of Allah said he is one of the most, (if not the most), who is willing to express the truth frankly or he is the most truthful of all persons when it comes to the manner of expressing the truth and when it comes to the substance of the truth. We don't take this from non mainstream Islamic sources because we know the Muslim mind- or the traditional Muslim mind out there, to be more accurate. For those of you who have these questions, (and we encourage you to have questions because it means you're thinking), this information that comes to you comes from references that everyone is familiar with: At Tabari, ibn Al Atheer, ibn Sa'ad and Al Mas'udi. All of these are mainstream/acknowledged/accepted Islamic books of reference. When in comes to Abi Dharr, we find that during the time of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) something happened, which the contemporary speakers of Islam want to gloss over. They just want to by pass this as if it didn't happen. This is a rich experience that belongs to all of us, to which we should refer to/reconsider/rethink so that we learn from our historical selves. What happened at the time of Uthman that wasn't there before? What happened was for the first time now? We know there are extremist points of view on this and we want to set them aside and look at this sincerely and objectively. During the time in which Uthman ruled, something new happened and that was that the wealth that was acquired by the Muslims began to divide the Muslims- this was not there before. Some individuals began to have wealth/extra resources/money meanwhile other individuals, all of whom are in an Islamic society began to lack resources and were in need of money. Remember this condition/social division was not there before. If Muslims had, they would give and therefore there was no social and public feeling, but now, (we hesitate to use the word because it has its connotations and its insinuations), we had class 1636

consciousness among the Muslims. We didn't have hatred and we didn't have extremes at this point, but we had a beginning of something that wasn't there before- something that we can learn from and involve in our lives today to avoid the consequences that we suffered once before and we need not suffer once again. The division that has set in, that wasn't there before, (we have to emphasize and say it again and again and again because those who look at this issue within the traditions that we have use this There's not many of them because this issue is not in the radar of the Muslim public. Because of our consciousness of Allah's Power and Authoritative presence, you and I are referring to these facts; we sort of are ahead of the rest of the Muslims who either because of their traditions want to look at it in a biased manner or refuse to look at it at all because of this new development within the Muslim society. There is supposed to be equal, co-operative, caring and sharing- features that were there during the time of the Prophet of Allah and his first two successors. Now, that feature was beginning to dissipate/diminish. In these books that we mentioned to you- the mainstream reference of history sources of Muslims: At Tabari, ibn Al Atheer, ibn Sa'ad andAl Masudi- we have to repeat them because some minds are always in the tendency of accusing. We are not here to accuse anyone; we are here to learn. Because of this divergence away from the model that had existed hitherto/up until this point, we read that for the first time, we have a person like Muawiya using bad words or foul language against Abi Dharr. Then, we have this official treatment for the first time (which) we didn't have before. There were people who took issue with Abi Bakr and with Umar (radi Allahu anhuma) but there was no coming down of the state upon individuals who held to their opinions which they believed are expressing the meanings of the ayaat andhadith. In addition to being verbally mistreated, Abi Dharr was officially mistreated. They tried to exile him fromArabia to Ash Shaam and then exile him back to Arabia to a remote and isolated area and in the process these people who gained power and wealth and who were in the process of combining the two- a feature that never should exist in an Islamic order- tried to humiliate him. A reference to the ayah that has been explained many times before in Surah Al Isra'. And if We want to destroy a social unit/order or society, We have the wealthy class becoming the ruling class; they, (meaning the wealthy and ruling class) cause that social order to disintegrate (Surah Al Isra' verse 16) Now we have the distilling of the meanings of this ayah within an early Islamic society- its main members and characters come from the generation of Allah's Prophet. Why can't we learn? We don't have to turn acidic towards each other by throwing verbal acid against a person who sees things in another light- this need not be. Abu Dharrwas humiliated by different individuals who have power and wealth and want to combine both together for no other reason but that he is expressing his mind and conscience. They sent him back on a horse/mule or whatever it was without a saddle- a distance of hundreds of miles from north to south. Try riding a horse/mule without a saddle for a couple of miles to get a sense/feeling for what was really happening. Now, there are two sides, (let us say twoIslamic sides), to an issue that in the centuries and following generations up until our time were to produce ideologies and philosophies. We've dealt with this issue, we just haven't had the mental motivation to place this in our public minds so that we can do away with the divisions and schisms that have been produced by this. When we had the rulers who are on one side and people like Abu Dharr who are conscious of what is happening in the social world around on the other side, we have our mainstream Islamic history books, (the same ones that we referred to and others), tell us that there was a Jewish conspiracy here. This is not to belittle the influence of Yahud at that time and since that time and up to this day; definitely we are 1637

speaking about a very potent and poisonous strain in society then and now, but here's where we can begin to juxtapose/place-side-by-side as these two eras begin to look similar. In today's world, when Muslims encounter a problem, (most of it of their own making), they place most of the onus on Yahud. Anyone knows this in this world today, but many, (of the few who know this today), don't know it in its origins because, (during the social consciousness of the "haves and the have nots" during the time of the third ruler after the Prophet) they can't see that at that time also there was an accusation of Yahud to be the problem. This (accusation) centres around a person called ibn Saba'. In some books he is referred to as ibn As Sawda'. We mentioned him previously, (and we have no time right now to go into the details about whether this person is a fictional/real character); the problem is that many of the official writing of history attributes the sincere motivation of Abi Dharr to this Yahudi character. You can't have Muslims themselves who have noticed that society is beginning to break apart because of the concentration of wealth and power- this has to be attributed to a Yahudi who "became" a Muslim?! But this is what we have in our history. They begin telling us in these history books that ibn Saba' met Aba Dharr in Damascus and he began to tell him look at what Muawiya is saying. He is saying that this wealth/finances belong to Allah but in fact/practical life, this money/finances/resources belong to the Muslims and Muawiya should not get away with this type of publicity/propaganda, and so there was a Yahudi character behind Abi Dharr instigating him to turn against theIslamic state/government. This is a fallacy if we consider that this person called ibn Saba' (even) existed. We don't want to go into the historical of whether he was there or not there. That's another fine point in history but it is fallacious/wrong. It is not a qaul sadeed. It is not an accurate statement because whenAbu Dharr began his opposition, he didn't begin in Ash Shaam, he began in Al Madinah. How come they come and tell us "ibn Saba' was the instigator of this?!" He wasn't. That Abu Dharr was instigated of this because of some kind of whispering/clandestine meetings with a Yahudi who "became" a Muslim wasn't the case?! There is a sequence of events, all of them put together, that want the Muslims to believe that the opposition to an Islamic rule that is beginning to go in a non-Islamic direction at the highest levels was due not to the sincerity of Muslims who came from the Prophet's circle, but to the intrigue and the conspiracies of Jews who became Muslims?! This fact was with us for almost fourteen centuries now and we still have it today. If someone wants to point today to those who claim that they are ruling in an Islamic manner- we are speaking specifically about those who are ruling in Arabia-let's put this in context. Those who are ruling in Arabia say "they are applying the Shariah and then they come and tell you "there's a Yahudi hand behind the criticism/speaking out against that regime in Arabia." It can't be done withIslamic consciousness/integrity/independence as was the case with Abi Dharr?! Do they mean to tell us that it can't be done that way? We look at ourselves as Islamic lackeys if we don't have the ability to generate a correcting process from within us; then something is wrong with us. Brothers and sisters who are listening, be aware that these details are not brought to attention because they don't want you to learn. If we learn our past experiences we will correct our current divisions/deviations and they don't want that to happen. Let us quote Aba Dharr, (and we have to remind you, once again, this information is taken from these mainstream Islamic sources), he was one of the most intelligent/insightful of the companions/Sahaba (radi Allahu anhum) of Allah's Prophet. Let us try to understand where he is coming from so that we can understand where we are going to. He always used to quote the Prophet's hadith in which the Prophet said, the closest of you in my company on the day of Qiyamah is the one who will live on, in the same way he was when I died and left him. This is very 1638

important to remember. The Prophet is telling all of those Sahaba around him that the closest ones to him are going to be the ones who are going to rejoin him on the Day of resurrection in the same way they were when the Prophet passed away and left them. They were all poor. There, generally), wasn't a rich person among them, so when Abu Dharr was going around reminding them of what they all knew the Prophet had said to them, some people who later on began to acquire lots of money were upset that Abu Dharr was reminding them of what the Prophet was telling them. We have to repeat this again, listen to the Prophet. Ittaqu Allah fi qawli Rasulillah. Later on, when there were people who gained and combined wealth and power, Abu Dharrwould go around and say to them, By Allah, there is not one of you left except that he has taken his share of worldly affluence, except me. What Abu Dharr is saying to them is what has happened to you? Abu Dharr was reminding those who did not want to listen of the Prophet's hadith. Listen to this; this is the type of hadith that no one wants to stress from the mimbar. The Prophet of Allah says those of you who have the most in this world will have the least in the coming world except for he who gives out of what he gains. He gives left and right, without reservations/second thoughts... Do you see? These are the Prophet's words without what we call today "these saving accounts" and without withholding and without hoarding/monopoly. What's wrong if a Muslim is going around? They came to Abi Dharr and they said to him, why don't you keep a low profile?(We're bringing the language of those times in today's world, in today's language.) In today's language, "cool it." The state at that time officially told him you are not permitted to speak in public gatherings to give your opinions.Do you think he listened to that? No! He continued. He wanted to speak to the people, he spoke to the people in the presence of the ruler and correction was not that the rulers would throw him into a dungeon. No. They disagreed. They can disagree, (and) we can disagree, but we don't have to be fanatics about it. And this continued until, when he was told you are not allowed to give your opinion, and Abu Dharr said to these people coming to him By Allah. If you were to place a sword on my mouth to prevent me from saying what I heard the Prophet of Allah expressing I will express it and then you can move that sword into my mouth but nothing is going to stop me from expressing my point of view. And what do we have since that time? This was the beginning of people not being able to express their Islamic conscience. Let the people who have an opinion step forward and express their opinion if we had a confident Islamic combination of wealth and power. We know that some of you want to think/take this into the context of Iran, and some of you want to say "does this apply over there?" Let us tell you, don't confuse the issues. If those who are making decisions in Iran are combining power and wealth then you can take this argument into that country. There are some people who have power but they don't have wealth; and some people who have wealth but no power and now the struggle is on to try to combine power and wealth. Those who were in power at the time of Abi Dharrare those who don't have power but they have wealth in our time in Iran. Don't confuse these two analogies; but they are not confused when you place them in the context of those who are ruling in Arabiawhere they have dirty wealth and oppressive power and they combine the two so that we have the results of the world that we have today. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Underline two words, ahlihi wa sahbihi wa sallam. The Prophet of Allah had his Ahl and his Sahaba and those of you who are trying to bring some type of war- this war is only for minds of those who didn't understand the intricacies of the relationships between those who had their own 1639

opinions coming from the book of Allah and the Messenger of Allah. They were not enemies! They had their differences. Some of them had their mistakes, and when they had their mistakes, a constructive way of looking at this is those mistakes were for us to learn from. They didn't make those mistakes for us to perpetuate and not correct. This (correction) can be done with a healthy mind and psychology, not with those who are inferior and they don't go to the others Muslims place. Why? Go to the others Muslim's place. However way you look at this, these are Muslims. What is wrong with you? You don't have enough information?! Allah and His Prophet don't speak to you? This characterizes those who rule in Arabia. They tell us "they apply shariah" and since last Jum'ah,what has occurred in that funny land that applies this "shariah", you had one of their intellectuals who wrote an article saying "it is permissible for men and women to speak to each other and look at each other" Imagine this! (Take a) look at where the world is and look at the subject matter that is dividing fanatics?! Then, the whole class of people there called Hai'at Al Aml Ma'ruf wa An Nahi An Al Munkar assaulted this person. They said "how dare you say these things?" What do they want? He is saying "a woman can speak to a man and a man can look at a woman."Was not this the character of the people at the time of the Prophet? He is not saying anything new. He went as far as saying "a man and a woman can shake hands if there's no lust/covetousness involved." What's wrong with that? It is a person's opinion. It's become the talk of the town and Islamic circles all around; meanwhile there's war inSouthern Arabia, Northern Arabia, West of Arabia and there's probably going to be war to the East of Arabia and all they talk about are sexual issues!? You can't over grow or out mature your instincts and take care of these sexual issues?! Listen brothers and sisters, these are facts of life and this is what happens when we are no longer able to take our responsibilities forward.. A couple of days ago a woman in her 70's had two men come and they say "they were bringing her something" probably helping her out but they have people who are supposed to act like they are keeping law and order, once again, the people who are called the people of Al Amr bi Al Ma'aruf wa Nahi An Al Munkar, (it seems like all of Amr bi Al Ma'ruf and Nahi An Al Munkar rotate around sexual issues!), come and accuse this woman who is in her 70's and they take her to court. This had been done weeks ago, but the court verdict came out just a couple of days ago saying "she should be lashed 40 lashes and put into prison for four months" and the other men, six/seven months and sixty/seventy lashes or whatever the verdict was. These were old men and they say "they were just helping this woman." We don't know how far/deep will our deterioration go! And then they occupy the Muslim public and the Muslim mind with these issues. This is where we are.

1640

ABU DHARR: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER PART 3

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims We have our share/proportion of issues/problems and we've been living with these issues and problems for generations and for over a millennium. Only a few of us have had the privilege from Allah to learn/mature/extract lessons from experience and to avoid the troubles/problems that were generated earlier on; and yet, a fewer than those are willing to open up the book and to radiate Qur'anic guidance on the problems/issues, (multiple as they are), that we have been grappling with throughout these centuries/generations We don't think we would be going beyond the boundaries of courtesy to say that we, all of us Muslims- if there is 99.9% of us who failed, then it means basically all of us- fail to, (in a 1641

comfortable/serene spirit), open up these issues that we have in an air of calm and point to the chapters/lessons that are rich in our experience. We take an ayah: Allah says in Surah Al Baqara, in an ayah that, (as far as its quote/wording/reading it exactly as it is), absolutely every Muslim in the world without any exception reads/recites to the vowel/consonant/word without any difference. This we all do unanimously. What we do not do unanimously is to concentrate our minds on the meaning of this ayah and similar ayaat throughout the Holy script. Let us go back with you and with Allah's help and assistance to the first generation of Muslims. Whatever we may say and however we may express ourselves, there is a sense that that generation had the privilege of being the first generation to live the meanings of these revealed words from on high. OK- let us take a look at what happened within this generation. We're not being offensive and without using words that don't belong to us, let us look at one of the chapters in our history that no one wants to look at; and if there are some people who want to look at it, all of a sudden the manner in which they express themselves becomes a turn off. They may want to look at this, but the way they want to express themselves causes other listening people- Muslims or non Muslims- to lose interest in the subject. This chapter has to do with two individuals who are by any definition are called Sahabis- one of them is Uthman ibnAffan (radi Allahu anhu) and the other one is Abu Dharr Al Ghifaari (radi Allahu anhu) by any definition/historical book, these are considered two Sahabis of the Prophet of Allah. We brought to your attention, (previously, as we continue to do), that early on, in those days, when these two Sahabis had their opinions on these issues, the Muslims began at that time to feel that something has happened that should have not happened. One of the lessons, (please look at this as a lesson i.e. something to learn from), is the medium of these two Muslims betweenUthman as the Khalifah of the Muslims and Abu Dharr as a prominent Sahabi of the Prophet. When Muslims began to feel that something is going wrong here, Abu Dharr began to address this problem. (But) in which way? Brothers and sister- this to many Muslims is an emotional issue; we want to de-emotionalise this so that we can learn. These two individuals learnt. They were not settling their differences by gangs or agitating the public- one against the other. No! These Muslims had the character that brought them together. This is something that is hard to accomplish, even among the developed Muslims i.e. those who belong to Islamic Movements, those who have anIslamic resume and background. (If) they have differences of opinion, why don't they meet? When these Muslims from the Prophet's inner-circle, (so to speak), had their differences, they met and set down. They disagreed, but that disagreement didn't mean "I can't speak to the other Muslim" or "I'm going to have a popular movement against the other Muslim who I disagree with." They met, (but) what happened when they met? We're distilling the broader range of issues, but the two major issues that they could not see eye to eye with was zakaah. This is a financial/money issue. Uthman said if a person pays his zakaah, that's enough- he has met his obligations vis--vis Allah and His Prophet and vis--vis the Islamic governance and populace. It's done- he paid the zakaah- it's finished. That's it. Abu Dharr said no. There is more to the financial responsibilities to a Muslim than only paying Az Zakaah. The giving character of a committed Muslim goes beyond just paying Az Zakaah. This was a very serious point of contention that they deeply and sincerely disagreed about. The other issue that they deeply and sincerely disagreed about was what is the leverage or authority does the ruler himself and the Islamic government itself have? We're not speaking about secular/deviant government- we're speaking about an Islamic government. How much authority/jurisdiction does the government have when it comes to the treasury of the Muslims or Bayt Maal Al Muslimeen? Brothers and sister- please understand that just because we're speaking about Uthman and Abi Dharr, that this is a personal issue. We're looking at a popular Islamic issue that was represented by these two individuals/Sahabis. The first issue that goes un-noticed or that is deliberately left out of current Islamic discussions is what happened/transpired between these two intra Islamic trends? We know that at this point people are going to say "where do you get your 1642

information from?" Once again, we have to remind these people that always have these questions, (and they don't ask us face to face. They go around and begin throwing these questions in the peripheries to other people), these are from mainstream Islamic books of history and these events. One of them is called Muruj Al Dhahab by Al Mas'udi, the other is called Al Kaamil by ibn Al Atheer. These are mainstream Islamic books. These are not some weirdoes or extremists. All of this comes to you from this general body of information which no one wants to take a look at. So, they had these differences and they met. We want to quote for you word by word the conversation. It's not a very long one. We know its cold, but may Allah reward you for your patience. What happened when they were there in that meeting? These books tell us that it was Uthman and Abu Dharr and other individuals there with them. Uthman says/asks the following, (and we quote), consider a person who has given out the zakaah of his money/wealth; is there any other thing that is due or that he should be spending besides this of his wealth/money? Do other people have a right to his wealth? This is what he is asking. Then, another person who is there, his name is Kaab Al Ahbaar, answers and he says no. there's nothing else due upon this person who has paid his zakaah- O Ameer Al Mu'mineen. And Abu Dharr who was there said the following, (and we quote), you are lying you son of a Yahudi. These are very strong words, but what? Would you prefer very strong expressions of your convictions? These were not fighting words or foul language, this was a spontaneous expression of an Islamic point of view with a person who disagrees. Kaab Al Ahbaar came from a Yahudi family. One of the details that is not detected inIslamic history is how does a person a sortof Johnny-cum-lately Muslim who comes from a Yahudi family- who as far as we know was not a Badri, or from Al Muhajirin and Al Ansaar (radi Allahu anhum) in their history of support of Allah's Prophet- all of a sudden is attending one of the most sensitive discussions in the highest office that the Muslims have. We know that many Muslims want to run away with this and say "look how Muslims were open to Yahud/Jews?" (Take) a look at where they were in our history if you accuse us of being fanatics and in today's language "anti-Semites." A person like Kaab Al Ahbaar takes issue with a person like Abi Dharr and none of us are learning- that's the tragedy. After fourteen centuries some of us don't want to read our history. What do you mean"you don't want to read your own history?" And when others of us read this type of history, want to express it with words and language that is offensive to the decent mind and heart of the average Muslim. So, Abu Dharr responds to Kaab Al Ahbaar and he says to him you have lied you son of a Yahudi. Then, it's not like Abi Dharr is just expressing an opinion, he quotes the ayah from/by which he responds to Kaab Al Ahbaar. This was the ayah that was quoted from Surah Al Baqarah Virtue is not that you automatically orient yourself to the East or the West, rather, Al Birr is to be committed to Allah and the final day (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 177) So, Abi Dharr was not just speaking his mind. And he wasn't putting his personality in the middle of this. He was conveying a Qur'anic meaning into an Islamic meeting in which there were opinions that were deviating away from the Qur'an, this ayah, the Prophet and from the self disciplined generation of Muslims that Abu Dharr still belonged to; but some of the people were accumulating wealth and power and combining the two were deviating away from. Then Uthman asks those who were there, (and we quote), do you find anything wrong with us, (meaning the rulers/officials/decision makers), in the Islamic state if we take the money that is in Bayt Al Maal and then we spend it among those who are our deputies/governors and then we disperse some of it to you?This, once again, is an innocent question and it comes from a person whose sincerity is not in doubt; his acumen/foresight maybe in doubt, but his sincerity is not. Then, the same person Kaab ibn Ahbaar says there's nothing wrong with that. Then, Abu Dharr once again says to him, son of a Yahudi- you are very bold in stating yourself in our deen. The inference here is that Kaab ibn Ahbaar is a rookie. He's not a person who has a record/history of sacrifice and struggle for the deen of Allah- he's a new comer. Abu Dharr is saying how brave you are as a new comer expressing yourself at this level with these words and with this opinion. If we take these features of the generation of the Sahaba/first Muslims that many Muslims say 1643

are the standard/reference point for the rest of the Muslims until the end of time- if that's the case- then why are they omitting necessary knowledge? If they're telling us "these are our examples," which we are not arguing with, then how come they keep away from us vital knowledge like this? They did not all agree/have one opinion. They had different opinions. OK- let us look and let us learn from these different opinions because if we are not going to learn, then we're going to go back to square one and we're going to refight the differences that divided them. So you can see the way the discussion was going on between Abu Dharr and Kaab ibn Ahbaar and then when Uthman heard that, he said to AbiDharr your harm to me has exceeded its bounds; literally it means make absent your face from my presence because you are inflicting damage upon us. He didn't say "throw him in the dungeons, arrest him bring in the troops." He said this has gone too far right now. The injury and harm that is being done to us is no longer tolerable. We can't take it any longer. Go away so I can't see you any more. Abu Dharr goes. He leaves Al Madinah and he goes to Ash Shaam- he didn't change his mind/convictions. He went to Ash Shaam and the ruler/governor in Ash Shaam was Muawiyah, but Ash Shaam was not like Al Madinah. Al Madinah still had the self discipline/austerity/self denial from the time of Allah's Prophet and then there was this wealth and power that were combining to spoil the atmosphere that the Prophet left in Al Madinah; but when Abu Dharr went to Ash Shaam/Damascus it was all the other way around. The atmospherics were saturated with the combination of wealth and power and Abu Dharr spoke to Muawiya the same way he spoke to Uthman. He said to him the person who is rich right now, you made him rich and the person who is poor right now, you made him poor. If those who call themselves Socialists/Leftists/Communists/Marxists,(and all of this), knew this type of a person existed in Islamic history they would claim him for themselves! We don't need their type of experience; we understand what they stand for and we may even appreciate some of them who gave their lives for their principles/beliefs, but this doesn't make Muslims Marxists/Leftists or these other types of things- if only we could understand who we are; but because we don't understand who we are and the rich experience in our past, then along comes some Muslims who begin to express some ideas and then they are classified as this, that and the other. Then, Abu Dharr in Ash Shaam began to speak to the rich people. This is not easy. Even today, in a world in which they say there is freedom of expression/conscience/the press/of coming together/aggregation/assembly and democracy- it is called all of these freedoms- do you think an average/poor person will be able to go and speak to rich people? But in the nature of that society, it was possible. With the beginning of the problems that we were going to have to deal with, it was still possible for a person like Abu Dharrwho came from Al Madinah/Arabia and relocated himself to Ash Shaam to speak to the people of Ash Shaam, who were rich. He told them that their accumulation of wealth is equivalent to kanz and iftikhar. These are twoQur'anic words found in the Qur'an and Sunnah. Kanz means hording/saving money and not spending it. Iftikarmeans monopoly. The ayah in the Qur'an from which Abu Dharr is coming says Break good news to those who accumulate gold and silver, theirs shall be an excruciating torment in the life to come. (Surah At-Taubah verse 34) Of course, this is sarcastic in the Divine sense of expressing it. This was a Muslim speaking his Qur'anic (conscience). The Prophet of Allah says whoever hoards/monopolises anything has committed an ithm. If we can only open up our eyes, we can see and understand this Islamic position. Abu Dharr was saying this to the affluent class of Muslims who had wealth in Ash Shaam. There were no barriers here. (You) can try and go to a person in the Muslim world today who has money/wealth- can you speak to him? If you have a Qur'anic and Prophetic mind and character- you're the Muslim that you're supposed to be- do you think you have access to these people? In that time and day Abu Dharr had access to these people which tells us that there's a difference between those societies today that say that "they are Islamic" and the type of "Islamic" social atmosphere that was prevalent at that time. He came to them, (and we quote), O you rich folks: Sympathise or show compassion for the poor folks/people in poverty, show them that you care. This is Abu Dharr's rephrasing of the meanings 1644

of the ayahThe good news I have for you people who are accumulating this wealth and causing these problems we have suffering people/Muslims/human beings who are poor/in poverty. I have news for you. You are going to have irons of fire that will come and press down on your foreheads, sides and backs. Ask your self "where do you see this dynamic in the world today?" It was there i.e. in the generation of Allah's Prophet, (but) it is not here (i.e.) in a generation that claims to be in Allah's Prophet. Of course, in all of this contact that Abu Dharr was having with the people, no one was telling him "you can't go into a Masjid or meet with Muslims or discuss this affair in public or these are ideas that are not supposed to be presented to the average person." All of these things that are said today were not said at the time. Given the freedom the Muslims enjoyed at that time, that freedom opened up a dynamic; and that dynamic was that people began to flock/gravitate to Abi Dharr. When information began coming to Muawiyah, (as is the case with those who sit on the seats of power), that what is beginning is a popular movement and people are beginning to change their opinions about wealth and power, Muawiyah spoke toAbi Dharr. He said to him O Abu Dharr, it's better for you to stop doing what you are doing or put an end to what you are involved in now. Notice that with all the criticisms that you've heard from your's humbly and truly about Muawiyah, this person didn't come to Abi Dharr as is the case with today's people who sit on thrones/seats of power and deal with their opposition i.e. "throw them in jail, round them up, torture them" They disagreed, but unlike Uthman, here we have a person i.e. Muawiyah, who is to his core interested in power. Then, what was AbuDharr's response to him? Was it something like "wait a minute, I have to think about this. I can't be expressing these ideas. Why don't I go underground? Why don't I think of another way of presenting this message or having a halaqah/study groups?" and these other things that we right now have in our world. How did he respond toMuawiyah? Abu Dharr speaks to Muawiyah and he says to him, (and we quote again), By Allah, I will not end/terminate what I am doing until the monies/wealth/treasury is distributed amongst all the people and not that there's a certain segment/stratum/class of people have this money. No- it belongs to everyone and I'm not going to stop or be silent about this until that is finally done. Then, as is the case with people in power, there's a saying that says "everyone has a price" so here Abu Dharr was going to be exposed to the shenanigans of rulers. Muawiyah wanted to buy Aba Dharr, so what does he do? He sends an emissary/courier who he gives 1,000 dinars and says go give this to Abu Dharr. This person goes one evening and hedelivers/gives this money to Abu Dharr. The next day, the same person comes to Abi Dharr and he says excuse me, I made a mistake. That money was not supposed to be delivered to you, it was supposed to be delivered to someone else. Could you please give me back that money? Here, brothers and sisters, we can identify the originality/genuineness of the character of a person. Abu Dharr told that person you have to give me three days because it was only one night between evening and morning. Abu Dharr had given out all of this money to those who were in need. This courier returns to Muawiyah and says Abu Dharr doesn't have the money I gave him last night. He already gave it out to those who are in need. Then, Muawiyah realised we can't buy this person; he's not like the others and he communicates this concern to the Khalifah in Al Madinah i.e. this is what's happening here. If things continues like this, things are going to get out of hand. What do we do with him? The answer to that was well- send him back to Al Madinah. We mentioned this before and we will mention it again- the way he was sent back to Al Madinah was on a donkey without a proper saddle. It was something like hay that was placed on there and he was sent back guarded i.e. to make sure that he didn't go anywhere else. He went from Ash Shaam to Al Madinah. Muawiyah had five Sicilian guards make sure that he arrives in Al Madinah. The lesson that we, Muslims, have not learned and Allah has given us centuries to learn this lesson is that it is permissible to disagree and we can express our disagreements to ourselves; and not behind closed doors or secret meetings, but we can express these differences face to face. You don't expel people fromMasajid and from their countries when you don't even have an inkling of Islam to quote/justify your policy of expulsion, refugee status or of denying them civil rights. We have all of this around us, to the magnitude that wasnever present in our past and we are living as if nothing is happening and we are not 1645

supposed to speak out because the personalities that spoke out are silenced by those who preach and say "they teach Islam." Brothers and sisters, Muslims of commitment These meanings that are there for your understanding of Allah and His Prophet. If you care to partake of these meanings, then take a look around you in today's real world. Last week, we had some Muslims who were commemorating the martyrdom/shahadah of Al Imam Al Hussein (alaihi as salaam wa radi Allahu anhu). In the same frame of time, there were armies and militaries that were killing and murdering other Muslims who are aware of Al Imam Al Hussein and Aashura in Al Yemen. They didn't have the luxury to be in Masajid beating their chests and releasing their tears. Their children and families are out in the open- hundreds of thousands of them. This is notIsrael. Israel is not on the border of Yemen. It's a government that makes broad claims to its Islamic legitimacy that is involved in these bombing campaigns. And at what time? This has been going on for months and years now. During the time of the Hajj and Shahr Al Haram, all of this was taking place. Muharram is a sacred and secure time frame in the Islamic calendar, but don't remind those who make their high claims about Islam about Al Shahr Al Haram and about Muslim lives. Then, if you're not able to see this tragedy, look at Gazzah. A tragedy has been in the making there for four years now. Sanctions, starvation policies- you can name any and every type of warfare and it's at work right in front of you. And there are many more that you can add. This is the beginning. Why do all of these happen and why are many Muslims detached from these affairs. Because they are not taught from theMimbar! You are not supposed to go to the Masjid to learn. We are supposed to go to the Masjid to gain ignorance- that's the way the world operates nowadays! It is because of the way these Masajid are run that we have tears and blood and sweat all across Islamic countries and regions of the world. If we only could have, from the occupied Mimbar of Allah's Prophet and from the occupied Masajid of this world the word of truth expressed to a starving for information/truth/justice Muslim public, we would not have the conditions that we have today.

ABU DHARR (R): SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER PART 3

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We have on the pages of our Holy scripts ayaat, i.e. expressions of Allah's power presence, but we don't have the meanings of these ayaat expressed in our character. These are two different things. You have meanings that are words, sentences and paragraphs in a Holy Writ, but we don't have their meanings as behaviour, character and movement in the holy life that Allah has given us and there-in is the dilemma of today's Muslims. We have been, (in many of these khutbahs, if not in all of them), trying to make the transition from being verbal Muslims to being behavioural Muslims; from being Muslims who express theirIslam by words to Muslims who express their Islam by works. The bridge for this transformation is our understanding. If we think of what Allah and His 1646

prophet are telling us, we begin to build or construct the building blocks of this transition/transfer from just speaking Islam to acting Islam. There has been, (throughout all of these piled up years of ours), an inability in us to learn- that's all!!! Some of us do not want to have the first years and centuries of Islam as a lesson. Many of the difficulties come from either an expressed impeccability or animpeccability that is assumed without being expressed. With this attitude and approach we'll never be able to learn. We will continue to go in circles. Some of us who hyphenate ourselves as Sunnis- these are the ones who infer al isma to the sahaba (radi Allahu anhum). They don't come out and say it, but you can't come and place a sahabi in the light of Allah's words and His Prophet's teachings and then find out that he made some mistakes here-and-there. To them, that is violating a foundation of Islam. There's no such thing, but that's the way they consider it. Then, to other Muslims there is the out-and-out expressed and verbalised isma of the Imams (radi Allahu anhum wa alaihim as salaam). Then, if someone comes and tells them "there is an Imam who is more correct than another Imam," they become offended. We don't want to go into the sensitivities of these issues with these two types of Muslims who are incapable of repositioning themselves strictly and strongly in the context of Allah and His Prophet. They've substituted Allah and His Prophet with the history of Islam without learning from it. We think (that) Allah has offered us the guiding light to dehyphenize ourselves i.e. to consider ourselves Muslims before we are Shi'is or Sunnis and not let this Sunni/Shi'i predicate to Islam consume Islam altogether. Only those who are confident in Allah and His Prophet are able to withstand the arrows of accusations that will come from these two areas who turn fanatical when you want to approach this subject. We want to extend a hand of understanding to those who don't have the capability/qualifications/merits to save their own selves from s whirlwind of history that has placed them in their own peculiar types of vicious circles.

We have many ayaat in the Qur'an that speak about the issue of money. This is a topic that is not supposed to be presented from the Mimbar. Khutbahs, ayaat, ahadith about money!!! No! If any of the spokespeople who are going to ascend the Mimbar (coming) from the Islam that is sponsored by officialdom, governments and budgets speak about the issue of money, it is at the end of the khutbah i.e. "please give whatever you may to the poor, Mujahideen and other types of Muslims hereand-there around the world." That is the only time they will speak about money. Just to remind ourselves of some of the ayaat that have to do with money But As Sadaqaat belong/are due to those that are in need, who subsist at a survival level with honor (Surah At Taubah verse 60) The ayah that was quoted in the previous khutbah. Virtue is not in facing the east or the west. Virtue is to be committed to Allah, the final day, the Angels, the Books, the Prophets and to dispense with what you have in wealth despite loving it for relatives, orphans, poor, travelers, those who ask, freeing slaves... (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 177) How many times in the Qur'an do we encounter the words and ita az zakah. and Az Zakah is dispensed as a collective effort i.e. institutionalise az zakah (Surah Al-Baqarah verse 177) 1647

The Prophet of Allah says in the money of those who have it, is a due besides az zakah. The ayah under which this hadith falls and in their money there is a known right that belongs to those who ask for it and those who are denied it. (Surah Adh Dhariyaat verse 19) And asking for something in an Islamic society is not begging.

Another ayah that speaks about money- that the court scholars don't want to explain to the public that is in need of these ayaat and meanings especially in today's world and give them of Allah's wealth, resources and money of which He has given you To be a little more detailed about this ayah you i.e. the committed Muslims who, (are listening), have the wherewithal/means in other words you rich Muslims from Allah's money which He has given you...

Another ayah says and spend out of that which He (Allah) has assigned you the position of being responsible for it And the ayaat keep on giving/instructing/teaching. We are not the first people who heard these ayaat. We are not the first people who are trying to understand these ayaat. Let us look at the first generation of Muslims. Our detractors i.e. those who point their fingers at us say "that was the best generation of Muslims. That is the generation of as salaf." OK, fine- let us go back to the generation of as salaf i.e. the very same generation that you praise, glorify and raise to the pedestal. That's your generation; that's our generation. No one is running away from it. We don't try to claim it. We don't have any monopoly over it, the same way you are some of you are trying to do. These are the pages of history that are full of lessons which we ourselves decide that we don't want to open. No one wants to learn from. We don't want to learn from our own experience?! We condemn ourselves if we don't learn from our past. We go back to the time when this issue was a public issue among Muslims in Al Madinah, the seat of power and capital of the Islamic State and society. When Uthman (radi Allahu anhu) was the ruler of the Muslims, the issue of money became an issue. The same issue that we have all of these ayaat guiding us and shading light on. This issue of money became an issue. Why? Because at that time Muslims began to accumulate wealth. Before that time, when Muslims had money, they would give. There was no accumulation. If there was another person who needs, here it is; that was the behaviour of people who grew up, were educated and struggled with Allah's Prophet. In the time of Uthman, when rich territories became part of the Islamic State, there was a lot of money. Now, Muslims have a lot of money. Brothers and sistersplease let's not get emotional about this. Some of us have the tendency for our emotions to take over. We don't want that to happen. There is nothing wrong with having wealth, but there's something wrong with withholding, hoarding and monopolising wealth. There is where the problem is, and early on in our shared Islamic history, we encountered this problem. We had some Muslims who gained wealth, (even though these ayaat were recited in the Masajid and even though the Prophet of Allah just passed away a couple dozen years or three decades ago), who wanted to hold on to their wealth. 1648

You see, if you look at today's world, we have the same problem- it's not new! It's been there all the time. Did we have enough sincerity in our own selves to try and correct this wrong? It is wrong.Whoever hoards and monopolises money and wealth is at fault. This is a hadith of Allah's Prophet. So, we had some Muslims who were making this serious mistake. Then, we had in Al Madinah itself, (that was the springboard of this Islamic prosperity unto the rest of the world), what we would call today suburbs popping about in Al Madinahwith mansions, plush domiciles and palaces and we had other Muslims who were looking at this happen in front of their own eyes and then wanting to correct it. One of those Muslims, (and history was not written from his type of prospected), couldn't live with this happening. How can this be? The Ummah of the Prophet is supposed to be concerned with its own self. The rich are supposed to be concerned for the poor. Those who have are supposed to give those who don't have. Isn't that what the Prophet says? A committed Muslim in his relations with another committed Muslim is like a structure; every brick in that structure reinforces the other. Muslims are not counter purpose with themselves. They reinforce each other, but a Muslim cannot reinforce another Muslim when one is piling up wealth and the other is piling up poverty. That's a violation of this meaning. During the time ofUthman, Abu Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) could not live with this opening gap in the Muslim population. (Remember, we are trying to place all of these in context and within a sequence.) First he left Al Madinah and went to Ash Shaam.Then he was forced out of Ash Shaam back to Al Madinah, and when he came back to Al Madinah and saw, (with his own eyes), what was happening in Al Madinah itself, his understanding of Allah and His Prophet caused him to say in a sarcastic manner give good news to the people/folks of Al Madinah, for they shall suffer an unrelenting strike and a memorable war. These meanings are developed by those who lived Allah's instructions and teachings. They don't come from nowhere. They don't come from a genius. They come from an interaction between what Allah is saying and what society is doing. He could see that if Al Madinah keeps on going in this direction, it is going to self destruct. If you see something that is going to fall apart, you're going to try to do something about it before that happens. This is applicable to Al Madinah when those first mistakes were beginning and it is applicable to the United States today when these mistakes have become institutionalised and irreversible, (as it seems). What do you do? Stand silent? You are silent about this issue? You can't. As a Muslim, when something goes wrong- OK, let's try to correct it. Abu Dharr's approach to this whole issue was interpreted by the powers that be Listen brothers and sisters: those of you who read contorted history books or who read history with self righteousness, as if you understand everything and no one can speak to you about this. (i.e. those with the attitude "who are you to speak to us about history?" Well- you know, no one is trying to impose anything on you or indoctrinate or anything. These are the ayaat of Allah and the ahadith of His Prophet that we are quoting and then, what we find as reliable and objective as a human being can find in the common history that we have minus the bias, prejudice and discrimination that is built in to many of these history books. If you have got the nerve and the muscle to step forward to this context- you are welcome; but if you're poisoned with your self-righteousness and your ego that you have from reading your own history, then you can step aside- this area doesn't belong to you.Uthman is approached by Abi Dharr, and Abi Dharr tells him if 30 of the descendants of Abi Al Aas, (i.e. in reference to the grandfather of the Umawis), are going to take over and become the decision makers, then they are going to make people their servants or bondmen under them. Khawala means khadama. If you are listening closely and if you are free from the built-in bias, then you'll recognise that we never ever condemnedUthman or Aba Dharr, but we looked at it in light of the Qur'an and Sunnah and what is right, (or approximately right), or wrong, (or approximately 1649

wrong). No one is asking more or less. This approach by Abi Dharr was considered by those in power at that time i.e. the inner circle of Uthman to be a form of agitation and an attitude of insubordination. Brothers and sisters, this is very important because people who begin to have power begin to show that they are incapable of listening to the other side. Today, we have Islamic Movements, Organisations andParties, but how many of them have learnt their Islamic history lesson and are able to listen to the other side? Remember, Uthman, who disagreed with Abi Dharr didn't call in the guards or say "bring in the National guard." No. He was there and they were speaking to each other. This was a serious issue; it was not a simple issue. They were not arguing whether you wash or wipe your feet for salah! Today, that becomes a big issue! Muslims are judged by do you say something in your adhan or do you leave it out?! Where do you place your hands in your salah? People want to judge other people because of the physical salah, but they don't want to judge other Muslims because of the content/behaviour that comes out of that salah. With this difference, they tolerated and spoke to each other. This is what Uthman said to Aba Dharr, (and we quote), O Aba Dharr, I have to do the obligation that is placed upon me and I have to advise the citizenry of affairs pertaining to ijtihad and I have to have them think about matters that are related to their mental opinion and economic life, but it's not upon me to force them Muslim citizens/public to become austere or to say/legislate that "instead of eating a full meal, you eat half a meal." I can't legislate that or make that a law. Today, these are issues that are argued by people who are experience enough; they have nothing to do with Islam, but they argue to what extent can a government become involved in family/personal/private issues. This is the same argument that was bounced back-and-forth between Aba Dharr and Uthman. Uthman said I can't go that far. The response of Aba Dharr was the following, (and we quote), the way I see it is you should not leave the wealthy class of these Muslims until they give of what they have and until they are forthcoming and provide a relief to their neighbours and fraternity and they spend of the wealth, riches and money that will bring them closer to Allah. Now, in other words, if we are trying to understand Aba Dharr correctly, he is not saying that those who are in-charge of making Islamicdecisions and formulating the details of Islamic laws have to put a sword over a person who has wealth and force him to spend of that, but to have the social atmosphere/norms/behaviour influenced, because there is an Islamicsociety and this Islamic society should have enough moral pressure to place on those individuals who are beginning to turn rich. Remember, the Islamic society of those times was a closed one, it's not like today, when people go toMasajid and they don't know each other and when Muslims used to stand with each other in the Masjid and everyone knew who the other person was. What Abu Dharr was saying was they were marginalising their knowledge of these other Muslims and building their financial empires. This should not happen in an Islamic society and state. In one of these encounters, when Abu Dharr returned from Ash Shaam to Al Medinah,they way he did, he reached Al Madinah physically exhausted and harmed with the way he was put on the means of transportation at that time, and Uthman had him accommodated. He didn't say "this is my political enemy here. I know that he disagrees with me and he knows that he disagrees with me, so he can go and live in a shack for all that I care." No. That attitude wasn't there. Even though these attitudes persisted, he said come live with me.Can't you see- we have to bring these examples into today's world, with these serious differences. Abu Dharr went, only to seek more correction and to seek further on this corruption while he was recuperating in the house ofUthman. He saw this wealth come in. In one of the sessions, bags of coins, (read gold and silver), were brought in and placed in front of Uthman. They were stacked so high that Abu Dharr couldn't see Uthman any longer. Was Abu Dharr silent? Was he the type of Muslim that could be 1650

bought over. Remember, if someone takes them to the palace of the king or President, they turn soft and lose touch with their principles and ideology. They are Islamicsofties. Abu Dharr wasn't an Islamic softy! He stood on principle, lived by principle and he died a principled man and he listened. While he was there, he saw all of this happening. They didn't tell him "you can't see any of this."Obviously, IF at that time, Uthman was a conspirator, he would have sais "what is Abu Dharr doing around here, get him away." That doesn't mean conspiracy wasn't around, but let us be honest. Once again, we notice, (in these mainstream history books, away from the prejudice and reactionism that is set in), that Kaab Al Ahbaar, this Yahudiis present again. What is he doing in the highest office in the land? That is a valid question that every Muslim should ask and every other Muslim should feel initially qualified to attempt to answer without falling into this Shi'i/Sunninonsense. This wealth has come from Abdur Rahman ibn Awf, and Kaab Al Ahbaar says may Allah bless him for Allah has given him the best of this world and the best of the world to come. Abu Dharr was listening to this and he goes up to him and he confronts him and he says how do you say something like this? Then he quotes for Uthman, Kaab ibn Al Ahbaar, every Muslim who was there and for the rest of us to hear, these are his words, (no one is going to mention this hadith from the Mimbar). Did you not listen to the Prophet say I will not be happy if I die and I have, (we're bringing this into today's language so that everyone can understand it), or leave as much as an ounce of silver. Here's a man who just died and he left bundles/bags/stashes of coins that we stockpiled in front of Uthman. It's not an ounce; the Prophet said he is going to be distressed/unhappy if he dies with just one ounce/coin of this stuff and here you have loads of it in front of Uthman. It's the issue of money! This is a hadith of Allah's Prophet. Who's quoting this hadith? Who is understanding these meanings? Very few- indeed- and the reason is because we have cast versions of this history as their own religion, and so they become Sunnis before they are Muslims and others become Shi'is before they are Muslims. None of them can re-originate those days and times to look and find the truth, and then to dispense it to the rest of us without, (besides the issue that we're speaking about of monopolising wealth), monopolising the truth.

Brothers and sisters, committed with a sense of struggle in the company of Allah's Prophet and in the Company of Allah, Himself If we were to bring the meanings of these ayaat into today's world, we find that there are laws, conventions and customs. This is what complicates it i.e. when hundreds of years of customs and traditions find common purpose with secular and God-denying laws. So a Muslim, just to present these issues as they are, runs into these two sets of odd circumstances and finds that virtually the world is constructed against presenting these facts. Obviously, those who were/are in power and those who rule today, don't want you to speak about what Allah and his Prophet say about money/finances/wealth. If Allah's Prophet says, (and how many times have we heard this hadith), the Muslims in this world is like one body. If something is wrong with one of the organs of this body, the rest of the body will move in to compensate for that deficient organ. (Take a) look at the body of Muslims today- just take two areas- Ghazzah and Dubai. You can take a look at the argument that began in the time of Uthman,and how it has developed into today's Dubai and then, you can look at the orientation of Abi Dharr and how it has become the plight of those who are in Ghazzah. Here all of us are- this is an Ummah that combines the meanings of this hadith i.e. that if something goes wrong with one part of the body, the other parts 1651

is going to respond. Something went wrong in Ghazzah- we are bleeding, dying, starving, (you name it). Either the Prophet is not saying the truth, nastaghfirullah (which we know is not the case), or these people who claim to "they belong to this body of Muslims" have gone out and left this body of Muslims. How can they live with these billions that they have and then make believe that when we speak about Ghazzah, we're just speaking about a miniature example of many other hundreds of millions of Muslims around who are living below the survival level. The Prophet of Allah says a woman is condemned to the fire because of a cat. Why? Because she locked this cat up, didn't give it this cat the opportunity to go and look for food and didn't feed the cat. What do you say of those who have locked up one-and-a-half million Muslims in Ghazzah? These are Muslims just like you and me. It could have been my/your family. They're locked up and can't feed themselves and no one is allowed to give them food. (Take a) look at the Egyptian government that is sinking a wall twenty to thirty meters beneath the ground so that these locked up Muslims cannot even use tunnels to get food to feed their families! And what are the rest of the Muslims in the world? Spectators?! You're watching?! No one does anything?! Why? Who's spirit today runs through the veins of these Muslim spokesmen who say "a person who pays his zakah i.e. two-and-a-half percent a year of the saved wealth that has lapsed in the past year is fine." (Take a) look at where we are today? For those who are satisfied that this is the extent of the responsibility of those Muslims who have wealth Waleed bin Talal, one of the few Saudis whose numbers have showed up on the screen in 2008 when his wealth was counted/estimated to be between $17/18 billion. They're all around here? Where are the Muslims of Ghazzah?! O Prophet of Allah, what are we supposed to say about these types? And some Muslims who supposedly come from Islamic backgrounds don't want to be reminded of Ghazzah, they want to be reminded of Dubai. These are supposed to be people with Islamicfibre in them! With all of the humiliation that we've seen coming from the Egyptian government, to the credit of it's own people, there is at least some good left. Hundreds of Shuyukh and scholars demonstrated in front of theMinistry of Endowments in Cairo and the Egyptian government sends its informers to take down names and slash two months of their salaries because the Shaykh of the Azhar gave a fatwah endorsing a wall between the Muslim people in Egypt and the Muslim people in Ghazzah. We can't blame the Israelis anymore for building a wall if theShaykh of the Azhar gives a fatwah and endorses, legalises and blesses this proImperialist/Zionist government to build another wall around besieged and surrendered Muslims in Ghazzah. If you just have a little common sense, (that's all it takes), you can see the history in our present and the present in our history provided you drop your prejudice.

1652

ABU DHARR (R): SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER PART 4

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We Muslims, (we mentioned it before and we say it again), there's nothing wrong in being frank with ourselves), have been incapable of speaking truth to power. This is our over 1,400 years ago weakness i.e. our inability/unwillingness/excuses for not speaking truth to power! We have tried our humanly best to explain/express to ourselves, (not in the emotional way that turns people away and not in the highly academic/scholastic manner that is only intended for a certain class of people), and we continue in that endeavour (regarding) this weakness of ours that now has over lived it's age! You'd think fourteen centuries are enough of being incapable of expressing the truth to those who are in power and wealth. We hope/think we made it crystal clear that we all belong to this weakness of ours. We don't care how you classify yourself as a Muslim we all have a common history of being unable to express the factual truth, not the emotional truth, to those who have combined power and wealth. All of this began in a noticeable way during the reign of Uthman (radi Allahu anhu), the third successor to Allah's Prophet. We saw how people who were beginning to combine power and wealth were nervous and against those people who were expressing truth to power. We gave a very clear example of Abi Dharr (radi Allahu anhu) and how 1653

he was treated. (That was) the first time we saw Muslims who are in power, and who have combined that power with wealth, not having the capacity to listen to other Muslims who had their point of view about how governance was turning during that time. To add another piece of information to the list of information that we have covered in the past

When Abu Dharr was forced out of Al Madinah Brothers and sisters: please concentrate on our behaviour. We say it is our behaviour because it belongs to us- this is our common history. However way you want to approach it- at the end it is our common history. We began this common history with the incapacity of those who are in power and those who are accumulating wealth with power to listen to Muslims who disagreed with them, which brings us to the issue of Islamic internal disagreements. This is going to be a constant in Islamic social behaviour. There's going to be internal Islamic disagreements. No one, (that we know of), who is accountable by the book of Allah and theSunnah of His Messenger said that disagreements are not supposed to happen amongst the Muslims. Even the words of Allah endorse internal Islamic disagreements. The ayah says and if you dispute/have differences about a certain issue then you refer it to Allah and His Apostle (Surah An Nisa' verse 59) So this is a development that is inescapable. It's a development that we have had for 1,400 years yet we have not learnt from it. This our problem. It is hard for us to learn and sometimes we sabotage our own selves because we cannot take these lessons and look at them in a non-biased manner. We Muslims had a disagreement-OK. How did we deal with this disagreement? If we were to consider the events to learn from them in light of Allah and His Prophet we may have a head start for ourselves and not repeat the same errors and social and political misbehaviour that we witnessed once in our history- there's no need for us to go through this all over again. What do we observe/see? Uthman and Abu Dharr had their serious disagreements and these serious disagreements resulted in the people who had power and wealth forcing Aba Dharr out of Al Madinah. We want to quote for you our political behaviour at that time. Here is a Muslim, (he could be any Muslim of today who tries to speak truth to power anywhere), who he is told you have to leave Al Madinah. This was one of the founding members of theIslamic State in Al Madinah and now he is told this by those who are beginning to combine wealth with power. Listen brothers and sisters- this is a very important yet almost unnoticed element of our political divergence from Islamic,Qur'anic and Prophetic standards and values i.e. the combination of wealth and power. When he is told you have to leave It's just like in today's world (when) someone receives a summons from the legal forces of the land and they tell a particular dissident, (this is in today's language), Abu Dharr was considered a dissident whose behaviour is bordering on insubordination and insurrection. Brothers and sisters- these are Muslims who have gone wrong in their combining of wealth and power. Need we say (that) when we rethink ourselves today, we should be focusing on the burden of 1,400 years of combining wealth and power?! The ayah in the Qur'an that we from time to time remind you of in Surah Al Isra' (is the one in which) Allah says and if We, (in reference to Divine power and authority), want to destroy a social order, We have two classes- those in power and those in wealth- combined into one (Sural Al Isra' verse 16) 1654

And what do they do? they begin to institutionalise policies that cause their own societies to disintegrate (Surah Al Isra' verse 16) At that time Allah's words are due. and that particular society is utterly obliterated. (Surah Al Isra' verse 16) We don't know why these Qur'anic and Prophetic facts come to us, (and some of us recite them in oursalah/du'a/recitation of the Qur'an), and it's as if nothing is being said and therefore with all of the rich lessons that our history has, we fail to learn?! So when Uthman, (who represents the first political combination of power and wealth- something that didn't exist before that), was approached by Muslims who were telling him this is wrong, you have to do something about this, (we remind you that), he and those who agreed with his ijtihad, (which we at least have 1,400 years to look back at and say it was an incorrect ijtihad), said to Abi Dharr how can I legislate/make it legal/write laws that impose on the Muslim citizenry/population az zuhud/austerity?You tell us, is this not still an issue that the most knowledgeable/educated/sincere Muslims are still debating today? This is not strictly a historical event that we can just dismiss. It's a lively one that still haunts the ideas and the ideologies of committed Muslims today. Can we legislate az zuhud? Nevertheless, Abu Dharr became an unwanted personality by the government of the time- not by the peoples. Wherever he would go, there would be positive responses from the average Muslim in Arabia and Ash Shaam- in both places; but the government could no longer tolerate such a person so he was told leave Al Madinah. At first, they didn't want him in Al Madinah and had him leave for Ash Shaam; then, in Ash Shaam when he began to have a cluster of people or what we call today a revolutionary trend developing, they couldn't tolerate him there, so send him back to Al Madinah. We went through this, and they finally they said you leave to a place called Ar Rabdah. Then, this is what happened in this particular incident

The official policy was no one should see/bid farewell Abi Dharr when he was leaving Al Madinah. That is what the government says. Then Al Imam Ali, his two sons in addition to Amaar ibn Yasir, Abdillah ibn Jafar andAqeel (radi Allahuanhum) went to see him off. You'd think this is normal behaviour? It should be. But now, theIslamic government at that time developed an attitude and said no, you can't see this person off. When Marwanibn Al Hakam, one of the confidants/advisors of Uthman, saw that there were people who were accompanying AbaDharr as he was forced to leave Al Madinah, he says to Ali, Ameer Al Mu'mineen, (in reference to Uthman), has made it official, (listen to this, we're putting that language to today's language), that no one should acast/accompany Aba Dharr as he is leaving Al Madinah and if you don't know that, I am putting you on notice/letting you know. Then, Ali had a whip with him and he went towards him and he unleashed that whip unto the animal that this person was riding and he said to him, (which roughly means), just get out of my way or abandon the direction you are taking lest you go right into the fire. This indicates that there was a serious disagreement and divergence of opinion, but we Muslims even though Allah has given us over 1,000 years to learn from this lesson, we still show our inability to learn from it, much less to teach its meanings. This is our problem. When Allah is saying to us ittqu Allah 1655

 avoid Allah's power prerogatives and privileges in your life Allah will manifest his power in our life but we keep on factoring in the powers of state or political parties or militaries! No one is really concerned with the power of Allah! No! That really is not a consideration! Allah is quoted; His Prophet is also quoted, but when it comes to real movement it seems like Allah is absent from the behaviour/plans/projections from those who put themselves in the mantle of Islam. We say this because even though we're taking a look at the genesis of the difference between an Islamicopposition to Muslims who are combining wealth and power. We have to underline/underscore/reiterate that we are speaking about Muslims who combine wealth and power, not Muslims who have power and don't have wealth or Muslims who have wealth and don't have power; that's another issue for another day, but what is so obvious is those Muslims who have blurred the lines between wealth and power or have integrated between two classes in society i.e. the class of wealth with the class of power- that's what we're talking about. Don't lose sight and don't let your emotions take you in every other direction. We have had demonstrable/obvious political and governmental mistakes that we should have the taqwaof Allah to look at without claiming these issues as if it's become a sect/cult when we look at these issues. Can we just step out of that for a moment and learn from it so that we can all learn together instead of someone presenting themselves as masters of history and others presenting themselves as fugitives from history?! Do you want me to be more specific? Shi'is consider themselves masters of history when it comes to these affairs! They don't want to listen to anyone else because they already know in themselves that they have a monopoly of the truth! This harms the cause, the individuals, the personalities in our history, our present Islamic accommodations with each other i.e. the brotherhood of Islam. This is not the approach! Then, the others- we are going to also be clear- the fugitives from history (are) those who consider themselves Sunnis run away from all of this history and their rationalisation is "why bring this thing up, because it is going to divide us!" This also is not the way to approach this issue! Its going to divide us about what?! If we approach our own mistakes and try to learn them, is this an issue of division?! It should be an issue of unity. So, along these lines we have the tragedy of Karbala'. If someone/anyone cannot see the abuse of power and wealth in its beginning during the time of Uthman,then they should be able to see the abuse of power and wealth during the time of Al Imam Al Hussein (alayhi as salaam wa radi Allahu anhu). What happened? Now, we have the consolidation. The Umawidynasty- it's not called Al Khilafah. The funny thing about this is both Sunnis and Shi'is call the UmawiKingdom/dynasty a Khilafah! This indicates both these segments of people have not outgrown a traditional history turned religion. It is not a Khilafah/Imarah/Imamah. This is a Mulukiya/monarchy. So what does this monarchy do? It goes out and commits the crime of all ages. Anyone who has a healthy approach to the Qur'an i.e. the word of Allah and the Sunnah i.e. the word of His Prophet can see that here is the teaming up of power and wealth against a person who speaks truth and, (beyond that), who acts truth to those who have blended power and wealth together. In anyway you want to approach it- we don't care who you are, where you come from or what your historical or traditional background is- you should be able to see this is a flagrant/obvious/an in your eye scream of how the combination of power and wealth treat those who stand up on principle. Hussein could have easily said "this is a lost cause. Why should I go out there? This is suicidal." In today's thinking, people would say "this is suicidal." It wasn't suicidal; it was a principled position to which there was no other option 1656

left, but it goes to show us how we, the Muslims, have been in possession of a history that expresses its economic/financial entangle with institutions of government and military and this is the result. The army of Yazid ibn Muawiya broke into Al Madinah- this was a couple of years afterKarbala'- and they laid it to waste. This is the first Islamic State and the first Islamic State was virtually destroyed by this army and we don't want to speak about the details of what this armed force did to the people of Al Madinah?! It is similar to what armies that are not Islamic/have nothing to do with Islam do today. They go into a land/territory and they behave as if they are the authority/power- raping women, killing babies, torching houses, destroying a human habitat. Tell us what is that?! What legality does that have in the book of Allah and in the instructions of His Prophet?! Where do you find a basis for this? There's no such basis obviously, but why can't we just present it as a matter of history that no one can deny. It's there. Why can't we just present it frankly and objectively? Don't get worked up about it because the emotionalism of it is going to sabotage the rationality of it.But this barrier we still have not overcome. There were other uprisings in Al Kufa, in Iraq against the first dynasty inIslam that are clear examples of what power and wealth do, and still up to this very day, Muslims cannot approach this subject to look at it as a matter of the violations of all the principles, standards, values and tenets of the Qur'anand the Sunnah. What do we say to this? Oh Allah, we have done injustice to ourselves, so if You will not have mercy upon us and forgive us our mistakes we shall inevitably be accounted among those who are losers.

Ayyuha Al Mu'minun, Muslims of commitment, principle and the truth What is more demanding/difficult: to look at our historical behaviour and correct ourselves or to look at our current behaviour and correct ourselves? Obviously, if a person takes issue with Muawiya, Yazid, Hisham ibn Abdil Malik,Bani Abbaas or these other dynasties they are gone. Hisham ibn Abdil Malik or his army or that person who killedImam Zaid (radi Allahu anhu wa alaihi as salaam) is dead. Now, there is no immediate danger in trying to place him in the proper historical context to which he belongs; in other words to speak about his policies. Is he going to come out of the grave and kill you and me? It's not going to happen, but why is it that even though this person remains in his resting place six feet under for 1,300 years-or-so that we still don't have Muslims who are mature enough, (this is just an example; there are many of these examples- you can pick your choice), to place them in the context of the Qur'an and the Prophet? What's wrong? Why can't we do that? We can understand some Muslims today can't speak about the ruling classes that we have from the Pacific to the Atlantic who combine wealth and power- the issue no one wants to consider in their Islamic programs. Why are they afraid? "Oh, if we're going to speak about the President of Egypt or the king of Arabia and their Princes in the peripheries as an example then they may take action against us." Last week, twohundred scholars of the Azhar petitioned/demonstrated in-front of a Ministry of government in Cairo and they had informants swarming all around to take their names and slash their salaries for a couple of months, but these kings and monarchs that we had in our past are not going to have informers coming around taking your name, putting you on the black list and killing you as a civilian. That's what they dothey kill you as a civilian. As a civilian you no longer exist. If you want to apply for a job, you don't get a clearance/approval/the requirements that are needed to obtain a particular job. We don't agree with this 1657

behaviour that can't speak truth to power, but we can understand it. And why are these governments today- those people who have power and wealth together- When you scan the Muslim territories of the world, can you come up with those who are ruling over Muslims who are conscious of the violation of the Qur'an and the Sunnah when it comes to the combination of power and finances? There is probably one place where that consciousness exists; and even in that one place, we don't have the maturity of 1,400 years to settle this issue for once and for all. Obviously, these authorities/governments that exist today in these Islamic countries have not only combined power and wealth, but they have also amassed power and wealth. We say this as a servant of yours from living a lifetime with the words of Allah and His Prophet. Those who combine power and wealth together disqualify from ruling the Muslims. Now, you take that statement and shred your Sunnism and Shi'ism with it so that you can be reborn anew the way Allah and His Prophet wanted you so that you can speak to the issues of our time. We have cleavages and gaps in which historical and contemporary enemies are working their way so that we cannot seeIslamic self-determination, (what we mean by that is total/thorough/complete Islamic self determination), as it is being born in our generation and time. Therefore, not many people speak about these issues. All of them have their excuses. They're not short on explaining why they don't tap on this issue. All of them have what would appear to be logical answers when you ask them "why don't you speak about at taghut?" That's a Qur'anic terminology that has to do with power and wealth. "Why don't you speak about adh dhulm?" That is an Islamic, Qur'anic and Prophetic terminology that has to do with power and wealth. "Why don't you speak about al mustadafeen and al mustakbireen?" All of these are Islamic concepts/ideas that address the combined evil of power and wealth. Where is everyone? Where did everyone go? We can understand that people who are paid/employed by (other) "Muslims" who camouflage themselves with rituals but (who) in the policy of their bones or in the kernel of their strategies owe their loyalty/allegiance to everyone/anyone except Allah and His Prophet. All of this is so obvious, (but) why can't anyone see it? Because we are buried under 1,400 years of a tradition that substitutes for Islam. We label under local cultures that are explained as an offshoot of Islam and none of this has anything to do with Allah and His Prophet. We don't know how much and how long it is going to take before we can wake up and address these issues accurately, objectively and selflessly. Our ignorance of how long and how much it is not going to take away from our fervency for the truth in it.

1658

INTERFAITH MEETINGS: THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims (Last week saw) an occasion/celebration/holiday for those who, (in one sense/definition or another), say that they are Christians and today is Al Jum'ah i.e. the congregational day of taqwa pertaining to those who declare that they are Muslims. We, Muslims, had and still have a difficulty in relating to those who say that "they are Christians." Most of this difficulty is attributed to what is called theological issues. With the Qur'an and the Prophet as our guidance and guidelines, let us state that we do have a very serious theological issue that separates, in matters of concepts and rituals, Muslims from Christians. All Muslims believe and are convinced that Allah is One. He is not a plural/dual; He cannot be divided, extracted or multiplied. All of these other concepts that swirl around the definition of deity are alien to the conviction and iman of Muslims. On the other hand, those who say that "they are Christians" are in their own selves, (or at least in a Church sense), convinced that God, (and there are many definitions, but skipping those definitions), is a trinity. This to Muslims is an obvious false statement attributed to the One God. God is not a trinity. God is not one in three and He is not three in one. This issue is very clear and it should be very obvious to all who are either Muslims or Christians. The ayaat in the Qur'an that define the Muslim belief, conviction, concept and persuasion is summed up in a short Surah that we all know. This shortsurah that probably most of the Muslims memorised because it is short and is repeated many times has been calledSurah Qul huwa Allahu Ahad or Surah Al Ikhlas or Surah At Tawhid and it has about twenty other different descriptions/titles and this pretty much describes and details our conviction and loyalty to Allah, the One, the Singular, the Unique, the Indivisible. On the other hand, there are those Christians who say that "God is a trinity" and the Qur'an explains this to us. We don't need their explanations because they don't have one and they are not consistent in explaining what they mean by what they say. Allah says regarding this statement of theirs 1659

Those who say that Allah is a third of three are in denial of Allah (Surah Al-Ma'idah verse 73) Allah also commenting, (as it were), on their false statement pertaining to Allah what they are saying is a fantastic fallacy that comes out of their mouth (Surah Al Kahf verse 5) So, at this level of things, we, Muslims, are going to have to come to terms with ourselves because anyone should know there are those Muslims who want to blur the lines between Muslims and Christians (by saying) "Oh, we are all of the Abrahamic religion. We all are monotheists. We should have interfaith meetings and get togethers and these types of things." There is a difference between identifying the differences that we have and moving forward on one hand and those who want to blur the differences and make believe we all belong to the same history and future- which is not accurate/truthful. So as far as freedom in belief, after we, Muslims, knowing that there is this serious theological divide between us and those who are involved in Trinitarianand recognising that these differences do exist, there shouldn't be any bad, much less any hostile, feelings between Muslims and Christians because of theological and incompatible definitions. There should be no bad/hostile feelings- this is our, Muslims, understanding of Allah and His Prophet; but then it doesn't stop here. There is a continuation to this. Those who have adopted a Trinitarian belief and religion i.e. those who say "that they are Christians" don't stop at issues of theology; they proceed into plans, programs and orientations that become deadly against Muslims- here is where we begin to have our initiation of our irreconcilable feelings between those who are Muslims and those who are Christians. It is not because of beliefs/creed/"religions." No! Part of our responsibility of submitting to Allah is to guarantee- to those who differ with us and attribute this difference to their understanding of, (what they call), scripture i.e. theNew Testament and the Old Testament- the freedom to believe and to enjoy the consequences of that belief even though we know it is wrong; but that doesn't mean that we agree with their political character.We tolerate/guarantee the freedom for their theological character but that doesn't extend to have us look the other way or rubber stamp the political programs that come out of what is called the Judeo/Christiancontext. Here is where we begin to have our difficulties with them. The problem with today's Muslims is that some of them- especially those who appear to be very/fanatically religiouswant us to take issue with and argue/verbally confront Christians or Jews because of their theology. This is not an Islamic character. We don't do that. We point out, and if the circumstances and chemistry permits, we explain to them these theological differences. Once that is done there shouldn't be any bad feelings on our side, (and we can speak for ourselves), and there shouldn't be any bad feelings on their side. But the fact of the matter is that they generate governments and regimes that rationalise their invasions, occupations, massacres, ethnic cleansing and genocide of Muslims. This is where we, (if we understand Allah and His Prophet), say "we know our differences but we don't tolerate the extensions of these differences into the military policies" that have become a matter of silence; (generally speaking), Churches and Synagogues are silent when they see their own brethren i.e. people belonging to their own faith circle involved in, (for example), placing hundreds of military bases in Islamic territories of the world. The issue becomes for us, (as maturing Muslims), (a matter of) what is the relationship between their theology and their politics? This is the area that has to be investigated and understood. Is there an issue between their theological doctrines and tenets on one side and their political strategies and orientation on the other side? If we truly had, (what is called), interfaith/acumenical meetings, this is the issue that should be placed on the table, fair and square. Tell us in a civilised and courteous manner how far does their theology go in explaining/rationalising/contributing to war machines that belong to their Judeo-Christian context. Please tell us, we want to know?! But this is an area (that) not even Muslims themselves bring to the discussion table to have others speak their mind. These are People of the Cloth; they're supposed to be Priests, Pastors, Rabbis and Bishops; they are people who are supposed to say the truth and if they are not able to 1660

say the truth, (then) to remain silent (and) not bring into an interfaith discussion session false statements. This is the issue as far as theology is concerned. We grant them that some of them may even have inside themselves a tendency to understand the Islamic position, and this is acknowledged by Allah's words and you will most certainly find the most closest of them, (meaning of the Judeo/Christians) to the committed Muslims are those who say we are Christians (Surah Maa'ida verse 85) Why? because you will find among them priests and monks who don't show an air of arrogance or they don't exude hubris. (Surah Maa'ida verse 85) They are humble and down to earth. This is a fact that Allah states pertaining to their religious character, but Muslims, don't confuse this matter and say "we want to extend this and include their political and official characters and personalities." Don't do that! This is not what Allah is saying. Our thanks and gratitude are due because He enlightens us in this area in which we need guidance in. What does He say pertaining to their political character? He says The ultimate desire of many of them- the Judeo Christians along with the Mushriks- is to have you revert from your iman to kufr (Surah Al Baqarah verse 109) What does He say also pertaining to their political character? And the political Yahud (not the theological one) and the political Nasara (not the theological one) are not doing to be satisfied with you (O Prophet and you O followers of the Prophet) until you are enlisted in their political creed (Surah Al Baqarah verse 120) At that time yes. They will smile in your face. They will accept you into their circles you become part of them. This is exactly what is happening in today's world. The theological and the political are confused. Even when Allah is speaking to us and the Prophet is explaining to us, we still confuse the issues. We still consider a person who occupies the highest office in a particular country, who goes to the Church or Synagogue and who may be doing their religious obligation or rituals as they are supposed to be doing them (a Christian or Jew). But what is that? In the course of the week- a few hours and it's all over! And what are we supposed to do when the rest of the week in its hundreds of hours are spent in the political character of that person? What are we supposed to do when Allah is telling us this is the theological description of these people and these are the political descriptions of these people? We are going to say "oh, we are going to just look at their theological description in the Qur'an and the Sunnah and not look at their political description and definition there in?" Are you committed to some of this divine writ and then you are in denial of other parts of this divine writ? (Surah Al Baqarah verse 85) This is a character and a feature that does not belong to committed Muslims. This was said pertaining to those who say that "they are followers of Musa (alaihi as salaam)" and those who carry the Israeli burden of history.

Today, we have superpowers/hegemonic powers, (this is not said in exaggeration or hyperbole, these are facts).These hegemonic powers and superpowers are bleeding the Muslims. You (can) pick your continent/region in the world and you will find such superpowers there bombing, shelling, killing, massacring Muslims in the thousands/tens of thousands/hundreds of thousands depending on the locale of the world that you are looking at. Can this be attributed to their theological origins? Muslims, if you have the courage and the opportunity to sit/speak to them, ask them this 1661

question. After you listen to their answers, you will discover that Allah gave you the answer this, if only you were listening. He says in many ayaat in the Qur'an; you can go back and choose the ayah that you want. Many of these ayaat are mentioned in Surah AlBaqarah, Aal Imran, An Nisa' Al Maa'ida, Al Bara'ah and many surahs in the Qur'an and you will find Allah says Indeed those who deny Allah's power and authority from those who are supposed to belong to scripture or who belong to scripture Meaning in today's words the Jews and the Christians. So there is a dynamic within Judaism andChristianity, and if we wanted to be true to ourselves we may say this has also extended into the Islamicdomain. Something set in that's not supposed to be there, and that is kufr. This is one of these words nowadays that is being tossed around among Muslims. There are Muslims going around and saying "other Muslims are kafirs."Ask them "why are other Muslims kafirs?" And they will refer to a theological issue. Remember, when we are speaking about Muslims on one side and Jews and Christians on the other side, we find that two words interplay in this relationship: the word shirk and the word kufr. Some of this, (if we were to read closely Allah's guiding words), we can trace the policies of war and economic goals to some of their religious books, not all of it. Allah is divulging this information to us, Indeed those who deny Allah's power and authority from those who are supposed to belong to scripture or who belong to scripture So there is a dynamic/fact of life within the Judeo-Christian history and contemporary events in which we haveEvangelicals- who are ardent and zealous supporters of Zionism. Investigate (and) ask yourself "where do they get this ardour for Zionism?" and they will take you back to Holy text, to the Bible itself. Is this true of all Christians? It is not. So we have a task. We are responsible to be accurate. We said in previous khutbahs, Avoid Allah as Power and Authority and say/express what is accurate/right. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) We have a responsibility here of being factual and precise when we look at this hodge-pogde of JudeoChristianbeliefs, sects, offshoots, denominations and trends. We can't lump them all as theological or political, but after our scrutiny of who they are, we will find out that the majority of them in fact and in practice are supportive of their political character that has strayed away from the Old Testament, the New Testament and scripture altogether. That's the majority of them; but that doesn't mean that if the majority of them are like that, that we lump those who are true to their convictions with them. There are still among them people who are in pursuit of the truth and these theological issues should not/never cause us to stumble when we are approaching them if we have the clear mind and the clean heart that belongs to us when we belong to Allah and His Prophet. Brothers and sisters, Ayyuha Al Mu'mineen What we also have in the course of the couple of days or so is a tragic event that took place in our own history and geography and in our own selves. This tragic and moving event we, in a sense, (whatever background we come from), have not been able to present in a way that speaks to common sense to the common man who may belong to any creed or background. What we are obviously referring to is Karbala'. First of all, this was not a difference between a couple of individuals. The way many of us recall this event is we compact it into a couple of words: ImamAl Hussein (radi Allahu anhu wa alaihi as salaam) verses Yazid. Then, some of us just forget about it there and some of us take it from there into an emotional realm. Both these approaches have victimised this occasion. AlImam Al Hussein spent a lifetime in which he witnessed in an active sense He wasn't watching. This wasn't a scholar who was confined to a corner in a Masjid, Hawzah or an educational institution. He was out in the field experiencing the forces and tendencies which we call today political, military and ideological. There were real stirrings in these circles in his time. He was a young man when the internal Islamic difference 1662

expressed itself at Waq'ad AlJamal. He was an active, concerned and involved person when the internal differences of Muslims took them toSiffin. He was also robust and very much engaged when another internal battle occurred at An Nahrawaan. Many people just skip all of this and only see Karbala'. They don't see the feeders that pronounced Karbala'. Besides, it was his, (we're putting this in today's language), political consciousness that had him make the ultimate sacrifice. If it wasn't for that political consciousness, there wouldn't have been a Karbala'. If his attitude was pessimistic or passive, he would have just had his circle of students and preached for a saviour to come in the distant future as many of his conscientious, (give them the benefit of the doubt), followers do. They sit around, they have these study circles and they spend a lifetime in these study circles; they don't attend wars, are not engaged/involved/out in the field or haven't bled and then they come and pontificate about Karbala'. (It's) as if they are in Ivory Towerssomewhere. Al Imam Al Hussein wasn't in an Ivory Tower. (Being that Christmas and Karbala' are in the span of the same couple of days), what do we have in common between those who say that "they are Christians" and have their own opinion about Isa (alaihi as salaam) and those who say that "they are Muslim Shi'is" and have their own opinion about Al Imam Al Hussein? We have what set in, in centuries. This was not a development of a few hours or days. This was a development of historical centuries. We have a quietest attitude that has consumed those who adore and admire Jesus all the way up to a deity- they're waiting for his return. "Where is the Prince of peace. We need him." they say. Juxtapose that with those who say that "they are Shi'is" and have taken Al Imam Al Husseinas their guiding light. What do they say: "we are waiting for Al Imam Al Mahdi." These are common attitudes that come from being, (we know that this is going to sound damaging to some traditional minds), quiet, passive and waiting for relief is a defeatist attitude that has marked ever since then, the triumph of anti-Godly administrations, be they the Romans or the Umawis. Now, we are living with those consequences and still we haven't had the spark that can bring hundreds of millions of people out of this quiescent state of mind (so that they) will be able to point their finger with knowledge and conviction, a struggle and a sacrifice and truth to these deviant powers. This is where we are. Enough said

1663

LEADERSHIP
Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha Al Mu'minun Allah's words (which is) the life line of our existence and the direction of our life say to us and those who have Allah and the Apostle and the committed Muslims as their superiors and allies shall most definitely be victorious. (Surah Al Maa'idah verse 56) This relationship that permeates from Allah to His emissary and then to the covenant bearing Muslims is a relationship of care that has been for some time absent from our normal lives. It is very important, especially in the"dog-eat-dog world" around us, to notice how a relationship with Allah along the lines of this wilayah develops as opposed to the materialistic relationship that is abundant today between those who rule and their subjects which is coming apart, regardless of what the surface image appears to be. Who do we look to, (and we don't say this in a vacuum), because we have critical life threatening decisions that come back to affect us by those who have no relationship to Allah, even though we try to have our relationship to Allah. The leaders of the Muslims i.e. the example/highest caliber was presented to us in the figure of no one else but Rasulillah and in those who lead the Muslims while they were conscious of Allah and His Prophet. They were conscious of Allah and the Prophet in everything they did. They were given the positions to lead the Muslims and they did so consciously and faithfully. What type of leaders do we speak about? We will once again give couple of examples of those who succeededRasulillah.

1664

A leader who had just knocked down the two super powers of the day 1,400 odd years ago tells another personlet's take guard over this city for the night and they assume that position. They walk within the neighborhoods of the city and they find there is someone crying and they go to try to enquire what's wrong? They find there's a mother who is trying to wean away her infant from being breastfed. Then, the ruler/leader of the Muslims with theIslamic political order rising to what is today called a superpower position in this status enquires and asks the mother of the child who doesn't know him why are you trying to wean your infant from your breast? She answersbecause the ruler, (not knowing that he is the ruler), has allocated the budgets for infants only to those who are no longer breastfed. This moved this ruler. Imagine someone today who is in the power position of leading the number one nation on earth being moved by a mother and her breastfed infant to enact legislation that would provide for all infants even if they are being breastfed. This is an intimate/close relationship in which the distance between you and I and those who are ruling has collapsed. There is no psychological, military or physical distance. This Head of State had no guards around in which this mother would have suspected who is this important person. He wasn't distinguished in the way he was dressed; he was dressed just like everyone else. There was no aura around him that would set him out from the regular, normal or average human being. There was no distance in this wilayah relationship between those who rule and those who are ruled.

On another occasion, the ruler- who assumed responsibilities from Allah's Prophet in that capacity with the consent of the Muslims- goes out, once again, at night to look into the affairs of the citizens/subjects of state and he finds out that there are some children who are crying. He has a person with him and he says to him let us tend to the affairs of these children who should be sleeping. It's getting late at night, what are children crying for?Then, he enquires from the mother who is boiling a pot of water why are you boiling this pot of water? She saysI am faking or pretending to be preparing a meal for the children so that they may go to sleep. How does a person who has power respond to this? It's not going to court and changing some laws, which anyone who has power can do. Anyone who has power can turn to the judiciary, write a few laws and take care of the issue. But is this the final remedy? No! The remedy is the attachment that the ruler who has power has to the subject that he rules. This Muslim ruler went to what we would call nowadays the bakery and he put some flour/grain and other food together and his companion was with him, and he tells his companion help me put this load on my back.This person wanted to help out, obviously he knows who the ruler or who succeeded the Prophet in his responsibility and he wanted to help out. But he said no. I am more responsible than you are, and that responsibility means that I have to carry this load to that person's home. Which he did. And he didn't just dump the food there and leave. He also helped prepare the meal. He stoked the fire of that pot, and then when the meal was cooked he helped to cool down that meal. It is this relationship that counts and that bring the laws that affect our lives. Where do we have this relationship between subjects and rulers today? We had the so-called superpower in this world that went into Kosova and for 75 odd days, it bombs different selected areas and then, in the same way that it went in it got out and decided to stop that war. Was anyone consulted about this? Was anyone asked what should/should not be done? No! In the affairs of we the Muslims, does anyone consult us? Where is the shura that Allah speaks to us about? Shura is an institution. It's a way of doing things, but if there is not a psychology for it, shura becomes meaningless. If there is not this wilayah relationship between those who rule and those who are ruled such as these 1665

couple of examples demonstrate. Where is it in the world today? Which means the world needs what Allah has to offer and Allah doesn't need some frigid rules and laws to drop on men and say "here, just govern by these rules and laws" without the commitment, care, affection, relationship and love that is required for such a task. Societies don't become civilized societies just because of some laws. (Take a) look at the laws- there's laws all around the country/place, but what types of laws do we speak about when there is no consciousness of Allah in people's hearts (and) when Allah doesn't figure into their minds? These laws are meaningless. (Do) you want compare two sets of laws i.e. one set that works and another that fails

You (can) take the issue of racial discrimination. There are elaborate laws in the book in this country/Westerncivilization against racial discrimination, but is society free of racial discrimination? When Allah says to us and to mankind verily the most honored of you in Allah's eyes are those who are most conscious of Him and His power (Surah Al Hujurat verse 13) When Rasulullah stood at Hajjat ul Wada' in his farewell presentation he said all of you are the descendants of Adam and Adam is made from dirt- soil and clay. There is no privilege of an Arab over a non-Arab nor for a non-Arab over an Arab; there is no privilege of a white over a black nor for a black over a white except if it be for a conscious guard against the wrath and anger of Allah and doing the implementation of doing what is right, virtuous and correct in one of the narrations of this hadith- this was not only a law on the book; this became a character and an attitude. When one of the companions of the Prophet told another one of the companions of the Prophet you son of a black woman, the Prophet of Allah didn't punish this person by some laws on the book, he brought his conscience to the fore. He said to him you made fun, degraded or insulted him because of his black mother? You are a person who contains elements of jahiliyah/pre-Islamic time (when there was racism, nationalism, ethnism, sectarianism and all these other isms/ills of society and man). When this statement of the Prophet touched this person's conscience, it moved his character to take corrective action and he corrected himself, as we said previously. Where, (in the world around where Islam is absent), do we see this type of equality? This is 20th century America; next year it will become 21st centuryAmerica- where is equality? In a Masjid- all Muslims go to a Masjid, black/white/red/yellow/brown, whatever color there is- no one says you are out of order/place in a Masjid, but there are some Churches in which if you don't fit according to your color/race, you just don't fit/belong there. We've never had any instance like that; never!

During the time of that generation that benefitted from the Prophet's character and conduct, when the Muslims went to Egypt. Al Miqauqas, the ruler there, said ok if you are to negotiate and discuss send a delegation. Then Muslims put a delegation of ten individuals who were led by Ubada ibn As Samit (radi Allahu anhu) and the delegation went to Al Miqauqas and Ubada ibn As Samit was a tall, what is called today black man- dark black for that matter- and these ten Muslims entered into the court of Al Miqauqas, the ruler of Egypt, with this person leading them and he said, (as history would relate to us, 1666

which is roughly saying), take this black man out of my sight I don't want to see him and he turned to the other Muslims and tried to have someone of them represent the Muslim delegation and they unanimously/all of them said to him this is the one who speaks for us. He has been appointed to that position because of his quality, wisdom, character, mind, conduct and behavior. You accept this delegation as it is or we will part and leave. So he begrudgingly (accepted). Of course, like anywhere else when there is no Islam there is racism, nationalism and all these social diseases.

In the Hajj, there was an Imam who was the Imam of the Haram. His name was Ata' ibn Abi Rabah who would lecture thousands of Muslims and he was described as being, (in the books of history), the Imam who Muslims would learn from regardless of color, race, language or ethnicity. This person who was leading the Muslims in scholarly conduct was, (roughly), black, he couldn't see in one eye, he had a flat nose, he used to limp and he had very curly hair, (some people would call it), kinky hair. No one was saying "what's this?" No one was looking at a person's color! They were looking at his character, behavior, conduct, quality. That doesn't exist in today's civilization in the America at the end of the 20th century nor in Europe. It simply doesn't exist. It was not long ago (that) here in Washington DC a person came from Panama who looks African. He just came to Washington DC for a few days or a week or two or whatever the time length- it was a short period of time. (He's) a Catholic and he goes to a Catholic Church; so he enquires "where's a Catholic Church?" And they pointed "Oh there's a Catholic Church there." He goes into the Catholic Church, enters and begins to say his prayers. Then, a Catholic Clergyman comes up to him and passes onto him a written notice that tells him "there is a Black Catholic Church at such and such an address." This wasn't history/a long time ago. We're talking about 20th century America. Also, here in Washington,the capital of the country, not long ago in one of the animal cemetery in the city, White folks did not want to have their dogs buried where the dogs of Black people were buried because they said "they didn't want their dogs who were living a high class life to be spoiled after burial and to be insulted with the dogs of black folks." This is the racism that runs deep down the psyche of contemporary man in the resultant civilization of mankind. Then, they come with their media mouth-pieces and they want to say that "Muslims in Sudan are enslaving the blacks of Africa." There was a campaign with three Senators, (at least one of them African-American), that returned fromSudan and they said after going to the South of the country that "the SPLA" which is the band of mercenaries that are fighting against the Islamic order in Sudan " is the last hope for Western civilization because if Milosovic is a war criminal, they don't know what to call Umar Al Basheer in Al Khartoum;" meaning war criminal is not the right word, they have to look deep down inside their dictionaries and vocabularies to give an accusation/derogatory title to give to those who are ruling in Sudan because they want to tell the public that Muslims are guilty of racism that translate into slavery and a trade with slaves in Southern Sudan. Imagine- now we have become the racists and they are clean.

1,300 and some years ago, a lady in Egypt wrote a letter to the Muslim ruler of Egypt that "her fence is not high enough to protect her poultry from those who are in the street." This lady's name is Fartouna and this letter/request was forwarded to the Muslim ruler in Arabia and corrective action was taken and it turned out that this lady was a black lady. No one was asking what color the lady is; but here 1667

they want to know because discrimination runs deep down their behavior; that is why they have laws against discrimination. But the laws are not going to do it. They can put ink on paper, that's not going to change anything. It might cause a dent here-and-there in society but deep down inside nothing has changed and this is the difference between this wilayah that runes from the Muslim ruler to the most humble person in the domain of Islam. There is care that comes before and after the laws. There is a relationship that ties everyone together that becomes before and after the laws.But where do we have this in today's world? Do these people who run the Masjid and their likes care if Muslims are denied all types of rights? How many Muslims in the Ummah are dying because of they have nothing to eat? How many mothers in the Ummah have become widows because bombs are falling on their lands/homes? Who's asking? Who cares? The OIC?! Remember when we had the dilemma in Bosnia; the position of the Islamic State in Iran-there was no OIC working at the time- but the care for the other Muslims brought the Bosnian issue to some kind of agreement. Even though, we don't agree with that agreement, but something was done in which the Muslims were involved. Now, there's the OIC. What did the OIC do as far as the Muslims in Kosova is concerned? Nothing! No one consulted the Muslims when they began/ended that war. More than a million of them were forced out of their homes and homelands; about-a-million-and-a-quarter are refugees within their homes and homelands, did the laws of theOIC do anything? Before and after that they did nothing and we can't expect from them in the future to do anything as long as they have this attitude. You know, in their private counsel they will dismiss this, they will say "these are Europeanized people." That's an excuse. Their attitude is "the relationship of the people who are in the Balkans to Islam is a token relationship, why worry" and (regarding) the people in Africa, where there is a lot of intrigue, warfare a bloody continent it has become, (they will say), "Oh those are Africans. Those are Sufis." You know, inAfrica, Sufism has its Tariqas here-and-there. (Their attitude is) "these are Sufis and who cares about them." When something happens in Palestine, (their attitude is), "Oh Palestinians don't behave anyways. They have always been rebellious and trouble makers." There's some type of notion that dwells inside of them that violates the very meanings of this wilayah, so they don't belong in that position. But they are there (and) they are affecting you and I and all the rest of the Muslims and they get away with this. They don't even want us to think about this on Fridays inJum'ah. They don't want anyone to speak about this. Go into these Masjids- you have the freedom to go on Friday.Pick one Friday every two months and go to a different Masjid around and see how much care there is for the relationship of Muslims from top to bottom and then from bottom to top? They want us to behave as if we were cattle. If we do that, "fine. We are good Muslims?!" In all of the world, why are problems concentrated in the Muslim areas of the world? There's a nuclear war that may breakout any day/week/month/year from now betweenPakistan and India- does anyone care? Nobody cares. Less population in the world! Get rid of some several hundred million people in India and Pakistan all the best for the way they think. But what is our excuse in all of this? How do Muslims accept, (in their right mind, from one week to the next), to listen to nonsense? Those who give khutbah in the Haramain are speaking nonsense; their likes in the world are speaking nonsense, proliferated with a few ayaatand ahadith. They don't want us to have a consciousness or involvement.

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims 1668

There is a way of looking at the world that we all share. The way that will help us in the years that we have left is our common responsibility of bearing Allah's trust unto humanity i.e. to have unquestionable, unlimited and inhibited confidence in Allah. Whoever doesn't have this quality will one day run out of steam/fuel/energy. We should rest assured that if we devote whatever we do and think to Allah, there will be a result to it. Allah told us so; but let us not be selfish and say "we want the result." When we place our nafs/selves/egos in this formula, we shift the balances against our own convictions and we begin to erode our own future. Let us not do that. Let us place this confidence of ours in Allah. If we know, without any doubt, that Allah's power supersedes theirs and Allah's knowledge is more then their knowledge and Allah's timing is better than their timing, why should anyone for one moment fear that there is something to worry about? When we assimilate into Allah in such a way, we know that His word on any affair is the final word. This is the position that we belong in. This is the position of taqwa i.e. protection or raising our guard, because it is a position that belongs to Allah

ISLAMIC SELF DETERMINATION AND THE NATURE OF WESTERN CIVILISATION

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims Those who are committed and who are secure in their commitment to Allah need not despair by what is being said about the result of this commitment. Those who Allah has made their positions firm on earth standardize their relationship with Allah, (i.e. it becomes the standard of society), and they systemize the distribution of wealth and they have the authority to command the common good and they have the authority to dispel the common evil and with Allah rests the conclusion of these affairs. (Surah Al Hajj verse 41) We, at this time/generation that we are in, are just beginning this process. By no measure are the Muslims, of now-and-here, are not of those who Allah says they standardize their relationship with Allah, and they systemize the distribution of wealth and they have the authority to command the common good and they have the authority to dispel the common evil and with Allah rests the conclusion of these affairs. (Surah Al Hajj verse 41) It's just the beginning of that process that we are in now. And even if it's just the beginning, we have accusations, innuendo, false alarms and character assassination of any Muslim who is part of this process and its beginning. We can only leave it up to our imagination what will happen as this process gains momentum/flourishes and becomes the order of the day. We need not circulate among ourselves what is circulated inn public about us i.e. terrorists, revisionists, anarchists reactionaries and the rest of these 1669

known record. We know that to be nothing related to the truth. Our civilization is the only civilization that has a moral quality/edge to it. All the policies of the counter Islamicmodernity lack this property/quality. How can anyone accuse us when we can refer to positions in our civilization that they don't have in theirs? The Prophet of Allah is the prime example of what Muslim behavior is when we have the power of iqamat is salah. Iqamat is salah needs power; ita az zakah needs power; al amr bi al maruf and An nahyu an al munkar needs power. When Muslims are powerless in today's world, there is no iqamat is salah. Thereare individual Muslims praying- yes- but that does not constitute iqamat is salah! There are individual Muslims who pay the dues, but that does not amount to ita az zakah! There are individual Muslims who are supportive of alma'aruf, but that is not amr bi al maruf! And there are individual Muslims opposed to al munkar, but that is notnahyun an al munkar. You and I know the type of years Allah's Prophet spent before he obtained the requisite power that was needed for the meanings of the Qur'an to come alive. Finally, when he did obtain that power and he returned to Makkah after twentyone years of persecution, harassment, intimidation, character assassination, excommunication, isolation and attempt at thwarting his effort, that would be enough to make a normal individual seek revengetwenty-one years of what can be described as the worst moments of a human's life- he returns toMakkah and he stands at the entrance/gate of the Ka'bah with 10,000 strong warriors. He returns to Makkah and tells those who have caused him to suffer through: wars, military campaigns, a social engineering of Al Jahiliyahagainst him and a heightened attitude of hostility and animosity towards him throughout all of these years what do you think I am doing now to you? And they said we consider you a brother and a nephew. Is this how people, (who are not Muslims), who find themselves with power deal with Islam or with committed Muslims when they have power? He says to them you are not to be held accountable for your past collective behavior. You may go, you are free. This is what happens when committed Muslims enter into a domain that is hostile to them. They didn't enter there killing leftand-right, destroying the infrastructure of society (or) expelling people from their homes. This is the model that we look forward to. How can someone turn around and say "Muslims are savages" as they systematically do nowadays?

In the battle of Uhud, the Prophet had one of his teeth broken. He was cut on his face. He was bruised and he was injured. His uncle became a martyr. There was a person who was called Wahshi who killed the Prophet's uncle,Humza (radi Allahu anhu); and Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, took Humza's body and cut open the chest area, took out his heart and began to chew on the Prophet's uncle's heart. It years later, when the Prophet returned to Makkah,Hind and Wahshi who had offended the Muslims by their unbecoming behavior were there. But when Muslims gained the upper hand and gained power, they now said they are Muslims. What did the Prophet say to Wahshi, who killed his uncle? There was no revenge or killing spree. He said to him you may dwell among us, but if you could, stay at a distance so the sediments of human nature are not antagonized. Can you detect unbecoming behavior in this model deportment of the Prophet and the people around him? When they were at their worst times, the people around the Prophet would come and say why don't you evoke the help of Allah against these enemies? And he would say I was not sent to insult them. Oh Allah guide my people because they don't know or their knowledge is lacking. This is the strategic endurance that is required of us. That wasn't limited to that time frame. It is a characteristic of our civilization that our adversaries know better than we know. 1670

There was a governor in that immediate generation after the Prophet over Lebanon- Ali ibn Abdillah ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu)- who behaved like any governor/ruler would do when there was opposition by certain factions in that country against the stability of Islamic rul. To break up/dilute this opposition, he relocated some of that opposing population, which today are called the Maronites. There was a scholar/faqih by the name of Al Awzaaeee who wrote a letter to this governor and told him what you are doing has no basis in the book of Allah or in exemplary model of the Prophet and this ruler rescinded/back tracked on his policies on trying to dilute the concentration of opposition to Islamic rule.

In the area called Ash Shaam, Muslims entered and assumed the position of power and they were paid by the non-Muslims a form of tax for their protection; but when the Byzantines regrouped in that area and they became a threat to the Muslim power, Khalid and Abu Ubaida (radi Allahu anhuma), both went to the population of Hims andDamascus and they gave them back the money that was paid to them because they were not sure that they would be able to protect them. Do they have an equivalent of this behavior in Western civilization? Absolutely not!

In Samarqand, during the rule of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, there was a military commander by the name of Utayba who had entered victoriously into Samarqand in Central Asia and Islam became the military force in that area; but the population in that area had not become an Islamic population base. They were opposed to the presence of anIslamic military in their city so they sent a delegation that represented them to the capital of the Muslims to protest this Muslim presence. After they did, the this Muslim military received orders from its hierarchy to retreat from that city i.e. not to relinquish control of it, but not to have a military presence in it. There are other examples in the history of the Muslims, but what do we have when power is in non-Islamic hands?

We have had ugly representation of the excesses/atrocities of that power all around the Muslim domain. Colonialismand Imperialism in Asia and Africa never behaved, even remotely, the way the Muslims behaved towards those who were not Muslim. On that occasion in Damascus and Hims, the population there who were not Muslims said we regretfully take back our money. We feel more secure with you, (Muslims), even though we are not Muslims than we do with the Byzantines, even though they are Christians and we are Christians. Now, this is an area Muslims should pay close attention to i.e. the area of acquiring power. Once we obtain this power we behave the way the Prophet of Allah behaved. We are not intoxicated by power. We do not abuse power. We don't take revenge when we have power. In one of the military expeditions the Prophet of Allah came across a lady that was killed from the opposing side at the military front and he took the Muslim military commander to task why did the Muslims kill an opponent of Islam at the frontline of battle because she is a lady/woman/female. Look and compare these standards of

1671

Those who Allah has made their positions firm on earth standardize their relationship with Allah, and they systemize the distribution of wealth and they have the authority to command the common good and they have the authority to dispel the common evil and with Allah rests the conclusion of these affairs. (Surah Al Hajj verse 41) to what they are doing to the Muslims today. Specific orders were given by a successor to the Prophet when they go out on their military assignment to respect all clergy men of whatever faith they may belong to; to consider their houses of worship as sanctuaries- churches, synagogues, temples; not to cut down any trees, vegetation or destroy any agricultural source of income; not to harm any women, child or infant.But what do we have today when war is on our turf/in Muslim lands? This polished image that they have while contaminating the image of the Muslim- they give themselves a civilized status! We don't see anything civilized by them. When they go to what is supposed to be the holy land, (not to speak about other areas that would consume more time that many of us should be aware of), they tell the Muslims who have been living there for centuries upon centuries, "if these Muslims have been living in the area of Al Quds and if they leave that area for some period of time- some months a year or so- they no longer have the right to reside in Al Quds." They go to Muslim sources of water-Arcesian wells in the West Bank and they draw water for their own lands/dwellings and they spill 10/15 times as much water as is allocated to the Palestinian/Muslims/Christians in that area. These are the Jewswho are supposed to be super civilized! God's chosen people! God's chosen race! There are orchards of fruitsgrapes, olive trees, figs, citrus fruits- and these Yahud go there and raze down to the ground this vegetation/agricultural base of livelihood that belong to the Muslims and then they spring out of this looking pretty, as if they are cultured/modern/civilized and what goes along with this public imagery is that the Muslims are behind/barbaric/savage. The United States, with the military power that it has, is concentrating some of this power in Muslim lands and at the same time that it was killing off Muslims in multiple masses in Iraq and conniving with other enemies of Muslims around the Ummah, it wants to project a friendly image of rescuing the Muslims in Kosova and Bosnia and because Muslims have not developed a capacity to think for themselves and to reference themselves in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, some Muslims believe that there is something friendly about the United States in the Balkans?! Don't be deceived! There has never been a humanitarian pulse to any contemporary policies, especially foreign policies of the UnitedStates, when it comes specifically when it comes to Muslims. Don't confuse the jungle for the trees! If they are trying to say that they are in the Balkans for humanitarian purposes then what are they doing in other parts of the Ummah? What's so humanitarian about their policies in Iraq, Kashmir, Algeria, NorthAfrica and around the Ummah? Nothing! (Last week and the week before), The United States closed down five of its diplomatic missions in Africa. Why? If a person has a humanitarian mission that he's on, he doesn't close down his shop. There's nothing to worry about/fear; but when you begin to worry/fear, there's no humanitarian to/in you! (Yesterday or the day before), they closed down another diplomatic mission in Africa. And they leak information and suggest that they are planning a military operation against some dedicated Muslims in Afghanistan and now they are bracing for the coming two weeks for the first anniversary. It's almost a year since two of their diplomatic missions in Africa disintegrated. You don't have to be a nuclear scientist or have a PHD to understand how governments act. Governments are no deity. These are blood and flesh human beings. They have the same feelings and that you and I have. You know when a criminal is guilty, he takes maximum security to 1672

protect himself. This has become the behavior of their government that is taking maximum security to protect themselves. Last Jum'ah, (at this time exactly a week ago), they closed down the FBI building here in Washington DC to tourists. Why? They said "they had some type of information indicating that there maybe some kind of action taken against them." Not only are we in the United States,but we are in Washington, and it's no ordinary building in Washington, it's the center of what is supposed to be the Federal Bureau of Investigation- they had to close that down to the tourists because they don't feel that they are acting in a humanitarian way. Contrast that with Muslims who don't have any of the fire power that they have but who behave normally, peacefully, in a civilized and cultured way. We honor our treaties/agreements/word when we enter into them (Surah An Nahl verse 91) but they don't. This is the difference we have with them. We have the moral authority that works at all levels of our behavior- individual or official, historically and presently. They don't have any of that. They have expelled God from their minds and societies and this is the way they begin to behave.

Brothers and sisters, Committed Muslims We thank Allah, even though people who are absorbed into materialism will not be able to provide this the way a humble and a sincere Muslim does. It may seem- to a worldly person- that everything is falling apart, but it will appear to a person of Allah on earth that everything is coming together. We can't doubt the nature of the society that we are living in. It's a society of crass materialism; a society that denies God- and denies Him with a vengeance. What do you say of a national publisher of one of these porno magazines, (that are readily available to anyone/everyone), when he comes to a Catholic University? We don't have a problem with Catholics,some of them are good people and others are not; but he is invited to come and speak at Georgetown University in Washington DC weeks ago and he says to his audience, (this is the type of society we are living in), "the church has had its hands on the American crouch for a long time." This pornographic publisher- Mr Flint- looks like he's disintegrating himself. I still don't know in my mind and we hope this is the case with every Muslim mind to not even exert the effort to correspond him with his published filth. How many times have we heard what magazine he belongs to and still in my mind I don't know what pornographic magazine he belongs to! Penthouse/Playboy or the other is it?! I don't have in my mind the energy to correspond with him with his filthy magazine! What do you expect from a society that invites such a person to say such words to be listened to by such people? How do we describe human waste (or) the type of human beings that are around? Months ago, this nation was shocked by Columbine-the High School massacre in Colorado; just yesterday there was another massacre by an individual in Atlanta,Georgia who, (with the type of information in your head), if you would were to encounter him in a restaurant/street/mall or any public place, you would think this person would be the last one to go on a killing spree and do what he did to his family and in his work place, but still, with all of this disintegration of human nature around, a Muslim stands up in this test-pool and says Alhamdulillah. (This is) a statement that liberates a Muslim from his immediate moments and surroundings and places him in the larger picture of things. TheState of Maryland has just declared an emergency. They are saying "they are living in drought conditions the likes of those that they haven't seen for the last thirty three years (according to some) or the last seventy years (according to others)." We should know, (as the disciples of the Prophet and as the 1673

graduates of the Qur'an), that there is a direct relationship between the decisions they make in their society and the environmental or atmospheric circumstances that come into their lives. We know this from those who have preceded us and we know this now from the society that we are privy to. This is not perchance and we stand up and reiterate in the midst of all of thisAlhamdulillah.

THE GENESIS OF THE BREAKDOWN OF TAQWA

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha Al Mu'minoon (I know this is a cold day, so I usually say that I'm going to make my khutbah shorter and to convince myself I'm telling you now, (at the beginning), I'm going to try to make my khutbah shorter.) Oh you who are securely committed to Allah guard against Allah as is due to Him in the full measurement of this guard and do not die except in a state of submission to Him. (Surah Aal Imran verse 102) The most important thing for us is to acquire/nurture/reinforce/strengthen the attitude of taqwa until we know and until we behave in a way that demonstrates that we truly acknowledge Allah's power presence in our lives. Haqqa tuqatihi does not mean that we are going to be afraid of other powers short of/lesser than/inferior to Allah- that's not haqqa tiqatihi. Our life is moving; the days keep on rolling and we are approaching the moment of surrender when we will give back to Allah what He has given us, but it turns out- with working minds- we realise that the biggest obstacle between us and gaining this essential taqwa are the powers/governments/militaries and all the structures that go along with them- this is the biggest obstacle. We, Muslims, have to grow/mature/evolve to a degree/status that it doesn't matter whatever power there is in this world- especially if that power "belongs to us", is abused and if it is concentrated/dictatorial we have to expose it! We live with a religious attitude that looks askance when these powers are looking us in the eyes. These powers have what it takes to do what they are doing to us and we look the other way as if nothing is happening. This day is a day of taqwa; this hour is an hour of taqwa.If you're afraid of these concentrated and abusive powers in the rest of the week, don't come 1674

to Jum'ah, thekhutbah, the Mimbar of Rasulillah and to the institution of the Juma'ah at this time and in this day every week and expect more of the same capitulation to these powers. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims wherever you may be- the powers that have institutionalised dhulm and then gave it a gloss/veneer of legitimacy have caused us to go off balance. Let us out-grow our traditionalism. Out grow it!! Can't we do that and see that in our past we had a tragedy like the tragedy in Karbala'. There's nothing wrong with looking at this with a heart and mind that comes from Allah and His Prophet. If we do that, are not sectarians, reactionaries or traditionalists. We take a look and this and we see that we had a concentration of abusive power that brought us this tragic chapter in our history. But what happened after that? Some Muslims did not want to look at this tragedy and learn from it, and still they live today- they don't want to look and learn from it. Others visit this tragedy with their emotions and they convince themselves that there cannot be a legitimate leader after Al Imam Al Hussein (alaihi as salaam wa radi Allahu anhu)so they are comfortable with the quiescent character that they have acquired. This is what we mean when we say that these powers/governments have had such a negative impact on us that we are still reeling from hundreds of years of their blows to our psychologies and minds.

Another lesson- if we can just liberate ourselves from Islam as a culture and assume Islam as an ideologywe begin to look and see (that) wait a minute we had another abuse of power. Remember, when we factor in Allah's power, there's nothing wrong in looking at the abuse of man's power. We can't take a look at that with the God given mind that we have?! Yazid, the son of Muawiya, attacked Al Madinah and the commander Muslim ibn Uqbah laid it to waste. For three consecutive days blood was flowing (and) Muslim women's honour was violated. What's wrong with us (that) we can't take a look at this and say "wait a minute something went wrong here and look at the details and facts that happened" so that we can sort this thing out without becoming fanatics/dumb about it. There was a revolt- there were many revolts- one of the revolts of the Umawi dynasty at the time was called the revolt of At tawwabeen and that was to take avenge for the shahada of Hussein. Once again, the experience that we have is no one wants to consider/look at it with their minds/brains. There was another revolt in Al Kufa, (about two years after that, in the year 67 of the hijrah), that was put down. We can't understand this history because we come from a tradition that has become a religion that has cast these events in such a way that they become resistant to our way of thinking!

In the year 73 of the hijrah there was a revolt in Makkah, Al Masjid Al Haram, by Abdullah ibn Az Zubair (radi Allahu anhu)- an opponent of the Umawi monarchy and then these forces go to Makkah and they destroy the Ka'aba with their catapult. Large loads of rocks/boulders were thrown/released by these catapults against the Ka'aba. Where is this in our thinking mind? We don't want this somewhere in the corner of our emotions- even though it is not there! How many Muslims do you know who quote/cite the details of this aggression of power against the House of Allah?Why did it go down the memory hole of we, the collective Muslims? What happened? We can't look at this fair-and-square? We come to a, (we think), revolutionary person who took issue with the Umawi dynasty- and there were many Muslims at that time who were against the Umawi dynasty. There's nothing wrong with that. (It's) just like today- you

1675

can be against the Saudi dynasty. Is there anything wrong with that? You can be principled/disciplined about it and eventually you can be revolutionary about it in the true spirit of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

An Imam/leader begins to put together a force to terminate the excesses, injustices, oppression and killing of the first monarchy in Islam. These are brave words. You won't find many scholars coming and referring to the rulers of that time as monarchs/kings- they still have their traditional pigeon hole description of these figures. He, (this leader), says a statement that also goes unrecognised by you and me and the average Muslim i.e. a leader belonging to us is not a person who goes behind curtains. He is referring to some potential leaders that the Muslims had who chose not to face off against monarchies with the force that it takes. Look brothers and sisters, with all these years- 1,400 years- and we still don't have a definition of when it becomes necessary for Muslims to oppose regimes of tyranny within their midst?! Why? Because we never thought through it. How are we going to define/assess/measure something if we don't think through it? We lament the condition that we are in when we are incapable of thinking through these events. He said a leader is a person who presents himself with his arms/sword/might. This statement doesn't live among the Muslims of today! We deliberately are not mentioning the person who said this because we want to reflect on ourselves and know how ignorant we are of our own selves. Then he goes on and says it always happens that when people are averse to their heat of the sword that they will be disgraced. How accurate/precise! We're talking about Avoid Allah as Power and Authority and say/express what is accurate/right. (Surah Al Ahzaab verse 70) You want the fear of Allah and you want the truth? This is exactly what it is- the fear and caution of Allah that is accompanied by accurate words/descriptions of reality. So when an average/common sense person sees that the government that Muslims have is ruling with an iron fist and with policies/procedures/politics that violate the heart of Islam which is justice he stands up and he tries to get the Muslims to get their act together, (in today's words), and he sees some Muslims- as is the case today if you speak to these Muslims around- you'll find that they're more interested with their pocket than they are with their principles! They are more concerned with their profits then they are with the Prophets. This is what we have. It's a fact of life. Can't we learn from this fact of life? So when he sees that there's reluctance around, he sayseven if it's going to be a confrontation that is reduced to me and my son against the Umawi king then, that is what it is going to be. This demonstrates at taqwa in its most brilliant character. He goes and expresses himself to the Muslim publicthis is what has to be done and you have some Muslims who support him Abu Hanifa,Waasil ibn Ata' and Sufyan Ath Thawri were supporters; and then there were tens of thousands of people saying we will sign on into this effort. Of course, that wasn't what was going to transpire eventually. This is another experience that we had. There was a flare up of support that we had, but when the final moment comes can we sustain that flare up of support!? This area has not been investigated by the rational, calm and measured Muslim mind. Remember- brothers and sisters- when we, Muslims, stand in opposition to abusive and tyrannical powers we need our solidarity, (as much of it as is possible). He turns to some of the Muslims around him and they tell him ok we will support you, but what is your opinion about Abu Bakr and Umar (radi Allahu anhuma). And he says I know what you mean/your question/where you're 1676

going but this is not the time for it; and they also rationalised that they're not going to participate in this uprising. Brothers and sisters- we are speaking about our own experience here. We have Allah's guidance; we have the practical Sunnah, behaviour and pattern of Allah's Prophet and then we have this experience/common heritage, (as it were), to consider and so when the final day came for these two forces to meet, the Umawi dynasty had 15,000 troops and this side/these "rebels" were 500. From the emotional flair up of support, when t