Lessons from the Siege of the Valley of Abu Talib | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Sh. Yaser Birjas

Lessons from the Siege of the Valley of Abu Talib

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. My dear brothers and sisters, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas was the commander-in-chief for the Muslim troops that conquered Persia. And on that day, when they conquered Persia, and they entered the capital, Nahawand at the time, as he was browsing the palaces and the glory of that nation, and when it was time for them to see the treasures of that land, and as he was presented with food, he was taken by that emotional moment and he starts crying.

Now can you imagine, that's a day of victory, and he's crying. So the sahaba from around him and his generals are asking him, ayyuhal ameer, that's a day of happiness, a day of joy, Allah has given us a victory. He says, I'm not crying about this.

He said, I'm not crying about this. And he starts citing these ayat from Surah al-Dukhan. He cited these ayat and he says, imagine how many gardens and springs the tyrant left behind, as well as various crops and splendid residences, luxuries, which they fully enjoyed — and we awarded all to another people. Then he says, neither heaven nor earth wept over them, nor was their fate delayed.

The Memory of Shi'b Abi Talib

Then Sa'd said, I remember the day with the Prophet ﷺ, in Shi'b Abi Talib, when we were besieged — we were besieged in the valley of al-Talib right outside of Mecca. Three brutal years.

They were left to die, they were left to starve, and they were left without any help or assistance could reach them from anywhere. Sounds familiar, jama'a? Three years, he said, we were so hungry that we've eaten everything in that valley. Everything that crawls, everything that grows, anything — and they were still hungry.

In those three years, the people of Mecca were so scared that this new movement, this group of people, are changing their ways. And perhaps they're going to be taking that land from them. They were so scared that their businesses were not going to flourish, their lives were not going to stand against the truth that that group was bringing. So as a result, they tried everything in their power to suppress them. It didn't work out.

They tried even to go after them, tried to kill them, to torture them — it didn't work out. So they decided, you know what, that's it, we're going to have to boycott these people. And they called for a siege against Banu Hashim and all their allies. Banu Hashim, the family of the Prophet ﷺ, and all their allies. So anybody who was aligned with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his family, Banu Hashim, was to be put in that prison — an open air prison. And they besieged them.

They wrote a pact on this: that we should not trade with them, we should not let our kids marry from them, we should not help them with anything — just let them there until they give up Muhammad. Let them give up Muhammad, let them give up the truth. Only then will we let them come and live with us.

Abu Jahl — and we have so many Abu Jahls today, Allah musta'an — was standing at the opening of that valley, preventing any person with compassion who tried to smuggle anything to these people. He would send them back again. Some people like Hakeem ibn Huzam, subhanAllah, his compassion couldn't just keep him from seeing his own flesh and blood, his own people. His humanity kicked in and he tried — as an individual, not as an entire flotilla — an individual. He tried to break that siege, to just smuggle one camel, to smuggle just one donkey with a load of whatever it could carry in there. He tried. But at least he tried his best.

And it lasted for three brutal years. Sa'd radiyallahu anhu said, I was with the Prophet ﷺ and I've heard the cries of the babies and the women and the people, and seen the people dying in that siege out of starvation. He's seen it. He said, I remember one of those nights I couldn't sleep. I was too hungry. I was too hungry to sleep. So I got up trying to find whatever. And in the darkness of the night, as I was walking around in that valley, in the camp, he says, I stepped on something that felt so soft. Something tender under my foot. He said, I just bowed down, picked it up, put it in my mouth. He goes, till this day, I have no idea what that was.

This is how hungry they were. And he says, look today, what we're eating. He's bringing them back again to the present day. He said, look what we're eating today. Look at these luxuries that we have around us. Look at the treasures of all of that.

The Parallel with Bani Israel

Brothers and sisters, the irony is that the ayat that Sa'd radiyallahu anhu was quoting from Surah al-Dukhan came in the context of the story of Bani Israel — and how Allah saved them from tyrants when they were besieged, when they were imprisoned, when they were enslaved by tyrants. And the ayat after that, Allah says:

Like He's telling Bani Israel — remember? All children of Israel, remember? We certainly delivered the children of Israel from the humiliating torment that was happening in Egypt. So We took them out of that misery, We delivered them out of that misery.

From Pharaoh — he was truly a tyrant and transgressor.

وَمَا أَشْبَهَ اللَّيْلَةَ بِالْبَارِحَةِ — SubhanAllah, today's affairs are so similar to the past.

But what happens usually? If we look at the story of Sa'd radiyallahu anhu, really — what happened in there? Where is the glory of Egypt? Where is the glory of Persia today? Where are their troops? Where are their armies? Where are these powers that they always boasted about, that it stays forever? Where are they? They're gone. What happened to the plotting of the Meccans against the Prophet ﷺ and his companions? It all failed.

And I can guarantee you that every single colonial oppressive project will always fail. Sieges don't last for long. No matter how long they're going to go, they will be broken and eventually come to an end. And Allah's way of dealing with the oppressors is always the same.

Lessons from the Siege of Shi'b Abi Talib

Lessons we learn from the siege that happened in Shi'b Abi Talib — after three brutal years. And the siege that we have around Gaza today hasn't lasted three years yet. May Allah make it easy for the people of Gaza, O Rabb al-'Alameen. But still, it is brutal. And here we learn from this many things.

1. Perseverance and Steadfastness

Number one lesson that we learn is that at the end, al-sabr wa al-thabat — perseverance, endurance, patience — will come, insha'Allah, to see its fruits sooner or later. We've seen that when people believe in a cause, when people believe in their case, they believe in their da'wah, in their mission, they want to sacrifice everything for it. Versus people who, whenever they feel any threat, they have other ways, other places to go to. But the people of the land, and the people of the truth, they will stay there. Because they believe in their mission. And eventually the patience of the Prophet's ﷺ companions against starvation and hunger did not prevent them from continuing to be steadfast on their faith and on their da'wah.

2. The Value of Family and Social Solidarity

Brothers and sisters, we've learned the value of family and social solidarity. SubhanAllah, this is so beautiful about the ummah. As the Prophet ﷺ mentioned, the ummah is just one body — if one part aches, the whole body will react to it.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6011; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2586)

And alhamdulillah, we've seen today that even that concept of family is expanding to all humanity. When you see more than 500 activists willing to put their lives on the line for a cause that they believe in, and willing to put everything on hold for the sake of a cause they believe in — they expanded the concept of family to humanity. That all human beings, they see what's happening there in Gaza, and they're willing to try to break that siege.

3. There Is a Price to Pay for Freedom

Brothers and sisters, we've seen that for these missions to survive, at the end there's a price unfortunately that has to be paid. Usually the early group does that. And we've seen how Rasulullah ﷺ and the Sahaba in Mecca endured all the hardships — and 1,400 years later, look at the ummah and how large the ummah is. And unfortunately, there's a price to pay for freedom. People who believe in their cause have had their land, their culture, their tradition, and their freedom taken away from them. But sooner or later, the truth will prevail, bi-idhnillahi tabaraka wa ta'ala.

4. Hardships Filter the People

Brothers and sisters, we've seen that hardships and trials like these will filter the people. You would know who's a friend and who's a foe. You know who you can trust and who you cannot trust. It will teach us lessons. And that's what happened with them during the siege that surrounded them in Shi'b Abi Talib. They knew — even among the non-believers — there were people who were compassionate. Those who had the compassion and the power to help and make some changes, even if it was as little as sending one load of a camel inside that camp.

And subhanAllah, that's something we're seeing today. People have no blood ties to the people of Gaza. But they know it's not fair. They see the injustice. They see the oppression. They see the genocide. And they wanted to take that sacrifice for the sake of breaking that siege. And those are the people you look for. You build alliance with them because they are the people who see the truth. And there are so many out there — they just need to be taught what is happening there.

And subhanAllah, we've seen the result of the resilience of the people of Gaza — they're waking up the entire world. No matter how much they try to suppress the truth and make big purchases, putting big money behind influencing others to change public opinion, the truth will prevail no matter how much they try.

Rasulullah ﷺ told us:

That victory always comes with perseverance. Which means those who have the longest breath, those who can hold on to the last moment — those are the ones who will get that victory. And sometimes victory comes in different ways. It doesn't have to be a military victory. But subhanAllah, the resilience and the continuity of that smaller group upon its principles — that's victory in itself. And that's a lesson we learn: that no matter how dark the night gets, at the end there will be the break of dawn. And the light will come back, bismillahi tabaraka wa ta'ala.

5. Speak Out — Even If That Is All You Can Do

Brothers and sisters, we learn from this lesson that we can do something, even if it was only to speak about it, to go and oppose that siege — like the many people of Mecca did, even among the non-Muslims. Not everyone was happy with that, so they spoke out. And as the public opinion started changing against that siege, subhanAllah, suddenly there was a revolt in Mecca against that siege. People did something — as little as speaking out. Even if we could not do much, speaking out and supporting the truth, and of course influencing the opinion of those who don't know any better — that's something you can do, bismillahi tabaraka wa ta'ala.

We need to take these asbab. Relying on Allah — there is no doubt, that's a must. But before you do that, you have to do your part, bismillahi tabaraka wa ta'ala, just as the Prophet ﷺ did, and his Sahaba radiyallahu ta'ala anhum wa radahum.

6. A Life of Convenience Can Be Dangerous

Brothers and sisters, we need to learn that, subhanAllah, a life of convenience can be dangerous. And this is my message to my dear brothers and sisters living in this area and living in comfort. SubhanAllah, when we live in the comfort of our ACs and a roof over our heads, alhamdulillah, food in abundance — you don't worry about anything. All of this is beautiful and requires us to be grateful to Allah for all of it. But at the same time, it can be dangerous. It can make people start feeling lazy, dependent on all this comfort. So the moment that comfort is threatened, they freak out. They're willing to compromise all their values just to keep their jobs, to keep their stream of wealth coming in, to keep the comfort and life standard they have. They're willing to compromise all of that.

And my dear brothers and sisters, you're going to have to learn to face some hardships and difficulty. Umar al-Khattab radiyallahu anhu, one time he saw his son and he noticed that the heels of his son were getting soft — very soft — which means he had been wearing nice, fancy, beautiful shoes. So he said:

"My son, roughen up a little — because those blessings don't last forever." Which means you need to be prepared. If a time of hardship comes, you need to be ready for it. And if you just freak out if the food is not on time or not ready or not to your liking or not spicy enough — can you imagine when real trials happen, what will become of people?

So endure hardships — and sometimes, subhanAllah, teach yourself by fasting, teach yourself by waking up at night to do ibadah and tahajjud, deprive yourself of some of the halal. Not because you can't have it — no, you can — but I just choose not to. Why? Because I want to train myself away from this comfort. Why do I say that? Because these ni'mat don't last forever. And if at some point we're going to have to deal with hardship, alhamdulillah, I want to be ready for it — physically, emotionally, mentally ready for it. Because you've lived through hardships.

Closing

My dear brothers and sisters, there is so much we learn from this. It's not just a story — it's a real event that happened in the history of the ummah. And those stories are for us to learn from, to emulate, to take lessons. And in a time like ours, I hope that we go back again to some of these similarities in our history, compare our life to theirs, and see what other lessons we can learn.

May Allah make us among those who listen to this speech and follow the best of it, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. We ask Allah to protect those activists, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. We ask Allah to protect the flotilla, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. We ask Allah to give them an easy passage to Gaza, ya Rahman ya Raheem. We ask Allah to break that siege around Gaza, ya Rabb al-'Alameen.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ الْعَظِيمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ، وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ، إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَصَلَّى اللهُ وَسَلَّمَ وَبَارَكَ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

Community Announcement

My dear brothers and sisters, on a different topic, I would like to encourage you, insha'Allah, to wait for a few minutes after Salatul Jumu'ah, as we would like to share with you, bi-idhnillahi 'azza wa jall, some of the khair as we expand our community.

One of the reasons why I want to bring this to your attention is that, subhanAllah, one of the ways that we can advocate for justice and prevent injustice from happening is by being strong, and being insha'Allah visible, and being seen. Alhamdulillahi Rabb al-'Alameen, our community has been expanding over the years, and you've seen it yourself, billahi tabaraka wa ta'ala. And we need to accommodate those who are coming into our community today, and those who will be coming in the future, bi-idhnillahi 'azza wa jall.

It is imperative upon us, as we become a leading community outside of Dallas, and outside of America as well, billahi tabaraka wa ta'ala, to ensure that continuity — to ensure, bi-idhnillahi 'azza wa jall, that presence, and accommodate for all these needs. It is a waqf that you're going to be participating in, insha'Allah 'azza wa jall. It is a way of helping, insha'Allah, more of our community as they move in here — to have a home away from home. So I encourage you all to stay for a few minutes insha'Allah and show your support.