Reacting to the Events in Gaza - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Reacting to the Events in Gaza

Anyone who studies the seerah of the Prophet will see that the Prophet and his companions went through numerous situations on numerous occasions that were difficult and hard — that Allah describes in the Quran as having shaken them to their core and their foundation. Allah says in the Quran they were shaken to their core during some of those incidents that took place.

One of the things that you will also find in the seerah is that when they responded, when they acted or they reacted, it was always governed by the principles of the Quran and the Sunnah — and that is how the Muslims should be. Every event that takes place, every statement that you make, every action that you perform, every overt display of emotion should be governed by the principles of the Quran and the Sunnah, because that is what Allah commands and that is what the Prophet commanded. The Prophet and his companions went through many different situations that they had to face.

Many of them were difficult — 23 years of prophethood, many issues, many incidents in the seerah that you will find that they went through trial and tribulation. One of the other things that you will find within the seerah is that the Prophet and the companions knew how to deal and knew how to interact and react to those incidents that took place.

The Events Unfolding in the Middle East

These unfolding events that have taken place in the last week in the Middle East — this is something which you are all very familiar with and know. And one of the things that it does to us when we hear what is going on in the world and these events that are taking place is that it gives to us sometimes a sense of helplessness or hopelessness. The Prophet and his companions went through difficulty, but you will never find within the seerah that they felt that type of hopelessness or helplessness — because Allah told them that if you believe in Allah and you believe in the mercy of Allah and His justice, and you believe and trust in Allah and you have certainty in His promises, then you have no need to despair, because the promise of Allah will always come true.

Lessons from the Battle of Uhud

Allah in the Quran speaks about the Battle of Uhud in Surah Ali 'Imran — the lessons that you can gain therefrom. Many incidents took place during that battle. It was one of the most trying periods in the lifetime of the Prophet — what the companions experienced. 70 of their number were killed on that day, the Prophet himself was injured, and there were rumors being spread that he had died upon that battlefield. Allah, when He speaks in the Quran about what took place on that day, addresses the believers:

"Do not become weakened nor despair, for you will always be uppermost — إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ — if you have your Iman."

It is through this lens that I want to address you today — the lens of Iman. Because everything that takes place and everything that happens to the Muslim in this world, it is part of our belief that it is the Qadr of Allah, that it is the decree of Allah, whether it be good or whether it be bad. And that is a testament — or it is a sign, or a test — for your faith: to see how you will react, to see the mindset that you have, to see whether you feel helpless and hopeless, or whether you will do what Allah has commanded you to do in those situations.

Allah tells us in the verse that comes after the one I recited in Surah Ali 'Imran:

"If there has come upon you some calamity" — meaning what happened on the day of Uhud — "then many nations have faced calamities before you. And those are the days that We interchange amongst the people. And so then Allah will know who from amongst you possesses true Iman."

How will you behave? How will you respond? What are the words that you utter? As the Prophet would say when someone would pass away — that the heart grieves and the eyes shed tears, but we only say that which pleases our Lord. So how do you respond? We feel that sense of hopelessness, but Allah says that the believers are never hopeless, they are never helpless. Why? Because Allah wants to see how you will respond in terms of your Iman. Sometimes the things that take place and the incidents that happen don't directly affect me and you — meaning they are not happening here to us right now — but Allah is still testing us in the way that we will behave, in the way that we will respond.

Strengthening Iman During Times of Trial

The Prophet spent 23 years upon this planet as a Prophet and Messenger of Allah, and some 20 years of them were full of difficulty and hardship — wars and battles and enemies and persecution and torture and oppression. Throughout all of those 20 years, if you look at the life of the Prophet, every time the companions went through some difficulty, every time they went through some hardship, what did the Prophet used to do? How did he renew the bond of the Muslims — his Ummah, the companions — with their Lord and their Creator? One of the things that you will find is that the Prophet focused on this aspect of Iman and strengthened the Iman of the believers.

Why? Because we know that victory comes from Allah. We know that everything that happens in this dunya is by the decree of Allah. So the believer, even in the most difficult of times — when they are witnessing things that they feel that they can't do anything about, that are beyond their means and capability to resolve or to end — they turn to their Lord and their Creator. Not only in terms of du'a and in sadaqah, but in terms of also their own Iman and their worship. And that is why the Prophet focused throughout those years of his prophethood upon knowledge, upon teaching the believers, upon bettering them in terms of their character, in terms of their ibadah, in terms of their knowledge, in terms of bringing them closer to Allah. 23 years — and that was one of the major things, if not the most important thing, that he did: teaching people the Quran.

What are the companions doing between those events, those battles that are taking place — where from amongst them people are dying, where from amongst them people are being tortured and persecuted, where from amongst them they are going through so many trials and tribulations? You find that the companions were people of knowledge, people of ibadah, people of recitation of Quran, people of making dhikr of Allah. Because when you strengthen your Iman, there is more barakah in the sadaqah that you give. When you strengthen your Iman and your worship, your du'a is more likely to be answered. When you are strengthening yourself, you are strengthening the people that are around you. And that is why Allah mentions this in the Quran in numerous places.

Tried and Tested Every Year

Allah says in Surah At-Tawbah:

"Do they not see that they are tried and tested every year once or twice at least?" Major tests afflict you — sometimes personally to you, and sometimes not to you but from the events that you can see around you. ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ وَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ — "But they don't make tawbah and they don't turn back to Allah and they don't stop and think about what Allah is telling them."

That is a test for you and me. Even though we are not in Gaza, we are not experiencing what they are going through, we are not going through those events — but Allah is testing our faith as well. This day, this day of Friday, all of us were able to wake up in relative safety and comfort. They don't have that luxury. All of us are able to come to the masjid and pray Jumu'ah, where they fear for themselves and their families. You are going to go home and you are going to have an evening meal with your family and do what you do on your normal Friday routine. That's not something that everyone can enjoy.

So what will you do with those blessings of Allah? If you don't see the trials that others are going through and it doesn't make you turn to Allah, make tawbah to Allah, thank Allah, praise Him, use those blessings that Allah has given to you so that you may increase in worship and in Iman — then you didn't benefit from that test. You are from those people that Allah is speaking about. And Allah addresses this verse in Surah At-Tawbah to the munafiqeen, the hypocrites, because they are like those people that don't take any lesson from the signs that Allah gives to them. They don't make tawbah. They are never reminded. They don't see lessons and benefits in what the other people are suffering and going through.

The Sign of Iman: Feeling the Pain of Your Brothers and Sisters

Allah in the Quran tells us: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — O people of Iman. And what you feel — that is a sign of Iman. When you see those images and you hear those stories and you feel helpless, you feel the pain and empathize for the suffering of others — that's a sign of Iman.

The Prophet said in the hadith of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir, reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim:

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

"The example of the believers in their mutual love, their mutual affection, and their mutual mercy is that when one of them is suffering from pain, the rest of them feel that pain and they empathize with it." That's the sign of Iman.

Helping Allah's Religion

Allah addresses the people of Iman and says:

"O you who believe, if you help Allah in His religion, He will help you." It is by increasing in your knowledge and your Iman, by doing greater acts of worship, by doing that which is pleasing to Allah, by inviting others to the path of Allah. Allah says: do that, and His help will come to you. His divine assistance will come to you.

In the verse in Surah Al-Hajj, Allah is even more explicit:

"And Allah will surely help those who help Him." How do we help Allah? Allah tells us in the next verse: "Those who, when We give them the ability, they establish the Salah and they give the Zakah and they enjoin the good and they forbid the evil. And to Allah belongs the outcome of all affairs."

Allah gave you the opportunity to worship Him, to seek knowledge, to learn — and you see the suffering of others who don't have that luxury at this time and place. So what will you do with those blessings that Allah has given to you?

The Example of the Companions

The Prophet and the companions understood this principle, and that is why throughout the 23 years of the prophethood of the Prophet — but even after he died, during the reign of the companions, at the time of the companions — they understood this principle. During times of challenge and difficulty and hardship, they would turn to Allah. They would do more ibadah, seek more knowledge, try to better their character, their interactions and dealings with others. They would look at those things that are most pleasing and beloved to Allah and they would increase in them, not decrease. And Allah then showers His blessings and He showers His mercy upon those groups of people.

That is because they understand that this is something which isn't just for a day or a week or a month — but Allah tests people for great lengths of time. Allah tells us throughout the Quran that Allah will help you, but He doesn't say that the help will be immediate. Allah says that He will respond to your du'a, but He doesn't say immediately. Why? Because Allah wants to test you in terms of your Iman.

The Prophets of Allah are the most beloved of Allah's creation. And Allah tells us in the Quran the story of Nuh and Ibrahim and Musa and our own Messenger. All of them — had Allah willed, He could have given them immediate victory. Had Allah willed, He could have given them instant assistance. But Allah left some of them for years if not decades, because Allah loves that you turn to Him and make du'a. Allah wants to see how you are going to respond. Allah wants to see the level of your Iman.

The Lesson of Khabbab ibn al-Aratt

That is why in the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari of Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, when he came to the Prophet in the early Meccan period when the Muslims were being tortured and persecuted and said, "O Messenger of Allah, will you not make du'a for us? Would you not seek Allah's assistance?" — and the Prophet was already making du'a for them, but he wanted that du'a to be answered immediately. The Prophet said to Khabbab:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3612)

"But you are a people who are hasty." Everything that happens, Allah decrees. And Allah decrees it for a wisdom that He knows best. It is not our place to question Allah's wisdom nor to change what Allah's decree is — because you can't. But our role is to see what Allah wants to see from us, how we are going to respond: by the du'a that you make, by the worship of Allah, by the sadaqah that you give. What are those actions that you are going to take in order to make yourself better, for you to come closer to Allah, for you to strengthen your Iman, for you to be a better Muslim?

I ask Allah that He strengthens us upon this religion, that Allah makes us steadfast, that Allah showers His mercy and forgiveness and His blessings upon us and upon all of our brothers and sisters who are suffering. I ask Allah that He lifts their oppression and that Allah makes their affairs easy.

What You Can Do

From that which Allah has given you the ability to do — as you had the opportunity to do just before the khutbah — is to donate and to give generously to help those people who are in need of your financial assistance and help. Donate to those organizations and those relief organizations that are on the ground that can make a difference, by Allah's permission, to help them and to aid them. Do so with the intention of bringing relief to those people who are suffering.

And from those things that you can do is to raise awareness. For you yourself to learn about what is going on — the situation of the Middle East isn't something new. It is not something which has happened yesterday or last week or last month. It has been going on for decades, and you should know by now the history of what is going on and the developments that are taking place. If that is not something which you are aware of, then it is time now for you to take out some time and to learn about them.

And also from that which you have the ability to do is to turn to Allah and make du'a — to be sincere in that du'a, to look for those times and occasions that Allah is more likely to respond to your du'a, like the day of Friday after Salatul Asr. Turn to Allah and make du'a that Allah helps those who are suffering and those that are oppressed across the world.