Why Does Victory Comes In the End with Shaykh Kamal ElMekki

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ، نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.

أَمَّا بَعْد، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ، وَأَحْسَنَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّار.

مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ — When Is the Victory of Allah Coming?

Brothers and sisters in Islam, the title of our khutbah today is مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ — When is the victory of Allah coming? The people of Palestine have been suffering for 80 years. Since we were born, since we came into this world, we know that there is a problem in an area called Palestine. We grew up hearing and seeing the murder, the destruction of homes, the imprisonment of the innocent, the imprisonment of children, the wailing of women.

Who amongst us does not remember a time when there was not some woman crying about some atrocity or injustice that was done to her on the news or on television? And it has never ceased once. So the question is: when will it end? When is this situation in Palestine going to end? In this khutbah, insha'Allah, we're going to attempt to provide evidence that the end is near, bi-idhnillah. And we'll present two points and give evidence.

Point One: Victory and Relief Come at the Very End

The first point, brothers and sisters, is that victory and relief come at the very end. It doesn't come at the beginning, because then there's no test. It doesn't come in the middle, because then it didn't get difficult yet. But it comes at the very end — when there is no other way out. When all the doors are closed. When you lose hope in the people around you. Either they all let you down, or they all abandon you, or they're all unable to do anything.

In Palestine and in Gaza, the situation is arguably the worst it has ever been. And no one around them is helping them. And by that we don't mean to attack the people around them — meaning we are certain of the good people of Egypt and the good people of Jordan and what they would do to assist their brothers and their sisters. But we know the political situation and we know the governments. But that's not our discussion. We're saying: assistance comes at the very end, after the difficulty has reached its peak.

The Example of Hajar (Hagar)

Take the example of Hajar. Ibrahim (alayhi as-salam) leaves her and her infant son. When does the relief come to her? Does it come right at the beginning when Ibrahim (alayhi as-salam) walks away — does the angel come then and the tribe of Jurhum come and settle there? Does it come when her food and water supply is halfway through? No. Does it come when her food supply is completely finished? No. It comes when even her own milk supply is finished. And then does it come? No — there is still food in the belly of the child, until the food finishes from his belly. And he's just crying nonstop in pain from hunger. And she's panicking and running from one hillock to the other looking for help. Then the angel comes. It came at the very end — when every droplet of food in his belly and every droplet of milk that she had was finished. Then, at the very end, the assistance came. The angel Jibreel (alayhi as-salam) brings out the water of Zamzam, and then the tribe of Jurhum shortly thereafter comes and settles with her.

The Example of Lut (Lot)

We'll look at the example of Lut (alayhi as-salam). The angels came, and they specifically came in the form of handsome young men — as a final test and as a final argument against the people of his village. The narrations mention that as they entered the city, they met one of the daughters of Lut who was outside running some kind of errand. So it's fair to assume that a girl was out by herself — this must have been before Maghrib time or close to Maghrib. So from at least Maghrib time she took them to the house of her father (alayhi as-salam). The people of the village heard the news and they came. And what does he do for the rest of the night? He is talking, negotiating, stressing, barricading doors and barricading windows.

Then, in Surah Hud, Allah says:

They said: "O Lut, we are messengers from your Lord. We're angels — we're not even humans. They're never going to reach you. They're not going to come in here. They're not going to make it into the house." But when did they tell him this? The verse continues after they tell him what to do:

They told him at the time of Fajr — close to the time of Fajr. So that means the entire night he was panicking, negotiating, barricading doors and windows. The whole night. And now at the very end they tell him: "By the way, they're never going to make it in here. They can't touch you. They're not going to harm you. And we're angels." Why didn't Lut (alayhi as-salam) say: "Why didn't you tell me? You had me stressing all night. You could have relieved me from the beginning of the night." Because he knows (alayhi as-salam) that the ease comes at the very end. That Allah tests you until the very end.

The Quranic Principle: Testing Before Jannah

In Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah says:

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ — here حَسِبْتُمْ means بَلْ ظَنَنْتُمْ — "rather you think." You think you're going to enter Jannah without being tested? But being tested is a given.

In Surah Al-Ankabut, Allah says:

Do people think they're going to be left alone because they said "we believe" and they're not going to be tested? It's rhetorical — it is saying people are going to be tested. Being tested, the scholars said, is a mercy from Allah. And that's why the prophets were tested the most.

In the famous hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2398; graded Sahih)

The people who are tested the most are the prophets, then the righteous, and then in varying degrees people will be tested based on their religiosity. And the hadith continues: Allah will continue to test the person until they walk on this earth and there was not a single sin upon them.

So: do you think or do you think that you're just going to enter Al-Jannah without being tested? وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم — you're not going to enter Al-Jannah before you experience difficulties just like those who came before you.

Now, وَلَمَّا — the word لَمَّا indicates that something is expected to happen. As opposed to لَمْ — لَمْ shows there is nothing else coming; the negation ends with it. That's why Allah says, وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ, لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ — there's nothing expected after that. But لَمَّا means something is coming. So for something to become a مَثَل — an example — one has to have experienced all kinds of tests and difficulties. Not something simple. If you say Ayyub is a مَثَل in patience, that means he went through a great deal and showed a great deal of patience before he became a مَثَل. So when Allah says, مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم, that means they went through all kinds of tribulations, different circumstances, different trials and tests.

The People of the Ditch

Look at the example of أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُود — the People of the Ditch. This is an entire group of people who had to willingly jump into a blazing fire. And this included old and young — it included women and children, even newborn infant babies. They had to jump into this fire. They were consumed by this raging fire. So examples of the nations of the past — you will find so many different tests, all different kinds and types of trials and tribulations.

So Allah says: مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ — they were afflicted. الْبَأْسَاءُ is in wealth, and الضَّرَّاءُ is in the bodies.

Khabbab ibn al-Arat and the Prophet's Response

And the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used the same argument with Khabbab ibn al-Arat. And who is Khabbab ibn al-Arat? Of all the companions of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), he is the مَثَل in torture. He is the one who was tortured so severely. And it is sufficient simply to say his name — Khabbab ibn al-Arat. Years later, during the khilafah of Umar ibn al-Khattab, it had been a long time, and Khabbab uncovered his back. And Umar ibn al-Khattab saw the back of Khabbab ibn al-Arat. And he was astounded and shocked. He said: مَا رَأَيْتُ كَالْيَوْمِ عَجَبًا — "What happened to you?" And this was years later.

He comes to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) — and he didn't complain. Of all the people, Khabbab (radiyallahu anhu) didn't complain. But they said: "We came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and we said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3852)

"Will you not ask for victory for us? Will you not ask Allah for us?" That's all — they didn't complain. And the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: كَانَ الرَّجُلُ فِيمَن كَانَ قَبْلَكُم — from the nations before. He used the example of the nations before. And he described how people were tortured and punished. Then he said to his companions:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3852)

"But you are people who are hasty. You rush things." So what is the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) teaching them? Number one, he's using the examples of nations before — just like the verse we're looking at in Surah Al-Baqarah. Number two, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is showing them that tests are difficult. He's telling Khabbab — of all people — what used to happen, the torture that used to happen to nations before. And number three — which is so important — the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is saying: don't ask me for victory now. This is just the beginning. The victory comes after the test gets difficult. The victory comes at the end and not right away. He's not saying you didn't get punished or tortured. He's saying it's too soon. وَلَكِنَّكُمْ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ — you're in a hurry.

Shaken Until the Very End

Continuing our verse: مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا — they were touched with afflictions in their wealth and in their bodies, وَزُلْزِلُوا — they were shaken down. A زَلْزَلَة is the shaking — the earthquake is known as a زَلْزَل. What's interesting about this word: the root زَلَّ means وَقَعَ عَن مَكَانِهِ — something was removed from its place. But it is زَلَّ plus another زَلَّ to make the word زَلْزَلَة. And these repeated words in Arabic show اضْطِرَاب and تَكْرَار and عَدَمُ الثَّبَات — distress, repetition, and lack of stability. We see this a lot in Arabic: قَلْقَلَة — the same word repeated twice. صَلْصَلَة — for the bell, the sound that it makes, where the clapper moves from one side to the other repeatedly, hitting the sides. خَلْخَلَة — if you want to remove a nail, you خَلْخِل it — you move it from one side to the other. So زُلْزِلُوا means they were shaken — taken from this experience to this experience, to this experience, to this experience — shaken in all kinds of different ways.

حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ — حَتَّى indicates a limit, a peak. Until it reached the point where the Messenger and those who believed with him, وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ, got to the point where they asked: مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ — "When is the victory of Allah coming?" And they asked this not out of doubt or disbelief — بَل مِن بَابِ اسْتِعْجَالِ النَّصْرِ — because they want the victory to come soon. So that means they were pushed and tested until the very end, until they yearned for it to come. And Allah gives the answer:

Indeed, the victory of Allah is near. Allah is giving the response — and other Mufassireen say they are answering it themselves, because they believe: the victory of Allah is near.

The Example of Nuh

So this verse, the story of Hajar, the story of Lut, and other stories all show that relief comes at the very end — when things get very difficult, when you lose hope in others coming to your aid, when everyone around you leaves you. And that's why Nuh (alayhi as-salam), when it got difficult, said:

But when does he say that? Does he say it at the beginning of his life? Does he say it in the middle of his da'wah? Or does he say it at the end? 950 years he called his people to Allah. And then he makes this du'a at the end. And that's towards the end of his life. So victory, ease, and relief come towards the end — after it gets difficult and it gets impossible.

And that's why we argue that it has never been as bad in Palestine. And that is, insha'Allah, a good sign for us that the end is near, bi-idhnillah. And we hope and we pray to Allah that it will happen in our lifetime — so that before we leave this earth, Allah will bring peace to our hearts and we will finally see justice in the land of Palestine. Or if not, it will be in the lifetime of our children.

Point Two: When No One Can Help, You Turn to Allah Alone

The second point was alluded to in the first one. What happens when no one around you can help? What happens when the humans around you are incapable? When the doctors can't cure? When the police can't find the missing person? What naturally happens? You turn to Allah alone. And your heart is free from anyone else besides Allah.

In Surah As-Saffat, Allah says:

Nuh called upon Us — and We are the best to respond.

The Story of Ubad as-Sayrafi al-Baghdadi

There was a man by the name of Ubad — his name was Ubad as-Sayrafi al-Baghdadi. And he was asleep in his bed. And he saw a man come to him in his dream. And he said: يَا عُبَادُ، قُمْ فَأَغِثِ الْمَلْهُوفَ — "O Ubad, get up and assist the one in this dire and desperate situation." So he said: وَأَيْنَهُ؟ — "How am I going to find him? Where is he?" The man in the dream told him: "Get on your riding animal, and he will be wherever it stops." So he said: "I got up from my bed, got on my animal, and passed through the alleyways of Baghdad — one alley after another after another — until the animal by itself stopped at a masjid. I walked in, and there was a man facing the qibla."

He gave him salams and said: "What is your situation?" He said: إِنِّي رَجُلٌ ذُو عِيَال — "I'm a man who has small children." وَلَمْ يَكُنْ عِنْدَهُمُ اللَّيْلَ شَيْءٌ — "And they have nothing to eat tonight. So I sat here in the masjid asking Allah for ease."

So Ubad gave him 100 gold dinars and said: "I am Ibn Ubad as-Sayrafi. If you need anything, come to me." Meaning: I'm letting him know who I am — so any time he is in need, he can find me in the city and I'll take care of him.

And this is the point from this story. Look at the response of the man. Think about why this man Ubad got a dream randomly in the middle of the night — taken out of his bed, with his animal knowing the way and not him, stopping right at the place so he can give this man his help and assistance. The man answers:

سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! أَتْرُكُ الَّذِي أَقَامَكَ مِنْ فِرَاشِكَ وَأَتَى بِكَ إِلَيَّ فِي ظُلْمَةِ اللَّيْلِ؟ — "SubhanAllah! Should I leave the one who made you get up out of your bed and brought you to me in the darkness of the night — and then go to someone else?"

That's why his du'a was responded to. Because there was nobody but Allah in his heart. Even after the man said, "This is my name, you can come to me at any time" — he said: "Why would I come to you and leave the one who got you out of your bed in the middle of the night and brought you to me? I don't have to go anywhere — the cash came to me." Allah was in his heart 100%. And that's the second point — that's when ease comes. When you are rid of relying on everybody else. Your heart is not attached to anyone but Allah.

Ubad said: "I bade him farewell and I left."

So: no hope in others, no asking others. The people of Gaza know not to attach their hearts to Muslim leadership. They know that no Western power — and their hypocrisy has been made clearer than ever before — they know not to attach their hearts to any Western power or nation. They have no one but Allah. And they only call upon Allah. And that's why the victory of Allah and the ease is near for them, bi-idhnillah.

Second Part of the Khutbah

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الأمين، وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين، أما بعد.

Brothers and sisters in Islam, if we only believed in this world, it would be difficult to take in what is happening in Gaza and to the Muslims of Palestine and to the Muslims in other parts of the world. But we are a people who believe in life in this world and the life in the next. And that is the bigger one in our eyes — and that is the one we are looking forward to.

And it might be that on the Day of Judgment, while billions of people are waiting for their judgment and to stand before Allah, you will see people of Gaza and Palestine and people in other parts of the world who experienced difficulty — you will see them get a free pass to Jannah. And you will see mountains of sins disappearing. And because of the difficulty they experienced, you might see martyr after martyr skipping the judgment going straight into Jannah, interceding for 70 of their family members and friends and taking them with them. You will see the children of Palestine and Gaza and other parts of the world entering into Jannah, interceding for their parents and taking them with them into paradise. And perhaps on the Day of Judgment when we see these things, we will all wish that we were from the people of Gaza.

Du'a