The Foundation of a Transformed Ummah | Shaykh Mohamed Almasmari | Guardians of the Heart Conference

بِسْمِ اللهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنْ وَالَى

Jazakumullahu khayran. Thank you, Mufti Sahib. Barakallahu feekum. May Allah reward you all for listening to all these talks, these reminders.

May Allah bless you all and your families. May Allah make us among those who are sincere in what they say and what they do. Ameen.

Houston is so big — the airport is one hour away, and then something else. They said coffee is like 45 minutes from here. Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless you all. InshaAllah you all enjoy Texas. InshaAllah whenever you come to Michigan, you'll be our guest. Barakallahu feekum.

The Prophet's ﷺ Presentation of Islam During Hajj Season

In the years of the Prophet ﷺ conveying Islam in Mecca, he would wait for the hajj season. In this hajj season, the hadith mentions:

That the Prophet ﷺ would present himself to the tribes. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 16011; also referenced in Ibn Hisham's Sirah)

SubhanAllah, it requires so much humbleness and humility that the Prophet of Allah himself would go into the midst of all the hujjaj — the pilgrims — who would perform hajj before Islam. But it was a different type of hajj. For example, the Arabs used to perform hajj without clothes. Also, the Arabs would not go out to Arafah.

Now, for those who have performed hajj, the Prophet ﷺ said:

Hajj is Arafah. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1949; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 889)

Why? Because the people of Quraysh declined to leave the haram, thinking that they deserved some special treatment. So the Prophet ﷺ said: Hajj is Arafah — you have to leave your comfort zone. And the Prophet ﷺ would go and present himself and share the message of Islam year after year, facing nothing but rejection.

The Meeting with Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj

In the 11th year of Nubuwwah, the Prophet ﷺ met a group of people — Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj — from these two well-known tribes in Medina. The Prophet ﷺ sat with them, engaged with them, and recited the Qur'an to them. SubhanAllah, they were receptive to this message.

SubhanAllah, these two tribes were known to have engaged in conflict for tens and tens of years. And the Prophet ﷺ was now conveying the message of Islam, empowering these people, uplifting these two tribes. But he ﷺ also knew and understood the challenges this may come with.

Yawm Bu'ath — The Day of Bu'ath

Yawm Bu'ath was a battle — the Day of Bu'ath — where Al-Aws made up their minds and came out with a clear decision, and Al-Khazraj made up their minds and also came to a clear conclusion: they would both engage in war and fight until one of them won. It was a decision that was made. Their intention going into this battle was to destroy either tribe. One of us has to succeed — either Al-Aws or Al-Khazraj.

It is necessary to understand this to see how beautiful the Ansar were. It wasn't easy for an Ansari from Al-Aws to sit down with an Ansari from Al-Khazraj at the beginning. So the Prophet ﷺ had to plant the seed of Iman in their hearts, and this is why Allah says:

There is nothing humanly possible that he ﷺ could have done to bring these two tribes together — but it was Allah that brought them together. Impossible. Because you're looking at someone who killed your father, who killed your brother, who killed your uncle, who killed a family member, who caused a massacre — and the Prophet ﷺ was able to work with them to the extent where any Awsi was willing to give up himself and herself for the sake of the Khazraj, for Allah.

Can you imagine how unique Islam was? And Islam is so unique within our lives that it can allow someone from the enemy tribe to submit to the will of Allah and be willing to go so far as to put himself or herself in harm's way for the sake of their brother and sister.

Abdullah ibn Ubay and the Aftermath of Bu'ath

Yawm Bu'ath takes place, and there was one person that stood against Bu'ath — one person who literally fought the idea of the Day of Bu'ath and tried to resist it, because it would bring about the destruction of the people of Madinah. That man was Abdullah ibn Ubay — the only leader who refused to participate in this battle.

So when they both went at it — in the beginning Al-Khazraj won, and in the end Al-Aws won — no one truly won. When they realized it was impossible to win, they said: who amongst us refused to join? The answer was Abdullah ibn Ubay. The leader of the munafiqun in the time of the Prophet ﷺ. The only one that refused. So they all agreed to make him the king of Madinah — and all of this was happening before the arrival of Rasulullah ﷺ. Now you know why Abdullah ibn Ubay disliked the Prophet ﷺ — he messed up everything for him.

The Bay'ah of Aqabah — سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا

The Prophet ﷺ sat with the Ansar in the 11th year of Bi'thah. In the 12th year of Bi'thah, he meets with them again and conveys the message of Islam, explaining to them the basics and the tenets of Islam. Then the 13th year of Bi'thah comes, and the Prophet ﷺ meets Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj.

They said, Ya Rasulullah, tell us what you want from us. The Prophet ﷺ said: to protect me like you protect your families.

To listen and to obey. And to give in times of ease and to give in times of difficulty.

You have to be prepared — it's not easy. To say سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا at a moment where your desire, my desire, is telling us to go the opposite direction — that is not easy. To practice Islam in moments of difficulty is not easy. When practicing Islam goes against a desire that we may have, something that may entertain us or bring about joy to us — and suddenly we say سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — it is hard.

The Sahaba, when talking to the Prophet ﷺ, understood what this meant. سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — not only this time, by the way. There were many times where the Sahaba were challenged and their faith was put to the test. سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — this is what made the Ansar unique. They mastered سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — we listen and we obey.

Sometimes we reach a level, we reach an age where we think: my intellectual capacity is very great, I can respond, and Islam is not modern, may not be relevant to our society. سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — this is what Allah wants, and I'm done.

The Last Ayahs of Surah Al-Baqarah — A Test of Submission

SubhanAllah — to the extent where the Prophet ﷺ recites an ayah to the Sahaba. The last few ayahs of Surah Al-Baqarah, where Allah says:

That if you hide or publicize what is within yourselves — internally or externally — Allah will hold you accountable for it. So Allah will not only hold you accountable for things that you do, but Allah will hold you accountable for things that your mind processes — whatever crosses your mind.

You all know that we can't control our thoughts — it's impossible. When this ayah was revealed, the Sahaba came to the Prophet ﷺ, got on their knees, and said:

O Messenger of Allah, as for this, we have no ability to bear it. (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 199)

When it comes to this — this is beyond our control. Like you're asking for too much. Anything that our mind, anything that crosses our mind, we're going to be punished for it? The Prophet ﷺ said: Do you want to be like the Jews, the people of the Book, who heard and rejected? Or will you say سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — we listen and we obey?

They said: Ya Rasulullah, سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا — we're okay with this test, we'll go through it. And this is where Allah reveals an ayah — an ayah that then abrogated the former:

You are not held accountable for what crosses your mind and the thoughts that cross your mind — it is beyond our control. But the Sahaba were able to pass that test. And it shows you the level of submission, their willingness to sacrifice for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

The Conditions of the Bay'ah

If we are looking to revive our ummah and to change our communities, we have to reach such a level of submission — which then requires a high level of discipline. Feeling uncomfortable. Islam is not about experiencing some spiritual level where you and I are on a cloud. Islam is سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا.

Some people come and they say: I don't feel salah. Salah is not meant to be felt to begin with. Salah is to prostrate, to show that you worship Allah. You feel it, you don't, you're in the sky — it doesn't matter. My sujood is for Allah. My ruku' is for Allah.

And when the Sahaba, ridwanullah alayhim, were now making a decision — people think that the bay'ah was easy. Do you think the Sahaba just came to the Prophet and gave him bay'ah — alhamdulillah, we're ready to go? Wallahi that was not the case.

When they asked Rasulullah to set his conditions, the Prophet ﷺ shared what I just shared — to listen and to obey, to give in times of ease, to defend him.

Then a Sahabi — Sa'd radiallahu anhu — immediately held people's hands back and said: Listen, listen. We're not going to give this man bay'ah right away. Do you understand what you're about to do? Do you know that by doing this, the Arabs will go against you?

Another person stands up — this is al-Bara' — and he says:

Wallahi, we will defend him as we defend and protect our very own inner garments — this is how close we will be to Rasulullah. (Referenced in Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah, Account of the Second Pledge of Aqabah)

Okay — now they're convinced. They're all getting up to give bay'ah to the Prophet ﷺ. Another Sahabi gets up and says: Listen, let us ask the Prophet ﷺ a question. He said:

O Messenger of Allah, between us and these tribes are clear alliances — and they will cut these alliances. (Referenced in Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah)

They're going to end them. So: when Allah gives you victory over them, will you leave us and go back? The Prophet ﷺ then says his famous line:

Blood is blood — we are together to the end. (Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) (Referenced in Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah; Musnad Ahmad)

Then Sa'd ibn Mu'adh gets up and says: Ya Rasulullah, what you want from us is clear. What do we get in return?

What is our reward? — Jannah. (Referenced in Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah Al-Nabawiyyah)

Nothing makes sense on a materialistic level. You're not going to get any materialistic gains by worshipping Allah. Jannah — Allah will reward you. And this is when Sa'd radiallahu anhu gets up and they all perform bay'ah to the Prophet ﷺ and give him the allegiance of Islam.

The Starting Point — Not the End Point

This is the history of Islam. And this is how the Prophet ﷺ was able to build a community. But never think for a moment that that was the end point — that was the starting point of their sacrifice.

Building communities requires that you be uncomfortable. Never think that between a righteous person and a person that is struggling is simply perfection. It's not — it is a person that is determined and a person that does istighfar. Everyone here is struggling. Never think that the speaker who is coming up or the Sheikh who is presenting is somehow special. No. Some people know how to return to Allah, and others are stuck. And this is where Allah, when He talks about the people of taqwa, He says:

Their first form of response is that they remember Allah. This is what made the Ansar community so beautiful.

Closing — The Legacy of the Ansar

Always make du'a for the Ansar. A lot of the time we go to Medina — but do we remember the sacrifices of those people? What made Medina so special?

It is possible for any community to build a community like the Prophet ﷺ built from Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj. Wallahi it is possible. Ibn Kathir mentions that they went to war for 120 years over a camel. Can you imagine how stubborn they were? And the Prophet ﷺ from them was able to bring forth the best generation that ever came to the face of this earth after the Anbiya.

May Allah be pleased with the Sahaba. May Allah give us that determination. May Allah give us the motivation. May Allah be pleased with the Ansar and reward them for all their sacrifices. And may Allah make us among those who follow the footsteps of the Ansar.