Remembering the Oppressed - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah Opening

أَمَّا بَعْد — I start by praising Allah and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved messenger Muhammad ﷺ. We should thank Allah, my brothers and sisters — often we should praise Allah for blessing us with the ni'mah of Islam, for teaching us truth from falsehood, teaching us how we should behave, and giving us the blessings of this deen and the sunnah of our beloved messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

The Prohibition of Oppression

The sunnah taught us that al-dhulm — الظُّلْمُ ظُلُمَاتٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ — that oppression and transgression is among the darknesses of the Day of Judgement. May Allah protect us from those darknesses. It taught us a beautiful statement that was made by our Creator, when Allah said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 6246 — from the Hadith Qudsi narrated by Abu Dharr al-Ghifari)

Allah said: "Indeed I have prohibited from Myself injustice, and I have made it haram between you." Meaning, one cannot commit injustice against another — whatever faith that person may be, wherever they may have come from, whoever they may be. You are not allowed to transgress, oppress or commit injustice against others, and if you do, Allah will hold you accountable.

Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, when he spoke to Mu'adh ibn Jabal and sent him to Yemen to call them to Islam, he taught him what he should do step by step. This hadith teaches you the ABC of da'wah. He told him to call them towards tawheed, to teach them the salah, to take from them zakat. If they accept the tawheed and the salah, then he said: "And watch out — be careful of the du'a of the one who is oppressed, for there is no barrier between that person and Allah." It doesn't matter whether that person is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. This is the case with oppression.

And we see in the world a lot of zulm, a lot of oppression. We should first and foremost remind ourselves, my brothers and sisters, that it is human nature to commit injustice, and when it happens, the wajib — the obligation — among the believers, number one, and even the uqala from the non-believers, is to stand against injustice wherever it may be.

The Plight of Our Brothers and Sisters in Palestine

Among the greatest injustices that are being committed on this earth today is that which is being committed on a daily basis, weekly basis, yearly basis, to our brothers and sisters in Palestine. Every other day now, because of social media, you'll see it on the news — a person that is killed, the masjid is being raided, they are being hurt, the lands are being taken from them. These are our brothers. These are our sisters. This is the land of justice, the land of barakah.

Allah says in the Quran — it is a blessed land, that we have blessed its surroundings — when Allah is talking about Masjid Al-Aqsa:

Yet those occupiers have chosen to commit this zulm. And alhamdulillah, injustice is not only recognized by the believers, but by many of those that don't have our faith — Christians, Jews, and people of other faiths alike. They see what's happening and they are yelling "stop." They see what's happening and they are reporting it, calling out against it, running campaigns against it. And this should be welcomed, applauded, and appreciated.

Too many people have died. And we as Muslims have a special responsibility — a special responsibility — to keep your brothers and sisters in your heart, to make du'a for them as often as you can, to support any campaign that is helping them and aiding them. On the Day of Judgement, you want to be among those that stood up for their brothers and sisters.

The other day — I'm sure many of you have seen — she was a Palestinian Christian journalist and she was killed in a horrific way. She would report on these issues; she was very well known in the Arab world. Now is she the first person to be killed? The first reporter even? No. And she will not be the last. And we ask Allah to hold those that are committing this zulm in this dunya to justice.

How many are dying? I ask Allah for those that died to give them shahada among the believers. I ask Allah to aid those that are there right now. I ask Allah to keep them firm. I ask Allah to lift this haraj and this zulm from them. I ask Allah to liberate Al-Aqsa.

Lessons and Responsibilities

1. Help One Another in Righteousness

Sometimes Allah aids us through non-believers, and this is from the blessings of Allah. This is something that we should appreciate. We should mourn the death of this woman like the Prophet ﷺ would mourn the death of Abu Talib. Abu Talib was not a believer and he did not gain personal salvation, yet the Prophet ﷺ mourned his uncle.

And for those that feel this is perfectly fine — this is perfectly fine. You have some of our zealous brothers and sisters that will maybe take it sometimes a step or two too far, and they will do something that we as Muslims don't do. And this is important: as a principle, we don't say this person is from Ahlul Jannah. This is not from our deen. We don't say this person is from Ahlul Jannah, because we don't know their hal. We don't do this.

But we have general principles that we follow, and you must be aware of them as a Muslim. Number one: to gain salvation, you need iman and you need righteous actions — amal salih. Those are the two things that guarantee salvation. Which is one of the reasons why we should emphasize on da'wah and call people to Islam as often as possible, in the best way possible.

2. The Obligation of Da'wah Through Character

We need to do a lot more da'wah. When you have non-Muslim co-workers, neighbors, friends — people that you know — with your manners, with your speech, with any way that you can, because it is a responsibility. Do you think our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would have ignored his neighbors if they weren't upon Islam? Do you think he would have done that?

One of the ways that we sometimes even deter our brothers and sisters from entering into Islam is through our behavior — having the worst behavior, having bad manners. This is one of the things that we must rectify as an Ummah. If you even just look at our locality — it is celebrated as one of the most Muslim-dominant areas. MashAllah, 30,000 coming to Smallheath Park to pray Eid, the mosques are full — yet it is among the dirtiest places that you would see. This is something that will deter people, saying: "If Muslims live like this, then why would I want to join this religion?"

So, ikhwan, if you feel that responsibility of da'wah — especially among our fellow brothers and sisters that are not in Islam, that are aiding us and helping us in many of our causes — call them. If you feel that responsibility, feel that rahma for them.

But coming back to the earlier point: if someone who is not from Islam passes away, we cannot say that they are Shaheed, because the word Shaheed is not something that a person without iman would be attributed to. Nor was our Prophet ﷺ — no matter how much he loved his uncle Abu Talib and how much he cared for him — allowed to make istighfar for him. He wasn't allowed to say, "O Allah, forgive him," because he made the choice of staying upon idolatry.

Now does that negate the good that he had done? No, it does not. Do we appreciate Abu Talib today? Yes, we do. Do we prefer him over Abu Jahl? Of course. And for every Abu Jahl type — zalimin, oppressors like those that are oppressing our brothers and sisters in Palestine — you have an Abu Talib type among the non-Muslims who understand justice and appreciate it. And it is our responsibility to try our best to call them to Islam. But don't mix the two things up, and fall into error as it relates to saying "this person is from Jannah" or "this person is from Hellfire." We don't do this.

And we remember those that have iman and amal salih are promised Jannah. May Allah make us among those.

I say this and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and the Muslims for all our sins. He is the Forgiving and Merciful.

Second Part of the Khutbah

Alhamdulillah, and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. There is a lot that can be said about these issues, but I want to focus on the following points.

Point One: Do Your Part Against Injustice

There is a lot of injustice happening in this world, and we are upon the way of the Prophets who upheld justice. So do your part — whether it's educating, raising awareness, calling it out. Do your part, whether it's teaching your children about the importance of Al-Aqsa, or even about the plight of our brothers and sisters that are being persecuted in China, or anywhere else in the world. There are so many to name. So raise awareness, remember them, make du'a for them — genuinely, please make du'a for our brothers and sisters. Alhamdulillah, we have it easy, but Allah could test us just as easily. Make du'a against those that are oppressing them, and make du'a for those that are being oppressed.

Point Two: Palestine is an Issue of Deen, Not Nationality

Remember that the issue of Palestine is an issue of Islam, an issue of deen. It is not an issue of nationality. Just because you're not Arab or you're not Palestinian does not mean it doesn't involve you — it does. Masjid Al-Aqsa was the masjid of the Prophets, it was the masjid of the believers, and every single believer — whatever their ethnicity — has a haqq to establish the salah there peacefully. And as long as they are being occupied, you will be making du'a against those that are occupying them.

Point Three: Allah is Al-Muntaqim

In the end, remember this: Allah's names are many and beautiful, and among them is Al-Muntaqim — the One who takes retribution for those that cannot do it themselves. Every single oppressor that walked this earth will be standing in front of Allah. This is one of the things that gives us some reprieve from the pain that we feel. Every single oppressor — do you think what Fir'awn committed, and then he died, it is simply over? And this is why Allah is the Most Just, and justice will be delivered.

Remember your brothers. Appreciate our fellow non-Muslims that are helping us in these great causes. May Allah grant them guidance. May Allah grant them hidayah, ameen.

Point Four: Be an Ambassador of This Religion

You are an ambassador to this religion, and you must fulfil that by having exemplary character. Call to Islam with your character. Call to Islam with your speech. Feel the responsibility that was carried by the great messengers, because there is no other messenger coming — other than the return of Isa. It is our responsibility. Become the khulafa of the Anbiya in your deeds, in your actions, and in your seeking of knowledge.

Du'a

Ask Allah to forgive us. Ask Allah to aid all the believers wherever they may be. Ask Allah to punish the oppressors. Ask Allah to forgive our sins and our shortcomings. Ask Allah to guide those that are standing up for justice to the haqq, ameen, ya Rabbal Alameen.

Pray on your Prophet as he commanded you. As he said, Allah and His angels pray upon the Prophet — O you who believe, pray upon him and send peace and blessings: