Standing up for the Uyghur Muslims - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Opening — The Khutbah of Need

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 وَصَفِيُّهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَخَلِيلُهُ أَرْسَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى النَّاسِ كَافَّةً بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا فَبَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ وَأَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ وَنَصَحَ الْأُمَّةَ وَتَرَكَنَا عَلَى الْمَحَجَّةِ الْبَيْضَاءِ لَيْلُهَا كَنَهَارِهَا لَا يَزِيغُ عَنْهَا إِلَّا هَالِكٌ فَصَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنِ اهْتَدَى بِهَدْيِهِ وَاسْتَنَّ بِسُنَّتِهِ وَدَعَا بِدَعْوَتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ

Lessons from Surah al-Kahf — Three Stories of Responding to Oppression

In the beginning, it is about the people who the surah is named after — the young men from the cave. Ashab al-Kahf. Who were living under a ruler who hated Muslims and Islam, to the point where they had to flee. They couldn't take what was happening in society. They couldn't speak out because they were a minority.

And they fled to a cave and Allah saved them. Put them to sleep until that era changed — for 300 plus years. They hated with their hearts. That's what they could do at that time. And so they did. They hated the kufr and the shirk and the zulm that was happening. And they left.

Why did they leave? Because if they didn't leave, they would have been persecuted. And that's the nature of this world. As believers, our legacy — if we look back from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ all the way to the first messenger — the believers and those that stand up for truth, Allah tests them. And among those tests is when Allah tests you with oppressors. And when you see oppression, at the very least you should hate it with your heart.

Then Allah tells us about another story — the story of the two gardens. A man who enjoyed life, whom Allah had blessed with wealth and a beautiful garden, to the point where he denied Allah. He refused to do shukr to Allah. And he denied the Hereafter. And a man came to him and said:

The man spoke to him. This time we have an example of a person speaking out against evil — not only hating it with their heart. Then towards the end of the surah, Allah tells about Dhul Qarnayn. A king, a powerful man who spread the earth with justice, because he had the ability to enforce justice.

The Three Levels of Changing Evil

So these are the levels that the Prophet ﷺ taught in the famous hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 186)

Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand — like Dhul Qarnayn was doing. If you can't do that, speak out against it — like the man of the gardens. If you can't do that, at the very least, hate it within your heart. Be bothered by it. Have some feelings for your Muslim brothers.

The People of the Ditch — Surah al-Buruj

In Surah al-Buruj, Allah teaches about an evil man:

Cursed were the people of the ditches. What did they do? This man, again, oppressing believers. They were sitting and watching — burning believers alive. Why?

And the only reason they were doing this is because they dared — they dared to believe in Allah. Allah mentions a promise to those that oppress, especially those that oppress others because they believe in Allah:

Those who are causing fitna, oppressing, killing, and hurting the believers — Allah promised them the punishment of the burning fire.

The Uyghur Muslims — Our Brothers and Sisters

Why am I talking about oppression, brothers and sisters in Allah? Today's sermon is dedicated to your brothers and sisters, my brothers and sisters. There is, alhamdulillah, a national campaign where we are talking about the Uyghurs that the Chinese authorities have been oppressing for decades and decades — and it is only getting worse.

They are labeled extremists because they pray. Their mosques are demolished. Their mushafs are burned. They are changing their faith, ensuring that the children who are growing up — every generation — know less and less about Islam. They are trying to eradicate them. World organizations are calling it a genocide, because it is.

Ikhwan in Allah, they are our brothers. Imagine if someone came to you and decided to cut your leg off — you would fight as hard as you can to ensure that doesn't happen. When the Prophet ﷺ said that the Ummah is like one body — are we really? Are we really? Do we even deserve the title of an Ummah, Ikhwan in Allah?

The Best of Nations — Our Responsibility

The purpose of my message today — to myself first of all, and to all of you Ikhwan in Allah — is: are we truly doing enough? Now you might be wondering, well Shaykh, what can we do against a whole government? A powerful government. What can we do? Allah is the All-Powerful, Ikhwan in Allah.

Have we been making enough du'a? Praying enough qunoot? Raising enough awareness? Talking about it? Every one of us is on social media. How often have you decided upon yourself to share the message of what's happening to them? How often have you decided to educate yourself on what's happening? How much do you know about what's happening all over the world to our Muslim brothers? Why do we not care? Why is it that we can't do more than our nine to five?

What happened to the Ummah of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ? Allah praised us and said:

You are the best of nations. Do you know why we are supposed to be the best of nations? Because we enjoin what is good, forbid what is evil, and believe in Allah. It is an honor to be among the people of Rasulullah ﷺ. But that honor that we enjoy comes with the responsibility to call out evil for what it is. To stand up against it with the levels that we mentioned.

Now maybe we cannot be like Dhul Qarnayn today. But those that have as much authority as they can — they should use that authority. And Allah will ask them about it. But for us, what can we do for our brothers? That should be the question.

Point One — Educate Yourself

First things first, Ikhwani fillah: do not allow yourself to live your life uneducated about what's happening to your brothers — locally or globally, nationally or internationally. What are you doing with your time? It is the same irresponsibility as one who has a wound that is infested and he doesn't care for it, doesn't check up on it. If we truly are one body, what's happening in Palestine, what's happening to the Uyghurs, what's happening to the Muslims all over the world should be something you care about.

And we know we can't trust the media because they are very selective in what they show you. Do your own research. Have some initiative. I felt embarrassed — wallahi — I felt embarrassed at how little I know about what's going on, while my brothers and sisters are being killed, are being persecuted. At the very least, know about what's going on, so that you can actually make some specific du'a for them. Du'a behind their backs — du'an bahri al-ghayb. They don't know we're making du'a for them. So let's start doing that, Ikhwani fillah.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Second Part of the Khutbah

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَلَا عُدْوَانَ إِلَّا عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ

Ikhwani fillah, there are a few things that we have to understand. Allah sees everything. Knows everything. And when Allah allows the zalimeen — the oppressors — to continue the oppression, it is just going to be worse for them on the Day of Judgment. They are only increasing in their own punishment.

As for the people upon whom the oppression is being carried out — I ask Allah to grant them shahada. I ask Allah to alleviate the difficulty. I ask Allah to reward them for their sabr. This is not the first time this has happened. Read the Qur'an. It happened to Rasulullah ﷺ in Mecca. It happened to the Banu Israel. It happened to many of the prophets that came before and their nations. It is not something new. It happened to the Ashab al-Ukhdud who were told to enter into the fire. So it's nothing new, Ikhwani fillah.

And for the person that is going through it, I ask Allah to grant them sabr — afrigh alayhim sabr.

Three Takeaway Points

For those of us who, alhamdulillah, have it better — it is our responsibility. Let's take these three points away:

Number one: Do not allow yourself to be ignorant of how your Muslim brothers and sisters are doing in the world — and that could be being ignorant of your own neighbor, or it could be someone on the other side of the world. Because the dunya really is a village today. Don't allow yourself to not know about that. Because when you know, you probably do something. And maybe in this masjid right now, with this many thousands of people, among us is the one that will speak out. Among us is the Dhul Qarnayn that we need. But we first have to speak — and we can't speak if we do not know.

The second point, Ikhwani fillah, is: support the organizations that are involved in spreading awareness and raising awareness. Volunteer for them. Help them. Aid them. Donate to them. Because if they're doing the khayr, then we support them. This is what Muslims do. We have to do ta'awun. The Prophet ﷺ — the way he described the Muslims — if only we were like that, Ikhwani fillah. And we need to have clean hearts. Want good for each other. Apply the sunnah of our Prophet ﷺ in every aspect of our lives. Do you really think if the sahabah were alive today, they would be completely ignorant and careless about what's happening in the world?

Now, look at the hikmah of our deen. We have been given stages. Why is the heart so important, do you think, Ikhwani fillah? Because the moment you stop caring, the moment you stop getting bothered by it — this is a sign that your heart is not pure. We need to reignite and heal our hearts. And then on top of that, Ikhwani fillah, we need to go to the next level and speak out, and support those that are speaking out.

And I call upon all of you, Ikhwani fillah — the campaigns that are for our brothers and sisters, specifically now for the Uyghur Muslims: support them. Aid them. Make private du'a for them. Make communal du'a for them. Whatever you can do, do. And remember — Allah is watching us. Allah is watching how we react. Allah is watching how they react. And Allah is watching the oppressors.

And I ask Allah to seize them. And I ask Allah to aid our brothers. And I ask Allah to give us the tawfiq to be strong enough to speak out, to be strong enough to bring about good change, and to aid our brothers and sisters. And at the very least, to keep our hearts pure enough — that we are engaged with the situation, and hoping to change the situation of our beloved, beloved brothers and Muslims.

Closing — Salah upon the Prophet ﷺ and Du'a

صَلُّوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُمْ كَمَا أَمَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِذْ قَالَ:

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ