Keeping the Right Perspective - Shaykh Yousaf Jahangir

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

Amma ba'd — for indeed the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of our Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, and the worst of affairs are the newly invented matters, and every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Du'a for the People of Palestine

O Allah, we ask You to protect the people of Palestine. O Allah, we ask You to bless the Palestinians with protection, with peace, with safety and security. O Allah, cure their sick, heal their wounded, and have mercy upon their deceased. And O Allah, let every innocent child that has been killed be a means for his parents to enter into Jannah without hisab or any 'adhab.

Do not think that Allah is unaware of that which the wrongdoers do — because Allah delays them for a day where their eyes will stare in horror.

The Right Perspective — The Mind of the Oppressed

When it comes to this particular test and trial, my brothers and sisters, there is a very important quote that we all have to keep at the front of our minds, and that quote is: "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." Meaning that if they can make us feel defeated and helpless, then they have already won.

And from the blessings of Islam upon us and the favours Allah has bestowed upon us — and they are many — is that Allah has guided us right throughout every difficulty and every hardship that we find. And we find it is our iman, our belief in Allah, that anchors us through these difficult and testing times. It gives us clarity, it gives us patience, it gives us perseverance.

Allah tells us in the Quran: do not falter, do not become weak, and do not lose hope if you are true believers — because in the sight of Allah you are most lofty.

So it's important that we have the right perspective. And this is a key theme of today's khutbah — having the right perspective throughout our lives, especially in testing, trying, and difficult times. And subhanAllah, if we see the Palestinians go through what they are going through and they have not lost hope, they have not become hopeless, they have no fear, they have not lost morale — then how dare we? If they are going through what they are going through and their iman is strong and they do not feel helpless and hopeless, then how dare we?

Next time we complain about our so-called troubles and difficulties, remember the people of Gaza today. Remember your brothers and sisters and what they are facing today — and that will lead you to be grateful to Allah for His many favours and blessings that we are drowning in. SubhanAllah — we think they are weak and they are oppressed, but they are the ones with strength. They are the ones giving us patience, telling us to be patient and to be steadfast, and to not become depressed and anxious and lose hope in Allah's promise.

The Story of Ashab al-Ukhdud — Companions of the Ditch

And it reminds us of the story of the Ukhdud — the Companions of the Ditch — where they were killed and tortured for no other reason except that they believed in Allah. Go back to Surah al-Buruj and read the story. And at the end of the story, we learn — as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari — that when these people are being tortured and persecuted, a mother comes with a child and she sees the ditch of fire that they are going to kill her with. She begins to falter and to become scared. And one of the miracles that Allah blessed her with is that her child spoke — from a perceived place of weakness that child spoke — and he said: "O my mother, be patient, because you are upon the truth, and the reward that Allah has prepared for you, you will see."

This is a blessing in disguise. It's about having the right perspective, my brothers and sisters.

The Lesson of Umar Mukhtar

We live here in peace, in tranquility, in prosperity. It's raining outside — not one of us has a drop of rain on us. It's cold but we are warm. It's about having the right perspective through these times and letting our iman anchor us.

Umar Mukhtar, may Allah have mercy upon him — he was asked: the fascist Italians that are colonising you, they have planes and you do not have them. Why are you not fearful? Why do you not lose hope? Why do you still have patience in Allah? He replied: these planes — do they fly above Allah's Throne or underneath it? They said: underneath it, of course. Then he said: we have with us the One that is above the Throne — we are not going to fear anyone or anything underneath that Throne. SubhanAllah — showing us the importance of having the right perspective.

The Quranic Account of the Confederates

Or do you think attaining Paradise is going to be easy? Yet the example and the tests and the trials and the difficulties of those that came before you — you have not seen that yet. They faced a great amount of difficulty, hardship, and adversity up until they were shaken. They were tested so much that even the prophets and messengers and those that believed with them said:

When is Allah's aid coming? — Allah says: surely Allah's aid and His assistance is always close.

It's about having the right perspective, my brothers and sisters. When the Sahaba faced the confederates — the groups and tribes that had gathered to destroy Islam — their perspective is so beloved to Allah that He placed it in the Quran for us to gain guidance from until the end of times:

When it was said to the companions — the confederates and the groups and the tribes have gathered to kill you, so fear them — this caused them to increase in their iman, because they knew Allah's promise was true. And with patience and perseverance, the most hardest and most difficult tests and trials will become easy in the blink of an eye.

They said: Allah is sufficient for us — our aid, our strength comes from Allah. And if you want Palestine to be free, then the first thing we need to do is return back to our deen. Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best one that we can entrust our affairs to.

The Test of the Believer — A Hadith of the Prophet

When we think of our brothers and sisters and those children that are being killed as we speak, it reminds us of a hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2399; classed as Hasan Sahih)

Allah will continue to test the believing man and the believing woman — within himself, with his children, and in his wealth — until he meets Allah and he has no sin. SubhanAllah — up until he will meet Allah and he will not have a single sin to be held accountable for. For him is just Jannah. And we ask Allah He makes the Palestinians from them, and He makes their affairs easy for them.

The Prophecy of the Prophet Regarding This Ummah

The reality is, the difficulty that we are seeing across the Ummah — this is something which was prophesied to us. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told us that a time is going to come where the nations are going to gather to take from you and to oppress you, and they will call one another to do so — like they are taking from a plate. The Sahaba were amazed: is it because we are less in number, O Messenger of Allah? The Prophet said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4297)

Rather you are many in number on that day, but rather you will be scum on that day. And Allah will take away dignity, honour, and respect from your hearts and He will place therein — the Sahaba asked — he said: loving this dunya and despising death. SubhanAllah — loving this dunya and despising death. Meaning every single one of us knows that we are certain to meet death and be held accountable for our deeds and our actions — every single one of us knows this — however we live like we are promised eternity, and we are not going to meet Allah, and we are not going to be held accountable for that which we say, the way we speak to one another, the way we act with one another, where our wealth comes from, how we spend it, our parenting skills, our tarbiyah skills, how we are in community, how we are in society.

Just walk on country road and tell me the state of it if I am wrong. Have a look around — is our deen just praying and fasting in the masjid, or does it affect our character and our behaviour and every part of our lives?

The Solution — Returning to the Deen

And in another hadith, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: when you become so scandalous that you even try to test and trick Allah with your earnings and your haram transactions, and you begin to chase commodities and wealth and the tails of camels and cows, and your source of happiness is from the amount of land that you have accumulated, and you leave jihad — as a punishment to you, and rightfully so, a befitting punishment is that Allah will send down upon you a humiliation. Is this not today? Is this not today? The Prophet gives us the solution in the last part of this hadith and he said: Allah will not remove that humiliation up until you return back to your religion.

In this hadith we have the solution for our problems. Allah will not change the state of our people — as He tells us — up until we change the state of ourselves. And remember, part of your deen is not just praying and fasting. It's your character, it's your behaviour, it's your vision, it's your approach, it's your hard work, it's your compassion, it's your perseverance, it's your patience.

The Leadership of Abu Bakr and the Example of the Prophet's Da'wah

Remember — the greatest calamity to befall this Ummah was the death of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And his best friend, the first Khalif Abu Bakr, showed true leadership when it was an emotional and difficult time. He showed clarity and patience and perseverance and he thought with a level head.

This test that we are going through, my brothers and sisters — the only thing that's going to fix it is going back to our basics and starting at the ground level with tarbiyah and nurturing our souls upon the love of Allah. Remember how Islam came to us — it was sent to one man. That one man goes to his house, in his house he gives da'wah to his wife and his cousin that is there — now his household has changed. Then he goes to his best friend, who then goes and calls six others — now his social circle has changed. One person at a time.

We all have to go back and be introspective, and ask ourselves: what is my standing with Allah? What is my position with Allah? If I were to die today, what is the state of my deeds?

How to Engage — Correctly and with Honour

Do not become overrun and overwhelmed with your emotions and do something that's going to make the situation and the plight of our brothers and sisters worse. Learn to engage correctly. Learn to carry ourselves correctly — even when it comes to political engagement and speaking to MPs. The Muslim Council of Britain, as you know, have started this campaign to engage them. Learn the history of this conflict. Learn to carry yourselves with honour and dignity, because Allah loves the Muhsinun — Allah loves perfection, Allah loves when we do our best. And we have a responsibility in these testing times to do the best that we can.

Remember — you are a representative of this Ummah. So yes — make da'wah, give charity, raise awareness on social media, engage your MPs, and do whatever is lawful. Do not do something which is unlawful that is going to make the situation worse for our brothers and sisters. Because you find, even in these testing and difficult times, there will be some misguided people out there that will use the blood of our brothers and sisters to further their gains and their political ideologies.

This is an issue of religion. We're not Palestinians — I've never been there — but they are our brothers and our sisters who are suffering. And if you're going to engage and do something, make sure it's positive, make sure it's beloved to Allah and pleasing to Him, and not something that is going to make things worse or illegal in any way.

Masjid al-Aqsa and Our Personal Accountability

Every single one of us wants to go and pray in Masjid al-Aqsa — may Allah make that happen and may Allah free it and liberate it from the oppressors, rightfully so. Masjid al-Aqsa means the masjid that is furthest away from Masjid al-Haram, yet the most closest masjid to us is the one that's furthest away.

If you cannot get up in the last third of the night and pray for your brothers and sisters now, then something is not right. If you cannot come and visit and frequent and become part of the Muslim community at this time, then something is not right.

So the first thing we need to do is be introspective — turning inwards as always — and ask yourselves: what is my position and my standing with Allah?

Closing Du'a

In ending, I ask Allah to ease the affairs of this Ummah.

O Allah, ease the affairs of this Ummah. O Allah, ease the affairs of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in all of Palestine. O Allah, cure their sick and their wounded, have mercy upon their deceased, and accept their martyrs. O Allah, stop the oppressors and hold them accountable for their evil. O Allah, turn us back to our deen and restore our honour. O Allah, make our iman in You more beloved to us than anything else. O Allah, guide us to Your straight path.