Supporting the Oppressed Uyghur Muslims - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem

Opening Khutbah

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He leads astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And do not die except as Muslims.

O you who have believed, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate. And He spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah in Whom you ask for help and mercy. Verily, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say a firm word. Verily, He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed attained a great triumph.

The Best of Nations: Our Core Responsibility

We must understand our status with Allah, as well as know and realize our responsibility and our obligation. Allah says in Surah Ali 'Imran:

You people are the best of the nations — best amongst all the nations. This is the best ummah. This is the best ummah not because of the label Muslim, because the previous ummah, the previous nations, they were also Muslims. So you are best amongst the nations, not because of the label Muslim, not because of praying five times a day, because the prayer existed in the previous nations as well. Not because of giving charity, because charity existed in the previous nations also. Not only because of fasting in Ramadan, because previous nations they also fasted.

Allah says here one of the core responsibilities that we have on our shoulder as a whole ummah. You are best of the nations because you fulfill this responsibility and this obligation. You enjoin good — تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ — and you forbid evil — وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ — and then you believe in Allah as well.

In this particular ayah, Allah made the mention of iman after highlighting the responsibility and the obligation of الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر. And this is the responsibility and this is the obligation upon every single Muslim. Not only those who stand here on the mimbar, not only the imams, rather every individual amongst us — we have this responsibility.

Yes, it is true that some people have a greater and higher responsibility than others. But no one can say that I do not have this responsibility, or this obligation is not for me. Rather, every Muslim has a responsibility and also an obligation of الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر.

Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

When we make the mention of الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر, it consists of two things. The first part is to enjoin good. And the second one is forbidding the evil. Amongst these two, the first one is easier. And many of us are eager to enjoin good, and to a certain extent, almost every single one of us tries our best to fulfill this first obligation — advising others to do good.

But the difficult part is النهي عن المنكر — forbidding the evil. And when you see the evil in front of your eyes, within your own household, amongst your own relatives, amongst your circle of contacts and friends, when you see the evil within your own community, when you see the evil within the ummah, and when you see the evil on the greater level — it is difficult to stand up and to forbid the evil and play your role and your part and fulfill your obligation of forbidding the evil.

Rasulullah said in a hadith reported in Sahih Muslim:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 84)

Whoever amongst you sees a munkar — an evil, a sin — he must try to change it with his own hands. If he has no power, no authority to change the evil with his own hands and he is unable to do it, then he must speak against the evil. He must reject and condemn the evil with his words and his statements. And who is so weak to the level that he cannot say a word against the evil, then he must feel within his heart and he must believe the evil as evil. And this last option is the weakest of iman — this is the weakest level and form of iman.

So according to this hadith, we all have the responsibility to forbid the evil and to speak against the evil.

The Oppression of Our Uyghur Brothers and Sisters

In today's khutbah, I would like to draw your attention to one particular evil that is there but unfortunately is not very much highlighted — and this is the evil of oppression against our Chinese Muslim brothers and sisters, our Uyghur Muslim brothers and sisters. They are being oppressed and they have been oppressed for decades. But you will find very little about their oppression in the media. And as Muslims, we have the responsibility to raise our voices against this evil.

These Chinese and Uyghur Muslims are first and foremost labeled extremists by the Chinese authorities — unjustly, without reason, without any evidence. And then they are forced into concentration camps where they are brainwashed and indoctrinated with atheism, and they are forced to abandon and give up their religion of Islam. And this is only one form of the oppression they are facing and suffering from — there are many different kinds.

The mosques are being demolished. The Quran has been burned. They have been forced to shave their beards. Women have been forced to take off their hijab and niqab. And this is being done by the Chinese authorities, and no one is ready to speak against this oppression.

If the rulers — if Muslim rulers — are not doing anything, and often you get very upset that rulers are doing nothing — what are you doing as an individual Muslim? Nowadays we know one of the most powerful instruments that we have in our hands is social media. Why can't we raise our voices against this oppression and against this evil?

We must realize our responsibility and our obligation towards Allah, that Allah is going to hold us to account with regards to our responsibilities and these obligations.

Rasulullah says in a hadith reported on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4336; also reported by al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3047)

By Allah, you people must enjoin good and you must forbid the evil, and you must catch hold of the hand of the oppressor. You must fulfill this responsibility, you must encourage them and compel them to stick to justice, and you must persuade them to do justice — or otherwise, if you do not do this, then Allah will turn your hearts similar to the hearts of the oppressors. You will have no mercy, no rahma, towards the oppressed. And then he said: and then if you reach that level, then Allah will curse you the way Allah curses the oppressors, the zalimeen.

We must realize our responsibility, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam. Rasulullah also said in another hadith reported by Imam al-Tirmidhi on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2169)

By the One in whose hands my soul is — you must enjoin the good and you must forbid the evil, or otherwise soon Allah will afflict you with His punishment. Then you will be begging Allah, you will be making du'a to Allah, and Allah will not answer your du'as.

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq used to say: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying — when people see the oppressor and they do not go ahead and they do not catch hold of the hand of the oppressor and the zalim, then soon Allah will send His punishment on all of them.

Our Collective Responsibility and the National Campaign

The point is, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, that we have a responsibility towards the ummah — every one of us. We all have the responsibility and we must speak against this evil. Today, alhamdulillah, nationally throughout the country, in many masajid, the khutbah of Jumu'ah is being delivered in order to raise awareness against this evil — to raise awareness of the situation and condition of our oppressed Uyghur Muslim brothers and sisters.

Insha'Allah, on the 1st of July, there is going to be a national campaign under the title "Stand for Uyghurs", and we must take part in this by raising awareness. There are many ways that we can do so — insha'Allah, whatever you have within your capacity, you should do it.

We ask Allah that He gives us tawfiq and the ability to fulfill our responsibilities and our obligation, and may Allah give us the ability and tawfiq to please Him.

Dear brothers and sisters in Islam, as we said, we all — as Muslims, as the Muslim ummah, as a Muslim community — need to stand up and raise awareness about the situation of the oppressed Uyghur Muslim brothers and sisters. And as we said, we should try to partake in this campaign that is going to be launched on the 1st of July insha'Allah nationally. It will make a difference, and please never underestimate your words and your power.

Fulfill Your Obligation and Leave the Results with Allah

Whatever you can do — you must play your part. As for the results, leave the results with Allah. Allah sent the messengers and Allah never ever obliged any of His messengers to change the situation — this was not the obligation. The obligation was to convey the message. And Allah even said in the Quran:

O Messenger, your responsibility is only to convey the message — leave the results with Allah. Sometimes Shaytan whispers in our minds: "What difference is it going to make — me raising my voice, or doing something, or issuing a statement?" No — you fulfill your responsibility and your obligation, and leave the results with Allah.

On the Day of Judgment, as Rasulullah said, there will be some prophets and messengers of Allah who will come and they will have no followers at all. Some will have few followers — ten or five. And a prophet will come with only one follower. And there will be prophets who will have no followers at all. Allah still said in the Quran:

Allah says: Our help is with Our messengers. Allah still helped them, and we cannot say that those messengers of Allah were not successful. They were definitely successful because they conveyed the message. So this is our responsibility — we should take part in this campaign.

Also, there are some charities that raise funds in order to help these oppressed Uyghur Muslims, and we should try our best to donate as much as we can. And finally, never forget your oppressed brothers and sisters in Islam in your du'as. Whenever you make du'a — collectively or individually — make du'a for them, that Allah alleviates their suffering and may Allah make it easy for them.

We ask Allah that He gives us tawfiq and the ability to fulfill our responsibilities and our obligations.