Allah, The Defender of The Oppressed

Allah, The Defender of The Oppressed

Unless you believe in that divine justice — that this dunya is nothing compared to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is preparing in the dunya and in the akhira for the believers. So here the Prophet is telling them sabran — be patient. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will be there for you.

And Sumayya ended up becoming the first martyr in the history of Islam. The first martyr in the history of Islam was a woman, ya jama'a. And she remained steadfast — regardless of how much Abu Jahl tried to persuade her to say something bad about the Prophet, to insult the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And she would refuse, until she gave up that life for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Du'a of the Oppressed

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says in the hadith:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3598)

Three people — or three categories of people — whose call Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will answer; He will not reject their calls, their du'a, and their prayers: al-imam al-'adl — a just ruler; wa al-sa'im hina yuftar — the fasting person until he breaks his fast; wa da'watul mazloom — and the du'a and prayers of the oppressed. Yarfa'uha Allahu fawqa al-ghamam — Allah will elevate it above the clouds; wa tuftahu laha abwabu al-sama' — and the gates of heaven will be opened for their prayers; wa yaqoolu al-Rabb — and Allah the Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala will say: wa 'izzati la ansurannaki — by My Izzah, by My honor, I shall aid you and give you victory — walaw ba'da heen — even if it is delayed.

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is making it clear: those who are oppressed will get that aid. For some, maybe it is not in their lifetime — subhanAllah. For some it is not in their lifetime. And we have seen what happened in Syria recently — how after all these years, a generation was almost wiped out from that area, a huge population had to leave. But then eventually Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought justice to those who had been oppressed. People were freed from prisons, and you see how they revived their lives, and those who were displaced came back again to their homes, celebrating that victory as simple people.

Trust in Allah's Judgment

Brothers and sisters, the believers always trust Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's judgment, and they put their reliance on Allah azza wa jal at all times.

Those who believe, those who have faith, should put their trust and reliance on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Yeah, but though it's not going the way I want it to be — I don't see it heading in the direction I was hoping it would go. Do you trust Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's judgment? If you do, then just follow it. Allah knows what is best, because Allah knows what is best for the oppressed.

The Story of al-Hudaybiyah

Brothers and sisters, a very famous story in the seerah explains all of this to us. One of these stories is very beautiful — the story of al-Hudaybiyah.

You know, when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam left Mecca to Medina, he wanted to establish his own society there. But the Meccans did not leave him alone. So they had to fight. There was Badr — the Battle of Badr — when they won that battle. And then there was Uhud, which they lost. And there was the very famous al-Khandaq — the Battle of the Trench — when 10,000 of the Arabs came around Medina to wipe the Muslims out, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave them victory against their oppressors.

So the following year, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, to show good intentions, takes a few hundred with him — sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — some say around 1,400 to 1,600 — and they went to do 'Umrah. They went to show that we are here for peace, we don't want to fight. The Meccans, out of arrogance, refused to allow them to enter. They said, "We have to negotiate terms. We don't want the Arabs to hear that Muhammad and his followers forced themselves into Mecca, making the Meccans look bad" — and they were considered the elite of Arab society at that time.

So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had to negotiate terms with them. It took a while. Through these negotiations, they eventually agreed to certain terms. The vast majority — if not all — of the Sahaba, the companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, saw this to be a disadvantage for them, in a moment that they felt was a moment of victory. No one liked it.

The first thing they were told: "You are not doing 'Umrah this year — you are going to go home and come back next year." Is your mouth for us? Alhamdulillah, it's a two-hour flight probably for some people, right? From Mecca to Medina — just about a two-hour flight perhaps. Right — but back then it was a seven-day journey on the back of a camel. It's not going to be easy or simple. And now they've been told: no, you're not going in right now. You go back and you come back next year.

They also said: "Anyone who becomes Muslim, you should send him back to us. But if someone leaves Islam, we're not going to send him back to you." The Prophet said, "Sure, I accept that." And they put some conditions on the Prophet. All the Sahaba felt this to be unfair. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam accepted that.

Umar's Doubt and Abu Bakr's Steadfastness

And when they were about to sign that agreement, Umar ibn al-Khattab reports his own position regarding that agreement. He couldn't accept it. He couldn't even believe that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in a moment like this, would accept such a disadvantageous agreement.

So he came to the Prophet and said:

"O Messenger of Allah, are you not the true messenger of God?" And the Prophet said, "Of course." He said:

"We follow the truth, they follow falsehood — is that true?" He said, "Of course." Then Umar said:

"Are our martyrs in Jannah and theirs in Jahannam?" He said, "Of course." Then he said to him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

"Then why are we accepting humiliation in our religion right now? Like we didn't accept it before — now that we have the upper hand, we can accept this agreement?" And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Listen."

"O Umar, I am the servant of God and I am His messenger" — meaning: I don't do these things on my own will, Allah knows best, but I am following Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's commands. "And I am not going to disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not going to make me lose. He is going to give me aid and victory."

Umar radiyallahu anhu then said, "Ya Rasulullah, but you promised we are going to do 'Umrah, we are going to do tawaf around the house." He said, "I did. But did I say it was going to be this year?" He said, "No." He said, "Okay — you are going to come back and you are going to make tawaf around the house."

Umar radiyallahu anhu still did not fully accept the answers, and he went to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq — the second man in the ummah. And he made the exact same argument with him. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiyallahu anhu — al-saddiq al-masduq, the man who does not doubt his messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his best friend — tells Umar toward the end of that argument:

"Don't you believe he is the messenger of Allah?" He said, "Of course I do." He said, "Then just follow his way. Follow his plans." Meaning: listen, if you trust him, he knows what he is doing.

Umar radiyallahu anhu said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2731–2732; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1785)

"By Allah, I never had doubt in my iman, in my Islam, except on that day." And that was a dangerous statement from Umar radiyallahu anhu — a very serious statement. Why? Because he belonged to an Arab society. Back then, the Arab society was very dignified, regardless of how they lived. Dignity was the most important thing, and they would never allow anyone to humiliate them. So for him: when I was not Muslim, I would never let anyone do this to me. And now that I am Muslim, following the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, allowing these people to do this to me — he had that moment. Radiyallahu anhu.

Then Abu Bakr as-Siddiq reminded him: "Don't you hear yourself? What is wrong with you?" He told him:

"Say أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ — ask Allah to protect you from the whispers of the Shaytan — wa ttahim ra'yak — and doubt yourself, not the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam."

So Umar said: "I kept saying أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ, saying it over and over again." And from what he said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on that day, he says, "I still worry about it." Even later — when he saw the true victory that came after that agreement. Because, you know, two years after that, Mecca was in the hands of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Just two years.

Can you imagine? SubhanAllah. He kept giving da'wah for 13 years in Mecca, and they did not respond to him. He left Mecca to Medina. Six years going in battles back and forth. And then two years later, he came back victorious, taking the whole city — and the whole Arabian Peninsula — in just two years.

So when Umar saw how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought that victory to the Ummah, he came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and told him, "Ya Rasulullah, I can't believe I said this, I did that." The Prophet accepted from him — he said it's alright. And Umar said, "Ya Rasulullah, I could not forgive myself. The Prophet forgave me, and I could not forgive myself." And the Prophet said:

"Are you serious, O Umar? You see me — I am okay with you, I forgive you — and you are not going to accept that from me?" And Umar radiyallahu anhu said, "Of course, ya Rasulullah — I submit myself to that."

Surah al-Fath: The Clear Triumph

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, on the way back from Mecca after that agreement, revealed the entire Surah al-Fath:

"Indeed, We have granted you a clear triumph, O Muhammad." And Umar radiyallahu anhu said: when I heard this ayah as we were coming back — we didn't even do our 'Umrah yet, we were coming back to Medina — he said, "How is that considered victory? How is that considered triumph? Where is it exactly?" But the months that came after, leading in two years to bringing the entire Mecca into the hands of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and the believers, was the manifestation of that statement in the Quran.

Closing: Believe and Wait for Allah's Justice

Brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is indeed the Defender of the oppressed against the oppressors. You just have to believe in that, and wait for the time to come.

I say this and I ask Allah the Almighty to forgive me and you, and all Muslims — indeed He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Part of the Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.

My dear brothers and sisters, oppression in this world continues and happens in many different ways. One of the major issues we see in our actual time, in our actual city here, in our community, is the case of Dr. Afia Siddiqui. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant her release, ya Rabbil 'Alamin, from her oppression.

For those who do not know who Dr. Afia Siddiqui is, I ask you to go and Google her name. Just see exactly the oppression that she has had to go through, and the injustice that was done against her under the name and claim of counter-terrorism. She has been in prison for years — almost two decades now — with an imprisonment sentence of 86 years, for a crime she never committed, that was simply labeled against her. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for her, ya Rabbil 'Alamin.

She is here, actually in prison in the Fort Worth area. And we have been trying to bring her case to the public, so that at least she may be released. We have seen now the current outgoing president granting release and pardons for many, many people — except for those who deserve it, subhanAllah.

So I am asking each and every one of you — as part of being agents through whom Allah supports the oppressed — to bring that justice for Dr. Afia Siddiqui, insha'Allah. There is a QR code that is going to be displayed — we ask you to scan it and sign the petition. Alhamdulillah, more than 1.5 million people have so far signed it. We need more — asking in these last few days of this presidency for justice for Dr. Afia Siddiqui.

And I also ask you, if you have the time, to go tomorrow — insha'Allah, bi'idhnillahi azza wa jal — in Fort Worth, to stand outside of her prison and call for her release, insha'Allah azza wa jal.

Du'a

O Allah, teach us what benefits us, and benefit us with what You have taught us — indeed You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. O Allah, grant our souls their taqwa, and purify them — You are the best of those who purify them, You are their Guardian and their Master.

O servants of Allah: