Their Lord Has Fallen!

Khutbah: Their Lord Has Fallen!

Opening — The Khutbah of Need

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him and ask for His guidance and forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our actions.

Indeed, whoever Allah guides is not misguided, and whoever He misguides, you will not find for him a rightful guardian. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, and no partner for Him. A word upon which the earth and the heavens stood, and upon which Allah created humanity.

And it is the foundation of the law and the Sunnah. And whoever's last words are لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — there is no god but Allah — will enter Paradise. O Allah, we ask You, by Your grace, to make the last of our words in this world: there is no god but Allah.

O Allah, make us live upon lā ilāha illallāh. And make us die upon lā ilāha illallāh. And make us enter Paradise by lā ilāha illallāh.

And I bear witness that our Master, our Prophet, our Teacher, our Beloved, and our Intercessor on the Day of Judgment — our Master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. O Allah, send peace and blessings upon him and upon his family and companions. And may Allah be pleased with our masters Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali — and with all the companions, and with us, O Lord of the worlds.

The Fall of the Tyrant of Syria

My dear brothers and sisters, the last khutbah I came to this blessed community to deliver, I came to ask Allah to put more barakah into the community. Allahumma ameen, O Lord of the worlds. I was actually celebrating with you the fall of a tyrant — the tyrant and the dictator of Bangladesh. Some of you might even remember this. And the title of that khutbah was the psychology of the tyrants, because they're all the same.

And here I am again, after a few months of taking a break, coming again to celebrate the fall of another tyrant. Takbir!

But that tyrant was very different. The tyrant of Syria — the tyrant of Sham — was different. What is very interesting is that before, we used to talk about Fir'aun — the one who said, "I am your Lord, the Most High." And we would always give the example of Fir'aun as the bad apple. Fir'aun is the dictator. The worst in the history of humanity.

But wallahi, after we've seen the footage and the videos that came out from Saydnaya prison in Syria, wallahi, I feel like Fir'aun is miskeen next to that tyrant. Fir'aun is miskeen. And I hope nobody cuts to this part and just puts it on social media — Fir'aun is miskeen compared to Bashar al-Assad. Miskeen.

For those who did not watch the videos — please do not. For the sake of your mental health, please do not. Because they are horrible. They are terrible. And you can imagine how a human being could do that to another human being.

Why the Title: "Their Lord Has Fallen"

Brothers and sisters, the title of my khutbah today is: Their Lord Has Fallen. You know why? Because it was a known thing amongst the soldiers and the army of Bashar. They would always say:

"Your Lord falls, but Bashar will never fall."

Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that they would say that to the Ahl al-Sunnah? They spoke of Allah as though He falls, but claiming their lord — Bashar — would never fall. But today we are coming to tell them: guess what? Your lord falls as well.

Takbir! Allahu Akbar! And on that day, the believers shall rejoice at the victory of Allah — He grants victory to whom He wills.

The believers should celebrate, brothers and sisters, whenever a tyrant collapses, whenever a tyrant's rule is demolished. We should be happy. Wallahi, we should be happy. Because there are so many people who were struggling, so many people who have been suffering under this corrupt regime.

Open the Book of Allah

This is going to continue. And this is the time when we need to open the Book of Allah. Our problem is that we do not open the Book of Allah. The Qur'an itself declares:

The Qur'an has the news and the update for everything that has happened in the past, everything that is happening now, and everything that will happen, inshallah. Because when you look at what is happening in that part of the world and you question Allah — Ya Allah, why are You allowing a tyrant to exist and to torture and punish people like this? Where are You? Why are You treating the children like this? What kind of God are You? — Allah Himself told you in the Qur'an that this dunya is the dunya of test.

Allah can just give the victory like this. He can give the victory. Brothers and sisters:

"The victory hovers above the heads — it is within reach."

The victory is just waiting for the command of Allah to be. And it will be — it will happen. The problem is we should not be merely waiting for the victory. You should make sure that you are on the right side of history. That is the most important thing.

Sayyida Sumayyah, the first martyr in Islam — she did not go back to Mecca. She lost her life before that. She did not see Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, going back victorious to Mecca. She did not. Hamza ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib did not see the victory of Allah. He did not. But he did his part. He was on the right side of history. Allahu Akbar!

Why We Celebrate — Stories of the Oppressed

Brothers and sisters, I will try to be as gentle as possible. When you hear of that woman — she was in prison, along with her daughter and her husband, unjustly imprisoned in the prison of Bashar al-Assad, the tyrant. And she says, after she was released — alhamdulillah, along with so many sisters, so many children, so many men and women — she said: "They wanted to harass my daughter."

I want you to picture that — just read between the lines. We have youngsters here. They wanted to sexually abuse her daughter in front of her. So she cut off her clothes. Think about this. You have daughters. You have wives. You have family. She ripped her clothes and said: "Do this to me, but leave my daughter."

You know what they did? They actually did this to the daughter — in front of the mother and the father. And the father died right there.

Do you see this? Do you see why Allah says:

"So He heals the hearts of the believing people." That is why we should be happy. We should be happy that Allah caused a tyrant to fall. And more will come. And we are going to celebrate more. Because this is the victory of Allah.

The Answer from Surah Āl 'Imrān

I want you to listen to some verses from the Qur'an, brothers and sisters. Allah says in Surah Āl 'Imrān — a beautiful surah. This is the answer to those who question Allah: Why are You allowing what is happening in Gaza? Why are You allowing children to be massacred? Why are You allowing women to be abused? Why are You allowing all of this?

"If you have suffered a wound, so too the enemy has suffered a similar wound. And these are the days We alternate among the people, so that Allah may make evident those who believe and take from among you martyrs — and Allah does not like the wrongdoers."

He is talking to the companions. We alternate these days of victory and defeat. Today you are defeated, you are weak. Tomorrow you will be victorious. And then Allah says: "And so that Allah reveals the true believers and chooses martyrs from among you."

It is very easy to claim that you are brave, that you are a freedom fighter. It is very easy to claim that. It is very easy to talk. But when the test comes, this is the moment when Allah would know. We have seen so many people praising Bashar al-Assad. We've seen scholars, ulama, shuyukh, and imams celebrating his praises. We have seen that — just like the magicians of Fir'aun. It is easy to talk. But when the test comes to the step of your door, this is when Allah decides whether you were being truthful or not.

We've all seen the video of brother Khalid — and we ask Allah to count him among the shuhada. We've heard his story and it touched all of us. What would make Allah allow someone like this? Allah wanted someone like this to be pure from this dunya. Allah wanted to claim someone like that and unite him with his loved ones. That is the work of Allah.

Otherwise, Allah can remove the rule of Bashar — or any ruler — in a minute. In a second. But would Allah let this happen? Because He wants to filter. It is a test. When you are given questions in the exam, it is a test. We will know which student was studying and which one was only claiming to study. How do we know? When the answer sheet is checked. Yes, he was studying. She was not. This is the dunya, brothers and sisters.

"And so that Allah may distinguish the true believers and destroy the disbelievers."

"Or do you think you will enter Paradise without Allah having made evident those among you who strived and those who were patient?"

Do you think you'll go to Jannah by just saying "I'm a Muslim"? No. Without being tested? Absolutely not. How can you prove that you love Allah if you are the one questioning the qudrah — the power — of Allah? If you are the one questioning the wisdom of Allah when you see this happening to children — questioning and losing your faith just by watching?

However, we see someone like brother Khalid who just lost his life. We see all of these prisoners who came out of the prison of Bashar — coming out saying:

Their Iman is actually strengthening — and we are losing ours. I want you to picture this in your mind. Imagine if they put you in a very small room — very small, dark. No phone. No book. You cannot even pray. They would say we would hide to pray. I heard someone saying, "I was praying with my eyes." And we have a beautiful center, yet so many prayers have no one here.

When we look at them, brothers and sisters, we learn from their Iman. They come out making sajdah to Allah. Brother, sister — after all that they saw, they did not question Allah. We question Allah. Learn from these people, brothers and sisters.

The Lord Has Fallen — And All Tyrants Will Fall

The Lord has fallen. And all the tyrants will collapse. And I know — let me tell you this in conclusion. I know a lot of brothers and sisters are very skeptical when they see something happening in the Middle East. You know, "It's the work of the enemy. The occupation is going to take part of Syria." We understand that. We understand it.

Al-Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali — I want you to remember this very well — says: the liberation of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, because we are waiting for the liberation inshallah — may Allah liberate Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, may Allah give nasr to our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Gaza, ameen — he says the liberation and the freedom of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa will be preceded by the fall of many tyrants in the region.

During the Battle of Al-Ahzab — who was the biggest and worst enemy to Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him? The hypocrites. The traitors. Those are the ones who stopped the victory. Those are the ones. Go to any country in the Middle East now and try to go to Gaza to give them some help. I mentioned before — I was in Sinai, Egypt, a hundred miles from Gaza. If you just think to take something to help your brothers and sisters there, good luck going through all those tanks and all that military, just to give some support, some water. Good luck.

So before the liberation of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, Al-Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali says many regimes have to fall first. The traitors. That is the Sunnah of Allah. One of them has fallen. So be happy inshallah. Be happy. Be happy. The nasr is very soon, very close inshallah.

But brothers and sisters, don't be skeptical. If there is no fruit, if there is no other benefit from the revolution in Syria except for the people who have been in jail for years — they went out and now they are with their families — wallahi, that is enough. That is sufficient. More than 100,000 people — 100,000 people — were released, alhamdulillah. Takbir!

"Say: By the grace of Allah and His mercy — in that they should rejoice. It is better than what they accumulate."

Brothers and sisters, we need to get back to the Qur'an. Wallahi, we do. Open the Book of Allah. It will tell you everything. It will comfort your heart. But the most important thing is: do your part. Do your part.

Second Part of the Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His servants whom He has chosen. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

After this — the refugees of Syria, they are back. And Bashar al-Assad is now a refugee in Russia. Takbir! Allahu Akbar! This is the work of Allah. He is a refugee now. And the refugees — they can go back to their country. Look at this. Look at that.

Fir'aun Is an Idea, Not Just a Person

Brothers and sisters, when we talk about Fir'aun, when we talk about the tyrants, we need to understand that we have individuals who can actually be Fir'aun. I've spoken about this before. You can be Fir'aun with your family. You can be a tyrant with your family, with your children. You should understand that when we talk about Fir'aun, Fir'aun is an idea. It is not just a person. We have so many Fir'auns.

How many brothers are oppressing their wives? How many sisters are oppressing their husbands? How many sisters are taking their children away from their fathers? How many brothers are not giving the right to their wives? How many children are oppressing their parents? And how many parents are being Fir'aun in front of their children? How many bosses are oppressing their employees? There are so many Fir'auns.

And wallahi, the justice will come. The sister who took the haqq of her husband — justice will come. The brother who is oppressing his wife — justice will come. Just like what we see happening now with Bashar, who became a refugee — you will see what is going to happen to you in this dunya as well as in the Hereafter.

Why Jahannam Is a Mercy

The last thing I want to leave you with: there are so many people who become very anxious when any imam speaks about Jahannam. Allah Himself spoke about Jahannam — may Allah protect us, say Allahumma ameen.

Now that you have heard some of the stories about what happened to our sisters and brothers in Syria — do you think that any punishment would be sufficient for the person who did this to that family except Jahannam? Do you see now why Jahannam can be rahma — mercy — from Allah? There are some people for whom there is no punishment enough. That is the reality. This is the rahma of Allah.

If someone sees something like this happening in front of his eyes — to his daughter and to his wife — do you think that even if we took the tyrant of Syria and put him in jail, that would be sufficient for the heart to heal? Absolutely not. And because alhamdulillah we are not in their position, Allah said: Jahannam was prepared for these people.

Final Reminder — Give Everyone Their Rights

Brothers and sisters, save yourself from the punishment of Allah. Give the haqq to your wife, to your husband, to your mother, to your daughter, to your children, to your employees. Give the haqq.

We leave this dunya and the shroud does not have pockets. I repeat: the shroud does not have pockets. We came into this dunya naked and we will return to Allah the way we came into this dunya.

Give the inheritance back to your sister. Give the money and the haqq back to your brother. Give the haqq back to your family. You will leave this dunya and you will not take anything with you.