Why do they resent Islam and Muslims?

Why Do They Resent Islam and Muslims?

Islamophobia right now is on the rise, and it's paid. It's an agenda. One of the events is happening in our community very soon. They're just putting all their effort to show their resentment to Islam and Muslims. But the question is why? Why? It's not because of the political climate, actually, but it's something deeper that goes into why do they resent Islam and Muslims.

If you look into the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us an answer there. An answer we are seeing right now in the new society, this culture, and how people look to Islam and Muslims — between positive or negative views. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is informing us, letting them know, and giving us in that ayah the reason why there is that deep resentment against Islam and Muslims.

Say: "O People of the Book, do you resent us except that we believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what was revealed before, and because most of you are defiantly disobedient?"

How many videos have you seen lately of people speaking highly about Islam? They're not Muslims. And what do they say about Islam? Because these people are committed to their faith. These people know what they're talking about. They believe in their principles. They have strong family values. They believe in God. And they're faithful, they're loyal to that. And when they speak about their own people, what do they say? Disobey. And they mock God. And they mock religious practice and religious people. All of that. So there is something deep in there.

Two Root Causes of Resentment

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling us: why do they resent you? My dear brothers and sisters, when you look deeper into the situation, a lot of it has to do with two major things.

The first is the subject of power. Powerful people are afraid to lose what they have control over. And the other is simply tradition — the fear rooted in the belief that all their life was wrong. Like: "I've been doing this all my life, you're going to tell me right now, in my 60s, my 50s, my 40s, that all this was wrong?" So they get scared. And they just reject the truth.

The Prophecy of Waraqa ibn Nawfal

SubhanAllah, this started from the very beginning, at the time of the Prophet ﷺ. When the Prophet ﷺ received the first revelation — Iqra — the first five verses from Surah Al-'Alaq:

"Read in the name of your Lord who created." The Prophet ﷺ was so terrified. He didn't know what he had received. He went to his wife Khadija radiyallahu anha. She calmed him down, and said, "Tomorrow we'll talk to my cousin, Waraqa ibn Nawfal."

Waraqa ibn Nawfal lived in Mecca. In the story, he read al-kitab al-'ibrani — meaning he spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. He was very well educated, especially from the early Christians, or early people who believed in the monotheistic path to Allah. So when she sent him to Waraqa ibn Nawfal, who was a very old man, and he heard the words of the Prophet ﷺ — he heard the Quran — he was so excited. Like: "Wow, this is it. This is what I've been looking for." Because in the scripture, it was written that a Prophet was going to be coming very soon. He had been waiting all his life for that moment — to be a true follower of this Prophet and believe in Allah.

So he tells the Prophet ﷺ: "This is the exact same message that Musa before you received. You are on the path of the messengers." But then he gave him a prophecy. That prophecy, my dear brothers and sisters, still stands until this day. He said to him — before the Prophet ﷺ had even started preaching — "I wish I was young enough for the day when your people drive you out of your hometown. I wish I could be with you to support you."

When your own people drive you out of your hometown. They fight you. And the Prophet ﷺ was surprised and shocked. Remember, he lived in a tribal society. Everything was about blood ties, the tribe, the family, the people — that's what they took pride in. And here the Prophet ﷺ is hearing from this man: "Your people, who love you, who respect you, who call you al-Sadiq al-Amin — the truthful, the trustworthy — they will stand against you. They will resent you. They will stand against your message."

The Prophet ﷺ was shocked. He said: "Are they going to do this to me?" And Waraqa said to him: "No one ever brought a message like yours to the people but gained their hostility."

When you bring the truth to people who are inclined towards the convenience of this life, to the pleasures of this world, with no limitation, no rules, no divine restrictions on what they do — when you come and tell them "this is halal, this is haram, this is right, this is wrong" — they will resent you. When you tell them to uplift themselves from their lowly desires and from the desire to control the masses for worldly gain, when you tell them they must quit what they do because it is wrong, immoral, not right — they will resent you. They will fight you.

Because there is so much for them to lose. Financial gain, prestige, status, control, power — you name it. So when Islam comes to the people and tells them: "This is haram, you can't sell these kinds of things. You can't use adult content for financial gain. You can't exploit men, women, and children for that purpose. You cannot exploit the need of the people for housing and business by taking interest from them." — they are not going to accept that from you. They are going to resent you. They are going to fight you.

They would like their race to be superior, their kind to be superior, their tribe, their bloodline — whatever that is. So if you try to tell them: "It's not about skin color or where you're coming from. It's about your righteousness, your piety, your connection to God — that's what matters" — they are going to resent you for this. They're not going to accept that from you. And then, what are they going to do? They're going to try everything in their power to discredit you as a person, not just your message.

The Example of Pharaoh and Musa

Pharaoh did that. Pharaoh had so much to lose when Musa alayhi salam came with a simple message — just: "Let me teach you something to purify yourself." And Pharaoh resisted that and resented that. Why? Because he was going to lose everything. He was bragging:

"I am your Lord Most High."

"Do I not own the treasures of Egypt? The rivers flow beneath my feet. What are you talking about? Who are you to come and tell me not to say this and not to do that?"

So when Musa came to Pharaoh, what was the message? It was a very simple message. Pharaoh asked him:

"What is your message? Who is your Lord?" And Musa alayhi salam replied:

"He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth — and you know that. Deep in your heart, you know He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth." Obviously, Pharaoh could not refute that — he could not claim that he was the one who lifted the sky and leveled the earth. He couldn't say that. So now he was about to discredit the speaker himself.

Using the media. Paying people to spread that. "Don't you hear what they are saying? Look at this, look what they are saying." Taking sound bites from their statements and throwing them out there to scare people off.

"Look at him. Look what he is doing." Because Pharaoh was an influencer. He was a leader people looked up to. So he looks at the people around him, his followers, and says: "Do you hear what he is saying?" And Musa responded:

"He is your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers as well. You all go back to Allah." And that's when Pharaoh, having no rational argument, started talking about Musa himself:

"This messenger you have received — he is insane. He is crazy. He doesn't know what he is talking about." We have heard these same messages today. And then, when Musa continued and declared that He is the Lord of the east and the west and everything in between — if you just comprehend that — that's when Pharaoh said:

"Listen — I'm not going to argue with you, but I warn you: if you don't stop, you're going to jail." That's what he said to him. The same argument exists thousands of years later.

When the Truth Captures the Heart

So when Pharaoh had nothing to argue against Musa — because the message he had was very powerful, and the miracle he showed was very powerful — Pharaoh started caving in. He started asking the people around him: "What do we do? What do we do?" They said to him: "Don't worry about it. Let's call all the magicians in the land, and we will pay them, and we'll take care of it for you. Just change the public perception."

They tried. And they failed miserably. Why? Because the magicians themselves, when they saw the truth, they were the first people to believe. Which is, subhanAllah, what we see today. When people open their eyes to the truth — whoa. Suddenly they see everything clearly. They're noticing everything. It becomes very clear to them, because they see the truth.

SubhanAllah, when the truth comes into an open heart — that's it. It captures it. You can't take it out from there. But when the hearts are completely concealed, completely covered, completely — subhanAllah — with a lot of residues and a lot of soot, you name it. Completely covered. Sealed out from the truth. No matter what you say, it never goes through.

But once people start seeing, and their hearts open, the truth becomes clear to them and they can make the right judgment for themselves. Which is why these magicians themselves — the very same magicians — were the first people to believe. And when Pharaoh saw that, he turned against his own influencers. That's what we see sometimes online these days — turning against each other. He goes: "Ah, you're all part of this together. He's your grand master. He's your grand magician. He's the one who taught you those tricks, and now you want to fool us? No, we're not going to fall for this. I'm going to punish you."

And what did they say? "We don't care. We saw the truth now. You do whatever you want to do. You want to kill us? You're threatening us? Fine. We don't mind it. Because we have seen the truth." SubhanAllah. The truth was so powerful, they were willing to sacrifice their lives for it. They didn't mind it. And they were the first martyrs and shuhada in the life of Musa alayhi salam — the exact same influencers who were sought to change the public opinion.

Pharaoh's Final Appeal to the People

Brothers and sisters, when Pharaoh turned to the people, what did he say?

He's telling the people: "Can you just give me permission? Let me finish him. Let me finish this man." Like today, unfortunately, leaders start targeting Muslim communities — targeting Minnesota, targeting the Muslims in Texas, targeting this and that. He was seeking from the public to give him permission because they are wrong, they're illegal, not supposed to be — all that kind of stuff. The same argument. He says: "Let me take care of it. Don't stop me. And let them call their Lord if they're true about it."

What was his argument?

"I'm worried that he is going to change your ways. He's going to change your tradition, what we're used to — our way of life." You've heard that. The exact same old argument. Or they're going to create a lot of corruption — meaning change your religion and this and that. And people get scared. The leader was seeking power, and the people were afraid of learning that all their life was for nothing, their tradition was wrong. So what do they do? Whatever the leader says, we'll follow you. The exact same thing that happened in the past is happening today, and will continue to happen in the future.

The Argument Against Islam Is One of Values, Not Intellect

Brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it very clear in the Quran when He informed us why they resent you. The argument against Islam is not really intellectual. Honestly, it's not about intellectuality. It's an argument of values.

You've seen one of those videos — when an Uber driver, a Muslim, wanted to pray, he stopped by a church and went to pray outside. And unfortunately, the pastor himself was so offensive to him — kicking him out, all these slurs, "go by the dumpster," all that kind of stuff. His argument was: "That's a false God, and God's telling us not to allow this to happen." SubhanAllah. Maybe there is a big difference if someone was doing it deliberately — which is what they tried to frame it to look like — versus someone who is tight on time and looking for a space to pray, who thought in good faith that a house of worship would be the best place. Because people of faith are very compassionate. They understand what it means to be faithful. And an innocent gesture from this Muslim driver was turned into a hate action from him, unfortunately.

They're afraid. They have no rational arguments. So they go after tradition, their way of life, and so on. The same old arguments. So when someone comes to you and talks about all these false slogans about freedom, tolerance, coexistence, and so on — all of this seems to be okay, excluding Islam, obviously. But when it comes to Islam, the message is too strong for them to accept. And that's why they resent Islam and Muslims.

Stay Strong — These Tactics Are Not New

My dear brothers and sisters, stay strong. That message is not new. That methodology is not new. Those tactics are not new. And as we mentioned in the previous khutbah, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says — that's the Shaytan's tactic, trying to scare you from his allies and his actual followers. Don't be afraid of them. Don't be afraid of them. If you have fear, then fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, because that fear would elevate your spirits so that nothing can stand against you.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us among those who listen to the speech and follow the best of it — those who have guidance in their hearts. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us among those who see the truth and follow it.

Second Part: How Do We Handle the Situation?

My dear brothers and sisters, how do we handle the situation? This is going to increase, because it is a propaganda. I just read in the news: a blue state is paying more than 700 million dollars just to polish their image. And part of the policy is actually the rise of Islamophobia — attacking Islam and Muslims to make us the boogeyman. They're trying to sow hate between you and your neighbors, your co-workers, your fellow citizens in this country. They try everything, because they have no rational argument anymore. Nothing is convincing and the people start opening their eyes and their hearts and they are seeing.

So you need to make sure that you stand your ground. There is nothing to apologize for when it comes to being Muslim, being faithful, and being loyal to your ibadah and your ta'a. But we do that with quiet strength. Not loud. Quiet strength. When people try to mock you, or maybe attack your masjid, or come to harass you around the masjid — make sure to respond with quiet strength.

Dialogue with Wisdom

People need to differentiate between those who are really looking for answers and asking genuine questions, from those who just want to argue. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught us in the Quran:

When you talk to them, have a dialogue where you can both look for the truth, alhamdulillah, reasonably. But those who transgress — you don't engage them equally. However, I don't have to argue with them. There is no meaning in arguing with people if they're not looking for the truth. That's why the Prophet ﷺ told us:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4800)

"I guarantee a house in Jannah for the one who leaves argumentation even if he is right." When you're right, don't argue — because no one is listening at that time. This has become a shouting match. And you don't have to do that.

Connect Through the Heart

Brothers and sisters, also something important to understand: when you talk to people, you cannot transfer that knowledge — you cannot have that pipeline of information go into their minds to understand — unless you have a connection with the heart. You have to first talk to their hearts, connect with them, before you start talking to them. And Allah taught the Prophet ﷺ:

"If you were rough with the people" — He's talking about the Sahaba, the best people after the Prophet ﷺ. He's telling the best man: "If you were rough with the second-best people while delivering the absolute truth from Allah, they will disperse away from you." He says: "Forgive them. Overlook their mistakes. Be tolerant with them. Be compassionate with them. And work with them as your community. Consult them in the matter." Listen to them. Deal with that. This is how you connect with the people. And once you connect with the people, their hearts will be open to whatever you want to say. But without this, you can never reach their minds except through their hearts.

Da'wah Through Action

Brothers and sisters, remember — the issue for us is the issue of values. So live up to the values that people know about you as a Muslim. And the best da'wah you can do is the da'wah you make through your actions. So live up to that. And may Allah make you all a source of guidance.