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Episode 17 - What Can I Do for Syria?

٢٦ أبريل ٢٠١٢
Full Transcript

What Can I Do for Syria?

Subscribe to the channel. May Allah will destroy Bashar and his soldiers and grant victory to His believing servants, but He tests the Ummah of Islam with this tribulation to test you, to see what you are doing. This is a test that Allah the Almighty wants to see what you are doing in it. You alone are only responsible for yourself and incite the believers. So know that you are targeted by this test, either you will succeed and be rewarded or you will fail and be punished, and there is no third option.

Humiliation and Sin

What do you do to succeed in the test? You must strive in the cause of Allah to save your brothers in Syria. You will say, "But the situation does not allow for jihad." I say to you, is this not humiliation? Is it not humiliation to see our brothers being kidnapped around us and perhaps our turn will come and we cannot jihad? We are a nation of a billion, hundreds of millions, and Bashar's soldiers film their torture of our brothers and mock us in front of the cameras in defiance, and we do nothing! This is humiliation.

How can we be saved from it? The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said in the last Hadith of the Enaya: "Allah has imposed humiliation upon you which He will not remove until you return to your religion." So it is a connected chain: adherence to the command of Allah leads to the lifting of the state of humiliation, and the lifting of humiliation means the honor of the Ummah and that they support each other through jihad, and this leads to the end of the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Syria.

On the other hand, your disobedience and your disobedience lead to humiliation. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "And humiliation and degradation are imposed upon those who oppose my command." And the Hadith was authenticated by Dhahabi and Albani. This humiliation is what prevents us from supporting our brothers in Syria. "I saw sins kill the hearts and the humiliation of their addiction." There is no room for neutrality in the matter. Your obedience and your obedience are ammunition for our brothers in Syria, your disobedience and your disobedience are ammunition in the rifles of the tyrant's soldiers and knives in their hands with which they slaughter our brothers.

Painful Realities and Questions

These are facts, not exaggerations, my brothers. Not recalling this reality leads to the strange phenomena we see. A father wonders in doubt: "Why has Allah not relieved the Syrians of their affliction?" This is something that leads to despair. What is required is that you turn your pain for the situation of our brothers and sisters into a driving force that pushes you to activity in acts of obedience and leaving sins. Whenever you slacken in your duties, recall the images of your tortured and killed brothers to recharge your determination. Remember that Allah tests you to see what you will do. "If Allah willed, He would have granted them victory, but He tests some of you with others." Remember that when you waste your time in vain, your brothers are being burned by the fires of the tyrant's soldiers.

There are moments that should be pivotal in our lives, moments that awaken our hearts, raise our ambition, and make us detest heedlessness and the baseness of worldly concerns, so much so that it becomes difficult for us to seek rest except in Paradise. I recall that eleven years ago I looked at a newspaper and saw a pile of ashes on the front page. I was surprised by the choice of this picture for the front page, but when I looked closely, I saw the features of a burned face, burned hands, burned legs, a group of Muslims in Indonesian islands piled in a mosque and then set on fire by vengeful Christians. Inside the newspaper, there was a picture of Indonesian Muslim women being carried in large transport vehicles to an unknown fate. My eyes were opened to a great and humiliating tragedy for Muslims, where? In the largest Muslim country in terms of population, around two hundred million Muslims. "But you on that day will be numerous, but you will be like the foam of the flood." It was a slap in the face that made heedlessness or turning to the world difficult afterward.

Every time your self calls you to forbidden desires, recall those images to feel a slap on your cheek and say to yourself, "Shame on you, this is not chivalry." Where is the chivalry, my brothers? A few days ago, I was walking down a street, and in my mind was the tragedy of our brothers, and suddenly a group of young men noticed some girls and began to look at them. These young men, when they see the tragedy of Syria, are moved, not one of them thinks of his duty towards the concerns of the Ummah until he sees something that distracts him and makes his interests base and lustful. So, whoever adorns herself weakens the spirit of the youth of the Ummah, whoever reveals herself willingly helps those who reveal her Muslim sister in Syria against her will. Therefore, the Prophet, peace be upon him, used the description "inclining, causing others to incline," meaning they incline away from the truth and make others incline with them. Are you satisfied with this role for yourself? And is this the work that you want to present to Allah the Almighty?

Questions About the Link Between Sin and the Humiliation of the Ummah

When we hear this link between sin and the humiliation of the Ummah, one or more of four questions may arise in our minds:

The First Question: How much will my disobedience contribute to this tragedy?

The Answer: It doesn't matter how much you will contribute; what matters is that you contribute negatively. Al-Bukhari narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered the killing of the lizard and said, "It used to blow on the fire of Ibrahim, peace be upon him." Glory be to Allah! The lizard is one of the small reptiles; no matter how much it blows on the great fire that was lit for Ibrahim, peace be upon him, it will not increase the fire's strength at all. But look at the education; how the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, teaches us to oppose anyone who contributes to harming the Muslims, even if their contribution is minor and has no effect. Brother and sister, do not contribute to the fire that has been lit for your brothers in Syria, even with a puff of air, but come and extinguish the fire and be among the supporters of the religion of Allah.

The Second Question: Does this mean that Allah the Almighty punishes the people of Syria because of our sins?

The Answer: Of course not. "And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." Our brothers in Syria are not being punished, but those of them who are tortured and killed for their faith, their torture and killing only elevate them and bring them closer to Allah the Almighty. But we are the ones who are being punished if we see that we have not been honored with the support of our brothers, for this is a punishment for our sins. Allah the Almighty says: "And if they had intended to go forth, they would certainly have made ready some equipment for it. But Allah disliked their being sent forth and kept them back, and it was said (to them), 'Sit you down with those who sit (at home).'" If our intention for jihad is sincere, then we prepare for it by abandoning sins, adhering to acts of obedience, and removing obstacles from the path. At that moment, Allah will open for you the door of jihad with oneself, with wealth, and with many means. But the one who commits sins does not prepare for this, so he does not deserve the honor of being among the supporters of Allah. His sins lead to Allah disliking his going forth for support, so He restrains him lest he pollute the caravan of the supporters, the owners of high aspirations.

The Third Question: You blame me for individual sins, why don't you rebuke those who have the power to support the Muslims?

Perhaps you say to yourself: "You blame me for individual sins, why don't you rebuke those who have the power to support the Muslims and own the armies, but instead of using them to support the Muslims, they prevent us from supporting them with them?" The answer: "Indeed, in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or listens and is present (in heart)." I only address you, and I address you because I consider that you have a heart, so do not evade, my brother, with these excuses. "O you who have believed, preserve yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are (appointed) angels, harsh and severe, who do not disobey Allah in what they are commanded but do what they are commanded." About you, not about others.

The Fourth Question: Our brothers in Syria want from us jihad, weapons, and equipment, and leaving sins and performing duties is a long order, this is a distraction from the real duty.

He who says this is usually one who does not do anything fruitful, then he becomes lazy and returns to his reality and mistakes. Yes, if you are able to perform jihad yourself, it is obligatory upon you to do so. But if you are not able, is sitting idle the solution? Brothers, we live our lives on a disaster management system. Whenever a new disaster occurs, we look for a quick miraculous solution. We evade the truth that we must reform our situations with patience. What is happening in Syria is not the disease, but rather a symptom of the disease, which is the weakness and humiliation of the nation. Treating the disease requires time, effort, and persistent, patient work.

Turning Pain into a Driving Force

Of course, it is necessary to remind that the best means of educating societies and weaning them off their sins is jihad in the cause of Allah. Whoever opens this door for himself should never say, "I must rid myself of sins first." Rather, the meaning is that if this door is not opened for you, this is an indication of a flaw in your life that has deprived you of this honor, so correct the flaw, perhaps Allah will choose you to support His religion.

When you recall this sequence that your obedience and leaving sins lead to raising the state of humiliation and thus supporting the nation, its honor, and supporting its oppressed, you will feel a great pleasure as you walk on the path of obedience. You are called to look at something forbidden, so you say, "No, I will avert my gaze in support of my sisters in Syria." Satan tempts you to miss the Fajr prayer, so you remember your brothers and say, "I want to be among the supporters of Allah," and you rush to your prayer. At that moment, you will respect yourself and live in harmony with yourself instead of blaming and hating it whenever you see the situation of your brothers.

Therefore, my brother, turn your concern for the tragedies of the nation into a driving force. Look at your Syrian brother as he is burned by fire and says, "O Lord, O Allah." He has offered himself for the sake of Allah, so what have you offered? What have you offered? Who will save the drowning nation if we are the ones drowning? If you continue to look at the tragedies of the nation and do nothing, your sense of feeling will become numb and your heart will harden. Rather, strive against yourself and strive against your desires and make your concern for your brothers a flame in your heart that does not extinguish, and then Allah will choose you and honor you with supporting your brothers and facilitate the means for you. "And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good."

Conclusion

The summary of the episode: Turn your sorrow for the situation of the Muslims into a driving force that pushes you to activity in acts of obedience and rising above sins.

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.