Episode 2 - Purifying Hearts for God

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah, dear beloved.

Why Has Victory Been Delayed in Syria?

We are still answering the question: Why has victory been delayed in Syria? In the previous episode, we said that victory has not been delayed but is born every day. We mentioned that one of the reasons for the delay of victory is that Allah the Almighty wants to bring out from His servants in Sham (Syria) the worship of patience in affliction, and He takes from them martyrs, and He wants to set contemporary examples for us to take as role models. And He wants, Allah willing, to empower the people of Sham and make them at the forefront of honor and victory for the nation. And this prize requires a long trial.

Today, we continue by saying:

The Fourth Wisdom: Purifying Hearts for Allah

That Allah the Almighty wants to purify the hearts of His servants in Sham from attachment to anything other than Him. Our brothers in Sham raised the slogan: "We have none but You, O Allah, we have none but You, O Allah." This is a great slogan if its bearers are sincere, then for them from Allah the Almighty: "And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him." But for their bearers to be sincere and their hearts to be purified for Allah, there must be training, long training in which the heart is free from attachment to all earthly causes. Turning to Allah with sincere intention is a noble state that refuses to be rivaled or rivaled, so it remains outside the heart until the heart is purified from earthly causes devoid of Allah.

Our brothers in Syria have turned to Allah the Almighty, but this turning needs purification. For example, if we review the names of the Fridays since the beginning of the revolutions, we will notice that they have evolved gradually, starting with general humanitarian demands, then carrying the character of seeking earthly causes and trying to please minorities, then began the despair of humans and attachment to the Lord of humans, glorified be He. This is the training that is achieved through long trials.

The Evolution of Slogans in the Syrian Revolution

Let us review some of the Fridays starting from 18-3-2011 until last Friday 6-7-2012 in a brief manner that conveys the idea.

For example, it started with Friday: "Dignity," "Honor," "The Martyrs," "The Great Friday" in reference to the Resurrection Day for Christians two days after this date, "Anger," "Defenders of the Homeland" in an attempt to win over the army to stand with the revolution, "Friday of Saleh al-Ali" who is an Alawite revolutionary who revolted against the French, then "Fall of Legitimacy" meaning international legitimacy, "Descendants of Khalid," then "Your Silence is Killing Us," then "Allah is With Us," "We Will Only Bow to Allah," "Patience and Steadfastness," then "International Protection," "Unity of the Opposition," "Victory for Our Syria and Yemen," "The National Council Represents Me," "Free Army," "No-Fly Zone," then "Allahu Akbar," "The Arab League is Killing Us," "If Allah Supports You, He Will Grant You Victory," "Remembering the Faithfulness of the Kurdish Uprising 2004." And in this Friday, some areas chanted "The People Want a Caliphate" again, "Immediate Military Intervention," then "The Muslims and Arabs Have Abandoned Us." So notice how they despaired of humans. Then "Whoever Prepares an Army Has Invaded," "Revolution for All Syrians," "The Command of Allah Has Come, So Do Not Rush It," "Our Sincerity is Our Salvation," "Victory From Allah and Conquest is Near," "If the Rulers Are Cowardly, Where Are the Peoples? And Allah is the One We Seek Help From," "Confident in the Victory of Allah," and finally "The People's Liberation War."

Lessons from the Evolution of Slogans

So, my brothers, what are the lessons we will take from the evolution of the slogans in this way?

First, I would like to clarify that the discussion here is not about the legitimacy of demanding international intervention or a no-fly zone. Also, we understand that the absence of Allah's name or Quranic phrases in a Friday's slogan does not necessarily mean a retreat in the faith of those raising the slogan. Rather, the discussion is about the significance of the slogans in reflecting the psychological state of our brothers, so that we can sense the divine training of Allah's servants, and how a person in prolonged affliction fluctuates between different states, and to sense the way to hasten relief.

So what do we notice from what we have reviewed?

1. The first Friday in which a slogan with an Islamic touch appeared was Friday, 22-8-2011, "Descendants of Khalid." The Friday of "Descendants of Khalid" is the first slogan with an Islamic touch if we exclude the Friday of "The Martyrs" at the beginning of the revolution, where the word "martyrs" is often used loosely to refer to those who fall for freedom or the homeland. So several months passed, and the names of the Fridays did not contain any Islamic touch.
2. Some of the slogans carried the character of appealing to Christians or Alawites or the army, as if they were trying to distance the revolution from being seen as an Islamic revolution. Some of the other slogans carried terms of the global system such as "legitimacy," "freezing membership," "expelling ambassadors," "the national council." Some of them relied on what is called the international community to save Syria.
3. With the prolongation of the affliction, despair of all these parties increased, and these slogans began to fade away, and instead, the slogan of turning to Allah the Almighty appeared, slogans in which there is a turning to Allah the Almighty.
4. Despite all of the above, the slogans still fluctuate between this great meaning of turning to Allah at times, and earthly meanings at other times. They thought the affliction would pass quickly, but it prolonged, so they turned to earthly alternatives, which let them down, so they returned to turning to Allah, but the heart is still in need of purification for Allah. The affliction prolonged, so they turned again to earthly alternatives, but they found nothing there but disappointment, barrenness, and mirage, and they suffered bitterness, humiliation, and disappointment in the creatures.

The Need for Complete Detachment

O people of Sham, we say this to you with shyness because we are like you, oppressed, and we have not been able to support you completely. We say this to you, and you are those who teach us these meanings, but for the sake of "And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers," for the sake of supporting with advice, we say to you after taking the material causes that are permissible: Jihad and support for the Mujahideen: despair of all earthly causes so that the heart may be pure for attachment to Allah, so that you may deserve "And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him."

This is the moment when you receive divine training, and you despair of all earthly causes, and you shine with the bitterness of the weakness of your power, the paucity of your means, and your humiliation among people. It is a moment of despair, hopelessness, drought, and impossibility from everything, a moment of the heart being empty of everything, a moment of the collapse of hope in everything, everything. It is the appropriate moment for the feeling of turning to Allah with sincerity to be cast into the heart, and how close is the relief at that time!

The Moment of Despair from Creatures

Oh our masters in Sham, remember the moments of the prophets, peace be upon them. It is true that the lives of the prophets were all attached to Allah, but Allah the Almighty raised the prophets and exposed them to hardships to test this attachment to Allah, to purify and detach, to reach the peak and strengthen, and in contrast, to increase despair from creatures. Then, at that moment, relief comes. Allah the Almighty says: "Indeed, in their stories, there is a lesson for those of understanding." Let us take the lesson from the stories of the prophets, peace be upon them:

• Like the moment of Nuh when he called upon his Lord: "I am overcome, so help me." Allah saved him and those with him in the ark.
• Like the moment of Ibrahim when he said: "Sufficient for me is Allah; He is the best disposer of affairs," and his heart was detached from attachment to other than Allah. So Allah made the fire cool and peaceful for him.
• Like the moment of Musa when he said, confident in the victory of his Lord: "Indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me." Allah saved him and bequeathed to him and his people the east and west of the earth which He blessed.
• Like the moment of Ayyub when he called upon his Lord: "Indeed, adversity has befallen me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful." So Allah removed from him his adversity and gave him his family and their like with them.
• Like the moment of Yusuf when he emptied his heart of attachment to the kingdom and the exit tainted from prison, saying: "Return to your Lord and ask Him." So Allah saved him from prison and gave him kingship and made for him a way out after humiliation.
• Like the moment of the three who were left behind until the earth became narrow for them despite its vastness and their hearts became narrow, and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except to Him and despaired of everything except Allah. Then relief came.

It is the moment of despair from creatures, so nothing remains except hope in the Creator. Then relief comes quickly: "Until the messengers despaired and thought that they had been denied, then there came to them Our victory, and whomsoever We will, We save. And there is no repelling Our punishment from the criminal people."

It is the moment of pure certainty in the truth of Allah, and absolute trust in His ability to save us no matter how the causes are erased, and that if the nation gathered to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you except with something that Allah has written for you. And if they gathered to harm you with something, they would not harm you except with something that Allah has written for you.

The Mission of Leading the Nation

Oh our masters in Sham, we see that Allah the Almighty prepares you for a great mission, by the permission of Allah, the mission of leading the nation. And whoever has this honor must have his heart detached for Allah. So shorten for yourselves the time, for as long as the heart has attachment to other than Allah, the trial will continue until the hearts are purified. But if you live the mentioned moment of complete detachment to Allah the Almighty, how quick is the victory at that time!

Allah's victory is near, Allah's victory is near, but we are the ones who approach Him by detaching our hearts to Allah or distance ourselves from Him by attaching to other than Him. So beware of the call of the ignorant, beware, oh our beloved, of the call of the ignorant who demand the return of slogans to national and general humanitarian values, and call for the slogans to be free of the Islamic character, meaning they want the slogans to be free of attachment to Allah. For if you obey these, you will return to square one and will be concerned with the alleys of earthly causes devoid of Allah again, and the trial will be prolonged more and more until you learn the divine lesson.

So stand firm, oh our masters, on "We have none but You, oh Allah," stand firm on "Our sincerity is our salvation," stand firm on "If Allah should aid you, then no conqueror can overcome you," stand firm on "If you aid Allah, He will aid you," stand firm on "Allah is the Greatest," stand firm on "We will not prostrate except to Allah," stand firm on "Victory from Allah and conquest is near." And at that time, if you say it with certainty in it and your hearts detached for it, then the victory from Allah is near and the conquest by Allah is near.

The Conclusion

This is a wisdom from the wisdom of Allah the Almighty in prolonging the trial upon our people in Sham until their hearts are detached for Allah and emptied of attachment to other than Him. And if relief had come before that, they would have exited the trial and the heart would not have been detached for Allah, and they would have missed reaching this great station.

Are there any more wisdoms we should talk about? Yes, in the coming episodes, by the permission of Allah. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.