0:47 Respected elders, brothers and sisters, assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. I'd like to begin by welcoming all of you who were absent uh yesterday because of the the football game. I forgive you for your absence. So, I want to continue our discussion that we began last night. And the the topic that we were exploring was the topic of victory in Islam. Allah addresses the community of the believers. He says, "In tansurullah yansurkum wa yusabbit aqdamakum."
1:35 O you who believe, if you help God, God will help you. And he will firmly plant your feet. He will grant you steadfastness. Now, one of the most important conditions for us to receive the help of Allah. A condition that sometimes we overlook. And that condition is mentioned in the Quran. You know, usually when there is when it's a time of crisis, we attend lectures. We turn to religious leaders.
2:22 And in the middle of something like a genocide, you might hear a lecture on the obligation of salah. The obligation of hijab. The prohibition of certain types of music. And you listen to this and you you think to yourself that wow, these people are so out of touch. You're speaking about hijab in the middle of a genocide? You're speaking about salah in the middle of a genocide? You're speaking about halal and haram in the middle of a genocide? See, we think that these things are not important variables
3:08 in our quest for victory. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in surat Ali Imran, aya 120. What does he say? He says wa in tasbiru wa tattaku, Allah says if you are patient and you have taqwa, you know, taqwa is a fancy word which essentially means doing your wajibats and avoiding the muharramat. Being God-conscious means that you obey Allah. Wa in tasbiru wa tattaku la yadurrukum kayduhum shayan. Allah says if you are patient
3:55 if you have patience and piety the scheming and the plotting of your enemies will not harm you in the least. One of the most important factors one of the most important conditions for us as a community to be worthy of Allah's support and his help is taqwa. You know, sometimes we have more faith in our activism than we have in our relationship with Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala. We think that it's the activism, it's the it's the boycotts,
4:41 the protest, that is what's going to make a difference. No one is denying that that type of activism is important. But there is a very, very important variable in this equation and that variable is the extent of your obedience to Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala. So Allah Azza Wa Jal he highlights here that in addition to your preparedness, in addition to planning putting pressure in the form of protest and boycotts and lobbying, that has that has its place. Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala, he says lahum mastata'tum min quwwah.
5:28 Plan, use everything at your disposal to resist to fight against your enemies. But do not underestimate the importance of taqwa in eliciting that divine support. Now, the question is if we demonstrate piety in moments of crisis, if we think to ourselves "Okay what do we need to change within ourselves to be people who are more obedient to Allah?" Whether it's our prayers,
6:13 the way that we conduct ourselves with our community members, we have to look. If we are abandoning certain wajibats, we have to fulfill those obligations. The promise of God's support will arrive. Now, when Allah helps, how does he help? What does divine support look like? Because when Allah says, "If you support me, I will support you," the question is, "Oh Allah, how are you going to support the believers? What are you going to give them in the form of support?"
7:00 I'll share with you six ways in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala helps the mu'minin in times of difficulty and in the face of adversity. Number one, when you look at the Quran, the first way that Allah helps mu'minin is nuzul sakinah fi qulubil mu'minin. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Surat al-Fath, we have a chapter in the Quran known as the chapter of victory, Surat al-Fath. In Surat al-Fath, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the prophet
7:47 that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, your Lord, is always supporting you. Allah will grant you a mighty victory. Now, how does Allah grant victory? How does he help his prophet and the believers? You know, when you are standing in the battlefields and your life is at risk, when you are confronted with formidable enemies, hearts usually quiver.
8:33 There is that fear factor, and we mentioned that the most important factor after taqwa and sabr in achieving victory is morale. And what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala do? He says, "I send down tranquility into the hearts of the believers." You know, we call these the intangibles. You can see numbers in the battlefield, you can see the weaponry, you can see the technology, but what you can't see, the intangible, is what? Sakinah. You might have the most powerful
9:19 weapons but your heart is in turmoil. That's what we saw in Badr. In Badr, Abu Sufyan had the bigger guns, but who had the more tranquil hearts? The prophet and his followers. So one of the ways in which Allah helps Mu'minun is that he gives them the most powerful weapon. And that is in times where normal people are shaking in fear, I'm going to make sure that your hearts are tranquil. That you're calm. Because when you're calm, you don't make mistakes.
10:06 You're very level-headed. They already have Iman in their hearts. And that tranquility, it increases, it elevates the already existing faith that they have in their hearts. Their Iman becomes stronger in those battlefields. So this is the first way in which Allah helps the believers. He calms their hearts in the face of insurmountable odds. And that is a very, very important element, a very important factor in achieving victory. Number two.
10:58 The second thing that Allah does, the second way that he helps the believers is that he puts terror and fear in the hearts of the enemies. Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala in Surat Ali Imran Ayah 151, Allah says, "Sanulqi fi qulubilladhina kafaru ru'b." Allah says, "I I will cast fear in the hearts of the concealers of truth. You know, the word kuffar is probably the most mistranslated term in the entire Islamic tradition. You read kuffar and you you think that
11:45 okay, that this applies to my neighbor Bob and Jennifer and Stacy. No, no, no. Kuffar refer, especially in the Quran, it has a very specific meaning. This is referring to the concealers of truth. The manipulators. Because even, you know, in classical Arabic, a farmer is called a kafir. Because a farmer conceals the seeds in the earth. So, these are the people who are manipulating the narrative. These are not innocent people. These are not the victims. No, these are a immatul kufr.
12:31 Allah says, "I help the believers by making their hearts calm. And the other side, your enemies, I will put fear in their hearts." You know, when you look at someone like Benjamin Netanyahu, this is not someone who has sakina in his heart. He has the backing of the United States of America. He has the most advanced weaponry. But when push comes to shove, he's the first one to run into a bunker. He's terrified. And all it takes is for a sayyid to show up and they all become terrified. He doesn't have the same
13:19 weapons that you have. Where does this come from? Allah says, "This is from me." I bolster their image and their power in the hearts of the enemies. Sanulqī fī qulūb alladhīna kafarū al-ru'b. That's number two. Number three is at-tasarruf fī nufūs. Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala he does something else. This is a third way in which he helps the believers. There is a subtle form of divine intervention. Now, what does Allah do? And this is actually mentioned in the Qur'an in Sūrat al-Anfāl, Sūrah 8 ayah 43.
14:06 When the two armies meet, you know, most of the time the Muslims are outnumbered. If you look at the history of Islam, the prophet is outnumbered in Badr. He's outnumbered in Uhud. He's outnumbered in Khandaq. Most of the battles Rasulullah is outnumbered. The enemies almost always have a an advantage in terms of their numbers. So, what does Allah Azzawajal do? Allah says in ayah 43, Wa idh yurīkumūhum idh iltaqaytum fī a'yunikum qalīla. Allah says, "And when he showed them to you when you met
14:51 as few in your eyes. When the Muslims are confronted with their enemies, Allah says, I make them look few in number." Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala he intervenes by shaping the perception of the believers in the eyes of the kuffār and vice versa. So, Allah helps the mu'minīn when they look at the enemies even though they might be a huge army, Allah says, "I make them look small. I make them look like they're only a few. Why? Because this will give you confidence." And then what does he do? What does he do with the enemies?
15:37 And he makes your army You would think that Allah's going to say what? He makes your army look big. But he doesn't. He says, "I make your army also look small." When you look at your enemies, Allah is addressing the Mu'minun. When you look at your enemies, they appear to be few in number because this will give you confidence that we can manage this. When your enemies look at you, they see you as few in number. How is that an advantage for the believers? It's an advantage because Allah wants your enemies to underestimate you.
16:22 And when they underestimate you, they make strategic mistakes. This is how Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala helps his how he helps the prophet and the believers. And we're seeing it today. The most powerful armies in the world, they're not able to handle these as they call these non-state actors, right? They're powerless. So, this is a third way in which Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala helps the believers. Number four, Tathbitul Aqdam. We We alluded to this last night.
17:08 Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala, he gives steadfastness. Tathbitul Aqdam means a type of resilience. You know, it's human nature to cling to life. It's instinctual. When there's a danger, people retreat. Because it's in our nature to self-preserve. He says, "I make them very firm." Now, what does Allah do to the heart of a moment when they are facing their enemies? You know, if you read Imam Zainul Abidin's
17:54 dua Imam talks about how the Imam prays to Allah saying, "Oh Allah, when they are fighting your enemies at the borders, take away from their heart the love of this world." Because what makes you hesitant to fight is you have all of these attachments. Worldly attachments, family attachments. But in that moment when you are confronted with your enemies, Allah he has his ways. He makes you forget about all of the things that will make you cling to this
18:41 life. And like a magnet, you are pulled to the other side. You do something that is really against and the nature of a person because we cling to life. Allah says, "I will make you steadfast." You know, this was the dua of the army of Talut. You know, we're familiar with the story of Talut in the Quran in Surat al-Baqarah. King Saul is mentioned in the Quran. This was the battle between David and Goliath. You know, Dawud alayhi salaam, he wasn't always a king. He is the king who was once a soldier. He was a soldier in the army of Talut. And the Quran goes into details about
19:27 how he trains this army and how he filters out the army. Because he he only wants the elite. Those who have who don't have any discipline, he doesn't want them to be part of the army. You know, any they're tested with the drinking of the water. In any case, the last group that remained, because it was a massive army. There was a a weeding out process until Talut ends up with 313 fighters. And as they're about to confront the mighty army of Goliath, Allah quotes the dua of the elites. The soldiers, the final, the cream of the crop. What do they say?
20:22 Oh Allah, pour upon us patience. We're We're the We're the elite army, but we still need you. We need you to give us patience, and we need you to make our feet firm. We need that steadfastness. So, that's the fourth way in which Allah helps the believers. A fifth way, and we mentioned this last night, inzalul malaika. Allah, he sends down angels. And if you if you listen to the statements of our brothers who fight on the front
21:09 lines, whether it's against Daesh or the Zionists, there are many stories of things that these brothers have witnessed that just cannot be explained. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Surat al-Anfal, Surah 8, ayah 12, he says it says to the angels, "I'm with you. In the battle of Badr, Allah says to the angels, "I'm with you. Go down and strengthen the hearts of the mu'minin." You know, the malaikah in the Quran, they play they are God's hidden army.
21:57 They play a role in this physical world. Right? So, there's an interaction now between the material world and the angelic world. They participate in the fighting, but they also do what? They fortify the hearts of the believers. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you know, when we Do you know there's one night out of the year where we all celebrate the descent of angels? But the angels don't only descend on Laylat al-Qadr. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Surat
22:44 Fussilat, he says what? Malaikah, they don't just descend on Laylat al-Qadr. They do, but there are other things that can cause the angels to descend. And that is if a person says, "My Lord is Allah." And they are steadfast. What happens? You you have the ability to attract the angels in the heavens because of your aqidah, because of your
23:31 belief, because of your steadfastness. We don't know how many because each person has a different spiritual capacity. Maybe for one moment one angel comes to back him, to support and fortify his heart. Maybe for another moment it's two. Maybe for another moment it's 10. Maybe it's thousands. Maybe it's tens of thousands. Everything is measured. Now, what do these angels do? They come with a message. And these angels, you know, they don't come with you know, verbal messages that you might get it or you might not. So, no translators required. Because they're communicating
24:17 a message that has a profound effect on your soul. And what is the message? Allah ta'khafu wala tahzanu. Don't be afraid. And don't grieve. You know, khawf and huzn, there's no fear. Don't fear and don't grieve. Fear is usually associated with anxiety about what is to come. And grief is the anxiety and the pain attached to things in the past. Those angels descend and they say, "Do not fear and do not grieve. Just be in the moment as a soldier of
25:02 God. I ask you brothers and sisters, if you have this support, is there any army in the world that can defeat you? You think the IDF can beat this? You think any military power in the world can defeat an army who have hearts that are being whispered into by Allah is impossible. You can't beat an army like that. The seventh the sixth way Allah helps the believers is through natural phenomenons
25:50 like rain and wind. You know, sometimes we forget that it's not just the angels that are the soldiers of God. Nature itself is among the soldiers. Allah taala in Surat al-Ahzab You know, we're all familiar with the Battle of Khandaq. You know, who who was the hero in the Battle of Khandaq? Amir al-Mu'minin The Quran tells us that there is another reason why the Muslims were victorious in Khandaq. Of course, there's no doubt. We're in agreement
26:36 that Ali ibn Abi Talib his sword saved Islam, period. In the battles of Islam Ali's heroics and then everything else is footnotes. Allah tells us in Surat al-Ahzab ayah number nine. Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu udhkuru ni'mat Allahi alaykum. O you who believe, remember Allah's favor upon you idh ja'atkum junudun. Remember when an army came, Abu Sufyan with 10,000 soldiers, ahzab, Jewish tribes, Bedouin
27:23 tribes, Quraysh, they had the best weapons, they descended upon Medina, they besieged Medina. Allah says, "Do you remember when that army came? And what did Allah do?" Fa arsalna alayhim rihan. Allah says, "I sent a wind. I sent a windstorm. Wa junudan lam tarawha. I sent an army that you could not see, reference to the angels, but I also sent a a storm. They retreated for two reasons, because Ali broke their spirit and the sandstorm
28:08 uprooted all of their tents, and they went back. Allah Subhana Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala sometimes he helps the believers by doing what? By sending a natural disaster to defeat the enemies. Now, the question is, okay, the believers are receiving all of this support. What's the goal? What are we trying to achieve? What are we aiming for as a community? The answer is at the end of Dua al-Iftitah. Because the ultimate victory, my dear brothers and sisters, the ultimate victory will be realized with the emergence of
28:56 the 12th Imam of Ahlul Bayt, al-Imam Sahib al-Asr wal-Zaman. What do we recite in Dua al-Iftitah at the end? Because this is the goal. Everything that we do is to achieve the goal that is mentioned in Dua al-Iftitah. What are we saying in this dua? Oh Allah, we yearn. We are yearning for something. And we are yearning for
29:43 a specific government. As Mu'minin, are we yearning for a government that's run by the Democrats? Is this what we're yearning for? Are we yearning for a government that is run by the Republicans? We're not even yearning for a government that's run by a third party. The reality is in Zaman al-Ghaybah, we're just trying to do damage control. In Dua al-Iftitah, what do we say? We are yearning for a government that gives dignity to the people.
30:32 And this government and this is a part of our Aqidah. We should not think for a moment that if a Democrat, if a Republican, if or a Green Party candidate comes to power, that is دولت کریمه and that will be where we will find our prosperity. No. Our prosperity is under one type of government. And that is the government of Imam al-Mahdi, which is a government that is predicated on the principle of human dignity. A government that really believes in human dignity.
31:18 تعز به الاسلام و اهله The only ideology in the world that can truly preserve the dignity of انسان is Islam. وتذل به النفاق و اهله This is a government that will elevate Islam because Islam will give dignity to people. And it's a government that will humiliate نفاق. Do you know what نفاق is? نفاق is like Anthony Blinken. نفاق are all of these politicians who use all of this flowery language about human rights.
32:04 That we care about innocent civilians. It's all rhetoric. They say one thing and they do another. The government of Imam al-Hujjah, that is the government of human dignity. And do you know what that looks like? It looks like the following. Ali ibn Abi Talib established دولت کریمه. It's a type of government where Ali is walking and there is a Christian man begging, an old Christian man is begging. And Ali says, "What is this?" And they say to him, "Ya Ali, he's a Christian. He's not a Muslim. He's not a part of our community." The Imam says, "I didn't ask you who is this. I asked you what is this."
32:52 You took advantage of him when he was young. You exploited him when he was young. And now you abandon him in his old age. Give him a stipend from Bayt al-Mal. That is dawlatun karima. Not what we have today. That is what Rasulullah established in Medina. Where he's sitting and there's a casket that goes by and the prophet stands. And they say, "Ya Rasulullah, this was a Jew." And the prophet says, "But but is it not a human soul?" That is dawlatun karima. Dawlatun karima is a woman who comes to the prophet complaining about the abuse that she's
33:40 facing in her marriage. And Allah reveals Surat al-Mujadilah. This is what we are working towards. And it will only happen under divine leadership. I have 5 minutes left. I just want to quickly go over the qualities that are needed to help build this noble honorable government. You know, brothers and sisters, Imam Sahib al-Zaman ajjalallahu ta'ala farajah,
34:27 his ashab, his inner circle, his companions, they're not going to fall from the sky. They're going to come from the womb of this ummah. They're going to be you, your children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren. They're going to come from within the ummah. Now, what are the qualities of these people? The 313 who are basically the rulers and the administrators administrators of his global government. What are their qualities? These are going to be the nation builders. And as Muslims, we have to stop waiting for someone to come and save us.
35:14 The Democrats are not going to save you, the Republicans are not going to save you. And let me tell you this, even the Green Party is not going to save you. You have to save yourself. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he has given you dignity. You are the leaders. You are the ones who are going to build nations. How does you know, Amir al-Mu'minin, he describes the qualities of these companions who are around Imam al-Mahdi? What does he say? That these people who are around, the network of Imam al-Mahdi, his helpers,
36:01 they are like lions who have emerged from the jungles. They're lions. Meaning what? They don't have an inferiority complex. They are not the influenced, they are the influencers, not the loser ones online, the real ones. They are the ones who have influence. They are the ones who shape and mend culture. And they are like pieces of iron. They do not bend. They do not compromise. And they are incredibly determined.
36:49 If they resolved to move towering mountains, they'd do it. Because nothing is impossible for them. Ordinary people, this is too difficult. This is too challenging. For them, they are so determined because they know They're connected to Allah. These are the people who truly profess the oneness of God. See, tawhid is not just an idea. It's a way of life. And the most important one of the most important aspects of tawhid is that
37:36 honor and dignity come from him. They're not going to come from a political party. Protection comes from God. Honor comes from God. And the most important thing is to obey God because everything is in his hands. That's tawhid. Now, you think when you think of a nation builder, you think of what they do during the day. Community organizing, press conference, meeting this person and that person. But look at what Amir al-Mu'minin says about the ashab of Imam al-Mahdi.
38:22 At night, they stand before Allah and they cry. The way that a mother cries when she grieves over her lost child. They're strong but they're not harsh. They have very soft hearts. To be a nation builder, you have to first build this. They invest a lot of time in building their spirituality. You know, there's a reason why Tahajjud was wajib upon the prophet. You want to build humanity, you have to build your own humanity. And that happens through ibadah. That happens through dua.
39:10 They stay awake at night in worship. They really enjoy alone time with Allah. They have a spiritual regiment. During the day they fast, at night they worship. Because spirituality goes hand in hand with their activism. Even though they come from different parts of the world, they're not related, but it's as if they were raised by one mother and one father. They have shared values. They have different biological parents, but their spiritual parents and guardians are Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hassan, and Hussein. It's like they come from one family.
40:00 Their hearts are united in love. They actually love each other. It's not fake. They actually care about each other. And when the leadership has benevolence and compassion, it trickles down to the rest of the people. It's based on love and compassion and then the Imam ends with this. Al wa inni la arifu asmahum wa absarum. Ali ibn Abi Talib he says that these people are so dear to me that I know all of their names and I know the cities that they hail from. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us among them, to make us among their helpers. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to strengthen us, to make us worthy of his help. Wa sallallahu ala
40:46 Sayyidina wa Nabiyina Muhammad wa ala ahli baytihi tayyibina tahireen. >> [music] [music]
