Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Muslims are meant to
be people of reflection, and really, as an ummah today we need to reflect. Why
are we in the state that we are in? Is it a lack of numbers? And the answer to
that is no. One in every five people walking on the face of this earth is a
Muslim. Is it because of wealth and resources? Again, the answer is no. Many of
the greatest natural resources are in the hands of the Muslims. So what is the
reason? A billion in number, so much wealth, and why are we in the decadence
that we find ourselves in today?
The reason for this is that there is a lack of men and women of substance.
Men and women were mobilized when Hazrat Ali (ra) became the khalifah, and this was at a time of great turmoil, Hazrat Uthman (ra) had just been martyred. He ascended the pulpit and his first inaugral speech, his first khutbah, was what? All he said was, "O people, you are in need of a man of actions and not a man who just speaks". And then he descended from the pulpit. And really, this was a miracle of the Prophet (saw), he created men and women of substance. Because he never worked on structures but he worked on the hearts and the minds of individuals, until he created men and women who changed the landscape of history. Men and women who were heavy in the scales of Allah.
Men and women like Hazrat Abdullah ibn Masood (ra). On one occasion, he was climbing a tree, and he had very thin shins, and when the Sahabah (ra) saw his thin shins, they began to laugh. And the Prophet (saw) asked the Sahabah (ra), "What is making you laugh?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra)". The Prophet (saw) said, "I swear by Allah, if the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra) were placed in one side of the scale, and the Mountain of Uhud was placed on the other side of the scale, the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra) would be heavier than the Mountain of Uhud". Why? Because every muscle, every drop of blood which ran through these thin shins was for the sake of Allah. They weren't a large mass, but they were of quality. And this is a sunnah of Allah - Allah never judges a group of people by their numbers. He judges them by their quality, by their substance.
The greatest men of this ummah were who? It was the 313 who participated in the Battle of Badr. On one occasion, Hazrat Jibraeel (as) descended to the Prophet (saw) and he said, "O Messenger of Allah, who are the best from your ummah?" He said, "Those who participated in the Battle of Badr." And Jibraeel (as) said, "Similarly, out of all those angels in the heavens, the most honorable and the best are those angels who descended on the day of Badr and assisted the Muslims. These were 313 men but they were men of substance. They trusted Allah. They stood against an army of 1000, who were armed to their teeth. They hardly had any horses, they hardly had any weapons but they trusted Allah until they reached a state which was unparalleled in the history of Islam.
In the time of the Prophet (saw), there was a Sahabi called Haatib bin abi Bultah (ra). And Haatib (ra) was a Badri Sahabi, and when the Prophet (saw) decided to attack Makkah, he informed the Sahabah. And what Haatib (ra) did, and he was a man who had migrated but he wasn't a Qurayshi. He wrote a letter to the people of Makkah, informing them of the plans of the Prophet (saw), and the Prophet (saw) sent Ali (ra), Miqdaad (ra) and Zubair (ra) and he said, "Go to the Garden of Khaaq, and there you will find a lady on a camel and with her she will have a letter and bring that letter back". And they went to the Garden of Khaaq and exactly where the Prophet (saw) said they found a lady on a camel and they said, "Give us the letter." And she said, "I have no letter." But these people trusted in the words of the Prophet (saw), they knew that if the Prophet (saw) said something, it was the truth. They said, "Give us the letter otherwise we will have to search you". And from the plaits of her hair, she brought a letter forth, which was from Haatib (ra), informing the people of Makkah about the plans of the Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw) summoned Haatib (ra) and he said, "What's this, Haatib?" And Haatib (ra) said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), do not hasten to pass judgement over me, because I am not a man who likes disbelief or I am displeased with Islam, but the reason I did this is because every other migrant Muhajir has family in Makkah who can help their direct family. I have no family, and the only reason I did this was so the people of Makkah wouldn't harm my family. And the Prophet (saw) turned to Haatib (ra) and he said, "Indeed, you have spoken the truth". And Hazrat Umar (ra) was standing there and he said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), let me strike at the neck of this Munafiq!" And the Prophet (saw) said, "O Umar, didn't Haatib participate in the Battle of Badr?" And Umar (ra) said, "Yes, he did." The Prophet (saw) said, "Maybe Allah looks favourably upon the people of Badr, and He says, "O people of Badr, do as you wish because Jannah has become wajib upon you".
The reason for this is that there is a lack of men and women of substance.
Men and women were mobilized when Hazrat Ali (ra) became the khalifah, and this was at a time of great turmoil, Hazrat Uthman (ra) had just been martyred. He ascended the pulpit and his first inaugral speech, his first khutbah, was what? All he said was, "O people, you are in need of a man of actions and not a man who just speaks". And then he descended from the pulpit. And really, this was a miracle of the Prophet (saw), he created men and women of substance. Because he never worked on structures but he worked on the hearts and the minds of individuals, until he created men and women who changed the landscape of history. Men and women who were heavy in the scales of Allah.
Men and women like Hazrat Abdullah ibn Masood (ra). On one occasion, he was climbing a tree, and he had very thin shins, and when the Sahabah (ra) saw his thin shins, they began to laugh. And the Prophet (saw) asked the Sahabah (ra), "What is making you laugh?" They said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra)". The Prophet (saw) said, "I swear by Allah, if the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra) were placed in one side of the scale, and the Mountain of Uhud was placed on the other side of the scale, the thin shins of Abdullah ibn Masood (ra) would be heavier than the Mountain of Uhud". Why? Because every muscle, every drop of blood which ran through these thin shins was for the sake of Allah. They weren't a large mass, but they were of quality. And this is a sunnah of Allah - Allah never judges a group of people by their numbers. He judges them by their quality, by their substance.
The greatest men of this ummah were who? It was the 313 who participated in the Battle of Badr. On one occasion, Hazrat Jibraeel (as) descended to the Prophet (saw) and he said, "O Messenger of Allah, who are the best from your ummah?" He said, "Those who participated in the Battle of Badr." And Jibraeel (as) said, "Similarly, out of all those angels in the heavens, the most honorable and the best are those angels who descended on the day of Badr and assisted the Muslims. These were 313 men but they were men of substance. They trusted Allah. They stood against an army of 1000, who were armed to their teeth. They hardly had any horses, they hardly had any weapons but they trusted Allah until they reached a state which was unparalleled in the history of Islam.
In the time of the Prophet (saw), there was a Sahabi called Haatib bin abi Bultah (ra). And Haatib (ra) was a Badri Sahabi, and when the Prophet (saw) decided to attack Makkah, he informed the Sahabah. And what Haatib (ra) did, and he was a man who had migrated but he wasn't a Qurayshi. He wrote a letter to the people of Makkah, informing them of the plans of the Prophet (saw), and the Prophet (saw) sent Ali (ra), Miqdaad (ra) and Zubair (ra) and he said, "Go to the Garden of Khaaq, and there you will find a lady on a camel and with her she will have a letter and bring that letter back". And they went to the Garden of Khaaq and exactly where the Prophet (saw) said they found a lady on a camel and they said, "Give us the letter." And she said, "I have no letter." But these people trusted in the words of the Prophet (saw), they knew that if the Prophet (saw) said something, it was the truth. They said, "Give us the letter otherwise we will have to search you". And from the plaits of her hair, she brought a letter forth, which was from Haatib (ra), informing the people of Makkah about the plans of the Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw) summoned Haatib (ra) and he said, "What's this, Haatib?" And Haatib (ra) said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), do not hasten to pass judgement over me, because I am not a man who likes disbelief or I am displeased with Islam, but the reason I did this is because every other migrant Muhajir has family in Makkah who can help their direct family. I have no family, and the only reason I did this was so the people of Makkah wouldn't harm my family. And the Prophet (saw) turned to Haatib (ra) and he said, "Indeed, you have spoken the truth". And Hazrat Umar (ra) was standing there and he said, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), let me strike at the neck of this Munafiq!" And the Prophet (saw) said, "O Umar, didn't Haatib participate in the Battle of Badr?" And Umar (ra) said, "Yes, he did." The Prophet (saw) said, "Maybe Allah looks favourably upon the people of Badr, and He says, "O people of Badr, do as you wish because Jannah has become wajib upon you".
Why? Because these people trusted in Allah! Numbers never scared them. Nobody aspires to be a Salahuddin (ra). Nobody tries to be an Umar ibn Khattab (ra) or Abu Dharr (ra) or Abu Bakr (ra) or a Khadijah (ra) or a Fatima (ra). Nobody aspires to be like them. We live off our legacy. We remember these people but none of us aspire to be like them.
May Allah make us all people of substance - Ameen.
(Shaikh Zahir Mahmood)
Wasalaam!
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