Praise Be to Allah

Khutbat al-Jumu`ah
January 16, 1998

by Shaykh Salah el-Din Mahmoud an-Nassar

Alhamdulillah was-salaat was-salaam `ala Rasulillahi....

Praise be to Allah, who promised his faithful slaves victory and support by saying, "And it was a duty incumbent upon Us to aid those who believed." I bear witness that there is none to worshipped save Allah, One, with no partners. He sent His Messenger Muhammad (s) with guidance and the religion of Truth to cause it to prevail over all religions even though the unbelievers may detest it." and I bear witness that our Master, Prophet, and Beloved Muhammad (s) is the Messenger of Allah, He is the Imam of the Pious, the Master of the Messengers and the Mercy to the worlds.

All praises and salutations of my Lord are upon you, my Master, Messenger of Allah and upon your Family and Companions, and those who are guided by the light of your sunnah until the Day of Judgment.

O Nation of Muhammad (s), we now continue our discussion of the fruits of this great month that has been honored by Allah (swt) with the Revelation of the Holy Qur’an, the constitution of this Nation, which resembles an envelope that contains this spiritual ‘ibadah which raises the da’imeen ("lasting ones") to the level of the angels, close to Allah. It is such a great form of worship that strengthens the will, when the human being controls his nafs and reigns over it with his mind (‘aql) with which Allah has given him precedence over the rest of his creation, He (swt) said,

"We have honored the sons of Adam, provided them with transport on land and sea; Given them for sustenance things good and pure, and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of our creation."

That is how the human being gains victory over his animal nature and desires, and rises to an angelic level, that Allah will boast of him in front of his angels, those nearest to Allah.

This great victory for mind and will over the nafs and desires serves as a vanguard for the Muslims’ lasting victory over the enemies trying to penetrate their ranks.

What a great month, where Muslims gained great victories; the first was in the battle of Badr, which took place on the 17th day of Ramadan, the Day of Furqan, "the criterion for distinguishing truth and falsehood," the day of the meeting of the two forces. In this battle, when the Muslims were less in number and less well-equipped, they were unprepared for battle, as they had gone out to seize a trading caravan of Quraish on its way back from Syria that was led by Abu Sufyan. This seizure was to compensate for the Muslims’ property formerly confiscated by the Quraish, who wrongfully expelled them from their homeland for the sole reason that they believed in Allah (swt).

As soon as Abu Sufyan learned that the Muslims were coming, he changed the course of his caravan and escaped, then mobilized the Meccans to confront the Muslims at Badr, in order to strike the Muslims and put an end to Islam.

Muslims until then had been unprepared to fight. When Rasulullah (s) consulted them, he heard words that pleased him from the Muhajireen and Ansar:

Said Bin Mu’adh, the leader of the Ansar, "I swear upon the one who holds my soul in his hand, that if you cross the ocean, we will cross it with you, and if you march to Barkil Ghimad (a distant land), we would march with you, and none of us would stay behind. We are patient during war, serious and honest in confrontation, and we hope to show you deeds that please you; go forward with Allah’s blessing."

Al Miqdad bin Amr said, "O Messenger of God (s), we shall not say to you what the children of Israel said to Moses (as), ‘Go with your Lord and fight by yourselves, while we sit here." We say, ‘Go you with your Lord and fight, and we will fight beside you.’

The battle started, and the soldiers of Earth met the soldiers of Heavens, as angels fought. Allah said, "Remember you implored the assistance of your Lord and He answered you, "I will assist you with a thousand of the Angels, ranks on ranks – Allah made it only as a message of hope and an assurance for your hearts; (in any case) there is no help except from Allah, and Allah is Exalted in power, the Wise."

So Allah (swt) granted the Muslims victory over their enemies, even though they were few in number and poorly equipped, and other victories followed, most of them during Ramadan – Mecca was opened during Ramadan, and the victory of Salahuddin in the battle of Hitteen.

The Muslims need to study these lessons and learn from them.