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The honour of protecting and preserving the Blessed Land is yours for the taking

The honour of protecting and preserving the Blessed Land is yours for the taking
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March 09, 2024
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Ramadan is the month of patience and the month of resilience. The Battle of Badr, the first battle, took place in Ramadan. The Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged his companions to endure challenges with patience and strength. We all face our own challenges and as an Ummah we are witnessing an extremely challenging time – the most challenging time which we have witnessed in living memory.

Not only are we seeing a tragedy unfold, we are shocked and aghast that so many have lost their morals and the goodness but basic humanity. They are numb. Their hearts unmoved at the unceasing atrocities in Gaza. In the Quran, Allah Almighty described such people:

وَلَقَدۡ ذَرَأۡنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِۖ لَهُمۡ قُلُوبٞ لَّا يَفۡقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمۡ أَعۡيُنٞ لَّا يُبۡصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمۡ ءَاذَانٞ لَّا يَسۡمَعُونَ بِهَآۚ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ كَٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِ بَلۡ هُمۡ أَضَلُّۚ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡغَٰفِلُونَ

And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless. (7:179)

Allah Almighty describes these kinds of people by saying that they have hearts, but their hearts  don’t comprehend. They have eyes, but their eyes can’t see. They have ears, but their ears  can’t hear the truth. So they are even worse than the animals. Sadly, we are seeing these verses come to life around us, as such people are walking and talking in our reality. Unfortunately, these challenges between truth and falsehood will not end until the Day of Judgement. The Prophet (peace be upon him) with the vision Allah Almighty had given him, used to talk about Bayt ul Maqdis and Shaam, which are present day Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) in many authentic narrations encouraged people to go to these special places. One of these narrations is by Dhul as Saabi’, one of the companions, who asked the Prophet (peace be upon him), “Oh Messenger of Allah, if we were to live after you, and this is our test, where do you command us to go? Which place should we go and stay?”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘“Go to Bayt al-Maqdis because there is hope that Allah will grant you many children who will frequent the Masjid morning and evening.” Due to this recommendation, many companions, after he passed away, moved to Palestine – to Bayt ul Maqdis and the surrounding areas of Shaam.

In another narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him), another companion, Abdullah ibn Hawala, heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the believers would get divided into three troops: one in Iraq, one in Shaam, one in Yemen. Abdullah bin Hawala asked, “Oh Messenger of Allah, choose for me which one should I follow?”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Follow the troops of Shaam, be in Shaam.” Allah Almighty selected the best of His creation, and He put them in that very place, until the Day of Judgement. Allah has protected and is looking after Shaam, until the Day of Judgement, no matter what.

When we look at our reality, we ask what on earth is going on in Gaza? How are these people able to survive the brutality and the atrocities they are facing a daily basis. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said Allah Almighty would select the best of His creation and put them in Shaam, particularly in Palestine and in particular, in Gaza, in particular. Their quality is exceptional. Just as Allah Almighty selected the best people to be the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), He also put the best of His creation in Palestine. This is why we see in them the best qualities: resilience, sabr, imaan, strength, and so on. This is why we see that Allah Almighty is supporting the people of Palestine.

We need to be part of this, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself said to Abdullah bin Hawala “Be among them.” Therefore we should try to gain the honour of standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine. If we are not physically among them, we can be spiritually with them and support them through every possible legal means insha’Allah.

Even if we cannot be physically present in Palestine, we can still support their cause through various means. This includes raising awareness about their plight, advocating for their rights, supporting  humanitarian efforts through charitable donations.

I read a study recently on Palestine which looked at how many companions travelled and died in Palestine. Some cities feel honoured when a famous companion just passed by their city or died there. Yet in Palestine, 81 companions lived the majority of their lives, taught and stayed and then died and were buried in Palestine.

Palestine has a rich history. It is a very special place, and dear to our hearts. Ramadan is the time when charity is multiplied. It’s our duty to give to them. It is our obligation to support our brothers and sisters in Palestine, because they are now defending the honour of the Ummah. They are defending the blessed land. They are defending the history of our Ummah. When we do this, iha’Allah ta’ala we will be among those who will be written as the best of Allah Almighty’s creation, and among the best supporters of creation of Allah Almighty’s righteous people.

We’ve seen in the last couple of days, the aid dropping, which is a ridiculous gesture. Let’s do our best to mobilise our numbers, harness our strength, forge alliances, learn from wise people, to bring an end to the relentless mass killing  that is being perpetrated on a daily basis.

We hope that Allah Almighty will stop this before Ramadan, although it’s very thin hope, but Allah Almighty’s power is beyond any power. Allah Almighty’s strength is beyond any strength.

We ask Allah Almighty to enable the people of Palestine to countervail, and to enable the Ummah as well to support them and be part of this honour. Ameen

Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Fundraiser for Aghosh 3rd March 2024

Transcribed by Z Sheikh

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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