We praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We send blessings and salutations upon
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
Brothers and sisters,
a very important clarification that needs
to be made from what we said yesterday.
We all know in the books of seerah,
the books of history that have recorded the
life of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam,
the story of the martyrdom of Hamza
ibn Abdul Muttalib is made mention of.
And the story that is narrated commonly known that Hind binti Utbah
we made mention of her yesterday,
it is reported that she was from amongst those
who had chewed on the liver of Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib,
that is incorrect.
And this is something that needed correction,
we mentioned it yesterday and
we should never be embarrassed to correct ourselves.
In fact,
wherever there
is a difference of opinion between those who have recorded history
and those who have recorded hadith,
we should remember that those who have
recorded hadith are given preference
because they have what is known as sanad,
which means the chain of narrators.
So for some reason, yes it is correct that
Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib radhiallahu anhu,
his body was mutilated,
but to
degrade Hind binti Utbah radhiallahu
anha to the degree that we've all been
making mention of her having chewed
the liver of Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib,
it
requires a clarification and for us to say that that is inaccurate,
although it
has been made mention of in so many books.
And this was brought forth by a
little bit of research that was done.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala to grant
us goodness and ease, so much so that Wahshi
radhiallahu anhu was not a slave
of Hind binti Utbah,
but rather he was a slave of
Jubair ibn Mutaim.
So it was Jubair ibn Mutaim who had told him to do what
he did and it was not Hind binti Utbah radhiallahu anha.
May Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala grant us all goodness and
may we be from amongst those who can spread what is correct
and learn from that which is incorrect
that no matter how popular the story is,
but it actually requires clarification.
May Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala bless us all.
This evening we will be talking about
the one whom Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam loved the most,
so much so that he was known as
Hibbu Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
The one who was loved by Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam,
the only companion from amongst all those
who followed Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam,
whose name is mentioned in the Quran.
Allah makes mention in surah al-ahzab of the name Zaid.
This was Zaid ibn Harithah radhiallahu anha.
So what is his story?
Why was he so loved by Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam?
Let us take a look at what happened.
His mother's name was Su'dah binti Tha'labah.
She was from Bani Ma'an
and she was married elsewhere.
She wanted to go home to meet her family once.
So she took her child with her and she had gone.
And what happened is,
Harithah, who's the father of Zaid,
had made sure that she joined a caravan
that was trustworthy in order to get to Bani Ma'an.
And according to the narrations,
she got to Bani Ma'an.
And at some stage,
either while she was there or on the journey back,
they were waylaid by a group of people.
They were attacked by a group of people from Banu Qayn.
And what happened is,
they were taken, their property was taken,
and from amongst them,
little children who were there were enslaved.
And this was the habit of the pagan Arabs which was stopped by Islam.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us an understanding.
So it was also the habit in the European
era at that particular time and even beyond.
And we read that it was across the globe that this was a habit.
When people were attacked,
they were enslaved for no reason.
And the attack was solely to be robbing their property,
what we would term highwaymen.
And highwaymen were known across the globe,
in parts of Europe and Arabia and elsewhere.
So what had happened here is,
Zaid ibn Harithah was a little boy,
approximately 8 years old.
They took him and they went to Uqad.
Uqad was in the Arabian Peninsula,
one of the festivals where they used to buy and sell things.
And you know they had market place
where people used to bring their products
from different parts of the peninsula and sell them there.
So they had a lot of young boys whom they
were selling at the time and young girls.
So they sold Zaid ibn Harithah who was a young boy into the market.
And who bought him?
Hakim ibn Hizam.
This man later accepted Islam.
But he was the nephew of Khadija bint Khuwaylid,
who later married Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
So what happened to this young boy,
he was taken captive and he was sold.
I want to pause there for a moment.
There are so many people whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
had chosen to be the companions of
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Yet they were brought to Makkah al-Mukarramah by different means
and different stories, all miraculous.
We heard about Salman al-Farisi,
we heard about the others.
And subhanallah,
this is one of those stories where
he was brought as a slave,
enslaved and brought to be sold.
It reminds us of the story of the Prophet Joseph or Yusuf a.s.
May peace be upon him,
where he was also sold in the market as a slave,
later to become one of the top leaders
and the Nabi of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
a prophet.
So from this we learn
that sometimes in our lives negative things happen
in order for a positive door to be opened later on.
Do not become depressed.
Do not be people who actually lose hope in the mercy of Allah.
You need to know Allah always has a better plan,
but you need to have firm conviction
and you need to pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at all times.
So he was sold and Hakim ibn Hizam brought him into Makkah.
And when Khadija bint Khuwaylid radhiallahu anha,
who was the aunt of Hakim ibn Hizam radhiallahu anha,
went to meet him in order to welcome him home
from that festival of Uqaad and so on,
and to see what he had done,
he said, Oh my aunt, I've bought a few slaves,
I want you to look at any one of them
and take them as a gift from me to you.
Subhanallah, so she looked at the faces
and she chose Zaid ibn Harithah radhiallahu anha,
young boy,
and he was dark in complexion,
he was short,
and he was a little boy who looked quite fit,
and he looked decent,
quite a shy type of a boy,
subhanallah.
So she took him and she kept him quite well,
and a little while later, a few years later,
she married Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
Some narration say that a few months later,
and some say a few years later,
we know a little bit of a time later.
So when she married Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam,
she said,
I would like to give you a servant as a gift,
and that is this young boy.
So who was he?
Zaid ibn Harithah,
given as a gift and a servant to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam,
and the two did not part from that day.
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam treated him so well,
so well,
that I will tell you something that will bring tears to your eyes,
subhanallah.
He treated him as though he was from his own family.
So obviously now when Su'dah binti Tha
'labah went back to her people and told them,
this is what happened and our son has been taken,
they started hunting for him.
So the father,
whose name was Harithah ibn Sharahil,
what he did is, he started hunting for the son,
and they did not find any news about him for a long,
long time.
And they did not know,
should we pray for him as a dead person
or should we have hope that he's alive?
Nothing.
Until one day,
a group of people from the same clan had come to Makkah
to engage in the pilgrimage.
And whilst they were engaged in tawaf
during that period of pre-Islamic ignorance,
they saw Zaid ibn Harithah.
He saw them,
he recognized them,
they recognized him.
So they said, hey, what's happened to you?
So he told them the story,
I'm with a man here,
he's known as Muhammad ibn Abdullah.
And I'm here in Quraysh,
they sold me for 400 dirhams,
and this is who I'm with.
Those people went home and they told Harithah.
And when they saw Harithah, they said,
we've seen your son.
Immediately, without seeing the evening,
Harithah collected whatever wealth he had,
and he took one of his other sons,
and they rushed to Makkah al-Mukarramah.
And they arrived at the door of Muhammad ibn Abdullah
al-Hashimiyya al-Qurayshi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
This was prior to prophethood.
Prior to prophethood, imagine.
They knocked on the door, who are you?
They entered, so on.
Well,
you know,
you are good people,
you people are from Quraysh.
Okay, where are you getting to?
Subhanallah.
You people are the ones who give water to the hujjaj.
You are the ones who help those who are poor and destitute.
You are the ones who do so much good.
And we have come to you with a plea,
O Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
What was the plea?
The plea is that we want our son from you.
And who is your son?
Subhanallah, Zayd ibn Harithah.
Zayd ibn Harithah,
yes,
we are here with whatever amount you want.
We will pay you and we want to take him back.
This is his story.
This is what has happened to him.
Subhanallah.
So Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says,
I give him to you without any money.
Why should I want money?
I give him to you without any money.
But just one thing,
call him here and see,
if he wants to come with you, let him come.
And if he wants to stay,
the condition is you allow him to stay.
Amazing.
So they called Zayd ibn Harithah,
who was delighted to see his father and his brother,
subhanallah.
Do you know these people, Zayd?
Yes, that's my father, this is my brother.
Well, they are here to take you with them.
He looked at them and says,
I'm not coming with you.
Subhanallah.
His father says,
Oh Zayd,
you choose to be a slave and we are here to free you.
Zayd ibn Harithah says, Wallahi,
if you know this man whom I'm with,
and if you know even a little bit of how he treats me and
what he does with me and the respect and honor that we have
for each other and the love that we have for each other,
you will understand my decision, subhanallah.
Wallahi,
there is greater hope for me with him than with you,
subhanallah.
This is who?
Zayd ibn Harithah, before prophethood.
So Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam was very
touched by this so much so that the narration
say he went to the Kaaba and made an announcement
for Quraysh to know that this boy is my son.
He is free.
And at the same time,
when I die,
he will inherit me.
That means he's no longer a slave, a free man.
And it also means from this day on,
he will be known as Zayd,
the son of Muhammad sallallahu
alayhi wasalam, Zayd ibn Muhammad.
So Quraysh,
they were very excited because obviously it's a good deed done
by one of their own who was Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam.
They used to call Zayd, Zayd ibn Muhammad.
And
when Harithah ibn Shurahil saw this,
he was happy and he told the other son that,
Okay,
we can go back now because we know
that our son is okay and he's safe.
Perhaps we may find out about his news later on and so on.
But they left him there and they decided to depart.
This was Zayd ibn Harithah.
The love was so much that everyone
used to call him Zayd ibn Muhammad.
The day of revelation,
when Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasalam
came down to Khadija bint Khuwaylid radhiyallahu anha.
We all know that the first from amongst those to accept Islam,
Khadija bint Khuwaylid radhiyallahu anha was the first human being.
She was the wife of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam.
She accepted Islam.
After that,
from amongst those who were servants,
the first was Zayd ibn Harithah radhiyallahu anha.
And we have Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radhiyallahu anhu,
the first from amongst the men.
And we have Ali ibn Abi Talib radhiyallahu anhu,
the first from amongst the children,
subhanallah.
These were those who were closest to
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam.
Stop for a minute.
When those whom you live with
bear witness that you are a good person,
then indeed you are a good person.
Because they see you 24-7.
So when your family says this is a good man
or this is a good woman,
then that is the truth.
But when other people bear witness for you,
perhaps they only know your good side.
They have not yet seen you.
When you get angry, you could be a disaster.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala safeguard us.
This is why the hadith says,
خيركم خيركم لأهله
The best from amongst you are those
who are best to their family members.
This is something unique
that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam has taught us.
So, those who were closest to him
are the first to accept Islam.
Think about that very deeply
and it should tell us
more about the truthfulness of this beautiful message of Islam.
And how we should be,
if we were to say something,
those closest to us should be the first to say,
yes, this man is telling the truth.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all goodness and ease.
And may He make us from those whom,
those we live with can bear witness
that we are decent people.
Ameen.
So my brothers and sisters,
this is Zaid ibn Haritha radhiyallahu anhu.
Thereafter,
the Quran came down with a big
clarification regarding Zaid ibn Haritha.
What was the clarification?
He was so close to the heart of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam,
they used to call him loved son of Muhammad,
Zaid ibn Muhammad,
Zaid ibn Muhammad.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one who chooses parents,
not me or you,
no one.
It is Allah who decides whom your father will be.
And on the day of judgment,
you will be called by your father's name
according to the most correct narrations.
In fact, that is the narration.
Some people say,
no,
you're called with your mother's name.
The truth is, it is your father's name.
And Allah says,
ادعوهم لآبائهم هو أقصى عند الله
Call them with their father's names.
That is what is justice in the eyes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
You want to know what is right?
You want to know what Allah declares?
Allah says, I chose his father,
you call him so and so,
son of so and so,
the real father who is his father,
even if you've adopted him.
So they knew that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi
wasalam adopted the child and called him my son.
So Allah says, do not call him your son.
Say, he is the son of Haritha.
This was something heavy,
but for Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam,
it was not heavy because it came from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And it destroyed one of the deep rooted
cultures of the people at the time.
They used to adopt and they used to say,
that's my son.
And they used to say,
change the name to the degree
that the child himself does not know who the father is.
Subhanallah, Islam says that is prohibited.
It is the right,
the basic right of every human being
to know who their father and mother is.
Subhanallah.
So if it is deception, you're not allowed.
Sometimes I know in today's world,
people might want to have a surname that might show
that this person is part of us because we take care
of them on condition that it is not deceptive and on
condition that the person knows clearly who they are.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us ease.
Wallahi,
it's becoming tough because sometimes we do not learn a lesson
from this very story of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam.
It was the pagan practice to say,
you know,
once I adopt you,
forget about your parents.
If you want to know them, you're no longer mine.
If that is the way we think,
we have forgotten what Islam stands for.
These verses were solid verses
that broke up a massive culture
that had been trending in Makkah al-Mukarramah.
And at the time,
may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed these verses.
And then there was another verse,
also in Surah al-Ahzab,
where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَىٰ أَحَدٍ مِّن رِجَالِكُمْ
وَلَكِ الرَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ
Allah Akbar.
That Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam was not
a father of any one of the men from amongst you.
You know,
his children,
the males,
had all died in infancy and childhood,
sallallahu alayhi wasalam.
So Allah says,
he was not a father of any one of the men from amongst you,
but instead he was the messenger,
and he was the final of the messengers.
So this was Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.
He instructed the people,
do not call him Zayd ibn Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam,
call him his real name,
Zayd ibn Harithah.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us a lesson.
Thereafter,
there was this culture
that was also amongst the people at that time,
saying that if you had adopted a child,
he was your child and he inherited you,
and this is what happened,
and so many other things,
as though he was exactly equal
to a son that was from the same mother,
same father.
So what happened is,
at some stage Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
instructed Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam
to advise Zayd ibn Harithah to marry
Zaynab bint Jahsh radhiallahu anha.
May Allah be pleased upon all of them.
So upon the instruction of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam,
Zayd ibn Harithah,
who came from the home that I've just mentioned,
married a noble woman from Quraysh known
as Zaynab bint Jahsh radhiallahu anha.
But the marriage did not work.
Not because anyone was bad, no.
Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
wanted a certain ruling to be made clear,
and a certain practice of the pagan Arabs to be broken forever.
And that was that,
this person whom you say is your son,
is not your son.
So when the divorce took place,
Allah instructed Muhammad sallallahu
alayhi wasalam to marry Zaynab bint Jahsh.
And this instruction came from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So when he married Zaynab bint Jahsh radhiallahu anha,
all of the people knew
that this means that this person can never be a son.
We can never call them complete sons of ours.
They are only adopted children.
And this is why in Islam,
if you want to look after an orphan or adopt someone,
there is a limit to it whereby you look after them,
you care for them,
and you may give them whatever you'd
like to give them in terms of goodness.
But when it comes to inheritance,
you need to write for them from the
one third that you have control of,
because they are not going to automatically receive
from what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given.
Something that's important to make clear.
And this is why we say,
the sunnah and the life of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi
wasalam is so complete that all of us have lesson from it.
All of us.
No matter what your life is all about,
you will always draw correction from the
life of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasalam,
inspiration,
as well as guidelines.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all goodness.
So my brothers and sisters,
the verse of the Qur'an where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِي أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ
أَمْسِكَ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَاتَّقِ اللَّهِ وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ
مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَى
Allah says,
remember the time when you were telling the one whom
Allah has blessed and the one whom you had favored as well
to fear Allah and to hold his wife and not divorce her.
Yet in your heart,
you knew that Allah had instructed you
to marry her after he divorced her,
subhanallah.
So Allah says,
don't fear the people,
don't worry about what the people have to say,
worry about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allah is more befitting for you to be worried about.
I think the lesson is for us all,
sometimes we don't do things
fearing what people will say.
But Allah says,
what are you worried about people?
Worry about me.
If it is right according to Allah,
forget about what the masses have to say.
And if it is wrong according to Allah,
then forget about what the masses have to say as well,
if they are encouraging you to engage in that which is wrong.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us.
So, some people mistranslate this verse
and they happen to insult Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
by saying,
oh,
he was in love with Zainab bint Jahsh.
That is not true.
What is it that Allah says,
you kept in your heart
whilst you were telling Zaid,
look after your wife,
but in your heart you had something that you were keeping.
Do you know what it was?
It was the instruction of Allah that he knew in his heart.
That's what it was.
But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught us all
that when people are struggling in their marriages,
you don't just go along and break the marriage,
you look at it and try your best to make it work.
So that's why Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam kept on telling him,
be careful,
look after your wife,
don't let this break.
But when it broke, he ended up marrying her.
All this was the instruction of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So we need to understand this was Zaid ibn Harithah.
And this was Zainab bint Jahsh radhiallahu anha.
And this was Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
And with this story of Zaid ibn Harithah,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has taught us a lot.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless us so much so
that some of the companions of Rasulullah
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam have said
that when Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
saw Zaid ibn Harithah coming from a journey or
coming from afar,
he would get up,
he would rush towards him,
he would hug him,
give him a tight embrace and kiss him,
subhanallah.
This is how close the
relationship was between Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam and Zaid ibn Harithah.
The only companion whose name is in the Quran,
subhanallah,
radhiallahu anhu.
And he was a person whom it is reported that when the
Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam went to Ta'if,
Zaid ibn Harithah was the one who was with him.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us a lesson.
Zaid ibn Harithah radhiallahu anhu,
he tried to be a barrier between the stones of those
of Ta'if and Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
So much so that he was hurt as well as young as he was.
Really,
may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us all.
He passed away,
he took part in a lot of the battles,
and he passed away in the battle of Mu'tah
where we heard Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
gave the leadership to Zaid ibn Harithah.
If he were to be martyred,
then Ja'far ibn Abi Talib,
and if he were to be martyred,
then Abdullah ibn Rawaha.
So the first one to be martyred was
Zaid ibn Harithah radhiallahu anhu,
in the year,
the 8th Hijri,
in the battle of Mu'tah,
he is buried in Jordan.
So if you visit Jordan, you might see
that they will tell you here is the
place where Zaid ibn Harithah is buried.
May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him.
Just a quick note, people ask,
why did the battle of Mu'tah take place?
Well,
the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam sent messages
to the various parts of the peninsula and a little bit further.
And from amongst those messengers,
Al-Harith ibn Umair al-Azdi radhiallahu anhu was sent,
and he was killed.
So when he was killed,
when an ambassador is killed,
what happens?
It creates a big disaster between countries.
So at that time,
the ambassador of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam was killed,
the army was made of 3,000 men sent to Mu'tah to face the Romans who
had killed the ambassador of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
That was the reason why this had taken place.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us a lesson.
Our next hero,
Ammar ibn Yasir ibn Amir ibn Malik radhiallahu anhu.
His story is also amazing and unique.
His father was Yasir ibn Amir,
and he was a person who had come to Mecca
with two of his brothers, Al-Harith and Malik.
The reason why they came to Mecca to Mukarramah
was to look for a fourth brother of theirs who was lost.
He was a lost person.
So they came to look for the fourth brother.
And this was the father of Ammar ibn Yasir.
When they came to look for him,
they did not find him.
So two of the brothers decided to go back.
And the third one decided to stay in Mecca.
He liked the place.
But all this was the plan of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make
them from amongst those who were the first to accept Islam.
So Yasir,
who is the father of Ammar ibn Yasir,
he stayed and he decided to strike a deal with Abu
Hudhaifa ibn al-Mughira from the Makhzumi clan.
Why?
Because he had no relatives.
So if someone harms me,
I need someone who's going to defend me.
So he struck a deal that, you know what,
we will be together and I will do this and you will do this.
And the deal was struck, subhanallah.
The two of them had this treaty between them.
And this was common in the Arabian times.
So Abu Hudhaifa told him that,
look, this is a slave girl of mine.
Her name is Sumayya bint Khayyat.
You can marry her.
So Yasir was a foreigner from outside.
He ended up marrying the slave girl,
subhanallah.
And she became known as a Sahabiya slightly later.
What happened is something amazing.
When they had a child,
they named the child Ammar.
Now Ammar,
he is similar in age to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
if not a little bit older.
So when nubuwwah had come in,
prophethood had come in,
then Ammar ibn Yasir heard from the people that
there's a man in Mecca saying this and saying that,
and he just kept on hearing.
Until some few days later, he said, no man,
why must I keep on hearing when I can go and get it from the source.
So he decided,
let me go and get it right from the source,
subhanallah.
And so he visited Muhammad sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam in the house of Al-Arqam.
You know Darul Arqam was known as the house of knowledge
because that is where the knowledge was beamed from.
So he went there,
he asked Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam a few questions and he accepted Islam,
Ammar ibn Yasir.
He went home,
he spoke to his mother,
Sumayya bint Khayyat radhiallahu anha.
She understood the message, she accepted Islam.
And then they spoke to the father,
he understood the message,
he accepted Islam.
The first complete family to accept Islam,
subhanallah.
Or so many members of the same family.
But this did not go down well with Quraysh and Banu Mahzum,
and Abu Hudhaifah ibn al-Mughira,
and Abu Jahl,
and the others.
They began to harm them more than they harmed anyone else.
We will hear about what happened to Bilal
ibn Rabah radhiallahu anhu inshaAllah soon.
But to inform you that these people went through so much more
that the mother of Ammar ibn Yasir, Sumayya
bint Khayyat
became the first martyr in Islam.
She was stabbed by Abu Jahl himself.
And she was harmed before being killed.
She was persecuted to the degree that they
used to take them out into the desert heat.
And they used to harm them so much,
dragging them,
telling them to disbelieve in Muhammad.
They did not until she was martyred.
And her husband was also martyred radhiallahu anhu.
Yasir ibn Amir,
may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant them all goodness.
When Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam passed them on one occasion,
he looked at them being harmed.
Wallahi we cannot describe what type
of harm was inflicted upon his mother.
Radhiallahu anhu.
It was brutal.
It was barbaric.
It was shameless.
May Allah protect us.
May Allah grant us all goodness and protect us all.
So Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam looked
at them helplessly in the sense that the only one
that can help us is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He says, sabran ala yasir,
fa inna maw'idakumu al-jannah.
Bear patience, O family of Yasir.
For indeed, your appointed place is paradise.
You will be achieving paradise.
From this we learn that they were from amongst
those who were already told that paradise is yours.
Because we will meet in jannah.
What does that mean?
That means you're going to be in paradise.
So as much as we have
the ten who were told that you are from paradise,
known as al-ashara al-mubashshireena bil-jannah.
We started our talks with them.
They were a group of people,
but they were not the only people.
So why do we call them the ten?
We call them the ten because that was on one occasion
where Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
got up and said ten names in a row,
one after the other.
You are from paradise, you are from paradise,
you are from paradise, you are from paradise.
Saying ten names in one instance.
That those were known as the people who were the ten
who get entry into paradise.
But there were others who were also told that
you are from paradise on different occasions.
These were from amongst those.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us.
May He make us from amongst those who are in paradise as well.
So my brothers and sisters,
this man Ammar ibn Yasir,
he struggled and he suffered.
And he suffered so much after the death of his parents.
When he took part in the battle of Badr,
he was the only companion,
he was the only companion
who had his parents martyred by the people of Makkah.
And now he was revenging and retaliating in Badr.
The only companion who had come to Badr
knowing that these people have killed my parents.
Subhanallah.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant him ease and goodness and us all.
May Allah grant him jannah and us all.
So Ammar ibn Yasir,
he was a man whom
when the people of Quraysh were harming him so much,
they told him one day as they were harming him with severe harm,
persecution,
that we want you to praise our gods.
So it is reported that he uttered a
word in a way that they were happy.
That okay, you've praised our gods.
And the people who were Muslims at the time went
to Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to tell him
that Ammar has left Islam.
So Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
no,
he has not.
In his heart he has iman, it is full of iman.
So when Ammar ibn Yasir came,
Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asked him what happened.
He said, oh messenger,
I did not mean to say these words,
but I was harmed so much.
They told me to praise their gods.
I ended up saying a word which made them happy.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed verses.
Because Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asked him,
what about your heart?
He says, my heart is very clear.
My conscience is extremely clear.
I'm a Muslim and I believe in Allah alone.
So Allah revealed verses.
مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اِيمَانِهِ
إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنُّ بِالْإِيمَانِ
وَلَكِمْ مَنْ شَرَحَ بِالكُفْرِ صَدْرًا فَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌ
مِّنَ اللَّهِ
Those who disbelieve after having believed,
they are the ones who will receive severe punishment.
Besides those who have been forced to utter
words when their hearts are full of iman,
they are the exception.
Subhanallah.
And from this we learn that if you are
forced to do something or say something
when your heart is actually not with it,
you will be judged by Allah according to what is in your heart
and not according to what your actions have been
depending on what that matter was.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us all a lesson.
This was a sahabi, it is reported that
at the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab radhiallahu anhu,
he was appointed as the governor
or one of the governors of Kufa.
And later on Umar ibn al-Khattab radhiallahu anhu
replaced him with someone.
Then Umar ibn al-Khattab radhiallahu anhu asked him,
O Ammar,
are you upset with me?
Are you sad that I have replaced you with someone?
He says,
O Umar ibn al-Khattab,
O amirul mu'minin,
I was even more sad when I was the
governor because of responsibility.
Now I'm a happier man.
Subhanallah.
May Allah grant us all goodness.
It's a big responsibility.
Those who are in positions of leadership
and who lead correctly realize
that it is more a responsibility than an honor.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us goodness.
My brothers and sisters,
it is sad to note
that beyond the age of 90,
Ammar ibn Yasir
died in the battle of As-Siffin between the Muslims.
We all know As-Siffin took place.
Ali ibn Abi Talib radhiallahu anhu on one side and the forces
of Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan and the others on the other side.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive all those who have taken part.
Wallahi,
if we look at that history,
it brings tears in our eyes.
Ammar ibn Yasir was the oldest of the lot,
according to some narrations,
almost 94,
95 years old.
Radhiallahu anhu.
He was a man whom the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had said
that he will be in paradise by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And here he is being murdered and martyred and
pillaged by people who are Muslims themselves.
And I want to pause for a moment again to learn a lesson from this.
My brothers and sisters, today,
we are struggling more at our own hands
than we are at the hands of the enemy.
If you were to take a list of countries
where Muslims are being slaughtered today,
you will find that places where the Muslims are being pillaged,
where they are being killed at the hands of the Muslims
are far more than places where they are being harmed by the enemy.
And this brings us to the note of this evening.
Brothers and sisters,
we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to
assist our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
Really, as we are speaking, they are struggling.
It brings tears to the eyes.
Wallahi,
it leaves us helpless except for the fact
that we have hope in the mercy of Allah.
It happened to those before us.
And as much as Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was a nabi,
telling the family of Yasir, sabran ala Yasir,
fa inna maw'idakumul jannah.
We hope and pray that we too can
bear witness that the people of Gaza,
may Allah forgive them and grant them jannah too.
And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us for our helplessness.
There is hardly anything we could do sometimes.
And even if those who could do things would do things,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is in charge and in control.
May Allah make it easy for those who are in position of acting,
to act in a way that the matter can be sorted out.
Wallahi, it bleeds the heart.
And I'm sure every one of us feels not
only for those who are suffering in Gaza,
but if we were to draw a list,
it would be endless,
to be honest with you.
I was trying this evening to draw up a list of
the places where the Muslims are struggling.
Believe me,
I came up with more than 20 countries.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us ease.
What do we learn from this fighting
that happened at that particular time?
What do we learn from the fact that enemies
made the Muslims fight in the name of Islam?
My brothers and sisters,
let that not happen to us.
May Allah safeguard us and grant us the love for one another,
and the ability to stand up and respect one another.
Even if we have differences,
it does not mean we need to kill one another.
May Allah correct us and grant us safety.
وصلى الله وسلم وبارك على نبينا محمد.
سبحان الله وبحمده.
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك.
نشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت.
نستغفرك ونتوب إليك.