The Pulpit: The greatest weapon in Islaam

31-10-2007

When it is asked, “What is the greatest weapon that the Muslims had and still have?” What would you say?

If you immediately thought of Imaan and Yaqeen in Allah ‘Azza wa Jall, then this is correct. Our greatest strength against the enemies of Allah Ta’aala is Imaan and Yaqeen; and coupled with Imaan and Yaqeen is Sabr, Love for Allah, His Messenger, Jihaad, and so on.

However, this answer needs a little more clarification in order to put that Imaan and Yaqeen in motion.

Before the greatest men on the this earth, the Sahaabah, fought against the mammoth sized army of the Romans and Persians, their Imaan was, so to say, electrified through the sermons on Jum’ah.

Before the Sahaabah faced the armies of Kufr and Apostasy, their Imaan was mobilized by Rasoolullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wassallam) and others through what was communicated to them from the pulpit.

Therefore, we see that the pulpit was used as a weapon against the disbelievers and hypocrites since it rallied the armies of Imaan against the armies of Kufr. These are incidents where the pulpit was used in the correct manner.

Today, the pulpit is abused. It is abused as well as misused by the Khateeb’s, Scholars, Students, and leaders of the Muslim Community. How is it abused one may ask?

So it is the pulpit which gathers us together, whether in goodness or in evil. Today, we abuse it by discarding the subjects which are central to the heartbeat of this Ummah and that is Jihaad. It is true though that many Muslim communities - particularly throughout the West - are ignorant of this subject as well as the very basics of their Deen. So the proper method of bringing in the subject of Jihaad to such communities is by revitalizing the ‘Aqeedah of Ahlus Sunnah within them by discussing the conditions of the Shahaadah as well as its nullifiers, putting great emphasis on the subject of al-Walaa’ wal Baraa’ah in modern society, and then slowly educating them on the global Jihaad which anyone can take part in. If you are a regular Khateeb, then we advise you with this as well as educating the Ummah on the fundamentals of the Religion such as the pillars, cultural clashes, modesty, morals, and behavior.

An example of the pulpit being abused is when it is used for political purposes such as gaining voters for a Kaafir (such as John Edwards) and/or a Murtad (such as Barack Obama) and preaching concepts which take one outside the folds of Islaam such as Democracy, and spreading confusion and misguidance by speaking about integration, absolute tolerance, and so-called terrorism.

An example of a pulpit being misused is when the Khateeb’s shy away from talking about the current situations of the Muslim Ummah and how we are supposed to view them from Qur’aan and Sunnah. Usually, they shy away from such topics in order to avoid controversy. The reality is that when they shy from such things, then it is as if they forgot that an Ummah exists. And how horrible is that when the Ummah is going through the greatest of trials it has ever undergone and its weekly speakers throughout the world (i.e., Khateeb’s) are avoiding the benefit of guiding it by using the excuse “it’s controversial”? And how are the Muslims going to move forward without discussing the global issues which affect our souls? Who is going to clarify for us, every Friday, what is happening on the battlefields of ‘Iraaq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Filistine, Pakistan and so on, when the media is making it seem controversial through their twisting of events nearly everyday? Who is going to correct our understanding when a newly innovated matter or concept or deviant group appears in the Religion such as integration, interfaith dialogs, the Al-Anbar Salvation Council, and the actions of the Shi’a? And when did it become Haraam, nay Makrooh, to discuss the contemporary events? By Allah, this is not the Sunnah of Rasoolullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wassallam) as he was the one who informed the people of the current events in addition to purifying them with the book of Allah, ‘Azza wa Jall.

A funny yet horribly sad example of misusing the pulpit is when one of our brothers told us that at his local Masjid - which has mostly Pakistani’s going to it, running it, and giving Khutbaat and Duroos in it - that after the Lal Masjid incident started and ended (with the massacre), there was not a single word from the mouth of the Khateeb or the leaders (of the Masjid) regarding it! The brother felt so horrible being in that Masjid and failed to fathom how the Pakistani’s didn’t talk about an enormous situation occurring right in their backyard. Instead, they were talking about celebrating their children’s graduation and proving that it is not bid’ah! Wa la howla wala Quwatta Illa Billah.

So there is a subtle difference between abusing and misusing the pulpit, both of which are unacceptable by all standards of Shari’ah. Some will say, “But if we follow in the direction you are speaking of, then our Masaajid would get shutdown, one by one, and we wouldn’t have a place to pray!” We say to them: This is where the sacrifices come and are much needed! This is where if the sacrifices are made, then the Religion spreads and the Ummah is strengthened. Take the example of the Lal Masjid! They stoop up to the tyrants and waged Jihaad against them. They were not a group that was going through rigorous military training. Nay, they were a Masjid full of students! And because of the Lal Masjid siege, look at the great awakening in Pakistan! Nearly everyday there is an attack on the Murtadeen, and a few times a week we hear, from even the Kaafir sources, about the huge operations of the Mujaahideen in Pakistan against the forces of Apostasy where they crush the Army of Pakistan, break their morale, and destroy their ranks and then stories are coming out that there are certain areas of Pakistan that the Apostate Army would never ever cross into because of how bad the damage becomes, even if they roll out a mile of tanks, and a sky full of jets and helicopters; and all the praises and thanks belong to Allah. So Allah revealed to the Ummah who are the hypocrites in Pakistan and who are the true believers; and the amazing thing is that we are only in the beginning stage. This was all due to a single event: The Lal Masjid siege. So with Tawakkul in Allah Ta’aala, He will grant us the ‘Izzah and Victory. Sure, it may not come while we are alive, but Allah and His Messenger have promised its appearance! The Shuhadaa of Lal Masjid – may Allah accept them into the gardens of Paradise – had never once thought that because of their actions, a huge Jihaadee resurgence would be born in Pakistan. Who knows… perhaps a few years later down the line, the entire country of Pakistan would be controlled by the Mujaahideen with the Shari’ah enforced throughout and would have nuclear capability. Therefore the excuse of “we will not have a place to pray” is false and a misguided notion which is empty of learning historic facts.

Going back to the subject, a Masjid that has a sincere group of Shura members is one where they use the pulpit strategically so that they can guide the Ummah back to Islaam and its tenants. So the Shura members should be educated and well-versed in the religion. However, the stark reality is that this is not the situation with a great majority of the Masaajid today. In some cases, the situation is so bad (such as IFS or Islamic Foundation Society and ICLI or Islamic Center of Long Island) where if the Khateeb is speaking the Haqq, the Shura wouldn’t have a problem condemning the brother after his khutbah or calling the FBI on him or even disrupting his khutbah just to replace him with someone that will speak on a “lighter issue.” These are the types of Masaajid where one should avoid if possible and if they can’t, then they shouldn’t have a problem standing up after the Khutbah to correct the Khateeb on an issue (such as terrorism, integration, democracy, voting etc.). But if you want things to move a little faster in your community, then you can use the tactic of speaking after the Khutbah for a minute or two on the current situation between the armies of Imaan and Kufr.

So the pulpit can be abused or used in the best of ways. If you’ve noticed, a good portion of Qur’aan uses the words, “Qaloo” or “Yaquloo” or “Qaalaa” etc. as ways of telling stories, giving lessons, and understanding the religion. This should at least indicate to us that Allah uses speech to communicate to us and that therefore, we must use speech – in the most appropriate, authentic and best of ways – to communicate to the Ummah their obligations. We hope that the Muslims understand this and how great this weapon is which Allah has blessed us with. If it is used properly, then it becomes easy to mobilize the Muslims into following and supporting the Mujaahideen who are fighting purely for Allah’s sake… in fact, it will become almost too easy. That’s how great that weapon is.

And there will almost always be opposition to the truth within the Masaajid of Allah Ta’aala. One of our brothers gave a Khutbah at his local Masjid on how Jihaad is fard ‘ayn and that the Muslims have to support the Mujaahideen, and almost immediately after the Khutbah, there was a loud discussion going on between 10 different people. Only one of them were supporting the Khateeb and was defending him from the verbal abuses of the 9 others. Some may look at this and say, “This Khateeb is creating fitnah.” By Allah, this is not fitnah! This is a part of what we want to achieve. We want to polarize the society between Haqq and Baatil in order to make clear to the believers who is on the side of Haqq and who is on the side of Baatil. So the discourse, discussions, and debates are much needed within the Muslim Community regarding Jihaad. This assembly line of condemnation of the Mujaahideen needs to be shattered into pieces. And the way this is achieved is by speaking and spreading the knowledge regarding al-Jihaad fe Sabeelilaah and the current events. Through this, bi idhnillah, we will achieve the starting point in our communities which is the dialog. It will take time, but eventually this subject alone will start to split the people in half. This is not fitnah, nor fasaad, but it is only a corollary of al-Walaa’ wal Baraa’ah and this is Amr bil Ma’roof wa Nahi ‘Anil Munkar.

Once the communities are at this stage of splitting, then this is where the real unity begins. May we remind you O Muwahideen that unity is not based upon anything except the ‘Aqeedah. And the part of ‘Aqeedah which we are emphasizing is the belief in Jihaad, the conditions of Laa Ilaaha Illallaah, and al-Walaa’ wal Baraa’ah (which is a part of the conditions of the Shahaada).

So good luck in your endeavor in purifying the pulpit from the hypocrites and wrongdoers who unjustly use the pulpit to weaken the Ummah in its resolve, honor, dignity, and strength.

وَإِنْ يَقُولُوا تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ خُشُبٌ مُسَنَّدَةٌ

…And if they (Munafiqoon) speak, you will listen to their speech; (they are) as if they were big pieces of wood clad with garments… [Al-Munafiqoon: 4]

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