Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow him.
Honorable brothers and attendees, Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah. To proceed:
Allah (swt) has favored man over many of those He created:
وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلاً
"And We preferred them over much of what We have created with a [definite] preference." (Surah Al-Isra [17]: 70)
He favored him with intellect and thought, so that he may reflect upon the great events that pass him by—whether they be good or evil—to take heed and draw lessons, thereby removing the evil and nurturing the good, rather than passing over them fleetingly as if they never happened.
Allah (swt) has singled out certain places and times, making the events that occur within them worthy of reflection beyond what those same events would deserve if they occurred elsewhere or at other times.
For example, injustice is haram (forbidden) and a sin regardless of where it occurs, but it is more strictly forbidden and a greater sin within the Sacred House:
وَمَن يُرِدْ فِيهِ بِإِلْحَادٍ بِظُلْمٍ نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
"And whoever intends therein deviation [in religion] or wrongdoing – We will make him taste of a painful punishment." (Surah Al-Hajj [22]: 25)
Likewise, injustice is haram and a sin at all times, but in the Sacred Months, it is even more forbidden and a greater sin:
فَلاَ تَظْلِمُواْ فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمْ
"So do not wrong yourselves during them." (Surah At-Tawbah [9]: 36)
Thus, the events that occur in the Sacred Months—both the good and the bad—deserve reflection more than those same events would if they occurred in other months.
Today, you gather in a Sacred Month, the unique month of Rajab, Rajab Mudar, a month that Allah (swt) has glorified and made sacred, and which His Messenger (saw) also glorified and made sacred. I am here to remind you of three prominent events from its history, so that we may reflect upon them, contemplate their meanings, and draw lessons. In doing so, we increase our nurturing of the good within these events and our resolve to replicate it, while strengthening our determination to prevent the evil and refrain from its like. We reflect to act according to what these events necessitate, not merely to read them as stories to pass the time without contemplation, lesson, or action.
The first event I remind you of is Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj (The Night Journey and Ascension). According to the most common opinions, it occurred on the twenty-seventh of Rajab. It took place after the passing of the Mother of the Believers, Khadijah (ra), followed by the death of Abu Talib, after which the persecution of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and his companions intensified. The society of Makkah had become frozen in its opposition to the Dawah. Consequently, Allah honored His Messenger (saw) by taking him on a journey from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa, and then ascending with him to the highest heavens. There, the Prophet (saw) witnessed the signs of his Lord. Thus, the event of Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj was an elevation of the status of Islam and its Messenger, a reassurance for the Prophet’s heart, and a sign that the status of Kufr (disbelief) and its people had reached its end in this world, and that victory was near.
Here, dear brothers, we must pause at an important matter that many overlook when narrating the event of Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj. This matter deserves scrutiny and contemplation: the event of Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj was accompanied by another crucial event, which was the seeking of Nusrah (material support). Allah (swt) honored His Messenger with two things when the persecution intensified: the quest for Nusrah and the event of Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj. Thus, Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj embraced the Bay’ah (pledge) of Al-Aqaba and other activities of seeking Nusrah.
It is truly fitting for us to reflect, take heed, and act. While we remember Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj and praise Allah for this blessing, we must simultaneously work day and night and hasten our pace. We must seek the Nusrah of the people of power with sincerity and devotion, confident in the victory of this Deen through the coming supporters (Ansar), like those who preceded in faith. Consequently, the Rightly Guided Khilafah on the method of Prophethood shall return, and on that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah.
The second event I remind you of in this Sacred Month is the liberation of Bayt al-Maqdis on the twenty-seventh of Rajab in the year 583 AH.
Just as there was an important matter people overlook regarding Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj—namely, the seeking of Nusrah—here too, there is a crucial point many forget when recalling the liberation of Masjid al-Aqsa from the filth of the Crusaders.
This important matter is that the liberation of Al-Aqsa in Rajab 583 AH was preceded in 567 AH by the return of the Wilayah (province) of Egypt to the Khilafah, after the Fatimids had broken away and severed Egypt from it in 359 AH. In other words, Salahuddin, and before him Nuruddin, were unable to liberate Palestine from the filth of the Crusaders until the unity of the Khilafah had been restored. Then, during the era of the Abbasid Khalifah Al-Nasir, when Salahuddin was the governor of Egypt and Ash-Sham, Allah granted victory to the Muslims under his leadership. They liberated Masjid al-Aqsa, and Salahuddin sent the glad tidings to the Abbasid Khalifah Al-Nasir. The Muslims raised the Takbir and Tahليل for the great victory, praising Allah (swt) for His grace and blessings.
This is a point that must be understood by the minds and intellects regarding the liberation of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa. Whoever loves Al-Aqsa and its liberation must work seriously and diligently to establish a single state for the Muslims—a Rightly Guided Khilafah on the method of Prophethood. This state will uproot the Jewish entity and return the whole of Palestine to the lands of Islam without negotiation or peace treaties with the Jews. If they cannot achieve this today, then the very least is to maintain a state of war with the Jewish state until someone whom Allah honors arrives to liberate it, thereby achieving the ultimate victory.
The third event I remind you of in this Sacred Month is the tragedy of the destruction of the Khilafah. The colonialist Kuffar, led by the head of Kufr at that time, Britain, along with the traitors among the Arabs and Turks, managed to remove the symbol of the might of Islam and the Muslims. The Khilafah was abolished on the twenty-eighth of Rajab 1342 AH, corresponding to the third of March 1924 CE.
Following this painful event, the tragedies of the Muslims followed one after another. Their lands were torn into more than fifty fragments, and the colonialist Kuffar installed over each piece an individual they called a ruler. Their internal strife became severe; they do not agree on anything good for the Ummah, and if they do agree, it is for a great evil. Their summits testify to their harm, the latest being the Riyadh Summit, which they "crowned" with their consensus to sell most of Palestine to the Jews.
The humiliation of these rulers has reached a wretched level where America uses them as shields to save itself from its predicament in Iraq, as seen in the Baghdad and Sharm el-Sheikh conferences, instead of letting it sink deeper into its quagmire. Evil indeed is what they judge. This is only because they cast Allah's obligation of establishing the Khilafah behind their backs, so disgrace and humiliation have struck them from every side.
Today, dear brothers, we are called upon to fulfill this obligation. We work for it while being certain of the return of the Rightly Guided Khilafah just as it began, in confirmation of the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw):
ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلاَفَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ الـنُّـبُوَّةِ
"Then there will be Khilafah on the method of Prophethood."
Then we shall be honored as those who preceded us in faith were honored, we shall succeed as they succeeded, and we shall meet Allah while He is pleased with us. Let us die having given a Bay’ah to a Khalifah who rules by Islam, so that the Bay’ah upon our necks may testify to our goodness, rather than dying a death of Jahiliyyah (ignorance) because we were not working for the Khilafah with seriousness, diligence, and sincerity toward Allah and His Messenger.
Dear brothers, I suffice with these three events in this Sacred Month, the unique month of Rajab:
- Al-Isra wal-Mi’raj and their connection to the seeking of Nusrah.
- The liberation of Bayt al-Maqdis from the Crusaders after the unity of the Khilafah was restored.
- The tragedy of the destruction of the Khilafah and the obligation of serious work to restore it.
In conclusion, I ask Allah (swt) to grant your gathering steadfastness of opinion, sincerity of action, and profound impact, and that it be followed by the blessing of success, widespread goodness, and great victory and triumph.
Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.
28 Rajab 1428 AH
2007-08-11 CE