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Nuh
Sunaa’ al-Hayah
- Life
Makers -
Episode 33:
Introduction to the third stage
In all our previous meetings, I
used to start by welcoming you; but this time I have to say, “We missed you;
we’ve missed you since Ramadan.”
Truly, I would like to begin today’s episode, or the
third stage of Sunaa’ al-Hayah (Life Makers), with feelings of endearment,
brotherhood and love. I wish I could stretch my hand out through the screen to
shake hands with all the people and the youth and smile to them; I wish I could
greet our mothers, fathers and ladies. I wish this to be not a hand to hand
greeting but a greeting that conveys a pledge of allegiance; a greeting that
affirms our determination to do something of worth for our countries and our
religion. We want to work and share in this revival. Therefore, the idea of
shaking hands here affirms such a pledge without the need for actually meeting
face to face, since our souls are able to meet and greet one another
regardless. In fact, we will shake hands on the Day of Judgment and in
Jannah
(paradise) and we will tell one another that although
we never met in this earthly life, our intentions behind these screens were true
in carrying on the revival in our countries.
These are the feelings I wanted to begin this episode
with and this is my wish to greet every person, embrace every young man, and
encourage every young woman, may Allah (SWT)
accept all our efforts and bless us with the strength we need.
Before we start the third stage of Sunaa’ al-Hayah, I
have a quick word to say. We have not started Sunaa’ al-Hayah out of our own
accord, or to hear some one say, “Well-done; it is a wonderful idea.” We
started this program because we have no other option but to do what we are doing
now. There is no escape from this reality. Our hopes are held on all of you:
the youth, the ladies, the viewers, the groups of Sunaa’ al-Hayah, and the
university youth; there is no other option.
This episode is an introduction:
We can consider this episode an introduction
explaining what we will be doing over the coming year, Allah (SWT)
willing; may He lengthen our lives and bless us with success. You will be able
to download this episode from the website in order to keep it and there will be
a written version provided as well since this is the episode that clarifies the
plan for this year. Thus, it is a very important episode to which we might
refer to from time to time as a reminder of the particulars that we have agreed
on. Therefore, all the agreements will take place today while the actual work
in every field of the revival will start with the next episode. However, there
will be some work required for this episode as well since there is plenty to do
and there is no time for laziness or rest. In fact, Allah (SWT) is our
witness that since we started Sunaa’ al-Hayah, there has been no time for rest;
something which we will only enjoy in paradise after our hard work in this life
and after the revival has been established. When Imam Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal was
asked when a person could enjoy resting, he answered, “With the first step he
makes into paradise and not before that.”
We will make our utmost effort in Sunaa’ al-Hayah and
forget resting. This is one of the pledges we undertook when we shook hands at
the start of this episode.
We will explain in detail what we
will be doing during this coming year and the conditions with which we have to
comply in order to reach success, as we will see later on in this episode.
Let us start the third stage of Sunaa’
al-Hayah:
Wait! This word is not exactly
right. I said, “Let us start the third stage of Sunaa’ al-Hayah” when I should
have said, “Let us start Sunaa’ al-Hayah.” What do I mean? I mean that
the actual start of Sunaa’ al-Hayah begins today. Thus, remember this date,
February 22nd, 2005, and never forget it; this is the date of which
we will remind one another in 19 years. Have we not agreed that the revival
will take twenty years? Therefore, one year has passed and 19 years are still to
come.
Last year, we gave our pledge of
allegiance on sincerity and determination. It was the will of the young men and
women living inside and outside the Arab world that made them work on initiating
the revival in our countries and maintaining the idea in their minds.
Does this mean that last year, including all its
projects, was not part of the actual revival? That is was only a proof of
seriousness? Yes. That is what it was.
What about all the projects that we accomplished
during the first and the second stages last year: the anti-smoking campaign, the
‘Guardians of the Future’ anti-addiction campaign, the clothes’ collection
campaign? They were all a proof of seriousness.
Do you remember when we said that we could board the
‘revival plane,’ taxi on the runway, depart, fly, and then discover that the
plane was empty and all the people were gone or asleep? This could have happened
if we had relied on momentary enthusiasm. In fact, there can be no revival
without patience and sacrifice. Therefore, I kept on telling you to remain
steadfast on the path and to follow the steps we carefully designed. Even
during Ramadan, we narrated the stories of different Prophets to illustrate that
the secret behind their success, and the success of their followers, in
achieving victory through Allah’s blessings, was based on patience, sacrifice,
determination and seriousness.
Thus, last year was the foundation year in order to
avoid relying on momentary enthusiasm that would disappear shortly afterwards.
“O, Messenger of Allah, I give my pledge of allegiance but…”
Do you know the story of a man called Bashir who went
to the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
full of enthusiasm? Bashir Ibn-Maabad narrated, “I went to the Prophet to
give my pledge of allegiance and he offered to accept if I were to comply with
these conditions: to bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that
Muhammad is his slave and Messenger, perform the prayers, pay Sadaqa
(alms), perform the pilgrimage of Islam, fast the month of Ramadan, and perform
jihad (strive) for the sake of Allah. I told him, ‘O, Allah’s Messenger,
two of these conditions are difficult for me to comply with: jihad, since
I was told that whoever flees from the enemy would acquire Allah’s
anger and I am worried that I might panic in battle and hate to meet
death, and Sadaqa, since I swear that all I have is a few sheep already
being used by my family.’ The Prophet (SAWS)
pulled back his hand and waved saying, ‘No Jihad and no
Sadaqa? Then how will you enter paradise?’ I said, ‘O, Allah’s Messenger, I
do give pledge of allegiance.’ Thus, I gave it on all these conditions.”
(1)
Now,
do you understand this point? We had to have the whole of last year as a test of
seriousness to see whether or not you will make the necessary ‘deposit.’ We
continued for one full year to be certain that on this day, February 22nd 2005,
we would be able to announce the
actual start of Sunaa’ al-Hayah, the actual start of the revival project.
What about last year?
I understand that many youth will wonder about their
effort throughout last year, and whether or not it was a waste. Of course it
wasn’t. What happened last year was remarkable. Our extraordinary success in
the first and the second stages at the hands of not thousands, but millions of
participants was great and it transformed the idea of the revival into an actual
subject of discussion instead of a mere word to be told.
Moreover, last year was quite significant for one more
thing: it produced a pledge among the youth who efficiently worked together,
succeeded and proved their seriousness to participate in the revival of our
countries. We are not talking of tens or hundreds of youth but of thousands and
hundreds of thousands, even one million youth who shared with us twice: once in
the clothes collecting campaign and once in voting for the dreams.
Last year was the foundation year and not a waste; it
was a great achievement that will enable us to start the actual revival project.
Last year compared to al-Ansar (people of
Madinah who supported the Prophet,), may Allah
be pleased with them:
What happened last year could be compared to what
happened with al-Ansar, may Allah (SWT) be pleased with them. Do
you know how they embraced Islam? It started
when the Prophet (SAWS) saw six youth – notice the word youth - sitting
down and he went to them to present himself and to get to know them. When he
asked them whether he could talk to them about Islam, they did not refuse.
Having listened to him for a while, the youth realized that he was the promised
Prophet (SAWS) whom they had heard about from the Jews in Madinah. Thus,
they embraced Islam and offered to pledge allegiance to him. However, when they
asked him to return with them to Madinah, he refused and asked them to return
the following year to meet him at the same place and at the same time. Why did
he do this? Wasn’t there a possibility that they may not return? Of course there
was. Why did he not finalize the matter with a pledge there and then, when he
needed them to overcome the difficult situation in Makkah? Why did he not go
with them to Madinah?
He did what he did to be certain of their
seriousness. Let me give you an imaginary example: if he had gone with them to
Madinah, and they had behaved inappropriately with the Muhajireen
(Muslims who emigrated from Makkah to Madinah), he would have been in a dilemma
trying to return to Makkah. Therefore, he had to be certain of how serious they
were. He thought of the two possibilities: they would either return the
following year, which would be good, or they would not return and in that case
it would be better to let them decide freely on what they really wanted.
However, he remembered the appointment and so did they. They were serious.
This is how
they told their story:
Allah’s
Prophet (SAWS) continued to follow the pilgrims
during the pilgrimage season and to go to them wherever they stayed in Majna,
Okath, and Minah. He used to say, “Who will take me in and
support me until I deliver Allah’s message in return for the reward of paradise?
No one used to answer him. Even worse, whoever used to enter the surrounding
suburban areas coming from Mudur or Yemen used to be visited by
his people who would warn him of the young man from Quraysh. Nevertheless, the
Prophet (SAWS) continued to walk among
them while they were pointing at him. This was the case until Allah
(SWT) sent us from Yathrib and each
one of us met the Prophet (SAWS),
believed him, recited the Qur’an, and returned to his family who would embrace
Islam after him. This continued until all the houses in Yathrib had some
people who had declared their Islam. Afterwards, Allah
(SWT) made us meet, all seventy of us, and
I said, “How much longer will the Prophet suffer rejection and fear throughout
the mountains of Makkah? When we went back to him the following season, he
promised to meet us in al-Aqaba where we all gathered and told him, “O,
Messenger of Allah, on what shall we
give a pledge of allegiance?” He said, “You give it on obedience if occupied or
idle; on giving money in easiness or misery; on preaching righteousness and
forbidding wrongdoing; on being truthful to Allah without fearing anyone’s
blame; on supporting me if I come to you in Yathrib and protecting me
from whatever you protect yourselves, your wives and your children. If you do,
you will be rewarded with Jannah.” We said, “We give our pledge of
allegiance.”
However, one
man called Asa’ad Ibn-Zirarah, who was the youngest among all the attendants
except for me, held out his hand and said, “Slow down, people of Yathrib.
It is true that we did not go through all this trouble to come here except
knowing that he is Allah’s Messenger
but taking him in today means breaking up with the Arab tribes,
fighting, and the death of your best men. Therefore, you either be true in
supporting him and endure all these hardships for the sake of Allah’s reward,
or, if you feel that you might weaken afterwards, leave him and Allah
might forgive you.” They answered, “O, Asa’ad Ibn-Zirarah, keep your
hand away. We swear by Allah that we will neither miss this pledge nor break
it.” Then, we approached the Prophet one man at a time affirming his conditions
in return for his promise of Jannah.”
(2)
Therefore,
what took place last year was a great accomplishment. It was proof of
seriousness. Having proved the seriousness and the collaboration of many, we
can consider today, the 13th of Muharram
(an Islamic lunar month); the 22nd day of February, the actual start
of the revival project.
“It is not speed that counts but sincerity:”
What about those who did not participate with us last
year but are listening to this program for the first time, or those who watched
us last year but did not have faith in our success? To those, we say, “Come and
join us; stretch out your hand and pledge allegiance to Allah as we do. It is
not speed that counts; but sincerity.” It is very possible that a person, who
has not participated last year, boards the train today, gives his pledge of
allegiance to Allah (SWT), and exceeds, with his sincerity and
determination, all those who preceded him.
To all those watching us today for the first time, I
would like to say that Omar Ibnul-Khattab (RA) did not embrace Islam
except five years after the message of Islam was revealed, but he exceeded many
of those who preceded him and became al-Faruq (an honorable title meaning
he who separates right from wrong). Similarly, Khaled Ibnul-Walid embraced
Islam at a very late stage after many others had already become Muslims but he
exceeded them and became Saif Allah al-Maslool (an honorable title
meaning Allah’s drawn sword). Thus, I say to those listening to us today for
the first time, “Stretch out your hands and let us give our pledge of allegiance
together. Last year was only a ‘deposit’ for seriousness, therefore, whether
you shared in it or not, you can still give your pledge of allegiance to Allah
(SWT) that you will participate with us in achieving the revival of our
countries, so that we can all stand before Him with hands full of light.” Allah
says what can be translated as,
“On
the Day you shall see the believing men and the believing women: their light
running forward before them and by their right hands. Glad tidings for you this
Day! Gardens under which rivers flow (paradise), to dwell therein forever!
Truly, this is the great success! (but no one knows its true meanings except
Allah).” (TMQ, 57:12).
Thus, it is very important that when we all meet Allah
(SWT) that we
would be able to raise our hands and state firmly that we made the effort for
this revival.
Having affirmed that today is
the real start, let us see the plan for what should take place next.
Accomplishments:
We have agreed, given a pledge
of allegiance, and stretched out our hands to confirm that we will all share in
this revival, including those who are listening to us for the first time and
those who worked with us last year. Nevertheless, I know that some might wonder
about what has been achieved during this past year. Therefore, I will mention
last year’s five main achievements by which we can tell that we have moved ahead
and paid the ‘deposit’ necessary to prove our seriousness. What are the five
achievements?
The First Project:
The anti-smoking campaign
Seventy thousand participants took part in this project. We calculated this
number based on the number of downloads of the banners
related to this project on the website. Those
banners have been spread throughout the Arab world.
The Second Project: Guardians of the Future
(anti-addiction awareness campaign)
Twenty thousand people have
already taken part in this project and they are still working on it in Lebanon,
Bahrain, Qatar, and England.
The
Third Project: The Clothes’ Collection Campaign
We collected one million bags
according to our count but there might have been more bags that weren’t included
in this count.
The Forth Project:
Sending our dreams for the revival
Your wishes of how our countries
should be in twenty years. Seven hundred thousand suggestions reached us
and they are all still posted on the website.
The Fifth Project: Voting for the dreams
Voting for the dreams, placing
them in order of importance, starting with the most important and ending with
the least important. One million people took part in this vote and they
were counted through a poll of all the voters on the website.
These were last year’s
achievements. These achievements are the foundation for our new projects. When
we started Life Makers, we said that we wanted to do many things, but we did not
really have any power to do what we wanted to do. Now, with these five
achievements, we can start our new projects.
To be realistic, what we
achieved last year would not build a civilization. It was only a test of how
serious we were. Putting up posters and gathering clothes for the poor would
not improve the conditions of our countries significantly. Thus, we should
realize that what we did was indeed a great achievement, but its only goal was
to prove how serious we are, not to revive our countries.
Do you remember when we started
the first episode of Life Makers? We said that the youth had ten things which
were hindering their achievements: the absence of a goal to live for, being
passive in their communities and so on. We showed a cartoon where a young man
was in a dark room and we encouraged him to come out of the room. Getting this
man out of the dark room was what we were doing in the first stage of our
project. We are very happy with the achievements, but my point is that we
should all appreciate that this was only a proof of how serious everyone was.
Now, most of the members of our projects are youth who probably haven’t yet
graduated from college, or are still school students, or have graduated and
don’t have jobs yet. Most of them are dependent on their parents, without much
experience in work. A very small proportion of our teams are experienced with
fieldwork. Thus, experience is not available for our teams. Also, sources that
can be used to achieve their goals are not provided for them. As I said, they
are mostly dependent on their parents.
It is a fact: we cannot cause a
revival in our countries with the youth alone. The activism of the youth should
be coupled with experience to give us the improvement we aspire for in our
countries.
You may be asking yourself why I
did not mention this when we started our project. The answer to that question
is that if I had said this right from the start of the program, we would never
have been able to get the youth out of the dark rooms they lived in. If I
mentioned that we needed money, experience and support from organizations,
everybody would have given up on the project right from the start, but now with
the youth realizing their roles, I can start explaining what we really need for
our rise. We were moving step by step.
This episode is very important
for our project, and the most important part is what I am going to say now: we
need to form partnerships with experienced people, those people who have the
capital for projects, and all those who sincerely want the conditions of their
countries to improve. This is the condition we need to fulfill to call the
third stage of our project a success.
How will we form these
partnerships? We will do this through everyone who worked with us: let us all
look at everyone in our families. Find those who can be a source of experience
in a particular field. We will talk about each field and you can start looking
for people in the suggested fields. We need everyone with experience to become
a partner with the youth: your uncle, your aunt, and your mothers and fathers.
Ask those you know who have PhDs, Masters or other degrees. Ask those who own
factories and farms. School students should consider the headmasters of
their schools; they should think together about how they could improve education
in their country. We should talk to college professors about how to make use of
their researches. I want the youth to look for every potential partner.
Many of these people could have
been too busy to watch the program, and may know little about us. We should all
be thinking of how they could be helpful. How can we make use of their
knowledge, love for their countries and their experiences?
Often we see old people in the
mosques, sitting in corners by themselves while the youth sit in another part of
the mosque. No exchange of knowledge occurs between the two groups. Those
older people have a great deal of experiences that we could use to improve
ourselves, but they cannot find those who are willing to learn it from them.
How can we form relations between the youth and those people who posses the
valuable experience the youth need? We need the youth to approach these people,
ask for their help, and ask them about their previous experiences. The young
and the older should work together to make life. This so far neglected
experience of the older has to be put to use. The older people would be very
glad to help give the youth a clear idea of what is going on around them, so
that they can worship Allah
(SWT) in the best possible way. We should be the ones moving
towards them and encouraging them to share their experiences.
We can benefit greatly from the
ministers we have personal relationships with, those who are responsible for
charity organizations, those who work with groups trying to improve the
conditions of our countries, our scientists who live abroad and all those who
can help with the development of the country. How can we ask for their help?
When you access the website
www.amrkhaled.net, you will find a document in both Arabic and
English. Print it and give it to all those who you think can help with the
building of our countries. You will also find three brief pages talking about
the project and its achievements. Give it to your parents, uncles, aunts and
all those who can help.
I will reemphasize my point: we
need to form partnerships with everyone who possesses experience. We need to
ask for their help. We have already started doing this if you noticed: do you
remember ‘Guardians of the Future?’ We wanted to inform people about drugs;
especially students. We knew that we couldn’t succeed alone, thus we asked
those who could offer help to join us; a program cannot do such a task alone.
We found that the Dubai Police Department was willing to help us, and to our
surprise, the United Nations as well. This is how the project succeeded. Why
would they work with us? The reason for their involvement is that they realize
they cannot succeed without partnering with the youth, who are willing to do the
actual work. Thus, for any project to succeed, we need both the efforts of the
youth and the support of organizations.
I will show you the partnership
contract we signed with the two organizations to give you a better picture of
what we are trying to achieve in the third stage of the program. Those
achievements you saw couldn’t have happened without the partnerships I am
talking about.
Our aspirations are great. When
I started the ‘Guardians of the Future’ project, I only had a dream. If it
weren’t for the help of the organizations, this project would not have taken
off. Our previous goals are now accomplished. Our new goals will also be
accomplished by Allah’s will.
We should all be optimistic.
The third stage in detail:
We received people’s aspirations
for the 23 fields suggested. Then, experts in each field looked at the
suggestions and chose what would be best for our countries nowadays and what
could be achieved. We looked at agriculture, industry and all the other
fields. The people who worked were all volunteers. They agreed to be partners
with the youth. This is another example of the partnerships I am talking about:
forming committees of the experts in different fields that include people from
our countries, Muslims and Arabs who live abroad and everyone who can help. The
committee I formed had both Muslims and Christians: it is a project for the
whole nation, not just for Muslims.
Those committees met for two
months to choose the suggestions that were really valuable. They started
dividing them into what would work and what would not. They then decided which
projects we should start working on as soon as possible. We then organized a
conference and invited officials who had worked in the fields we looked at.
Thus, we combined the opinions of the youth and the professionals to give the
final goals we ought to work on. The professionals were gathered from every
single Arabic country, not from any country in particular. People were keen to
attend to give their opinions about what we had to say.
Effort was put into this work.
There is no point in making a project that depends only on passion without
effort and experience. We have to work according to scientific methods. We
consulted the youth so that they would feel that the project was their own, and
then we consulted the professionals. We arrived at one fundamental project in
each field, which we will talk about in detail starting from the next episode.
We will start with industry and unemployment. We will talk about a project that
can help solve the problem of unemployment. Then we will talk about industry,
agriculture, health, environment, adhering to religious values, education and
tourism. You will then appreciate the effort put into this work.
What are the projects we
will work on during this year?
We have eleven fields. We
started with twenty-three fields, which we rearranged into the present eleven
fields through putting related fields together; for example, the fields of
sports, health and environment were grouped together into one category. These
fields are what constitute the third stage of the project. We will talk about
each filed in one or two episodes so that we can arrive at an understanding of
how the work should be done at the end of this year. We will explain each
project, ask the youth to look for partnerships that can help with this project,
and then we will start working on the project itself, depending on Allah’s
help. The project is supposed to bring about improvements in
the particular field it deals with.
The fields:
The order of the discussions
will be as follows:
1-
Unemployment
2-
Industry
3-
Agriculture
4-
Education
5-
Health and environment
6-
Women’s conditions
7-
Social problems and families
8-
Culture and arts
9-
Research
10-
Technology
11-
The unity of our countries
These are what the episodes are
going to discuss. During each discussion we will link the field with our
religious beliefs and how our deeds are to be approved by Allah
(SWT). Then
we will ask the youth to carry out the projects and devote their lives to them.
After the end of the third
stage of the project:
When we
started the episode, asking everyone to look for partnerships, I did not ask for
much; but if you cannot participate, then at least tell others who can help to
participate and provide them with the essential information to do so. I want
the youth to realize that without these partnerships, the project will not
succeed.
What will happen if we succeed
in this task? If we establish these partnerships, by the end of the year, the
dream of the revival of our countries will be in the minds and hearts of our
youth and women. This will be the idea that unites the people, the idea they
think and live for. This is what we want to achieve. The idea of the revival
will be at the heart of all our countries and in the west through Muslims living
there as well. Thus, the youth will carry on these projects and it will become
their biggest aspiration.
Each young person should decide
which field they want to work on and he/she should be true to him/herself. They
should promise Allah (SWT)
that although they might have done some mistakes in the past,
they will devote their lives from this point forward to the revival of their
country. S/he must no longer stand looking at the worsening conditions
passively, saying we cannot do anything to make an improvement. Otherwise we
will stay for another hundred years in declining conditions claiming that we
cannot change. If that is how we think, then who will trigger the change? Never
say it is impossible because if we don’t do it, no one else will.
The third stage of our project
is like opening the way for the river to run. We are trying to get the youth
and the experienced in contact, then we will let them work together for the best
of the countries.
We want to revive our countries,
and there will come a time when the program will end. It does not make sense
for the program to go on for twenty years, but we will all still live for this
idea. We will live for it because our lives depend on it. I will live for it
and you will all live for it too. This is what we have all agreed on.
Our role now is to start the
projects and let the river run through the land. After years of hard work, the
projects will grow bigger and bigger. The businessmen will then start helping
to allow more growth. Also, national entities will start taking part. This is
because we are going in the right way and we will be able to see our dream
coming true.
We will hear after some years
that the unemployment in Arabic countries has dropped from 35% to 5%. We will
make our own medicines; we will make our own wheat and not receive it from
others. Mosques will be full of worshippers during Fajr (dawn prayer)
the same way they are during Jumua’a (Friday prayer). Love will return
to families.
We will succeed with
Allah’s help:
I know
some people are laughing at what I am saying right now, but with Allah’s help,
it will come true. I derive this hope from Allah
(SWT), the Almighty. I derive this
hope from the youth, whose eyes are full of hope and determination, from the
women, who work actively, hoping to achieve their aspirations of a better
future, and from the old ladies who insist on participating with us with what
ever they can do.
How
could I not have hope when Allah
(SWT), the Almighty, is the creator
of the universe? How could I not have hope when our book and guide is the
Qur’an? How could I not have hope when we have the greatest method for success
in life? How could I not have hope? How could I not have hope when I see all
those young men and women who love Allah
(SWT), the Almighty? How could I not
have hope when Allah says in the Qur’an what can be translated as, “Say, O
Allah, (The Arabic word has the supplication suffix umma) Possessor of the
Kingship, You bring the kingship to whomever You decide, and You draw
(Literally: pluck out) the kingship from whomever You decide, and You render
mighty whomever You decide, and You humiliate whomever You decide. In Your Hand
is (the) Charity; (i.e., the choicest) surely You are Ever-Determiner over
everything. You insert the night into the daytime and You insert the
daytime into the night, and You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring
the dead out of the living, and You provide whomever You decide without
reckoning.” (TMQ, 3:26-27).
The enemies of Islam and the
devil aim at one thing now: to kill this hope. Killing hope has a more drastic
effect than killing people themselves. The believers realize that Allah
(SWT) will
never make our sincere efforts go to waste if we plan our work properly, think
thoroughly about what we are doing, keep our determination, act with patience
and sacrifice for Allah’s cause. Allah says what can be translated as,
“Surely the ones who have believed and done deeds of righteousness, surely We
do not waste the reward of him who does fair deeds.” (TMQ, 18:30).
Watch out! The Muslims were
lost for one hundred years during the time of the Mongols. Two million Muslims
were killed. They plundered Baghdad and entered the Levant countries. The
whole nation was destroyed, but then, what happened? We stood on our feet once
again and we restored our lost dignity. What are one hundred years in the age
of nations? Why would such a thing work before and not now? The same way we
made it before, we’ll make it this time.
Khaled Ibnul-Walid faced the
Persians and the Romans with 18,000 soldiers. They were later increased to
30,000 soldiers. When he entered Persia he had to face 200,000 enemy soldiers.
He kept achieving one victory after another and the King of Persia was about to
lose his mind. He sent for the generals of his armies asking them, “How can
18,000 soldiers defeat you?” Their reply was, “Your majesty, this man and his
soldiers have faith in the promise their God has made them, the same way we have
faith that the sun exists. They are capable of doing anything.” We too, have
been promised by Allah (SWT).
Take care, every one hundred
years a new idea takes hold of the minds of people. The whole world is
transformed every one hundred years; ideas are transformed. What does
that mean? It means that every one hundred years someone comes with an idea
that takes hold of the minds of the people to the point that they can’t imagine
the world without it.
At one time, this idea was
Communism. No one imagined that the world could survive without it, yet, after
one hundred years the world changed. At one time this idea was Nationalism.
Then it was Colonialism. Why am I reminding you about all this now? Because
all these ideas are over now.
This century has come with
totally new ideas, so why can’t we be one of these ideas? This is how the world
goes. Do you realize now why the Prophet (SAWS) said, “At the start of
every century, Allah
will send for this nation someone who will revive its religion?”
(4). Because every one hundred years the ideas change and the whole world
changes.
Do you realize now the meaning
of the ayah that can be translated as, “Or (such as) he who passed by a town,
and it was completely devastated upon its trellises. He said, “However will
Allah give life to this (town) after its death?” So Allah made him die a hundred
seasons; (i.e., years) thereafter He made him rise again.” (TMQ, 2:259).
I’m not saying that the digit (one hundred) is a fixed digit. I’m saying
that the whole world changes and that ideas also change. Now all the ideas have
evaporated - all the international ideas, not just in our countries. The whole
world is stumbling in search for new ideas.
How beautiful is this dream?
We have to live for it. We have to work for it.
Our assignment for today:
We must have an assignment; we
can’t just sit around doing nothing! Actually we have three assignments this
time.
1) The first is related to
the media:
We want this program to be seen
by at least 15 million viewers. Is it because we want everybody to watch us on
TV? Definitely not, we don’t care about fame and this is totally out of our
consideration, but we want to instill the idea of the revival in as many viewers
as possible. That is why we have to be seen by as many of them as possible.
Other satellite channels also
want viewers. That is why they advertise to attract viewers. As for us, we
won’t advertise because you’re our advertising tools. We’ll be handing out
loudspeakers to all of our viewers right now (this is just a figure of speech)!
You know that our nation (the nation of Muhammad (SAWS)) and our
countries need loudspeakers in every alley and every street, in every club,
mosque and school. “Wake up, we have a revival to achieve.” Let everybody wake
up, there’s no more time for sleep.
We have a big task to achieve.
We want to do what the Prophet (SAWS) did when he was ordered by Allah,
“So profess openly what you have been commanded…” (TMQ, 15: 94). Allah
(SWT) ordered him to announce to the public, so he didn’t go to do so in
secret. Instead, he went to the top of the Safa hill (we go back and
forth between this hill and the Marwah hill during Hajj
(pilgrimage)). He called all the people from the top of the hill. He was not
seeking fame; he just wanted to pass on the idea because it had to be passed on.
We want everybody to see the
episodes, even if we’re not talking about a heart-softening topic. I know that
what we’re talking about is realistic and practical, but it is a hope and
there’s no other hope except in this. I have nothing else to give to you except
making our revival.
2) The second is related to
finding partnerships:
Gather all your relatives and
acquaintances from your phonebooks or on the internet. Gather all those
whom we might need for our revival and send us their names and contact details
on the numbers provided below. We’ve provided you with all the possible means
by which you can reach us. Find us partners, even the journalists, celebrities
or people in the media. Ask all those who you can reach to participate with us
and watch us.
3) The third is related to
the assignment at the end of every episode:
This will start with the next
episode. At the end of every episode, we’ll agree together on a certain
project. The participants will then step forward to be in charge of it.
They will carry it forward and the river will flow again. This is going to be
our cargo and we have nothing else to be happy about on the Day of Judgment.
Hopefully the meaning has
reached all of you. Hopefully the amount of zeal and hope has increased. No
more despair. We will never take the route of despair.
We’ll meet next
week, inshallah (Allah willing), with ‘unemployment.’ May the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon you all .
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