Shia Strength: Muslim Unite Sunni and Shia KHUTBAH : MAKKAH’S ESSENCE PART 7

THE STREET MIMBAR

JUM'AH KHUTBAH (2 March 2012)

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Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Brothers and sisters on As Siraat Al Mustaqeem…

Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/apps/podcast/podcast/202669 (02-24-2012)

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MAKKAH'S ESSENCE PART 7

Needless to say that on this day and at this time we concentrate on our minds, we focus our minds on the taqwa of Allah, (i.e.) Allah's unparalleled power presence, Allah's unrivalled authority. When we speak about taqwa we speak about it in a context. Brothers and sisters- we are not dreaming; we are not imagining things. There's a real world, there's a real power and there's a real authority. The source comes from that reality and we surrender our lives returning to that reality. If the events that are taking place in today's world- and with our lives of accountability and with taqwa central to this time and to this place- we remind you of what may be called the geopolitical area in the Qur'an. We know you are not used to preachers or to lecturers who are brave enough to bring the information of the Qur'an into today's world and into your life. The fact of the matter is that Allah tells us that He has sent to all social communities of the world messengers. We know that; every Muslim knows that.

Of a certainty We, (in reference to Allah), have sent messengers before you, (oh Muhammad), in times that have passed; some of them We have made mentioned to you and some of them We have not mentioned to you. (Surah Al Ghaafir verse 78)

We beg you- brothers and sisters- as khutbahs always begin, they begin in general way so please pay attention to what is being said. Allah has sent- from the beginning of history up until the end of Prophethood and scriptures- Apostles and Emissaries to all the peoples of the world.

… there hasn't been an ummah except that a warner has passed through it. (Surah Al Fatir verse 24)

Why don't we have the information of all of these Prophets that have been sent to mankind from the beginning of history? We don't have the information of all of them. They can be in the tens of thousands they could be in the hundreds of thousands. All of Allah's Messengers (alayhim as salaam) have not all come to our attention. We do have this Qur'an and in it we have the narratives of some of these Prophets. So Allah for reasons our minds cannot fathom, was selective in bringing to our attention the history and the discourse of certain Prophets and Messengers.

We detailed for you the best of narratives through the revelation of this Qur'an even though before this you were absent minded of the facts, of the truth that have come to you (Oh Prophet and by extension to us the followers of the Prophet)... (Surah Yusuf verse 3)

So if we look at this indisputable document that we have from Allah- this Qur'an- it, unlike the traditionalists and the mechanical Muslims and the Muslims by culture and by heritage, unlike them- if we take a fresh, open-minded, inclusive, spirited approach to this Qur'an we realize that this selective information coming to us from Allah through his Prophet speaks about a particular geography of the world. The world has, (as you all know), the continents of the world- there is Europe, there is Africa, there is Asia, there is the Americas; there's the Arctic poles but when we look at the geography of this Qur'an, (regardless of the map you look at), that map is arbitrary. Somebody said "this is the way we are going to draw this map." There are some elements of discrimination in this map and there are elements of favoritism in this map but the Qur'anic map does not abide by what you have in front of you which is the world map. It appears through this type of reading of the Qur'an, and Allah knows best, that the center of this world is Makkah. Now- brothers and sisters- when we say this, we're not saying this with an ego, we're not saying this with selfishness, we're not saying this with self-centeredness. No! We're just trying to state a fact. Makkah is the center and then there's a core around Makkah. You can draw may be a radius of around seven-hundred to eight-hundred miles around Makkah. This Qur'an was revealed to concentrate, not exclusively, on this geopolitical, geo-historical and geo-strategic area. We didn't do this, you didn't do it, the Prophets didn't do it. This was Allah's design. This is an observation. Why did we have (this)? Look at the history; (take a) look at today's world- the news in today's world. Do they present the facts to you? What is happening with the militaries, with the governments, with societies, with people's movements? Do you get the truth of what's happening? So if we don't get the truth of what's happening today, we obviously don't have a correct recollection of what happened thousands of years ago from human sources! We do know, (without going through the details), that this area of this world i.e. Makkah, the center, with a radius of about seven-hundred to eight-hundred miles has been an area that has captured the interest of the rest of the world. (Take a), look at history- look at Phiraunic Egypt, look at the narrative of Musa, look at the Byzantines, look at the Romans, look at the Persians, look at the Greeks. (Take a) look at whatever you want to look at, (and as we said), without falling into the inaccuracies of the details. Nevertheless, this seemed to be an area that brought in the powers, the governments, the civilizations and the peoples of the ancient world as well as the modern world. Once again, this is not trying to take away from the value or from the worth of other peoples and other civilizations. When the Qur'an speaks about this, it does not belittle anyone and does not cut down any other society.

Then, when we take a closer look at this area we find in our own historical wording of it that around the core of Makkah there were four other geographical descriptions or designations: Al Hijaz, Misr, Ash Shaam and Al Iraq. When we mention this, it has nothing to do with nationalism or ethnicity or some people being better than others or some people being preferred to others or some people being the chosen race and others the Goyim and this type of stuff. It has nothing to do with that. We are just observing a fact that stares us in the eye if we are reading this Qur'an beyond the traditional and the calcified reading of it- that has been going on for some time. This area has been an area which has either been in a leadership position or was what other powers were leading in a balancing position or in a position of occupation and oppression. That's the general history of this Qur'anic geography of the world.

When we take a look at the Qur'an, why are we speaking of Makkah as being the center of the world, if not the center of the universe? (We're not speaking here of the material universe, we're speaking beyond that). What makes us (or) what convinces us that this is the case? When we read in the Qur'an we find that this city in which Allah's final Prophet was born and before that Ibrahim and Isma'eel (alayhima as salaam) dedicated this city to an obedience and an allegiance to Allah. We see the Qur'anic words, Al Bayt Al Haram, Al Masjid Al Haraam, Makkah and Bakkah. These words refer to this place as well as some other areas contingent to Makkah; As Safa, Al Marwah, Al Mash'ar Al Haram, Maqam Ibrahim. All of these words are all Qur'anic words. These are not words that are found in history books, these are not words that are coined by historians or chroniclers. These are Qur'anic words that make this city the center of who we are as ummah and it's about time that we broke out of our selfish Islam and recapture our Ummatic Islam. An ayah in the Qur'an

… the station of Ibrahim or the status of Ibrahim and who ever enters it, enters it in security… (Surah Aal Imran verse 97)

… and bear in mind as Ibrahim raises the foundations of this sanctuary… (Surah Al Baqarah verse 127)

Al Bayt here is in reference to Al Masjid Al Haram in Makkah.

And then Ibrahim says

… Our Sustainer: I have settled of my descendants- children and grand children- in a place that is known as your sanctuary; Oh Sustainer, have them socialize as salah- their communication with You should not be left as a one on one activity. Once as salah becomes a social norm, a social value, a social reality, at that point- cause the hearts of people to gravitate towards them… (Surah Ibrahim verse 37)

That's not the Makkah of today. The Makkah of today is an individualistic Makkah, it is a selfish Makkah, it is an ethnic Makkah and it is a monarchical Makkah. There is no iqamah as salah in Makkah or from Makkah and the Muslims are going to have to wake up to this reality.

… and provide them of the products, the produce, the fruits, the agriculture, the vegetation, the plants so that they may be thankful to you Oh Allah. (Surah Ibrahim verse 37)

This fact is established (but) it's far from being established in the general Muslims of today; but once this fact settles into the conscience of one-and-a-half to two-billion Muslims in the world (and) once this fact is translated into policies that makes Makkah what it is supposed to be- Makkah is not supposed to be this once in a year attraction in which empty-minded individuals- we're not trying to knock down the hujjaj, we're trying to expose the policies and the regulations that have strangulated and that have choked off Makkah from being what it is supposed to be- once this fact settles in and takes root in our thinking and in our behavior

Then we realize from reading the Qur'an itself that there is a core geography around central Makkah and in the Qur'anic words themselves this core geography in Yathrib or Al Madinah, Badr, Al Uddwat Ad Dunya, Al Udwah Al Quswa, (these are North of Makkah), and then Hunayn to the South of Makkah. Then there is a third circle within this almost seven-hundred mile radius in which the Qur'anic information and Qur'anic ayaat are located. There's a third circle that can be briefly described as a Southern flank to Makkah (that) extends to what is today called Yemen. Now when we say these words- brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- don't try to think about them strictly as the conquerors after World War One and World War Two defined nation states. When we use Al Yemen or Al Iraq or Ash Shaam or Misr, in today's language that's translated as Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Egypt; and when we look at the map of today, it's the secular map of the conquerors that came out winning in the two world wars. This is not a Qur'an geography. It is not a Qur'anic definition of these regional or these geographical areas around Makkah. To be truthful to the fact, they are much larger then today's secular definition. So to the South of Makkah there was a preponderant Yemen that outgrows today's geographical definition of what Yemen is. Within that- in the Qur'anic literature, in the Qur'anic pages, in the Qur'anic ayaat and words- we have Al Ahqaa that extends to somewhere in today's world in the Southern Arabian Peninsula between Yemen and Oman from the West to the East. You know that Aad, one of the civilizations that were destroyed because they took issue with Allah's power and authority came to an end in that area. Then we have, according to the Qur'an itself, the narrative of Saba' which was also in Al Yemen, (i.e.) this general geographical area that over extends today's borders and boundaries in your map at home. In the Qur'an there's reference to Sayl Al Arim or as some would like to call it Sad Ma'raba or Ma'rib. Then we have qissah Al Ukhdud in the Qur'an. We're speaking here about Qur'anic words, Qur'anic meanings Qur'anic definitions. When we speaking about Ukhudud, what geography are we speaking about? According to some Mufassireen and according to some historians it is the area of Najran, which is also a part of Northern Yemen. Not in today's maps. In today's map it will tell you that it is a Southern part of Saudi Arabia. That's the map that came to us from Europe. (In) the Qur'anic map, the historical map that we have, Najran is part of Yemen not part of Al Hejaz. So the Southern part of Makkah that we are speaking about extends from the Gulf of Aden on the shores of the Indian Oceans all the way to the Persian Gulf.

Then there is the Northern extensions of Makkah. Once again, according to Qur'anic definitions and descriptions, these are the mowtin Lut. Allah's Prophet Lut (alayhi as salaam) and some people would say they lived in what is today Southern Jordan. Then we have As'haab Al Ayka and Al Hijr. All of these are in the Northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula and in the Southern parts of Iraq and Ash Shaam. Three Prophets are in this geography- Lut, Salih and Shu'ayb (alayhim as salaam).

Then there is a North-Western adjacent in the Qur'anic geopolitical history to Makkah and that is Misr/ Egypt. Egypt because of what is happening today, (and we don't break from the khutbah to try to remind you of what is happening today because that way it is going to consume a lot more time), but obviously you know Egypt is in the news today. If a person were to take a look at the Qur'an itself and then look at the events in Egypt, (i.e.) the narrative of Musa (alayhi as salaam) and Bani Isra'eel you'll come up with one-fourteenth of the Qur'an. If you add to that Sina' which is mentioned a couple of times in the Qur'an and which is a considerable geography which is located in today's map between Palestine and Egypt then you're roughly speaking about- we all know that the Qur'an is thirty juz's. If we take this narrative in which Misr is mentioned and the history of Bani Isra'eel, (i.e.) Egypt and today's Sinai you have almost two of today's juzs of the Qur'an or two volumes of the Qur'an speaking about this geography and this history- Musa and Bani Isra'eel.

And a tree that grows out of Mount Sinai … (Surah Al Mu'minun verse 20)

An ayah in Surat Al Mu'minun- ayah twenty.

By the fig and by the olive. And by the Mount Sinai. (Surah Tin verse 1-2)

The ayah that most of you are familiar with in a short surah in the Qur'an. Sineen here is also in reference to Sinai.

Then we come to Ash Shaam and Iraq which are the Northern tiers of Makkah. Allah speaks to us about the history and the narrative of the Prophets of Bani Isra'eel and there is plenty of them in the Qur'an.

When there are the words Al Ard Al Mubaarakah or Al Ard Al Muqaddasah or Alladhee Baarakna; these words are in reference to this Northern area that can be within the radius of the seven-hundred or so miles around Makkah in a Northern direction.

Then there is Iraq. One word in the Qur'an and that is Baabil. Unlike today's language that geographical area is Al Iraq. The Qur'an calls it Baabil.

What do we have in today's world? Now we make this little transition. The only word that is used in the Qur'an and is still used today to speak of a particular geographical area- forget about the political drawings of the borders- the only word then and now is Misr/Egypt. That is the only word you will find; no other territory that composes what is being called the combination of country and people together except for that word in the Qur'an. (When you) come to today's world, what is happening? We have to abbreviate our khutbah. Why is there at least nine military bases in this Qur'anic geography that we are speaking about? Can't these people leave us alone? And they want to make believe- they come out and tell us- "Oh well you know these are backward people and there is nothing significant." If all of this is the case why don't they close down those military bases and go home? Leave us alone! There's something that upsets them when we, (even though we do it with weakness and with fragility), combine Makkah with Al Quds. That bothers them a lot. In their religious books, in their military manuals in their historical references all of this runs contrary of everything they know therefore they don't want us to constitute the fabric and the fiber of this geopolitical area that comes to us from Allah via His Prophet. Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims- now there is a struggle, there is a race and that struggle and that race is "who's going to take the prize?" The prize that they are speaking about is "who is going to take control of this area?" They've been controlling it, they've been occupying it, they have their military bases in it but now there's a new spirit that challenges their aggression and their occupation. Understand Allah and His Prophet when they speak to you outside of the discourse and the brainwashing that Shayaateen Al Ins and Al Jinn speak to you in.

Dear brothers, dear sisters, dear committed Muslims…

We want to be very brief and we know being very brief some times causes more questions than it answers questions. We will rely on your good judgment and on your objective information. If you have any concern after this is being said, we will say to you it's your responsibility to correct this person who spoke. May Allah bless a person who brings my deficiencies to my attention. Forget about the misleading information that you get from news outlets that are meant to mislead you- as a Muslim forget about them. What is happening now, and no one wants to put it in these words, is a race and a rivalry between two trends of Islam. One of them has proven its mettle and its quality. This one is can be traced all the way to the Islamic Republic in Iran. This regime here in Washington is now relying on its clients in the Arabian Peninsula to bring forward another Islamic trend that has not proven itself; to the contrary it carries with it many question marks and it drags with it many mistakes that have not been accounted for. This in a nutshell will explain to you the confusion among some Muslims and the misinformation with other Muslims about these developments that are taking place. Today a conference is held in Tunisia under the auspices of a government that came into being with support from those in the Arabian Peninsula- the clients of Washington. Brothers and sisters- we spoke previously about the sunnah of Allah's Prophet to liberate Makkah. We haven't heard from these Islamic newcomers-to-power that they have a plan or they have a strategy of moving to liberate Makkah. No! They offer their gratitudes and their thanks for those who occupy Makkah and the Arabian Peninsula who put them in power! They want to make sure now, the way they secured Tunisia and Libya, and they're trying to secure other areas- Syria, Yemen- they want to make sure that they can secure Egypt which would counter-balance in their minds the growth of Islam in the past thirty years.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Muhammad Asi on the occasion of Jum'ah on 24 February 2012 on the sidewalk of Embassy Row in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jum'ah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

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