 In addition to Surah Al-Fajr tonight, we will look at several verses which are in sequential order from Surah Al-Shu'ara, chapter number 26 of the Holy Qur'an, and therefore those brothers and sisters who have Qur'an with them, it will be very useful to have that in front of them, insha'Allah. We will see a debate between Fira'un and Musa, alayhi salam, and how that comes about in the example of the debate between Yazid and our fourth Imam, Zain al-A'bideen, Salawatullah, wa salamu alayhi wa salam. Qul mu'mineen wal mu'minaat thawab al-Fatiha. A'ubuillahi min al-Shaytan al-Lajim. Bismillahi al-Rahmani al-Rahim. Alhamdulillahi Rabbi al-Alamin. Alhamdulillahi al-Ladhi hadana lahada wa ma kunna lina hadadiya laula an hadana Allah. Wa salatu wa salamu ala ashraf al-anbiya'i wal mualasalin khatim al-nabihin. Sayyidin al-Mumajj al-Bashir al-Musaddaq. Al-Mustafa al-Amjad al-Mahmoud al-Ahmad al-Abil al-Qasim al-Muhammad. Wa ala ahli baytih al-Tayyabin al-Tahhirin al-Masumin. Wa la'ala Allah wa al-Ghalimina min al-awwalin wal-akhirin. Amma ba'ad fak'a qalallahu subhanahu wa ta'ala fi kitabihi al-Majeeda wa furqanihi al-Hamid. Bismillahi al-Rahmani al-Rahim. Wa al-Fajr al-Waliyal al-Aashr wa al-Shaf'i wal-Watil wal-Layli idha yasr. Al-Fi dhalika qasim al-Lidhi hajar. Alam ta'ra kayfa fa'ra rabbuka bi'aad. Iramadat al-Aimad. Al-Lati lam yukhlaq mithluha fil bilad. Wa thamood al-Ladhi na jaab al-sakhra bil-wahad. Wa fil'awna dhil awtad. Al-Ladhi na ta'aw fil bilad fa'aktharu fiha al-Fasad. Fa sabba alayhim rabbuka sauta'a zahab. Inna rabbakala bil-minsad. Fa amma il-insanu idha mabtala hu rabbahu fa'aklamahu wa na'amahu fa yakur rabbi akraman. Wa amma idha mabtala hu faqadna alayhi rizqahu fa yakur rabbii ahanaan. Ka la ba'la tukrimun al-Yateen. Wa la ta'a aduna ala ta'a amil miskin. Wa ta'akalun at-taratha akla l-lamma. Wa tu'hibbun al-mala haban jamma. Ka la idha dukkat al-arthu dakkaan dakkaan. Wa ja'a rabbuka wal-malakusaffa nsaffa. Wa jii'a yawma idin bi jahannama. Yawma idin yatzakkaru al-insanu wa anna lahu al-dhikraab. Ya qul ya layitani qaddum tu lehayaateen. Fa yawma idin la yu'addibu azaabahu ahad. Wa la yu'tiku wa thaqahu ahad. Ya ayyatuhannasul mutumu inna. Irji'i ira rabbiki raadiyatam marziyat. Fa dhkhu li fi ibadihi wa dhkhu li jannati sarawat. Mastafarayj, Imam al-Zamanah, my respected elders, brothers and sisters, salamu alaykum jami'a'am wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Our discussions in these last couple of days have led us to understand that the three tyrannical leaders and rulerships, civilisations that are presented within Surat al-Fajr, are there for us to understand the methodology, the outlook, the actions of the greatest tyrants within history, particularly Yazid bin Muawiyah and his father Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan. And we find that when it comes to a'ad, the first point was that they set a precedent for thought process and outlook. In specific they had an attitude whereby they felt that none could touch them. They felt that they were the most superior of all superiors and hence one of the verses of Quran specifies that they ask, is anyone more powerful than us? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responds by saying, surely the one who has created you is more powerful than you in the first place. And then it comes to the group of Thamud. Yesterday we discussed Thamud and we highlighted that their particular aspect was number one, that they inherited this ideology from a'ad rather than learning from the mistakes of a'ad. And we find that they were the ones who migrated away from the area of Yemen geographically towards the area Medina, towards Syria, on the basis that they actually felt that they could migrate away from the punishment of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If a'ad are the community that built very lofty palaces, very high towers, then we are the ones who are going to build our houses within the actual caves and mountains on the basis that maybe the punishment will not overtake us there. But of course they too were not only the ones who had a bad attitude but they progressed in their own denial of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by taking it a step further and having the audacity to even kill a sign of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we find that this yesterday was an easy comparison towards the martyrdom of the Master of the Martyrs, Aba Abdullah Hussain, salawatullahi wa salamuhu. Our discussion tonight therefore leads us to the third tyrannical group, an individual that is mentioned within these verses of Quran and that is Fir'aun. Fir'aun is not somebody who is alien to us and in fact within the holy Quran the story of Musa alayhi salam and Fir'aun is the single most foretold story within the Quran. It is the single story that is mentioned the most within the Quran. And you find that's actually quite interesting in the fact that one would probably assume that maybe it would be the specifics of the Holy Prophet of Islam. His name, his history would be the one that is mentioned the most within the Holy Quran. In fact it is Musa alayhi salam that is named the most and you find his name and his story is mentioned in more than 30 different chapters of the Holy Quran and therefore proportionately out of the 114 one can see how much emphasis Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed upon the story of Musa alayhi salam and Fir'aun. According to the scholars there are five main reasons as to why the story of Musa alayhi salam in Fir'aun and Banu Isra'il is mentioned. These five providers were the categorization for our backdrop and understanding of the story and therefore whenever we observe the story of Musa alayhi salam in any capacity we should straight away try to resolve the story, our knowledge, the lessons therein back to one of these five principle reasons. Number one, the reason being because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wished to present this story to the Muslims who were converting to Islam and show them that the same way Banu Isra'il were tortured, you are also being tortured but have faith and remember the same way that we freed Banu Isra'il and blessed upon them so many ni'mat, we too promise you victory and you will also get these very same ni'mat. Number one, it was a means of solace for the Muslim community. Number two, the second reason is because therein the story of Musa alayhi salam he as an individual as a prophet of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was deserved of such a mention that he should be encapsulated within the confines of the Haudhra'un. Now that point is very important for us to ponder upon as individuals in that history continues to be written every single day. We are in fact writing our own history at the moment with every breath that we take. The beauty is Islam shows us that by virtue of our own struggle by virtue of our own spirituality there are times in history where you and I our achievements, our successes either as an individual or as a community can be heralded in the history of Islam itself. The same way Musa alayhi salam was in the Quran. Show you an example. We find that Halitha al-Kisa'a all of us are accustomed and know the value and the depth of Halitha al-Kisa'a. Halitha al-Kisa'a is that wonderful series of events that take place when the verse of Tathir is delivered to us to see the wonderful creation of Ahl al-Bayt. What a wonderful tradition we have and we constantly recite it. How often do we recite this Halith? Every time there is a kushali we recite this Halith. When we have family members that are getting married we recite this Halitha al-Kisa'a we try to commence all of our gatherings even if it be a localized gathering in our house with Halitha al-Kisa'a. Look at the value of Halitha al-Kisa'a in a historical context how much we have learned from this tradition. What does it begin with? What are the opening words of Halitha al-Kisa'a? Anjabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari then it comes to An-Fatima al-Zahra, As-salamu alayhi alayhi wa alayhi What are we being told here? Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa alayhi What are we being told here? By that one moment of struggle, one moment of brilliance in discussion between the lady of light and this grand companion Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari until the end of time we constantly narrate his name. Or take another example. Yesterday was Thursday night, we recited wish da'a. Da'a al-Khidr, right? Da'a al-Khidr. But we don't name it da'a al-Khidr. We name it da'a al-Khomayl. You see that historical situation that took place? The commander of the faithful says his most famous of words. He says, I'm going to recite it da'a tonight and you should recite it every Thursday night. If you cannot then you should recite it once a month, if not once a year, if not at least once in your lifetime. There were a number of companions who were sitting beside the commander of the faithful when that statement was made. Which one of the companions rose and said, Ya'a min al-Mu'mineen, teach us this da'a? None. Khomayl follows the commander of the faithful back to his house. The commander of the faithful turns when he's standing at the door. O Khomayl, what is it that you want? O min al-Mu'mineen, you told us of this wonderful da'a but we have not heard it yet from you. And at that point he now begins to tell him what the da'a is. We as a community have inherited this noble da'a and we have decided consciously and subconsciously to change the name of the da'a from Da'a Khidr, a prophet of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, not an ordinary prophet, a prophet who is mentioned in Qura'an, a prophet who teaches Prophet Musa aleyhi salam, a prophet of Allah that is going to be there for you and I when we get lost on travel. But still we choose to name this da'a after a companion of the commander of the faithful by virtue of his struggle that becomes everlasting. The same way, Musa aleyhi salam's name is mentioned within Qura'an because of his own struggle that he achieved in his lifetime. The problems Banu Isra'il gave to him and the accomplishments that he was worthy of. Number two. Number three is that there are of course many lessons to be derived as a human body from the story of Banu Isra'il, Musa and Fira'un. Number four. It is a point of discussion, especially as an interfaith dialogue. How many friends do we have that may be Christian? How many friends do we have that are from the Jewish faith? We sit with them every day at school, every day at work. The question can be posed for myself is how many times did I during my time in school? How many times did I during my day in work? At the times when we went to lunch and went to dinner discuss Musa aleyhi salam. Not for the point of trying to convert my friends but rather for the purpose of spreading knowledge in itself. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guides whom He wills if He wishes to send light in the heart of a person that person will see more light than I ever could. But maybe just maybe by my discussion with Musa aleyhi salam with my Jewish friend I will have the opportunity of discussing the Qur'an and more other beautiful issues of this religion. And the fifth reason why the Prophet Musa aleyhi salam's story is mentioned within the Qur'an is because you and I as an ummah have followed the issues of Banu Isra'il and we are being warned not to follow the precedents and the examples set by Banu Isra'il. As an example, within the opening verses of Surat al-Baqara there is a statement, a hadith, a verse of Qur'an that is mentioned. People of Banu Isra'il changed their book and mixed up falsehood with truth whilst they knew it. The warning was for you and I as a Muslim ummah that even though you have the Qur'an do not mix up the truth with falsehood. Do not change the verses of Qur'an and unfortunately Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan did this himself when he was willing to pay 400,000 dirham to a person, to lie that one verse of Qur'an was about Ibn-i-Muljim as opposed to the commander of the faithful. Do not mix up the truth with falsehood whilst you know it. What a hideous action. In fact, a hadith comes to us and this is narrated primarily within the books of our brothers the Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama'a where it says to us, the Prophet of Allah has a hadith, he tells us, My ummah, after my death, will follow the way of the Christians and the Jews shibrin bishibrin. Shibrin bishibrin in Arabic is translated as step by step. Everything that the Jews and the Christians did my ummah will follow them shibrin bishibrin. To the extent, this is the hadith, not my words, to the extent that if a lizard was to go into a hole they would follow that lizard exactly as the Jews and the Christians changed their religion. The Muslims will change their religion in the same way. Therefore, five reasons as to why the story of Musa, Banu Isra'il and Fir'aun is there for you and I to take into our 21st century life. And therefore, when we come to look at this verse within Surat al-Fajr, it says, Fir'aun the Lord of the pegs. Now this Otaud is translated into a number of ways. So we need to understand what it means by this Otaud so that we can firstly take a precedent as to the outlook of Fir'aun, therefore also understand the outlook of Yazid and then move into the specificity of what Fir'aun and Yazid would have done in their times. When we look at this verse, Otaud has a number of meanings from the Arabic to the English. We use this word quite often. We have the word Wattad. We find that this word Otaud can be translated as a tent peg. It can be translated as a column. But either way, it is there to denote something which is very strong, very sturdy, something that holds down something, it's a hadith from our 60 ma'am Imam Ja'far as-Saliq, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, where he says about certain companions of his. He names four companions of his, great companions, and he says these companions are the Otaud of the religion of Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. They are like the tent pegs of Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala's religion. Meaning what? That a tent peg is there for the purpose of securing that into the ground. So that no matter what gust of wind comes, it cannot be blown away. Meaning that these great companions are that emblem of Islam to the extent that with their presence, with their knowledge, no gust of wind from any enemy of Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, can blow away the true religion of Ahlul Bayt. Again, one shows what heights us as individuals can reach when we put our heart and soul into the realm of Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So the Otaud, that he is the Lord of the spikes, Lord of the pegs. Otaud is also given another translation in that it is the Lord of the pyramids. Meaning that literally those pyramids that we see within the great cities in Egypt, that those were the pyramids that even Fira'un used to rule over. And we came to this point yesterday when we spoke about the technologies that man has and will accomplish. And we find here that just the way these descriptions of Ad and Thamud are being given to us, even the technological advancements of Fira'un is being mentioned here, that he was the Lord of these great pyramids. Until today, those who know and research about Egyptian history will tell you that they still find difficulty in understanding how the Egyptians moved those great blocks from one area to another and lifted them so high in the sky to be able to make them into the blocks of pyramids that they are today. Fira'un was the Lord of all of these things. Imagine what level of arrogance this man had. And one can only begin to imagine the level of arrogance he has even Mu'awiyah had himself. And therefore, when it comes to this technology, it doesn't stop here. As a point in passing, when it came to Fira'un, his own attitude was because he had dominion and rulership over the River Nile and other countries within the region did not have that luxury, did not have that accessibility, did not have that constant means for agricultural development. He felt in possession of all of these things as Lord of all of these things. Even the Egyptians were very forward thinking in their chemistry, weren't they? They had ability to mummify and keep hold of what the body was until today we still see their technological advancements. Fira'un, the l'otard, he was the Lord of all of these accomplishments. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says. We find that even when it came to his outlook of this, his arrogance had reached such a level that we find in that famous verse of Quran where he says, build me a lofty tower so I may ascend towards the very heights of the heavens so I may challenge the Lord of Musa why for I find him lying about his God. We don't just think it in terms of his arrogance, we also see this in terms of his technological capability. He actually felt his servants and slaves could build him a tower so high that he was able to actually reach those heights. It's not just one-sided. He felt the capability of technology was under his very palms. I will ascend to the heights to be able to challenge the Lord of Musa, alaihi salam. This is the outlook of Fira'un. This is his example. And then we now go into specific verses of his actions. And when we see the specific verses of actions, we then be able to link between Fira'un and the Fira'un at the time of Aba'ab Abdullah al-Husayn, salawat allahu salamu alayhi. In Baqarah, Surah al-Baqarah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala spends a hundred verses speaking of Banu Isra'il. You can imagine as a reader of the Holy Quran for the first time or as a non-Muslim when we hand out the Quran to them at our places of work and education and we say, we encourage them, read this Quran. Know for yourself what it says and not what just Pastor X, Y and Z thinks it says. Read for yourself. And when they read, of course, one will probably look through the contents page and straight away they will be probably introduced to something new, the chapter of Noah, the chapter of Mary, the chapter of Joseph. I had no realization of this in the first place. But then they will probably, logic says, open the verses in chronological order. Where would you start, Surah al-Fatiha? And then you get to Surah al-Baqarah. Within the opening verses, we have, of course, the verses in regards to belief and kufr and being a munafiq and then it moves towards a story of Adam, alayhi salam, very apt place to start. The very next discussion in Quran is the story of Banu Isra'il. It comes to a point in the early verses, just before verses 50, so verses 48, 49, it now begins to name and mention Fira'un. It mentions something very interesting. It says, and remember Pharaoh. And remember Pharaoh and the torches that he performed upon you. What torches? That he used to kill your sons and free your women. He would kill the men and free the women. This is specifically mentioned within Quran at the opening of the discussion of the release of slavery for Banu Isra'il from Fira'un. Why is this mentioned in this term, in this way? As we have 70,000 layers of this verse, what is being mentioned here at face value and what is being mentioned therein? At face value, as we know it, refers to how Fira'un wanted to kill each newborn son. Eventually, he wanted to kill them once every year and the second year he would leave them and the next year he would kill and the next year he would, and so on and so forth. And the idea, of course, was, he had heard and knew from his own soothsayers that there would be a man who would rise from amongst them in order to free Banu Isra'il from his evil clutches. Therefore, the idea was to kill that Prophet of Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to ensure that he does not come into existence. What happened in history was that the women and the men stopped approaching each other. They stopped approaching each other out of fear that they would conceive a child and therefore that would be the child that would eventually be killed. One of the Prophets of Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala Shuaib, Alaihissalaam, who ends up being the father-in-law of Musa, Alaihissalaam, has a hadith where he says, come what may, no matter even if none of you approach each other. Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, will ensure that that Saviour comes into existence and therefore we are illuminated in our heart that no matter what happens, no matter what grief and difficulty we go through, the awaited Saviour of our time will indeed come, insha'Allah, soon. And so, at this point, the verse says at a very apparent level that this was based upon the killing. We used to kill your sons, males, and we would free your women. And therefore, of course, there is an evident and very clear analysis towards the fir'aun of the time of Aba'Abdallah al-Hussain because on the 10th of Muharram, very evidently it was the sons and the males generally that were being killed and slaughtered and it was the women that would be left alive. That doesn't necessarily mean that their torture was any less. What it means was that there was a physical torture that was blown towards the male side but the women would have gone through a deep emotional torture and this was the torture that fir'aun would have put upon the women and children of their time and what the fir'aun of Aba'Abdallah performed towards the people in the 10th of Muharram. We will devastate Um Farwa. We will devastate Laila. We will devastate all of these great ladies by our attacking of the men and of the children. All your sons will be slaughtered. At a deeper level, as you go further in, we find that this is a fir'aunic system in play. Now this term is very, very important. Only a few of the scholars have discussed and described this idea. There is a fir'aunic system in play here. The idea that is we will subjugate you. It is not just only our killing of the males and the freeing of the women to allow you to live but thereby tormenting you emotionally. It is an entire system of how we subjugate you. As how we as fir'aun, as pharaohs, leaders, dastardly leavers, leaders will subjugate you at all times. This idea is about how we will manifest our authority and power over you. And once a story, a hadith, a wonderful hadith that comes from Bahlul. Now Bahlul, we all know, he would act insane or act crazy in order to send his beautiful point across. So we know the Caliph of Ar-Rashid that was alive at his time. It's one day said that Bahlul entered into the palace of Ar-Rashid. He entered into the palace, he went into the royal domain and found the throne of Ar-Rashid. He went and he looked around and saw it was quiet. There was no one in that room. That room was empty. So he goes and he ascends the throne of the Caliph. And he sits there and he makes gestures as if he is the king and he is giving out orders and you must go there and bring me this thing. And at this point, having played enacted the Caliph, servants, guards, soldiers of the Caliph enter into the room at that point in time. You can imagine their reaction, not seeing their king on the throne but seeing the man who is always amusing and taking the Mickey out of this very king, sitting on the throne also, laughing and joking about him. What do you think the guard's reaction was going to be? They take Bahlul, they throw him towards the floor. They begin to beat him and strike him and beat him till he's bleeding and pulverized. He is crying out and weeping and crying. The commotion that is caused, causes the Firaun of that time, Ar-Rashid, to enter into that room. What is going on? What is going on? Why am I hearing such crying and why am I hearing such shouting? At this point, he sees that it's Bahlul being pulverized. He separates them. He says, stop. This is Bahlul. What have you done? We found him. He was sitting on your throne, O Caliph, and he was mocking you and he was giving orders to people who are not there. We dragged him down and we beat him for the crime that he performed. At this point, Firaun takes him and he begins to sit with him and he says to him, Bahlul, it's okay. There is no need to cry anymore. They have stopped beating you. He says, you do not understand, O Caliph. I'm not crying because of the pain that was inflicted upon me by your soldiers. I am crying out of sorrow for you. What do you mean? Why are you crying for me? You're the one being beaten to the point in which you are bloodied. Why are you crying for me? I cry for you, O King, because I sat illegally on the throne of the King for only a few minutes and this is how I was treated. You have been sitting illegally on the throne in the pulpit of Ahlul-Bayt all your life. Can you imagine the punishment that is awaiting you in the next world? Can you imagine? I don't know what reaction the Caliph would have had to that, but the pharaohs have a distinct methodology in which when they subjugate, they are killing and they are performing emotional torture. This is why, as you go deeper into this verse, one of the great scholars, we've mentioned him before at one of the opening nights, Ayatollah, Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Mdarrasi, may Allah bless his soul with long life. You find Ayatollah Mdarrasi talks about a pharaonic system. And you can find here a pharaonic system is when the King, the leadership, want to subjugate you, but in any number of methods, how? They will subjugate you by taking you out of your culture and making you adopt their own culture. They will subjugate you by taking you out of your own food and making you eat their food. They will subjugate you by making you believe their media system so that what they tell you is what you end up believing. They will subjugate you by making you think like them, act like them, talk like them. And the idea is to move you from what you are rather than being governed by the system of Allah, Ahlul Bayt in Quran, to subjugate one under their own pharaonic system to the point where you forget your own as to who you really are. This happened over a number of decades towards Banu Isfail. We do not have time to go into that as a depthful analysis, but I will show you that when you look into the verses after they have been freed, they still remember the system of Pharaoh that has subjugated them. They had desired the system of Pharaoh that has subjugated them to the point where even when they are blessed with divine food from Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, they say what? We do not want this same food. Give us new food. Go back towards the lentils and towards the garlics and the onions and the herbs that we desire. We don't even want the food of God. We'd rather have the food that is given to us by the pharaonic system. You see here the pharaonic system is there to subjugate the mind in the soul. And the idea is to take you away from that and bring you to this. Every pharaoh be it the pharaoh of Musa, be it the pharaoh at the time of Ahlul Bayt, be it the pharaoh at the time of Hussain ibn Ali, Imam Rida, or the pharaoh that is living until today, the pharaoh that is sitting there on his throne within Bahrain, the pharaoh that is sitting there in the throne of X, Y and Z, those same pharaohs of today, they are performing that same subjugation that is mentioned within Quran. We will kill your sons and we will spare your women to cry and weep to the point where if we kill your sons you cannot longer reproduce and you will be forced to be with us and none of your own. To the extent that today, young Palestinians, they throw stones at helicopter gunships. We will kill your sons and we will spare your women. Every pharaonic system can be found within that one verse of Fira'un at that time. The idea is subjugation of all levels. I'm sure you understand what I'm trying to say. And therefore, one now needs to go further into the aspects of Fira'un himself in Quran and see how even other sides of that Fira'un within Quran are mirrored by Yazid ibn Muawiya. We have mentioned a very simple example in that Yazid ibn Muawiya killed the men and spared the women to subjugate them, thinking he had control over them. But now we must turn back towards the Holy Quran and look further. And there is a unique series of verses within Surah Al-Sh'ada which is chapter number 26 of the Holy Quran and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala presents possibly the most interesting evidence of how Fira'un was and how the movement of Karbala not just confined to the 10 nights of Muharram but even to the time of Arba'een can be seen within the Holy Quran. Let us turn firstly to verse number 10 of Surah Al-Sh'ada chapter number 26 verse number 10 will allow our brothers and sisters who are going towards the Quran and phones. Insha'Allah, we pray to Muhammad and to Ali Muhammad. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, Bismillahir rahmanir raheem. And when your Lord called out to Musa saying, go towards the unjust people. The people of Fira'un, will they not guard against evil? Musa responds, O my Lord, surely I fear that they shall reject me. Straight in my heart and my tongue is not eloquent therefore send to me Haroon as an aid. They have a crime against me, therefore I fear that they shall slay me. Here verse 15 presents us with such a wonderful insight to the reality that is this issue. Verse 15 says, Bismillahir rahmanir raheem. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responds by saying, no way, no chance, by no means. Fa adhaba be'ayatina inna maakum mustami'oon. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, go, both of you with our signs, surely we are with you hearing. Inna maakum mustami'oon. From the word, as-sami'a. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is, as-sami'a and al-basir. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is given two as-sma'a within Quran of this nature. He is called the all hearing and he is called the all seeing. We are very comfortable with these terms as-sami'u and al-basiru. We know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is entitled these two titles. When it comes to al-basiru, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala of course sees everything that we do. The question I pose is in this verse of Quran, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells Musa a.s. that we are listening to you. Go with you, both of you with our signs. We are surely listening to you. Why does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala choose to mention only the term listening and not both of them? Why does he not say we are watching and hearing? Is he not as-sami'u and al-basiru? Do we not have this term normally that is molded together? Why does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala say only I am listening to you? We find we have to go back into the philosophy of what's being told to us here. There are three support mechanisms that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives towards Musa a.s. The first is physical, the second is supernatural, and the third is confidence in himself. The first is physical. How does he give him physical aid? He gives him haroon a.s. I'm going to give you someone with you. You know when you go to somewhere, it is often, especially if you're going to be challenged and you have someone with you, a partner with you, you feel less burdened, you feel that you can work together. There is a partner with me who can aid me in what I'm trying to achieve. So here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave Musa a.s. physical aid. Then he gave to him supernatural aid. What does he give to him? Ayatina. He gives to him blessed signs. He has a cane that can turn into a snake and gobble up another. He has the capability of shining nur from his hand. These are supernatural aids that Musa a.s. is given. But the third and possibly the most important aid that Musa a.s. was given is self-confidence. The means and the ability to stand before Pharaoh and say, I am Musa, free the people of Banu Israel. Do not enslave the people of Banu Israel. Can you imagine now, even if you have these two aids, even if you have your brother, and even if you have a supernatural aid, what use is it if you have not been given the self-confidence to go and stand in front of the Pharaoh of your time? And it's the same way. We find Sayyid al-Zaynab, salamu alayhi alayhi and Imam Zayn al-Abedin, salawatullahu, salamu alayhi. They had each other. They had each other. Musa had Harun while Zaynab had Imam Zayn al-Abedin. Zayn al-Abedin had Sayyid al-Zaynab. Can you imagine the confidence it must have given to stand with that great personality next to you? Knowing that in years to come, when they spoke about that great sermon, they would say, we thought Ali ibn Abi Taaleh was speaking upon that day. Can you imagine that day when he, Zayn al-Abedin is able to stand and say, we are given six and we are given seven? None other have been given this within history. The confidence it gave to stand. And then they were even given supernatural means to prove, were they not? Does the head of Hussain, alayhi salam, not recite verses of Quran? In fact, even our Sunni brethren believe in this within their history. It is known that the head of Hussain spoke the verses of Sultul Kaaf. And then they were given that confidence within themselves to stand in front of that Firaum knowing Allah is listening to them. Why not just say we are watching because we know Allah is watching, but he is listening to everything within here as well. He recognizes the absolute belief that you have within the depth of your heart. Meaningful you and I in the 21st century that whenever we face our own Firaum, whenever we see the enemies of God standing upon us, that we are still able to have the confidence that we can make a change. We will walk, we will rise, we will write an email, we will make videos, whatever we can do in our own way, we will because God is listening to what our intention is within our heart. He is not just watching us, yes, wherever I go, but he knows in depth the intention and as we find that even with that Firaum at the time of Ibrahim, alayhi salam, that frog sees the opportunity to put just one spout of water upon the fire. When asked and ridiculed, why did you do this? I did it because I said that I could stand in front of my Lord and say to him, I did my bit. Whichever Firaum is there in front of me, I can stand and say I did my bit. Can you imagine now when it comes to this point in Quran where they go to reach their own Firaum? The idea here is freedom. We go to verse number 16. Then come to Firaum and this is beautiful. This sentence, this verse has so much within it. It is unbelievable. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says to Musa, go to Firaum and say the following. The following words are, Fa qula innara surah rabbil alameen. Go to Firaum and say surely we are messengers of the Lord of the worlds. Send with us Banu Israeel. Now any child will tell you what is the first issue of Islam? Is it Nabuwat? No. What's your first form of your usuliddin? Tawheed. Oneness. Go back to the verse. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells Musa A.S. to present Islam. He doesn't say to him, tell him of Tawheed. The first thing he says to him is tell him that you are the messenger from Allah. He talks to him about Nabuwat before he talks to him about Tawheed. Why? Because Firaum was such a human being that he had already rejected Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala had he not. He had said, There was no one within him. There was no belief system in the one God that would be over his hand. Therefore he was no point in coming to him and saying to him about Tawheed in the first place. The same way we find this rejection of God in Firaum. We find this same rejection of God in the Firaum at the time of Aba Abdullah. Did Yazid not say, Banu Hashim played with the kingdom. No news and no revelation came. I reject God and Islam altogether. The Firaum of Quran is the same as the Firaum at the time of Aba Abdullah. In fact, there is another hadith in which we find so openly in which he rejects everything. Hadith tell us that as the captives were being brought to Damascus, we've all been, insha'Allah, to Damascus. May Allah take us again and again. As you enter into Bazaar-e-Sham, you know that you are walking and you have the Bazaar on each side of you. You have the markets either side of you. And then you walk and then eventually you get to the palace of Firaum. Imagine now what took place. As they got towards the palace of Firaum, a narration says that Firaum was standing upon a ledge watching the kafirah being brought towards his palace. What words he recited? You know what words he recited? Now I have what I've wanted to take from Muhammad the Messenger. I now have what I wanted to take from him. I wanted to take the head of Hussain, his grandson, and I now have the head of Hussain from the son. Can you imagine the level of rejection within the Firaum at the time of Aba Abdullah? And therefore the first statement can be seen by Musa A.S. He didn't say Tauheed, he said Nabuwat because rejection was within the heart of Firaum. And then we conclude with this point. Verse 18, Firaum and Musa begin to debate. This is truly wonderful series of verses to see a debate between a prophet of Allah and the enemy tyrant. Firaum said, did we not bring you up as a child? As we know Musa A.S. was a child within the household of Firaum. Did we not bring you up as a child? Are you not grateful for what we did for you? The next verse, Musa A.S. responds in verse 22. Is it a favor that you enslaved my community Banu Israel? Check this verse number 23, the next subsequent verse. Firaum says, and what is the Lord of the worlds? Hang on a minute. I thought you were talking about being enslaved. I thought you were talking about slavery. Why did Firaum go back towards the discussion about the Lord of the worlds? Look at the chronology. Look at the chronology of it. Musa A.S. is asked a question, Firaum says, did we not bring you up as a child within the house? Are you ungrateful for us having looked after you? Musa responds by saying, is it gratitude I should show you that you enslaved Banu Israel? Firaum responds and says, tell me, what is the Lord of the worlds? It doesn't flow, does it? It doesn't make sense. Why does it not make sense? Because Firaum was defeated by the argument of Musa A.S. And rather than addressing the issue, he had to change the issue. When you are defeated as a pharaoh, instead of answering, you know what, you are right. I have enslaved Banu Israel. You're right, it is not a blessing in a favor from me. Take them, you are right, because I have lost the debate. The loser of the debate, rather than accepting his loss of debate, changes the debate in order to argue another point. I will argue back with you in regards to your Lord, because I believe I am the Lord. The same thing happened. Exactly the same thing happened when the fourth Imam presented himself in front of Yazid. The heads of the Shuhadah were placed upon a spear. They entered into the court of this dastardly human being, this most tyrannical of human being that has ever been created. And they begin to debate with each other, do they not? What happens, he says to him, did you find the command of Allah to be set upon you? Imam responds and says, this is not, this is indeed the command of Allah, but you have taken his life. Allah did not take this man's life. The debate continues between them. He begins to recite a verse of Quran. Imam says to him that indeed, Allah, he says to him, a surah of verse from surah hadid, verses 21 to 23, he says to him, indeed, all of this has been written in a book well before even your existence. And this point, even Yazid begins to debate with him and says to him, indeed, the oppressors, that you see that the oppression that has been put upon you, that we have not done this. And then Zayn al-Abideen continues to debate with him. When he loses the debate, what does Yazid respond with? He argues his way out of it and says, indeed, cursed people upon Ibn Ziyad. Rather than accepting he was the one at fault, he says, cursed people upon Ibn Ziyad, for he is the one that cut ties with you. He is the one that has done this to you. I am completely absolved of my own responsibility. This same debate that took place between Musa and Firaoum takes place between Zayn al-Abideen and the Firaoum of that time. Musa, alayhi s-salam, demands the freedom of Banu Israeel. Do you not see that freedom on the 10th of Muharram? Do you not see that same statement is made by Abba Abdullah on the 10th of Muharram? He says, if you do not have any belief in the hereafter, then at least be free human beings. The same thing that was faced within Firaoum is faced within Yazid at that time as well. A man that is free, a man that is free is the one who in all trials and tribulations, he is the one that recognizes that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is there for him at all times and that no matter what comes before him, he is pleased with the destiny that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala places in front of him. Qasim bin al-Hassan, he stands in that tent and when asked that question of death, how do you see death? What a free human being. At 13 years old to say the words, I see death sweeter than honey. Before we go into the martyrdom of Qasim bin al-Hassan may Allah bless him and Abdullah bin Hassan may Allah bless him. I want to take a line from our second Imam and see how this became manifested in Aba Abdullah on the 10th of Muharram in regards to Qasim bin al-Hassan. One of the greatest narrators of the tragedy of the Lady of Light was her own son, Imam al-Hassan, alaihi salam. Imam al-Hassan, a young boy and being the eldest of the children, he observed everything. He was present when the door fell. He was present when a Fira'un attacked her. He was observant of everything that took place. There's a line of poetry that is said about him. It is attributed to him. Imagine this great lady. The door has been flung upon her. She has lost her child. Her chest internally is broken into a piece. And then she still goes to face the Fira'un of her time. She then goes and stands and demands fadak back for herself. Imam al-Hassan, alaihi salam, has a series of lines where he narrates. And he says that, my mother, when we left the house, our house, to go towards the mosque, to meet that Fira'un and demand what was rightfully ours, when she went to demand, she, being my mother, took me with her towards that man. And she held my hand. You know, when a mother takes the hand of her child and walks with her, he walks. And Lady Zahra walked with Imam al-Hassan. Imam al-Hassan says that when my mother took me towards that place, she was holding my hand, indicating a level of strength within her. But when she was denied fadak, when that piece of paper was ripped up and thrown in her face, she felt so weak at that point that I had to hold her hand en route back towards the house. And at this point, when Imam al-Hassan, alaihi salam, begins to describe these issues, there is a zakir. And this is the link towards Aba Abdullah. When a zakir is narrated, recited the tragedy of Sayyid al-Zahra and what Imam al-Hassan, alaihi salam, went through. The zakir narrates, he says, I recited that one day, Imam alaihi salam came home and found Imam al-Hassan sitting in the corner of the house weeping profusely, crying and crying. He comes towards his dear son and says, oh Imam al-Hassan, oh my young son, why are you crying like this? He looks up and with his tears flowing down his eyes, he says to his father, oh, my dear father, if you had seen what I had seen on that day, if you had seen what I had seen on that day, you too would be crying the way I am crying. And then the zakir says that that night he went to sleep and in that night, Imam al-Hassan, alaihi salam, came to him in a dream. He says to him, he came to him in a dream and Imam al-Hassan says to him, oh, zakir, oh, alim, oh, sheikh, thank you for reciting the tragedy of myself and my mother, but you did not recite the greatest tragedy that was befalling, that had befallen upon me. He says, but what happened, oh dear Imam, I recited that the door fell upon your mother Fatima. He says, this is not the greatest tragedy to have befallen upon Imam al-Hassan. To see this was not the greatest tragedy. He said, what is the greatest tragedy to have ever befallen upon you? The fact that when I saw that door falling upon her, I was unable to do anything for my mother. The fact that I was unable to come to her aid, the fact that when I went there, the door had already fallen upon her, the fact that she had been calling out, Fidda, come to my aid, come to my aid. At this point, look at the words of Imam al-Hassan, that the greatest tragedy that was, I was unable to come towards your aid. Come to the 10th of Muharram and Hussain ibn Ali says the same words to Qasim. The greatest tragedy was that I was unable to come to your aid when you called me, to call Qasim. It is narrated, it is narrated that Qasim ibn al-Hassan comes towards Aba Abdullah on the 10th of Muharram. He comes towards him and he says to him, oh my dear uncle, allow me to go out and defend you and the message of Rasulullah. He says to him, allow me to go out. I see you all alone. Oh my dear uncle, allow me. Hussain ibn Ali responds and constantly tells him, no, you are not allowed. I do not give you that permission. At this point, he goes back towards his dear mother and he says to him, he says to his dear mother, please, is there anything that you can do? Hussain is not allowing me towards the battlefield. His mother, umma faru as-salamu alayhi alayhi says that there is a parchment. There is an edict from your father, Hassan, that says that he will not be there on the 10th of Muharram. Give this towards Hussain and he will not refuse you. Qasim takes this letter towards Hussain and when Hussain begins to read it, his eyes fill with tears. Oh Qasim, how can I say no when my brother Hassan ibn Ali has told me to allow you? He says that I will not be present on the 10th of Muharram. Allow Qasim to be my representative on that day. He goes and he says to him, you will have permission to go into the battlefield. At this point, Hussain ibn Ali ties the turban upon the head of Qasim. A narration says that he slices it into two and he wraps one around his chest and then he puts the other around his head. A narration tells us that when he enters into the battlefield, he begins to recite his poetry. He says, I am Qasim the son of Hassan, I am Qasim the son of Hassan, he is the grandson, he is so close towards the messenger of Allah. I am Qasim, I will not let you rest for my sword will not allow you to rest. A line of poetry from Qasim says that I swear by Allah as long as I have a sword in my hand, no one will have the ability to touch my uncle Hussain ibn Ali. Qasim enters into the battlefield. We tell a narration that says that he was such a brave warrior at 13 that he did not even wear any armor. He did not even wear a helmet that he struck the enemies like a brave warrior. People came at him from the left and from the right. But one man by the name of Amr ibn Amr, he comes and he says, I will strike down this young man. One of the enemies turns and says to him, Oh Amr, what do you have with this young child? Allow him to fight. But Amr says, I will attack him and I will ensure that I inflict upon him the greatest grief that he has known. At this point Qasim is striking the enemies. People are surrounding him by the left and by the right. He is striking each and every one of them down. Amr sneaks up behind Qasim. Amr sneaks up behind him and he pulls that sword back. A narration says that Qasim was such a warrior that when he was fighting, he actually had that his slipper, his slipper had come apart. He was such a brave warrior that he decided in the middle of the battlefield to come and stop and tie that slipper again so that he did not have to walk up on the burning sands of Karbala. Amr, when he saw Qasim, stopped to actually put his slipper back on. That's when the tyrant began to strike him. He didn't even have the bravery to strike Qasim from the front. He comes from behind and strikes Qasim on the head. He falls towards the floor and calls out to his father. He calls out towards his uncle. Arithni, ya Amr. Come to my aid, oh my uncle. Come to assist me in this final moment in time. At this point, Hussain ibn Ali runs in towards the battlefield. He finds that enemy of Allah standing there and engages in the battle with that enemy. He comes and strikes him down. But at that point, horses come to the aid of that enemy. Horses see the lines of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala entering into the battlefield. Qasim ibn al-Hassan's body is lying there. I ask you, what would happen to this young 13-year-old's body when horses are going to trample over that body? We say to you, oh Qasim, as-salamu alaika. Peace be upon you, oh Qasim. When the other martyrs were trampled by the horses' hooves, they were already dead. They already passed away from this world. Qasim, you were still alive when they trampled upon your body. At that point, Hussain ibn Ali has to stand and watch. He has to see the horses approaching. The horses trample upon the blessed body of Shah Qasim. His body is torn into pieces. His bones are broken as if they're nothing more than powder. They're torn to pieces as the dust settles. Now, Hussain ibn Ali begins to see. At this point, he begins to see the broken body of Qasim. Oh Qasim, it hurts your Imam. It breaks your Imam. Said you call for him and that he could not come to your aid. Oh Qasim, even if I had come to your aid, there was nothing I could do to assist you at this point in time. One narration says that Qasim's body was broken into so many pieces that Hussain ibn Ali had to open his aba and he had to put the broken pieces of Qasim into that aba. Another narration says that when he picked up the broken body of Qasim that even though he lifted that body, the legs of Qasim were dragging along the ground. I ask you what the body of Qasim ibn Hassan must have looked like. I ask you what Hassan ibn Ali must have been thinking when he was watching this scene. My young son Qasim, my young son Qasim. Hussain ibn Ali brings that body back towards the tents. At this point, already Akbar has passed away. Akbar has already been martyred. Hussain sits between the blessed body of Akbar and he sits between the body of Qasim. He puts one hand on the chest of Qasim. I ask you Hussain, where would you have found the chest of Qasim? In which pieces? He puts his hand upon the chest of Qasim. He puts his other hand upon the chest of Akbar. Which chest of Akbar the one that had a spear embedded into it? He looks towards the heavens and he says, O Allah, bear witness what I have taken. O Allah, I want you to never forgive these people. O Allah, they have taken the sons of Hussain ibn Ali upon this day. O Qasim, no pain shall you fear from now on. No thirst will you take from this moment on. Go with your grandfather Rasulallah. Qasim's body is torn into pieces, but the same who could be seen of his brother Abdullah ibn Hassan. When Aba Abdullah is all on his own, as the arrows are embedded into his chest, as the enemies are circling like wolves, as they begin to strike the blessed body of Aba Abdullah, the young son of Hassan Abdullah comes out. O enemy man, you will not be allowed to strike my uncle whilst I am still. He comes in front of him. An enemy begins to strike. He strikes the sword at Abdullah. Abdullah puts his hand in front of the sword in order to defend himself. The arm of Abdullah comes apart and falls towards the floor. He calls out, O mother, O mother, please, is there anywhere to help me? He falls then into the arms of Aba Abdullah. I ask you, Abdullah, how did the blessed arms of your uncle Hassan feel protecting you at that point in time? But then Hormullah, the same Hormullah that would strike the blessed neck of Azghar, took back an arrow and stood at point blank range. I ask you how close that arrow must have been when he struck it into the chest of Abdullah ibn Hassan. He pulls back that arrow and he lets it go. It flies straight into the abdomen of Abdullah ibn Hassan. He cries out with a streak of pain. Inna lillaha wa inna ilayhi rajoon. Abdullah ibn Hassan is martyred as well.