 The concept which is the oppression of the followers of Ahl al-Bayt throughout history. And we looked at several characteristics, inshallah we're going to have a brief overview of what we talked about yesterday, inshallah we can elaborate on that to look at other characteristics. And inshallah the essence of tonight's topic will be to discuss how we can act or what should we do as the followers of Ahl al-Bayt in face of such oppression, in face of such attacks. Whether we are to defend ourselves in a particular manner, whether we refrain from any sort of defense or whether we have to go out and have the whole concept of an eye for an eye. Now looking at it obviously from the perspective of our imams, how they reacted to specific circumstances, how they reacted to specific attacks. And inshallah we can analyze how we can better ourselves at the conclusion of tonight's topic. So please help me in starting tonight's topic with the loud salawat ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad. Very briefly I'd like to touch up on the points that we mentioned yesterday in which we discussed a particular type of people by the name of the Khawarij. In which first and foremost we said that they have characteristics in which they used to pray in narrations the salat of the Fajr with the wudu of the previous Faridah meaning they were up all nights in worship, number one. And we said that this can be a problem within societies because someone may look at a figure that appears to be religious. However, when they come close towards him they take them towards the other path altogether. Now an example of this is and we are given is that there used to be a very pious man, a very pious man. All the day you'd find him in the mosques or the night you find him in the mosque. You find no one recited more than him the holy Quran. Now then you find that Shaytan every time he comes towards this man he tries to lure him. He tries to make him sin. He tries to make him think of something unethical, un-moral. Take him towards sin. He'd have no chance. That's the status of that man. Now let's look at the example that was given. How did Shaytan get to this particular person? The narration says that Shaytan embodied himself in which he became or appeared to be a man and he came next to this particular person. Shaytan, he saw this person was praying so he prayed more than him. This person appeared to be reciting a lot. He appeared to be reciting more than him. Therefore this person wasn't drawn to sin. However, he saw that this particular person which was embodied with Shaytan pray more than him, do more than him in the path of Allah and then he began to become inclined towards him because he doesn't know what he's doing, but he appears to do that which is pious. So he slowly draws towards him and draws towards him. And because he respected him in such a manner, because he thought to himself, you know what this person, it must be something great because he's praying more than me, he's doing more than me. Slowly, slowly he lured him away from the mosques. Slowly, slowly he lured him into sin. Slowly, slowly he got away from the path of Allah SWT. Now this is to give us an example of the danger that people such as the Khawaraj will have. Because they will appear as religious. You look at them, you see their actions, in particular circumstances, not in the holistic manner. Because they are the same people that go against Islam and go on attack and fight and do all sorts of atrocities. But in the perspective where you look at them, in the mosque environment, you say to yourself, wow, these are religious figures. So this was a danger because people might look at them and say the wrong things. Ali ibn Abi Talib has a statement in which he says, do not look at the length of someone's ruku and sujud. Don't look at that because that can be misleading. Look at what they say, what comes out of their tongues and how much they give charity. He says that should be the point in which you look at, to differentiate between that which is right and that which is wrong. Those people that are on the path or those people that are just pretending to be on the path. That's the second point. Therefore, we have to analyze in depth what kind of people they are in order so that we cannot be drawn to be like them. Now, someone may come forth and say, how is it that I can go away from such people? How is it that I can defend myself from such people? As you know, the examples that were given from the Khawarj at that time, they were known not only to be attacking the school of Ahlul Bayt, but only they were attacking anyone outside their school of thought. There used to be anyone, caravan coming past, they had stopped them. Now, look at this, and I want you to see if this reminds you of anyone nowadays or doesn't remind you of anyone nowadays. They would find Christians and Jews passing the desert. They say, what religion are you? They say, we're Jews. They say, you can pass. What religion are you? We're Christians, you can pass. People come forth. What religion are you? We're Muslims. Come, we're going to behead you. Does it ring a bell? Do we think nowadays anyone does that nowadays? You're Muslim, we'll behead you. So much so, that wasn't one of the companions. It wasn't the companions of our Imams, but one of the companions of the Prophet used to go past this particular area where the Khawarj lay in the desert because they were outcasted. Then he said to his whole tribe, he said, don't say anything. The caravan that he was in says, don't say anything, leave me to do all the talking because I know how these people think. So the caravan comes and they come to them, you're like, you appear to be Muslims, we're going to kill you. So the person, he starts to speak, he says, don't want to speak. He says, we're not Muslim. He says, oh really? And he still tells us people don't kill them, right? Let's see what's going on. He says, what's your story? He goes, we heard that there's a bunch of Muslims in the desert and we came to learn knowledge from you. Can you teach us so we might think about becoming Muslim or not? So they come towards them and say, this is Islam. This is what we believe Islam is. And the person says, okay, we'll think about it. Can you take us to a safe haven? And we'll think about it and get back to you. He says, okay, so they take them towards a safe location and they come back. The irony of this is that they supposedly were Muslims. However, the only way that you can go away from them and to be in peace from them was to say that you're not Muslim. That's the irony of it. And that's the people nowadays when we see such people holding the flag of Islam. We can see it on TV. We know about it. Holding the flag of Islam, but everything under that flag is against Islam. How is it that we can defend ourselves? What can we do in order to not fall in that trap? In order to defend ourselves from these particular traps in societies, it's fitness in societies. Now, people may come forth and there's so many different ways in which we can do it. Number one would be if we educate ourselves, obviously. That's the first thing someone will tell you, educate ourselves. Let's learn the misconceptions because when we're attacked, we have to know how to defend ourselves. If someone comes forth and says, you guys believe in ABCD, we have to know, yes, we believe in this. This is why we believe in this. What did we say yesterday? One of their ideologies is not to question. Just believe. Don't question. The difference is our school of thought says what? It says you must question everything and have a deep understanding of why you believe in what you believe. That's the difference. That's why we have the solid foundation and no one can falter it. Once someone has the love of Muhammad and Ali Muhammad and understands it, no one can take that love away. However, if you have a rocky foundation, if you don't even know what you stand for, how easy is it to take you away from that path which you're on? How easy is it, even in the time of our Imams, Imam Ali, Imam Al-Hassan, what happened? We celebrate his birthday in a couple of days. Imam Al-Hassan, Muawiyah used to buy, money takes you off the path. He used to buy out each and every one of his generals, not any normal person. Generals that Imam Hassan put as flag bearers, trusted them, entrusted them with the flag of Islam. Muawiyah buys them out with a couple of coins. I say a couple of coins because it's worthless, but he obviously offered them some amount that's remarkable to them. Now that's the level that we have to say, yes we can learn, yes we can educate ourselves, yes we can go on to learn what misconceptions there are. However, the most important aspect is the application. Why? Because on one level, we know of people in history that were very knowledgeable. We can learn all we want. However, how much do we apply it? I'll give you the best example that we have, it's Shimr. You think to yourself, maybe Shimr? Really, he had knowledge of course. Shimr, as we have in narrations, he sat on the chest of Aba Abdullah, he started crying. And I should say he started crying. Why? Why is it that we have the narrations that Imam Hussein was severed from the back of his head, not the front? Because Shimr couldn't bear to look at his face. His wording was what? When he put Aba Abdullah's head at the feet. Wa la'iyahatubillah. May the Imam forgive me for saying this. When he put the head of Aba Abdullah in front of Aba Abdullah Ibn Ziyad, what does he say? Shimr knew who Imam Hussein was. What does he say? He says He says, I know who I have killed. I have killed the best amongst you, with the best father and the best mother. And then he says it in his own sentence, what have I done it for? Few coins. Up to my knees put gold and silver and this is what I have sold myself for. What does Imam Hussein tell us? Your souls deserve only paradise. Do not sell them for anything less. Nothing less. You get offered. Shaytan guides you to a path. Shaytan puts an idea into your head. Remember Imam Hussein, that's why it's a definitive factor. This is why Imam Hussein was such a solid stance and this is why our madhab lives on, is because of the stand of Hussein. Because the stand of Hussein, when we have Aba Abdullah Ibn Ziyad and that's the example, when we have the main general, the main general of Yazid's armies. And this is a definitive factor because if we put this into our lives, and I've mentioned this, I think maybe two months ago, but it's a beautiful, beautiful analogy to put into tonight's lecture because it goes hand in hand. Imam Ibn Ziyad, before, he was going to fight Imam Hussein. He's in his courtyard. He's walking around and he's questioning himself because we all have the question with the sin. I'm not saying we're going to fight. I'm saying it starts off in a very small proportion. If you choose the right path in a small sin, you will choose the right path in the bigger sins that Allah will test you in. It's the choice that matters. If you always incline towards that which is bad, when you have the bigger choices, you will also incline towards that which is bad. If the small choices you make, the right decisions, that will carry on. Imam Ibn Ziyad, in his courtyard, what does he say to himself? He questions himself and he tries to make himself feel better. He says, he begins within himself the soul. He says, because he was given and he was promised the Mulk of Ray, which is the entire pleasure at the time. Imam Ibn Ziyad is questioning himself. He says, He says, do I leave this and everything that I dreamt is going to be given to me or, on the other hand, this is the price to pay. That's the balance. He's questioning himself. Do I take one, the worldly desires and my dreams and what to have? Or, on the opposite angle, do I go and kill Hussain? Will my hands be drenched with the blood of the Risaleh? That's the balance that I have. Then he goes on, what does he say? He says, He says, He says, if what they say is true and Allah has created the heaven and Allah has created the hell to give an idea of who these people were. Did they actually believe in Islam or did they not? Then I will repent over a duration of two years to my Lord and he'll forgive me. That's what he tells himself. Now, our question is what? Our question is, in every single day societies, and this is what we have to understand from tonight's topic, we are given a choice in every single circumstance whether we choose the path which is right and we become Hussain or we choose the wrong path and we become Whoever you want to mention, mention because when you are right, you will be with that which is right. Those who are right the Imam Sahib al-Asri was Zaman that's what he looks for. But if you take the wrong choice, you will be like the people that took the wrong choices. I'm not saying we have to become Ma'as or Meen. No. It says we are Bani Adam but we learn from our mistakes. We don't do the same mistake twice. We learn from predecessors. If someone in history made that mistake, I learn from it. I make sure I live in a manifestation of what the Imams have taught me and every single person and it's so beautiful the message of Islam. I have five more minutes with you and I want to wrap this particular topic up because of its utmost importance. In these five minutes, I want you to look at the wording because we encompassing two topics together. The wording of Sayyid Ahmad Shirazi when he talks about the concept of the terrorism and what's happening. He says look how ignorant people are. Look how poor they are. He says that when someone is poor, it's not that they don't have wealth or money. He says a poor person is a person that is poor in their intellect. They cannot comprehend. They don't understand. That's being poor. He says they think between one or two bombs that go off after a couple of the shuhadaa and they go straight to heaven. They can stop Imam Hussein and this march that's happening in Europe upon which it gets into the Guinness World records. It breaks so many records and it's increasing and increasing and increasing. Once upon a time, there were people that used to cut their hands and their legs off just to look at Aba Abdullah's shrine. We know the story of Ibrahim Dizaj in which the first cuts his right hand. The second he cuts his left. The third and fourth he plugs his right and left eye out. They didn't have anesthetics back then. They cut the arm off and they get something hot and they make sure they eye in it on. Blood, bone, muscle. Imagine the pain they go through. Why? Just to go once to smell to see, to sit in the presence of our Imams and we are so gifted and they think to help us in that manner. But say the Zaynab says a beautiful line. And this is the line that will be echoing within history. It will be echoing until the end of time, until the Imam comes. Imam Sahib al-Asli was Zaman. What's that? When she finds Imam Zayn al-Abideen in a very sad and mana. She looks at him. She says, what is wrong or what remains of my family? Then she tells him about what? About Karbala and the effect it will have. The long reach in which Karbala will have. She says, who Wahdun min Allah li jaddika wa abik wa sayun sab futtaf alamun ala quroor al-ayyam wa ala quroor al-layali wa al-ayyam wala yashdahidanna a'immat al-kufr alamahihi wa tatmisih fela yazdad illa ulua Salah ala Muhammad wa ala Muhammad Tyrants in history will come and try to bring down this flag except it will not go anywhere except up and elevate and elevate. That's the message. That's what the stance of Imam al-Hussein had and its effect will be echoing within history. So tonight's lecture will be towards to take into perspective one particular instance in which we have to better ourselves. We have to be the best we can be before we can defend the religion. We have to be messengers for the religion. People that speak out without actually speaking by our actions, by our morals and mannerisms, by our transactions. Everything is a everything whether it be small or big is in the eyes of the Imams. Everything will encompass your characteristics and the characteristics of your generations. Imam al-Ali says it in Safin when he is about to strike someone and this is the last story before I end for tonight. Malik al-Ashdar he says what? He says I want to count how many times Ali ibn al-Bitaleb kills and I want to match it with what I do. So every time Ali ibn al-Bitaleb would kill someone he would say Allahu Akbar. So Malik al-Ashdar counts. He counts, he counts. The narration says he killed a thousand and he's counting Ali ibn al-Bitaleb killed a thousand. He's questioning it in himself, he's just thinking. He says then there's no difference between me and Ali if he's killed a thousand I've killed a thousand. He says I was just thinking. I didn't say anything, I was thinking it. He says Ali ibn al-Bitaleb comes to me and what does he say? He says Malik I don't kill anyone like you. Malik is thinking how does he know? He says I look in a person's generation their offsprings seven generations down the line if there's one good person I do not kill them. One good person. Imagine what the Imam was fighting who the Imam killed at that time. And I end on this Insha'Allah brothers and sisters let's aim and pray to Allah that he writes that we become the best manifestations of the muhabbin of Shia that the Imams want from us to be of the best characteristics that the Imam will be pleased with our actions. And if we are doing anything that displeases the Imams so Allah can allow us to let go of those particular traits and stay firm on the religion of Islam. In the blessings of the prayer in the blessings of the blessed Surah Fatiha of Muhammad and the people of Muhammad