 Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik ala Sayyidina wa Habibina Muhammad wa la alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim kastiman kathira As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh Insha'Allah this is just doing a different style today the wad and then I have the short kutba insha'Allah so after I finish there will be a few announcements and then I have the adhan and then the sunnah and the kutba then we will hug and go home or back to work insha'Allah or you just keep hugging it's all good but alhamdulillah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has truly blessed us and amongst the things he has blessed us with are the blessings of security the saying of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the one who has fed them and driven off hunger from them and has made them secure from fear so alhamdulillah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us that security but we should never forget our brothers and sisters who don't have that security and who are threatened at any moment and the threat might come from many different directions unfortunately for many Muslims it might even come from another Muslim so we see the situation in Syria where the security has broken down a country for all of its problems or issues or challenges was always very secure I could witness to that having lived there for over six years that we never feared walking the streets any time of day and night anywhere in Damascus you never had any fear for your safety or your security and now the entire country is threatened with bombings or kidnappings, car bombs in this place or whatever and the other so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can change conditions he can change the conditions in our society just like he can change the condition of our heart so we pray to Allah in terms of our heart ya muqalli bel-kulub thabbit qalbi ale dine you're the one who can turn the hearts make my heart firm in your religion probably many of you know people that are struggling with their faith I'll call you up, you know, I'm just not feeling it oh I don't even know if I'm a Muslim anymore I went to this psychology class and my kaffir professor messed my head up your ignorance messed your head up not your professor your ignorance of the religion your ignorance of the basic fundamental proofs of Allah ta'ala's existence your ignorance of the reality of this universe the reality of this universe is that there are forces beyond physical forces but this modern day kufr with this empiricism convinces us the only reality is that which can be physically sensed and since we can't physically sense God there's no God but we all know that's a lie there are many things beyond our empirical senses but that's not the subject but Allah can turn the hearts and He can change the condition and we're not immune from it here and this is why we pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes the voices that speak for our community wise voices voices of experience voices that are familiar with the reality of the world because those are the voices that understand the value of security George Washington and John Adams who fought through the revolutionary war what did they want for this country they wanted a they wanted a society whose prosperity was based on commerce and not on war because they lived through the ravages of war and so they knew the destructiveness of war they knew the horror of war they knew the screams of widows and babies they knew that reality so they were very hesitant to open the doors that lead to it and as a result of that they actually paid tribute to the Muslims in the Mediterranean they prayed tribute to the Barbary pirates the Barbary pirates were the Berber pirates and they were Muslims and Algeria primarily who controlled access to the commerce of the Mediterranean region so the United States and the administrations of Washington and John Adams paid jizya tribute to the Muslims so that American commerce could move freely in the East Atlantic and through the Mediterranean and then Thomas Jefferson who didn't know the reality of war did away with the policy of diplomacy first and commerce first and instituted a war regime and he fought the Barbary pirates and from that we get the Marine Corps hem from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli Tripoli, in Libya they fought the people that Adams and Washington made peace with and we see today all of these neocon chicken hawks none of them experienced war during the Vietnam war when they were at the age to fight they either ran to Canada or they took exemptions or they extended their careers in college so they could avoid the draft so they didn't know the reality of war so it's very easy for them to pursue the policies of war and we have ignorant Muslims who don't know the reality of war who haven't seen how Muslim lands are devastated who haven't seen the cries of people who suffer from bombings and the kidnappings and the disappearance of their young men for nothing for absolutely nothing so we pray that Allah SWT blesses us with wise people to speak on behalf of our community and who understand the ways of the world and don't live in an idealistic bubble and inside of that bubble see things, if you're in a bubble you see the world in a distorted way because the bubble becomes a lens that refracts the reality beyond the bubble it's like eyeglasses so that it's curved like a lens and it distorts reality and sometimes that distortion can be deadly it can be deadly and many people here know that reality know it well our brothers and sisters from Afghanistan why are they here in these large numbers they know the reality of war year after year, decade after decade and if you talk to them you'll find cynicism and some of them even cynical when they look at religious leaders because they've heard the glorious promises about the Khilafah or about an Islamic state or about the brave new world and then they've seen the disappointments the frustration the self-serving, self-interested policies and lies and distortions and delusions that have destroyed their country and given them nothing in return absolutely nothing but hardship on top of hardship misery on top of misery and so now they see with the eyes of wisdom with the eyes of experience and they don't rush into any empty promise of some glory or some restored golden age they proceed with great caution because they've learned from experience so we have to learn from our experiences and we have to realize that anything meaningful in this world it only comes through wisdom coupled with sacrifice coupled with vision coupled with the understanding that things in society change over a long period of time and in many instances we're only planning the seeds of that change nothing meaningful happens overnight and when we look for it overnight we're oftentimes looking for an illusion now saying that does not mean that we should not be courageous that we should not speak the truth that we should not work to undermine the false reality that leads also to suffering so just as short-sighted idealistic, unrealistic strategies or policies put forth by men who in many instances haven't seen the reality that the devastation of war causes on the other hand there are realities that are perpetuated because men and women are not courageous to stand up and challenge the lies that lead to the suffering of people and in this context we can look at the situation of our Palestinian brothers and sisters who have suffered for almost 70 years now because the silence of the people in our country who don't stand up and challenge the inhumanity of many of the policies of the Israeli state so they think what about my job is it worth the hassle I'll be harassed in public I'll be harassed on my job if my boss finds out that I spoke up for the Palestinians or my department at the university or here or there at the hospital my supervisors all of them are Zionists so I better keep quiet and not say anything and as a result of that we have the most shameful disgusting dehumanizing situation imaginable where our elected officials will justify genocide because they see that as enhancing their ability to stay in office we just had a congressional resolution yesterday in the aftermath of the UN recognizing the Palestinian statehood rather that's good or bad is another question but it did happen and most of the Palestinians see it as a positive step so if they're happy we should be happy but we have a congress that says if they now use that status to take Israel to the international criminal court we'll cut off aid to them that's the most inhumane wretched, pathetic position imaginable in other words they're saying Israel can bomb, can kill, can murder can massacre innocent Palestinian civilians with impunity and not be held accountable by the same body that will hold every other country on the face of this earth accountable if they did it to their people or to another people but for Palestinians that doesn't apply so whenever there's an election in Israel and the Israeli politicians want to jockey for position so to enhance their credentials we'll invade Gaza and we'll bomb Gaza and we'll kill a few hundred or a few thousand it doesn't matter, innocent people it's just politics or we'll threaten them if they vote this way we'll punish them if they freely elect a government of their choosing through a democratic process that we approve of but we don't like the people they elect we'll punish them we'll cut off aid, we'll cut off their money we'll close the doors, we'll close their ports we'll deny them their fishing grounds we'll close any gates leading to the outside world and if push comes the shove we'll bomb them and strafe them and murder them with impunity and no one says anything brothers and sisters it's time to speak up it is time to speak up in the face of these atrocities I will call as Muslim is based on principle and one of our principles is maintaining the sanctity of human life and the sanctity of innocent life and if one innocent person is killed we should raise our voices even if it's an innocent Jewish person we should be consistent we should be consistent when Allah ta'ala mentioned in the Qur'an it is said that or any one who kills an innocent person it's as if they have killed all of humanity it's as if they have killed all of humanity He says one of the reasons for that is that when they indiscriminately kill an innocent person that could have been anyone you put a bomb in a bus or you drop a bomb from a plane on innocent people anyone could have been I could have been there visiting as a tourist and the bomb falls on me I'm riding in the bus and the bomb which floats under me or anyone from Europe or Africa or Asia it could be anyone on earth and so Allah Ta'ala is telling us we have to be principle and in being principle we can't fear the criticism of the criticizer aizatin ala kaafireen yujahidun fi sabirillah wa la yukhafuna loma ta'alaim thatika faddullahi yu'tihim main yasha'a wa allahu wa'sya'n alim so Allah says those people he will bring to replace those who don't stand up and do the job one of their characteristics he said they will not fear the criticism of the criticizer wa la yukhafuna loma ta'alaim we shouldn't fear the criticism of the criticizer if we're right if we're wrong we deserve to be criticized but when we say innocent life should be respected when we say if anyone be they a Palestinian or an Israeli be they a Syrian or Saudi be they are Bahraini or Libyan be they an American or a Russian whoever they are if they kill innocent people and especially if they do it with impunity we should stand up and we should condemn it and if we're criticized for that we should probably take the criticized criticism and if we're penalized for that or punished or sanctioned in some way we should gladly accept the punishment or the sanction and trust in Allah and trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'alaim if we have dignified honorable men women and children who say I'm not leaving Gaza even though I could be bombed at any moment I could be bombed tomorrow as part of a punitive action because my leaders endorse statehood for the Palestinian people I don't care not leaving if we have people who just two weeks ago were under bombs and under the threat of the invasion of tanks and armor and said I'm not leaving then what do we look like being afraid to stand up and speak the truth in their defense what do we look like being afraid to speak the truth to defend innocent lives that's the only way the racist policy of this country will change it's when our hearts change and when our hearts change our tongues change as the poor said the real speech is in the heart and rather the tongue has been made as a interpreter as a proof of what's in the heart so our hearts have to change and when our hearts change our speech will change and when our speech change we'll see new realities in our world and as we said we should be responsible we should be wise we should be judicious we should be prudent but we should not be afraid to speak the truth especially in the face of times after Lou Jihad in the Sultan and Jair the best Jihad is speaking a word of truth in the face of a tyrannical ruler so may Allah bless us to be the best of Mujahideen to be the best of Mujahideen those who are willing to speak truth in the face of tyranny isn't that how this country got started when those colonists in the face of the tyranny of the British crown stood up and spoke truth and then put that truth in a declaration of independence because they saw themselves as having the unalienable right we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable right rights and amongst these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness if that's good for the American colonists in the face of the tyranny of the British crown is good for the innocent people of Palestine in the face of the tyranny that they that they face and it's good for us today in the 21st century they want to side side nine all those documents okay they serve their purpose put them away now no bring them out now because we need them now more than ever we need them now more than ever may Allah give us Taufiq may Allah bless all of those struggling people wherever they may be in Kashmir Afghanistan or Iraq or Palestine or Syria or Egypt may Allah protect the people of Egypt and many schemes of foot to undermine the fruits of their revolution many schemes of foot may Allah Taufiq protect them may Allah Taufiq bless their leaders with wisdom with deep wisdom may Allah Taufiq bless innocent people everywhere to be able to live their lives and to pursue peace to pursue peace ultimate that's what we want we want peace we want security and we recognize these are two great blessings as we mentioned at the beginning who's giving them safety from fear and Ibn Abbas said these are two of the great blessings to be well fed and to be secure and we know we have to appreciate those blessings and not do anything to undermine them whatsoever because if we do Allah Ta'ala will take them away where is the when your Lord proclaimed if you give thanks for my blessings I will increase the blessing but if you reject them by not showing thanks you should know that my punishment is severe and in the case of security the punishment is in taking the security away so we should show our appreciation we shouldn't be fools and we shouldn't fall for the guiles of fools and we shouldn't be tricked into doing things that are betrayal of our principles but we should be courageous we should be upright we should be wise may Allah bless us and bless everyone so there are a couple announcements before that announcement to remind everyone the lighthouse mosque in Oakland is having a fundraiser Sunday this Sunday December 2nd 4 to 9 p.m at the Chandi restaurant to purchase it's in a rental property that's very dilapidated there's a very nice property for sale across the street we encourage people to support also support the masjid here because there's a lot of projects afoot yes fente I have tickets if they want to get to outside afterwards some of their brothers and sisters have tickets also Salam alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh bana afrq ala nassadran wa thabbat aqdamana wa tawafana muslimin wa aafu anna wa wafilana wa rahmna anta maulana fa usurna ala ulum al kathirin in allaha in allaha ya'mur anna allahumma allahumma anna naseulka al huda wa tuqa wa dhina wa aafaf allahumma aqsim lana man kashiyatika maat ulubihi bayna naa wa bayna maasik wa man taatika maat balguna biha jannatak wa minal yakini ma yihawin wa anina masaibat dunya wa mati'ina bi asma'ina wa apsarina wa kuatina maa ihaytana wa ja'alhu lwaritha minna wa ja'a fa'ran ala maa umfamana wa unsurna ala manadana wa la taj'al masaibatana fideenina wa la taj'al ala dunya akba gahemmina wa la mablada immina wa la tuthalat ala nabidunubina man la wa khafuka wa la yarhamuna ya'a arhmarahineen wa aafu anna wa wafilana wa rahmna anta maulana fa unsurna ala ulum al kathirin allahumma unsur al muslimina fi kulli makaan allahumma unsur khanima muslimina fi fadastin wa fashamiya allah fi dimashk wa fi halab wa hams wa fi hana fi lazeqia fi illab fi dar'a fi shamiya allahumma unsurhum wa al muslimina fi l-iraq wa fi azganistan fi iran fi bakistan fi l-hund fi bangan fi shreelanka fi kashmir fi al-masr fi al-soudan fi al-Bahlan fi al-Saudia fi al-Yanan fi al-soudan fi al-Sumad fi habasha fi iritwya fi kinwa tanzanya fi libya wa tunis wa tunis wa l-jaza'u wa l-maghrib wa muretani wa l-sanaqa wa gambia wa najirya fi gharba friqa wa l-januba friqya fi kulli makaan allahumma unsur khanima muslimina fi turkia wa fi busna wa hirzad fi uroba wa fi hadal balad ya allahumma unsurna fi hadal balad allahumma unsurna fi hadal balad allahumma unsurna fi hadal balad amta maulana fa unsurna al-qawm al-kaafireen subhana rabbika rabbil izati amma yasifoon wa as-salaman al-mursaleen wa l-hamdulillahi rabbil alameen wa sallallahu ala Sayyidina wa habibina muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim tasniman kathira akimah s-salah yarhamni yarhamkum