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Khutbahs
"If Only I Had the Strength…" | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman
In a world where the oppressed cry out and the powerful turn away, we often feel helpless. This khutbah reflects on the suffering in Gaza and our lack of means to stand for justice. When the Prophets (AS) had no worldly power, they stood firm, relying solely on Allah. This is a call to faith, firmness, and trust in the One who holds all strength.
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
We praise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is his final messenger.
We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment.
And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma Ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, how many times are you watching the scenes out of Gaza?
Of children being massacred, of soldiers gloating on top of the bodies of our shuhada,
entering into our masajid, partaking in their celebrations over the copies of the mushaf, laughing and recording themselves on TikTok and sending it out as a mockery to the entire ummah.
And you watch these videos, and how many times does the sentiment come, لو أن لي بكم قوة
If only I had the strength and the ability to defend our brothers and sisters against you. If only I had the strength to defend our brothers and sisters, to push back on your transgression.
It's one of the most difficult things that we are living in these moments that for any Muslim, with even this much ghayrah for the religion, this much honor for the religion, watching this happen,
and the injustice against humanity, the crimes against humanity, you watch that and inside of yourself, if only I had the strength, if only I had the means.
This sentence, لو أن لي بكم قوة, is taken from Sayyiduna Lut (عليه السلام). And I want you to visualize the statement as it was being made,
that Lut (عليه السلام), who has warned his people, Lut (عليه السلام), who has offered his people everything to take them to salvation, and to give them the best of this life and the next,
finds himself in a desperate situation, trying to defend what he has of his family, and they are banging the windows and shaking the door, and he has no physical way to defend himself.
Can you imagine in that situation, sitting in the house and they're breaking down the doors and attacking you? And you physically can't do anything.
As a man, in particular, to defend your family, subhanAllah, it's a human instinct. And he says, لو أن لي بكم قوة، أو آوي إلى ركن شديد.
If only I had the strength to resist you, or if I could rely on a mighty pillar, ركن شديد. The Prophet (ﷺ) commented on this statement from Lut (عليه السلام).
He said رحم الله أخي لوط. May Allah have mercy on my brother Lut (عليه السلام). لقد آوى إلى ركن شديد. He indeed relied upon a mighty pillar.
And who is the mighty pillar that the Prophet (ﷺ) is talking about? Allah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the mighty pillar that he was relying on.
So Lut (عليه السلام) is not making this statement from a place of questioning Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, or from a questioning of the qadar of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the decree of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
but of the lack of means that he has. قد آوى إلى ركن شديد. But he depended upon a mighty pillar who was Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And listen to the sincerity of his words.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said ما بعث الله نبيا بعد إلا في ذروة قومه.
That Allah did not send a prophet after Lut (عليه السلام) except that he was from the nobles of his people. This is an interesting hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ).
Lut (عليه السلام), his qawm was different in that he did not grow up amongst them. He is the nephew of Ibrahim (عليه السلام) and he went to his people,
and they were his qawm in the prophetic sense, his people in the prophetic sense. But the Prophet (ﷺ) said that after this place of loneliness and estrangement that he felt
when he had no one to come to his aid from his people, that every prophet that came after him came from the cream of the crop in terms of the lineage and the status of the people.
Meaning what? Look no further than his great nephew Yusuf (عليه السلام). Or a distant cousin Yusuf (عليه السلام). Kareem Ibn Kareem, Ibn Kareem, Ibn Kareem.
A noble one, the son of a noble one Yaqub, the son of a noble one Ishaq, the son of a noble one Ibrahim. That Musa (عليه السلام) at least had his brother Harun.
That Isa (عليه السلام) came from Ali Imran. That Rasulullah (ﷺ) came from the most noble place of Quraysh.
Meaning these narrations about a prophet that stands on the Day of Judgment with absolutely no support and no followers. Imagine the scene on the Day of Judgment of a prophet with no followers.
That these were prophets that preceded Lut (عليه السلام). But after him, every prophet came from a certain part of the family, someone of means to be there alongside them.
That doesn't mean that the end was not takthib, belying them and trying to kill them. But it means that they weren't alone. Lut (عليه السلام) felt completely alone.
Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنهما) says he means by that al-walad, he didn't have a son to be with him, to fight alongside him.
Or as Qatada (رحمه الله) says, a qawm or a group of people to fight alongside him, a group of righteous people to fight alongside him. It's a completely helpless situation, I can't do anything.
But you know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is still there for you. You know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is still that mighty pillar of support.
Dear brothers and sisters, when you look at a situation in the world and you say لو أنّ لي بكم قوة That has to be a statement of intention. That can't be just a statement of frustration.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ That your enemies will not respect you unless they see strength. So build yourself as much as you can to a place of strength.
So that when your enemy sees you, they don't bully you. They see strength. Do not start from a place of weakness.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said المؤمن القوي خير وأحب إلى الله من المؤمن الضعيف وفي كل خير A strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than a weak believer and there is good in any of them.
What is the strength that the Prophet (ﷺ) is talking about? As Ibn Hajar (رحمه الله تعالى) explains, he's talking about all forms of strength.
Spiritual strength, intellectual strength, physical strength, financial strength. That to be in a strong situation is more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than to be in a weak situation.
And the Prophet (ﷺ) did not stop there. He said احرص على ما ينفعك Then strive for that which is beneficial to you. واستعن بالله ولا تعجز
Seek the help of Allah and do not be incapable. Meaning what? Do your part because many of those who complain about the lack of strength that they have are not doing anything to remedy their weakness.
For the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala This is not like the people that pass away and they say لو أن لي كرة If I had another chance.
This is a person who is alive and says I want to be in a situation where I can do more for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Where I can stand up for the righteous.
Where I can build myself physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, financially, whatever it may be. To be in a situation to where I can do more.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala certainly will not combine in anyone all of those things. There are different lanes of strength. And certainly the greatest strength is spiritual strength.
The spiritual resolve to be able to face an ugly world for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala That's the type of strength when Sayyiduna Umar (رضي الله عنه) One of the narrations of him when he would say
فقوني وشحيح فسخني وغليظ فليني That oh Allah I'm weak so make me strong. He's not talking about physical strength. We know how strong Umar (رضي الله عنه) was. He means something else.
A different type of strength. An inner strength. And I'm stingy so widen my means. And I feel harsh so make me more lenient. Umar (رضي الله عنه) is diagnosing himself
And you better believe that he's actively working on what he identifies in himself as flaws. He's actively working on himself. He's an experiment. A school of tazkiyah. A school of spiritual purification.
But he's going back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because strength only comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The means. He is مسبب الأسباب subhanahu wa ta'ala. He is the one who makes the means come true.
When you pursue them for his sake. The means come from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So he goes to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He desperately asks Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all of these things to be bestowed upon him.
Don't we see from the shakwa of Ta'if. The complaint of Ta'if. اللهم إني أشكو إليك ضعف قوتي. Oh Allah I complain to you of the weakness of my strength.
But here's the thing. When we say dear brothers and sisters. لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله. There is no changing of a situation.
And there is no strength that is produced except by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The strength that you seek to acquire in any regard.
Has to be sincerely for him or else he will not unlock it for you. Why do you want to be strong? Why do you want to be in a more capable situation?
Are you watching the scenes that are happening to your ummah right now? And preoccupied day and night to say what can I uniquely do to support them? What's in my lane? What's in my profession?
What's in my speech? What's in my physical strength? What's in my financial strength? What's in my connections? What's in my technical experience? What's in my lane to support the people right now?
Because this is not an acceptable situation for me to watch and to feel weak and incapacitated. While my ummah is torn to pieces literally. What am I doing?
You better be preoccupied with that thought. Being preoccupied with that thought is a statement of Iman. Because when Lut (عليه السلام) said it, it was a statement of faith.
Every single person should be looking at themselves and charting a path for themselves to build themselves in some regard to help those of our ummah that are struggling.
Every single person. Because our excuse cannot collectively be that we are weak. We're an ummah of 2 billion people. We're not weak. We're an ummah of financial means. We have financial means.
We have institutions. We have countries. We have careers. We have Muslims in every single profession. Not every person can simply say it is what it is. No.
When you say Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal hammi wal hazan. Oh Allah I seek refuge in you from anxiety and grief. You're seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's dua.
You're seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's divine help in that dua to overcome mental weakness. Wa minal ajzi wal kasal. From laziness and incapacity.
You're seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's divine support to overcome physical weakness. Wa minal jubni wal bukhl. And from cowardice and stinginess.
You're seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's divine aid to overcome emotional weakness. Wa min ghalabat ad-dayn wa qahr ar-rijal. And from being overcome by debt and from the cruelty of man.
You're seeking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance to overcome financial weakness. The believer always pursues a position of strength. You know what that means?
Even to the young people in here that like to lift weights. Lift weights with an niyyah. To be strong for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. To do something with that strength. Don't just build yourself for worldly goals.
All of the motivational speakers in the world will tell you to do you. And to make things better for yourself. Think like Lut (عليه السلام) in that situation.
Where the house is literally being broken into. The most sacred homes in Palestine are literally being broken into right now. And say it from your heart.
And then say. Channel that frustration into a dua. And take that dua and let it produce a trajectory for yourself. I can't solve that for you from the minbar. No one else can solve that problem for you.
That comes from somewhere deep in here for yourself. And that's where you preoccupy your thoughts. And think greater. But let's not accept the state of weakness for our ummah.
And in the process be a part of the collective weakness of the ummah. If there's a small place of strength in the ummah, seek to be a part of that small space. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala strengthen us all. And enable us.
Oh Allah enable us. Enable us. To worship you properly. To strive for you properly. To remember you properly. To love you properly. To work for you properly. Oh Allah enable us. Ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to enable you.
And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide all of us to the pathways of strength. So that we can be there for the downtrodden. And the people in this ummah that are suffering the most due to our collective weakness.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us a part of the strength. And not a source of weakness. Allahumma ameen. Alhamdulillah.
Wasalatu wasalamu ala rasoolillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. Dear brothers and sisters, I just landed from South Africa a few hours ago. And there are gems in the ummah where you hear a few words that are part of the culture.
And you say subhanAllah that's beautiful.
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May Allah take us from strength to strength. And may Allah forgive us for our weakness and the sins and disobedience and laziness and incapacity that produces that weakness.
And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us to strength and then build upon that strength with more strength. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala let that strength all be for his sake.


































































































































































































































































































