Is the command in the saying of Allah the Exalted: (( Prepare against them whatever power and horses you can ))

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : I said that the specification that the intended preparation is for the true believers, just as the Companions were, not as it is now. I mean, what is the evidence from the Book for this specification? Even though we, the believers, are required to prepare.

The Shaykh : The evidence is the verse. I told you the verse contains two things. One is apparent and clear, which is material preparation. But I pointed out the answer to this question you are mentioning now. To whom is the address "Prepare"? Directly, who are they?

The questioner : The Companions,

The Shaykh: Okay

The questioner : But also to us.

The Shaykh : Listen, my brother, may Allah bless you. Were the Companions true believers?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : I am saying now, if we assume a group of Muslims who are open sinners, are they the ones addressed by this verse?

The questioner : By Allah, I cannot say for certain, but let us say, for example,

The Shaykh : I can say, I can say first, you know his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Do you know this hadith?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : So, has the open sinner struggled against his desire for the sake of Allah? Say no.

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : So why do you hesitate to say that this address is not directed to open sinners? Now, ascend and ascend until you reach with me the true believers. The true believers are those who perform what Allah has made obligatory upon them and refrain from what Allah has forbidden them from. It is not necessary that these people fast the whole year and stand in prayer at night. No. These are voluntary acts. But the believers are those who do what Allah has made obligatory and refrain from what Allah has forbidden. So when a group of believers gathers with these characteristics and they are able to prepare, and I think, my brother, you are not one of the groups that deal with matters by their emotions. If I tell you now that the command here is for the true believers, but if these true believers cannot realize this Qur'anic text , are they obligated?

The questioner : No,

The Shaykh : Good, good. So, if we assume that there is a group of Muslims today who gather in a land and they are directly addressed by the previous verse like the Companions, "Prepare against them," but they cannot, would you say they must do what they cannot? No. So why are you surprised when I tell you the verse has two meanings: an apparent, explicit meaning that everyone understands, and an implied meaning contained in the address of Blessed and Exalted is He to those first believers. When was this verse revealed? It was not revealed in Makkah; it was revealed in al-Madinah. Why? Because first, they were not in a position to deserve this address being directed to them, and second, there was no gathering based on this strong faith. So the call proceeds in stages, and history repeats itself, as I told you earlier. Now, many of the young Muslims who belong to some groups in Egypt or elsewhere are enthusiastic about material preparation, and they suffer all tribulation and all fitnah, and they retreat because they are preparing the material preparation before they are able to do so, such that they have dominance over their enemy. So I hope that two things are noted here in this verse: the first thing I mentioned earlier, and the second thing I mentioned later, which is ability. Today, in my opinion, no Muslim group can apply this Qur'anic text. Today, the cavalry, as you know, rarely has an effective role in the current wars. So the preparation we are commanded to do today is not training horses and managing horses, because they no longer have that effect they had before. Now, tanks, airplanes, and these destructive bombs have taken the place of these means that were known before. So this preparation, my brother, is not easy for a group of Muslims to do, first because they are scattered in the corners of the earth, and second because they have not been raised with the correct Islamic education on the pure Islam by which we declare our faith to Allah and believe that Allah the Mighty and Majestic will support those who walk on this path by facilitating for them material preparation just as He facilitated for them spiritual preparation. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic is Able to do that.

The questioner : Especially, Shaykh, the situation, I mean, specifically the situation in Lebanon was originally, during the war period, a situation where the strong eat the weak, and the political parties. Now, when the situation stabilized and the government, for example, started taking weapons from the people, and so on. If the matter remains like this, it can now be compared to any other Islamic state, or any state, excuse me, that has Muslims. But the brothers, I mean, they say that when it reached them that the matter has not yet stabilized, and especially that what they call the Habash, or the Shi'ah, or the other sects, are preparing weapons and training, and they are not, I mean, just for the sake of attacking, but if, may Allah forbid, they are attacked, they will defend their honor and their families.

The Shaykh : Yes.