We request clarification of the position of the upright youth regarding trials.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. You have always, may Allah reward you with good, warned these hasty and enthusiastic youths about the actions they would descend to and arrange in the West Bank, calling them martyrdom operations. Naturally, the situation has developed, and may Allah protect us, these trials may occur in this country. What is your advice to our youth at this time, may Allah reward you with good, in such circumstances?

The Shaykh : The advice is the same as what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the time of all trials: The more the trial intensifies, the stronger this noble Prophetic command becomes. And unfortunately, it is observed in the Islamic world that along with what we often speak of and hold our heads high for, which is the Islamic awakening, we observe that with this awakening comes some arrogance, following of desires, and distance from seeking correct knowledge and patience with it. Therefore, we find in these youths, who represent the aforementioned awakening, a deviation from a very important matter, which is proceeding from correct knowledge and not proceeding from individual personal actions.

Another questioner : Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. You will find in many countries movements that resemble revolutionary movements, if not bloody ones, which Islam did not know before and does not recognize after, because Islam is a religion of calling, as He the Mighty and Majestic said: So many of these young people do not distinguish between one situation and another, or between one era and another. They do not distinguish between an Islamic state standing on its feet, strong in its rule and its initiatives, and the reality of the entire Islamic world today, with great regret, where the Islamic world today fully fits the warning of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to his Ummah that they would deviate from the Shari'ah of their Lord and boast of their large numbers without being worthy of good opinion of them. That is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): These young people do not distinguish between an Islamic state standing with its Muslim ruler who judges by Allah and His Messenger and does not judge by the tyrants and earthly laws, and being as he (peace be upon him) said in this authentic hadith: We have been afflicted in our present era with many movements, if not Islamic revolutions, that arose in some countries under the pretext of reforming the existing conditions due to these governments that rule by other than what Allah has revealed. They want to achieve Islamic rule and establish the Islamic state through the method of bloody revolutions. This is, without a doubt, as I said at the beginning of this speech, something that Islam did not bring and Islam does not recognize at all. Therefore, these movements, if not revolutions, did not benefit the Islamic world in any way; rather, they harmed it greatly, causing the call to regress for many years, as Allah wills. Therefore, we always and forever advise that Muslims should, above all else, focus on reforming themselves, according to His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: The masses of Muslims have left this divine command, at least, and have occupied themselves with the collective obligation (fard kifayah) instead of the individual obligation (fard 'ayn), and have occupied themselves with the collective obligation before its causes and conditions are ready. The individual obligation is . You will find in the entire Islamic world that those who engage in these movements based on hastening the matter without preparing for it are only some enthusiastic young people who have not known Islam in its principles and rules, whether adopted or derived from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, the outcome, with great regret, is harm to the Islamic world, fulfilling the wisdom taken from texts of the Book and the Sunnah, that wisdom which says: "Whoever hastens a matter before its time is afflicted with its deprivation." I have mentioned in more than one session, and it may have been in a session in this very place, that when Allah the Mighty and Majestic addresses people with His saying: , He directed this address not to the general public, but to the special ones, namely those who truly believe. And prepare; it is self-evident that no one who has been given any understanding or jurisprudence in language, let alone in the Book and the Sunnah, would think that the address in His saying: is directed to the disbelievers. No one understands this, but I know this, and I say it is as clear as the sun in the fourth hour of the day. It is self-evident, as a preparation for the other understanding, which is also impossible for anyone to think of, though slightly more hidden than the first. So I say: His saying, Exalted is He: , just as it is not an address to the disbelievers, it is not an address to the hypocrites who display Islam and conceal disbelief in Allah and His Messenger. This is the second matter. The third, which is more hidden than the previous two, is that the intended meaning of this command is not the open sinners (fasiq) of the Muslims. Prepare; the intended meaning of this command is not the open sinners of the Muslims and their rebellions, but the intended meaning of this command is those who truly believe. I have no doubt that such believers have an existence in every time and every place, even if in varying proportions of much and little. This is indicated by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): So, the first thing that comes to mind is that the intended meaning of this command directed in the previous verse is the believers. And I do not say, and pay attention, "these believers," because I will say at the end that the intended meaning is these believers only if they are united and not scattered, at least not scattered in their bodies and their lands. That is, it is not sufficient for them to be united in their ideas, beliefs, and understandings on the Book and the Sunnah, as has been our call for more than half a century. It is not sufficient to meet on this thought and this belief only; rather, they must also be gathered in one place and be as if they were one man, on the heart of one man. Do you know if this exists in your time? The answer, with great regret, is no. So how do these simple people, who gather some enthusiastic young people for their Islam—perhaps with extreme enthusiasm, but in terms of knowledge and action, I say these may be the most enthusiastic, but their hearts have not yet been filled with this faith that first drives them to be one hand, as I mentioned earlier—then, after that, it may be possible, and I mean what I say, that they may achieve this Quranic command ? They may be the opposite of that. They may be in a situation surrounded by disbelievers on all sides, who do not allow them space to carry even simple, basic weapons from the old weapons, such as arrows, spears, and swords, let alone these modern weapons which cannot be dispensed with today to fight the disbelievers except with them. So, we conclude from the above that His saying, Exalted is He: , to the end of the verse, contains an explicit command to prepare material weapons, but it contains an implicit command that the primary weapon of this material weapon is the weapon of faith, which, if it settles in the heart, does not care about the debris of this world and its adornment and beauty. And if they are like that, they can then be those about whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So, twelve thousand does not mean that they are scattered like individuals in this country and individuals in another country, and a third and a fourth, and so on, but rather that they are on the heart of one man. They prepare in themselves the correct faith based on the Book and the Sunnah, and then they apply this noble verse . At that time, it is obligatory for these Muslims to declare it explicitly, and at that time, it is possible to achieve Islamic rule with a leader who commands and forbids, and he must be obeyed in what he commands and what he forbids, except in disobedience to Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. So his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , we must be aware that this saying was issued by the Muslim ruler who had no equal in the world and will never have one, namely the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then, this is only issued by those who act on his behalf from the Muslim rulers. So, we must distinguish between a situation like the situation of Muslims today, scattered here and there, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in the previous hadith. When they become on the heart of one man, as we explained, at that time they choose a man from them and pledge allegiance to him in Islam, pledging allegiance to him in death. This man with this group are those who have the right, religiously and Islamically, to fight those around them if they do not respond to their call to the truth. Therefore, it is a grave error what happened far away and what happened recently in Algeria, for example, of the revolution in which some revolted, and the outcome was like the other outcomes we mentioned earlier. Therefore, I advise all young people, no matter what trials arise from some countries, whether they are countries named Islamic or have deviated from Islam much or little, and trials arise internally or come from externally, I advise them to stay in their places, except in one case: when one of us is invaded in his own home, and he has distanced himself from the trials in response to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned earlier. At that time, he has the right to defend himself. As for throwing himself into the midst of the existing disagreement and trial between a group and another, or a state and another, here his saying (peace be upon him) applies: This is what I have in answer to that question.

Another questioner : I mentioned in the hadith

The Shaykh : Yes.

Another questioner : There is a narration in it So what is your interpretation of this hadith?

The Shaykh : Yes, yes.

Another questioner : There is a narration in the hadith

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, there is a narration in it and it is an authentic narration.

Another questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : This narration is understood in light of the previous explanation when they are preparing for battle. Is that clear?

Another questioner : Okay, did you not understand the nature of the preparation?

The Shaykh : Regarding preparation, we have many terms, and they are summarized in two words.

Another questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Purification and education. Did you hear this lecture? Purification and education.

Another questioner : Do you know that this is the principle of the Salaf?

The Shaykh : We mean by preparation

Another questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : that this victorious group, which we referred to at the end of the previous discussion, has become well-versed in the Book and the Sunnah and has practically applied the Book and the Sunnah. They have trained themselves and those who take refuge with them until they became, as I mentioned earlier, as if they were on the heart of one man. At that time, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah, and at that time they will be able to fight the enemies of Allah.