What is our duty, O our Shaykh, when we see Islam being fought from every direction and the governments do not give it any consideration? Do we sin by sitting idle?

The questioner : We know, O our Shaykh, that in these days Islam is being fought in all lands and the governments are not interested in it. So what is our duty in this matter, and do we sin by sitting and doing nothing? This is the first question.

The Shaykh : Praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, there is no one who can misguide him, and whomsoever He misguides, there is no one who can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. As for what follows, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The worst of matters are their innovations, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. The question, in its apparent wording, seems less than what the questioner intends when he says, "We sit and do nothing." He does not mean "nothing" in an absolute sense, but rather a specific thing. For no one absolutely says that a Muslim must live like livestock, doing nothing, because he was created for something very great, which is the worship of Allah alone, with no partner. Therefore, no one would infer from such a question that he intends to do nothing at all, but rather that he intends to do nothing that suits this reality that has surrounded the Muslims from every side. This is the apparent intention of the questioner.The questioner : and not what is explicitly statedThe questioner

The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Accordingly, we answer him: The condition of the Muslims today does not differ, neither much nor little, from the condition of the Islamic call in its first period, which I mean the Meccan period. I say that the condition of the Islamic call today does not differ, neither in little nor in much, from the condition of the Islamic call in its first period, which is the Meccan period. We all know that the one who established the call at that time was our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). By this word, I mean that the call was being fought by the people among whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was sent, from among themselves, as in the Noble Qur'an. Then, when the call began to spread and its circle widened among the Arab tribes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered the migration from Makkah to al-Madinah. Of course, we are now presenting only the main points, because the early Islamic history and the early Prophetic biography are known and familiar to many of those present. I intend this brevity and conciseness to reach the intended point in answering that question. Therefore, I say that after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) migrated and some of his Companions followed him to al-Madinah, and he began to lay the foundation for establishing the Muslim state there in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, a new enmity also began against this new call in al-Madinah. This was because the call approached the heartland of the Christians, which was Syria at that time, where Heraclius was the King of the Romans. So there was a new enmity toward the call, not only from the Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula, but also from the Christians in the north of the Arabian Peninsula, i.e., from Syria. Then another enemy appeared, which was Persia. So the Islamic call was being fought from all directions: from the polytheists in the Arabian Peninsula, from the Christians and Jews in some of its borders, and from Persia, whose enmity toward the Christians was severe, as is known from the saying of Blessed and Exalted is He: The point here is that we should not be surprised by the condition of the Islamic call now, in that it is being fought from every side. From this perspective, the Islamic call was also being fought from all directions in its initial stage. And then comes the question and the answer.