Messenger Audio 28.2 (31-Dec-1982)

(0:03) I would like that receipt. I mean that description. (0:31) You're breaking God's law and you pay a high price for it. (0:37) And we have the best illustration is Arizona and the lottery. (0:43) Arizona instituted the lottery to make some money and they were never poorer. Never. (0:48) The year they introduced the lottery the copper went bad and the state had a hundred million dollar deficit. (0:57) A hundred million dollar deficit. Something that never happened in the history of Arizona. (1:02) So from the time they started the lottery they have been poor and they have deficits. (1:07) They had to have freezing of employment and cut down in budget. (1:12) And I work for the state and I know what is happening in the state. (1:19) And God does it in such a way that now the officials responsible for the lottery say we have a hundred million dollar deficit. (1:28) Can you imagine how much it would have been without the lottery? (1:32) So they never understand. They're not supposed to. (1:37) But it is a fact. It's a fact of life that Arizona is poor because of the lottery. (1:42) And since the lottery started. (1:45) And the same is true with us. If we are to break God's law and gamble in order to make money (1:51) We probably make 10,000 and then lose 100,000 somewhere else. (2:00) It's the way God works. When you break his law you have a blind fold. (2:08) So all these sweepstakes and contests they keep sending in the mail, is that the same thing? (2:14) Exactly the same thing. Now if they send and say you already won something, you didn't get it. (2:21) And they say you owe it to this guy. They send it in, fine. (2:24) They don't send it as a gift from God. (2:27) Yeah, because you have not invested in anything. (2:29) Exactly. You didn't go after it, you didn't apply for it, you didn't participate in it. (2:34) But it came to you. (2:35) I know, that's real money sometimes. (2:37) Right. However, I don't think you'll ever win a thing like that. (2:42) God wants to send you money and send it to you legitimately and in a very honest and straightforward way. (2:51) Each one of us, by the way, has a number of dollars assigned to him or to her. (2:56) There's no way you're going to get any more, there's no way you're going to get any less. (2:59) You cannot escape from it, no matter what you do. (3:03) Can I ask a question? It's a little bit off the subject, but later. (3:09) My sister-in-law sent my wife last week a big package. (3:16) You know, all sisters, it's a gift. (3:19) And my wife, in her enthusiasm, she opened it and she threw the wrapping just to find out what it is like. (3:28) It's all right. (3:29) And she sometimes, you know, garbage cleaner and pick out the old papers, (3:36) and I was going to crush them and put them in the garbage can or whatever it is we have. (3:43) Then I saw that all the stamps on the cover, you know, all the stamps on the cover were not cancelled. (3:54) It's about five dollars. (3:56) So there are many possibilities. (4:02) I personally took it as manna from heaven. (4:06) Either, one possibility. (4:09) I go, I cut that thing, and like a fool, go to the post office, ask my son to drive me, (4:15) who's going to cost two or three dollars, and say, (4:18) Mr. Postmaster, you people forgot to do it. (4:22) Would you please cancel it? (4:25) Or I give it to someone, and most probably the girl will get it. (4:29) Anyhow, he has a girlfriend, he has to write to her, too, so he gives the stamps. (4:35) Or, I return it to my sister-in-law, and tell her, use it for next year when we do Patanaga. (4:44) Or, I use it for mailing. (4:51) Or as Kathleen Lytle would say, I put it in my stamp collection. (4:56) From the Islamic point of view, which do you think did it? (4:59) This is something that happened, that way. (5:03) It's a mistake, somebody made a mistake. (5:09) What do you think? (5:11) You're putting me to the test. (5:15) I would consider a gift from God to use it. (5:17) Because the post office, I don't know, they went beyond reasonable limits in their inflation. (5:26) If you look at the inflation of the post office, and the inflation of the country, (5:33) it was on average 10% in the last 10 years, but the post office went up like 100%. (5:41) So, from that point of view, I disagree with the post office, and I would consider it a gift from God, (5:46) I would take the stamps and use it. (5:48) But, they came to me. (5:52) Last week, there was a discussion that, (5:56) it looks like that if you go to the grocery store, and they make a discussion, (6:01) they give you extra money instead of the right money. (6:07) So, I feel that... (6:08) In that case, she is losing the money. (6:10) Because at the end of the day, she has to count the money. (6:14) If it's short, she will pay for it. (6:17) You've taken money from a person. (6:21) You've just taken money from a person. (6:25) No, it's not the same, that's how it is here. (6:27) No, it's not. (6:29) Somebody was really jiffing with it. (6:33) But at the same time, how much does that mean now? (6:36) Two years ago, we were sending a package for less than a pound, a pound or less, for 23 cents. (6:44) Now it is 63 cents in two years. (6:48) So, that's 300% in three years. (6:51) It's 100% per year. (6:53) And that's way out of proportion. (6:55) So, you justified when God sent you some uncancelled stamps, (7:01) in my opinion, you justified in using it. (7:05) And it's usually very minor amount. (7:18) In my opinion, God knows best. (7:19) But this happened last week. (7:21) You know what happened? (7:27) Several times I got the mail from the university. (7:34) It was that size. (7:36) I cut it, and I turned it, and I mailed it. (7:39) You used it again. (7:40) Because otherwise it's going to be destroyed. (7:42) You abused me. (7:43) OK. (7:45) It's going to be wasted. (7:48) I'm sorry to bring this up. (7:49) But it's a problem to think about. (7:51) To me, I just look at the impression on my daughters and the rest of the country. (7:59) I consider it an accident. (8:05) We're all, back to you, intoxicants and gambling. (8:10) OK. (8:13) The Qur'an says strictly intoxicant, right? (8:16) It does not say wine. (8:18) No, no, it doesn't. (8:19) It doesn't say wine. (8:23) A lot of people want to see a white horse. (8:27) We shall not drink white wine. (8:33) It's like the wine. (8:36) But the words in the Qur'an describe all intoxicants, including marijuana, (8:40) and anything that describes a mental health. (8:57) It's not happening. (9:00) OK, there is also a statement about charity in the same verse. (9:07) So, it tells us how much charity we can give of our own money or whatever position we have. (9:19) And God says the excess, the portion that we do not need for our own benefit. (9:25) The excess. (9:27) In other words, you cannot give away all the necessities of life. (9:31) Right. (9:32) We give away the things that we do not need from the things that we do not need. (9:37) In other words, charity is against us all. (9:42) The next verse tells us about the orphans. (9:46) And God also gives the command to raise them up as Muslims. (9:53) And so we should give the same care to them, to the orphans, as we give to our children. (10:02) So, both our own children and the orphans, we have to raise them up as Muslims. (10:14) These two verses are very clear. (10:17) And God shows His mercy again. (10:20) He says here, He is so merciful that He says, I could have made more harder commandments for you, (10:28) but He is so merciful, He makes everything easy for us. (10:35) I just see the other one about the property. (10:45) Okay. (10:46) God says, God will consume their property. (10:50) God says, in other ayats, I cannot remember the exact place, but it tells us that we have to keep their property (10:57) until they grow up, you know, they have the mind to their own judgment. (11:03) So we have to give them that. (11:05) You must be very careful not to take one penny out of the orphans' money. (11:09) If you are entrusted with the money of the orphans, it's very, very bad. (11:14) Unless, the person who is taking care of the orphans is very poor himself, (11:19) and needs to take the wage, for example, administering the money of the orphans, (11:27) and the service he does. (11:30) There is no exception to this law. (11:54) Remember the same test. (11:57) Do you expect to enter paradise without undergoing the same test as those before you? (12:11) They suffered hardship and adversity, and were so shaken up that the messenger... (12:18) Sajjad. (12:23) They suffered hardship and adversity, and were so shaken up that the messenger and those who believed with him said, (12:31) Where is God's victory? Indeed, God's victory is always near. (12:38) Okay, so, the idea here is to worship God alone, no matter what happens. (12:47) Under all circumstances. It's a matter of knowledge. (12:52) You came to the conclusion that God is one. He's the only master. He's the only one that benefits your heart. (12:59) He's the only one who controls the minds and hearts of the people around you. (13:04) He makes them love you, or hate you, or care about you, or don't care. (13:10) And with this knowledge, it doesn't matter what happens. (13:13) Adversity or happiness, it's a fixed, definite knowledge. (13:21) And you know that. It doesn't matter what happens. (13:24) Also, we are here for the test. (13:31) And God wants to be proud of you, and wants to show you off to the angels and say, (13:36) Look at my servant. He or she worships me, no matter what happens, without ever seeing me. (13:46) And this is the whole idea of our existence. (13:53) And the end of the verse says, Indeed, God's victory is always near. (14:03) It must be noted also here that after the test, there is a final test. (14:11) After the final test, there is nothing but kingship on earth, as God promises. (14:17) When you come to the conclusion that you worship God alone, it takes a long time. (14:24) The road is long and hard. (14:30) It's a continuous struggle. (14:32) But there will come a time when you are a perfect worshiper of God alone. (14:37) Then there is no hardship. (14:43) And we can see this in surah 24, verse 55. (14:52) These are some of the verses that you must remember all the time. (14:56) Page 243. (14:58) The Great Promise. (15:00) God promises those, verse 55. (15:04) Page 243. (15:09) God promises those among you who believe and work righteousness that He will make them kings on earth, (15:16) as He did for those before them, (15:18) and that He will establish for them their religion that He chose for them, (15:23) and that He will substitute security in place of their fears. (15:27) All this because they worship me alone, without idolizing anything besides me. (15:32) If anyone disbelieves after this, then these are the wicked. (15:37) Baturat, come and sit next to daddy. (15:42) And Sajjan, sit next to mommy. (15:45) Then they will have no noise. (15:50) And Jamila is free for all. (15:54) See, this promise is true. (15:57) Now, do you remember Job? (16:00) Job had lots of hardship and adversity. (16:06) But once he passed the test, (16:09) he recovered, his health recovered, he recovered his family and even twice as much. (16:14) He recovered his wealth twice as much. (16:19) So he was under the test for as long as he needed to be tested to prove himself. (16:24) And the same is true with us. (16:30) Also, we must think of adversity as a cleansing and punishing process. (16:36) When you join the Oneness of God alone, you expect some trouble at the beginning. (16:40) Because you're cleansing all the past sins, all the past errors. (16:46) And this can be cleansed only by paying for them in this world. (16:50) So all the adversity that you have at the beginning, (16:53) when you come join this mosque, you're going to have five or ten years of adversity. (16:58) And this is because it's a punishing process. (17:03) You know how punishing goes. (17:06) They take a piece of rock and they put it in a punishing machine. (17:11) Very noisy. (17:13) Chipping off pieces. (17:15) But then what comes out is a beautiful gem. (17:20) And that's what will come out, perhaps, after you go through the polishing process. (17:26) Polishing is not easy. (17:30) So what I'm saying is that there is a final test. (17:34) Also, if you look at Surah 65, verses 3 and 4. (17:49) Verses 4 and 5. (17:52) For the day. (17:54) Page 401. (17:57) Page 401. (18:00) Verse 2. Verse 2 at the end of it. (18:06) It says, whoever observes righteousness towards God, he will create an exit for him. (18:12) An exit of every power. (18:15) And provide for him whence he never expects. (18:24) When you observe God, you sacrifice a job or a source of income, (18:32) strictly for the sake of God. (18:34) He will provide for you whence you never expect, in a better belief. (18:40) Surah, page 401. (18:43) The end of verse 2. (18:46) This is a verse I want you to remember. (18:50) Whoever observes righteousness towards God, he will create an exit for him, (18:55) and provide for him whence he never expects. (18:59) Anyone who trusts in God, God will surprise him. (19:03) God always carries out His decisions. (19:07) You have come to the conclusion that God is the King, the absolute ruler of the universe, (19:16) and He will carry out His promises and His decisions. (19:23) You just have to believe it. (19:25) You must have absolute confidence in it. (19:29) Tomorrow, there is a mandatory law, insurance law. (19:37) And we have, quite a few of us have decided that we have insurance with God. (19:44) If you are with God, you have the best insurance. (19:52) And you just have to believe that. (19:55) That nothing will happen to you when you have insurance with God. (19:58) This is the insurance. (19:59) The difference between the insurance companies and God's insurance (20:03) is that in God's insurance, you don't have anything happening to you. (20:07) Your car, your health. (20:11) With the insurance companies, you will have the accidents, (20:14) and the insurance company will pay for you. (20:18) You have the agony of the insurance, of the accident, (20:21) and the inconvenience of losing the car for you, (20:25) or having an operation, (20:28) and the companies will pay. (20:32) But you just have to have the confidence that when you have insurance with God, (20:36) nothing will happen to you. (20:38) Also, you must know that if God wants to get you, He will get you, whether you have insurance or not. (20:45) God says, they cannot escape from me. (20:48) That's what He said. (20:49) If you deserve a pinch, or a little accident, or a little sickness, (20:55) you can't get away from my insurance company. (21:05) When you have to, then you have to. (21:08) We will not buy insurance unless we have to. (21:12) But it appears that God is already taking care of us. (21:16) Because the law enforcement people, the prosecutors, (21:20) are all protesting the law, (21:22) and they are making an official case out of it. (21:26) They say they will not enforce it. (21:29) They don't want to enforce it. (21:31) So, I called the Civil Liberties Union myself, (21:34) and I told them, this contradicts our religious beliefs, and everything. (21:37) And they didn't do anything about it. (21:41) So, we will not buy insurance until we have to. (21:44) Because the Quran says, if you have to eat pork, or drink wine, or do anything, (21:50) if you have to, without being malicious or deliberate, (21:54) then you're not committing a sin. (22:02) But what I'm saying is, when God says, (22:05) and provide for you what you never expect, (22:07) you must know that. (22:09) You must have that confidence. (22:12) If you have the slightest doubt, it will not work. (22:18) And this insurance business, we were in it, (22:22) we've been in it for a long time. (22:29) We had that conviction to the extent, (22:31) I told you about our friend Tariq, (22:33) when the guy says, look, insurance, (22:36) who's the insurance with? (22:39) And he said, I have insurance with God, because it's his phone number. (22:46) He didn't, he just, he wasn't thinking. (22:48) I mean, it was the natural question coming afterwards, (22:51) but then of course, he was stunned. (22:55) Because he had a pencil in his hand in the paper, (22:57) he was ready to write the phone number. (23:00) It was a two-and-a-half place, where Tariq's car was a little bit, (23:05) depending on whether it was somebody's vehicle. (23:10) So, (23:14) God always carries out his decisions. (23:16) This is the absolute truth of it. (23:18) He runs this country. (23:20) He's not running Reagan, he's running Reagan. (23:23) With the government, or any government, anywhere. (23:26) God runs everything. (23:32) If you go to the end of verse four, (23:35) it says, whoever observes righteousness towards God, (23:38) God will make everything easy for him. (23:42) Everything will go easy for him. (23:45) He will not suffer any hardship. (23:50) There's absolutely no humiliation for the servants of God. (23:55) You go apply for a job, and you'll be in the box. (23:59) Because your soul takes over the place. (24:02) And you'll see them running to serve you. (24:07) They may not realize it, but you'll see it. (24:13) Whoever observes righteousness towards God, (24:15) God will make everything easy for him. (24:18) This is God's promise as documented here in his final message. (24:23) So we'll go back now to page 23, (24:27) about hardship as a mandatory test. (24:38) Over and over we see people who are immensely wealthy on the TV, (24:43) and they're complaining about unhappiness. (24:45) How unhappy they are. (24:58) Yes? (24:59) I have a third question. (25:10) All these severe problems, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, (25:17) all these are punishments. (25:22) Punishments and tests. (25:24) Because all these things are absolutely controlled by God. (25:28) There's a statement that will answer your question. (25:32) It's in surah, I believe, 64. (25:35) Let's look up 64. (25:42) Surah 64, plus or minus two surahs. (25:44) I'm going to find two here. (25:52) Yeah, 11, verse 11. (25:58) It says, (25:58) No disaster strikes except in accordance with God's will. (26:06) This is the law. (26:08) No disaster strikes except in accordance with God's will. (26:14) No pain, no disaster. (26:16) Nothing happens except by personal decree from God. (26:19) Because it is not simple. (26:25) It's not easy to get a painful headache, for example. (26:34) It has to be a personal decree from God. (26:37) But God will sign it. (26:39) Does this answer your question, Diana? (26:55) Yes. (27:06) Well, God is angry. (27:09) It's true. (27:10) Every drop of water is misery. (27:12) Everything in this world is misery. (27:17) Every piece of ice that fell on Denver was given a miserable time. (27:22) It was misery. (27:35) Everything is planned. (27:38) Every minute detail is very carefully planned. (27:44) Nothing is coincidental or haphazard. (27:48) Nothing. (27:49) As individuals, as nations, as a world. (27:56) Just think, every drop of water is misery. (27:59) Exactly where it goes. (28:02) Where it's going to fall. (28:03) How many inches from an ant that's crawling all around. (28:06) That's right. (28:17) Okay, Karl, what are the recipients of charity? (28:20) What, 215? (28:23) 218? (28:26) Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. (28:28) They ask you about charity. (28:30) Say, charity shall go to the parents, the relatives, the orphans, the poor, and the alien. (28:37) Any righteous work you do, God is fully aware thereof. (28:42) Fighting may be forced upon you, though you dislike it. (28:47) But you may dislike something which is actually good for you. (28:50) And you may like something which is actually bad for you. (28:54) God knows while you do not know. (28:58) They ask you about the desecration of the sacred months by fighting therein. (29:03) Say, fighting during the sacred months is sacrilege. (29:07) But repelling the people from the path of God and disbelieving in Him and in the sacredness of the sacred mosque (29:14) and evicting the people therefrom are all worse sacrileges in the sight of God. (29:21) Oppression is worse than murder. (29:23) They will continue to fight you until they revert you from your religion, if they could. (29:31) Those who revert from their religion and die as disbelievers (29:34) have wasted their works in this life and in the hereafter they have deserved hell, (29:39) wherein they abide forever. (29:41) As for those who believe, immigrate, and strive in the cause of God, (29:46) they have deserved God's mercy. (29:48) God is forgiving, merciful. (29:52) There are two different subjects here. (29:55) The 215 talks about the charity. (30:00) And it tells us specifically that the charity first goes to those that are closest to us, (30:07) to those that we're most responsible for, our parents and our relatives. (30:12) And then next are those that really need economic help (30:17) or don't have someone else to rely on, the orphans and the poor and then the alien. (30:29) So this is a carefully, we are given the details of how charity should be distributed. (30:36) First goes to the parents if they need it. (30:38) If they don't need it, then to your relatives. (30:42) In other words, each takes care of his own. (30:45) And if each one takes care of his own, there will be no misery in the world. (30:50) If the relatives are rich, then you find orphans. (30:57) Children who have no parents, one or two parents, are gone. (31:04) Then any poor people, and then the alien. (31:09) So any righteous work you do, God is fully aware of it. (31:17) And it seems that charity is more than just economic help. (31:22) It can be any kind of help. (31:26) Any righteousness of doing what is right in this world toward other people, (31:32) be it for simply politeness or anything we try to do to make the world better, (31:44) treat the other people as we'd like to be treated, (31:46) or merciful toward the people around us. (31:52) Then God is, it's because we want to express God's mercy. (32:01) We want to, we desire God's forgiveness and God's mercy. (32:11) And these qualities, and by showing our appreciation and desire for them, (32:16) we express them to the world around us. (32:36) The next subject is on fighting. (32:49) Which I take to mean basically in a war type of situation. (32:55) Though it may be, well, when we think of fighting, (33:00) we think of taking up arms of violence rather than simply arguing for justice. (33:06) On another level, it could be simply not giving in to any kind of oppressions, (33:20) which may be economically, politically, so forth. (33:31) There's only one reason in Quran for fighting. (33:35) And it has to do with the freedom to worship God alone. That's it. (33:41) There's absolutely no other reason for fighting, (33:44) only if it's going to interfere with your freedom of practicing the worship of God alone. (33:52) An oppression meaning trying to impose any religious view on you, (33:59) or to prevent you from practicing your religion. (34:02) Throughout the Quran, there is only reason for fighting. (34:06) Fighting may be imposed upon you, like somebody comes and says, (34:09) hey, don't pray. You cannot pray. (34:12) The issue of Allah, you cannot pray. (34:18) But if your country gets into war with another country, (34:21) and you're required to go and fight, like you're drafted or anything? (34:25) No, you don't fight because of land, but because you're drafted. (34:28) Yes, yes. (34:31) They attack you. (34:32) It's to make you not believe in God. (34:35) Like if Russia comes to invade this country for the purpose of turning everybody into atheists, (34:40) then that's because of God. (34:42) The only fighting is in the cause of God. It must be in the cause of God. (34:46) So whatever the... there are unforeseeable reasons or circumstances. (34:52) But fighting for land, or because of borders, or because of country, (34:57) it's all a waste of life. (35:01) Because God did not create these borders. (35:04) He created beaches and passports. (35:07) But what if you're forced to defend yourself, (35:09) and somebody else wants to drive you away from your own land? (35:14) You have to fight also. (35:16) Or you just, you know, run away. (35:19) It's self-defense. (35:23) It is in the cause of God. (35:28) I mean, if what it says about evicting you from your houses, (35:32) or you evict them from where they evicted you, (35:37) if they're simply fighting not... (35:39) they're not perceiving religious reasons, (35:41) they're probably perceiving driving away with political differences. (35:48) Did we go through the rules of war yet? (35:50) Because that will explain it more. (36:00) Did we go through that? (36:01) About aggression. (36:02) Yeah, yeah, we did. (36:04) They spoke of aggression. (36:06) That wars are only justified... (36:11) All wars must be defended. (36:13) Self-defense, yeah. (36:14) Self-defense. (36:16) But those rules of war, they say, (36:17) do not fight them at the sacred mosque unless they attack you there. (36:27) Like we're sitting here worshiping God alone, (36:29) and somebody comes and says, (36:30) you can't practice Islam here. (36:33) You know, this is where we have to fight back. (36:43) We just happen to have a formidable army around this building anyway, as you know. (36:51) Brother Abdullah is a Muslim Shia. (36:54) And he's one rare person who comes because he was leery of the Hadith, (37:02) so he came to see us just because we believe in the Quran alone. (37:06) But anyway, what I want to tell you is that people try to deface this sign, (37:12) and twice, but they fail miserably every time. (37:17) So there are invisible forces around us anyway. (37:20) We don't need to do anything. (37:22) This age is an age of mental debate, (37:29) rather than swords and fighting. (37:39) Anyway, you can't fight because of land or money. (37:45) Unless you're attacked anyway. (37:46) What else can I say? (37:54) Well, adjoining is something, and fighting is something else. (38:01) I mean, they join the armed forces, but they don't fight. (38:03) It's like a job. (38:05) I'm not blocking the Western line. (38:06) It's a job. (38:07) It's a means of supporting you to earn an honest living. (38:13) If you adjoin anything, you simply earn a living for something. (38:19) If it's part of an institution, it's involved in something. (38:26) You don't earn your living selling liquor, for example. (38:28) It's breaking God's law. (38:31) He's asking about joining the armed forces, (38:33) but if you join the armed forces and there's no war, (38:37) it's just like any job. (38:39) Let's suppose your government gets in a war with another country and you're... (38:42) That's when you have to make a decision whether this is because of God or not. (38:48) If it's because of God, you have to fight. (38:51) If it's because of God, you have to do it. (38:58) Let's suppose you're working for a big company (39:02) and they're producing something that, you know, like... (39:07) Just... (39:10) Or, say, Napalm or chemical weapons. (39:14) You know, maybe you're not directly involved in the manufacturing, (39:18) but you... (39:19) If there's no war, it's perfectly all right, (39:22) because the Prime Sergeant prepares for war. (39:25) Prepares the maximum power that you have. (39:28) But war itself is... (39:32) Aggression is forbidden. (39:33) That's breaking God's law. (39:37) So joining the armed forces or making weapons or anything that is not war (39:44) is perfectly all right. (39:46) And if it is war, then you have to make a decision if it isn't because of God or not. (39:50) So it's okay to have a nuclear army. (39:57) If we didn't have nuclear weapons in this country, (40:00) we could be sure that Russia would be here in a week. (40:05) What about the idea that we trust in God to protect us? (40:09) Yeah, but God orders you to have weapons. (40:12) But it's a... (40:12) It's like the insurer. (40:15) Do you really trust in God? (40:16) Can you inspect the weapons, the bombs? (40:19) God will eliminate them in the sky. (40:21) When you trust in God, you follow His commandments. (40:23) One of His commandments is, (40:25) prepare the maximum power you can possibly have. (40:27) This is a verse in the Quran. (40:29) Do you want to see it? (40:34) I think it's in Surah 9. (40:38) But I want to go to the index. (40:41) Yeah, I meant to talk to you about this once before (40:44) because you said trust in God and don't make any weapons. (40:51) Pre-emptive strike, which is attacking first. (40:55) They call it pre-emptive strike. (40:58) Verse 41. (41:00) 39, 41. (41:03) I'm not so sure. (41:06) Surah 9, verse 41. (41:12) We shall very demobilize. (41:14) It's page 124. (41:20) This is the referral of commandments to prepare the maximum power. (41:39) Surah 8, verse 60. (41:41) Surah 8, verse 60. (41:50) This is a commandment, you shall. (41:53) This is page 124. (41:57) Verse 60. (41:59) You shall prepare for them all the force and equipment you can muster (42:03) in order to deter the enemies of God and your enemies, (42:08) as well as others you are not aware of, (42:11) while God knows them. (42:13) Anything you have spent in the cause of God (42:15) will be returned to you without the least injustice. (42:19) It's a very respectful commandment that says prepare. (42:22) Prepare. (42:28) You must always have a deterring force. (42:37) So it is, you trust in God, but you follow what he says. (42:46) It's at 20, 2200. (42:48) That's right. (42:50) There was an early battle in which the Muslims were greatly outnumbered. (42:53) Oh yeah. (42:54) There was a sandstorm. (42:57) That's another one, that's another one. (43:00) But the battle of Badr, (43:02) look it up. (43:03) Look it up on the Encyclopedia Britannica. (43:06) And they look at it from the strategic point of view, (43:09) the logistic point of view, (43:10) the numbers of each side, (43:13) and they try to analyze it militarily, (43:15) and they say it doesn't make sense. (43:16) The Muslims defeated the disbelievers. (43:21) Also the battle of Yarmouk, (43:23) when they beat the Byzantines, (43:26) they were outnumbered. (43:27) And in the battle of Khartouzi against the Persians, (43:30) it was the best army in the world. (43:33) Those were... (43:34) Poor Persians. (43:37) Those were actual battles. (43:39) The Muslims were outnumbered 21. (43:42) But they were taught and learned that the angels were fighting on the side of God. (43:51) So we have enough weapons now to destroy 200,000? (43:55) Good. (43:56) Do we need to go any more? (44:01) They are having... (44:12) But back to Khan. (44:15) Let's listen to Khan. (44:22) Oppression is worse than murder. (44:35) It's an attempt to manipulate somebody's mind and heart. (44:43) And to make other people follow one's own material desires. (44:58) Whoever did the oppression. (45:03) It's not just that they're trying to change your mind. (45:09) But to make you revert to a situation of unbelief. (45:16) In other words, the Muslims now have come. (45:20) They've arrived at the truth. (45:22) And for you to go from truth back to unbelief, (45:28) that is... (45:34) It's not a matter of just changing your belief. (45:36) But it's going back to unbelief, which is terrible. (45:39) The Quran says many times, (45:41) once you have the belief, (45:43) many people will try to make you revert to unbelief. (45:49) So that is... (45:50) It's terrible because the punishment for... (45:54) The punishment for unbelief after belief (45:57) is greater than just unbelief from beginning to end. (46:02) I think Quran says that two or three times. (46:05) It says it in the next line. (46:07) It says, those who revert from their religion and die as disbelievers (46:10) have wasted their works in this life and in the hereafter. (46:14) They have deserved hell and they are there forever. (46:19) And those who believe, (46:22) immigrate and strive in the cause of God. (46:24) So it's telling, I think, that if we are oppressed (46:29) and we can't fight them, (46:31) it's better to get up and leave and go someplace where (46:35) we can follow or obey God's commands. (46:46) I guess it's telling us to fight if we can. (46:49) And if not, to try to get away from that situation. (46:57) God is forgiver and merciful. (47:05) Excuse me, this is a very interesting verse (47:08) because people have pointed out many times. (47:11) I think they interpret this verse out of context. (47:15) How can oppression or persecution be worse than the martyr they say? (47:21) But actually, if you read the whole thing, (47:23) I think what it means is this. (47:25) In the long run, going to hell is worse than the martyr.