Holding Firmly on the Basics of Islam in Hardships and Crises:

 Dear brother, the topic of our lesson today is holding firmly to the basics of our religion in hardships and crises. Under the difficult current conditions and during times of crises, the believer should strengthen his adherence to the basics of his great religion. He should not let the changes affect his heart negatively, so he may deviate from his principles, values and basics. Examples are many about people who were affected by changes although they had always claimed their adherence to the basics of Islam.

What are These Basics?

  Now the question is: What are these basics to which we should stick and should protect from the wind of changes?

First: Allah's Existence:

  The first fundamental is Allah's Existence, Perfection, Wisdom and Justice. I will never fed up of repeating: praise be to Allah for His Existence.

 I follow up on the news, see what is going on and read analyses, but I always remember that Almighty Allah does exist, that He is the Only Who can do whatever He wants in this universe and that His Perfection is absolute. Also I always bear in mind that Allah's Wisdom lies behind whatever happens and that His Justice is absolute although we may not feel that, due to the fact that we are human beings and our comprehension of what Allah intends by His Actions is limited. I am deeply hurt by the current painful events, and I am encouraged to do something about them, but at the same time these events should never smash or uproot me. Dear brother, this Ummah (nation) had many crises throughout its history, but Almighty Allah supported it and granted it victory later on. This Ummah was and will always be the catch for its enemies. This is Allah's Law in life; the battle of Truth versus falsehood lasts for a long time, so we will be tested by it

Second: Believing in the Hereafter:

  The second fundamental of the Muhammadean Ummah is believing in the Hereafter.

 The believer should never be oblivious of the Day of Judgment in order to keep upright to Allah's Order and be balanced against the events he witnesses. By Allah dear brother, there will come a time when a man wishes he were but a number. He watches what happens to people around him and wishes that he were an employee who occupied a lower position, rather than being responsible for the killing of an innocent person. Those who killed innocent people and are still doing that will never escape Allah's torment; they will stand before Allah to be asked about every single deed whether minute or major.

 Dear brother, the problem is that rarely do we put the Hereafter into our accounts although the Day of Resurrection should always be present in our minds:

(So, by your Lord (O Muhammad), We shall certainly call all of them to account* For all that they used to do.)

[Al-Hijr: 92-93]

("But stop them, verily they are to be questioned.)

[As-Saffaat: 24]

(Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror.)

[Ibrahim: 42]

Third: The Noble Quran:

  The third fundamental of this Ummah is the Noble Quran. You can find the answers of all your questions in the Noble Quran. Thus, it is unwise to desert the Book of Allah; it is the cure for all our sufferings.
 We live at a time when the one who holds on to his belief will be like holding on to hot coals. It is a time when man is a believer in the evening, but a disbeliever in the morning and vice versa. This is a time when people stumble and look for a secure shelter, but they do not find it.

 It is a time of afflictions when the prudent is left confused, but then he realizes that the ayat of the Noble Quran are just like the healing ointment, having all the answers of what is in his mind. Allah's Words are the solution for hundreds and even thousands of complicated matters that no one in this worldly life can ever find a solution for. I wonder how Muslims are turning away from the Divine Revelation, how they are looking everywhere for answers and have forgotten to look for them in Allah's Book, how they ask the creatures to find a solution for them and leave the Creator's Method.
  The ayat of the Noble Quran come as a healer and guidance to believers, but an argument against and a loss to the polytheists and wrong-doers:

(And We send down from the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism and act on it), and it increases the Zalimun(polytheists and wrong-doers) nothing but loss.)

[Al-Isra': 82]

  Listen to the following ayah in the Noble Quran in which Almighty Allah says:

(Indeed, they planned their plot, and their plot was with Allah, though their plot was a great (one, still) it would never be able to remove the mountains (real mountains or the Islamic law) from their places (as it is of no importance).)

[Ibrahim: 46]

  You may think that Allah has abandoned us:

(So think not that Allah will fail to keep His Promise to His Messengers. Certainly, Allah is All-Mighty, - All-Able of Retribution.)

[Ibrahim: 47]

  In the Noble Quran you find the way to salvation:

(If a good befalls you, it grieves them, but if some evil overtakes you, they rejoice at it. But if you remain patient and become Al-Muttaqun, not the least harm will their cunning do to you. Surely, Allah surrounds all that they do.)

[Aal-'Imran: 120]

  Also, you find the result of the battle even before it is over:

(And, verily, Our Word has gone forth of old for Our slaves, the Messengers* That they verily would be made triumphant* And that Our hosts, they verily would be the victors.)

[As-Saffaat: 171-173]

 We look for many ways that we expect would lead us to redemption, and forget to look for the only way that will certainly enable us to be saved.

Fourth: The Honest Prophecy:

  The fourth basis of this Ummah is its belief in the honesty of its Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, his love and the love of his noble companions, may Allah be pleased with them all.
 Sa'd bin abi Waqqas said:

 "There are three situations in which my manliness expresses itself, while in other situations I behave like other people do… One of which is that whenever I hear a Hadith from the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, I am pretty sure that it is the Truth from Almighty Allah. "
  Since the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, brought glad tidings to this Ummah that she will be victorious and superior, then he is the most honest person ever and we should strongly believe in that.

 Dear brother, today we should stick firmly to these basics more than what we used to do in the past. We should strengthen them in the heart and mind of our children and raise our families to act on these basics, because the battle against our enemies is not over yet. Unless we hold on to our beliefs and principles, we will never be able to defeat our enemies.

 O Allah, may You have Your Mercy upon our martyrs, recover our wounds and may Your Relief be soon, O Allah You are the Most Merciful.