Advice

Advice

Striving must be for God, in His path, and for upholding His word. The sole concern must be God, Glorified and Exalted, and His will. God will be with and among any group that fights in His path and to uphold His word. Their fight will be God’s fight, and whoever fights them fights God.

As for those who fight for land or language (nationalism), let them seek their reward from someone other than God, Glorified and Exalted, for God rewards only those who fight in His path.

Some who have become too accustomed to material causes may imagine that a striving project of this kind is fanciful or idealistic and impossible to apply on the world stage, and that even if it were applied it would achieve no results because of the small number of supporters and the multitude of enemies. But the one who reckons with God and seeks reward from Him sees nothing but God and His good pleasure, without any regard for the political, economic, and military equations that dominate the world stage today. This was the way of the prophets. Saul’s army was not materially equal to Goliath’s army, and Moses had nothing with which to confront Pharaoh’s enormous war machine except God, and He is greater than everything.

For those who truly believed in Him and in His power, there was no place in the ranks of the prophets and successors for compromise or accommodation, because their aim was not material victory, as many imagine. Rather, their aim was to support God: “So when Jesus sensed disbelief in them, he said, ‘Who are my supporters for God?’ The disciples said, ‘We are the supporters of God. We believe in God, and bear witness that we are Muslims.’”^[143]

Thus, we do not find them appeasing wrongdoers, hypocrites, or even disbelievers in order to secure a material victory. Quite the opposite. Ibn Abbas may have thought that material interest required appeasing Muawiyah, may God curse him, even if only for a few days, then summoning him to Medina and removing him from the governorship of al-Sham,^[144] so that matters could afterward be set right for Ali. Anyone who calculates in material terms may well regard Ibn Abbas’s view as wise and as serving the greater interest of Islam. Ali, however, would not appease Muawiyah even for a single hour. Instead, he insisted on removing him immediately, because God does not approve of leaving a wrongdoer in his wrongdoing even for a single moment. Ali may have lost al-Sham by taking that firm stand, but he gained God and His good pleasure.

Likewise, had al-Hussain postponed his great divine revolution for three years, that is, until the death of Yazid ibn Muawiyah, may God curse him, matters would have been settled in al-Hussain’s favor and he would have attained material victory. But he chose God and did not appease the wrongdoers and the corrupt: “Do not obey the deniers. They wish that you would compromise, so they too would compromise.”^[145]

The equation today is the same: compromise, and they will compromise with you. Be pleased with America, and America will be pleased with you. Praise America’s project, and America will praise you. Likewise, be pleased with God, and God will be pleased with you. Praise God’s project, and God will praise you. So choose whom you want to praise, and where you want to be praised: in the American sphere and in the American United Nations, where they may perhaps honor you with the Nobel Peace Prize, or in the Highest Assembly with God, Exalted be He.