istory does indeed repeat itself. We all heard of Fatima’s letter from Abu Ghraib prison; a letter that sent shock waves across the Muslim world. Well, here is a similar story from time past. Several centuries ago, Muslim lands were overrun by the crusaders who did not waste anytime to kill men, rape women, steal money, and destroy properties. Good scholars and Imams were having difficulties mobilizing people to fight the invaders.

Sheikh Ibn Al-Juzee, a respected Islamic scholar, a writer, and a historian, was living at the time and was the Imam of the Amawy Mosque, in Damascus. On one Friday, Ibn Al-Juzee delivered a very moving Friday sermon that had a very unique and dramatic ending.

Here are the most important excerpts from his sermon that day:

“Oh people : How have you forgotten your religion, abandoned your glory, and stayed put instead of rushing to defend the religion of Allah? Are you content with staying behind? Did you think that glory and honor were meant to belong to the Kafirs? Didn’t you know that Allah made glory and honor to belong to Allah, his messenger, and the believers? Don’t you feel any pain when you see the enemy of Allah and your enemy step with his filthy feet on your land which was made yours by the blood of your fathers? Don’t you feel ashamed that the filthy Kafirs humiliate you and use you as slaves while not too long ago you were the masters of this world? Don’t your hearts shake and don’t you feel any anger seeing what the enemies of Allah are doing to your brothers and sisters? How could you see your brothers and sisters here and in neighboring towns being tortured and humiliated and continue to eat, drink and enjoy life?

Oh people, war is going on, the caller of Jihad is calling on you, and the skies have opened their doors (to receive those who would be martyrs). If you are not capable of answering the call for Jihad, get out of the away then, step aside, and let women do the job for you. In the meantime, you may go home and reach for makeup kits and put some on your faces. Go ahead and reach for the Makahils (special tool that was used to beautify the inside of women eyes with a black paste called Kuhl). You are women with turbans and beards, are you not? If not, then get out of here to the horses, and here are the bridles for them (horses).

At this very moment, Sheikh Ibn Al-Juzee threw a package on the floor of the Mosque, and then asked the sitting worshipers: Do you know what that is? Do you know from what material the horse bridles were made? He then answered his own question:

These bridles were made by women from their own hair as they do not have anything else in their possession to offer you. I swear by Allah, these are braids of hair from women whose hair was never seen by the eye of the sun. The women cut off those braids because romance time has ended and war time has begun. The holy war in the cause of Allah first and to defend our land and dignity second, has begun. If you cannot control the horses with these bridles, then take the bridles home and use them to beautify yourself. Haven’t you any dignity left?

The sheikh then turned his head away from the worshipers and let his eyes gaze throughout the Mosque and started to shout:

“May the pillars of this Masjid sway freely, may the gravels separate and scatter with force and may hearts burn with bruises and pain, as men have given up their manhood.”

With that last statement, Sheikh Ibn Al-Juzee ended his Friday sermon.

Just who are those men he was talking about? He certainly made it clear that having male reproductive organs does not make a person a man.

Allah has made that clear as well.

“Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah: Of them some have died and some (still) wait: But they have never changed (their determination) in the least.” 33:23

This verse clearly shows that not all believers are men in the eyes of Allah. Only those who stay the course to fulfill their covenant with Allah are men in the eyes of Allah. They are ready for any and all consequences.

Allah has taken a covenant from each of the descendants of the Children of Adam (all humanity), born or unborn, without any time limit:

“When the Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam from their loins their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?”-They said: Yes! We do testify! (this), lest you should say on the Day of Judgment: “Of this we were never mindful.” 7:172

According to the above verse, all Children of Adam have acknowledged their duties to Allah. They understood Tawheed (oneness) and what is expected of them in terms of practicing it, implementing it, and eradicate any other form of worship. Some males kept their covenant, those were true men. Many others did not keep their covenant, they were pseudo men.

In preparation for the battle of Uhod, the prophet (PBUH) positioned sharp shooters (using bow and arrows) on strategically located hills around the battle field. The prophet instructed the shooters not to leave their positions even if dogs and wolves were seen eating the Believers alive. Soon after the battle started, Muslims scored an initial victory and the enemy started to withdraw. When the shooters saw this, they decided to come down in a hurry (thereby disobeying the Prophet) to get their share in the war booty. The retreating enemy saw this as a once in a life time opportunity to turn a disgraceful defeat into a decisive victory. They turned around, surrounded the believers, and launched a surprise attack. The attack sent Muslim fighters into chaos; after all, many of them were busy counting their pennies. Many fled the battle field, the Prophet’s command position was compromised and enemy soldiers were within a stones throw from the Prophet.

Only a few companions remained with the prophet defending him. One person was fighting ferociously only a few meters in front of the prophet, making sure that no kafir would reach him. The person did not have a shield like the other fighters and ended up receiving twelve serious wounds in that battle. The prophet saw a Muslim fighter running away from the battle field, he then called on him to let go of his shield so that a real fighter could use it.

The retreating male threw his shield to the ground and continued to run away. The person who was defending the prophet picked up the shield, put it on and continued fighting. That person was having tough time with Kafir fighters on horse backs. As this person was standing on the ground and the kafir would charge with his horse right into the noble fighter, so this person quickly came up with a solution to the problem and struck the horse’s ankle, so the horse would trip and the kafir would either fall or at least be at low enough height to be struck by the person defending the prophet.

The suspense must end now. Who was that person who ferociously fought the kafirs while many “male Muslim fighters” ran away from the battle field? That person was a female, a woman by the name Nasibah Bent Kaab, known as Umm Umarah.

Umm Umarah had all the characteristics of men that Allah described in 33:23 above. The running away Muslim soldiers had all the characteristics of the males who were addressed by Sheikh Ibn Al-Juzee.

Umm Umarah had all the characteristics of the lions of Fallujah. The running away soldiers had all the characteristics of thousands of Iraqis who would stand in disgraceful lines to apply for menial jobs with the occupiers, instead of scaling the walls of the green zone by the tens of thousands if not by the millions to let the occupiers know that they will not be allowed to stay one day in Iraq. No guns, tanks, or airplanes can break the will of people when they are united. Ibn Al-Juzee’s message fits millions of Muslims (inside and outside of Iraq) perfectly.

Real men stand up to be counted at times when no one else would care.

 

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