Finding True Dignity and Honor in Islam

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

May Allah grant you all a good evening.

To begin, I extend my sincere thanks to you for attending.

I am truly happy with this visit to Sabah Al-Ahmad City,

and I thank my brother Abu Abdullah, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Dowsari—may Allah preserve him—for this invitation.

I ask Allah ﷻ to make this gathering of ours a blessed gathering,

and our parting thereafter a protected parting,

and not to leave among us or with us anyone miserable or deprived.

I remind myself and you of the saying of the Noble Prophet ﷺ:

"No people gather in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it,

except that mercy covers them, angels surround them, tranquility descends, and Allah mentions them."

For Allah's ﷻ bounty is great.

I ask Allah not to deprive us and you of the reward.

As for the topic of our talk tonight,

which I ask Allah ﷻ to make blessed for us all,

I say by way of opening:

All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and His forgiveness.

We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and our bad deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides...

“Whoever Allāh guides - he is the [rightly] guided; and whoever He sends astray - it is those who are the losers.” (Quran 7:178)

“And [had you been present], you would see the sun when it rose, inclining away from their cave on the right, and when it set, passing away from them on the left, while they were [lying] within an open space thereof. That was from the signs of Allāh. He whom Allāh guides is the [rightly] guided, but he whom He sends astray - never will you find for him a protecting guide.” (Quran 18:17)

And I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone, without partner,

and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

To proceed: The best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is that of Muhammad ﷺ,

and the worst of affairs are newly-invented ones; every innovation is misguidance, and all misguidance is in the Fire.

My brothers and my sons:

My talk with you today begins with two lines of poetry.

The poet says:

"What increased me in honor and pride, until I almost touched the Pleiades with my foot,

was being included under Your words, 'O My servants,' and Your making Ahmad my Prophet."

When a Muslim hears, reads, or recites these two lines,

he feels a sense of pride in belonging to this great religion,

and in belonging to this nation about which Allah ﷻ said:

“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allāh. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.” (Quran 3:110)

Imagine that you belong to a

nation about which Allah ﷻ said:

“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allāh. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.” (Quran 3:110)

And Allah ﷻ said:

“So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers.” (Quran 3:139)

This is truthful news from Allah ﷻ.

Allah ﷻ intended for this Ummah to rise above all nations.

“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with Allāh dislike it.” (Quran 9:33)

And our Lord ﷻ says:

“Allāh has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them,

after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.” (Quran 24:55)

These are truthful promises from a truthful Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He.

And Allah ﷻ never breaks His promise.

So when Allah ﷻ informs us that He sent this

noble Prophet to this Ummah to be the best nation brought forth for mankind,

to exalt its status, establish it in the land, make it successors, and replace its fear with security,

a person feels pride in this Ummah whenever

they constantly remember his supplication.

in the Witr prayer. What do we say in our supplication in Witr?

We always say: "O Allah, none You oppose can be honored, and none You support can be humiliated."

We ally ourselves with Allah ﷻ, so He honors us because He is Al-Aziz ﷻ.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted, mentioned the name Al-Aziz in His Mighty Book nearly ninety times

to alert us to this matter: "I am the All-Mighty, and you are My servants,

and I honor My servants; and honor belongs to Allah, His Messenger, and the believers."

When a Muslim constantly remembers the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, in the Hadith Qudsi:

"Whoever shows enmity to an ally of Mine, I have declared war upon him."

Imagine that Allah takes you as an ally.

“Allāh is the Ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve - their allies are ṭāghūt. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.” (Quran 2:257)

And you are among those who believe. Allah is your Ally.

And Allah ﷻ says, "Whoever shows enmity to an ally of Mine, I have declared war against him."

Who could possibly stand against Allah ﷻ?

So feel proud! Feel honored! Hold your head high,

because you belong to this religion, you belong to this Islam

with which Allah ﷻ sent His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

This is the honor that many Muslims have lost today,

and feeling humiliation, weakness, and disgrace.

And this is a grave mistake. Rather, hold your head high! Say, "I am a Muslim!

I belong to the best nation ever brought forth for mankind."

Take pride in this religion! Take pride in this affiliation!

Hakim ibn Hizam (RA) saw a man

selling the fine suit of Dhu Yazan, one of the great kings of Yemen.

He bought the suit and presented it as a gift to the Prophet ﷺ.

The Prophet ﷺ put it on,

and by Allah, we had never seen anyone look more beautiful in a suit than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Then, after wearing it, the Prophet ﷺ gave it to Usamah ibn

Zayd—a freed slave, the son of a freed slave.

The Prophet ﷺ gave him the suit of Dhu Yazan, one of the kings of Yemen.

Usamah wore it and went out in it. Hakim ibn Hizam saw him

and remarked, "A freed slave, son of a freed slave, wearing the suit of Dhu Yazan?"

What did Usamah reply? He said, "By Allah, I am better than Dhu Yazan,

and my father is better than his father, and my mother is better than his mother!

Pride! Who is Dhu Yazan anyway?

I am a Companion. I saw the Prophet ﷺ; I am the beloved of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the son of his beloved!

Usamah ibn Zayd took pride!

He didn't say, 'Praise be to Allah Who honored me with Dhu Yazan's robe.' No!

The honor is Dhu Yazan's that I wear his robe—out of pride in belonging to this religion!

When 'Abdullah ibn Hudhafah As-Sahmi (RA) entered upon a

Roman king after they had captured him and his companions,

when he was captured, [the king] said, 'Do not kill him; rather, shoot arrows right beside him,

but I don't want you to hit him.' So they shot arrows at him to frighten him.

Then he said, 'Stop!' Then he said, 'Abandon the religion of Muhammad, and I will give you half my kingdom and marry my daughter to you.'

He said, 'By Allah, even if you gave me your entire kingdom, I would not abandon this religion!'

He said, 'I am going to kill you.' He said, 'Do whatever you wish.'

So a huge pot was brought, filled with hot, boiling water.

One of the prisoners was taken and thrown into the pot, and his bones were left bare.

He died from the extreme heat of the water.

They told him, 'If you don't renounce Muhammad's religion, we'll throw you in as we threw him.'

He said, 'Do whatever you wish.'

So they took him and lifted him on a pulley to drop him into this huge pot.

When he was lifted up, he wept.

They were waiting for this moment, thinking he wept out of fear and might relent. So he said, 'Stop!'

He asked, 'You wept?' He said, 'Yes.' 'What made you weep?'

He said, 'I wept because I have only one soul that will depart now for the cause of Allah.

I wished I had more than one soul to depart for the cause of Allah,'

just as the father of Jabir, 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn Haram (RA), said

when the Prophet ﷺ said to Jabir: 'Do you know that Allah gathered your father and his companions and said, "Ask of Me"?'

They said, 'We wish that You return us to the world so we may be killed for Your sake again,'

because of the bliss they witnessed

in those moments. At the departure of the soul,

the martyr is forgiven with the very first drop of blood that spills from him."

He said, 'I wept because I have only one soul that will depart now for the cause of Allah.'

So he said, 'Take him to prison.'

They took him to prison and deprived him of food,

until hunger and thirst took a severe toll on him.

He said, 'Serve him pork and wine.'

So they served them to him, but he neither drank the wine nor ate the pork.

The king was informed, so he said, 'Bring him to me.'

He preoccupied the king with His might—as if the king had no concern except this man.

So he came to him, and he asked, 'Why did you not eat or drink, when you have been deprived of food for days?'

He said, 'It was indeed permitted for me, for necessity makes unlawful things permissible.

And it is permissible for a person, if hunger brings him

to the point of perishing, to eat pork and to drink wine.'

He said, "What prevented you then?" He replied, "I did not want to let you gloat over Islam.

I would rather die than have you gloat over the religion of Allah ﷻ."

The king then said to him, "Kiss my head, and I will release you."

Offer anything! Make any concession!

He said, "Kiss my head, and I will set you free."

He said, "Will you release all the prisoners?"

He said, "I will release all the prisoners; kiss my head."

So he came and kissed his head, and the king kept his word, releasing him and all the prisoners.

When 'Abdullah ibn Hudhafah returned to 'Umar, and 'Umar learned what had happened to him (RA),

'Umar stood up to him and kissed his head.

Then he said, 'I urge everyone who owes me obedience to stand and kiss his head.'

Dignity! Where did this dignity come from?

He belongs to this great religion. He feels pride; he rejects humiliation; he rejects disgrace.

What increased my honor and pride, until I almost trod upon the Pleiades,

Was my inclusion under Your words, "O My servants," and Your making Ahmad my Prophet.

Rib'i ibn 'Amir (RA), during the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah,

entered upon Rustam, the commander of the Persians.

Rustam asked him, "What has brought you here?"

He said, 'Allah sent us to bring people from the worship of creation to the worship of Allah,

from the narrowness of this world to its vastness, and from the injustice of religions to the justice of Islam.'

From the injustice of religions to the justice of Islam.

He asked him, "And then what?"

He said, 'Indeed, Allah ﷻ

commanded us to call you to Islam. If you accept, we will accept it from you;

otherwise, we will fight you until we attain Allah's promise."

He asked, "And what is Allah's promise?" He replied, "Paradise for whoever dies, and victory for whoever survives."

He said, "Give us time so we can consider our affair and consult our leaders."

He asked, "How much time do you need—a day or two?"

He said, "No, until we reflect and then get back to you." He replied, "No.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ only permitted us three days."

The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ! He was speaking with dignity,

standing before Rustam, the commander of the Persians, surrounded by his army, while he was all alone,

saying, 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ set for us a limit of three days.'

He asked, "Are you their commander?" He said, "No,

but the Muslims honor the protection granted by even the lowest among them."

He said, "Then grant us three days."

When he left, Rustam turned to those around him

and said, "Have you seen the logic of this man?" He was impressed.

They said, "Did you see his shabby, worn-out clothes?" Meaning, they were unimpressive.

"Did you see his clothing?" He said, "Woe to you! The Arabs preserve honor and care not for fine clothes or food!"

That is how they were, and through this they achieved honor and were elevated by Allah ﷻ.

When Moses (AS) and Aaron (AS) said to Allah ﷻ...

“They said, "Our Lord, indeed we are afraid that he will hasten [punishment] against us or that he will transgress."” (Quran 20:45)

regarding Pharaoh, the response came from the Almighty:

“[Allāh] said, "Fear not. Indeed, I am with you both; I hear and I see.” (Quran 20:46)

Imagine, Allah ﷻ is with you!

Therefore, Musa (AS) never forgot this matter.

So when he fled from Pharaoh, who wanted to kill him and those with him,

and Musa's companions said, "We are overtaken!" What did Musa (AS) say?

“[Moses] said, "No! Indeed, with me is my Lord; He will guide me."” (Quran 26:62)

This feeling—a sense of pride in belonging to this religion,

that we are servants of Allah ﷻ, that Allah ﷻ is our helper, that Allah ﷻ is our protector—

we are in great need of this feeling.

And when the magicians said: "By the might of Pharaoh, it is we who will prevail!"

And they said: "Assemble

“So resolve upon your plan and then come [forward] in line. And he has succeeded today who overcomes."” (Quran 20:64)

The response came from Allah ﷻ to Musa (AS):

“We [i.e., Allāh] said, "Fear not. Indeed, it is you who are superior.” (Quran 20:68)

Allah ﷻ says to Musa (AS):

“We [i.e., Allāh] said, "Fear not. Indeed, it is you who are superior.” (Quran 20:68)

because Allah ﷻ is your support,

Allah ﷻ is with you: "Indeed, it is you who will prevail."

So there is a praiseworthy honor which Allah ﷻ loves and is pleased with,

and there is an abhorrent pride which Allah ﷻ does not love nor is He pleased with.

“And they have taken besides Allāh [false] deities that they would be for them [a source of] honor.” (Quran 19:81)

...an honor."

The response was the exact opposite:

"They will deny their worship,

“And they have taken besides Allāh [false] deities that they would be for them [a source of] honor.”

“No! They [i.e., those "gods"] will deny their worship of them and will be against them opponents [on the Day of Judgement].” (Quran 19:81-82)

“And when it is said to him, "Fear Allāh," pride in the sin takes hold of him. Sufficient for him is Hellfire, and how wretched is the resting place.” (Quran 2:206)

“...and wretched is the resting place.”

Whatever false pride exists, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, nullifies it.

“And he had fruit, so he said to his companion while he was conversing with him, "I am greater than you in wealth and mightier in [numbers of] men."” (Quran 18:34)

The response came from Allah ﷻ, He made it—

“The example of [this] worldly life is but like rain which We have sent down from the sky that the plants of the earth absorb - [those] from which men and livestock eat - until, when the earth has taken on its adornment and is beautified and its people suppose that they have capability over it, there comes to it Our command by night or by day, and We make it as a harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday. Thus do We explain in detail the signs for a people who give thought.” (Quran 10:24)

Glorified and Exalted is He.

when Pharaoh said:

“Or am I [not] better than this one [i.e., Moses] who is insignificant and hardly makes himself clear?” (Quran 43:52)

And when he said, "These rivers flow beneath me,"

he felt full of pride.

So the answer came from the Lord of Might ﷻ.

What did He say to him?

Our Lord ﷻ destroyed him and made the rivers flow above him!

“So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign. And indeed, many among the people, of Our signs, are heedless.” (Quran 10:92)

Thus, false pride is rejected by our Lord ﷻ.

Allah ﷻ accepts no honor except through belonging to Him ﷻ.

“And to Allah belongs all honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers.”

When 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul,

said during the Battle of Bani al-Mustaliq,

as they were returning, he said:

“They say, "If we return to al-Madīnah, the more honored [for power] will surely expel therefrom the more humble." And to Allāh belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know.” (Quran 63:8)

When those words reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,

while his Companions were with him, 'Umar said, "O Messenger of Allah, let me strike the neck of this hypocrite!"

The Prophet ﷺ said, "Who has heard of the son of 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul

bringing forth the living from the dead?"

'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul was the leader of the hypocrites, while his son was a noble Companion,

and his son shared his father's name: 'Abdullah.

'Abdullah ibn 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul.

Word reached 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy that his father had said,

"The mightiest will expel the most humiliated."

So he felt outraged for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "O Messenger of Allah,

if you are going to execute my father, let me be the one to kill him.

If you are going to execute him, let me kill him, O Messenger of Allah."

The Prophet ﷺ said, "No."

So he went out to meet his father as he was arriving at the outskirts of Medina,

and said to him, "Stop! By Allah, you will not enter until you kill me or I kill you!"

"Are you the one saying"—he said to his father—"Are you the one saying:

“They say, "If we return to al-Madīnah, the more honored [for power] will surely expel therefrom the more humble." And to Allāh belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know.” (Quran 63:8)

By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the mightiest, and you are the most humiliated!

By Allah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the mightiest, and you are the most humiliated!

By Allah, you won't enter Medina until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ permits you, or I'll kill you!

The Prophet ﷺ was informed of what 'Abdullah had done,

He said, "Let him in; I've permitted him." So the Prophet ﷺ let him enter.

This is the sense of honor that many Muslims have lost today,

to the point of taking pride in others and viewing themselves as inferior.

While Allah ﷻ says: "Do not be deceived by the disbelievers' movement through the land. It is [but] a brief enjoyment."

“Be not deceived by the [uninhibited] movement of the disbelievers throughout the land.” (Quran 3:196)

throughout the land—in their strength, in their dominance!

By Allah, their strength is only due to our weakness and humiliation!

And if we were to return to Allah ﷻ,

and realize that honour belongs to us,

by Allah, Allah ﷻ would surely restore it to us.

“Allāh has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely substitute for them,

after their fear, security, [for] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that - then those are the defiantly disobedient.” (Quran 24:55)

...with anything.

The problem lies within ourselves.

When we fail to feel our belonging to Allah ﷻ and to this religion—

"My inclusion under Your words, 'O My servants,' and that You made Ahmad my Prophet."

The Prophet ﷺ raised his Companions upon honor.

A man came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, what if a man comes wanting to take my money?"

He ﷺ said, "Do not give him your money."

He asked, "What if he fights me?" He replied, "Fight him."

He asked, "What if he kills me?" He replied, "You are a martyr."

"What if I kill him?" He said, "He is in the Fire."

He ﷺ was teaching them honor,

He said, "Whoever dies defending his wealth is a martyr,

whoever dies defending his honor is a martyr,

and whoever is killed defending his religion is a martyr."

This is what the Noble Prophet ﷺ taught.

That is why, when the Confederates came on the Day of the Trench

and rallied against Medina, besieging it—Quraysh,

Ghatafan, Fazara, and internally the hypocrites and Jews—

until hearts reached the throats,

the Prophet ﷺ proposed to Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah and Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, the leaders of the 'Aws and Khazraj:

The Prophet ﷺ said to them, "What do you think

about giving Ghatafan half of Medina's harvest

on condition that they withdraw from us?"

To relieve them of Ghatafan's two thousand men—

two thousand fighters.

"Give them half of Medina's harvest if they withdraw."

They asked, "O Messenger of Allah, is this a command from Allah

which we have no right to question?

Or is it something you are doing for our sake?"

He replied, "No, rather it is something I am doing for your sake."

They said, "O Messenger of Allah,

when we were in pagan ignorance and polytheism, they never hoped to get anything from us

except through purchase or hospitality.

So after Allah has honored us with Islam and through you, should we give it to them?

No, by Allah, we will give them nothing but the sword!"

This was the honor they learned from the Prophet ﷺ.

They were raised by this noble Prophet ﷺ.

That is why 'Umar (RA) said: "We are a people whom Allah has honored with Islam,

so if we seek honor through other than Islam, Allah will humiliate us."

True honor is through Islam.

Allah decreed for me to visit the Alhambra Palace in Andalusia.

While I was there, a large group of elderly men and women

had also come to visit this palace, and my mother (RH) was with me.

I was reading the inscriptions on the walls:

Quranic verses, Hadiths, and lines of poetry.

The foreign tourists understood nothing; they couldn't comprehend what was written in Arabic.

I was reading them, looking clearly like a Muslim, with my mother beside me in her Islamic dress.

An elderly woman approached me

as she watched me reading the poetry, verses, or Hadiths,

and she asked me, "Muslim?"

So I puffed up with pride and said, "Yes, Muslim!"

I felt an immense sense of pride.

It was something extraordinary. I felt a sense of pride.

True, a glory we have lost,

but we will restore it, Allah ﷻ willing.

A glory that was lost,

yet it will return, and better than it, Allah ﷻ willing.

So I felt a sense of pride,

and at the same time, I felt immense grief

that it was lost.

A glory we have lost.

But the point is that one should feel a sense of pride.

Al-Baqillani—Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (RH).

He was invited to debate Christian scholars.

A Christian king sent a message to the ruler of the Muslims, inviting him

to send one of the Muslim scholars to debate Christian scholars on Islam and Christianity.

So the Muslim ruler sent Abu Bakr al-Baqillani (RH).

When al-Baqillani arrived, before entering upon the king—

Of course, entering upon this king had strict protocol.

So someone said to him, "Listen, when we enter upon the king, we must prostrate before him.

These are things you must know."

He said, "I prostrate to none but Allah ﷻ."

They said, "This is the king!"

He said, "King or emperor, I do not prostrate to anyone except Allah ﷻ."

He said, "Then bow down—incline yourself."

He said, "Nor do I bow to anyone but Allah ﷻ."

They said, "Then don't enter."

He said, "I will return where I came from; you invited me.

I neither prostrate nor bow to anyone except Allah ﷻ."

So the king was informed; he was told, "This man refuses to greet you by prostrating or bowing."

The king was wiser than them, so he said, "Bring him in."

They could not accept it; they saw it as an insult to the king:

"Head held high before our king? Unacceptable!"

So they placed a wooden beam across the door, forcing him to bow.

It was impossible to enter fully without bowing because of the beam.

When he arrived and saw the beam, he realized their intent, so he entered backward toward the king.

He was quick-witted, driven by this dignity,

and he knew they wanted to humiliate him as a Muslim.

He refused, insisting on entering before this king with head held high.

We need this sense of dignity so that

we may live with our heads held high.

"Live with honor, or die with nobility, amidst the thrust of spears and flutter of banners."

Remember the words of the poet:

"I pass the night hungry and endure it, until I earn an honorable meal."

Another poet said—and this value was known to the Arabs long before Islam—

"She taunts us that our numbers are few; I said to her, 'Indeed, noble people are few.'"

"It harms us not that we are few, while our neighbor is dignified, whereas the neighbor of the many is humiliated."

They did not seek dignity for themselves alone, but sought dignity for their neighbors as well.

Another said: "If flies land upon a meal,

I lift my hand even as my soul craves it."

"Lions avoid drinking from a waterhole if dogs have lapped from it."

This is a dignity we need—living with the mindset of one who is noble and dignified.

He will never humiliate himself before anyone.

And who is worthy of me humiliating myself for?

If we remember the saying of the Prophet ﷺ to Ibn 'Abbas (RA):

"O boy, I shall teach you some words:

Be mindful of Allah, He will protect you.

Be mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you.

If you ask, ask Allah; if you seek help, seek help from Allah.

And know this point:

even if the nation— the entire nation—

were to gather to benefit you with anything,

they could not benefit you except with what Allah has written for you.

And if they were to gather to harm you with anything,

they could not harm you except with what Allah has written against you.

The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried."

If we are certain of this, is anyone worthy of us humiliating ourselves for them?

Should I flatter anyone?

“Say, "Never will we be struck except by what Allāh has decreed for us; He is our protector." And upon Allāh let the believers rely.” (Quran 9:51)

"Your provision is not decreased by patience,

nor does exertion increase provision.

Whatever is decreed as my provision will not miss me,

even if it were in the depths of the deep seas."

It is impossible.

Why do most people humiliate themselves?

To obtain some worldly scrap?

You will only get what Allah ﷻ wrote for you.

What Allah wrote for you will never miss you.

End of story. End of story!

Why should I humiliate myself?

Why should I degrade myself,

when Allah ﷻ is the Provider?

By Allah, whoever truly believes in this Hadith

will fear no one, be in awe of no one,

never fawn over anyone, nor humiliate himself for anyone.

Why?

Because he knows that everything is in Allah's hands,

that whatever Allah decreed will happen,

and what Allah didn't decree will never be.

End of story! End of story!

Sa'id ibn Jubayr (RH) entered upon al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf,

and al-Hajjaj had ordered his execution.

When Sa'id came in, al-Hajjaj said to him,

"O Sa'id, what is your name?"

He replied, "Sa'id ibn Jubayr."

Al-Hajjaj said, "You are Shaqi ibn Kusayr!"

Sa'id said, "I am as my father named me."

He didn't yield or say, "If you say so..." No, no, no!

He held his head high, knowing death awaited.

yet he knew this man possessed no real power.

He repeated, "I am as my father named me."

Al-Hajjaj said, "I am going to kill you!"

"Choose how you wish to be killed."

He said, "Choose yourself, for retaliation awaits you—"

"retaliation on the Day of Judgment."

He said, "Choose yourself, for retaliation awaits you."

He said, "I am hastening you to the Fire!"

He said, "By Allah, if I knew the Fire was in your hands, I would have taken you as a god!"

"You hold no power at all."

"If the Fire were in your hands, I'd have taken you as a god."

"Do not view yourself as superior."

"Know your place! Who do you think you are?"

Where did this dignity in the heart of Sa'id ibn Jubayr (RH) come from?

This man was of the people of the Quran—a student of Ibn 'Abbas (RA) who learned the whole Quran from him.

He studied under Ibn 'Abbas (RA)—an imam among the imams of the Muslims.

He said, "Choose yourself, for retaliation awaits you."

"I'll hasten you to the Fire."

"If the Fire were in your hands, I'd have taken you as a god."

"What power do you hold?"

"You possess neither benefit nor harm for yourself."

Such is true dignity.

So if we wish to live with dignity in this world,

we must be certain of two things.

First, that Allah ﷻ is the Provider,

and that your provision will not increase or decrease by a single penny.

"Each of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days, then a clot for a like period,

then a lump of flesh for a like period, then the angel is sent to breathe the soul into him,

and is commanded to write four things: your provision, lifespan, deeds, and whether wretched or blessed."

The matter is settled; everything is written.

When one is certain everything is written and that the Provider is Allah ﷻ, it becomes easy for him.

The second matter:

“Say, "Never will we be struck except by what Allāh has decreed for us; He is our protector." And upon Allāh let the believers rely.” (Quran 9:51)

The matter is settled.

“Say, "Never will we be struck except by what Allāh has decreed for us; He is our protector." And upon Allāh let the believers rely.” (Quran 9:51)

So if we are certain of this, we will live in honor.

I ask Allah ﷻ, the Almighty, the All-Wise,

to grant us honor by which we raise our heads and glorify our Creator.

And Allah ﷻ knows best. May Allah send peace and blessings upon...