Title of the Sermon: Displacement: Between Steadfastness and Betrayal
Elements of the Sermon:
The Severity of the Trial of Being Displaced from One’s Homeland.
The Way of the Tyrants: Displacing the People of Faith.
The Schemes of the Oppressors in Displacing the People of Palestine.
The Earth is Inherited by Allah’s Righteous Servants.
Praise be to Allah, who has honored His religion and its followers, and has humiliated disbelief and its adherents. He has promised the righteous in His Book the inheritance of the earth and has vanquished Satan and his allies. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, alone with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah send abundant peace and blessings upon him, his family, and his companions until the Day of Judgment.
To proceed:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in private and in public:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
"O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims." [Aal 'Imran: 102]
Servants of Allah:
In one of the gatherings of the tyrant Pharaoh, he sat in fear of the message of truth brought by Musa (peace be upon him), dreading the loss of his kingdom and authority. Seeking to rally his people against Musa and the Children of Israel, what did this wicked tyrant do?
Pharaoh appealed to the deep-rooted emotions within the hearts of the children of Adam towards their land and homeland, saying, as Allah has told us:
قَالَ لِلْمَلَإِ حَوْلَهُ إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ عَلِيمٌ * يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِكُمْ بِسِحْرِهِ فَمَاذَا تَأْمُرُونَ
“He said to the chiefs around him, ‘Indeed, this is a learned sorcerer. He wants to drive you out of your land with his magic, so what do you advise?’” [Ash-Shu‘ara: 34–35]
“He wants to drive you out of your land”—this phrase became the spark that ignited their fervor against Musa and his call. Their voices echoed this message among Pharaoh’s people until it became their rallying cry, as Allah says:
قَالَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْ قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّ هَذَا لَسَاحِرٌ عَلِيمٌ * يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِكُمْ فَمَاذَا تَأْمُرُونَ
“The chiefs of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘Indeed, this is a learned sorcerer. He wants to drive you out of your land, so what do you command?’” [Al-A‘raf: 109–110]
Then the magicians came, having internalized this narrative, and consulted among themselves, saying:
إِنْ هَذَانِ لَسَاحِرَانِ يُرِيدَانِ أَنْ يُخْرِجَاكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِكُمْ بِسِحْرِهِمَا وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى
“Indeed, these are two magicians who intend to drive you out of your land with their magic and do away with your most exemplary way.” [Ta-Ha: 63]
A person’s homeland is where they were born, where they grew up under its shade, and where they found shelter in its blessings. It is where their childhood unfolded, among family, relatives, and neighbors. There, they feel peace and security, practicing their faith and worshipping their Lord in safety. This connection to one’s homeland is innate and natural, and leaving it is heart-wrenching and difficult.
Being forcibly displaced from one’s homeland without just cause is a profound affliction, akin in its severity to the harm of being killed. Hence, Allah paired the two in His words:
وَلَوْ أَنَّا كَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَنِ اقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ أَوِ اخْرُجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ مَا فَعَلُوهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ مِنْهُمْ
“And if We had decreed upon them, ‘Kill yourselves’ or ‘Leave your homes,’ they would not have done it, except for a few of them.” [An-Nisa: 66]
Anyone who reads the Qur’an and history will observe that the expulsion of messengers and the believers from their lands has been one of the recurring tactics of the tyrannical oppressors throughout time.
Allah says:
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِرُسُلِهِمْ لَنُخْرِجَنَّكُمْ مِنْ أَرْضِنَا أَوْ لَتَعُودُنَّ فِي مِلَّتِنَا فَأَوْحَى إِلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ لَنُهْلِكَنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ
“And those who disbelieved said to their messengers, ‘We will surely drive you out of our land unless you return to our religion.’ So their Lord inspired to them, ‘We will surely destroy the wrongdoers.’” [Ibrahim: 13]
Such are the choices given: exile and displacement, or assimilation into falsehood and submission with compliance.
Shu‘ayb (peace be upon him) stood among his people with the message of monotheism and faith, forbidding them from corruption and cheating in measurements. The leaders among his people threatened him with expulsion, saying:
لَنُخْرِجَنَّكَ يَا شُعَيْبُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَكَ مِنْ قَرْيَتِنَا أَوْ لَتَعُودُنَّ فِي مِلَّتِنَا
“We will surely drive you out, O Shu‘ayb, and those who have believed with you from our city, or you must return to our religion.” [Al-A‘raf: 88]
Likewise, Lut (peace be upon him) forbade his people, the people of wickedness, from immoral acts. They threatened him with expulsion, saying:
لَئِنْ لَمْ تَنْتَهِ يَالُوطُ لَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُخْرَجِينَ
“If you do not desist, O Lut, you will surely be among those driven out.” [Ash-Shu‘ara: 167]
Our noble Prophet ﷺ heard early in his prophethood, when revelation first came to him, the words of Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who informed him of the consistent hostility faced by those who brought the message of truth: "I wish I were young again, and could be alive when your people will expel you." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Will they expel me?” Waraqah replied, “Yes, for no man has ever come with what you have brought without being met with hostility.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)
They plotted against him and devised a threefold plan, as Allah informs us:
وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ
“And [remember] when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you, or kill you, or expel you.” [Al-Anfal: 30]
Imprisonment, assassination, or exile.
Allah thwarted their plot—they could neither imprison him nor kill him. However, they did force him and his companions to leave his beloved city, the land dearest to Allah and to His Messenger ﷺ. He stood upon a hill at the outskirts of Makkah, saying: "By Allah, you are the best of Allah’s land, and the most beloved land to Allah. Had I not been driven out of you, I would never have left you." (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi)
Servants of Allah:
The displacement of the believers by the disbelievers has always been a recurring crime. Among the most blatant examples of this in modern times is the oppression carried out by the Jews and Zionists, in collusion with crusader forces, against the Muslims in the sacred land—Palestine.
Nearly eighty years ago, Zionist gangs launched an assault on the Muslims in Palestine. They committed massacres, engaged in relentless killing and forced displacement, expelling hundreds of thousands through terror and armed aggression. Meanwhile, vagrants from the corners of the earth flocked to claim a land that was never theirs. For indeed, the sacred land belongs to the believers, not to the corrupt falsifiers and murderers of prophets.
This conspiracy did not end; rather, it persisted through an alliance between Zionists, Crusaders, and other enemies of Islam. A war of extermination is waged against an unarmed people whose only crime is their faith in Islam and their desire to liberate their land from the grasp of an occupying infidel. Tens of thousands have been killed, and day and night, their oppressors scheme to expel and scatter them across the earth.
O servants of Allah:
We address the oppressors—the Zionists and their allies, the worshippers of the cross—with the words of the Qur’an: Rejoice in the wrath of the Almighty, the Avenger!
Pharaoh was a tyrant and an oppressor, but when he exceeded all bounds and sought to drive the oppressed from their land, Allah destroyed him.
Allah said:
فَأَرَادَ أَنْ يَسْتَفِزَّهُمْ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ فَأَغْرَقْنَاهُ وَمَنْ مَعَهُ جَمِيعًا
"So he intended to provoke them from the land, but We drowned him and those with him all together." [Al-Isra: 103]
Likewise, the leaders of disbelief in Makkah, when they expelled the Prophet ﷺ, Allah hastened their downfall:
وَإِنْ كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ لِيُخْرِجُوكَ مِنْهَا وَإِذًا لَا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
"And indeed, they were about to provoke you from the land to drive you out, and then they would not have remained after you except for a little while." [Al-Isra: 76]
The Muslim is noble and victorious with Allah’s support. He does not accept transgression against his religion, his honor, his people, or his land!
Did not the noblemen of the Children of Israel stand before their prophet, seeking a leader to guide them in battle for the cause of Allah? And when he feared their hesitation, they reassured him, saying:
هَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ أَلَّا تُقَاتِلُوا قَالُوا وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا نُقَاتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِنْ دِيَارِنَا وَأَبْنَائِنَا
"Why should we not fight in the cause of Allah while we have been driven out from our homes and our children?" [Al-Baqarah: 246]
Their enemies had raided them, taken their lands, and enslaved their children. What, then, could prevent a proud Muslim from defending his faith and his people?
O Muslims:
The forced displacement of believers is a heinous crime, and those who aid in it are complicit in its sin. Those who expel Muslims from their homes or support and facilitate their displacement are equal in crime and injustice. Allah has equated these two transgressions in His command:
إِنَّمَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ وَظَاهَرُوا عَلَى إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَنْ تَوَلَّوْهُمْ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
"Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion—that you take them as allies. And whoever takes them as allies, then it is those who are the wrongdoers." [Al-Mumtahanah: 9]
Thus, anyone who supports, aids, or backs the Zionists in their oppression and expulsion of Muslims is a criminal and an enemy of Islam and the believers.
O people of Islam:
It is an obligation upon every Muslim to stand in allegiance with the believers wherever they may be—how much more so when they are in the blessed land, resisting the fiercest enemies of Allah, His Messenger, and the believers?
Your brothers are enduring a great slaughter, a horrifying massacre, and a deadly siege. Who will stand for them if their fellow Muslims abandon them?
Allah, the Almighty, said:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ
"Indeed, the believers are brothers." [Al-Hujurat: 10]
The Prophet ﷺ said: "The believer is the brother of his fellow believer; he safeguards his interests and protects him from behind." [Abu Dawood]
A Muslim does not forsake his fellow Muslims, nor does he abandon them when they seek his help. By Allah, their cries for help have become hoarse! Is there no one to respond?
The Prophet ﷺ said: "A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim; he does not wrong him nor abandon him." [Muslim]
May Allah bless me and you through the Great Qur’an, and may He benefit us with its verses and wise reminders. I seek His forgiveness for myself and for you; indeed, He is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
The Second Sermon
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, and all who follow him. To proceed:
To the steadfast and patient believers standing firm against the arrogance of the oppressors:
O you who have been forcibly displaced across the corners of the earth without any wrongdoing, your only “crime” in their eyes being that you declared, “Our Lord is Allah and our religion is Islam.” Do not despair, do not grieve, and receive glad tidings. Allah has promised those who are expelled from their homes for His sake that He will grant them victory if they support His religion and uphold His laws.
Allah says:
أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ * الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّا أَنْ يَقُولُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللَّهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَهُدِّمَتْ صَوَامِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَاتٌ وَمَسَاجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا اسْمُ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا وَلَيَنْصُرَنَّ اللَّهُ مَنْ يَنْصُرُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ * الَّذِينَ إِنْ مَكَّنَّاهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَمَرُوا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَنَهَوْا عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ
"Permission [to fight] has been granted to those who are being fought because they were wronged—and indeed, Allah is capable of granting them victory—those who were expelled from their homes without right, only because they said, 'Our Lord is Allah.' Were it not that Allah repels some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques wherein the name of Allah is much mentioned would surely have been demolished. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful, Exalted in Might—those who, if We establish them in the land, establish prayer, give zakah, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong. And to Allah belongs the outcome of all matters." [Al-Hajj: 39–41]
Allah has promised them gardens as vast as the heavens and the earth, saying:
فَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا وَأُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ وَأُوذُوا فِي سَبِيلِي وَقَاتَلُوا وَقُتِلُوا لَأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ثَوَابًا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ عِنْدَهُ حُسْنُ الثَّوَابِ * لَا يَغُرَّنَّكَ تَقَلُّبُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي الْبِلَادِ * مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ ثُمَّ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ
"As for those who emigrated, were expelled from their homes, were harmed in My cause, fought, and were killed—I will surely expiate their sins and admit them into gardens beneath which rivers flow as a reward from Allah. And with Allah is the best of rewards. Do not be deceived by the [prosperous] movement of the disbelievers throughout the land. It is but a brief enjoyment; then their final refuge is Hell—what an evil resting place!" [Aal 'Imran: 195–197]
Indeed, sovereignty belongs to Allah, and the earth belongs to Allah. He grants it to whomever He wills among His servants. He has decreed and promised, and His promise never fails:
وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ
"And We have already written in the Book [of Psalms], after the [previous] mention, that My righteous servants shall inherit the earth." [Al-Anbiya: 105]
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and honor the Muslims. Destroy the criminals. O Allah, send tranquility into the hearts of those striving in Your cause. Deliver Your oppressed servants and raise high the banner of this religion with Your power, O Mighty, O Strong.
O Allah, grant us security in our lands, reform our leaders and those in authority over us, and appoint over us those who fear You, are conscious of You, and seek Your pleasure.
Our Lord, grant us goodness in this world and goodness in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
