13. Fighting the lies of the Western Media

The perceptions of many Muslims are formed by the Western media.

Allah says: “O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one (fasiq) with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful” (49:6)

So what about when the news is coming from a kafr rather than a fasiq?! The danger of the Western media stems from the fact that it puts on the cloak of truth and objectivity when in reality it is no more than the mouthpiece of the devil. Can’t you see that the Western media is constantly trying to underplay the atrocities committed by the West while exaggerating the violations – which are few and far in between - committed by Muslims? Can’t you see how the Western media succeeded in presenting the awlyaa’ (friends) of Allah, the ones who are fighting in His cause, as the followers of evil, while it presents the Pharaoh of this day and his armies as the army of good? The Western media is so good in its deception that its lies pass on a wide section of the Muslim ummah.

The fact is that this media demonizes the mujahideen, spreads lies about them, blows out of proportion their mistakes, tries to sow the seeds of disunity amongst them, attempts to ruin the reputations of their leaders, and ignores or demonizes the scholars of truth when on the other hand, it glorifies and promotes the scholars of falsehood.

So my dear brothers and sisters part of your duty is to campaign amongst Muslims to raise their awareness regarding this issue. You should encourage them to be careful and critical of the Western media. A Muslim should not believe Western sources unless they are confirmed by a trustworthy Muslim one. I say a “trustworthy” Muslim source because the verse was warning us from accepting the news of a disobeying Muslim. Now that is not to say that we should not believe the media in anything it says even in its weather forecasts! No, what we are saying is that you should not believe what they say about Islam and Muslims. A media source that could otherwise be very objective and truthful could become a fabricator when it comes to covering news on Muslims. That is how the disbelievers dealt with Muslims since the dawn of history…and there is no reason for us to believe why that would change.

12. Defending the mujahideen and standing up for them

The Messenger of Allah (saws) says: “Whoever protects the reputation of his brother, Allah will protect his face from Hell Fire on the Day of Judgment” (Related by al Tirmithi)

He also says: “Any person who betrays a Muslim whose sanctity is being violated and reputation is being dishonored, Allah will betray him when he is in need of help and any person who protects a Muslim whose sanctity is being violated and reputation is being dishonored, Allah will assist him when he is in need of help” (Related by Abu Dawud)

It is therefore our Islamic duty to stand up for the ones who are defending us and our religion. As a rule of thumb, we should never side by word or deed against our brothers in Islam especially the ones who have given up their lives for Islam and we should never side by word or deed with the disbelievers who are the enemies of our most beloved, Allah swt. And if one cannot speak the truth then at least they should remain silent.

11. Providing Moral support and encouragement for the mujahideen

When the mujahideen hear Imams making dua for them, scholars giving fatwas supporting them and the Muslim masses praising them, this boosts their moral and gives them the strength to carry on. However, we find that many Muslims betray their brothers by speaking against them. We see scholars issuing fatwas in support of the apostate governments in their fight against the mujahideen. One should not underestimate the detrimental effect such betrayal has on the mujahideen.

10. Contributing to the medical needs of the mujahideen

The mujahideen are in great need of any medical assistance they can get. They need physicians, they need hospitals and clinics that would open their doors to them and they need medicine. There are hundreds of thousands of Muslim physicians and nevertheless we hear many stories of injured mujahideen who suffered from simple wounds but because of the absence of medical help they had to suffer in agony until they died. Those Muslims who studied medicine and claim that they are doing it for the sake of Allah and to benefit the Muslims, we say to them: Where are you? It is said that Khattaab - the great Muslim commander in Chechnya - was injured in a battle and his brothers found no Muslim doctor to take care of him so they had to take him to the Red Cross and have them treat him under gun point! Muslim health care workers have a great responsibility and their contribution to Jihad is indispensable. In fact their rewards could be even greater than those of the fighters.

Allahu Akbar

9. Paying your zakah to the mujahideen

The distribution of zakah is restricted to eight categories: “Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [Zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler” (9:60)

In the cause of Allah “fisabeelillah” refers to the mujahideen. The Maliki jurist Abu Bakr bin al Arabi states: “Malik says: “The causes of Allah are many, but there is no difference of opinion that “in the cause of Allah” here (in the verse) refers to fighting”

Imam al Nawawi states in al Minhaaj when talking about the spending of zakah: “The fighter in the path of Allah is given what he needs to cover his expenses and the expenses of his family from the time he leaves until the time he comes back, even if he is absent for a long time”

Today not a lot of people pay their zakah to the mujahideen. But if Muslims would rid themselves from the whispering of Shaytan they would come to realize that the best way to spend their zakah nowadays is by giving it to the mujahideen because the Messenger of Allah (saw) says: “Charity cannot be given to a wealthy person except in five situations” The Messenger of Allah (saw) listed one of them as: “The fighter in the cause of Allah” (Related by Abu Dawud).

Now if zakah can be paid to the mujahideen even if they are rich what about when the mujahideen of today fulfill four out of the eight categories of zakah: They are poor, they are in need, they are wayfarers and they are the ones in the cause of Allah! So pay your zakah to the mujahideen and encourage others also.

8. Sponsoring the families of the prisoners of war

Taking care of the family of a prisoner is equal in reward to taking care of the family of a mujahid. It is extremely important for such a practice to become the norm so that in the future when our brothers go out in the path of Allah they would know that if they die or if they are captured their families would be taken care of.

7. Sponsoring the family of a shaheed

The shaheed has fought for Islam and Muslims. He gave up his life for me and you. Therefore the families of the shaheeds need to be honored and served.

When Ja’far bin Abi Talib was killed in the battle of Mu’tah, the Messenger of Allah (saw) told his wives: “Prepare food for the family of Ja’far because they are preoccupied with their affair” and he visited Ja’far’s house. (Related by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmithi).

Imam Ahmad narrates that when the Messenger of Allah received the news of the martyrdom of Ja’far he visited his house and asked Ja’far’s wife to bring the children. When they came to him he hugged them and kissed them while his eyes were shedding tears. Asma – the wife of Ja’far – said: “I asked the Messenger of Allah (saw) if something has happened” He said: “Yes, Ja’far was killed today” Asma said: “When I heard that I started crying and screaming. Then the Messenger of Allah (saw) left and told his wives: “Don’t forget to prepare food for the family of Ja’far because their affair has overwhelmed them””

The children of the shaheed need to find in the men of the ummah the care of their father. The wife of the shaheed should be given the opportunity of remarrying if she has the desire to. This requires two cultural changes.

First: The Muslim society needs to change its negative view regarding the divorced and widowed woman. Unfortunately, today men avoid women who are divorcees or widows. This stigma attached to our divorced and widowed sisters needs to be overcome.

Second: The Muslim society today is very intolerant towards polygamy - which becomes a social necessity especially in times of war. So isn’t it unfair to deprive millions of Muslim sisters from the blessings of marriage? No woman in the time of the sahabah was left without a husband - a partner who would take care of her psychological, physical and financial needs. When Ja’far died Abu Bakr married his wife and took care of her children.