So Take Heed, O People of Insight

Occasion: A summary of a Friday khuṭbah delivered at TMC Masjid on October 10, 2025.Source: A transcription of a video khuṭbah by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, seek His guidance and seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from our bad deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead astray, and whomever He leaves astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner; His is the dominion and His is the praise; in His hand are the keys of the heavens and the earth, and He has power over all things. I bear witness that our master and Prophet Muhammad is His servant, His Prophet and His Messenger, may Allah bless him, his family and his Companions and grant them abundant peace. To proceed, O brothers in Islam:

We praise Allah that He has gathered us for His prayer and for obedience to Him, and granted us feet that walk to His houses, hearts that yearn for remembrance, and minds that think about how to please Him, glory be to Him. By Allah, the blessing we are in now, by being present in this prayer hall, is matched by no blessing on earth held by anyone who has owned the world with his hands or acquired it with his possessions.

The title of our khuṭbah has reached you: ﴿فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ﴾ [al-Ḥashr: 2] ("So take heed, O people of insight"). This is an important surah, which every Muslim should come to know, remember its events, and reflect on its education and the secrets and lessons Allah placed in it: Sūrat al-Ḥashr.

A Simple Plot by Those Who Thought Themselves Rivals to Allah

The surah was revealed after Banū al-Naḍīr agreed to betray the covenants between them and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Where did their thinking lead them? To a simple plot: they would invite the Prophet ﷺ to a meal, and when he sat down they would have him lean against a wall, and one of them would climb onto the roof and drop a rock on him.^[1] They did not know, or they knew and feigned ignorance, that they were dealing with a Prophet to whom revelation comes from Allah, and Allah knows the secret and what is even more hidden, and that this revelation is completed by the completion of Allah's command, not by their hands. They set themselves in the station of the Lord of the worlds and made themselves rivals to Him when they sought to kill His Messenger ﷺ. If you picture this scene, every scene in the land of Gaza becomes less astonishing to you; whoever tried to kill the Messenger of Allah would find it easy to kill anyone else. The Qur'an relates of a group of the People of the Book that they said: ﴿لَيْسَ عَلَيْنَا فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ سَبِيلٌ﴾ [Āl ʿImrān: 75] ("There is no blame upon us concerning the unlettered"), and "the unlettered" to them are the rest of humanity; they look at creation as one who sees himself above everyone and those beneath him at the bottom.

So from what do we take heed? Do we take heed from today's scenes: temporary peace agreements signed on paper, and we do not know what will become of them after a while, and the people of Gaza returning to their demolished homes and plundered property, we ask Allah to grant them His victory and His might? Or do we take heed from what once was? If we looked into the Qur'an step by step, we would see that «فاعتبروا يا أولي الأبصار» ("So take heed, O people of insight") is the close of the second verse of Sūrat al-Ḥashr: ﴿هُوَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِن دِيَارِهِمْ لِأَوَّلِ الْحَشْرِ ۚ مَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن يَخْرُجُوا ۖ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُم مَّانِعَتُهُمْ حُصُونُهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ فَأَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا ۖ وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ ۚ يُخْرِبُونَ بُيُوتَهُم بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ﴾ [al-Ḥashr: 2] (It is He who drove out those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah; but Allah came upon them from where they did not expect, and cast terror into their hearts. They destroyed their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take heed, O people of insight).

The One who drove them out of the city in which they wanted to commit treachery is Allah, not Muhammad and his Companions; Muhammad and his Companions were only causes and means. His words "at the first gathering" indicate that there is another gathering after it; this expulsion is one of the ways of the Lord of the worlds, and what remains, in turn, is that there be people in the mold of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

"You Did Not Think They Would Leave"

﴿مَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن يَخْرُجُوا﴾ ("You did not think they would leave"). Until recently the whole world thought that this entity was matched by nothing on earth or in heaven, and that it held means that could not be overcome, until we thought them above human beings and were deluded. Perhaps these words are addressed to us more than to the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ. Our constant problem is that we look at the earth without looking up. Whoever knows that there is a Lord who governs the affairs of earth and heaven, and that nothing happens in the universe except what the Lord of the worlds wills, looks to the heavens before the earth and seeks the help of the Causer of causes and the One who breaks them, glory be to Him.

Pharaoh was once mightier than anyone and more overpowering than any king. He said to Hāmān: ﴿ابْنِ لِي صَرْحًا لَّعَلِّي أَبْلُغُ الْأَسْبَابَ ۝ أَسْبَابَ السَّمَاوَاتِ فَأَطَّلِعَ إِلَىٰ إِلَٰهِ مُوسَىٰ وَإِنِّي لَأَظُنُّهُ كَاذِبًا﴾ [Ghāfir: 36-37] ("Build me a tower that I may reach the pathways, the pathways of the heavens, so that I may look at the god of Moses; and indeed I think he is a liar"). And he used to say: ﴿أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَىٰ﴾ [al-Nāziʿāt: 24] ("I am your lord, the most high"), and ﴿مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرِي﴾ [al-Qaṣaṣ: 38] ("I know of no god for you other than me"), and his argument was: ﴿أَلَيْسَ لِي مُلْكُ مِصْرَ وَهَٰذِهِ الْأَنْهَارُ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِي﴾ [al-Zukhruf: 51] ("Is not the kingdom of Egypt mine, and these rivers flowing beneath me?"). That is how people think of people. As for the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, their hearts and minds were attached to the Lord of earth and heaven; they believed fully in what was revealed to them as it spoke to them: ﴿أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ﴾ [al-ʿAnkabūt: 2] (Do people think they will be left to say "We believe" and not be tested?), ﴿أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُم مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِن قَبْلِكُم ۖ مَّسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ﴾ [al-Baqarah: 214] (Or do you think you will enter Paradise while there has not yet come to you the like of those who passed before you? Poverty and hardship touched them, and they were shaken until the Messenger and those who believed with him said, "When is the help of Allah?" Indeed, the help of Allah is near).

There is significance in the word «مسّتهم» ("touched them"); it is as though poverty and hardship entered their souls, feelings and minds and they were saturated with it, until the Messenger, who is the most certain of creation in Allah, and those with him said: When is the help of Allah? And the answer was: ﴿أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ﴾ ("Indeed, the help of Allah is near"). In the events of Gaza over the past months there are tidings and signs for all creation of what can happen to a human being.

Three Possibilities, With No Fourth

One question remains: are we connected to Allah, so that we deserve His favor and His promises? Among His promises is His saying: ﴿وَلَن يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلًا﴾ [al-Nisāʾ: 141] (And Allah will never grant the disbelievers a way over the believers). «لن» ("never") negates the present-tense verb in the future, so the verse holds a decisive promise that this will not happen. And yet we look at reality and see that the disbelievers have a thousand ways over the believers: violence, persecution and aggression, ways scattered across the whole earth. How can that be? I have three possibilities and no others: either Allah's promise was not real, far be it from Him; or they are not disbelievers; or we are not believers. Which is most likely to you, and where is the flaw? If my faith is complete and reaches the degree by which I deserve Allah's help and support, Allah will fulfill His promise to me. ﴿وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَىٰ أَمْرِهِ﴾ [Yūsuf: 21] (And Allah prevails over His affair). Allah has promised to help His messengers and those who believe; so if faith decreases, or is absent, or its level drops, people should not expect help or reinforcement from Allah.

In the surah there are simple proofs that I will pass over quickly. The Exalted said: ﴿وَلَوْلَا أَن كَتَبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْجَلَاءَ لَعَذَّبَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابُ النَّارِ﴾ [al-Ḥashr: 3] (Had Allah not decreed exile for them, He would have punished them in this world; and in the Hereafter they will have the punishment of the Fire); that is, had He not exiled them, He would have punished them by His command in this world, and in the Hereafter they will have the punishment of the Fire. But there is a matter here: ﴿فَأَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا﴾ ("but Allah came upon them from where they did not expect"), from where they do not reckon, from "point-blank range," as people say today. And no one appreciates the term ﴿وَلِلَّهِ جُنُودُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ﴾ [al-Fatḥ: 4] ("And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth") as it deserves except one who has reflected on His saying: ﴿وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَمَا هِيَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْبَشَرِ﴾ [al-Muddaththir: 31] (And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him; and it is nothing but a reminder for humanity).

One Sin Affects the Whole Community

Why are we speaking about this here? To grasp an important matter, and Allah knows best: that the ummah is a single mass, and damage in one part of it affects the other parts. The sin of one member of the Muslim ummah may affect the rest. In the Qur'an there is evidence: ﴿مِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الدُّنْيَا وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرِيدُ الْآخِرَةَ﴾ [Āl ʿImrān: 152] (Among you are some who desire this world, and among you are some who desire the Hereafter), which is a comment on the Battle of Uḥud; Allah educates the whole society through a mistake that came from one person or a group. And what did they do? They did not trade in forbidden things or deal in usury, nor were they people of lying, betrayal, cheating and bribery; they simply contravened a single command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: after forming an opinion and exercising their own judgment, they moved, and it was a contravention of the Prophetic command. And suddenly the whole army of Islam was turning back, and the head of the Muslims and the very foundation of the call, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ﷺ, had his face bloodied and blood flowing down his cheek, may my father and mother be his ransom ﷺ.

I speak to myself today before I speak to you: if I want might, strength and victory for the people of Islam anywhere on earth, then I must be mindful of Allah in my work, in my family, in my conduct, in my speech, in my preaching, and in everything, and know that the flaw that comes from me affects the rest of the ummah. ﴿وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً ۖ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ﴾ [al-Anfāl: 25] (And beware of a trial that will not strike only those of you who did wrong; and know that Allah is severe in punishment). So if one of us, when alone, disobeys Allah, or takes as lawful wealth that is not his, or cheats someone, or deals in a way other than what the Lord of the worlds wants, let him know that he is not only disobeying Allah; he is one of the causes of the forsaking of this whole ummah. Whoever is content to meet Allah branded with this shame, let him do what he wishes in this world; and whoever wants at least to aim right and come close, let him preserve his dignity before the Lord of the worlds by refraining from sin and from places of evil.

I say these words of mine, and I seek Allah's forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness.

Three Types in the Surah

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds; the final outcome belongs to the God-conscious, and there is no hostility except against the wrongdoers. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the King, the Manifest Truth, and I bear witness that our master and Prophet Muhammad is His servant, His Prophet and His Messenger, may Allah bless him, his family and all his Companions.

In Sūrat al-Ḥashr Allah mentions three types of people in society. The first: the poor emigrants who were driven out of their homes. The second: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُوا الدَّارَ وَالْإِيمَانَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ﴾ [al-Ḥashr: 9] (And those who settled in the abode and in faith before them love those who emigrated to them). The third: ﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا يَقُولُونَ لِإِخْوَانِهِمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَئِنْ أُخْرِجْتُمْ لَنَخْرُجَنَّ مَعَكُمْ﴾ [al-Ḥashr: 11] (Have you not seen the hypocrites saying to their brothers who disbelieved among the People of the Book, "If you are expelled, we will surely leave with you"?). Those who were hypocrites are neither here nor there; they speak in the name of a state or an entity rather than in the name of Allah, and they believe in the means in the hands of creatures more than they believe in the power of the All-Powerful King. They do not support a truth or back a good deed; fearful all along the way, cowards, unable to express what they have, preferring their survival, their salaries and their citizenships: be careful not to cross the line. In Egypt we say: "Walk beside the wall." And among people you find someone who walks inside the wall! Why? What are you afraid of? The end of this world is death, and after death comes the reckoning. Do you fear that your provision will be cut off if you speak? The equation is wrong in your mind, for provision is not on earth; rather, ﴿وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ﴾ [al-Dhāriyāt: 22] (And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised).

My brothers, there is a cause called the cause of Gaza, and in reality it is not on the land of Gaza; it is in the souls of the people of Islam. If it is kindled in their souls, you will not find the disbelievers having a way over the believers, in Gaza or anywhere else. Life begins here and ends here; its beginning is from Allah and its end is with Allah, and we will take nothing from it except a stand in which you were a cause of the might of Islam, or a stand in which you were defeated before your own self and so let your religion down.

The greatest description in Sūrat al-Ḥashr, which we are speaking about today, is His saying: ﴿وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ﴾ [al-Ḥashr: 9] (And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his own soul, those are the successful). There is a great difference between the one who is "successful" (mufliḥ) and the one who merely "passes" (nājiḥ): the one who passes may get through even with fifty percent, whereas the mufliḥ wins the grand prize.

O Allah, make us see our faults and set right for us what our hands have spoiled. O Allah, protect us from the evils of our souls and the misdeeds of our actions, and preserve the faith You placed in our hearts. O Allah, grant the people of Gaza victory and might, O Lord of the worlds, and protect Palestine and its people, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, be gentle with our people in Sudan, O Bestower, O Generous, and be kind to the people of Egypt and others, and grant victory and might to every oppressed one on earth. O Allah, grant the triumph of the people of faith, and the triumph of faith over the hearts of creation. Āmīn.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The speaker related the story without citing a source; it appears in the books of sīrah as the cause of the campaign against Banū al-Naḍīr. What they record is that the Prophet ﷺ went to Banū al-Naḍīr to seek their help with the blood money for the two men killed by ʿAmr ibn Umayyah al-Ḍamrī, and sat beside a wall of their houses; ʿAmr ibn Jaḥḥāsh ibn Kaʿb then volunteered to climb onto the house and drop a rock on him. This is how it appears in ʿUyūn al-Athar by Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, and similarly in Ibn Kathīr's Tafsīr on Sūrat al-Ḥashr, quoting the Sīrah of Ibn Isḥāq; neither of the two mentions his being invited to a meal.