Khatira [ Victory Has a Thousand Fathers ] | Dr. Ahmed Abouseif | 26 October 2019

Occasion: Transcription of a khatira delivered on 26 October 2019 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

It is a well-known saying that «Victory has a thousand fathers, and defeat is an orphan». What is the meaning of this? When an accomplishment is achieved, you find every hand raised: I am the one who planned, I am the one who pointed the way, I am the one who said, I am the one who did, I am the one who on such-and-such a day was helping so-and-so. That is in cases of victory, and when success is achieved. And with children, you find the mother saying: I was the one who stayed up nights with the children, and the father says: I was the one who helped them and pushed them morally. But when there is a defeat, you find no one speaking, and no one raises his hand and says: I am the one responsible, or: I have this disaster on my hands.

And this appears at the level of the mosque when it is opened, by the grace of Allah, glorified and exalted be He; you see joy on people's faces, and everyone wants to say: I am a part of this entity. «Victory has a thousand fathers», but the father must bear responsibility all along the way. It is not fitting for one who felt joy at the opening of the mosque to come after the official opening and turn back on his heels, or to take himself aside and say: That's it, I have finished my responsibility with the photographs and the cameras. Victory has a thousand fathers, but the father must bear responsibility until his children grow up.

When Does the Father Raise His Hand?

If we imagine the state of the father in the lives of his children: when does he lift his hand from responsibility for them? When he grows up and begins to walk? Or when he goes to high school? Or when he goes, ma shaa Allah, to university? Or when he graduates and works and begins to earn? Or when he has a wife? Or when he has children? When does the father lift his hand from his children? It is a responsibility that continues until he dies, on both sides. Indeed, this responsibility appears on the Day of Resurrection, where Allah, exalted be He, says: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ﴾ (And those who believed and whose descendants followed them in faith).^[1] And the servant hopes of his Lord, glorified and exalted be He, that his family will be with him: O Lord, these are my family, these are my dependents. So the father never abandons his responsibility until the Day of Resurrection, indeed until after the Day of Resurrection.

The Joy of Accomplishment

So please, please: if we rejoice in the opening that Allah, blessed and exalted be He, has granted us, as we recited: ﴿قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ﴾ (Say: In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy, in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate),^[2] then accomplishments in the eyes of people are greater than counting money, may Allah bless you. That you see the accomplishment as greater in yourself, your mind and your heart, and that you have built something greater than hoarding wealth and setting it aside, however little or much it may be. So seek help from Allah for what is to come.

And I ask Allah, exalted be He, to make this mosque a clear opening, and to open through it the hearts and minds of our children, and to make it a beacon of Islam on the earth, O Allah, amen. May Allah, exalted be He, be pleased with you, and bless you and for you, and help you and make your steps right. O Allah, we ask You to keep our gathering together, and to preserve for us the well-being of our hearts and minds, and to keep for us what pleases You, and not to leave any share for Satan in our souls, and not to leave any share for our souls in our sincerity, and not to make our deeds scattered dust before You, O Lord of the worlds. May Allah bless you and for you, peace be upon you.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: al-Ṭūr: 21; the speaker mentioned only the first part of the verse. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: Yūnus: 58.