We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, by bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam is His final messenger.
We ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment.
We ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala marks for us the moment in which they thought they crucified Isa alayhi salam,
they thought they crucified Jesus, peace be upon him, it's very interesting because there are many additional words that convey the way people were feeling at the time,
the way that the aggressors were feeling, and the way that the disciples of Christ were feeling, the way that the disciples of Isa alayhi salam himself were feeling. And I want to situate this in a present-day context.
Sometimes what is more important in the process of war is not the shedding of blood, but who's winning the morale war.
And so when you have a president that says we just can't get enough of our winning, we just keep on winning, we win, we win, we win, we're always winning, and, you know, Jesus was a winner, and some people say—I don't know the exact words anymore,
it's very hard to quote him directly—some people say I'm like Jesus, you know, and there are definitely people that treat him like Jesus, treat him like Isa alayhi salam that are around him,
and we're witnessing the perverse, strange mix of theology and politics in a place where we, the Muslims, are often accused of being backwards and crazy.
But alhamdulillah, I mean the images and the videos speak for themselves, and hopefully are causing a lot of people to be a bit more self-reflective about the types of projections that come from this country towards others.
On the other hand, you have the Lego animations that are being used from the Iranian side that demonstrate panic and losing.
And in so many ways, I think when we go back and we study the logic of this all and how this all played out,
these things actually seem to have more weight than actual power on the ground and what's actually happening amongst people right now. Like what's actually happening? What's the casualty count? Where's the destruction? What's happening here?
It's trying to build morale in both directions. And the idea is the projection of power. And I don't want to reduce any of this before I get started in the ayah and how it relates today.
As funny as this may all seem sometimes when we circulate these videos, and it is sometimes humorous, right, to where this has become and where we've reached in terms of a global population and the state of our politics,
there are innocent people that are paying the price always. So let's never, as Muslims, remove our hearts from our brothers and sisters, whether they're in Palestine where they continue to be oppressed and it continues to get worse,
or in Lebanon where the aggression is now spreading and there have been so many casualties that we can't keep up, or in Iran, the innocent people that are completely being blacked out in terms of their casualty counts,
or the Muslims anywhere that are victim to this entire thing playing out. The innocent anywhere that are victim to this entire thing playing out that have nothing to do with it.
May Allah protect them all and may Allah have mercy on the innocent wherever they may be. Allahumma ameen. But it's to go to that projection of we're winning, we won.
And I want to take that back to the moment where those who thought that they killed Isa, peace be upon him, thought that they won. And obviously this is very relevant to Easter weekend.
And I don't want to make this a deeply theological discussion. There's time to actually unpack the arguments that Isa was not crucified and all of the proofs that exist in early Christianity and things of that sort.
I want to focus on the spiritual lessons that are embedded in the ayah. Allah azza wa jal says, "Wa qawlihim inna qatalna al-Masih Isa ibn Maryam Rasul Allah."
When they said verily we killed Isa ibn Maryam, Jesus the son of Mary, Rasul Allah, the Messenger of Allah.
The ulema mentioned first and foremost that why would they say Rasul Allah when they didn't believe that he was a messenger of Allah in the first place and that's why they were attacking him. They were saying this istihza'an, to mock the believers.
We killed your supposed messenger of Allah and this was not uncommon at the time. Read about how Yahya alayhi salam was beheaded, how Zakariya alayhi salam was cut into two,
how the prophets of Bani Isra'il one by one at the end of their lives, especially at the end period of Bani Isra'il leading up to Isa alayhi salam, one by one were hunted down and martyred, one after the other.
So it moved well beyond takdheeb, well beyond denial at that point for the prophets of Bani Isra'il. It was murder after murder after murder after murder.
And so "inna qatalna al-Masih ibn Maryam," we killed Jesus the son of Mary, Rasul Allah, supposedly al-Masih ibn Maryam, the Messiah, supposedly the Messiah, supposedly Rasul Allah, we killed him.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "Wa ma qataluhu wa ma salabuhu wa lakin shubbiha lahum."
They neither killed him nor did they crucify him, but rather it was made to appear that way to them. But here's where it gets interesting. Allah azza wa jal says, "Wa inna alladhina ikhtalafa fihi lafi shakkin minhu."
The differences and the groups and everything that kind of came after that narrative, there was a doubt even amongst themselves. Did we really kill him or not? Was that really him or not?
We don't know, but let's double down on the narrative that we did kill him because we have to project power. Remember, we're winning, so we have to show that we're winning and we keep on winning and everything is good and the empire is preserved and we're the ones who won this victory.
So even if we have doubts in ourselves about whether or not we got him, let's project that image of victory. And Allah azza wa jal is saying, they're actually toiling in doubt. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
"Ma lahum bihi min ilmin illa ittiba' al-dhann." They have no knowledge except what they've construed upon assumptions. So you can imagine the conversations after. Well, we got him from this house. And yeah, maybe he did something uncharacteristic here.
And maybe this was too easy. But still, we can still construe that must have been him, right? Ittiba' al-dhann. They were building a narrative for themselves on assumption from the very beginning. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
"Wa ma qataluhu yaqinan." And there's two interpretations, two benefits from this part of the verse. They certainly did not kill him or they did not kill him in certainty. Both of them have added benefits to the narrative.
So let's go to the moment from a spiritual perspective, bi idhnillahi ta'ala, to derive what we can take and we'll take the authentic narration of Ibn Abbas radiyallahu ta'ala anhuma, which is in Ibn Abi Shaybah, where he says that Isa alayhi salam,
so this is one of the narrations of what happened and it's the most authentic of the narrations that we find in tafsir, goes to Ibn Abbas radiyallahu ta'ala anhuma, that Isa alayhi salam, as the plot thickened as they were coming to take him,
he gathered his disciples, he gathered the Hawariyeen, and he said, "Ayyukum yulqa alayhi shabbahi?" Who amongst you will take my appearance? "Fa yuqtal makani wa yakun ma'i fi darajati."
He would be killed in my place, and he would enjoy my companionship, my degree in Paradise as well. And so one of the Hawariyeen volunteers himself to be that person, to step forward,
and to be crucified in his place, and he was the youngest one that volunteered three times. And subhanAllah there is a similarity here to Ali radiyallahu ta'ala anhu when he volunteered, or when he took the place of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam
without hesitation, to sleep in the bed where the assassins would come to find the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And that pure youth, and that pure zeal that exists when he stands at Safa and says, I've got you Ya Rasulullah.
So the youngest one says, I will take your position, O Messenger of Allah, to Isa alayhi salam. And so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala raises Isa alayhi salam to the heavens, and this man has the shabah,
the appearance of Isa alayhi salam given to him. As Isa alayhi salam ascends to the heavens, unharmed, Allah azza wa jal saves him from the plot of his enemies. This is the young man that will go,
and that will be killed in his place. And as a result made a shaheed, and as a result have the position with Isa alayhi salam in Paradise as well. And there's so much subhanAllah when you start to unpack
the richness of the tafsir of this, what caused the dhann of those who thought they were killing him, who thought that they were crucifying him, even though they were projecting a certainty that they got him, right?
That perhaps it was his reaction at the time when he was just about to be killed that didn't resemble the actions of Isa alayhi salam, right? Perhaps it was just too easy, right? And this is actually what's suggested
in some of the early Christian writings, that Pontius was surprised, this was too easy, we thought this was going to be a lot harder, that certain things were not adding up about the crucifixion of Isa عليه السلام.
And if you go to Psalm 91, even till now, and this is why some of the early Jewish writers in particular, they said the Messiah cannot be killed. One of the proofs of a Masih, of the Messiah, is he can't be killed. So the fact that we killed him
is a proof that he wasn't a Masih, which gives a lot of richness to this, where it says in Psalm 91, you will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked if you say the Lord is my refuge and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you until the end of this passage, right? So the Messiah cannot be killed by his enemies, the Messiah cannot be harmed in this way. And this was part of their boasting
that they killed Isa عليه السلام. Now again, I'm already at time, I don't have time to unpack this from a Christian perspective. But subhanAllah, I use this as a moment to mention Dr. Jerald Dirks, may Allah have mercy on him,
who was a Harvard professor, deacon in the Methodist Church who converted to Islam and wrote incredibly about the early accounts of Isa عليه السلام being spared from crucifixion to where even any Christian historian
would have to admit that those accounts existed even if they don't agree with those accounts. That early Christians or that early followers of Christ, there was a narrative even if they disagree with that narrative, that Isa عليه السلام
was not actually crucified, whether it's the early group of the Basilidians or it's even writings that exist against those who were saying that Isa عليه السلام was not crucified. The Gospels were compiled later.
None of those who wrote the Gospels were there historically at the time where Isa عليه السلام or whoever would have been in the place of Isa عليه السلام was crucified. And there are actual contradictions in the Gospels themselves
like technical contradictions about timing, about specifications of what happened, which is natural when it's مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى الظَّنِّ when it's built upon dhan, exactly what Allah says. Assumptions, right? People are collecting assumptions,
so different words are spoken, different accounts are being given, and so a different story is being told. But overall, the idea of the crucifixion of Christ. This is not a khutbah to unpack that. I want to go to the idea
of Allah sparing Isa عليه السلام and what that actually means in the current context that we are in right now. First of all, when Allah عز وجل says وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ
They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him.
Some of the scholars say that of the mention
of saying specifically وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ
is that this wasn't a situation like Asiya عليها السلام
when she was killed by her husband Fir'awn, where Fir'awn obviously had the stone drop on his wife
and her soul ascended. Like you never even got him
in the physically compromised position.
That is how much Allah سبحانه وتعالى
spared him from your plot.
Rather, it was made to look that way to you,
and Allah عز وجل when He says
They certainly did not kill him.
One of the important interpretations of this
to take from this is that
anyone that would start to try
to make an alternative narrative,
and He's also subhanAllah
refuting those who think that His message died with Him. رَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ آيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ
He was a messenger to Bani Isra'il, but he's an ayah for the people.
His mission remains, and he was certainly not killed, but again for them as well.
You can imagine when they walked away, they didn't have the yaqeen, the certainty that they were projecting to the people. And this is important, that oftentimes it's all a game, that the most insecure people in the world
project a sense of victory and security because they know how little of it they actually have. And so the yaqeen that they were projecting was actually a cover for their doubts, was actually a cover for how much
they knew that they actually were losing. They actually did not have the control of the narrative that they thought that they had, and Allah عز وجل is showing us
that they're a lot more insecure than they project, and that is the case for every single person who follows in their behavior. One of the wisdoms, by the way, of Allah عز وجل leaving the ambiguity at the time, because you have to imagine that if you lived at the time,
you might have lived and died and thought that Isa عليه السلام was killed. They won, right? So wherever you stand on the spectrum, wherever you are, whoever's side you're on, they won. You might have thought that they won physically.
And Allah عز وجل is speaking to a behavior, and subhanAllah, of the wisdoms of that behavior continuing and of the wisdoms of that continuation of the arrogance is that the same type of behavior that exists in the followers of Dajjal that will be pursued by Isa عليه السلام
is the same behavior of those that once pursued Isa عليه السلام. It's the same mindset. Like if you were to take a culture and an attitude, and you took those that were chasing Isa عليه السلام, and then you compared them to the people
that will be chased by Isa عليه السلام With the truth. Measure yourself by Allah's promise.
Not by your political analysis. What has Allah promised? And how am I aligned to that promise right now? As a community. As individuals.
And if the truth is unclear, اللهم أرنا الحق حقًا ورزقنا اتباعه وأرنا الباطل باطلًا ورزقنا اجتنابه Oh Allah, show us the truth as truth. And guide us to follow that truth. And show us falsehood as falsehood.
And protect us from falling into that falsehood. Think about it. It's not, Oh Allah, make us from the successful ones. Make us from the powerful ones. No. Like, where do you find the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم's du'as revolving around this idea of just power at any cost.
We want to win so badly. No, we're asking for النصر. But victory that is in accordance with الحق. And we're satisfied with the timeline of Allah سبحانه وتعالى
as it relates to those who have been deceived by it. The very same timeline that we're satisfied by, others have been deceived by, we're satisfied. الحمد لله This is a sign of هزيمة.
It's actually a sign of delusion and destruction when a person feels like they've reached the point of immunity. الحمد لله رب العالمين When you see Ben Gvir, لعنه الله, popping the wine bottles.
Let us see. Let us see his misery. His eternal misery. Right? Like, that's a sign of their loss. Inside of themselves, they know they're losing.
You know what they're talking about in their rooms? Panic. There is panic. And they project pride. But there's a reason why they're acting this way. Because inside of themselves, they don't have يقين.
They absolutely have no certainty about themselves. They're always paranoid. They're always anxious. They're always worried. The believers are concerned, but they're not anxious. Yeah, we're concerned about Al-Aqsa.
We're concerned about our people. But we're not anxious. We don't have a mistrust in Allah سبحانه وتعالى. And dear brothers and sisters, I say this on a personal level. Last week I talked about ومن الناس من يعبد الله على حرف.
Those who worship Allah on an edge. And if they're doing everything right, but then bad things happen to them, they start to misjudge Allah سبحانه وتعالى. There's an opposite to that equation too, on a very personal level.
Which is when you yourself can fall into استدراج. Being reeled in. And what do I mean by that? That's when you're doing something evil, and you're actually not facing any consequences at all. On a personal level. And you kind of look around and you say, you know what?
I'm committing this sin. But money is good. Career is good. Everything seems to be trending alright on the relationship side and the family side. So I think I can get away with this. In that situation,
you're actually projecting a mini version of the same people that we hate when they project victory despite their evil. And so you have to also analyze yourself. And like, just because I'm getting away with something,
doesn't mean I'm really getting away with it. And I could be in the same state of غرور, that delusion that Allah talks about in the grand scale of things. May Allah عز وجل protect us from it. And may Allah سبحانه وتعالى grant us victory.
And help us to understand that not every success is a sign of Allah's pleasure. And not every test is a sign of Allah's displeasure. But rather, when we align ourselves to Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, then victory is promised and success is promised.
والعاقبة للمتقين. May Allah عز وجل write for us victory in this life. And may Allah write for us salvation in the hereafter. اللهم آمين. أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين. فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم.
الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه ومن والاه. اللهم اغفر للمؤمنين والمؤمنات والمسلمين والمسلمات الأحياء منهم والأموات. إنك سميع قريب مجيب الدعوات.
اللهم اغفر لنا وارحمنا واعف عنا ولا تعذبنا. ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تغفر لنا وترحمنا لنكونن من الخاسرين. اللهم إنك عفو كريم تحب العفو فاعف عنا. اللهم اغفر لوالدينا. رب ارحمهما كما ربياني صغيرا.
ربنا هب لنا من أزواجنا وذرياتنا قرة أعين. واجعلنا للمتقين إماما. اللهم انصر إخواننا المستضعفين في مشارق الأرض ومغاربها. اللهم انصرهم في فلسطين وفي السودان وفي كل مكان. اللهم عليك بأعدائك أعداء الدين.
اللهم أرنا بالظالمين عجائب قدرتك. اللهم أهلك الظالمين بالظالمين. وأخرجنا وإخواننا من بينهم سالمين. عباد الله إن الله يأمر بالعدل والإحسان. وإيتاء ذي القربى وينهى عن الفحشاء والمنكر والبغي.
يعظكم لعلكم تذكرون. فاذكروا الله يذكركم واشكروه على نعمه يزدكم. ولذكر الله أكبر والله يعلم ما تصنعون وأقم الصلاة.