You’re all familiar with the incident of the battle of Uhud, in which the prophet (SAW) gave some very clear instructions involving a group of arches that were not supposed to move from their position until the prophet (SAW) gave him clear instructions to do otherwise. When they saw that the Muslims seemed to be winning the battle, they came down from their posts, and when they did, the enemy saw a gap in their army, and they noticed the perfect opportunity to attack. At that time, Khalid bin Waleed, who was not a Muslim and one of the leaders of the Quraysh army, rushed them from behind with his troops that were on horseback. The Muslims then were pinned between the attackers and the mountain of Uhud. They suffered severe damages and wounds, and they lost many of their bravest fighters, such as Sayid Al-Shuhada’ Hamza (RA), Musa ibn Umayr (RA), and seventy great sahaba. The prophet (SAW) himself was wounded. After this, the Muslims were able to regroup and push them out of the field, so the Quraysh were forced off of the field and fled some kilometres away to regroup, and they said, “Everyone is now wounded. This is the perfect chance to make a final sweep and wipe them out once and for all.” The prophet (SAW) was informed of this; people came and warned them, “The Quraysh have regrouped at a place called Hamra al-Assad and they are preparing for a final attack. This time, it will wipe everyone out.” The prophet (SAW), who already knew they were regrouping, called the sahaba who had already taken part in the battle of Uhud and who were wounded and hurt, and called them together. He said, “You are the ones who will march to Hamra al-Assad and face them there.” The sahaba regrouped; yes, they were wounded and bleeding, but they somehow managed to get themselves moving. When they heard the message of the Quraysh regrouping and preparing for an attack, their Iman increased because they realized that they did not lose at Uhud because their numbers were short, but rather, they lost because they opposed the instructions of the prophet (SAW). If they had stuck to that one instruction, then there was no way they would have lost that battle. They had learned from that mistake and repented to Allah (SWT), and they would never make that mistake again; and because they would not make that mistake again, they were sure to win.
They came with full force to meet the people of Quraysh, battered and bleeding, with more zeal and enthusiasm than before. The Quraysh received the message of their march and that they were more ferocious than ever. Upon hearing this, Abu Sufiyan took the army and fled. This is the power of Iman. This is the power of knowing what to do and what not to do and having complete faith in it. This is the power of knowing that if we obey the prophet (SAW) we will not fail. And this is what needs to be recharged in us. We are learning something of the deen everyday, but at the end of the day, the knowledge itself does not save us; it is the conviction that this knowledge that we have learned will lead us to success if we practice it; and if we do not practice it, we will know the truth and still fail. It is one thing to know the truth, another to live the truth, and another thing entirely to know that the truth is in what you are doing right now. If this comes into the Ummah then this Ummah becomes an unstoppable force in the world. But, if that type of Iman and certitude is not there, then no matter what we do, we will just be floundering; and in fact, we will feel like we are constantly losing and being beaten and battered, because every day, our Iman is getting weaker, and it looks like our numbers are decreasing, and it looks like we do not have the means or resources, and we become hopeless. We need a spark of what the sahaba had at that moment when they were rushing to Hamra al-Assad, knowing that they had nothing physically to help them other than their Iman. Make this a part of your intention for coming here. It is not just the knowledge or books, the facts or the figures; make the intention to come here to recharge your Iman, and to strengthen your Iman, and to boost your Iman. To get that energy with which you can go outside and face the world and stand up to it, in its face, and do something for the deen of Allah (SWT).
