Part of Our mother Aisha, may God be pleased with her (the series is completed)
· Lesson 9 of 27
Our mother, Aisha | Episode (9) | O Aisha, kindness is not in anything unless it beautifies it
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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Our Mother 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
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"O 'A'ishah,
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gentleness is not found in anything except that it beautifies it."
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The Prophet's ﷺ upbringing of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was not limited to one aspect over another;
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rather, it was a comprehensive nurturing encompassing every dimension of our Mother 'A'ishah's character.
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For just as he nurtured her in the etiquettes of giving charity
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according to sublime, established principles
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from which the Ummah benefits throughout the ages,
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he likewise nurtured her upon noble moral foundations
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that governed her ethical conduct with all people.
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The Prophet's ﷺ method of education and upbringing
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was evident in how he utilized events that occurred around him
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to instruct them in the teachings of this great religion.
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The story we are discussing in this article
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involves a new party from outside the fold of Islam,
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namely, the Jews.
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How did the Prophet (peace be upon him) deal with this party?
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And what was the rule of engagement with people
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that the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught our Mother 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)?
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On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
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A group of Jews entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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and said, "Death be upon you (al-sām 'alaykum)."
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'A'ishah said: "I understood it, so I said, 'And upon you be death and the curse!'"
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She said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
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"Gently, O 'A'ishah!
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Indeed, Allah loves gentleness in all matters."
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I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
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did you not hear what they said?"
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
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"I have already said: 'And upon you.'"
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[Narrated by al-Bukhari].
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And on the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him):
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The Jews entered upon the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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and said, "Death be upon you (al-sām 'alayk)."
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So the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied:
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"And death be upon you."
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Thereupon 'A'ishah said:
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"Death be upon you, O brothers of apes and swine,
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and may the curse and wrath of Allah be upon you!"
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He said: "O 'A'ishah, hold on!"
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She said, "O Messenger of Allah,
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did you not hear what they said?"
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He said: "Did you not hear how I responded to them?
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O 'A'ishah,
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gentleness is not found in anything except that it beautifies it,
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and it is not removed from anything except that it mars it."
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[Narrated by Ahmad].
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Indeed, wordplay and linguistic manipulation
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is an evil trait characteristic of the Jews and those who resemble them.
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They utter a word while twisting its meaning,
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intending thereby a malicious sense,
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or they distort its pronunciation,
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as occurred in this story.
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Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, has warned us against adopting their words,
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which seem correct on the surface,
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but by which they intend an evil meaning.
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For He, the Exalted, said:
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“O ye who believe, say not (unto the Prophet): "Listen to us" but say "Look upon us," and be ye listeners. For disbelievers is a painful doom.” (2:104)
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◁and for the disbelievers is a painful punishment.▷
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In this incident,
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they twisted the word 'al-Salām' (peace) into 'al-Sām' (death),
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intending by it death.
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Whoever truly loves the Messenger (peace be upon him)
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and hears the Jews saying such words to him
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will inevitably feel anger for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and defend him.
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How much more so when the one hearing it
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is 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her),
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the beloved of our Prophet (peace be upon him)!
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Nothing was to be expected from her except anger, defense of him,
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and rising to his aid (peace be upon him).
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This is likewise expected of every Muslim
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who hears the enemies of Allah verbally disparaging our Prophet (peace be upon him),
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mocking him, or waging war against his religion.
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Indeed, the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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did not object to 'A'ishah defending him;
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he only objected to her manner of defense.
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For 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said in response to the Jews:
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"And upon you be death and the curse,"
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and described them as the brothers of apes and swine.
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The Prophet's ﷺ objection was directed solely
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toward some of the expressions 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) used in defending him.
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He taught her that defending the Prophet (peace be upon him) is possible
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through other words and different methods,
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and he clarified his own method of responding to them by saying:
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"I have already said: 'And upon you.'"
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This demonstrates the obligation to defend our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
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whenever spiteful disbelievers and hypocrites attack him,
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and that we must employ in our defense the means and methods sanctioned by the Sharia,
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which is part of gentleness and does not contradict it.
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What Muslims are doing today regarding France,
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following its grave insults against the Prophet (peace be upon him)—
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by boycotting its products and calling for such a boycott—
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is an approach sanctioned by the Sharia, causing distress to the enemy and grief to the hypocrite,
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and exposing the reality of the cowardly appeaser.
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Furthermore, the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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taught 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) the guiding rule for dealing with people,
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saying to her: "O 'A'ishah, gentleness is not found in anything except that it beautifies it,
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and it is not removed from anything except that it mars it."
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Do we, then, need gentleness when defending the Prophet (peace be upon him)?
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The answer is yes,
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based on the statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
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"O 'A'ishah, indeed Allah loves gentleness in all matters."
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Gentleness is kindness and leniency in word and deed,
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and choosing the easier, most gracious course.
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This principle of gentleness
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was taught by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)
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in an incident concerning interactions with the Jews
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and defending him (peace be upon him).
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They are the ones about whom Allah said:
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◁And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion.▷
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And the Exalted and Glorious said:
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“The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will. That which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguisheth it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loveth not corrupters.” (5:64)
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“The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will. That which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguisheth it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loveth not corrupters.” (5:64)
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◁Rather, both His hands are extended;▷
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◁He spends however He wills.▷
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◁And that which has been revealed to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them▷
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◁in transgression and disbelief.▷
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“The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will. That which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguisheth it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loveth not corrupters.” (5:64)
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◁until the Day of Resurrection.▷
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“The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will. That which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguisheth it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loveth not corrupters.” (5:64)
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◁And they strive throughout the land [causing] corruption,▷
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“The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. Their hands are fettered and they are accursed for saying so. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will. That which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them, and We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection. As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguisheth it. Their effort is for corruption in the land, and Allah loveth not corrupters.” (5:64)
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And the Exalted and Glorious said:
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“Thou wilt find the most vehement of mankind in hostility to those who believe (to be) the Jews and the idolaters. And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians. That is because there are among them priests and monks, and because they are not proud.” (5:82)
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But what is the required gentleness when dealing with the Jews and others?
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And why do we treat them with gentleness?
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Firstly, we deal with them with gentleness
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because gentleness is the source of all good,
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and this is what our Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded us to do.
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Secondly, because whoever abandons gentleness in dealings
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falls into the pitfall of hasty recklessness,
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and haste yields no good when interacting with people.
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Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said regarding haste:
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"It ruins deeds
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and causes ill repute;
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and it is that which is expressed in his saying:
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'and it is not removed from anything except that it mars it,'
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meaning it blemishes it
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and brings disgrace upon it."
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The practical application demonstrated by the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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guides us to the nature of gentleness required when dealing with the Jews.
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They used words to invoke death upon the Prophet (peace be upon him),
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and the Prophet (peace be upon him) responded to them
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by praying against them using their own very words.
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He (peace be upon him) said to 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her):
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"Did you not hear what I said?
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It is answered against them,
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while their prayer against me is not answered."
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[Narrated by al-Bukhari].
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'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) likewise responded to them with words,
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but she used phrases that went beyond the bounds of gentleness,
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indicating hasty reaction
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and intense emotional agitation,
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which would have allowed the Jews to exploit such phrases
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to reproach 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
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However, when the Jews resorted to treachery, plotting against the Muslims,
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and allying with the Arab polytheists against Islam,
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the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not respond to them with words;
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rather, he responded with arms and warfare,
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as occurred in the incident of Banu Qurayzah and Banu al-Nadir.
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That was the precise firmness and appropriateness required in such situations.
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Thus, the gentleness required by the Sharia is based upon two matters:
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First, deliberate thought to arrive at the appropriate response.
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Second, that the response matches the method employed by the Jews.
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It is therefore unbecoming of Muslims,
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when the Jews employ lethal weapons to kill Muslims and usurp their lands,
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to meet that with mere words and self-restraint under the guise of gentleness,
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for that is utter cowardice and defeatism.
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Therefore, O Muslims!
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Indeed, the usurping Jews today
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have invaded our lands,
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violated our sanctities, slaughtered our brothers and sisters,
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and manipulated all the treaties and pacts signed with our politicians,
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indeed, outright breaching them.
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It is unfitting for us to confront that with mere words and supplications alone;
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rather, there must be a response that restores rights to their rightful owners
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and bridles the usurping Jews,
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just as the Prophet (peace be upon him) bridled them
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when they betrayed their covenants and transgressed the bounds.
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We shall continue in our next gathering, if Allah wills.
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And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
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Our Mother 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her).