And prepare against them whatever you are able of power.

Dear brothers: Al -Bukhari narrated from the hadith of Salamah ibn al-Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) “passed by a group of people from Aslam who were competing and racing in shooting arrows. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Shoot, O children of Ismail, for your father was an archer. Shoot, and I am with the children of so-and-so.’” Salamah ibn al-Akwa’ said: One of the two groups held their hands and they did not shoot. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Why do you not shoot?’ They said: ‘How can we shoot while you are with them, O Messenger of Allah?’ The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Shoot, for I am with all of you . ” Dear brothers: In this world ruled by the powerful, where the powerful see, hear, and care only about themselves, we would like to say:  If we complain of weakness, then our weakness is from ourselves, and if we suffer because of our insignificance among people, then this insignificance is from our own making, and God and His Messenger are innocent of it.   It was reported in Sahih al-Jami` from the hadith of Thawban that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “ Soon the nations will call upon you from every horizon, just as people call upon each other to share a dish.” It was said: “O Messenger of God! Will it be because of your small number that day? ” He said: “No, but you will be scum like the scum of a torrent. Weakness will be placed in your hearts, and terror will be removed from the hearts of your enemies, because of your loveof this worldand your hatredof death.” The Holy Quran speaks about the strong Muslims, saying: “ Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers , merciful among themselves.” The Holy Quran speaks about the honorable Muslims, saying: “And to Allah belongs honor and to His Messenger and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know . ”  The Holy Quran speaks about the steadfastness of Muslims, saying: “And how many a prophet fought with him many devout men, but they never lost heart because of what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken, nor did they humble themselves. And Allah loves the patient . ”   We live in a time when nothing is seen, nothing is heard, and nothing is spoken except in the language of force. A time when the tongues of the weak are cut out, the rights of the poor are eaten away, and in this time no one with a right can obtain his right unless he is strong. Hence, the call of Islam came, ordering the Muslim to do something, obligating him to do something, and imposing on him the obligation to take all means of strength. The power of faith in God Almighty, the power of certainty in the promise of God Almighty, and the power on earth to deter the enemy.   God Almighty said in Surat Al-Anfal:  {And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of God and your enemy.}   It was reported in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Uqbah ibn Amir, may God be pleased with him, who said: I heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, while he was on the pulpit, reciting the verse  :And prepare against them whatever you are able of power.” Then he said: “Behold, power is archery. Behold, power is archery. Behold, power is archery.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, interpreted “strength” in this verse as “shooting,” because “shooting” is more effective in inflicting harm on the enemy and more quickly defeating them. Therefore, it was mentioned in the hadith of Uqbah bin Amir, which he traced back to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.  “ Verily, Allah admits three people into Paradise because of a single arrow: the one who makes it ,hoping for good in his making, the one who shoots it, and the one who gives it to the one who tips it. So shoot and ride, for shooting is more beloved to me than riding. ”   Dear brothers: The word (power) was mentioned in the verse without (alif) and without (lam) {And prepare against them whatever you are able of power} because when the word comes in an indefinite form it indicates generality, comprehensiveness and greatness.   It is as if the All-Wise, the Almighty, is saying to the Muslims: Prepare against your enemy as much power as you are able, as much as you are able, as extensively as you are able, and as great as you are able… {And prepare against them whatever you are able of power.} The word (power) is indefinite without (alif and lam) to include physical power, political power, industrial power, media power, and military power.   Dear brothers: Jihad in the cause of God Almighty was legislated thirteen years after the mission of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace…   Jihad was not legislated for the purpose of aggression against people, nor for the purpose of forcing people to convert to Islam. Rather, jihad was legislated for the purpose of establishing truth and invalidating falsehood. It was legislated to deter the aggressor and to protect blood, property, and honor. God Almighty said: {And fight in the way of God those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. God does not like transgressors.}   The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, directed his companions to fight the enemy with all possible strength, saying, “Fight the polytheists with your wealth, your lives, and your tongues. ”  On the day of the battle of Qurayzah, peace and blessings be upon him, he said to Hassan bin Thabit: “Satirize the polytheists, for Gabriel is with you . ”   God Almighty said  : {And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of God and your enemy.}   The purpose of preparing is to terrorize the enemy, and terrorizing the enemy does not mean terrorizing the peaceful. Terrorizing the enemy does not mean attacking the peaceful. Terrorizing the enemy does not mean usurping the rights of the weak. Rather, the intention behind terrorizing the enemy is to (deter the warriors and deter the criminals, because if they heard about our strength and saw it with their own eyes, they would not think about invading us or expelling us from our homes)   But every power on earth remains worthless, fruitless, and without effect when this power is dispersed, scattered, and dispersed. Integration and cooperation are necessary, because one eye does not see well, one ear does not hear well, and one hand does not clap.   We ask God Almighty to reconcile our hearts and fix the corruption in our souls. Amen.   The second sermon We have to conclude the discussion by emphasizing the necessity for Muslims to take all means of strength, because we live in a time in which no human being can live in security for his religion, his life, his land, and his honor unless he is strong.   It remains for us to say: One of the reasons for strength is supplication . We ask God Almighty to grant victory to the oppressed Muslims at all times and places. Amen. Supplication is the weapon of the believer, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said. But prayer is a weapon that does not work alone. We will not become strong by prayer alone. You will not take your rights from your enemy by prayer alone. Rather, prayer must be accompanied by political, economic and military action.   The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, kept calling upon his Lord day and night to grant victory to Islam and the Muslims. Despite this, the Messenger of God took all the necessary steps to achieve victory (he prepared, trained the people, urged them to fight in the way of God, closed ranks, distributed tasks, and planned and arranged every small and large matter). The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, fought his enemy in the way of God in 28 raids…   The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, kept calling upon his Lord day and night to grant victory to Islam and Muslims. Despite this, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, sent 68 expeditions to fight the enemy in the way of God Almighty….   If supplication against the enemy without taking the necessary measures to strengthen it was sufficient, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, would have been satisfied with it. He would not have prepared, trained anyone, incited them to fight at Uhud, formed ranks, distributed tasks, planned, or arranged anything. The Messenger of God would not have embarked on a campaign in the way of God, nor would the Messenger of God have sent an expedition to fight the enemy…    What we would like to say is that praying against the enemy and seeking reward from God Almighty by saying (God is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs) is necessary, so do not stop it.   But the Muslims’ supplications must be supported by action, for supplication lacks action, and our victory over our enemy requires expenditure, caution, alliance, cooperation, solidarity, and for the people to be one hand and one heart.   { O you who have believed, when you meet an army, stand firm and remember Allah much that you may be successful. And obey Allah and His Messenger and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and your strength departs, and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient. }   We ask God Almighty to grant us victory over Islam and Muslims, for He is the Guardian and Able to do so.