بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله و بركاته
الحمد الله
All Praise is due to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. May Peace and Blessings be upon Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه و سلم, his progeny, his companions رضي الله عنهم.

If one studies the history, he will surely find that the best of the people have come from this very Ummah. The greatest of men was Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم, the greatest of caliphs was Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, the greatest of businessman was ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan رضي الله عنه, the greatest of military general was Khalid bin Waleed رضي الله عنه, the greatest of shuhadaa’ was Hamzah bin ‘Abdil Muttalib رضي الله عنه, the greatest of scholars was Mu‘adh bin Jabal رضي الله عنهand the list goes on and on so why feel embarrassed of being a Muslim?

It is very well known that each nation has its ups and downs. Sometimes, it is feared and respected whereas at other times, it is treated as if it were worth nothing and the people of that particular nation were the worst of all. Such is also the state of affairs of our beloved Muslim Ummah. But everything that goes up must come down and thus there is a saying in Arabic, لِكُلِّ حِسَانٍ كِبْوَة which means every horse has a stumble. No matter how well a horse is trained, a day will come that he will stumble and will make a mistake. The Ummah of RasuluLlah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمis the best Ummah ever sent and the proof of this where Allah سبحانه و تعالىsays,
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ
“You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind…”[1]

Also the hadith of RasuluLlah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم, “You are the final of seventy nations, you are the best and most honoured among them to Allah.”[2]

And another one, where RasuluLlahصلى الله عليه وآله وسلمsaid,“I was given what no other Prophet before me was given.”We said,“O Messenger of Allah! What is it”He said,“I was given victory by fear, I was given the keys of the earth, I was called Ahmad, the earth was made a clean place for me (to pray and perform Tayammum with it) and my Ummah was made the best Ummah.”[3]

There might be times in which this great Ummah will rise amongst the other Umam (sing. Ummah) and at other times in might dip from the highest to the lowest Ummah such as now and there might be occasions in which this Ummah might deviate from Siraatul Mustaqeem (straight path i.e. Al Islam) but keep in mind that this is the best Ummah that has ever come and will ever come.

Allah سبحانه و تعالىsays,
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا
"Allah has promised such of you who believe and do good deeds that He will surely make them to succeed (the present rulers) in the earth even as He caused those before them to succeed (others); and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, and will give in exchange safety after their fear…"[4]

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمsaid, “The best generation (of mankind) is my generation, then those after them, then those after them” [5]Every generation that came after the Sahabah رضي الله عنهمlived in an established Islamic state but now we have the golden opportunity of doing what they did therefore that will make us the most similar generation to them in terms of being the best and the most successful in dunya and the Akhirah.

Also remember that أَلْأَسْلَامُ يَعْلُوا وَ لَا يُعْلَى عَلَيْهwhich roughly means that Al Islam is always higher and nothing goes above it. But if one does not see the Promise of Allah سبحانه و تعالىbeing fulfilled, he must not question His Promise rather his Imaan. The reality is that the success of this Ummah lies in following RasuluLlah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمas confirmed by Allah سبحانه و تعالىin the ayah previously mentioned. Also as RasuluLlah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمwas saying in the early days of Makkah, “Say La Ilaha ILlah and you will be successful!” Moreover, one should not worry what he might face when following RasuluLlah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمbecause Allah سبحانه و تعالىhas promised the believers protection,
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدَافِعُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ خَوَّانٍ كَفُورٍ


“Verily Allah will defend (from ill) those who believe: verily, Allah love not any that is unfaithful, ungrateful.”[6]

But if the believers didn’t get His Protection, then it means there is something wrong with their Imaan. Therefore we must revive within ourselves the confidence and courage. The only way to do so is by following the footsteps of RasuluLlah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمand insha’Allah Allahسبحانه وتعالىmake us, the Muslimeen, the successful ones against our enemies in this dunya and reward us with Jannat Al Firdous.

It is as if we are waiting for Imam Mahdi عليه السلامso Allahسبحانه وتعالىwill us victory and we will not move a single inch until he comes. In battle of Uhud when the rumour spread that RasuluLlah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمwas killed, one of the people of Muhajirun رضي الله عنهمpassed by Anas bin Nadhr رضي الله عنهwho was bleeding and said to him, "O fellow! Did you know that Muhammad was killed'' The Ansaari man said, "Even if Muhammad was killed, he has indeed conveyed the Message. Therefore, defend your religion.” [7]' And this great Sahabi رضي الله عنهwas killed shaheed and could only be recognised by his finger tips by his sister because of him being so wounded. Thus we understand from this incident, that we should wait for a leader to do everything for us rather we must initiate the work ourselves and go on with it until Allah سبحانه وتعالىblesses us an Imam.

Are you now going to sit down or getup and do something for this great Deen? Make a sincere intention now before Allah سبحانه و تعالىgives you death and you haven’t even thought of doing something!
May Allah سبحانه وتعالىgrantthis great religion of His victory soon through this generation of ours. Ameen

[1]Surat `Aal ‘Imran, ayah 110

[2]Imams Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and Al-Hakim recorded that Hakim bin Mu‘awiyah bin Haydah narrated that his father said that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلمsaid.

[3]ImamAhmad recorded that `Ali bin Abi Talib رضي الله عنهsaid.

[4]Surat An Noor, ayah 55

[5]Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim

[6]Surat Al Hajj, ayah 38

[7]Tafsir Ibn Kathir