Don’t Give Up: Hope in Bleak Times
Bismillah.
The past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for the Ummah — especially for our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
And it’s not just these few weeks. It’s been 23 months. Almost two years of relentless destruction. Every time we think we’ve seen the worst, we’re proven wrong. Every time we think we’ve hit rock bottom, Israel and the powers that support her prove that evil has no limit.
We are now witnessing full-blown famine. Starvation. Infants with nothing between their skin and bones. And on top of that — we hear of America burning 500 tonnes of food rather than allowing it to reach Palestine.
At times like this, it’s tempting to throw in the towel. To say:
“We’ve done everything we can.”
“We’ve shouted, we’ve protested, we’ve boycotted, we’ve flooded social media.”
And yet, the powers that be… remain.
But when that sense of despair starts creeping in, we must pause. We must take a step back and remember:
We are looking through the lens of our short lives.
We live 60, 70 years — maybe 50 as adults — and from that narrow perspective, it feels like there’s no hope. But history tells a different story. When we zoom out, we see a sunnah of Allah unfold:
Evil never wins in the end.
No matter how powerful. Fir’aun claimed he was God Most High — Allah destroyed him. Yet many lived and died under his tyranny and may have thought:
“Where is Allah’s help?”
“Where is our du‘a?”
Allah addresses this feeling directly in the Qur’an — in the verse I opened with. He speaks of previous nations, believers who were so shaken by hardship that even their Prophets asked, “When will the help of Allah come?”
And Allah replies:
“Indeed, the help of Allah is near.”
But near from whose perspective? Not always ours.
That’s why in Surah Ibrahim, Allah reminds us:
“Do not think that Allah is unaware of the actions of the oppressors. He is merely delaying them for a Day when eyes will stare in horror.”
We are people of hope. We do not despair when times get tough. And in this brief khutbah, I want to share three points in history to remind us: we carry the torch of hope.
1. The Trench in the Cold of Medina
Year 5 after Hijrah.
The Battle of the Trench.
After the losses at Uhud, Quraysh saw an opportunity to wipe out Islam. They gathered the largest army Arabia had ever seen: 10,000 strong. They were backed by Banu Ghatafan from the north, and allied with Jews from Khaybar, including Banu Qurayzah from within Medina.
Rasulullah ﷺ had only 3,000 companions to defend the city. It was winter. The Sahaba were hungry, cold, and exhausted. Salman al-Farisi suggested digging a trench — a Persian military tactic. And they did. Day and night. Starving, shivering, digging non-stop.
Then they hit a boulder they couldn’t break. They called the Prophet ﷺ. He struck it once — a spark flew.
“Allahu Akbar!” he cried.
A second strike — another spark.
“Allahu Akbar!”
Third strike — the boulder shattered.
“Allahu Akbar!”
The companions asked: What was the takbir about?
Rasulullah ﷺ said:
* With the first spark, I saw Persia falling to the Muslims.
* With the second, Rome.
* With the third, Yemen.
In the darkest moment, he gave them light. He gave them vision.
He didn’t just say “Have hope.”
He gave them reasons to hope.
And history proved him right. Islam triumphed. Not through numbers, but through divine help — a storm that forced the enemy to retreat. A month-long siege broken without a single full-scale battle.
2. The Fall of Baghdad (1258 CE)
Hulagu Khan — grandson of Genghis Khan — invaded Baghdad.
Within days, 800,000 were slaughtered.
Libraries burned. Books tossed into the Tigris until the river ran black with ink.
Muslim writers thought it was the end of time.
Non-Muslim historians wrote:
“This is the day Islam died.”
But Islam didn’t die.
Baghdad fell, but Cairo rose. So did Damascus. The Delhi Sultanate grew. And from these ashes, the Ottomans would eventually rise.
Even Hulagu’s cousin, Berke Khan, accepted Islam.
Within a generation, the very dynasty that destroyed Baghdad became a Muslim dynasty.
And amidst all of this — scholars kept working.
* Imam al-Nawawi, who focused on preserving and teaching knowledge.
* Ibn Taymiyyah, the scholar-warrior.
* Ibn Ata’illah, who focused on tazkiyah and purifying hearts.
* Al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam, who spoke truth to power and engaged with the rulers .
Despite the devastation, they didn’t stop. They carried on.
3. The Fall of Apartheid (1994)
From 1948 — the same year Israel was created — South Africa began enforcing apartheid. For decades, the people resisted: boycotts, protests, global pressure.
In 1994, apartheid fell.
The same Nelson Mandela who was once branded a terrorist by the West was now hailed as a hero — by the very same powers that had supported the apartheid regime.
Let that sink in.
The same powers that supported apartheid in South Africa are the ones supporting apartheid in Palestine today.
And just like before — they can be defeated.
Social Media: Double-Edged Sword
Today, we have a powerful tool: social media. It’s helped shift global opinion. It’s brought awareness.
But it’s also draining us.
We doomscroll.
We see starvation, death, suffering — again and again.
Two things happen:
* We either fall into despair…
* Or we become numb.
We start thinking this is normal.
So yes — use social media, but set a limit. 15 minutes. Half an hour. Post, share, amplify — and then get back to work. Real work.
Know Your Role, Play Your Part
Not all resistance looks the same.
Imam al-Nawawi didn’t fight with swords. He wrote books that still strengthen the Ummah today.
Ibn Taymiyyah led at the frontlines.
Ibn Ata’illah focused on hearts.
Al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam engaged with the rulers.
Some of us are better behind the scenes. Some are activists, some are scholars, some are thinkers, some are organisers. Some are better on the mic, others behind a pen.
Don’t judge someone’s contribution just because it’s not the same as yours. We need all hands on deck.
“Allah will not ask you about what you couldn’t do — but He will ask what you did with what you could.”
May Allah give victory to the oppressed.
May He feed the hungry, clothe the exposed, and strengthen the weak.
May He unite our ranks and guide our efforts.
May He grant us clarity, discipline, and sincere hearts in service of this Ummah.
