Q: Asalamualykum,
I will get to the point. We benefit from this country and it is only fair we acknowledge the good this country does for us and those that gave their life for America. In your September 11th speech why did you not make a prayer of Muslims that lost their lives? Was there a reason behind it? Thank you.
A: Walaikumsalam Br/Sr:
Kindly read the following speech that was read out regarding September 11th Friday English portion of the Friday speech. While the entire speech was not read out due to time restrains, the part that addresses your inquiry is in the bolded portion and was read out and appreciated by others. I appreciate you letting me clarify that dua was made. Please read, if there is anything you feel I should add in coming years to this topic, kindly let me know, and I would gladly oblige.
Jazakallah Khair
الحمد لله، نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهده الله فلا مضل له ومن يضلل فلا هادي له، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله. اللهم صل وسلم وبارك على نبينا محمد، وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين.
أما بعد، فاتقوا الله عباد الله، واعلموا أن تقوى الله لا تظهر في عبادتنا لله في الخلوات فحسب، وإنما تظهر كذلك في كيفية تعاملنا مع الناس، وفي موقفنا من الظلم، وفي التزامنا بالعدل، وفي تربيتنا لأبنائنا، وفي تحملنا للمسؤولية تجاه المجتمع الذي وضعنا الله فيه.
The Rasool of Allah ﷺ said:
بَدَأَ الإِسْلَامُ غَرِيبًا، وَسَيَعُودُ كَمَا بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا، فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ
Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange, so glad tidings to the strangers. (Sahih Muslim, Tirmidhi )
He ﷺ also said:
يَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ، الصَّابِرُ فِيهِمْ عَلَى دِينِهِ كَالْقَابِضِ عَلَى الْجَمْرِ
There will come upon people a time when the one who is patient upon his religion will be like one holding onto a burning ember (Tirmidhi)
These hadiths remind us that there will be times when holding firmly to Islam appears difficult, unfamiliar or even challenging. The above hadith remind us that truth may sometimes become unfamiliar, and that remaining principled on our belief requires patience when confusion and pressure surround us. We are living in a strange and seemingly complicated times.
To illustrate, we have access to more information than any generation before us, yet an abundance of information has not necessarily produced an abundance of understanding. We live in a world where narratives are formed quickly, repeated just as quickly and often accepted before people take the time to examine the evidence behind them.
We are constantly fed with interpretations of events, accounts of history and explanations of why societies develop as they do. The challenge for the believer is not simply to consume information. It is to learn how to distinguish truth from falsehood, evidence from assertion and genuine understanding from rhetoric and political narrative.
As it relates to the twin towers, conversations about history, society, politics and religion can be especially difficult. People hear the same subject and interpret it in completely different ways. One person may see a message as a necessary reminder, while another sees a political statement. One person may believe that silence is wisdom, another sees silence as neglect and an act of cowardly.
These difficulties remind us that Islam does not teach us to react to every claim emotionally or to accept every popular explanation without examination. It teaches us to slow down, seek knowledge, verify reports, consider context, and speak with justice—even when the subject is sensitive or the truth is uncomfortable.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا
O you who believe, if a sinful person brings you any news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance and then become regretful for what you have done. (Qur’an 49:6)
This verse establishes a principle that is especially important in an age of instant information. A believer is not permitted to accept every report simply because it has been repeated, circulated, published or presented with confidence or a loud voice, or with promises behind it. We are commanded to verify. We are commanded to think. We are commanded to be fair. This is one meaning of ‘remaining firm’ upon the religion during a difficult time. Faithfulness is not only about holding onto prayer and rituals alone. It also means holding onto honesty when falsehood is popular, holding onto fairness when people are angry, holding onto restraint when rumors spread, and holding onto truth when it would be easier simply to follow the crowd.
This principle becomes especially important when we speak about the history of September 11, wherein throughout our country there will be discussions about what happened years ago today, about the people who lost their lives, the first responders who ran toward danger, the families who continue to live with that loss and about the profound consequences that followed. As Muslims, there should be no ambiguity concerning our position on the intentional killing of innocent people. Islam does not permit terrorism, nor does it permit the taking of innocent life. Allah says, مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا, Whoever kills a soul—unless for a soul or for corruption committed in the land, it is as if he has killed all of humanity (Qur’an 5:32). We make dua for those who lost their lives and for the families who continue to carry the pain of that loss, and we ask Allah to grant mercy to families of those who died, healing to those who suffered and justice wherever injustice has occurred.
Brothers and sisters, if that is where our conversation ends, have we truly addressed the matter? If community leaders simply stand before the congregation and say, “We condemn terrorism and we pray for the families who lost loved ones,” and then move on, there is certainly nothing wrong with those words. They are true and necessary. These words alone do not remove the responsibility of a Muslim community when confronting a significant historical event. We must also ask what history teaches us, how history is remembered, who tells the story, what our children are being taught, and what responsibility we have to ensure that future generations possess enough knowledge to understand the world in which they live.
The Quran repeatedly commands us to remember, reflect and learn from what came before us. Allah says, فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الْأَبْصَارِ, “So take a lesson, O people of insight” (Qur’an 59:2). Allah also tells us, لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ, “Indeed in their stories there is a lesson for people of understanding” (Qur’an 12:111). He repeatedly directs humanity to examine the fate of those who came before, saying, أَوَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ, “Have they not traveled through the land and observed how those before them ended?” (Qur’an 30:9).
Why does Allah give us so much history in the Qur’an? Because history is not merely a record of dates and events. It is a source of moral instruction. The stories of Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Yusuf, and the nations that preceded us teach us about arrogance, power, oppression, patience, justice, repentance, leadership and the consequences of human choices. Allah does not ask us to erase difficult history or to remember only those events that make us comfortable. He teaches us to confront history truthfully, to extract lessons from it, and to judge with justice.
This is why Allah says, يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ, “O believers, stand firm for Allah and bear witness with justice. Do not let the hatred of a people lead you away from justice. Be just; that is closer to righteousness” (Qur’an 5:8). Allah further says, كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ, “Stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah, even if it is against yourselves” (Qur’an 4:135).
These verses establish a standard for how Muslims should approach history and public life: we neither rewrite uncomfortable facts nor exaggerate them to serve our emotions. We do not conceal inconvenient truths or accept claims simply because they confirm our assumptions. We seek truth and uphold justice because Allah commands both.
My brothers and sisters, this responsibility becomes particularly urgent because our children have now returned to school. They are sitting in classrooms, opening textbooks, studying American history, world history, government, civics, and social studies. Education is not simply the transfer of information from one generation to another. Education also shapes how a person understands his country, his history, his neighbors, his religion and eventually himself. When a child learns only one interpretation of a historical event, that interpretation may become the framework through which he understands everything that follows.
This does not mean that Muslims should teach their children to distrust every teacher, reject every textbook, or assume that every historical account is deliberately false. That would itself be an irresponsible approach to education. Rather, we should teach our children how to think critically and respectfully. We should teach them to listen carefully, examine evidence, ask questions, understand context, distinguish fact from interpretation, and recognize that serious historical questions sometimes require the examination of multiple sources and perspectives. Respect for teachers and institutions does not require intellectual relaxation.
The question we should therefore ask ourselves is not simply, “What are they teaching our children?” We should also ask, “What are we teaching our children?” Because if we do not educate them regarding Islam, someone else inevitably will. If we do not teach them their Islamic history, they may grow up knowing the history of everyone except their own tradition. If we do not teach them how Muslims contributed to the societies in which they lived, they may grow up believing that Islam and Muslims have always existed on the margins of those societies. If we do not teach them how to think critically, they may become dependent upon others to tell them what to think.
There is an important history of Muslims in America that our children should know. The history of Islam in America did not begin with the immigration waves of the twentieth century, nor did it begin with the construction of the first modern American mosques. Muslims were present in North America centuries ago, including among enslaved Africans who were forcibly brought to this country. Some of those individuals were Muslims who retained knowledge of the Qur’an, Arabic literacy and elements of their religious identity despite living under conditions of enslavement. Their stories are not peripheral to American history. They are part of it.
Our children should learn these histories not because we need to manufacture a special place for Muslims within America as do some groups, but because we should want them to know the truth and not shy away from its realities. We embrace the good and repent for the bad and make good on the bad. Muslims should understand that the Muslim experience in America is not a single story and that Muslims have existed in different circumstances, from enslavement to immigration, from poverty to professional achievement, from isolation to civic participation. They should understand that their presence in this country has a history, and that they inherit both the responsibility to know that history and the responsibility to contribute to the future.
My brothers and sisters, we must also recognize that if our children encounter Islam primarily through discussions of terrorism, war, extremism, and political conflict, they may gradually associate Islam itself with those subjects. Yet Islam is also the faith of millions of ordinary people who pray, raise families, teach children, care for the sick, operate businesses, work in hospitals, educate students, pay taxes, volunteer, serve their neighbors, and contribute to the society in which Allah has placed them. We cannot expect others to understand this reality if we remain absent from the communities around us.
The Rasool ﷺ understood the importance of relationships and engagement. His life was not one of isolation from society. When the Muslims in Makkah were persecuted, he permitted some of his companions to migrate to Abyssinia because its ruler, the Negus, was known to be just. The Prophet ﷺ established relationships and agreements with different communities in Madinah, and he entered into the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah even though some of its terms were difficult for the companions to accept. These examples demonstrate that building a stable and influential community requires patience, wisdom, relationships, organization, and long-term thinking.
The companions of Rasool ﷺ did not merely ask why people did not understand them. They became people who were known for their integrity, trustworthiness, knowledge, service and character. This is an important lesson for Muslims living in America today. We frequently say that we need more Muslims in education, more Muslims in government, more Muslims serving on school boards, more Muslims in medicine, law, journalism, business, technology and other institutions where decisions affecting our communities are made. These are legitimate aspirations, but we must also ask how anyone enters a system and earns the trust necessary to influence it.
The Qur’an provides us with examples of individuals who possessed both competence and integrity. When Yusuf عليه السلام offered himself for a position of responsibility, he said, اجْعَلْنِي عَلَىٰ خَزَائِنِ الْأَرْضِ إِنِّي حَفِيظٌ عَلِيمٌ, “Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I am a knowledgeable guardian” (Qur’an 12:55). He possessed knowledge and demonstrated his ability to carry responsibility. In the story of Musa عليه السلام, one of the daughters of the righteous man said, إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَأْجَرْتَ الْقَوِيُّ الْأَمِينُ, “Indeed, the best one you can hire is the strong and trustworthy” (Qur’an 28:26). These two qualities—competence and trustworthiness, strength and amanah—are essential for anyone who seeks to serve the public good.
(Friday speech stopped here due to time)
Recently, I spoke with a woman who is sixty-eight years old and asked her how she achieved her success. Her answer was remarkably simple. She told me that she walked through her neighborhood, introduced herself to anyone walking or wiling to talk, gave people something as simple as a scratch pad. Over time, she became known throughout the neighborhood, and eventually she had built the relationships and trust necessary to gain its support. This story should cause us to reflect. Have we walked our neighborhoods? Have we introduced ourselves to our neighbors? Do the people who live around our masjid know who we are? Or do they only know us for parking issues or Ramadan festivities? Do the teachers and principals in our children’s schools know us? Do the people serving on local school boards know that Muslim families live in their communities? Do our elected representatives know that there are Muslims who are loyal, responsible, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens who want to contribute to the communities in which they live?
We often ask why others do not understand us, but we should also ask whether we have given them the opportunity to know us beyond media narratives. Relationships cannot grow if we engage our neighbors only when we need something, nor can institutions understand our concerns if we remain absent from the processes that shape them. And our children cannot meaningfully influence the future unless we prepare them to participate in the institutions that will shape it.
Muslims are not asking for special treatment or privileges. We are asking for the dignity, fairness, and respect every citizen/human deserves. Influence does not begin with demanding recognition; it begins with relationships, competence, service and trust.
That is why we should continue to encourage our young people to pursue every honorable field through which they can serve Allah and humanity. This does not mean abandoning Islam to enter society. It means carrying Islam into society through character, knowledge, service, and ethical conduct. Allah سبحانه وتعالى says: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ “Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” (Qur’an 13:11)
The Rasool ﷺ said, “Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock.” This responsibility falls upon parents, educators, community leaders, and all of us who have influence over the next generation. We cannot simply send our children into the world and hope that someone else will provide them with the intellectual and spiritual foundation they need. We must raise children who know their deen, understand their history, think critically, recognize injustice, uphold justice, and possess enough confidence in their Islamic identity that they can participate fully in society without feeling that they must abandon who they are.
When we remember September 11, we must understand that remembering history means more than repeating a date and a set of facts. The Qur’an teaches us to take lessons from history, to examine causes and consequences, to seek truth, and to uphold justice even when doing so is difficult.
We should therefore ask ourselvesL have we learned the value of justice? Have we learned the importance of truth? Have we learned the danger of allowing an entire people or religion to be judged according to the actions of individuals? Have we learned that our children require serious Islamic education as well as a serious understanding of the society in which they live? Have we learned that Muslims must participate in the institutions that shape the communities around them? Have we learned that we cannot remain absent from our neighborhoods and then complain that our neighbors do not understand us?
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says, وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا, “Thus We have made you a balanced nation so that you may be witnesses over humanity, and the Messenger may be a witness over you” (Qur’an 2:143). To be witnesses does not mean that we merely exist in a society. It means that our presence should testify to something: to truth, justice, mercy, responsibility, and righteousness.
We do not need to hate anyone to know who we are. We must teach our children to face difficult history with knowledge, approach disagreement with adab, verify what they hear, and remain committed to justice.
A community that forgets its history becomes vulnerable to others defining it. A community that neglects its children should not be surprised when others shape their worldview. Let our remembrance produce understanding, our knowledge produce wisdom, and our education produce character and service. Let us build sincere relationships, participate responsibly in society, and become a source of benefit to our neighbors.
May Allah protect our children, strengthen our families, preserve our iman, and guide the next generation toward knowledge, character, service, and leadership. May He grant mercy to those who have passed, healing to those who suffer, justice to those who are wronged, and protection from violence, oppression, and hatred. May Allah make us people who do not merely complain about the future, but work with sincerity, patience, wisdom and tawakkul to build it.