The Middle East Crisis

 I am sure by now we all know that the Supreme Leader of Iran was killed in a major military attack carried out by Israel together with the United States.

I am going to explain why this is happening in very simple English, so that anyone who knows nothing about politics can understand.

As you may know, Israel and Iran are both in the Middle East.

The Middle East is a group of countries in Western Asia. These countries include:

▪ Iran

▪ Israel

▪️ Palestine 

▪ Saudi Arabia

▪ Iraq

▪ Turkey (a part of Turkey is in Europe)

▪ Jordan

▪ Syria

▪ Lebanon

▪ Kuwait

▪ Qatar

▪ Oman

▪ United Arab Emirates

▪ Yemen

▪ Bahrain

The Middle East has a lot of oil. 

Oil brings money, but it also brings problems. Powerful countries from outside the Middle East want control and influence there because of oil. America has been involved in Iran since the 1940s, sometimes as a friend and sometimes as an enemy.

Inside the Middle East, countries also compete with each other for regional power, politically, economically and religiously. The religion side is often overlooked. For example people often forget that Saudi Arabia and Iran fight for religious dominance in the Middle East. This is because the religion of Islam has two main denominations namely Shia and Sunni. Iran is mostly Shia and Saudi Arabia is mostly Sunni. 

But ofcourse, the biggest rivalry in the Middle East is actually between Israel and Iran.

Israel depends on its strong army and support from the United States. It sees Iran as a serious threat. Iran has threatened to destroy Israel. These threats were made as early as 1979 by Iran’s first Supreme Leader, and I will explain that later.

At the center of the Israel–Iran conflict is the belief among hardline leaders in Iran that Israel should not exist as a country. Last year I made a full video explaining how the morden state of Israel was created and why it is at war with Palestine. The video is available on Taffy Theman YouTube channel.

In Palestine, Israel has killed many civilians, bombed homes, hospitals and schools, stopped food and aid from getting in.

Iran supports Palestine. It calls Israel's actions crimes and even genocide, and helps groups that fight Israel by giving them money, weapons and training. 

The other cause of this war is Iran's nuclear program. 

Israel wants to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons because Iran has threatened to destroy Israel before. But Iran says its nuclear program has nothing to do with nuclear bombs. However Israel doesn't believe this. 

It is worth mentioning that nuclear weapons give countries an extra layer of security. 

For example, North Korea built nuclear weapons to protect itself from outside threats. 

Because North Korea has nuclear weapons, attacking it would be very dangerous. That makes Western countries think twice. It is therefore not unthinkable that Iran wants the same level of protection. But Israel says no. America also says no.

By the way, I have noticed that some people think America ONLY attacks other countries because of oil. That is not always true.

America acts based on its own interests.

Those interests are not always about money or oil.

Sometimes they are political or strategic. For example, Afghanistan does not have large oil reserves. But America still sent its military there.

I am saying this because some people believe that if a country has no oil, then it does not matter to America. That is not true.

Korea does not have major oil resources. Yet during the Korean War, America fought to defend South Korea. This shows that oil is not the only reason America gets involved in other countries. Sometimes the reasons are political, military, or strategic.

In June 2019, Donald Trump even visited North Korea. He became the first sitting U.S. president to step onto North Korean soil when he crossed the DMZ to meet Kim Jong Un.

Clearly, oil is not the only factor in American foreign policy. So the claim that America does not attack North Korea simply because it has no oil is false.

💥Now let us look at U.S-Iran relations👇

After the Second World War, America became more involved in the Middle East to stop the Soviet Union from spreading its influence. Oil had become very important to global power. America strengthened its relationship with Iran because of Iran’s oil.

In 1951, a new Iranian leader named Mohammad Mossadegh came to power. He took control of Iran’s oil and said it should belong to Iran. He nationalized the oil  industry. This was during the Cold War era when America and the Soviet Union were competing against each other for power and influence around the world.

In 1953, America sponsored a coup in Iran as a response to the nationalization of oil. This coup led to the rise of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, commonly known as the Shah. This man went on to rule Iran for 26 years.

The Shah was a harsh ruler, but he was friendly to America. The United States ignored his human rights abuses because he supported American interests. During this time, Iran was a close ally of America and also had good relations with Israel.

However, many Iranians hated the Shah. One of his strongest critics was a religious leader named Ruhollah Khomeini, an Ayatollah. Remember an Ayatollah is a very senior Muslim leader in Iran. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini strongly criticized the Shah. He also criticized Western influence, and America’s role in Iran. Because of this, he was forced into exile in the 1960s. Even while in exile, Khomeini sent recorded messages back to Iran, telling people to oppose the Shah.

Public anger grew. In 1979, the Shah was removed from power in a revolution. That is how Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became Supreme Leader and how Iran became an Islamic Republic.

The new Iranian government was strongly against America because many Iranians believed America had interfered in their democracy in 1953 and had supported a dictator for many years.

Later in 1979, Iranian students took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days.

From that moment, Iran and America became enemies. As Israel became closer to America, Iran’s new leaders saw Israel as a Western creation in the Middle East that was harming Muslims. This belief shaped Iran’s long-term policy toward Israel.

This supreme leader who was recently killed was known as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He had been in power since 1989, having taken over after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. 

So why did they kill him?

Well, if you want to destabilize a regime in a time of war, you eliminate its leader. Not every country can survive a sudden leadership crisis in a time of war.

TAFFY THE MAN

Prophets SAW message about Istanbul

 Prophet Muhammad prophesied the Muslim conquest of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), praising the future leader and army responsible. He is reported to have said: "Verily, you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will he be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!". This prophecy was fulfilled in 1453.

Key Aspects of the Hadith:

• The Prophecy: Muhammad stated, “Istanbul [Constantinople] will surely be conquered; what a good commander is the conqueror, what a good soldier is the conqueror”.
• The Leader and Army: The narration specifically highlights the excellence of the leader (the commander) and the army that achieves this victory.
• Significance: This saying (hadith) acted as a major motivation for various Muslim leaders to conquer the city throughout Islamic history.
• Fulfillment: Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (Mehmed the Conqueror) fulfilled this prophecy in 1453 at the age of 21, making it the capital of the Ottoman Empire

Nur Al- Din Zangi

 HE SAW RASULALLAH ﷺ IN HIS DREAMS TELLING HIM TO PROTECT HIS RESTING PLACE. When the defender of Islam Sultan Nur al-Din Zangi was in Syria, he saw the Prophet ﷺ in his dream who showed him two men and he instructed the Sultan to protect him from their harm. The sultan then saw the exact same dream the second night and the third night until he decided to travel to Madinah. 

He summoned the inhabitants of Madinah but he was told that two 'righteous men' were missing. They spent their days and nights in worship and charity. The Sultan entered their home and saw that it was the exact men he had seen and had dug a hole which led to the resting place of Rasulallah ﷺ ﷺ. They admitted to Sultan Nur al-Din that they were spies that wished to steal the body of the Prophet ﷺ so he punished them and fortified the noble resting place with iron walls so that it is safeguarded until the last day. He was also the great leader who defended the lasts of Islam against the crusaders. Rasulallah ﷺ - He is alive and fresh in his blessed resting place and he is well-aware of the affairs of his nation. He seeks forgiveness for those who believe in him.

Who is Mufti Ahmad Yar Khan Na'imi

Whilst Mufti Ahmad Yar Khan Na'imi was in Madinah, he went to a shop desiring to buy a new pen to write his Tafsir. He really liked one particular pen however he had used up all of his money on purchasing books - and the pen that he liked was unfortunately too expensive so he left. At Fajr, the young shop owner saw the shaykh in the Masjid, pulled out the pen and emotionally said "I dont know who you are or what you are! but last night I saw the Prophet ﷺ for the first time and he said, 'My khadim, Ahmad came to you for a pen. Gift it to him on my behalf!" 

No lover of Rasulallah ﷺ ever left his presence disappointed. No one came to Madinah and sought  drop except he was gifted gushing oceans of generosity. The sahaba said that the Messenger of Allah's kindness was unmatchable but it increased even more in Ramadan. He never said no to people. He never turned away believers disappointed. One time, he gave a man a full valley of goats and animals until he returned back to his people and said, 'O people, accept Islam because Muhammad ﷺ gives the giving of a man who fears no poverty.

Just the way the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was generous - follow his example. When you have guests come over for Iftar then be generous. They aren't eating YOUR food. They are eating their own food but Allah just placed it on your table and in your house. Allah wished to honour you by allowing another person's rizq to be passed on through you so He could reward you in Ramadan.

Has money increased our Imaan?

The top picture is today 100 billion dollars off architecture which would mean that money is readily available but underneath picture from the time of old just a mud building some would say we have come a long way I would say we have gone backwards the days of the mud building we ruled the world Gaza, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sudan, Yemen etc would not have happened wealth has destroyed us lavious hotels and shopping around the kabba has made us tourist more then worshippers 🤭

Who was Seargant Hassan

 ■ The Last Ottoman Soldier Who Guarded al-Aqsa Mosque.

The last Ottoman soldier to guard al-Aqsa Mosque was Sergeant Hasan al-Ighdirli, 

who remained in Jerusalem until 1982 

and passed away at the age of 93. 

He refused to follow orders to withdraw from Jerusalem and return to Turkey, because for him, Jerusalem was above all orders. 

When asked decades later why he had not returned, he said he feared that the Prophet Muhammad would be saddened by leaving the first Qibla and the third holiest mosque unguarded.

A Turkish journalist, İlhan Bardakçı, met Hasan by chance in al-Aqsa in 1972. He observed him standing motionless near the second courtyard of the mosque. 

People told the journalist Hasan was “mad,” 

as he had been there for years, standing like 

a statue, looking only at the mosque. 

When the journalist approached and greeted him in Turkish, Hasan responded in clear Anatolian Turkish: “Peace be upon you, son”, astonishing the journalist.

Hasan explained that after the Ottoman Empire fell, to prevent looting in Jerusalem, a unit of the Ottoman army remained in the city until 

the British army arrived. 

He insisted on staying with this unit rather 

than returning to Turkey. He belonged to the 20th Corps, 36th Brigade, 8th Regiment, 11th Machine Gun Unit.

Hasan and his fellow Turkish guards stayed to protect al-Aqsa, so that Palestinians would not feel abandoned by the Ottomans, and to honor the sanctity of the mosque. 

Over decades, all his comrades passed away (53 men), but Hasan continued his post. 

He asked the journalist to convey greetings to his former officer, Captain Mustafa, who had entrusted him with the mosque’s protection.

Sergeant Hasan remained a steadfast guardian of al-Aqsa, leaving his homeland and family, showing courage, loyalty, and honor. 

He finally passed away in 1982, becoming 

the last Ottoman soldier guarding the mosque.