Mick Hartley

The essence of Islam – what makes Islam so great – as outlined by Dr. Nasser Karimian at the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Columbus, Ohio:

"We know, subhanallah, of the things that are paradoxical thinking in Islam, perhaps one of the most paradoxical, is that we think that when the warrior goes to war, he's looking to win. Why? So that he can attain the ghanima – war booty. That's the goal – you go to war, you fight, you become a brave warrior, you win the day, you get your ghanima, your war booty.

"Whereas the fact of the matter is that subhanallah, the mujahid isn't seeking ghanima. The mujahid is seeking shahada [martyrdom]. The mujahid is not fighting to win, he is actually fighting to lose, and if he wins one battle then he will go again to the next battle, and if he wins that he will go to the next, and the next, and the next, why? Because he doesn't want to win in the end.

"Why is that the case? Why is it that he'll try to keep fighting and keep fighting until he finally loses? Because he understands that loving this world is for losers. That's the true mujahid. The one who understands that loving his dunya [the earthly world], that's for losers to begin with. So I don't want to be a loser, I'm going to keep fighting, and I will keep winning until finally I lose, and that is my victory. How can you beat somebody like this? You can't. Because if he wins, he wins, and if he loses, he wins. Subhanallah. This is what made Islam so great.