—may Allah be pleased with him—and presented him with the accounts of Iraq. Impressed by them, he said:

“Call your scribe to read them to me.”

He replied, “He does not enter the mosque.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because he is a Christian,” he replied.

Then Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—struck at him with his whip; had it hit him, it would have hurt him. He then said:

“Do not honour them after Allah has humbled them. Do not trust them after Allah has declared them untrustworthy. Do not believe them after Allah has declared them liars.”

The Muslims throughout the East and West are united in heart, loyal to Allah, His Messenger, and His believing servants, and hostile to the enemies of Allah and His Messenger and the enemies of His believing servants. Their sincere hearts and righteous supplications are the army that cannot be defeated and the host that will never be forsaken. For they are the victorious group until the Day of Resurrection, as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, foretold.

Allah Most High said:

“O you who believe, do not take as confidants those outside your ranks. They spare no effort to corrupt your affairs and wish to see you suffer. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, but what their hearts conceal is greater. We have made the signs clear to you, if you will use your reason.”

“Here you are, loving them while they do not love you, although you believe in all the Scripture. When they meet you, they say, ‘We believe.’ But when they are alone, they bite their fingertips in rage at you. Say, ‘Die in your rage!’ Indeed, Allah knows what lies within the hearts.”

“If something good happens to you, it distresses them; but if misfortune befalls you, they rejoice in it. Yet if you remain patient and mindful of Allah, their plotting will not harm you at all. Indeed, Allah encompasses all that they do.”

And He Most High said: “O you who believe, do not take the Jews