Talk Is Free

We should never be fooled by the claims that we hear, and by talk. Because talk is free; it does not cost you anything to talk. But fighting for the sake of Allah (swt) costs you a lot. You can make a claim that you will open Jerusalem if you want. Talking big is easy. But the sacrifice — and especially the long-term sacrifice that jihad needs — that is difficult.

Jihad is not only sacrifice; it is long-term sacrifice, and that is where people fail. If you are asked to sacrifice one time, you could be fired up with a speech, and then you would give out your money, for example, and you would sacrifice; that could happen. But when you are asked to sacrifice over a long period, and you are suffering hardship for a long time, that is what causes people to fail.

Banū Isrāʾīl said: we are going to fight — why should we not fight, when we have been driven out of our homes and driven out of our children? And when Allah (swt) prescribed fighting for them, they did not. But now it is too late to back out, because the order has already been revealed.