Dhu al-Qa‘dah – A Sacred Month

Bismi llāh, wa l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa ṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā rasūli llāh, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa man wālāh

Dhū al-Qa‘dah (also Dhū al-Qi‘dah) is one of the four sacred months in the Islamic calendar, along with Rajab, Dhū al-Ḥijjah and Muḥarram. Abū Bakrah (Allah be well-pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

الزَّمَانُ قَدِ اسْتَدَارَ كَهَيْئَتِهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ، السَّنَةُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا، مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ، ثَلاَثَةٌ مُتَوَالِيَاتٌ ذُو الْقَعْدَةِ وَذُو الْحِجَّةِ وَالْمُحَرَّمُ، وَرَجَبُ مُضَرَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ جُمَادَى وَشَعْبَانَ

"The division of time has turned to its original form which was current when Allah created the heavens and the earths. The year is of twelve months, out of which four months are sacred – three are in succession: Dhū al-Qa‘dah, Dhū al-Ḥijjah and Muḥarram, and [the fourth is] Rajab of [the tribe of] Muḍar which comes between Jumādā al-Thāniyah and Sha‘bān." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī)

As Dhū al-Qa‘dah is a sacred month, good deeds are multiplied and extra-virtuous. Thus, one should increase in ‘ibādah in this month. One should also be extra-cautious of falling into sin, as sin is considered graver in the sacred months.

A sacred month is similar to a sacred place. It is recommended to bathe and purify oneself before entering the Sacred Precinct of Makkah and while in it one is more conscious of the weight of one’s actions. Likewise with a sacred month – we try to enter it in a state of purity and we try to maintain that purity throughout through doing good and avoiding evil.

It is recommended to fast more during the sacred months since good deeds are multiplied during them.

May Allah aid us in our efforts to please Him.

And Allah knows best

Khutbah: Why Isn't My Du‘a’ Being Answered?

Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

I first and foremost advise you and myself to fear Allah and obey Him in every time and place. Respond to the call of Allah and He will respond to you when you call upon Him.

Allah says:

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ

“And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’” (Qur’ān 40:60)

And He says:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ 

“And when My servants ask you, [O Muḥammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.” (Qur’ān 2:186)

But why is it that sometimes we ask of Allah for something but He doesn't grant it to us? Why doesn't He answer our du‘ā’ at times?

Realise that there are several factors which may prevent your du‘ā’ from being accepted by Allah. It may be that your du‘ā’ is not accepted by Allah due to your lack of sincerity and focus in making du‘ā’; indeed, Allah does not accept du‘ā’ from a heedless, inattentive heart. It may be that you are too hasty – too much in a hurry – to see the response to your du‘ā’; one might say, 'I have prayed and prayed, but no response has come', and as a result his du‘ā’ is rejected by Allah. It may be that your food, drink, wealth or clothing is not halal; indeed, Allah is pure [from all imperfection] and does not accept other than what is pure. It may be that your sins are blocking your du‘ā’ from being accepted by Allah. How can you expect that your du‘ā’ be responded to, when you have blocked its path with sins?

Ibrāhīm ibn Ad'ham, one of the greatest of the tābi‘īn (the generation following the ṣaḥābah), was once asked, "Why is it that we make du‘ā’, yet they are not responded to?" He replied: "Because you know Allah, yet do not obey Him. And you know the Prophet (ﷺ), but do not follow his sunnah. And you know the Qur’ān, but you do not act upon it. And you eat from the blessings of Allah, but you do not express gratitude for it. And you know Paradise, yet do not strive for it. And you know the Fire of Hell, yet do not run away from it. And you know Shayṭān, but you do not fight him, and instead obey him. And you know death, but you do not prepare yourselves for it. And you bury the dead, but do not learn a lesson from it. And you have left your own faults, and instead busy yourself with the faults of others."

But doesn't Allah say, “Call upon Me; I will respond to you”? Yes, Allah has guaranteed for you a response, though Him accepting your du‘ā’ the way you asked for it is something else. His response is in what He chooses for you, not in what you choose for yourself. His response is at the time He wills, not the time you want. You are the servant and He is the Master. He responds to you however He wills. He may respond to your du‘ā’ by accepting it the way you asked it, or He may respond by granting you something better. For He is al-Ḥakīm – the Most Wise. He knows what is better for you than you do. It may be that you're asking for a thing that is in fact bad for you, and so Allah does not grant it to you out of His Great and Perfect Wisdom.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَدْعُو بِدَعْوَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا إِثْمٌ وَلَا قَطِيعَةُ رَحِمٍ إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ بِهَا إِحْدَى ثَلَاثٍ: إِمَّا أَنْ تُعَجَّلَ لَهُ دَعْوَتُهُ ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَدَّخِرَهَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ مِنْ السُّوءِ مِثْلَهَا

“There is no Muslim who makes du‘ā’ with words in which there is neither sin nor severing ties of kinship, except that Allah will grant because of it one of three things: either He will grant him what he asked for, or store it up for him in the Hereafter, or avert from him an equivalent harm.” (Narrated by Aḥmad)

To end, call upon Allah with the certainty that He will definitely respond to you, either by granting you what you asked for or by granting you something greater.

Khutbah: The Existence of Allah and Our Purpose in Life

Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

O human being! Know that you are limited. You can only grow to a certain size and live to a certain point in time. Not only you, but everything around you is limited. Light, the fastest thing we know, has its limit. The entire universe, with all its vastness, has a limit to its size. And the list goes on. But the point is, everything of the universe is limited and finite. This attribute of limitedness is one common attribute that we notice of everything in the universe. Now, there's another attribute everything in the universe shares, and that is neediness and dependency. Everything, in order to exist, needs assistance from something else. Humans need food and water to survive. Our food, i.e. plants and animals, depend on a water cycle to sustain them. This water cycle is dependent on the Sun. The Sun is dependent on a whole set of other things. And the chain continues. Also, everything needed something to come about; things don't just create themselves out of thin air. So now, we see a chain where each limited thing is dependent on another limited thing, which in turn is dependent on another limited thing, and the chain keeps going. But since this is a chain of limited and dependent things, it needs to stop at some point; it needs something to bring it into existence. From here, we come to the conclusion that this chain needs something neither limited nor dependent on anything to start it off. And this "something" is none other than God – Allah ta‘ālā – the One beyond all limits, the One free of all need. Thus, we prove that this universe must have a Creator, a Creator that is unlike the creation in all aspects. And this is Allah – the One beyond all limits, whether time or place, direction or space, or any other limits that exist; the One not in need anything (al-Ghaniyy) and independent from everything.

O human being! Know that your mind is limited whilst Allah is beyond any limit. Thus, you won't be able to understand and comprehend the reality of Allah. Though what you can understand is that the Creator is beyond any limit – whether it's size, space, direction or any other limit – and so it is wrong to think of the Creator as being in any sort of shape or form, unlike what some religions out there teach. We do not concern ourselves with thinking about the reality of Allah as that's something we can't do, something our limited minds can't grasp; rather, we concern ourselves with believing in His existence, affirming the names and attributes by which He has described Himself, and also with reflecting upon His creations

O human being! You know that a Creator exists. You should also know that He demands something from you. He has sent messengers to you, the last of whom was a man by the name of Muḥammad ﷺ, who calls you to obey Him. Now, proving the truth of this is for another time as we don't have enough time to discuss this. But nevertheless, know that this Messenger ﷺ came with a Book from the Creator Himself. In this Book, the Creator tells us more about Himself – His Names and Attributes. E.g. where He says:

لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

"Nothing is like Him. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." (Qur’ān 42:11)

In this Book is information about the unseen world – angels, devils, Paradise, Hell, Judgement Day, etc. We must believe in all this, even though we can't sense these things with our senses, as all this information has been revealed by the Creator Himself, the one with absolute knowledge of everything. But this Book also contains guidelines by which our Creator orders us to live our lives. So let us believe in this Book and what it contains wholeheartedly, and let us act upon it to the best we can in obedience to our Creator, for He did not create us except to order us worship Him. He says:

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

"And I did not create the jinns and the human beings except for the purpose that they should worship Me." (Qur’ān 51:56)

Our Creator commands us in many places in His Book to reflect upon His many creations. So whenever you take a look at something of the world you live in, reflect on its limited and needy nature, and remember the One who ultimately brought it and all other things into existence – the One beyond all limits, free of all need. Let everything in the world around you remind you of Allah. Let this all draw you closer to obedience of Him.

Being Proud to be Muslim: a talk on the concluding ayat of Surat al-Hajj by Ust. Nouman Ali Khan

Bismi llāh, wa l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa ṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā rasūli llāh, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa man wālāh

Eight lessons from a recent talk by Ustādh Nouman Ali Khan on the concluding āyāt of Sūrat al-Ḥajj:

1. We Muslims shouldn't feel like we need to explain ourselves when our religious practices come into question. We shouldn't be on the defensive in such scenarios. Rather, we should be on the offensive. So when you're asked by your colleagues, "Hey, why don't you attend our Christmas party?", instead of going to the imam and asking for a decent response, we should turning the question back on them; we should be asking them questions like, "Why do you celebrate Christmas? Why do you celebrate God having a son? How can God have a son?" Our religion is full of reason whilst other people's aren't, thus, when people question our religion, we shouldn't hesitate to not only give them a satisfying response but also turn the tables on them and open their eyes to the truth.

2. Everything other than Allah is ultimately weak – including you. If you seek that which is weak, it won't make you any stronger – you'll still be weak. But if you seek Allah – the Strong, the Mighty – and internalise this in your heart, He will make you strong. If you seek wealth, a woman, a promotion, a position, a job, etc., and that object which you seek is all you seek, when that object is taken away from you or you are prevented from it, you crumble – and this demonstrates how weak you are. But if Allah is the One whom you ultimately seek, no matter what is taken away from you – whether it be wealth, position, property or anything else –, you remain strong. This is what īmān does to the believer – it makes him strong.

3. Allah chooses His Messengers solely because that's what He wills. In the ayah, Allah uses the word yaṣṭafī, which is derived from the Arabic tri-literal root ṣād-fā’-wāw (ص ف و). The use of this word denotes that in making this choice, Allah made the choice purely on His own, no explanation needed. It's a bit like your favourite food – you like it because you just like it. So there's no complaining about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as being Allah's chosen one – because that's just what Allah willed, full stop.

4. Allah tells us to "strive in [the way of] Allah the way He deserves to be striven for." Now, no human being can actually do this – we'll never be able to worship Allah the way He deserves to be worshipped. But from the human beings, He saw certain ones from them who had some sort of "qualification" whereby they could fulfil this task, a qualification they don't even see in themselves. And it's these people He chose to fulfil this task – a task which was the legacy of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), a man who underwent many trials and hardships. Though Allah states that He'll make this difficult task easier for us; if Allah could make the task of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) easier, He can indeed do the same for us. Now, the word used in this ayah is ijtabā, which come from the Arabic tri-literal root jīm-bā’-yā’ (ج ب ي). The word jaby is used for tax collection. Taxes aren't collected from everyone; taxes are only collected from those qualified to pay them, i.e. those within the tax bracket. By using the phrase huwa -jtabā, Allah is saying that HE chose YOU, out of all the people on this earth, to be a Muslim. Not only that: ONLY ALLAH had a role in deciding that you would be Muslim. You weren't Muslim because you were born into a Muslim family or because of your nationality. You were Muslim because ALLAH CHOSE YOU to be a Muslim. Same applies to all the Muslims around the world. No Muslim is worthless. So if you're one of those chosen for this seemingly impossible task, you're actually one of the lucky few who were specially selected by Allah, one of those lucky few in whom Allah saw something special. Allah chose YOU to be from His Muslims. So be grateful for your Islam.

5. Allah named you as a Muslim. That's right, Allah Himself. Thus, it's a consequence of īmān that we shouldn't be embarrassed to be Muslims. Rather, we should be proud to be Muslims. We shouldn't feel shy about this gift which may often make us distinct and different from the society we live in. A Muslim was never meant to fit in with society. The chosen people of Allah were meant to stand out. Did any of the messengers of Allah (benedictions and peace be upon them all) fit in? Be proud to be Muslim. Those truly proud of their Islam will try and share it with those who don't have Islam. And that's our duty. Be outstanding Muslims!

6. The honour of us being Muslim should cause us to do something in recognition of this honour. Allah tells us to establish ṣalāh, give zakāh – which by the way can only be given on halal wealth, thus, our income must also be halal – and to hold on tightly for protection to the Rope of Allah – i.e. the Qur’ān –, in recognition of this honour. Holding on to the Rope of Allah is a life and death matter. So hold on for protection to the Rope of Allah and Allah will be your protector – and what an excellent protector He is!

7. Islam is powerful. Its ideas our powerful. Its truth is powerful. Living in our fitnah-plagued times, we shouldn't be so weak we run away from the fitnah. Rather, we should work to change to fitnah. (This links back to the point #1.)

8. Every congregational ṣalāh proves that we can be disciplined, organised and united. When the iqāmah is called, don't we see perfectly straight rows? When the congregational ṣalāh is taking place, doesn't everyone move at the same time in a disciplined fashion? Every congregational ṣalāh proves that we're capable of being a disciplined, organised and united people. So just like we're disciplined, organised and united in ṣalāh, we should be disciplined, organised and united outside ṣalāh. What we do in ṣalāh should inspire everything we do outside ṣalāh. The same way we ensure that we fill the gaps in our rows when we pray so that the Shayṭān doesn't pass through, we should do this with our communities.

The ustādh made several other excellent points, some of which can be seen here, though to hear all the point, you'll have to wait until the full talk is posted online, which bi idhni llāh should be soon.

Khutbah: Ramadan Aftermath

Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

I first and foremost advise you to fear Allah, to remain conscious of Him and to obey Him in every place and time. Ramaḍān – the month of fasting, tarāwīḥ, recitation of Qur’ān and extra worship – may have ended, but remember that the Lord of Ramaḍān is Ever-Living and His existence does not come to an end. He is the Lord of all 12 months of the year, so don't slack off in your worship now that Ramaḍān is over.

Dear Muslims! During Ramaḍān, we experienced the struggles of abstaining from food and drink for the entire day, of waking up early in the morning for suḥūr, of staying up further into the night for tarāwīḥ and tahajjud prayers. But that really isn't the difficult part about Ramaḍān. The more difficult part is keeping up after Ramaḍān the good habits and attitudes developed during Ramaḍān. Just like you fasted during Ramaḍān from eating, from speaking bad words, from looking at inappropriate things, from listening to forbidden matters, from going to ḥarām places, from doing ḥarām things – likewise, you ensure your body parts keep up this habit of fasting after Ramaḍān and throughout the entire year. You keep up the good habits and attitudes from Ramaḍān and carry them with you throughout the year. Failure to do so and you risk losing that which you gained of barakah and reformation of the heart via these struggles during Ramaḍān.

Dear brothers and sisters! As we celebrated Eid, greeting each other with warm smiles, words and hugs, visiting dear family and friends, receiving gifts and money, enjoying daytime meals after a month, and celebrating a wonderful and joyous occasion, we can't help but remember and contemplate the situation of our brothers and sisters suffering abroad who celebrated their Eid with no family to share smiles with, no houses to visit, no gifts to give, no new clothes to wear, no food to feed even themselves with, and no joy to celebrate. They had Eid whilst in constant fear of being the next target of some missile or armed attack. They had Eid watching their neighbourhoods and cities crumble to the ground. They had Eid with the prospect of returning home to find another loved one gone forever. They had Eid having to survive in disease-ridden camps with insufficient food, having been forced to flee their own homes. They had Eid enduring extreme hunger, thirst, disease and malnutrition, to the point where their bones would pop out from their bodies. This is how many of your brothers and sisters experienced Eid this year in places like Palestine, Syria, Burma, the Central African Republic and eastern Africa, amongst the many other places where the situation for Muslims is dire, tough and gloomy. So along with your Eid celebrations, always keep in mind the situation of your Muslim brothers and sisters suffering abroad who are not as fortunate as you are to celebrate how you celebrate: plenty smiles and laughs, lovely gifts, new clothes, nice food, a solid roof over the head, home heating, and family and friends to enjoy the occasion with.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

الْمُسْلِمُونَ كَرَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ إِنِ اشْتَكَى عَيْنُهُ اشْتَكَى كُلُّهُ وَإِنِ اشْتَكَى رَأْسُهُ اشْتَكَى كُلُّهُ

"The Muslims are like one body of a person; if the eye aches, the whole body aches, and if the head aches, the whole body aches." (Narrated by Muslim)

And he ﷺ also said:

مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنْهُ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمَّى

"The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever" (Agreed upon)

So I remind myself and you once again: Ramaḍān – the month of extra worship – may have ended, but the Lord of Ramaḍān is to be worshipped on all 12 months of the year. And just as we have celebrated the joyous occasion of Eid, we must never forget the hardships our fellow Muslims overseas are suffering through. The bare minimum you can do for them is make du‘ā’. Never underestimate the power of du‘ā’.

I end by reminding you all to follow up your Ramaḍān fasts by fasting another six days during this month, the month of Shawwāl. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in this regard:

‏مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَهُ سِتًّا مِنْ شَوَّالٍ كَانَ كَصِيَامِ الدَّهْرِ

"Whoever fasts during the month of Ramaḍān, then follows it with six days of Shawwāl, it is like continual fasting." (Narrated by Muslim)