Sunday, 23 November 2014

Khutbah: Three Things to Ask Yourself Before Any Action

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:

First and foremost, fear Allah. Fear Allah, and fear the day when all of humanity will be brought to account for their actions by the One who sees everything they do.

Know that you will be questioned about what you used to do in this life. Know that your actions will be weighed up and that you'll have to answer for them. So choose your actions wisely. You should have three things in mind whenever you're about to do something.

The first one: if Rasulullāh ﷺ was alive and watching you, would you do it? You know how if your parents are around, there are certain things you wouldn't do, right? Now ask yourself this: if the Messenger of Allah, the most beloved of all of Allah's creations, the best man to walk the face of this earth, the man via whom you were guided to the light of Islam, the man who will plead with Allah on the Day of Judgement to pardon the sins of his ummah, – of which you are a part – the man who would cry the nights for you and I, the man who was concerned for you – someone he had never even met – and your salvation until his final breaths (ﷺ) – ask yourself: if I was to be in HIS presence, would I do this action?

The second thing to have in mind: would you like death to meet you doing this action? Ask yourself: would I like to spend my last breaths doing this action? Do I mind that the Angel of Death comes to take my soul whilst I do this action? Would I want that this action be the last thing I do before I'm lowered into my grave for the questioning?

The third thing to have in mind: if you were to be questioned about this action on the Day of Judgement, would you be willing to answer for it? The day when some people will be drowning in their sweat, the day when Hellfire – which is 70 times hotter than the fire of this world, let alone the heat you're feeling right now – will be brought forth before the eyes of everyone present, the day when the nursing mother will be distracted from the child she was nursing and the pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy out of the intensity of the horror of that Day – ask yourself: would I be willing to answer for this action of mine on this terrifying day, mind you, with all of humanity watching on?

So, whenever you intend on doing something, keep these three things in mind. Whenever you're invited to an event/function, ask yourself these questions. Whenever your friends go to you, "Hey, come, let's do this...," consider these questions. If it's something you wouldn't do in front of Rasulullāh ﷺ, if it's something you wouldn't want to die doing, if it's something you wouldn't want to answer for to Allah, then DON'T DO IT. Don't let your friends/peers convince you and pressure you and persuade you to do otherwise. Who are they compared to Rasulullāh ﷺ? Will they be able to help you on the Day of Judgement? And don't let your ego and your desires get the better of you. Come on, you're stronger than that. It is people of weakness that let their egos and desires get the better of them. Be someone of true strength, for this will be the only strength that will benefit you when you are judged by Allah. And always remember: the Owner and King of the Day of Judgement sees what you do at all times, so be aware of that before that day comes when it will be too late for those who didn't.

I'll end by reminding you: whenever you intend on doing an action, ask yourself these three questions: 1) If Rasulullāh ﷺ was around, would I do it? 2) Would I like death to meet me whilst I do this? 3) If I were to be questioned about this action on the Day of Judgement, would I be willing to answer for it?

Friday, 7 November 2014

Khutbah: Remember the Favours of Allah Upon You... On A Continuous Basis

All praises and thanks are due to Allah, the One who honoured us by means of Prophethood, taught us the Qur’ān, made us comprehend the religion and its commandments, granted us eyes, ears and hearts, and kept us free from polytheism. We praise Him and thank Him. We testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah alone, without a partner. And we testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

Brothers and sisters! Know that Allah does not need us, whilst we are in constant need of Him. We need Him every second of the day. There is not a breath that passes except that it happens by Allah's Will and Permission. Is He not the one who ensures that your heart never stops beating, even whilst you're asleep? Is He not the one that has blessed you to live somewhere where air conditioning is readily available when it gets hot? Is He not the one who lets the saliva secrete from your mouth so that you can comfortably speak and actually enjoy your food? Is He not the one who causes the rain to fall on the land such that the plants and crops may grow, providing you and the animals you eat with food? Is He not the one who created you in such an excellent form, without any defects, and allowed you to enjoy long periods of good health and wellbeing?

Just think about it: What if Allah were to cut your source of food and water? What if Allah were to leave you with no place of shelter, with no roof over your head at night? What if something were to happen to you such that you lose something so important and beloved to you: your phone, laptop, your arms, your legs, your ability to see, to hear, to speak?

Subḥan Allāh! Think about Allah's favours upon you! But yet, many of us seem to only really remember Allah during times of need. When we really want something from Allah, we call upon Him with our hearts pouring, begging and pleading with Him. We pray more, fast more, give more charity. We think twice now about committing sin. All this so we can get what we want from Allah. But when we finally get what we want or when our need is fulfilled, we become forgetful of Allah. We no longer are conscious of Allah in our day to day actions. We become heedless of Him.

No! This is not how things should be! We are obliged to show gratitude to Him at all times for His uncountable favours. We show gratitude with our hearts, acknowledging that everything we love and enjoy in life ultimately came from Allah – via the Will of Allah – whether it's the excellent exam result you earn, that thing you have that you worked so hard for or those awesome skills that you've got. Allah says:

وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ ٱللَّهِ

"And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allah." (Qur’ān 16:53)

We show gratitude with our tongues by praising and thanking Allah for all He has granted us – for our food, our drink, our hearing, our sight. And we show gratitude with our limbs. This means using our body faculties in obedience of Allah and keeping them away from disobedience of Him. This isn't something you only do in times of need. This is something you do all the time. So you don't say to yourself, "Look, I'm only going to listen to that ḥarām conversation/those ḥarām sounds just once." That's not showing gratitude for the blessing of hearing; what if you were to lose it whilst you were listening to that? You don't say to yourself, "Well, I know that some un-Islamic things are going to happen at that place, but I'm only gonna go just once." That's not showing gratitude for your ability to walk; what if some accident were to occur and your legs became paralysed? You don't say to yourself, "Man, I really want to eat that, even though it's not halal; it just looks so delicious. I'll have it just once." That's not showing gratitude for the blessing of being able to enjoy food. Your saliva softens your food so that you can actually enjoy its taste and painlessly swallow it. So what if your mouth were to stop producing that saliva?

Allah says:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ هَلْ مِنْ خَٰلِقٍ غَيْرُ ٱللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ

"O mankind, remember the favour of Allah upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and earth? There is none deserving of worship except Him, so how are you turned away [from His Oneness]?" (Qur’ān 35:3)

So to conclude: Be a thankful slave of Allah; express your gratitude to Him via your heart, words and actions at all times. Don't forget that He continuously provides for you, not only during your times of need but rather during every second of your life, so don't be of those ungrateful ones who only remember their Lord during times of need.

Saturday, 1 November 2014

Khutbah: The Legacy of `Ashura'

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:

The upcoming day of ‘Āshūrā’ – the 10th Day of the sacred month of Muḥarram, the first month of the Islamic calendar – is a special day as it was the day Allah saved Prophet Mūsā and his people, the Israelites, from the clutches of the Pharaoh – the biggest tyrant to have lived in human history – and his army. A story full of lessons, in shā' Allāh, within these next few minutes we will go through just one of these lessons, but it's a lesson I hope ALL of you can internalise and put into practice, bi idhni llāh.

Allah sent Prophet Mūsā with a huge task: to face the greatest oppressor that ever lived and invite him and his people to Islam. He was sent on a mission to make truth prevail over falsehood, a struggle against corruption, injustice and oppression. Now, on the night which marked the beginning of his mission, Mūsā is instructed by Allah to throw his staff on the ground. Upon doing so, the staff suddenly turns into a huge snake moving around rapidly. Put yourself in this situation: an item of yours you've had for so long suddenly turning into this giant snake slithering around everywhere in the middle of a desert at night. Wouldn't that be a scary situation? So then Allah instructs Mūsā:

قَالَ خُذْهَا وَلَا تَخَفْ ۖ سَنُعِيدُهَا سِيرَتَهَا ٱلْأُولَىٰ

"Grab it and don't be afraid – We will return it to its original state." (Qur’ān 20:21)

Listen up now: this is where an important lesson is being taught. We learn from this short tale that: 1) Prophet Mūsā obeys Allah without any excuse. He does as he's told by picking up this large, slithering snake. 2) He is courageous and brave in doing so. His natural human fear did not get the better of him. 3) He demonstrated a complete trust in Allah; he fully trusted that Allah would return the snake to how it originally was and that the snake would not harm him. He trusted that Allah will manage everything even when things didn't appear to be in his favour, even when things seem not to be going right, for Allah's promise is undoubtedly true.

Obedience, courage, trust. These three things were to play an important role for the rest of Prophet Mūsā's life. How? Mūsā would obey Allah in every command, even the most difficult of ones, such as facing the Pharaoh, this great tyrant ruler of Egypt, a task no one else would've even thought of doing. Mūsā would carry out his task with great courage, bravely resisting the threats, intimidation and persecution of the Pharaoh and his regime. And Mūsā would have the trust in Allah that the success and victory promised by Allah would definitely come to be, even when it seemed distant.

Now then, let's apply the lesson from this story to our present situation. Prophet Mūsā was on a mission to preach Lā ilāha illa Llāh. So are we. He was on a mission to fight for what was right. So are we. He was on a mission to make truth triumph over falsehood, justice over injustice. So are we. As Muslims who are part of the nation of Muhammad (ﷺ), we shoulder all these responsibilities. And to do so, we will need to obey Allah in all of His commands. We will also need to instil in ourselves the courage and bravery needed for this task. We should be able to stand up for the truth without fear of being criticised and insulted by those who oppose the truth, without fear of being abandoned by friends and family, without fear of loss of anything worldly. And we will also need to have complete trust in Allah, such that our trust that help and success will eventually come is greater than what our eyes and ears tell us about help and success being far-fetched.

The day of ‘Āshūrā’ has been made sunnah to fast on. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that fasting this day wipes out the sins of the previous year. So I encourage you to take this chance and fast this esteemed day. One should also fast the day before it or after it.

However, more importantly, take heed of the legacy of this day. A legacy of standing up for truth against falsehood, for right against wrong, for justice against injustice. A legacy that requires us all to obey our Lord, be courageous for His sake and place our complete trust in Him. This is the beginning of a new Islamic year. Let this be your new year's resolution.