Khutbah: Dunya Wasn't Meant to Be Jannah

All praise is truly Allah's. We praise Him, seek His help and ask His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the bad of our selves and from the evil of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead him astray. And whomever He leads astray, there is none to guide him. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship but Allah alone, without any partner to Him. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May Allah's prayers and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and companions.

Now then:

Allah says:

أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوٓا۟ أَن يَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ ۝ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ

“Do people think that they will be left (at ease) only on their saying, 'We believe,' and will not be put to any test? Indeed, We tested those who were before them: Allah will certainly make evident which ones are truthful, and He will certainly make evident which ones are liars.” (Qur’ān 29:2-3)

O slaves of Allah! Understand that this world was meant to be a test for us. It wasn't meant to be paradise. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

الدُّنْيَا سِجْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَجَنَّةُ الْكَافِرِ

“This world is the prison of a believer and the paradise of a non-believer.” (Narrated by Muslim)

So please understand: not everything in this world was supposed to go your way. This world was meant to have its trials and struggles. It wasn't meant to be a place where everything happens just as how you desire. If you really want to live in such a place, then I guess you'll have to work hard now in this world until you get to Jannah.

Now, if we take even a brief glance at the life of Allah's Messenger ﷺ we quickly see that his life wasn't easy. By the time he was six, he'd lost both of his parents. When he went to Ṭā’if to call them to Islam, he was pelted out of the city with stones, such that he bled so much that the blood glued his blessed feet to his sandals. He and his clan were exiled of Makkah for two years and were left to survive out in the open in the harsh, scorching Arabian desert with no water supply, eating nothing but twigs and leaves. Even in Madinah, where he was now head of state, days would go by without a fire being lit in his home to cook food. And who was this again?

The Beloved of Allah ﷺ. The best creation of Allah ﷺ.

And yet things for him didn't go the way he wanted. So what makes you think that the world should revolve around you?

You think your parents are so frustrating to deal with because they don't give in to what you want? Well, first of all, they aren't your personal servants – they're your parents. Secondly, guess what Sayyidunā Ibrahim's father was telling him to do?

“Go worship idols, son.”

He was commanding him to do shirk, the greatest sin, a sin Allah does not forgive for the person who dies upon it. And how does Ibrahim respond? By yelling? By swearing? By going on a rage? No. He addresses his father respectfully. Tries to convince him nicely. And how does his father respond? He doesn't just remain stubborn upon his shirk – he threatens to stone his own son! And what does Ibrahim say in reply?

“Salāmun ‘alayk.” (“Peace be upon you.”)

Ibrahim doesn't get his way when he calls his father to what Allah demands, and yet he's patient with him. So what about us who whinge and shout and let it all out when the situation doesn't submit to our demands?

Brothers and sisters, let's learn not to complain. When you complain, you're essentially expressing your lack of content with how Allah willed for things to be in this world. When you're fuming because you're meat is too undercooked or your chips aren't salty enough, you're expressing your lack of content with what Allah decreed to be your rizq (sustenance). We're not saying that you can't have a natural dislike for certain things. But if you do find something you don't exactly like, don't complain about it, and see the positive side of it. Life will become so much easier, and you'll end up so much happier.

So to conclude: this world wasn't meant to be a paradise. It was meant to be a test for you and me. So when things don't go your way, don't complain. It's useless and it won't change what Allah has already decreed. Rather, stay patient, for the patient await for themselves a massive reward in the next world, a place where you can have everything go your own way.

Khutbah: Prayer – a Pillar of the Religion

All praise is truly Allah's. We praise Him, seek His help and ask His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the bad of our selves and from the evil of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead him astray. And whomever He leads astray, there is none to guide him. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship but Allah alone, without any partner to Him. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May Allah's prayers and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and companions.

Now then:

Dear brothers and sisters! Know that nothing – apart from belief in Allah and His Messenger – will be more important to you throughout your entire life than the prayer (ṣalāh). The ṣalāh is the greatest pillar of this religion after the shahādah. It is the best and the most important of all the acts of worship done by the human body. Many Qur’ānic āyāt and ḥadīths demonstrate this point.

For example, Allah's Messenger ﷺ said in a ḥadīth qudsī that Allah ta‘ālā said:

إِنِّي فَرَضْتُ عَلَى أُمَّتِكَ خَمْسَ صَلَوَاتٍ وَعَهِدْتُ عِنْدِي عَهْدًا أَنَّهُ مَنْ جَاءَ يُحَافِظُ عَلَيْهِنَّ لِوَقْتِهِنَّ أَدْخَلْتُهُ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَنْ لَمْ يُحَافِظْ عَلَيْهِنَّ فَلاَ عَهْدَ لَهُ عِنْدِي

"Indeed, I have made obligatory upon your ummah five prayers, and I have taken upon myself a promise that whoever is mindful about offering them at their appointed time, I shall admit him into Paradise, and whoever is not mindful about them, then there is no such promise from Me for him." (Narrated by Abū Dāwūd)

Thus, Allah may either forgive him or punish him. You don't want to risk being punished by the Lord of all existence, do you?

Also, what were the last counsel of the Prophet ﷺ before he left this world?

الصَّلاَةَ الصَّلاَةَ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ فِيمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ

"The ṣalāh, the ṣalāh (i.e. be observant about ṣalāh, guard the ṣalāh, establish ṣalāh), and fear Allah regarding those whom your right hands possess." (Narrated by Abū Dāwūd, as reported by Sayyidunā ‘Alī (‘alayhi s-salām))

This was his last piece of advice for us before he breathed his last.

In the Qur’ān, Allah frequently describes the true believers and the successful as being those who would establish the prayer. The Qur’ān also mentions how when the believers are in Jannah, they will look down and see those in Hell and ask them,

مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَرَ

"What put you into Saqar (i.e. Hellfire)?" (Qur’ān 74:42)

And so what's the first thing they'll say in reply?

قَالُوا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينَ

"They will say, 'We were not of those who prayed.'" (Qur’ān 74:43)

We have many examples from the sīrah too. I'll only mention one. Now, how did the Prophet ﷺ usually receive commandments from Allah? Angel Jibrīl would come down from the heavens to the Earth with the message and deliver it to Allah's Messenger ﷺ. But with the commandment of ṣalāh, things happened differently. Instead of Jibrīl coming down from the heavens to Earth to deliver the commandment to the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ was now brought up from Earth to the heavens, where he would receive this mighty commandment – the commandment of ṣalāh.

Dear brothers and sisters, you've heard of the importance of the ṣalāh. So ensure that you remain regular with your prayers. Allah only asked that you do five. Just five. The initial command was fifty prayers a day. But He, out of His extreme mercy for you and me, reduced it to five. From fifty to five. So for those of you who aren't praying these five, come on – it's not a big ask. It won't take up more than 20-30 minutes of your 24 hour – or 1440 minute – day. How many minutes – or hours – do you spend on your phone per day? On the internet? On games? On social media? Sending and reading messages? And yet 30 minutes a day to offer ṣalāh and recite or listen to Allah's message for you is too much? 30 minutes a day to pray to your Creator is too much? So from this day on, let us resolve to get our five prayers right. If waking up for Fajr is your problem, try preparing from the night before. Sleep earlier. Don't have too much for dinner. Get an alarm and put it far from your bed. Do the dhikr before sleeping. Motivate yourself, for Fajr and for the other four prayers. And for those of us who are already praying the five, let's strive to go further. Pray more of the sunnah prayers, pray in congregation (for men), improve the quality of your ṣalāh, – don't pray like a bird pecking its head on the ground – learn the meanings of what you're saying, and so on.

I end with a ḥadīth where Allah's Messenger ﷺ said:

أوّل ما يحاسب به العبد يوم القيامة الصلاة، فإن صلحت صلح سائرُ عمله، وإن فسدت فسد سائرُ عمله

"The first thing that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Resurrection is the prayer. If it is good/sound, then the rest of his deeds will be good/sound. And if it is corrupt, then the rest of his deeds will be corrupt." (Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī)

Khutbah: Religiosity is Correlated with Character

All praise and thanks is truly Allah's. We praise Him, seek His help and ask His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the bad of our selves and from the evil of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead him astray. And whomever He leads astray, there is none to guide him. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship but Allah alone, without any partner to Him. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May Allah's prayers and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and companions.

To proceed:

The Prophet ﷺ said:

مَا شَيْءٌ أَثْقَلُ فِي مِيزَانِ الْمُؤْمِنِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ خُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ

"There is nothing heavier in the scale of the believer on the Day of Resurrection than excellent character." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)

Dear believers! Ponder upon this statement of Allah's Messenger ﷺ. Akhlāq (character) is a central part of Islam. For a person's character serves as an indicator of their attachment to the rules of the Islam. You can measure the quality of your attachment to the rules of Islam by the quality of your character.

You see, with some people, the more they apparently become closer to the religion, the harsher they become with others. The more they apparently become closer to the religion, the more disrespectful they become towards others. The more they apparently become closer to the religion, the ruder they become with others. The more they apparently become closer to the religion, the more they mock, curse or attack others they view as wrong. The more they apparently become closer to the religion, the more they look down upon family and friends who aren't so religious or perhaps just unintentionally fall into sin.

Why? This is not the way things should be…

The more you attach yourself to the religion, the better your akhlāq should become. If you think you're becoming more religious, however your akhlāq isn't improving, then there's probably something wrong. Chances are that by becoming closer to the religion, you seek to make yourself feel good, and seek that the people admire you and are impressed by you and make you the person they ask for religious questions. Well if that's the case, then there's a problem. You're now looking down upon others and thinking that you're better than them, because you think you're more religious than them. O slave of Allah, this is a disease of the heart. And so what happens to akhlāq as a result of this disease? It goes out the door. You become harsher and more disrespectful to the people. And so do you think a person with a diseased heart as such can truly be said to be a religious person?

Thus, if you think you're all religious and pious, then judge your character. Let's not judge others – we must think well of others and have good opinions about them. But do have a look at yourself. Are you merciful, gentle, sympathetic, polite, selfless and humble with others? Are you always having good assumptions about them, trying to think positively about them? Or are you harsh, mean, foul-mouthed, selfish and rude with others? Always thinking negatively of and looking down upon them?

Dear brothers and sisters, now you see that quality of character is an indication of quality of religiosity. Now do you see how the person with the greatest character in human history was also the most God-fearing and God-conscious person in human history, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ? Does that not now bring into perspective aḥādīth such as:

خَيْرُكُمْ إِسْلاَمًا أَحَاسِنُكُمْ أَخْلاَقًا إِذَا فَقِهُوا

"The best of you in Islam are those of you most excellent in character, when they gain understanding of the religion." (Narrated by al-Bukhārī in al-Adab al-Mufrad and Aḥmad in his Musnad)?

To conclude: becoming closer to religion should mean becoming a better person. Becoming more religious should make you a better son, a better daughter, a better brother, a better sister, a better friend, a better student. It's a sign of an improved state with Allah that your states with His slaves improve as well. If they don't, then there's a disconnect between your apparent increase in religiosity and your sincerity in doing so, and that you'll need to fix up.