20170127- 1st Khutba - Abdul Raoof Alkhawaldeh

Opening Praise and Supplication

الحمد لله ثم الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي هدانا لهذا وما كنا لنهتدي لولا أن هدانا الله، وما توفيقي واعتمادي واتكاني إلا على الله، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله ونبيه وخليله، عليه أفضل الصلاة وأزكى التسليم.

We ask Allah for His rahmah and 'afiyah on that day.

My brothers and sisters, I advise myself and you to have the taqwa of Allah in our hearts. To remember the time when we leave this dunya for another life. To remember our graves. Remember when we are about to cross Al-Sirat Al-Mustaqeem. Remember the Jannah. Remember the Hellfire.

May Allah protect us, ya Rabbil Alameen. And may Allah make us among the fa'izeen.

May Allah save us from the Hellfire. Make us among the people of the Jannah, ya Rabbil Alameen.

Amma ba'd — indeed among the most virtuous of your days is the day of Jumu'ah, so increase your salah and salaam upon the Prophet on this day.

As he advises us to send our salam and blessings to him, especially on the day of Friday. And there is a certain time on Friday — if you ask Allah for anything whatsoever, Allah will grant it for you, as long as you don't ask for haram.

We ask Allah for all of us, ya Rabbil Alameen. Our families, our loved ones, the Muslim ummah throughout the world. We ask Allah to give us a complete maghfirah, ya Rabbil Alameen. And to give the nasr and the victory to the madlumeen, and to give the hidayah for those who do not have it. Allahumma ameen, Allahumma ameen.

Remembering Death and Returning to Allah

Wa ba'd — Allah says:

Allah reminds us in our busy schedule, busy life — you know what? You were not in existence at one time. Remember that you were dead at one time. Then Allah gave you life. And after this life, Allah will send you to death again. May Allah give us a good ending, ya Rabbil Alameen. But the fact is:

ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ — The fact is, death, life, death — at the end you're going back to Allah. We always say:

We are from Allah, and to Allah we shall return. Allah says in the Quran also:

Each one of you will come to Allah as an individual, by yourself. Nobody else with you.

Each one of you will stand before Allah and there will be no translator in between. It doesn't matter what your language is, your background, your social status — that day will come. We ask Allah to give us the tathbeeth, ya Rabbil Alameen.

As we speak, we have the janazah of brother Mas'ud — may Allah give him rahmah and maghfirah — waiting in the multi-purpose hall for salah. We're all heading that way. We're all heading that way. We all want to meet with our Lord Allah. The question is: kayfa yakoonul liqa'? What kind of meeting will we be having with Allah, لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ? How will it feel? What will happen when you stand before Allah?

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6507; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2683)

Anybody who loves to meet with Allah, in return Allah will love to meet with them. If I ask each one of you here — who would love to meet with Allah? We all, insha'Allah, claim that we love to meet with Allah.

And just imagine — as the soul is departing, as that body is laying down, as the people are waiting, and the doctors and everybody, and there is nothing they can do at that time:

What a blessing, what a bushra, if Allah gives us that chance — that a call will be made to the nafsul mutma'innah, the peaceful soul. May Allah make us among them, ya Rabbul Alameen. Irji'i — go back to your Lord, mutma'innah, in peace, bi'idhnillahi azza wa jal, and enter among the 'ibad of Allah, and enter among the people of the Jannah.

Ya Allah, ya Rabb, give us that call. Ya Allah, ya Rabb, give us that bushra. Ya Allah, ya Rabb, give us husnul khatam.

The Story of Harithah: What Is the Reality of Your Iman?

Al-kullu yaz'umu hubbAllah — each one of us claims we love Allah. So, the Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asked Harithah. He said: Kayfa asbahta ya Harithah? — "How are you this morning? Tell me, what's going on with you, Harithah, this morning?"

He said: Asbahtu mu'minan haqqa. Imagine this answer — the Prophet asking the Sahabi, "How are you this morning?" and he said: "I am a perfect, a true believer this morning. I woke up in the best state of iman today." Can we claim that? Ya Rabb, I hope and pray that we can claim that every single morning.

So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: Inna li kulli imanin haqiqah, fama haqiqatu imanik? — "Listen, be careful. Everybody can make a claim. Everybody can assume something. What is the evidence that you're really a true believer? What makes you a true believer? How do you know you're really a true believer?"

He said: "Ya Rasulullah, azabat nafsi 'anil dunya, fa agma'tu nahari wa ashartu layli." — "The fact that the dunya is not a priority for me anymore; I am focusing on my akhirah. I am getting thirsty during the day" — which represents fasting to Allah — "and I do not sleep at night; I wake up at night and I pray qiyamul layl." May Allah make us among those, ya Rabb al-alameen.

"Wa ka'anni li 'arshi rabbi thariza" — "And I am in a state where I can feel or visualize the 'arsh of Allah, لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ."

"Wa ka'anni bi ahlil jannati yan'umoona feeha, wa ka'anni bi ahlil nari yu'adhaboon." — "And I can feel the people of the Jannah enjoying the Jannah, and the people of the Hellfire taking the punishment — wal 'iyadu billah."

So he said: Asabta, fal dham — "You got it. You better stick to it. Arafta fal dham — You know the fact, you know the truth; you better have that faith and iman, and look after your akhirah."

Each soul needs to think of what it has prepared for tomorrow.

Then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, after listening to what he had to say: "Mu'minun nawwarallahu qalbah" — "A believer whose heart Allah has illuminated with light."

Ya Allah, give us from Your noor. Ya Allah, give us from Your guidance. Ya Allah, show us the right things, ya Rabb al-alameen.

The Proof of Our Claim: Ruku', Sujud, Ibadah, and Doing Good

The question for me and you: what is our haqiqat al-iman? What is the proof of our claim? You know, every Friday we are supposed to read the sunnah of Surah Al-Kahf. Now if you go all the way to the end, Allah has a message for all of us about the claim we make — man ahabba liqa'Allah. He says:

For those who are waiting to meet with their Lord Allah, they need to do two things. Number one: there is no shirk in their life with Allah. Your ibadah, your action, your a'mal — only and only to Allah, for the sake of Allah, sincerely to Allah, no partners in between. And with that faith, that ikhlas, that iman, that haqiqah in our heart, accompany it with a'mal salihah.

Fal ya'mal amalan salihan — you need to do a'mal salihah, and you need to have that faith and no shirk with Allah. So what kind of a'mal salihah can me and you do? Where do we start?

There are a lot of ayat, a lot of ahadith, a lot of direction from Allah. But very beautiful — and all the Quran is beautiful — in Surah Al-Hajj, Allah says:

Allah is calling the mu'mineen. May Allah make us among them. Imagine this ayah for you and me, talking to our hearts. Ya ayyuhalladhina amanu — any believer here? This is the call for you. Irka'u — make ruku' to Allah. Wasjudu — and make sujud to Allah. Wa'budu rabbakum — and perform your ibadah to Allah. Waf'alu al-khayr — and do goodness. La'allakum tuflihoon — you shall succeed.

Four fundamentals for success: your ruku', your sujud, your ibadah, your amal al-khayr. Ruku' and sujud — simply we are humbling ourselves to Allah. سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ — we are submitting ourselves to Allah. Ya Allah, I believe. Ya Allah, I am here ready to perform. Then you go for sujud. You ask Allah for the help to make your ruku' and to do your amal. Like when we read in Surah Al-Fatihah:

Ya Allah, we are making ibadah to You. At the same time, please help us. So the same concept — ruku' is declaring the ibadah to Allah.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 482)

The closest time to Allah is when you are in the state of sujud — when your forehead is down on the ground. And he says: make a lot of du'a in that time. Du'a for yourself, du'a for your family, du'a for your friends, du'a for your relatives, du'a for the Muslim ummah, du'a for our neighbors, our nation, for guidance and khayr and barakah.

This is how ruku' and sujud are a form of salah. Yet Allah repeats it, and He says wa'budu rabbakum. In a way, Allah is telling us: ibadah is not only the salah. While salah is imad al-deen, while salah is the pillar of Islam, while salah is the first thing that Allah will ask you about on the Day of Judgment — yet ibadah has a broader meaning. How can you have ibadah when you are at home? When you go to bed, how can you turn your sleeping into ibadah to Allah? When you go to work in the morning, how can you make those eight hours ibadah to Allah?

It doesn't mean you hide in your office and start praying non-stop. It's more than that. The way you act, the way you do mu'amalat, the way you represent yourself, the way you behave — this is a form of ibadah. That's why:

He focused three times on your ibadah — this ibadah needs to show. You pray — it's for yourself. You make Hajj — it's for yourself. You fast — it's for yourself. Allah wants this ibadah to be translated into other things, and He says waf'alu al-khayr. After you increase your ibadah and after you work to improve your relation with Allah, you need to improve your relation with mankind, with your brothers, with your sisters, with your neighbors.

Allah gave the wahi to the anbiya' before us to do khayr and to do goodness and to do good deeds.

The Doors of Khayr: Sadaqah and Supporting Your Brothers

And the Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam one time, in a long hadith — if you can find it insha'Allah — the Hadith of Mu'adh, when he said: "Ya Rasulullah, tell me about something that I can do to enter the Jannah and stay away from the Hellfire." Very beautiful hadith — please take it, discuss it with your family and your children.

In the middle of the hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2616; declared Hasan Sahih)

"It's not only the answer I gave you, but there are doors of khayr. You open this door, and it takes you to another space. Then you enter another door, and it takes you to another space." And this is abwab al-khayr — each door of khayr will lead you to another door of khayr. If Allah accepts your deed, He will lead you to another one, and another one, and so on.

And the Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: min abwab al-khayr — from the doors of khayr that are around us — he said: al-sadaqah. You enter the masjid, there is a box for sadaqah. You go online, there are a lot of requests for sadaqah. You see needy people in need — sadaqah.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2616; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3973)

When you put water on the fire, what happens? The fire is extinguished. The fire disappears. Water puts out fire. The Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: your sadaqah will put out your sins like you put water on the fire.

Any angels among us here today that we're not aware of? They are around us insha'Allah. When we come, there are special angels waiting and they are writing the names of those, especially those who come on time before the imam enters the khutbah. There are angels at the door of the masjid — they write the names. And the moment the imam says as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, they close their books and they listen to the khatib.

Make sure you arrive, if you can, before the khutbah starts. Why? You need to make sure your name is on the list, bi'idhnillahi azza wa jal. I don't say if you came late you lost your Jumu'ah — no, that's not what I'm saying. What I am saying — what the Prophet said — is that there are special angels who will record the attendees of Jumu'ah, and the moment the imam says as-salamu alaykum, they close their record books and sit and listen to the imam. We want all of us, insha'Allah, to join the company of the mala'ikah of Allah.

وَالصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيئَةَ كَمَا يُطْفِئُ الْمَاءُ النَّارَ — your sadaqah will wipe out your sins like water on the fire. Sadaqah is a symbolic thing that represents you are thinking beyond yourself. You are not selfish. You are thinking of others. You are thinking of the people.

And our Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam reminds us:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4884)

Sometimes one might say: "What is my sadaqah going to do? What is my five dollars going to do?" Our Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says: if you let down your Muslim brother in a time when their rights are violated and their honor is being trashed, and they are in need — if you let them down, Allah will let you down in a time when you need Allah. The same thing applies in the opposite: if you give them nusrah, you give them support, you help them out, Allah will help you in a time when you need Allah.

Closing Du'a

So may Allah give us husnul khatam, ya Rabbul Alameen. May Allah guide us to do the right things, ya Rabbul Alameen. And may He call upon all of us:

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله.

الحمد لله ثم الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله.

Announcements: Fundraiser for the Horn of Africa

My brothers and sisters, before I make the du'a insha'Allah — we have arranged a beautiful gathering to help the needy and the masakeen in the Horn of Africa, especially in the Somalia area. We have 4 million people who have become refugees in their country and outside their country. 80% of their livestock is wiped out. 8 out of 10 do not have access to clean drinking water. 58% of the kids do not go to school. Basically they don't have much.

So we have arranged this Sunday, insha'Allah, at the Crystal Banquet — a fundraising dinner, lunch actually — at 2 p.m. insha'Allah. We have Dr. Yasir Khali insha'Allah coming from Memphis — you all know him. We have Shaykh Shakib insha'Allah who will join us, and myself. So I invite all of you insha'Allah to join us. Even if you don't have much to give, or you do not plan to give, just come for the barakah insha'Allah and the support to our brothers and sisters. And maybe insha'Allah this sadaqah of yours will put off your sins like water on the fire.

So I invite all of you insha'Allah — Sunday, 2 p.m., across the street insha'Allah at the Crystal Banquet.

Final Du'a

May Allah bless this gathering. May Allah reward every person who made this facility and this community possible. Anybody who donated, anybody who put their time, anybody who made their plans, anybody who volunteered in this place — ya Rabb al-alameen, grant them a place in the Jannah. Grant them the highest forgiveness, ya Rabb al-alameen. Allahumma ameen, Allahumma ameen.

May Allah forgive all of us, ya Rabb al-alameen. May Allah give shifa' — we have a lot of requests for du'a. May Allah give shifa' to the muslimin, ya Rabb al-alameen, those who are sick in our community. May Allah forgive those who died as muslimin. May Allah grant them the highest place in the Jannah. May Allah look at us with His rahmah, ya Rabb al-alameen. May Allah keep us united in this message, in this community. May Allah remove the hasad, the dhukh, the hatred from our hearts, ya Rabb al-alameen. May Allah protect us. May Allah protect our community. May Allah protect our children. May Allah protect our families, ya Rabb al-alameen. May Allah increase our iman. May Allah give us husnul khatam.

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ