EPIC Masjid, Brother Azhar Azeez, Misc Jummah Khutba

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He declares misguided, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

O people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it a wife, and from them many men and women. And fear Allah, to whom you ask for help. O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims. O you who believe, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, then he has attained a great success.

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: Indeed, the best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace be upon him. And the worst of affairs are newly invented matters. Indeed, every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

O Allah, show us the truth, and grant us the ability to follow it. And show us the falsehood, and grant us the ability to abstain from it.

Praise be to Allah and only Allah, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Prophet, Rasulullah ﷺ, his family, his companions, and his ummah until the Day of Judgment.

I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the last and final messenger of Allah.

Introduction — Congratulations on the Groundbreaking

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, and my dear children, before I start my khutbah, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to all of you. I was told that very recently you all had this groundbreaking ceremony for your masjid. So I want to offer best wishes from your neighboring city, from Carrollton. And I ask Allah to help us and to bless us to witness this dream coming true.

And each one of you who is present here deserves these congratulations, deserves our best wishes, and deserves our greetings. So I am going to start with the mention of this masjid, and inshallah I am going to conclude my khutbah also by mentioning the masjid.

Allah reminds us in the Holy Qur'an:

The masajid of Allah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, perform as-salah and give zakah, and fear none but Allah. It is they who are on true guidance.

The Greatness of Allah's Gifts

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah reminds us in Surah Al-Ma'idah that all the dominions of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah, and He is able to do everything.

It is He, Allah, who created the earth and made Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as the two most important days of the year. It is He, Allah, who created months and made Ramadan as the most important month of the year. It is He, Allah, who created weeks and made Jummah as the most important day of the week. It is He, Allah, who created days and nights, and made the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah and the last ten nights of Ramadan as the best days and the best nights. And it is He, Allah, who created this entire human race and made Rasulullah ﷺ the best mankind has ever seen or the best mankind would ever see.

One of the greatest gifts of Allah to all of us is that He gave us this glorious Qur'an — this book that each one of us should take great pride in, that Allah has chosen you and me as the proud recipients of this glorious book. And the second great mercy and bounty on all of us from Allah is that He made us the Ummati of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Gratitude to Allah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah reminds us in the Holy Qur'an where He says:

Remember Me, I will remember you. Be thankful to Me and never be ungrateful to Me.

And Imam Shafi'i used to say: we can never thank Allah enough. Even when we thank Him, that effort on our part to thank Him itself deserves its own thanks from us. So he used to say: O Allah, thank you for allowing me to thank you.

In one place Allah is reminding us in the Holy Qur'an where He says:

Say: Verily, my Salat, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the alamin — mankind, jinn, and all that exists.

I remind myself first and then all of you to always strengthen our relationship with Allah. There are two kinds of relationships — vertical and horizontal. If our relationship, the vertical relationship with Allah, is strong, then all the other relationships — whether with our parents, or with our spouses, or with our children, or with our community, or with the society at large — shall remain strong.

We thank Allah every single step. When you see an elderly gentleman who is entering a hall, opening a door, and he is not able to open the door because he is too weak — another brother moves forward and opens the door for that person. And in a way, he is thanking Allah because Allah has given him that strength to help others. The person who is receiving the help should also thank Allah because he was too weak to open the door by himself, and Allah sent somebody to help him out. So he should thank Allah for this mercy.

Allah's Love — The Hadith of Jibreel

In a Hadith Qudsi narrated by Abu Hurairah, also mentioned in Sahih Muslim, Rasulullah ﷺ said: when Allah loves a person, He calls Jibreel and says to him, "I love so-and-so, therefore you should also love him." So Jibreel makes an announcement in Jannah, in heaven, saying: "Allah loves so-and-so, therefore you should also love him." Then all the inhabitants of the heaven love him. Thus the acceptance is established for him on earth, and that person becomes popular and loved by people. And when Allah dislikes someone, then again the same process happens. Thus the dislike is established for that person on earth and the dislike prevails against him among the people.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 6373)

My dear brothers and sisters, we all make this du'a, this very sincere du'a, asking Allah to put us in the first category where Allah chooses us to love Him. May Allah help us to always seek His pleasure and follow His commandments and follow the path upon which Allah has bestowed His mercy and bounties. And we ask Allah to always keep us away from those who earn His wrath and who earn His anger.

Surah Al-Imran, Allah reminds us:

It is He, Allah — whoever He wills, He bestows honor upon them. And whoever He wills, He abases them. And His hand is all good, and He is able to do everything.

The Story of the Daughter Who Feared Allah

My dear brothers and sisters, I would like to share with you a story that happened during the time of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. During his time, people used to mix water with milk and sell it. So Umar issued a decree asking people not to do this and to sell the milk in its purest form. He sent his people — maybe we can say these individuals were the FBI agents of that time — who would go out and make sure that people were not mixing milk with water. This was our khalifa.

During those days, the khalifa did not move around in a fifty-car motorcade or limousine, as we see some of the leaders of today's time. During those days, the khalifa would himself go out in the night and walk around to see the people — whether they were happy, whether their lives were comfortable, whether they had any complaints.

So one day, Umar decided to go out in the night and he was walking through the streets. During those days, people could easily hear what conversation was going on in nearby homes — they didn't have double-glazed doors and thick brick walls. In the night, you could walk through the street and literally hear the conversations going on in different homes.

As he was passing by, he heard a conversation between a mother and a daughter. The mother was asking the daughter to mix water with milk, and the daughter was resisting. The mother said: "Why are you resisting?" The daughter said: "The khalifa has issued a decree asking us not to mix water with milk." The mother said: "The khalifa is not here — it is just you and me. Why don't you go ahead and mix water with milk?" At that point, the daughter said: "Even though the khalifa is not listening to us, the Allah of the khalifa is always watching us. We should fear Him and we should not mix water with milk."

At that point, when Umar was listening to this conversation, he went and put a mark on that home. He went back to his home and told his son: "I have found a match for you. This is a woman who carries a very high degree of taqwa — God-consciousness."

So my dear brothers and sisters, we have to be always mindful of this fact. Allah is reminding us in the Holy Qur'an when He says:

And put your trust in Allah, and sufficient is Allah as a wakil — a trustee and disposer of affairs.

The Story of the Log of Wood — Trust in Allah

I would like to share with you another story that was shared by our beloved Prophet Rasulullah ﷺ. It is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 488. And this is the story that the Prophet ﷺ shared with his companions, and this story was from the time of Bani Israel.

One time, a person went to another person and asked him for a loan. He said: "I am in desperate need of a thousand dinars." So the lender asked him for a surety. The borrower said: "I will make Allah as my surety." So the lender said: "I will take your word. How about your witness?" He said: "I will make Allah as my witness." So the lender said: "There cannot be a better witness than Allah." So he said: "I will take your word." It was not like today where you have to sign two dozen pages just to give a surety. So he said: "I will take your word. But I will give you the money on one condition — that you have to return this money on a specific date."

So the borrower agreed, he took the money, and he went across the river to do his business, to do his trade. Finally, the time came for him to return the money. The man was looking for a mode of transportation. He couldn't find any. So he picked up a log of wood and drilled a hole in it, and put a letter and the money inside that log of wood. He sealed it tightly and threw this log of wood into the water.

The lender was looking for this person. He was looking for that borrower. But he couldn't find this person. However, he did find that log of wood floating by. He thought he would take this log of wood and use it for firewood. And when he took this log of wood to his home and split it in two pieces, he saw the letter and the money inside.

After a few days, the borrower came to the lender. He said: "Allah is my witness — I did my best to come back to you on time, but I did not find any mode of transportation. That is the reason why I am late. I am extremely sorry I couldn't return the money on time. But here is the money — I would like to return it to you now." At that point, the lender told the borrower: "Keep this money with you. Because Allah has already delivered the money on your behalf." And he told him that he had received that log of wood.

So my dear brothers and sisters, we all as believers have to put our trust in Allah first and foremost. Once we put our trust in Allah, what do we do? Allah in Surah Al-Ra'd reminds us when He says:

Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state themselves.

Again and again and again, Allah in Surah Ar-Rahman reminds us when He says:

Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both — jinn and men — deny?

The Story of Hasan al-Basri and Tawakkul

My dear brothers and sisters, I would like to share with you the story that happened during the lifetime of Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him. One day he saw a dream, and in his dream he was commanded to go and help a person. So Hasan al-Basri asked himself: "Where would I find this person?" In his dream he was commanded to ride a donkey and the donkey would take him to that person, and he should provide help and assistance.

So Hasan al-Basri followed the commandment of his dream, rode the donkey, and the donkey took him to an adjacent village where he saw this person. He could recollect his face because he had seen his face in the dream. So Hasan al-Basri goes to this person and gives him financial assistance, gives him the money. And he tells him: "In future, if you ever need help, please feel free to contact me, because I am from a particular village not too far away from this place."

The person who was receiving the help started to smile. So Hasan al-Basri looked at him and asked: "What is the reason for your smile?" The person said: "When I always have the option to ask Him who has sent you all the way from a different village to me — why would I come to you and ask for help? If I ever need help in future, I would ask Him who is the true Provider."

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah is reminding us in the Holy Qur'an when He says:

Then We appointed you vicegerents in the earth after them, that We might see how you would work. This is a great honor — a great blessing Allah has bestowed upon us — and with this honor comes great responsibility.

The Ten Characteristics Every Muslim Should Have

Many scholars have explained to us, and there is almost complete consensus on this fact, that there are ten characteristics that each Muslim should have in their life. And if they don't have these characteristics, then they should strive to gain them.

Strive in the path of Allah so that you will be successful. What are these ten characteristics? I will not go into too much detail, but I will quickly run through the ten characteristics that each Muslim should have in their daily lives.

Number one: سَلِيمُ الْعَقِيدَة — Sound faith.

Number two: صَحِيحُ الْعِبَادَة — Correct worship.

Number three: قَوِيُّ الْجِسْم — Strong body.

Number four: مَتِينُ الْخُلُق — Solid character.

Number five: مُثَقَّفُ الْفِكْر — Cultured mind.

Number six: قَادِرٌ عَلَى الْكَسْب — Able to earn.

Number seven: مُجَاهِدٌ لِنَفْسِه — Self-discipline.

Number eight: حَارِسٌ لِوَقْتِه — Conscious about his time.

Number nine: مُنَظَّمٌ فِي شُؤُونِه — Organizing his efforts.

Number ten: نَافِعٌ لِغَيْرِه — A benefit to others.

Islamophobia and the Muslim Community in America

My dear brothers and sisters, those of our elderly brothers and sisters who are present here — those who came into this country in the 70s, 80s, and 90s — remember this fact very easily. During those days, the most commonly asked question was: "Where are you originally from?" Today, in a post-9/11 era, the most commonly asked question is: "What do you believe in?" There has been a huge paradigm shift.

We all know that every day, every week, every month, we hear in the news opposition to masajid, opposition to Islamic schools in different parts of the country. If you go back and look at 2012, you will find many examples where there was huge opposition to many masajid and many Islamic schools around the country. These unfortunate incidents made headline news. And many people said that 2012 was a very difficult year for the Muslim community because they saw a rise of Islamophobia, they saw a display of hate, they saw a display of bigotry. This was a very difficult time for the Muslim community in 2012.

But on the flip side, on a positive note, a lot of good things also happened in 2012 for the Muslim community. Very quickly, let me share with you. For the first time, we have a comprehensive study that says there are 2,106 Islamic centers in the country. In the past, we were in the guessing game — we have 3,000 masajid, 5,000 masajid, 10,000 masajid. But now we have data. Now we have a comprehensive study, completed as of December 2012, that says exactly 2,106 Islamic centers exist. This was the study done by Dr. Ihsan Bagdi, a professor at the University of Kentucky, who spent an entire year or more traveling to every single state, every single city, every single town to complete this study.

We also heard about the Murfreesboro, Tennessee mosque that was in the news, facing a legal battle. Not only did Muslims win the case, but the construction was completed and the masjid was inaugurated by none other than the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Tom Perez, who recently became the Labor Secretary and is in the Cabinet of the President.

So these positive things have been happening. We should take great pride in this fact that with these challenges also comes relief, and there are a lot of positive things that we all are witnessing.

My dear brothers and sisters, this issue of Islamophobia is a real issue. We cannot call it Islamophobia anymore because it is not a phobia — it is Islamo-realism because these kinds of challenges are real, and many communities across America are facing them. Allah reminds us in the Holy Qur'an:

And the disbelievers plotted, and Allah plotted. And Allah is the best of those who plot.

With these challenges, we should be inspired and motivated to do the Islamic work in this country. And this work cannot be done by a few individuals or the imams or the people who are in leadership. This work has to be done collectively by each and every single individual. If we would like to see a change in the society, if we would like to see the misunderstandings and misconceptions about Islam totally go away, then it has to be a collective effort where each and every individual makes an effort to remove these misunderstandings about this great religion.

And when you are engaged in these activities, you will find many challenges. So I remind myself and all of you — do not get depressed, do not get disheartened because of these challenges.

The Story of the Man and the Horse

On a lighter note, I always share this story. There was a man who took his son to buy a horse. He bought the horse and made his son sit on the horse while he walked alongside holding the strap. Some people saw this and said: "Look, shame on this young fellow — he is making his poor father walk while he enjoys the comfort of the horse." So at that point, the father said to his son: "Why don't you come down and let me ride the horse?"

After a short distance, some people saw this and said: "Shame on this old man — he has enjoyed his whole life, and even now he is celebrating and making his son suffer." So the father said: "Let me also join you on the horse and we will both ride."

After a short distance, some people saw this and said: "These guys don't know how to use a mode of transportation — they are abusing the animal." At that point, the father said: "The only option left for you and me, my son, is that you lift the horse from the back and I will lift the horse from the front, and we will carry the horse." When they did this, even at that time, some people criticized them, saying these people don't know how to use a horse.

So sometimes, you are doomed when you do and you are doomed when you don't.

Unity of the Ummah

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah is reminding us in the Holy Qur'an:

This community of yours is one single community. So we ask Allah to unite our hearts, to unite our souls, to unite us with each other. And if we claim that we are already united, then we ask Allah to strengthen our unity and bless our efforts, so that we can bring a change.

Allah in the Holy Qur'an is reminding us when He says:

Let there be an ummah among you advocating what is good, demanding what is right, and eradicating what is wrong. It is they who are the successful.

Second Part of the Khutbah

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his pure and blessed family and companions.

Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and salute him with all respect.

The Honor of the Children of Adam

Allah is reminding us in the Holy Qur'an when He says:

Allah has honored the children of Adam, and with this honor comes great responsibility.

Cooperation in Righteousness

My dear brothers and sisters, today I am here on behalf of the Islamic Association of Carrollton. Your masjid is not too far away from there. I remember those days when you were struggling to build this beautiful facility. You would come to the Islamic Association of Carrollton on a regular basis. Some of the old-timers who were part of this masjid in the beginning remember this very well.

And Allah in Surah Al-Ma'idah reminds us when He says:

Help one another in righteousness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is severe in punishment. Allah is Ghafoor Rahim — the most kind, the most gracious, the most compassionate, the most merciful. But at the same time, He is also severe in punishment.

An Appeal for the Masjid

The Islamic Association of Carrollton is now having an expansion project. By the grace and mercy of Allah, more than 800 people pray Jummah every single week, and we are in dire need of expansion. The roof is in its place, the walls are there, the rooms are ready, and the interior work is going on. The whole project is costing us 1.1 million dollars. By the grace and mercy of Allah, we have already made payments of close to 850 to 900 thousand dollars. We are short of only 200 thousand dollars so that we can complete this project before Ramadan.

I know you have a mammoth project in front of you — this masjid needs your help and support, and I fully understand that. But I sincerely urge you to also think about your brothers and sisters who are not too far away from here. They are in desperate need of help. We have to make these payments. And subhanallah, if we cannot go to our own brothers and sisters and ask for their financial help, where else can we go?

So I would sincerely urge you that today, before you leave, you would contribute something towards this beautiful masjid. Because my dear brothers and sisters, masajids are the nucleus of our society. You have a happy occasion in your family — you come to the masjid. You have a sad occasion in your family — you come to the masjid. There is a wedding in the family — you come to the masjid. There is a death in the family — you come to the masjid. You need spiritual guidance — you come to the masjid. You want to worship Allah peacefully — you come to the masjid.

Masjid is the nucleus of our society, and our lives revolve around the masjid. So my dear brothers and sisters, I always say this: masajids have a right on us, and we have a right on the masajids. We have to fulfill each other's right. I sincerely urge you — please do not leave without giving something for this beautiful masjid.

Conclusion — The Story of the Sheikh at Al-Azhar

I don't want you all to take a shortcut today, and I will inshallah conclude with this story. A few months back I was in Egypt, and I had the good fortune of visiting the great university Al-Azhar. There, Sheikh Muhammad Musa was sharing his story with me.

Not too far away from Al-Azhar, there is a madrasa where a Sheikh teaches children Qur'an and makes them memorize the Qur'an. And he has a very unique style. He asks children: "What is your name?" The child says: "My name is Yunus." So he says: "Go and buy a hat for Yunus and come back — I will give you admission in the madrasa." "What is your name?" "My name is Maryam." "Go and buy a hat for Maryam and come to the madrasa — I will give you admission." "What is your name?" "My name is Muhammad." "What is your name?" "My name is Muzammil." "Go and buy a hat for Muzammil and come back — I will give you admission to my school."

There was one child who was very weak in memorization. He was struggling and he couldn't think of how he would be able to face this Sheikh. But somehow he gathered the strength and came to the Sheikh. The Sheikh asked him: "What is your name?" So at that point he said: "Sheikh, my name is Imran. But out of love and compassion, my mother calls me Kawthar."

So I want to make sure that you don't take a shortcut — you basically give whatever you can for this beautiful house of Allah. May Allah accept our efforts. As it is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, that the great house of Allah, the Ka'bah, was built by Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and Ismail, peace be upon him. And we too, on this blessed day, at this blessed time, we ask Allah to accept this service from us, to accept this duty from us. These masajids need our help and support.

Because once the wise man said:

Money says: earn me, forget everything.
Time says: follow me, forget everything.
Future says: struggle for me, forget everything.
And Allah is saying: Just remember Me — I will give you everything.

We say: Allahumma — make it work.