2014-10-10 - Friday Prayer - Brother Aftab Dewan

Opening Du'a and Testimony of Faith

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

All praise is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We praise Allah. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to guide us. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect us. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to not only protect us from whatever bad, all the wrong, all the evil that is around us in the world, whether immediately or at a distance.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect us from ourselves — in regards to our desires, in regards to our inclination towards things that are unacceptable by the Lord Almighty, in regards to things that would lead us astray. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us to distinguish between that which is right and which is wrong, and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us the strength to stay away from that which is wrong and to pursue that which is right.

With that said, we recognize the fact that those whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guides, no one can lead them astray. And those whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows to go astray due to our own insistence, no one — no one — can bring them back to the guidance except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

With that said, we bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. No one worthy of worship except Allah. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us to understand what that means, or what that should mean to us. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us understand how our beloved Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam incorporated this concept of tawhid into his daily life. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was the slave, the servant, the best of worshippers of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who brought to us guidance and who brought to us a light — a light that leads a way straight towards the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, a light that leads a way straight to the Jannah.

So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us to pursue the guidance. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shower that mercy upon us, which will enable us to enter the paradise and be with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and be in the shade of Allah azza wa jal on a day where there is no shade except His. Say ameen.

The Need for Empowerment Through Worship

Today, my brothers and sisters, I was going to reflect upon some of the things that have to do with the festivities or the occasion that we have just passed a few days ago. And I think the last time that I was here, some time ago, I touched upon the concept of worship. And I was talking about the fact that there are so many Muslims in the world, that our population is so vast — that it should compel us to evaluate and assess that a group of people which comprise a fifth of the world population, if not more than that, what impact we should truly have on humanity at large.

Now, looking at the concept of impact, one of the most important things is that we have to be empowered. We have to be a community that is empowered — who has the power to redirect or to guide humanity. And unless we have that power, we will end up just like everybody else. Just end up competing and busying ourselves with finding comforts in the world and then looking for meaning and value in the world, and the life is spent in such a fashion.

So the power — we know there's only one source of power. There's only one source that will empower us as human beings, and that is Allah. And Allah has given us a variety of tools that we have to utilize — all of them — and then some extra things, to enable us to have that power, to have that strength, to have that might, to have the fervor in the sight of adversity. So now it is upon us to explore those things.

It is important for us, therefore, when we engage in actions, when we go through our lives, to evaluate and to look at each of the things that we're doing, and make sure that we analyze and assess the purpose of it. And then look back to see: are we achieving our purpose?

Meaningful Worship: Salah, Fasting, and Taqwa

So when we're talking about meaning in life, it is important that we look for meaning through our ibadat. So when we do the Salah, we have to look and see: is our Salah protecting us from fahsha' and from munkar? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

So if we're engaging in Salah on a regular basis, and sometimes even doing it extra helpfully, and yet we are engaging and indulging in things that are wrong and fahsha' — we're not enjoining what is right, we're not forbidding what is wrong, we're having a hard time doing that — then we need to stop and look back at the Salah and see: what is it that we can do better to fully connect with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

When we look at fasting — when we fast, the day of Arafat when we fasted, the month of Ramadan when we fasted — there's a goal of fasting. And even from a hadith perspective, it's not simply just to be hungry and thirsty, and then eat at the end of the day. The goal is that we may raise our level of taqwa, or we may attain or acquire taqwa. So we have to then understand what is taqwa.

So today, I was going to focus a little bit on the idea — on one of the rituals of Hajj — and see if we can look at those rituals, and perhaps further explore what it is that we're supposed to gain from them.

The Prophet's Encounter with Surah Al-Ghashiyah

I was speaking to the students at the school on the day of Arafat, and talking about the fasting, and reflecting on the day of Arafat, and I decided to take a different angle on a hadith that we have used many, many times — and that I hope each one of us is very familiar with. And I've always used the hadith in context of interacting with the Quran, interacting with the Quran as it is a message to be interacted with. But here it has a different meaning.

Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is walking through the streets of Medina. And as he's walking, he hears something — he hears something from a house. And that something is a question that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is posing to us, and to Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And the question is: Has the news of al-Ghashiyah come to you?

SubhanAllah, the interesting part is that Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is the very person who initially was the first one to receive that ayah. And he is the very person who shared that ayah with the one who is reciting it. So this is not new for him. Yet when he is reminded of this question, he stops, he pauses. And he becomes in a reflective state. He puts his head on the door of the house. And in that moment of reflection, he says, "Yes, Ya Allah, the news has come to me."

So then we think about the big picture — that when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala poses a question, why is He asking us this?

Surah Al-Haqqah: The Reality of the Day of Judgment

So what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran in Surah Al-Haqqah — once Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala poses the question of the reality, or the day of clamor:

The Reality! What is the Reality? And what will make you realize what the Reality is?

I wish we had the luxury of time to go over each single ayah of that surah. But once Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala poses the question, there is a whole sequence of ayat that follow, explaining and giving us context of what that is. Nation upon nation — Aad and Thamud and Fir'aun — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about all of that, and what had happened to them, what had happened to people before us. And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes what will happen before the day of judgment, what will happen here on the earth, and then what will happen to us when we return to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Day of Arafat as a Reflection of the Day of Judgment

So a lot of scholars equate the day of Arafat to the day of judgment. And you've seen images — I saw some pictures of the day of Arafat. This is amazing. Just a sea of light, taken from an aerial view. Just so many millions of people. Doing what? Where are they? Are they in homes, in fancy structures, in buildings, under air conditioning, comfortable, eating and drinking and relaxing? Are they at a party having a good time? No. They're just standing there.

What are they wearing? They're wearing the same thing that we're going to wear when they put us six feet under. The same kafan. White, unseamed cloth. They get two pieces. You wrap one on the bottom, you put one over your shoulders. And then you stand there. And what do you do? You raise your hands before Allah. And you beg Him for mercy. And you make du'a. The whole of the day.

So when we pass those events and days, it is important for us — even though we may not be there — to stop and think that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying: What is the Haqqah? What is al-Qari'ah? Has the news of al-Ghashiyah come to you? And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala goes on ahead to describe in the Quran what it will be like — what that clamor will be, how tremendous and overwhelming that day will be. And then you look at images of a human context of what that day could appear as.

This is important for us to stop and think about all of these things. And to know: are we in line with the message of Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam? Are we exploring the message of Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam? Or are we just spending time reciting it in a foreign language? Are we attempting to understand? Are we asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us understand the message?

The Final Khutbah of the Prophet and the Theme of Meaningful Worship

I was reflecting on the khutbah of Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — the final khutbah. And subhanAllah, if you have studied it — if you have not, please go and study the khutbah, don't read it, study it — subhanAllah, he touched upon almost every aspect of life. Family relations, economy, politics, community relations, how to deal with one another. Everything was touched upon.

So today, my theme is one: it is meaningful worship. We're looking for meaning and being insightful in what we do. And to get to that point, we want to look at some of the different things that we explore in this time of Hajj and our ibadat.

The Concept of Unity in Tawaf

SubhanAllah, the concept of unity — we go around the Ka'bah. We talk about unity on and on, about what is the concept of unity in the community. So when we have Eid on a different day, when we have Ramadan on a different day, a lot of times we get upset and angry with each other. But it's important to remember that unity is not when we come together and we do Eid or Ramadan on the same day. Unity is far greater than that.

Unity is like we see the people on Hajj, where they're going around and around together with the same purpose in mind. And nobody — if they wanted to — could redirect them. And if they were trying to redirect them, they would get caught up in that motion, in that movement, in that momentum. So anybody with an ill intention will not be able to carry out their intention, because you have three million, four million people focused on one element, and they know Allah has commanded us to do something and we're going to do it. And anybody that wishes otherwise will not succeed.

The Sacrifice: A Lesson in Sensitivity and Gratitude

SubhanAllah, I was watching some videos from Hajj, and sometimes we see these things and they cause some confusion and disturbance. I remember many years ago when I had the opportunity to be part of an Islamic Relief mission to Iraq. We had acquired 600 sheep to slaughter and to distribute the meat. And when the time came for the morning of Eid and we were slaughtering the sheep, I had never done that before. And the brothers were encouraging me to do it. And I was very apprehensive, very reluctant, because this is something serious — you're taking a knife and you're taking the life of an animal. And you have to do it just the right way, because if you don't, you're violating that animal. But subhanAllah, the brothers encouraged me and motivated me and reminded me this is the Sunnah of Ibrahim alayhis salam. So this is something very serious. When you do it, you're taking a life.

But I've seen videos, wallahi, on YouTube where there's slaughter going on and the person taking the video and people around are laughing and ridiculing the animal. So it's important for us to be sensitive.

Gaza: A Reminder of Our Responsibility

SubhanAllah, this morning — speaking of Islamic Relief — I was watching some images in Gaza of the distribution of meat for udhiyah. And I know last time I came here, I touched upon the conflict in Gaza. And subhanAllah, now that the media is no longer talking about it, we also don't talk about it as much. They spoke of it during the time of destruction, but now everything is destroyed and gone, and now people are living with that.

Wallahi, subhanAllah — the images were of kids, mostly. And please go and seek those out. All of these kids are holding these bags of meat. But when you look at their surroundings — every one of those children is standing in a destroyed structure, even the homes that they're standing in. There was a lady, wallahi, standing next to a pot on fire, cooking something, and there are two kids standing on each side of her, holding the meat. And the structure that they're in — half of the walls are missing on each side, and there's no roof. And this is their home.

So then, at these moments of sacrifice, we need to think about the whole world and what is happening around us, and what it is that we are responsible for.

Why Is Humanity in Such a State?

So when we talk about meaningful ibadat and meaningful worship, it is important for us to stop and think, and see — why is humanity in such a sad state? Why is humanity in a state where these things can happen and the world stands by and allows it to happen? But if the world allows it to happen, why are these billion and a half people — and how are we part of this? Why are we also permitting this? Why are we not able to stop these things, to change these things? Has Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not blessed us?

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: that when the people break or violate their covenant with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will divide them and make them fight amongst themselves.

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 3462)

So what are we doing? Do we not see it? Even in our masajid, I notice a lot of times there is conflict on small issues — all about proving a certain point. So all of this, brothers and sisters — and I struggle with this myself — it comes down to meaningful worship. We need to examine our worship. We need to look at the daily — when we stand up before Allah azza wa jal, and we stand and raise our hands, and fold our hands, and read from the book of Allah — we need to look at those words, and examine and think about the words that we're reading, and see: what are we saying? And by what we're saying, what has Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said to us? And as a consequence, how are we supposed to live? And then we have to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us live in that fashion, and live in that manner.

So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us the strength and ability to do so. Say ameen.

Second Khutbah: Stories of Reflection and the Iraq Mission

All praise is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Just in closing, brothers and sisters — I was just reflecting, thinking right now, of a couple of stories that I was reminiscing upon. I went on this Iraq trip that I was talking about. This was after the first Gulf War. And I have talked about it on many occasions before.

On this Eid, when I was preparing the khutbah for Salatul Eid, I felt — subhanAllah — I don't know if guilt is the right word. And I was remembering: when I was in Iraq and Baghdad, in a Children's Hospital, I remember walking into the Children's Ward and looking at the state of that hospital, and seeing what that hospital looked like compared to — you go to the Scottish Rite Hospital or Children's Hospital here, and they're beautiful places. But that hospital, I remember, had bugs crawling in the corners. It had missing windows. It didn't have any clean facilities for those sick children.

And we had focused, out of all those children in the ward, on one child in the corner. They wanted to show us — he was suffering from malnutrition. Since there were photographers there and people to document this event so the rest of us may witness it at least in images, they asked the mother to open the shirt of this baby. And this baby was just bones, just looking at the face. So they opened the shirt, and you saw — those images you see from Africa — the bloated stomach, and the ribs showing, and the rib cage, and the legs are nothing but bones. And this was the child.

And I remember looking at that, and I remember thinking: we're going to walk away from this. And I remember looking at the mother's face, and how she wept and cried as she unbuttoned the shirt of this child, and what she has to deal with. I remember thinking that soon, most likely, this child will return to Allah, and the mother will live with that. And hopefully she'll be patient, and Allah will reward her. And me — I'm going to be on a plane in a few days, back to our world. A different world.

And that sort of felt odd — who is this really for? Is it a test for that child, who's going to Jannah, inshallah? Is it a test for that mother, who, inshallah, if she's patient, will go to Jannah? Or is it a test for the rest of us, who sort of forget and carry on sometimes?

So I was looking back years ago and thinking: yeah, I remember that moment. Now we've forgotten. I felt the need to talk about it again. About that trip — even though many of us might have heard about those things before. So it is important, brothers and sisters, to reflect upon the moments that remind us, that take us back to Allah, because just like that child, he died. And his parents will move back, get back to Allah. Similarly, each one of us is guaranteed — all of us have been given an appointed time, and that is a fact that nobody can contest or question.

So it is important for us to think about the time when we return back to Allah. So when we say — as Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to Allah: Ya Allah, yes, the news has come to me — we want Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to help us to live in a manner that that day is something easy for us. Live in a manner so that we are prepared for that day.

Spending for the Hereafter

When I was thinking — a student, from the time of birth until they graduate from college and land some sort of a decent job, it's half of the life that has passed. 27, 28, 25, 30 years old. So we spend half of our lives just trying to get something for the second half. The first half is a struggle, as far as the dunya is concerned. We spend years and years and years going to school, more often than not simply to get a job. And then we spend half the life looking for the second half — and that second half, we don't even know how long it's going to last.

But subhanAllah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — rather than an undefined second half — has guaranteed us eternity in Jannah. So should we not spend our hours and days towards that as well?

The Distribution of Meat in Baghdad: A Lesson for Humanity

So this last story, to reflect upon — subhanAllah, this has to do with food and meat, and the udhiyah. After we slaughtered the sheep, we took all the sheep, we took the meat, we bagged it — just like I have described the images of bagged meat being distributed — and we hired a couple of freezer trucks, loaded up the meat, and were going to take it throughout the country and distribute it.

SubhanAllah, we got to one area of Baghdad — the first stop — and we were literally mobbed by the people. And the fellow who was guiding us and telling us where to go said: Do not stop the truck, and do not get out of the truck, because if you do, that mob is going to hurt you — because they know something is in that truck, and they want it. They're desperate. So slowly we drove away, we didn't stop, and we didn't distribute any meat there.

We ended up at a masjid. We arrived there — there's nobody there. A residential area, not a single person, and we walk into the masjid, and not even the imam is there, because it's early morning hours. So somebody went and called the imam. The imam sent two young boys and said: go knock on doors and tell them we have meat.

SubhanAllah — meat, for those people, for those sisters, is something unique. They haven't seen something like that for a long time. Within minutes, we had lines and lines of people just pouring out of their homes, lining up outside the masjid for the distribution. So we started giving out the meat. And you notice some tension going on, because there were so many people. As we came to the end, we had the last couple of bags left. A woman came up — she's wearing all black, abaya and hijab and everything — and an old man came at the same time, and they both grabbed that last bag of meat.

SubhanAllah. One bag, two people. And then they start struggling, pushing and pulling. Next thing we know, they're outside — it becomes very, very intense, almost people fighting each other for one bag of meat. They ended up outside that room. SubhanAllah — the bag is ripped. This man and woman, they're holding on to a leg of lamb and they're pulling on it. And the man is grabbing the woman and tore off her headscarf. They're pushing each other, hurting each other, simply for a piece of meat.

And when I was looking at that, I was thinking — subhanAllah — what has the state of humanity come to? That they've become so desperate. And what is it that we have allowed to happen?

So brothers and sisters, these are reminders that when we do things, and when we engage, and when we eat and do different things, to be thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for all the blessings that we have.

Closing: Reflect on the Rituals of Hajj

So let us reflect on the different events of Hajj — whether it's going around the Ka'bah, whether it's standing on the plain of Arafat, whether it's throwing at the Shaitan, whether it's the sacrifice — and see what we can take from those events and actions that help us to live a more meaningful life. And help us to do more, because humanity needs it. Humanity needs us to step up and do something. So may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us to do so.

Du'a

May Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. May Allah help us and guide us to the right path. May Allah protect us from all the wrong and all the bad that is around us. May Allah accept from us that the wrong that we do is a consequence of our weakness — it is not rebelliousness. May Allah help us to understand our weaknesses and to overcome them. May Allah help us to recognize our strengths and to capitalize on them. May Allah help us to study the life of our beloved Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and help us to follow it, ya Allah. May Allah help us to explore and study Your message, ya Allah, and help us to follow it. May Allah give us the understanding of Your message and help us to understand the actions of our beloved Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and help us to incorporate all of those actions into our lives. Ameen, ameen, ameen.

Salah: Recitation During the Prayer

Surah Al-Fatihah

Surah Ad-Duha (First Rak'ah)

Surah At-Takathur (Second Rak'ah)

Announcements

On behalf of the IACC Election Commission: the 2014 election will be held on November 30th, the last weekend of November. The election will be for Amir as well as Shura positions. The Commission is seeking nominations from general community members who wish to participate in this election or come forward as a candidate. They have to fill out the nomination forms. Those nomination forms are available in the front office and can also be downloaded from the website at piranomasjid.org. The closing date for nominations is October 20th at 8pm sharp. Please bring back your nomination forms and deposit them in the box in the front office or give them to someone in the office.

There will be two sessions of meet-the-candidates where you can question your candidates or ask their opinion on various programs and what they want to do. There will also be two sessions for early voting, and then the final voting will be on November 30th. The results will be announced immediately after the counting and tallying of votes are completed — that will probably be the night of November 30th. We are looking forward to your full participation and support for this process, and to having our new Shura settle in for the next year.

If you have not yet taken advantage of the flu shots, that is going on as we speak, inshallah — both for the sisters and brothers. They will be here till 3:30. Take advantage of the flu shots if you have not already done so.

Eid event is coming tomorrow. This is for the children 4 and above. Starts at 10 and ends at 12, and it goes on till Asr time, inshallah.

There is also a postcard outside — on the 25th of October, we have a fundraising event with Dr. Yasir Qadhi. Please participate, inshallah.