2015-02-06 - Friday Prayer - Brother Monzer Talib

Opening Du'a and Prayer for the Ummah

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

Before I go further, I want to make a special du'a and prayer for those who have passed away from the Ummah of Muhammad, and for those who are injured, and for those who are in jail, and for those who are being driven away from their land, and for those who are missing in action and they disappeared — may Allah give them health. And for those who are crying out for salvation — may Allah give it to them. And for those who are seeking livelihood, and those who are seeking children, and those who are seeking something that might bring them closer to Allah — may Allah make it happen for them.

The Questions of Our Existence

Brothers and sisters, what are we? What are we looking for? Where are we heading? Where do we belong? Why are we on earth? Why are we here? Who is our guide? And how are we moving forward? Which path? Which way? Who do we really love and care for? All these questions — the what, the where, the why, the who, and the how, and the which.

I know we are coming here from outside where there is the fight with dunya. We come here for tranquility and for peace. We come here for an answer sometimes. But when I leave the jumu'ah, immediately I was called by some brothers. A lot of questions. And I find it simple, but I know that they find it difficult. And they need an answer for their lives. They need an answer for their struggle. They need someone to tell them something — to comfort them, to make them feel at peace, to make them feel at ease. But I wish I had all the answers for all the questions. I wish I can give — and the ulama and the scholars — an answer.

The Lesson of Surah Al-Kahf: This Life and the Hereafter

I was reading in Surah Al-Kahf, and Surah Al-Kahf is a special surah to my heart — and to every heart. When you recite this surah, it gives you the meaning of life. It gives you the meaning of the akhirah. It gives you the meaning of the purpose of this life. And Allah has put that in one ayah. He combined this life and the hereafter in one ayah, and he told us about our life — what people are living for, what people are striving for, what people are fighting one another for — and at the same time he told us the results that matter.

You know, they teach us in corporate America that results are the important thing. You can work day and night, but if you don't have the results by the end of the day, that's a waste of time. "Result oriented," they call it. You have to have the results. You ask yourself: what is the result of your project? You've been working on this project for three months — give me some results. Give me something that I can present to the company, that I will move forward with. Even for those who go to college, you have projects. You can work on a project for a whole year and the teacher will tell you: what is the result? Show me what you have worked for.

Allah told us about this life and the hereafter. He said: al-mal — money and children. And he put all the wealth we acquire in this life as al-mal — anything we acquire in this life. And he put the children together with it.

"Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But al-baqiyat al-salihat — the enduring good deeds — are better to your Lord for reward and better for hope."

It's an adornment — a decoration — to enjoy your life. When you decorate your house for Eid, when you bring beautiful furniture, beautiful clothes, and everything has to match — the car, the children, the wife, the house — everything is a decoration, and they go together. But some people Allah will give only al-mal and no banin — no children. And some people Allah will give children but no wealth. But even with that, the beauty of this life is that you enjoy the money and the children.

But if that money becomes a worthless thing — for you, for me — because in the end, Allah said: al-baqiyat al-salihat — the enduring good deeds — are better to your Lord for reward, and better for hope. So the reward from Allah comes through the good deeds. You say: well, I have the money and I have the work, so I can give it for the sake of Allah. And I have the children, so I can raise them to be good children, to fear Allah, to be righteous and good in their life — so they will carry the name, the legacy of me and my family toward the akhirah.

That's why Allah left it open. He said al-baqiyat al-salihat — the good deeds. The money you have might be good or it might be bad. The children you have might be good or they might be bad. You don't believe me? Read in the Quran about the children of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and the children of Nuh (peace be upon him). Read about the families — and those were Prophets of Allah.

What Are the Enduring Good Deeds?

The companion asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): what are the al-baqiyat al-salihat — what are the good deeds? He said, in one of the hadiths:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 48, Hadith 2)

Something so simple that will give you the enduring good deeds in the hereafter. But the ulema also said: every good deed that you are doing for the reward of Allah counts as an enduring good deed.

The Reality of What We Leave Behind

Brothers and sisters, Allah told us that people used to brag — and still till today they brag — about two things: how much money do you have? How much wealth do you have? How many cars do you have? How many houses do you have? What kind of investment do you have? How many children do you have? What are your children doing in their life? "I have a doctor, I have a lawyer, I have a businessman." You are bragging about your children. But then in the end of the day, you say: and what have we done for the hereafter?

Allah put the money first and the children later — what is the value of that if it does not meet Allah's expectations? And Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said something beautiful to his children: "What good is it — how good is anything — if later it is on fire? And how evil is any hardship or pain that you may face, if after it you will get jannah?" People sometimes think: I'm not getting what I want, I'm being driven away from my land, my people are being kicked out or killed or tortured, I am being put into the corner — and I know that's tough. But:

"Verily, with hardship comes ease. Verily, with hardship comes ease."

The True Necessities of Life

Brothers and sisters, we are living in a time where the necessities are not enough to be taken for granted. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us in the hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2346)

"Whoever among you wakes up in the morning healthy in his body, secure in his dwelling, and has his daily provision — it is as though the whole world has been gathered for him."

Find a refugee and tell him: I will give you food for only today. Find somebody who is sick and tell him: you will be healthy for only one day. Tell someone: you are secure for only one day. If one of those elements is taken away, then our life is miserable. I will give a person millions of dollars, but I will give him cancer — you think that person will be happy? I will give you a million dollars but you cannot even sleep at night because someone is going to hurt you. I will give you the money of the world but you cannot touch sugar, you cannot touch salt, you cannot touch bread, you cannot touch rice — and spend the money and enjoy? That's what the Prophet (peace be upon him) is teaching us: what is the minimum that we can live with? And the rest, Allah said, is a decoration — an adornment — that people enjoy.

Our Responsibility: The Journey to Allah

Then we look at the other side — the need of humanity — that we have as Muslims, while non-Muslims have neglected others because it's about "me, I, myself." And we say about others: may Allah help them, may Allah give them, may Allah stay with them. But what about us? We have the responsibility of this deen, and the closest to us are our children.

Brothers and sisters, one of the scholars said something beautiful. Every day, subhanAllah, we have at least in our community a janazah. Three days ago we had three janazah in the same day — at ninety years old, nineteen years old, and three days old. Ninety years old, nineteen years old, and three days old. Allah is telling you: how long you will live, how short you live, how mid-sized you live.

The scholar said: when a person dies — brothers and sisters, I am not trying to be harsh here today, I am just telling you the truth — if you don't believe me, go to your graveyard and look. I remember one of my brothers who used to sit here in that corner every Friday. He is not with us anymore. All the brothers used to sit here. Till the end, we don't even remember their names. Yes, we make du'a for them. But the scholar said: the first moment a person dies, people drop their name. They don't say "where is Muhammad?" They say: "where is the body?" The name is dropped.

Number two: when we wash them and cover them and want to pray over them, we say: "let's pray janazah on this person." Then we say: "where is the janazah? Is the janazah at this masjid? At that masjid?" People have forgotten even the body — not only the name. And when we put them in the grave, they say: "he is dead, where is the dead one?" And they forgot everything except the du'a for them.

Allah says:

"O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with great exertion and will meet Him."

We are calling all of humanity — not only Muslims. The Quran did not come for the Muslim Ummah only. Ya ayyuhal insan — O mankind. You are going to be kadihan — laboring. Meeting after meeting. "I don't have time, I am in meetings all day long." One of the brothers left from here to go and visit his father because his father was about to die. And when he traveled overseas, he took a car and drove all the way to the village. On the way to the village, the car had an accident and the child died — and the father is still alive till today.

Brothers and sisters, we are going to meet Allah after all this labor. When we leave, we leave behind our wealth, our children if we have some, and our deeds. And then Allah is going to ask us about our lives, about our children, about everything — all the assets that we thought would be assets will be liabilities, unless we put those assets into the good deeds that endure.

Second Khutbah: Speech That Counts

Allah tells us in the Quran:

"There is no good in much of their secret talk, except for he who enjoins charity or that which is right, or reconciliation between people. And whoever does that seeking the means of approval of Allah — then We are going to give him a great reward."

There is no good in all the talk if it is not counted in the good deeds — but rather counted against us. Everything we say is recorded. Except: those who enjoin charity, or what is good for the community, or reconciliation between people. Whoever does that seeking Allah's approval — then Allah will give them a great reward.

Our Mission: Raising the Next Generation

Brothers and sisters, we are losing our children. We are losing them for everything else. We are losing them because they are not educated enough in the deen. Today we are on a mission, and our mission is to revive our children. Our mission is to make our children leaders of the community. Our mission is to bring our children to embody the good deeds that will elevate us because of them.

Today we are coming here to ask for your involvement with Islam, with the IIT Quranic Academy. We have a program — a very unique program — to teach the children Islam. We have a program where more than nine students have memorized the Quran, who were born and raised in America. They have memorized the Quran. Some of them are leading the Tarawih. Can you imagine? That is the meaning of making our children understand the deen of Allah — when they know who is their Lord, who is their Prophet, what is their deen, what is their book. This is important.

When we raise our kids without the background of the deen — as I said before and I will keep saying it — when we go to the grave, Allah is not going to ask us about our degrees. He is not going to ask us about our health or our experience or how many children we have. The angel will ask: what is your book? Who is your Lord? What is your religion? What is your deen? Who is your Prophet?

Do we teach our children this? Do we have the ability to do it? If not, then we have the Islamic schools. We need to enrich those Islamic schools — especially today. We would like to invite all of you: come, brothers and sisters, and be part of this winning — winning in a trade with Allah. Come, brothers and sisters, and show your support for the deen of Allah. Even if you want to give a dollar or two dollars, or whatever you want to give — you know what the ulema said:

Qimatuka 'inda rabbika ma qaddamta li rabbika — your value before your Lord is what you have given for the sake of your Lord.

This, brothers and sisters, is important and it is a really dangerous situation. I wish I had more time to explain and tell you good stories and sad stories. But brothers and sisters, I want to be optimistic today. When you are leaving from this door, we have brothers and sisters standing outside — help them as much as you can. Help yourself to have al-baqiyat al-salihat for you and for your family.

Leave a legacy behind you. Leave something behind you, like those who have left us with these beautiful masajid and schools. They have left a legacy behind them. May Allah give us the ability to leave something behind for the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Closing Du'a

Allah says in the Quran:

"Indeed, Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and giving to kinsfolk, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, so that you may take heed."

Remember Allah — He will remember you. Thank Him for His blessings — He will increase you. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing. And Allah knows what you do.

Establish the prayer. Allahu Akbar.