Jumah Khutbah: Br. Nader Thabath...thru a Blind Man's eyes.

Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْهُ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ أَمَّا بَعْدُ

Brothers, if you could please move up as much as you can to allow people to fit into the back so we can fit as many people as we can in here, inshallah. Jazakallah khair.

Hardships and the Promise of Ease

My brothers and sisters in Islam, we all face hardships and difficulties in our lives. Sometimes it's financial issues — issues at work, issues paying the bills, issues finding a job. Or sometimes there are issues within our families — problems with our children, or our spouse, or even our parents — and so many other things that we all go through. But we all go through these hardships, and as we go through these hardships there are two things that we should always keep in mind.

First, that Allah said in His holy book that with every hardship there will be ease — indeed with every hardship there will be ease:

And second, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that no Muslim is pricked by a thorn or anything greater than that except that a sin is removed from him and a good deed is given to him as a compensation for that.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5641; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2573)

So as we go through these hardships of life, we ask that Allah replaces our sins, cleanses us of our sins, and replaces them with good deeds, and when the hardship leaves He replaces it with absolute ease. Ameen.

Disabilities — A Different Kind of Hardship

But there are those amongst us who go through hardships that aren't like the ones I just mentioned to you. The ones I just mentioned to you — they come and they go; they're a part of life. But there are people amongst us who have disability. They have hardships that they have from the day that they're born, or they gain it throughout their lifetimes, and they have it until the day that they meet the grave. And those are the people amongst us who have disabilities.

Now I can stand here all day and talk to you about different disabilities that people go through, but inshallah today I'm going to speak to you about one that I know a lot about — because myself, along with an estimated 285 million people across the world, live with this disability. And that, my brothers and sisters in Islam, is blindness.

Now I myself am considered to be legally blind, which means that I have vision but it's very limited — limited to the point to where, as the law says, I'm blind. So if you give me a standard sheet of paper I wouldn't be able to read it to you, and at night my vision is almost non-existent. But I make this point to you so that you understand that not all blindness is the same.

The Most Famous Blind Man in Islamic History — Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum

In this setting, on Yawm al-Jum'ah, if we're going to speak about blindness, there is no better place to start except for the most famous blind man from amongst our history, and that is Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum.

The narration goes that Rasulullah ﷺ was speaking to the chiefs of Al-Quraysh — amongst them was Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, and Al-Walid Ibn Al-Mughira — the top of the top. And it seemed as if they were actually paying attention and listening to what he was saying. And in the distance, Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum could hear the Prophet ﷺ speaking about Islam and Allah and this deen, and he wanted to gain some of that knowledge. So he went to him running — despite the fact that he's blind, he went to him with speed — saying to him: "Ya Rasulullah, teach me what your Lord has taught you."

And from that we have the first few ayat of Surah 'Abasa. As I attempt to translate the meaning of this surah — the meanings of Allah, the meanings of the words of Allah — He says:

He — meaning the Prophet ﷺ — frowned and turned away when the blind man came approaching. And how do you know, O Muhammad, that he may have come to you to be purified? Or that the reminder that you were sharing would have been a reminder of great benefit to him? And as far as those who feel that they are self-sufficient — talking about the leaders of Al-Quraysh — they feel that they have no need of Allah. To them you turn your attention. And what does it matter to you if whether or not they choose to be purified? And as far as the one who came to you striving with enthusiasm, and he is the one who is truly aware and is conscious of Allah — from him you turn away.

Now, my brothers and sisters in Islam, we have to understand that when we talk about this subject matter we have to know that Rasulullah ﷺ is the example for us to follow. So the reason why these words were preserved in the book of Allah was so that we know how to treat those who we may perceive as weaker than us. And alhamdulillah, Rasulullah ﷺ set that beautiful example time and time again after this event. Every time Rasulullah ﷺ would see Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum, he would say to him: "Welcome to the one on whose behalf Allah has rebuked me."

In another narration, narrated by Aisha, she said that Rasulullah ﷺ appointed Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum as his Mu'adhin despite the fact that he was blind. Now of course we all know about Bilal Ibn Rabah, but what a lot of us don't know is that he and Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum would take turns — one would make the adhan and the other would make the iqama.

In another narration, it states that at least on three separate occasions when Rasulullah ﷺ would leave Al-Madinah, he would leave Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum in charge. Now I just want you to think about that for a second. This is the most important time of the Muslims — the beginning of Al-Islam — in the most important place, the base of where we really grew out of. And the most important man who has ever walked the face of this earth left a blind man in his stead when he would leave. That is looking past the disability, my brothers and sisters in Islam, and seeing what these people can add to the community.

Examples from the Tabi'in and the Khalifas

Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz

In following in the footsteps of Rasulullah ﷺ, we fast forward to the time of the Tabi'in and we go to Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz. During the time of Umar when he was the Khalifa, he asked all of the governors to bring all of the names of the people that were blind or disabled who had a chronic condition. He said: "Bring me all these people's names." And he did something remarkable — for the blind in particular, he hired employees to guide them wherever they needed to go.

Allahu Akbar! That's as if me coming here to Irving and going to the mayor's office — like, "Mr. Mayor, hi, I'm new to the city, I'm blind, I need some help." And it's like: "Okay, we're going to hire a government employee to drive you wherever you need to go. He's on your watch. Whatever you need, he'll take you." Look at the example that we set, my brothers and sisters in Islam. And not only that, but Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz also hired employees to assist them with whatever specific assistance they needed.

So I want to just pause here for a second and share some advice with myself and with everyone that can hear me. If you see someone who you may perceive to be blind or disabled and you think that they need help with something — please, my brothers and sisters in Islam, ask first before you act. Because the last thing you want to do is offend a fellow brother or sister in Islam, or a brother or sister in humanity, when all you were looking for was the favor of Allah.

Al-Walid Ibn Abdul Malik

As we move forward in time, we go on to Al-Walid Ibn Abdul Malik rahimahullah. When he was the Khalifa, he did amazing things to assist the disabled community. He established the first institution — not in Islamic history, in history period — for people with disabilities. He employed doctors, servants, and other employees, and he paid them a good wage so they don't have to worry about competing. He said: "Come work here so that these people can be taken care of." Not only that, but he gave a fixed wage to those who were blind and disabled within the ummah and said: "O my people, do not beg." He gave these people dignity and self-respect. And just like Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz, he hired employees to assist those who were blind and disabled with whatever they needed assistance with.

This is the example, my brothers and sisters in Islam, that we set. And I can stand here all day and give you more and more examples.

Shaykh Abdul Hamid Kishk

But let's fast forward a bit inshallah and go to Shaykh Abdul Hamid Kishk rahimahullah. Shaykh Kishk, if you're not familiar with him, was a Shaykh from Egypt and he was blind from the age of seven. And subhanAllah, Allah gave him so much influence that when he would give khutbat al-Jum'ah in Cairo, over 10,000 people would come out to hear what he had to say. It was so immense to the point to where the orientalists — those who write about Islam — said that you couldn't walk through the streets of Cairo without hearing Shaykh Kishk's voice blaring out of the cars that passed you by. SubhanAllah.

Refuting the Stigma — Blindness Is Not a Curse

Now, I've given you a lot of examples of how blind people were treated with dignity and respect — of how blind people were looked at past their disability and were allowed to give to the community, to add to the community. But subhanAllah, despite all of these examples I just shared with you, for some reason there is this stigma that is running rampant through our ummah — that "I'm blind because my parents are being punished" or "I'm blind because the curse of Allah is upon me." Believe it or not, my brothers and sisters in Islam, I've heard it myself put towards me. So I know you may think this is a radical notion that people really think this, but it's out there and it's not a minority.

But alhamdulillah, we have evidence to refute this notion. Rasulullah ﷺ said that Allah said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5653)

"When I deprive My slave of Al-Habibatain — the two beloved things, meaning the eyes — and he is patient, I will grant him Jannah as a compensation for them." Allahu Akbar!

So this isn't a curse from Allah or a punishment from Allah. This, my brothers and sisters in Islam, is a blind person's — or mine, I say mine because I'm blind — my golden ticket. That as long as I am patient with my condition and I try to be the best Muslim I can possibly be, inshallah I will enter into Jannah. And I ask that Allah grants us all Jannah al-Firdaws. Ameen.

The Lack of Islamic Knowledge for the Blind

Now why isn't this known, my brothers and sisters in Islam? The reason why a lot of this information isn't known is because of the lack of knowledge that is running rampant through our ummah. But alhamdulillah — to you, my sighted brothers and sisters in Islam, those who can hear me, those who can see — subhanAllah, you have libraries of books all around you. Right there, just grab it and read it. If you want it, the knowledge of Al-Islam is available at your fingertips. But for us — those who are blind — it's not so readily available. It's almost non-existent.

And inshallah, in the second half of the khutbah, I will speak to you about some efforts that myself and my family are putting forward to resolve this issue.

I say this and ask forgiveness of Allah for me and for you, and I ask forgiveness of Him — He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Alhamdulillah rabbil 'alameen, wassalatu wassalamu 'ala Rasulillah, wa 'ala alihi wa sahbihi wasalam ajma'een, wa man tabi'ahum bi ihsanin ila yawm al-deen. Allahumma ij'alna minhum — mina alladhina amanu wa 'amilu al-salihati wa tawasau bil-haqqi wa tawasau bil-sabr. Ameen ya Rabbil 'alameen.

Second Khutbah — Islam by Touch: Making the Qur'an Accessible

I just want to share with you a brief story. About 12 years ago, a blind young lady went to a masjid in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and she took her shahada — she accepted Islam as her way of life. And alhamdulillah, she knew the basics, but she wanted to learn more. She wanted to build that relationship with Allah. So, myself being the only Muslim contact that she had, she said: "Hey, maybe you can help me find something — maybe like a Qur'an in English so I can read." I said: "Yeah, there are tons of English translations, but we have to see if it's accessible, if there's something she can read." She's blind. She wants to read Braille. So we went and we looked and we searched — high and low, everywhere. Called masjids, went online, did everything we possibly could. And we came up short. Found nothing.

We found Arabic — alhamdulillah — in Braille. That's been available for decades. But in English? Found nothing.

So fast forward 11 years, and that sister I just mentioned to you is my wife — and she's the mother of my children. May Allah reward her for all of her efforts. Ameen. And she approached me and asked me once again: "Listen, I know it's been years and we found nothing the first time we looked, but maybe we can find something this time. I really want to strengthen my iman. I really want to be able to teach the kids." I said: "Okay, let's look." So we looked again, and we looked and we looked. And you know what? We found something — not much, but we found something. But when we looked at the source, it wasn't a reliable source — just someone who wrote a book. And the cost was a lot.

SubhanAllah, my brothers and sisters in Islam, when it comes to blind technology, or literature, or something like that — for the blind or any disability — things are very expensive. Very expensive. So at that point we came up short again, and we said — I approached her and I said: "You know what? Why don't we solve this issue?"

Allah inspired us to start this organization called Islam by Touch. Our goal is to make Islam more accessible to the blind community — Muslim and non-Muslim. So we set out to take a reliable English translation of the Qur'an and put it in Braille. And alhamdulillah, in March of this year, we took the Sahih International translation of the Qur'an and we completed transcribing it into Braille — 10 volumes. Ten books, my brothers and sisters in Islam, is one translation. Whereas you can take a translation or a Mus'haf and put it in your backpack, we have to carry ours in a suitcase.

A Call for Support

So I'm here today, my brothers and sisters in Islam, to ask your assistance in our efforts. Because alhamdulillah, we do all the work ourselves. We print the books ourselves. My wife proofread the master copies herself — every single page — to make sure there are no errors in there. I ship these out, I bind them together. We do all the work ourselves. Why do we do all the work ourselves? Because we tried to go through a bigger printing press — a Braille printing press — and the cost was asking way too much. So alhamdulillah, we do it ourselves, and we were able to make the cost as minimal as $250 covers one full set — the cost of making it, the cost of maintaining a decent way of life so we can take care of ourselves. And that's because we do all the work. Alhamdulillah, we were able to get it down to that price.

And this is a two-fold mission, my brothers and sisters in Islam. Number one — so that we can make this book available to our blind Muslim brothers and sisters who memorize the Qur'an but don't understand what they're memorizing, don't know what they're saying. So now they have this book that they can read and build a relationship with the Qur'an and build a relationship with Allah. And the second part of this mission, my brothers and sisters in Islam, is to give da'wah. There are over 10 million blind people in North America alone. At least 98–99% of those blind people are not Muslim. Why? No one's giving these people da'wah. Nobody.

And I can tell you this, my brothers and sisters in Islam — give me a week, I'll come here with every variation of the Bible in Braille, for free. So alhamdulillah, we give these books out for free. Because of that — if they are able to give their book out for free, we should be able to make our book available for free. So we give these books out to masajid, to blind people who request them, and we send it right to their homes. We're trying to work with secular blind organizations so we can put them in their libraries. And alhamdulillah, when you step outside this door, you're going to see a set of books — that copy of the English translation of the Qur'an will be staying in this masjid, so that when a blind person comes in here — Muslim or non-Muslim — they have access to the word of Allah inshallah.

Sadaqah Jariyyah — A Lasting Legacy

I'm just going to leave you with a few more things and then we can start the salah inshallah. First, Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1631)

"When the son of Adam dies, all of his deeds stop except for three: one — a continuous sadaqah, sadaqah jariyyah; two — a knowledge about Islam that will benefit the people; and three — a righteous offspring who will make du'a for him." And inshallah, with this effort, two out of those three get taken care of.

Any money, any funds that go to this project will go into an organization or a project that will last generations after I or any of us leave this earth. Because we want to go past the English translation of the Qur'an — we want to do books about hadith, books of seerah, children's books about Islam so that blind parents can read to their children, or blind children can read it for themselves and establish that relationship at an early age. We want to be the first ever Muslim Braille press in this country.

And of course, the knowledge that is contained in these books is priceless. Imagine a non-Muslim picks up the book to read it just out of curiosity, and Allah guides them to this deen. And they get married, and they have children, and their children have children, and so on and so forth until the Day of Judgment. And you're standing there in front of Allah, looking for any good deed you could put forth so you could go into Jannah — and then this blind person comes up behind you and taps you on your shoulder and says: "Because you assisted with this effort, Allah guided me to this deen — and not only me, but all of these generations behind me that came from me." That all goes on your scale. And inshallah, by taking care of the first two, Allah will grant us that third — a righteous child that will make du'a for us. Ameen.

Closing — Love for Your Brother What You Love for Yourself

And lastly, my brothers and sisters in Islam, Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 45)

"You do not believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself." And that is all I am up here standing for. That's all I'm up here doing. I'm asking you to love for the blind community — your blind brothers and sisters in Islam, and brothers and sisters in humanity — to love for them to be able to read like you can read. To love for them to have the choice: if they want to listen to the Qur'an they can; if they want to read it they can — just like you can.

You know, in the beginning of the khutbah I mentioned to you the story of Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum and who was there from the chiefs of Al-Quraysh. And there's another narration that states that Al-Walid Ibn Al-Mughira said to Rasulullah ﷺ, when he saw Abdullah Ibn Ummi Maktum coming and approaching and saying "teach me what your Lord has taught you" — Al-Walid Ibn Al-Mughira said: "These are the people that follow you? If these are who follow you, I don't want anything to do with this." So when that blind man came to him, he didn't want anything to do with it.

So my brothers and sisters in Islam — today, this blind man is coming to you. Please be a part of what I am a part of.

I ask that Allah has mercy on all of us and forgives us for all of our shortcomings, and grants us the highest level of Jannah when we leave this earth. Ameen.