Head Bowed, Chest Proud | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Dr. AbdulRazzak Junaid

Head Bowed, Chest Proud

All praise is due to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, our creator, the originator and designer of the heavens and the earth, and upon the best of creation, Muhammad ﷺ, we send our salutations upon him, his family, his companions, and all those that follow them in goodness till the end of times, Allahumma ja'alna minhum.

The Story of Usama ibn Zayd

My dear brothers and sisters, I will share with you a story of a young man who grew up in the prophetic household, who grew up under the supervision and the tarbiyah and the love and care of Rasulullah ﷺ, a young man who was appointed by Rasulullah ﷺ to lead an army in his teenage years — Usama ibn Zayd, the son of the beloved of Rasulullah ﷺ.

In a hadith reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, Hakim ibn Hizam radiyallahu anhu entered into the marketplace with an intention to purchase a gift for Rasulullah ﷺ, and whilst he was in the marketplace, his eyes caught on a royal garment that belonged to the king of Yemen, Zuyazan — a royal robe, and you can only imagine how expensive and high quality that would be, several, several, several dinars. And so he gets it and gives it to the Prophet ﷺ, and the Prophet ﷺ wore that on the khutbah, and the Sahaba radiyallahu anhum described him to be so beautiful, so handsome, and so radiant, they had never seen such a man — sallu ala Rasulullah.

And when the Prophet ﷺ came down from the minbar, this royal garment, this robe of a king, the Prophet ﷺ gifted it to someone he felt was like a grandson to him, the one who would play with Hasan and Hussain — Usama. He gifted it to him. And remember, Usama radiyallahu anhu — his father was a freed slave, he comes from African lineage — and he wears this garment as a young man, he wears a royal robe, and he walks into the marketplace, and everyone is turning their eyes looking at him. And even Hakim, he says, "Usama ibn Zayd is wearing the robe of the king of Yemen, Zuyazan — Usama?"

And what does Usama radiyallahu anhu respond? He said:

"Yes, by Allah, I am far better than the king of Yemen, Zuyazan, and my father is far better than his father."

And he spoke no lie, radiyallahu anhu. He was a believer, and his father was a believer, and they were so beloved to Allah's messenger — to the point that the only sahabi mentioned in the Quran by name is Zayd. My father is better than him, and I'm better than him — they were disbelievers. This is what it means to bow your head in front of Allah, but walk with your chest proud with Islam and your Iman.

The 'Izzah of the People of Gaza

And this is the same Izzah and dignity that the people of Gaza walk with today. The people of Gaza are the people of Izzah. With the world against them, surrounding them, bombarding them, they walk with Izzah, they walk with dignity — to the point where you even have those that sell on the street, refusing sadaqah, refusing to be a charity case: "Do not talk to me and do not be with me as though I am al-yad al-sufla, as though I am the lower hand. You deal with me with respect and dignity." This is the people of Gaza.

Izzah, as the scholars mention, is halah mani'ah lil-insani min an yughlab — it is a state that a human has that prevents them from being psychologically conquered. You may try to occupy their lands, but you will never conquer or occupy their souls, because it belongs to Allah. You may try to occupy their lands, but you will never occupy the people of Gaza — impossible — because they are people of Izzah. And that Izzah is centred in something that will never go: Allah azzawajal.

Izzah is taraffu' bil-haqq — this dignity, this Izzah, is to rise above upon truth. Kibr, arrogance, is taraffu' bil-baatil — to rise above upon falsehood.

The Lesson of 'Umar and the Torah

Umar radiyallahu anhu — al-Farooq — at one time was sitting with a Jewish man and he heard some wisdoms from the Torah, and he asked for it to be written so that he could show the Prophet ﷺ. And Umar radiyallahu anhu felt it perhaps corresponded with what is found in the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. So he takes this scroll to the Prophet ﷺ to show him what is in the Torah as was written and recited to him by that Jewish man.

When he presented it and was showing it to the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ became visibly upset, he became visibly disappointed, and he said to him:

"Are you in doubt about it, O son of al-Khattab?"

And then the Prophet ﷺ corrected him, saying:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 14736; also reported by al-Darimi)

"By the One in Whose hand my soul is, if Musa were alive, he would have no choice except to follow me."

This is a correction and a redirection from the Prophet ﷺ to Umar — don't seek their approval, don't seek their validation. What we have is enough. What we have suffices. Have Izzah with what you have.

The Disease of Seeking Validation

Imagine if the Prophet ﷺ were to see the state of the Ummah today — where you see people doing abhorrent acts, fisq and fujur and acts of sin, and they celebrate it, they call it pride month. And you see secularists and rationalists celebrating the constant updates they make to their sense of morality, saying we are liberating the people. And you have celebrities that people call stars, who all they do is present their wealth and their extravagance and their sin — they find pride in this.

And you and I as Muslims, we cannot find pride in the Quran and Sunnah? We cannot find pride in our Islam? To the point where if there is any representation of Muslims on their platforms, on their stages — even if it is completely against our Islamic character and ethics — we applaud it, we are happy about it, because "look, they've accepted us."

My dear Muslim brother and sister — who cares about their approval? Who cares about their validation? We don't need it. We don't need their stages. What we have is sufficient.

'Izzah Belongs to Allah Alone

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran:

"And to Allah belongs all dignity and all pride and all 'Izzah."

"Whoever seeks dignity — to Allah alone belongs all pride and dignity." And that dignity and that Izzah belongs to the Messenger ﷺ, and to the believers.

This ayah — that tells us that to Allah belongs all Izzah — comes in Surah al-Munafiqun, the surah that speaks about the hypocrites. And it comes in a stretch of surahs that begins with the tasbih of Allah — the glorification of Him — that He is above and beyond any imperfection, and that everything in the heavens and the earth does tasbih of Him azzawajal. SubhanAllah.

A Journey Through the Musabbihat Surahs

In Surah al-Hashr, in the 28th juz, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — in those surahs that begin with tasbih — Allah mentions that the Yahood, their allies are the hypocrites:

"If you are driven out, we will surely go out with you." And Allah speaks of them in Surah al-Hashr that they are cowards, they fight from behind fortresses:

Apply this to today.

And then in Surah al-Saff, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that we as believers must be united — our disunity is what allows people to attack us, our disunity is what allows us to be removed and destroyed. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this surah says:

Musa speaking to Banu Isra'il: "O my people, why do you harm me?" Don't be like Banu Isra'il were to Musa. Be like the Hawariyyun — the disciples were to 'Isa alayhis salam — support your leaders, support your scholars, support your community, be united.

And then Allah mentions in Surah al-Jumu'ah that weekly training that you and I are in right now. Look to your right, look to your left — look at the diversity of this Ummah. They hate this. This really bothers them.

In Surah al-Jumu'ah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the apparent enemy — the Yahood:

They had knowledge but they did nothing with it — like a donkey that carries books.

In Surah al-Munafiqun, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the hidden enemy. They cannot win against us except if they place within us munafiqun who cause corruption from within. We see this. And in this surah Allah says:

They may try. They may plot. But remember this — that to Allah belongs all al-'Izzah. And in all of these surahs of tasbih, constantly, constantly the name of Allah is repeated: al-'Aziz al-Hakim — al-'Aziz, the One who overcomes, and nothing can stop Him if He wills something.

This is how we must be as believers — proud of our Iman, proud of our Islam.

The 'Izzah of the Scholars

And this is how the scholars of the past were as well. Imam al-Baqillani rahimahullah, when he was sent as an envoy to the Christian king of Rome — in his courtroom, in his palace, he had his Christian ministers. It was a custom that whoever enters bows to him. And he knew that this Muslim scholar would never do such a thing — we know the ruling of bowing to others in Islam. And so what does the king do? Instead of having him enter from the main door, there was a small door that he made him come through, in order to force him that just by entering he would have to bow down.

Imam al-Baqillani was smart, was clever, was intelligent. So what did he do? He never let anyone humiliate him. As a Muslim, do not let anyone humiliate you. Don't bow down to anyone other than Allah. Instead of going face first, he turns himself — and his backside is the first thing that the king of Rome sees — and he stands up and looks him in the eye.

This is the Izzah of a Muslim. My dear brothers, my dear sisters — no matter how low they make our door, don't bow down to anyone other than Allah.

How Do We Express This 'Izzah?

In the first part of the khutbah we spoke about where our Izzah comes from — where our pride and dignity comes from — it comes from Allah and His religion. But now, how do we express that? How do we show that Izzah? Allah azzawajal tells us in the Quran:

"O you who believe — whoever of you turns away from his religion, Allah will replace them and bring about a people whom He loves and who love Him."

May Allah make us from them, Ya Rabb.

"They are humble towards the believers." And Allah uses عَلَى — 'ala usually means elevation, to be above. How can you be humble and yet elevate? The scholars mention that this humility, this kindness, this gentle behaviour you show towards your Muslim brothers and your community is actually a sign of strength, not weakness.

Be those that are merciful to their Muslim brothers and sisters. Be kind, be gentle, be loving — as though they are your own blood brothers and sisters. Be kind to them, be caring to them, be loving of them, and give them always the benefit of the doubt, especially to your leaders.

"Mighty against the disbelievers" — don't look towards their approval, don't look towards their validation. "They strive in the path of Allah."

"They do not fear the blame of any critic." They don't care what other people have to say. Be proud of your Islamic identity. Don't care if they approve of you or not. Don't care if they say, "oh, you're not like the rest of them," or "you're progressive." Don't care about what they have to say.

If your relationship with Allah is good and you seek His pleasure, no one else should matter.

Sheikh Abdul Hamid al-Jaza'iri and the French Occupation

During the French occupation of Syria, there was a scholar by the name of Sheikh Abdul Hamid al-Jaza'iri. And the governor had approached him and called him and warned him. He said, "If you don't stop poisoning your students and spreading what you're spreading, we're going to send our soldiers and block off your masjid. You won't be able to teach."

He said, "You won't be able to do that."

Outraged, the governor said, "How? Why?"

He said, "If you stop me from attending the masjid, I will attend their weddings and I will preach to the guests. I will attend their funerals and I'll preach to those that are mourning. I will be on the train and speak to those and preach to those that are traveling with me, the passengers. If you put me in prison, I'll give da'wah like Yusuf alayhis salam in the prison:"

"And if you kill me, it will spark a fire and ignite the fire in the hearts of the believers."

And then he spoke to the hakim and he said to that French ruler: "My advice to you is that you leave this nation and its religion and its language."

And we say to them: leave us in our Islam. We will never bend a knee to you. Leave us in our Islam. We don't need your platform. We don't need your stages. What we have is sufficient. And we say what every person of Gaza says:

Three Takeaways

My dear brothers, three things I leave you with that are from this ayah:

Number one: Don't care about others, care about Allah. Don't seek their validation — seek Allah's validation, seek Allah's pleasure.

Number two: Be humble to your Muslim brothers. Be sweet to them, be kind to them. Care for your community and defend it, don't attack it. And for those that attack our communities, be very careful of them. Remember what the Yahood did with the munafiqun.

Number three: Be strong with your Muslim identity. Be proud of it.

Du'a

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to ease the situation of our brothers and sisters in Gaza, Ya Rabb al-'Alamin. To ease the situation of our brothers and sisters in Palestine and to make it easy for all Muslims across the world, Ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

Closing

Ibad Allah: