Planting Seeds: The Tarbiyah of the Prophet ﷺ | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Dr. AbdulRazzak Junaid

All praises 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 sallallahu alayhi wasallam — sallu ala rasulillah. We send our salutations upon him, his family, his companions, and all those that follow them in goodness till the end of times.

May Allah azza wa jal make us from them, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

The Meaning of Tarbiyah

My dear brothers and sisters, when we plant seeds, we don't plant them because they are just insignificant things we put in the ground, but because we know that one day eventually they will become trees, gardens — providing oxygen, providing food, fruits, and different sources of things we can benefit from.

This is exactly how Tarbiyah works. This is exactly how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was to the younger sahaba and even to the elder sahaba radiallahu anhum. He would plant things sallallahu alayhi wasallam in them that you would see the fruits of many, many years later.

But before we go into Tarbiyah as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam did it, we must first understand: what does the word Tarbiyah even mean? We hear this word repeated all the time, but what does it even mean?

Its roots are attached to رَاء، بَاء، وَيَاء أَوْ وَاو, and all of it is tied to النُّمُوُّ وَالِارْتِفَاع — for something to grow and for something to be elevated. For example, رَبْوَة is an elevated land. The district I used to live in in Medina, and many of the students live in, is called Hayy al-Rabwah, because it is the elevated part of the city of Medina.

When you see in the Qur'an where Allah azza wa jal talks about the foam that rises above water:

It rises above. When you hear the word رِبَا — that is what rises above the principal of the wealth.

When you hear Allah azza wa jal say:

"And from His amazing glorious signs azza wa jal — you will see the earth to be lifeless, and when Allah azza wa jal sends down water upon it, it stirs, it sucks it up, it takes it in — وَرَبَتْ — and then it swells up and then it rises." So just like when you want to plant something, you water it, you make sure sunlight goes to it — that is what Tarbiyah is.

"May Allah have mercy on our parents, as they did Tarbiyah of us and nurtured us, and allowed us to grow when we were young." That is Tarbiyah — to nurture something, to care for something, so that it can rise and grow and elevate.

But what we think of Tarbiyah is always attached to little children. Tarbiyah is even for us, ya jama'ah. The Prophet ﷺ, the sahaba — when you look at them, they were in their 30s and 40s. And if you look at the description that Ja'far radiallahu anhu gave in front of Najashi about the days of Jahiliyyah — they were people that worshipped idols, people that did zina, people that were cruel to their neighbors, a dog-eat-dog world, taking advantage of those that were poor, and those that were weak, and those that didn't have a tribe to defend them. They went from those types of people to the most purest and best of mankind after the Prophets. May Allah be pleased with all of the sahaba, radiallahu anhum ajma'in.

How did this happen? It was the Tarbiyah of Rasulullah ﷺ. He planted the seeds. He put in them what they didn't even see in themselves. That's what Tarbiyah is.

The Prophet ﷺ and Ibn Abbas: Planting Seeds in a Child

And one of the most powerful hadith of the Prophet ﷺ is the hadith where he is addressing Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhu as a little boy. And he says to him — whilst Ibn Abbas is riding behind him on the same animal:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516 — graded Hasan Sahih)

The Prophet ﷺ is telling him: "Be mindful of Allah and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will see Him in front of you. Know Allah azza wa jal in times of ease, and Allah will remember you in times of difficulty. If you ask, ask Allah. And if you seek aid, seek aid in Allah."

And then hear it and ask yourself — would you tell this to a 6 or 7 year old? Are these things that you and I could imagine being told to a 6 or 7 year old child? Do we speak to our own sons and daughters like this?

The Prophet ﷺ was not speaking to him just as a child at that moment, but because he knew that this little boy is one day going to be one of the great scholars of the Ummah — حَبْرُ الْأُمَّةِ — as he was, Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhuma. May Allah be pleased with him and all of the Sahaba.

The Prophet ﷺ planted the seeds.

Tarbiyah in America: The Stakes for Our Generation

Especially for us, the idea and the topic of Tarbiyah is of the utmost importance. Because we came to America and we settled from all different lands, in all different countries. Some of our children being 1st generation, 2nd generation, even 3rd, 4th. My great grandmother and grandmother are buried here in Dallas — may Allah have mercy on both of them, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

And for the generation — my generation, in that طَبَقَة — we were kind of like the experiment of the American Muslim community, where you're trying to have identities of our countries and the identity that we're trying to build here in America. And alhamdulillah, for those that had good Tarbiyah from the masjid and from their teachers, Allah kept them firm on Islam. But for those that lacked that Tarbiyah, some of them lost their way — and I ask Allah to guide them back. It was that Tarbiyah that was lacking.

So when we're here in America, Tarbiyah is of the utmost importance for all of us, especially for our children and the generations to come.

Planting Seeds: Our Personal Experiences

The Prophet ﷺ, as I said, he would plant the seeds. I remember in my own youth — my mother would always take me to programs. And people would ask: "Why are you paying for a child to attend these programs?" We just had the knowledge retreat last week. "Why would you pay for a child to attend a program when you know he's just going to be playing around?"

I remember being taken to Sheikh Yusuf Estes and hearing his lecture and not understanding anything — except that this was an amazing Sheikh. And my mom told me to give him a sajjadah as a gift. And when I gave it to him, he came to me and he kissed my forehead. I remember that. I was a little boy.

I remember when my mom would take me to the Al-Maghrib classes and I was just playing around, messing about. But still — it's that environment, planting the seeds of our children. When you enroll your kids in the classes of the masjid, in the summer school, in the summer programs, and you bring them to the masjid — you're not just looking at them as that insignificant seed, but you look at them as that tree in the future. You look at them as that garden that will produce fruits in the future. That is Tarbiyah. That's what Rasulullah ﷺ did.

And he tells this little boy: احْفَظِ اللَّهَ يَحْفَظْكَ — how powerful are these words that that child, Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhuma, would not fully grasp at that age. But he memorizes it, he absorbs it, and he lives it when he's older.

احفظ الله — Being Mindful of Allah

احْفَظِ اللَّهَ — be mindful of Allah. How can you be mindful of Allah? There is taqdeer here. You be mindful of Allah by doing حِفْظ of His commandments — that when He commands you something, you follow it; that His rights, you fulfill them; His prohibitions, you leave them.

How do you do حِفْظ of Allah azza wa jal? That when He tells you to do wudu, you do your wudu —

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 277)

— that a believer is always trying his best to be in a state of tahara, always trying his best to do ihsan in his wudu.

That they are people that safeguard their salah — that is احْفَظِ اللَّهَ. They are people that protect their private parts:

They are people — tell the believers that they guard their eyes. الرَّأْسُ وَمَا وَعَى — you guard your gaze, you guard your ears, you don't listen to music, you don't gaze upon haram. وَالْبَطْنُ وَمَا حَوَى — and you guard the stomach, you don't consume what is haram, you don't drink what is haram.

This is how you do احْفَظِ اللَّهَ — that everything He azza wa jal tells you to do, you do it. That is being احْفَظِ اللَّهَ.

يحفظك — Allah Will Protect You

And when you do that — when you fulfill the commandments of Allah, when you protect your salah, when you protect your private parts, when you protect your tongue, when you protect your limbs from committing haram — يَحْفَظْكَ — Allah will protect you.

Imagine the One azza wa jal that if He wills something, nothing can come in His way — الَّذِي لَا يُغْلَبُ، الْحَارِسُ الَّذِي لَا يَنَامُ — He azza wa jal that no one can overcome, He azza wa jal that if He protects you, nothing can harm you.

That when Allah azza wa jal protects you, He protects you in the affairs of your dunya. He protects your health, He protects your body. And not only does He protect you in your صِحَّة and your عَافِيَة, but He protects even your children.

As we all know from Surah Al-Kahf:

Allah looked after those orphan boys because their father was righteous. So when you come to the masjid and when you are praying, pray with the intention: "Ya Allah, I am doing 'ibadah, and I am asking You, ya Allah, that You keep my progeny and my offspring and my offspring's offspring firm on Your religion."

When you do حِفْظِ اللَّهِ azza wa jal, and when you are a righteous Muslim, it's not just benefiting you — it's benefiting your children. Allah will protect them. Allah azza wa jal will protect your affairs of the dunya and He will protect your affairs of the akhira. He will protect you from شَهَوَات — He will protect you from falling in lust and desires. He will protect you from having doubts affect your iman and your religion. He will protect you so that you can remain on لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ until you pass away. That's احْفَظِ اللَّهَ يَحْفَظْكَ.

تجده أمامك — You Will Find Him Before You

And then He tells him: احْفَظِ اللَّهَ تَجِدْهُ أَمَامَكَ — be mindful of Allah and you will see Him in front of you. This is مَعِيَّةٌ خَاصَّة — that just as when Musa and Harun alayhim as-salam were scared to go in front of Pharaoh, Allah azza wa jal tells them:

"Don't be afraid, I am with you." And this is not just the مَعِيَّة that Allah's knowledge is with all of us — that's of course there. But this is the تَوْفِيق of Allah, the إِعَانَة and the نَصْر of Allah — the help of Allah, the aid of Allah, the divine guidance of Allah, the protection of Allah, the mercy of Allah. That when you are mindful of Him in your life, you will see Him in front of you. He will be with you.

تعرف إلى الله في الرخاء يعرفك في الشدة

Know Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of difficulty. When you look at Yunus alayhis salam — when he was in the belly of the whale, Allah azza wa jal says of him:

Had he not been from those people that did Tasbeeh, had he not been from those people that glorify Allah, he would have remained in the belly of the whale until the end of times. But because he was someone who knew Allah in times of ease, Allah knew him and remembered him when he was in the belly of the whale, where he said:

But when you look at Pharaoh and his last moments — his final moments, where he did not know Allah in his time of glory, in his time as an oppressor, as a dictator, as someone who was killing Banu Israel — when he came to his last moments:

He finally said: "I believe now! I believe! لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ! I believe!" It did not benefit — آلْآنَ? It's going to benefit now? Really, now? "All this time you were doing corruption, all this time you had a chance to repent — it's too late." You didn't remember Allah in times of ease, so how do you expect Him to remember you in times of difficulty?

You know, some of the righteous people would sometimes come across people in their elderly age, and they would be begging, and they would know their past history. And they would say: "He abandoned Allah in his youth, so Allah abandoned him in his old age." Ya Allah, never abandon us. Ya Allah, never leave us to ourselves even for the blink of an eye.

أقول ما تسمعون، وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين، فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم.

الخطبة الثانية — Second Khutbah

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا ونبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين. الحمد لله.

As we have been covering this powerful hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, where he teaches us أُصُولَ التَّرْبِيَة — the foundations of nurturing young people, the foundations of nurturing young individuals, and allowing them to grow up as strong Muslims.

إذا سألت فاسأل الله — If You Ask, Ask Allah

Where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam tells him:

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516 — graded Hasan Sahih)

"If you ask, ask Allah. If you seek aid, seek aid in Allah azza wa jal. Because if the Ummah were to come together to try to benefit you with something, they would not be able to benefit you with anything except Allah had already prescribed it for you. And if the Ummah were to come together — all of them — to try to harm you, and Allah azza wa jal did not write that against you, they cannot harm you."

(Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

The pens have been lifted, the pages are dried. Everything is already in the knowledge of Allah azza wa jal. Everything has already been written. Nobody can increase your salary, nobody can increase your lifespan, nobody can increase your rizq — that's all in the hands of Allah azza wa jal.

So when you ask, don't ask people, because when you ask them, they don't like it. So ask Allah, beg Allah azza wa jal. When you ask the son of Adam, how much does he hate it? But when you don't ask Allah, He is angered.

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; also referenced in various collections of Islamic wisdom literature)

When Allah azza wa jal is not asked, He gets upset. But the son of Adam — even if he knows you're walking towards him with a question, he gets upset. So why bother asking people? Why rely on people when you can rely on Allah azza wa jal?

Look at these powerful words that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — again — is telling a little boy. He's telling Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhuma as a small child.

Looking at Our Children Through the Lens of Tarbiyah

My dear brothers, my dear sisters — when you look and gaze upon your children, don't just look at them as seeds. Look at them as future gardens and trees. Look at them and look at their potential.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect our children, ya Rabb al-'Alamin. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make them future leaders of this Ummah, ya Rabb al-'Alamin. I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to keep our offspring firm upon Islam, ya Rabb al-'Alamin. And to keep us firm upon our deen, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to aid our Uyghur Muslim brothers and sisters in China, ya Rabb al-'Alamin. And our Muslim brothers and sisters in Sudan and Gaza and all lands where they suffer, ya Rabb al-'Alamin.

اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ، وَاتَّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا. أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ.