Seven Lessons from Makkah and Madinah | Jumu'ah Khutbah | Dr. AbdulRazzak Junaid

Seven Lessons from Makkah and Madinah

I seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, no one can misguide, and whomsoever He misguides, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, and His advisor, and His friend, and the best of His creation, and His trustee in His revelation. His Lord sent him as a mercy to the worlds, and as a proof for all people. And Allah guided him out of error, and made him see out of ignorance, and made him multiply after few, and made him gather after many, and made him secure after fear, and made him rich after need. So blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his good, pure family, and all his companions, and those who follow them with good till the Day of Recompense.

All praise is due to Allah, our Creator, the originator and designer of the heavens and the earth, and upon the best of creation, Muhammad ﷺ — 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.

I ask Allah to accept from us our righteous deeds of the past year, and to allow us to go into this next year with a fresh start, insha'Allah, ya Rabb.

The Journey: Madinah and Makkah

Alhamdulillah, my dear brothers and sisters, the VRSC group just returned back from the Umrah trip, alhamdulillah. And it was such a beautiful sight to first land in the city of Rasulullah ﷺ, longing to visit him, longing for our beloved. And just as our Messenger ﷺ, when he would see the homes of Madinah from far, he would rush on his animal — when he would see Madinah, he would rush towards it. And just like that, when we landed in the airport of Madinah, our hearts were rushing to see our beloved ﷺ. But we didn't rush to get there — we went, we dressed appropriately, we smelled good, and we went and we delivered a long salam to our beloved Messenger ﷺ, of one who was longing for their beloved, who missed them, as someone would miss a parent, or as someone who had not seen a beloved one for many years.

May Allah invite us, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. And then following the prophetic routine whilst we were there in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah — praying the salawat in the Masjid of Rasulullah ﷺ. Going to al-Baqi', and giving salams and making du'a for them — from the earliest generations of the Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with them, from the great Imams after, like Imam Malik, all the way until all the believers that are buried there now.

And then going to visit the shuhadā' of Uhud, as the Prophet ﷺ would make it part of his prophetic routine to visit Hamza, may Allah be pleased with him, and the other companions that were buried there. And going and making that walk to Masjid Quba, and praying two rak'ah there, that equals the reward of an Umrah. And then going to see all of the prophetic sites — going to Masjid al-Khandaq, and seeing where the Khandaq once was, and Masjid al-Qiblatayn, and all of the different prophetic sites, and reliving those moments of Sirah.

Reliving those moments — not just as nostalgia, but really where wahy was once revealed, where the Prophet ﷺ himself walked. Reliving those moments, and deepening our love for him ﷺ. And then with broken hearts, with hearts longing for our beloved ﷺ, we left — still — to Makkah al-Mukarramah to fulfill the Umrah.

Going to Makkah al-Mukarramah with broken hearts, and then first gazing upon the Ka'bah — the beautiful Ka'bah — that when people first go there, especially for their first time, they just fall into tears. Coming broken and humble in front of Allah, seeing al-Hajar al-Aswad, the place where our beloved Messenger ﷺ kissed. Seeing al-Rukn al-Yamani, where he would put his hand. Seeing the Hatim, the Hijr of Isma'il, the Mizab — the water spout of the Ka'bah — the Maqam Ibrahim, doing the seven tawafs, and then doing the seven rounds of Sa'i.

May Allah always invite us, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. Ya Allah, do not prevent us from going to Makkah and Madinah because of our misdeeds, and keep inviting us, ya Rabb al-'Alameen.

My dear brothers and sisters, I wanted to take today's khutbah and talk about seven lessons that I myself and the group learned from Makkah al-Mukarramah and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. What did we learn from Makkah and Madinah? And what is a visit to Makkah and Madinah supposed to do for us? Seven lessons — in honor of the seven rounds of the tawaf and the seven rounds of Sa'i.

Lesson One: We Are One Ummah

The first lesson that Makkah and Madinah taught us is that we are one ummah — ummah wahidah. We are one ummah. It's easy to say, but when you go there and you see the millions of Muslims that are coming —

— from countries that you aren't even able to pronounce, countries that you didn't even know existed, all coming because of the love of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. Especially for young Muslims that grow up here, as a minority — we are about one to two percent of the population here. But when you go there, you really see the strength of the ummah. You see that over 25% of the globe say:

It strengthens that iman. It brings such a jolt in your heart — that all of these people believe in Allah and they love His Messenger ﷺ. And it's also a reminder for us not to let sectarianism and not to let inner divides come and separate us.

This is what the enemies of Allah want. They want to use sectarianism to divide us because when we're divided from within, we are no longer strong.

May Allah make us from those that are patient with our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. That is the first lesson, ya jama'ah.

Lesson Two: Know Your Role in Serving the Ummah

The second lesson that Makkah al-Mukarramah — and especially the tawaf — teaches us is: what is your role in serving the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ? When you go there, you see Muslims of all different walks of life. Someone might be a baker, someone might be a cleaner, someone might be a mother raising her children — people from all different walks of life. Yet they are all doing the same worship of Allah, all in orbit.

One of my beloved teachers, Sheikh Khalid, may Allah preserve him, ya Rabb al-'Alameen — a master of Tarbiyah and a master of Aikido. Yes, Aikido. The Sheikh, may Allah preserve him, he mentions that just as the planets are all in orbit:

All of the planets, they swim in orbit — and how everything, all of the celestial bodies, are perfectly put in place. The moon, the sun, the stars, the earth.

Imagine if the earth was a bit closer to the sun — it would explode. If it was a little further from the sun, we would freeze. Allah perfectly put the place of the earth and the celestial bodies and the stars and the moon. And just like that — us. We are also in orbit. And just like when we are in tawaf and a group of people decide to go against the current, to go against the crowd — what happens? Disruption. Some people might get stepped on, some people might get hurt. So we have to go in the flow of the orbit.

Know your role in serving the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ. What's your role in the orbit? What's your role in serving the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ?

In one of my visitations with my teachers, Sheikh Bara', may Allah preserve him, he mentioned such a powerful hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 2513)

That Allah will enter through one arrow, three people into Jannah. The one who shoots the arrow — the mujahid — he is going to go into Jannah. Who else? Not just the one who is leading from the front, but those hidden voices in the back. What about the one who made the bow and the arrow? What about the one who funded it? What about the one who leads the salah? What about the one who built the masjid and funded the masjid? What about the one who cleaned the masjid? What about the mother who brought her children to the masjid? All of them will enter into Jannah.

Know your role and serve it. That is the best way you can serve the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ.

Lesson Three: The Akhlaq of the Marketplace

The third, fourth, and fifth lessons all have to do with the marketplaces — the aswaq. And who goes to Makkah and Madinah except they do some shopping? We all know this. One of the brothers mentioned to me something that really hurt my heart, something that saddened me. He said:

He said: ya Shaykh, I saw 'ibadat — people worshipping Allah — but the mu'amalat, I didn't see it there. The mu'amalat — the akhlaq of Muslims with one another — giving priority to sisters, giving priority to elderly people, talking nicely, talking kindly. I didn't really feel this.

And this is a reminder for us, ya ahibba'i — it doesn't matter how much we worship Allah, but we are with one another and next to each other through the mu'amalat. And Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Musnad al-Bazzar; al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman, Hadith 7977)

"I was only sent to perfect noble character." And when Allah describes the one who denies the deen — denies the Day of Judgment — He did not say the one who left the salah or doesn't do the shahada. He mentions the one who failed in the mu'amalat:

The one who pushes away the orphan, the one who does not encourage giving to the miskeen — the one who fails in the mu'amalat. And a scary reminder for all of us: Allah is very forgiving. Sometimes people aren't. So be very careful about stepping over and taking the rights of people. May Allah forgive us, ya Rabb al-'Alameen.

May Allah guide us to the best of character.

Lesson Four: Honesty and Halal Earnings

The fourth lesson, ya jama'ah. When you go to the marketplaces, even if you are in the holiest of places, the purest of places, there will always still be some scamming. There will still be some cheating. And this is why Rasulullah ﷺ, in one of the prophetic hadith — that took place in Madinah at the time of the Prophet ﷺ — when he went into the marketplace, Allah gave him the knowledge of what He willed. He ﷺ saw someone selling food, and he put his hand inside and found it to be spoiled. And he ﷺ said:

"What is this?" The seller said: أَصَابَتْهُ السَّمَاءُ — "The rain got to it and it was spoiled." Then the Prophet ﷺ said: "Then you should have put it on top" — so that people could see it. And then he said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 102)

"Whoever cheats us is not from us. Whoever deceives us and cheats us is not from us." So it is a reminder for all of us to be truthful, honest Muslims that earn halal rizq.

May Allah grant us all halal rizq.

Lesson Five: Do Not Forget Your Share of the Dunya

The fifth lesson, ahbab al-karam, is:

Islam doesn't want you to just do full-time 'ibadah, full-time 'ibadah, full-time 'ibadah. It's okay to also enjoy your life a little bit. Don't forget your share of the dunya. So when people go to Makkah and Madinah and they are there to do their 'ibadah, they are also going to go to the marketplaces, buy gifts for their family, enjoy the halal food, enjoy time with their family, enjoy the luxuries that exist within the hotels. That is all fine — as long as the dunya is in our hands and not in our hearts.

May Allah make us a balanced people. I ask Allah to forgive us from the sins of last year and to bless us and to grant us barakah in the year to come.

Aqulu ma tasma'un. Astaghfirullah li wa lakum wa li sa'ir al-Muslimin. Fastaghfiruh innahu Huwa al-Ghafur al-Rahim.

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

My dear beloved brothers and sisters in Islam, we mentioned five lessons that we can all take back from Makkah and Madinah and live with while we are here. The sixth and seventh are perhaps the most important.

Lesson Six: Makkah and Madinah as a Recharge Station

When we go there, we are not only going there as a vacation spot. Makkah and Madinah for us are like a recharge station. We go there for a factory reset for ourselves. We go there in order to refresh ourselves, get connected to Allah and come back as different people — to do tajdid of our iman, to renew our iman and to renew our faith.

We all know from the stars of Muslim history within America, Malcolm X — al-Hajj Malik al-Shabazz, may Allah have mercy on him, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. When people study his biography only until Hajj and they don't complete it after, they don't know Malcolm. Malcolm is the Malcolm that returned after Hajj, may Allah have mercy on him. And even in the movie, they don't show that part as much. The real Malcolm is the one who returned after Hajj, who was transformed by Makkah and Madinah. This is what Makkah and Madinah does to you. It transforms you. It changes you.

There is a story mentioned in the maqalat of one of the great imams, Imam al-Kawthari, of a shaykh in Bukhara. And there was a young man that kept approaching that shaykh to marry his daughter. He kept asking for the hand of the daughter of the shaykh. And the shaykh kept delaying him, kept delaying him. And the young man said: "Shaykh, I keep coming to you asking for your daughter's hand in marriage and you keep delaying me. What's the reason?" He said to that young man: "Look, I was once in your shoes where the iman was not settled completely in my heart. And I don't want to give you my daughter while the iman isn't fully firm in your heart. If you want to marry her, then do what I did — go visit Makkah and Madinah and let the iman come firm. And then I'll let you marry my daughter." SubhanAllah. Look at that.

You know, the Prophet ﷺ, when he told the sahabah — when they pass by a place where the 'azab of Allah took place, like the place of the people of the Elephant (Ashab al-Fil) or the people of Shu'ayb (Madyan), or Wadi Muhassar — he told them to rush through and cover themselves, to cover their faces and rush through. Why? Because the air — the hawa — of a place where the destruction and the 'azab of Allah took place has a negative impact. So the opposite understanding — mafhum mukhalafah — what do you think the hawa, the air of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah and Makkah al-Mukarramah will do to you? It will refresh your iman and it will make it firm in your heart.

May Allah give us firm iman, ya Rabb al-'Alameen.

Lesson Seven: Love for the Messenger ﷺ

The seventh lesson that we learn and take from Makkah and Madinah is to love our beloved Messenger ﷺ. We go to Makkah al-Mukarramah and we pray there — and Allah made the qiblah that for Rasulullah ﷺ:

"We will make you turn towards a qiblah that you, ya Rasulullah, are pleased with." This is the honor that Allah gave to Rasulullah ﷺ. He is not just a historical figure. He is Rasulullah ﷺ — the way we enter into Jannah. A person who says:

— and does not complete it with:

— does not enter into Jannah. You have to believe and love your Messenger ﷺ.

O Believers, when the command and the call of Allah and His Messenger comes — accept it. When He calls you — SubhanAllah, it's as though the call of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ act as one:

This is the honor that Allah gave our beloved Messenger ﷺ. We cannot live in Makkah and Madinah forever, jama'ah. The sahabah didn't even choose to live there — they spread the da'wah. What's important is we take what we need from there and we bring it back home. We have to live with the Messenger ﷺ. We have to have that companionship with him. We have to live and learn his seerah, his shama'il. And we have to be people that are Muhammadi — that live, walk, talk, and do ibadah of Allah as our beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah to keep inviting us to Makkah and Madinah, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. I ask Allah to allow us to love the Messenger ﷺ, ya Rabb al-'Alameen. I ask Allah to make us from those that follow his sunnah closely, ya Rabb al-'Alameen.

Aqim al-salah.