Following The Sunnah: The Unchanging Path To Real Success

Following the Sunnah: The Path to True Success

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We praise Him and send blessings upon His noble Messenger. Allah, the Exalted, says in His Noble Book, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:

"Say, If you love Allah, follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."

The Prophet ﷺ said: "I was only sent to perfect noble character." (al-Muwatta', Imam Malik, Book 47, Hadith 8)

Cultural Norms vs. the Way of Rasulullah ﷺ

My dear brothers and elders, in our society today, the way our society is dictated, it's by the cultural norms that are around us. The way people live their lives, their view of thinking, the way they hold themselves, the way they carry themselves — it's all dictated by the cultural norms, the societal norms that are around them. And a person, whatever society he's from, whatever place he's from, he thinks that that is the best way of life. And whichever country you go to, from country to country, the cultural norms, the societal norms, they change.

A person who's traveling overseas sometimes even finds out what are the cultural norms of that area. Something that might be acceptable over here will be completely unacceptable over there. And when you go throughout history, even in those certain places, the cultural norms, the norms of society, they were ever-changing. If you go back 100 years, the norms in America were different. In any place you go, the norms that were there were completely different from what we see today.

But as we see the Islamic heritage that we have, we must have the belief that whatever cultural norm we are growing up in, whatever societal norm we are growing up in — if that is not the way of Rasulullah ﷺ, then that way will lead to utter failure. And the only way that will lead to success in this world and the hereafter is only by following the way of Rasulullah ﷺ. If the path I'm leading right now, the society I'm in right now — if that society is not in complete congruence with the way of Rasulullah ﷺ — then even though it may apparently look like it is on a successful path, that way will eventually lead to utter failure.

And we see that, despite the changes of culture throughout history, Islamic history has been constant. From 1400 years ago, we take the example of someone who is reciting the Qur'an. If you were to bring anyone right now and they led the salah, the same way he is leading salah — a person across the country, in China, in India, in any country you name — they might speak a different language, their dialect might be different, but the way they recite the Qur'an is exactly the same as we recite the Qur'an. And the way I recite Qur'an, you recite Qur'an, is the same way the Sahabah recited the Qur'an. And Nabi ﷺ taught them that way to recite the Qur'an.

The way that the Prophet ﷺ has taught us — our clothing, our manner of speaking, the way we hold ourselves — that has been constant for 1400 years. And when we say that, the only way to success is by following the way of Rasulullah ﷺ, we see the effect that it has.

The Exemplary Character of Rasulullah ﷺ

When we see that Rasulullah ﷺ, the people were drawn to him. The people looked up to him as a role model. So many people came to the fold of Islam just by seeing the exemplary character of Rasulullah ﷺ. The Sahabah رضي الله تعالى عنهم — the companions of Rasulullah ﷺ — they were ready to fulfill any command that Rasulullah ﷺ gave. If Rasulullah ﷺ told them to jump, they would say, "How high?" They were ready to comply.

Why was that? What was this devotion they had towards Rasulullah ﷺ that took them to this extent?

The Story of the Old Woman

We understand through a story that Rasulullah ﷺ one day had just performed his Fajr salah and was walking. There was an old woman sitting at her doorstep with a big bag. People were passing by one by one, not giving her more than a second glance — busy with their daily affairs.

Rasulullah ﷺ, perhaps even more busy than all of them — he had been given the responsibility to invite the entire humankind towards Islam — and he stops. He sees her and he stops. And he asks her, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

This old woman had been waiting for hours for someone to help her. She says that she was planning to move from here to another area. And Rasulullah ﷺ, without another word, gets her bag, puts it on his back, and starts walking.

While Rasulullah ﷺ is walking and this old woman is next to him, she is already amazed by his exemplary character. She had been waiting for hours for people to come help her, and no one had come. And this man, showing his character, is carrying her bag on his own back.

And she begins to give him some advice — that nowadays a person from Quraish, from Banu Hashim, is splitting up families, ripping them apart, causing discord amongst them. She was cursing Nabi ﷺ, saying lies about him, to his very face — without realizing the man she was cursing was right next to her.

But Rasulullah ﷺ keeps walking without saying anything. They reach the destination, and Rasulullah ﷺ sets down the bag. After the treatment he received, he looks at her and says, "Can I do anything else for you?"

The woman is completely amazed by this man's character and asks him, "Who are you?" Rasulullah ﷺ does not want to reveal who he is. He just repeats again, "Can I do anything else for you?" But upon her insistence, he lowers his head and says, "I am Muhammad Rasulullah ﷺ — the very same man that you were talking about."

That woman, hearing this, the kalima escapes her lips: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. What changed? Just a few seconds ago, she was cursing the same person, spreading lies about him, saying he was a magician, saying he was a poet. But now she was ready to accept Islam. What caused this change? It was after she had witnessed the exemplary character of Rasulullah ﷺ with her own eyes.

She may have heard he was a magician. She may have heard he was a poet. She may have heard these things about him. But her eyes could not deceive her. She saw with her own eyes how this man carried himself, how he talked, how he walked. Rasulullah ﷺ — he was like a magnet. The people were drawn to him.

The Story of Ta'if

We know the very famous story of Ta'if. I will not get into all the details. But the one thing I want to focus on is that Rasulullah ﷺ goes and calls the people of the city — the Ashraf, the leaders of Ta'if — hoping that if they accept, the followers will also accept. But they kick him out.

Not getting disheartened, he goes to the common folk and starts inviting them. One by one, they slam the door. They spit on him. They reject him. And they didn't stop at that — they could have let him go, but they sent the street urchins after Rasulullah ﷺ, pelting him with stone after stone after stone.

Rasulullah ﷺ's blessed body breaks and he starts bleeding. While walking, he would put his hand down, scooping up the blood that was falling — because he knew that if the blood of a Nabi falls on the ground, the punishment of Allah would come down right then and there.

Rasulullah ﷺ trips. Zayd bin Harithah رضي الله عنه is running in front of him, covering his head so the stones do not hit him. And Rasulullah ﷺ trips to the ground. Two of the street urchins run up — one grabs him from this arm, the other from that arm — and they prop him back up so he can keep walking, while continuing to pelt him with stones.

Rasulullah ﷺ reaches the edge of the city. And he raises his hands and makes du'a to Allah:

The du'a is very long, but Rasulullah ﷺ completely humbles himself in front of Allah. He completely submits himself.

And Allah witnessed everything. He sends down an angel — right then and there with Jibril ﷺ — the angel of the mountains. And he says, "Oh Rasulullah ﷺ, this angel is at your command. If you so wish, the people of Ta'if will be crushed between these two mountains at this very instant."

And Rasulullah ﷺ had every single right to do this. He had come to them as a mercy, to bring Islam to them, called them in such a beautiful manner — and they rejected him in such a disgusting manner. But Rasulullah ﷺ says: No. Why? Because these people might not accept, but maybe someone in their progeny will accept.

Even at that very moment, where his honor had been trampled upon, he says this. This is the concern he had for you and I. The character that he showed. Allah says in the Qur'an:

"It is as if you will destroy yourself if they do not become believers."

It was such a person that people were drawn to. Just by seeing him, people would accept Islam. No matter what they had heard, their eyes could never deceive them.

The Devotion of the Sahabah

We see the devotion the Sahabah had towards this man — our Prophet, our Habib ﷺ — that once they accepted Islam, they were all in. Bilal رضي الله عنه — his famous story: while being dragged in the streets with hot coals being put on his back, no matter what was done to him, he would not give in, because Islam was given to him by Rasulullah ﷺ. Wherever Rasulullah ﷺ stepped, they stepped. Whatever he did, they did.

The famous story of Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما: after the demise of Rasulullah ﷺ, he was traveling with some of his companions and students from Madinah to Makkah. We have to imagine how long of a journey that is — no cars, the only modes of transportation being camels and sometimes going on foot. He is traveling with some of his companions and has just one water skin with him. He stops underneath a tree, opens the water skin, and just pours some of the water out.

His companions are confused. This seemingly futile act — why did he do that? He just wasted water. And he looks at them and replies: yes, there was no apparent benefit for me doing this action. It's just that while Rasulullah ﷺ was alive, I saw him stop in this very place, and he did the same exact thing — he poured some of the water here. There was no other motive behind his action except to follow Nabi ﷺ. No other motive.

We see the story of Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما, that one time he was walking and just lowered his head for no apparent reason. The people around him asked, "Why did you lower your head?" He said that in the time of Rasulullah ﷺ, there used to be a branch over here, and Rasulullah ﷺ lowered his head while walking past it. Even though today this branch has been cut and there is no branch here, because of my love for Rasulullah ﷺ and to emulate him in any way I can, I also lowered my head in this place.

The Fruits of Following the Sunnah

And we see that through following the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ — following his method, his prophetic method — what heights the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم reached. Yes, the akhirah is a given — رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ — that Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Allah. But even in this dunya, they turned away from the dunya, they followed the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, and the dunya threw itself at their feet:

"The dunya came after them in a humiliated state."

In the time of Umar رضي الله عنه and his khilafah, in the masajid of Madinatul Munawwara, in the masjid of Rasulullah ﷺ, gold and silver was flowing into Madinah. It was being piled up so high they had nowhere to put it. Did they give zakat to the people? There was no one to give zakat to — so much wealth was pouring into Madinah.

From a people — from a desert tribe who were known to be the lowliest of people — how did they reach such heights? Logically, it doesn't make any sense. How could this happen? These people who were completely unknown were conquering the biggest empires around them. It was only because they completely submitted themselves to Allah and followed the way of Rasulullah ﷺ — because that is the true path to success.

How Do We Bring the Sunnah Into Our Lives?

Now we have to ask ourselves: what is our connection with Allah? What is our standing upon the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ? We claim to be the followers of Rasulullah ﷺ, but do we actually follow his Sunnah? How do we bring this Sunnah — this exemplary character — into our own lives?

There are two main ways for doing this.

1. Reading the Seerah

Number one: we have to recognize who Rasulullah ﷺ is. We claim to love him, but what do we know about him? We should open the books of Seerah and read the gems that are scattered throughout the Seerah. We read about Rasulullah ﷺ, we learn about him, and slowly the love will start building inside our hearts.

This man, Rasulullah ﷺ, who has so much love for us — that he would spend night after night crying, standing in front of Allah:

"Until his feet would become completely swollen." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1130; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2819)

— and then he would keep standing and crying for us, for his ummah. That we read about him. And only then will the love of Rasulullah ﷺ enter our hearts. Dedicate maybe 10 minutes before you go to sleep — dedicate that time. Or sometime in the morning. Or even sit down with the family and dedicate 10–15 minutes every single day to read the Seerah of Rasulullah ﷺ.

2. Sending Salawat Upon the Prophet ﷺ

And number two: we send excessive salawat upon Rasulullah ﷺ. We claim to love Rasulullah ﷺ, but how much salawat do we send on him?

"Whoever sends one salah upon me, Allah sends ten mercies upon him." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 408)

That when we send one salah upon Rasulullah ﷺ, Allah sends 10 mercies upon us. We should be doing this throughout the week, but especially on the day of Friday — when all of our deeds are also presented before Rasulullah ﷺ.

How is it that we claim to love Rasulullah ﷺ, but we barely remember him? We don't even mention his name. We're not wearing the clothes of the Sunnah. Is this love for Rasulullah ﷺ?

And the thing is, we should look at this as our own responsibility. Yes, someone might have told us to read these books of Seerah. Yes, someone might have told us to do salawat. But we should do these things thinking of it as a personal responsibility.

The Day of Judgment — Will We Have the Right to Face Him?

On the Day of Judgment, that hot day — when the sun will be only a few miles above our heads — some people will be drowning in their own sweat. Some will be submerged to their waist. And on that day, Rasulullah ﷺ will be given the hawd, the pond, and he will be giving water to his beloved followers.

And imagine we come up to Rasulullah ﷺ, and he puts his hand out to give us water — and then one of the mala'ikah pulls us back. Rasulullah ﷺ says, "No, these are my followers. These are my ummatis." But the mala'ikah will say to him, "No — these people did not follow your Sunnah. They trampled upon your Sunnah. They had no regard for your Sunnah." And what will we do on that day except lower our heads in shame in front of Rasulullah ﷺ? We wouldn't even be able to look him in the eye.

On the Day of Judgment, the only way each and every one of us will enter Jannah is by the shafa'ah — Rasulullah ﷺ will make intercession. And only then will the day of judgment conclude. If on that day Rasulullah ﷺ turns away from us, then who will intercede for us?

So we should read about Rasulullah ﷺ, send excessive salawat upon him, thinking of this as our own responsibility — so that on the Day of Judgment, we are able to come to Rasulullah ﷺ and hold our heads high and say: I tried to follow your Sunnah. I tried to implement your Sunnah.

May Allah give us the tawfiq to read the Seerah, to discover the gems that are scattered throughout it, and to send excessive salawat upon Rasulullah ﷺ.

Announcements

Please pass the donation boxes from left to right and donate generously. Sadaqa wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ has said that charity given on the day of Jumu'ah is greater in reward than any other day. (Reported in Musannaf 'Abd al-Razzaq)

Please, no curb parking. Do not park on the curbs behind the seminary building or the Swift Highway. We have additional parking spaces in the used car lot.

Please join us for our weekly programs. Team Fajr will continue tomorrow, Saturday. Fajr Iqamah will be at 5:00 AM. Tafsir will also continue — Mufti Azimuddin is covering Surah al-Hajj on Tuesday after Maghrib Salah.

Registration is now open for the following programs:

• Three-Week Arabic Essentials for brothers and sisters — start your journey of learning the language of the Qur'an today. Classes begin Monday, July 24th.
• Tadrees Integrated High School Program — high school education in an Islamic environment. Classes begin August 14th.

For more information, please visit masjidds.org.

Du'a request for Sayyid Azmatullah Hussaini, who is in critical condition in Hyderabad, India. And du'a for Ghulam Mustafa Khan, father of Muhammad Aslam Khan. And for Ghulam Haider, who passed away on Tuesday, July 18th. May Allah have mercy on him and grant him a high station in Jannah.