2014-10-10 - Friday Prayer - Hafiz Wasif Ali Khan

Hope in Allah's Mercy: Lessons from Surah Az-Zumar

Dear brothers and sisters, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

In this short khutbah, insha'Allah, I'll be sharing with you a reminder from Surah Az-Zumar. And these passages, these ayat that come in this passage — according to many of the scholars of the past — they have said that these ayat are of the most optimistic ayat that occur in the Quran. These ayat that we are to talk about today are of the most optimistic ayat that occur in the Quran.

And many of the scholars have said this. Even Hasan al-Basri, one of the famous scholars, has made similar statements. And these ayat are very beautiful.

Because these ayat refer not only to the Muslim, but they also refer to the non-Muslim. They have this duality in them — they refer to the Muslim and to the non-Muslim.

The Context of Revelation

Before I go into the ayat, something that's important for us to mention is to realize the context — the reason for revelation. When were these ayat revealed? And when we look into the history of when these ayat were revealed, we see that there were many circumstances that were occurring at once. And these ayat were revealed as the answer or the solution to many different situations.

One of the situations that had occurred was that a group of men came to the Prophet and said, "We like your message. We've heard of Islam. We know what Islam teaches. We like this message, but we have an issue. We want to believe in this message, but there's something that's holding us back." The Prophet said, "What's holding you back?" They said that they had lived a very bad lifestyle previously, and they didn't know if accepting Islam would be enough for their previous sins to be forgiven. One person was a highway robber. Another used to commit zina. They came to the Prophet and said, "We have all of these sins. We're coming with all of this baggage. What's going to happen to us? We like your message, but what about our past?" So these ayat were revealed.

Another reason why these ayat were revealed, as it is told in the books of tafsir, is that when the Prophet gave the obligation for all of the Muslims to migrate from Mecca to Medina, many of the Muslims moved — except for a few. Umar tells us about them. He says that they all migrated to Medina, and when you realize what migration meant — you had to leave your business, leave everything you had worked for the last 10–15 years behind. You were basically living on your savings. And on top of that, some people were being harassed and even physically abused as they left. So it was very hard to leave.

So Umar says that they migrated, and there were some who were left back — people who had been their friends in the past. And they talked about these people and said, "How can Allah ever forgive them? The Prophet is amongst them, telling them to migrate to Medina, but they chose to stay back — perhaps for monetary reasons, or because they didn't want to endure the lashes." So Umar said they thought about these people and said, "How can Allah ever forgive them?" And then Allah revealed these ayat:

"O My slaves, My servants, My worshippers — those who have transgressed against themselves — do not ever lose hope in the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."

Umar said that when these ayat were revealed, it was a shock to them — who were they to say that Allah could not forgive those who stayed behind? He says:

(Narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab, referenced in Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Quran 39:53)

"I wrote these ayat with my own hands and I sent them to my friend Hisham ibn Umar." And he says that Hisham read these ayat but didn't put it all together at first. He read it again and again, and finally he read it and started crying — he couldn't help himself. He realized that what he had done was a grave sin, that it was not right, and that he still had the ability to be forgiven. SubhanAllah.

These are the ayat of optimism. These are the ayat that bring us back to Allah. And not only for the Muslims, but also for the non-Muslims — because ibad means both "worshipper" and "slave." If you take the meaning of "slave," it includes the non-Muslim as well. If it alludes to "worshipper," it is for the Muslim.

Never Lose Hope in Allah's Mercy

Allah says, يَا عِبَادِي — "O My slaves." And notice He says My slaves. Allah is elevating the status of these slaves. Then He says, الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ — "those who have done israf against themselves."

The word israf is a word that is usually not used for human beings — it is usually used for wealth. Allah says elsewhere, لَا تُسْرِفُوا — "Don't waste your wealth without a goal in mind." But here, Allah says, "Don't do israf against yourselves." Because we can waste ourselves if we are not using the blessings Allah has given us toward what pleases Him. Those who have transgressed against themselves, crossed the boundaries and limits that Allah has set for them.

Allah says: لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ — "Do not lose hope in the mercy of Allah." And this losing hope in Allah is something very important, because the mercy of Allah is something that we cannot cage. The mercy of Allah is vast.

The Prophet said that when Allah created mankind and the creation, He made a hundred parts of mercy. He reserved 99 for the Hereafter, and only one part of mercy was showered upon this earth — upon all of creation. And because of this one part of mercy, a horse shows mercy to its foal and doesn't step on it. SubhanAllah. This is the mercy of Allah.

Ibrahim — referring to the Quranic statement — tells us that there is not a person who loses hope in Allah except that he must be a disbeliever. Because if you believe in Allah, how can you ever lose hope in Him? No matter what your past is, no matter what you've done, you can never lose hope in Allah.

The Prophet also said in another hadith that if the disbeliever — the kafir — knew of the mercy of Allah, he would not lose hope in it either. SubhanAllah. This is Allah.

And Allah tells us that without His mercy, you and I cannot survive. Allah says:

"If Allah were to deal with you and me by the deeds that we accumulate — if Allah were to judge us by our deeds, good or bad — there would not be a creature left alive on this earth." It is only through the mercy of Allah that we breathe. So losing hope in the mercy of Allah is something that is not allowed. It should not even be an option for us as Muslims. SubhanAllah.

Then Allah says:

"Indeed — certainly — it is Allah who forgives all sins." The word ذُنُوب comes from the word ذَنَب in Arabic, which means "tail" — something you are embarrassed of, something that follows you. Allah says He forgives all of them, جَمِيعًا — all together, each and everything. إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ — it is He who is exceedingly forgiving, and it is He who is perpetually merciful. SubhanAllah. This is who Allah is.

The Two Conditions for Hoping in Allah's Forgiveness

Now, what are the conditions of being hopeful for the mercy of Allah? What are the requirements? That's what's at stake now. Once we realize that Allah says to His slaves, "Don't ever lose hope in Allah's mercy — Allah forgives all sins," the question becomes: how can I be hopeful for forgiveness?

And the next ayah is what's key. Allah gives us two ingredients — two conditions. And if we meet these two conditions, we can be hopeful for the forgiveness of Allah for anything and everything we've done in the past, all together — جَمِيعًا. Allah says:

First Condition: Turn Back to Your Lord

أَنِيبُوا comes from the word نَوْب, which means to turn back. وَأَنِيبُوا إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ — "Turn back to your master, turn back to your Lord." Where are you going to go anyway? You might think that in this life you can do this, this, and this — but where are you going to end up? Allah says, turn back to your master.

One of my teachers gave me a really good visual understanding of the word noob, of the word aneebu. He told me: when you're traveling and you're going down a path, and you think you know how to get to the destination — it should be 15 minutes, but it's been 20 minutes and you don't know where you are. You pull out your GPS and it tells you to make a U-turn because you've been going south and you're supposed to be going north. You've been going in the opposite direction.

When you make that U-turn — this is what noob is. This is what Allah is calling us to do in our lives. He is calling us to make that U-turn. We may be going down a particular path in our life, but there are signs around us — Allah is reminding us: "You probably shouldn't be doing this. You shouldn't be on this. You shouldn't be texting this person. You shouldn't be doing this or that." You have these alarms going off. And when you make that U-turn in your life, this is what Allah is talking about.

This is a fi'l amr — a command. Allah is calling us to action. He is telling us: turn back to your master right now. Take that U-turn in your life.

Second Condition: Submit to Him

Secondly, Allah tells us: وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ. And again, it's beautiful — it has two meanings. If it's referring to the non-Muslim, aslimu means "accept Islam." So Allah is telling the non-Muslim: even if you've done shirk in the past, Allah will even forgive this if you accept Islam. Even your past shirk can be forgiven if you accept Islam.

And if it's referring to the Muslim — to us — aslimu means to submit. The word "Muslim" means the one who submits. We already submit to Allah, so what does this mean here? Allah is saying: submit further. Because when you are headed down a bad path, when you choose an option that is not pleasing to Allah, then you are not truly submitting yourself — even if you call yourself a Muslim. So Allah is saying: take that U-turn in your life, and submit yourself further to Allah. Whenever you have an option — do I go with A or B? — see what pleases Allah, and take that option. وَأَسْلِمُوا لَهُ — submit towards Him.

A Sense of Urgency

And then Allah, at the end of the ayah, says: مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ الْعَذَابُ. There is a sense of urgency. It's not like we have a lot of time left. We cannot say, "I'll make this U-turn in my life when I'm 70 years old — let me enjoy until then. Let me buy that interest-bearing home, let me do this and that, and once it's paid off, then I'll make that U-turn." No. Allah tells us of the sense of urgency — do this before a punishment comes to you.

And there's something beautiful here. In other places, Allah says عَذَابَ اللَّهِ — "the punishment of Allah" — but in this ayah He does not say that. Ibn Abbas says it's beautiful — because this is not the maqam, this is not the place to display the punishment of Allah, because these are the most optimistic verses. So even though the punishment is coming from Allah, He doesn't attribute it to Himself here. This is the perfection of the Quran — how every word fits exactly where it is supposed to fit.

Allah says: before the punishment comes to you, before death comes to you, before something unplanned occurs in your life — turn back to me right now. This is the time for you to take the U-turn in your life and turn back to Allah.

So we ask Allah to make us amongst the people of the Quran — those who read the Quran, who understand the Quran, who implement the Quran in their lives, and who spread the Quran far and wide. And I say this, and I ask Allah's forgiveness for you and for the rest of the Muslims, so ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family, and his companions, and those who follow him.

O Allah, benefit us with what You have taught us, and teach us what benefits us, and increase us in knowledge.

These ayat occur in Surah Az-Zumar, in the 50s. These are ayat that we should go back to, read, memorize, and paste on our walls. We should be people of optimism — and this is what the Quran teaches us. And these ayat also call us to action. Allah is telling us that if we do these two things:

If you turn back to Allah and submit further to Him, Allah is willing to forgive each and every sin of yours. May Allah make us amongst those whose sins He forgives. And we ask Allah to make us amongst those who come closer to the Quran, and who truly have a connection with the Quran while we are praying.

And while I end this khutbah, I would also like to share a couple of opportunities that we have coming forth — opportunities to have this close connection with the Quran. Alhamdulillah, last year we had an Arabic class through the masjid here, just upstairs, in the rooms over here, and it went on for about six months, alhamdulillah. By the time that we ended this course, mashallah, we had students from our own community who can attest to how their relationship with the Quran completely changed — how they really started to understand more and more of the Quran while praying, while reading the Quran, while in Ramadan, and so on and so forth.

This is something that should be a goal and objective in each and every one of our lives — to come closer to the Quran by whatever means it takes. SubhanAllah, usually people — myself included — had to travel when wanting to learn Arabic. But now, mashallah, you have the opportunity to learn Arabic in your own community without traveling. And the way this course is built, it is for people with daytime commitments — whether you're going to school, whether you're working, or whether you're watching the kids at home. Whatever your commitment is, these courses take place in the evenings.

Insha'Allah, I'll be in the back after the salah to answer any questions, and I'll also have flyers in the back. Please come see me. We have two options open: one in the mornings for the sisters, and another in the evenings that I'll be teaching myself. So if you have any questions, please come and see me.

Du'a

Announcements

I'd like to make an important announcement regarding the IACC election that's coming up. The election date is November 30th this year. They are now accepting applications and nominations for one Amir and six Shura member positions. Nomination forms are available in the front office. You can also download them from the website www.plano.masjid.org. It's important that nominations are submitted soon — the last day to nominate is October 20th, which is only 10 days away. If you have someone in mind that you want to nominate, please go ahead and fill out the nomination form.

There will be meet-the-candidate sessions and similar events next month. If you have any questions, you can ask members of the Election Commission. Thank you very much. We appreciate your support in this process. Jazakumullah Khayr.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.