Illuminating the Path - Using Islam to Rebalance Our Goals

Khutbah: Illuminating the Path - Using Islam to Rebalance Our Goals

Opening

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

I'm going to tell you guys the same thing I told everybody at CentralZone two weeks ago. I don't like talking after Wissam. The reason for that is, I can't do the whole epic recitation thing that he does.

So when I quote an ayah of the Quran, I'm just going to read it. I won't be able to do his razzle-dazzle thing. But at the end of the day, it doesn't trouble me too much.

Because some people are epic sounding, and some are epic looking. Anyways.

Introduction: A Positive Development

Before I get started with the actual topic, I wanted to just make a little comment. Something that I've seen very positive.

I like to tell people that, alhamdulillah, I'm a lot older than a lot of you here. I grew up in a place, I was born and raised in Texas, in Dallas. And it's a younger community compared to the communities you have out here in the Northeast.

And I grew up in a time where there wasn't even a masjid anywhere. There wasn't a place to pray Jumu'ah till I was like six years old. And so, I've had the opportunity to see communities grow and us come along, come quite a bit of a way.

And grow quite a bit. And one thing that I've got the opportunity to witness and experience here at this conference this year, that is very encouraging to me. We had the realization a few years ago, I would say it started to settle in about ten years ago, a decade ago.

And we became extremely serious about it in the last few years. About the need for indigenous relevant scholarship. But within the realm of the masjid.

We wanted younger imams, we wanted indigenous imams, we wanted relevant young educated imams. We started realizing that. But what we also needed to realize the need of, was we needed that same type of spiritual leadership that was educated and qualified on campuses for young people.

And I had the opportunity this weekend to not only meet but listen to Imam Khalid, to meet Ustad Taha, Ustad Faisal, Sister Marwa. And it's very, very encouraging. It's really, really encouraging that this new breed of leadership is emerging.

And they're providing leadership and counsel on the actual campuses for young Muslims. And it'll help you to deal with a very, very important reality. And that is a reconciling of our identity as Muslims and as Americans.

And as productive members and citizens of society and community. So I just wanted to point that out that, you know, any blessing that we have, the more grateful you are for it, the more Allah blesses you with it:

"If you are grateful, I will certainly increase you [in favor]."

So most definitely this is a blessing that you should be grateful for and take advantage of.

Using Islam to Realign Our Goals

Alright, the talk was using Islam to realign our goals. Using Islam to realign our goals. And I wanted to quote a few things from the Quran.

Talking about goals of the great people that came before us. Our role models, alright. The people that we look up to.

And the people that we strive to try to emulate them and their accomplishments and their lifestyles.

The Goal of Isa (Jesus( عليه السلام

Isa عليه السلام in surah number 19, surah Maryam, verse ayah number 30 and 31 Isa عليه السلام in his childhood, this was actually a miracle of Isa عليه السلام. And was a divine form of defense for the honor and the dignity and the reputation of Maryam, the mother of Isa.

That even as an infant he spoke and he said:

"He said, 'Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive.'"

Most definitely I am the slave of Allah. I've been granted a book. I've been granted the book, scripture. And I've been made a prophet. And I have been made blessed. I have been blessed. Wherever I might be in life. And my Lord has firmly obligated me, has firmly commanded me, and instructed me to stick to prayer and charity, purifying myself. As long as I am alive.

That was his goal in life.

The Mission of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

We have Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. And the message and the purpose of the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is also detailed to us in the Quran:

"Say, [O Muhammad], 'O mankind, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you all.'"

Announce, proclaim, let them know, say, "O humanity, I most definitely am the messenger of Allah and I've been sent to all of you, everybody." I've been sent to everybody as the messenger of Allah.

"O Messenger, convey [in full] what has been revealed to you from your Lord."

Convey the message that has been delivered to you. And that was the mission and the purpose and the goal and the objective of his life.

To bring humanity from darkness to light.

The Goals of the Companions

Even the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. What were their goals in life? What were they striving to achieve and accomplish? Allah tells us in surah number 9, surah Tawbah, ayah number 100:

"And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah was pleased with them and they were pleased with Him."

The ones that came first, the ones at the front of the line. The very first ones that stood up and were ready to go and do what needed to be done. Regardless of whether they were from the Muhajireen, the immigrants from Mecca or the Ansar, the residents of Medina. And all those people that will follow them in the most excellent form and manner.

Allah was pleased with them and they were pleased with Him. Pleasing Allah was their goal and their objective in life.

"Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure."

Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those who are with him. Those who are with him. They are firm against the people who are ungrateful to Allah. They are merciful amongst each other. You will see them doing sujood, bowing and putting their face on the ground. The only thing they actively seek and want is the benevolence of their Lord and the pleasure of Allah. The pleasure of Allah that will never end.

That's why it's in the hyperbolic form, the exaggerated form (رِضْوَانًا) The pleasure of Allah that will never end. The limitless, endless, eternal pleasure of Allah.

That's what they wanted in life.

"Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration."

And you can notice the signs of their devotion, their commitment, their dedication on their faces. Because of them doing sujood. And this is not just, by unanimous consensus of the Mufassirun, it's not just simply talking about that they were rubbing their foreheads against the carpet and so that they got a carpet burn on their foreheads.

No, no, no. You see that blessing, that peace and that tranquility manifest on them. They are walking talking invitations to purpose in life.

And this was the goal and the purpose of life of people that came before us, people that we look up to, people that majority of the people in this room are named after them. Khalid was the name of a beautiful companion of the messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. And so this is who these people were.

Our Goal: Seeking Nearness to Allah

Now, after kind of setting this up, what I wanted to talk about is goal and purpose in life. What needs to be our goal and purpose in life based on what we just read about just a few people that Allah informs us about in the Quran. It is seeking nearness to Allah.

You can summarize the entire existence, the purpose of the human beings existence in pleasing Allah, end of story. And then whatever it takes in order to please Allah, whatever takes us closer to the pleasure of Allah, I am willing to do. But pleasing Allah is my goal and my purpose in life.

The Concept of Al-Birr (Righteousness)

And in the Quran Allah uses many different words when talking about stages of becoming near and closer to Allah. The highest word, the biggest word, the most profound word, the most powerful word that Allah uses is the word al-birr. Birr typically is translated as piety, but it's so much more than that.

What's very interesting about the word birr, it comes from the same root as the word barr. The word barr in classical Arabic actually means dry land, the opposite of which is wetland. The ocean, the sea, lakes and rivers, water on the surface of the earth, and then dry land is called barr.

And it comes from that same root. And the connection there, the connection, etymologically speaking, the connection there is that when you stand on dry land, naturally as a human being, there is a greater sense of safety and security and comfort when you are on dry land. When you are on dry land, you naturally feel more safe, more secure and more comfortable.

You have solid footing, solid grounding. And so Allah calls the highest level of piety birr. Because when you become close to Allah, when you have linked up with Allah, once you have a connection with Allah, that is the greatest form of safety, security, tranquility, peace, strength, conviction, comfort that you will ever feel in your entire life.

It will root you, it will ground you. You'll never feel like you'll float away, you'll fly away, or that you'll lose control. No, because you're anchored by something.

What are you anchored by? My connection with my Rabb.

"And He will provide for him from where he does not expect."

And the person that has a connection with Allah, Allah continues to sustain him from places, from situations and circumstances, that that person could never even imagine.

"And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him."

And the person that continues to try. The word tawakul means reliance upon Allah, right? Putting your trust in Allah. It means a little bit more.

It means to try to put your trust in Allah. The verb form, all right? Arabic is a language of patterns. I want everybody to repeat that.

Arabic is a language of patterns. When you put word onto patterns, they develop different meanings and implications. The word tawakul is on a pattern that means to try to put your trust in Allah.

Meaning we're all struggling with it. But the one who tries to put his trust upon Allah (فَهُوَ حَسْبُ - fahuwa hasb) Allah will always be enough for him. That's all he's ever gonna need.

And that's birr. Now what does Allah tell us... And you know in the Quran and in the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, respecting and maintaining a good relationship with your parents is also called birr al-walideen. Because socially and familiarly speaking, that the only time that a human being feels confident and secure and comfortable, is when he is at peace with his immediate family members.

You ever been going through some type of a dispute or tension with your mom or your dad or your family? That whole time you feel unrest. You feel distressed. Like when you're having a conversation with your friend, you seem distant, you seem out of it.

You're bothered by it all the time. The only way a human being can find full comfort and tranquility and peace in a social or family setting, is by being at peace with his immediate family. And that's why it's called birr al-walideen.

The Quranic Definition of Birr

Alright, now what does Allah tell us about birr? Surah number 2, ayah number 177. Very profound, famous, elaborate ayah of the Quran, often referred by scholars as to ayatul birr. The ayah that defines piety.

Now I want you to pay attention. I'm gonna try not to get too hung up on the words and the grammar. We're gonna try to keep it flowing, but pay very very close attention and listen to the items that are listed here.

Allah says:

"Piety is most definitely not that you turn your face towards the direction of the east, or you turn your face in the direction of the west."

You know what that's referring to? That is an Arabic expression. Like we have expressions or figures of speech in our language.

This is an expression from classical Arabic. It basically means, it means formality. Piety is not formality.

Not to just go through the motions. Not just do it because that's what you're supposed to do, or that's what I think you're supposed to do, or that's what everybody does, or just because that's just sort of how

I think it works. That's not piety.

Piety is deeper than that. It's not superficial. What is piety?

"Rather piety is what? The person who believes in Allah."

The person who believes in Allah, puts his heart with Allah, connects his heart with Allah.

"And he believes in that last day, the day that he will have to stand before Allah."

"The angels."

"And the books and the messengers."

That Allah sent the angels with the books to the messengers. He believes in that entire system that is at work, that I am not existing on my own. They both detailed about divine guidance in the form of the messenger and in the form of the Quran, the divine scripture.

I am not on my own. I'm not on my own. I don't have to figure things out on my own.

Allah put an entire system into place to guide me, to facilitate guidance for me. The answers are there staring me in the face. When Wissam Sharif recites Quran, it's not just something to entertain you.

It's guidance. And that same guidance, like when he gave that demonstration about turning off the echo and it's still Quran. You hold that Quran in your hand.

You have access to that same guidance. It's facilitated for you. So now what is piety after belief and after accepting the fact that Allah is there for me, and Allah has provided an entire system for me, that will help me understand how I need to live my life.

The Actions of the Righteous

The next step, now what's it gonna say now? Pray all night long. Imam Khalid talked about fast every other day. Let's read like 8 juz of the Quran every single night.

No, that's not what it says. It says:

"Then the person who is pious, he gives wealth. He gives his money."

Why does he give his money? (عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ - 'alaa hubbihi) Not because I like that charity, but I don't like this charity. And that masjid, that board member, I'm cool with him, but that board member, I don't like him. That fundraiser is... And that fundraiser is really entertaining.

No, no, no. He gives money, (عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ - 'alaa hubbihi) based on the love that he has for Allah. I love Allah, and I'm gonna give my money because I wanna please Allah.

Who does he give his money to?

"To his close people around him, in his life, his family."

First it talks about family. Appreciate family. Strengthen your relationship and your bond with your family. We are dealing with a crisis of family. We are dealing with a crisis of family even in the Muslim community.

And the first thing, and young people are at the heart of this crisis, at the center of this crisis. You need to find balance in your relationship with your family. I'm gonna just rattle it off real quick here.

Your parents don't hate you. Your parents don't wanna destroy your life. Your parents love you very, very much.

They might not fully understand you sometimes, but that's okay. You're not perfect, they're not perfect, nobody's perfect. All right.

I'll try. All right. So reconcile your relationship with your family.

"Then the orphans."

"The poor, the needy, the destitute."

"People that are traveling, people that are in need, people that require your assistance and help."

"People that come and ask for your help."

"And slaves."

I always tell people, you know the Quran is talking about human trafficking.

People that are righteous and pious will spend their money and give their time and spend their energy and resources to end oppression upon mankind and humanity. Which a current modern day form with the global economic crisis, human trafficking is on the rise. Muslims stand against this.

The Quran speaks against this. And notice in this entire list of things, these causes that these good righteous people serve, that it say they only help Muslim orphans, Muslim poor people, Muslims that are involved in, that get caught up, that are victims of human trafficking. No, no, no, no.

It leaves it open and broad. Muslims, pious righteous people are the ones who serve humanity in general across the chart. Why? Because they love Allah. That's their motivation.

Then it says, it does say:

"They established a salah, they give their zakat."

"They keep their word once they've made a promise to somebody."

They fulfill their word, they keep their word, they're honest and truthful. Another huge problem we have. We have the dichotomy within the Muslim community that I pray and I do all of these things, or I fulfill some other ritual aspects of my religion.

But when I talk to people, I'm lying and I'm cheating and I'm deceitful. No, no, no, no, no. That is the primary means of your dawah.

And that is a primary manifestation of your religion, and your deen, and your iman.

"And they'll have patience through all types of adversity and difficulty, whether it be physical or financial. Even if they get sick or they go through tough financial times, they will be patient."

Why? What will keep them patient and grounded? Their connection with Allah, their love for Allah. (وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ - wa heena alba's) And even when there are times of distress. That means not only are they personally experiencing a tragedy, but the entire society and community is going through suffering.

Even in those times, they will become the pillars of strength, and they will become an inspiration to all of society. That, wow, look at how they handled themselves in this crisis. That's what I want to be like.

"These are the people that are truthful and sincere, and they're in the pledge and the oath that they've made, that I believe in Allah, I love Allah, I want a connection with Allah."

"And these are people who live a life where they never go a moment without thinking about Allah. Allah is always on their mind."

They are always thinking of Allah whenever they make any decision, they take any step in life. And so based on this ayah, the message I want you to take is, redefine your boundaries of ibadah, serving Allah. Ibadah doesn't just mean worship.

Redefining Ibadah (Worship)

When I say worship, everyone thinks salah, dhikr, Quran, tasbih, right? No, no, no. Ibadah is serving and devoting and dedicating yourself to Allah. Redefine your boundaries of ibadah.

Ibadah is not just prayer and these things, but ibadah is anything and everything that you do that brings you closer to Allah. You held the door open for someone, that's ibadah. You went home and asked your mom, how are you doing? How's everything? Is everything okay? That was ibadah.

You went and got your dad a glass of water, that was ibadah. You let one of the Muslim students that really wanted to come to the conference and couldn't afford a hotel room and they barely paid registration. You said, just crash in my room.

Hotel staff is not listening, alright? So just go ahead and crash in my room. That's ibadah. That's ibadah.

That's worship. You just served Allah by serving the creation. And so it comes down to two things.

Number one, be sincere. Be honest, be truthful and be sincere in your claim that you want to please Allah. Let that sincerity drive you.

And you know when you're being sincere or not. And the second thing is, this entire discussion of piety and what should be the overlying goals that we have in life, love for Allah and humanity. Love for Allah and humanity, the creation of Allah.

We don't have time, otherwise I could even go in to talk about how the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم even emphasized the rights of animals and the rights of all of the creation of Allah. Environmentalism is not some modern idea. Environmentalism is preached in the Quran.

I actually gave a lecture about this on Wednesday in Dallas at a university. Talking about how, you know environmentalism, the way the Quran talks about it, it doesn't put it in the realm of ibadah or worship or

The Tool of Focus: Salah

And at the end of the day, we need something that gives us focus. Now, it's easy to talk about this, but how will I achieve that focus, and how will I stay consistent? We have a powerful tool at our disposal. An extremely powerful tool at our disposal.

And it's been alluded to throughout the conference. And that tool, that resource, that focusing element, is what we call salah. We need to take salah out of the realm of just a ritual form of worship, and into a means of connecting to Allah, and giving us focus in life.

Salah is a powerful experience. It's an unbelievable experience. And what do I want you to do in order to incorporate quality in your prayer? It's not even about quantity.

Quantity does play a role in prayer, but it comes afterwards. First, it's all about quality. And how can you institute quality in your prayer?

Three Guidelines for Quality Prayer

First of all, treat it with respect.

You don't get to work 5 minutes late. You don't get to class 15 minutes late. Well, most of you don't.

Alright? Why are we late for prayer? And I'm not talking about some formal prayer, even in the masjid or in jama'a or in congregation. I'm talking about even individually. You know, I always tell people, we always want to be so simple and so humble and everything, but when it comes to the timing of prayer, we all become experts of the fiqh of the timing of salah.

Fiqh of the mawaqid of salah. Right? That brother, I've done my research, and dhuhr comes in at 12.30, and asr comes in at 4.30. So I have a 4-hour window where I can pray my dhuhr. And I'll pray when I get a chance.

Have a little bit more discipline about your prayer. Only because it's meant to give you focus and to give you discipline and a sense of responsibility in your life. So treat it with respect.

The second thing about salah is that prepare for it properly. Nobody here, when they go to school or they go to work, just kind of wakes up in the morning and literally just walks out the door. Does anybody here do that? Probably shouldn't ask that question.

It's an MSA conference. I don't think I want to know the answer. Alright? Let me ask it this way.

Did any of you come to the MSA conference without first figuring out exactly what you were going to wear? In what session and on what day? Right? We prepare for things. Prepare for your salah. Make wudu properly.

Take two minutes of your time. Put your phone down. Remove distractions.

So sit down for a minute or two. Just clear your mind, clear your head. Get in the zone.

And then the third thing I'll recommend about getting focus out of your salah and your prayer to help you achieve the goals that you want to achieve. Using Islam to redefine your goals. What do you need to do? Start, understand.

Put some time in. Put some energy and effort in. And to learning and understanding the meaning of the words that you read and recite within your prayer.

A Practical Example

I always give people this completely, utterly ridiculous example. And I'm going to share it with you guys as well. Does anybody here in this room speak Korean? There's always one person.

Alright? Alright. Does anybody speak Mandarin? I hate you people so much. Alright? I can't win.

Alright? Does anyone speak Tamil? Alright? Alright. We're still going to use you as an example. Alright? So let's just say nobody in this room speaks Tamil.

I prepared 30 pages, 30 minutes worth of Tamil poetry that I will recite in front of you. And I come here and I start reciting Tamil poetry and I plan to do this for 30 minutes. How long before... And nobody here understands a word of Tamil.

How long before you get bored? Instantly. Because you're already bored of what I'm saying right now. Alright? So you instantaneously are bored of what I'm doing.

And I don't understand Tamil. So how long before I get bored? A minute or two, five minutes into, I'm like, what am I doing here? This is ridiculous. I don't even know what I'm saying.

Why am I saying it? Now as stupid as that sounds, and this is going to sting, alright? And I apologize in advance. How different is our salah and our prayer from the example I just gave you?

We're reciting this in our prayer day in and day out, and I still keep reading it and then I wonder why I can't concentrate in my prayer.

Why my prayer doesn't focus me? Why my prayer doesn't connect me with Allah? I don't even know what I'm saying. And you know what? We're here in Boston. I should connect that.

We're here in Boston. Alright? This is like the seat of like secular academics in the West. Right? You guys are genius people.

You guys are some smart people in this room. I feel stupid here. Right? You people know so much and you're capable of learning so much in so little time.

So intelligent, so bright. Learning is intuitive to you. Right? You know how little time it would take for you to just simply learn what you're saying in your prayer? No time, no work at all.

Very little time you'd have to invest. Very little effort you'd have to put into it. But then think about the experience your prayer would become.

How it would focus you in your life in regards to your goal and even in your connection with Allah. So focus on your prayer and your prayer will focus you.

You focus on your salah and your salah will focus you and make you productive and efficient.

A Beautiful Example from the Prophet's Life

The last thing that I wanted to touch on here and this is not a point even to make, just to kind of conclude and kind of show how all of this comes together and how when we have focus and when we focus ourselves in our relationship and our connection with Allah, how it makes us productive, efficient and it just takes us to a whole another level. I'll share with you an incident from the life of the Messenger peace and blessings be upon him.

(Source Name)

One time the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) He passed by a Bedouin man who was supplicating in his prayer. He was offering a supplication in his prayer. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) decided to stop and listen to what his supplication was.

You know like a teacher with a student, he wanted like a teacher kind of glances over the shoulder of the student when he's writing his, you know, doing the exam. Just to kind of see what did he learn. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stopped right behind him to listen to his supplication.

And the man in his supplication was calling out to Allah, and he said:

"O the one who eyes cannot see in this world."

"Minds cannot comprehend his greatness."

"People cannot praise him as he deserves to be praised."

"The incidents and the occurrences that occur in this world do not bring about a change in Allah. Allah is the cause of change."

"Allah does not fear the passing and the tribulations of time."

"Allah knows the exact weight of all the mountains in the world."

"He knows the exact volume of all the oceans in the world."

"And the number of drops of rain that fall from the sky."

"And Allah knows the exact number of leaves on all the trees of the entire world."

"And Allah knows the full detail of everything that the night hides in its darkness and the day illuminates with its light."

"One sky cannot shield another sky from Allah."

"One ground cannot shield another ground from Allah."

"And a mountain in its deepest cave cannot hide anything from Allah."

"And an ocean in its depth and darkness cannot hide anything from Allah."

This man is praying to Allah. Look how focused he is. Look how he's understood life and the world around him.

And now what does he ask for? What does he ask for? A nice car and a nice house, right? To get hooked up at the MSA conference, right? Look what he asked for.

"Oh Allah, make the best part of my life the last part of my life."

"Make the best of my actions, the best of my actions."

"And make the best of my days the day that I will return back to meet you again."

When the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) heard this man supplicating (وَكَّلَ رَجُلًا إِلَيْهِ) he appointed a man, said, you wait for him. When he's done, you bring him to me.

I need to talk to this guy. When he was done, he said, the Messenger of Allah wants to see you. He sits down, he's a Bedouin.

All right, you know what a Bedouin is? A Bedouin is like a villager, country folk. All right, like howdy y'all, country folk. Right, simple people, simple people.

So he comes to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) asks what's your name? Where are you from? He says, my name is such and such, I'm from this tribe. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) gives him a gift. Gives him a gift.

He says, you know why I gave you this gift? So the Bedouin says, maybe we're related, right? The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said no, no. Relationships have their own rights. But I gave you this gift.

"Because of how beautifully you kept on praising Allah."

Focus. Look how much and how profoundly he's talking about Allah. Look how connected he is with Allah. Look how focused he is. And that focus, no doubt about the fact, it transfers over into all other areas of your life.

That focus, that connection with Allah, that spirituality, will then improve your family life, your relationship with your parents, your school, your work, your job, and most importantly, your contribution to humanity and society.

Closing

May Allah give us all the ability to practice everything you've said or heard. May Allah allow us all to live up to these lofty standards that have been presented today.