EPIC Masjid, Imam Eid Kneifati(Lafayette), Prophet Ibrahim peace be upon him.

Opening — Khutbah of EPIC Masjid, Lafayette

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We praise Him, we ask His forgiveness, we ask His help, and we repent to Him. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the evils of our hearts.

Whomsoever Allah guides, he is the one who is guided. And whosoever is misguided, none will find for him a guiding guardian. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. He is the First, the Last, the All-Knowing, and the All-Seeing. Glory be to Him, and He is Powerful over all things.

And I bear witness that our Greatest, our Beloved, and the joy of our eyes is Muhammad — the servant of Allah and His Messenger, the purest of His creation. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, advised the Ummah, and left us on the white path. The best of affairs is its guidance, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, may Allah bless every footstep we took toward this masjid. May Allah reward all of us and make our place the highest place in Jannah. Allahumma ameen.

We are going to spend a few moments with the Great Prophet, the Great Messenger, Ibrahim, peace be upon him. When the time of Hajj comes, one cannot skip without talking about Ibrahim, peace be upon him, nor his son, Ismail, peace be upon him.

The Story of Hajar and the Miracle of Zamzam

When Ibrahim, peace be upon him, left his wife Hajar and his newborn baby Ismail in a barren, empty desert — as Allah described in His Book — she asked him one question: "Did Allah give you this order?" He said, "Yes." And she said, "Allah will not let us go to waste." And she stayed with her son, the newborn baby.

And what we do nowadays, my brothers and sisters in Islam — the Hajj — is because of what Hajar did. Until Allah sent the angel Jibreel, peace be upon him, and performed the miracle of Zamzam.

And what of my brothers and sisters in Islam where nowadays a lot of Muslims don't have this little bit of water to drink? That's why we find them dying on the streets. When you look at Africa — particularly Somalia — you find people dying because they don't have water. Then Allah sent Jibreel, peace be upon him, and performed the miracle of Zamzam.

And there was a tribe called Jurhum — a true Arab tribe. They saw the water and they came. They asked Hajar if they could stay there. My brothers and sisters, her answer is going to make you wonder. She did not simply say "yes." Look what she said: "You are welcome to stay under one condition." They asked, "What is that?" She said, "You cannot act as the owner of the land." From the very beginning, Hajar made a deal with those people — they cannot be the owner of Makkah, they cannot be the owner of the land. And they agreed on that.

The Two Visits of Ibrahim to His Son Ismail

Ismail, peace be upon him, grew up and Ibrahim used to visit his wife and his son. Ismail, peace be upon him, became part of the tribe of Jurhum and he married from them.

Ibrahim, peace be upon him, went to visit his son. When he arrived at Makkah, Ismail, peace be upon him, was not at home. He knocked on the door and the wife of Ismail opened it. SubhanAllah al-Azim — when a person has darkness in his heart or her heart, they cannot see anything of beauty.

He asked her, "Where is your husband?" She said, "He is not here." He asked her about their life, and she began complaining. SubhanAllah al-Azim, when you look at this story and the situation of Muslims nowadays — we do the same thing. Ask any person, "How are you doing?" and after a long line of complaining, then they will tell you, "Alhamdulillah." In the end, he already complained — because he or she is not satisfied. And that lady was exactly the same. She told him, "We don't have enough money, not enough food." Complained, complained, complained.

And he said to her, "When your husband comes back, say salam to him and tell him to change his front door." And SubhanAllah al-Azim — the front door is always the wife. The wife is the front door of the house. If the Muslim lady is practicing her religion, if she is covering her head, if she is practicing the meaning of لا إله إلا الله, you find that is a Muslim's house.

When Ismail came home, he asked her, "Did anyone come?" She told him it was an old man — because her heart was dark, she was not happy. She told him, "I told him about our situation." He said, "What did he say to you?" She said, "He told me to change the front door." He said, "That was my father, Ibrahim, alayhi salam — Nabi Allah. And he has given me a direct order to leave you." And he divorced her.

The second visit — Ibrahim, alayhi salam, went back to see his son, especially after the death of Hajar, alayhi salam. Ismail was lonely. He felt the loss of his mother deeply. So he remarried.

Ibrahim, alayhi salam, went to see his son again. He knocked on the door. The lady opened it. He asked her, "Where is your husband?" She said, "May Allah be with him — he is working." He asked her, "How is your life?" She said, "Alhamdulillah, our life is excellent." This is always what we hear from a true Muslim — no matter what, always saying Alhamdulillah. She didn't compare her life to anyone else's. She said, "Alhamdulillah, our life is good."

Then he said to her, "When your husband comes back, say salam to him and tell him to protect his front door and make it strong." Ismail, alayhi salam, came home and she told him. He said, "It was a very respected man, light in his face, and he sends salam to you and told you to take care of your front door." He said, "That was my father, Ibrahim, alayhi salam. And he has given me a direct order to keep you."

SubhanAllah, my brothers and sisters in Islam. Those are the forebears of Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam. When you look at his family life, from the very beginning, Allah protected Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and his lineage was people of goodness.

Building the Ka'ba — A Mission from Allah

Then, again, Ibrahim went back to Makkah — but with a mission. Allah gave him an order to build al-Ka'ba in Makkah. Allah said that the first house ever built on earth to worship Allah as the One is the one in Makkah. Allah called it Bakka — because people cry there. That is why we feel our hearts going there. That is why when Allah gives us a chance to visit His house, the first thing we do is cry. Even when we see Makkah on TV, we cry.

Ibrahim went back to Makkah, started looking for his son, found him and embraced him. And I wish, if I could see the Muslims nowadays doing the same with their fathers. Nowadays we find a lot of people saying "the old man" — that's how we use that term. We have to respect our fathers. And the fathers need to respect their children — it's a two-way street, my brothers and sisters.

He told him, "O my son, Ismail, Allah has given me an order, and this order — I am in awe of it. An order to build a house for Him." And he pointed at the place — like a little hill, dust around it — and he said, "Right there." And even though Ibrahim, alayhi salam, was an old man, he never refused the order of Allah. When you look at the prophets and the messengers, and you look at the Sahaba, and you look at the true Muslims, they never refused the order of Allah. That's not a matter of age.

But nowadays we find ourselves complaining. "We are too old to stand, we are too old to pray, we are too old to walk." We always complain. And look at Ibrahim, alayhi salam — he was an old man, but he strived to fulfill the order of Allah.

When Allah ordered Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, and Ismail was ten years old at the time, Ismail said, "O my father, do it, and you will find me among the patient." And now, the same person, grown into a man, when his father asks him for another help, he says, "Yes, we'll do it."

And that, my brothers and sisters, tells us — when you come to the masjid, bring your son with you. When you want to do something good, take your son with you. Be an example to your son, be an example to yourself, be an example to your society. Because we are Muslims and we are here on this earth to build it — not to live the way they portray us.

The Du'a of Ibrahim and Ismail While Building the Ka'ba

Ibrahim began building al-Ka'ba al-Musharrafah with his son, stone by stone. When the wall got a little higher and they could no longer reach, Ibrahim said, "O my son, can you bring me a stone to stand on to reach a little higher?" And he did. This is the Maqam Ibrahim.

InshAllah, some of you have already been there, and inshAllah the rest of us will be there. We ask Allah to bring all of us there and allow us to pray two raka'at next to the place of Ibrahim, alayhi salam.

And as they were building the Ka'ba, fulfilling the order of Allah, they were making du'a to Allah:

"Our Lord, accept this from us. Indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing."

You see, SubhanAllah al-Azim — they didn't say, "We did something great because Allah ordered us." No, my brothers and sisters in Islam. Even when you do something good — you pray to Allah to accept your deed, to accept your prayer, to accept your sadaqah, to accept your fasting — because you don't know if you did it purely for the sake of Allah or for something else.

We have a good example in Ibrahim, alayhi salam, and Ismail, alayhi salam. They were fulfilling the order of Allah, and at the same time they were asking Allah to accept their good deed.

"Our Lord, and make us Muslims — submissive to You — and from our descendants a Muslim nation submissive to You. And show us our rites of worship and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful."

When we hear the order of Allah, our answer should be:

"We hear and we obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the final destination." That is the meaning of total submission to Allah.

We need to ask Allah not only to make us a Muslim nation, but also from our offspring. We need our children to be Muslims because this is our responsibility. We cannot force them —

— but we can show them the right way. And the right way is to start with ourselves. Ibda' bi nafsik. They also asked Allah to show them how to worship Him — that means there is only one way to worship Allah: according to the teaching of the prophets, not according to common sense, not according to what you feel like, but according to what Allah has said.

The Religion of Allah

"Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam." This is the religion Allah sent to mankind. So when you see something that appears bad, say الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — because you don't know if it is truly bad or good. Be patient. And we don't always understand how Allah works.

And as for the one who mocks Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah said:

"Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers." No one can truly harm Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam. We need to defend our Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, by following his akhlaq — his morals — and by telling the people about him. We have a chance to tell others.

Ibrahim — The Father of the Prophets

Ibrahim, alayhi salam, أَبُو الْأَنْبِيَاء — he is the father of Ismail and the father of Ishaq. He is the father of the prophets. They all believed in لا إله إلا الله.

And when you come to the masjid, bring your son with you. When you want to do something good, take your son with you. Be an example to your son, be an example to your society. Because we are Muslims and we are here on this earth to build the earth.

Who is a Muslim? The Definition from Rasulullah

Be a Muslim 24/7. Don't let your Iman be like a switch — turning it off and on whenever you feel like it. And when Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, was asked what is the definition of a Muslim, look at his reply:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 10; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 64)

"The one from whose hand and tongue the people are safe." That is the way we should be. We need to defend our Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, by following his morals, and we need to tell the people about him.

The Call to Help Our Brothers and Sisters in Somalia

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam — Allah has given me this opportunity to look at your lovely faces and to tell you quickly about a small foundation that exists in Somalia. The president of that foundation is our brother Abdullah.

In Somalia, my brothers and sisters in Islam, it is not only war — they also have orphans, widows, and no clean water. Not to take a shower, my brothers and sisters. Not to enjoy clear water while eating. Just to stay alive. A little bit of water to stay alive. A little bit for a mother to feed her newborn baby. Always remember the story of Ismail, so you can see and understand — here, our brothers and sisters in Somalia are looking for help.

Allah is telling us something very important, my brothers and sisters:

"Indeed, the men who give charity and the women who give charity and have lent Allah a goodly loan — it will be multiplied for them, and they will have a noble reward."

You give a loan to Allah — وَهُوَ سُبْحَانَهُ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ — He is free of all need. Yet He multiplies it for them, and on top of that they will have a noble reward. Sometimes when we come to a masjid and we see a khatib fundraising, we say, "Ya Allah, another fundraising." But are we praying to them or are we praying to Allah? Are we giving charity to them or to Allah?

If we did fundraising on a daily basis, it would not be enough. Because if you look at our countries — Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria — any Muslim country — you find the Muslims are suffering. Two weeks ago, Muslims were suffering in Pakistan from the floods. And alhamdulillah Rabbul Alameen, the organization IKNA helped them. And before that, there was a disaster in Louisiana — Muslims and non-Muslims suffering — and alhamdulillah, IKNA was there also helping people.

Anywhere you look, my brothers and sisters in Islam, we need to help each other. We are one Ummah.

Supporting Orphans — Being with Rasulullah in Jannah

This is the du'a of Ibrahim and Ismail — they asked Allah to send a prophet and messenger among them, and Allah sent Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And he said to his Ummah:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5304; Sahih Abu Dawud, Hadith 5150)

"I and the one who supports an orphan will be in Paradise like these two" — and he indicated with his index and middle fingers. In Jannah, your companion will be Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

And we all know the hadith of As-Sadaqah al-Jariyyah. But imagine, my brothers and sisters in Islam, while we are sitting here — or going to work, or spending time with our families — there is a little boy in Somalia who finds clean water, raises his hands to heaven and says: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — "May Allah reward the one who made this water clean for me." And the hasanat will be accumulating while we are sitting right here.

But you should not do it for the hasanat alone. You should do it for the sake of Allah. Your target should be higher — not only to enter Paradise, but the highest place in Paradise. And then when you enter Paradise, you want to see Allah:

"For those who do good is the best reward and more" — the "more" is looking at the face of Allah.

Closing — Salawat upon the Prophet

Allah commanded you in a great matter — He began it Himself, then His angels, as He said:

"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace."