2015-04-17 - Friday Prayer - Imam Essa Parada

Opening

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah. He is alone and He has no partners. And I bear witness that our beloved messenger Muhammad, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, was His last messenger and servant.

O you who believe, fear Allah as He ought to be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O humanity, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul, and from it His mate, and from them was spread forth many men and women. And fear your Lord when you demand your mutual rights, and do not cut off the relationship with the wombs that bore you. Indeed, Allah is ever on watch over you.

O you who believe, fear Allah and only speak the truth, so that He can guide you to righteous deeds and forgive your sins. And whomever obeys Allah and His messenger, indeed he has attained the highest of achievement.

To proceed — the best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of our beloved messenger Muhammad, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And the worst matters in this deen of ours are the newly invented ones. For every newly invented matter is an accursed innovation, and every accursed innovation is a leading astray, and every leading astray is in the fire.

A Tense Environment and the Lessons of Da'wah

Brothers and sisters in Islam, a few months ago — around February — myself and the previous khateeb, Mujahid Fletcher, we were invited to do an open house in one of the Islamic centers here in Dallas. When we came, it was right after the massacre in Paris, and also after a conference that happened here in the Dallas–Fort Worth area about our beloved messenger Muhammad, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, where many from the outside community came to protest against.

And I remember that weekend — in different areas that I went, either to a restaurant or in a hotel, or just going to buy something from Walmart — for whatever reason, personally, I felt tension in the air. It was really interesting to see how people were looking at myself and the other brothers and sisters who were there from Houston. Because we spoke Spanish, and some of us had a thobe or kufi on, that really threw a lot of other people off. When they would speak about us in a negative way, and then hear us talking in Spanish, they would stop and chat. There were other people who we would greet in the hotel when it's time to eat breakfast, and they didn't know how to react. It was really interesting — the environment — I just felt a little tension in the air.

And I started to think about how, in the time of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, in times of difficulty — those challenging times when the people did not even want to hear his message, when family, friends, and tribesmen wanted to execute him, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and they didn't want to hear anything about Islam — did that stop the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, from inviting people to Islam? It didn't.

Even in this tense situation, in the environment that we're in at times, it is one of the best times to open up — to invite people to Islam in different ways.

The Prophet's First Message Upon Arriving in Medina

When the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, made the hijrah from Mecca to Medina, we know — as I just mentioned — that the people there, the majority of them, did not want anything to do with him. Some of them wanted to kill him, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and the companions, may Allah be pleased with them. And also, as they were coming to Medina, it wasn't like everyone was working with them. There were pockets of the leadership — or the ex-leadership — there in Medina, from different tribes and different religious groups, who did not want anything to do with the message of Islam, the community of Muslims, nor their beloved messenger, Muhammad, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

So when Abdullah ibn Salam, رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ — who at the time when he saw this event take place was not a Muslim, but was one of the leading rabbis of the community there in Medina — narrated a hadith that you can find in many of the books of hadith, in Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and others.

He stated that when he heard the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, was coming, he went to see him like everyone else. He said: "When I saw the face of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, I knew that wasn't the face of a kadhdhāb — a liar." And he said that the first statement the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, gave to the community of Medina — not just the Muslims, but the entire community of Medina — was:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1334; also recorded in Sunan al-Tirmidhi and others on the authority of Abdullah ibn Salam, radiyaAllahu anhu)

"O people — spread the salams amongst each other, and feed the people, and pray at night while others are sleeping, and you will enter paradise in peace."

He, عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ, set the tone for the next ten years — and of course 1,400 years after that — in Medina. The changing of the history of the world came because he was concerned for the community that opened up its arms and doors to him and his community, عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ.

So he knew that Medina, for hundreds of years, had been in a state of anarchy — people fighting over frivolous things, and only a few gaining profit from that. So when he came, he said to them: spread the salams amongst each other, keep that peaceful demeanor, want good for your fellow man. If Allah has blessed you with salām — with peace — then want that for the other person as well.

Ibn Abbas, the cousin of the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, said there are times when it is permissible to give salām to a non-Muslim — to give them da'wah — because you want good for them, you want peace for them. So in a time of negativity, during that time period in Medina — tension, anarchy — his first statement was to spread that peace and love amongst each other, to ease the tension amongst the different factions.

Feed the People

And then he, عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ, said: "Feed the people." SubhanAllah — last year when I came with brother Mujahid and others to do the open house here, I was so happy to hear that this community feeds the needy — and it has been doing it for years. And subhanAllah, brothers and sisters, you should never underestimate a program like that.

Because subhanAllah, the day that we had the open house was Easter Sunday. So putting it into context — it's like someone from the Christian or Jewish community inviting you to come to an interfaith da'wah event at their synagogue or church on Eid. You would probably 9 out of 10 times — or 9.9 out of 10 times — decline, because we know the importance of Eid and gathering with our families in the community. It wouldn't be the best time to do it.

So for some of us who are wondering whether this was the best time — alhamdulillah, it happened. And there were over 29 non-Muslims who came. Somebody may say, "Well, that's not many people." But it was 29 people who trusted to come on that day, to listen to the message of al-Islam, to hear about the Prophet, عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ. And many of these people came because of that feeding program — they saw that the community was doing something good, and said: "Let me hear what they're talking about. What do they believe in? Latino Muslims? Let me hear about this."

And subhanAllah, Allah on that day guided someone to Islam. And it wasn't because Brother Mujahid or I was giving a beautiful message. When we asked her why she accepted Islam, she said: "It was because of the character of the people that I work for — it is an amazing character. The way that they talk to each other, and the way that they treat and respect the elders, and vice versa, is something that I hadn't seen for a long time" — meaning since she was young. And when she heard the message, it was easy for her to accept Islam. It was because of the work of the community, and of course, Allah's mercy, that Allah opened her heart to accept Islam.

May Allah reward the community here for its efforts. Ameen.

Pray at Night While Others Sleep

And then the Prophet, عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ, gave the community something to do as individuals — something that for many of us is difficult to do — and that is to pray at night when everyone else is sleeping. It is the best time to pray tahajjud. It is the best salah after either Witr or after the five salawat. And it is a time that Allah — in the way that befits His majesty — descends to the first heaven and is looking for the people who are praying, asking for mercy, asking for forgiveness, praising Him, thanking Him.

And what better time is it for any of us — if we're dealing with a communal struggle — to ask Allah to help us, to ask Allah to make us better examples, to ask Allah to make our children the moral leaders of the community in the future? It is a time that you have with your Lord that at times myself and others may not take full advantage of.

The Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, said: if you all do these three things, then the main goal — we will enter paradise in peace. And that is the thing that we are always searching for, looking for.

And that message, brothers and sisters, changed the world. In tense moments — this is the point — the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, didn't stop giving da'wah because things weren't going right — neither in Mecca nor in Medina. With all of that tension and all of that chaos, he still wanted good for the people, because he wanted them to listen to the message, to see it from the companions and from himself, and to hope that Allah would open their hearts — to go to Jannah and be protected from the hellfire.

The Story of Thumamah ibn Uthal

There was another situation, another incident in Medina. When the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and the companions were more established in the community, there was a man by the name of Thumamah ibn Uthal — but at the time he was not Muslim. He wanted to eliminate Islam from the face of this earth. He hated the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. He hated the Deen of al-Islam.

Now we know that there are people in our community — here in Dallas, Houston, or in America, or in other parts of the world — who have that feeling. They hate Muslims and they hate Islam. And sometimes when you listen to them, or if you ever have to deal with someone like that, there are not many times where you are very sympathetic to them or wanting to treat them with khayr. Many times people, because of that tension, turn back and want to be rough with that person as well — not everyone, but sometimes it happens. Many times we're not thinking about making du'a for that person when they're ridiculing Islam.

But here was a man who wanted to kill the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. He wanted to eliminate his family and the community. So when he was captured — because he wanted to harm the Muslims — they tied him up in Medina, in the masjid.

And for three days, brothers and sisters, he got to see the community. Now some of you will say: "Well, obviously we're not going to tie anyone up here to force them to see the community." But there are people in this society who are forced — just like us — to deal with different types of situations, even when it's uncomfortable for us or for them.

Many times people talk about how America was in the past — its "glory years." It was glory for some people — not for those who couldn't drink from the same water fountain as anybody else. It wasn't for those who could farm a land without being harassed. It wasn't for people who were being lynched because they were Jews, or because they were Latinos or African Americans. It was glory years for some — but for others, no. They claim it because they got used to a certain situation, a certain environment. But now, because America is multicultural, just as Muslims have to get used to certain things that we might not be comfortable with, the same thing goes for them. They are tied up in a situation — they get to view it, check it out, and see what it is about.

So Thumamah got to see the community for three days. Now understand his mindset — he doesn't look at the Prophet as the Messenger of Allah, the greatest of creation. He doesn't look at him that way. He's looking at this community: people from different tribes and clans coming together, women on an equal footing, slaves among them. "What is this?" He's looking at the situation very strangely — it doesn't compute to him in the way that he was raised. And he looked at the Prophet and the companions as people who were causing chaos in the community, and he wanted to do something about it.

But in that time period that he was tied up in the second greatest masjid in the world — the Masjid of the Prophet — he got to see Bilal, رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ, call the adhan. He got to see the community pray behind one person — one leader — which was unheard of at that time. Uniting people together.

Imagine — for those three days — the message that he was hearing, the salams that he was witnessing. And on the third day, after the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, asked him: "What's with you? What's going on?" — he told him that if you let him go, you'd be letting go of someone who would be thankful. And when the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, heard that, he said: "Let him loose."

He went outside, made ghusl, came back in, and said his shahādah. SubhanAllah!

One moment he wanted to eliminate Islam from the face of this earth. Three days later, he becomes Muslim. And what did he tell the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ? He said: "Your face was the most hated face to me on this earth, and now it has become the most beloved. Your religion, your way of life, was the most hated to me on this earth, and now it is the most beloved."

SubhanAllah, brothers and sisters. The Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, wasn't sitting there hours and hours with the companions surrounding him giving him da'wah from the tongue — speech, kalām. It was through their actions, by Allah's permission, that Allah changed that man's heart. He changed his heart. He became a new Muslim, and he went to make Umrah.

SubhanAllah — he accepts Islam and then goes to make Umrah, and sets a different tone in Mecca, because the people were shocked to see him. He was someone who wanted to fight against Islam, and now he is Muslim.

Da'wah Through Actions and Character

And my point is, brothers and sisters — we don't always have to go out and knock on people's doors or pass out CDs or pamphlets to call people to Islam. It is the way that myself and my children treat our neighbors. It is the way that myself and my wife and my children carry themselves at school or at work. Because I could be a detriment to someone becoming Muslim because of my actions — because maybe the way that I drive, or the way that I speak to someone.

Believe me — we know through experience that people look to the Muslims and they observe us. They see how we interact. And if we truly say we want to follow Allah's commands and follow the best of creation, Prophet Muhammad, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and be like the best community — the Sahabah, may Allah be pleased with all of them — then it is time for us to continue to ask Allah to help us stay on this path. So that it will benefit us as individuals — without a doubt, because we want Jannah — but also so that we hope it affects our spouses and our children. Like I said, they will be the moral leaders of the future of this country, and then their grandchildren, and their grandchildren.

And through certain actions — or even if you do invite someone to Islam through educating them — you will see that change. And it is an investment in people.

The Reward of Calling to Good

Inshallah, what we have been speaking about tonight is how, through certain actions that we saw from people who invited us to Islam, we can connect it back to a verse or hadith. But there were people who invested their time to inform us about Islam, and it wasn't just their talking that impressed us — it was their actions.

And in no way in the world did those brothers ever think that the one whom they were inviting to Islam would ever go on — and I won't say anything about myself — to be here giving a khutbah. And that brother is in Houston. Inshallah he gets the reward of me giving some information from the minbar, because he called — as the Prophet, صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, said — he called to the khayr. And he will also get that deed — the good deed that I do because he called to the good, and I am acting upon it. Inshallah he also gets the ajr.

It is a lifelong investment. It is a lifelong investment. Brothers and sisters — anytime I have the ability to teach someone something, even if it's a small du'a, and that person learns it, memorizes it, and says it, he also gets the reward. It's an investment.

So many times we look at the books in theory and say: "Oh, that's for other people. Those are the Sahabah — they are the greatest people on earth." Believe me, brothers and sisters — Allah has put greatness in you all to make a difference and bring change in this community here in Dallas, more than you have already done.

Closing Du'a

So we ask Allah to accept from all our good deeds and forgive our sins. We ask Allah to make our children the moral leaders of this country. We ask Allah to bless us in this life and in the Hereafter. We ask Allah to help the Muslims all around the world — starting here in our community in Dallas, in America, in Syria, Afghanistan, Burma, Central Africa, Palestine — wherever the Muslims may be suffering, may Allah ease their affairs. Ameen.

Brothers and sisters, please straighten your rows, don't leave any gaps, and make sure that your cellular phones are off or on silent.

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ. السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ.

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ. أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ. أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ.