2014-12-26 - Friday Prayer - Imam Mohammed Sultan

Khutbah: Priorities in Life — Seeking the Hereafter Without Neglecting the Dunya

Opening — Khutbat al-Hajah

All praises and glory belongs to Allah, the Lord of both worlds. All glory and praises belong to Allah Who guided us with Islam, Who blessed us with Islam, Who showed us right from wrong, and showed us the right way and the road to happiness in this life and the Hereafter, and asked us to follow it, and warned us from the road to miseries and disasters in this life and Hereafter and warned us from it.

I bear witness there is no god worthy of worship but Allah. I say it every moment of my life and save it for a day when no wealth nor sons will be helpful, but the deeds that we earn in this life and a clean heart. And I bear witness that Muhammad ibn Abdullah, صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, was the last messenger sent by Allah to all mankind till the end of time, to take them out of Jahiliyyah and ignorance to the light and nur of Allah. And I bear witness further that he fulfilled his message as revealed to him by Allah. And that's why we say, and every time we call on him five times a day we call on his name, and when his name is mentioned we say صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — may Allah send his blessing and mercy on him, his family, his companions, and those who follow him till Judgment Day.

As always, the second order of the khutbah: I advise you and me to fear Allah, and to obey Him, and to fear Him, and to do what Allah has commanded, and to leave what He has forbidden. And I warn you and me of disobeying Allah. Allah is the truth, and the promise of Allah is the truth, and death is the truth, and Judgment Day is the truth, and Paradise is the truth, and Hellfire is the truth. And I remind you and myself of His saying: O people, fear your Lord.

The Reminder of Taqwa

As always, brothers and sisters, I remind you and remind myself of taqwa Allah. And taqwa Allah is to be mindful of Allah at all times and to be obedient to Allah all the time. What makes us different from the other side is that we believe in Allah, and we belong to Allah, and we will return to Allah. So we have to believe in Allah and be mindful of Him all the time, because the only purpose of this life for us as Muslims is to seek the pleasure of Allah and to seek the ways to come close to Him. Everything else is secondary. Everything else. Because Allah matters — everything doesn't matter. Because Allah controls everything, and we believe in Allah — Allah will make everything else easy.

And remember, Allah is the truth. He is the truth. It's only a matter of time — we are going to be back to account for this life. It's only a matter of time, one by one. This life is temporary, it's not forever. Every day is a matter of time, it's coming. We are going to be standing before Allah and we will be judged for what we did and earned in this life. We are not going to take anything but our deeds. And Jannah is real, Paradise is real — it is not fiction. So is Hellfire — it's real. Because Allah said so. So that's why we fear Allah.

And remember, Allah says in the Quran — it is a warning to all mankind. Fear the day your father will be of no help to his son, your son will be of no help to his father. So do not let this life deceive you. Do not let the glamour of this life deceive you. Do not let the temptations of this life deceive you. And after all, do not let Shaytan — your enemy and my enemy — deceive you.

The Story of Qarun — A Lesson in Priorities

Dear brothers and sisters, Allah says in the Quran:

Allah says: His people said to him — do not rejoice. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are ever joyful. Seek with what Allah has given you the Hereafter. But do not forget your share in this life. Be kind, as Allah was kind to you. And do not seek to cause corruption on earth. Indeed, Allah does not like those who do so.

SubhanAllah — the Quran Karim is the speech of Allah to us. It is the word of Allah spoken to us. And this ayah in the Quran Karim teaches us, and taught us, how to get our priorities right in life — how to organize our life as Muslims.

The thing is, Qarun had so much wealth that he needed like 70 persons just to carry the keys to his treasures. Imagine that. So in fact he was the man. And he was so arrogant, and he used to walk around and show off to people that he is rich. People think nowadays that you need a lot of money, a lot of wealth, to be respected. Not so. Even if you have a lot of money, but if you don't have the iman in your heart, you will not be able to live a happy life.

Allah says in the Quran:

Whoever turns away from Me and does not remember Me — he will live a miserable life. He will have a lot of money, but he will have a lot of worries, depression, sadness, and no comfort. And you will see that — among those who have money. So don't think that the money you have makes you happy. No. Unless you have the iman in your heart — sincere iman in your heart — SubhanAllah — you will not obtain this happiness.

First Lesson: Seek the Hereafter with What Allah Has Given You

The second lesson the ayah teaches us: seek with what Allah has given you the Hereafter. What Allah has given you — whether it is wealth, knowledge, fame, sons and daughters, or a combination of all of them — use all of this to seek the Hereafter. We as Muslims know this life is a temporary life. It is like a traveler passing by. We know the Hereafter is the real life, and we should believe in it deeply in our hearts. It is not something we merely utter on certain occasions. It has to be here, in the heart.

So every single day I am saying: this life is a free trip to the Hereafter. We know — and I know — that anytime we can be called back. So if you ask yourself, are you ready to face Allah? You know you will be called back. This is not a bad thing. It is a promise of Allah — it is a transition from this life to the Hereafter. When you die, you return to Allah. But make sure you are ready to face Allah with a clean heart. So invest in the Hereafter.

Second Lesson: Do Not Forget Your Share in This Life

And the ayah says: but do not forget your share in this life. We must not go to two extremes among us as Muslims. We don't have to practice zuhd to the point of abandoning everything. And neither should we follow the way of those who make the dunya their everything — wanting houses, cars, wealth, everything — and give their entire selves to that and get lost in it. Allah said no — you have your share in this life, take it, enjoy it, by the will of Allah. But it must be within the boundaries Allah has set.

We enjoy the share that Allah has given us the way Allah has prescribed for it. We don't drink alcohol because it is haram — Allah said so. The same principle applies to everything else. So we live a balanced life according to what Allah wants. We are not worried, because we know Allah is ar-Razzaq. We are not afraid. Allah is running the world — not the economy.

Third Lesson: Be Kind as Allah Was Kind to You

And the ayah says: be kind as Allah was kind to you. When Allah talks to the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, He talks to us too. He reminds the Prophet Muhammad — he was an orphan at a young age, and how he was taken care of, and how his uncle supported him, and then how he became the Prophet. And he gave and gave and gave. He was kind. The great character of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — he was as-Sadiq al-Amin. Even the priests were impressed with him. He was kind-hearted. He was loving. He didn't take vacations — he was there all the time. By day he was making da'wah, by night he was making tahajjud. His whole life he devoted to this.

Every one of you has a story to tell — how you started, how you were poor, how you suffered, how you struggled. And may Allah bless you and give you what Allah has given you. So here you have to be kind — kind in character, kind in heart. You have to be loving, kind, even forgiving, kind. As a Muslim, as a believer, with all the people around you, like the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

And second — you have to share the wealth. Share the wealth. Even if it is half a dried date — share the wealth. It all belongs to Allah. Everything we have belongs to Allah. Your clothes, your work, your sons, your daughters — everything belongs to Allah. And Allah asks you to give on His behalf, out of His love for you, so that you can save yourself from Hellfire.

Fourth Lesson: Do Not Spread Fasad (Corruption)

And the last lesson from the ayah: do not seek to spread fasad on earth. What is fasad? It is corruption, mischief. Anything haram that you do — in violation of what Allah says and what His Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says — that is fasad. If you lie — that is fasad. If you steal — that is fasad. If you backbite — that is fasad. If you slander — that is fasad. If you deal in what is haram — that is fasad. If you plot against your brothers and sisters — that is fasad. If we kill our own brothers and sisters — that is fasad. If we aid the enemies against our brothers and sisters — that is fasad. If we spy on each other — that is fasad. Everything haram that Allah has forbidden in the Quran and Sunnah — that is fasad.

And if you do it — what will happen? You see what is happening all around the world. You know why? Because people do not obey Allah and His messengers. They violate all of His laws and are silent about it. That is the result of fasad. It is chaos, fear, disharmony, loss of tranquility, hatred, distrust, selfishness, and arrogance.

The Quran is Our Guidance and Healing

Brothers, I know time is short, but this one hour, brothers and sisters — Islam, this one hour — may Allah make it easy. If you read the Quran, you have relief in it, shifa, and you see the mercy in it. He even taught us how to do everything. We don't have to go to labs or computers or iPads to figure out what we are supposed to do to please Allah.

I'd like to remind you — this reminder is not entertainment. You know the problem I've seen among the Muslims: I attend conferences by Muslims among Muslims, and when the Muslims finish the conference or take a break, they discuss what the speaker was talking about. But in many masajid I've been to — when Muslims get out of the khutbah on Jumu'ah, they talk about worldly things: how is your business, how are your relatives, your cousins, your children. We don't discuss what was said. This is not entertainment.

If you read the Sunnah of Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, he told us about the signs of the Hereafter — there are small signs and there are larger signs. The small signs are real, they are here. Pay attention, brothers. Pay attention. Because when the major signs come, it will be too late — nothing will be accepted. So take heed, brothers and sisters. The signs are happening to you every day, every night. When Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said it — it is happening. It is happening to you and to me. If you want to please Allah, then pay attention.

Second Khutbah

Rasulullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1987 — graded Hasan)

Fear Allah wherever you are. Be mindful of Allah, be dutiful to Allah at all times. Like I said — it's all about Allah. That's what makes the difference. It's all about Allah. So be mindful of Allah wherever you are.

Whenever you do a sin — follow it with a good deed and it will erase the bad deed. Always make istighfar, do a good deed. Any major sin — follow a bad deed with a good deed.

And treat people with good character. As we said — treat people with kindness, with love, with care, and with sincerity. You know, when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in Ghazwat al-Uhud — they were defeated, and some had disobeyed his command. What did he do? Did he chastise them? Did he curse them? Say "how dare you?" No. Allah commanded him to pardon them, seek forgiveness for them, and consult with them on what should be done next. So we should pardon each other, forgive each other, make du'a for each other, consult with each other, and do the work that pleases Allah and His Messenger.

Du'a — Closing Supplication

O Allah, make us from those who listen to the words of truth and follow the best of it. O Allah, help Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, honor Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, do not give the disbelievers a way over the believers. O Allah, return to Islam and the Muslims what is best for them.