20160617-2nd Khutba- Imam Mokhtar Maghroui

Khutbah: Three Destructive Traits, Three Liberating Virtues in Ramadan

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, ask for His help, ask for His forgiveness, and ask for His guidance. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He misguides, none can guide him.

There is no god but Allah, and there is no partner for Him. I bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O people, the most truthful speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of our Master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions.

And the worst of things are their novelties, and every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. O Allah, we implore You for Jannah, and we seek refuge in You from the torment of the Fire.

O you who have attained faith, be Allah-conscious. Have reverence and awe in your hearts for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a way that is worthy of His essence, worthy of His names and attributes, worthy of His bounties and favours upon all His creation. And do that in a way that is consistent also with His beauty and majesty. And make sure we do not die except in a state of Islam, in a state of loving surrender of our hearts and minds, souls and spirits, actions and words — all in loving surrender to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Month of Ramadan: Liberation of the Heart

The month of Ramadan has already passed a third of it — so swiftly, so quickly. The month of رَحْمَة and مَغْفِرَة and عِتْق. The month of merciful love, of loving mercy. The month of forgiveness and the month of emancipation — from the slavehood of the heart and the mind to this world, to the created realm, to other than Allah azzawajal.

عِتْقُ الْقُلُوبِ مِنْ تَعَلُّقِهَا بِمَا سِوَى اللَّهِ azzawajal — that our hearts would be, by His grace, emancipated and liberated and freed from that inside of us which attaches and bonds us excessively to other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

May Allah azzawajal not make us of those who are deprived during this month.

Ya Allah, please — despite us and against us — please don't let us be of those who are deprived. And still during Ramadan and after Ramadan continue to be slaves to our whims, to our inclinations, to our base and low passions and شَهَوَات, to our أَهْوَاء — our internal intellectual drives that are not consistent with what You love, with what You desire for Your creation as their way to You and their way to true happiness.

The Hadith: Three That Destroy, Three That Save, Three That Atone, Three That Elevate

And in that spirit, Sayyiduna Mawlana, sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, helping me and you walk in this life — the way to him azzawajal, the way of رَحْمَة, the way of مَغْفِرَة, the way of freedom inside of us — says:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; similar narrations in related collections of hadith)

The Three That Destroy — ثَلَاثٌ مُهْلِكَاتٌ

Three characteristics and three attributes — if we have them, if we are like that inside of us, they will lead us to perdition, to هَلَاك, to perishing, to destruction in the spiritual and moral sense — in our relationship with Allah azzawajal on the Day of Judgment and in the quality of life in this world. What are they, those three?

First: شُحٌّ مُطَاعٌ — Obeyed Greed

شُحٌّ مُطَاعٌ — obeyed greed. شُحّ is internal greed, internal miserliness. One who, inside, is selfish — holds, keeps — at the physical level, material level, at the emotional level, at the intellectual level, at all levels. شَحِيح — self-centered, greedy inside. And not only that — not only is one inside like that, but she or he obeys that. There are those of us who might be like that but we are crying out of pain because we are like that, and we implore Allah to liberate us from that. We don't want to obey that. But there are those of us who, with that, they obey that.

That is why He said:

And the one who is protected against the شُحّ — the inner greed of his own self — such a person is the مُفْلِح, the happy one.

Second: هَوًى مُتَّبَعٌ — Followed Desire

هَوًى مُتَّبَع — the inclinations inside of us, the drives inside of us. هَوَى — especially the drives that are intellectual, or apparently, as we consider them, rational and ideological. The أَهْوَاء — that which drives my intellect, that which stirs my intellect, and it becomes my إِيمَان, it becomes my lead to follow.

We all — or many of us, or most of us — are subject to those drives that we intellectualize and rationalize. And sometimes they are but شُبُهَات — certain concepts that seem to be rational, but in deeper analysis they are not even rational. They are inconsistent with the divine logic, with the divine beauty and majesty, with the divine order — the morality of the divine, the spirituality of the divine, the consistency and the wisdom of the divine — and yet we philosophically and ideologically and intellectually and dialectically sometimes argue them. And they make us do things and conceive of things that are wrong at all levels.

It is not very problematic — it is problematic, but not very problematic — to have هَوَى. But what is very problematic is again أَنْ نَتَّبِعَ الْهَوَى — that we obey that, that we follow that, we don't resist that, we don't disengage from that, we don't strive to be liberated from that, we don't turn to Allah honestly and sincerely and painfully to liberate us from that. Instead, we argue that and it becomes our إِيمَان.

Third: إِعْجَابُ الْمَرْءِ بِنَفْسِهِ — Self-Conceit

Thirdly — and as a consequence of that, and you see it is all about what we are inside — وَإِعْجَابُ الْمَرْءِ بِنَفْسِهِ: that one is self-admiring, one is conceited, one sees always himself and herself as the focus, as the most important, the one always right whether they know or they don't know. And there are those of us — and many human beings strive for that type of recognition and celebrity and fame — in a masjid, in a community, in a society, in an institution, in a company, in a court, in politics, in literature, in whatever — self-conceited, the person is self-admiring.

لَا يَرَى إِلَّا نَفْسَهُ وَيُعْجَبُ بِنَفْسِهِ، مُعْجَبٌ بِنَفْسِهِ — instead of being مُعْجَبٌ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِجُودِ اللَّهِ وَبِكَرَمِ اللَّهِ وَبِعَطَاءِ اللَّهِ — instead of being truly impressed by the gifts of Allah, by the subtle, kind attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, His Lutf subhanahu wa ta'ala — instead, one sees only himself or herself.

The month of Ramadan is to be liberated. شَهْرُ الْعِتْقِ — yes, emancipation from the Fire would not be attained unless you are liberated from these characteristics that are predatory, or animal-like, livestock-like attributes, or shaytani-like attributes. And the month of Ramadan is our opportunity for that.

The Three That Save — ثَلَاثٌ مُنْجِيَاتٌ

And three calls to be saved — three that liberate. What are they?

First: الْعَدْل — Justice and Balance

Justice, fairness, equity, balance in life. To put things where they belong, to say things the way they should be said in balanced ways, to act in general in ways that are balanced, to put things where they belong and not where they do not belong. In general, generically, that is عَدْل — that is justice.

To spit on the road is not justice — spit does not belong there. We have put something where it does not belong. Putting shoes in disorderly fashions in the house of Allah azzawajal — simple things — that is not عَدْل because that is not where they belong. To use the bathrooms and leave them dirty and unclean for the next one to come — that is not justice. It does not belong there. And so on.

Not only justice in a court of law — and justice in politics, in administration and management, and justice at home and fairness. Even if it were against me.

That which makes a person liberated is عَدْل — not only in general, but whether I am angry and displeased or I am calm and pleased.

To be just despite me, against me. There are those of us who live to satisfy our urges and drives — be they emotional or intellectual or for any reason. But there are those who watch themselves inside. And the drive that is not consistent with what He loves — even if it is strong inside of me — it will not be executed, it will not be shown even, it will not be actualized. I will jail it inside of me. And for that, Allah will free me.

Fairness and justice and balance — whether we are pleased or displeased, for me or against me, at any level. With the enemy and with the friend, with the one who hates and the one who loves. All the time:

Don't let the injustices done against you swerve you from being just.

Second: الْقَصْدُ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَى — Moderation in Poverty and Wealth

And to be moderate in spending — whether we are poor or rich. Don't be a spendthrift. And of course don't be of those:

Nor should you be of those who withhold — so miserly, so greedily — that they strangle themselves metaphorically. You hold back, and as you hold back, the more we hold back, the more we strangulate ourselves. The more we give, the more we liberate ourselves from that strangulation.

الْجُودُ وَالْكَرَمُ — to be generous and to be giving. Despite the drives inside of me to withhold and keep — whether in prosperity or in adversity — be moderate. Not wasteful. Not because we have food do we waste it. Not because we fasted all day do we then eat at our leisure and throw away the rest.

هَذَا لَيْسَ قَصْدًا — هَذَا إِسْرَافٌ. This is not moderation. This is wastefulness. No. At home, at the masjid, in all aspects of life. And to give — not because I have money do I buy things excessively which I don't even need and don't even use. And I should not buy things that make me internally more materialistic than spiritual. No.

Even if I am rich — be very moderate when you spend upon yourself in what pertains particularly to the matters of this world. But to give to those who need — the needy and the poor — and in ways that are beloved to Allah: that is never enough. But the intent is to be liberated from the self. Don't indulge the self excessively. Be balanced.

Third: خَشْيَةُ اللَّهِ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ — Fear of Allah in Private and in Public

And to be Allah-conscious and have reverence and awe for Allah azzawajal — whether I am alone or in public. Whether I am alone — nobody sees me, I think — or whether I am in public.

اخْشَ اللَّهَ — be reverent of Allah, be mindful of Allah azzawajal. He sees me and you — wherever we are. He sees inside you and me. Now and always. Whenever and wherever we are. Hide from me, hide from you — you will never hide from Him. So be reverent of Him azzawajal.

Be aware of that when I'm alone. Let me not ever think I am alone. When I am alone, it should be an opportunity for me to maximize my awareness of Him azzawajal.

I should pull away from people to be with Him azzawajal. That means when I am alone I should be able to accentuate my awareness of Him more than when I am with people.

خَشْيَةُ اللَّهِ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ — this is of the virtues and characteristics that liberate us.

The Three That Atone — ثَلَاثٌ كَفَّارَاتٌ

And this is the offer of Allah through His Rasul ﷺ — three other practices or characteristics. These practices atone for our sins, كَفَّارَات. By His merciful loving grace He also offers — as we fumble and as we stain ourselves and blemish ourselves — ways to clear that. Besides the tawbah to Allah azzawajal, and repentance constantly, He offers these actions through His most beloved ﷺ.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 2, Hadith 496)

First: انْتِظَارُ الصَّلَاةِ بَعْدَ الصَّلَاةِ — Awaiting the Next Prayer

To perform صَلَاة and to wait for the next صَلَاة — physically in a masjid, or mentally and emotionally inside of me. And this is even more important: wherever I am, after I perform صَلَاة, my heart is in the next صَلَاة. My heart, therefore, is always in صَلَاة.

My heart is metaphorically, spiritually hanging as a candle in the masjid — illuminated and illuminating — مُعَلَّقٌ بِالْمَسْجِدِ. Wherever I am, I want to be in صَلَاة. Or if I am in a masjid, I yearn, I long for the next صَلَاة while I am in ذِكْر and in دُعَاء and in kindness and in helping others — awaiting the next encounter with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at the level of صَلَاة. Because صَلَاة is the best of ذِكْر. While in ذِكْر, I long for the ultimate ذِكْر with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This, Allah made as a means for those of us who are like that to atone for our sins.

Second: إِسْبَاغُ الْوُضُوءِ فِي الشَّدَائِدِ — Perfecting Wudu Despite Hardship

Look at this cleansing — it is all about cleansing and liberating. As we perform وُضُوء, we are in وُضُوء, and we perform وُضُوء the best possible way.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 159; Sahih Muslim, Book 2, Hadith 226)

As the Prophet ﷺ once said: he who, or she who, performs وُضُوء like this — the وُضُوء of mine. Imagine the وُضُوء of Rasulullah ﷺ. Not only physical وُضُوء — yes, that too — but the likeness is also about: what is the state of his mind and the state of his heart as he is performing that وُضُوء? Where is his heart, where is his mind? Do the وُضُوء like that. That is what I would say is إِسْبَاغُ الْوُضُوء.

And also — I am in وُضُوء, and I want to remain in وُضُوء. I go perform another وُضُوء upon my وُضُوء, because every time I am in وُضُوء with that state of mind, I am liberated from my ذُنُوب. As the texts teach us. And ذُنُوب have consequences in this dunya and in akhira. And ذُنُوب jail and restrict and constrict and strangulate. And to be liberated from those ذُنُوب by the grace of Allah — therefore كَفَّارَات.

Third: نَقْلُ الْأَقْدَامِ إِلَى الْجَمَاعَاتِ — Walking to the Congregational Prayers

To move my legs to attain the congregational meetings of عِبَادَات, of صَلَوَات, of that which Allah loves. Even if I don't have a means of transportation — my قَلْب is there. I walk, and with every step there are rewards. With every step there are acts, there are energies that are released to liberate me from my ذُنُوب — with every step I make to the house of Allah, to a congregational meeting in the love of Allah and His Rasul, sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam.

Help us be of those who are truly free and liberated — in You, by You.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ — seek the forgiveness of Allah azzawajal. طُوبَى لِلْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ — what an excellent abode awaits those who seek forgiveness from Allah.

Second Part of the Khutbah

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَى

The Three That Elevate — ثَلَاثُ دَرَجَاتٍ

And yes, finally — the fourth set: ثَلَاثُ دَرَجَاتٍ. Three other characteristics that elevate in degrees. What are they, O my Master, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ?

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2485; also in Musnad Ahmad)

First: إِطْعَامُ الطَّعَامِ — Feeding Others

إِطْعَامُ الطَّعَامِ — to feed. To feed others. And especially and most particularly therefore: the needy and the poor and the destitute and the one in pain and the suffering and the homeless and the hungry. Feed those who need to be fed. And even to feed friends for the sake of love with one another. To feed people — إِطْعَامُ الطَّعَامِ. That simple. It is that simple.

In the earlier days we used to be an ummah that was very generous. Our houses and homes were open to everybody. It was an honor to have people in our homes, to eat with us — poor and rich, neighbors and friends. Our homes were open.

Our refrigerators were closed — they did not exist. Now, what we have, we freeze. Do you hear this metaphor? What we have, we freeze. We don't share. What we have, we freeze. We don't share. Rarely does it happen where our homes are open to feed.

Second: إِفْشَاءُ السَّلَامِ — Spreading the Salam

To spread السَّلَام. And there are those of us who don't even answer salam — even in the masajid. السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ — and they hear it. It is not that they don't do it out of maliciousness, but sometimes it has become cultural — a culture that does not answer salam. What a culture that is.

إِفْشَاءُ السَّلَامِ — إِفْشَاء is an excessive, pervasive way of spreading it. And that is not excessive in the negative sense. إِفْشَاءُ السَّلَامِ — and by that also, spread peace itself. The concept of peace. When I say السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ — "peace be with you and upon you" — I am contributing to reminding myself and you that we should live like that, that we should live like that. And it is your responsibility and mine to keep peace.

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ — all of us, and most of the time we translate that as "peace be with you." It is — but it is not enough. عَلَيْكُمْ in the Arabic language is obligatory upon you — it is one of the structures in the Arabic language to say this is obligatory. عَلَيْكَ بِكَذَا — السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ: "Peace is your responsibility, is your obligation." إِفْشَاءُ ذَلِكَ — to spread that.

Third: الصَّلَاةُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّاسُ نِيَامٌ — Night Prayer While Others Sleep

And to wake up at night in صَلَاة while the rest are sleeping. الصَّلَاةُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّاسُ نِيَامٌ. Of course, a person who does not perform the regular obligatory صَلَوَات would not be expected to do this. And for those of us who perform the صَلَوَاتُ الْفَرَائِض — and alhamdulillah — may Allah forgive us and protect us — but our obligatory صَلَوَات are not heartfelt, they are just superficial — for years we will rarely graduate to being of those who perform صَلَاةَ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّاسُ نِيَامٌ. Because only when something is in the heart does it yearn for more. And when it is not in the heart, actually it yearns to remove that. But if it is in the قَلْب — it wants more.

Oh, and what a delight it is to be of those who are up while all are sleeping — in humility, in humbleness, in repentance — not in arrogance and self-conceitedness.

Closing: The Month of Liberation — Give and Be Generous

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, through His Rasul ﷺ, offered us these to liberate us. And this is the month of liberation and of security and of peace and of generosity and magnanimity.

And therefore — please forgive me and allow me to ask you to be generous. To ask you to be liberated — or strive to be liberated — in your hearts and mine from that which constricts us against drawing nearer to Allah azzawajal.

And therefore — this is the house of Allah. I ask you to give. To give to the needy, the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the thirsty, the destitute. Please give. Liberate your hearts and our hearts from that energy of withholding. And please answer the pleas made earlier by our beloved Shaykh Abdul Ra'uf — حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ وَرَعَاهُ — and respond to that plea on giving this masjid that which it needs to be sustained. This is the house of Allah azzawajal.

And if you think — especially if you think — that there is خَيْر in this masjid, and there is خَيْر that we learn in this masjid, and there is خَيْر that we do in this masjid — please contribute and give and be generous. May Allah free you and free me from our own ego and greed.

عِبَادَ اللَّهِ قُومُوا إِلَى صَلَاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمْكُمُ اللَّهُ — Servants of Allah, rise to your prayer — may Allah have mercy upon you.