Imam Muhammad Al Durrah | Jumuah Khutbah

If I could have everyone please just stand up straight in their rows and then take a seat please. So we can fit more and more people إن شاء الله in the main hall. Take a seat إن شاء الله. And if there's any brothers in the lobby area, in the back room, they can come inside the main hall إن شاء الله.

Brothers and sisters, I don't want to take too much of your time. The khatib is already here for today. But as we have seen from the seerah of Rasulullah ﷺ, if there was any time of the year where he was most generous, it was the month of Ramadan. And to be honest, we don't like that we have to keep on coming to you. But the reality is that you all enjoy coming here to the masjid. You enjoy coming to the masjid in the month of Ramadan. You enjoy the vibe, the atmosphere here at Epic masjid every single day. Brothers and sisters and children and our dear seniors.

But at the same time, many people think that, "Oh ماشاء الله, why does Epic need the money? They probably have a cash pool somewhere else, hidden somewhere." That's not the truth. We're just like anyone else. We got to pay for everything that we do. And to do everything, we need your donations. We need your generosity.

The 313 Campaign

So with that in mind, I don't want to take too much time. I want to start off إن شاء الله. We had a campaign by the way. We had a campaign that we started a few years ago called 313. That we needed 313 people to stand up and give on a monthly basis so that we can take care of the affairs and the operations of our masjid. الحمد لله, last week some people did donate, but we did not have a lot of time. Today, the khateeb is here. He's not going anywhere till 1:30. A five-minute khutbah also suffices by the way. Your Jummah will be accepted. But I want my donations for today إن شاء الله.

With that إن شاء الله, I'm going to ask, Is there any kareem or kareema? Because when I say kareema, I'm talking to the sisters also. ماشاء الله, our sisters are loaded. Okay? ماشاء الله, our sisters are loaded. Exclamation mark, exclamation mark. So our sisters, ماشاء الله, have a lot. Our brothers have a lot.

And for our brothers and our sisters, listen to me very carefully. You all have to go in your own graves. So sisters, if your husband is giving, it does not protect you in your grave. You have to protect yourself in your own grave. You have your own akhirah to worry about.

$500 Monthly Commitment

So I'm going to start with this. Is there any kareem or kareema who's willing to give $500 on a monthly basis? Is there anyone here who's willing to give $500 on a monthly basis? Once again, your generosity will help us in this masjid. Take care of everything. In the month of Ramadan especially, when you talk about electricity, it quadruples. When you're talking about security, this security outside, it doesn't come for free. Just because we live in the city of Plano, it doesn't mean that the city of Plano or the Plano police department, they're going to just send their officers here. We got to pay for all these officers. When it comes to the water bill, when it comes to everything, all these services that we offer in Ramadan, it takes a lot.

So is there any kareem or kareema here? $500 a month. Anyone? I just see probably just one or two hands. Takbeer. Takbeer. Takbeer. I know you're fasting. Takbeer. May Allah reward our brother. May Allah give barakah in his life. Say ameen, brothers. May Allah give him the best in this dunya and the akhirah. May Allah grant his family the best in this dunya and the akhirah.

Do we have one more? We have one more in the back. Takbeer. الحمد لله. Let's move on إن شاء الله. Can I get one more? Kareem or kareema? If there's any sisters, Sister Afreen, if you're upstairs, or any sisters who can text me and let me know, then at least I can move on to the next number. Is there any kareema upstairs who's willing to give $500 on a monthly basis? Anyone here? خلاص, let's move on.

$250 Monthly Commitment

Is there anyone here who's willing to give $250 on a monthly basis? $250. That's it. Sometimes a thousand, sometimes $150 a month. Do I have the next kareem or kareema? We have one. Can I get another one? Who's the next one? We have one in the back over there. Takbeer. May Allah reward our dear brother. May Allah give barakah in his life. Ameen.

Can I get the third one? The next kareem or kareema? And sisters, you can text me from upstairs. Sister Afreen, if you know anyone or anyone else who's there upstairs amongst the volunteers, text me please. We have one more here. Dr. Farooq Habib. ماشاء الله, this man, he gives so much. He does so much for the masjid. May Allah reward him and bless him. Ameen.

Can I get the fourth kareem or kareema here? Anyone to give $250 on a monthly basis? $250 on a monthly basis. Anyone in the back? You have your own grave to go into. Okay? All of you, you're looking down. You know what's down there? Your grave is down there. So, anyone in the back? Sisters, anyone? We have one more? Takbeer. We have four people so far who have given $250 a month. Can I get one or two more people here? One or two more people to give $250 on a monthly basis.

The best way to give. The best way to show our gratitude to Allah is by giving what Allah has given us. This is the best way to show gratitude. And I'm not asking for myself, I'm asking for the house of Allah. So we can keep the operations alive over here.

Can I get the next Kareem or Kareema? The next one. Just $250 إن شاء الله. Look, I know the economy is tight. I know inflation is through the roof. By the end of the day, the calculator of Allah does not lie. The calculator of Allah says, when you give, I will multiply. It's not my promise, it's Allah's promise. If I made you a promise, I'm a human being. I have fallacies, I have weaknesses and shortcomings. Allah does not have any weaknesses and shortcomings. When He promises, when you give, I will give you. Is there anyone? Just the last one. Kareem or Kareema? And then إن شاء الله we'll move on to the next number. $250, anyone? We have anyone? Okay, let's go to the next number.

$100 Monthly Commitment

Now this is something that I need as many people إن شاء الله because this is where we need your support. How many of you can give $100 a month only? That is it. $100 a month. This is something that I need like 50 people. No doubt. Just $100 a month. We have one. Takbeer. Keep your hands up. We have one, we have two. Come on. To get to 50, there's still... We have three. We have... Is there anyone here? In the back. If you just want to come forward, just raise your hand. Just raise your hand. I only have three so far. Come on, this is something that's easily doable. Very easily doable. We have one more here. We have four. Anyone else? We have five. Keep your hands up. We have six? We have six? Okay, we have six. الحمد لله. We have one more, seven. We have one more, seven.

Look brothers, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, we keep on coming here to the masjid. إن شاء الله Allah will support us. Allah will find a way for us. But at the end of the day, if you want to get some khair and some ajr for this, remember, when you support the house of Allah, every single person, when you pay, and you keep the lights on, and the electricity going, and the water going, and the security going, every single person coming here to the masjid, you get a reward for this.

Can I get the seventh person? $100 a month, that's it. That's all I'm asking, $100 a month. That is more than going to the coffee shop twice. You go to the coffee shop twice, we have one more, eight. ماشاء الله. Is there anyone else? Can I get another kareem or kareema? To give $100 a month on a monthly basis. Can I get anyone else? Is there any sisters upstairs? I've not heard anything from the sisters yet upstairs. Is there any sisters upstairs to give $100? I know ماشاء الله our sisters always driving Benz, and Lexuses, and all these great cars ماشاء الله. So you have money, don't tell me you don't have. So please, sisters, please step up to the plate, this is your masjid too.

Anyone here, even I'm talking here to the youth also. The young brothers, the young sisters here, you have a long life ahead of you. When you give for the sake of Allah, Allah is taking care of your future. So this is not only for the parents, this is even for the youth also. Any other kareem or kareema here? So can I get just two or three more, and then إن شاء الله we'll get to the Jummah khutbah. Can I get number eight? Number eight, anywhere in the back. Number eight. Okay, let's move on to the next number.

$50 Monthly Commitment

How many of you can give $50 a month at least? $50 a month on a monthly basis. We have one here الحمد لله. We have one. Can I get at least like ten? This is not a lot. $50 a month, this is nothing. Come on. Many of you, we have two in the back. Can I get number three? Number three here. Number three here. Can I get number four? Number four. Number four. We have number four here. Let me just get one more إن شاء الله, and then we'll start Jummah khutbah. Any kareem or kareema here? Let me just get the last one. $50. We have one more. Takbeer.

May Allah listen. Brothers, whoever has made any promises, pledges, it is your job. Allah says in the Quran that you have to fulfill your commitment. So please do fulfill your commitments.

Prayer for the Deceased

Before I end, I just want to make a dua. I just found out as I was walking over here, brother Ziyad Yamuth, our dear brother of our community, he just found out that his brother just passed away.

سبحان الله, Ramadan, سبحان الله, is the day of Jummah. ماشاء الله, Allah has something special for this brother. May Allah grant him a place in Jannah. May Allah grant the family صبر جميل. Ameen. إن شاء الله regarding janazah, we will let the community know. إن شاء الله we will start. And anyone else who wants to give, please on your way out, do stop by and do give.

Khutbah

A Special Night in Ramadan

One night in the month of Ramadan it was the night of 27th the masjid was full and سبحان الله you feel that there is something special in that night everybody is happy and you feel the connections of the souls and the hearts of the people in the masjid the time of suhoor you feel that everybody loves each other we prayed salat al-fajr then I recommended the community to stay until salat al-duha then whoever wants to leave may Allah accept from all of us after we finished salat al-duha I went to take some rest one of the brothers who was with us working in the hospital next to the masjid he was so nice African American everybody loves him he came after salat al-duha and he was so sad what happened to your brother?

The Heart: The True Measure of Faith

A brother shared with me a painful story. He said, "Come with me to the parking lot." He had a beautiful car, and somebody took a nail and started writing in the car of this person: "Go away, your color is so and so. You are not welcomed in our community."

Brothers and sisters, Allah does not look at your bodies and images, but He looks at your hearts and actions. Where are our hearts? From the Quran, the Sunnah, and our salah - when we deal with each other, the heart is what Allah is judging us based on. That's why you will not be surprised about somebody who had so much sins, then he comes to Allah and Allah accepts him in few minutes or days before he leaves the dunya.

A Story of Divine Acceptance

Sheikh Abdul Fattah Moro said: "When I was young, I went outside trying to convince people to come to the masjid, and barely I could find anybody. Before maghrib time, I got somebody and convinced him. I brought him to the masjid, and the people around smelled something not good from this person and they wanted to kick him out. I started fighting to keep him in the masjid, and he said, 'والله I'm not going to leave.'"

"The imam came - it was maghrib time, you cannot delay it - then he said, 'Let him make wudu and pray with us.' He prayed next to me. When we raised from sujud, this person did not. I thought to myself, 'Maybe he does not know how to pray. إن شاء الله, after I finish my salah, this is my treasure - I will teach him how to pray.' They finished the salah, and the soul was not there anymore."

The sheikh started crying. He said, "What was between the heart of this person and Allah?"

Working on Our Hearts in Ramadan

إخواني وأخواتي - brothers and sisters - we have to try our best to work and focus on our hearts, and this is the best time: the month of Ramadan.

How is our relationship with the Quran? Don't tell me you don't have time - all of us have the chance to recite and listen. And not only that - let's add something new in this Ramadan, إن شاء الله تعالى. Try to reflect, study, think about the ayat of Allah. Try to get some lessons and try to apply them in your life.

The Power of Alhamdulillah

One of the brothers recognized the word الحمد لله as the first surah in the Quran, and he said, "I'm sure 100% that this word has so much power. That's why Allah chose to have the first surah in the Quran as Surah Al-Hamd (Al-Fatiha), and the greatest surah in the Quran as Surah Al-Hamd: الحمد لله رب العالمين."

Then he recognized that praising Allah is the thing which Allah loves. That's why when we say الحمد لله رب العالمين, Allah says: حمدني عبدي - "My servant has praised Me."

So this person said, "Let me try it with my parents." He called his father: "السلام عليكم يا أبتي, الحمد لله - الحمد لله that you are in my life. الحمد لله that He blessed me with the best father ever." Then he started praising his father.

So the father started crying, and the mother asked her son, "What happened? What did you say to your father?" Then he said the same thing to his mother: "الحمد لله - الحمد لله that you are in my life, and I thank Allah day and night that you are the best blessing I have in my life."

سبحان الله brothers and sisters, if you have this chance to say it, just say it. If not, don't forget them from your du'a:

And the mother started crying too. So يا إخواني, when we read the Quran, let's try to make some changes with the connection and the relationship with the book of Allah.

A Reminder from Our Recent Journey

In November, we went to do Umrah, and I met some brothers and families in Los Angeles before we went to Medina of Rasulullah ﷺ. They recognized that I'm from Yemen and they said, "سبحان الله, these days we love to listen to a sheikh named Muhammad al-Maqrami. He has so much powerful lectures about the Quran." We were talking about the sheikh, and I said, "Of course I listened to him and I learned a lot."

When we arrived to Medina, we went to pray Salat al-Dhuhr, and Sheikh Hamdi, who was with us in the group, sent me a message saying, "Sheikh, عظم الله أجركم - Sheikh al-Maqrami already passed away." سبحان الله - he was in Yemen, then he went to Turkey to record some lectures, then he went to do Umrah in Mecca. After Salat al-Fajr, Allah took the soul of that person.

So يا إخواني, this life is so short, and I'm sure everybody is trying his best to improve the dunya - the business, the housing, the car, the phone, anything related to the dunya. Make sure to keep it in your hand, not in your heart. If you control the dunya, when it's time of sadaqah, you will give with no hesitation. If the dunya controls somebody, it's not going to be easy.

The Moment of Departure

A day will come when someone is leaving the dunya. Allah said:

So سبحان الله, the moment when we leave the dunya, Allah will give a chance for the sight to see something which we cannot see right now - to see what's going to happen after. "Don't be afraid, don't be grieved." Rasulullah ﷺ described the meaning of this situation and he said Allah is sending the angels to the person who is leaving the dunya, and they support him, standing with him until the soul leaves the body. And that means there are a lot of great things waiting for you. May Allah give us the best of the dunya and akhirah.

But the problem about the person who does not work and focus on his heart - dunya, dunya, dunya - then:

"Ya Allah, give me another chance."

Allah Looks at Our Hearts

Brothers and sisters:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 32, Hadith 6543)

Allah is looking at our hearts and our deeds.

Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله - they asked him which moment is better in our salah: qiyam or sujud? He said, "Wherever you find your heart." Of course sujud is way good and we are very close to Allah, but also when we are standing in our salah, if you feel the taste, the sweetness of the Quran coming into your heart, enjoy that moment.

May Allah put the love of the Quran in our hearts. سبحان الله, والله sometimes I feel shy that we stand in front of Allah and we recite the whole Quran in the month of Ramadan and there are no tears - and that means there is a problem here.

The Prophet's Example

Rasulullah ﷺ used to pray salat al-qiyam and he used to cry. Bilal asked him, "Ya Rasulullah, why are you doing this?" And Aisha رضي الله عنها asked the same thing: "Ya Rasulullah, Allah forgave you all of your sins" - and there are no sins for Rasulullah ﷺ, but Allah forgave him anything related to the sins - then he said when we recite the ayat...

And we ask ourselves: Where are our hearts when the time of the Quran is there? Where are our hearts when we listen to the ayat related to the dunya and the akhirah, the jannah and the fire, the punishment, and we don't even shake?

Rasulullah ﷺ and the sahaba رضي الله عنهم had this connection with the book of Allah.

Stories of Hearts Connected to the Quran

Fudail Ibn Iyad used to pray, and he had a son named Ali. Ali Ibn Fudail said whenever his father recites a surah that has a description about the jannah and the fire, Ali was crying to the point that if Fudail starts leading the salat, he wanted to make sure that Ali is not behind him. "Then I will recite whatever. If he is there, I will change the ayat."

سبحان الله - one day he started reciting the ayat, then the son Ali started crying, and Allah let that moment be the last moment of the life of Ali Ibn Fudail رحمه الله - in the salat, crying because of the ayat of the book of Allah.

The Real Value

Some people think that our value is related to what we have from the dunya. والله يا إخواه, a day will come and all what we have will be behind, and we will find out that whatever we do in the dunya, it will be with us in our graves and in the life after. May Allah protect us all.

إِنَّهُ وَلِي ذَٰلِكَ وَالْقَادِرُ عَلَيْهِ

The real value is related to our souls, to our hearts. That's why we find our hearts when we obey Allah. We find our hearts when we remember Allah جل وعلا:

If we pray every day and we don't feel that our hearts are connected, that means we have a problem. We should continue, but the body's sickness is easy to be recognized - what about the heart?

Finding Our Hearts in Prayer

So يا إخواني, let's try our best to focus on our hearts. Do you know that the salat will be raised to Allah, and somebody will have just 10% of his salat and someone will have 100% of his salat? The same act, the same way - what is the difference? The difference is here: القلب - the heart.

When they were talking about Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, they said he was not ahead because of more salat or sadaqah or siyam, but something was in the heart of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه that made him to be the sahib of Rasulullah - As-Siddiq رضي الله عنه.

So let's try to find our hearts in our salat. يا إخواني, again, if you finish your salat and you ask yourself - and I'm doing it sometimes - "What did I recite in my salat? What did I recite in my salat?" If you don't remember, that means: where was my heart?

The Importance of Khushu in Prayer and Community Action

We find ourselves constantly distracted by the dunya, dunya, dunya - even in the five minutes which are supposed to be for Allah. Yes, we are human and sometimes we forget, and sometimes you may have any problem then you start your salat because you cannot delay the salat and the mind is there. Sometimes you don't know if you prayed three rakaat at Asr time or five - all of this could happen. But to be happening every day?

What about the saying of Allah:

"Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their prayers."

"O Allah, make us among those who have khushu. O Allah, bless our hearts, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, bless our hearts, O Lord of the worlds. O Turner of hearts, keep our hearts firm upon Your religion."

What Makes the Heart Happy

The heart will be so happy when you find out that your parents are happy and they are pleased with you. The heart will be happy when you see your children and your kids are connected to the Quran, the Sunnah, the masjid - the right way.

The heart will be happy when you pray next to your brother and you find out that he was making dua for you. The heart will be happy when you receive a message from your brother who is way far either in Mecca, Medina and other states and he sent you a message: "Assalamu alaikum brother, I was praying last night and I remembered you in my salah and my dua and I mentioned your name in my dua." SubhanAllah, look at the connections of the heart.

الأَرْوَاحُ جُنُودٌ مُجَنَّدَةٌ - that's what Rasulullah said, that the connection of the heart to the point that as soon as you see somebody you feel that he has a place in your heart.

So may Allah put the love of His book, of His masjid, of the salah, of the Quran, of each other in our hearts.

Quranic Recitation

Important Community Announcements

Just two important announcements:

Number one is on your way out - please donate generously.

Number two is today is the last day. Today is the last day for early voting.

The Importance of Civic Engagement

Brothers and sisters, you all know the climate that is taking place. The political climate that is taking place, especially when it comes to our Muslim community. You have all these politicians saying things that are not true about us as a Muslim community.

If we want to make a change, then we cannot sit here and just talk about what the problems are. We have to go to the polls and we have to make the change over there.

Sit here and talk all you want - this is something that we do a lot as a Muslim community. We complain so much. We are like we have a PhD in complaining, wallahi! But when it comes the time to take action and take these people out of the office, we don't go to the polls.

Right now I'm just going to say this: more than 90% based on the latest numbers - more than 90% of the Muslim community has yet to vote. More than 90% of the community has yet to vote. Then when these people come back in power, then we are going to sit here and complain about this.

Talk is cheap. Talk is cheap. Action is what we need.

So please make sure if you have not gone - today is the last day for early voting. March 3rd I believe it's Tuesday is the last day to vote. So please make sure you go. Don't go yourself - take your family, take your wife, take your older children. Go and vote.

And all these people - you know who to vote for. But this is where it is very important that we exercise our voice.

Jazakumullahu khair. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.