Jumuah Khutbah | Imam Nadim Bashir

Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Come to Prayer, Come to Prayer, Come to success, Come to success, Allah is the Greatest, there is no god but Allah.

O people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it a wife, and spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, in Whom you ask for help and mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever on your side.

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

O you who believe, fear Allah, and say what is right, that He may correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has certainly attained a great success.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1885)

Indeed, the best hadith is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And the worst of affairs are its innovations, and every innovation is a deviation, and every deviation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that just as He has gathered us here today on this day of Jum'ah, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gather us along with our families in Jannat al-Firdaus al-'Ala, in the companionship of Rasulullah ﷺ and his Sahaba. Ameen, Ya Rabb al-'Alameen.

The Excellence of the First Ten Days of Dhul-Hijjah

Brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Qur'an, He says:

Allah says that He has created amongst people, people in different categories at different levels. When it comes to the Anbiya and the Prophets and the Messengers, not all Prophets and Messengers are equally alike. There are some who are Messengers, there are some who are Prophets. The Messengers have a more elite position than the Prophets. And out of all the Messengers, you have the five Ulul Azm, the most prestigious of all of them. Likewise when it comes to the women, not all the women are alike. We find that the mother of Isa, Maryam, has a special position above all the women of the entire world.

The point I'm trying to make is that in the eyes of Allah, everything has different categories. Likewise, when it comes to the days of the year, there are different categories. We find that Allah says about the last 10 nights of the month of Ramadan, that these are without a doubt the best 10 nights of the entire year. However, when we talk about the days of the year, the best 10 days of the year are the days that are about to start next week, which is the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah. These are the best 10 days of the year. And that is why Allah gave those 10 days a superiority, an honor above all the days of the entire year.

And it is genuinely a rahmah from Allah that Allah is giving us these kind of days. Because you and I, we are all built in a certain way. See, Ramadan came, and we all were at a spiritual high. And then as soon as Ramadan finished, we began to go on the spiritual slump. Many of us were able to maintain that faith through fasting and reading Quran and fasting the six days of Shawwal and so forth. But it's a human nature that if there is nothing that's going to spiritually grow you, you're going to be in a slump. Either you're moving up or you're moving down. You're generally never going to stay idle or stay at the status quo when it comes to the matters of spirituality. So this is why Allah gives us these kind of opportunities throughout the entire year that we try to use this kind of time to come back to Allah.

So these 10 days, which are approximately starting on probably Tuesday night or Wednesday night, it will be the first day of Dhul Hijjah. As you all know, the day starts at Maghrib. So it's either going to be Tuesday Maghrib or Wednesday Maghrib. But the days of Dhul Hijjah are starting next week.

The Superiority of Righteous Deeds in These Days

Rasulullah ﷺ, in order to help us understand what we will be doing and what should we be doing, and to what extent should we exhaust ourselves, the Prophet ﷺ, he says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

That the deeds that are performed in these 10 days of Dhul Hijjah are superior than the deeds that are performed in any other day of the week, and even after these 10 days. And just to help us understand what that means is, if I were to read Qur'an or I were to do dhikr in these first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, and I read the same amount of the Qur'an, the same verses of the Qur'an, and I made the same dhikr after the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, in the eyes of Allah, the Qur'an, the dhikr, the salah that I did in the first 10 days is far more heavier on my scale insha'Allah on the day of judgment.

So that is why the deeds that are performed, the Prophet ﷺ is emphasizing the deeds that are performed in these 10 days, are superior in the eyes of Allah. The Sahaba radiyallahu anhum asked, Ya Rasulullah, even it's more than going and striving in the cause of Allah? The Prophet ﷺ said, Yes, unless a person goes into the battlefield and they take their life, they go with their wealth, and they come back without one of them, only in that case, this person and their righteous deeds is better than the person who did anything in the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.

So that is why it is extremely crucial that as these 10 days are just around the corner, we have to start building up the mindset of our family. We have to start talking about this within our family. And I know some of you may say, that all is just the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. No, these are not just the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. First of all, these are precious days. Why? Because in these days, we are first coming close to Allah.

The Importance of Dhikr in These Days

But number two is, we are making an abundance of dhikr. Because there is another hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, wherein he says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

That in these 10 days, you should increase in your tahleel. Tahleel means what? لا إله إلا الله When the Prophet ﷺ says, takbeer, what does takbeer mean? الله أكبر When he says tahmeed, it means, الحمد لله So anything along the lines of سبحان الله الحمد لله لا إله إلا الله الله أكبر

These are 10 days wherein we're able to revive this spirituality again in our life. Also we find that in these 10 days, there is a day that is so precious in the eyes of Allah, that anyone who fasts on this day, Allah will forgive two years of their sins, and that is the day of Arafah. A day in which du'as are accepted, in which the Prophet ﷺ says that Allah, He forgives so much, that even shaitan is in a state of hasra. The shaitan is in a state of loss. When he sees that people are making du'a, and the du'as are being accepted, for him, all his hard work is going down the drain.

This is why these 10 days are precious. And then of course, these 10 days are capped off with a day known as يوم النحر, or Eid al-Adha, a day in which Ibrahim went to the absolute peak in order to obey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in order to fulfill his commitment to Allah azza wa jal, and that is where he took him in the plains of Mina to sacrifice his son. And he was being attacked by shaitan. He was trying to be dissuaded by shaitan. And in three different moments, Ibrahim, he pelted the shaitan to keep shaitan away from him.

Learning from the Example of Ibrahim (AS)

But brothers and sisters, this is why these 10 days are so precious. And also when we talk about Ibrahim, these are 10 days in which we try to remind ourselves who Ibrahim was, and what did he stand for. Who was he? He was a person who says:

Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah, that Ibrahim, he's telling his kids before he's departing from this dunya, he's teaching his kids in general. That if there is only one that you need to submit to completely, it is Allah azza wa jal.

When Allah says in the Quran, "Enter into the deen completely." What does this mean completely? And why are we doing this? Because this is who Ibrahim was. He did not pick and choose what he wanted to apply in his life.

The Danger of Making Islam a Buffet

Today you and I, we have created wallahi, we have created our own version of what Islam is. I like this about Islam, I don't like this about Islam. And as I've said before many times, Islam and deen, Quran and hadith, and the uloom, the Islamic sciences in general, is such a place where today everyone is a shaykh, today everyone is a scholar, today everyone knows and does whatever they want to do. This is my opinion, and this is my opinion. A person who has probably never ever studied, gone to an Islamic seminary, but they probably sat on Google, or Chat GPT or anything else, and they learnt a little, and then they're coming and they're saying, this is my opinion.

Brothers and sisters, you don't have an opinion frankly speaking. You don't have an opinion. This is the Islam that you and I, we have created unfortunately. That I will do whatever I think is right. And hence Islam to us has become mere like a buffet table. You go to a buffet, you pick whatever you like, you leave whatever you don't like. Islam is not a buffet table. You pick whatever you like out of it, and you leave out whatever you don't like.

Allah says, "Enter into the deen completely." And we learnt this from Ibrahim.

When Ibrahim is saying, that I'm leaving to you, you are the ummah that is known as the Muslim ummah. In times like these, we have to be closely united to each other. We have to keep our hearts connected with each other.

Complete Submission to Allah

What we also learnt from Ibrahim is that no matter how difficult the situation was, if Allah told him to do something, then he would do it. Why am I mentioning all this? Because the month of Dhul Hijjah, the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah is a month, is a time of the year. It is those days wherein we again revive the legacy of our forefather Ibrahim.

And once again, on that day of Yawm al-Nahr, when we all go and we sacrifice insha'Allah, then that is why the Prophet ﷺ, he says in a hadith, when he is asked by the Sahaba, radiyallahu anhum, that what is this sacrifice that we are doing? He says:

(Sahih Ibn Majah, Hadith 3127)

This is the sunnah of your father Ibrahim.

So that is why brothers and sisters, those who are going for hajj, they are going to revive the legacy of Ibrahim. But those who are not going for hajj, you can also stay here, within Plano, within this area, and you can revive the legacy of Ibrahim. That no matter how difficult it is, if Allah told Ibrahim to leave his family in a place where there is absolutely no water, no source of life, Ibrahim did not say to Allah, that ya Allah, I will pick and choose, this is too difficult for me, hence I will not do it. No, that's not what he did. When Allah says something to him, he did it without asking twice, and he did it without any hesitation.

This is the nature of a Muslim. This is who we call a Muslim, that a person who completely submits to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Making the Most of the Sacred Days

And that is why in these days, there is the adhkar, there is Quran, there is of course, we try to pray all of our salawat inside the masjid. SubhanAllah, Ramadan comes, you see how packed the masjid is, and then the rest of the year, the masjid is empty. So no, come to the masjid, try to come for Salatul Fajr of course, then you come for the rest of the prayers of the day. But this is the time to again, getting out of that slump, that we have been in, since the month of Shawwal, this is a good time to get out of that slump.

Brothers and sisters, these kind of opportunities do not come around. When they come around, they are a gift from Allah. Either we show Allah, that, ya Allah, this is an honor and a gift that you gave me, and I will honor this gift, and I will cherish this gift. Or if we don't take opportunity of these days, then we are showing to Allah, that you can give me this gift and this honor, but I will not cherish it. And then what is the guarantee, that next year we will be here or not. Wallahi, there is no guarantee, that we will even be able to walk out of this hallway, let alone we will be here next year, and we will witness the days of Dhul-Hijjah.

The Best Ten Days of the Year

So that is why brothers and sisters, let's try to mentally focus, as we are approaching these 10 days of the year. Once again, these are the best 10 days. And Allah, to show this, how important they are, He swears upon these 10 days. Allah does not swear upon something, unless He wants to tell us, how important something is. He says:

Allah is swearing upon these 10 days. That means that these 10 days are extremely crucial. So let's maximize these days insha'Allah, as we are approaching these 10 days. Let's start talking about this in our family, and even just like we do a countdown in Ramadan, you want to do a countdown in these 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah, do a countdown.

Teaching Our Children the Legacy of Ibrahim

But insha'Allah as we're getting closer to the day of Arafah, and then we're getting closer to Yawm al-Nahar, also take your kids, also please take your kids, try to do a qurbani here. Often we send our money overseas, try to take them to the slaughterhouses, especially fathers, please make sure, try to at least take your sons at the bare minimum. Try to take your sons at the bare minimum. Show them what does it mean to revive the legacy of Ibrahim.

SubhanAllah, overseas, children everywhere, they see this legacy of Ibrahim being revived. Here we find it so easy, and so easy for ourselves, that we just give the money away, and we have someone else do the qurbani, and in many cases, many of our kids have never ever seen a qurbani, they've never seen an udhiyah take place, so that is why it is absolutely crucial, that if we don't teach our kids, this sunnah of Ibrahim will die within our kids. If our kids don't know this, then they will not be able to teach their upcoming generations, so that is why we try to make it a point. If I cannot do it every year, we try to do it every other year. But please take your sons, take them to the slaughterhouse on the day of Eid, and show them what does it mean to revive the legacy of our father Ibrahim.

May Allah grant us the tawfiq to utilize these ten days, and may Allah grant us the tawfiq to learn from the legacy of Ibrahim, and to revive the legacy of our father Ibrahim. Ameen.

Summer Guidance for Parents and Youth

As I've said before that there are two times of the year, this is not related to the hajj, this is another topic I'm talking about, but it has to do with the time and the circumstances that we are living in, that there are two times of the year. One time of the year when the parents are in a state of distress and the kids are rejoicing. And there is that one time of the year where the parents are rejoicing and the kids are in a state of distress. When summer starts, that is when the parents are in a state of distress and the kids are rejoicing. The parents are worried how they're going to use their time in summer. And then when school starts, that is that one time of the year where the parents are rejoicing, they're so happy, and now the kids, they don't like going back to school.

Today was for many of the kids who are going to school, to the local ISDs, today was their last day. And I know many of the parents are thinking and wondering what should we do in these days coming up, how are we going to make sure that we utilize their time in the correct way. I've said this before, that if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. If you fail to plan how you're going to utilize these days, then you're simply planning to fail.

Creating Structure and Balance

That is why it is absolutely crucial that while our kids are at home during the summer, we try to make sure that we keep them occupied. Now it takes time, it takes time to keep them occupied, it takes a lot of resiliency to keep them occupied, but there's a way to keep them occupied in a balanced manner. There are some parents who are so strict that they want to keep them occupied throughout the entire day with different activities, which is okay, but then they don't give time to their own kids to do whatever they want to do. So that is why it is absolutely crucial as parents that we make sure that we utilize our time in a balanced way. If they have to go to school, they're attending some classes, something related to their academia, something to do with their studies, then do that, but then also give them some time during the day. Also, it is important to strategize it is important that we keep a schedule in the house and we create some type of a structure.

Advice for the Youth

To those who are the youth who are able to go to college and you can take classes, my plea to you is the best way to utilize your time is to take your classes. Always try to grow every single day. Do not waste your time. Wallahi, you can ask anyone here, including myself, that if there was one thing that I wish I had and I can go back and do, and that would be not waste my time. To those who are the young brothers and young sisters of this community, I'm telling you, later on you will turn around, you will look back at the times that you wasted and you will be regretful about it. That is why when Allah has given you time, you utilize the time wisely.

The GROW Acronym for Parents

Parents, please be cognizant, please be mindful of what we need to do. Just today we had the award assembly for our QCA for boys and girls. And in there, I shared something with all the parents. For those of you who were there, you heard me say this this morning, but I shared with all the parents a quick acronym, a small acronym that hopefully you can stick with insha'Allah as parents that you can apply as you're going through this summer vacation. So the acronym is GROW, G-R-O-W, just try to keep this in mind.

G stands for grow with love. As your kids are with you, help them grow in their Islam with love. Whenever you teach your children, start off with some kind of reward and a benefit from Allah. Do not start with some kind of an azaab. If you don't pray, you're going to hell. No, that's not the right way. The best way is if you pray, Allah will give you such and such. If you pray, these are the benefits. Help them grow with love, show them love, and that is the best way to help them grow.

Number two is R, which is reading something, reading together, whether it is reading the Quran together, reading a book before they go to sleep together, doing something together. This is absolutely crucial. Try to do things collectively. We learn even from Ibrahim. When he built the Kaaba, he didn't build the Kaaba alone, but he had his son involved. And he says:

He took his son, and he made him part of his task to build the house of Allah. So that is why parents always try to do something with your children.

O stands for being organized. Have some structure in your life, have some structure in your kid's life, they will grow insha'Allah. And if they have structure, Wallahi, there are studies that have been done with kids who have grown up in a structured home versus kids who were raised in a non-structural house. And there's a difference in how they understand information and how they carry themselves in a certain way after they become adults. And it is always better to have structure in our life. Rasulullah ﷺ has structure in his life. I can sit here and give you the 24-hour life of the Prophet ﷺ. And it was pretty much the same thing every single day because he had structure. And because he had structure, he was able to fulfill everyone's rights.

And the last thing which is W is to worship together. If you can come to the masjid as a family, you come to the masjid as a family. If you're sitting down and you're listening to the khatira, then you go back home. And while you're going back home, discuss what you heard in the khatira, what you heard in the khutbah. If you cannot come to the masjid, then even at home, you try to pray salatul jama'ah collectively. Make sure you as the man of the house, you have yourself, your wife, your children, everyone come together, and you worship Allah collectively.

Learning from the Family of Ibrahim

Why am I saying this? Because this is also something that we learn from Ibrahim. Ibrahim did not worship Allah alone. It was he, it was his wife Hajar, and his son Ismail. All of them, an entire family, they did what they had to do to come close to Allah. Hajar is running between Safa and Marwah. Ismail has such an Islam, such an iman, and so much faith in Allah, that he's telling his father, that do not even think twice.

That don't think twice, do as you're told to do. Wallahi, how can you find, where can you find a child who has that much resiliency, that much iman and faith in Allah. So that is why even us nowadays, this is also another way to revive the legacy of Ibrahim, that we alone don't worship Allah, but we take our entire family and let the entire family grow together, and learn together, and worship Allah together.

Summary: The GROW Method

So once again, GROW, G-R-O-W, G again stands for Grow With Love, R is Read Together, O is Organize Together, and W is Worship Together. So insha'Allah, parents try to keep this in mind. Of course there's many more things that you can do, but let's try to make sure that our kids are utilizing their time in the best way possible.

I ask Allah to protect our kids, may Allah protect our upcoming generations, and may Allah once again grant us the ability to revive the legacy of Ibrahim in our life.

فاذكروني أذكركم واشكروني ولا تكفرون - So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.

Brothers and sisters, please ensure that you fill all the spaces. If you need to take 20 or 30 or 40 steps, you will not die. Please ensure that the rows are straight. May Allah reward you with goodness.

Call to Prayer (Adhan)

Prayer Recitation

Al-Fatiha

Surah Al-Falaq

الله أكبر، سمع الله لمن حمده - Allah is Greatest, Allah hears whoever praises Him.

Second Rak'ah - Al-Fatiha and Surah An-Nas

الله أكبر، سمع الله لمن حمده - Allah is Greatest, Allah hears whoever praises Him.

Conclusion of Prayer