2014-12-26 - Friday Prayer - Imam Nadim Elmorhoumi

Khutbah: Taqwa, Islamic Identity, and Resisting Assimilation

Whoever Allah guides, none can lead astray. And whoever He, glorified and most high be He, leads astray, none can guide. We bear witness and testify that there is no God except Allah. That there is no deity worthy to be worshipped except Allah. He is the one and only, the eternal, the absolute. He begets not, nor has He begotten. And there is none that is comparable to Him. And we bear witness and testify that Muhammad is His slave and final Messenger. Peace and blessings be upon him. Peace and blessings be upon the Prophets and Messengers before him. Peace and blessings be upon his household, his family, his companions. And peace and blessings be upon those of us who follow his righteous sunnah, his teachings and tradition till the last day. Ameen.

To proceed, my dear respected brothers and sisters.

The Call to Taqwa

Allah says in the Holy Qur'an, in Surah Ali Imran, chapter 3, titled The Family of Imran — the family of Mary, may Allah be pleased with her, the mother of Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him.

"O you who believe." That's us — right here in this very masjid. And it is enough of an honor that Allah is calling upon us specifically — those who chose to believe in لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. A special category of people. Because this is not the generic call of يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ — O people — in general, Muslims and non-Muslims.

And Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, used to say that when Allah makes this call, we have to be attentive — either a command will come afterwards that we'll need to abide by, or a prohibition, something that we'll need to stay away from.

"O you who believe. Have taqwa with respect to Allah." But not any taqwa — the right taqwa that we have to have with respect to His Majesty, the King of all kings, Allah, the one and only.

What is Taqwa?

And we can ask ourselves — what is taqwa to start with? It is defined in many different ways by scholars of the past and by contemporary scholars. I prefer this definition by Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. He used to say:

(Athar of Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him)

Taqwa is the fear of the Most Majestic, Allah. And to act upon what Allah descended upon His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him — that is the Quran and the Sunnah. A lot of us these days are hearing talks about "we only believe in the Quran." And yet in the Quran, Allah is telling us about the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and that we have to follow it and we have to obey him in order to obey Allah.

الْخَوْفُ مِنَ الْجَلِيلِ — the fear of the Most Majestic. وَالْعَمَلُ بِالتَّنْزِيلِ — and to act upon what was revealed. وَالْقَنَاعَةُ بِالْقَلِيلِ — and to be satisfied with what is little, whether health or wealth. وَالاسْتِعْدَادُ لِيَوْمِ الرَّحِيلِ — and to always be ready and prepared for when we will depart from this world, unexpectedly.

Indeed, my dear respected brothers and sisters, we have to always live our lives in a state of continuous consciousness — and not continuous غَفْلَة (heedlessness). Continuous consciousness that Allah is ever watching over us. Continuous consciousness, measuring everything with الْمِقْيَاسُ الشَّرْعِي — with the shar'i scale — with how Allah sees things, not necessarily how we, in our modern and/or corrupt way of thinking, might see things.

"Do Not Die Except as Muslims"

"And do not die without being Muslims." This is the ending of the ayah and it's so amazing. I always think about this ending. Allah is calling upon the believers to start with at the beginning of the ayah — يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — so we are already believers and we already claim to believe in لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. Yet at the end of the same ayah Allah is instructing us in a very emphasizing way: وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ — do not die except in a state of Islam, do not die except while being Muslims.

And you wonder — what is so special about that? How is it that one can claim to believe in something yet die on something completely different? And there is more than one way of looking at this. It's a continuous struggle because our own nafs and Shaytan will not let us simply be at peace. It's a continuous struggle, and it's a war — with our Shaytan, with our nafs. May Allah save us from both and protect us from both. Ameen.

And it's that very last moment in our lives where we pray and hope that it will be لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. How many of us have seen people who claimed to live as Muslims yet they died while being drunk — لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — or dancing, or calling out the names of chess pieces — the only thing they could remember at that last moment being the names of chess pieces, or singing a song they used to love and listen to a lot, instead of reciting لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ at that very last breath of worldly life.

A Common Command Across All Prophets

This also tells us that being Muslim is something different and special, because I will quote to you different ayat from the Quran about previous Prophets before Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, who instructed their people in the same exact way — almost word for word. And it's amazing.

Allah says in Surah al-Baqarah, chapter 2:

"And Abraham instructed his sons and so did Jacob: 'O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen this religion for you, so do not die except while being Muslims.'"

إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَىٰ لَكُمُ الدِّينَ — surely and verily Allah has chosen the right religion for you, the right creed, the right aqeedah for you. What is that din? It is not believing that Jesus is the son of God. It is not believing that Buddha is somehow divine. It is not believing in any man-made philosophy or laws or culture. That din is لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ — the same exact words. Do not die except while being Muslims. It is amazing.

And even when Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, felt disbelief from amongst his people, Allah says:

"And when Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, felt disbelief amongst his people — and this was amongst the Children of Israel — he said: 'Who are my helpers, who are my supporters to the work of Allah?' His disciples, his true companions, said: 'We are your helpers and supporters to the work of Allah. We believe in Allah and bear witness, O Jesus, that we are Muslims — that we are submitters to Allah.'"

We Are a Different and Special People

It is so amazing to think once and again about how special believers are to Allah. We're different. We're not the same as everybody else. So let's not try to be the same — because by definition, inherently, we are different. This is the only thing that sets us apart from everybody else.

And I'll take you back to the very chapter that we all recite, that we all memorize — and I'm sure that each and every Muslim on the face of the earth does memorize this one, because we have to pray with it — and that is Surah al-Fatihah, the introductory or the opening chapter of the Quran. We all know this one, definitely, because we say it at least 17 times a day if we only pray the mandatory prayers. And I hope that we pray much more than that in nawafil.

In Surah al-Fatihah, at the very end, Allah tells us to ask Him to show us the straight way. We ask Allah to show us the straight way. What is that way? What is that path?

"The path of those that You have bestowed Your grace and mercy upon — not the path of those who earned Your wrath, nor the path of those who went astray."

And this is, as the scholars say, أُسْلُوبُ الاسْتِثْنَاء — for those of us who are into Arabic a little bit, they will know this is an exception expression. And by default in an exception expression there is the special case — which is the exception — and there is the mainstream or the default. And what I'm about to say is counter-intuitive, because we think by intuition that the default category of people — the mainstream — are those who believe. No. It is actually the opposite. The way the ayah is formulated, Allah is telling us it works the other way around.

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ — the path of those whom Allah bestowed His grace and mercy upon — these are actually the special case. They're not the mainstream. They're not the default. They're not everybody. They're special. They're few. غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ — those who earned His wrath, or those who simply went astray, are the vast majority of people.

And this is manifested in so many different ayat in the Qur'an. Allah says:

"And if you follow or obey the vast majority of people on earth, they will lead you away from the path of Allah."

We all memorize Surah al-'Asr, young and old, born-and-raised Muslims and reverts. Allah tells us:

He swears by the passage of time — إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ — surely and verily mankind is in a state of loss. Basically Allah is telling us that we're all losers. No kidding — these are the words of Allah. إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ. Then comes the exception: إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ — except those who believe and do righteous deeds — وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ — and enjoin one another in haqq, in the truth, and enjoin one another in perseverance.

Many different examples — I can stand here and quote many different ayat. Surah al-Tin:

Allah swears by the fig and the olive, by Mount Sinai, and by Mecca — لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ — surely We have created mankind in the best of all shapes. Then We returned him to the lowest of the low. And then comes the exception: إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ — except those who believe and do righteous deeds.

The Inferiority Complex and Two Types of Muslims

So my dear respected brothers and sisters — why am I hammering on this point? Why am I hammering on the point that we are by default and by definition different? Because we are, and we ought not try to be like everybody else. This is our problem — we're losing the desire of wanting to be different. We're gaining the desire of wanting to be whatever color is out there.

And you see there are two groups of Muslims, and I say that in a very forthright manner because we all probably see it, so let's talk about the elephant and face it head on. It's an inferiority complex that started during the late Ottoman caliphate. They surrounded Austria and were not able to triumph — for the first time in their entire history. SubhanAllah. And instead of doing what early Muslims did when they felt they were not able to triumph over their enemies in a battlefield — they would search amongst themselves and ask: what sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, are we missing? Because we cannot triumph over the enemy — this is just abnormal. So they found that they were missing a certain sunnah, they started using it and practicing it, and the enemy thought they were sharpening their teeth and so they ran away. This is true — this happened among early Muslims.

But when the late Ottoman caliphs surrounded Austria and were not able to triumph, they fought amongst themselves too — but instead of asking "what sunnah are we missing?" they asked: "What do they have that we don't?" And from that time the Ottoman caliphs started to have two portraits in their palaces — one with the turban and Ottoman clothes (and clothes don't mean anything, it's just a symbol), and one with western army-type clothes, riding a western horse instead of an Arabic horse. But it was self-defeat. We were defeated inside. And this is what it is — we don't want to be different anymore. We want to be the same.

And I'll tell you a bit more about that and how the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, handled it in the second part of the khutbah. And I'll say this — and ask Allah for forgiveness.

My dear respected brothers and sisters, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the big wigs of Quraysh at that time — who were mostly his uncles, by the way; the supreme council of Quraysh was mostly comprised of his uncles — they understood what لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ meant. And they understood what it implies. And it's so frustrating that if you ask a mainstream Muslim nowadays what لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ means, they will tell you "there is no god except Allah" — and that's it. But what does it imply? No clue. Not the first clue. And this is dangerous — because even the non-Muslims and the big wigs of Quraysh at the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, understood what لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ implied, and that's why they rejected it. Because it meant that the whole man-made culture is gone, the way of life is out the door — and they did not want that.

Including his very most supportive uncle, Abu Talib — he did not want to accept it. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came close to begging him: "Ya amm — my uncle — say the word, say it." And he was dying. He refused. He did not want to accept it.

Because, my dear respected brothers and sisters, practically we have two categories of Muslims and they both bend down to man-made laws and culture, but each in their own way. And I am not talking about schools of thought — not fiqh. This is not fiqh. This is our lame behavior, unfortunately.

One group will choose to assimilate completely — blend in. Whatever color is out there, we'll do it. We'll all be celebrating Christmas. We'll celebrate Christmas too. We'll even have a Christmas tree at our Muslim-owned business. Yes, I just said that. We'll even celebrate Christmas at our homes. Or the parents will not do their due diligence — if their kids are in a public school, they will not go to the principal or the teacher and say: "I understand that you're celebrating these holidays, but my kids are Muslim and they do not celebrate Christmas, so I would wish for them to be excused from any of these activities." We're not even doing that. Maybe some of us, but not all of us.

And this is one group, one category — just assimilate, whatever color is out there we'll blend in. We'll bend down to man-made laws and culture that are not Islamic. There is not one single reputable scholar from the past who said it's okay to celebrate non-Islamic holidays. Not one. Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad — not one single reputable scholar.

And there is the other group of Muslims who also chose to do the same thing in terms of the end result — but they isolate themselves completely. They live in a total bubble, completely isolating themselves from the surrounding world. And that was not the Prophetic example either. You see, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not assimilate nor did he isolate himself — he challenged the man-made laws and culture. He challenged it.

You see, when the big wigs of Quraysh came to him and said: "You know what, man, let's deal. Let's negotiate. You worship your god one year, you worship Allah one year. You want to marry the most beautiful woman — we'll give you that. We'll make you the king of the Arabs. Whatever you want, let's deal, let's negotiate." But لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is not a compromisable thing. If we are negotiating buying a car, we can negotiate a price — I give a little, you give a little, you scratch my back I scratch your back, that's negotiation. But لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is uncompromisable. This is our aqeedah, this is our creed. And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not give them one single bit.

Surah al-Kafirun: Dissociation in Belief, Not in Dealings

Matter of fact, Allah told them in the Quran — and we also memorize this surah, young and old, born-and-raised Muslims and reverts:

"Say, O Muhammad: O you disbelievers." And I will explain what this surah means because it's not what we think. And it doesn't contain cuss words — the Quran does not have cuss words, I can promise you that, and we all know that. So the word kafiroon — or a kafir — is not a cuss word. It's a description of a non-Muslim, someone who does not believe in لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. It's not a cuss word. It's not a bad word. It's just a description.

So Allah says: "Say, O Muhammad: O you disbelievers — لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ — I do not worship what you worship. I worship Allah. You worship some idols and man-made stuff — man-made laws and culture. I don't subscribe to that."

وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ — and you do not worship what I worship. What does that tell us? It tells us dissociation when it comes to belief. We all have to be clear, and our kids have to be clear, and we have to instill in them that there is only one way — one gate to jannah — and that is لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. There is no pluralistic entrance to jannah. Be clear on that. It's only one way, and that is Islam.

Dissociation in matters of creed, in matters of aqeedah. That doesn't mean, however, dissociation in matters of worldly dealings.

And Allah continues, emphasizing the very same point by repeating the same two ayat again — وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ and وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ — and I do not worship what you worship, and you do not worship what I worship. The same two meanings are repeated again. This is called verbal emphasis in the Arabic language — to emphasize something by repeating it.

And then at the very end: لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ — "You have your religion and I have mine." And that does not mean that both religions are on par. This is what we're missing. We think that means we're equal — sound for sound, as they say. We think لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is equated and equal to the Trinity. No it's not, and it cannot be. لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is equated to worshipping Buddha? No — never, not in a million years. لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is high up there. Any other man-made philosophy or religion is not.

A Message of Love, Not Hate

And whoever is recording — and if this program is being broadcast — keep listening until the end, because this is not a message of hate. The Quran does not contain messages of hate. It's a message of love.

Because if there is no clarity in our minds as Muslims — if we do not refrain from celebrating Christmas because we know that we are Muslims and we cannot do that, we cannot have a Christmas tree and we cannot blend into non-Islamic society — if we have that clarity, but we also care about non-Muslims — we care because if we start practicing and celebrating Christmas, we are giving them the false confidence that what they're on is true. And it's not. And because we care about them, we are making sincere da'wah to them, to invite them, to save them from the hellfire, to لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, so that they can enter jannah with us, inshAllah.

And if we don't have that clarity, we're never going to be able to truly care about them. So things have to be clear — لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. And it has to be different in our minds and in our kids' minds, so that we can properly care for non-Muslims as we should, by the Quranic instruction. It's a message of love. It's not a message of hate.

Du'a

We ask Allah to grant victory for the Muslims all over the world.