Khadijah, The Prophet's Anchor

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

All praise is due to Allah and His praise and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment. I bear witness that Allah is the only one worthy of worship and Muhammad is his final and last messenger.

My dear brothers and sisters, before I start the khutbah, I just want to make sure that those who don't know — when the khutbah starts, you're not supposed to be on your phone. And when the khutbah starts, you're not supposed to be reading from a book or a mushaf or anything like that. It's not allowed, and it is forbidden for a person to be engaged in other than listening to the khutbah. This is something that maybe some people don't know the rules of, so it is important for you to be aware of it.

Khadijah — The Prophet's Anchor

The Prophet came back from Ghar Hira, shaking, full of fear, looking for his wife Khadijah رضي الله عنها, saying زَمِّلُونِي زَمِّلُونِي — "Hold me, hold me." She immediately embraced him and she brought him close to her heart, covering him until he calmed down. And when he stopped breathing normally, she said, "What happened?" He told her the experience of seeing Jibreel — when he first came with the revelation to the Prophet. And she said, "Don't worry, Allah will never disappoint you. Allah will never forsake you. Allah will never let you down."

Then she suggested to him to go to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal. He was a person who studied the books of Musa and Isa — the Bible and the Torah — and he had become a Christian. He knew what the religion of Moses and Jesus was; he had read the Bible in the old days. So he was a person of knowledge of the People of the Book.

Waraqah was told what the Prophet had experienced. He said: "This is the same great angel who used to come with the revelation to Musa. I wish I will be alive, I wish I will be strong when the time comes when your people force you out of town." The Prophet had not expected his people to come and kick him out of the city, to force him to leave his home, his hometown. And Waraqah said to him: "Yes they will, indeed they will." Why? He said: "No one will come with a message like this except that his people will turn against him, will become his enemy. And if I can witness that day, I will make sure to support you greatly, until you become victorious." This is a story reported by Sahih al-Bukhari and others.

Lessons from the Story

Lesson One: The Role of a Wife and Life Partner

What are the first lessons — the role that your wife and your partner play in your life? If you are still young and not yet married, you are looking for a wife who, when the time comes, will be the best advisor, the best counselor, the best healer, the best supporter — the one who will give you wise counsel, as Khadijah رضي الله عنها did.

That is why the Prophet always remembered her wisdom, her comfort, her support. He used to say:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 24864; referenced also in Sahih Muslim, Book 44, Hadith 2437)

"She believed in me, she knew that I was saying the truth, she supported me when people said I was lying, when they rejected me, when they didn't believe in me — she did the opposite."

Lesson Two: Your Wife Should Be Your Partner in Life

Your wife should be your partner in life — and I mean by that: that you consult her, you share with her the things that happen to you, you talk to her about your day, talk to her about your concerns. It hurts me when I see, so many times in cases and families, there is so much of a gap — they don't know anything about each other, they don't know what's going on in each other's lives. They should be counseling and sharing with each other their life and what is happening.

Lesson Three: The Necessity of Turning to People of Knowledge

When this matter came to Khadijah, what did she recommend? "Let's go to someone who has knowledge of the Book, a person of knowledge of the message of Allah." Because the more you immerse yourself in the Book of Allah, the more wisdom you develop. The better your understanding grows as a person of knowledge. And it is so important that we refer matters to Ahlul Ilm — the people of knowledge. We should not pick and choose which matters we refer and which we don't.

I'm not saying that the people of knowledge know everything. But they should have the proper respect, and also proper consultation, and be part of our decision-making. Sometimes people come and say, "I have a question," and I find it is not actually a question — it is a demand. Or they have already made up their mind. And that is not the right approach.

Lesson Four: The Role of the Youth in Serving the Deen

I still cannot get over this, no matter how many times I read this story. When Waraqah said: "I wish I am young at that time." Why? Because he understood that young people — young men and women — have a major role to play in society, in community; in supporting the truth, in standing up for what is right, in confronting falsehood, in pushing back on injustice.

This religion needs to be not only practiced and protected by the uncles and the elders — there is so much barakah in that — but also by the young generation. We should invest in making sure that they are in the front line. And you should not be in the front line just because of your age, but because of your commitment.

Unfortunately today many young people say, "I'm just young, I don't know if I'm responsible enough."

We raise the young generation to be true leaders, to be able to take responsibilities. It is wrong to think that being young means you don't need to be very religious, that you don't have to come to the masjid very often, that you don't need to practice everything — "there are other people." No — it is you.

When you look at the Prophet: he was not surrounded by old people. Anas رضي الله عنه narrated:

(Referenced in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' by Imam al-Dhahabi)

"Only one or two people had white hair, grey hair, around the Prophet." And the rest were what? Young. Today those young people in high school and college — this is the time. This is your peak. And that is where you should become closer to the deen, take responsibilities, and contribute. Learn and grow. Just don't be arrogant — make sure you consult, make sure you work with community leaders and more experienced people.

And it is not correct for us to think: "Because he is young, I cannot trust him, I cannot give him responsibilities, I cannot advance him." That is not correct.

Mu'adh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه — one of the people the Prophet had read the Qur'an to and learned from. Mu'adh, the leader of the scholars. He was 18 years old when he became Muslim and he died in his early 30s. That was it.

Zayd ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه — about whom Uthman said: إِنَّكَ شَابٌّ لَا نَتَّهِمُكَ — "You are young, and we have no doubt about you." He was given what I consider the single biggest task in the history of Islam after the task of Muhammad delivering the Qur'an and the message to us — and that is the preservation of the Qur'an. That was done during Abu Bakr's time and completed during Uthman's time. Who was responsible for it? Not Umar. It was Zayd — a young man in his 20s, leading the committee.

It is important for us to understand the importance of investing in and empowering the youth. But the youth who are hearing me today — you have to rise up to the responsibility. You have to learn how to be responsible. There is something much bigger than your games, much bigger than your studies, much bigger than your entertainment, your clothes.

Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr — the first ambassador in Islam — young man. Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه — young man. Among the very first Muslims, at a time when Islam was only four people — Ali was one of them.

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim brought Islam to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh — this land of Islam, today the heart of the Muslim world. This part of the world — how did Islam arrive? It arrived with Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, who was 18 years old when he arrived at the shores of Sindh. Imam Malik used to give fatwa at 21. Al-Bukhari was narrating hadith at the age of 18. Al-Shafi'i was giving fatwa at 14, having already acquired so much knowledge.

We just lost a dear friend in our community — Sheikh Mushfiq. 27 years old. He had finished the Qur'an, went to South Africa, studied, grew up among us, and accomplished so much in his life — that many of us who are double his age have not accomplished even 10% of that when it comes to the relationship with the Qur'an and to the deen. He passed away. May Allah grant him Jannah and gather us with him in Jannah.

Islam has produced a generation of young men and women who are so dedicated to the deen. That is something. And that is why Waraqah said: "I wish I am young at that time."

Lesson Five: Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best

When Waraqah said to him, "Your people will force you out of Mecca" — it is important for us to plan for the worst and wish for the best. It is important for you to know what might face you in the future, to think about outcomes and what lies ahead, and to prepare yourself for it. We are very poor at preparing ourselves for disasters — for natural disasters, for things that could happen.

I think it is important for us to be prepared. Yes, we wish for the best, but we must also prepare for the worst. We as a community should be thinking forward. What would be the worst-case scenario? Are we ready for that?

Consider why Allah and the Messenger Muhammad told us about so many things that will happen in the future — the Ashraat al-Sa'ah, the signs of the Day of Judgment. The Prophet told us about many things that will happen — about the Dajjal, about the last days and what will occur — to prepare us for it if it comes. Why did he spend so much time talking about it? To prepare us. But this knowledge should be based not on dreams, feelings, made-up stories, and rumors — no. It must be based on sound information and sound evidence.

Lesson Six: Why There Will Always Be Enemies of the Truth

When Waraqah said: "No one comes with what you come with, except that there will be an enemy for him" — why do they hate us? It is interesting. Look at the Prophet and all the prophets before him — Musa, Isa, Nuh. All the prophets and messengers had enemies. As Allah said:

There are enemies from humans and jinn for the prophets, the messengers, and their followers. These prophets were not unwise. They were not terrorists. They were not extremists. They did not start wars. They did not do anything bad to the people. Yet still there were enemies, who said: "We will kick you out of our land."

I always wonder why. But you know, it is actually obvious. Because you recognize falsehood when you see the truth. You recognize filth when you see purity. You recognize the value of health when you see sickness. You understand what justice means when you see injustice. You know what is right, and you value right when you see wrong. You value freedom when you see dictatorship. You recognize liars when you deal with truthful, honest people.

Al-haqq is consistent. Al-haqq prevails. Al-haqq is like sunshine — you cannot cover it. Falsehood is so weak — it is like a shadow, much bigger than its real size. And that is why when the sun comes up and clear light comes, it will disappear. That is why falsehood will never allow or tolerate the existence of haqq, because just the existence of truth and justice and right exposes the falsehood.

And if we understand that, we understand that we will never win everybody's heart. There will always be people who do not like to be in the light, do not like to leave filth, do not rise above falsehood.

Our Responsibility Today

Finally — Waraqah said, "I will give you full support." He died before that day came. But you and I, we live in this day. You and I should ask ourselves: Are we giving that full support to Muhammad and to his ummah? Are we giving 100% of ourselves to what is right, to what the Prophet fought for, stood for?

I'm not going to talk about anybody else — except us here as American Muslims. We as a community are a very unique community. We have a very unique position. We are among the richest, the youngest, the most educated — yet we are the most disorganized. I think that is something that should make us think.

How can you give that great victory to Islam, to Muslims, and to the causes of Islam? I think it starts first with feeling that you are responsible for it. It is easy to make excuses. Waraqah — he was not even yet a prophet or messenger, he could find many excuses — but he said, "I wish." He wanted to be in the battlefield. He wanted to be on the side of truth when it came. Some of us run away from it, put our heads in the sand, shy away. That is not what you learn from Waraqah.

Feel the responsibility — the responsibility that I have towards what this religion came to establish. Feel the responsibility towards those who are oppressed, as we've been talking about what is happening to our brothers and sisters in Palestine. I feel the responsibility to give victory and support. I feel responsibility when I see what happened to our brothers and sisters in Syria before that, in Iraq, and today in Bangladesh — when we see protesters who protest for a very just cause being shot in the head. And the list goes on and on.

Not only that — I feel responsibility for justice for this young lady who called the police to protect her and to help her, and she got shot in her apartment. I feel responsibility for all social injustice that I see. That is what this Islam came to stand for. I feel responsibility to spread the Tawheed and the right Aqeedah and the Sunnah of the Prophet. That starts first and foremost with that feeling: I feel responsibility towards my Master, towards my community.

And this great support comes when we are unified, when we have brotherhood, when we have the trust that Allah's religion is prevailing, when Allah's deen has the upper hand in our hearts. When we are economically strong, politically strong, gathered around our scholars and students of knowledge, supporting our community and our centers, and acting upon our da'wah.

"If you have taqwa and you have sabr, Allah has promised that you will not be harmed by their plotting."

May Allah give us strength and make it easy for our brothers and sisters in Palestine and in Gaza.

Du'a — Closing Supplication

Alhamdulillah.