Istiqamah: Remaining Steadfast in Current Times | Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed | 10/27

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Istiqamah: Remaining Steadfast in Current Times

By Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and to the righteous. And there is no aggression except against the wrongdoers.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that there is no partner for Him but the Lord of the worlds. And I bear witness that our Master, our Prophet, our Beloved, our Intercessor, Muhammad is His servant and Messenger — the one sent as a mercy to the worlds.

Peace and blessings be upon him and upon his family and his companions — the good and the pure — and whoever follows them with goodness, and calls upon their call, and follows their Sunnah, and follows their guidance until the Day of Judgment.

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, Peace and blessings be upon you. Indeed, we have been speaking in the last few weeks — and obviously we need to continue to do so — about the conditions of the Ummah in general, and specifically the horrible crimes that are taking place against our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. Allah has praised this earth in the Quran.

The Sanctity of the Blessed Land

We have to remind ourselves that Allah and Allah alone has the right and the authority to declare certain pieces of land, and certain selections of time — days and nights, and months — to be more sacred and to be beloved to Him versus others. Allah is the one who creates, and Allah is the one who selects. No one else has the opportunity to select, no one else has the right to say something is more sacred than others.

Allah is the creator of time and space. And different spaces, different places on the earth, He has given them virtue over others. And different times, He has given virtue over others.

So amongst the nights, Allah has given the virtue to Laylatul Qadr. And amongst the days, Allah has given virtue to Ashura — the 10th of Muharram — and the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, the day of Arafah. Among the months, Allah has given virtue to the month of Ramadan, Shahr Ramadan.

Likewise, on the places of earth, Allah has selected the place where the Ka'bah is for our Qiblah. And likewise Allah has selected Masjid al-Aqsa as the Ka'bah of the Anbiya — from the time of Ibrahim and Ishaq alayhimus salam, all the way to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And this is the place that Allah brought him to lead the Anbiya alayhimus salam in Salah, in Laylatul Isra — when he traveled from Makkah al-Mukarramah to Masjid al-Aqsa, and from there Allah took him up into the heavens.

Glorified be Allah, who took His slave in the night from Masjid al-Haram — from Makkah al-Mukarramah — to Masjid al-Aqsa. And then He says: alladhi barakna hawlahu — we have placed barakah around it. So this is a very, very blessed spot, a very blessed place. And if tragedies are occurring anywhere, it is something that is hurtful for us. But if it is occurring in that blessed land, it is even more cause of pain, of grief.

Two Extremes Within the Ummah

We hope that this does not reach the level where people lose their belief, their iman itself, and it becomes a case of losing their faith in Allah. That would be a tremendous loss for us.

And there are two extremes within the Ummah. There are those who — na'udhu billah, na'udhu billah — are not getting affected in the least, and going about their normal lives as if nothing is happening. For these individuals, we have to remind them — and remind ourselves — na'udhu billah, if you fall in that group, that this is a basic requirement of not only being an ummati of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, or being a Muslim, but of being a human being — to feel the pain of others. And how can we continue on in life without feeling that?

On the other extreme, there are those who may be losing their faith and having complete hopelessness. And for them, we have to remind them that Allah has a plan. And Allah is the Hakeem, and He has wisdom.

The action of the Wise is never devoid of wisdom. Allah knows best what He is planning, and why they are undergoing such horrific circumstances.

The Principle of Reward and Trial

Some of the ahadith that we have from Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam about the rewards for those who undergo difficulties in this life. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2396)

Allah's system — the formula is mentioned in this hadith: however great the tests are, proportionate to however grave the tests are, that is how great the reward will be. Inna 'izam al-jaza' ma'a 'izam al-bala'. So this is like a qa'idah, this is an usool, this is a principle, a formula, you may say. That verily, proportionate to how grave the test is, that is how great the reward will be. Allahu Akbar.

And based on this principle, I think at this point it is very safe to say that the reward of those who are undergoing this bombardment from the air, and blockade from the ground and sea — our dear brothers and sisters in Gaza — there can be no doubt that for generations upon generations of people in this world, in this Ummah, their level must be the highest in the eyes of Allah. Because the horrors they are facing are unprecedented.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2396)

Whenever Allah loves a people, He tests them. This is a hadith of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

So I'm not addressing that segment who may not be feeling the pain — for them it's a different discussion. I'm addressing those who may be feeling overwhelmed. What can we do, and there's nothing that we can do, besides making du'a for them, speaking out about their pain, speaking to those in authority who can help. So we can at least take comfort from these ahadith. At the end of the day, Allah is watching. And Allah has a plan. And all of the pain and suffering they're going through is not going to be in vain. And this is a sign that Allah loves them.

This is not a cop-out, this is not some excuse that we make for remaining silent or remaining complacent or not speaking up. No, that is not what we are being reminded of. Rather, this is something for us to gain comfort from, so we do not lose our own iman.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2396)

Whoever is pleased with the decree of Allah and bears this torture, this pain, then he will gain the pleasure of Allah. And whoever expresses displeasure against this decree of Allah will earn the displeasure of Allah.

Lofty Ranks Through Trials

Moving forward, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3090)

If really Allah had already decreed for someone that that individual will have a very high rank in Jannah — his actions, his own a'mal are such that he is not able to reach that level. He is not able to reach that level through his own ibadah, through his own sacrifices, through his own worship. But Allah wants to grant this individual a very, very lofty rank. So Allah tests this individual in his body — inflicting pain, inflicting suffering, inflicting sickness, trauma, injuries. Or his wealth is destroyed, his homes are demolished, it is stolen, it is looted, it is plundered, it is taken away. Or even his children are killed, his children are wounded, his children are injured, his children's lives are taken, children are blown apart. Then Allah inspires this individual to be able to have sabr and patience on this. He does not lose his cool, he does not complain.

This is just beyond inspiring. We see the examples of the Sahabah radiyallahu anhum coming in front of us, and it is being recorded in social media clips all over the place — which is not on the mainstream media but on Telegram and elsewhere. It is not everyone's cup of tea to be able to witness those things. But one of the recurring themes we see is that, so far I have not come across anyone complaining against Allah. And there are unbearable scenes that just observing from far — sitting in the comfort of a home in AC on a sofa — if you are looking at it, it brings tears. So the one who is actually going through it — what did they say? They are just saying:

So at the time the calamity strikes, right at that moment, I do not think there can be any doubt that these are the awliya of Allah. These are far, far higher in rank than us. Because there is a test of shukr and there is a test of sabr. So we are the ones failing the test of shukr, and they are the ones who are passing the test of sabr.

Allah inspires the individual to make so much sabr until he or she reaches that level that is decreed by Allah. So he makes sabr, the mother makes sabr, until they reach the level that Allah had already decreed.

The Severest Trials for the Highest Ranks

From Sa'd radiyallahu anhu, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2398; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4023)

The severest tests and the severest trials come upon the Anbiya alayhimus salam — upon the Prophets of Allah — because it goes back to the same formula: the higher the level is in the eyes of Allah, the greater the test is. So if the Anbiya alayhimus salam have the highest level, they have the severest test. Then those who are next in rank, and those who are next in rank. A person will be tested proportionally to the level of his deen. If in his deen there is strength — and salabah means to be hard and strong — then the test from Allah will increase. But if his deen is weak, then Allah will make it easy for him. This person continues to go through tests and trials until a time will come — this person is still walking on the surface of the earth, meaning he is still alive in his worldly, earthly life — and he does not have a single sin left in his account. Not a single sin remains in his account.

Even a small sickness, very mundane — a little cold, a little fever, a headache — when we go and visit a person who is sick, what is the du'a that we recite? We have been taught:

Which means: Do not worry — la ba's. This pain you are going through, this cold, will be a means of your purification — tahoor. So if a cold, and a little headache, and a little tiredness, exhaustion can become a means of purification, then what about these unprecedented horrific crimes that are being committed against them? These are the ahadith of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

What the Qur'an Says About Trials

Going back even to the Qur'an — what does Allah say?

Most definitely We will be testing you with hunger and fear, and loss of life, and fruits, and earnings. But give the glad tiding to those who are patient — those who, whenever they are afflicted with a calamity, say: إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — to Allah we belong and towards Him we all will return. They receive the special mercy of Allah, and they are the rightly guided ones.

Likewise Allah says:

Verily those who are patient will receive their reward from Allah in such an abundant amount that cannot be counted, cannot be measured.

So never for a moment should we forget that Allah is watching and Allah is there. And there is a Yawm al-Deen, there is a Yawm al-Jaza, there is a Day of Reckoning. And Allah will catch the zalim.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4686; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2583)

And Allah will avenge the mazloom. If not right away, then definitely on the Day of Judgment. The Day of Judgment is coming — it is Yawm al-Qiyamah, it is the Day of Resurrection; it is Yawm al-Hisab, the Day of Accountability; it is Yawm al-Deen, the Day of Judgment. Allah is the Judge and He will judge between His creation.

Allah is Never Unaware of the Oppressors

Specifically, we know in general that Allah is watching everything. He keeps on reminding us about that. He is Sami' and Baseer — He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. But in particular, when it comes to the zulm that is occurring, there are ayat about this as well. Allah says:

There is emphasis here: most definitely, do not for a single moment think that Allah is ghafil — is unaware of what these zalimun are doing. He is just giving them respite for a little time until the day of horror comes, when their eyes will be staring open in horror. They will be rushing forth, their heads raised, never blinking, their hearts void of all thought — they will be terrified. Allah describes their condition on the Day of Judgment.

The situation will be reversed. Those who are being tormented today will be in the position of laughing and enjoying the shade of the Arsh of Allah.

They will be sitting on their thrones. Those who are laughing at them and mocking them today — they will be in distress — and those who were being tortured will be in the pleasure of Allah.

The Example of Rasulullah at Ta'if

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — just remind ourselves how much pain he went through in his own life. How he was pelted at Ta'if till his whole body was bleeding. And he raised his hands and said:

Oh Allah, I only complain back to You that it is my weakness. Da'fa quwwati — I am the one who is weak, I do not have the strength to bear this. Wa qillata hilatee — I have lack of support. Wa hawani 'ala al-nas — and that I am being humiliated by the people. Oh Allah, You come to my aid.

And subhanAllah, he forgave those individuals to the extent that Allah eventually granted them hidayah — the Banu Ta'if. He said:

If these people are not accepting Islam, perhaps in their progeny there will be those who will. And Allah accepted his du'a. And we have Muhammad bin Qasim al-Thaqafi — who came from the descendants of those who pelted him — and he spread Islam and the Deen all the way in the east up to Multan.

So just remember:

Allah is fully aware and Allah has wisdom. This is only the consolation we can get if we have iman.

Success Belongs Only to Those With Iman

If someone is killing somebody in a battlefield, and we have one person who is unscathed — no wounds — and the other person in front of him is dying, the spear is piercing through his chest and he falls down and he is dead. This is such an image that nobody would have a difference of opinion about: the one who is the killer is the successful one, and the one who is being killed is the failure. But all of these formulas fail when it comes to iman.

We have the example of the Sahabi radiyallahu anhu: as the spear in Uhud is going through his chest and he is dying, breathing his last, he says:

I swear by the Lord of the Ka'bah, I am successful. He is dying in the battlefield, and a dying man does not lie. There is no reason for him to lie, to keep up any false pretensions. But he says: Fuztu wa Rabbi al-Ka'bah — I swear by the Lord of the Ka'bah, I am successful. And this statement became the means of the one who killed him to accept Islam, because he was shocked. He said: wait, what is going on? His soul is leaving his body, he is dying by my hand, and he is swearing that he is successful.

And as for Anas ibn al-Nadir radiyallahu anhu — when he was also dying — he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2805; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1903)

Wallahi, I swear I can smell the fragrance of Jannah from behind the mountain of Uhud — while he is still alive.

So there is a world of mushahada: when a person is in this worldly life, he sees the physical things around him and the metaphysical world — the 'alam al-ghayb — is invisible. And when a person is in the akhirah, the 'alam al-ghayb is visible, and a person has moved on from this worldly life to that life. And then there are those few moments when the actual transition is happening — when a person is moving — so one foot is in this dunya and one foot is in the akhirah. And those moments are very brief. There are so many different scenes of individuals — their statements, their behavior at that very specific juncture — which could all be collected together and would be an amazing work. What are the people saying right at the time when they are dying? Among them are these statements that show the reality: as they are going, they see the akhirah and they make these beautiful, profound statements.

On the flip side as well — like Fir'aun. When he was dying, Allah says:

When he was beginning to drown and he could see the angels of death, then he accepted Islam. He expressed his iman. He said: I accept that the Allah of Banu Israel is the correct Allah, and I am among the Muslims. Allah said:

Now you express your faith? Your whole life you were tormenting the people. So this is the reality.

What We Must Do

May Allah grant them sabr. May Allah accept their shahada. And may Allah allow us — at the bare minimum — to start making tawbah to Allah for our sins. We start rectifying our own lives. We start connecting to Allah. And we start working on our own yaqeen. And give da'wah towards this yaqeen — until it comes into the bottom of our hearts — that no matter if a person is laughing in his life, or crying; no matter if a person is affluent or indigent, rich or poor, healthy or sick, living or dying, victorious or vanquished — no matter what condition a person may be in — the one who is successful is the one who has iman in Allah. The one who is successful is the one who has iman and a'mal saliha. They are the successful ones, no matter what the outward conditions may be.

And the one who does not have iman and a'mal saliha — no matter how outwardly the conditions may appear to be of success — there is utter failure in that. The success is only for those who have iman and a'mal saliha. So these individuals have iman and a'mal saliha, and that is what we are seeing over and over again. So they are successful in the eyes of Allah.

But the question is — what about you and I? What about us? Our condition is more pitiful than theirs. Because they are successful in the eyes of Allah. Yes, they are going through worldly torment. And by no means am I mentioning this to indicate that we should not take any action. Of course, we have to speak out against injustice. We have to speak out against injustice in any form — this is an obligation in our deen:

Oh those who believe, stand up for justice. Speak out for justice. Speak about their plight. Speak about how this is inhumane — it is a violation of all international law, United Nations resolutions, and Geneva Conventions. This is ethnic cleansing, this is genocide, this is mass slaughter of people — denying them water to drink, denying them fuel for the water pumps, for the hospitals. All of that we know, all the things that are going on, or we should know — we need to know. So we have to speak out about it.

But at the end of the day, if action is not being taken and the genocide is happening in front of us, we cannot lose iman. Allah says:

Do you think for a moment that you can enter Jannah, and you will not have the test like those who preceded you? They had so many afflictions upon afflictions and they were shaken, until the Prophets and those who were believing with them all said: Mata nasrullah? — When is the help of Allah? Ala inna nasrallahi qareeb — the help of Allah is indeed near. In fact, instead of losing their faith, their iman only increased.

When you see the Ahzab — when the mu'minoon saw the ahzab, not just one group, but all the enemies getting together, the whole alliances getting together to attack them — instead of losing their faith, they said:

This is exactly what Allah and His Rasul had promised us. Allah and His Rasul spoke the truth. It only increased their iman, it only increased their submission. So these are the conditions of the mu'minoon of the past, and the mu'minoon of today.

Our Responsibility and the Responsibility of Muslim Leaders

So we have to speak out against injustice. And if you feel — oh, what can we do? — just remember the consolation, once again:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 893; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1829)

Everyone is responsible based on the position that Allah has placed them in life. So we are responsible for ourselves and our family members.

So we need to talk about this with our wives and our children, we need to straighten out our own homes. We are responsible for our community, responsible as far as we can have an impact.

But subhanAllah — they are Muslim leaders. We cannot just say, okay, no one is responsible, and just let the slaughter happen. No, there are people who are responsible, and they will be asked by Allah. Of course the zalim himself is responsible. And then among the Muslims, there are leaders who are leading Muslim countries — they have wealth, they have resources, they have armies. So many dozens of Muslim countries. So if you are a president of a Muslim country, any president — you are an ameer of a country, you are a malik, a king of a country, you are a prime minister of a Muslim country, whatever the different form of government may be — and you have a standing army and you have resources, you are selling oil, you can put economic pressure on others, you can protest, you have a seat at the United Nations — whatever position you are in — are you just doing empty words, or are you taking action? Because we need a sense of closure to understand who is going to be asked by Allah. These Muslim leaders will be. Definitely, there is no doubt about it from any scholar, any 'alim, that all of the Muslim leaders will be asked.

And we will be asked if we have a voice in affecting them — if we are raising our voices and changing who this leadership is. So we make du'a for those who are there:

That they do that which is right for the Muslim Ummah. And if it is not decreed for them to do what is right, then may Allah replace them — replace them with those who have basic humanity. And may Allah guide us to stand up for justice in all conditions, and make us not lose our iman, and may Allah never test us like He tested them, and may Allah continue to grant them success in their test.

Second Khutbah

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. Allah is the Greatest. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help. Guide us to the straight path — the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, those who have not incurred Thy displeasure, and those who have not gone astray.

Muhammad is not but a Messenger. The Messengers have passed away before him. If he should die or be slain, will you turn back on your heels? And whoever turns back on his heels, he will not harm Allah at all. And Allah will reward those who are grateful. And it is not for a soul to die except by permission of Allah, as a prescribed decree. And whoever desires the reward of this world, We will give him of it. And whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We will give him of it. And We will reward those who are grateful.

And how many a Prophet had many devoted men fighting alongside him. But they were not weakened by what befell them in the way of Allah, nor did they weaken, nor did they submit. And Allah loves those who are patient. And their word was not but that they said: O our Lord, forgive us our sins and our transgressions in our affairs, and make firm our feet, and help us against the disbelieving people. So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the good reward of the Hereafter. And Allah loves those who do good.

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.

Announcements

A few announcements, insha'Allah. Please pass the donation boxes. Donate generously.

Sadaqah repels calamities and draws the mercy of Allah.

We have our yearly youth program on Tuesday, October 31st, to ensure that the children do not fall into all of the fitnas that are taking place on the 31st of October. Youth ages 5 to 16 years old — you can bring your kids, boys and girls. There are different programs and activities here as an alternative to the haram activities, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. They will learn about our deen and about the evil origins of these common practices on the 31st of October.

We have our annual benefit dinner on Saturday, December 9th at Shalimar. Please save the date — December 9th.

Team Fajr continues on Saturdays after Fajr. Surah Furqan Tafsir continues on Tuesdays. Weekly salawat on Thursday night.

Our neighboring Masjid MSI in Glendale Heights is having their annual fundraiser on December 2nd. Their brother is selling tickets outside. This is our local masjid — please purchase the tickets and support them. JazakAllah.