Muharram's Message: Tawbah Versus The Rationalization Of Sin

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Muharram, Ashura, and the True Love of Ahlul Bayt

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, respected elders and dear students — Allah in his fadl and karam has brought upon us and the entire ummah a new year, a new Hijri year. We are now in the month of Muharram.

The Sacred Months in the Qur'an

Allah speaks about the months in the Qur'an — he speaks about the calendar. He says:

Barely the count of the months in the year — the number of the months in the year in the eyes of Allah — are twelve months, from the beginning of time. Amongst them, four are sacred months.

And these are sacred even in the era of Jahiliyyah. In the era of ignorance, the Jahiliyyah Arabs would regard these as sacred months, and they would regard highway robbery, hijacking, and murder — which occurred rampantly in other months of the year — they would take a pause and stop those activities. This was on the bright side, if there could be something called bright in the Jahiliyyah time. But even this had a caveat to it: when they wanted to go ahead and fight, they would take the liberty of declaring that "we have now changed this month." "This Muharram month will come later." Right now they would arbitrarily, unilaterally, on their own side, change the month.

This is referred to by Allah in the Qur'an in Surah al-Bara'ah (Surah at-Tawbah). Allah says:

This action of Nasee' — where they are switching the months — is a sign of their increasing in their kufr:

يُحِلُّونَهُ عَامًا وَيُحَرِّمُونَهُ عَامًا — some years they are making the fighting halal, sometimes they are making it haram from their own side. They just want to match the number: "There are four months we are not going to fight, and if it comes when it's inconvenient for us, we'll just switch the month." So this is not only kufr — this is ziyadatun fil kufr. This is following the path of Iblis.

The Two Paths: Tawbah vs. Rationalization of Sin

One is a person who commits a mistake, commits a wrong, and he admits it, he makes tawbah, and he repents to Allah. As Allah says:

When they commit an evil act or they wrong themselves, then they remember Allah, they seek forgiveness from Allah — and who else is there to forgive besides Allah?

And the other path is where a person rationalizes his sin and comes up with different processes to justify it. And this is directly following the path of Iblis. Because when Iblis disobeyed Allah — not only did he disobey the direct command to make sajdah (prostrate) to Adam alayhis salam, so they all complied, the angels, and he was included in that gathering, and he refused — he could have just refused and said "I don't feel like it, I don't want to, I am disobeying you." But on top of that disobedience, he rationalized it. He gave his excuse, his logic. He brought his logic in front of Allah, contrary to the order of Allah, and he said: "O Allah, you created me from the fire and you created him from the dirt." Fire goes up; the dirt is trampled under the feet. So this is turning things upside down — this is objecting against the command itself.

The Tawbah of Adam alayhis Salam

On the other hand, Adam alayhis salam — Allah saw him crying for years and years after he was sent down to this earth. Finally, Allah inspired him with kalimat — with specific words to use in his du'a. Allah speaks about this in Surah al-Baqarah:

Then he repented to Allah with those kalimat and Allah accepted his tawbah. He is the Tawwab, the Rahim — the One who accepts repentance, the One who showers with mercy, the Most Merciful.

Now what those kalimat are — they are not mentioned in Surah al-Baqarah. But Allah tells us what those kalimat were in Surah al-A'raf. This is the Qur'an — certain ayat in the Qur'an, Allah uses them sometimes to explain other ayat in the Qur'an, explaining the word of Allah through the word of Allah. Over there Allah tells us those kalimat were:

"O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves a great wrong, and if you do not forgive us and shower your mercy upon us, indeed we will be among the losers." This is the du'a that Adam and Hawwa alayhimas salam made — our father and our mother alayhimas salam.

The Sacred Months and the Virtue of Muharram

In any case, this came as an aside from the ayah where Allah says there are twelve months and four are the sacred months. We have Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, and Muharram — these three together — and Rajab al-Fard, Rajab which is by itself. It is part of our deen that what Allah has granted sanctity to, we consider those to be sanctified. And if Allah has considered them to be Ashur al-Haram, we should also feel that sacredness in our hearts.

And the most important date of the month of Muharram is of course the tenth — the Ashura. The fadila and virtue of this date precedes the era of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. This was the day that Allah granted victory and safety — and najaa, salvation — to the Banu Isra'il from the clutches of the tyrant Fir'awn.

When Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam came to Madinah, he saw the Jews were fasting on this day. He asked them: "Why are you fasting?" They said: "This is the day our forefathers were saved. Allah destroyed Fir'awn and his army and granted salvation to Musa alayhis salam and the Banu Isra'il." Allah says that he gave them the inheritance of the earth — those who were considered to be weak in the earth, Allah brought them up, and Allah brought the government of Fir'awn crumbling down and destroyed it.

"So this is why we are fasting on this day — to show shukr to Allah, to thank Allah." So Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: "We are closer to Musa alayhis salam than you." They are those who are claiming to be closer to Musa alayhis salam, while we are following Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. But Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said we are actually closer.

Allah mentions something similar in the Qur'an with respect to Ibrahim alayhis salam — that the closest people to Ibrahim alayhis salam, considering that all the different groups are claiming that he is their leader (the Jews claim it, the Nasara claim it, even the Mushrikun saying "we are the descendants of Isma'il ibn Ibrahim, he is our grandfather") — but the closest are:

So likewise with Musa alayhis salam. So Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam fasted, and he asked the Sahaba to fast as well. In fact, it is mentioned that this was a fard fast initially, before the fast of Ramadan, and afterwards it remains a strong sunnah of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — an emphasized sunnah. So we should not miss out on this opportunity.

Fasting the 9th and 10th of Muharram: Avoiding Tashabbuh

And what a beautiful additional lesson we learned is that Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: "If I would live to next year, insha'Allah I will fast along with the 10th — the 9th." The scholars add also the 11th. So either the 9th and the 10th both, or the 10th and the 11th.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 2554)

And the point that we have to remind ourselves is that this is to ensure that in all matters, as far as possible, our ibadat remain unique, and that there is no resemblance with others in specific characteristics — and most importantly, in ritual acts of worship. We do not want to have any tashabbuh or similitude with other deviant religions, other false religions. As Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has warned us:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4031)

Whoever adopts a similitude with a particular nation will be amongst them. And the scholars of Fiqh and Kalam can go into detail to determine whether a particular practice is a shi'ar — a unique symbol of a religion or not. Because if we start looking at things broadly, somebody is driving a car — now you drive a car, are you doing tashabbuh with those who developed a car? No, that's not the case. So they are specific: when it comes to religious practices, that is obviously right away a red flag. We cannot adopt religious practices of other nations. We have to maintain the pristine original form of our deen.

Fasting is definitely a form of ibadah, so Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — whether it's a nafl fast even — is distinct from that of the other nations. Likewise we see this same principle when it comes to the time for the salah, where Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has taught us there are three times in the day where he has prohibited us from performing salah — and even performing janazah salah: right when the sun is rising, right when it's on top of our heads before the Dhuhr time enters, and right when it is setting. This is again to avoid tashabbuh and similitude with those who are worshipping the sun.

So there are so many different things which have entered our deen — innovations — throughout the centuries. As Islam has spread to different lands, different cultural practices, even religious practices of other nations have been unfortunately adopted by Muslims from the east to the west, north and south. And this is an opportunity for us to reflect on how particular Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam was in ensuring that we maintain our true Islamic identity — in thought, in aqidah, in practice.

The Virtue of Ashura Predates the Tragedy of Karbala

And that will become a means of — forgiveness of a year of sins. This is an incident that happened in the life of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. He fasted, he taught us, he mentioned the virtues of it being a kaffarah of dhunub for a whole year. And all of this happened way before — decades before — the martyrdom and shahada of Hussain radiallahu ta'ala anhu.

It is the honor and unique distinction of Hussain radiallahu ta'ala anhu that Allah granted him the maqam of shahada, granted him the maqam of martyr, and elevated his status. Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam mentioned:

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3768; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 118)

They are the leaders of the youth of Jannah. And it is amongst his honor that Allah granted him shahada on such an auspicious day. It's like the day of Friday — this day today, that we are sitting here in this masjid at the time of Jumu'ah salah. Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has mentioned:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1084)

The Jumu'ah is the leader of the days and it is the best of the days. It is the Eid al-Mu'mineen — the day of Eid for the believers. And in one hadith it is mentioned it is more virtuous in the eyes of Allah than Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr.

So if somebody passes away on the day of Friday, we will say this is an honor for that individual — SubhanAllah, how mubarak was my grandfather, my grandmother, my father, mother, or dear loved one, teacher, sheikh, whoever it may be, that Allah granted them a death on the blessed day of Friday. And we take this as a good omen, as a husn al-fa'l, and we hope that this will be insha'Allah a sign that Allah is pleased with them and granted them maghfirah.

It would be absurd for us to say that the day of Jumu'ah is going to be commemorated and has honor because of the death of so and so — it's the other way around. So likewise: the day of Karbala — that the tragedy of Karbala — was a historical event, and it was definitely a great tragedy. But the virtue of the Ashura precedes it. So we should not consider it to be the reason that Ashura has virtue — it's the other way around.

True Love of the Ahlul Bayt

And what do we believe as Sunni Muslims? What is our aqidah? Loving the family of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is a part of our iman. And Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam gave a strong wasiyyah as well: "After I am leaving, hold on firmly to my sunnah and to my Ahlul Bayt, to my family."

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3788)

We cannot be a true Sunni Muslim until we love Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, until we love the family of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The family of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — just as it includes Fatimah, and Ali, and Hasan, and Hussain, and their children — Ali (Zayn al-Abidin), son of Hussain, and his son, and moving forward, Ja'far al-Sadiq, and Musa al-Kazim — all of these mashayikh and Ahlul Bayt — just like we love them, we also love Aisha bint Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Hafsa bint Umar. The wives of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam are also included in the Ahlul Bayt.

In fact, when it comes to the daughters — not only is it Fatimah. How can we forget the eldest daughter Zaynab, and Ruqayyah, and Umm Kulthum? May Allah be pleased with all of them.

There are people who claim to be lovers of the Ahlul Bayt but they are enemies of the wives of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. They curse Aisha — her "sin" being that she is the daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. And they curse Hafsa — her even "bigger crime" — she is the daughter of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. And the other daughters of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum — they were the wives — not once but two daughters were wives — of Uthman ibn Affan radiallahu anhu, one after the other.

Of course, having two sisters at the same time in nikah is haram. Allah says in Surah an-Nisa':

You cannot marry two sisters at the same time as co-wives. They will be competing to acquire the love of their husband — and in the Arabic language the term for a co-wife is ضَرَّة, because she causes harm; they harm each other naturally as they're competing for the love of the one husband. And the relationship between sisters is so sacred, the blood relationship — we do not want to set up a situation, a scenario, where it would create animosity between them. This is the hikmah the scholars have derived. But the actual reason it's haram is because Allah clearly said so.

So when we say the two daughters were the wives of Uthman radiallahu anhu, of course that means one after the other: Ruqayyah passed away, then Umm Kulthum radiallahu anha. And this is the title of Uthman radiallahu anhu — Dhul-Nurayn — the one who possesses the two Nurs.

In fact, Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said he was such a beautiful, loyal, and loving husband, so beautiful in his akhlaq and his character, and he has the most haya in this entire ummah, that if I had the opportunity, one after the other, if I had forty daughters, I would give them in the nikah to Uthman radiallahu anhu.

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani; referenced in various biographical works of the Companions)

So the people who are claiming to follow the Ahlul Bayt, or love the Ahlul Bayt — the family of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam — if they are enemies of all of the above, then there is a great problem with that claim.

The Wives of the Prophet Are Ahlul Bayt

And on many occasions when the wives of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam are brought up, they say: "No, they are not included in the Ahlul Bayt." Whereas we see from the language Allah uses in the Qur'an — there are certain ayat where Allah refers to the wives as Ahlul Bayt.

On certain occasions — such as when there are no children yet, like in the case of Ibrahim alayhis salam — when the angels came at his old age to give him the good news that he will have children in the future, Allah revealed that whole passage. The angels came, they spoke to him, they gave him the glad tidings. And Sara alayhis salam heard that glad tiding and became surprised. She laughed and said: "How is this going to happen? I have become barren; I am so old — how can I bear a child?" So the angel, when addressing Sara alayhis salam, says:

أَتَعْجَبِينَ — that is singular, feminine, second person. The reason we are pointing that out is: there are no children there, and the angel is addressing only the wife. "Are you, one single woman, surprised? Are you finding this strange — that this is the amr of Allah, the command of Allah?" — رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ — "May the rahmah and barakah be upon you, O Ahlul Bayt." The angel is addressing the wife and saying: "May the rahmah and barakah be upon you, O Ahlul Bayt."

Likewise, the wives of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam are referred to as Ahlul Bayt. So this is part of our love for the Ahlul Bayt — loving the wives of Rasulallah is part of iman. Loving the daughters of Rasulallah is part of iman. Loving the grandchildren of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is part of iman.

Prohibition of Self-Harm and Wailing in Grief

But at the same time, we will not present such practices that become a means of turning people away from the deen of Islam. And amongst those practices are: beating oneself, slapping one's face, tearing one's clothes, and expressing grief in such a manner. Even if someone from our own family dies — this nawha, this act of public mourning and self-harm, is strictly forbidden in our deen. It's not something that we can simply conclude logically should be avoided — but it has been specifically prohibited.

Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1294; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 103)

He is not amongst us — the one who starts tearing up his clothes, the one who starts slapping his face, and starts lamenting and wailing loudly. So this is not supposed to happen — with respect to our loved ones, our own family, or with the family of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

The Example of the Prophet With His Own Children

There were children of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam who passed away while he was still alive. So we don't have to go far to see what was the practice of the Sahaba or the Tabi'een — we can see the practice of Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam himself, with respect to his own children passing away while he is alive.

Before Islam, we had his son Qasim — the first child — who passed away. Abu'l-Qasim is his kunniyah. And then his Abdullah, who had the title of al-Tayyib and al-Tahir. And then we have the last one — Ibrahim — who passed away in Madinah al-Munawwarah towards the end of Rasulallah's sallallahu alayhi wasallam life and his prophethood. So the deen was fully alive, the ahkam were there — it is not something that is abrogated or mansookh. It is towards the end of his life.

We see when his baby passed away — the baby was breathing his last, and it died in his lap. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam is holding the lifeless body of his son Ibrahim. And Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, in his jawami' al-kalim — his comprehensive statements — said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1303)

Rarely the eyes are shedding tears, rarely the heart is filled with grief — but with the tongue we will not say anything displeasing to Allah by objecting and saying: "Why my baby? Why my son? Why such and such?" So as a human being it is permissible to cry, as a human being it is permissible to feel the pain — but we will not object. SubhanAllah — Rasulallah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is the best example in every aspect of the deen, and amongst them this aspect.

This Is Happening Locally — Educate Ourselves and Others

Now before I conclude — it is actually past time. Sometimes people may think that this is a foreign concept. Okay, this may be happening in Iraq, in Iran, in other places where the Shias are doing such practices. But the reality is — believe it or not — it is happening across the street too. Like literally, across North Avenue. They have practices where people in the masjid are beating themselves.

So this is an opportunity for us to reflect — and that this is not part of our deen. Our non-Muslim colleagues at work, non-Muslim classmates at school — if they look up Karbala, they don't know the difference between Shia and Sunni. They will see such practices which are abhorrent, which are distasteful, which give a wrong image. Because not beating oneself is the absence of an action, and beating oneself up is an active something going on. So you can't show a picture of the former.

If you go to Google Images and put "Ashura," you are not going to see a picture of normal people walking around. You are going to see a picture of people beating themselves up. Just like not eating is the absence of something, and eating is an active action — so if you look up fasting, what are you going to find pictures of? Pictures of feasting — pictures of beautiful, ethnic foods from all over the world spread out. You will see pictures of iftar.

So likewise, if you want to look up Ashura, you are not going to find pictures of people going about their day fasting or doing ibadah — you will see people beating themselves up. This is an opportunity for us to educate ourselves, our children, and others — that this is not part of our deen.

May Allah protect us from falling into all forms of innovation and bid'ah, and keep us steadfast on the sunnah.

Second Khutbah

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لَنَا وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْعَظِيمِ، وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَذِكْرِ الْحَكِيمِ. أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَحْدَهُ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى مَنْ لَا نَبِيَّ بَعْدَهُ.

وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَادْعُوهُ يَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ، وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.

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