Embracing Luqman's Wisdom: Individual Faith And Collective Responsibility

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

My dear respected brothers and elders, respected sisters in Islam. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this life, just like He has given us commands that pertain to ourselves as individuals and fulfillment of His rights, likewise Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has obligated us with rights of our parents, our spouses, our children, our neighbors, and at a larger level of the entire community.

If a person is focused only on his individual relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, his own salah and saum, his own ilm and amal, and does not have concern for the general welfare of the ummah — their welfare in this dunya, their welfare in the akhirah — then that person would be negligent in fulfilling the command of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Advice of Luqman to His Son

We see in the progression of the advices given by Luqman alayhi as-salam to his son. Allah ta'ala mentions them in the Qur'an.

Remember when Luqman alayhi as-salam was advising his son. He is giving him sincere advice. And Luqman alayhi as-salam is qualified to give advice, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

Indeed We had granted Luqman alayhi as-salam hikmah and wisdom. So as a very wise individual, he is giving advice to his beloved son. The person from whom we should seek advice — or the person who is deserving to give advice — is the one who has these two qualities.

He should be habib and labib. Habib is the one who truly loves you. If a person is your enemy or does not have love for you, he will not give you the correct advice. And number two is labib — he should be intelligent, should be wise, should have hikmah. A person who does not have wisdom, even though they may love you, in their ignorance may guide you in the wrong direction.

This is something that was given to us by the Qur'an, by the sunnah, by the athar of the Sahaba. Somebody asked Sayyidina Umar radiyallahu anhu for advice. He said: whenever you decide any matter, take mashwara — take guidance — from those who truly fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Three Commands: Tawheed, Ibadah, and Da'wah

So Luqman alayhi as-salam was wise and he also naturally had love for his son. When he is advising him, he starts off by saying:

The first thing is tawheed — the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Correcting one's aqeedah. Without having the correct aqeedah, there is no way for that individual's salvation. This is a must for a person to enter into jannah, to gain the ridwan of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He said: "O my dear son, do not assign any partner unto Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Indeed assigning a partner unto Allah is a grave injustice, a grave crime."

This is with respect to the dhat — the being of Allah; there is only one being worthy of worship. Then after the dhat, there is sifat — the attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He points out some of those attributes:

This is introducing the tawheed of sifat — that the attributes that belong to Allah, that are unique to Allah, we must believe in them. And we must also believe that they are unique to Him and are not shared by any of His creation.

He says: "O my dear son, know that if there is an action you do — and if you would be given a physical shape and form — it would be like the smallest seed, like an atom of today. In that time he gave an example of a mustard seed. And this mustard seed is hidden under a boulder, فِي صَخْرَةٍ — or in the heavens or the earth. In fact, if it is hidden anywhere in the heavens or the earth, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bring that forth on the Day of Judgment. Because Allah is لَطِيفٌ خَبِيرٌ — subtle in His ways and He has complete knowledge of everything."

So this is the sifat of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Then, after a person corrects his aqeedah, the person has to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — do the personal ibadah. So he says:

"O my dear son, establish salah." You can't just have the correct belief and sit at home. You also have to follow it up with worship. So a person's aqeedah is correct, and his ibadah is there. But where is the concern for humanity? The concern for general society, the welfare of the ummah?

That is the third command: continue to engage in inviting people towards good and forbidding evil. And when you adopt this path, you will face opposition for sure. As long as you are doing your own ibadah, everybody will be happy with you — nobody will have any complaints — because you are not asking them to change. You are saying, "live and let live, do whatever you want, I am taking this path." So by and large, people should not have a problem with that.

But as soon as you start inviting them towards good — and even more dangerous — when you start prohibiting them from evil: going against their nafs, against what their desires are, against what they are accustomed to or what they like, against their interests, their financial interests, where they are fulfilling their desires — and you want to prevent that, combat that — then you will definitely face opposition.

The Seerah of Rasulullah ﷺ and the Opposition He Faced

This is what we saw in the seerah of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He never committed shirk himself, he never committed dhulm himself, he never committed the sins that were dominant in the era of jahiliyyah. He himself was doing ibadah — he was worshipping, he was doing i'tikaf in the Ghar of Hira — and he would go for weeks at a time worshipping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. His dhikr, his ibadah, his muraqabah, his contemplation and meditation were continuing.

And what was his position in society? He was known as as-Sadiq al-Amin — the most trustworthy individual, the most truthful individual, the most popular man in Makkah.

The Rebuilding of the Ka'bah and the Placement of the Hajr al-Aswad

Ten years before he was conferred prophethood — at the age of 40 — when he was just 30 years old, the Quraysh decided to rebuild the Ka'bah because, due to the passage of time and a flood, the walls had begun to collapse. They reconstructed the Ka'bah. When the point came to return the Hajr al-Aswad, the different sub-clans within the Quraysh — the butoon of the qabilah of Quraysh — began to fight with one another. Which sub-clan would have the honor of putting the Hajr al-Aswad back in its place? Would it be the Banu Hashim, the Banu Umayyah, the Banu Abdad-Dar, or the Banu Makhzum?

It got so heated that they went and brought the skulls of their forefathers, filled them with blood, dipped their hands in them, and took an oath: "We will all die but we will not let anybody else put the Hajr al-Aswad back." We should remember this graphic detail to appreciate how desperate the condition was — they were all ready to die. And when there is a conflict, somebody has to give up their position, somebody has to compromise. But there was no sign of compromise on any side.

The great forefather of Rasulullah ﷺ — Qusayy ibn Kilab — had been the leader of Makkah in his time. Muhammad ﷺ is ibn Abdullah, ibn Abdul Muttalib, ibn Hashim, ibn Abd Manaf, ibn Qusayy ibn Kilab, ibn Murrah ibn Ka'b — going on to Adnan, whose nasab is confirmed, and after that to Ismail alayhi as-salam there are potentially some gaps. Qusayy ibn Kilab had a large home known as Dar al-Qusayy, near the Ka'bah, which became the parliament of the Quraysh — Dar al-Nadwa — where they would discuss matters.

So they were sitting in Dar al-Qusayy figuring out what to do. It came to a point of no return — there would be a battle, and potentially all the leaders of the Quraysh would die. Then someone said: "I have an amazing plan. Whoever happens to randomly walk first into the haram after we make this decision — whether local or foreign, whichever tribe he is from — whatever he says, we all go with his decision." This was completely irrational and spontaneous. And the suspense of the matter — because no one knows who is going to come in — really appealed to the jahili mind. They loved suspenseful things, lotteries, drawing lots. So they said, "That's a great idea, let's wait and see who walks in."

And when Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam walked in, what did they say?

"We are all pleased with the decree of the most trustworthy, the most truthful, and the most honest person." Everybody said it spontaneously at the same time, without any pre-planning — the same statement, they all uttered.

The Call to La ilaha illallah

But when Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam started the effort of da'wah and invited the people towards Islam, he said:

"O mankind, say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — you will be successful."

And he established in a physical demonstration — that story from the seerah that we all know — such a phenomenal lesson. It is not something that is just theoretical, that you are lecturing as a teacher, or displaying on a board, or through slides, or even doing an experiment in a lab. Imagine if you, as a student, are literally part of the experiment. Experiential knowledge — حَقَّ الْيَقِينِ. He did that very beautiful exercise as the best teacher of all humanity.

When he climbed on the mountain at a vantage point where he could see on both sides, he addressed his people:

"I am the naked warner." Uryan in Arabic means naked. This was a jahili call — when they wanted to attract the attention of the people, a person making a major announcement of an impending attack or disaster would give this call. And Rasulullah ﷺ, while of course always maintaining haya', used these words so that everyone rushed to him.

And he said: "Look, if I am standing at this position and I tell you that there is an army on the other side of the mountain ready to attack — is there anybody who will doubt my words?" And in one voice they said: Sadiq al-Amin — "We have never had any tajribah, any experience of you saying anything incorrect. If you tell us to prepare, yes, we will all prepare and get ready to defend ourselves." So they admitted it — they in one voice said, "We believe in you, we trust you."

Then, after establishing that fact — such a genius method of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — he then said:

"I am warning you of a dreadful punishment that will come — unless you recite the kalimah, believe in the oneness of Allah."

"Say لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — then you will be successful."

The Response of Abu Lahab and Surah al-Masad

It was at this particular juncture that Abu Lahab said those evil words in response to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — words that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala turned back against him and revealed in the Qur'an. He said:

"May you be cursed — have you called us here for this vain, futile, wasteful talk?"

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responded on behalf of His Rasul ﷺ. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not respond back —

He was being patient — when they were approaching him with evil words, he was responding with kindness and forgiveness. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Himself responded on behalf of His Rasul ﷺ:

Perishing are the hands of Abu Lahab, and perished is he. His wealth and whatever he earned will not help him. And his wife — not just because she happens to be the wife of a cursed person. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has said:

No one will bear the sin of anyone else, and no one gets the credit from anyone else — people get what they earned. So the mention of Abu Lahab's wife in the curse is not because she was the wife of Abu Lahab, but because of her own sins — حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ.

The scholars mention a very thought-provoking point: what is the level of the shaqawah — the wretchedness — of Abu Lahab? It is at such an extreme level, even though he had pretty much everything going for him. From lineage — nasaban — back when lineage was a big deal, he was the son of Abdul Muttalib, grandson of Hashim. When it comes to beauty — Lahab means flame — because he was so handsome, his cheeks were reddish, a color like flame. And then when it comes to wealth, physical strength, bravery in battle, hunting — he was a top performer, a wealthy merchant. He had everything going for him.

But after he denied Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he became so cursed, so wretched. The level of his wretchedness, we can appreciate from the fact — who else is there — that with the niyyah of tilawah, when a person is reciting the verse that curses Abu Lahab, for every single letter they are receiving 10 good deeds. SubhanAllah.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2910)

"Whoever recites a single letter from the Book of Allah will receive a good deed, and every good deed will be multiplied ten times. I do not say that الم is one letter — rather, أَلِف is a letter, لَام is a letter, and مِيم is a letter." For الم, you will receive 30 rewards.

So there is actually reward in the recitation of the verse that curses him — with the niyyah of tilawah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed his curse in the Qur'an such that the khatam of the Qur'an is incomplete without it. In Ramadan, in the taraweeh, if a person does not recite Surah al-Masad, his Qur'an is not complete. SubhanAllah. This is how wretched a person became by denying Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Our Obligation Today: Concern for the Ummah

This is the opposition that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had to face when he began the effort of da'wah. And this is something that we also, in this day and age, have to realize. We cannot only be concerned about ourselves. As in the ayat that I recited in the beginning, we must understand that it is our obligation to be concerned about the ummah — and about what is happening throughout the world, very, very quickly evolving situations both domestically and in foreign countries.

We see all the different events that happened just this week. The ummah is in a lot of anxiety, and we have to strengthen our iman ourselves and work on strengthening the iman of our brothers and sisters throughout the world.

A Question on Vigilante Justice

One last point that some of the students were asking, and I'd like to share with the community as well: they were asking about an individual who was speaking very violently against Muslims, against our brothers and sisters in Palestine, and had very Islamophobic views — and was shot down in broad daylight. Is it permissible for us to be happy about this?

It is alhamdulillah a great thing that they have that level of frankness and openness and relationship that they are able to ask such a question instead of going in the wrong direction. What I was sharing with them is this: in our deen, there is no vigilante justice. This is not simply a black and white matter — there is also a gray area.

From one perspective, min wajhin, a person can be thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that a voice which was spreading batil and wrong ideology very vocally has been stopped — just to that point. But beyond that, the actual action of shooting somebody when they are speaking publicly, or taking the law into one's own hands when there is a difference of opinion — this is something completely foreign to our deen.

There are so many ayahs in the Qur'an and ahadith on the matter of aqeedah and understanding — we do not believe in taking the law into our own hands, in vigilante justice, in shooting people, even when they are convicted criminals. There is a system of law and order in our deen. Our deen does not promote anarchy. This is the path of the khawarij — the rebels against the khulafa.

A crime has to be established. There is testimony, there are witnesses, they go to a judge, they are convicted, and then there is sentencing. Even after somebody is sentenced to death and is on death row, you still cannot go and just kill them. SubhanAllah. There is an appointed jallad — executioner — who will carry out the sentence.

So in this case, if some individuals are happy and celebrating, this is a major mistake. Because there will potentially be reprisal attacks, revenge attacks. And if this becomes a more normative practice — that if you differ with someone's opinions, you go ahead and shoot them — I was asking those students: how many percent of the population agree with your position, agree with your deen and your view on things? So if you are excited that people who didn't agree with this particular speaker killed him — how safe does that make you? What kind of safety will there be for you as well? This is taking away from the safety of our country and of society, and is a step in the wrong direction.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to control our emotions and to have some basic level of understanding. This does not even require some extreme level of wisdom — some very basic understanding that this is by no means something to celebrate. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to have the correct understanding of the deen and to protect ourselves from all forms of extremism.

Announcements

Please pass the donation boxes and donate generously. Sadaqah given on the day of Jumu'ah is greater in reward — it wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

We have the Tafheem Weekend Program for adults on Saturdays and Sundays. Saturdays cover the history and development of fiqh, introduction to hadith, and aqeedah. Sundays cover fiqh of salah, surahs of salah, and purification of the heart. Please enroll in these programs and benefit inshallah.

We have our weekly programs: tafsir on Tuesday nights and Thursday nights; al-Shamail al-Muhammadiyyah; and Saturday after Fajr — lives of the Sahaba. There are also sisters' programs. We have the Salihin part-time hifz program with flexible timings — on-site and online. Please register on the website.

Two major events coming up: our Annual Seerah Conference — Friday, September 19th to Saturday, September 20th — with programs for sisters and brothers, youth and kids, arts and crafts, open gym, nasheeds, and a full two-day seerah conference.

In October — save the date: October 18th — we have our Annual Benefit Dinner at Shalimar Banquets, with Imam Dawood Waleed, Director of CARE Michigan, as our guest speaker.

We continue to request du'a for Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Burma, Sudan, and all Muslims who are oppressed. A specific request has come in: Brother Mahmood Laka's nephew, Ali Raza Uthmani, has just passed away. We make du'a for him.

May Allah heal the sick among the Muslims. May Allah have mercy on the dead among the Muslims. May Allah help the oppressed everywhere. Ameen.