20160722-First Khutba-Imam Shakib

Khutbah: Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil with Wisdom and Hikmah

Opening — Praise and Testimony

In the name of Allah, praise be to Allah for His goodness, and thanks to Him for His success. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and there is none worthy of worship except Him. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, the one who invites to His pleasure.

May Allah's peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions. O Allah, praise be to You, and thanks be to You, and You are our Lord, truly, and we are Your servants. O Allah, ease every hardship upon us.

As for what follows: The best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is from Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The worst of matters are newly invented things, for every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the Fire — and we seek refuge in Allah from that.

O servants of Allah, I admonish you, and myself — the sinful soul — to fear Allah. For it is the admonishment of our Lord, the admonishment given to the first and the last, when He said:

"And We have instructed those who were given the Scripture before you and yourselves to fear Allah."

My brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah recommended to us Taqwa — it is the same message and recommendation He sent to those before us through their messengers. The benefits and fruits of Taqwa are many in this world and in the Hereafter. And I ask Allah to make us among the Muttaqeen.

The Theme: Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

Today's khutbah, I will emphasize a hadith that we often use, and an ayah we often recite — and it will all lead into one thing: enjoining good, forbidding evil, and the beauty of giving sincere advice to one another.

For example, the well-known hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 98)

"The religion is sincerity (nasiha)." They asked, "For whom, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "For Allah, His Messenger, and for the leaders of the Muslims and their common people."

Another hadith we often use:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 186)

"Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot, then with his tongue. If he cannot, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith."

And another ayah that we recite:

"You are the best nation produced for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah." That's why we are different from the nations before us. When we say we believe in Allah and His Messenger — تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ — that is powerful.

The nations before us believed in Allah — but there was doubt in them. You will see in the Quran, they came to Musa, peace be upon him, and said, "Ask your Lord" — as if He were not their Lord too. Their iman was up and down, and their conviction was not firm. After Allah saved them from everything they had been through, right away they said, "Can you make for us a god we can touch and see?" — like the golden calf they fabricated.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that one of those nations would reject the munkar one day — and we are on that path today — yet later you would see that very person eating and drinking and enjoying alongside the same munkar he once rejected. We are almost at that path.

The Two Extremes — and the Missing Middle

So this leads me to one thing. We have "police-cop Muslims" nowadays. What I mean by that is, "Haram, brother! You're going to Hell, brother! This will lead you to Hellfire, brother!" Or on the other hand, you have a group that says, "It's okay, brother — as long as you have Allah in your heart, you're good to go." We don't have anything in the middle.

So how do we enjoin good and forbid evil? How do we approach one another? How do we correct one another — especially in the society we live in? We are not like where we came from. Think about it. If you grew up in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East, you only knew your own culture. You may never have even heard of another madhab besides your own. Now we come to America, and we are in this melting pot. We have all these cultures and backgrounds. We don't even properly know the Quran and Sunnah — and yet we want to be the ones enjoining good and forbidding evil. But sometimes we go overboard and create more problems than we solve.

So here I am today, trying to share with you — in the way of the Prophet, peace be upon him — how did he enjoin good and forbid evil?

We Are All from Adam — Understanding People's Differences

Number one — talking about the melting pot — all of us were created from Adam. And Adam?

Adam came from dirt. Go back to the origin — all colors are there, and all different qualities of dirt are there. You have dirt that produces crops right after rain. You have dirt that retains water. You have areas that are barren. And you have dirt that brings nothing. Humans are exactly the same.

Their طبائع — their natures — are different. Their cultures are different. Their personalities are different. There is a person that when you approach him, he takes the advice right away. There is a person who is arrogant. There is a person who will not take advice regardless — even if Allah and His Messenger said so. And by the way, he may know more Quran and Sunnah than you do — yet he will not take that advice.

How did Rasulullah, peace be upon him, deal with these people? The key was hikmah — wisdom.

Allah gives wisdom to whomever He wills, and whoever is given wisdom has indeed been given much good. And wisdom can sometimes save lives.

The Story of the Man Who Killed 99

You all know the story of the man who killed 99. He wanted to repent — he wanted a way out. That's why he came and said, "Show me the most knowledgeable person on earth." He was looking for guidance. So they showed him to a rahib — a monk at the mosque. But this man did not have the wisdom and knowledge required. When the killer came to him and asked that important question — "If someone kills 99 people, does he have the option to repent?" — the monk said, "99?!" That was too much for him. He said, "No, I don't think so." And so the killer made it 100 by killing him.

But he didn't give up. He asked again: "Show me the most knowledgeable person on earth." They brought him to a wise and knowledgeable scholar. He asked the same question: "What about someone who kills 100 people — does he have a choice?" And the scholar's response was:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3470; Sahih Muslim, Book 37, Hadith 6662)

"Who can come between him and tawbah?" In other words, who can come between him and Allah, who forgives everything?

"O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I will forgive you whatever is in you, and I do not care." Even if you bring sins as high as the sky and as vast as the earth, Allah will forgive.

The wise scholar looked at it from a different perspective. But he also said: "You have to change. You cannot stay killing people. You must move away from where you are and go to another land." And in that process — on his way to change — this man died. The angels fought over him between heaven and earth. An angel came in the form of a human and said, "Let's measure: which path was he closer to?" If he was closer to the land of forgiveness and seeking Allah's mercy, he would be among the people of Jannah. They measured — and he ended up in Jannah. Even though the angels of Hellfire were saying he never did a single good deed. What saved that man? The proper advice that a wise person gave him.

So first: we have to learn who we are advising. The Prophet, peace be upon him, sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen — and one of the most powerful parts of that long hadith is what he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1458; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 29)

"You are going to a people from the People of the Book." He taught Mu'adh upfront who they are — not idol worshippers, but people of scripture. We have to know who we are giving advice to. We shouldn't, for example, tell a new Muslim on his very first day about circumcision. We have to know who we're dealing with and how to approach people — including Muslims.

Three Types of People

People, broadly speaking, fall into three groups:

First: The completely ignorant — he doesn't know anything. It's his first day at the masjid. He needs a way out, like the man who killed 99.

Second: The person who is lazy in their deen. They fall into sin, then repent, then fall back again. Back and forth. They know better, but they struggle.

Third: The persistent, hard-headed person — regardless of what you tell them, they believe their way is the right way.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, dealt with all three scenarios. Let me give examples.

Scenario One: The Bedouin Who Urinated in the Masjid

Hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik, in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim: A man entered the masjid of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Instead of praying two rak'ahs, he went and urinated in the corner of the masjid. The companions rushed to stop him immediately — which is what came naturally to their minds. But Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said: "Leave him alone." Clear statement. Let him finish.

Why? If they had stopped him midway, he would have contaminated more of the masjid. They might have gotten into a confrontation, and who knows what could have happened — he might have left and never returned to Islam. All the scenarios could have been worse.

After the man finished, the Prophet, peace be upon him, asked for a jug of water. He didn't ask anyone else to clean it — he cleaned it himself. Then, as a third step, he called the man and said: "This masjid was not built for such harm. It was built for salah, for Quran, for dhikr of Allah." That is education — done with grace and wisdom, in three clear steps.

And in Imam Ahmad's narration, this man — who had just been gently corrected — made a du'a that was beautiful in its own way. He said:

"O Allah, have mercy on me and have mercy on Muhammad — and have mercy on no one else besides us." He didn't yet realize just how merciful the community around him truly was. He only saw one man as merciful. Put yourself in his shoes — that is sometimes what we need. Instead of coming as rigid enforcers, take your glasses off and see. Maybe he's new. Maybe he doesn't know any better.

And even further, Islam teaches us to prevent more evil, not just correct it. Allah says:

"Do not insult those they invoke besides Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge." Don't be the one who leads others to curse Allah. So Islam teaches you to prevent sometimes, not only to correct.

Scenario Two: The Man Who Broke His Fast in Ramadan

The second scenario is the person who wants a way out. He knows he's wrong — no one needed to tell him. He came himself to seek guidance.

Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, in Sahih al-Bukhari: A man came to Rasulullah, peace be upon him, and said:

"O Messenger of Allah, I am doomed!" The Prophet asked, "What happened to you?" He said, "I was intimate with my wife while I was fasting in Ramadan." He was admitting full guilt — and he wanted a way out.

Rasulullah, peace be upon him, walked through every option with him: "Can you free a slave?" "I don't have one." "Can you feed 60 people?" "I don't have the money." "Can you fast two months?" He couldn't do that either. Then the Prophet gave him a bag of dates and said, "Go donate this on your behalf — Allah will forgive you."

And the man said, "Between these two mountains, there is no one poorer than me." He wanted to eat the dates himself. The Prophet, peace be upon him, laughed and said, "Then go eat it." And this man — imagine — came in guilt and left with food and forgiveness. That is Muhammad, peace be upon him. Those of us who want to be the "cops" — let's remember this hadith often.

The Hadith of Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam — Teaching Without Humiliating

Another example: Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam was in the middle of salah when a man sneezed and said "Alhamdulillah." Mu'awiyah responded with "Alhamdulillah" — but you are not allowed to speak during salah. The Sahabah started nudging each other, making signals. Mu'awiyah looked around confused, still talking — making it worse. After the salah, notice what Rasulullah, peace be upon him, did. He did not pick up the microphone and announce who was wrong. He said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1094)

"In this salah, no speech of people is permitted. It is only tasbih, takbir, and the recitation of Quran." He didn't say who did it. He didn't point anyone out. He taught the principle without exposing anyone. And Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam himself said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1094)

"By my father and mother, I have never seen a teacher better than him in how he taught me." He taught him without exposing him.

Scenario Three: The Hard-Headed Person — The Gold Ring

The third scenario is the most challenging: the hard-headed person who will not listen no matter what. One day Rasulullah, peace be upon him, mentioned that a person wearing a gold ring would be carrying an ember of fire in his hand. He had spoken extensively to the Sahabah about the prohibition of gold for men. Yet there was a man still wearing it. The Prophet, peace be upon him, had been addressing this issue generally — not naming the man — giving him hints. He never, in his entire life, called anyone out by name and said, "You are a hypocrite." Not once. And by the way, there were clear hypocrites whose words were even recorded in the Quran:

Everyone knew it was Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul who said these things — publicly. Yet the Prophet, peace be upon him, never once uttered his name in condemnation. When he addressed the community, he would say:

"What is the matter with some people?" — giving hints, not direct accusations. So with the man wearing the gold ring, after all the hints and the talks failed, the Prophet, peace be upon him, one day came, took the ring off the man's finger himself, and threw it away.

When the Prophet left, some people said to the man: خُذْ خَاتَمَكَ وَانْتَفِعْ بِهِ — "Go get your ring back and benefit from it!" But the man said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 37, Hadith 5159)

"By Allah, I will never take a ring that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, took off my hand." He learned — even the hard way, he learned. And even in that final step of direct action, the Prophet was not harsh. He had exhausted every other means first.

The Story of Imam Abu Hanifa and His Neighbor

Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, was a judge. His neighbor was a drunkard who used to come before him in court regularly to receive his punishment. Every night while Abu Hanifa was making qiyam al-layl, his neighbor would be drunk, singing and dancing. Then one night — silence. Abu Hanifa noticed he didn't hear anything. He found out the man had been taken to jail.

He went to the jail himself and said, "I need this man released." They said, "You're the judge — how can you release him? He's appearing in court tomorrow." He said, "I want to see him." When the man came out, Abu Hanifa said: "I am your neighbor. Every night when I am in prayer, your music distracts me. But last night I didn't hear your voice — and I missed you. I found out you were in jail, so I came to check on you."

The man was stunned. He said, "SubhanAllah — I disturb you while you're reciting Quran?" "Yes." He said: "Wallahi, I will never drink again. How can I be the one making noise while the Quran is being recited?"

Which path was easier? Bringing him to court every day and lashing him — or coming down to a human level and connecting with him? We have to learn the ways to approach people.

The Story of Khawwat ibn Jubair and the Runaway Camel

There was a companion, Khawwat ibn Jubair — and this is a long hadith, but the relevant narration goes like this: one day he saw some women gathered in an area with their camels. He was a young, single man. He dressed up nicely and sat among them, hoping one of them might notice him. That was his full intention — he wasn't after anything worse than that. Pure vanity. Just wanting to be admired.

Rasulullah, peace be upon him, was passing through Marr al-Zahran and found him there among the women. He called to him and said: "O Abu Abdullah — I ask you one honest question. Why are you sitting with the sisters?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah, to be honest, I don't have any bad intention. My camel misbehaved and ran toward their side — I was chasing it and ended up there." The Prophet said, "Okay."

Later, after making wudu, the Prophet came back and asked:

"What happened with that runaway camel of yours?" The man got it. He understood exactly where this was going. So he started avoiding the Prophet, peace be upon him, taking different routes, coming to the masjid at quiet times when he expected no one there. One day he came in, and the Prophet was there. He started praying a very long prayer, hoping the Prophet would leave first. But the Prophet, peace be upon him, waited.

When he finally finished, the Prophet asked him again about the camel. And Khawwat said:

"I swear by the One who sent you with the truth — that camel has been well-behaved ever since it repented." Meaning: I have repented. The Prophet, peace be upon him, repeated three times:

"May Allah have mercy on you. May Allah have mercy on you. May Allah have mercy on you." Sometimes, brothers and sisters, we have to use creative and gentle ways to reach people.

Principles for Those Who Call to Good

I will end with this before the announcements. If your job is truly to make a difference in people's lives — if you call yourself a da'iyah, someone calling people to the path of Allah, or if you want to be among those who enjoin good and forbid evil — then a few things must be in your mind:

A. You must have knowledge and wisdom — knowing the people, knowing the circumstances, knowing how to handle different situations.

B. You must mean it — it must be only for the sake of Allah. Whether they take your advice or not, you should not be wounded by their rejection.

C. The outcome should not be what you look for from people — you look for it from Allah. But you will see it. If you do it sincerely for Allah, people will come up to you years later and say, "JazakAllah khair, brother. Ten years ago, you said something that changed my life." Wallahi, it happens. I have seen it in my own life.

I know it hurts sometimes. I know your friends will get upset with you. I know you will lose people. But your goal is to save people. Remember this story:

There was an old man trying to save a cat that was drowning. Every time he reached in to grab it, the cat scratched him. Again and again. A young boy sitting nearby said, "Old man, just let it go. This cat is going to scratch you every time — just let it die." But the old man didn't give up. He figured out a way, picked the cat up, and saved it.

Then he turned to the boy and said: "Listen. My job is to save the cat. And the cat's job is to scratch. That's what cats do — they don't know any better. They're going to scratch you. But if I become a cat too, we're all going to drown. So I have to be who I am, in order to save this cat."

That is the prime example. We need knowledge, wisdom, sincerity, patience, and all the things we've talked about today. May Allah increase us in knowledge, guidance, and taqwa.

Announcements

This masjid has beautiful programs. We are talking about seeking knowledge and guidance. There are excellent teachers — some of whom I know personally — in the Taqwa Seminary. There is a table outside. Please enroll. There is also the Subha mentorship program for youth, which this masjid, mashAllah, puts tremendous effort into. They will have an environment to enjoin good and forbid evil together. Please enroll your children in both programs. For more details, see the office.

Please also make du'a for those who are ill — such as brother Bilal's brother, and many others. I was in the hospital just three days ago as well — please make du'a for me, and for all those who cannot make it here today.

O Allah, do not leave us in these places unless You forgive us.