The Promise of Allah -Kamal El Mekki

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His assistance. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the evil of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. Yet whomever He allows to go astray, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger.

O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except in the state of Islam.

O you who believe, fear Allah and speak the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive your sins. And whomsoever obeys Allah and His messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement.

The First Khutbah: Are We a Miniature Version of the Leaders We Criticize?

Brothers and sisters in Islam, it's been for a number of years now, whenever we turn on the news, we find some kind of calamity happening in one Muslim country or another, whether it be political turmoil or some kind of economic problem. But we've become accustomed to the fact that there's always some kind of problem in one of the Muslim lands. And we're amazed as we watch the events unfold and we see things like Muslims killing other Muslims, or a Muslim leader would call upon members of the army to fire upon innocent civilians — men, women, and children.

And we're amazed because of how Allah made the sanctity of Muslim life something so sacred and something so important — that An-Nabi ﷺ, in the greatest gathering in the history of earth, told us about how sacred the Muslim life is. And he said it is like the sanctity of this day of yours:

It's like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this place of yours, this land of yours, and in this month of yours. And likewise in the Qur'an, Allah says:

And whoever kills a believer on purpose — not by accident, not in self-defense, but on purpose — his recompense will be the hellfire to abide in it forever. And Allah will be angered with him. And on top of that, Allah will curse him. And the la'na — the curse of Allah — means that you will be sent away from the mercy of Allah in this world and in the next. Meaning, you will not receive the mercy of Allah in this world nor in the next world either. And He has prepared a most severe torment for him. And yet we see this being broken every other day.

And when we're watching the events unfold, we think to ourselves and we estimate that all these problems are caused because the Muslims have the worst leaders and the worst governments. But what we want to examine is: is it possible that always in Muslim lands, the worst of humanity rise up to become the leaders? Is that a possibility? Because leaders, they don't come from another planet or from another place — they come from within the population. So, is it that the worst of the population always finds a way to become in charge? Or is it that everyone else is just like them — they just haven't been given the same opportunity? And that's what we want to explore in this khutbah.

Because the idea is that every single one of us would like to believe that if tomorrow Allah put us in charge of a nation, we would run it like Abu Bakr. And we would run it like Umar, radiyallahu anhuma. And none of us would like to believe that we would run it like Qaddafi, or Mubarak, or fill in the blank with any name here. None of us would like to believe that we would call upon injustice, and have people murdered and killed, and that we would steal and rob.

So, are we then a miniature version of the same people that we critique and blame for all the problems? Or are we a miniature version of Abu Bakr and Umar? Because right now every single one of us, Allah has put us in charge of one group or another — whether you own a business and you're in charge of some employees, or you're a manager at a company and there are some people that you supervise, or you take care of your younger siblings, or you take care of parents, or you take care of a family and you have some children. Allah has put every single one of us in charge, whether it be a big group or a very small group.

The question is, in these small groups where we're in charge right now, do we behave like a mini Abu Bakr? Do we behave like a mini Umar? Or do we behave like a miniature version of the same leaders that we hate and critique so much in the news? Because the idea, brothers and sisters, is that if you dislike a quality in someone, then you should make sure that that quality is not in you.

Example One: Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz and the Oil Lamps

So we'll take some examples. The first example from the life of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, rahimahullah. Even though he was about 13th in order of the Khulafa, historians and scholars consider him the fifth of the rightly guided Khulafa.

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz used to have two oil lamps in his home. One oil lamp, the oil was paid for by the Muslim treasury. And as long as he was doing work at night for the Muslims or for the government, he would use the oil from that lamp. And whenever he needed to do something for his own self at night — whether changing clothing or something personal — he would extinguish that flame and then light the other one, where the oil was paid for from his own pocket.

And you might think, he could just estimate how much oil he used — it would be less than a quarter of a teaspoon. But this is how detailed and how intricate he was, rahimahullah.

In another example, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz woke up one morning. It was a cold morning, and he needed to bathe, and the water was cold. So he told his servant to heat the bath water. And the servant came a while later, and the bath water was hot. So he asked him, "Where did you heat this water?" And the servant said, "I walked into the kitchen of the treasury of the Muslims." He explained that every morning they would cook for the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the people would eat — and then they would leave the fire burning, the wood would continue burning. He said, "I walked in and I found that they had finished cooking, so I put your pot on top of it, and that's where I heated your water."

So Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz was shocked. He said, "You used the fire of the Muslims to heat up my personal bath water?" And the servant explained to him: يا أمير المؤمنين — they had already finished cooking, and the fire was just going to burn into the air, it was just going to be wasted. So instead of letting it go to waste, he put the pot on top of it and heated the water there. And Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz refused to use that water.

So now we ask ourselves: right now in the positions of power, or the positions where we're entrusted, do we behave like Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz? With our employers, do we behave like Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz? How many times people will come 10 minutes late here, 12 minutes there, 15 minutes late from lunch or coming into work, and then they just round it off. And so then these minutes keep adding up until they become hours, and over the years they become days that they were otherwise not entitled to be paid for.

So right now do we behave like Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz with our employer? Or are we taking advantage of long-distance phone calls, or taking advantage of the laser printer and the color copier at work? How many people — the agreement with their employer being that they pay you for your time — are sitting at their desk watching some kind of sports event minimized on their desktop, hiding it from everyone else? Or they're even watching and listening to some Islamic lecture, as if that makes it okay to deceive the employer.

So right now, in the positions that we're in, do we behave like Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz? Do we behave like Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab? Or do we behave exactly like the thieving criminals that we critique and dislike so much every day in the news? And it's for you to answer that question for yourself.

Example Two: Umar ibn al-Khattab and the Camels

Then we take an example from the life of Umar ibn al-Khattab, radiyallahu anhu. One day he walked by an area known as Al-Hima — where they allowed the animals to graze. And he found a group of camels that were particularly larger and fatter than all the other camels. So he asked, "To whom do these camels belong?" And they said, "They belong to your son, Abdullah ibn Umar."

So he called his son Abdullah and said, "What is the story behind these camels?" And his son told him, "These are camels that I bought a while ago. I let them graze here so that when they get bigger and fatter, I would sell them at a profit." Umar ibn al-Khattab told his son, "Sell the camels, and whatever capital you invested, take back your capital, and whatever profit you get, put it back into the treasury of the Muslims, into the bayt al-mal."

So his son asked why, and Umar ibn al-Khattab explained. He explained to him that your camels got fatter and look better than all the rest because they got extra attention by virtue of you being the son of Ameer al-Mu'mineen. So the people would say:

"Let the camels of the son of Ameer al-Mu'mineen graze first, let them graze longer" — they would give them more access to water, first access to water, and so on and so forth. And that's why your camels look better than the rest. So you take back whatever capital you invested, and whatever profit you get, put it into the treasury of the Muslims. Even though it wouldn't have been haram for him — but this is how fair and just Umar, radiyallahu anhu, was, especially with his family members.

Example Three: Umar ibn al-Khattab and the Musk Oil

In another incident, during the reign of Umar, radiyallahu anhu, a man came from a distant part of the Muslim ummah with a large container of musk oil. He told Umar, "This is a gift that I brought for the believing men and women." So now Umar, radiyallahu anhu, needed someone to empty this container into smaller vessels so they could distribute them to the people. And his wife volunteered — and Umar refused. And when she asked why, he said, "Because you're going to go with your finger, like this, and then like this." He explained to her that as she emptied out the containers into the small vessels, it was inevitable that some of it would come onto her hand, onto her fingers. And when a good odor comes onto your hand, you don't wash it off — you rub it onto your body or onto your clothes. And the man didn't say, "This is a gift for the believing men and women and for the wife of Ameer al-Mu'mineen." Umar, radiyallahu anhu, did not want her to get the slightest amount of this oil. And this is how fair and just he was with his own family.

So now we ask ourselves: how are we with our own families? How many people constantly yell at their wives at home, threaten their wives — threaten them with divorce, threaten them with all kinds of things. And even worse than all that, something that is happening in Muslim communities but is going unchallenged: how many people actually strike their wives and beat their wives constantly.

This is something that was looked down upon by the worst of people — the worst of this ummah. Abu Jahl — and the Prophet ﷺ named this man the Fir'aun of this ummah — when he struck Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr, he was ashamed and told the man next to him:

"Do not tell anyone that I hit her." He was so ashamed. The worst of this ummah was so ashamed that he hit a woman. And now so many people are constantly attacking and beating their wives — and they're still coming to the masjid and still acting religious.

And the Prophet ﷺ made the treatment of the wife in particular the measure of whether a person is good or not. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3895; Ibn Majah, Hadith 1977 — graded Sahih)

The best of you are the best of you to their families — meaning their wives — and I am the best of you to my family. And the scholars explained: why is that the measure? Because a person might show good character in public — in the community, in the masjid, smiling and showing taqwa outwardly — but at home he's a monster when it comes to his family. But they said that if you're gentle with your family, most likely you're gentle everywhere else. So even in our religion, the measure of a good man is how he treats his wife at home. This was the litmus test that the Prophet ﷺ gave us. And the Fir'aun of the ummah didn't want people to know that he struck a woman.

So how many people now are fair with their siblings, fair with their children, and fair with people in their own home? If we're not, then what makes us believe that if Allah puts us in charge of a nation tomorrow, we would run it like Abu Bakr and Umar?

Example Four: Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and His Worst Enemies

The last example we'll take will be from the life of Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, Shaykh al-Islam, rahimahullah. One of his students said, "I wish I could treat my best friends the way the Imam treated his worst enemies."

He said, "One day, one of the biggest enemies of the Imam died. So I came to his house, pleased and happy, to give him the good news. And I entered upon him and I said, 'Good news — your enemy so-and-so died today.'" He said, "The Imam became very upset and he reprimanded me. 'How can you be pleased? How can you be happy that someone across town has died? Across town there are people — this is the worst day in their life. Their children are broken-hearted today because their dear sweet father passed away. This is one of the worst days in their life. His wife is heartbroken. If his parents outlived him, they are heartbroken because they lost their child. His siblings lost their brother. His best friends are heartbroken. His neighbors are saddened. So many people are saddened across town. And we're supposed to be happy here because we had some disagreement in the religion?'"

He said, "Then the Imam got dressed immediately, and he left immediately to the house of the deceased. And he spoke to them ever so kindly, and ever so gently. And he told them, 'I am to you his replacement. Whatever you need, I will do it for you before anyone else. And if you need money, I'll give it to you before anyone else.'" And that's why the student said, "I wish I could treat my best friends the way the Imam treated his worst enemies."

And today you find people hating each other — sometimes in the same community, in the same masjid, two groups, and all they do is hate one another. And the worst part is when you think you're hating another believing man or woman for the sake of Allah. That is the worst thing. Because if you hate someone because they have a better car or a better house, one day you'll be ashamed of yourself and you repent for that. But when you think hating your believing brother or your believing sister is ibadah and you're worshiping Allah through this hatred — what will make you give it up?

And this has never been the description of the companions amongst one another in the Qur'an. Nor has it been the description of how the believers treat one another in the hadith. And so it's for us to look at ourselves and see: do we behave like a miniature version of those rulers that we dislike and blame for everything wrong in the Muslim ummah? Or are we closer to the example of Abu Bakr and Umar and others?

Ask Allah for His forgiveness. Surely those who ask for His forgiveness shall prosper.

The Second Khutbah: The Promise of Allah — Never Losing Hope

We began in the first khutbah by mentioning how we constantly see calamities — and for a number of years we've been seeing problems and calamities happening in Muslim lands. And what that has done is that it has led some people to become despondent. They lost hope in the victory coming from Allah and the promise of Allah that this ummah will be in charge, that this ummah will be superior to all other ummah, and His religion will be superior to all other religions.

And losing hope like this is not ever from the attributes of the believer. And Allah in Surah Al-Hijr, upon the tongue of Ibrahim, alayhi al-salam, tells us who are the kinds of people who lose hope in Allah:

"And who loses hope in the mercy of their Lord except those who are astray?" So this verse is telling us: only those who are misguided, those who are astray, lose hope in the mercy of Allah. This is not for the believing men and women — to lose hope in the mercy or in the promise of Allah.

If we read the Qur'an, we find that 20% of it deals with stories of the prophets. And no doubt every time you read the story of one of the prophets, you see this theme reoccurring — you see difficulty and then victory coming. You see some kind of pressure, some kind of rough time, and then you see victory and ease coming from Allah.

So it can't be that someone in this ummah who reads the Qur'an loses sight of this pattern of difficulty and then ease and victory from Allah. It can't be someone from this ummah — we are the ummah that's commanded to recite Surah Al-Kahf every single week. And in Surah Al-Kahf is a very clear theme of being tested and then ease and victory coming from Allah. The people of the cave — tested in their religion. People tested in their wealth, tested in their knowledge, tested in their power. All of this in Surah Al-Kahf, which we recite every single week.

So it can't be that someone from this ummah will lose hope — someone who reads the Qur'an and sees how Musa, alayhi al-salam, and Banu Israel were trekking across the desert, followed by an entire army. And they reach what looks like a physical dead end. They get to the Red Sea and they cannot progress beyond that. So the followers of Musa, alayhi al-salam, said:

"We are going to be overtaken, we are going to be captured." But Musa, alayhi al-salam, never losing hope in Allah, said:

"No — my Lord is with me and He is going to guide me. He is going to find me a way out of this." Never losing hope in Allah.

The Story of Suraqah and the Bracelets of Kisra

The Prophet ﷺ — when we look at his seerah, you also never see him lose hope in Allah. And you see that even when it looks like a very low point, the Nabi ﷺ is given glad tidings of a high point to come in the distant future.

The Nabi ﷺ was with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and they were fleeing from Mecca to Medina. And a man in full armor came after them — that was Suraqah ibn Malik — wanting to capture them for the bounty placed on their heads. But when he got near, he fell a number of times and then realized that this was not a normal man. In the end the Prophet ﷺ spoke to him. And this looks like a low point — they were literally fleeing for their lives. But the Prophet ﷺ gives him glad tidings of something magnificent that will happen to him — not in the near, but in the distant future. And he told him:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 17930; Sunan al-Bayhaqi al-Kubra — narrated from Suraqah ibn Malik)

"How will you feel, O Suraqah, when you'll be wearing the two bracelets of Kisra on your wrists?" And the Prophet ﷺ lived and passed on. And then Abu Bakr ruled for two years and passed on. And then during the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab, they entered the palace of Kisra and took his personal treasures and jewelry, and sent it back to Medina. And Umar, radiyallahu anhu, opened it and found the two bracelets of Kisra. And he called Suraqah ibn Malik and put the two bracelets on his wrists. And he said, "Now I want you to walk with your hands held high amongst the believers and tell them what the Prophet ﷺ said to you on the day of his hijrah."

And Suraqah ibn Malik walked amongst the people with his hands raised high and said, "The Prophet ﷺ said to me on the day of his hijrah: 'How will you feel, O Suraqah, when on your two wrists will be the bracelets of Kisra?'"

The promise of Allah will come. And the believers never lose hope in that.

We Do Not Wait — We Act

And we don't wait for the Mahdi to come and fix our situation. We don't wait for anything like that. And it's happened before, historically, where when the Mongols invaded Baghdad, people sat and waited for the Mahdi to come — certain he would come and fix the situation. But never are we supposed to wait for anyone to come and do the work for us.

And if we contemplate the life of the Mahdi himself — the Mahdi knows that no one can kill the Dajjal, the Antichrist, except for Isa ibn Maryam, alayhi al-salam. And yet he gets together a powerful army and fights against him for a full day. So we learn from the Mahdi: he didn't wait for Isa ibn Maryam to do his work, so we don't sit and wait for the Mahdi to do our work.

People tell you things that take away from your morale. They tell you things like, "The Mahdi will come and free Palestine. The Mahdi will free Masjid al-Aqsa." And all this is incorrect, the scholars say. Because the hadith mention that casually the Mahdi will pray two rak'aat in Bayt al-Maqdis. So the scholars said it is proof that it comes under the control of the Muslims before the advent of the Mahdi. Which means if you tell me only the Mahdi can do it, that means whatever I do now is absolutely useless. If I write letters, it's useless. If I go out for demonstrations, it's useless. If I boycott products, it's useless — because I have to sit and wait for the Mahdi.

But when you understand that no — it will be freed before he even shows up — that means we have to do some kind of work. And that gives me more hope, because maybe I'll be part of something that will be part of the catalyst of what frees al-Aqsa in the future. Or my children or grandchildren can be part of that. And that brings you more hope. But nothing in this religion was designed to take hope away from us. And the believers never lose hope in Allah.

We ask Allah to make us of those who recognize the truth as clear truth and follow the best of it. And to make us of those who recognize falsehood as clear falsehood and abstain from it.

We ask Allah to grant victory to Islam and to the Muslims. We ask Allah to grant freedom to all the Muslims who are being held and dealt with unjustly around the world. And we ask Allah to grant victory to His righteous servants in Palestine, and in Syria, and in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, and in Burma, and in Bangladesh, and in Kashmir, and in all parts of the world.