Adorning Your Islam By Abandoning The Unnecessary

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Mawlana Abdul Ahad

A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytanir rajim. Bismillahir rahmanir rahim.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and be with the truthful. Allah is the Greatest, the Most Truthful.

The Month of Ramadan is Approaching

As we know, the month of Ramadan is approaching very soon — it's just right around the corner. In our deen, Allah has given us different opportunities: mandatory opportunities, actions that you have to do, which we consider as fara'id. And some of those actions are means of our sins being erased and our hearts being purified, and some of these actions are means of rebuilding our relationship with Allah.

So the month of Ramadan — that is a time when we are allowed to cleanse our hearts, remove the rust that has been built over the past year, the different sins that we have unknowingly or knowingly committed and never repented for. But in order to take complete advantage of the month of Ramadan, there is something very important — one aspect and core concept in our deen — which the Prophet ﷺ taught us, and which our religion of Islam revolves around.

Adorning One's Islam — The Core Hadith

In our deen, Allah has given us different actions which may adorn our own Islam. Like a person fasting in the month of Ramadan — what happens is globally everyone recognizes it. It's on the news that the month of Ramadan has come and the Muslims are fasting. There are pictures of masajid which are full, having iftar, feeding the poor, and things of that such. So a person's Ramadan is a means for their Islam to be beautified.

But the Prophet ﷺ mentioned specifically one action that will really beautify one's Islam — and it is not to actually do anything, but to leave out excessive things that have no relationship with Islam. Because the Prophet ﷺ mentioned in a hadith that from the beauty of Islam, that action which adorns your Islam, is not something which you have to do, but is leaving out anything which has no affiliation, no benefit for you — be it in the deen or dunya.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2317; Ibn Majah, Hadith 3976 — graded Hasan)

This is a core hadith in which the ulema, muhaddithun, and scholars have mentioned that Islam revolves around four ahadith — some have mentioned three, some have mentioned five — but this is one of those main ahadith: that a person leaves out something from which he has no benefit. Ibn al-Jawzi rahimahullah has mentioned that your entire body, every single action of yours, every single limb of yours, you can judge with this hadith.

Disconnected from Allah in the Age of Information

In the society that we live in, in this day and age, this is a society that wants you to know about everything which is happening throughout the entire world. Especially with the advent of the phone and videos — you're here but you know what's happening in Malawi, you're here but you know what's happening in Australia, you're here but you know what's happening in the remote villages in every corner of the world. So you're keeping up to date with all of that. But as a result of keeping connected with everything that's happening globally, you've disconnected yourself from Allah. Because at the end you're involved with things which — simple question you can ask yourself — is there any benefit to me from this? What benefit do I have, be it in my deen or dunya?

That glance — who am I looking at? Is it even necessary for me to look at them? Be it in a sinful manner, istihqar — despising them — or with lust, looking at the opposite gender. Or when it comes to our ears, what we are hearing. Everything, even if it's not necessarily sinful — is it necessary for you to listen to it? Because you could be utilizing your time for something which is actually beneficial.

Many of us have commutes to work — 15, 20, 30 minutes, an hour. In your car, in your drive, what do you do? Do you turn on the radio? Do you decide to listen to the news? If you listen to the news for one hour, that's a lot. And on top of that, if you listen to the news, do you even make du'a for those individuals, for those Muslims that are suffering? Sometimes people are addicted to news — reading article after article after article. The same question: does it have any benefit to me? Let alone, am I trying to make a difference?

With the phone that we have — especially the youth — with Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok — this is the day and era that we are living in, wasting your time. Ask yourselves: what benefit do I have from following someone on Twitter? What benefit did I get from watching that video — 1, 2, 3 hours of that video, an entire night passing? What was the benefit of that? What benefit in your deen or dunya?

Many of our children are involved in these things — we give them the phone and we don't realize the harm that the phone has. And this is why the concept of our deen is: Allah has perfected our deen and religion already.

Our deen is already perfect — you don't need to add extra things to make it perfect or to adorn it or beautify it. But rather, everything which isn't affiliated with the deen, you need to remove that.

Distraction — Lahw and La'ib

How is it that so many people — even the kuffar — were able to accomplish so many different feats and accomplishments in the past, when it came to coming up with cures for different sicknesses? Because they were focused, they had an objective in mind, they were not distracted. Whereas in our generation, especially our youth, we are distracted.

This is literally the meaning of lahw and la'ib — that Allah described the dunya in numerous places in the Quran as the play of a child and just amusement. Because we're not focused upon Allah, we have no focus even in the dunya. We don't have an objective in the dunya — that I want to make a change, I want to eliminate poverty, I want to find a cure for this sickness.

Removing Distractions to Benefit from Ramadan

Whatever it is — aside from the deen — we want to be able to take full advantage of the month of Ramadan. But in order to do that, we have to remove the distractions. Once you remove the distractions, then you can take the full benefit of Ramadan. Even if you might not have so many good a'mal that you're doing in the month of Ramadan — by avoiding those distractions, then you're receiving the blessing of Allah, because Allah's rahmah and mercy in the month of Ramadan is like a continuous rainfall.

But a person is stepping out wanting to get wet while holding an umbrella. The umbrellas are the mawani' — those obstacles, those distractions for us. You remove that, and automatically you will get the benefit. You may listen to Quran but you don't feel anything, your heart isn't softened by it, you're not able to shed tears in tarawih. Remove those things which have no benefit to you.

That excessive speech — when it comes to our tongue, as it comes in a hadith — that a person will say a statement by which he doesn't realize it:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6478)

That statement, that word, will throw him headlong into the Fire. And sometimes a person will say a word he didn't realize gained him the pleasure of Allah. Now if you look at us — how many conversations we have throughout the entire day that are unnecessary. And in this day, you probably don't even have conversations — it's just texting. But writing has the same hukm as verbally saying something. Many aspects of our deen when it comes to fiqh — like talaq and things of this sort — when you write it, it has an effect. So what are we writing? Is it even necessary to write that?

Ramadan — A Month to Focus on Oneself

This is what Allah wanted, and the Prophet ﷺ told us to focus on one's self. Because in the month of Ramadan, we're not looking at others really — we're trying to focus on our own selves: how can I gain taqwa? And part of the taqwa aspect is obviously feeding the poor and helping the needy, those other acts of mu'amalat in our deen. But it's a month where you're focusing on your own self — let me get rid of these excessive things.

Just in fasting itself — what are you doing? You're getting rid of excessive food. Allah describes in the Quran the kuffar as yatana'amun — that they are like an'am, cattle. And what do you see cattle always doing? They're eating. And our habits have become that we always have to eat — a candy every now and then, chocolate in our mouths. Whereas the purpose of food is: you eat to get enough energy. Now Allah has mandated that every month you fast — your suhoor and your iftar — you remain hungry throughout the entire day. So that excess food, you need to address that also. Because even scientifically, overeating — aside from junk food, even just overeating healthy food — is unhealthy for you. Even drinking too much water. Everything has moderation.

Allah in the month of Ramadan is teaching us: get rid of the excess. Now when you learn that with food — which is something considered essential — what about the limbs? What about the rest of our body? What about the rest of our actions? If we were to analyze our own actions and our own life, we'll be able to see how many things are actually necessary for us and how many things are not.

Do I actually need to go out and spend $10 or $15 for a meal when I have nice home-cooked food? People sometimes just go out for a drive — not going for some recreational activity, not taking their children to the park. What's the purpose of that? When Ramadan comes, you realize these things. Because your time is very precious in the month of Ramadan. That's the month of forgiveness, the month of fasting, the month of having mercy upon others, feeding others.

Preferring others over your own self, even if you are in dire need.

Zuhd — Asceticism in the Dunya

But removing these excessive things — this is that month. In the time that we live in, we have too many things which are not even a necessary part of our life, let alone part of our deen. The non-Muslims have "spring cleaning" — getting rid of the excess junk that's in your house. As a believer, the Prophet ﷺ told us:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4102)

Be an ascetic in the dunya, don't have love for the dunya inside your heart.

All the excess clothes that we have — do I need three jackets for winter? Maybe one jacket for winter, one jacket for spring. Again, what does that go back to? مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ

That place where I'm walking to — do I need to go there? Do I actually have a need? What we tend to do: when you go to the market without a list — be it a mental list or an actual list — you see everything on sale. This is on sale, that is on sale — you don't even need it, you already have those items, be it food or electronics or appliances or clothes. But because it's on sale, you want to buy it. Again, what does that go back to? مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ — you don't need to buy those things because you don't need them.

The Believer Takes the Dunya as Provisions

That is why one of the mufassirun mentioned in commenting on the ayah:

That the believers — al-mu'minun yatazawwadun — the believers take the dunya as provisions. The hypocrites — al-munafiqun yatazayyanun — they take the dunya as a means of adorning and embellishing themselves. And the kuffar — yatana'amun — they relish and enjoy themselves in this dunya, because this is their abode.

But a believer:

Take provisions, for indeed the best of provisions is taqwa. And Allah has made Ramadan that month where you can acquire it in an easy way.

The Path to Taqwa

Certain a'mal Allah has given us the ability to acquire taqwa:

Being amongst the righteous.

Speaking the truth — that helps bring righteousness and taqwa into one's heart. The month of Ramadan:

Allah revealed that you need to fast so that you gain taqwa. Because it's a natural factor that if you fast properly, Allah — with the mercy that's descending in this month — will naturally cause your heart to gain taqwa. But again, you have to remove any impedances, any obstacles. These excessive things — aside from the sins, which are obviously the most important to remove from our lives — those things which have no benefit to us.

Then see how much time you actually have. See how healthy you will be when it comes to your own physical fitness and your own mental health. Because you're not worried about those excess things. "I need to get a new phone, I need to get a new car" — when you already have a properly running car, when you already have a phone. "I need to have these apps and make myself popular." You're running after that when it has no affiliation with your deen, let alone your dunya. And it's causing you stress. Then you get depressed.

When you have the attitude that this is not beneficial for me, nor for my deen — then you won't worry about it. And you'll live a carefree life. Your life will be healthy. And your objective will be Allah and pleasing Allah.

So may Allah give us the tawfiq to practice upon this hadith, and grant us the ability to make our lives solely for the sake of Allah, and get rid of anything which is excessive and has nothing to do with our deen or our dunya.

Announcements

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Monthly Seminar — The Fiqh of Fasting: The rulings, advice, and Q&A to help us make the most of Ramadan, with Mufti Muhammad Pasha from Darul Ifta', Darul Salam Seminary, today after Maghrib Salah. Mufti Muhammad Pasha will be discussing the fiqh of fasting and there will be a Q&A session.

Tarawih Schedule at Darul Salam

29-Day Khatam — Main prayer hall, for brothers and sisters, led by Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmad, Mufti Azimuddin Ahmad, and Mawlana Farhan Sayyid.

15-Day Khatam — Gymnasium, starting the first of Ramadan, brothers only, led by Mawlana Farhan Sharif, Hafiz Muhammad Wahsin, and Hafiz Muhammad Sa'd.

7-Day Khatam — Banquet hall, starting the first of Ramadan, brothers and sisters, led by Mufti Hassan Sheikh.

Weekend-Only 8-Day Khatam — Masjid lower level, Fridays and Saturdays, led by Hafiz Uthman Khan, Hafiz Hassan Sayyid, and Hafiz Muhammad Sheikh.

Please visit the masjid website for more details. Dates are for sale at the archway entrance and in the bookstore.

Weekly Programs

Saturday's Ta'lim Fajr will be held tomorrow — Fajr iqamah is at 6:15 AM. The Bukhari Dars will be on Monday after Maghrib Salah. Tuesday's Tafsir program will continue with Surah al-Mu'minun after Maghrib Salah, insha'Allah. The weekly Salawat gathering on Thursdays is continuing after Maghrib Salah.

Du'a Request: Sister Ruqayyah Na'im had major surgery — there is a request for her shifa'. May Allah grant her complete shifa' and remove all sicknesses and any side effects. Ameen.