The Signs of the Hour: A Call to Righteous Deeds

Signs of the Last Day and Our Responsibility

In the books and collections of hadith, you have various different statements of the Prophet ﷺ that are collected based on different topics. So for example, when it comes to ibadat, you have a whole chapter on ibadah. Then too, the chapters of ibadah are further divided — Kitab al-Wudu, Kitab al-Salah. So any hadith that could be related to wudu, you'll find that it's gathered under this chapter. If it's related to prayer, the muhaddith will gather a number of hadith related to that chapter. If it's mu'amalat, mu'asharat, Kitab al-Nikah — the things that the Prophet ﷺ said, or the things that the Prophet ﷺ practiced in regards to nikah — those ahadith will be collected in that chapter. So like that, there are a number of chapters that come in the books of hadith.

The Chapter of Fitan and Ashrat al-Sa'ah

One of the chapters that is also given significant importance by the muhaddithin is a chapter regarding fitan and ashrat al-sa'ah. Fitan means tests, trials, tribulations. And ashrat al-sa'ah refers to those signs that the Prophet ﷺ identified that are to emerge before the final day, before the final hour.

In one hadith narrated in Sahih Muslim, one sahabi says: one time the Prophet ﷺ sat after fajr, after the fajr prayer, and after the fajr prayer he sa'ida al-minbar — he climbed the minbar — wa khatabana, and the Prophet ﷺ addressed us all the way until dhuhr. Then at dhuhr time, we prayed the dhuhr salah with the Prophet ﷺ. Then again after the dhuhr prayer, sa'ida al-minbar wa khatabana — he ascended the minbar and he again addressed us. Then from dhuhr to asr, then asr to maghrib. The only time the Prophet ﷺ was taking a break was during the salah time — all the way until maghrib, the Prophet ﷺ addressed us. Now imagine, from fajr all the way till maghrib.

And he akhbarana bima kana wa bima yakun — the Prophet ﷺ informed us what has happened and what will happen.

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman رضي الله عنه says:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 54, Hadith 7)

"The Prophet ﷺ informed me of all the things that are to happen until the Day of Judgment."

And when you look in these books, and you look in the chapters of these books and the narrations, it's not like one hadith is there, two ahadith are there. They're filled with dozens and dozens of ahadith — tens and hundreds of ahadith. Those things that the Prophet ﷺ mentioned that are to happen till the Day of Judgment — some of them have already occurred. There were certain things that Nabi ﷺ mentioned would occur during the time of the Sahabah, and they occurred. Anybody who's read into history of the Khulafa ar-Rashidun and after, you'll find that those very things Nabi ﷺ mentioned, they happened.

And then there are those things that have not yet happened, or they are still happening. They're happening currently and they have not yet reached their intiha — they have not yet reached their pinnacle, their ghayah. For example, Nabi ﷺ mentioned there will be a time when you'll see bloodshed, there will be a time when zina will be rampant. These things we're seeing — they're happening, happening, happening. But there's an intiha, there's a ghayah, there's a limit that they're going to reach. And when that limit occurs, then those signs that scholars identify as the major signs of the Day of Judgment will start — beginning with the emergence of Imam al-Mahdi, then khuruj ud-Dajjal, Dajjal coming, Ya'juj and Ma'juj.

Allah refers to Ya'juj and Ma'juj in the Quran:

They'll be coming from every valley, they'll descend upon the earth. The coming of Isa ﷺ, and so on and so forth.

The Purpose of These Signs — Rush Towards Good Deeds

These are not fairy tales, nor are they meant as a checklist. Sometimes individuals will sit together and they'll discuss about the signs of the Day of Judgment and we kind of think of it like a checklist — oh, is this happening? Yes, this has happened. Is this happening? Oh yes. They're not intended to be a checklist so you and I can share some reflections and thoughts and see, oh, is this what was intended? The Prophet ﷺ made it very clear. The hadith which I mentioned:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 54, Hadith 2947)

The reason why the Prophet ﷺ is informing us of these things is so that we rush towards good deeds — badiru bil-a'mal. The reason why these are mentioned is so that a person can prepare accordingly. And the example of that is: if you know from beforehand something, and information is given to you about it, you'll be able to prepare accordingly.

For example, one of the things that we may usually do is before the next day, the next morning, you look at the weather. Some people have this habit — I have a habit to try to look maybe a week or a couple of days before. What's the weather looking like for the next couple of days? We don't know for sure. Allah knows exactly what's going to happen. But based on whatever wind patterns and weather patterns, these meteorologists make predictions. We think it will rain. We think this is how much rain it will be. We don't know for sure. It happens sometimes where they give you the prediction that it will rain, but then it doesn't rain. Sometimes they tell you, no, it looks like a sunny day, but then it ends up being cloudy. That's up to Allah.

In the winter especially, for us Chicagoans, you're looking beforehand — how much is it going to snow? For those in school, they're waiting: snow day, snow day, snow day. Why? So that you're ready for the next day. Do I have to start my car early? Do I need to clear my driveway? That means I'm going to have to wake up a bit early. How's the traffic going to look like? Why are you getting the traffic report? How early do I need to leave? Can I leave at my normal time? It's all there so that you could prepare in advance.

Have you come late to work one day and you say, oh yeah, but you know, there was traffic, it was too much snow. Sorry — you're still late. It's not going to change that fact. You're still late. Maybe your boss says, okay, you know what, fine, I'll let you go this time. Maybe they dock some pay from you. But you are expected that this is your responsibility, this is your job — make sure that you're prepared. Every eight minutes you get the news report, the weather and traffic. Why is that? You're getting yourself ready, prepared: if I need to be ready for something, I'm aware of it.

This is exactly why the Messenger of Allah ﷺ mentioned about these fitan, these trials, these tribulations, and these signs. We don't know — I don't know, you don't know. We have no idea whether we will see the day in our lifetime when Imam al-Mahdi comes or Dajjal comes. We don't know. And a person shouldn't expect and want to see those days because those days are going to be very, very, very difficult. We don't know if our kids will see it. We don't know if it's our grandkids. We don't know if our lineage even continues. We don't know who the people will be that will have to face that. But whoever will be having to face it, it's going to be very, very difficult.

But it could be that it's in our lifetime. We're seeing within our very lifetime how halat change. People try, when they give their reflection, they say, no, no, it doesn't seem like things are that bad. Maybe there's still a couple of decades before this happens. Well, how can you say that? We don't know.

I remember — I give this example sometimes too. Before COVID happened, I remember very vividly. It was a February, and the first case or couple of cases of COVID occurred. We had one in Chicago too. And I remember there was a meeting that took place with doctors and ulama. And there was a discussion — okay, what should the masajid do? What are certain things that we could keep in mind? And you could see that even among the doctors, there was this discussion: no, no, I think it's going to be some time. It was really bad in Italy. And I remember one doctor saying, no, no, we're really underestimating this. We have to be really prepared. And literally two, three weeks after, the quarantine and whatnot started. "Social distancing" — never heard of this word ever before. What's social distancing? And we still have remnants of it. If you go to different places, you have those signs — please stand here. Masks are recommended. We still have the aftermath of that.

But we all witnessed that within our lives, just a couple of years back, how the halat and situations just changed, they flipped. Where once we're going to school, we're going to work, we're going everywhere, we're shopping — and all of a sudden you're saying, no, no, no, stay home, stay home. So what's telling us that these fitan are going to come whenever they're going to come and we're not going to have to deal with it? There is no guarantee, my dear respected brothers and sisters.

Our Framework Includes the Akhirah

Right now too, we are witnessing things all around the world. In a matter of moments, things are changing. Our framework of thinking is not the same as, and should not be the same as, everyone else's. Our framework of thinking includes the akhirah. We were built, we were made by Allah and created for the akhirah.

This dunya is created for you so that you use it — for what? So that you get to the akhirah, so that you please Allah, so that you work towards that. You may have other religions who also believe in a life hereafter, but their focus, their goal, and their priorities are all stuck in the dunya. That's not us. We use the dunya, we work in the dunya, but that is not our goal, that is not our objective.

Just right before Jumu'ah, speaking to one brother — mashallah, a close friend — and he was giving the example of some animals, you know, chickens and goats. You put some feed for them, they go towards it. And then if you put the same feed a little ways away, they'll run towards it. You put it in another place, they run towards that. That's exactly how the dunya is — one thing comes out, it has its glamour, it has its glitter, you run towards it. Another thing comes out, you run towards it. But for those other than the Muslims, that is the extent of their knowledge:

That is the extent and the limit of their knowledge. That's not for us. Our knowledge doesn't limit itself to the dunya — it goes beyond. It includes the hereafter. It's the recognition that whatever I'm doing here right now will make a difference in the hereafter. Whether I succeed or whether I fail in this dunya, if my priority and my work is for the sake of Allah, Allah will reward me:

So sometimes we have these things, right? That I've been working so hard, we've been working for the Ummah, we're doing this, we're building masajid, we have these institutes, and we have this and this and this. But why is it that the Muslims' condition is not changing? Well, my dear respected brothers, there could be some reasons for that — Allah knows best. But what are you and I doing? And at the same time, keep in mind that we are ultimately created for the hereafter. If we work, we do something, we're doing it for the sake of Allah, and we pass away and we don't see the result and fruit of it in the dunya — that's okay, because our goal is for the sake of Allah.

What We Will Be Asked About

What we will be asked about is: you had certain responsibilities that were within your control — did you fulfill them or not?

You are a father — did you fulfill the right as a father to your children? You are a husband, you are a wife — did you fulfill the rights of a husband and a wife as you were supposed to, as Allah and His Rasul commanded? You are a son, you are a daughter — did you fulfill the rights that Allah had put on you, that the Messenger of Allah had mentioned, did you fulfill that to the best of your ability or not? We gave you wealth — did you fulfill the rights of that wealth?

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 659)

Maal has its own right outside of just zakat. We created you for the hereafter, we created you for Jannah — your heart was supposed to be for Allah. Did you do what you could to remove other than Allah from your heart? We told you that hasad, takabbur, bughd, ghadab, and all these things are bad — did you remove them from your heart? We told you to be patient, we told you to be thankful, we told you to have gratitude, we told you to have tawakkul, we told you to believe only in one Allah — did you work towards developing those in your heart? Those are the things that we're going to be asked about. Those things that are within our control, those things that Allah has given us ikhtiyar over — what did you do regarding them?

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2416)

The feet of the son of Adam on the Day of Judgment will not move until he is asked about five things: his life — how did he spend it; his youth — how did he use it; his wealth — where did he earn it from; where did he spend it; and what did he do with the knowledge he was given.

We commanded you to pray salah, we told you to recite Quran:

Did you learn how to recite that? Did you ponder over the Quran?

Did we do that or not? Those are the things that we're going to be asked about.

Asking Allah for 'Afiyah

Yes, the halat of this dunya are changing, and by Allah's grace we continue to ask Allah for aafiyah. One of the duas that the Prophet ﷺ taught us — I keep on repeating it:

"O Allah, we ask You for forgiveness and aafiyah — in relation to our deen, in relation to our dunya, in regards to our families, in regards to our wealth." This is part of the du'a of the Prophet ﷺ. So we continue to make du'a, but we have to ask ourselves: what are those responsibilities? By Allah's grace, we have these facilities, we have these institutions where we could learn. We should take advantage of that — whether it's the weekly programs or the classes that are there — learning what are those rights that Allah put on us. Those are the things that we're going to be asked about.

May Allah grant us tawfiq. May Allah, whatever is going on in the world — as I said, we are well aware of the halat and the conditions that are there — we ask Allah for aafiyah. For us, for all the Muslims, wherever they may be, in whatever conditions they are going through. May Allah make it easy on us, may Allah make it easy on them.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Second Khutbah

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we ask His help, we ask His forgiveness, we believe in Him, we put our trust in Him, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomever He misguides, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, there is no partner for Him, and I bear witness that our Master is Muhammad, His servant and Messenger.

Allah says in His glorious book:

Verily, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, send blessings upon him and give him peace.

O Allah, send blessings upon our Master Muhammad, and upon the family of our Master Muhammad, and upon the spouses of our Master Muhammad, and upon the companions of our Master Muhammad — especially Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar al-Faruq, Uthman al-Ghani, and Ali al-Murtada, may Allah be pleased with them all.

O Allah, support Islam and the Muslims. O Allah, support those who support the religion of Muhammad ﷺ and make us of them. And forsake those who forsake the religion of Muhammad ﷺ and do not make us of them.

O servants of Allah, may Allah have mercy on you:

Verily, Allah commands justice and good, and to give to those who are near, and forbids immorality, evil, and transgression. He admonishes you that you may remember. Remember Allah, the Most High, the Most Great — He will remember you. And call upon Him — He will answer you. And the remembrance of Allah the Most High is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do.

Announcements

In sha'Allah, we'll take a break for sunnah. I request if we can all just fill up any gaps and please move up as much as possible. Jazakumullah khair.

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We have a visiting jamaat from India here at Dar es Salaam until May 13th. There are ladies programs that will be held morning and afternoon at various local homes. Students are also invited. This Friday — so today after Maghrib — there will be dinner as well.

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We have our regular weekly programs as well. Tuesdays — tafsir after Maghrib weekly. As I was mentioning, alhamdulillah, by Allah's grace, we do have these opportunities. This is not the norm around the country. You go to different places in the states and you see that there are people who are saying: please, we need an imam, we need programs. And here, mashallah, we have so many programs, but our very own individuals within our community are not participating in them. So alhamdulillah, we have Tuesday tafsir programs after Maghrib weekly. We have a Thursday Urdu seerah program. Saturdays — every Saturday — we have a team fajr, so tomorrow insha'Allah after fajr there's breakfast. Along with all of these summer programs for the kids, we have these weekly regular programs running throughout the year. Our one-year Tanweer Program. Any of these programs that are there, whichever one we're able to take and learn the deen through, insha'Allah they'll be beneficial for us.

We have a separate sisters program — a seerah series, a bi-weekly program every other Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. We have a weekly on-site sisters Urdu tafsir that takes place Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. And again, we have a visiting ladies jamaat here till the 13th — you can get more information from the brothers. And as a reminder, we have a student gathering today after Maghrib.

Please keep the Muslims of all around the world in our du'as. We have specific requests as well. One of our Ansar brothers, brother Yaqub, his mother is ill — we make du'a that Allah grant her shifa. As well as du'a for sister Lubna Sayyid — may Allah give them, and all those who are in our community, shifa kamilah 'ajilah. Whatever concerns, worries, any one of us and any of the Muslims have around the world, may Allah alleviate and ease it for us, insha'Allah.