Why Khutbahs Emphasize Spiritual Growth and the Life Hereafter

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Mawlana Ahsan Syed

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين، وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين، وبعد.

قال الله تعالى في كتابه المجيد بعد أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم، بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم:

Why Do Khutbahs Focus on Spiritual Reform?

Sometimes I get asked this question: when we give a khutbah and we're talking to the people, why do we not talk about things that are relevant? So I'll ask, what do you mean when you say we don't talk about things that are relevant? For example, politics. Why don't we talk about politics? So what's the need? Why should we talk about politics? It's the need of the hour.

One person one time asked me, he said, during the Prophet ﷺ's time, what would he talk about in the khutbah? I said, why do you ask? He said, no, I just want to know, what would he talk about? I said, generally the Prophet ﷺ would speak about that thing which concerns the islah of the believers — that which has reform, rectification for the believers. Why? Because our deen teaches us that this life of this world is temporary, and the focus should be the hereafter.

In fact, whatever you do in this life plays a role in the hereafter. Your actions and your intentions, your endeavors — you don't realize, but they play a huge role. They in fact are the factor that will determine what happens in the hereafter. They are the factors that determine whether the mercy of Allah encompasses you or not.

So we want to talk about politics — what about politics do you want to talk about? Most of us are informed about politics, mashaAllah. Anybody who's older knows what's going on. Yes, to this extent what is relevant is: what happens, and how does a person deal with that?

And at the same time, in the time that's given — for example, for a Jumu'ah khutbah it's 15 to 20 minutes — the fact of the matter is most people that come for the Jumu'ah prayer, perhaps this is the only time they come to the masjid. There is a population in our community for whom the only time they will come to a masjid, and the only talk that they will hear, is that talk given on the day of Jumu'ah. That's it. Maybe they won't even touch the Quran for the rest of the week. Maybe it's only on Friday. Maybe it's only in Ramadan.

Then we have a population who will only show up on the day of Eid. Then there are some of us — may Allah protect us — for whom coming for Jumu'ah is simply a cultural thing that we have to do. Muslims go for Jumu'ah, so while I identify myself as a Muslim, I better go for Jumu'ah too. These things we have to be very careful about.

The Foundation: Iman and the Hereafter

Why? Because the asal is the iman — our belief in Allah. The basis is belief in Allah. The belief in the hereafter. That one day will come when I will have to stand in front of Allah. What am I going to answer on that day? What am I going to say in front of Allah?

The Rasul of Allah ﷺ — the one whom Allah gave wahi to, who has connection to Allah through the revelation that Allah gave to him — he is telling you that on the Day of Judgment, the first thing among the things that you will be asked about is your salah. He is the one telling you that when you die, when you leave this world and you are buried in the ground, the mala'ika will come to you and they will ask you — do you know what those questions are?

Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is this Prophet? — The questions of the grave, as reported in Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1338, and Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4753.

Are you ready to give those answers, which will determine your life in the hereafter — which is eternal?

That doesn't mean that Muslims don't strategize. That doesn't mean that Muslims sit back and relax. No, that's a conversation on its own. But that's not a conversation that needs to be happening in large circles and gatherings. There are times and places for it.

The Seerah: Change Came Gradually

If we look at the life of the Prophet ﷺ — do we think that when the first revelation came to the Prophet ﷺ:

— that the very next moment, mashaAllah, Madinah Munawwarah was constructed and built? No, that's not what happened. We all know this. We have sometimes difficulty contextualizing the exact events of the seerah. Why? Because mashaAllah, we've studied the seerah, so we know all the events. We know that at the end, the Prophet ﷺ saw the city of Madinah Munawwarah, Makkah Mukarramah came under the Prophet ﷺ and the believers, and you see the entire Jaziratul Arab.

Maybe you heard — or maybe some of us aren't even aware — of the khilafah of Umar رضي الله عنه, the khilafah of Uthman رضي الله عنه, and what things happened during that time. But do you think that happened in one day? It didn't happen in one day. Read the seerah. Read about the events that took place in Makkah Mukarramah. Read about the lives that were given in order for what happened to happen. Read about the type of iman that the Sahaba رضي الله تعالى عنهم أجمعين had.

Taqwa Is the Foundation of Society

Sometimes we talk about certain policies — for example, criminal law — and people think that it's the policies that will help people limit crime and whatnot. And very often we find that sometimes policies may help hinder. But at the end of the day, the basis is a person's taqwa. If a person fears Allah, if he fears that tomorrow I have to stand in front of Allah, do you think he will abuse another person's rights?

As for the one who fears standing in front of Allah, and he prohibits himself from his desires — then indeed, Paradise will be his abode.

Why is it that during the time of the Prophet ﷺ there was no need for policing? There were no police. It's because each one of the Sahaba رضوان الله عليهم أجمعين developed such a degree of taqwa, such a degree of fear of Allah, that they held themselves accountable. If they did something, they themselves would come to the Prophet ﷺ and say, Ya Rasulullah, we've done something — please tell us what we need to do in order to rectify our condition in the law. Because we're afraid of what will happen in the hereafter.

There is a very famous story that comes in the hadith — the story of the woman known as al-Ghamidiyyah, a woman from the tribe of Ghamid, who committed zina. She herself came to the Prophet ﷺ, admitted and acknowledged what she had done. What brings a person to do something like that? And there are many incidents of different Sahaba coming to the Prophet ﷺ and saying, Ya Rasulullah, we did something wrong — what should we do now? The reason was because of this fear: that tomorrow when I stand in front of Allah and I have to answer, it will not be like the little reprimands and punishments of this worldly life. This worldly life is temporary.

The Brevity of This Life

My dear brothers, we're here for a very short time. How long are we going to live? A hundred years? And even if we do reach a hundred years — SubhanAllah — when compared to the hereafter, we already have one foot in the grave. We have no idea when our end is going to come.

So on one hand, yes — do we strategize about different things? Of course. A person, for example, if they have to purchase a home, they look at their finances. You don't just go and buy a house. You say, can I pay my mortgage? Do I have enough every month to make those payments? You strategize. Then you purchase. You go through a process.

So every single thing does have a process. From the most simple activity — a person is hungry. You don't just sit down and say, I'm hungry, food has to come somehow. No. You make the food, you buy the food, you do something. You work for it.

Use what Allah has given you — seek with what Allah has given you — the home of the hereafter. That should be the greatest strategy. That should be the greatest plan. Where you have these strategies and plans and processes that we're going through in life to accomplish and achieve different things — the greatest objective must be: how do I achieve the pleasure of Allah?

The Essence of Tawakkul

Then after you strategize, after you work, after you do all of these things, you rely on Allah. That is the essence of tawakkul. The essence of tawakkul is that a person does what is within his capacity, and then says: I trust in Allah. And then whatever the outcome is, a mu'min realizes, insha'Allah:

Perhaps right now certain things don't make sense to me. But who said you and I have الْعِلْمُ الْكَامِلُ — that our knowledge is complete, our knowledge is perfect? It's not. The person who purchases the home thinks he'll be able to make those mortgage payments for the next 30 years — but he doesn't know. Maybe after two years, Allah forbid, he loses his job. Our ilm is not tam. Our ilm is not kamil. Our ilm is not muhit. But as per what Allah has given us, we use that. And then we put our trust in Allah. And whatever the decision of Allah then is, we recognize — insha'Allah — there will be some khayr.

You and I can only think at a very, very limited capacity. Most of us have a difficult time even planning for the next year. Most of us can't even think beyond a couple of days. Allah's ilm is muhit. Allah's ilm is kamil. Allah is the one who created time itself. Allah is the one who created the makan itself. For Allah, it's not that Adam was, and qiyamah will be. Adam, qiyamah, we, us — present, past, future — all of it simply is. He is هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ. You and I are created within time. So when we think about Adam, we think Adam was. When we think about qiyamah, we think it will come. We don't know what the future brings.

Ufawwidu Amri Ilallah — I Entrust My Affairs to Allah

But this is where, when the believer has nothing else he can do, he says:

This statement was actually quoted in the Quran — by a rajulun mu'minun, a believing man from the family of Fir'awn, who concealed his iman. He believed in Musa عليه السلام. And when Musa عليه السلام brought the miracles and tried to convince Fir'awn, Fir'awn rejected. So this man — who had hidden his iman — tried to reason with his people, tried to warn them. Finally he said: I believe in Allah. I'm trying to guide you, I'm trying to tell you towards what's good. But if you choose nothing but rejection, then:

I relegate, I give my matters, I hand it over to Allah.

If you want to rely on someone, rely on Allah — the Ever-Living, who will never die. That's who we need to rely on.

Keeping the Right Objective

So we strategize, we use whatever we have. But we cannot forget — our eventual objective is not something temporary, it is something much greater. That framework, until it does not settle in our hearts — that framework that I am headed towards Allah, I am going to Allah, I am going to stand in front of Allah — if that is not set correctly, then none of our matters in this dunya will be set correctly. When the objective point is supposed to be one way and you make it another way, the natural trajectory will go the wrong way. Even though initially it may seem like it's going the right way — but it's headed the wrong way. Why? Because your objective was different.

If your objective is Allah, and your objective is the Messenger of Allah, and the pleasure of Allah, following ita'atul rasul, ita'atullah —

Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great triumph. Then, irrespective of whatever difficulties a person faces in life, he will always still be successful. Why? Because this person has iman in his heart, and he is muti'a lillah, he is muti'a li rasulillah. No matter what difficulty comes his way, he recognizes — insha'Allah — there is some khayr in it.

No calamity comes to you except that We are the ones who have decreed it — so that you do not grieve over what missed you, and nor feel so exultant and vain over what came to you. Difficulty comes — that is not a time for the believer to say, oh my gosh, what happened? Ya Allah, why, why, why? No. This is the decision of Allah. Don't be grieved over what was never supposed to come to you. And nor feel so arrogant and vain — oh, this is what I deserve. This is not the behavior of the believer.

Conclusion: Our Focus Is Always Allah

So our focus, from the beginning till the end, is always on Allah — whether it's our own individual lives, our family life, our community life, or at a global level. We cannot ever take that framework away from us. It is Allah, it is the laws of Allah, the objective is Allah, and we are returning back to Allah.

To Him alone, we all are going to be returning. May Allah give us the tawfiq to understand that. This is a very serious matter. Until we don't understand this point, there are many mistakes that we're going to keep on making. But until we have this in mind, then we'll be able to — insha'Allah — at least have the trajectory going the right way.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

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