Navigating Life's Temporary Distractions Towards Our Eternal Purpose

Jumu'ah Khutbah

وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ أَمَّا بَعْدَ

قَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَىٰ فِي كِتَابِهِ الْمَجِيدِ، بَعْدَ أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ:

صَدَقَ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ

One reminder that I'd like to give is that Dhuhr time actually begins at 12:07. So today's Dhuhr time begins at 12:07. You should be mindful of that. And this is one of the reasons why the Dhuhr Adhan is delayed — so we give the Dhuhr Adhan right after the talk, just for these couple of weeks. And so then right before the Dhuhr time is the time that a person should avoid praying.

The Temporary Nature of This Life

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in the Qur'an — and He reminds in the Qur'an often, again and again — the temporary nature of this life. This life, with all of its glitters and its glamour, is very distracting. And a person often forgets what his true purpose in life is.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created insan, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created insan for one reason, and that is the worship of Allah. Everything that we have, everything that we possess in this life, is from Him. We didn't do very much to acquire what we have. Our relationships that we have — parents, children, siblings — given to us by Allah. Our physical prowess, ability, our intellectual capabilities and faculties — given to us by Allah. We didn't do anything to get that. We didn't do anything to achieve that.

In this life, we're here for a very temporary time. Even though at times it may seem that life is going by very slow, the reality is that the time that we're here for is very short — is very short. And the way in the nature that it's going, it's going faster than we could ever imagine.

In one hadith, the Prophet ﷺ says:

That the time will seem very close. And although there are other explanations for it, in one hadith it is even mentioned clearly:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2332)

A year will go by as if it's a month. A month will go by as if it's a week. A week will go by as if it's a day. A day will go by as if it's an hour. And we regularly are seeing that. From week to week we come for Jumu'ah prayer, and the time in between — where did it go? A day goes by like this. Years are going by like never before.

We talk about Ramadan — the weeks usually before Ramadan, the khatīb is always mentioning the virtues of Ramadan and what we should be doing for Ramadan. And it seems like just the other day we were hearing khutbahs about Ramadan, and already there are a couple of weeks left — there's about a month or so left before Ramadan again commences.

The Distractions of This World

And so the life, the way things are in this life, they're very distracting. And in a capitalistic society, in a society driven by consumerism and a materialistic-oriented society, things are always pushing, things are always pulling us towards it. New Year comes, you go to the store — New Year's, the whole aisle for New Year's. New Year's doesn't finish, and you have Valentine's Day, and everything for Valentine's, from chocolates to all kinds of whatnot. That doesn't even come, that hasn't even started — you have St. Patrick's Day or some random thing. Something has to fill in that void. If it's not that, it's Easter. If it's not that, it's July 4th. If it's not that, then it's something else. Sale — one sale finishes, another sale begins. It's always "hey, there's a sale!" There are sales all the time. You had a Presidents' Day sale, you have a Memorial Day sale, you have a Labor Day sale, you have the Black Friday sale. So you're constantly being pulled.

Where do you get the time? And if it's not that — for some people that's their distraction — for other people it's sports. So no sooner does football season finish with the Super Bowl, no sooner does that finish, and next season for another sport begins. You're constantly preoccupied.

So where does the person get the time to then think about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? When does the person get the time to actually think about where he's headed to? That's why most people don't have this idea in mind. It's not in their mind — it's not even perhaps in the back of their mind: I'm here for a very temporary time. I have to go.

That's why Allah ta'ala says:

This life of this world is nothing but lahw — entertainment — and la'ib — play. وَإِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ — It is the life of the Hereafter that is everlasting. That's the one that is actually worth living for, because it is eternal. لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ — If only they knew.

A person says, "I know. We know it." Why does Allah ta'ala say لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ? "We know it. I have 'ilm of it. I know I'm going to die." Which person is there on the face of this earth that doesn't know he's going to die? Everyone knows he's going to die.

Maybe there's a difference from religion to religion, faith to faith, as to what's going to happen after death. Some will say, "Well, after I die I become nothing, I mix with the dirt" — as the kuffar of Quraysh used to say. What is this life? We're going to become — will Allah resurrect us after we become dirt and bones again?

So many ayat of the Qur'an, Allah ta'ala talks about: Don't you see your own creation? How we brought you forth from nothing, from absolutely nothing:

He wasn't even anything mentioned — anything worth mentioning. And Allah ta'ala brought you forth.

"When I die, I'll be brought back again?" Is that something so surprising to you? Is that something so astonishing to you, when you don't see the seasons around you — how the earth which Allah created dies, and how Allah ta'ala then again revives it? Don't you see that example in front of you? Don't you see the example of the nutfa — of that which doesn't seem to be living — and from that which is something despicable, something which is najis, something which is impure, Allah ta'ala brings forth something so pure: a child?

The stages of the child — who is it that controls it? Do you control it? Do you control what's happening in the womb when the child is being developed? You have no control. From stage to stage, Allah ta'ala takes it. Then you're born in life, Allah ta'ala brings you out:

We bring him out from the womb — he's a child. Is it you that controls your stages of life? لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ — you come to an age of strength, vitality. Your mind, your intellectual prowess, is at its peak. Your physical strength at its peak. ثُمَّ لِتَكُونُوا شُيُوخًا — then you come to the stage where you become elderly. For some, before any stage, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can take the person.

Have you ever sat to ponder over that? What guarantee do we have? What evidence do we have that I will live till tomorrow? But you're not going to actually realize this until you actually take some time and think about it. If we actually unplug ourselves from all of these things, we actually isolate — even if it's for a couple of minutes in a day — where we sit and we think about that: Where am I headed to? Where am I going?

But if we constantly allow ourselves to be distracted by all of these things, it's always something. There's always something. One thing finishes; one thing doesn't finish, something else comes. For each person it is different. For men, it's different. For women, it's different. For children, it's different. For grown-ups, it's different. "Baba, there's the newest game that's out there, we have to get it." The wife says, "Oh, there's the newest product that's out there, you have to get." Or it's the politics — "Oh, do you know the elections that are happening? Oh, did you see the debate?" It's the same thing, over and over again.

You ask the person who lives the longest — who lives 78 years — "In all your years of watching politics, same thing. Do you see anything new?" Same thing. Each politician will try to get your vote. He'll say whatever he has to. He'll support whatever you want him to support because he needs your vote. They come, they go. Most of the people you don't even remember. You have to think: In my lifetime, how many presidents have I seen? It's a constant — it's something constant that's pulling at you.

Now, that doesn't mean that a person says, "You know what, forget it, I'm not going to deal with any of that." Yes, part of being in this life is you have to deal with all of these things. You have to take care and meet the demands of the time, the demands of the home. Yes, your wife has demands. Your husband has demands. Your children have demands. Your parents have demands. You have to meet all of those. You live in a particular country — yes, you should be aware. But it shouldn't be to the point where the person forgets and neglects the actual essential reason that Allah ta'ala created him.

The Five Questions on the Day of Judgment

In the hadith narrated by Imam al-Tirmidhī, he mentions the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2416)

The feet of Ibn Adam will not move on the Day of Judgment in front of his Lord until he is asked about five things:

عَنْ عُمُرِهِ فِيمَا أَفْنَاهُ — About his life: where did he waste it? Where did he let it go?

وَعَنْ شَبَابِهِ فِيمَا أَبْلَاهُ — His youth: where did he waste it? Where did he let that go?

عَنْ مَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ وَفِيمَا أَنْفَقَهُ — His wealth: where did he acquire his wealth from? Was it from sources that Allah ta'ala allowed, that were approved by Allah? Or was it not? And then where did he spend it? What did he spend that money on? Did he spend it for the huqūq that were on him — that were needed — or did he waste it? Did he commit idā'at al-māl — did he waste it?

And regarding عَمَلِهِ فِيمَا عَلِمَ — how much did he act according to what he knew? Did he act? He knew certain things but did not act on them.

This is why Allah ta'ala says لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ — you may have the 'ilm, but because you don't act on that 'ilm, it is as if you don't have that 'ilm. You know certain things but you don't act on them.

You know that this life is temporary — who doesn't know it? Everyone knows it. You don't have to be a Muslim to know that. Any individual growing up in life experiences death in some form. Parents die. Children die. Relatives die. Siblings die. You see it with your own eyes. Everyone knows that my end is also like that. I too will one day pass away. My body will be in the hands of someone else tomorrow. My body will be in someone else's hands tomorrow. I will not have control over it. I'm standing in front of you today, but tomorrow that's not going to be the case. Somebody else is going to take care of my body. You're going to have to trust somebody else to do that.

Knowing the Ahkam of Janazah

And as a side note, we as individuals should also know — for ourselves, for our relatives — that if that time ever comes, do I know how the process of ghusl is done? How do you wash the body of the deceased? How do you wrap the body? Most may not even know the du'a of janazah. When the janazah comes, what is the du'a that is supposed to be recited? So our own relative passes away — maybe our own dear one passes away, maybe it is our parent that passes away, maybe it's someone else that passes away — but we don't know the du'a that's supposed to be recited at that time. These are things that are more important things. So a person has to take some time out and sit.

If you don't reflect on it, you don't think about it, then it's simply there, but there's no reality for it. That's why Allah ta'ala says لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ — if only they knew. It's not that they don't know, but because their actions are not in accordance with what they know, it is as if they don't know.

A person, if he knows that the pan is hot — you put the pan on top of the stove — if he knows it's hot, he's not going to touch it. If he still touches it, what do you say? "You didn't know it was hot?" And he says, "No, I didn't know it was hot." "Well, what's wrong? That's foolish of you." If you knew it was hot, then why did you put your hand over it? It means you didn't know. That's the idea. You knowing, but not acting on it, it's as if you don't know. Then what's the point?

The Opportunity of Life

So for that, alhamdulillah — just as an example — in sha Allah next weekend also we have this No Tech Retreat. This is a good opportunity. This phone in itself is a distraction. How many times, how many hours do we end up spending — no fā'ida, no benefit to it. Hours go by. A person watches all kinds of nonsense. So this next week is an opportunity where a person can actually remove themselves from that type of environment, remove themselves from, unplug themselves, and actually contemplate: Yeah, what have I done in life?

People in this day and age — they have a midlife crisis. They get to a certain age and they have a midlife crisis. We talk about it in psychology — midlife crisis: What have I done so far in my life? What did I achieve? What did I accomplish? Was it worth it? What were the things that I did? Was it worth it? Was it not worth it?

So likewise, on the Day of Judgment there's going to be a crisis too. It's not going to be a midlife crisis — it's going to be an end-of-life crisis. In one hadith it comes: everybody will have nadāma. The muḥsin — the person who did good — his nadāma will be, "I wish I had done more." And the person who did evil — his nadāma will be, "I wish I could take it back." But there is nothing you could do at that point.

Alhamdulillah, life is there. For the awliyā of Allah, people think that the awliyā of Allah ta'ala don't like life — they want to die. Though they have the desire to meet Allah, as the Nabi ﷺ says in the hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhārī, Hadith 6507; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2683)

One who loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him. One who dislikes to meet Allah, Allah also dislikes to meet him.

So the awliyā of Allah, the people who are connected to Allah, where they love to meet Allah — it's not that they're asking for death. Why? Because every moment of life is an opportunity for them to get closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

In the time of the Prophet ﷺ there were two companions that passed away. One passed away a week earlier — and they were both friends. One passed away as a shaheed, the other one passed away on his deathbed. So when the Rasulullah ﷺ asked the sahaba what they thought of them, they said the second one that passed away: "We hope that Allah ta'ala joins him together." So Rasulullah ﷺ said: though the first person may have become a shaheed, the other person lived a whole week more — a whole week longer. He did a whole week's worth of more prayer, a whole week's worth of more dhikr.

So your time is your opportunity to get closer to Allah, to increase in the book of deeds. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us tawfīq, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to realize this. Alhamdulillah rabbil 'alameen.

We'll have our Adhan now and then we'll pray sunnah.

Announcements

Just a couple of quick announcements. Please pass the donation boxes from left to right.

We have a Girls Youth Halaqah program — Soulful Chats — tomorrow, February 10th, from 10am to 4pm.

We have a weekend in-person workshop on the Islamic perspective on relationships. That will be in the Sisters' Seminary prayer hall.

We have our No Tech Retreat 2024 — Unplugged, a 24-hour escape from technology to connect with the Creator. That will be February 17th to Sunday, February 18th, after Maghrib Salah, with Sheikh Zakaria Bajaj, who is an Imam in Toronto. We'll have the following programs: The Virtues of Salawat, Psychology of Change, and other programs in sha Allah. You can visit the website for more information.

We have the Tafheem Weekend Islamic Studies program — enrollment is open currently. Classes are both online and onsite. Please join us for our weekly programs: Team Fajr, the Tuesday Tafseer, Weekly Salawat. We have our Sisters' online weekly Tafseer in Urdu on Thursdays from 12pm to 1pm.

There is a du'a request: please make du'a for our Muslims that are suffering in Palestine. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alleviate their difficulties.

Sister Fakhira Begum is in the ICU — please make du'a for her shifa. Bhai Ajmeri is going through a brain tumor surgery — please make du'a for him as well.

And lastly, Darul Salam is hosting Helping Hand — it's a wonderful organization running a Ramadan food drive for global refugees, including Palestinians, Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenis, and others. Please visit their respective booth that will be outside. They are sending food containers and cash donations to more than 100 countries. In sha Allah they'll be doing this throughout Ramadan as well. Your contribution will in sha Allah support the suhoor and iftar for many struggling around the Muslim world.

After the Prayer

We request the brothers in the lobby to kindly not perform your sunnah there so that the brothers can leave smoothly and easily. Additionally, as this is a blessed day of Jumu'ah, we request that before you leave you stop by the kiosk and make a donation of any amount, or you can Zelle it to the masjid at donate@masjidds.org, or you can drop any amount in the donation boxes to utilize and maximize this blessed day of Jumu'ah.

Lastly, there is a request from one of the brothers. In sha Allah, he will be expecting, so he is requesting du'a that Allah makes the delivery easy and smooth, and may Allah grant him a righteous, healthy child, in sha Allah. Amīn.

Acceptance of Islam — Shahādah

Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah — masha'Allah, a brother is here, in sha Allah, to accept Islam. If I may please invite our brother Sean, in sha Allah, to please come up. In sha Allah, we will try to make this quick for everyone. Bismillah.

We're just going to say it in Arabic first and then we'll repeat it in English.

"I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Prophet Muhammad is His servant and messenger."

Takbīr! Takbīr! Takbīr!

Masha'Allah — I request all the brothers, in sha Allah, please come up and introduce yourself and, masha'Allah, congratulate our brother in Islam. Thank you.