Prophetic Character: The Foundation Of Trust And Divine Guidance

The Role of the Prophets in Guiding Humanity

For the guidance of insan, Allah sent anbiyā' عليهم الصلاة والسلام. These anbiyā' were individuals who Allah from the beginning protected, who we consider ma'ṣūm. Allah from the beginning protected them.

And even before nubuwwah came to them, as they're growing up in their communities, everyone knew them to be righteous and pious individuals. Regarding Ṣāliḥ عليه السلام, his people, when he first started giving the da'wah, they said to him:

"You are somebody who we had great expectations from. You are somebody whose character was well-known. We had great expectations from you."

When Shu'ayb عليه السلام invited his people, they said to him:

"Is it your ṣalāh that's telling you to stop us from doing this?" Which shows that even before his nubuwwah, he was someone who was engaged in actions of righteousness and piety.

Regarding the Prophet ﷺ, we know in his seerah that he was already given the title of Al-Ṣādiq Al-Amīn even before he got the first revelation. He was known as somebody who was true, who was trustworthy and honest.

In fact, in some books of seerah it's mentioned that even after his nubuwwah, there were many among the Quraysh who didn't believe in him, who had given their money or their valuables as a trust, and they kept it with the Prophet ﷺ. Despite their animosity, despite all their endeavors against the Prophet ﷺ and his calling of the people towards Islam, despite all of that, they still kept their valuables with the Prophet ﷺ. And when Nabi ﷺ was migrating, he had left Ali رضي الله عنه behind to ensure that all the valuables go back to their owners — to whoever they belonged to.

The Story of Al-Ḥajar Al-Aswad

These Anbiyā' ﷺ grew up among their people, their people knew them, they were known as the most righteous, they were known as Al-Ṣādiq Al-Amīn. Within the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, when he was approximately 35 years of age, the Quraysh had decided to rebuild the Ka'bah.

And after they rebuilt it, there was an issue that came about — who is going to put the black stone back in its place? Al-Ḥajar Al-Aswad. And every tribe needed to be represented. But they weren't able to resolve this issue. It came to such a point where some had even started taking an oath to fight.

And some among them decided: "Look, we're doing something that's really remarkable. It's something that's honorable. We're rebuilding the house of Allah. It doesn't seem appropriate that it end in bloodshed. How about this — how about the next morning, when we come to the masjid, the first person to walk from this area, whoever it may be, we'll give the matter to him. Whatever he decides, we'll accept it."

And it was Allah's plan, of course, that it was Rasulullah ﷺ who walked into the haram. And as soon as they saw the Prophet ﷺ, they were all happy and content — that whatever decision he's going to make, insha'Allah, it's going to be the best for us.

And truly the decision that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ made was one that was very wise. He said, "Why don't one of you bring a large garment or a large sheet. We'll put the stone in between and send one representative from each tribe. They'll hold the edge of it and they'll bring it to the Baytullah." And then he, Nabi ﷺ himself, took the Ḥajar Aswad, the black stone, and put it in its place — resolving what could potentially have been quite a bloody conflict.

The True Objection of the Disbelievers

So from the beginning, everyone knew the status of these individuals. In fact, in one place Allah even says:

They don't really object to you per se. And Allah reminds:

"I've lived a lifetime among you." For 40 years Nabi ﷺ lived among them. He married among them, he was one among them. His life, his personality, his character known to them. "I've lived a lifetime among you, you know me."

So they didn't really object to him per se. Their issue was with the ḥukm of Allah — that Allah is One, and that we are being asked to let go of what our forefathers held on to; our power, our might, our honor, our leadership is going to perhaps slip away. This was their problem. This is what they didn't want to let go.

Revelation Always Comes Through Individuals

Whenever Allah sent any of His books, when Allah had to reveal anything to the people, He always sent it through an individual:

These individuals, these anbiyā' عليهم الصلاة والسلام, would then explain to the people what exactly the purpose of their life is, how they can get to Allah and so on. Never will you find in any ummah of the past, that some kitab is being given, a scripture is given, or some tablet is given, and they have to figure it out themselves. Never happened. Wherever you had kitābullāh, you always had rijālullāh — you always had the people of Allah to explain.

Rasulullah ﷺ explained the Qur'an. In fact, it was one of his responsibilities:

"So that you may explain to them what has been revealed to them." And Allah took the responsibility of explaining His kalām to the Prophet ﷺ.

At one point in time in the beginning, when the verses would be revealed, when Jibreel al-Amīn would recite the verses to the Prophet ﷺ, he was afraid that perhaps he may forget, he may not remember the verses. So he would start quickly reciting them. Allah sent down the āyāt:

"Don't move your tongue in a hurry. We take the responsibility of gathering it in your heart. We take the responsibility of its recitation. And We take the responsibility of explaining the āyāt to you." So that what? لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ — "So that you may go and explain the āyāt to the people."

The Purpose of Life: Returning to Allah in a State of Contentment

And the focus has always been: you are created by Allah, you're going to return back to Allah. Make sure that when you return back to Allah, you're returning in a state where Allah is pleased with you. You live this life in a manner, you live this life in a way that Allah is pleased with you. So at that last moment, when that breath comes out of your mouth, when the breath leaves your body, Allah is pleased. And Allah is saying:

"Oh that nafs, oh that soul that is content with Allah, that is pleased with the orders of Allah — come back, return to Me. Return to Me in a state that you are pleased." رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً — "Not only are you pleased, but We are also pleased with you." Sometimes it's one-sided — a person from one side is pleased. But here Allah is saying, not only are you pleased, We are also pleased with you. "Enter among My servants, enter into My garden."

So every nabi that came, he taught his people this very thing.

Guidance at Every Stage of Life

In life, as we're going through life and the challenges of life — from childhood, from the time that a person is born till the time that a person dies, Allah has given insan all the guidance that he needs, whatever he needs.

From the moment he's born, we see from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ that the child is born, you give the adhān in his right ear, the iqāmah in his left. Even from that point on, it's already in his mind — look, there's a day you have to go back. The very first thing he hears in his ears is الله أكبر، الله أكبر — there is nothing and no one greater than Allah. That's instilled. That's what you have to instill in the hearts of your children. There is no authority, there is no power, there is no being, there is no might that is greater than Allah. That's what he hears, that's what she hears for the very first time.

And as the child grows up, Nabi ﷺ teaches us, the Qur'an teaches us, how exactly do you raise them? In one hadith, Nabi ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 2, Hadith 494)

"Command your children for prayer when they become seven." So that when they become mature, when the religious obligation actually comes upon them for prayer, it's no longer difficult for them — they're already in the habit of praying the five daily prayers.

As a person gets older, they get married. At the time of marriage, what's the khutbah that the Prophet ﷺ recited? There are three āyāt that are recited, and in every āyah from that khutbah, what's mentioned? اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ، اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ، اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ — "Have fear of Allah." You're now starting a new chapter in your life. You're now going to live with someone who's going to be your life partner. In Urdu, we call them rafīq-e-ḥayāt — this is going to be your companion, your life companion. Make sure you have taqwā, so that you — either of you — do not violate the rights that Allah has bestowed upon them.

From that time on, all the way till when the person dies. When the person dies, the janāzah, the ṣalātul janāzah — the inheritance must be given and distributed as per the command of Allah. And Allah knows in His wisdom how much and why different individuals get different amounts. Allah knows in His divine wisdom.

And the salātul janāzah — we call it a salāt, we call it a prayer, but it's actually not a worship that we're doing to the deceased. In fact, it's a du'ā — the essence of salātul janāzah is that it's a du'ā that we make for the sake of the one who's passed away. That he is somebody, she is someone, that was part of our community, they lived their life, they were a Muslim, they died on Islām — we now make du'ā: "Yā Allāh, forgive them. Yā Allāh, enter them into paradise."

When the person is being laid to rest in the ground, we find the hadīth — Nabi ﷺ taught us that as you're throwing the dirt inside the grave, each time that you throw it, read this part of the āyah:

"From it, We created you. To it, We will return you. And from it, once again, We will bring you back."

Facing the Challenges of Life with Confidence in Allah

These challenges that come in life, they come and go. The older you are, you know and you recognize. One challenge comes, and Allah removes it. Another challenge comes. A person should, whenever you face a challenge, remind yourself of the challenges that have come before in life, and how Allah removed them. And be confident that if I'm going through any difficulty now, Allah will also remove that.

And this life is a test from Allah, to see:

"Which of you will excel in deeds?"

So this guidance from Allah and His Rasul, all in the Qur'an and Hadīth. And whenever we face new challenges, new issues, we always go back to Qur'an and Hadīth. The Qur'an is timeless — it's not meant for a specific time, specific place, or specific age. It's timeless. It's for all people of all times, irrespective of their background. The Hadīth of the Prophet ﷺ — for all people, all times, anywhere they may be.

Navigating New Challenges: The Example of AI

It is those whom Allah granted knowledge to who are able to access and then use it, and guide us. So for example, with AI — what do we do? What's right? What's wrong? Are there certain parameters that the Sharī'ah has put? These are things that a person who knows the Qur'an, Hadīth, and who knows what exactly we're dealing with, can guide us in. If we try to access it ourselves, sometimes we may not be able to, we may not know what's right or wrong.

With AI, we can definitely ask many things. You go on any AI platform and you ask, for example, "My stomach is hurting. What could be the cause? What's the symptom? What's the reason?" It'll give you a whole bunch of things. But how are you going to be able to decipher what's right or wrong? Sometimes kids become ill and you go on Google — this is what's happening with my kid, what's going on? — they give you all kinds of answers. And you become even more worried than before. But until you actually go to the expert, you go to the doctor, and he says — "It's nothing. That pain you were feeling in your stomach, that's indigestion, that's it. You're not dying." But how would you be able to figure that out had you not gone to the proper, right source?

The Retreat: Islam and AI

Alḥamdulillāh, this weekend, māshāAllāh, many of you have come for the retreat, and we have many locals here as well. We have our retreat on this very subject. And you've seen the topics perhaps. I encourage everyone to remain and attend all of the programs. And if you're able to spread the word, let people know about it as well. It is something that our communities are dealing with today. What are the parameters? What are aspects of it that are beneficial? What are aspects that are perhaps harmful? How can we navigate through that? So inshāAllāh, the whole purpose of this retreat is centered around that.

We have a whole list of speakers, ranging from ulamā' to experts in their fields in AI. This will be something very beneficial. We're honored to host scholars from across the world, along with our own teachers from here, Dārus Salām. We also have a Hajj workshop, Journey of a Lifetime, with Mufti Sa'ad Rauf and Maulana Yusuf Ghosa, that will be Friday, May 17th, after the Maghrib Ṣalāh.

Upcoming Programs

We have our Mini-Muslims Program — that's every Thursday, 10am to 11am, for ages up to 5. Sisters' Side Banquet Hall.

Summer programs — inshāAllāh, we'll be offering multiple summer programs, including:

• Tamheed Summer Arabic — for young adults and older brothers and sisters, 14+
• Qur'an, Islamic Studies, and Sports Camp — for kids, boys and girls ages 6 to 13
• Tarbiyah for Ṭifl — for boys and girls ages 4 and 5

Please register at masjidds.org/summer for more information.

Join us for our weekly programs: Team Fajr will resume tomorrow, iqāmahs at 5am. Tuesday Tafsīr continues after Maghrib. Weekly Ṣalawāt and Khāṭira every Thursday.

Du'ā Requests

We have some du'ā requests. Please make du'ā for our brother Naziruddin Sayyid, who passed away — may Allah forgive him. And of course, keep the Muslims of Palestine in our du'ās.

Second Khuṭbah

Alḥamdulillāh, alḥamdulillāhi naḥmaduhu wa nastaʿīnuhu wa nastaghfiruhu wa nuʾminu bihi wa natawakkalu ʿalayhi, wa naʿūdhu billāhi min shurūri anfusinā wa min sayyiʾāti aʿmālinā. Man yahdihi Allāhu falā muḍilla lah, wa man yuḍlilhu falā hādiya lah. Nashadu an lā ilāha illā Allāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, wa nashadu anna sayyidanā wa mawlānā Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluh.

Ammā baʿd — Allah says in His Majestic Book:

Remember Allah, the Most High, the Most Great — He will remember you. Call upon Him and He will answer you. And the remembrance of Allah is indeed the greatest. And Allah knows what you do.

Retreat Program Details

We will have brothers Khalid Asif and Yasin Ahsan, where they will be sharing their journey about their startup and what led to that, the challenges that they face — not only that, but the potential that the Muslim youth have and how they can utilize their skills and talents to make an impact in the ummah. That will start between 4pm and 6pm.

After Ṣalātul ʿAṣr, we will have the recitation of Sūratul Kahf, some dhikr and du'ā as it is the blessed day of Jumuʿah — the time when du'ās are accepted. Then we will have our first talk of the retreat: "What is AI? An Introduction" by Dr. Waleed, who is a Chief Applied Scientist at Canva. He will be covering the topic of what AI is, as an introduction to the whole retreat.

After Ṣalātul Maghrib, we will have a talk by Mufti Azimuddin, and then the final talk of the night by Dr. Yaqub Ahmed, who has joined us from Turkey. He will be speaking about "From Gunpowder to the Printing Press: Muslims and the Question of Science."

Alḥamdulillāh, this whole weekend is for the entire family — we have parallel programs for the kids, youth, ulamā', and for the sisters as well. You can visit our website, masjidds.org, for the entire program catalog. Kindly please visit the website and register, and please join us with your family and friends. If you have family and friends from out of state who are unable to join, inshāAllāh all the programs and talks will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel.

Lastly, as today is the blessed day of Jumuʿah, on our way out let's try to ensure that we give as much as possible. You can visit the kiosk in the lobby, or you can use Zelle and donate at masjidds.org.

May Allah accept all of our ibādah. May Allah accept the sacrifice of the many brothers and sisters and families who have traveled from different states — New York, California, and alḥamdulillāh buses have come from Arizona, from Allentown, from Atlanta, from Baltimore. May Allah accept their effort and sacrifice, and make it a means of our salvation in this world and the next. And may Allah make it a means of ease for our brothers and sisters around the world, especially in Palestine.