Safeguarding Your Family From The Fire Of The Hereafter

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Mawlana Ahsan Syed

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasoolihil kareem, amma ba'd, a'oozubillahi minash shaytanir rajeem, bismillahir rahmanir raheem.

The Origin of Humanity — Adam and Hawwa

Alhamdulillah, it's a ni'ma of Allah, from His ni'ma is that Allah made us, created us within homes and households and families. All of it began with Adam and Hawwa. Allah created Adam alayhis salam, from him Allah created Hawwa, and from them what you see today is a result of that.

Two individuals — from these two individuals, the billions of people that are on the globe today, they are all the children of Adam alayhis salam, all the children of Hawwa. Sometimes we don't realize it, we don't think about it, and especially I know today that the world view that is presented and the framework that is presented to us is that, no, we weren't created from one man and one woman, we came from animals. No, alhamdulillah, we don't believe in that.

Allah mentions to us that He created Adam, and from Adam, Allah created his wife, Hawwa, and from them Allah created the rest of humanity. Now, with our families — whether it's our wives, our children, our parents — there is a responsibility, there are rights that are over each one of us. In fact, most of us may have heard that you have rights of Allah, and you have rights of human beings.

That's one way of looking at it, but at the end of the day, there's actually rights of Allah. All of that could be combined within the rights of Allah. Why? Because how a person deals with his parents, or how a person deals with his children, or how a person deals with their spouses — those are all mandated, dictated by Allah. There are ahkam that are there for it. So hence, all of that actually falls under the right of Allah. Because if a person violates the right of another person, he will also be answered, he will be questioned by Allah.

Allah will ensure that that individual fulfills that right somehow, some way, shape, or form, whether in this dunya or in the hereafter. So our immediate family — our parents, our children, our spouses — they have the most right on us, the immediate right over us.

Protecting Your Family from the Fire

So in the Qur'an, in the ayah which I recited, Allah mentions: O you who believe, qoo anfusakum — protect yourself — wa ahlikum — and your family. Protect yourself and your family from the fire. The fuel of which, وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ, is fueled by human beings and rocks.

We have the responsibility — each one of us has the responsibility — to take care of their family. Often, we think about it and we say, yeah, I have to provide for my family, I have to make sure that my children get a good education, they have clothes on their back, they have a roof over their head. That's true, that's part of it. As much as a person can, whatever ability Allah has given an individual, based on that capacity, a person tries their best and they do that. But more importantly, what we forget is that not only are we responsible to take care of them for this life, but we also have a degree of responsibility when it comes to the hereafter. Because the life hereafter is the life that is everlasting.

Just like we are worried and concerned, we make du'a — we say, Ya Allah, I make du'a that my child gets a good education, Ya Allah, make it easy. Ya Allah, when the time comes for him to get married, for her to get married, Ya Allah, find them a suitable spouse. Ya Allah, if they don't have a job, they're trying to look for a job, Ya Allah, put them in a place where they're making good money, taking care of themselves.

But likewise, how many of us are making du'a: Ya Allah, make my child an ashiq of Yours. Ya Allah, make my child a wali of Yours. Ya Allah, protect my child from the fire of Jahannam.

The Nizam of Allah — Following the System

Simply wanting and simply desiring doesn't mean that that thing is going to happen. How often does it happen where we're hungry and we're desiring food — we say, I'm hungry, I wish I had some food, and all of a sudden food appears? It can happen, it's not outside of the qudra of Allah. It sometimes happens where a person thinks to himself, I'm really hungry, I wish I had some food, and subhanAllah, someone says, here there's a plate of food. SubhanAllah, it's not outside of the power of Allah.

But very often what we find is, for everything that we do, there's a system that Allah created. There's a nizam of Allah. And we are expected and demanded that we follow that nizam.

When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, for example, fought in the various battles — take the battle of Badr. It comes in the narration that Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sat and he made du'a, and he made a lot of du'a, until Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu had to say, Ya Rasulallah, that's enough, that's sufficient. And then Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam didn't just sit — he also participated in the battle of Badr. He participated in the battle of Uhud. It comes about the battle of Uhud that Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had two layers of armor. Does that mean that the Nabi doesn't have tawakkul in Allah? This is the Prophet of Allah. Atqannas — the one that has the most taqwa. A'lamunnas — the one that has the most knowledge of Allah. But what's the reason behind it? It's the recognition that there's a system, there's a nizam of Allah. And whatever from that nizam is available to me, I have to use.

The Battle of Ahzab and the Trench

You look at the battle of Ahzab, where Madinah, the city of Madinah, where the Muslims are living, is now under attack. An army comprising of various tribes, various people, numbering close to 10,000, is now on the outskirts, surrounding. The information has come that they're about to attack Madinah Munawwara. What did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam do? He convened a meeting. He had the senior sahaba present. What should we do? Different opinions were presented. And at that time Salman al-Farsi radiyallahu anhu said, this is what we used to do in Persia — we used to dig a trench around the city. Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam took that. He said, this is a good idea. And then the trench was dug. The sahaba and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam were involved physically themselves in the digging of those trenches. And when the sahaba came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and mentioned about the hunger that they were experiencing and how they had tied one rock over their bellies, Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam lifted his own shirt and there were two tied to his stomach.

And what's interesting, what's amazing, is when an individual or a community goes through difficulty and they keep Allah in the back of their mind — everything that they're doing is for the sake of Allah — you will find that at that moment of extreme difficulty, Allah's help is there. So in many of those narrations where you find extraordinary events happening, mu'ajizat occurring, and the sahaba experiencing that, you'll find that it's in the times of extreme difficulty.

Take for example in the battle of Ahzab: at one point in time when they're digging the trenches, there's a part of the trench where the sahaba aren't able to dig. And Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself comes, they ask the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he himself strikes that part of the earth and it becomes pieces. In some narrations it comes that there was even a light that came up, and he saw the palaces of Busra. These types of glad tidings were being given, showing that right now you are worried that the enemies are attacking, but one day will come where your dominion will reach even where Qaisar and Kisra are — even where the Byzantine and the Persian empires are.

The Hijra and Suraqa ibn Malik

When Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is migrating from Makkah to Madinah, what are the circumstances at that time? You have people who are trying to catch the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. There are wanted posters, there are people who are after the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam's life and Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu's life is in danger. And at that time one individual is able to actually find them and catch them — that is Suraqa ibn Malik. What happens? As he's nearing the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his horse's feet sink into the ground. He says, I'm not gonna chase after him. Again he goes back in pursuit. Again they sink. Finally he makes a determined resolve: no, I'm not gonna hurt the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, I'm not gonna do anything.

And when he approaches the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, what is the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam saying? He's saying: Oh Suraqa, how will that day be when you will have the bangles — the golden bangles — of Kisra? And in the time of Umar radiyallahu anhu, when the dynasty of the Persian Empire falls and all the wealth of Persia is now coming to Madinah Munawwara, and the bangles of Kisra are brought — they ask, where is Suraqa ibn Malik? These were the bangles of Kisra that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had prophesized.

When did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam say this? At one of the most dire, one of the most difficult situations. When Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu himself was asked about it, he said: when we were hiding in the Ghar-e-Thawr, had the Mushrikeen simply looked down at their feet, they would have seen us. And at that time, what is the Prophet of Allah saying? Oh Suraqa, how will it be when the bangles of Kisra will be presented to you.

Jabir's Story — The Miracle of Food

In the battle of Ahzab, when they're experiencing this extreme situation — an army of 10,000 surrounding Madinah Munawwara — Jabir radiyallahu anhu, seeing the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam's situation and state, quickly came and secretly spoke to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. He said, I rushed back home and asked my wife, what do we have at home? She said, we have a small little baby goat and we have a little bit of wheat for bread. I said, okay, I'm gonna invite the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

He quietly whispered into the ear of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: Ya Rasulallah, we have a little bit of food, please, we'd like to invite you. And here Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam makes an announcement — he announces: there's food at Jabir's place, everybody's invited. Jabir radiyallahu anhu rushes back home. Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, don't touch anything, wait for me to come. They followed the hukum of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And what happens? Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam comes, his mubarak hands touch, his saliva is mixed with the curry and the meat, and subhanAllah — in some narrations it comes that 1,000 sahaba ate from it.

So these are the extreme difficulties — when a person goes through them and they have Allah in their heart, they're recognizing Allah, and they're doing it for the sake of Allah — the help of Allah, the way it comes:

When the person has taqwa, when he fears Allah, and he has love for Allah, and he does whatever he does for the sake of Allah, then when he's in a difficult situation, Allah makes the way out for him. And Allah provides for him where he couldn't even anticipate — يَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ.

Our Homes Must Be Spiritual Safe Havens

Now, going back to my original topic — our families. Is it difficult? Yes, but we ourselves, if we are not the model, if we ourselves are not setting an example for our families, what can we expect from them? Very often we hear, for example, a young child is enrolled in the madrasa, and the parents really want — they have the desire that my child become a hafidh of Qur'an. But what does the child say? We find that his progress is not going very well. When we look into it, when we ask what's happening, he says: when I'm home and I'm asked to memorize the Qur'an, what's my family doing? My father is watching TV, my mother is doing whatever. How do you expect that child to sit and memorize Qur'an when the environment — that very home that was supposed to be a spiritual haven for each individual — we've actually made it into, for lack of a better word, like a ditch, where we ourselves are bringing in things that are harming us spiritually. What are we going to expect?

Yes, if the child can see that my father is also sitting with me — who said that memorization of the Qur'an is for little kids? Who said that? Why can we not memorize the Qur'an? Why is it that it's only our kids that are going to go memorize the Qur'an? I should also memorize the Qur'an, irrespective of my age. We should be lifetime students of the Qur'an. We should have it in our hearts. If I cannot memorize the whole Qur'an, I will at least try to memorize however much I can.

So if my son is sitting, memorizing the Qur'an, let me take some time out, let me also sit and try to memorize. Maybe I have a habit of reading Surah Yasin every day — let me try to memorize Surah Yasin. I have a habit of reading and reciting Surah Al-Mulk — let me try to memorize Surah Al-Mulk. It's 30 ayahs. If you were to memorize one ayah every day, within one month you'll have all of Surah Al-Mulk memorized.

The mushafs that are here — these are 15-line mushafs. One juz in these 15-line mushafs is 20 pages, which means the whole mushaf is about 600 pages. If a person were to make the intention that I'll memorize half a page a day, it would take him 1,200 days — about 3 to 4 years. Even if it takes you 10 years to memorize the Qur'an, but you've achieved what? You've achieved a connection with the kalam of Allah. You've memorized the kalam of Allah. And then you recite that kalam of Allah in your prayers.

So we have to develop this habit now — we have to stop just telling things and actually doing. I say this to myself first and foremost. In our homes, our homes have to be safe havens — spiritual safe havens.

The Challenge of Our Times

I don't want to say — we always hear this cliché sometimes — that the time that we're living in is one of the worst times. No, the Muslim ummah has always faced difficulties from the time of the Prophet ﷺ. Yes, the challenges may have been different, but these types of attacks — whether they were attacks on the community itself, a physical attack, an onslaught, or whether they were academic attacks — they were there. You have various types of groups and individuals that came and went.

But what am I doing? We cannot just sit and say, no, insha'Allah my son will be fine, my daughter will be fine — they're studying in Sunday school. Five days a week they're in school, they're being bombarded with Allah knows what type of information and whatnot. And one day in Sunday school they go — and I'm not here to criticize, I know these are efforts that are there — but I'm trying to say, look at and compare the two. Five days versus one day. And then here in colleges and universities, you have professors who have studied for decades in whatever field they're teaching. A teacher who's teaching philosophy has been in that field for 10, 20, 30 years. He knows how to put circles on these kids. He knows how to completely — you come here, he'll be able to take them away, just like this. And then we say, one day of Sunday school should be enough. No, this is very concerning.

We have to have that concern within our heart. My child — what's going to happen to him in the future? And I'm not only worried and concerned about the future in this life. My family, my wife, my husband, my parents, my children — what's going to happen to my siblings? So in our home, we have to start some way.

Gradual Change — Starting with Ta'lim at Home

I know it's difficult. But whenever we want change — if you want lasting change, it has to be done gradually. I know we get sometimes pumped up and we're like, okay, I'm going to do something about this. But if you try to rock the boat too much, what's going to happen? It's going to flip. Try bringing in smaller changes.

So for example, let's start ta'lim in our home. Let's sit for five minutes. Let's read one hadith together as a family. Let's read one hadith as a family together. When we have the opportunity, we take our kids to the masjid. There are programs — let's bring our families to the programs. Let's have them benefit from it, let's have them learn. The more families on the same page, the easier it will be to go through these issues.

Most often, I find and I feel, that when an individual is struggling, it's because the core individuals around them are not providing them that spiritual support that they need. It could be parents, it could be children, it could be a spouse, it could be siblings, it could be the friends that we're hanging around.

Allah even mentions about that friend:

Why did I take so and so as a friend? I wish I hadn't taken so and so as a friend. He misled me, he misguided me. So the people we surround ourselves with — our homes — we have to start working on them. Even if it's with small steps, no problem. Sometimes these small steps, taken consistently and regularly, have profound, lasting, long-term effects.

Du'a and Closing

May Allah grant us tawfiq. May Allah allow us. Our du'a should incorporate: Ya Allah, make me a wali. Ya Allah, make me Your wali. Ya Allah, make me Your ashiq. Ya Allah, make our children Your ashiq. Ya Allah, make my family, my parents, my siblings Your ashiq. Ameen.

Announcements

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Join us for our weekly programs. Team Fajr, tomorrow at 5 AM — Fajr iqamah is at 5 AM. We continue our Bukhari Dars on Mondays after Maghrib with Mufti Minhaj. And we have our Tafsir Dars after Maghrib on Tuesdays with Mufti Azimuddin.

We have a number of programs coming up. Deen Intensive classes will start June 20th. Tanweer classes start August 14th — Qur'an and Islamic studies and sports for boys and girls, ages 6 to 14. We also have a Tarbiyah for Tots program, ages 4 to 5. All information for all of these programs is on our website, masjidds.org. You can register for any one of them. The TAFIM weekend program fall semester is going to start on August 19th.

We have our annual retreat — Friday, May 26th to May 28th. The topic of this retreat is The Changing Ties of Right and Wrong. The whole theme revolves around the various different challenges that we are facing at this time. Insha'Allah, definitely come, register for it, bring yourself, your families, close friends — everybody who can come, we ask that you participate.

Du'a Requests

Lake Shahrani has passed away — we make du'a that Allah forgive him and raise his maqam. Muhammad Abdullah Mohsen also passed away in Hyderabad — may Allah forgive him. Muhammad Mustafa Zaki Hassan has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer — may Allah grant him shifa. One of our students' aunts is severely sick — may Allah grant her shifa. Likewise, all the Muslims in the ummah, whoever is sick, wherever they may be — may Allah grant them shifa. Whoever has passed away — may Allah forgive them and grant them Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen.

BarakAllahu feekum.