Surah Kahf Recitation & Jumu'ah Khutbah | Mawlana Farhan Shariff | 9/5

The Blessing of Security and Sustenance

Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned in a hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2346)

That individual who wakes up and his belongings are intact, he himself is doing okay, he is healthy, and he has enough sustenance, enough food to survive for the day, then he has been so blessed by Allah, it's as though the entire world has been brought for him.

We are so blessed by Allah, enjoying numerous different bounties, and one of these bounties, these great blessings from Allah, is the great bounty and the blessing of children. As Allah has mentioned in Surah Ash-Shura:

Allah talks about the blessings of children, and He says — using the word يَهَبُ — that this is a gift from Allah. Allah gifts whomsoever He wishes daughters, and Allah gifts whomsoever He wishes sons. And for some, Allah grants them both sons and daughters. And there are others who are not granted this gift.

The scholars mention that having children is a نِعْمَة from Allah. May Allah bless everyone with this great wonderful blessing and bounty. And for those whom Allah has destined and decreed that they do not have children, then the ulama mention that not having children is a رَحْمَة from Allah — it is a mercy from Allah. But nonetheless, it is still a great bounty. And the greater the blessing, the greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility.

Every One of Us is Responsible

Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned in a hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 893; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1829)

Listen up! Behold! Every single one of you is responsible, and every single one of you will be held accountable for your subordinates.

The leader who is looking after the people — he is responsible and he will be held accountable. He will be asked regarding his followers, his subordinates, those who he is caring for. He will be asked how he took care of their needs. He will be asked if he was a just ruler. Did he deal with them fairly? Did he tend to every single one of their needs as a leader is supposed to? And even furthermore, the scholars mention that one of the main responsibilities he will have — like every other human being — is that he has to ensure that his subordinates, those who are following him, those who he is in charge of, are living their lives in a praiseworthy manner according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, according to the decree of Allah.

We are so blessed. Allah has given us so much purpose in our lives as Muslims. We know exactly what is required from us:

Our main purpose for existence is to recognize the greatness of Allah and to worship Allah. We also understand that Allah has placed us on earth as vicegerents — as خُلَفَاءُ اللهِ فِي الْأَرْض. We are there to ensure that the entire world and all of those around us live their lives in such a manner that they are living in accordance with the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ, in such a manner that is pleasing to Allah. This is a leader's responsibility.

The hadith continues. Every man who has a household, who has a family, he is also responsible — he is responsible with regards to his family members, how he deals with them, how he treats them, does he care for them as he is supposed to:

It is the husband's responsibility to provide for the family, to ensure that they have enough food to eat, they have shelter over their heads, they have clothing to wear. That is his responsibility. And additional to that, it is his responsibility that he does his best to ensure that his household, those that he is in charge of, have an Islamic education — they are taught the teachings of Rasulullah ﷺ, and that they live their lives in accordance with that.

The hadith continues — and not only the menfolk, but Rasulullah ﷺ also highlights the women. The wife is also responsible. She is responsible for the household of her husband. She is responsible to look after the children — one is of course to ensure that they are being taken care of, and also to ensure that they have a proper Islamic upbringing.

The hadith continues and it goes down. You have free individuals, and you have those who were perhaps even slaves or servants at the time of Rasulullah ﷺ. They are also responsible. They are responsible to look after whatever they are entrusted with.

To this extent, the commentators mention that even a person who doesn't have any family members — he may not be married, he may not have any subordinates — he too is responsible for his own body, for his limbs. And he will be held accountable for how he used his limbs. Did he take care of himself physically? As an أَمَانَة of Allah, this body is a trust that Allah has given us. And more importantly, did he ensure that his body parts were used for those praiseworthy actions in that manner which Rasulullah ﷺ taught us, or were they used to commit sin? This is a responsibility that every single one of us is going to have.

The Responsibility of Raising Children

When it comes to our children, this is a very important and grave responsibility that we have — to ensure that they are taken care of and that they are also taught a proper Islamic education. We spend years of our lives saving money just so that they can have a good, proper, secular education — which is important, and it is required, and it is necessary. But at the same time, let us ask ourselves: how much have we invested, how much have we worried, when it comes to their dini education?

And let us think — who is there who is going to teach our children, the next generation, the importance of taking care of their parents? Who is there who is going to teach the children the importance of not lying, the importance of being upright individuals in society? Everything can be justified depending on the group of individuals that they are raised with. As Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned in a hadith:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4833; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2378)

A person will follow the faith of his close friends. If he or she is with a group of individuals who is justifying stealing from others — maybe like Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor — it can be justified. But then who is there who is going to tell them that you are going to be held accountable on the Day of Judgment, in the court of Allah? It doesn't matter whether they are rich or poor that you are stealing from — you are going to be held accountable for misappropriating the wealth of someone else.

Who is there who is going to teach the children about inculcating good character, about being merciful to others? All of that is taught in dini education.

To this extent — and I have heard with my own two ears, and I'm sure many others have as well — where there are 30-year-old men, who may even be married, maybe even older than that, telling their parents. They have the audacity to tell their parents who raised them, who funded their education, who looked after them: "Let's sit together and have a frank conversation. Thank you for everything that you have given me my entire life, but I want to just inform you that I don't want you to expect me to take care of you or care for you in your old age. You had the opportunity to work, you had the opportunity to invest for yourselves, for your retirement, so don't expect me to take on that burden."

Na'udhu billah. Where is respect for one's parents? When that same parent went through years of his life saving so that that child could become a doctor, could become an engineer, could become a lawyer — at the end, now when the child reaches the top, when he is starting to work and realizing what it takes to take care of a family, he has the audacity to tell his parents: "You had your chance. Don't expect me to care for you. I'm responsible for my own family, I'm responsible for my own well-being."

Where is the beautiful teaching of Islam, where Allah — right after instructing us to worship Him — has mentioned to be mindful of one's parents, to be kind to the parents? Who is there who is going to teach that? Nothing else is teaching that except for the deen of Islam. We are so blessed to have these objective morals — where Rasulullah ﷺ himself has told us: this is your responsibility, this is how you have to live your life, this is what it means to be a good upright individual in society, and this is what it means to incur sin.

Where are our children going to get that except inside of the madaris, except inside of the dini institutions, except at the feet of the ulama? This is not found anywhere else. This is our responsibility.

Lessons from the Prophets

If we look at the prophets of the past, Allah has mentioned:

These are the ones that Allah has guided. They are our role models. They are the perfect human beings that we can follow, so we take lesson from their lives. Allah mentions that these prophets — We also granted them wives, and We also granted them children. What were their main concerns? Allah has preserved those conversations in the Quran for us to benefit from.

Nuh (alayhis salam)

When it comes to Nuh alayhi salam, when he had already boarded the ship, he said:

"O my beloved son, board the ship with us. Do not be amongst those who are disbelieving in Allah" — worrying about the faith and the well-being of his child, worrying that he does not go astray and leave the faith of Islam.

Ya'qub (alayhis salam)

When it comes to Ya'qub alayhi salam, Allah says:

"Were you not present when Ya'qub alayhi salam was on the verge of death?" He was about to pass away, and the one conversation that Allah saved and preserved for us to take lesson from — he asked them: "Who are you going to worship when I pass away?" He was so worried, so concerned about their faith. Nothing else really mattered.

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz

If we look at our pious predecessors too — Umar ibn Abdul Aziz. He was such a great khalifa of his time. He passed away so young, at the age of 39. His children were around him, along with some family members, as he was on the verge of death. His other family members began criticizing him, telling him: "What have you left behind for your children? You have not left them any wealth that they can benefit from, even though you were the khalifa of the time. Why don't you bequeath? Why don't you write a will so that we can care for them? Why don't you write some wealth in their favor?"

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said: "The most important thing I have transferred, insha'Allah, in my life." And he said:

"I have transferred and created piety and righteousness in my children's hearts. And Allah will take care of them if they are truly righteous. Why should I worry about saving so much wealth for that individual? I don't know if he's going to even use it in acts of obedience or in acts of vice. But if I can inculcate righteousness in my children's hearts and their minds, then I know Allah is going to take care of them."

Ibrahim (alayhis salam)

When it comes to Ibrahim alayhi salam, after just building the Ka'bah, what did he say?

Him and his son, both of them, they just completed such a great task. They built the Ka'bah with their own hands. And he made du'a: "O Allah, accept this from us. Certainly, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." And then he continues his du'a. This is such a powerful du'a. After completing such a wonderful task, he could have made du'a for anything — but what did he make du'a for?

"O Allah, show us our rituals. Show us how to be true, devout servants to You, how to worship You properly. O Allah, make us amongst those who are true submitters to Your faith, those who submit themselves to Your command." This is the du'a that he is making — du'a for being and remaining a true, devout, obedient Muslim for his entire life.

And he doesn't stop there, only making du'a for himself and for his son. He remembers the rest of his progeny that is going to come. He didn't just restrict it for himself and his own well-being. He understood the importance, and he made du'a for the rest of his progeny till the end of time: "And even from amongst my progeny, Ya Allah, make them such that they are subservient to Your commands, that they are obedient and live such lives."

This was the greatest worry that these anbiya alayhimu salam had when it came to their children: How am I going to protect their faith? How am I going to ensure that even after I have passed away, they continue to be Muslims?

Lead by Example

When it comes to this grave responsibility, subhanAllah, we need to also realize that as we are leaders of the household — leaders over ourselves and over those that we govern, whether we are parents or not, whether we are teachers or whatever rank Allah has granted us in society — we are responsible for those that we have control over. And the greatest of leaders, they lead by example. The greatest of leaders are those who can relate to their subordinates, who can lead through example, understand what they are going through, and number two, lead through example.

Allah talks about this also in Surah At-Tahrim. He says:

"O you who believe, save — number one — yourselves, and then your family members from the fire of Jahannam."

If we understand the importance of deen education for our children, we need to also understand that when we take on this endeavor, when we take on this task and make this intention to ensure that our children have a good upbringing and are raised in an Islamic environment, we can't just throw them in there and expect them to have a good upbringing and expect them to be happy and stay in that environment. We need to lead through example.

If we expect to just throw our children into the maktab program or the Hifz program, and we ourselves are not even reading Quran at home — we are telling our children to join this program, that program, enroll in this, enroll in that, and they don't even see us for one second trying to learn how to read Quran or trying to listen to a lecture or sitting before a scholar — how can we ever expect them to truly consider that an important part of their lives?

We have to lead through example. Allah says: قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ — "Save yourselves first" — وَأَهْلِيكُمْ — "and then your family members from the fire of Jahannam." So we are the ones. We have to start with ourselves. We are the ones who need to start learning how to read Quran properly. We need to attend lectures. We need to take our deen seriously and ensure that we can do whatever is within our capacity to attain our Jannah. And at the same time, we can take our family members along with us.

If we adopt the attitude that we will look after them but we won't worry about ourselves, then Allah knows if that will truly be a successful means of upbringing for our children.

Closing Du'a

May Allah grant us all the ability to live honorable lives following the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. May Allah guide all of us, guide our progeny, keep all of us and our progeny guided, and allow all of us to die with the kalima on our tongues.

Announcements

All brothers are asked to please stand up and come forward, filling up all the gaps before starting your Sunnah. Please fill all the gaps in front of you before you start the Sunnah. There is usually a lot of space in the back of the masjid. Jazakum Allahu khayran.

Please pass the donation boxes from left to right. Rasulullah ﷺ has mentioned that charity given during the day of Jumu'ah is greater in reward than any other day. Sadaqah wards off calamities and also draws the mercy of Allah.

Upcoming Programs at Darul Salam

We have our Tafheem Program — an opportunity for those who do not have the ability to spend time during the week, because of their different obligations and responsibilities, to learn and spend time learning deen. Alhamdulillah, there is an opportunity on Saturdays and Sundays here at Darul Salam known as the Tafheem Program. There is both a Saturday and a Sunday track.

These programs are an opportunity to ask ourselves: what have we really done with our lives? When we pass away, how are we going to stand before Allah? He has granted us a Prophet, granted us a Quran teaching us how to live our lives — how much of this are we even aware of? How can we stand before Allah on the Day of Judgment? With what face are we going to stand before our Creator? So these are opportunities where we should make a commitment with ourselves, a commitment with Allah, that I am going to take one of these programs and do my absolute best to attend regularly.

Saturday Track (10 a.m. until Dhuhr Salah):

• History and Development of Fiqh
• Introduction to Hadith Sciences
• Aqeedah, Part One

MashaAllah, these are subjects that would be taught normally in the 'Alim course, but now translated into English and taught by one who is proficient in those subjects.

Sunday Track:

• Fiqh of Salah, Part One
• Surahs of Salah — understanding the meanings of the various Surahs we recite
• Purification of the Heart

We also have a weekly Tuesday Tafsir program with Mufti Minhaj, hafidahullah. Currently we are on Surah At-Takwir, usually after Maghrib — something we can make a commitment for when it comes to the Quran.

Additionally, when it comes to the Seerah of Rasulullah ﷺ, alhamdulillah we have been having a program every Thursday with Murad Abdul Basit, hafidahullah. That section has just finished covering the history of Rasulullah ﷺ's life, and is now going over his characteristics — his character, his outer appearance, and his inner character and the way he dealt with others. This is the Shama'il al-Muhammadiyyah class, taking place every Thursday in the Urdu language.

Additionally, every Saturday we have Team Fajr, and there is a new series going on: Lives of the Companions.

We also have many sisters-only programs:

• Quran Tarjama (Quran translation) — in person
• Quranic Arabic — in person
• Riyad al-Saliheen — various prophetic statements of Rasulullah ﷺ that can be immediately implemented in our lives
• Part-time Hifz — online classes, Monday to Friday, 4 hours a week

Flexible timings are available with on-site and online options, all taught by experienced female scholars. Classes have already begun August 25th, but one can still register online at masjiids.org/seminary/sisters-part-time.

Please also mark the date for our Annual Seerah Conference. This will be taking place insha'Allah Friday, September 19th and Saturday, September 20th. The topic will be how Rasulullah ﷺ interacted with various different members of society — businessmen, his family members, children, those who had disabilities — every single different group of individuals who were there in the time of Rasulullah ﷺ and how he would interact with them. A very wonderful conference, insha'Allah. May Allah grant us all the tawfiq to take part.

We also have our Annual Benefit Dinner, taking place insha'Allah on Saturday, October 18th at 6 p.m. at Shalimar Banquets. You can sign up at masjiids.org/benefit.

We have multiple du'a requests for various individuals who are sick. May Allah grant them all complete shifa. May Allah ease them of all of their difficulties. Let us also not forget to make du'a for all of our brothers and sisters who are suffering throughout the world — whether that be in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, or throughout the entire world. May Allah grant them all aafiyah.