Worship on Allah's Terms: Prohibited and Virtuous Times

Opening — Adhan & Introduction

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family and companions.

I want to first, before we begin, make some clarifications for those who may be new here and praying Jumu'ah. What we usually do is, we give — after the talk — we give time for the sunnahs. So we give about five minutes for the sunnah, and that's why right when the time comes in, we go ahead and we start with the talk. Likewise, these days — because these are summer months — the time for Dhuhr starts a bit later. So these days, Dhuhr time starts at 12:58. So the time for Salah comes at 12:58. Before this time is considered a Makrooh time.

The Three Makrooh Times for Prayer

There are three times in the day where it's Makrooh for a person to pray any prayer.

The first is at the time of sunrise. So right when the Fajr prayer ends — about 10–15 minutes when the sun is rising — this is one of the Makrooh times. You should not pray any Salah at this time.

The second time is when the sun is right at its peak — right at its peak. This is right before Dhuhr. Also another 10–15 minutes. So 10–15 minutes before Dhuhr prayer, no prayer should be performed.

And the third is at the time of sunset. The only prayer that the Fuqaha say that a person can perform at this time is the Asr of that day. So if a person has not performed Asr, then even though it's Makrooh time, still — because you have to carry out the Asr — you can pray Asr. Otherwise, no other Nafl prayer should be done at this time.

The Essence of Ibadah — Worship on Allah's Terms

It goes back to the idea that prayer, fasting — all of these things are Ibadah. Ibadah is done according to how Allah wants it to be done. Not according to how we would like it to be done. It kind of ties into our topic today.

You see the actions of Hajj, for example. Somebody can say: in Hajj, on the 8th day you go to Mina. From Mina, on the 9th day you go to Arafah. From Arafah you go to Muzdalifah. Then again on the 10th day you go back to Mina and you have to pelt the Shayateen. Now it comes in the hadith that if a person performs Salah in Baytullah, in Masjid al-Haram, then the reward of that is multiplied by hundreds of thousands of times. One Salah in Baytullah is multiplied a hundred thousand times.

So somebody says: "Well, I'm not going to Mina. On the 8th day I'm not going to Mina — I'm going to stay here and perform Salah. If Salah is so rewarding in Baytullah and I'm traveling from far away, why should I go to Mina and spend my time in Mina?" This would be wrong. This would be Khilaf al-Sunnah. Why? Because Ibadah is not what you and I consider Ibadah. Ibadah is what Allah considers Ibadah.

If Allah says: at this time, do this — khalas — we do it. Allah says: at this time pray — we pray. Allah says: at this time don't pray — don't pray. Allah says: at this time fast — we fast. Allah says: at this time don't fast — we don't fast.

The Five Days When Fasting Is Prohibited

Just like there are times in the day where a person should not pray, likewise there are days in the year where it is also considered Makrooh — it is not allowed for a person to fast. There are five days in the year where a person is not allowed to fast.

Number one is Eid al-Fitr — the day of Eid after Ramadan. After Ramadan finishes, the day of Eid — you are not allowed to fast. Why? Because this is a day of celebration. It is ziyafah min Allah — it is Allah saying: eat, drink, be with your family, celebrate.

The second day is the day of Eid al-Adha — the day of Eid al-Adha, which is tomorrow. You are not allowed to fast on that day either. This day also is a day of celebration. And these are also Makrooh to fast. So the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th of Dhul-Hijjah — these five days in total are days where a person should not fast.

The Virtues of Yawm al-Arafah

The days before, however — for example, today. Today is Yawm al-Arafah — the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah is called Yawm al-Arafah. Someone may think: well, isn't Arafah related to the people who are going for Hajj? That is true — those who are Hujjaj, those who are doing Hajj — for them the day of Arafah means that they go to the field of Arafah. But that doesn't mean that today in itself is not the day of Arafah for us — for those who aren't going for Hajj. No, for us too there are other benefits, separate virtues that this day has.

For example, it comes in the hadith that the one who fasts on the day of Arafah — on the ninth, which is today — then the sins of one year prior and the sins of one year later will be forgiven.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 2603)

Likewise it is mentioned that on these days a person should do the most amount of Ibadah. It is also mentioned that the number of people that Allah frees from the fire of Jahannam on the day of Arafah — there is no other day when Allah frees as many individuals.

The Analogy of Sales and Special Seasons

These are days that do come — we ask: what are the virtues of Ramadan? Ramadan has its own virtues. The ten days of Dhul-Hijjah have their own virtue. And often you may have heard myself or other individuals give this example — they're like sales, right? We understand that at a store when there's a sale, everybody is happy — everybody goes, they want to get a discount, they want to get a good bargain. You feel happy. An item that normally costs whatever amount — if you can get it for 50% off, you're happy. Why do stores give these discounts? Nobody complains. And why do stores give those discounts? To attract customers. To attract customers to come back again and again, so that even when there isn't a sale, a person will still go.

When there's a grand opening — a store opens up, there's a grand opening — they give out coupons, all these types of sales: 50% off, 75% off, 25% off. Why do they do that? It's so that they can get customers. When the customers come, they see: "Oh, you know what, I got a coupon for this, but this is a good item here too — it's cheaper here than over there — let me buy this too." If they can get you as a customer — a lifelong customer — that's it. Their job is done. Why? Because you're going to keep on coming back whether there's a sale or not.

Likewise, when you have these days — you have Ramadan that comes, you have these Ashr of Dhul-Hijjah, the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah — these are all there where Allah multiplies the reward of any action that a person does. And it comes every year. But the idea is that the person takes the opportunity. They say: "You know what? These are special days. I want to remove myself from whatever I'm engaged in. I'm going to take some days off. I'm going to just focus on extra Ibadah these days." You don't know — when you perform an Ibadah — perhaps Allah accepts the sincerity in that Ibadah, or Allah changes your heart and you say: "You know what? I want to continue doing Ibadah." So even when these days are done, a person still goes back to Allah.

He may not perform Ibadah as he performs in these specific days, but nonetheless he builds the idea within his mind: "I'm going to keep on going back to Allah." Just like in a store, when you have these sales or these coupons — their main objective is not that you just come on those specific days. They want to make you a lifelong customer. They want to get you into a points program — you sign up, it's free, you get points every time you buy something. Why? So then you think: "Even though there's no sale, no problem — I get extra points. I can gather those points up and maybe I can get a $10 or $20 gift card." They want to make you a customer.

It's very interesting because we understand this idea — buying and selling is something even a little kid understands. I remember when we were in the madrasa, studying — little kids, 10–12 years old — we would buy snacks. We would tell our parents: "Hey, we want those brownies, those cookies." A couple of kids would buy them in bulk — candies and whatnot — and they would sell them to the rest of the students for 50 cents (nowadays probably more like $1). And these kids at the end of the week would make about $30–$40 — some even more. I remember one student whose father had a gas station, so he would get all the good stuff and sell it for double the price. Why? Because there was a demand — kids' parents give them money in the madrasa, so they come and say: "Okay, fine, I'll buy it. Give me a deal — buy three, I'll give it to you for three dollars." Even little kids understood that. It became a problem eventually — parents would call saying: subhanAllah, "We give our kids money for their needs and by the end of the week they've spent it all on candy and chips and cookies."

Allah's Transaction with the Believers

Even little kids understand this — and that's why Allah very often when He gives examples in the Quran, Allah uses Bay' — Allah uses the concept of transaction.

"Indeed Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth — in exchange for what? For Jannah." That is a bargain. SubhanAllah — nothing can compare. Because you know when you buy and sell something, what do you do? You look at the value. Even a little kid understands: "I'm not paying a dollar for one cookie if it's not worth it." You go to the store, you find something is $300 — "No, it's not worth it," or "It's cheaper elsewhere." You look at it and say: "You know what? This is a good deal for the price they're asking." Right?

Now look at what Allah is giving in exchange — it is Jannah. Jannah is pure. Jannah is ultimate bliss, ultimate everlasting happiness. Perhaps we can't even fathom — we can't even understand — what that means. Endless happiness, endless reward, endless blessings. And the greatest blessing of Jannah — Allahu Akbar — is the pleasure of Allah. Allah saying: "I am pleased with you. Don't worry about anything — I am pleased with you." That is the greatest blessing.

And in exchange for what? In exchange for yourself and your wealth. Yourself — is it really ours? Who gave us this body? Allah gave us this body. Did you do anything to deserve this body? Did you buy your hands from somewhere? Was there an exchange made? No — given to you by Allah. Your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your hands, your tongue. That's why the philosophy within Islam is: you are not allowed to use your body in any way other than the way Allah wants it to be used. And when you use it in the pleasure of Allah — on top of that — Allah is giving you reward. Allah is giving this endless blessing. These hands are not yours. These eyes are not yours. These ears — they are given to you by Allah. They can be taken by Allah at any time.

This is one of the reasons — as a side point — why Islam considers suicide to be haram. It is for this reason: this body — you do not have the right to make the judgment of when to take your life away. You don't have that right. Allah does, and Allah has His wisdom in when a person dies. That's up to Allah. There is a wisdom behind it. That's why this is considered impermissible.

You are not allowed to harm yourself. The Fuqaha — even the Muftis — have even mentioned: for example, there are people when they want to protest and they go on hunger strikes. This is not allowed. Why? Why are you harming your body? This body given to you by Allah — you are not allowed to harm it. A hunger strike is not allowed. Someone says: "Well, isn't fasting a hunger strike?" No — it's different. Why is it different? Because Allah commanded it. In Ramadan, the whole month when we're fasting, we are not allowed to choose our own times. We can't say: "In the morning I have work or school, so let me fast in the evening — I'll fast at night from now on." You don't have that option. Why? This is the very essence of Ibadah: when Allah tells you to eat, you eat. When Allah says don't eat, you don't eat. That is the essence of Ibadah.

The Two Greatest Acts of Worship in These Days

In these days, the two biggest acts of Ibadah are:

The first is Hajj. Those who are in Hajj — mashAllah — may Allah accept from them their actions, and may Allah allow those of us who have not gone for Hajj to go, and those who have gone may Allah allow us to go again and again.

And the second greatest act of Ibadah in these days is Udhiyah — the Qurbani. It comes in the ahadith that on the day of Eid al-Adha — the tenth — when the person slaughters the animal, before the drop of blood can reach the ground, Allah forgives that person. That's why if a person is able to, they should try. I know sometimes there are circumstances where we're not able to — that's fine. But if a person has the nisab, they have the financial ability, they have the ability to go to the farm and do it — they should do it. It's a little difficult, there's no doubt about it, but it is in that difficulty that Allah gives reward. Allah gives noor.

Remember the principle: the amount of noor that a person gets, the amount of blessing that a person gets, is based on the person's sacrifice. The more difficulty the person goes through, the more Allah gives. If you take the easy route — when it comes to Ibadah, a person should develop the idea that I have to sacrifice. I have to sacrifice my time, I have to sacrifice my wealth.

That's why I give this example — those brothers who have gone, for example, in Jamaat — in tabligh — after the time that they spend, they often feel this rejuvenated state, this elevated state. Or take for example Ramadan — everybody's been through Ramadan. After you spend a whole month fasting, why do you feel this elevated state? Why do you feel this noorani feeling? Why do you feel this barakah? Why do you feel this ruhani — this spiritual feeling? Because you've gone through so much sacrifice. You went out of your way to sacrifice for the sake of Allah. So naturally Allah gives — Allah gives the person.

May Allah allow us to understand and allow us to take benefit.

Sunan of Udhiyah — Resembling the Hujjaj

For those who are doing the Udhiyah — there are certain Sunan and Mustahabbat as well. For example, one of the things mentioned is that for those who are doing the Udhiyah and are not going for Hajj — to bring in the mushabahah, to bring in the resemblance of the Hujjaj — the Haji, when he puts on the Ihram, is not allowed to touch his hair, trim his hair, or trim his nails. So for those who are going to do the Udhiyah, it is a good thing for them to also — until the Udhiyah is not done — avoid cutting their nails and trimming their hair, for this very reason of mushabahah.

The spirit is: "Ya Allah, I wasn't able to go for Hajj, but Ya Allah, I'm trying to look like the Hujjaj who are going to be in the plain of Arafah, who are going to be doing the Manasik of Hajj. Ya Allah, I wasn't able to participate. Ya Allah, this is how much I was able to do — so Ya Allah, accept it from me as well." That's the idea.

Making the Most of Today and the Night of Eid

We were not able to go, but from our own end — we have the rest of the day today. Do as much Ibadah as you can. Increase in recitation of the Quran, increase in dhikr, increase in Nafl prayer as much as you can.

And tonight — tonight is the night of Eid. Tomorrow is the day of Eid; tonight is the night of Eid. It comes in a number of narrations that the Laylat al-'Eidayn — the two nights of Eid — these are known as the nights of Ibadah. So instead of partying, listening to music, and doing all of these things — we should take that time out to worship Allah. We may not be able to do it all night — no problem. Take some portion of the night where you are doing Ibadah. Tomorrow we have to wake up for Fajr — if you're going to sleep late at night you won't be able to wake up for Fajr in the morning anyway. So whatever little bit of time we can take out, we should go ahead and take it out and worship Allah, make a lot of du'a, and may Allah accept these acts of Ibadah from us.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His help, we seek His forgiveness, we believe in Him, we place our trust in Him, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whoever Allah misguides, none can guide. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, alone without any partners, and we bear witness that our master and our liege-lord Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.

Allah the Blessed and Exalted says in His noble Book — after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, in the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:

O servants of Allah — may Allah have mercy on you — indeed Allah commands justice, and goodness, and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality, wrongdoing and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.

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

Announcements

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And finally, there is a request for du'a for Sister Farida Sayyed — she is in a critical condition in hospice. May Allah grant her shifa' kamilah, as well as all other Muslims who are suffering whatever difficulty there may be. May Allah grant them all shifa' kamilah.

Assalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.