20170303- 1st Khutba - Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed

Opening Praise (Hamd)

Quranic Verses and Hadith of Introduction

Allah, Azza wa Jalla, says in His Noble Book:

And He, Azza wa Jalla, says in another place:

And the Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 15; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 70)

The Most Important Quality: Valuing Who We Are

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, there is an element in life, a factor in life, a specific quality that if one possesses, if one strives for, if one brings into his or her life — this element, this quality, this characteristic — will take him or her to their peaks and pinnacles of success. But on the contrary, if a person fails to possess this quality, if a person forgets and fails to understand and comprehend that this is that quality which I need in my life, this is that element which I need in my life, it will take him to the ditches of failure.

Is this a quality of education? Is this an element of wealth or power? What quality are we talking about? What element, what factor is it that can take a person to the epitome of success?

This quality, this factor, my dear brothers and sisters, is having value for who we are — having value for who you are, having value for who I am.

There can be a student studying in an Ivy League University. I come from Michigan — if someone is studying in University of Michigan, U of M, where my father became a physician, they are known as a person who is succeeding in life as a student. So even if a student is going to an Ivy League University or a prestigious university, if that student, if that child does not comprehend or understand where they are and what their education means to them in the future, it will be a matter of a few months or a few semesters that this child will start slacking, start missing classes, and sooner or later they will be expelled from the school due to the lack of value that they have for their school and education.

Similarly, a person can be working — who come from Michigan — in GM, Microsoft, have their own clinics, or be physicians in the hospitals. If that person doesn't understand the value of his work, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is making this a means and a medium for me to provide for my family and my community, he will start coming late, start slacking off, missing days, and it will be a matter of a few years and a few months that this person will also be laid off.

Not each and every one of us will go to an Ivy League University. Not each and every one of us will work as physicians or work in big companies. Not each and every one of us share these components that we have to value. But there is something which is much bigger than that, which we have to divulge our thoughts towards, which is much larger, much bigger than the school that we study in, the job that we work in — that together and simultaneously we have lacked value for. And this is the value of being in the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ — being in the Ummah and being a Muhammadi in the Ummah of our Prophet ﷺ.

How Can One Value That Which He Does Not Understand?

How can one value that which he does not understand? If a child does not understand how much a mother has done for him or her, if a child does not understand how much the parents have sacrificed and endured for them, they will never be able to love and care for the parents as they ought to be loved for.

So the first thing we have to understand is: who is this man? What is his rank in the eyes of Allah? What has he done for me at a personal level?

The Five Names of the Prophet ﷺ

The Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3532; Sahih Muslim, Book 43, Hadith 2354)

Allah has given me five beautiful names — even though in other hadith there are 99 names:

أنا محمد — I am Muhammad. I am the one that is to be praised. Praised by whom, my brothers and sisters? Praised by humans? Praised by individuals of this world? No. Not only is he being praised by the humans living on the earth. Not only is he being praised by the fish that swim in the seas. Not only is he being praised by the birds that chirp in the sky and the animals that live in their herds. But he is being praised by the Creator Himself — he is being praised by Allah Himself:

Oh Muhammad ﷺ, We have raised your ranks to a level that no one has reached before.

Oh Muhammad, don't worry — Allah will never leave your side.

The Quran, in numerous places, has been painted with the beauty and the praise and the hamd of Muhammad ﷺ. Who can be praised more than Muhammad ﷺ?

وأنا أحمد — And I am Ahmad, and I am the one that praises Allah the best. No one can praise Allah better than me. How can it be possible that one can praise Allah better than Muhammad ﷺ? Whilst he was the first to hear the beautiful praise of Allah in the Quran. He was the first to hear:

He was the first to hear:

He was the first to hear the praise of Allah in the Quran — that Allah is the most mighty, Allah is the most powerful, Allah is the most merciful:

He was the first to hear this. Not only was he the first to hear it, he was the first to say it. Not only was he the first to say it, but he was the first to live it. How can anyone praise Allah better than Muhammad ﷺ?

وأنا حاشر — I will be the first one on the Day of Judgment. I will be raised, and I will knock on the doors of Jannah, and the gates of Jannah. And the caller Ridwan will say:

Who is this? He will say:

Ridwan will look out and say:

I have been ordered by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that I cannot dare open the doors of Jannah until I hear your name, and until I hear your knock, and until I hear your footsteps — I cannot open the doors of Jannah. These are his names. Such beautiful names.

The Physical Beauty of the Prophet ﷺ

You know, a person in this world, as humans, we love normally for two reasons: we love because of physical attraction, or because of qualities that that person has. How was the physical beauty of our Prophet ﷺ? How did he look?

Hassan ibn Thabit and the Prophet's Arrival in Madinah

Hassan ibn Thabit says: when the Prophet ﷺ first came to Medina and he migrated towards Medina, the Jews of Medina were very hurt, because before the Prophet came there they were the ones that had the respect — they called the shots, they had the honor. So when this man came to Medina, Muhammad ﷺ, the Jews lost their respect, they lost their wealth. So they told Hassan, who at that time in his life was not a Muslim, they told him: "Oh Hassan, we want you to stand and position yourself at the bottom of this hill. And this Prophet will walk down this hill with his companions. And when he walks down, there will be a big group of people standing here waiting for him. So when he comes down, prepare a couplet, prepare a few words that you can say to tarnish his respect, you can blemish his honor. Prepare something — Allah has given you a very wicked tongue."

So Hassan casually goes to the bottom of the hill, all the while preparing a couplet in his head that will tarnish the Prophet, that will taunt the Prophet ﷺ. So Hassan is standing at the bottom of the hill — let's imagine and depict the picture in our minds: Hassan at the bottom of the hill, the Prophet ﷺ walking down the hill with his beloved companions. And as he walks down, Hassan raises his head, and he is forced to say:

Allahu Akbar. For those that understand Arabic — let me try to translate it, though I can't do it justice.

He says: لَمَّا رَأَيْتُ أَنْوَارَهُ صُفِعْتُ — the moment the beautiful rays from the Prophet's face fell upon my eyes, when I saw his beautiful face — وَضَعْتُ مِنْ خِيفَتِي كَفِّي عَلَى بَصَرِي — I took my palm and I covered my eyes. Why did I cover my eyes? Was he not a beautiful sight to look at? He was the most beautiful sight to look at. Why did I cover my eyes? خَوْفًا عَلَى بَصَرِي — out of fear that if I was to look at this man for even a second longer, it might happen that Allah snatches my eyesight away, because he was so beautiful, because he had so much light coming from his face.

The Description of Umm Ma'bad رضي الله عنها

Umm Ma'bad radiallahu anha narrates the description of the Prophet ﷺ in a hadith which cannot be challenged. She says: one day the Prophet ﷺ — Allahu Akbar — they were traveling, and while they were traveling they were musafir — they had no food, nothing to drink. So they stopped off at this lady's house and they knocked on the door and they asked: "Is there anything in your house that you can feed us? We are musafir, we are travelers, we are the guests of Allah. Do you have anything to give to us so we can get some food, some water, some drinks, so we can continue our travel with ease?"

She says: "You know, we really have nothing in the house. We have no food, we have nothing to drink, no milk, nothing." The Prophet says: "You must have something. There has to be something that you have in your house." She says: "You know what, we have a cow in the backyard which cannot give milk — it's an old, barren cow that cannot give milk. So it's just sitting there waiting to die. We really can't get any benefit from that cow." The Prophet says: "Show me the cow." The Prophet ﷺ goes, and he places his mubarak and blessed hands upon the cow, and it becomes full of milk. It is a sahih hadith in Sahih Ibn Hibban. He fills up a cup, drinks it, gives it to Abu Bakr, he drinks it, and then he takes a few bowls and he gives one to the family and takes one himself.

Later on that day the husband comes home and asks the wife: "How was your day?" She says: "You know what, today was a very abnormal day." He says: "What was different today than yesterday?" She says: "Two men came to our house and they asked for food, and I replied in a negative manner. They touched the cow and it became full of milk, and they drank the milk and they gave us a bowl of milk — look, there's milk right here." The husband, perplexed, astonished, says: "Who was this man? I want to know more about him."

This was the beauty of our Prophet ﷺ — that when a person would hear about him, they would want to know more. Who is this person? When they would think about him, they would want to know what he was doing. When they would hear his name, they would think how many different ways they can make him happy. Whenever they would hear about this man — Muslims, non-Muslims alike, at the time of the Prophet — they wanted to know more, because he was so great.

Our Responsibility to Depict the True Picture of the Prophet ﷺ

One of the biggest dilemmas that we are living in today is that people don't want to know about Islam — reason being due to us not depicting the full picture of our Prophet ﷺ. If people really saw how Muhammad ﷺ lived in this world — through our life, through our walk, through our talk, through our dealings, through our akhlaq — it would be impossible that they would not want to know more about him. It would be impossible.

There is a survey done, and 75% of Americans have said they have not met a Muslim. Impossible — 75% of non-Muslims say they have not. Maybe their physician is a Muslim. That person that opens the door at Walmart is a Muslim. That person that serves them water in the restaurant is a Muslim. That person that sells them a car at the dealership might be a Muslim. But the problem is that when the person opens the door for the old lady to walk in, there is no sign of being a believer. That person thinks: "I have never met a Muslim." That person that sells them the car at the Chrysler dealership — he is a Muslim, but there is no sign of akhlaq, of character, of love, of piety. The person thinks to themselves: "I have never met a Muslim."

The beauty of our religion, the beauty of our Prophet, was that whenever a person would hear about him, they would say: "Give me more! Tell me more about him!"

The Physical Description of the Prophet ﷺ According to Umm Ma'bad

So she describes our Prophet ﷺ in a way that for many of us it might be the first time hearing the physical description of our Prophet ﷺ. She says: akhal, ahwal, azaj, aqran. She says: today I saw a man of striking appearance — a man that I could not take my eyes off.

She says: I saw a man of striking appearance. He did not have a belly which was protruding. His body was even in every single manner. His head was proportionate with his body, his arms were proportionate with his body, his legs were proportionate with his body — in every single way you look at him, he was an epitome of perfection, a specimen of creation.

His eyes — his eyes had a natural light. His eyelashes were naturally long; there was no need for artificial eyelashes or artificial ways of making eyelashes long — they were naturally long. His eyes had a strong contrast, which is a sign of beauty indeed — the black of his eyes were immensely black, and the white was excessively white, which is very beautiful indeed. His cheeks were naturally rosy, beautiful cheeks. His eyes were naturally makhuul — no need for eyeliner or anything. And his eyebrows were lined up, naturally lined up, and they were not connected.

She said: when he would stay silent, even the birds would stay quiet out of awe and reverence of this man — no one would dare to talk. And when he would speak, everyone would become quiet to listen to what he is saying. So coherent and logical was his speech:

It was like we were counting the jewels and pearls coming out from his mouth. As Asma' radiallahu anha says, that we could count the words emanating from the Prophet's mouth ﷺ.

This was the Prophet ﷺ — his physical beauty, his physical description. We talk about his names, we are amazed. We speak about his physical beauty and we think to ourselves: there can never be a man as beautiful as the Prophet ﷺ.

The Qualities of the Prophet ﷺ

Sometimes we don't love for beauty, we don't love for physical attraction — we love for qualities inside of a person. What were his qualities? What was he given by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

In Khasa'is al-Kubra, in the narration of hadith, that when the Prophet ﷺ was first born, when he first came to this world, a cloud descended:

(Al-Suyuti, Al-Khasa'is al-Kubra)

It came from Allah. A caller called out: "Take this child across the world — the north, the south, the east, the west." Similarly today, it's not taken physically from one portion to the other side of the world — it means that as we are living in this world, his life should be in the north, it should be in the east, it should be in the south, it should be in the west. It should be in our houses, it should be in our lives, it should be in our communities, it should be in our workplaces, it should be in our children — but most importantly, it should be inside of ourselves.

Allama Iqbal says very clearly — and Imam Shafi'i rahimahullah says in a similar vein — that today we have the tongue and the audacity to taunt the time, to taunt the era, to say that today I cannot be a complete believer, I cannot be a complete Muhammadi, I cannot become a complete Muslim due to the era, due to the area that I am living in. He says this is completely false, because a true Muhammadi, a true follower of the Prophet ﷺ, wherever he is, he will have the character of the Prophet, he will have the love of the Prophet, he will have the kindness of the Prophet, he will have the sincerity of the Prophet — he will have those qualities of the Prophet ﷺ. It is impossible that just because the school is different or the era is different — it's not the era, it's not the time.

Imam Shafi'i rahimahullah says:

Look in the mirror and ask ourselves: which qualities that the Prophet had, which ones do we have?

Every Quality of Every Prophet, Bundled Into One

The caller calls out and says: not only do we give him the character of Adam, we give him the recognition of Sheeth, we give him the bravery of Musa, we give him the jihad of Yusha', we give him the love of Daniyal, we give him the reverence of Isa, we give him the abstinence of Yahya, we give him the beauty of Yusuf, we give him the voice of Dawud. We don't give him one quality — every prophet that came had one beautiful quality. The caller calls out and says: we give him every single quality that the prophets came with — bundle them up, put them together, and we put them inside the Prophet ﷺ. And he is that man that had those qualities.

Living as a Muhammadi — Daily Reflection

Today while we live as a Muhammadi and as a Muslim, we think to ourselves on a daily basis: how many times do I actually say Alhamdulillah — that Allah has given me this importance, Allah has given me this status? How many times a day do we put our head down and thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? How many times do we think — while walking into the masjid — what would the Prophet do when he walked into the masjid? When he walked into our houses, what would the Prophet do? He would walk in the house and the first thing he would do would be to meet his family, his wife and his spouse, kiss them on the forehead, kiss his children, help the household with the dishes, with the clothes.

We talk about people that gave minority rights — there was no person in the world that gave more rights to minorities than Muhammad ﷺ. So it is impossible that our Islam can be ugly. It is impossible that our Islam can be detested by people if we actually live it as it was taught to us, to our best capability. Of course we all have weaknesses — we are all living in this world, we are weak from different dimensions and different ways. But as much as we can, we try our best to implement the life of Muhammad ﷺ.

Two Practical Steps to Implement the Sunnah

The best way to do this — I will leave us with two things:

Number one, on a daily basis, we try to implement just one new sunnah into our life. I don't like the word "small sunnah," because no sunnah can be too small or too tedious. Any sunnah once a day — opening a door for a person, picking up garbage from the floor, kissing our mother on the forehead, going and meeting your wife nicely or your husband nicely. All of these — one sunnah a day.

Secondly, take a book — a book about the Prophet. Read a few pages a day, just a few pages. The more we read about him, the more we know about him, the more our love will increase for Muhammad ﷺ.