The Greatest Classroom | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed | Miftaah Circle

The Greatest Classroom

الحمد لله رب العالمين، وعلى أخرى المتقين، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين سيدنا محمد النبي العالمين، الذي اسمه مكتوب في الإنجيل والتوراة

Allah says in His Noble Book:

And Allah says:

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(This narration is widely referenced in Islamic literature regarding following the Companions. See: Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Jāmi' Bayān al-'Ilm wa Faḍlih)

Two Types of Students in Every Classroom

My dear brothers, sisters, elders and youngsters — if you thought of a fraction of a doubt, that regardless of where you look in the world, in which classroom you look at in this world, regardless of the methodology of the institution, regardless of the type of students in that university, regardless of what type of school it is, regardless of where in the world it is — every single classroom will have two types of students.

There will be a type of student who prospers, who succeeds, who is an honorable student, who is appreciated and who is recognized by the world and by those that come after them. And there is always a second type of student — a second group of students that struggle to make it, that hardly pass their exams, that fail and stagger their way forward, regardless of how great the professors are, regardless of which institution they may be studying at. There will always be both of these types of students.

That is the nature of a classroom. That is the nature of an institution.

The Classroom of the Prophet ﷺ

My dear brothers and sisters, there is only one classroom, one institution since the start of time till the Day of Judgment, where every single student was an honorable student. Every single student was prosperous. Every single student was a guiding light. Every single student was someone to be remembered. And this was the classroom of the Prophet ﷺ.

Classrooms are great. Institutions are great. Not because of their inclusivity, but because of their exclusivity. Harvard is not Harvard because of who they let in. They're Harvard because of who they leave out. This classroom was not great because there was one group of youngsters or adults or brothers or sisters. It was great despite its inclusivity. It was great despite the youth that were within it. It was great despite the fact that there was so much diversity. It was great despite the fact that there were no two people who were exactly the same — who had the same experiences, who had the same education, who had the same background.

Great systems are built because there are consistent people within the system — very similar in their skill sets, very similar in their abilities. And that similarity, we believe, creates a very consistent outcome in production that makes a great corporation, a great organization. But this system was built not to benefit from its people. It was built to benefit the people.

Deen Is Not a Beneficiary — We Are

Every system in this world — the greatness and the relevance of it depends upon the people that populate it. You remove the students that go to universities and the great professors that teach within those universities, you have no university. Because the university is a beneficiary of the students. You remove the employees that work in those Fortune 500 companies, they remain not a Fortune 500 company — because they are the beneficiaries of their employees.

The only system in this world which is not a beneficiary of its people is the system of deen. Allah says in a hadith qudsi:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 2577)

If every single one of you — humans, jinn, from the beginning of time till the end of time — became as pious as Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, it would not increase in My honor one bit. Allah is Allah.

This classroom was great despite its differences. Despite every single thing that wasn't present that makes our systems unique and special. Who would look for a Bilal to be a part of their shura? Who would look for a Khabbab to be a part of their family? Who would look for a Suhayb al-Rumi to be a part of their system? Who would look for these youngsters? Who would want to migrate to a community where the people that are inviting him are youngsters like Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and As'ad ibn Zurarah — less than 16 or 17 years old — and they are the founders of the migration of the Prophet ﷺ? Who would allow these people to make such an impact?

The system benefited them. The system wasn't the beneficiary. The moment we think deen benefits from what we are doing, we have lost the concept of what deen is. We are the beneficiaries.

Umar Before and After Islam

Who was Umar before Islam and who is he after Islam? When his aunt was saying to him: there was a time that I remember that you were unable to take care of a herd of sheep. Today Allah has made you the ruler of one third of the world. Did his leniency change? Did his skill set change? Did his abilities change? He remained the same individual. What changed is that he was given a sense of value from deen. Deen gave him value.

Youngsters believe that the more deen that comes into our life, our value depreciates. We become less acceptable. We become less relevant. One of the most overrated terminologies in the world is being "relevant." Because there is no one that is relevant to someone else's definition of what a norm is. Everyone is a stranger to someone else's definition of what a norm is. Relevance is subjective. So being a stranger is also subjective.

Inclusivity and Exclusivity in the Prophetic Community

This was a classroom that we want to implement into our families. This classroom was great based on two components. It was the most inclusive community when it came to where people came from — when it came to ethnicities and backgrounds, when it came to cultures, when it came to different denominations. It was the most inclusive system.

Let us not be in a delusion or be confused — it was the most exclusive system when it came to ideals and values. The greatness of our classroom was based on inclusivity of how people looked, not what they believed. Let us not think that inclusivity is a way and a form of widening the gap of compromise within our religion. Inclusivity is a form of bringing people in, not allowing us to leave.

Subtraction is never going to be addition. There is no virtue in substitution. There is virtue in addition. There is no virtue in leaving an act of goodness to add another act of goodness. The child says to the mother, "I can serve you at night but I won't pray Fajr." That's not virtuous. Virtue is: I'll serve you at night and I'll still pray Fajr in the masjid.

The Story of My Father

The Prophet ﷺ one day noticed that for three days in a row, a companion missed Fajr Salat in the masjid. And he went knocking on their door. I was speaking about this just earlier — they would go knocking on doors.

I come from a background where my father was in a university — King Edward College in Pakistan. Not a single member of his family believed in the concept of Akhira. Forget praying Salat. In the army in Pakistan, not knowing what religion was, as a student in the dormitories, the people of the work of Da'wah and Tabligh came knocking on his doors. And he changed his life and he came to this country and him and my mother made a decision: we have five children — all five of them will serve the Deen of Allah.

Do not think by serving deen, deen benefits. We benefit. And do not think that it depreciates our value. It adds value to us.

The Moment We Find Value, We Never Leave It

The moment we understand that something adds value to our presence, we will never let it go. We believe wealth adds value — no one will leave money. We believe affiliations add value. In today's time, a person is only as honorable as their affiliations. How weak is that? You remove the title before their name, no one respects them anymore. You take their badge away that they work in a hospital — they don't make a difference anymore. Honor is found in affiliations.

The moment we find that there's value in something, we'll never leave it. People find value in having specific phones — they'll do anything for it. People find value in expressing a certain way of life that they wish to live. They're not even living it — but they're just showing it because it brings them value. They'll never leave it.

The Sahabas never left deen because they believed that it was not a source of value — it was the only source of value. The moment it's an end, we've already lost the game. It's the only source of value. It's the only source of growth for our children.

Changing the Line of Questioning

We ask our children all the time — how did you do in school? As mothers and fathers, we ask our children: what do you want to become when you grow older? How many times have we asked them: will you pray Fajr in the masjid tomorrow? I'll go with you. I'll take you. Or set a standard in the house. The line of questioning changes. A community will never change until the line of questioning changes.

The line of questioning for Sahabas changed. The line of questioning used to be: how can something benefit my dunya? And the line of questioning became: how could something benefit my akhira?

Ibn al-Qayyim says, if you were to derive the mentality of Sahabas from the Qur'an — people gain millions of dollars writing books on mentality. The mentality and the mindset of a billionaire. The mindset of an entrepreneur. And they write so many random things in there. What would be the mindset of the Sahabas? He said: if you were to derive the mindset of Sahabas, we would see that they were people of man arada al-akhira — they had the mentality of akhira in every moment of their life. Every moment of their life, they were fixated upon the akhira. And that can only happen to a person if you zoom out for a moment. And stop living a life which is so zoomed in that nothing in the periphery makes a difference anymore — because we're so laser-focused on that which will only remain for a little while.

Two Components That Made the Classroom Great

This classroom was great because it was very exclusive on two components. Their point of reference became two things. And I'll end with these two things.

First: Will This Make Allah Happy?

Number one: what can I do in my life, that when I leave, I earn the pleasure of Allah? That was the first thing. So every single day and everything they did, this was their line of questioning — will this make Allah happy or not? It's a very simple question. It's not about halal and haram anymore. Will this make my Allah happy — who has given me everything He has given me, who has allowed me to have children?

A child is only worth having when you become a source of pleasure for Allah. Otherwise, Zakariyya alayhis salam would have asked for a different du'a. He asked: O Allah, give me a child that earns Your pleasure.

Second: Will This Bring a Smile to the Prophet ﷺ?

Number two: what can I do while living in this world to bring ease and comfort to the Prophet ﷺ? And this became the goal and the ambition of their life. What they lost mattered less, because what they gained was very clear. We can only leave something because the gain is very clear. And because akhira is still so blurry to us, leaving dunya becomes so difficult. The blurriness of akhira will only be removed if the reality of it settles in our heart. This is real. This will not go away. Rather, it's only coming closer.

This is what made an exclusive community — based on ideals, based on values. And these values changed the world. A community that the Persians and the Romans would say were not worth ruling — and yet they became the rulers of the world. Because of their second component: we will do whatever it takes to make the Prophet ﷺ happy.

As one of the great scholars said in a beautiful expression: We attach our loyalties to the Prophet ﷺ, and everyone will attach their loyalties to us. We attach our love to Allah, and everyone's love will become ours.

Whosoever has the biggest concern of their life as the concern of akhira, Allah will suffice for them in all of the concerns of this world. Because their concern is something much bigger — their concern is the akhira. The person that wants to win a game isn't too focused about losing a quarter. They're worried about winning the game. The person that wants to win that life isn't too focused on getting the small losses — they're focused on getting the large wins, which is akhira, which is the ridha of Allah.

When Allah Loves a Person

When we earn Allah's love, everyone's love becomes ours. And the Prophet ﷺ said in a beautiful narration:

When Allah loves someone, He calls Jibreel and says: O Jibreel, I love this person — so you must love this person. In this world, if the CEO likes you, the manager has no choice. That's the way of life. When Allah loves us, the angels have no choice — they also love us. And then the announcement is made to all the angels in the heavens to love this person, until the love and the acceptance of this person enters into the heart of the community.

My son doesn't listen to me not because I haven't bought him enough things. My son doesn't listen to me because my relationship with Allah is not complete. My spouse isn't always displeased with me because of the lack of finances or presence I bring in the house. My spouse perhaps is displeased because my Fajr is compromised.

Sufyan al-Thawri, rahimullah, would say: I would see the ill effect of a sin that I commit in the way that my spouse would open the door for me when I would come back from work. I could tell that this is because of a sin that I committed. And then he would say to his wife — or his mother, or husband, or father, regardless of what the relationship is — give me a few minutes so I can pray two raka'at to Allah, and say: O Allah, whatever is between You and me is between You and me — don't let it come in between us.

Acceptance of people that we love is contingent upon the love of Allah in our heart. That is the source. They loved the Prophet ﷺ, so people fell in love with them. They loved the Prophet ﷺ, so we fell in love with them. We don't love them because of their names. We love them because of what they did for our Prophet ﷺ. And they love us because of what we do for our Prophet ﷺ. It's a reciprocal relationship. The more we do, the more beloved we become to them.

Stories That Validate These Claims

They made a very clear decision: we will do whatever it takes to make Allah happy — and number two, to see the Prophet ﷺ smile. Now I'll mention two stories that validate these claims.

Talhah ibn Ubaydullah at Uhud

All the stories of the Sahabas you open — and every one of them you find someone sacrificing for the Prophet ﷺ. In the Battle of Uhud, when the rumor had spread that the Prophet ﷺ had become shaheed, and as the Sahabas are looking for him, Talhah ibn Ubaydullah sees him in the midst of the battle where the disbelievers have encircled him with their arrows pointed towards him, ready to assassinate him. And he jumps in front of the Prophet ﷺ and he places his hand in front of all the oncoming arrows. All the incoming arrows pierce his hand and his hand becomes paralyzed.

When Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه became Khalifah, Talhah ibn Ubaydullah came to give bay'ah with his left hand — because you are supposed to give bay'ah, the pledge of allegiance, with your right hand. He came with his left hand. And one of those youngsters who thinks they're the new person on the block said: give the bay'ah with your right hand. And Abu Bakr looked at him as if he was going to reprimand him — don't you know this man's hand became shaheed protecting the Prophet ﷺ?

Never forget about the elders. Youngsters believe that because we're making the effort, there's change. Wallahi, we're making the effort every single day of our life — as much as we are — but the moment we lose the du'as of our parents, nothing takes place. The du'as of teachers and elders.

What is this definition of "balance" that has become a trendy topic — that I'll do when I feel like there's a balance in the relationship? There was no such thing as balance in relationships — and hence relationships thrived. Because everyone was trying to outdo the other person. Everyone was trying to do more than the other person. The father for the son, the son for the father, the mother for the daughter, the daughter for the sibling. It was never a situation of balance. It was always: how can I do more?

Nonetheless — when Talhah came with his left hand, when Mus'ab comes with his entire body full of blood, when Ja'far al-Tayyar comes with his hands cut off —

Zayd ibn al-Dathina رضي الله عنه

When Zayd ibn al-Dathina رضي الله عنه, who was a companion caught by the mushrikeen of Mecca and held as a hostage — tied by ropes on a tree with 70 archers pointing their arrows and spears towards him. As they're looking towards him, Abu Sufyan looks at him and says: this is a secret between you and me and a few of us that are here. He says: would you not want that Muhammad ﷺ was standing in your place and you were enjoying with your family?

He says — smiling at Abu Sufyan, staring at death as the archers are ready to pierce his body — he says to him: you're such a fool. He says: Wallahi, I would not be happy or pleased if the Prophet ﷺ was touched by a thorn and I was laughing and sitting with my family. I would not be okay with that.

And so Abu Sufyan raised his hands and the archers pierced his body. He became shaheed. Mus'ab came as a shaheed. Abu Bakr came with his entire wealth. Talhah ibn Ubaydullah came with his hand. What do we come with? What do we have to show to the Prophet ﷺ on that day — that we are also a part of this community, that he said he wishes to meet — his brothers and sisters?

And no one likes to fall short of someone's expectations. Especially those that we love. We don't like to fall short of our parents' expectations because we love them. The Prophet's ﷺ expectations of us are that the inclusivity clause will remain based on where people come from. The exclusivity clause will be the only source of progress — that we are exclusive based on our ideals and values, which is: (A) will this make Allah happy? (B) will this bring a smile to the Prophet's ﷺ face? And when we meet him on the Day of Judgment, will he be happy with us?

Someone came and asked a great scholar — as narrated by Mawdudi rahimullah — when will be the first time that I will truly be able to experience comfort and happiness and joy? In one narration he says: that will be the Prophet ﷺ smiling at you. In another narration he says: the first step you take into Jannah.

Leaving This Conference With Purpose

My dear friends, brothers and sisters — we leave this conference with pain in our heart. Pain not because something is wrong physically. Pain because how many more people will benefit from this deen if we simply give it to them? How many more people will enjoy the experience of Salat if they knew how to pray it? How many more people would enjoy becoming Muslim if they knew we were Muslim?

The United States did a survey in 2017 and it said 85% of Americans have never met a Muslim in their life. I know census and surveys are so off, but this one is really off. 85% of Americans think that they haven't met a Muslim. But the person serving them at Walmart is probably a Muslim. The salesman at GM is probably a Muslim. The physician that serves them in the hospital is probably Muslim. But they haven't seen the connection — because we always refer the goodness that we have to other things other than deen. We say that we're physicians because our parents put us into med school. We say that we're successful because of our education. And whenever we struggle — why don't you have a big house? Because interest is haram. Why aren't you in a higher position at work? Because networking with alcohol is haram.

Everything negative refers back to deen. Everything positive refers back to us and everything else. How will people look at deen in a positive light when we only refer to it in a negative light? Something can only be honorable because the people that own it honor it themselves.

The Day of Gathering — Raised With Our Leaders

May Allah make us among those people that when we leave this world, we are raised with those individuals that we chose — that we wish to be raised with:

Allah says:

That on that day, you will be raised with your imam — the person that you chose to want to live your life like.

On that day, under the ayah of:

That people will be raised in groups with their leaders. An announcer will call out and say:

Where is the truthful one? And as the entirety of humanity is just standing there waiting for Allah to begin this moment of accountability — when the announcer says ayna al-Siddiq — no one moves except Abu Bakr al-Siddiq رضي الله عنه. Imagine in the sea of billions of people, Abu Bakr being recognized as the Siddiq. And then the announcer says:

Where are those who were also truthful to the covenant that they made with Allah? People like you and I will stand up. Imagine the captain of your team being Abu Bakr — you know you're not going to Jahannam because Abu Bakr is your leader.

Then the announcer will say:

Where is the individual, the personality that became the criterion between truth and falsehood? No one will dare to move because everyone knows who the Farooq is — and Umar رضي الله عنه will come forth alone. And then the announcer will say: where are all those who stood the test of time and became a criterion between truth and falsehood in their own communities? And people like you and I will stand up. We didn't simply want to assimilate because it was cool. We wished to assimilate because it brought impact. We wished to assimilate because it allowed them to see the goodness that we possess — not to be impressed by their goodness.

My father would always tell us as kids: you can never be the da'i and the mad'u. You can never be the caller and the one being called. You have to choose — am I the inviter or am I the invitee? And the inviter always has the upper hand because he is the da'i. He has something that he believes the other person doesn't have. And that psychology alone will make that person want it.

And then the announcer will say:

Where is the possessor of modesty, generosity, and kindness? In the sea of billions of people, Uthman رضي الله عنه will stand up. And then the announcer will say: where are those who, in the midst of immodesty, in the midst of difficulty, in the fitna of our times, chose to remain modest — not simply with their clothing, but in how they talk to their parents? How can a person claim they have good character if the Tim Hortons worker likes them but their parents don't? That's not good character. That's called compensating because you know you're losing somewhere else.

Then the announcer will say:

Where is the most brave and intelligent one? The combination, as the Imam says, of bravery and intelligence — brawn and brain — was Ali رضي الله عنه. And Ali will stand up. The announcer will say: where are all those who were brave in front of the difficulties of this world?

The announcer will say: where is the leader of the youngsters of Jannah? And Hasan and Husayn رضي الله عنهما will stand up. And then the announcer will say: where are all those youngsters who passed away as youngsters holding on to their deen? And youngsters will stand up behind them.

The announcer will say: where is the leader of the women of Jannah? And Fatimah, Maryam, Asiyah and Khadijah رضي الله عنهن will stand. And our sisters will stand with them because the announcer will say: where are the leaders of the women of this ummah?

We Can Still Make It

My dear friends — just because we weren't there, doesn't mean that we can't make it. Just because we weren't present, doesn't mean that we will never be present. Just because we weren't there at that time, doesn't mean that we won't be there later.

We believe in:

As Hasan al-Basri rahimullah says: in every generation, there will come a people who will be the front runners, the holders of deen, and they will be attached to the sabiqoon and the sahabas. The wealthy ones who are generous will be attached to Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and so on and so forth.

And this discussion can continue — but we end by saying: we weren't there, but we can believe that if we continue struggling for this deen, we will definitely be there. And the value that we possess is contingent upon the value of deen we have in our life. The value that our children will have for deen is based upon how much we encourage them and create an environment that allows them to fall in love with deen.

Let us not be delusional that our children will be Muslim because we're Muslim. You live in Canada, we live in America — there is a city, al-Qalabish, Edmonton — there were Muslims in the 1800s and their graves have Muslim names on them, but the children right next to us are not Muslim. It's not Spain, it's not Pakistan — it's our own cities. So if we believe that deen is inherited, then we are delusional. Deen is given. It's a gift. And the gift can only be given to someone because the person themselves value it — and the person they're giving it to also starts to value it.