Embracing Our Muslim Identity Through Ibrahim's Legacy

Opening Praises and Supplications

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah. Peace be upon His chosen servants, especially upon the Master of the Progeny, the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his family and companions who followed him.

Then, Allah Almighty said in His Glorious Book and the Praiseworthy Qur'an, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:

And strive in Allah for the truth of His jihad. He has chosen you, and He has not made for you any hardship in religion. The religion of your father, Ibrahim — he named you the Muslims.

And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Woe to you, O Aba Sufyan! I have brought you this world and the Hereafter, so submit, submit." And he also said: "Whosoever leaves anything for Allah, Allah will reward him with what is best for him."

O Allah, teach us what will benefit us, and benefit us with what You have taught us, and increase us in knowledge and action. O Allah, enlighten our hearts with Your knowledge, and use our bodies for Your obedience. And guide us to what You love and are pleased with, through speech, action, intention, and guidance. Indeed, You are Able to do all things.

O Lord, open my heart and ease my affair, and remove the knot from my tongue, so that my speech may be understood.

Looking to Those Who Came Before Us

Beloved brothers and sisters, respected elders and youngsters, at any point in life, when we look to begin a new journey, when we look to start a new task, to explore a new opportunity, we often look to those who have already come before us — those who have been successful in that specific task, those that are considered the greats or the pioneers in that specific field or in that specific industry.

And when we look to these greats, these pioneers, we start to examine their lives, and ask ourselves: what did they do that made them so successful? What was so special about them that they reached this level of honor, or this level of prestige? If you take the example of a person in sports, he will look to an accomplished athlete in that specific sport. And he will begin to study this athlete's life — what were his tendencies, what were his do's and don'ts, what was his personality like, what were his routines, what was his schedule like. Every single aspect of this athlete's life is studied. Why? Because this person wants to accomplish the same thing that this athlete accomplished. That I want to be successful in my field, just like this person was successful in this field.

Dear brothers and sisters, the same is the reality when it comes to our deen. That each and every single one of us — our primary identity, before our family name, before our profession, before our status in society, in the community, before anything we hold near and dear to us, anything we have a sense of ownership towards — before any of these things, is the identity of being a Muslim. And as Muslims, it is our responsibility to look to those that came before us, those that were honored with this title before us, to see what they did, what made them so special.

The Legacy of Ibrahim and the Title of Muslim

And among these great personalities is someone who the Prophet ﷺ himself referred to when he says:

"I am the accepted supplication of my forefather Ibrahim."

And Allah in the Qur'an says:

That this is the religion, this is the way of life of your forefather Ibrahim, and he is the one who has given you, who has honored you with this title of being a Muslim. Each and every single one of us sitting here, we have been honored with this title of Muslim. And it was given to us through Ibrahim.

So now it begs the question — what did Ibrahim do that was so special? What did Ibrahim do that Allah gave him such a level of acceptance? What was so special about his life that he reached the status that he reached? Allah says in another place in the Qur'an:

That Ibrahim, as a one-man individual, he was an entire nation. That he was referred to as Khalilullah — as the friend of Allah.

The Bedrock Quality: Complete Submission

So what was so special about him? What did he do? What was that quality that he had that Allah gave him the status that he got? It begins at the primary, the bedrock foundation — the primary quality that Allah speaks about when He says:

That when Allah asked Ibrahim, "Are you ready to submit?" Ibrahim said: "I have submitted to the Lord of the universe." His response in that moment was instantaneous. There was no discussion, there was no conversation, there was no back and forth that took place. He simply said: I have submitted to the Lord of the universe.

Submission, dear brothers and sisters, does not come in those things that are easy for us. It does not come in those things that no one cares about. Submission comes in those things that are difficult for us — those things where we have to really make an effort. When Allah asked Ibrahim, there was no hesitation from him.

The moment that you and I and all of us say, "I am a Muslim," that means that we have completely submitted to Allah. We have submitted our desires, we have submitted our preferences, we have submitted our families, we have submitted our children. Everything that we hold near and dear to us, we have submitted to Allah. And that is what true submission looks like.

Submission Does Not Have to Be Logical

Submission to Allah does not have to make sense to us. It does not have to seem logical or rational to us. When Ibrahim was commanded to leave his family in the barren valley, there was nothing logical about that. When scholars of history look to the past to study why people did the things that they did, they often come up with explanations. But no one is going to say that there was a logical explanation for why Ibrahim left his family in the desert.

That land that Allah describes:

— that had absolutely no vegetation. There was no cattle, there was no water, there was no greenery, there was nothing there. Yet when Allah commanded Ibrahim to leave his family and go, he simply did just that. It may not seem logical, it may not seem rational, but this is what true submission to Allah looks like.

Examples of True Submission in Our Daily Lives

The person who, for example, is involved in haram business — he has a haram income — he turns to Allah and says, "Ya Allah, I'm going to submit to You. I'm going to leave this job, I'm going to stop taking this income, because I know it is haram." And then this person will ask Allah: how am I going to provide for my family now, what am I going to do, how will I take care of my family? Allah will say: I will provide for you.

That person who is involved in a haram relationship — he knows that it is haram, and there are different sins that stem from that relationship. Now this person turns to Allah and says, "Ya Allah, I'm going to leave this relationship for Your sake, out of submission to You." How am I going to find someone else? How am I going to get that sense of comfort and peace? Allah will say: I will take care of you, I will give you someone.

That person who stops listening to haram and watching haram — he turns to Allah and says, "Ya Allah, I'm leaving this for Your sake. What am I going to do with my free time? What am I going to listen to when I'm driving in the car?" Allah will say: I will take care of you. This is what true submission to Allah looks like.

Allah Replaces What We Leave for His Sake

Dear brothers and sisters, in our life we have people that love us, people who care for us. And when we do something for them, then we expect something in return. If we do a favor for a friend, for a sibling, then we expect them to do something in return for us at some point in the future. When we do a favor or a task for someone who is generous, then we expect something more in return — that I'm doing this favor for this person who is known to be generous, I'm expecting some great reward or compensation for it.

Beloved brothers and sisters, who is more generous than Allah? Who is more capable of giving than Allah? The Prophet ﷺ teaches us in a hadith:

That the person who leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah will replace that with something far better, with something far greater. The metric of "better" and "greater" is not calculated by a monetary value, by some outward or numerical value. It is calculated by what a person feels and experiences in this world, but ultimately in the Akhirah.

So when Ibrahim left his family in the valley, there was nothing logical about it. And we may think to ourselves: why should I leave something that I enjoy, something that brings me peace, something that brings me comfort? Why should I leave that for the sake of Allah? What is so rational about it? What is so logical about it?

Beloved brothers and sisters, what is so rational about it — what is so logical about it — is that it brings the displeasure of Allah. It brings the wrath of Allah. Every time a person does something to displease Allah, they are slowly, slowly chipping away at their Akhirah. They are slowly chipping away at the Akhirah that they have tried so hard to build, to protect, and to preserve.

And what is rational about it is that just as easily as Allah gives us something, He can just as easily take it away from us. That same Allah who gives us a sense of stability and comfort is the same Allah who can take it away when we forget about Him or we do not thank Him for it. That same Allah who gives us wealth for us to enjoy, to spend on our families, is the same Allah who can take it away from us if we misuse it or use it for the wrong reasons. That same Allah who has given us children can make them turn against us if we do a disservice to them in parenting, in raising them.

Whatever we have been given is a blessing from Allah. And if a person is not careful, if a person misuses that blessing, then Allah can easily remove it from that person. One of the du'as that we are taught when someone close to us passes away, or when we lose something:

To Allah belongs whatever He gives, and to Allah belongs whatever He takes. The different blessings that we enjoy, the different comforts that we have, the people in our life — Allah can easily take them away from us. It was never ours to begin with.

And this is the understanding that Ibrahim had. That when Allah commanded him to leave his family in the barren valley and go, he immediately left. Although a person's family is what brings a person peace and comfort and happiness, yet he understood and realized that Allah gave this to me, and Allah can take it away from me.

Allah Is the Source, Not Just a Resource

Our job, beloved brothers and sisters, is to submit to the command of Allah, whatever that command may be. And when we submit to Allah, then we will understand and realize that we no longer need resources — we need the source of the resource. Allah is not a resource. Allah is the source of the resource. And when we have that source, then Allah will take care of everything else. Submission to Allah is the first step that is required.

Raising Children to Submit to Allah

And I will end with this: when Allah commanded Ibrahim to slaughter his son, there was no hesitation from Ismail — no "why are you doing this, this doesn't make sense to me, I don't agree with you." None of that happened.

Dear parents, understand that the environment and manner in which you raise your children will determine their connection with Allah. If you raise your children in a manner where you are constantly controlling things for them, where you are constantly trying to make the world spin in a certain manner, then that is the opposite of what Allah wants you to do.

Many times we see that parents from a very young age incentivize and glamorize certain professions. And from a very young age, they'll tell their son or daughter: "When you grow up, I want you to do this — I want you to become a doctor, I want you to become a lawyer," whatever the case is. And as they are growing up, as they are advancing in their studies, the parent continues to put this idea in the head of the child: "This is what I want you to do when you grow up." And eventually when the time comes for the child to make that decision, that child is not going to hesitate in that moment. He's not going to say, "No, I don't feel like it," or "I was thinking something else." From the very beginning, this child has been taught, has been shown, that this is the career path you should follow. This is what you should do in your life. So when he gets to that stage, when he has to make that decision, he's going to say, "Of course — that's obviously what I was going to choose. That's what I was going to do."

Similarly, beloved brothers and sisters — dear parents — understand that from a young age, if we teach our children to submit to Allah, no matter the result, no matter the outcome, no matter what we think or what we feel, then that is how they will live their lives. That is the manner in which they will live their lives. And that is what will lead to success both in this world and the next.

So when Ibrahim was commanded to slaughter his son, there was no discussion, there was no argument. Ismail — what did he say to his father?

"O my father, do as you are commanded to do." Why did he say that? Because that is the manner in which his parents raised him. Again and again he saw his parents submitting to Allah. He did not see his parents trying to figure things out for themselves, trying to make their own decisions. Rather, he saw them — despite how illogical or how irrational a decision may seem — again and again, Ibrahim would submit to Allah's commands.

And that is one of the reasons why the city of Makkah al-Mukarramah — a city that is so beloved to each and every single one of us — at one point was just a barren valley, and now it is the city of Makkah al-Mukarramah, a city to which each and every single one of our hearts are attached to. Why did Allah honor the entire city? It is because of the submission and the sacrifices of this family.

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah to allow us to be from those who submit to Him completely. I ask Allah to allow us to always submit to His command, despite how irrational or illogical it may seem to us. And I ask Allah to forgive us for our sins and our shortcomings.

Announcements

In sha'Allah there will be a few minutes for sunnah. Just a few announcements. Please pass the donation boxes.

الصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْبَلَاءَ — Sadaqah wards off calamity and attracts Allah's mercy.

The Khatam al-Bukhari and commencement of the Takmil program with our esteemed guest Sheikh Hashim Ahmed will be taking place on Sunday, June 14th, after Zuhr, in sha'Allah.

We will also be having the Tahfiz graduation on Saturday, June 13th at 11am.

Please join us for our Monday night program with Mufti Azeem — a podcast-style conversation alongside a co-host. The community will have a chance to ask questions and engage in open interactive discussion after Maghrib Salah, in sha'Allah.

We also have the Thursday night program in Urdu with Maulana Abdul Basit on the Shama'il of the Prophet ﷺ.

And on Saturday morning after Fajr, in sha'Allah, we will be having the Team Fajr program, currently covering the lives of the Sahabah, رضي الله عنهم.

There is a request for du'a for brother Muhammad Ibrahim Azam who is having a heart surgery today. We ask Allah to make it easy for him and grant him a quick and complete shifa'. Ameen.