Feb 15 2019 Khutbah by Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Opening

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَكَفَى وَصَلَاةً وَسَلَامًا عَلَى رَسُولِهِ، عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ، وَبَارِكْ وَسَلِّمْ

Amma ba'd. Respected elders, brothers, mothers and sisters, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

Who Is Allah?

Allah azza wa jal — our creator, our master, our provider, our nourisher, the most benevolent, the most merciful, the one who was there before the existence of everything and the one who shall remain after everything perishes, the one who has no beginning and the one who has no ending, the controller of all good in this world as well as evil, the one who gives honor when He wishes and disgraces when He wishes, the one who grants honor with the means of honor and the one who disgraces without the means of disgrace, the one who is able to create with the usual means and the one who is able to create without the usual means, as ever, whenever He wishes.

That is Allah azza wa jal, for whom the secret and the hidden is as apparent as the apparent. For Him the night and the day is the same. Nothing is hidden from His knowledge. Nothing is hidden from His eyesight. The only place to hide and the only place to run from Him is to come back towards Him.

That is Allah azza wa jal, who has said that the people have not valued Allah as they ought to value Him, they haven't appreciated Allah as He ought to be appreciated, they have not thanked Him the way He ought to be thanked.

The Question Allah Poses to Humanity

As Allah says: O human being, what has put you into deception with regards to your most honorable, most caring, most loving Lord — the one who created you and made you so that the balance of your body is lined up properly, every single thing in equal proportion, in any shape or form He wanted to put you in, and He has put you in all beautiful forms that He wished.

Allah azza wa jal says: What's wrong with you? Why have you left Me and chosen others to beseech? Why have you left My door and have found other doors to knock at? Why have you found others in the world — the creation — to share your worries and your concerns and vent your stress and frustration, besides the only One who can actually do something for you?

Allah azza wa jal says: Is there anyone else besides Me? Is there anyone else besides Me who can, who will, who shall respond to the call of the distressed when he chooses to call out to Him? Is there any being who does not look at how long you're coming to Him? Who does not calculate after how many years you decided to come back? Who doesn't count His favors upon you and say, "You have come now, even though I've been asking for so long"? A person who has found everyone else giving him a stone face says, "Well, I've got nowhere else to try besides God Almighty. Let me try that door." And when he decides to lift his hands and asks Allah, Allah says: I am ready to listen. I am at your service, O My servant, what is it? And then He removes whatever difficulty that human being was suffering — no questions asked.

The Story of the Storm — Surah Yunus

Allah azza wa jal says in Surah Yunus: What about all of you? Do you not remember those times — not once, not twice, countless times — when you were on your business trips, on your vacations, and you were sailing in sailboats far away from the land of Arabia, and beautiful winds were taking you in the direction of your destination? All of a sudden, out of the blue, a very powerful stormy wind came at you —

The waves stirred up the waters, to an extent that the oceans, the waves started attacking the boat from all directions, tossing it like a little child from one end to the other. And these disbelievers of Mecca were convinced that most definitely today their ending would come. Today, no idols of Mecca, no idols of the Ka'bah would be of any benefit to them. Their beautiful children and wives and businesses would not protect them today from drowning into the midst.

Allah says: Who did you turn to? How many mushrikeen and kuffar at that time on this sinking ship decided to turn to their false gods? None. Allah says, دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ — they began to beseech Allah with the utmost sincerity. The sincerity of a man in Laylat al-Qadr, as he puts his head down and begs Allah for mercy to grant his ailing mother a cure — that conviction that the doctors have given up, "I've got nowhere else to go besides Your court, O Allah, grant my mother, my wife, my child shifa." That level of dedication, that emotional outpouring in du'a.

You see what Allah says they were saying: لَئِنْ أَنجَيْتَنَا مِنْ هَٰذِهِ — "O Allah, we swear, if You get us out of this mess and allow us to return back home safely to our wives and our kids, into our homes, لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ — most definitely we will become from amongst the grateful ones. We won't forget this. We won't forget what You did for us, because no one can save us here besides You."

Allah says: Okay, who else are you going to turn to besides Me? Who else can get you out of this mess besides Me? And I decide to get you out of the mess —

Shame on you! Shame on you! So how dare you go back to exactly the same level of disobedience, the same level of arrogance, the same level of denial, the same level of corruption that you had before?

Then Allah azza wa jal turns to humanity and He says:

O people, listen up. Your time is running out. Your time is running out. The clock is ticking. You're not fooling anyone else besides yourself. As Allah says:

You try to deceive Allah — and as we say in the English phrase, Allah is going to have the last laugh. وَهُوَ خَادِعُهُمْ — "I am going to end up deceiving you." You cannot outwit Allah azza wa jal. You cannot outsmart Allah azza wa jal.

And He says to humanity: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ — O people, listen. إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ — this running around that you're doing — every time you go into trouble, you beg Me for help, I send help, your situation improves, and then you go back to the same ways — this is not going to go on for endless years. It's going to come to an end one day. إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ — your oppression. You're not oppressing Me. You oppress your own self. You are the biggest victim of your own oppression.

مَتَاعَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا — you have a few days to enjoy in this life; you decide how you want. ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُكُمْ — to Us is the ultimate return for all of you. فَنُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ — and then We will tell you all that you used to do. And you all know that this is not just "telling" — it's much more than telling. فَنُجَازِيكُمْ — and not only will We tell you, We will give the appropriate repercussion. You will face the appropriate repercussion and jaza'.

Dear brothers, dear sisters, mothers and elders — this ayah has not been revealed for the mushrikeen of Makkah only. It has been revealed for me, it has been revealed for all of us, our parents, our children and our siblings.

Who Has Your Back?

From Allah — who's got your back in your toughest situations? Allah. Who is the one who's going to cure you when no one else can? Allah. Who is the one who's going to give you something to smile at when you feel you've lost everything else? Allah.

A brother whose wife died in a tragic accident — I met him just last night, and I attended her funeral. We knew her, subhanAllah, a very well-known lady in the community. She left behind little kids, and it was painful to see the kids and how she passed in the accident. And I met him yesterday and he says: "The only reason, the only way I am sane — I didn't go to a psychiatrist or even a therapist — the only way I am sane is I found Allah. I came to the masjid. I picked up the Qur'an. I started reading Qur'an — not for the first time, but after many, many years. I started waking up at night for tahajjud salah. And the type of comfort that I'm feeling now, I can't explain to you."

Allah azza wa jal has changed that gham, that hamm, the sadness, the sorrow, the depression of the heart — which he thought would never end — Allah azza wa jal has brought a beautiful spring. Winter may still continue for us, but alhamdulillah, spring has come for him. Because the controller of the hearts is also Allah.

He says:

It is only with the remembrance of Allah that the hearts shall feel content.

Compete for the Hereafter

Brothers and sisters, it is an appeal from me: سَارِعُوا — compete, compete, compete. But towards what?

Compete towards attaining the forgiveness from your Lord, and compete in attaining that beautiful Jannah, which He has already prepared — عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ — whose width is that of the heavens and the earth.

We may have large homes. We may have mansions. But imagine each person's Jannah being of the width of the heavens and the earth. Allahu Akbar. أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ — Allah says in the past tense: it has already been prepared for the people of Taqwa.

The Last Person to Enter Paradise

The Prophet ﷺ one day — you may have heard this beautiful hadith — was sitting, and he said: there is a person who is going to be in hellfire, a believer. Allah will send him to hellfire to purify his sins. As he will be sitting in hellfire, he will say to Allah: "Ya Allah, all my friends are gone. I'm still here burning. Can you please take me to the side of Jahannam so that the punishment can be decreased a little bit?" Allah azza wa jal will say: will you ask Me anything after this? He says: I swear by Allah, I will not ask You anything after this. And Allah will allow him to go to the corner — from the midst of the fire to the corner of the fire of Hell.

After some time, he will say: "Ya Allah, everyone is gone. I've been here for so long. Can I please ask You — if You can please take me a little bit out, outside of even the corner, so that I'm in the middle?" Allah, I'll make this the last one. And Allah azza wa jal will listen to him and pull him out.

Eventually, after some time, he's looking at a far distance — a beautiful paradise, he can't even see what's inside. He says: "Ya Allah, if You were to just take me a little bit closer to that — I swear I won't ask You anything after this." Allah azza wa jal, who knows the future, says: okay, no problem. But you better not ask Me again. Allah azza wa jal takes him closer to paradise.

And then, after hundreds or thousands of years — however much Allah wills — he will turn to Allah and say: "Ya Allah, I swear there is never anything else I'm going to ask You. If You would just open the door — a crack — just allow me to sit there at the doorstep. Nothing more than that. So I can just see how people are enjoying paradise. Of course not for me — I'm a bad person. But at least I can see how people are enjoying life. This is the last thing."

Allah azza wa jal will open the door of paradise for him and say: Go. And when he goes, Allah azza wa jal says: everything that you see, and ten times of that, is yours. Allahu Akbar.

The Prophet ﷺ started laughing and smiling. And he said: this person — the last person to come out of hellfire — will turn to Allah and say:

"O Allah, are You making fun of me? Are You making fun of a poor man?" It's a joke of helplessness — "You're making fun of me? I know You brought me in here, but now You say all of this is mine?" The Prophet ﷺ started laughing. Look at this man, how he speaks to Allah. Allah azza wa jal said: "My servant, I am not laughing. I am not messing with you. This really belongs to you. Yalla, go." This is the last person who is entering paradise. It is ten times that of what this entire world is.

Dear brothers and sisters, we can't even imagine what Allah azza wa jal has prepared for us.

The True Rate of Return

When you start looking — we're always looking at deals. We drive an extra mile to save five cents on gasoline, do we not? An extra two miles to save a dollar on milk. Why don't we start balancing things? Look at the rates of return from everything else in this dunya, and the rate of return from Allah. Who is giving you a better deal? Who is saying, "I'll give you peace of mind"?

Whether you're a male or a female — Allah says — as long as you have faith and you do good deeds: "I promise you, I will give you an enjoyable life." فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ — there is so much emphasis there. There is لَامُ التَّأْكِيد there. There is نُون ثَقِيلَة at the end there. Allah azza wa jal — this is a conditional statement. If you do your end of the deal, I will fulfill My end of the deal. I'm asking you to become a firm believer in Me. I'm asking you to do good deeds, and I will take care of the rest.

And on the other hand, whoever chooses a path besides that of the Prophet ﷺ:

We will ensure that his life on earth will become very constricted. We will ensure that he will have a difficult life — difficult to breathe. A person will be up to his neck in money, but depression and bu's on his face. Why? You own so much. Why is there huzn on your face?

You must know more than I do. But in my small, short life — the number of homes I have visited, in this country and beyond — of those whom Allah has supposedly blessed with so many blessings — Wallahi, everything is on the surface. When you go into the sitting room, when you sit with them in the office, and they pour out their discomforts, worries, and concerns, you say:

All praise belongs to Allah, who saved me from this fitna that this person is going through. He has every car, every home, every wealth, all sorts of investments — but to hear the painful stories coming out of these homes tells you that happiness — by Allah — happiness does not come through material things. Happiness never came through it, and never will. This is the biggest deception.

The Trap of Materialism

"I will forego my relationship with my wife, forego my relationship with my kids, as long as the money rolls in." How many brothers and sisters, subhanAllah, are never able to see their sons and daughters in the morning before they go to work, and by the time they come back, the children are already sleeping? How many have not spent Saturdays and Sundays — or the weeknights — with their spouses, because they're at work? How many marriages have now fallen apart in front of our eyes, because people do not value spending time with the family?

People don't value spending time with their sons and daughters. People don't value putting the phones away, shutting off the TVs, shutting off all the distractions, and sitting with our kids, having breakfast together, cooking breakfast together, and enjoying a meal together. These are the things that used to happen before. But now, the importance of materialism, the importance of accumulation — job, job, job.

As a person says: "I'm earning." Why are you earning? "Because I have to worry about my kids. I have to pay for their bills." And every single time these kids ask for us — there's a time when kids will say, "Baba, what time are you coming home?" There's a time when your wife will say, "I'm waiting for you." People say: "Man, my wife is nagging me. Look, I'm sitting in a meeting and she's saying dinner is waiting for you." Brother, thank Allah — thank Allah that you have a wife that's waiting for you. You know how many people are sitting there, crying tears of blood, because their homes are broken? There is no one waiting for them at home.

They come home — so much cooking, so much food had been served — and just three months later I go back and it's an empty house. He tells me: "Here's my password for the garage. Enter and you can stay over the weekend while you're doing programs." The whole house has fallen apart. Wife is gone. Kids have gone. Finished.

There is a time limit to how many times the kids in our home will say, "When are you coming back? When does your trip end? Can you please try to come early from your meeting today so we can have dinner together?" There is only a certain amount of sabr and patience that our spouses will have with us. And if we continuously say, "I have work, I have work, I have work," a time will come when that money we amassed will have no one to spend it upon. They will be gone.

Whose college tuition are we going to pay? On whom are we going to spend our vacation money? When those for whom we were earning have, unfortunately, left us — because they have seen that in reality, deep down, it was not the love of wife and kids that made us work so hard, but rather the life of working and the life of dunya itself. Just the Benjamins were so nice and tasty and fragrant, such that people spent all their lives chasing that. SubhanAllah.

This breaking of the back sometimes takes place in the 40s, sometimes in the 60s — much later, when a person needs a walking stick — because they did not invest the right time in the relationships that were important while growing up. Today it was a rat race. It was this fikr and concern: "Has my account increased? Everyday checking stocks, every day checking the account — has there been an increase or not?" At all cost.

But did my son wake up for Fajr today or not? That doesn't make a difference. Did my wife get to attend her tajweed class today or not? That doesn't make a difference. Was there someone to help my son at soccer practice? Was there someone to help him when he was preparing for his Sunday school competition? No — that was not the purpose. "Someone else will take care of it. My job — Allah created me to make money." It's always the clock is ticking, the patients, the clients, the clientele, the business partners — they're waiting for me.

The Clock Is Ticking

Dear brothers and sisters, not only is there only a level of patience that our wives, husbands, and children have — but of course, the clock is ticking. And He says: there will be a time when you will come, and unfortunately, it will be too late. When is that? That's ghargharah al-mawt — when the death rattle begins, it's too late.

Allah azza wa jal tells us:

Do not allow this worldly life to put you into deception. Do not allow it to turn you away.

The Pain of Parents

How painful it is for a father who comes and tells me: "Mufti Sahib, Mawlana Sahib, Imam Sahib — here is my son, a 25-year-old son. I have spent hundreds of thousands on his upbringing. He brings a girl to the home and says, 'I want to marry her.' And I say, 'Unfortunately, your mother and I agree that this is not the best person for you — the values are different, the religion is different, the akhlaq are different, something the parents don't like.' Regardless of the exact reasons — I have spent my entire life, my youthful years, to raise you. Please, respect what I have to say. And the son says, 'I'm sorry, but if that's the case — not only do you lose a daughter-in-law, you lose a son as well,' and he walks out."

Many people have cried in front of us like this. What is the pain that a father feels at that moment — "I've done so much, and you have thrown it all away over a girl you met on a social media platform, and you're willing to leave your mom and dad because of someone you met at a Valentine's party?"

And you parents can't believe this is happening. My dear brothers and sisters — look at what Allah azza wa jal has done for us. The love that you have for your kids — by Allah — did that love come to you by itself? Did Allah put the love of your children in your hearts? When a child cries on an airplane, do you feel heartache or a headache? But when it's your own son or daughter — even from the other end of the hall — what happens to us? What is that relationship? That came from Allah. Don't tell me we love all kids. Don't tell me we love all young people. That's not the reality. The love and connection is from Allah.

Please do not allow this dunya to turn you away from Me. Number one — Hayat al-dunya. And number two:

Do not allow Shaytan — الْغَرُور means the ultimate deceiver — do not allow the ultimate deceiver to deceive you. Otherwise, you will have to suffer.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

Whoever does any good deed — the benefit of that will come to himself first. And whoever does sin — the harm of that will come to himself first. And your Lord most definitely is not oppressive toward His servants.

And what does Allah say:

What will Allah do by punishing you? How does it benefit Him to punish you — as long as you are grateful and you have faith in Him? That's all I want from you, Allah says. I want you to have iman — belief in Me — and I want you to be grateful.

Don't we parents say that to our sons and daughters: "How are you doing? Call us. See — is everything okay? We're paying for your bills anyway. At least use that phone — that latest thousand-dollar phone that we bought you — to send a message once a week. And if you can't do that, what's the point of everything we're doing for you?" Allahu Akbar. Apply that to our grave, as well as in the hereafter.

Allah azza wa jal says:

Whoever fears Allah and the standing in front of Allah, and then puts his nafs into check — Jannah is awaiting for him.

Renewing Our Commitment to Allah

Dear brothers and sisters, we have to renew — renew our dedication and pledge with Allah. Not every month, not every week — every single day. We wake up and we begin with:

We begin with our adhkar of the morning, the dhikr of the morning:

We reaffirm our commitment to Allah. Yesterday was not so good — fine. But today will definitely be better than yesterday. Every night we go to bed: "Ya Allah, I tried. But today I also slipped and fell. InshaAllah, tomorrow will be a better day." As long as a person keeps on repenting towards Allah, the doors of Allah azza wa jal are open.

Allah's Infinite Patience with the Repentant

The Prophet ﷺ says: Allah azza wa jal waits in the night — لِيَتُوبَ مُسِيءُ النَّهَارِ — so that the one who sinned all day, before he goes to bed, looking at the ceiling in his bedroom before he falls asleep, says: أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ — may Allah forgive me. "I am waiting for that." And then Allah waits in the morning for the one who spent the entire night awake committing sins — that perhaps at daybreak he will repent. Allah azza wa jal says: if a person repents to Allah, Allah will forgive him. And not once will He say: "Why now? Why this late? How come?" Never. He is not like people in this dunya who always say such things to us.

And then the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1514)

Even if you break your repentance and then repent again, break your repentance and repent again, break your repentance and repent again — 70 times in one day — the 71st time, you will be treated as though it is your very first time. The 71st time, Allah will treat you as though it is the first time. Can we find anyone like this? Absolutely not.

A Du'a for Forgiveness

My dear brothers and sisters, let us renew our submission to Allah. An old man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: وَاذُنُوبَاه — my sins, my sins! The Prophet ﷺ said: read this du'a. And he read it, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "Stand up — all your sins have been forgiven." What is that du'a? Join with me:

"O Allah, Your forgiveness is greater than my sins, and Your mercy — I have more hope in it than in my deeds." Nabi ﷺ said: "Stand up — your sins are forgiven." I pray to Allah that Allah also has forgiven all of our sins. Say Ameen. And allow us to renew our life and our relationship with Allah and our obedience to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in all forms. Ameen.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:

Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The hereafter is near, and for every one of them there is an account. So be of the children of the hereafter, and do not be of the children of this world. For today is work and there is no reckoning, and tomorrow is reckoning and there is no work."

I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and the rest of the Muslims of every sin. So ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Allah, the Exalted, said: Verily, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and salute him with all respect.

O Allah, forgive the believing men and the believing women, the Muslim men and the Muslim women, the living among them and the dead. Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Answerer of prayers.

O Allah, heal us and heal the sick among us and the sick among the Muslims. O Allah, grant ease to our youth and ease to our women. And return us to Islam in the best of returns. O Allah, honor Islam and the Muslims, and preserve Islam and the Muslims.

And remember Allah, the Most High, the Most Great — He remembers you. Call upon Him, and He responds to you.

And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest. And Allah knows what you do.