Friday Khutba by Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed 12/22/2023

Opening Du'a & Community Appeal

The trauma of watching parents bickering and fighting — so let us, for the sake of our children, keep this away from them. Whatever issues we have, we are here as community leaders and imams to assist you when dealing with your children, when dealing with your spouse. There is a humble enough solution for every problem, as long as you want a solution. As long as husbands and wives want to resolve an issue. I see multiple therapists and 'ulama sitting in the crowd right now. We are here to help. That's our job. We'll serve you and we'll help you. But husbands and wives, parents and children — all four have to be of this opinion: "I am ready to resolve this issue. I want to make the environment beautiful at my home. It should be literally home sweet home."

I ask Allah that He allows these incidents of the past two months to bring a massive revival in the Muslim Ummah — say Ameen. May Allah bring an awakening in every one of us, in our spouses and our children. May Allah fill up our masjid throughout the day — Fajr and Isha especially. May Allah fill up all these circles of Qur'an and all the durus that are taking place in our city. May Allah make these incidents a means for taking haram out of our lives. May Allah allow everyone who is suffering in an addiction — of watching something they shouldn't, listening to something they shouldn't, smoking something they shouldn't — allow all this atrocity to give them the willpower to leave and shun this haram out of their lives.

وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَلِيَّ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَادْعُوهُ يَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ، وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ، وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.

Second Khutbah — The Khutbah Proper

As-Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. Respected brothers and sisters, dear elders and youngsters — As-Salamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

I ask Allah Azza wa Jal that He allows our presence on this blessed day of Jumu'ah, in a house from His houses, to become a means of our forgiveness — a means of rejuvenating our faith. And may Allah allow our presence here to become a means of every one of us being touched by something today. By hearing something which will serve as a reminder. A wake-up call. Serve as an answer to a question that we had. Serve as a means of removing some sort of doubt that may have been lingering. Or serve as an opening for a blockage that we may have found in our lives. Ameen.

We Did Not Choose Our Time or Place

Beloved brothers and sisters and dear listeners, Allah has placed us here at this juncture — this time, this place, this era — out of His own will. None of us have chosen when and where to be born. Just like we do not choose the time and the place of our departure, we also do not choose the time and the place of our arrival into this world. That Allah has kept by Himself. That full authority. And Allah knows the wisdom behind when and where and how we end up where we end up.

A person goes right back into the place and is buried from the very soil that he was created from. Which soil have you and I been created from? We have no idea. Husband and wife might be the best, seemingly perfectly matching individuals for each other — parents and children from the same family — but they end up passing away in different parts of the world. In different graves. Different cities, states, countries, continents. They've been created from different places. So where is our final destination? We don't know. And where was the earth from which we were created? We don't know. All we know is we are here now. And we have a short time. And Allah in His wisdom brought us here. We have to make the best use of it.

As one hadith mentions — the gist of which is — if a person were to know that the Day of Judgment is around the corner, and he had an opportunity to do something as small, or as we would say insignificant, as planting a tree, then he should do so. Go ahead and place that sapling into the ground. The seed that will create a sapling — go ahead and do it. Even though we have just minutes left, very little time left. But try to do something good. Try to make your couple of minutes beneficial. So imagine we have, alhamdulillah, more than two minutes. We have time. But the time is running and moving at a very fast pace.

Time Is Like a Sword — The Wisdom of Imam al-Shafi'i

As Imam al-Shafi'i, rahmatullahi alayhi, his reporters have said: "Two things I learned from the scholars of Tazkiyah." He says one was:

(A well-known saying reported from Imam al-Shafi'i, rahimahullah)

That time is like a sword. If you don't use it in a manner that is benefiting you, then this is a double-edged sword. If you don't use it for your benefit, the time will then — instead of being a companion and an assistant of yours — become the very reason you will perish. The time is a double-edged sword. You use it to get your work done, otherwise the same time itself will destroy you. Because if it's not used properly.

And number two:

(A well-known saying reported from Imam al-Shafi'i, rahimahullah)

That your nafs and your self — if you do not occupy it with something beneficial, then it will ensure that you get occupied in something harmful. The self and the nafs, the lower self — if you don't keep it busy in something beneficial, then it will ensure that you get wound up in something harmful.

Shaytan's Promise of Poverty — A Qur'anic Warning

Allah says in the Qur'an:

Shaytan promises you poverty. He says: if you give in the name of Allah, you'll become poor. But he doesn't just stop there and say, "Don't give in Allah's name. Put your hands in your pocket. Don't take it out. Don't write a check. Don't put your hand in your pocket and put it in the donation box." Why?

يَعِدُكُمُ الْفَقْرَ — He promises you poverty. He says: if you do it, you'll become poor. Even a hundred dollars? Yes. You don't know what happens outside. You might need a hundred dollars. Why give that? Honestly, just think about how much Allah has blessed us — in the bank, in your wallet. You might have a fifty or a hundred there. But even that fifty, twenty — Shaytan will come and whisper: "No, no, no. Leave the thousands in the bank. The jewelry at home. But this fifty, this hundred is very valuable." The donation box is passing by. People are raising money for the masjid, for Gaza, for this and that. You're about to put it in. You pick up the bill. "Oh, it's a hundred. Put that back. Let's take a ten." What happened? Thousands are laying at home. But that's Shaytan coming and saying, "No, no, no — if you give that, you'll become poor."

Then he's not going to stop there. وَيَأْمُرُكُم بِالْفَحْشَاءِ — and then, Allah forbid, an opportunity of sin comes your way. He will say: "You have the money. Come on, take it out." Extravagance. Spending in a place where you shouldn't. And so he will try his best that that hundred-dollar bill should not remain in that wallet — that it should be spent. Not only should it not get spent in something good, but for him to walk away as completely successful, he only regards success when he actually makes you spend it in haram. That's what the Qur'an is saying.

On the flip side of it: وَاللَّهُ يَعِدُكُم مَّغْفِرَةً مِّنْهُ وَفَضْلًا — and Allah promises you that if you give, maghfirah — Allah will forgive you. Number one: who doesn't need forgiveness? Who's sitting here sinless? We're sitting on mountains of sin, top, bottom, right, left. Allah says: if you give, I forgive. Number two: وَفَضْلًا — and you give that ten or you give that hundred, Allah says: I'm going to give you out of My grace. When did you get your salary? That's your rizq written down. You get paid 60,000, 80,000, 150,000, whatever. Fadl — grace, extra — that's coming not from the contract, that's coming from Allah separately.

A True Story of Tawakkul

Just a recent incident I'll share — subhanAllah, because this increases our iman. I was sitting at an event, at a dinner somewhere, and a brother was walking by. I hadn't seen him in a while. I grabbed him and said, "Where have you been? I didn't see you in the masjid for some time." Spoke to him, whatever. Then I said, "SubhanAllah, whatever you came to this event planning to give — double it." He had to go, so he didn't have a chance to sit for the rest of the event for the actual fundraiser. He left.

Then subhanAllah, he messaged me about three days later. He said, "Brother, I want to tell you — I met you that day, you grabbed me and sat me down and spoke to me. Recently I had given in another fundraiser $10,000, and I came to this fundraiser with the niyyah of also giving $10,000. But you told me, 'Whatever intention you have, double it.' So I was like, man, I don't have it. That $10,000 I'm going to pledge — I don't have it. I'm going to earn it and give it. But you're telling me to double it, that means $20,000. Where am I going to get that extra $10,000? Because that's not part of my budgeting plan. The year is coming to an end. I know what's going in and out of the accounts. Where am I going to get this extra $10,000? But because of your encouragement, I said, bismillah, let's just do it. Allah will provide."

He said: "Three days later, I received a letter from my employer." And simply, he said, it was absolutely unexpected. They said that they want some medical students to do rounds with him — which has been done for many years. But he says: "If you allow that, we would like to give you a stipend of..." — how much do you think? — "$10,000." He said: "Whatever extra you committed — khalas." He said: "All these years I've been practicing, I've never received an offer like this. The first time, they said, 'Let a few students round with you and we'll give you $10,000 extra.'" And he said, "SubhanAllah — literally Allah showed me, which hundreds and thousands have witnessed, that you trust in Allah and not trust what's in your pocket. Because it doesn't seem like you have it. But you trust in Allah, and then Allah Azza wa Jal will take care of it." That's called tawakkul. That's called reliance.

Allah says: I'm promising you forgiveness when you give, and I'm promising you extra. So this battle between the good thoughts and the bad thoughts is always happening in our heart, all the time.

The Battle in Every Heart — Angel vs. Shaytan

We have this short, small span of time. You know — when you sit in an exam hall and write an exam and you have a multiple-choice question. It could be a really tough exam. And you're sitting there like, "I saw this, I studied this yesterday. But I'm just wondering — is it A or B? It's definitely not C, it's not D. But A or B, A or B." And so you circle A. And after that, you go to the next question and you say, "Nah, nah, nah." You go back, erase it, circle B. What is that? That's a sirah — that's the battle that's going on in your heart and your mind between A and B. But you have short time. The clock is ticking. You have to turn in your exam. The proctor is saying: "Turn it in, turn it in, otherwise you're going to get a zero."

That's how our life is. Life is short. Allah Azza wa Jal is watching us, and we have to make decisions between A and B. And what is A? A is Allah's promises that come in the form of an angel putting inspiration in our heart. And what is B? Satanic promises that come also in the form of one of the cronies of Iblis coming and speaking to us.

The Prophet ﷺ mentioned this clearly in a hadith mentioned in Sahih Muslim:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2988; also reported by al-Nasa'i and Ibn Hibban)

Every single son of Adam has a lammah min al-shaytan and a lammah min al-malak. Every single one has a whisper. Lammah means nuzul, taqarrub — a prompting, a nearness. There is a revelation of sorts that comes from a shaytan and a revelation of sorts that comes from an angel.

What is the revelation of sorts that comes from a shaytan? It is إِيعَادٌ بِالشَّرِّ وَتَكْذِيبٌ بِالْحَقِّ — it is encouraging you to do sin and evil, and making you belie that which is true. Making you dismiss the promise of Allah. "Come on, man — who heard of that? Who saw the promise of Allah actually happening? These are just stories that scholars make up. This Qur'an, hadith — what is that? This is the era of 2024. We have AI and everything else. Who is sitting there reading this stuff?" So the shaytan comes and says that the stories of Qur'an and Sunnah are not applicable. "Speak about something relevant. How can you be speaking about the divine and the unseen in this age?" And then he tries to get us towards sin.

As for the lammah and inspiration of the angel — إِيعَادٌ بِالْخَيْرِ — it is to push us and encourage us to do something good. A person doesn't have the means, but he looks at an opportunity to give and says: "You wait here for ten minutes. Let me go to the ATM and I'll bring something." We've seen that. What is making this man get in a car and go to a bank, go to his home and bring money to give for whatever cause it may be? That's because the angel inspired him. The angel inspired the other guy too — the fact is that he heard the angel. The angel was loud enough to drown out the shaytan, and he said: "You know what? I'm going to listen to you today." إِيعَادٌ بِالْخَيْرِ — encouraged him to do good. And number two: تَصْدِيقٌ بِالْحَقِّ — encouraged him to believe every truthful thing. Every truthful report from the Qur'an and hadith. He heard a hadith, he heard a story of a sahabi, and he got inspired: "Wow! I want to become like that companion. I want my son and daughter to become like that companion."

Honestly, recently one person gave a khutbah somewhere and he said, "JazakAllah khair, amazing khutbah. We need khutbahs like this." Then he said, "You know what the rest of the khutbahs are nowadays about?" I said, "Oh, what are they about?" He said, "They're speaking about the Sahaba, the companions. How is that relevant to us?" I said, okay, let me just walk out now — this is no longer a compliment. If you're thinking that speaking about the Sahaba and the companions is irrelevant. That's what happens. In the mind, a person says, "Why are you comparing us to the Sahaba? Who said they're a gold standard?" These are whisperings that happen even while you're listening to the khutbah. While a hadith is mentioned: "Ah, that doesn't make sense. That goes against science." You hear about a miracle from the Qur'an and Sunnah: "Where are these miracles? This is the era of science. Why are we speaking about miracles?" These are the thoughts that are happening.

What's going on? It is a sira' bayna al-haqq wal-batil — this is the battlefield. The heart is the battlefield in which the forces of evil, the shayateen, and the forces of goodness, the angels, are fighting. And you have to make that decision: where are you going? Right or left? A or B?

So the angel comes and inspires you to do good. And then the Prophet ﷺ said: whosoever is inspired to practice on the advice of the angel — the prompt of the angel — فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللَّهَ — he should thank Allah for that. That Allah gave him the ability to hear something. And Allah gave him the ability to accept it. The invitation and prompt of the angel. And mashAllah, he stood up and did what he was supposed to do.

And on the flip side — if someone is being instigated by the shayateen to do something haram — that you have your phone, you're looking at the news, you're buying a ticket, and then this ad pops up. This thing pops up. And shaytan says: "Go press this, go press that. Go to this site, go there. No one's around. Let me listen to this song. I'm alone, I'm in the gym. Let me speak to someone over here. Let me go speak to someone virtually. I can't speak to someone in front, but I can easily do it behind the screen." Prompts are coming. If you feel you're being prompted to indulge in something which you know you shouldn't — to look at that which you shouldn't, to listen to that which you shouldn't, to speak that which you shouldn't, to invest in something which you shouldn't, to eat and consume that which you shouldn't:

The Prophet ﷺ said: immediately seek refuge in Allah from the accursed shaytan. The only one who can save you from following this prompt is none other than Allah. Because it takes one second to slip and fall. It takes one second to do a 180 and go in a completely different direction than where you had begun the day.

Actions Are Sealed by Their Final Deeds

You know, talking about beginning of the day — subhanAllah — there was a battle where the Prophet ﷺ was in the midst of an expedition. And there was a man there, and the Prophet ﷺ said:

"This man is going to Jahannam." A companion who heard this was surprised. He knew this man. And the Prophet ﷺ had just uttered that he's going to hell — obviously he would not have uttered this without divine knowledge. So he began to follow him. And he saw that this man courageously was spending the hours of the battle in a most heroic manner, doing what he should have been doing as a soldier. But he didn't understand — this man is giving his life for the deen, so why did Rasulullah ﷺ say إِنَّهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ?

As the hours went by, he saw that the man got injured. And the injury was deep and too painful. And in front of his very own eyes, he saw the man take a sword, place it on the ground, فَتَحَامَلَ عَلَيْهِ — and he fell over it and committed suicide. He wasn't mentally ill — I add that as well. People may be psychologically, mentally absolutely ill and have no idea what they're doing, so that doesn't fall into that category. But this was a man who was not mentally ill. And he took his life.

The companion came running back to the Prophet ﷺ, who recognized him as the one who had been following this man around — as if to say: "You saw what you wanted to see?" And then the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2898; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 112)

That a man sometimes does the actions of the people of Jannah in the eyes of the people — even though he is headed to hellfire. And a man does the actions of a person headed to Jahannam in the eyes of the people — even though eventually he's going to go to paradise. Why? إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ — because actions are sealed by their final deeds. Your life is sealed by its final moments. It's about how you end the day of your life. You may start off great, but if it goes in a different direction, that's what counts. You may start off somewhere way off, but it ends in the right direction — subhanAllah — that's what counts.

Beloved friends, imagine how quickly a person who is going towards Jannah in the morning does one action because of which, before nightfall, he's headed to Jahannam. And imagine a person headed towards hellfire who does one action — subhanAllah — and he's headed to Jannah. Within one moment. That is being manifested in this day and age more than ever. As the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 118; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2195)

A man will wake up as a believer, and by nightfall he will leave his Islam. A man will go to bed as a believer, and by morning he will leave his faith. The one who holds on to his faith will be like the one who is holding on to a burning piece of charcoal. It won't be easy to follow Iman. It won't be easy to follow Islam. And people may start off the day well, they may start off the year well, the month well, the week well — but when the difficulties and the sacrifice that is required to remain a Muslim reach a level that they are not willing to pay, not willing to invest, not willing to stand up for — then they say, "I'm out. I can't handle this anymore." The Prophet ﷺ said that day will come. And we see that happening all around us. SubhanAllah — people are Muslims and unfortunately they leave the deen.

The Continuous Battle in Every Heart

Dear brothers and sisters, it is this continuous battle between Haqq and Batil that is happening in my heart, in your heart, and in every son and daughter of the Ummah. It's not happening only to the kids. It's not happening only to the youth. The hadith mentions this is with every human being. No human being is above this. The companions said, "Ya Rasulullah, what about you?" He said: "Even myself, I have both. However, Allah Azza wa Jal has protected me" — in one narration, فَأُسْلِمُ — "I am protected from the prompts of shaytan." And in one narration, فَأَسْلَمَ — "that this shaytan has accepted Islam," which is of course possible — the jinns can accept Islam.

SubhanAllah — if that is what the Prophet ﷺ mentioned about himself, where do I stand today? Where do you stand — as a senior, elder, elderly lady, grandmother, grandfather, or as the youth of our community? All of us are in the same boat. We're constantly being prompted by right or wrong.

The Winter Holiday — An Opportunity for Reflection

My dear brothers and sisters, and my dear youth — this winter holiday that we have together as a family is an opportunity for us to reflect on this hadith, and to reflect on this continuous chain of good and bad that is happening. And as I said at the beginning of the talk, Imam al-Shafi'i's two things: time is like a sword — if you don't use it for your benefit, this sword will kill you. And yourself — if you don't indulge your nafs in goodness, your nafs will indulge you in useless things.

What is the biggest useless thing we have? Of course — the misuse of our phones. The misuse of the internet. The misuse of our gadgets has destroyed the Ummah. Any person you look at who is in a haram relationship — a married individual who is in a haram relationship outside of the marriage, an unmarried person in haram relationships, drugs, vapes, e-cigarettes, alcohol, addiction of watching haram — if you look and study it, in a minute you'll realize: when did this change start coming in? When they started using their technological devices in an irresponsible manner.

The amount of influence that this phone has on an individual's psyche, on an individual's relationship with Allah, with His Rasulullah ﷺ, with humanity, with mom and dad, with spouse and children, is unbelievable. We cannot undermine the unbelievably strong influence that this phone has. A person can have a thousand pious friends, but if he has an hour of unpious moments with the phone — or half an hour, or 15 minutes — those thousand righteous, pious friends won't be able to change anything. A person is going to the very best Islamic school, the best Qur'an school, the best masjid. But if he is using his or her phone irresponsibly, then the damage that is done within those few moments outdoes all the goodness that he has. That is the power of this.

So as fathers and mothers, we have to ensure that our children are protected from the evil of this. When we have these discussions at home, in a very mature manner, we need to discuss this. Explain to people how this damages you, how this harms you. Children do not understand — you can't blame them. They're little kids. We are the adults in the room. We have to explain to them. And in order for us to explain it, we have to know it ourselves. You don't need to be involved in sin to know sin. You don't need to be addicted to sin to know its harmful effects. But we have to know it. As a teacher — it is our job as fathers and mothers to teach our children: "These are the harmful effects, dear son."

Building Mahabbah at Home

My dear friends, in this winter holiday, let's try our best to keep our homes as less addicted to technology as possible. Let's use this opportunity for bonding. Let's use this opportunity for nature walks. Let's use this opportunity for a beautiful family vacation. Let's use this opportunity for just cooking a meal together. Let's use this opportunity to connect with college students who are back home, high school students who are spending more time at home. We need to bring mahabbah and love into the home. We need to ensure that parents and children foster a relationship of friendliness.

My dear friends, we have to become friends of our kids. And in the process of becoming friendly, it does not mean you let them do whatever they want. Instead, we do correct them. If we don't correct them, who's going to correct them? But the manner we correct them — like a friend, when he corrects a friend, he doesn't pick up a stick and say, "I'm your friend, I'm going to correct you." He doesn't berate him. He doesn't curse him. Instead, with kindness and softness he says, "Just 20 years ago, I was your age. 30 years ago, I was your age. Guess what? I'll share with you my own experience. I had a friend who almost got me into this trouble." Whatever the case may be — however much you want to share — but the idea is you want your children to understand that you empathize with them, that you sympathize with them, that you know what they're going through, and now you are trying to provide solutions to their problems.

When we work on this relationship at home, then even if the environment at university and high school is not the best, but if the relationship and the environment at home is outstanding, amazing — on the foundations of love, on the foundations of mahabbah, on the foundations of empathy and sympathy, on the foundations of the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ — then inshallah, this will become a barracks for our children. It will protect us and our children from outside influences.

But my beloved brothers — all the masjids and schools and programs outside may not be able to make up for the loss incurred at home. If husbands and wives are bickering and fighting, if parents and children are bickering and fighting — you have people slamming doors, people walking out and leaving the home, people slamming car doors, people not wanting to eat with one another — if this is the norm in your home, we cannot allow that to continue. We do not understand that this is destroying generations. The harm that we are inflicting on kids and grandkids will be felt for generations to come. They will not be able to live not only socially good lives, but Islamically good lives as well. They will remain damaged. And as the adults in the room, we cannot allow our children to suffer like this. We cannot allow our children to be damaged in this manner.

So this winter break is an outstanding opportunity for us to reflect and to build these relationships.

Connect Your Children to the House of Allah

Let us also try our best to come for Fajr and Isha. Bring your children to the masjid. Please — I beg you — bring your children to the house of Allah. You're off today or tomorrow — come for 'Asr, come for Maghrib, come for Isha. You live five minutes away, four minutes away — don't pray at home. Please come. You do not know: two weeks of you and your son, you and your daughter, praying in the house of Allah, listening to the khatira by the imam — what a powerful effect it will have. As you discuss it on the way back, you grab a cup of coffee, you grab a meal on the way out. SubhanAllah — not only will it build your mahabbah and love, but it will create an attachment with the house of Allah in the hearts of our children.

That's my very important appeal to all of you — to connect ourselves and our children to the house of Allah, especially in these holidays.

Number two — there are Islamic programs happening in our city of Chicago, which is, mashAllah, replete with amazing things. My beloved fathers, you need to take the lead. My beloved mothers, you need to take the lead and say: "Yes, we have two to three weeks of vacation. We'll use that time to do X, Y, Z. But two to three days of it, let's use in a beneficial manner — Islamically, academically." So whatever programs are happening — from amongst those, for example, we have our Annual Winter Intensive, which starts tomorrow at Darul Salam in Lombard. Every single year during the winter, we do it. We know you're not off the whole rest of the year. So we're teaching classes for the adults, for the college students, for the youth, for the little ones — alhamdulillah — for three days, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Make that part of your agenda for the next two weeks — come spend three days — or any other program that you like — so that the holidays become an opportunity not just for relaxation, but for spiritual growth as well.

Gaza — A Motivation for Iman

Last but not least — anytime Shaytan comes and tempts any one of us to sin, to listen to what we shouldn't, to watch what we shouldn't, to eat what we shouldn't, to say what we shouldn't — then just think about the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Think about what's happening. If you haven't read about it for some time because it hasn't made it to the top page, then just go look at one of the main news outlets and read. It is something that will — your desire for sin, inshallah, will end right there. You won't have the ability to say — "How dare I just wanted to go watch something haram, listen to something haram, when I am reading what is happening to Aisha, what is happening to Khalid, what is happening to Muhammad, what is happening to thousands of our beloved brothers and sisters." The manner of what is happening there — honestly, it's something I've never read or heard before. Live — it's happening as I'm standing and speaking to you. You know it. If you don't know it, read it.

Not to an extent that will make you depressed — no. But just simply to give you a reality check. How dare I sit here in the comfort of my home and think of sinning, while that's happening on the other end of the world? How dare I think I'm going to sit at home and skip salah and not go to the masjid, while in Gaza today, on Jumu'ah, all the khateebs are giving khutbahs — while the masjids are standing at 5%. The whole 95% of the masjid is broken. And you still see videos from today where the khateeb is speaking, and every single member of the audience has lost 50, 100, 200 family members. And they're still there for Jumu'ah. Daily salah is still taking place. Allahu Akbar.

The stories of Gaza should create a jazbah of iman within us. To say: "I'm going to use this — not only to protest, not only to write letters to congressmen and senators — but I'm going to use this as a motivation to start coming with my kids to the masjid. I'm going to use this as a motivation to repent for my major and minor sins."

I ask Allah that He allows the entire Ummah to be awakened — say Ameen. And if not now, then when? If not now, then when?

May Allah stir up the iman in our hearts. May Allah allow our masjids — especially Fajr and Isha — to get filled up. May Allah save our generations and our youth. May Allah allow us to have the level of iman that our brothers and sisters overseas have. May Allah accept their martyrdom. And due to their tears and their crying and wailing — those innocent children, and women, and men — may Allah not only help them, but also help us. May Allah, through their tears and their beseeching of Him, open up the doors of guidance for all of us. Close the doors of haram upon us. Open up the doors of halal. May Allah allow all of us to shun sin. Make it easy for all of us to get over our addictions. And allow our homes to become places filled with mahabbah, love, and on the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Allah said:

O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, upon which are stern, severe angels who do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded.

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 893; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1829)

All of you are a shepherd, and all of you are responsible for his flock.

Closing Du'a

وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَلِيَّ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَادْعُوهُ يَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ، وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ، وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.

Announcements

Alhamdulillah — in this winter break, with all the other programs that are happening in your local masjid, I want to bring your attention quickly to our annual — 5th Annual — Winter Intensive taking place inshallah this weekend: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, starting from tomorrow at 10 a.m. It's called Timeless Truths: Application of Fiqh in Contemporary Times. This is being held at Masjid Darul Salam in Lombard.

We have age and gender appropriate classes for: boys ages 7–10, boys ages 11–14, girls ages 7–10, girls ages 11–14, and college students and working professionals. For the adults, we have many contemporary topics being covered, including:

• Shari'ah-compliant earning, financing, and investing
• Islam in the workplace — medicine as a case study
• United Eid: challenges and solutions
• A communal consideration: how to overcome differences in masajid across America
• Riba in contemporary times: halal or haram
• Theological exploration of takfir: how far is too far
• Bid'ah versus Sunnah

It's live as well as virtual. But all of you brothers and sisters in Chicago who are not traveling — I encourage you to please come with your family, 10 a.m. inshallah, with the kids as well. 10 to 6, for 3 days. May Allah accept this program and all the other programs that our city is holding in various masajid. May Allah allow all these programs to be well attended and greatly benefit the community. Ameen.

JazakumAllah khairan to Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed for coming here and giving a wonderful khutbah. The brothers from Darul Salam have pamphlets and information at the tables, so please go ahead and pick those up. They also have some calendars they're passing out — please pick those up. And please try to donate to them and donate to our masjid as well — we are still in need of funds, so please donate with whatever you can.

Tomorrow night, December 23rd: MCC Food and Fun Fair Committee and YM Niles will be hosting a Palestine Fun Fair. There will be food, kufayahs, activities for everyone, sweets, basketball, games, and much more — including a basketball tournament. All proceeds will be donated to Palestine. Come support the Palestine fundraiser — tomorrow from Dhuhr to Isha at the MEC banquet hall right here.

MCC Elston location: MCC Family Night is tomorrow night from Maghrib to Isha. Also tomorrow afternoon at the Elston location, the sisters are having a support gathering — for sisters ages 15 and up — from 12 to 3 p.m. There will be coffee, tea, discussions on coping with personal challenges, and much more. Feel free to bring a snack to share.

March on Washington for Gaza: The American Muslim Task Force for Palestine is organizing a march on Washington, D.C. — Saturday, January 13th at 1 p.m. at the National Mall. Please do not forget your brothers and sisters in Palestine and Gaza.

Du'a request: Ahmadullah Ghodi is severely ill in the hospital in Afghanistan — may Allah give him a complete and speedy recovery. Ameen.

Shahada — Brother Nico Accepts Islam

Alhamdulillah — we have a shahada as well. Right after salah, our brother will be accepting Islam inshallah, reciting the Kalima Shahada. It's an amazing opportunity for us to witness, so if you have a moment, please stay back for that as well.

Alhamdulillah — as we all know, إِنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ يَهْدِمُ مَا كَانَ قَبْلَهُ — Islam removes and wipes out everything that has happened before it. So inshallah, with the barakah of this — not only is this a very blessed gathering in which inshallah all of his past sins are being forgiven — we hope through the blessing of our presence in this gathering that Allah forgives us as well.

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is His servant and His Messenger. Takbeer!

SubhanAllah — brother Nico is 17 years old, a high schooler. This is the amazing thing. With everything that's going on, Allah Azza wa Jal is opening up the doors of the young and old towards Islam. I ask Allah — in the name of Allah who guided him towards Islam — that He guides me and all of us to remain steadfast on the deen. Our children to remain steadfast on the deen until death meets us. Ameen.

JazakAllah Khairan. Brother Nico actually accepted Islam on his own — when he called, he told me he had already accepted Islam on social media. He then came to the masjid, said he'd been praying, and I said, "You need to take your Shahada." He said, "I already took it." So welcome your brother Nico into Islam and into this community. JazakAllah Khairan.

Final Announcements

Brothers and sisters, please don't forget to donate before you go outside. If you don't have cash or a credit card, you can quick pay at treasury.mccchicago.org or donate by credit card through the website or the kiosk.

Tomorrow night, December 23rd — from Dhuhr Salah to Isha — MCC and YM Niles will be holding a Palestine Fun Fair at the MEC banquet hall right here. There will be kufayahs, food, activities, a basketball tournament, sweets, games, and much more. This is for kids and teenagers of all ages. All proceeds donated to Palestine relief.

At the MCC Elston location: MCC Family Night tomorrow after Isha. Also tomorrow — sisters' support gathering at the MCC Elston location from 12 to 3 p.m., for sisters ages 15 and up. Coffee, tea, and discussions on coping with personal challenges. Feel free to bring a snack to share.

March on Washington D.C. for Gaza — January 13th at 1 p.m. at the National Mall. A huge march for Gaza in Washington, D.C. Please don't forget your brothers and sisters in Gaza.

Jinan Mahmoud — please come to the office.