Importance of Humility - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Opening

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters, students — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, our provider, nourisher, grantor of success, grantor of health, wealth, and all the blessings that we have ever had and we will ever have. Allah azza wa jal, from amongst all His blessings — most definitely, most definitely — the most choicest and the best of all blessings is the gift of recognizing Him, the gift of knowing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the gift of the ma'rifah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the gift of being able to worship Him and make an effort to please Him. What we call tawfiq — tawfiq to do good — is the greatest gift Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can give to anyone.

We've been taught to say that my ability to do anything is only through Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ — there is no way I have been able to do any good except with the assistance of Allah. We've been taught to say:

That there is no ability to keep me away from sin and no strength to allow me to do good, except for that power and strength that comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So this is what we're taught — that after the end of our salah we say:

Oh Allah, assist me in remembering You, and oh Allah, assist me in thanking You, and oh Allah, assist me in worshipping You in the best of manner. And we've been taught to say:

Oh Allah, I have oppressed myself a grave oppression, so forgive me — for indeed none can forgive the sins except for Yourself — and shower me with Your mercy, indeed You are forgiving, most merciful.

We've been taught at the end of any action to supplicate to Allah and to thank Him for what He has allowed us to do, and at the same time seek forgiveness for what we should have done but were not able to do.

The Most Productive 23 Years

Nabi ﷺ, after leading an amazing 23 years — such a 23 years that millions of people put together could not have made such a productive 23-year impact on the world, on the entire world history and the entire future of this continent and beyond — Nabi ﷺ had spent such 23 years that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rained down His barakat and His blessings through revelation and through other sources. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought down never-ending blessings for this ummah, brought down the barakat of the masajid, the houses of Allah, the madaris, Islamic institutions, and most importantly the Book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — till today which we are all consistently and continuously reciting and witnessing its completion in Salatul Taraweeh.

This, my brothers and sisters, was a gift of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala via the Prophet ﷺ — most definitely the most productive 23 years of mankind, most productive 23 years of humankind, most productive 23 years of any creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Surah An-Nasr: The Lesson of Humility

Allah jalla jalaluhu signals that His work has come to a completion and now He has to wrap up His work and return to Him. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals Surah An-Nasr:

When the assistance of Allah will come and you shall see fath — conquest — that hearts will be conquered, minds will be conquered, and people will submit themselves to the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. At that moment, glorify your Lord, proclaim the greatness of your Lord, and seek forgiveness from Him — indeed He is the most accepting of repentance.

Friends, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala instructed the Prophet ﷺ to glorify Him, because at the end of the day, even what the Prophet ﷺ achieved was only possible through the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, was only possible because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala enabled Him to do so. And at the same time He has also taught Him to acknowledge one's own human weakness:

Nabi ﷺ showed his humbleness and humility again and again in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Conquest of Makkah: The Pinnacle of Humility

Dear brothers, when he is conquering Makkah Al-Mukarramah — the most amazing moment of the Prophet ﷺ's life, the most amazing moment for his companions, the moment that they had always been waiting for — that at last we can get back into our homes, into our city, into our beloved city of Makkah. Now it is our day. People would have thought it is their day to have a bloodbath, it is their day to avenge themselves, it is their day for rejoicing the way the disbelievers had rejoiced at the killing of the Muslims in so many different instances. Now is the time to avenge ourselves.

Instead, Nabi ﷺ enters Makkah Al-Mukarramah as a conqueror — 10,000 strong companions behind him — but the Prophet ﷺ is not making boastful claims. Instead he simply says:

All praise belongs to Allah who fulfilled His promise and assisted His servant — I am a servant and I cannot do anything without His assistance. Whatever accomplishment you see is only because of Allah ﷻ assisting me. And Allah ﷻ has honored His army — it is Allah ﷻ who has strengthened His army. It is Allah ﷻ who used the birds during the time of Abraha to protect the Ka'bah. It is that same Allah ﷻ who brought these hearts together — of people of all different colors, of all different backgrounds — and united them under one banner of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. It is Allah ﷻ who strengthened the army. And it is Allah ﷻ who, on His own, alone, by Himself, destroyed and vanquished the enemies. He completely submitted to Allah ﷻ and attributed all success to Allah ﷻ. He did not attribute any success to himself.

The historians write that when Nabi ﷺ entered Makkah, he did not enter it boastfully. He didn't enter it with a fanfare. Instead, he was on his camel and Nabi ﷺ humbled himself so much that his face and his cheeks and his neck were touching the hump of the camel — all the way down, as though he's in ruku', as though he's in prostration on the camel — that I don't even want to sit up properly as I walk into Makkah Al-Mukarramah, lest it should be taken as a signal of might and power, of arrogance and self-conceit.

Every Achievement Should Increase Our Humility

Respected friends, our life — we've been taught that every accomplishment only makes us more humble, every achievement only makes us more humble. Every achievement makes us think: why me? When there were so many more people better than me — why me? When there are so many people more well-versed than me — why me? When there are so many more well-equipped individuals that had qualities and characteristics according to the world that were far beyond mine:

Why was I chosen to come to the house of Allah every night? Why was I chosen to be able to stand in Taraweeh salah? Why was I chosen to be able to recite the Qur'an? Why was I chosen to be able to give sadaqah and zakah? Why was I chosen to be able to fast every single day? Why was I chosen to be able to feed those who are hungry? Why was I chosen to be able to spend time making du'a every day, every night, every morning?

Friends, that is a very valid question. We really don't have much to offer as an answer besides simply saying this is the grace and the fadl and the love of Allah for myself and all of you — that He inspired us to do what we have done. And at this very moment, as we should be filled with greatness and gratitude for what we have been able to achieve, most definitely we also have to be afraid. Because of our lack of sincerity, and because of the mistakes that were most definitely committed throughout this month, and because of the unaccountable holes in our actions — what if, what if, what if it's not accepted?

And so a person has this dilemma — that maybe my actions are not accepted — and becomes afraid, and at the same time he doesn't fall into despair. He becomes hopeful and expecting from Allah: Ya Allah, although my deeds are not worthy of acceptance, but I do not ask You to treat me based on what I have brought to the table, but rather treat me with what You have come to the table with — which is the greatest love, the greatest mercy, the greatest benevolence that we can ever imagine.

So we are now at the end of this month, between hope and fear — hope that our deeds will be accepted, but at the same time not letting us become overconfident, not letting us become arrogant, not letting us become self-conceited. Instead, becoming afraid and fearful, crying the most that we have ever in this past month — tonight and tomorrow night — asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala: Ya Allah, if You do not accept this, what shall I do? If You do not accept this, what shall I do? This is the fear that we must most definitely have at the end of the month.

Shukr and Istighfar

Shukr and istighfar — you know this from Surah An-Nasr, you know this from what I shared with you at the end of salah — that we seek forgiveness from Allah for our shortcomings, and then we thank Allah for what we have been able to achieve. And what is the purpose behind this? Allah azza wa jal says:

If you are grateful to Me, I shall increase you in your favors. If you and I are grateful for the Qur'an that we recited, if you and I are grateful for the Taraweeh that we performed, if you and I are grateful for those ten, twelve, thirteen rows that we were able to fill here for Salatul Fajr, if you and I are grateful for the thousands that have been raised for the various organizations that have come here as well as this very masjid — my brothers and sisters, what will happen? Allah will inspire us to do more. Allah is saying: if you are thankful to Me, I will inspire you and I'll give you more.

The Preferred Customers of Allah

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us more tawfiq and more ability to do good, we become like what I was calling the other night a "preferred customer" — a returning customer — wherein every single day we become like Uthman ibn Affan or Abu Bakr As-Siddiq radiallahu anhuma.

Nabi ﷺ is asking one day: who got up this morning in the state of fasting — who is fasting today? Abu Bakr r.a. raises his hand. Next question: today, who went to the graveyard and helped in the burial of someone? Abu Bakr r.a. raises his hand. Who visited a sick person? Abu Bakr r.a. raises his hand. Who gave sadaqah today? Abu Bakr r.a. raises his hand. SubhanAllah — every single thing, he is at the front. Nabi ﷺ praised him, and mentioned in another place that while there are doors of Jannah that will be calling certain individuals, this man — Abu Bakr r.a. — all the doors of Jannah will be saying: Oh Abu Bakr, please, may we have the honor of having you enter from us?

These four qualities — of visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, helping people, going to the graveyard and helping in the burial of someone, and fasting — are beautiful qualities for us to follow in the footsteps of Abu Bakr r.a.

Uthman ibn Affan and the Expedition of Tabuk

Who do we see as preferred customers? Uthman ibn Affan r.a. — when Nabi ﷺ says: who is going to support the expedition of Tabuk? I need sponsors, I need people to give. This is Ghazwatul 'Usrah — the battle of difficulty. We are suffering, we've been hit for many, many years, and now I'm asking again — who is going to stand up and support this expedition?

And everyone is just looking around. Uthman ibn Affan raises his hand and says: I will take care of that. I will give 10,000 dinars — 10,000 gold coins. Nabi ﷺ praises him and says: I need a second person. Everyone is looking around — people have barely anything to eat, people have barely anything to clothe themselves with — and Nabi ﷺ is saying: work must move on, we have to march forward. Don't look at what you have, but look at what Allah has promised you, and based on that you have to move forward. And he asks again, and Uthman r.a. raises his hand again and commits double of that amount. Nabi ﷺ makes his du'a for him again.

And then he says: I need some more people. Again there's none — but Uthman ibn Affan r.a. again raises his hand for a third time. At this time, Rasulullah ﷺ — when he received the gold coins — you know, Nabi ﷺ disliked the attachment to money. You know, Nabi ﷺ was performing salah one day and as soon as he finished his salah he ran from the musalla to his home. People had never seen him running like this. He said — they inquired: what happened? He said: someone had brought some money to me and left it in my house before salah. I did not want to even wait a few minutes for this money to remain in my house — I rushed right after salah to get rid of it, to distribute it.

That's how Nabi ﷺ was — he would even give his own shirt that he was wearing to someone who would come and ask. He would borrow from people to give to people who needed. He would work with his hands and labor in order to give. This is from the very beginning — even before revelation began, before he was even bestowed the prophethood — when Khadijah r.a. said:

O Muhammad ﷺ, O my dear husband — my Allah will never neglect you, my Allah will never let you down. You are such an amazing individual — you actually go and earn money to be able to give to people who don't have. We already have — how many of us would actually say: I'm sorry, I'm broke, but I'm going to go work for a couple of hours, I'm going to work a shift so that I can give this money to you? Nabi ﷺ did that — تَكْسِبُ الْمَعْدُومَ.

So when Uthman r.a. gave that money, Nabi ﷺ is holding those gold coins — which, as you know, he doesn't ordinarily like — but these are not any gold coins. These are gold coins with which Jannah has been purchased. And Nabi ﷺ puts them in his lap and begins playing with them, juggling those coins, and says: O Uthman, nothing will harm you after today. Nothing will stand between you and entrance into Jannah. What you have done today — and have shown to humanity that you are a preferred customer of Allah ﷻ, that you are a repeat customer — back to back, in one gathering, three times you are supporting an expedition of thousands of poor Sahabah, equipping them and giving them the necessary equipment required to march forth.

Do Not Turn Back on Your Heels

My brothers and sisters, you and I need to follow in the steps of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq r.a. and in the steps of Uthman ibn Affan r.a. We shall not, we cannot become from amongst those who show up one day and then turn our backs for the rest of the eleven months. Allah ﷻ says:

Whoever turns back on his heels, whoever turns his back to Allah — he will never be able to harm Allah in the least. Allah ﷻ does not need you and I. The Prophet ﷺ says in Hadith Qudsi that Allah ﷻ says:

The first and the last, the men and the jinn — if all of you were to become the most pious person, if all of you were to become like Rasulullah ﷺ — that would not increase the greatness of Allah, that would not increase the might of Allah. Allah ﷻ does not need you and me. And then He also mentions: if the first and the last, the men and the jinn — every one of you — became the most evil, like Fir'awn, like Qarun, like Haman, and the Fir'awns of today — if every person, the entire humanity, became like Fir'awn and the Pharaohs of the past and the Pharaohs of today — Allah ﷻ says that that will not decrease my grandeur and might in the least.

You and I are honored to be able to lower our heads in front of Him. والله العظيم.

The Day of Judgment: Those Who Did Not Prostrate

Allah ﷻ says in Surah Al-Qalam that on the Day of Judgment:

Allah ﷻ will expose and manifest some of His Noor — Allah will manifest Himself in a manner that is befitting Him, that we don't understand the how or the when. When people will see the manifestation of Allah ﷻ in the Noor of Allah, they will be compelled to fall down in Sujood — that Allah that we have fasted for, that Allah that we have prostrated for, that Allah that we have stayed away from haram the entire life. A manifestation of Allah — SubhanAllah — we will be bewildered, shocked, and falling into Sajdah.

They will be invited to prostrate by the manifestation of His Noor. However, they will not be able to do so — their backs will be made like planks. Who? Those who did not prostrate in this world. Allah says: you had an option — you didn't see My light, you didn't see My Noor, but I asked you to believe in My Prophet's message, believe in the message of the unseen and do so. Today it is more obvious than the sun — but you shall not be able to do so, because you didn't believe in the unseen. Today, when the unseen has become seen and now you want to prostrate, you will not be allowed to do so.

Brothers and sisters, before that day comes, let us continue to prostrate to Allah ﷻ.

Fulfilling Our Promises to Allah

Let us fulfill this promise. All of us have been coming to the Masjid, alhamdulillah, to whatever level we could. We made tens of promises with Allah: Ya Allah, I'm going to stop backbiting. Ya Allah, I'm going to stop drinking. Ya Allah, I'm going to stop fornicating. Ya Allah, I'm going to stop indulging in interest. Ya Allah, I'm going to stop cheating and deceiving. Ya Allah, I'm going to get rid of my habit of gambling. Ya Allah, I'm going to get rid of my habit of speaking back to my parents. Ya Allah, I'm going to get rid of my habit of being ill or harsh with my spouse. Ya Allah, I am mistreating my children, not spending time with them.

We have hopefully repented, or will repent in the remaining one and a half, two days that we have, to Allah ﷻ.

Allah says: fulfill the promises you make with Allah. Let us not turn our backs to Allah ﷻ on our heels. Brothers and sisters, whatever promises we have made — of learning how to recite the Qur'an with Tajweed, of committing a certain portion of our day to learning the Qur'an, to learning Islam, to connecting ourselves with the house of Allah, to connecting ourselves with the scholars of Deen — these promises that we have made while being teary-eyed, let us not turn back against them. Let us ensure that we fulfill them.

Because the sign of the acceptance of a Deen, my brothers and sisters — the sign of the acceptance of a deed — is that Allah ﷻ inspires us to do more and to continue. And the sign of a rejection of a deed is if a person is allowed to do it once and then he's not given the job again. Simple as that. You are a laborer, you provide a certain service — a company hires you. If they invite you back every week or every year, you know that they are happy with your service. But if they don't give you a call, you know that they were not happy with your service.

If we're invited here to the house of Allah tonight, and then also Monday night and Tuesday night and Wednesday night — then you know, alhamdulillah, you have built a relationship with Allah. Allah liked your service that you provided in the month of Ramadan, and Allah says: I'm going to take you as my client. I'm going to allow you to come serve Me. I'm going to allow you to come to this house of Mine, because I enjoyed and I truly value the sincerity that you showed in the month of Ramadan. It is not possible that a person is sincere and then gets rejected — no, it shall not happen.

Tonight and today, as you're listening to me — let us become sincere in our ibadah. Let us not do what we have done simply because that's what everyone is doing, because that's the normal thing to do in the month of Ramadan. No — Surah As-Sajdah in the night, Surah Ya-Sin in the morning or any other time of the day, SubhanAllah — trying to make a completion of the Qur'an every month, if not that every few months, if not that every half a year. Let us make this intention today, insha'Allah, in this last and final Jumu'ah of the month of Ramadan. Commit ourselves with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and show our sincerity.

It cannot happen, my brothers — it cannot happen. You are begging and crying, or making the face of someone who's crying, to Allah, and saying: Allah, please don't push me away from this house. You really think Allah will say: no, get out? How can that happen? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is feeding the biggest oppressors — those who are atheists, agnostics — He's giving them health and wealth. You're crying with your head down, rubbing your forehead on the ground and saying: Allah, please don't make this my last visit to Your mosque, Your house. Allow me to come daily and regularly, connect myself with the Qur'an. Why would Allah say no to you? My friends, He won't. Have hope.

Have hope in Allah, have good thoughts about Allah. And one and a half, two days — pour our hearts out in sincerity to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Ending the Month Beautifully

Respected friends, today as we make this ending — Nabi ﷺ said:

Actions are judged based on their endings. We would like to end this month of Ramadan in a beautiful manner. Not only are we inviting you to be able to come for tonight for the Khatmul Qur'an which will be at Salatul Isha at 10:20, but beyond that — all of these beautiful faces that we see here, people who are possibly coming for the first time to this masjid in this area — we're requesting, insha'Allah, to not only come tonight and bring your family members, but beyond that, let us end this month in a beautiful manner.

Investing in the House of Allah

By having a share in the masjid. By making sure that if we are not actively present on any given day, our sadaqah and our investment in the house of Allah is present there, working on our behalf, benefiting us even when we're not here. It's like a business that's running — you're in the masjid, but any of you business owners, your business is still running while you're here. Make the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala one of your investments in your portfolio.

We're requesting you today, insha'Allah ta'ala. There's no active fundraising — we're just passing out pledge cards. Let us take a share in the expansion. A musalla spot — a prayer spot. Whoever paid for the construction of this masjid and took a spot, they're getting that reward along with, of course, yourself today, and whoever will come tomorrow and next Friday and the months after that. Whoever stands where you're standing — the brothers and sisters who gave to the building of this masjid are getting that reward.

As we expand and build our new women's prayer hall and our other buildings that we have constructed, insha'Allah very soon, we would like all of us to have a share in that. If you cannot afford three thousand six hundred dollars at one time, space it out over the next two to three years. If you are not even able to do that, then do it — a hundred dollars a month, fifty dollars a month — at whatever level. And if you say: no, I would rather have a share in the running expenses of this beautiful house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the entire academy of two hundred and fifty students that come and study here — you may take care of that. You want your money to go towards the bills for water, electricity, grass cutting — whatever the case may be — most definitely you can just write that on your pledge card: "expenses of the masjid."

Discharge Your Zakat

My respected brothers and sisters, if the month of Ramadan is coming to a close and we have not discharged our zakat, I beg you, I beseech you — for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — please do so today. You don't have your exact calculations? You can calculate it afterwards, but you know your basic amount — give that today to whichever organizations. And also remember our needy students of this institution, who are not turned away because of not having the finances. There are many who are reverts and converts who come to us, who want to study — alhamdulillah, we value them. We need your support, your zakat money, to be able to give them a free education with their books, uniforms, and everything. We have been able to do that for years and we hope we will continue to be able to do that with your support of your zakat.

One of the best ways to invest your zakat is by giving it to the students of knowledge who will stand up here and in other masajid in the next three to four years and will be inspiring crowds — who will be able, insha'Allah, to save people from leaving the fold of Islam, who will be able to save people from falling into sin and haram, who will be able to answer the doubts of people, who will be able to present Islam beautifully to non-Muslims on TV, radio, wherever they may be. That is our investment of our zakat.

So I request you, insha'Allah, after the announcements — not only donate generously with your cash, but the pledge cards that the brothers will be handing out, raise your hand and take one. Whatever you want, write it — your credit card details, your ACH information — and on the way out give that in. Let's end the month of Ramadan beautifully. Let us end the month of Ramadan in a manner where we're saying: Ya Allah, I mean it. I mean it — I want to reserve a spot in Your house, and I want to be a regular customer. Here's my musalla, or here's what I can afford.

And not only that — take it to the next step forward. Become a wholesaler for the Deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Invite other people to the masjid. Invite other people to the programs. Invite other people to Taraweeh salah. Invite other people to take responsibility of musallas. Tonight we'll have our final Ramadan fundraiser, insha'Allah. If you can't come or can't make it, at least send a few people — if he or she is able to give even a few dollars, you will get the full share of that.

Closing Du'a

May Almighty Allah azza wa jal accept the good that you and I have done — say Ameen. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala overlook our shortcomings and faults — say Ameen. May Allah azza wa jal show us that He loves us, show us that He accepted our sincerity, by allowing us to be connected to His house for years to come till the very last breath — Ameen, Rabbil Alameen.