Khutbah | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed (7/4) |MCA

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Respected elders and brothers, dear mothers and sisters, dear young friends, الحمد لله we thank Allah that He's gathered all of us in this house of His on this blessed day of Jumu'ah. We ask Allah that He allows every one of us to benefit fully from the blessings of Jumu'ah. We ask Allah that whatever state that we have come into His house with today, that He allows every one of us to leave in a state that is far better than the state we've entered in. We ask Allah to make us amongst those who leave this gathering in a state that our sins have been forgiven and have been replaced with good deeds. We ask Allah to make us amongst those who walk away with a very clear vision and a mission for our life. We ask Allah to make us amongst His أولياء المقربون, from amongst His closest of servants and from amongst those who love Rasulullah ﷺ and his sunnah dearly. آمين يا رب العالمين.

Reflections on Freedom and Independence

Honorable friends, today is a public holiday and our offices and government bodies and schools and etc. of course are all closed being the 4th of July marking the Independence Day of this country. Almost 250 years, shy by 1 year, 249 years of the independence of this country from the colonial rule. And as parades happen and people speak about freedom and the meaning of freedom in this country, the freedom to express yourself, the freedom of press, the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion and the freedom to bear arms and protest and all sorts of things that are enshrined within the constitution of this country and people very proudly speak about, it is of course important for us to reflect on what do those freedoms mean today for all of us.

And there's two dimensions about it. One is to what degree are these freedoms genuinely allowed and celebrated and cherished by every single sector and every single member of society. Is it true that every single member of society regardless of their race, background, ethnicity, socio-economic status is granted all of these freedoms in the current climate that we live in? That's a big discussion point. And then the second discussion point is what exactly is the purpose of freedom sounds really good that a person is free. A person is free and how would that not be nice? But when we start studying it from the perspective of a believer in لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله, we ask ourselves what does the definition of freedom mean and what type of freedom is a delusion of freedom that actually in reality is a slavery. Just because someone thinks they're free or is told that they are free does not actually mean that they are free.

And that is a point that I would like to ask Allah to inspire me to share a few words on this second topic. And I ask Allah that He allows me to say that which would be of most benefit to myself and all those who are present and who are listening afterwards. آمين يا رب العالمين.

Our Greatest Enemies: Nafs and Shaytan

Beloved friends, the Prophet ﷺ has said in a famous beautiful hadith:

(As reported in various collections)

Indeed your biggest enemy, your biggest enemy, Allahu Akbar, your biggest, أعدى عدوك superlative form, from all the enemies and adversaries that you have, the greatest enemy that you ought to be prepared for, the Prophet ﷺ said, نفسك is yourself, is yourself, التي بين جنبيك, it is your own inner weak points, it's your own lust, it's your own desires, it's your own weak nafs that pulls you in a direction that is harmful for you.

And then the Prophet ﷺ, the ayahs rather of the Qur'an mention the second and most potent enemy of ours, which is none other than Iblis and his children. Where Allah says:

Indeed shaytan is your clear enemy, indeed shaytan is an enemy, so regard him as an enemy. Make sure you do not accidentally befriend him, make sure you regard him as an enemy. إنما يدعو حزبه ليكونوا من أصحاب السعير, indeed he calls and invites his party, his followers so that they can become from amongst the dwellers of hellfire, أصحاب, they can be the people of hellfire, they're not just there for a little bit of time, أصحاب, they are the men and women of Jahannam, meaning they are there for eternity. The purpose and the goal of shaytan, misery loves company, he knows he is destined to go to hellfire and he makes an effort that he tries to take as many people as he can with him.

Shaytan's Strategy of Attack

Beloved brothers and sisters, nafs and shaytan together, our biggest enemies, believe it or not they come in such subtle ways and they attack us from such avenues that we cannot even think. As Allah mentions the declaration of Iblis in the Qur'an where he says:

I am going to attack the humans from their front, from their back, وعن أيمانهم وعن شمائلهم, from their right, from their left, ولا تجد أكثرهم شاكرين, oh Allah you will find the majority of them will be not grateful. Meaning this is how shaytan wants to get us. By making us ungrateful for the blessings that we have.

The Danger of Ingratitude

That if a person is living in a country like we are at the moment, with absolute freedom to come for Jumu'ah, with absolute freedom to go eat, to go home with your family, not to be afraid of any type of violence, any type of trajectory of any sort of bomb or drone or a sniper's fire at us or our loved ones, subhanAllah, where we can gather, perform salah, have food, spend time with our family, go out this long weekend. So many things we are able to enjoy with peace and with abundance. And if a person begins to take this as, begins to regard this as insignificant and begins to take this lightly, Allahu Akbar, this is what we call كفران النعمة, being ungrateful to Allah. And that's exactly what shaytan wants us to do. Where we begin to belittle the blessings that Allah has given you and I and not regard it as something huge. And then find reasons to complain.

When we begin finding reasons to complain, we are acting exactly like shaytan did. And that shaytan, Allah had blessed him with so many blessings beyond what we can imagine. Yet he found a reason to become ungrateful to Allah. When Allah asked him to simply bow down his head for one simple, small second in front of a creation of his, Adam عليه السلام. That command became too much against what? His nafs, his ego.

The Destruction of Iblis Through Ego

That shaytan became shaytan because of that أنا. Shaytan became shaytan because of that ego, that narcissism, that arrogance. He destroyed himself. He didn't have another Iblis after him. Iblis got destroyed by his own nafs. And that same nafs that destroyed him is within all of us. And that exactly the way it has the ability to knock out such a huge powerful creation of Allah and make him someone destined to hell and the deepest parts of hell. Imagine what small fish you and I are. We're not even fish. We're small little fish eggs. We're not even that compared to if you think about the gigantic, enormous powers Allah has given this creation.

Of course, if we remain committed to Allah against our nafs, then there is no limit to how far we can grow and how powerful Allah can make us. But if we also, like shaytan, become a slave to our nafs and begin to listen to our inner corrupted voice that's angry and upset about random things. That why am I not getting this respect? Why am I not being treated in this manner? So and so has gotten more respect than I have. So and so has been recognized more than I have. I want people to look at me. I want people to appreciate me. I want people to give me this and this and that. And no one should be treated in a manner that is above me, etc.

How Nafs Destroys Our Relationships

Thousands of ways shaytan may come to us in our relationships with our spouses and ourselves, in our relationships with our parents and ourselves, in our relationships with our children and ourselves, in our relationships with our co-workers and ourselves, in our relationships with fellow مصلين of the masjid and ourselves. All over the place, our nafs comes and tries to put barriers and walls between us and the creation of Allah. And of course, it doesn't stop there. The nafs tries to put barriers and walls between us and our Lord Almighty Allah as well.

When a person knows that he's supposed to fast, he knows he's supposed to read Quran, he knows he's supposed to lower his gaze, he knows he's supposed to pay his zakah, he knows he's supposed to be mindful towards his rights of his parents, but a person doesn't do it. And if you ask him why, he says, I don't feel like it. I don't feel like it. I don't want to do it. How common we hear this. Son, do this. I don't want to. When a person says, I don't want to, that's exactly what Iblis did. That's exactly the Iblis method.

The Iblis listened to the inner self. What are you saying? Iblis, you're a big boy. You're the biggest kid on the block. You're the biggest man. You've been around for millions of years. Who is Adam عليه السلام? Who cares if Allah asks you to prostrate? You have a status. You have an honor unlike anyone else. You've got precedence more than anyone else. There's no reason you should bow down. What's that? That's that nafs speaking. That's that ego speaking. That's that narcissism speaking.

The Plague of Ego in Our Daily Lives

Imagine how many times, أستغفر الله, when our parents say something to us, our knee-jerk reaction is, no, I don't want to do that. Our spouse asks us for a request. I don't want to do that. She's my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law. Why should I bow down? Why should I say yes? Do you not know who I am in the relationship? Allahu Akbar. What is that? That's the nafs. That's the nafs speaking. That is that same thing that has the capacity to bring Iblis down is after you and I. Every single day in our lives. Every single day in our lives.

If my opinion is not taken, I'm out. How dare you made a decision without asking me on this? I've got nothing to do with this anymore. I'm going to walk out of this organization. Walk out of this masjid. Walk out of this board. You see this plague all over in our Muslim community and beyond. In masjids, institutions, non-for-profits, all over. Homes. What is that evil thing that's stinking up the whole place? That's called the nafs.

Why are marriages falling apart every single day? For something as simple, I want you to pick up my clothes. Just, I mean, this is what I heard yesterday. Just literally 12 hours ago. I said, how I throw the clothes down to pick it up. You're not going to pick it up. I'm out. Who does stuff like that? But these are people who are very exceptionally advanced in their dunya. They have, mashAllah, every father would say, Oh, I want my daughter to have a son-in-law like that because he's got a profession. My God, he's making a half a million dollars and he's got prestige wherever he goes.

Education Without Character

Brother, dunya with education doesn't make you a human being. Master's, PhD, MD, JD, and you name it, does not make you even a human being. Look at all the people who are causing the most corruption on earth today. Their hands are dripping, dripping with the blood of innocent children. Things that you think, you know for sure an animal would never do. These are wolves in the skin of not even sheep, in nice blue suits and tuxedos, wearing thousand-dollar shoes. They've got education from the top-notch universities of the world. Wallahi, they're not human. They're subhuman. It is an insult to animals to call them an animal because animals don't act like this. What am I trying to prove here?

True Education and Character Building

Getting an education that teaches you how to make money does not make you into a human being and most definitely does not make you into a believer. That is a separate effort you have to do to work on your character. That's a separate effort you have to do to work on becoming a human being. Learning how to make money is a different thing. Learning how to control the boardroom is a different thing. Learning how to make successful companies is a different thing which we all strive for, love for. But does that person going to make your daughter happy? Is he going to be able to keep your son happy? Is she going to be able to keep your son happy? Are they going to raise your grandchildren properly? That's a question to ask. What are our priorities in our life? And what are we trying to raise?

A Scholar's Analogy About Modern Parenting

As one scholar recently said, سبحان الله, something really powerful. He said, how sad today that the way people raise their children is very similar to the way animals raise their kids. And he said, a donkey gives birth to a small donkey. The goal is that I want to raise this donkey to a level that however much burden the father donkey used to carry, this baby donkey must be given that much nutrition that one day should be able to carry the same amount of load and more load of the dunya the way the father did. That's a successful parenting. The father used to carry 500 or 1,000 pounds and used to make money, give food. Now the son should now be given such nutrition that should be able to carry 1,200 pounds. If not 1,200, at least 1,000 like the way the dad did.

The buffalo used to give 15, 20 liters of milk a day when the baby is born, give it the nutrition that is required to be able to give so that this baby is able to one day give the way the mother used to give milk, 15, 20 liters. If not that, if not 30 liters, at least 15, 20. Meaning as long as the buffalo gives milk, as long as a donkey carries the load, they're successful.

سبحان الله, the ummah today is thinking if my children know how to make as much money as mom and dad did, or hopefully a couple hundred thousand more, we are successful at parenting. We're successful as moms and dads. We have raised groups of people who know how to make Benjamins. Can they keep you happy as a mother? Can they keep you happy as a father? That's a question. Forget about Allah and His Rasul, أستغفر الله. Forgive me for saying that, but let's leave that part out. Are they going to be able to even fulfill your rights? Are they going to be able to want to stay with you? Are they going to be able to say, when the mother calls, when the dad calls, here I am. Dear Ammi, dear my mom, dear my dad, I'm ready to serve you. What can I do?

The Consequences of Character-Less Success

If a person, سبحان الله, never made that effort to create boys and girls of character, he will be building with his own hands a Frankenstein. No one cries, no one sees the pain that young men, successful young men and women, impose on their parents. Everyone sees the flashy car they drive and the flashy suburb they live in. But what's happening within that confines of that home? How is that president of that board, that CEO, that CFO, that entrepreneur, that medical doctor, that lawyer, سبحان الله, how does he treat his spouse? How do they treat their mom, their dad? How are they raising their kids?

My dear friends, if you're listening and you're watching, you know there's fire in every other house. Houses are falling apart. Husbands and wives, relationships are all time low. Children are, as what Rasulullah ﷺ said:

That towards the end of times, children will become a source of great agony for the parents. That the parents would wish they never gave birth to children. Because of the suffering at the hands of their kids. Is it because the lack of resources? Is it because our children don't have enough money? Is it because we didn't send them to the best of private schools? You ask yourself this question. Or is it, سبحان الله, the lack of deen?

The Paradox of Progress

Fifty years ago, countries where most of us have migrated from, there were 12 people living in a two-bedroom home with one bathroom. But there was happiness. There was contentment. And the parents never had to reach out. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. No father had to reach out to his neighbor to say, I need your help to raise my 12 kids. And as one uncle told me, he said, we raised 12 kids and we're never asking for help. But we came to this country, and our 12 successful children cannot take care of us. That we are being treated like a soccer ball. As elderly parents who raised so many children successfully, each one to become a millionaire. 12 homes, 8 homes cannot take care of aging parents. While that one couple in one small home never asked a penny from anyone. And raised 8, 10, 12 successful children back home 60, 70, 80 years ago.

That is a very weird thing that's happening, unfolding in front of our eyes. You know the proof is out there. What is lacking? What happened in the formula between 70 years and now? Is it that your resources have decreased or increased? You know the answer. Has wealth decreased or increased within our community? You know the answer. Has your education, Western liberal education, increased or decreased? You know the answer. Why is it then that happiness index has gone down? Why is it that the content index has gone down? Why is that mutual love within the home gone down? Why are parents and children worried?

And the simple answer, may Allah guide me and all of us to understand, is the lack of connection with Allah and His Rasul ﷺ. The lack of implementation of deen in our lives, the lack of belief, true belief in the hereafter, that would free us, grant us true freedom from our nafs, from our ego, from our lower self.

True Freedom and Independence

To say, you know what, I'm a free man. That's what true freedom is. That's what I'm getting at. Independence Day is any day where you and I say, Ya Allah, I'm done with my nafs. I'm done with shaitan. I am your slave. I live to please you and I die to please you. That type of life, that is a life of freedom.

The Story of Rabi ibn Amir

And I'll share with you a story. When this happens, you'll see the world changes. A simple sahabi, Rabi ibn Amir's story, the only time you ever hear this name is this story. This sahabi, a relatively unknown sahabi, if it wasn't for this incident, where he sends him with a letter to go speak to the main general of the Persian army, Rustum. And he goes on his horse or donkey and he goes right straight past all the guards towards the royal tent. He's got red plush velvet carpets on the floor. He goes right over all of that with his spear. Not being stopped. People try to stop him. They said, no. He said, I'm not speaking to any guard. I've been ordered by my amir to go speak to Rustum. And I'm not speaking to anyone else besides him.

Eventually, when he was allowed to come to Rustum, face to face with Rustum, Rustum asked him, you know, you're a peasant Arab. What can we do for you? How can we help you? So he looks at Rustum, the simple, humble dressed Arab. But he tells Rustum, the Persian general, he says, listen, I haven't come to you. Why? I would never come to you. I've been sent. I haven't come to you. I've been sent. Allah has sent us:

لِنُخْرِجَ الْعِبَادَ مِنْ عِبَادَةِ الْعِبَادِ - To take humanity and humans, servants, out of the slavery of fellow humans.

إِلَىٰ عِبَادَةِ رَبِّ الْعِبَادِ - And into the servitude of the Lord of all humans. The Lord of all creation. So we came here to take humanity out of the slavery of fellow humans. Into the servitude of Allah.

Number two: وَمِنْ ضِيقِ الدُّنْيَا إِلَىٰ سَعَةِ الْآخِرَةِ - From the constrictness and tightness of this world to the vastness of this world that you all haven't seen. You don't know what dunya is. You think dunya is bracelets, gold and silver. This is not dunya. This is a very narrow-minded understanding of dunya. We have come to give you deliverance from a narrow approach of dunya to the vast beauties of dunya, of course, and the vast beauties of akhira. Because a true Muslim, he enjoys dunya like no other.

And number three: وَمِنْ جَوْرِ الْأَدْيَانِ إِلَىٰ عَدْلِ الْإِسْلَامِ - From the oppression of all isms, from the oppression of all isms to the justice of Islam.

My dear friends, look at the courage and look at the pride that he has in his Islam. That he looks at a simple man, looks at this powerful general and tells him, what could you possibly do for me? What have you got that I don't have? We have come to give you.

The Freedom of the Sahaba

When the Sahaba, that generation of trained people by Rasulullah ﷺ understood what freedom is and what slavery is, then Muslims truly had freedom. And not just Muslims, the world had freedom. But when we fell into the mousetrap, when we fell into the rat race of the misunderstood explanation of what freedom is and a misunderstood explanation of what freedom and slavery is, سبحان الله, not only have we suffered, but the world has suffered and the world is suffering.

The Illusion of Modern Freedom

You see people, سبحان الله, what is freedom? People think freedom is taking drugs and alcohol. Look outside, you don't have to go a few miles away, you'll see the zombies. According to many, that's freedom. If you tell the youth, don't take drugs, don't take alcohol, don't do this. They say, no, no, no, why? Mom and dad, why are you making my life restricted? سبحان الله, that's freedom? That's what you think freedom is?

All around us, what has freedom done to humanity? What has the entire so-called freedom of pornography done to our communities? How has it destroyed our Muslim community all over? I want us to think today on July 4th, ask yourselves, what is the definition of freedom? What is the freedom that we truly have? And what is it? Maybe we are delusional thinking that we have freedom.

The Path to True Liberation

The most important thing is we all need to strive to get free from our nafs and free from the shackles of shaitan and that freedom will only come by following the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. For indeed, he was the man who Allah granted to conquer. He allowed him to be the Fatih, the conqueror of nafs. And Nabi ﷺ was asked, what about your shaitan? Do you have a shaitan? He said, yes. Then he said:

That either he has accepted Islam or I've been safe from him. سبحان الله.

So if we follow the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ in this day and age, wherever we are, by studying his seerah and by following it, my beloved brothers and sisters, once again, you and I will become free. And once again, you and I will be able to show the world what a life of a free man looks like and what a life of a free woman looks like. Wallahi, wallahi. And the taste of akhira, we will start getting in this dunya. The taste of jannah, we'll start getting over here.

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah that He makes us men and women of foresight. Say ameen. Makes men and women of basira. May Allah never allow the eyes of our heart to go blind. May Allah allow us to see the fitan, the trials and the tribulations that have already arrived and that are arriving soon. And may Allah grant us protection from that. May Allah make us men and women who recite and ponder of suratul kahf every single day. May Allah make us men and women who love the sahaba, love the seerah and the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. May Allah make us free men and women. And may Allah make us amongst those who liberate fellow human beings from the slavery of the nafs, from the slavery of shaitan. Allah said, O you who believe, fear Allah and do not die unless you are Muslims.

Opening Prayer and Hadith

And the Prophet said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 145)

Indeed, the religion has begun strange, and it will return strange. So good tidings to the strangers who amend what people have corrupted from my sunnah.

I say this and ask Allah for me and for you and for the rest of the Muslims from every sin. So ask Him. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah and sufficient is the prayer and peace upon the Messenger of Allah. Allah said:

Indeed, Allah and His angels pray upon the Prophet. O you who believe, pray upon him and submit.

Allah send peace and blessings upon our Master Muhammad, your servant and Messenger. And peace be upon the believers and the believing women and Muslims and bless our Master Muhammad and his spouses and his descendants.

The Prophet said: Have mercy on my nation as well as the nation of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. And be strong in the command of Allah, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. And their closest friends, Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him. And their last names are Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. And all my companions and the companions of the Prophet.

O Allah, honor Islam and the Muslims. And preserve Islam and the Muslims. And help Islam and the Muslims. And amend our youth. And amend our women.

Announcements

Beloved brothers, as you fill up the rows, insha'Allah, make sure there's no gaps in front and behind you, and stand shoulder to shoulder, ensure there are no gaps.

Additionally insha'Allah tomorrow insha'Allah we'll have the beginning of the inaugural ICNA West Zone Conference alhamdulillah happening right here in the San Jose Convention Center insha'Allah. I'll be speaking at the Santa Clara Convention Center insha'Allah and many speakers from across the country are here alhamdulillah. I'll be also presenting on specifically the topic pornography as well amongst other topics so I encourage you all to come with your family members and youth especially insha'Allah with the correct intention of benefiting from this gathering and insha'Allah if we are sincere in our intentions we'll walk away insha'Allah with lots of benefit.

Additionally I also want to make a quick announcement alhamdulillah. I'm from Chicago from Darussalam Seminary in Lombard alhamdulillah we have our 14th annual summer intensive and our one-year program they'll be starting soon summer intensive already begun so please visit MasjidDarussalam.org online or on Facebook or on YouTube insha'Allah to see all the programs MasjidDarussalam.org to learn about our programs there's some flyers outside too as well insha'Allah you can pick them up from the booth and insha'Allah try to be from amongst those who benefit from any program that is happening in your own community here in the Bay Area or anywhere else in the United States.

We are blessed to be at a time when so many programs are happening over the summer please let's not allow our youth especially our high school and college students to spend their summer in an unproductive manner allow them insha'Allah to be connected with the masjid with the ulema and allow them insha'Allah to come out of summer stronger than they were when they entered summer insha'Allah. JazakumAllah Khairan.

Salah Recitation

Community Announcements

JazakAllah Mufti Azeemuddin for giving today's beautiful reminder.

A few quick announcements:

First, the annual community iftar for the Day of Ashura is tomorrow here in the Khadija Banquet Hall after Maghrib. If you're interested in coming by, please do RSVP online so that we know how many people are coming and are able to order enough food insha'Allah.

The MCA board elections are coming up. Please check the website for dates and details on that.

Weekend Islamic Schools upcoming academic year registration is now open. Please register in order to secure a spot. They're also looking for some teachers and volunteering opportunities are available for that.

Please make dua for the father of brother Hamza Harara who's recovering from a stroke. May Allah grant him quick and complete shifa.

Please make dua for brother Aziz, family member, brother Waleed Muhammad who passed away. May Allah grant him maghfirah in Jannah.

JazakAllah Khairan, As-Salaamu Alaikum.

Insha'Allah, we request everyone insha'Allah we can make dua for all these brothers as well as the people of Gaza who as we all know are going through so unbelievable difficulty. Insha'Allah, we ask Allah to accept our dua.

As-Salaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.