Khutbah - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

The Blessing of Iman and the Pride of Islamic Identity

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Beloved brothers and sisters, dear elders, youth and dear listeners — السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

We thank Allah azza wa jal, we praise Allah azza wa jal, and we exalt Him in a manner that befits Him — in order to appreciate and thank Him for the countless blessings that you and I, our elders, our forefathers, our children are all enjoying. And to top it all off, definitely the greatest blessing that a person has is the blessing of faith, the blessing of iman.

Just like a person who has the blessing of health does not appreciate it until it is gone — two blessings which most people are unaware of their power, their amazingness, their beauty, and people are at loss: one is the blessing of health and one is the blessing of free time. People do not appreciate them until they lose out on them, and they think, "I wish I was once again returned back to the health that I used to have before. I wish the health was given back to me so that I could do all those things that I'm wanting to do now." And when a person has free time and wastes it, later on he gets so busy in life, and there are a bunch of things that they want to achieve but they're not able to do so because they hardly have time on their hands. What happens is that we end up crying over spilled milk.

Similarly, the blessing of having parents, the blessing of having children — all of those blessings a person may appreciate to a certain degree, but you do not appreciate them as much as you do when you see someone who had that blessing and it was taken away from them. They've lost their children, they've lost their parents, and things of that sort.

Similarly, when a person meets and comes across someone who had Islam, who had Iman, who was a Muslim — but then that faith was taken away from them. They no longer are able to believe in the Qur'an that you and I recite, that they used to recite. In many instances, the very Qur'an that they had actually memorized and had spent years spending time with — now anything you say to them doesn't make sense about the Qur'an. It all seems hazy, foggy, murky. They are no longer, as they say, impressed by the power of the Qur'an.

When you meet such people, you get a greater appreciation, gratefulness, and thankfulness to Allah for the faith in the unseen that you and I have. And you realize how quickly it can be taken away — how quickly a person can be deprived of this faith, without even a moment's notice, it can go just like that. As consistently we are coming across people who are losing out on this blessing — who had this blessing, they've done something, Allah knows best what. We pray that Allah brings them back to the hidayah and guidance, and that Allah puts the Nur of Iman back into their hearts.

And we also pray to Allah that He allows us to learn a lesson from that, and never to take our faith for granted, and to appreciate Allah immensely for simply being guided to Islam — for simply being able to believe in the unseen. This is a huge blessing, a huge blessing.

The Identity of Being a Muslim

This goes tied down back to the essence of being a Muslim — that our greatest sense of pride, that's supposed to keep us together, make us happy, excited, elated, and able to keep us floating through life no matter what comes towards us, is the belief that we have been blessed with the unbelievable gift of Islam. That no matter how challenging our month, our day, our year has been, at least —

"I thank Allah that I'm able to say that I'm a believer. I thank Allah that He's given me the ability to be able to pray my salah. I thank Allah that He's given me the ability to recognize Him as my ultimate nourisher and provider, and to turn to Him in times of need."

While there are millions of people who not only have difficult situations like I do or you do, but have by far more difficult situations — and they are not guided to ask Allah. Instead, many think that the world is simply created out of vain with no purpose, and it will also vanish one day into thin air. Any problems they have, they have nowhere to turn to, nowhere to seek assistance, because they don't even have the simple faith that there is definitely a Creator behind all of this in Whose hands lies every single movement.

When things don't go the way I want or wish them to be, I simply have to turn to Him — and either He will change it, or He will give me the reward of patience, and I will get something far beyond whatever I expected in the hereafter. That belief keeps all of us going even in the most difficult of circumstances. It creates within a human being, within a Muslim, this sense of absolute honor and a sense of Izzah.

The Du'a of the People of Paradise

That is why Allah azza wa jal says in Surah Al-A'raf — when the people of Paradise will be headed towards Paradise, they will not be going in a haughty manner, in an arrogant manner. They will not be thinking of themselves as superior to the people in Hellfire. They will not be filled with an iota of arrogance. Instead, as they will be walking over the bridge over Jahannam on their way towards Paradise, what will they be saying?

"All praise belongs to Allah Who guided us towards this Islam — and if it wasn't for Allah guiding us, we ourselves would have never been able to find this path." The fact that we are standing here is because we were led here. Someone held our hands and brought us to where we are. We would have never been able to enter Paradise with our own doing.

No One Enters Paradise by Their Own Deeds

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ mentioned this in one famous narration — that no one shall enter Paradise with his own deeds, except and unless Allah enshrouds him with His mercy. So the companions asked him, "وَلَا أَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ" — "What about yourself? That's for us, but what about yourself?" And he said, "وَلَا أَنَا" — "Even myself, I do not claim I can enter Paradise with my own deeds, إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَغَمَّدَنِي اللهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِنْهُ — except and unless Allah enshrouds me with His mercy. I also do not have the hope that I'm going to get into Paradise without that mercy."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5673; Sahih Muslim, Book 50, Hadith 68)

The Du'a of the Old Man — The Power of Hope in Allah's Forgiveness

This is why one of the beautiful prophetic du'as that we've been taught — a man, an old man, came to Rasulallah ﷺ and he said, "وَا ذُنُوبَاهُ" — "Oh my sins, oh my sins!" And the Prophet ﷺ said, "What's wrong?" And he said, "Ya Rasulallah, I've just committed so many sins. At this old age I've just piled up, piled up, piled up so many sins. What should I do?" He was overwhelmed by the weight of sins. And the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to recite a certain du'a — he told him to recite it three times, and he repeated after him three times. At the end of the third time, Rasulallah ﷺ said, "قُمْ" — "Stand up, your sins have all been forgiven."

And what was that du'a?

"Oh Allah, Your forgiveness is more expansive than my sins. Oh Allah, I have more hope in Your mercy than I have hope in my own actions."

My sins are many, numerous — maybe too numerous for me to count. But they are definitely not greater than Your forgiveness. Your forgiveness has definitely no bounds. My sins may be unbelievably large in size and amount, but they are not infinite — they are still finite. But Allah, the infinite Being — His attributes are infinite. Allah's forgiveness is so great, so vast.

This statement of his, said three times — Rasulallah ﷺ said, "Stand up, you've been forgiven." Alright, let's read it together:

If a person recites this three times with absolute conviction and sincerity, we should have absolutely nothing but hope and conviction that Allah will also forgive us — anytime we recite this, including today on this blessed day of Jumu'ah, insha'Allah.

Beloved friends, what is the point of this du'a? A person is sharing his humility in front of Allah — "I've got nothing to show to my credit. Everything is Yours. I've got sins to show, but You have forgiveness. I've got actions to show that are filled with hollowness, insincerity, not in accordance with the teachings of Rasulallah ﷺ — nothing really worthy of presentation. But what You have, You have acceptance. You have mercy. And that's what I'm expecting and I'm hopeful of." And Allah, when He sees this humility in a person, insha'Allah, Allah will give him more than he expects.

The Quality of Iman Required — The Standard of the Companions

But it connects back to our happiness in the identity of being a Muslim. When a person understands himself to be a Muslim and is proud to be a Muslim — not a Muslim of any type, but the Muslim that Rasulallah ﷺ was, a mu'min that Rasulallah ﷺ was.

Allah azza wa jal says that the people of the earliest nations, during the time of Rasulallah ﷺ, were told:

When they were asked — آمِنُوا — "We want you to become believers. We want you to have faith. Not just any way you want — كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ — the way the Naas." The Naas here is referring, according to most scholars of tafsir, to the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم — the companions. When they were asked to have faith the way the companions had it, the hypocrites said: "أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ" — "Do you expect us to have faith the way the Sufaha, the fools?" They called the Sahabah the fools. "You want us to have faith the way the fools have?"

And Allah azza wa jal responds — they are not fools! "أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَاءُ" — "Listen — you who are saying this, you are the biggest fool! وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ — but you just don't know it." When the dust settles in the grave and you're down under, you'll realize who the real fool was. The Sahabah were not the fools — the one who called them fools was the greatest fool.

So there is a specific type of iman that is required from us — not any type we want. An exam paper is given. A homework is given. There is a standard. There is a rubric for getting that paper accepted and with high marks — you can't just make up anything you want. If that is the case in everyday dealings amongst ourselves, imagine faith when presented to Allah — it cannot be just however we want. It has to meet a certain standard. And that rubric was presented to us by Rasulallah ﷺ and exemplified and manifested by the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم وأرضاهم.

And when any nation anywhere, at any time, brings that rubric in and makes their faith match up in quality — and definitely quantity, but trying to match up in quality — with that of the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم وأرضاهم, then definitely they will be successful. Regardless of the opposition. Regardless of how small a minority they may be. Regardless of how financially and economically they may be going through a hard time. But if they have those attributes and qualities that Allah wants to see within a person, then as a Muslim it is incumbent upon us to believe that they are successful.

And so it goes to show the importance of creating a strong, powerful Muslim identity within ourselves and our children. First and foremost, we are believers in لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ. Our jobs, our education — these are all secondary things. That's our profession maybe. That's how I earn a living. But my identity is not going to be connected to my profession. My identity is not going to be connected to my degree. My identity is not going to be connected to my socio-economic status. My identity is not going to be connected to my neighborhood. My identity is going to be connected with my faith.

The Story of Umar ibn al-Khattab and the Entry into Jerusalem

This is exactly what the companions of the Prophet ﷺ showed to us. A very famous, beautiful story we find in the books of Sirah — of Umar al-Khattab رضي الله عنه. When the Syrian flank advanced towards Jerusalem and met the leaders of Jerusalem, having conquered the lands of Syria and the surrounding areas — Palestine came in, Jerusalem came in, and Quds specifically came in. The monks and leaders came and said, "We are ready to give up this holy place without bloodshed, without putting up a fight, as long as the conditions are met properly."

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah رضي الله عنه asked, "What are those conditions?" They said, "Our condition is we want to see your Amir. You are the general of this flank, you're not the Amir al-Mu'minin. We want to see the Amir al-Mu'minin, the leader of the believers." He was back all the way in Medina. So a letter was written saying they were requesting him to please come, as this would save many lives and prevent much bloodshed. When Amir al-Mu'minin received this letter, he made his move — he took a servant of his, took a conveyance, and made the journey — many days' journey — all the way to Quds.

As he came closer, they were taking turns — Umar رضي الله عنه and his servant taking turns riding the animal. As they got closer to the Muslim army — imagine, the Muslim army was going to receive the Amir al-Mu'minin, how exciting! — it so happened that it was the servant's turn to be sitting on the camel while Umar رضي الله عنه was walking. The servant said, "Amir al-Mu'minin, this is not right. Before the army sees us, let's switch — I do not want to enter upon the army in a state where the Amir is walking while the servant is riding the animal." And he said, "This is not going to happen. We live and die by justice. It's your turn, so it has to be your turn, regardless of what's happening now." That was one amazing action of his.

Then as he came closer, Abu Ubaidah رضي الله عنه came to meet him and guided him — "Let's go, the monks and leaders of Quds are waiting." As they were going, they came across a small creek, a stream. In order to pass the stream, Umar رضي الله عنه got off the animal and took his slippers in his hand — he didn't want to make his slippers wet — put them on his shoulder, and began to walk.

At this time, Abu Ubaidah رضي الله عنه said, "Amir al-Mu'minin, are you really taking off your slippers? You're putting them on your shoulders? I don't want the people of Quds to look at you in this condition." And he continued, "May I recommend that you've just come from a journey — if you could simply change your clothing to something that they would recognize as someone deserving of respect, dress in a manner that they are dressing, some more fashionable clothing, because you are the Amir that they're waiting for."

And the beautiful statement that Umar رضي الله عنه responded with at that time — he said, "If only it was someone besides you, O Abu Ubaidah. If it was only someone besides you, I would have whipped him and made him an example for the whole Ummah to see. But how dare you even suggest something like this! But I'm not going to do that because you have been given the title of أَمِينُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ — the most trustworthy of this Ummah — by Rasulallah ﷺ. So I'm not going to punish you. Otherwise, although you're the general of this flank, I would have punished you in front of everyone and shown the people that this type of statement is a statement of people who suffer an inferiority complex. We don't speak like this. We don't think like this."

And then he told them:

(Reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, Vol. 1, and referenced in Sirah and historical accounts of the Futuh al-Sham)

"We are a group of people who were Adhilla — we were disgraced, a disgraced group of nomads. Allah is the One Who gave us honor, and He gave that through Islam and only through Islam. And whenever the Ummah will ever try to seek honor in any means other than that by which Allah had given us honor — i.e., Islam — Allah shall disgrace us."

We don't need anyone else to disgrace us — Allah will disgrace us. The very same Allah that honored this Ummah — when He looks at people who find honor in anything besides that which Allah and His Rasul have brought, who feel the companions of the Prophet ﷺ are not people worthy of following and emulating, who feel the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ is backwards — those people do not need an external enemy. Allah Himself will destroy them. Allah Himself will disgrace them at the hands of whomsoever He wishes.

What beautiful, powerful statements of Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه — that we should study and engrave on our hearts and the hearts of our children. The one thing that we need to impart to ourselves and to our kids is pride and honor in Islam. No matter where you are — this is who we are, and we are proud of every aspect. We are not going to shy away from anything. We are not going to mince our words about anything. You can change your ways, you can change your customs, you can turn back on your own history — but we have been the same and consistent throughout. Not just our lives, but the lives of the Prophets, who were all believers in لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ.

Three Pillars of Courage and Identity

This type of courage, beloved friends, comes through three things:

Number One — Knowledge.
Number Two — Spirituality. تَزْكِيَة — Tazkiyah.
Number Three — Good Companionship.

I ask Allah that He allows us as mothers and fathers and youngsters to take upon these three things within ourselves — to benefit from any and all opportunities of seeking the knowledge of deen, to purify our hearts, becoming spiritually strong, and finding great company — so that we leave a legacy of confident Muslims who are confident in the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. And not only will we lead the Muslim Ummah forward, but we'll also be able to lead the non-Muslim Ummah as well.

I want to take this opportunity to say Alhamdulillah — next weekend, a week from today, Christmas holidays, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I'll be teaching a course along with ten other colleagues — internationally visiting scholars as well as from across the country — on this very topic of maintaining our Islamic identity in an era of immorality. Just down the street at Masjid Darussalam, Friday, Saturday, Sunday — a three-day workshop, ages eight and upwards, all the way to adults, three parallel retreats. If you're available please join in for any session that you can, and if you're not, at least make du'a that this becomes a means of producing extremely confident Muslims.

I ask Allah that He keeps us all on the path of Iman till our last breath, and may He allow us to utilize any and all means that are required to protect and preserve our faith.

Let's fill up all the gaps, move forward, make sure every single spot has been taken. We also have a request for du'a for Muhammad Nizamuddin Qadri — du'a for his critical condition, that Allah grants him shifa. And many others of this community and beyond who are going through critical conditions — may Allah grant each and every one of them shifa and strength, and make their sickness a means of the forgiveness of their sins.

Additionally, we have a Salatul Janazah immediately after the completion of Salatul Jumu'ah, so we request everyone to stay back insha'Allah.

وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Janazah Prayer — Announcements and Guidance

Insha'Allah we have a Janazah as announced. If the brothers can open up a space, a gap for the Janazah to be brought to the front, insha'Allah.

As we are waiting, just a couple of quick announcements insha'Allah. Number one, we have tonight after Isha a self-defense seminar that will be led by two of our jujitsu instructors from All Star Jujitsu, here in the masjid after the Isha prayer tonight for brothers. All the brothers are requested to participate in this insha'Allah.

Insha'Allah tomorrow before Dhuhr and after Dhuhr we have our Muhsin program — our Muhsin meet-and-greet for those families that will be participating in the special needs weekend school insha'Allah. We also have a TA training right after Dhuhr tomorrow, so we encourage your participation in that as well.

Just a reminder of our weekly Tafseer on Wednesdays and our sisters' Tafseer on Mondays insha'Allah.

Also, a request for du'as for our brother Sayyid Farid Ahmed who is in the hospital. We ask Allah to grant him complete shifa and a quick recovery. And also shifa for sister Shafia Ali who is also sick — may Allah grant her complete shifa and a quick recovery insha'Allah.

The Janazah today is for our brother Saqlain Khan — a father, a husband, a young brother in his 50s who passed away due to colon cancer. May Allah forgive him, honor him insha'Allah, and make his grave among the gardens of Paradise.

Method of the Janazah Prayer

Just a reminder of the Janazah prayer and its method insha'Allah. The Janazah Salah is a way of bidding farewell to our loved ones. It is a way of seeking forgiveness on their behalf, but it is also an opportunity for reflection for every single one of us. When we attend a Janazah prayer, we are required to think about our own journey and our own return to Allah — for every single one of us will experience this journey and no one will be spared. Death is a reality of life that all of us will go through — for some young, for some old, for brothers, for sisters, and sometimes children — and everyone will leave at the time that Allah has appointed for them.

As we stand here and reflect over the Janazah prayer itself and make du'a for the deceased, it is also an opportunity to make du'a to Allah that this Janazah is a means of forgiveness — not only for our deceased brother, but also a turning point in our lives that we get closer to Allah and become connected to Him insha'Allah.

There are four takbeers in the Janazah Salah:

After the first takbeer, we recite the thana:

Or you may recite Surah Al-Fatihah.

After the second takbeer, we recite salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ — Durud Ibrahimi as we do in the prayer.

After the third takbeer, we recite du'a for the deceased:

Or you may say: اَللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ. If you don't know any of these du'as, then make du'a in your heart for the deceased, that Allah forgives him and elevates his status.

After the fourth takbeer, we will have salam, and that will conclude the Janazah prayer insha'Allah.

Du'a for the Deceased and the Community

Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You to forgive our dear brother, ya Allah. Ya Allah, elevate his status, ya Allah. Ya Allah, make his grave from the gardens of Paradise, ya Allah. Ya Allah, open a door of Jannah for him in his grave, ya Allah. Widen his grave for him, ya Allah. Make the Qur'an his companion in the grave, ya Allah.

Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You to grant him the status of shahadah, ya Allah. Ya Allah, You tested him in this world with this illness and sickness, and he passed away through this colon cancer, ya Allah. Your Habib ﷺ has taught us that those who pass away through the illness of the stomach are considered shaheed. Oh Allah, grant him that honor of being a shaheed, ya Allah. Ya Allah, resurrect him among the shuhada on the Day of Judgment, ya Allah.

Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You that You overlook his shortcomings, and ya Allah, turn his evil deeds into good, ya Allah. Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You that You grant him a special place under Your Arsh on the Day of Judgment, ya Allah. We ask You to grant his family patience, ya Allah. Grant his children patience, ya Allah. Grant his spouse patience, ya Allah. Ya Allah, Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You that You allow this difficulty to be a means of forgiveness for them and elevation for all of them, ya Allah.

Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You to forgive all of our loved ones who are sick, and ya Allah, all of our loved ones who have passed away. Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — allow us all to prepare for the day that we will meet You, ya Allah. Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You that You allow us all to leave with the لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ on our tongues, ya Allah. Resurrect us on the Day of Judgment with those who have the most perfect iman, ya Allah.

Ya Rahman, Ya Kareem — we ask You that You reunite all of us with our loved ones in the highest stages of Jannah, ya Allah. Ya Allah, remove the challenges and difficulties that we are experiencing in our lives, ya Allah. Ya Allah, we ask You that You continue to bless us with all the beautiful things that the Prophet ﷺ would ask for, and ya Allah, we seek protection from all the evil that the Prophet ﷺ sought protection from.

وَصَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى خَيْرِ خَلْقِهِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ، آمِينَ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

After the Janazah salah is over, the burial will be taking place at Clarendon Hill Cemetery insha'Allah. There will be no procession, although brothers and sisters are requested to arrive there on their own.

JazakAllah Khairan.